Farewell to the Man who redefined ‘i’
A few days back, i was walking down the road, lost in my own thoughts, walking by a roadside shop which sold Chinese electronics including torches, lighters, MP3 players, brushes . As i walked by, a group of little street urchins walked by from the other side, who were oogling at what the store had to offer. i was looked at the scene with an all-knowing smile, which was so reminiscent of my younger days. The days were i used to drool over our favourite toys, through the glass windows of toy shops looking eagerly at the store attractions. But somewhere at the back of my mind, it did occur to me that why would children be attracted to a shop that sold cheap electronics.
Suddenly, i was jolted back to reality because of a word one of the kids had uttered. i could not believe what I had heard. One of the little kids just looked at an mp3 player and was asking his friend whether he wanted to buy an ‘iPod’.
i could never at so young age recall something so trivial like a matchbox, let alone an iPod. i put it down to, the little complex surprises this journey called life has to offer. it was then that the simplicity, of the complexity of it all hit me on the face.
“The genius of a man called Steve Jobs”.
It is very rarely in the history of mankind happened, that the name of a product eclipses the category to which the product belongs. The symbolism of calling every mp3 player, bears testament to this very fact.
Jobs wanted to create a ding in the world before the left, and boy, did he create one. The fact that a poor little kid on the road, in one of the developing countries in the world was able to look at a piece of cheap equipment and equate it to the iPod, speaks volumes of the creative genius of Jobs.
To me he was always the man who refined, defined and redefined what creativity and free thinking really means. He was the ultimate perfectionist and the world last true showman. Steve was an entertainer, the likes of whom the world shall never see again. A once in a millennium gem, who i have fortunately have had the privilege to listen to. To millions he was an icon and an inspiration.
Steve appealed to the little qualities in all of us. To some embodied the fighter who never gives up till the last round, to others, he spoke with eloquence of a master orator who could sway audience with his speech alone, to many more, he was the last free-thinker gifted with the clarity of thought and to some the was a visionary beyond compare.
To me, he was my icon. A role model for, the endless pursuit of excellence. A human like any of us, but gifted with the clarity of thought and purpose. He was the man who truly understood the complexity of simplicity. A steadfast believer in the intuitiveness and innovation. The evangelist of creativity and conformity. He was the man who humbled the mighty ‘I’ and uplifted the lowly ‘i’. He truly was one of a kind. He was the one on whom God did ponder at least once, whether he had achieved perfection.
Steve you were iConic, iNnovative, iNtuitive, iNspirational, iMpeccable, iNvincible, iTerative, iMaginative, iDeative.
Thank you for the bringing in me the “Hunger” of creativity and innovation and making me understand the “Foolishness” of complexity and conformity. i will forever Stay Hungry and Stay Foolish.
RiP
(PS: All I’s have been intentionally left lowercase in tribute)
Random Thoughts 