50 conversations in Bangalore and Chennai

Thank you Derek for this thoughtful body of work. I have friends who have studied at Ashrams in India and am preparing music by my teacher at Cal Arts in the 80’s, Amiya Dasgupta. We performed in an ensemble of western instruments, playing Raga based music from North India. I think it’s important to honor our teachers because they continue to impact our live long after we go our separate ways. The people you have introduced me to here are all teachers of love and humanity. There is no greater gift and service than to honor them and shar their journeys.

India has the oldest scientific writings and oldest history . the Veda's are a treasure of knowlege, with a map of the physical and much larger spiritual universe in the Srimad Bhagavatam which has 12 huge cantos. I highly recommend "Bagavad Gita as it is " for your reading with the great purports of Swami Prabupada, a real saint of India from the family bloodline of Krishna. Brilliant people abound in this huge country. I hope they all go back to their roots and become Krishna conscious just as I hope the whole world of cultures return to their indigenous spiritual knowledge and share with all other cultures and get to the bottom of shared understanding of all our connection to the eternal spirit soul we all have given by the real creator who is pure love .justice ,wisdom , and power. We are one human family and must wake up to the reality of all encompassing love . All else is illusion. Peace to you

why did i miss this chance??

will meet you the next time for sure.

I really enjoyed this! Jai Hind.

Love this! Thanks for sharing these great conversations.

I appreciate you taking the time to do this Derek. It was a fun and educational read.

Fascinating to the point overwhelming... I read every word of the first five and then I stopped to think. Methinks I will leave this tab open and read as I can...

I counted 11 female faces and 42 male faces.
I think that’s 26.19%

Very interesting. I like many appreciate and enjoy reading about your travels and view of the world we live in.
Keep up the great work and be safe.

Thanks Derek, that's very thoughtful of you to share your friends with us. Cheers

Fascinating stuff Derek - I read some of the profiles and will come back later to read more. I hope more people can read this because it will change their perception of India. i have lived in Europe, USA and Asia and currently live in China . It would be awesome of you could make a similar trip to China as it too is an amazing culture .

My best friend grew up in Tamil Nadu, schooled in England and now lives in Canada. We met on Yahoo chat going on 14 years ago and face to face several times. I’ve been so enriched through our conversations I can only imagine the gold mines you will all be to one another. What a trip!

I am so glad you got to meet Ricky Kej. A great talent. A great mind. A generous person.

I always enjoy reading your post/notes. I particularly liked the Hindu Atheist idea of equity.

What a wonderful intention for a trip - to meet new friends and to deepen the ties you already have there. I love this. And I will be stealing this idea to use on a trip sometime this year myself.

What amazing stories. Thank you Derek.

You continue to inspire me Derek.

So encouraging to see India moving forward with the tech.

wow, so insightful. I didn't make it to the end, but gleaned a lot from what I did! I'm also keen to go back sometime soon. I visited Rajamundry about 10 years ago to see a friends micro-enterprise project. What a mind-expanding experience it was!

Wow! It's lovely to read the summaries of your conversations, Derek. Thank you for sharing them.

And I'm even more impressed (and to be honest, just a little envious too!) at how you've managed to squeeze so many of these meetings into such a brief visit!

Wow! This must have taken real effort to meet so many people and then document so much so that it becomes a learning for others. I wish I could've also met you and learnt some things myself. May be next time you are in Bangalore...

Hi Derek, thanks Derek. As someone who has lived in SG for 15 years and worked closely with both Singapore-born and Indian-born Indians, it is hard to explain to outsiders the richness and variety of the nation and it's kaleidoscope of cultures. Thanks for this torrent of mini-bites and insights.

very interesting concept but it sounds overwhelming to me. wondering in the end, did you find it too much to be doing back-to-back meetings from 9am to 10pm every day? wondering if that time frame would allow me to process all that i was hearing and allow for an extended conversation with people i found uber interesting.

i love the idea and maybe you rocked it just fine, i'm not as intellectual as you but i'd be curious if you would do it the same way if you were able to do it over again.
It was hard but worth it. It was necessary to meet 50 people in 7 days. I'm VERY glad I recorded the conversations and could read the transcription afterwards. — Derek

I think you are a beautiful soul and I aspire to be like you. I am grateful I get to read and absorb your thoughts on life and work in your books. Warm wishes, Andrew

Thank you for always thinking of us and sharing. It was informative.

This is such a lovely compilation and gesture.
I wonder about your thought process regarding...
1. how you shortlisted who to meet?
2. why take such initiative?
:)

Wow! You were busy, but it must have been fascinating to meet so many unique persons. I think of each of us as a book. You have a developed curiosity about many subjects combined with your global experience which makes you able to confidently converse & meet this diverse set of individuals. Thx for sharing!

Phenomenal piece! What an incredible insight to a city and a country, to the people, their cultures, thoughts and practices, even the systems and infrastructure of the country and a great many other things. I couldn't imagine – other than doing what you've done – gaining such a breadth of info so quickly by any other means. Thanks for doing the project and for sharing it.

You have met a lot of interesting, educated and I would like to think good people. Being of Indian origin, I would like to clarify I love India, it is the gods gift to earth.

Really loved thepost derek! Did not know you had such deep
ties to india :)

Amazing visit. Glad you recorded most of the chats. Otherwise with all the info coming at you at once AND Jet lag, you wouldn't have retained it. I lived in Lebanon, Hong Kong and Singapore in my teens. Never went to India. On my bucket list. Also lived in England in my 20s.

David Elliott
www.davidelliottsongs.com

These interviews give me hope for India. Hope is a beautiful thing. I ordered two copies of "The Practice" for my adult kids, one does digital marketing for a SalesForce consulting firm and the other wants to be a digital nomad. India is a fascinating country with so much potential, so many brilliant, smart and caring folks.Happy for you to be able to engage with such people.

Whoa… I was intrigued to click because the task and pace of meetings seemed absolutely brutal. I personally would not be able to do more than two one-hour interviews a day and spaced far apart for proper processing. I did notice that dramatically fewer women were interviewed which made me sad in a small way. I’m sure I would have needed a couple weeks on a deserted island to recover. Interesting challenge.

Derek, I LOVE this... getting intimate with the country through its people... rather than news, books, etc. You are on a quest to make this country a part of you (or vice versa) because of your son; and what a better way to do it than be on streets. I'm imagining there were moments you might have felt you've lived here... in the past lives.
I've got nothing intelligent to add, but just that this quest touched me.

Two immediate responses:
1.
Living in China where the WeChat app is almost universal for digital payments, text messages, file sharing, chat groups, etc., your observations about similar apps in India make me aware that the rest of the world may be further behind than I realized.
2.
Your 50 interviews were fascinating and intimidating. An exceptional person talking with a large number of exceptional people doing exceptional things with their lives. You made me feel like the biggest slob on Earth.

I'm glad to know that you are half Indian and your way of observation towards each and every person shows your dedication towards your work. It's what i understood and want to follow in my life.
Giving importance to a person is so important and let them know that they are valuable in your life.

I really want to know more about how you did this. What questions did you ask to inspire such a variety of answers? How did you find 100 people who wanted to spend an hour with you?

I really love this idea. And having moved to Israel I’d like to do something like this in my own life.

Such a cool undertaking to get to know the 2nd most populous country in the world! Sounds like you had a successful trip. I was just reading some of the interesting people you met (Chandhana really stood out as I always admire other stand up comedians for the difficulty and courage it takes to perform ^^).

Hi Derek!
Being a people enthusiast, it feels like I met all these people through your write-up. Very helpful to grasp different POVs and what makes humans beautiful.

On a side note: I am a north Indian living in Bangalore for more than 6 years & echo all that you mentioned about Bangalore. It's a beautiful city with lovely people.

Cheers!

I do find this blog fascinating. Thank you for letting me know.

Derek! Always looking forward to hearing from you and your adventures. You never failed to amaze and impress us with your zest and thirst for life and knowledge. Thank you for sharing. Indians are impressive people. We love reading and still reading about them here.
Where next!?

Thank you Derek for this wonderful summary. I've a very similar experience of India. Ive been traveling several time to India in 2002/03, Came back in Nov 2022 and again Jan 2023. I'm so impressed on the progress India has made in so many levels. I love the Indian people and there positivity looking in to the future. I'm running several different projects in India , from Sports to manufacturing and I'm enjoying it very much. My home base is Switzerland which is beautiful place to leave and has a special relationship with India for many different levels. I think India will become more and more my 2nd home

Amazing post!

Really interesting to read about these intelligent and motivated people. Im also very impressed with your work ethic Derek.

WOW! What a project! I love and celebrate the initiative.
The most inspiring take for me is: "Create a life where you can afford fun educational projects without asking for anyone's permission and funding."
Cheers!

So glad I got to be one of those 50, Derek! I loved how easy you made it to converse. So impressed and inspired with the effort you put into this whole trip: both before, during, and after it. I really hope to meet you again soon!

Being an Indian and reading your take aways from the meaningful conversation arround believe, culture, thinking, technology and many more. I must say you paid attention to every minute things.

Thanks for inviting me to be part of you Bangalore visit and given a chance to interact with you. It's really a special moment for me. Thanks, Againnnnnnn.....!!

Thank you, thank you very much, Derek! For sharing, showing those beautiful people and their wisdom! You and they inspire me!

Wish you (all) well and happy!

Jolanda

Was a lot to read ☺️.. interested tho..and must say still remember you
Thank you ☺️
#youtu.be/JAVZbiizYNo

It was wonderful to meet you, Derek. I mentioned when we met that I was fascinated by your idea of travelling just to meet people and step outside your bubble. Seeing these notes have made me even more determined to buy a TASCAM of my own and document the many fascinating conversations I have with people each week. I hope we get to meet again, soon!

I meet many Indians in the States, but know virtually nothing about India. This was a fascinating read. Thanks for sharing your bold adventure.

Amazing! Traveling is all about people!

Thank you for sharing these conversations with us. Very interesting, there is so much to learn from people, we just neglect these opportunities. This inspires me to incorporate something like this on a more daily basis. Not as intense of course, but I like this idea of learning.

This is a good thing, Derek.

Derek
I am always drawn to your work and writings since the CD-Baby days. This collection is an inspirational read. Makes me think of the world view and introspection at the same time. Really liked hearing of each personality and could imagine how your conversations went with each one. What an amazing idea!

Anyway, thanks for sharing.

Loved going through this! Thanks for compiling Derek

Cultural agreements and identity are fascinating. We (speaking from a public perspective from someone living in the US)are so misinformed on the intricacies and overall experience of many, if not all cultures outside our borders. Traveling breaks down the invisible belief induced walls so quickly that in my opinion if every person took it upon themselves to travel and emerge themselves into just one culture beyond their own, it would drastically reduce violence and hatred on a global level. Thank you for taking this time to be intimate with strangers who possibly now are friends for life. I hope the ripple effects of this go wide and deep, touching the hearts of many.

Wonderful adventure/learning experience. My husband and I have always had a deep affection for this country and the people. Their spiritual approach to life is noteworthy. They don't make decisions based on thinking it's always how they feel which is so much more reliable and I have taught all my children to do the same. The answer is always in the stillness. Thank you for your thoughts.

Simply brilliant stuff. first, for the deliberate and meaningful way in which you go about life. Second, for the snippets of people's lives that are authentic and relatable - more inspiring than something like the Tools of Titans (no offense). Thank you for sharing!

I could feel the energy form here! This is by far one of the most intense act that I read from you, here. I could learn a lot from this.

Amazing and fascinating. Very curious how you get so much diverse information from people. Any tips for interviewing/conversing with people e.g. favourite questions you ask?
No interviewing. No common questions. Just meeting and learning about someone. — Derek

Love this piece!

How did you schedule and set all of this up derek ? Did you do this through or with assistants and how did you structure the meetings? How would you structure the meetings if you were to do this again ?
No assistant. Just lots of emails. No structure. Just conversation. — Derek

Fabulously fascinating. So fun seeing snapshots & perspectives of these beautiful people through your sweet intention. Particularly enjoyed the overall insight into the culture & the banking advances—UPI. wow. Thank you . cheers . love . light . SMILES =)

Happy to know that your son is half-Indian. I would love to meet you when you revisit India in the future. Your comment about India's political climate is not correct. Some of whom you met might have misled you with their biased opinions.

Thank you. What a great way to teach us about India and the fact that each person is a universe.

Too bad this didn't come out while I was still in London last week, because my young hotel receptionist had a keen intererest in India and Bangladesh. He asked me why B. didn't have democracy and I said, "No middle class" and he asked his relatives and then got back to me.

As for conversations, although we talked several times, for several minutes, it turns out none of the other hotel guests talked with him. They missed out!

Derek, I see where you recorded conversations. I might have had a false time economy in London, because while I would mention people in my journal, I wouldn't write very much at all of what we talked about. I think now that was a mistake. I will give myself permission to invest time in writing things down in the next day or two, without feeling guilty or sheepish.

Decades ago, back when the world was young, and so was I, I would stay up late writing about my conversation adventures with new exciting people.

What a collection of compelling profiles
Love all the international smiles
The rawness of your note-taking style
A journal completely free of guile

I want to thank you for introducing your friends! I turned your article into a fascinating geography lesson by finding all the places mentioned on a map. Talk about bringing the world together at a human level. Lovely experience. Thanks for sharing!

-S

I have always been fascinated with India and the culture. Maybe 20 years ago I read a book by a Catholic priest who lived in he actual hovels crawling with centipedes and other creatures. A different and very sad side of life and survival there, but it was incredibly interesting. Sorry cannot remember the name of the book.
Thanks so much for sharing

As always a fascinating look into a view of the world through different eyes and very revealing and eye-opening - especially the many statements of frustration and unfulfilled desires. I think everyone should spend time speaking with people from different cultures as it would show that they are so many different and amazing ways to look at the world and it's truly not all centered around your own worldview.

This is fabulous. Thank you for documenting!

Opened my eyes! So many talented, smart, well-educated people. I was interested to read your personal take on India today. I've never been and never really wanted to go. You changed my mind.

Interesting post, there are some very intelligent people in India, I'm glad you had a good time.

The people of India are incredibly smart and your proving it with your wonderful
talks with them. Maybe I missed it but did you interview any musicians?
Thanks for posting.

Very nice post as usual Derek. It brings some inspiration, which to me is rare thing nowadays with so many inspirational experts online. It´s great to learn from you how to be more open to the world and to it´s experiences by practicing true listening. Best regards.

Hi Derek,

Yes, It is fascinating and also I am in complete shock, really taking time to talk to these beautiful people and get to know them.

Myself being a shy person, many times I have felt overwhelmed even being in smaller group of people and after Covid it like difficult for me.

But today reading this post I learnt what I am Missing out on, 50 people have 50 different stories and ideas, some things you can take from them and they can learn something. And meeting people in this journey called life, there so much to learn and nothing to loose.

Really Appreciate you took so much time and all the lovely people whom you have met and people who helped to make this event possible.
Thank you all.
Thank you Derek!!

Subhangi,
Delhi, India

Thank you for sharing all these amazing experiences, Derek, along with the beautiful photos of your friends and contacts. You make the world a better place. All the best to you and your son.

What a great experience and thank you so much for sharing. It’s wonderful to read about the individuals that comprise a community. It takes down walls and builds bridges between people and cultures. I look forward to more shares like this.

Can't get better than this. I hope, the next time you visit India, you'll meet even more amazing people. (Manifesting, myself on the list😁)

I counted 11 women of 50 interviews. I'm curious about your selection process that resulted in low female representation. It's cool if you didn't think about it or used criteria that has unavoidably low female representation (ex. software engineers). Just curious how your mind works, as always.

Love these snapshot interviews, so much so that I'd love to return to India (was there on a short visit when I was 16). Lovely people, intensely rich culture. Thank you for posting this wonderful bit of cultural exchange.

Very cool, Derek. I liked recognizing in peoples’ words the India I know and love, but also expanding my learning about the details about people’s lives (opinuobs, choices, and how they make it all work. Can’t wait to be back in beloved Bharat.

Always inspiring. Thanks for sharing the takeaways from these conversations. Everyone has such interesting stories. Not everyone is willing to listen. Thanks for that, too.

Hi Derek!
Thank you for sharing so many great stories! I too, think India has great potential. I love the way they appreciate organic farming. Also loved the thought: " The human body is a shirt the soul is wearing".
To peak into another part of the world, in a more personal sense, and find so many amazing people.
People are where it's at! :-)
Thanks Derek!!
Rachel :-)

Interesting read! Thank you Derek. I've been on a few cruises and have learned a lot about India from the Indian cruise ship staff. They taught me how complex, diverse, and different India is.

Wow

Underneath it all, we all are the same with the same emotions and ambitions, yet they and all of us simultaneously are unique.

Great insight into real lives in India!

What a refreshing glimpse at current India!!

I visited twice two decades ago (Darjeeling and Kerala)
and to learn that 80% of the country has a bank account
now was astonishing. Still, the irony that the "Indian
thing" of engineering and/or MBA in business is still
something parents push was amusing.

Thanks so much for this!!!

Hi Derek,
I enjoyed your adventures and the wonderful folks, I'm not finished reading everyone but will as time goes by. I told stories to students in Chennai during the shutdown on Zoom.
You can watch it here; youtu.be/dEvyeYtIAi0
Would you be interested in visiting professional storytellers at our monthly meetup on Mondays? I will forward your e-mail on all the great stories you write about the Indian folks to Sue Kessler & Sheila Arnold at www.ArtistsStandingStrongTogether.net
and they may reach out to you if space is available for you to join us on any storytelling subject you would like to share with us.
Presently, I'm at my home on the island of Tobago telling stories at the main library and at Healing With Horses for children with special needs.
I will continue to read your shorts on the folks you know and love.
Thanks for sharing and can you help me with my podcast? I really could use support to keep it going. I have a great story called The Roti Lady.... it is very popular here in Trinidad, many east Indians migrated here...the culture here is very rich.
Oh, my podcast could use some reviews, stars, and downloads...and LISTENS!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/story-village-with-aunti-oni/id1561364172

So do your long time sista friend a favor and help me with my adventures too!
Ubuntu!
Aunti Oni

Wow! What a tour-de-force effort. Really inspiring. Thanks, Derek.

Such gorgeous people, full of free unadulterated & explorative thought. Thanks for the inspiration, showing that people on Earth in 2023 aren’t as all disconnected as in “Western Culture”, and showing just WHERE to begin/base ManifestiV’s Indian tour: Bangalore! Not if, WHEN. 🧡🤍💚

I spend one months travelling on my own through India 20 years ago. The pictures are still in my head (so many of them most intensive), I still recall the taste of the food, the loudliness of the crowd in front of the tempel, the smell of spices. Looking back that was the most impactfull journey I ever made. I had so many conversations and remembered them right now. Thank you for bringing back my memories.

Derek! You never cease to amaze me. Really. This is such a wonderful project, it gives me goosebumps. And your process for being certain to correctly pronounce people's names is the opposite of embarrassing. It shows such a deep respect and care. Thank you for being you ❤️

Hi Derek,
As my sister always said,
“Sharing is caring.“
Thank you!
Gregory

Thanks for sharing this Derek.
Inspiring.

Hey Derek! What an awesome travel experience, and you actually worked to put all this together while on vacation. You are the best time manager in the world probably! I'm so glad you were able to enjoy the experience with juggling so many conversations and new faces. It sounds like the trip was a huge success and I'm happy to read about it now. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us all and in such a cool way! I hope to visit this part of the world one day and makes me want to renew my passport again, which expired in 2016. Way to go, Derek! Congrats on another total victory!

Trey:)
www.WhiskeyChild.com

Fascinating idea, Fascinating results. I love the mash up - religion, engineering, geography, music. Makes me wonder what I am doing with my life. Actually, now that I am thinking about it, pretty happy :-)

derek---fascinating in many many ways---thanks for sharing this with everyone---skimmed but will go back and read everything---hope you are doing well---frank

My son is one quarter Sri Lankan!

This is great timing as my friend is going to India, and I’ll forward this to her because she’ll love your info!

I love these little vignettes. I was working with a dev team in Noida all through the pandemic, meeting twice a week. We went through it all together while building something with purpose. We lost some members, others realized they wanted to work on other dreams. Ending our work together was sort of heartbreaking. Your notes reminded me of what we can learn from just talking with people everywhere.

Also, Passion! One of my all time favorite albums.

Thank you for doing this.
I am into my 3rd day of Covid-19 and had a filthy headache and thought I had better check my e-mails.
Always keen to read what you are up to.
Was a bit of a slow start for me today but the more I read the better I felt.
Got to the end and still have a headache, but not so bad.
Always a source of inspiration.

Derek,
An impressive piece of work, maybe your greatest to date. I feel that,yet can't put my finger on why.

So random and unrelated to anything in my world and life, yet couldn’t stop reading. Thanks for sharing.

I'm not finished but mostly done. This is cool, people magnified at the human level, out of the blue! And best of all, they're NOT famous people! A special offering.

The love of the easy payment systems however, hides a very very dark purpose to it in the background. The desire of the leaders of the world to have a cashless society has hundreds of negatives and is Orwellian, at best. Modi is dragging India down a bottomless pit. He's not alone. The world has similar counterparts, big and small. Ken Rogoff wrote a horror of a book proposing the wonder of a path leading to Social points and no place to hide for the little guy. Of course, its a subject with a great deal of detail as well as breadth.

Nearly everyone on the list appears as someone it would be fun to have a LONG conversation with! In particular, about the subject of proportions, which is at the center of nearly everything in an esoteric way.

So heart warming to read about your conversations, Derek! Thanks so much for sharing :)

Wow! I wasn't aware that one can be in contact with this number of beautiful beings in a lifetime.

Really liked this. Amazing and interesting people. I hope you will do more of this.

Hi Derek,

It's amazing to read about your wonderful experiences in this trip. It seems that you are always ahead of the curve and moving towards the direction of becoming a citizen of the whole world.

Cheers,
Gong

Thanks for sharing another interesting article, Derek. In it, you mentioned that before your trip you hired someone to make an audio recording of the names of the people you were going to meet. I just want to let you know about a company called NameCoach that does exactly this:

cloud.name-coach.com/

Thanks for sharing Derek So great that youve made the time for all these new friends that have come into your life and have now introduced them on a personal level to other acquaintances from othe places sparking a chance for new friendships and insights that happen when your traveling cheers!

You always amaze me with the work you do. I had a High School project that involved interviewing 3 people and then writing my thoughts about it. I barely finished that project and ended up with a C. Here you are flying to a different country and interviewing all these people. Then on top of that writing such a great report on it. You sir are my hero.

Thank you for sharing these stories, Derek! It's enlightening to hear what is going on in the world. And, it's inspiring to read the stories of people who are up to creating positive changes in the world!

Thanks Derek for this long romp through India and some interesting people. its such a shame that it wasnt captured on camera. I know its another layer of complexity but the net result is the same as you get the audio (maybe even redundant audio if you are also using a digital recorder). Ive started to personally capture more on video lately. Something about the visual aspects of a conversation that cant be captured fully with just audio. Its also just as easy as setting up a voice recorder. Grab a gopro, stick it on a guerrilla pod and press the power button. add a pair of rode go wireless mics and you have a professional setup for around 600$. I actually like the way the summaries just seem to jump around and are unstructured for the most part. Most might like this. It helps me to really concentrate and try to fill in the blanks.
I was there to make friends, not interview people. We often discussed very private things, as friends do. I assured everyone that my recordings are private, and they are. I'm only sharing the things here that can and should be shared. — Derek

Fascinating reading. Thanks for posting.

Evidently you make every encounter a learning experience and are able to pierce the boundaries of most casual conversations.

IMO, we should all attempt to do this.

Best,
Dan Ash

Thanks, Derek. What a fantastic idea. I'm not sure I could think of 50 people I want to interview, but your effort to document and send out these conversations has certainly changed my view of India. Good for you!

Hi Derek- always interesting to know what you've been up to. Read them all. Didn't know you had a deep feeling for Bharata! Me, too! I've taken over 40 groups to India on pilgrimage to the holy places associate with my Guru, Paramahansa Yoganandaji, and his book Autobiography of a Yogi. You would probably agree - India is a life-changing experience!! All the best, as always.......

I wonder if this is a new way of learning about a culture at a deeper level. Make a bucket list of countries and repeat this to learn about new places that have always fascinated you?

I'd love to see your summary of all these, for the key insights you got from this collective wisdom.

Thanks for sharing!!
Yes! I agree. I used to attend TEDx conferences for this purpose, but one-on-one conversation is WAY better. I'd love to do this again in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Vietnam, China, Brazil, and other places that are a mystery to me. — Derek

An interesting read and an intriguing selection of people.

While it was satisfying to read the summaries, having known that you were on this mission, I find that I am more curious to.know why you chose these particular people. Did you have to choose out of many? Was it difficult to make a choice and leave out someone for whatever reason?

These are secondary to the idea behind having these conversations. But curiosity cannot be controlled!

Thank you Derek, for this heart warming post. If there is a next time, I hope I get a chance to meet you and have a nice, long conversation.

What a fascinating journey into the tech, music, philosophy and lives of all these people. I can't believe how many people live in this world, and are often all on parallel journeys thousands of miles away, but don't even know it. So interesting to see how many are navigating who they want to be and how to get there.

Thanks so much for sharing and taking the time to document it!

Many thanks for sharing your 50 conversations in Bangalore and Chennai.They're fascinating and enriching. I'm stil reading - I'm slow!!

1. What would you like to see more in India?
2. What are the 3-5 things that Bangalore and Chennai should focus on?
3. And what about India shouldn't change? What should Indians treasure?

Wish you lots of fun travels, journeys, conversations, experiences & relationships.

Bhaskar

Bravo! You covered quite a bit. Excellent energy.

Praise The Lord

Very Interesting and quite a bit informative. I have quite a few friends in the ministry from different parts of India. I love how you described it in part as new San Francisco like. Very kind of you to share their stories. The different cultural parts of India stands out to me because that's what I saw during Ministry. thank you for introducing many other areas that truly I hadnt saw.

Derek, I really appreciate being able to read about your experience in Chennai and Bengaluru. Thank you for writing about it. It inspires me to keep meaningful connections with the individuals I've connected with over the years.

Hello Derek and hope you are well? I just this minute finished reading all the posts over two days but not consecutive. I found it all very interesting and noticing how people are not that different from wanting and choosing their life styles. The only difference is application. Bangalore seems like a wonderful place to visit so chilled out and innovative. The excitment and expectations of your visit must have been overwhelming. Thank you for posting and sharing your knowledge and experiences with us.

I enjoyed this so much. Great recap, leaving me wanting to learn more about these fine people adn to follow their trajectories.

Fascinating conversations; thanks for sharing! SO interesting to start to understand the significant regional differences in culture that exist there.

Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed this.

Thanks for an interesting account of your meetings.

BTW, you wrote, "...it’s often cheaper to donate to a temple because legally speaking, schools in India cannot discriminate between students if they are run by a religious institution."

Unfortunately, that is patently wrong. In India, Christian and Muslim run schools are legally allowed to discriminate against non-believers and in favor of those who follow their religion. However Hindu-run institutions are barred from discriminating against non-Hindus.

It's perverse but that's the reality of India.

Derek, I'm concerned about you. Are you all right? Why there's no update, man?

So good to see you in India Derek,loved your interactions here,however Really love your cdbaby story,heard you on tims show, i used to work in Bangalore n now in Hyderabad, while climate is good in BLR food wise Hyderabad will spoil you, you should visit next time. Big fan of your book notes Derek, cheers !!

Hi Derek
Loved your recent conversation with Tim Ferriss, which is what prompted me to look up your site.
Great people you have introduced us to in Chennai and Bangalore: so much positive energy.
I have been in Madurai in Tamil Nadu twice, spending time with Madurai Seed: maduraiseed.org/ Such a great organization. Now helping raise funds for them for a new building. Any advice you have on fundraising will be greatly appreciated.
All the best
Nick

Hi Derek,

I love the way you focus on your son and are inquisitive about everything. In Christchurch I raised my two children and two stepsons. Having two blood children and see them grow into happy productive adults has been my most satisfying achievement.

My business is water bottling, and my factory is the only one in the world with no single use bottles. We moved to Auckland in 2011. I promote THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY 24/7,

www.Awawater.co.nz

www.Waireuse.com are my brands. I also own one of the world’s oldest brands Alexander’s which started in Kaiapoi in 1861.

November 2022 I was in Ukraine as a humanitarian volunteer and last month visited Taiwan and South Korea.

You have motivated me to go back to India for another visit.

Cheers

Richard

Now I want all of these people's opinion of the chat in another blog post.

Make it happen Derek! You have their contacts!

Just email them asking what they remember about the conversation. It'll fill in the gaps (like the one where you said you don't remember the conversation because you were jet-lagged).

I am amazed by how exploring you are and documenting it, using the technology for the way you want which is impressive.. Such a cool thing to do it. I read Ricky Kej's and Sindhu's. I'd also be your friend when you come to Bengaluru nnext time. (*_*)

Hi Derek,
Am so glad I found your blog and am hoping I get to meet you when you are here next in Blore...
Loved the 232 sand dollars post ....
Am so glad you are here....

Regards
Nandini