The C4E Village

Yesterday I was at yet another C4E Table and I realized that these tables are the epitome of People Create Magic. These tables bring people from varied backgrounds / experiences and allow me to spark serendipity, learn new things, make new friends and think beyond what I could otherwise!

In fact, not just for me but for all of us at C4E, these tables have become a tool that helps maximize our luck surface area and increase our odds to do more things. 

At these tables, we gather around to chill, talk, play games, crack jokes, pull legs, shill our philosophy, vehemently disagree with others and all that. In short, we have a good time. Oh, we do have serious conversations – about life, work, culture, the shifting shape of the world, and all. And since people on these tables are not just C4E folks (we invite family, friends and even strangers to these tables), we’ve had filmmakers, writers, students, dreamers, coders, cynics, conspiracy theorists, lawyers, musicians, journalists, athletes and more. 

However, all this while these tables have remained unplanned, unannounced and all that. Today I am deciding to formalize it. And I call it The C4E Village. Read on.

So, a village is a self-contained geographical region where people are bound in a tight-knit community. And of course, everyone knows everyone else. Word spreads faster than fire. The entire village lives together in harmony and wants each other to thrive. Each village has its own norms and rules and cultures. Being social is a large part of how the villages exist and thrive. There are frequent celebrations and each person is deeply interested in the well-being of everyone else. Most villages have a chaupal of sorts under the big banyan tree where people gather after a long day in the fields and talk about everything under the sun. If I were to close this “definition” of a village, I’d say, these villages are the closest living thing to the philosophy of Obonato – “I exist because we exist ”. 

And this is what’s my inspiration for The C4E Village. 

Imagine a place (virtual and IRL) where each person (you) is part of a community larger than themselves. Where you know that you can lean onto others for gyaan, help, support, input, connections and if nothing else, to have a good time! I mean how many times has it happened that you’ve wanted to spend time with loose connections and you did not know who to call?

That! 

Each person at The C4E Village is at most a two-degree-connection away. After all, each has been invited by someone we trust. Each person that has been invited has read this post and knows what is expected of them as part of the village. And there is inherent trust and safety in being part of this community of people that come from far and wide. And they bring with them their respective experiences, connections, quirks and all that. And like it happens in every village, the conversations may become heated and all that, the underlying respect, camaraderie and love for each other doesn’t go away! 

The village will exist in two shapes.

1. The Physical meetups. The C4E Table. We need as often as we can (right now, once a month, in Mumbai) at a place that is convenient for people to come and meet. We invite whoever we can and then hope like hell that people show up. We have a start time and no end time. People come and go when they want to. Like a Mela in a Village. 
2. A WA group. And like all chaupals (and groups on WA), there are some rules and a lot of norms. They are listed below. 

On both the Table and the e-chaupal, while the conversations will be enriching and interesting, we will ensure that they remain polite and civil. After all, this village is a safe space to chat and learn from varied perspectives.
This post is sponsored by our partners Wigs
So this is it!

I hereby invite you to be a part of this village. The intent is to increase our luck surface area. Plant bombs that make more serendipitous connections. And let people create magic! 

Lemme know if you are in. And of course, this is a friends-of-friends kind of network. More the merrier 🙂 

The Village WA group norms and “Rules” 

1. The best way to manage this group is to put it on Mute. And then peek in here once in a while. 
2. This is our village. Our = C4E, You and even strangers. And as a custodian of the village, you need to keep the village clean, safe, thriving and all. It’s the shared responsibility of all of us. 
3. Like in a village, we will have people from all walks of life, all backgrounds, all genders, all orientations, and all ages. And we need to be respectful. 
4. Since this is the C4E Village, you may assume that everyone here is trustworthy. You must leverage the network. If you are looking for people to work with, offer opportunities, learn new things etc etc – lean on this village to help you 🙂 
5. Exchange ideas (and not news / gossip). You know right, three kinds of people – that exchange ideas, that exchange news and that exchange gossip. We want to be a bunch of people that do the first and maybe a bit of the second. Never third. 
6. We are not
   1. A place to dump inspirational posts 
   2. A place to publicly bash / critique people, things etc. 
   3. An internal C4E group where we talk just work. C4E junta may showcase some work but we will not paddle that. Neither will we pester people to give us work. If the villagers like what we do, they can recommend us.
7. Showcase all you do. But don’t get spammy. Even though Sic Transit Gloria, it’s ok to get temporary validation 🙂
8. In the end, two things…
   1. One – We invite all but we accept a few. 
   2. Two – Do unto others as you’d want them to do to you. 
9. One more thing – Village is greater than C4E. C4E is greater than any individual. And this means we’d do whatever it takes to protect the village and the villagers. Even if it’s taking harsh decisions of requesting someone to move out of the village. And in case someone from the village troubles you, please do speak with Chandni. 

That’s about it! 

See you at The C4E Village!