Mrigaa Sethi’s Post

On my last media trip as an editor at Ink, I got to visit Sri Lanka as a guest of Resplendent Ceylon and became obsessed with the relationship between tea and tourism (both wobbly, rapidly changing industries that support each other), and the power of private sector players like Dilmah Tea and their hospitality subsidiary (and wildlife and charitable foundations) to help pull Sri Lanka out of its current economic doldrums. Of course, most of that research didn't make it into this luxury travel piece, but I'm still pleased it wasn't all golly-gosh, though there were certainly a lot of gorgeous interiors and impeccable service to swoon over! Big thanks to Silverkris editor and my former colleague Michelle JN Lim for shepherding it into the world, and to Shanthi J. and her wonderful team for facilitating.

Organizational and national inclusion policies impact the workforce, and in the case of LGBTQIA+ families like mine, this often means making uneasy compromises and tough leaps of faith. Big thanks to Alexandra Karplus for giving this essay a home in Insider.

Even as I type this, I can’t quite believe it. This week, I left Singapore after a wonderful decade. I moved to the Garden City at 29 as a managing editor for I-S magazine and left at 39 as a Senior Group Editor at Ink, surviving the great digital disruption and later the Covid-19 pandemic. Somewhere in between, I met and married my glorious wife Erin Sweeney, adopted two adorable cats (who have come with us!), discovered a rich and dynamic queer community, made lifelong friends, was adopted by Singapore’s literary scene, developed my love of live storytelling, ate mountains of unforgettable food, learned a lot of Singlish, taught myself the names of the birds, trees and MPs, grew as an editor and manager, hiked the lovely secondary forests, among countless other blessings of living in this truly remarkable city. Singapore has been my home and I am forever changed for the better by my years here. But as a queer, binational, expat couple, we’ve come to the end of the road. Despite the amazing repeal of 377A, we can’t sponsor each other for dependent passes, apply as a family for permanent residency, access fertility services such as IVF or have our future child be recognized as both of ours. And so, overlooking its many political, social and safety concerns, we’re moving to New York, where my wife is from, I have a path to residency/citizenship and the family-making we seek is possible. It’s important for me to share these reasons for leaving, even as I reflect on how much I have received and how much I will miss. Singapore’s fabulousness extends far beyond the fantastic infrastructure, seamless digital services and impressive urban planning. It’s the people. And I feel incredibly lucky to have met so many inspiring novelists, poets, filmmakers, comedians, artists, chefs, conservationists, naturalists, arts administrators, start-up entrepreneurs, media founders, freelance journalists, activists, hawker aunties, fruit aunties, vegetable uncles, mutton bros, queer community leaders and other folks who give Singapore so much depth, color and soul. Warmest respect and best wishes for continued progress to my life-changing erstwhile home and its beautiful people. I hope we come back soon!

A secret ingredient in memorable storytelling is risk. My pitch for September's What's Your Story Slam earned the event an NC16 rating. I was quite nervous about how the potentially crude, brazenly queer subject of my story would land in a mixed audience of friends, strangers and professional contacts. The primary risk in storytelling is, of course, exposure – the audience finding out something unflattering, unsavoury, sentimental or inconvenient about you. But the irony is that, for the brave, the risk is almost always rewarded. Audiences recognize when a risk has been taken and, depending on your story and delivery, rewards it with compassion and good humor. Which is exactly what happened to me. The subject of my story may have been potentially crude and sexually frank, but the theme of my story was my past selves and could-have-been selves – and everyone could relate to that. I'm not saying storytellers should share beyond what feels good or safe. But good storytelling is a transformative experience for the storyteller as much as the audience. And risk can make all the difference. Thanks to Gabriel Alden for taking this fabulous photo, and to Anna Ong for inviting me to headline September's event!

The "as told to interview" format has always been my favourite. It takes a special part of the brain to pose strategic questions, and then shape the interviewee's answers into an op-ed, an argument, a piece of what we call thought leadership – all while ensuring their voice and perspective remains intact. In the case of food historian Khir Johari, who is extremely articulate, the job was easy. And the subject fascinating. I started my career in journalism as a dining writer in Bangkok, and very quickly learned that what the world understands to be Thai food is only the tip of the iceberg. The majority of recipes, traditions, nuance is lost to industrialization, habitat loss and cultural amnesia. So, 13+ years later, as a resident of Singapore and a lover of Malay food, when I came across Khir Johari's massive tome, The Food of Singapore Malays, I knew I had to talk to him. This passion project took him 11 years of chasing down aging housewives and poring over ancient manuscripts. The result is an important cultural contribution, a service to food lovers everywhere and, earlier this year, the top prize winner at the 28th Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

Big love to Anna Ong and What's Your Story Slam for this lovely sendoff, and for creating my very first discount code! Come see eight storytellers (including yours truly in their last performance in Singapore for a while) at The Projector on September 12 at 8pm.

Shaping and telling stories to live audiences is one of my favourite things to do in the world, and I'm so excited to be returning to the What's Your Story Slam, organized by the intrepid Anna Ong, and featuring seven other story tellers. This story will be particularly eyebrow-raising, so I'm a bit nervous, but audiences are always more generous than I think they're going to be.

It's not easy bringing together internal and external stakeholders, and a hundred participants and deliver insights and value over the course of an afternoon. I'm so thrilled to have been a part of yesterday's Design for Growth Summit, co-organized by DesignSingapore Council and Stagwell. Insightful panels on design innovation for brand experience, community-building, inclusivity and sustainability. But most gratifying was supporting Sarah Hempstead, Kelly Tan and Jeanette Mok. It makes the achievement all the more satisfying when your collaborators are grace under pressure personified.

When I'm not managing clients, editing features or doing content strategy, I'm often tinkering with poetry with some scratch paper and a pencil. Being featured in Academy of American Poets' beloved Poem-a-Day series is an honour for any poet writing in English, but for me, it's a precious reminder of that other part that doesn't always show up to work. So excited! Link to full poem in comments.

Surprise! Transactional relationships transpiring primarily on Teams/email don't motivate people to do their best work! Who knew!