My daughter just me a lesson. A lesson that I should have
taught her.
A couple of days ago a friend came home to discuss the
contours of a game. A treasure hunt. How do you plan a treasure hunt? All the
treasure hunts have already been done. There are variations that people have
had. Most the time, these are clues all over the city where you have to go to
and meet someone and collect the next clue. In the middle to spice things up
there are challenges and dares to complete. But in any form, they are all done.
So, our friend came home and we were thinking about what to do. Mumbai has an
amazing British history and it can be felt in the old parts of Mumbai, within
the erstwhile fort area. There were many ideas tossed around. We kept thinking
on how to make it simple yet exciting.
Here I learnt to implement something I leant from a friend
many years ago. It was something he learnt at a conference. In a group think,
learn to say ‘and’. Whenever someone says something, make the idea bigger by
adding to it and not by removing flaws in the argument. Keep saying ‘and’ to
any idea. This way you are forced to think from a start point and forced to
listen intently and hopefully come up with great ideas. So, while brainstorming
I kept saying ‘and’ and we ended up with what we think is an awesome idea. We
simply take photos of interesting places in a tight interesting area in fort.
We also take photos of small quirky things around the place. People have to
figure the place, click the photo and come back to base after they are done. In
the photos we will also have clues as to where the place is likely to be. So we
would have photos of lane names, or monument names or something or the other that
would help them decipher the place. The odd ball curious would be in and around
some bigger places. So the game is simple. You will probably have 10 places
which are easier to find and then you will have around another four odd places
in and around the main point. All photos to be released at the start of the game.
Hence you have to look around the monument for the other hidden ones and get
them.
Too much information is also a weapon of confusion. In a normal
treasure hunt, the linearity of thought allows for a focused flow from
participants. But this way with an information overload, the confusion should
set and thence in a group environment so will atrophy. The hope is that the
evil and greed in people will grow as the time limit gets pushed. How much time
must you spend on a place to get all the objects. Ah… this should be fun.
You are free to use mobile phones, whatsapp and everything
else including Google. Now go and get these mad places.
While we were clicking pictures yesterday at Horniman circle
for our game, in one building, while I was clicking the façade, one security
lady came to me and said, do not click photos, it’s not allowed. What? You don’t
own the image rights to your building to start with. Complete rubbish. I have
had run ins with various such security personnel whose job it is to do stupid
things. Rich people believe that just because they can own security personnel
they can ask them to do anything. A few weeks ago, one security guy came to me
to tell me to not park on the opposite side of their gate. I refused to listen.
First they try and use authority and then they try and use sympathy. He then
said that please listen to him or his bosses will scold him. I am so done with
these jokers. I told him to tell his boss not to ask him to do stupid
things. I wasn’t obstructing his gate in
any way. It was on the other side.
Now here this lady was telling me not to click photos of
their heritage building. I refused. I told her that I will continue to do so
and she could do whatever she wanted. I continued to click till I got a nice
one. Now a senior guard came in. He confronted me and tried to tell me with
authority that I shouldn’t click. I told him, that that is stupid and that I will
continue to do so. He told me again and that’s when I lost it (not that I was
polite to start with), I screamed at him and said, I will click the photos and
he can’t stop as it isn’t legal. I was standing on the road dam it. I was loud
and hard. He did not know what to do. He is used to subservient behavior I guess.
This was an open challenge to his authority. We took photos and then we left. He
couldn’t do anything.
Afterwards, Jispa spoke to me. She told me, that I uselessly
shouted at the watchman. I said, that he was being stupid and the rule sucked.
She agreed but she said, I could have just silently smiled at him and still
kept on clicking. Cracked a joke or a remark or something or the other and
managed the situation. Well ok. I admitted to her that she was right. She is
right. I should have just handled it better. Yes, I should have broken his
stupid rule, did whatever I want and yet still gotten out of it by smiling my
way through it and not raising my voice. What good would it do?
Nice one Jispa. She waited till I cooled down, came quietly
next to me and very nicely suggested… SUGGESTED, that may be there was a better
way. She asked and suggested as opposed to directly attack an angry man. Nice. Real
nice. Well done Jispa.
At home later in the day, I got rid of some my shirts. One
of them was a slightly tighter red and blue plaid check shirt. Jispa wanted one
red plaid shirt for some time now. I had her try it. What is a bit tight for
me, was a little loose for her and she could wear it. She kept it and said “cool.
That time when you can finally wear your dad’s shirt”, followed by a fake
sniffle.
Child has become the father of man.
