Geetika Singh

In the world of Qualitative Research, every insight has a backstory, and every decade has its quirks.

Drawing from their own experience in the field, the authors bring to life Maya, Sonal, Ayesha, Priya and Rhea - five researchers from five eras, each shaped by the tools, chaos and cultural codes of her time. From tape recorders that chewed up cassettes to AI-analysed outputs that spit out themes in seconds, their worlds collide during one unforgettable evening on a Goan beach. What begins as a casual conversation turns into a spirited clash of perspectives - slow listening versus real-time analytics, handcrafted insights versus ’snackable’ decks, instinct versus algorithm.

Beneath the humour, nostalgia and gentle jabs lies a bigger question: what does it truly mean to understand people - then, now, and in a future rushing toward us?

Warm, witty and sharply observant, this book invites marketers, researchers, creators - and anyone who’s ever sat behind the viewing mirror - into 30 years of real stories, mishaps, wisdom and wonder, distilled from lived experience.