Put The Pen Down

With a bagful of winter clothes, a creative from Delhi journeyed to the foothills of the Himalayas, only to discover warmth in old ad world stories and touch some grass.

- Rishabh Nagar

In the very first session, as we all sat together, Josy Paul, the Chief Creative Officer and Chairperson of BBDO India, played a clip of Javed Akhtar at his vulnerable best, admitting how he still can't believe his eyes when he sees his breakfast every day. He spoke under his breath, with a massive lump in his throat, and I knew I had to confess to the room, "I don't want Akhtar to die." A once-in-a-generation talent, a storyteller with a treasure chest of anecdotes so rich that even one lifetime feels too short.

Paul smiled and, being the sweetheart he is, didn't roll his eyes at me. Three days later, I would say the same things about him. Word for word. And I don't say this lightly—I don't want Josy to die. Not until he has written three 1,000-page books—a crystal-clear word vomit of everything he has ever felt, seen or lived through.

"Come on, Josy, do it for the copywriters," I told him selfishly after every session. Because the man who built the revolutionary ad agency David with his bare hands, the man who has been the driving force behind BBDO India's success, the man who calls himself a shuru without the veteran-stamp guru, shouldn't be allowed to leave this world until he gives us all the answers. Tsunami Costabir, my WhatsApp bestie for the past five days, made a pact with me to trick Paul into writing those books.