Dear Jeyamohan,
I see you as someone who is constantly trying to reach the younger generation. Today, almost everyone is trying to attract young people. Businessmen, politicians, writers, and almost every public figure focus on them because they are today’s consumers, tomorrow’s voters, and the largest section of society.
But there is an important difference in the way most people approach them. Most people change themselves to suit the tastes of the younger generation. They change their language, their appearance, their ideas, and even their values in order to remain relevant. Today, this is often considered the smart thing to do. Anyone who refuses to change in this way is quickly dismissed as a “boomer” or someone who no longer understands the present generation.
What I find remarkable about you is that you have taken a completely different path.
You do not reshape yourself to fit the expectations of young people. Instead, you speak from the life you have lived and from the experiences and understanding you have earned over many decades. You remain the same person, with the same intellectual honesty and the same standards that have guided you throughout your life.
Rather than lowering your ideas to match the audience, you invite the audience to rise towards your ideas. Instead of adapting yourself to the younger generation, you try to bring the younger generation towards your way of thinking, your discipline, your reading habits, your values, and your understanding of literature and life.
Surprisingly, this approach works. Many young people who discover your writings and lectures are willing to make that journey. They read more seriously, think more deeply, and begin to see life with greater maturity. They are not merely entertained; they are transformed.
I believe this is what makes you stand apart from many contemporary public intellectuals and writers. While others compete for the attention of the younger generation by becoming more like them, you earn their respect by remaining true to yourself. You show that authenticity can be more powerful than adaptation, and that genuine conviction can attract people more deeply than carefully designed popularity.
This, to me, is one of the most distinctive aspects of your work and your public life.
