Volume 5 · The Great Indian Bazaar · Essay 2
1-3-1 Rule
There is a certain honesty in a rule that carries a number. 1-3-1 Rule does not decorate itself. It states its price upfront.
The number is a fence. On one side lies intention, on the other side lies habit. Most of us live on the wrong side and write poetry about it. This rule simply asks you to climb the fence.
It is worth keeping in your pocket not because it is always right, but because it is always available. A tool you carry beats a perfect tool you left at home.
The village panchayat and the housing society meeting are the same animal in different clothes: five people deciding, fifty people complaining, and everyone leaving wiser than the minutes suggest.
Society is a long conversation; the only question is whether you are listening or merely waiting to speak. A word is a lamp. This one is now yours to carry.