#TIGAnnouncementOfTheYear Firstly, and most importantly, let me tell you that you are are gold. Persevering tirelessly to become a little bit better, a little bit stronger and a little bit happier every day. Not just as a professional. But a human being more. I can see this space becoming *exactly* what I had dreamt for it to be. Its easy to ignore these voluminous essays that I write, and Im so glad you dont / didnt. This page started off as an experiment. Then it became an emotional attachment. Then it became a full-time job. And today, four months later, it has become my life. For the record, I have another full-time job too and engagements here-there, as all of us do. This page doesnt pay my bills. But it has given me people like you. Emotions, trust, friendships, bonds - and most of all, honesty. These are things I cherish the most in life. And know I wouldve never managed to scavenge in any store or buy with any credit card. ****** I spend almost the whole day on the page sometimes, skipping outings on weekends, movies with friends, coffees with colleagues and unread books on the shelves; in order to scour through hundreds of entries every week, posting only 40, editing them, rehashing them, formatting them, rewriting them, making posters, writing cards, having discussions, conversations, pep talks, jams. Sprucing up this home to make this world a cleaner place. Full of cleaner people. Like you. :) This page doesnt pay my bills - No. It doesnt pay for my holidays, books and bags. Its doesnt pay for my sushis, sarees and cars. But it pays for my dreams, yes. Because people like YOU exist. I cant promise Ill be here till eternity to keep this page alive. But I know itll never die in your million hearts. Ive always believed that the success of any brand happens only when the patrons take ownership of it. When its democratic. And honest. And genuine. And homely. When they believe and trust and feel that like they belong to it and with it. Completely. I trust that you feel that way about TIG. Because it is your writings. Your pictures. Your story. And YOUR home. I know a ton of you wonder why Im selflessly doing this day after day after day. But whats in it for her? you think. Doesnt she have a full-time job? Does someone pay her to do this or what? And a constellation of other questions. I promise you I am not and dont intend tp make any money out of this project. Just how I have been selfless with my hard work here. Working day in, day out to help you for free. I know you have been selfless, too. You have been selfless about your stories and pictures and emotions and experiences. Gifting them to me for free. And thats perhaps the hardest thing to do. I wouldnt exist. If you didnt exist. So all I wanted to say is Thank You. ******* Since Ive always been honest and always will be honest with you, you should know that this page is being talked about. A lot. Your names are being taken. You work is being noticed. I have companies wanting to make merchandise for us. Brands wanting to collaborate. Publishers wanting to create a book. If all goes well, chances are all that will happen. And hold your breath till you hear from me about progress. But Im sure when it does, all of you will be right here with me, because you knew and will know the ethos and intent of this page all along. And that it is a selfless project. Over and beyond everything. I am comfortable in my job. And honestly, dont need to do this. Turn this into a business and make it trademark project. But it is becoming a brand of its accord. On its own merit. And Im so very proud of you because of that. I havent promoted this page AT ALL yet. Because honestly, I dont have the money or band-with to make that investment. But I want this page to grow nonetheless. Purely genuinely. For the strength of the ethos of the project. I will never ask you for money. But what I will always ask for, is commitment. For self-confidence. For belief in oneself. For you to become better human beings than who you were yesterday. With your writings, your pictures, your thoughts, your journeys. This page is not perfect, but you know it was made for YOU. To grow, to share, to love, to care. At a whole new level. Whatever money we make with the sales (whenever that happens) will purely be used to promote the project and make it known to more and more people. I promise you I dont intend to keep any of the money for myself. And I know youd trust me on that. We might just be called an e-commerce project to start with, where brands collaborate with us for the strength of the concept of the project. And because they believe in the people that belong here. Genuine people. With genuine stories. :) The book and other merchandise will happen with time. But for now we will spread our presence here itself. By working harder. Writing more moving stories. Shooting more stunning images. So that at any given point of time, when someone joins the page, it looks like a dream. This isnt meant to advance anybodys business agenda or push a particular ideology, or to persuade you to believe something thats not true. I aim to tell the truth, and I can do that because of you. Because of the trust you have in me. The fact that you cherish this page and allow it keep your work, lets me sleep well at night. It keeps me going, breathing and independent. It gives me the fuel to be able to deliver what you need and stay up night after night editing. With a smile. Exactly as it should be. ******* You should know: people will be putting in money on this page soon. Which will be used to make this a bigger brand than what it is now. But at no point, will I allow the sanctity and quality that we have on the page now, to be tarnished. I will still carry only those entries that I believe are worthwhile to be published. And I will still keep the right to choose the themes for the week and so on. It will be as democratic. As conversational. As honest. And as easy. The only things different might be, names of brand partners and sponsors appearing on the page, more likes and shares for the page, and most importantly, more stories and more friends to make. :) ******* You should know: that your entries, your story, your journey isnt just cleansing you as a person. But also thousands of other people. It allows this page to run. It allows this page to grow. It makes it accessible for anyone. And everyone. Zeal for an ambitious kid in Bangalore whos teaching herself photography, Faith for a middle-aged homemaker in Mumbai whos just been diagnosed with Breast Cancer, Information for an Ad firm researching how the consumer thinks about his chocolates, Hope for a 50-year-old in Coimbatore whos just discovered his ability of pen manship. On behalf of those people, and the three and a half thousand other followers and believers of TIG, I thank you for joining us in our journey and making it that much more worthwhile. Your steps towards your dreams makes the world a better place. Most people dont know TIG is independent and selfless. And intends to help NGOs should there be enough money in the times to come. Please consider tagging as many people as possible on this string. And sharing this e-mail with a few of your friends to encourage them to join too. Dont worry about making a mistake: thats normal when people first start anything. And if it happens, I am here for you. And always happy to fix the imperfections with you. :) I appreciate your trust in me, and I promise you I will guard your work with my life. And use this journey well. An ever-grateful, Sreshtha
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 11:17:57 +0000
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