Serendipity and Learning

In the age of the mobile internet and gps, a tourist guide is a bit of an anachronism. All the information is already out there - the history, the details, the maps, the guidebooks (in many languages that too) - much more than what a human guide can hold or comprehend. All this makes the job of a guide that much difficult. But when we went to Hampi, we hired a guide for a day. Chandru, was his name. We were not that well prepared as many others - we had read up a bit of history, read two books on Hampi and generally had some idea of the main things we wanted to see. So, we were reasonably aware. But the way the guide brings a place alive is through stories. He told us of the Muslim invaders who destroyed the Hindu kingdom. He brought alive the palace with his vivid descriptions of the functions. He was able to bring life into the old performances. He was able to describe battle scenes with elan. He spoke about the elaborate rituals, the grand feasts, the magnificent festivals, the...

 An example of a great signage at Hampi...Relevant, Informative and Appealing. And seen at many places in Hampi, another one, relevant, but nothing else. Tells nothing about what is the protected monument all about... Interesting eh?

Recently, I travelled on work. As part of work, I had to lug a laptop along. And I wondered if I should carry a tablet device as well while at it. After a bit of thought of carrying two devices through airport security, I decided against it and settled just for my phone. Now my phone is a smartphone - with wifi access even in airplane mode (yes, I am not rich enough to afford international roaming). And my laptop takes about the duration of one ice age to boot - among other things. So, through the duration of the travel, I used my phone for everything - mail, twitter, skype, reading stuff - which I would have used a tablet device. Sure, it makes for better reading etc., but other than that, the phone works just as well. And that set me thinking. The tablet is perhaps an overrated device - since one cannot do without a phone. Therefore, a phone does all what a tablet can do is much better than the other way round. So, is a mini-tablet the way of the future?

A city is not a museum. A lot of things about a city remain what they are -unlike a museum, where you can have travelling exhibits and themes and so on. It is a little difficult to do that for a city. By and large atleast. And cities need to be the ‘same’ in order to preserve character as they call it. Boston is a great example of a ‘happening’ city with a deep underlying character – yet, there is only so many ways and so many times you can see a city. Why would you come to a city a second time to see and do the exact same thing? And that is what struck me this time while I walked around Boston. I have been to Boston before and used one of the trolley bus tours to see the place. This time I opted to explore it on foot. But there are still more options to explore the city which have come up in the past few years. There is a bike (bicycle) option and there is a Segway option. The same damn city – yet some 5-6 different ways to see it. Each of those trolley tours are slightly different –...

Right outside Fanueil Hall in Boston was this set of street performers. While I watched them, it did not immediately strike me, but as usual, I got the thought a little later. A street performance is really, like a training. Except that, you and I, walking on the street have no obligation, much less motivation, to attend and cannot be ‘pushed’ to attend the performance. So, they have to do much more to attract and retain an audience – which for a trainer is easier, since his audience is atleast in the room. And the techniques these guys used were so simple, so good… First, as they were about to start their performance, they get the audience to come closer – near the markers they have set up. They do this very respectfully, though at this point, many people are not even sure if they want to see the performance. They realize that. And while doing this, one of them begins his spiel. He tells the audience (mostly whites) that they have nothing to fear from them (blacks). And the...