You plug in those earphones and then among the thousand songs, you scroll up and down to chose your song. What goes in the back-end?
The simple reason is that you like the song more than the other songs in your I-Pod, or particularly you relate to that particular song more than any other song in the playlist.
Why does this happen?
I guess because all the songs have a history attached to it.
Its so often that you listen to a particular song and you are lost. In those moments of your past, those cherished ones, the ones which brings smile on your face, or tears in your eyes. But certainly those moments which are etched in your mind and that particular song helps you in keeping those memories afresh.
A yaaron dosti badi,Puraani Jeans, Pal-yaad aaeyenge ye Pal, would take you back to your college days. Reminds you of those moments spent in the canteen with your friends pulling each others leg, passing comments on the teacher who is also eating somewhere there.Talking about journal submissions or the latest couple on the block.
Whenever you listen to Aye mere watan ke logon, it would take you to your school days where you used to reach early for the flag hoisting and you waited eagerly for the sweets to be distributed only to be overjoyed with the fact that there were no classes on the independence/republic day.
Whenever you listen to Phoolon ka taaron ka, it would remind you of those Rakshabandhan days when you used to ask your parents for money to be given to the sister and those Rs. 50 made your sister the richest girl in the world who thought of buying the best dolls from that money she had just received.
And there are so many songs like that
That is why I say there is history attached to each song. Each song from your past reminds of you of those old good days, to which you can only say, boy those were the best days of my life.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Logic Behind Two Names
I have met so many people in these 25 years of my life and there have been so many people who have been taken by my name. Some of them liked it, some hated it but everybody took notice of it. SO what was so peculiar about my name?
Rachit +Raj – A very common question posed by so many people. Why do you have two names Rachit and Raj? Some ask, is your surname Rachit or Raj? They were bamboozled to know that my father name reads, Deepak Kumar Ambastha. No link in the surnames they say.
I knew that this was a common trend followed by the Kayasthas, but why, I only came to know when one day I posed this question to my uncle, who held a P.hd degree in ancient history.
He told me that we are Ambasthas which are a subgroup of Kayasthas, not that I did not know that, but a few things which followed were certainly new to me.
So coming back to the point of having two names, I was told that we were one of the ancient tribes where women were given equal treatment in the society. A father wanted to give a name while the mother wanted another name. At the end the child had both the chosen name and henceforth the trend continued. Sounded quite interesting. I wanted to know more. Where did our forefathers come from, I asked him?
He told me that we were originally located in Taxila a place in Afganistan, which meant we were Afganis.He went further by saying that Taxila was the oldest university even before the Nalanda Universty in Bihar and Ambasthas were mostly into education. It was then that Alexander invaded the sub-continent and reached Afganistan. A battle was fought and it is said that during the fight with the Ambasthas, his hammock was pierced with an arrow which ultimately led to his death in Alexanderia. But, this left the Ambasthas tattered and they scattered to different places. A few moved to Nalanda in Bihar, the others to Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and the rest down to Kottayam in Kerela. Later they dispersed to different parts of the country. Kayasthas were mainly Muneems(accountants) in the kings kingdom, and all the work related to accounts were asked to be done by them. I wondered probably that is the reason why there are so few Kayasthas into Business or serving in the armed forces.
It was heartening to know some interesting facts about my forefathers which made me proud and then came the dark side of the history. The Kayasthas were supposed to form Lord Krishna’s army, and when Arjuna and Duryodhan had approached Lord Krishna to take him on their respective sides before the Kurushetra Yudh, he had kept an option between the two parties. He had said that he would fight from one party where as his huge army would be on the other side.
As history would have it, the Kayastha took the Kauravas side and were badly defeated.
I chuckled at the thought of not many Kaysthas joining the armed forces.
This way I came to know so may interesting facts about my ancestors and my dynasty. This short conversation helped me in identifying myself and my origins. I bet there would be others who after reading this would want to know their histories too.
Rachit +Raj – A very common question posed by so many people. Why do you have two names Rachit and Raj? Some ask, is your surname Rachit or Raj? They were bamboozled to know that my father name reads, Deepak Kumar Ambastha. No link in the surnames they say.
I knew that this was a common trend followed by the Kayasthas, but why, I only came to know when one day I posed this question to my uncle, who held a P.hd degree in ancient history.
He told me that we are Ambasthas which are a subgroup of Kayasthas, not that I did not know that, but a few things which followed were certainly new to me.
So coming back to the point of having two names, I was told that we were one of the ancient tribes where women were given equal treatment in the society. A father wanted to give a name while the mother wanted another name. At the end the child had both the chosen name and henceforth the trend continued. Sounded quite interesting. I wanted to know more. Where did our forefathers come from, I asked him?
He told me that we were originally located in Taxila a place in Afganistan, which meant we were Afganis.He went further by saying that Taxila was the oldest university even before the Nalanda Universty in Bihar and Ambasthas were mostly into education. It was then that Alexander invaded the sub-continent and reached Afganistan. A battle was fought and it is said that during the fight with the Ambasthas, his hammock was pierced with an arrow which ultimately led to his death in Alexanderia. But, this left the Ambasthas tattered and they scattered to different places. A few moved to Nalanda in Bihar, the others to Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and the rest down to Kottayam in Kerela. Later they dispersed to different parts of the country. Kayasthas were mainly Muneems(accountants) in the kings kingdom, and all the work related to accounts were asked to be done by them. I wondered probably that is the reason why there are so few Kayasthas into Business or serving in the armed forces.
It was heartening to know some interesting facts about my forefathers which made me proud and then came the dark side of the history. The Kayasthas were supposed to form Lord Krishna’s army, and when Arjuna and Duryodhan had approached Lord Krishna to take him on their respective sides before the Kurushetra Yudh, he had kept an option between the two parties. He had said that he would fight from one party where as his huge army would be on the other side.
As history would have it, the Kayastha took the Kauravas side and were badly defeated.
I chuckled at the thought of not many Kaysthas joining the armed forces.
This way I came to know so may interesting facts about my ancestors and my dynasty. This short conversation helped me in identifying myself and my origins. I bet there would be others who after reading this would want to know their histories too.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Yet another BF vs GF conversation !!!!
There has been umpteen conversations between a girlfriend and a boyfriend that we have read in so many mails. This was the first time I witnessed it with my own eyes.
Context: I was waiting at the railway station when my eyes went to one of the couples in my office. They were waiting for the same train. I could not help but overhear them as they were standing just adjacent to me and the decibels levels were on the higher side.
I cannot help but share it in my blog.
Girlfriend(hereafter referred as GF) : Sweetheart, I just hope we get into a wonderful B-School. But if we manage to get into different B-Schools, what then?
Boyfriend(hereafter referred as BF): Ah, don’t remind me about that. It will be such a pain.
BF sees the GF’s face getting grimmer. He doesn’t like seeing her sad. Tries to liven up the conversation. Not knowing in the wildest of dreams that he is digging a deep hole for himself.
BF: Hey Chuhiya( till then the gal liked the name, probably there was the filmy angle to it. Read-Jaane tu ya Jaane Na), I would miss you terribly but we would check out hotties in our respective colleges? Will call each other every night to update on any new hottie on the block. What say?(It was all said in a harmless,lighter note just to bring in a little of naughtiness to push out the sadness which had enveloped the surrounding with the separation factor).
Boom... the stage was set for the GF to transform from the Cute Chuhiya to the Daravani Sherni.
GF :Why do you want to check out gals? Why cant you wait for two years and then check out me, later all your life.
BF: Thud! (Entire life), the same face. Oh no!!!( dare he say that on her face. Read- All in the thinking phase).
Oh yes sweetheart, thats a better option. Nobody can be as good as you are, as beautiful as you are, as charming as you are.
GF: Nobody can be as beautiful as you are? You mean to say you compare me with others? Which means you check out other girls. All guys are just the same. You call me Chuhiya where as the other gals are morni to you.
BF: Bemused. Where did that come from (Thinks)?????
BF: Hey you are my morni. No one else can be.
Finally a smile appear on the GFs face.
BF :(Thinks :Little does she know that Morni are really ugly, its the More who are supposed to be the beautiful species )
BF: (Tries to do some resurrection work). I will miss you so much for the next two years when we might not be together. The BF tries to personify the sad smiley which he uses in the chat with his GF. This helps him in getting a lot of attention, sometimes to the extent of, lot of pampering from his GF.
Guess the effort this time was not great. The tried and tested magic didn’t work.
GF: What do you mean by, you will miss me for the next two years? I knew,you are tired of me and want to get rid of me. But don’t you worry, i will be coming there often and you would have to introduce me to all your friends. (she meant all my future friends who would by the law of nature would happen to be girls).
BF :Sure honey, I surely would.
GF: But dare I see you roaming about with any other girl. I will create a scene there?
BF: (Thinks: Isnt she creating it right now with so many people around)
BF: No way Morni.(Tries the tested name which had just brought a smile on GFs face sometime back)
GF : A slight smile. Good!!!
BF: Thinks: Its better to keep quiet now. Nothing seems to be working today
GF : Now why are you so serious? You are not talking to me.
BF: Nothing like that. Was just thinking about the job in hand. Have got a new project to work on from today onwards.
GF: Are you sure you are saying the truth? (the suspicious look)
BF: Of course Jaan. Why would I lie? (Thinks: Geeta pe haath rakh ke kasam khaaun kya?)
GF : Cant see it in your eyes?
BF :Thinks: (Even the ophthalmologist cant identify a person looking in his eyes, that he is lying. Is she crazy? Of course she is....)
GF: Common swear on me, that there is nothing else in your mind.
BF :(Thinks :Here came the Geeta pe haath rakh kar kasam khao. Hindi movies. Grrrr@#$...)
BF: Yes honey, swear on you.
GF: See, now you have resorted to false promises. God, do you know an empty promise can kill me?
BF: Fuming inside, but very particular that it didn’t spill out.
BF: (Controlling his anger), its nothing like that. Why do you feel I am upset because of something. I was thinking of work, which is taking a toll on me offlate?
You don’t seem to understand..... He was in between his sentence, and the GF pounced back.
GF:Yes you feel I don’t understand you? Is this what I get to hear at the 11th month of our courtship.
BF: Had lost it by now. Shut up now! You have been crapping all this while ya. I meant to say that you don’t seem to be understand...ing that I was preoccupied with thoughts about work.
How would it work if you act so immature?
BF: just walks away leaving the GF behind.
GF Calls up the BF.(Read that they are just 15 feets apart). BF, disgusted with the happenings cut the call. GF calls again and he cuts again. The GF keeps on calling and finally he paves way to his GFs persistence.
BF: Yes tell me(In a very cold way)
GF: Sorry jaanu, you are so understanding, and I keep on fighting with you. I have become like a typical GF and I just hate it. I love you so much and I would never trouble you for anything. Apni chuhiya ko buddhu samajh ke maaf kar do.
The cuteness in the voice and her expressions were just too much for him. The angry face paved way to a smiling face with glitter in his eyes.
The GF could not resist and forgetting that they were still in the railway station, rushed and gave him a quick bear hug.
The hands which looked so estranged to each other locked against each other again. Love was in the air again. The mushy talks began again.
I witnessed a rush of emotions in 20 minutes of my stay at the station. I had witnessed two characters trying to be dominative with each other in different phase of times, but never had they been both tried to outpower each other with their egos at the same time. I wondered, had the boy not been patient with the girls stupidity an instant fight would have resulted and what if the girl would not have accessed the situation and would have pleaded to the fuming BF, the distance would have only increased between the two.
May be thats what people call love. Round one was over. The Victor.... Hmmm. I guess it was “their love” . A hot girl just came and stood beside the three of us. Boys would be boys. the BFs eyes drooled at her beauty and the next moment he was brought back from the fantasy world with a hard pinch on his arm.
Round two was about to begin.
Context: I was waiting at the railway station when my eyes went to one of the couples in my office. They were waiting for the same train. I could not help but overhear them as they were standing just adjacent to me and the decibels levels were on the higher side.
I cannot help but share it in my blog.
Girlfriend(hereafter referred as GF) : Sweetheart, I just hope we get into a wonderful B-School. But if we manage to get into different B-Schools, what then?
Boyfriend(hereafter referred as BF): Ah, don’t remind me about that. It will be such a pain.
BF sees the GF’s face getting grimmer. He doesn’t like seeing her sad. Tries to liven up the conversation. Not knowing in the wildest of dreams that he is digging a deep hole for himself.
BF: Hey Chuhiya( till then the gal liked the name, probably there was the filmy angle to it. Read-Jaane tu ya Jaane Na), I would miss you terribly but we would check out hotties in our respective colleges? Will call each other every night to update on any new hottie on the block. What say?(It was all said in a harmless,lighter note just to bring in a little of naughtiness to push out the sadness which had enveloped the surrounding with the separation factor).
Boom... the stage was set for the GF to transform from the Cute Chuhiya to the Daravani Sherni.
GF :Why do you want to check out gals? Why cant you wait for two years and then check out me, later all your life.
BF: Thud! (Entire life), the same face. Oh no!!!( dare he say that on her face. Read- All in the thinking phase).
Oh yes sweetheart, thats a better option. Nobody can be as good as you are, as beautiful as you are, as charming as you are.
GF: Nobody can be as beautiful as you are? You mean to say you compare me with others? Which means you check out other girls. All guys are just the same. You call me Chuhiya where as the other gals are morni to you.
BF: Bemused. Where did that come from (Thinks)?????
BF: Hey you are my morni. No one else can be.
Finally a smile appear on the GFs face.
BF :(Thinks :Little does she know that Morni are really ugly, its the More who are supposed to be the beautiful species )
BF: (Tries to do some resurrection work). I will miss you so much for the next two years when we might not be together. The BF tries to personify the sad smiley which he uses in the chat with his GF. This helps him in getting a lot of attention, sometimes to the extent of, lot of pampering from his GF.
Guess the effort this time was not great. The tried and tested magic didn’t work.
GF: What do you mean by, you will miss me for the next two years? I knew,you are tired of me and want to get rid of me. But don’t you worry, i will be coming there often and you would have to introduce me to all your friends. (she meant all my future friends who would by the law of nature would happen to be girls).
BF :Sure honey, I surely would.
GF: But dare I see you roaming about with any other girl. I will create a scene there?
BF: (Thinks: Isnt she creating it right now with so many people around)
BF: No way Morni.(Tries the tested name which had just brought a smile on GFs face sometime back)
GF : A slight smile. Good!!!
BF: Thinks: Its better to keep quiet now. Nothing seems to be working today
GF : Now why are you so serious? You are not talking to me.
BF: Nothing like that. Was just thinking about the job in hand. Have got a new project to work on from today onwards.
GF: Are you sure you are saying the truth? (the suspicious look)
BF: Of course Jaan. Why would I lie? (Thinks: Geeta pe haath rakh ke kasam khaaun kya?)
GF : Cant see it in your eyes?
BF :Thinks: (Even the ophthalmologist cant identify a person looking in his eyes, that he is lying. Is she crazy? Of course she is....)
GF: Common swear on me, that there is nothing else in your mind.
BF :(Thinks :Here came the Geeta pe haath rakh kar kasam khao. Hindi movies. Grrrr@#$...)
BF: Yes honey, swear on you.
GF: See, now you have resorted to false promises. God, do you know an empty promise can kill me?
BF: Fuming inside, but very particular that it didn’t spill out.
BF: (Controlling his anger), its nothing like that. Why do you feel I am upset because of something. I was thinking of work, which is taking a toll on me offlate?
You don’t seem to understand..... He was in between his sentence, and the GF pounced back.
GF:Yes you feel I don’t understand you? Is this what I get to hear at the 11th month of our courtship.
BF: Had lost it by now. Shut up now! You have been crapping all this while ya. I meant to say that you don’t seem to be understand...ing that I was preoccupied with thoughts about work.
How would it work if you act so immature?
BF: just walks away leaving the GF behind.
GF Calls up the BF.(Read that they are just 15 feets apart). BF, disgusted with the happenings cut the call. GF calls again and he cuts again. The GF keeps on calling and finally he paves way to his GFs persistence.
BF: Yes tell me(In a very cold way)
GF: Sorry jaanu, you are so understanding, and I keep on fighting with you. I have become like a typical GF and I just hate it. I love you so much and I would never trouble you for anything. Apni chuhiya ko buddhu samajh ke maaf kar do.
The cuteness in the voice and her expressions were just too much for him. The angry face paved way to a smiling face with glitter in his eyes.
The GF could not resist and forgetting that they were still in the railway station, rushed and gave him a quick bear hug.
The hands which looked so estranged to each other locked against each other again. Love was in the air again. The mushy talks began again.
I witnessed a rush of emotions in 20 minutes of my stay at the station. I had witnessed two characters trying to be dominative with each other in different phase of times, but never had they been both tried to outpower each other with their egos at the same time. I wondered, had the boy not been patient with the girls stupidity an instant fight would have resulted and what if the girl would not have accessed the situation and would have pleaded to the fuming BF, the distance would have only increased between the two.
May be thats what people call love. Round one was over. The Victor.... Hmmm. I guess it was “their love” . A hot girl just came and stood beside the three of us. Boys would be boys. the BFs eyes drooled at her beauty and the next moment he was brought back from the fantasy world with a hard pinch on his arm.
Round two was about to begin.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Limping Teacher
I was riding back home after a hectic day at work. Work has been hectic to say the least and today it was no better. Was frustrated with what was happening in life, and to add to that I was getting Red signals. The shrieking horns, the over crowded bus infront, the smoke laden air were all making me mad now. To add to the miseries I had skipped my lunch as I was stuck with some issue at work.
I decided to stop over at an eating joint to have something. As it was too late, the menu had only Dosa, and Dosas find the lowest rank in my priority list. I did not have the patience to look for another place and I reluctantly ordered for the same. It seemed the entire world was against me.
I was still grumping until something took my attention.
There was this old man. He must be in his sixties, bald, wrapped by a layer of hanging skin over a skeletal frame. He looked feeble. Eyes sockets barely managing to hold his eyes. He was standing on the other side of the road. His face was filled with anticipation. I wondered- What would be this man getting from his life? What could the hope be?
Constant gazing helped me reconcile to the fact that he was looking for traffic to slow down, so that he could cross. His legs were shaking.
I wondered. He must have had a fight at home and he would be trembling with rage. Or may be he had the fear of being run down by a speeding vehicle or may be his age must have taken a toll of him.
I looked.
And then finally the moment came. He limped through those ten feet. Those ten feet looked like miles to him.
And then he made it. The tension was flushed out with expressions of victory. He had won over his situation. He turned around with head held high to measure his victory lap.
I then realized - Such petty things become a challenge in life and there are people fighting against it, each day, each minute. Life is how you make it out to be.
I cursed myself - for cursing my situation.
I decided to stop over at an eating joint to have something. As it was too late, the menu had only Dosa, and Dosas find the lowest rank in my priority list. I did not have the patience to look for another place and I reluctantly ordered for the same. It seemed the entire world was against me.
I was still grumping until something took my attention.
There was this old man. He must be in his sixties, bald, wrapped by a layer of hanging skin over a skeletal frame. He looked feeble. Eyes sockets barely managing to hold his eyes. He was standing on the other side of the road. His face was filled with anticipation. I wondered- What would be this man getting from his life? What could the hope be?
Constant gazing helped me reconcile to the fact that he was looking for traffic to slow down, so that he could cross. His legs were shaking.
I wondered. He must have had a fight at home and he would be trembling with rage. Or may be he had the fear of being run down by a speeding vehicle or may be his age must have taken a toll of him.
I looked.
And then finally the moment came. He limped through those ten feet. Those ten feet looked like miles to him.
And then he made it. The tension was flushed out with expressions of victory. He had won over his situation. He turned around with head held high to measure his victory lap.
I then realized - Such petty things become a challenge in life and there are people fighting against it, each day, each minute. Life is how you make it out to be.
I cursed myself - for cursing my situation.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Star still shines bright
When I was a little kid I had a strange hobby. Those nights when the sky was clear, I used to lie on my back and look above. Above at the constellation of stars.
My fingers trying to figure out among all- “My favourite star”.
There it was, I used to discover and my lips made an arch –to smile.
And then, my star and I used to gaze each other for hours. That was the brightest star, my favourite star. Much later Physics and Geography taught me it was Venus, but the little kid of six years was more than happy with the fact that the brightest star had chosen him as his best friend among so many kids of his age.
I used to discuss with him practically everything.
How our new teacher gave us so much of homework to do. I used to show him the new bat that my mum bought for me. I used to complain to him whenever Mumma forced me to have a glass full of milk. I used to confide to him whenever I made a mistake. Cry to him when my naughty classmates used to beak my pencil when I went for lunch. Ask him why does Mumma cry so often?
In all our conversation, he never uttered a word but the fact that he never used to take his eyes away from me made me feel he is there, listening. I wanted somebody to listen to all my crap, and there he was, so patient, so calm - my best friend.
Sometimes the silent conversations went for long, and the next day I found myself wrapped inside my quilt. My mom then said, that I had slept in the veranda itself and she had to bring me inside the room.
There were days when we didn’t meet. Sometimes my homework kept me busy and the other times he hid himself under the clouds-Probably he needed rest too!!!
Its been 18 years since we became friends and we still have those gazing sessions. Our conversations have changed, but his reactions are just the same. He still shines brightly indicating that any tough passages would eventually be conquered.
I remember Papa, when you just went away from all of us. I saw those scary scenes but could not comprehend much. I was too little to understand that you would never come back to us.
On the night of 1st July 1991, somebody told me that Papa has become a star and she introduced me to you in your new form.
Your Mathur really loves and misses you Pa . Keep shining on me as you have always done.
Papa, the Sky is clear today. So, let’s chat?
My fingers trying to figure out among all- “My favourite star”.
There it was, I used to discover and my lips made an arch –to smile.
And then, my star and I used to gaze each other for hours. That was the brightest star, my favourite star. Much later Physics and Geography taught me it was Venus, but the little kid of six years was more than happy with the fact that the brightest star had chosen him as his best friend among so many kids of his age.
I used to discuss with him practically everything.
How our new teacher gave us so much of homework to do. I used to show him the new bat that my mum bought for me. I used to complain to him whenever Mumma forced me to have a glass full of milk. I used to confide to him whenever I made a mistake. Cry to him when my naughty classmates used to beak my pencil when I went for lunch. Ask him why does Mumma cry so often?
In all our conversation, he never uttered a word but the fact that he never used to take his eyes away from me made me feel he is there, listening. I wanted somebody to listen to all my crap, and there he was, so patient, so calm - my best friend.
Sometimes the silent conversations went for long, and the next day I found myself wrapped inside my quilt. My mom then said, that I had slept in the veranda itself and she had to bring me inside the room.
There were days when we didn’t meet. Sometimes my homework kept me busy and the other times he hid himself under the clouds-Probably he needed rest too!!!
Its been 18 years since we became friends and we still have those gazing sessions. Our conversations have changed, but his reactions are just the same. He still shines brightly indicating that any tough passages would eventually be conquered.
I remember Papa, when you just went away from all of us. I saw those scary scenes but could not comprehend much. I was too little to understand that you would never come back to us.
On the night of 1st July 1991, somebody told me that Papa has become a star and she introduced me to you in your new form.
Your Mathur really loves and misses you Pa . Keep shining on me as you have always done.
Papa, the Sky is clear today. So, let’s chat?
Friday, June 19, 2009
Different strokes !!!
Its after such a long time I am here, but it feels great to be back. I don’t know what made me stay away from this beautiful forum. May be I was too busy, too occupied with the chores of life, too tired from a long days work , too feeble in the thought generation process or simply too lazy to write something. I received a lot of flak for not writing something for so long, but it’s such an astonishing feeling to be loved by so many people. Thanks all, I promise I will be more regular from now on.
The past few weeks have been a very absorbing one. I say absorbing, because there have been lot of things going around in my life which has been so captivating for me on the emotional front. Just to comprehend and not going to the tits and bits of each incident, I was too absorbed emotionally and wanted to spend some time with – “Myself”.
I decided to ride down to the beach and when I reached there I was astounded to see thousands of people flocking at the beach. I parked my bike and became one among the crowd.
I looked around for a vacant space and finally parked myself into a well bounded area.
The sun was “ready steady go” – to set. The sky was filled with violet clouds and the sun was playing hide and seek with me. The sun had lost its hotness and I could face the sun with my eyes open. It sprayed around its beautiful colour on the sea water and the ever rising waves seemed as if it was basking in the glory of being witnessed by so many living souls.
The noise of the waves was out-powered by the noise of the crowd. There were jingles of the hawker, chattering of children, twittering of birds. Romance was filled in the air. I then realized why poets spent their lives in the bed of nature.
The air was filled with different activities. I had my reasons to come there and I thought, there would be so many stories - like or unlike me. For me it was just a crowd but the reality was that each and every person present there, would have his or her story to tell.
I had my task cut out for another hour. Just to explore the innumerable “untold stories” flowing around on that beach.
I looked around to see children playing beach cricket. The little bowler looked dreaded enough to knock down the stumps where as the batsman, whose bat was bigger than him, looked fiercely competitive. It seemed that he wanted to deposit the ball straight into the sea. The bowler delivered the ball, and a wild swing of the bat saw the ball sailing into the sea. Boy, wasn’t the little batsman happy! He leaped into the air and then into the waters to retrieve the ball. The ego clashes were fought and won by one. The victor had one story to say when he returned home while the loser would have one to hide.
Now my eyes moved around to capture another story. I saw a young couple cuddled holding hands in hands. It seemed they were not yet married, but were determined to. Looked like they wanted to have a space for (just) themselves, away from the society which questioned their togetherness. They looked madly in love seeking inspirations from the sea and the sun which had just come together after the sunset. The soliloquist in me wished them luck and I moved around to witness the most soul searching story of that evening.
I saw a family of three. A father, mother and the son. They looked like a rich family. Probably they looked tired of shopping and eating out at lavish restaurants. The child was busy playing with the sand. Making temples out of it. He made a mess of himself with sand all around but didn’t he look overjoyed with the situation? It seemed he was brought to the beach for the first time. Contrast to this situation my eyes rolled and rocked to the family of three again. The father and the mother looked like some daily labourers. Just adjacent to the the rich guys child this child was making his temple. The sand temple was so beautiful. His tender hands were making a masterpiece and I suddenly knew he was an ace in that. Probably the poor guy didn’t have much resources to take this child out for other entertainments. He must be bringing his family here every weekend and this little guy would be making a temple every time. Here I was viewing the irony that life presents.
I realised that life has different stories to cater. If you look around you would see so many people who are doing much better than you, but there are many more people who are battling against life with their chins up.
Life is never a bed of roses and would never be the same. It’s on us how we take it and move forward. We might not get, what all we wanted from life but there are scores of familes who are fighting for the basics of life.
With cluttered thoughts yet a clear mind I hopped into my bike and rode back home.
The past few weeks have been a very absorbing one. I say absorbing, because there have been lot of things going around in my life which has been so captivating for me on the emotional front. Just to comprehend and not going to the tits and bits of each incident, I was too absorbed emotionally and wanted to spend some time with – “Myself”.
I decided to ride down to the beach and when I reached there I was astounded to see thousands of people flocking at the beach. I parked my bike and became one among the crowd.
I looked around for a vacant space and finally parked myself into a well bounded area.
The sun was “ready steady go” – to set. The sky was filled with violet clouds and the sun was playing hide and seek with me. The sun had lost its hotness and I could face the sun with my eyes open. It sprayed around its beautiful colour on the sea water and the ever rising waves seemed as if it was basking in the glory of being witnessed by so many living souls.
The noise of the waves was out-powered by the noise of the crowd. There were jingles of the hawker, chattering of children, twittering of birds. Romance was filled in the air. I then realized why poets spent their lives in the bed of nature.
The air was filled with different activities. I had my reasons to come there and I thought, there would be so many stories - like or unlike me. For me it was just a crowd but the reality was that each and every person present there, would have his or her story to tell.
I had my task cut out for another hour. Just to explore the innumerable “untold stories” flowing around on that beach.
I looked around to see children playing beach cricket. The little bowler looked dreaded enough to knock down the stumps where as the batsman, whose bat was bigger than him, looked fiercely competitive. It seemed that he wanted to deposit the ball straight into the sea. The bowler delivered the ball, and a wild swing of the bat saw the ball sailing into the sea. Boy, wasn’t the little batsman happy! He leaped into the air and then into the waters to retrieve the ball. The ego clashes were fought and won by one. The victor had one story to say when he returned home while the loser would have one to hide.
Now my eyes moved around to capture another story. I saw a young couple cuddled holding hands in hands. It seemed they were not yet married, but were determined to. Looked like they wanted to have a space for (just) themselves, away from the society which questioned their togetherness. They looked madly in love seeking inspirations from the sea and the sun which had just come together after the sunset. The soliloquist in me wished them luck and I moved around to witness the most soul searching story of that evening.
I saw a family of three. A father, mother and the son. They looked like a rich family. Probably they looked tired of shopping and eating out at lavish restaurants. The child was busy playing with the sand. Making temples out of it. He made a mess of himself with sand all around but didn’t he look overjoyed with the situation? It seemed he was brought to the beach for the first time. Contrast to this situation my eyes rolled and rocked to the family of three again. The father and the mother looked like some daily labourers. Just adjacent to the the rich guys child this child was making his temple. The sand temple was so beautiful. His tender hands were making a masterpiece and I suddenly knew he was an ace in that. Probably the poor guy didn’t have much resources to take this child out for other entertainments. He must be bringing his family here every weekend and this little guy would be making a temple every time. Here I was viewing the irony that life presents.
I realised that life has different stories to cater. If you look around you would see so many people who are doing much better than you, but there are many more people who are battling against life with their chins up.
Life is never a bed of roses and would never be the same. It’s on us how we take it and move forward. We might not get, what all we wanted from life but there are scores of familes who are fighting for the basics of life.
With cluttered thoughts yet a clear mind I hopped into my bike and rode back home.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The age of Policies
It was not so long ago that I used the shift+del keys to the messages that were sent by the HR department.(largely because it talked about some idiotic surveys that we were required to take which would help them connect between different data centers across all Infy centers). Those were the days…..
It’s nothing like it now. Here I am installing a new component on the new server, and a message blinks on my outlook…
Oops…my heart misses a beat… are they talking about a new set of people who would be layed off? Fortunately its not that bad a news but then it is certainly a slow poison.
Hello Infocion, we have a new policy for you.
I have to complement the person who drafts those mails because the dreadful news is so beautifully packaged.
It says,
We need to curb the expenses and you would be required to raise a request with the facility department for any stationary you require.
This is just a way to tell us that dare you pick those extra pens and notebooks from the stationary desk next time, you are thrown out.
The travel desk is keeping a check on the cost cutting to such an extent that, it seems at times that these guys are given a share of the money they reject to the employee who has spent an amount for official purpose.
The A/C’s rarely work these days in the food court, reasons given: We seek to instill discipline in your eating habits and want you to eat within specified time. Can somebody please explain how could a bunch of 7000 employees have their lunch within 2 hrs? But nobody raises his/her voice because this is the “age of policies”…. You raise your voice much and you can be “counseled” out.
That’s the new word in the market: Counseling out.
The business is on a slowdown and consequently we have been informed we should adhere to all the policies, otherwise we might be counseled out.
A sweet way to say, boy, you get your acts together. Work long hours, take minimum print outs, pay extra for the conveyance, be ready to live without any incentives (even if you are an extra ordinary performer) because if you don’t, you would be chucked out. Thrown out to “nowhere” (All companies have stopped recruitment)
They say “beggars are not choosers”. The idiom goes perfectly for us.
Choose it, even if you don’t like it. I believe in adherence, than being counseled out.
After all this is the Age of Policies. Isn’t it?
It’s nothing like it now. Here I am installing a new component on the new server, and a message blinks on my outlook…
Oops…my heart misses a beat… are they talking about a new set of people who would be layed off? Fortunately its not that bad a news but then it is certainly a slow poison.
Hello Infocion, we have a new policy for you.
I have to complement the person who drafts those mails because the dreadful news is so beautifully packaged.
It says,
We need to curb the expenses and you would be required to raise a request with the facility department for any stationary you require.
This is just a way to tell us that dare you pick those extra pens and notebooks from the stationary desk next time, you are thrown out.
The travel desk is keeping a check on the cost cutting to such an extent that, it seems at times that these guys are given a share of the money they reject to the employee who has spent an amount for official purpose.
The A/C’s rarely work these days in the food court, reasons given: We seek to instill discipline in your eating habits and want you to eat within specified time. Can somebody please explain how could a bunch of 7000 employees have their lunch within 2 hrs? But nobody raises his/her voice because this is the “age of policies”…. You raise your voice much and you can be “counseled” out.
That’s the new word in the market: Counseling out.
The business is on a slowdown and consequently we have been informed we should adhere to all the policies, otherwise we might be counseled out.
A sweet way to say, boy, you get your acts together. Work long hours, take minimum print outs, pay extra for the conveyance, be ready to live without any incentives (even if you are an extra ordinary performer) because if you don’t, you would be chucked out. Thrown out to “nowhere” (All companies have stopped recruitment)
They say “beggars are not choosers”. The idiom goes perfectly for us.
Choose it, even if you don’t like it. I believe in adherence, than being counseled out.
After all this is the Age of Policies. Isn’t it?
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