The First Lie

Almost ten years ago I had written a book called Life in a Rectangle. It was all about my days in an advertising agency in Kolkata, called Clarion Advertising Services Ltd. There was something unique about the agency. When I joined in 1976 as a 'chhokra boy', meaning a trainee whose pay scale was lower than the lift man - who anyways saluted me, though I should have been the one to salute him - the agency was an employee owned company and a Left-intellectual hub. Despite all such anamolies, we were amongst the top four agencies in India. Of course, Martin Sorell was not knighted yet, with none of the mess of the agency ownerships and had not turned the business into a La La Land. In fact, he was probably still selling buckets. Well, even Maurice and Charles had not replaced the Grim(m) Brothers and agencies were not in the habit of kicking out their owners, as they did later to the Satchi bhais and even later, to Martin. Karma. 

I did not mention that Clarion did worse. The tribe of owners periodically had slug fests. Some bled. Some retired hurt. Some died. 

The book has now done its first life on the shelves. And the publisher who had been a fool enough to print it had a good sale (well, I and my friends sold it for them); but he caught on that I had charmed their arses and so I have taken back the publishing rights from them and decided to take help from someone in the family who is a publisher. Yes, it will soon be back on the shelves, except that the shelves will be of the new buyers as it will be sold online and digital versions will be made available this time. Many of my friends staying abroad had to import the book when it was first published and will be cross with me - but they will also forgive me. 

So, now you know what LIAR is all about. It is not the 'jhoot' as the hero in Hindi cinema keeps shouting when he is accused of (a) stealing the necklace (b) taken bribe from Seth Banwarilal, (c) impregnated the Sethji's unmarried daughter and (d) any/all of these and many others not listed. It is just the acronym for the book...

So what now? Well, in case you didn't know, we have been struck by Coronavirus. We are under lockdown here in India where I stay and anyway have nothing much to do except to pretend that I am doing somehting creative. Well, anyway, I have nothing much to do. So, something to do.

More, I am very fond of playing the modern-day advertising Herodotus. I have bored my children enough with advertising tales and my son asked me to take my shit and drop it outside, elsewhere, anywhere but around him. That is what I am doing. 

And if I have a platform, maybe I can keep chatting with my senior collagues in the industry on various aspects of the business, talk old times, anecdotes, do reviews - books and campaigns and creative stuff (well, you can't physically beat me up in the digital world), share my experiences with people I closely worked with in the past and who are now gone somewhere from where they haven't come back to report what life "there" is like, give some gyans that I have acquired, recall meeting the greats...and generally, other such etceteras.

Keep following me. Enjoy. If you don't, tell me that you didn't. 

And so, as a hardcore Bong, "Chalao pansi, Belghoria..."