About Me: Gautam S. Mengle

Journalist, Educator, Awareness Warrior and a lifelong unlearner

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I was 22 years old when I had my first unlearning experience. Looking back, I think my willingness to unlearn has become my biggest strength at 39.

Unlearning 1: Of Classrooms and Careers

I had just started my first job — a dream assignment as a crime reporter in the city of Mumbai; where the underworld once ruled supreme, shootouts used to be the order of the day, and crime was a multi-headed hydra. My very first assignment took me to a police station where I inadvertently walked in on a live interrogation; I stepped foot inside the room just as a resounding blow landed on the back of the suspect. I backed out of the room and found my way to the right one. The officer I wanted to meet entered the room, pulled his service revolver out of his waistband, and casually placed it on the table. I was a kid in a candy store.

This was in August 2008 and the feeling of delight lasted all of two months. In November 2008, Mumbai witnessed the worst terror attack since the serial bomb blasts of 1993. For the first time, the attackers didn’t plant bombs and disappear before they exploded; they were right there, shooting at the cops, the civilians and the press. I learned a lot that night, but as a…