Monday, October 18, 2010

karunya Maane

In a recent Basic of Business English class i had to attend a couple of days ago , we were asked to write on the topic "Knowledge or Money - which holds more importance in today's world " . I had come up with something like ... Knowledge is a pushing force .... making us strive to better our individual selves while money has a pulling power...constantly attracting us with its universal appeal,charm and unnerving passion.
Obviously, both hold paramount importance in our daily lives.... and with the amount of great looking women around here (mysore Infy ) going around with ugly guys with diamond earrings and guys who are "technically stimulating"...... it would be hard to bet against it.
While,i agree with the above which is a fact of life and i don't hold it against anyone for trying to leverage their assets to the fullest.... I visited a place yesterday which made me realize there is something more important than either.
Karunya Maane ,on Bogado road , a 7 km drive from the campus , is a two storied orphanage. I admit, my intentions for visiting the place was both to have a new learning experience as well as to meet some good looking girls on the trip as well. As i lack on both of the above qualities of knowledge and money to impress the opposite sex.
Once there , i forgot about all the crap which usually goes through my head. As the spirited prayer song of about 50 orphaned kids filled the room i was humbled by their passion for life.I felt like crying for being so weak.... the way i crib and whine and pull/think shit all day long ,when , there are these kids having nothing and yet so brave... so brave.
It was a really wonderful experience to play with these kids ...and even though i couldn't understand a word that they were saying ,sometimes the universal language of fun and love is all one needs to connect with people.
There were these double bunk beds, and the kids wanted us to place them on the top bunkers . Some of them wanted to climb on my shoulders and witness the world from there. Some were just happy reciting poems and getting into a playful fight with this stranger. So there we were ... about 30-40 , 20 somethings having a ball in a small room with 50 kids for a couple of hours.It was beautiful,simple, innocent,fun and wonderful in a way "normal" life can't explain.
When we came out of the room and it was time to leave, the kids kept pulling us to the balcony to point to an open sky. There... across the green expanse of wet,open fields .. was stretched the most complete exotic rainbow i have ever seen.
It was a perfect end to a perfect day. No matter how important money or knowledge will ever be ...it can never replace the primary reason for our existence .... Love makes all the difference.


*****************************
p.s - cynics please excuse.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

A momentory glimpse of reason

Is it important to feel strongly ,even if these feelings keep tearing oneself to pieces ? I feel so . Rather , that's who i am, who i have been and who i always will be. I rather spend a memorable second with someone than have an hour of superficial talk . Rather not talk at all than talk and be misunderstood. Rather avoid than utter pleasing words just for the heck of it...cause the WORLD does it.
It is important in life...not only to be strong .... but probably it is more important to FEEL strong . Feelings and sentiments for others should inspire one rather than demote them to depths of misery and sorrow...when that happens you know the process has begun and its time to move away.
Mid- life crisis hits us when we are young ...these days. We talk too much and feel too little.... maybe in the end what it all comes down to is this ... just this one word which demarcates happiness from misery ... COURAGE ... and bagfuls of it.
It takes courage to be happy....to feel happy and that makes all the difference. signing off my imaginary friends. Goodnight.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Shit happens

Its been a while since i posted something here ...so i thought i would narrate a normal day in college. Rather what i have become accustomed to perceiving as normal in the 4 years i have spent here . This is for the uninformed , my dear friends who always ...specially the ones from school ,yes, you know who you are :) , who always keep reminding me that i complain too much about college. So here it goes -

By virtue, of finishing my semester exams a week ago ,the daily routine of college has finally come to an end. Only the little details for getting clearances for transfer and character certificate remains.

Today , I was hell bent on twisting myself free of the ignominious grasp which this college had had on my life . After getting the clearances from the teachers the library clearance remained. Alas ! I had committed the heinous crime of ...wait for it .... wait a bit more ... ( with drums rolling in the background ).... Losing a Library Card !! So dastardly an act is this , that the guilty must be punished and harassed no end, made to realize the grave sin he has committed and taught such a lesson as to remember it for the rest of their lives as a reminder of the crime itself..never to repeat it in the future . ( Apparently, this is done to instill a professional mentality into the students !!! the phrase WTF comes to mind. )

At 10.30 AM the library faculty informed me they had two cards with them and not the three they had so generously doled out 4 years ago. In order to give clearance you must return all the three library cards. 2 of my cards had a fine on them ,by virtue , of the university postponing exams by an entire month because of the great Calcutta political tamasha ( civic polls ). Anyways , they briefed me on the steps to follow to get my clearance.
1) to write an application to the library authorities ,so that their kind selves may check for the library card.

2)to make a police General diary with the local police station . Get a signed photocopy from the police and submit the same to the library .

3)Pay a fine of Rs 50 for each card lost.

I insisted on skipping to Step 2 but nothing doing .Lest they miss out on the bounty of a HUGE (!!) fine which was due on the card found from the library.

Off we (cause there were other callous souls who were guilty of this crime !! ) went to the local police station .. a mere 20 min walk from the college in the sweltering heat. At the police station we were told , as is the norm with most policemen, just as keen to harass people , that we had to submit proof that indeed we possessed the library cards in the first place , like they did not have more pressing things to look into than going around searching for lost library cards !
OK ! So we were required to submit xerox copies of the cards with us , or a signed and stamped statement from the college that we actually did posses a library card.
Unfortunately , i had not been so thoughtful as to "free" my 2 other library cards which were on fine from the library faculty , before setting of for the police station. (what was i thinking !! ) . Another of my friends had lost all 3 cards and needed a signed and stamped statement from the college. Plus , we were required to modify our applications for the general diaries and add certain other relevant details ! Like they were going to actually look into it later !!

We walk back to college . By this time , our mortal faculties at a stretch by the energy sapping damn heat ... yeah ... we were getting the apt punishment for our heinous crimes !

When my friend informed the librarian of what the police had asked. That he actually needed to sign and involve his name in police affairs !! The guy was out his senses !! It was comical ,stenching of wide eyed hypocrisy when the guy freaked out and started running around college to decide on the next course of action as he clearly did not want to be involved in police matters !! Lest he be held accountable on a later date !

This courageous genius finally managed to find a guy from office who had contacts with that police station. The office guy calls up the police station , chats with the police on the other end of the phone... apparently they were on really pleasant terms and the police demands the students be sent back to the station immediately .... college verification wasn't needed , didn't matter , cause if you have contacts nothing matters ! The college office guy and the police guy were on such jovial terms that he reacts to the situation with a few choice bengali expletives which the office guy relates to us in low voice , lest the decent middle aged ,young women co -workers and guardians of prospective students sitting in the other side of the room should hear such language !

I on the other hand clear my two other library cards , get them photocopied ( Imagine getting library cards photocopied... could this get more lame !! ) .
Finally we walk back to the police station , and submit the documents with all changes made.

On returning to the college at 4 pm and oscillating between college to the police from 10 to 4 for a library card !! we were rewarded for our endeavours with that all essential library clearance .All in a days work. Shit happens.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Listless emotions

I am Sorry for yelling out at you at times ...for venting my frustrations and my shortcomings on you . For being an irresponsible , ungrateful son . For not acknowledging how hard you have worked for me ...for spending the best part of the past decade leaving home at 7.30 in the morning and returning at 9 at night only to repeat the same ordeal the next day .
I am Sorry for complaining to people at times that i feel pressurized at home and comparing myself to people my age who lead more carefree lives and comparing the responsibility they have to take with whatever seemingly big worries my little head thinks at times.
You could have quit . You could have laid back and not striven for a better future for your family but you didn't. I have at times failed to recognize this . I feel ashamed of my thoughts . So ungrateful and undeserving of the life that you have built for me ...for us all. The hours,and days and years that you have striven and continue to strive for making our lives better ...for making us better.
I am sorry that many a times I fail to recognize this ..
Thanks for putting up with all the hard times... the crap people from work ... the intolerant rascals around ... in order to make my life livable.
I cannot even comprehend how hard it must be for you .... how someone can work for 14 hours a day and still keep going. I am in awe of you. If God grants me half the will power of you .... i will be grateful.
I know i can never tell you this in person ... but ....
Thank you...Thank you......

Friday, April 23, 2010

DONE AND DUSTED

For the very few friends i have made and met here ....i will just like to say a BIG THANK YOU for sticking by me and standing up for me when i needed it. If i am happy and successful at any point of my life it will be for people like you .........and i will remember your words and memories .


Finally , it has ended . The time i referred to as college 'life' ... if there was indeed any 'life' in it has ended and strangely enough i am not nostalgic .... no not one bit .

Reactions of people i have spent the last four long years of life with ,have been indeed a steep learning curve for me and they still manage to shock me even on this last day of college..... It does not indeed feel great when people you consider your "friends" ( i hate how loosely i have used that word cheapening its value ) , remark that either you'll be fired from the company you got into or the company will go bankrupt because they hired people like you !! Indeed , its not becoming of a "friend" to laugh and ridicule you for getting a job and mock you for it .. Indeed , it doesn't help to try and have fond memories of college life when people you have spent the last 4 years of your life with on civil and "friendly" terms ....... tell you , when you share your dreams of getting higher education from a reputed place....... ----- " first go and learn how to manage yourself before trying to learn man-management " ..... Yes , even on this last day they must prove that college life indeed was a bitch !

Indeed, it has not been a total waste as without teaching me what to do ... my time in this college, has taught me the what not to do , the type of people to avoid and how to react when people say stupid things ... Indeed , i have become more matured .

Indeed , these are memories that will make me forever curse myself for joining this college and the people like the above mentioned ones . Indeed , such was most of my college life ....Indeed ... I am not nostalgic ...

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Big brother is watching you

They made us confess . We were bound to confess .Sometimes they threaten you with things so horrible that you want it to happen to anyone but you... even if that anyone is .......
In the end we only care about ourselves. Nothing else matters . No love and no loyalty can survive in the face of relentless torture. It breaks and beats you into shape..

To Julia and Smith ... the thought police ... thought crime ...
newspeak ..the ministry of love ...the ministry of peace ..... To Big brother...
To O' Brien ... The revolution ... To power ... To the party .

Ignorance is strength. War is peace . Slavery is freedom and freedom is slavery .

To love . To doublethink . To the High , The Middle and The Low...

To the foolhardy ....

"And under the spreading chestnut tree ....
I sold you and you sold me......... "

Sunday, February 28, 2010

searching...

The reality is sinking in ... man its scary ! Don't know if i'm good enough to be a good enough anything ..... Too many fears taking human form and crying out from the shadows ...Too many challenges ...too many pressures and responsibilities...are we really sent here to suffer ? Only one solution to distract my mind from my problems ...work ..work ...work ... am i searching for an alternative to stem the onslaught of endless terrors ???.... which is the better option... an escape route or a stigma to stand and fight .??...expect that i can't stand.... the ground beneath my feet is shifting ...am always on the move ... emotionally and spiritually.... and don't know the right path or whether there is one...or whether its true what they say ... that there's power and power alone... no right and no wrong ! ...if that be the case and most probable it is ..as all logic points to it...then ethics and values go for a toss and all i've learnt in my life is worthless....assuming power is all that matters ... how do i get that power....don't know where i am going...don't know where am from... am moving ... trying to navigate my way through those endless shadows.... expect though i know those future demons ...and they know me ...they are my present ... they are in my thoughts already ...its only a matter of time before they embody themselves... let me live... I am ... I can do this .. I have to ..... I have to find that spot.......... "where the mind is free and the head is held high ". searching ...............

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Rocket Singh,Corporate governance and Ethics

I have been bored and aimless for the past 3 weeks. The kind of aimlessness which is bound to set in after the trauma of an horrendous xat result and 2 months of preparations from Cat in last week of November ,then university semester exams in December and then a campus recruitment drive in the start of the new year.After having somehow screwed myself out of the above trials and tribulations, finally, there was nothing more to strive for, no next exam looming over my head and hence no pre-exam night deliberations with my conscience ....to keep me awake in bed till 4 in morning.
One of the things which i have been unable to find a solution to and whose solution i knew - only i would have to find ... was that the mask the future me would have to wear in the workplace and how my little conscience can never come to terms with that as this mask often becomes us .... Something that scares the shit out of me.
Secondly , the corporate atmosphere is by most accounts a dirty , wretched place where one has to adopt unethical means to climb up the ladder and where most often honesty and hard work are overlooked for people who are good at doing the boss "favours". Where you have to kiss up to the son of a bitch/ bitch who is your boss and adopt unethical means to survive ...let alone get a promotion .... where you always have to wear this kissing-up mask ( unless you are an asshole by nature in which case the point of this post will be completely lost on you ). This mask ... is in essence a form of you which would best equip you to deal with your work surroundings ,ensuring your financial security by donning a mantle ...at the same time belittling the self that was you. I do not want to wear that mask .
IT was with the above problems still unsolved by my measly little mind that i started the watch the latest Ranbir kapoor starrer Rocket Singh - salesman of the year . As dubious as the name may sound... it was actually a very fascinating and inspirational movie ...one that answered my above problems.
Hardeep Singh is a straight old fashioned guy ...who still believes that business should be without corruption and bribes ...and is also bit slow to catch up with the conniving ways of the his sales world . Hardeep is recruited as a sales trainee in a big computer selling firm and is shocked when his boss berates him for not obliging an important client who asked for a bribe.
Hardeep's conscience wont allow him to cheat his customers ,make huge profits on sales from small customers and give that profit as bribes to the big corporate honchos. At office he has become the joker in the pack , the dumb trainee who has ruined his career , the straight honest guy, whom the ruthless corporate world wont allow to succeed.
Hardeep has become and is feeling like an ignominious employee and is faced with a choice.Whether to adopt the ways of the business world... to put up that mask and contrive people of their hard earned money and lose his character in the process .............or to leave the job . Hardeep decides on a third option . He is going to stick with the company and change the way it does business from within.
Soon Hardeep starts a small parallel company with the aide of other disgruntled colleagues and calls this company rocket singh sales.Rocket Singh sales has ethical business practices and provides computers to its customers keeping profits low..and concentrating on the human aspect of business more than the profit involved. Soon, Hardeep's parallel company eats into the profit of the mother company . Hardeep's boss finally realises that it was his own employees running this rival company,criminal proceedings follow...and soon Hardeep has to lose his company and his accomplices fired from their jobs .
Hardeep's company is merged with the mother company. But , the brand of Rocket Singh sales had become so reputable and its customer relations were so unique that its customers refuse to do business with the mother company once Hardeep and his pack leaves.Finally , Hardeep's erstwhile boss...the corrupted manager of the company begs Hardeep to return .. Hardeep refuses. The manager is forced to give back Rocket Sales to Hardeep .
Out of the above drawn out discussion ..what i am trying to say is .. one need not change just because the world needs him to ... follow your heart ...ye job chala gaya ... to koi aur dhund lenge yaar ... but i will always stick to my beliefs. The mask need not become me...will never become me.
As a parting note - the genres and storylines in hindi movies are fast improving... which is a great sign and bears testimony to an educating audience and nation. It is not often that i find answers from hindi flicks . :-)

Monday, February 1, 2010

To my dearest Erin


I owe this to you . How strangely we met , how strange our first conversation was and how often have we come to talk ! I remember almost every one of those weird conversations ... some bordering on the insane ,some more practical , some comforting and some even inspirational ... but above all ...all of them fun filled. Let me state it outright , that even though we have hardly seen each other a couple of times , i consider you to be one of my closest and dearest friends ... whose advice i have come to depend upon and whose smile has made me smile ... and given me a reason to smile when i had none ...you have been the one who has taught me to be happy ... appreciate life ... and take all challenges which life can possibly throw my way in my stride.
Your childish craziness has been infectious ,your words ,smile and charm have uplifted me through the darkest of emotions ...and your unbridled enthusiasm has given my soul wings to fly ....and my heart a bond to cherish. Your advice and practicality have tempered my emotions when i have felt disgruntled with society and life in general.You have made me feel wanted.U have made me into a better person and for that am i forever indebted. You saw me when i was invisible... and for that am i forever indebted.
The ways of the world are strange and we have proved that we can be stranger still.We may never meet ...and I may not never be there by your side ..to hold your hand when you cry , and I may not be there to laugh with you in your moments of joy ..which i am certain life will shower upon you and God bless you with blessings manifold, but i will always be there with you in spirit ......with all my heart and with all my soul .
I do not know the destination of this friendship.... bonds are brittle and that makes me skeptical and insecure.... but what i do know...what i am in no doubt with whatsoever ...is that i am a better person ... a stronger entity ...a more wholesome individual ...a more dignified man ... a more loving,caring and gentler angry young man ... than i was before i met you ... and its all because of you ...every fiber of my being screams out its allegiance to you for making me a better man . For you , your wisdom , friendship and the hours that you have dedicated to me.... i can this day stand up and say ...truly ... Life is beautiful.
Maybe its the strangeness and randomness of this friendship that makes write this in honour of you....It takes years to know a person .... As time goes by... i may know more of you .... but i am in awe of the idea of you....of your personality.....your strength ,wisdom and beauty which is there for all to behold ...and the lucky ones like me to appreciate... and this idea of you is everlasting.One that the tides of time can never wash away.
Mere words are insufficient to repay the debt i owe you...and to quantify my feelings for you ...Maybe if one day i can do justice to the trust that you have shown in me ... i would do justice to myself and you ... And all i can say for now .... is thanks for being my inspiration , for putting a smile on my face and renewing the hope in my heart ... the hope i had when i was a child ... thinking that the world was an exciting place and Life a beautiful gift ...You have rekindled that hope Erin...and i will never let my heart lose that again. You and your idea will inspire me...will protect me .. Erin with this i depart.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Destiny's child

I don't know what to say really . It has been one of the most eventful weeks of my life ..... The gut wrenching feeling ,the agony, the pain ,waking up with a heavy head and not being to get out of bed till late afternoon ... followed by another daylong ordeal but the ending was sweet. It has been a steep learning curve , one i will treasure for the rest of my life . They say all's well that ends well.. but life does not seem a fair game to play at the moment . The insanity and harshness of it crying out ... the anguish of that unfairness burning the cloak enswathing that initial euphoria of success.
Every man has but one destiny. One of the more famous quotes from Mario Puzo's classic The Godfather. Never has this statement seemed so true ...never have i felt its true power until the events of this past week. We live a life we do not choose , life never works out the way we want it too.... pessimistic statements they may sound ... but such,in effect, is the harshness of that dreaded word ... Destiny.
More than the day of triumph(if i may call it so ) . The penultimate day will hold greater value to me. I learnt hope is a wonderful thing , i saw and felt how a ten minute chat from a friend can inspire and take your load away .... i learnt how happiness really is a state of mind...an art ...so simple... that its simplicity is hard to find ...and hence tragically lost amongst the complexity of our mundane or elaborate thoughts .
I do not know what to say. I do not have to say anything. You and I both now know that life is a game of chance ...we are all but Destiny's children ...be not worried .... for one day lady luck will smile upon us all...Keep the faith.If my friend , you may read this now , and judge me wrong ... forgive me ... for i have erred. Take care and may God Bless.