Meeting a Journalist II

(This is getting interesting now, and I am actually enjoying writing about these meetings.. future posts may not be in the chronological order and the title would depend upon the memorable incidents :))

After that first interaction, we exchanged some story related emails and then she wanted to pay visit to the scientific co-founder of our company, our Professor. She arrived early and asked whether i would be available. Ofcourse, I was !! (Anil Kapoor said in tezaab: Waqt hota nahin hai, nikalana padta hai :D)

After some customary small talk, the conversation went towards her hometown and the naxalism that was happening there (the Dantewada incident happened just then, though i was not really listening, just looking at her ;)). She had her hairs tied up and the her purple streak was not visible. She was wearing a kurta and trousers (which she vehemently denies today saying that she has no black trousers, though i believe my memory always, its kind of photographic B-))

So accompanied her to the Professor's office and then asked her to get back to me once she is done, as i was looking for an opportunity to extend our conversations further (Some guys look good, some guys sing,.. well i just talk (thats what i do for a living also i guess, just talk).. ab aur kuch kar bhi to nahin sakte :P)

We took time to reconnect as it was tough for her to find her way through the labyrinth which is IIT Delhi. Another coffee and a walk, conversing about her interests in reading, travelling etc. and then asked her about whether she would be interested in going to a play ( 'Run for my Wife' : fellow dude Ashish Goel was acting in it, though plays are not much up my alley, i thought intellectual women dig plays ;)). She didn't seem very enthusiastic and suggested that one of her friends would be very interested in attending. (that was unacceptable for me, as i was looking for some face time alone ;) (don't misinterpret face time now ;), I sometimes wonder how much of a loser i am, hahaha :))

Something happened then which is memorable to me, and I respect her for it. As we were departing, we started talking about TR, EmTech 2009 ( I was a speaker there ;)), when in a bout of self-deprecation, i belittled my work. She said that 'Ink is an important chemical, it is used everywhere and what you are doing will impact the printing industry worldwide.' (my memory might have exaggerated it, but the essence is the same ;)). I guess journalists treat all their stories with respect, but for me it meant a lot. Seriously. (:))

So that was the second meeting, again based on professional grounds, but I had established the 'communication beachhead' (management , hhhhuuh !!) on FaceBook and her mobile number was handy.

Smses and babbar shers are great ice-breakers which i used abundantly. Also got a lot of dope to interact by stalking her facebook profile (cheapster!) and was amazed to find that she is a Sherlock Holmes fan. A woman who reads Sherlock Holmes is very attractive. Tried to trick her into meeting over exchanging Sherlock Holmes novellas but she is smart enough to see through it.

Next came unabashed hitting on her through smses ( damn i was very quick, by own standards :), impatience is a virtue, but not with women i guess :)). One noteworthy incident centered around her 'kissing prowess' which didnt go down too well with her. She blasted me saying 'is it right to hit on a woman you just met like this'.. though i felt defensive, but being dramatic i am , i responded: 'DIl to Bachcha hai ji'... (well i thought that was very clever :))

Meeting was no where in sight and she was busy completing the story, which was very important for us also. So tried to lay low and wait till the story got over. Nonetheless, dispatched her the Sherlock Holmes DVD, which was kind of well received. (somehow i feel i can make women happy ;))

Had to wait for nearly a month and we were looking at April end. Then came the TR story and the worldwide acclaim it brought. It was bigger than the TechCrunch coverage (again re-inforcing that am not much of a loser professionally, getting covered in TC is huge for Indian start-ups and we are in the mundane business of making eco-friendly printing inks.. oops green chemicals is a better positioning :)) I couldn't be happier and thought she deserved a treat for doing a fabulous job!

I sensed that now is the time to ask her out on a date ..errrrrr!! I was horribly mistaken.... To be continued!!

Meeting a Journalist I

There have been many unpublished posts from my end in the blog, but this one needs to be sent out.

I realized around Dec 2009 that my life had become quite unidimensional, with Company being the sole focus of my being for past 3 years. Having raised venture capital, I was assured the Company wont die (though growth is still a struggle :( ) and wanted some distraction before immersing myself into work. Being an entrepreneur you only meet three Fs: Family, Friends and Fools (like yourself ;)). After constant prodding from Mr. Ritesh Khera, I thought of replacing the third F with one of the most distracting and interesting species - 'Females'.

Though the avenues were limited (time is a scarce resource, and money was also), i thought of interacting with any female i came in contact with, pretty much in line with the marketing strategy of 'creating customers in uncertain markets' (damn, i hate throwing management jargon all the time, seriously i need a life ;)). Being part of an all guy gang (rapidly shrinking one too!) didnt help either. All the contacts were professional - Designers, customers and ... journalists (this shows that I am not much of a loser, and EnNatura is a media worthy startup;))

So one day in March i received a call from the Technology Review (MIT's Magazine on Innovation). One the other end was a 'fidgety, though confident' female voice seeking appointment. Ofcourse, when someone from TR calls, you give appointment (as if i had a choice ;)) as the coverage would worth millions in advertising spend (million Rs., not $ :)). There was some strangeness in that voice, a mixture of old world comfort and modern chirp, and i was intrigued enough to check out the FaceBook profile of the caller. Again an intriguing 'profile' pic in sepia shade.

I was in anticipation for this meeting, both as it was from the TR and also because of the intrigue of the person. Have also asked her to email me the list of questions, so that i come across prepared (this tactic though came in handy later, for a different purpose ;))

So she arrived on time and I was in the TBIU (IIT D's Incubator) parking to receive her. All jazzed up with sunglasses, red top and black jeans. But it was her gait that caught my eye. She apparently put much effort in walking ( may be she was exhausted, physically or may be mentally ;)). She instantly came across as someone warm and friendly and we started talking, while climbing stairs.

I talked about her educational background (is there any better conversation starter!) and she replied something related to IT ( i was like yawn!!, you are here to write about my high tech, advanced chemistry based printing inks :), yeah right, inks and high tech, dude get real ;)). Then how come she is a journalist and pat came the reply, that she made a career choice late when she switched from IT to journalism ( I was impressed, that this person is doing stuff by choice and willing to take chances, that resonated with me).

As we settled down and started the interview, my preparation came in handy, as i was able to take her very easily through all the presentations and answer her queries, while my mind was busy observing and taking notes:

• A ring on her hand, some sort of astro-related stone
• The purple streak in her hairs
• She was kind of itchy and restless :)
• She had a limited attention span (though this should not be mistaken with lack of smarts, it was all getting registered, even though she comes across as someone lost with that contemplative look in her eyes)

I talked about the stone and she said that her parents are concerned about her career choices and based on some jyotishi's recommendation, have asked her to wear it. An amusing story though i sensed some discomfort which i thought would probe about later.

Then as we finished, i switched to my typical UP bhaiya language and aksed her about her 'purple rangbaazi', she was a sport there and she responded in same lingo, which was very appealing to the UP heartland in me (people say this about biharis and punjabis, but u can also take a bhaiya out of UP but not the UP out of a bhaiya :D). Here was a techie journo talking in 'khadi boli'... 'are rajja!!'

I took her for a stroll around our 'garage operation' which she admired (more brownie points to her) and then for a coffee below IIT D's library. We were talking about her college in Noida, her friends among UP wallas, IIT campus life etc. as we walked. But there was a moment of embarrassment in store for me. As we reached the coffee shop, i realized that i have only 22 bucks in my wallet (!!!, reminiscent of the days when i was broke, though not any longer, my company was paying me a handsome CEO salary now ;), though i think this comes from the my parsimonious habits of the past ;))

She ordered for an Iced tea (Rs. 12) and that left me a cool 10 bucks to order a 'Ditto mango' (my all time favorite at IIT D library). Oooohh! what a close shave.

I changed the topic around where she stays and what she does on the weekends. I was very happy knowing that she stayed in Lajpat Nagar, very close from my place and stayed at a PG (meaning that would be available for dating probably, ;)).

So I said goodbyes to her, ending the meeting with some small talk about story and all. We parted with the customary, 'be in touch' and 'nice meeting you'. Though i realized that it was very easy to strike a conversation with this woman. May she was just plain warm and friendly.

Little did I know that this episode is gonna turn into something so dramatic :)............