July 7th, 2008
I’m Giving Away Everything I Own, Redux + Going Away Party + Open House + Movie Marathon
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Even though I know that I can’t satisfy everyone all the time, I try.
So, when I realized that the response to my offer to give away everything I own to one lucky reader of my blog wasn’t a unanimous “wow!”, I listened to constructive criticism from friends whose opinion I value, and made a few changes.
First, I realized that I was being presumptuous in thinking that my giving away everything I own will change someone’s life. Even though everything I own is, well, everything I own, I realized that it will only be second hand household stuff, even junk, for the person who wins it. So, instead of telling me “how my giving away my life will change your life”, you now need to tell me “what you will do with my stuff”. It will be great if you actually use everything, but it’s okay to sell it off or give it away, as long as you have an interesting story to tell.
Second, I realized that it’s too much work “to come over to my house with a team of packers, pack it all up and take it away in a truck”. So, I’m not only arranging for a packer now, I’m also offering to pay them. On Sunday, July 27th, a team of packers will pack it all up, put it in a truck and take it to your house. If you wish to, you can choose to pay the packers; otherwise, I’ll pay them myself (but only if you live in Mumbai).
Third, I realized that you might want to see the stuff before you make up your mind about whether you want it in the first place. If it is indeed the case, this Mid-Day story on cool bachelor pads in which my house was featured might give you some sense of what it looks like. If that’s not enough, you can call me at 9223366624 to fix a time to see the house.
Finally, some of my friends have asked me if they can take the things they want before I gift it all to a stranger. So, I have decided to convert my going away party into an open house of sorts. On Sunday July 13th, from noon to midnight, you can come over to my house and join the party. I’ll arrange for food and cocktails but you can bring some food (I can only cook pasta) or a bottle of wine (I’m out of wine). If you wish to, you can also bring along your iPod and plug it into my dock to play DJ (I only have classic rock on my iPod). So, we’ll make a party of it, and, when you leave, you can take upto five things (books, DVDs, and other souvenir type things) you want to.
It’s my going away party, and I’ll not be in India for at least a year, so do come, even if you don’t want to bring or take anything. And, yes, it will be great if you send me a message or an e-mail, or leave a comment, to let me know that you are coming. By the way, here are the event details on Facebook and here’s my address: A-65, Sea Lord, Opp. Taj President Hotel, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai 400005.
(Update: My friend GK has agreed to host a Sunday Afternoon movie marathon, like last time, so Sunday will see three parallel tracks in my house — the party, the open house and the movie marathon. By the way, GK’s short film ‘The Opportunist’ was recently featured in a story in Hindustan Times.)
PS: It also means that I have less than a week to sort through my stuff and decide what I want to take and what I want to leave behind. Hmmm…
