Dreams

I woke up with a start,

To touch the dark,

Even a beacon of light seemed out of sight…

A thought so beautiful and a vision so bright,

Never did it allow me to sleep that night!

It catches me unawares,

At times when I blankly stare,

Rekindling my passion,

To reach for my worthy share…

The beautiful dream keeps me going,

Fighting the odds to clear my way,

I will reach it soon I firmly believe,

To be able to live my life my way!

Winds of Change

Rising and shining on all indices, India is proudly continuing its forward run to challenge any super power. Terms like GDP growth, interest rates and FDIs have been appearing in the most positive sense consistently over a period of last few months.

I don’t mean to paint a bleak picture out here, but is this growth favoring a majority of the Indian populace? The farmer still can’t get rid of the middle-men when it comes to selling his produce. The end consumer- the common man, hence bears the burden of rising food inflation. The average household is spending a significant proportion of its income in buying a perishable commodity like onions! Educational expenses are increasing and buying a 5*5sq. ft. balcony (though you can’t buy one) in Mumbai is also beyond the reach of (Soniya Gandhi’s) aam aadmi. The number of BPL families and the percentage of illiteracy is discomforting. What is India going to do with the largest workforce comprising people below 35years of age? Majority of them are not fit to cater to the needs of a constantly changing industry. Drop out rates at secondary school is an immediate cause of concern. The curriculum is unable to find practical applicability. Vocational training and higher education is marred by disproportionate reservation policies. So, a brain drain is inevitable and even justified to a certain extent. In this scenario, will scores of 30+ individuals prove to be a ‘force’ that can empower the nation in the truest sense?

A developmental project incurs colossal expenditure because getting clearances involves too much of pushing the (filled) envelope. Property rates are so high in Mumbai that getting a workplace for operations calls for investing a fortune. Though the realty rates in the city are comparable to those of the costliest cities of the world, the infrastructure is barely conforming to international standards.

The number of billionaires in the country is impressive. The problem with our economy is that only the rich get richer and the bottom of the pyramid remains untouched. The entire growth process is far from being holistic. What percentage of the population can actually gain from a rising sensex?

The health of the nation is miserable. Private spending on health in our country is starkly high. Super specialty hospitals cater to the urban patients. Healthcare facilities at affordable prices are not available in most rural India. Year after year, a significant percentage of Indian population is pushed into the gallows of poverty, thanks to illness and lack of affordable medical assistance.

These realities cannot be ignored. They seem to debilitate the very foundation of our growth story. How can India prosper when death knolls continue to ring in the regions of Vidarbha? Hope this New Year, we turn the page in every sense and the government brings in policies and initiatives that will grant our beloved nation, the glory its worthy of!

I now call upon, the winds of change…!!!

Breakaway…

She got into the car and instinctively pulled her seatbelt across. The driver didn’t need to be told which way to take. A certain hint of pride had appeared across her mother’s face when she realized that her daughter would be taking the chauffer driven company car to her workplace. It barely affected her state of mind today. As she gazed at the clear blue sky, she felt she had surpassed this emotion of vanity. Somewhere the void was filling her life with emptiness. She told her driver to take the wrong turn and asked him not to question anymore. Nonplussed, he turned for further directions, she didn’t know them either!
The car just moved swiftly…bypassing the jams and plying onto less treaded paths. It was 9:30am…
He was waiting for her car to arrive. She found it annoying to take the elevator with him; day after day…she took care to portray her discomfort, but in vain. It was past 10 now and he speed dialed her number. She disconnected the call. She did not want to go to office today and for once, she had decided to do what she wanted to. Casual leaves couldn’t be taken casually and planned leaves required too much contemplation. She barely found the HR policies worth adhering to…she was all set to defy them!

Retrospecting her past few days at work, she knew she had achieved all her targets and exceeded 2 of them. But she also knew that disregarding her boss’ call and bunking a meeting will erase her past glory. Yet, did she care much?! She now released her seatbelt, assuming that in a faraway land the traffic rules will be less stringent. She went ahead taking liberty to believe that they dint exist at all. It had been 3hrs and 28missed calls altogether! The driver was worried about a peak value of kilometers covered that would appear for this day in his daily log book. But he knew she would defend his stance. After all, she had been the kindest person he ever drove for. He could recount the times she packed him biryani to take home for his kids. She even bought Panchatantra tales for his daughter. Time and again she had convinced him of the power of education. He never did mind working overtime to make sure she reached home safely. But today her request was eerie; she had refused to relent even after 3.5hours of aimless driving.

Somewhere in the distance, the sound of lashing waves was deafening her silence. She rose to splash the water on her face and stood with her arms stretched open to welcome the sunshine. She could feel the sand move under her feet and how the world seemed like a bizarre breeze! Swept off her feet by the retreating waves, she struggled ahead to touch the sun. When she thought she was almost there, it hid behind the cloud of rain. She was laughing to herself as she got drenched in the showers. Like a child, she had build castles in the air and it hurt her when they fell apart. She laughed and cried at the same time. Strange was the ambivalence of time! The rain carried the tears off her cheeks and wiped them off to reveal a smile full of life.

She knew all this while, that something was missing…she had not found it yet. But a certain sense of fulfillment had stalled her search. She wondered about her magical yesterday. She pondered over the power of lashing waves in setting the pieces of her mind in place. She knew there lay a greater challenge in living life the monotonous way! This break had prepared her to take the realities of life headstrong. She set out the other day, took the elevator with him and was poised to take on her new set of targets. All she needed was to breakaway once to find the evasive exuberance within her!

A Pursuit…

Flitting past my shoulder, She turned around,
Escaped once again, as I mournfully frowned…

With a hint of disdain and a veil of pride,
She galloped away, surpassing my stride…

The fugitive playfully continued her run,
taking me through the clouds and sun.
The ravines so dark and the meadows so lush,
I followed her blinded by her rosy blush.

Wondering if ever She’ll take my hand,
and take me to a faraway land…
where no money nor time nor the shackles of the mind,
will define the boundless bliss of my life!

At once She stopped, lest I would whine,
Her cherubic face and the smile so divine!

“You have conquered the land and mine,
And proved yourself to be worthy, my Child!
I will bless you with me and solace so fine…”

A king I felt of the world far and wide,
now that my Happiness was by my side…

She rose to leave while I revelled by the night,
gripped by a fear as She went out of sight…

“There in the sylvan woods I see,
A weary soul reaching out for me,
I will ease him of his troubles so old,
and let him brace my gift of gold”.

Then I watched Her go away,
to begin my pursuit all over again!

No princely diaries: 2

Things are fast changing and I don’t know if I’m liking this change. Probably this is where the concept of adaptability steps in. Ufffff…
Chuck it!

For once in my life I was stepping out of home on a Saturday to serve some ‘official’ purpose. Saturday train travel is a lot different than that on weekdays: lesser cat-fights and more space to breathe. On weekends ‘Dadar-wale’ are less inclined to block the entrances and hence you can afford to be less prudent in deciding your place to stand in the compartment. This is important as getting to alight at your preferred station is dependent on your place in the boogie.
A few ongoing conversations were worth eavesdropping. A group of four 30-some ladies were discussing the prospects of a vernacular MBA course. Two of them politely conceded that it was a considerate move by the institution. A third one parried all remarks, blasted the very concept and declared it was a disgusting idea. The blunt declaration sent chills down the three recipient spines. The fourth female quickly overshot the conversation by introducing a new character. She spoke of how Meenakshi had put on post-marital weight. The tension in the air was released and the conversation continued with increased cheer. “Aiyyas” and “Aga bai, ho ka?’’ followed….
The fourth girl had averted heated arguments form shaping up. She quickly smiled back when I threw an appreciating glance.

Discussions of women ranged from CWG to Ayodhya issue. It was heartening to see the political and social dimension of the typical working woman. She was opinionated and confident…discussing things beyond just the lonchyachi recipe.
Day after day, I found myself talking to new people during these 25minutes….getting to know their priorities, urgencies in life, concern for the child left at the crèche and the weary eagerness to cook the night’s meal…

Today I managed to reach Kurla station 20minutes before the stipulated time. Waiting here does not have any incentives. A prolonged wait at this place can come your way by the stroke of grave misfortune. People from central and harbour routes seem to ply all over the bridges and overcrowd the place…and trying to spot your newly made acquaintance amidst a million faces isn’t cake walk!
As I waited there, I spotted a familiar face...this one belonged to my campus!
I tried hard to recollect the name of this senior, but in vain….
This was a fellow I spoke to less often during college….nor were we friends even in a casual sense. But, a different feeling bonded us. The sense of belonging to VJTI grew strong… Nostalgia hit hard….I smiled back…
In less than 3 minutes we discussed, “So, what are you doing these days?”
In no time, we pursued our separate ways…
Trains were running on time, and so were the men!

No Princely Diaries: 1

Some personal experiences are so different and novel that you want to propound them. Sharing with all of you a few anecdotes lifted from my diary.

Two months down and I’m still trying to absorb the essence of getting out of the college world and moving into the corporate ambience. These 2 months brought before my eyes a flurry of emotions, favourite images belonging to my enviable college years and many new faces.

Each office of my organization has approximately 30 people with amazing idiosyncrasies. Age group: 25 yrs (vibrant) to mid 40s (troubled and bored).
Akin to a classroom, an office too has 3-4 dedicated employees putting in more than 9hrs on a daily basis. These employees generally have their sick leaves piled up beyond the encash-able limits. I also came across a passionate engineer who knows the technical specifications of even the smallest nut and bolt that goes into making business for the organization. A few others work because it’s the next best option for them to sitting idle. They are the ones who avail every sick leave and/or casual leave and even the annual LTA. Then there are some who cease to be corporeal once it is the official time out. They just vanish from the face of the earth once it is 6 o’ clock. These are also the ones who always look forward to passing office hours under the guise of some or the other excuse for celebrations. They indulge in persistently demanding motichur laddoos from a colleague whose brother’s daughter got married recently! Some go to the extent of discussing the age of the crockery/cutlery used in office!!

In a client company, we get to associate with a lot of contractual staff. It’s hilarious at times to see seniors dealing with labourers repeatedly falling ‘sick’ and complaining of long queues at the general physician’s clinic; as a result of which they report late at site.

My organization is largely benefited by the open-door policy. It has increased lateral communication and thereby improved the levels of mutual understanding and cooperation amongst the staff members.

I have come to conclude that the corporate world in itself may or may not be disciplined but it does discipline you. Scheduling your CLs and PLs is a lot different than humble bunking. Planning your budget and investments is another good habit that a monthly salary can imbibe in you. The erratic urgencies at work place, accessibility through the Blackberry and web-mail post office hours have a great capacity to disrupt your work life balance. Hence setting and achieving your daily targets becomes indispensable.
Amidst this differently experienced staff, many a times I find myself lost in my college days. I also realize that I am the one who uses the text messaging facility more than anyone else in my office during office hours :P. One particular message (thanks to phone banking) comes every month…just to ease the travel woes and work pressures that troubled you the previous month and also provide you the incentive to come back to the same place month after month!
Few other observations include that tenders and other spiral bound organizational literature has only one side printed. As I sit with one bulky tender document, I find myself flipping the pages I have read and I am yet to read at an interval of 20minutes…and there is always a disturbing difference between these two variables!
It also happens that the last hour of the official day has more than 60minutes!!
I also realized that going home after work is a highly emotional incentive.
I am one of the few lucky ones to avail it daily…

Why does this happen to Me only???

Many a times (in my case, always), life presents situations that simply defy plain logic. Take the instance of me stepping out of home on a sunny morning without an umbrella and it begins to pour torrentially when I am exactly 750mtrs from home. Now, the distance is such that I hate going back to pick up something as trivial as an umbrella. Result is; I am drenched despite the fact that the last two days had recorded dry spells and the meteorological department was worried about impending droughts. But it HAS to always rain when I decide to go out or when I am about to step out of office!!! This happens so regularly that I almost believe that rains have ‘working’ hours (read pouring hours) which are scheduled just after MY shift :(

Some many many years ago, Murphy said a few things which even today seem so incredibly true. Doesn’t it always happen that the chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet?
The very shoe/ bangle/ ring/ dress I like is never available in my preferred colour and if fortunately it is available, it never fits me!
The account section clerk breaks for lunch the moment I discover I am the first one at the counter. The question perennially remains: “Mera number kab aayega???”
The machine issuing movie coupons on (Vodafone) tuesdays decides to work in a clumsy manner when I am standing with a group of buddies and so quintessentially we have to miss the first 10minutes of the movie.
All possible lights on my internet router flicker endlessly when I decide to log-into my facebook account. All sites seem ‘unavailable’ or ‘temporarily moved to another location’. It never happens with my brother!

There are a few buses which perform consistently in terms of service even in the fleet owned by TMT (Thane Municipal Transport), which is otherwise notorious for failing to satisfy the minimum competency requirements to sustain as a public transport. The day I decide to take one of these top-performing buses, the trip stands cancelled! Then there is the ticket queue which is illimitable on the very day my railway pass has expired. The very counter I am trailing has a lady (it is always a lady who is amazingly slow) who discusses recipes with a neighbour and hence is delaying the process of issuing tickets, while the clock endlessly ticks away… I find it so difficult to stick to my virtues and prevent myself from embarking on a ticket less travel.

At times I wonder; are the environmental factors ensuring that my punctuality goes for a toss?
Does anyone bother pondering over these frivolous things?
I can afford to because I am engulfed with such thoughts when the aforesaid things happen regularly to me.
Does this really happen to me only???
I am sure the answer is a thunder echoing “NO”!!!
This probably means that the people who get to sit in public transport are the ones who are either 40minutes late or 30minutes early to reach their destination!