/ Message From The Creator: Homage

by Raj Girn

Message From The Creator: Homage

Apr 01, 2015

The ideology of “identity” has been an ongoing discussion of epic proportions since the advent of recorded history. Copious volumes of encyclopaedias have documented the prefaces, chapters and epitaphs of accounts that have been as fantastical as a fictional novel and as larger-than-life as an autobiographical journal.

The authors — from the learned man to the layman, the politician to the poet, the virgin to the vixen and the recluse to the rock star — have been no less intriguing. All have opinions that have helped define our eclectic identity by default of their widespread stratosphere.

As expansive as the human experience is, such is the cocktail we curate. And if you’re anything like me, I have struggled and succeeded with it. Loved, lost and loved again because of it. Been bitterly saddened and euphorically happy from it. Just about every metamorphosis you can possibly imagine, I’ve experienced in this realm. Suffice to say, I’ve lived, as many of you have, being pulled and pushed by it all of my life, until finally — enough. And then, I found me followed by you, and I was finally home. Purpose.

Somewhere along the way, however, as I dedicated my life’s work to telling your stories and celebrating you, I realized that our individual contributions to self and society will no doubt, at some point in the not-so-distant future, become irrelevant with the passing of time. Much of what we experience and share today will become forgotten as generations pass on the baton to the next. Momentous feats will fade into oblivion and what was once magnanimous will become disintegrated memories like ashes to dust.

So, “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” (Apple’s 1997 “Think Different” advertisement written by Craig Tanimoto).

THE ANOKHI LIST 2015 commemorative coffee table book is my homage to you, the ones who help create a legacy by infusing the “diaspora” into the South Asian community. This book is a keepsake for YOU; a time capsule of sorts, meant to leave an indelible mark on the map of history, unequivocally stating that these stories happened and they mattered and here’s why . . .

RAJ GIRN
CEO OF ANOKHI MEDIA

_{PHOTOGRAPHER ANDY LEE; PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANT MAGGIE WALKER}

Raj Girn

Author

Raj Girn is an award-winning media personality, confidence coach, consultant and mentor. Bio: https://www.theopenchestconfidenceacademy.com/about/our-founder/ Testimonials: https://www.theopenchestconfidenceacademy.com/about/testimonials/