A Ray of Hope, Finally !

Its the day that I was waiting for. The day when I would step out back into the world as an unemployed, carefree and a joyful student. The day of quitting the usual job, the day of celebrating and the day of being completely myself again !

Yes. I finally resigned from the rolls of my organization. Not just due to opposition of the monotonous job happening around, but desperately wanted to be me again. The idea of working came into this mind, only to take a deserving break of studying. But when I look back into my good old days, it seems the days of college were the truest and the most enriching of all experiences. The idea of getting up daily only to see the same old computer and the peers around was getting a bit too laid and sick for me. Maybe I am still not out of my student life yet. God sighted this, and voila ! I am back to studies.

I sincerely hoped that my own country would do justice to me as I had the desire to get back to my field of study, Engineering. The opportunities came knocking all the time, in fact for 2 full years, I was busy doing parallel activities, with not that much enthusiasm as before due to job hassles. But something had to break the jargon. Sick of the industry, I then looked on for opportunities, one was the usual management path, but was disappointed seeing the rat race. People are just trying to snap out of their routines just in hope for a better hell! It was later that I realized through my friends, that I was more technically inclined than ordering persons to do their jobs. I was very much apprehensive of the fact that this was a forgotten side of mine but the same people threw light upon it. Opportunities didn't click in my home country and so, I finally threw open the option of checking my studies in some foreign land, hoping to see a silver lining. With the road becoming brighter, and in fact luckier, I continued to walk. And finally it broke the hard ice. I got through one of the leading universities of the world, to pursue further studies.

The university that I am through, may not figure out in the best of the lot as per reviews and critics, but I am happy for the decision that I have taken. I wanted to stay out of the herd mentality of looking at the western world for a ray of hope. Now that the tables are turning towards eastern world as a better and bigger opportunity bank, this made me look into such countries as a suitable and viable option. Of course, options to pursue further studies are excellent in western countries as they outclass every other in the world, but to be frank, I was not interested in the rat race again. The same old faces back in school, the same competition and the same juggernauts was all that I was fed up of. So, I decided to plunge ahead and gave it a try, a sincere try, without the expectation of sailing through. Of course, there were other plans made in case this was not done, a lesson learnt from my previous years and peers. I was not willing to let this chance slip off my hands. The same academia, which I admit hesitatingly, came to my rescue and I agree that it was a good thing to have excelled as the top performer in bachelors class otherwise this would have been just a passing affair. Now that its confirmed that I would be flying and that after the celebrations, its time for the post processing work of migrating to my next destination and of course, getting relieved from office.

The post sounds that I am exaggerating so much but, this got to be one of those good days of my life. A ray of hope finally bestowed on this unlucky chap. Now to convert this into a good one. Of course, there might be days when the wild thought of entering back to the same industry might prevail but let there be as one cannot guarantee one's destiny. Hence, there need not be any offenses to the readers of this post.

Wish me luck ! ;-)

Match Reviewer

Creative Writing can reach many heights. It is just to market it yourselves. Recently, there was a cricket tournament organized in my office and I volunteered to write the match review of the one that I played. It was so much appreciated that I was then forced to take up that job of writing match reports ! What an irony ! I wanted to check my fluency in the writing language of English and now, people assign some stupid job onto my head, even though I had a hell lot of office work to do.

Thinking of re-reading the Banker book to get some tricks about "how to escape things and live happier".

Banker... Really ?

Some days back, I read the book, If God was a Banker by Ravi Subramaniam and was quite amused. Why ? Well, the reason is simple. The fact explained in his book is quite evident anywhere, everywhere. You cannot limit the tactics played around by people only to the industry he refers to but to the entire sector where in a person does a job to survive for himself. When it comes to people, in a hunger only to grow, come whatever may, who can stoop down to any level, be it selling even your parents for the heck of it. Such numbers are growing quite enormously in a large organization, specially in MNCs. Inability to handle such organizations by some heads, the lower ranks then try to get into the fight of "growth" by just taking some silly credits for which others toil their days and nights out; projection of things they hardly know or be in the verge of just pulling others legs for their games.

Amidst all such idiots few stand out as the genuine, who are honest; work really hard; have a disciplined mindset; value driven and of course, spirited more than the cunning ones. I dont know what makes them stick around with such people all the time. Dont they get thoughts of quitting such companies ? I dont know. But there must be something that drives them to work and excel in their streams.

One thing is sure, such ones flock around as companies need them. Others stay in the same old organization as they dont know their USP itself.

Read it, for you to realize the realities of the real corporate world ! :-)

You are one awesome Woman...

A Church in the backwater regions of Kerala... The hero waits outside seeing his heroine after a tough search. A fear remains, that she wouldn't have excused him for the mistake he did the previous week. A mistake, which men think for a umpteen number of times before revealing it. A mistake, which a lady would be waiting for all her life to hear for. A mistake which is exaggerated in movies so much that it is an accustomed duty to ignore about.

The mistake ? Of simply letting her know that he is in love with her. This makes our lady angry and she goes back to her granny's house in God's country thinking that "he came to knew about her love towards him". Now he is all around the place searching in churches for apology of "hurriedly" letting his feelings about her. And apologizes in style too, re-proposing once again, this time without any grievances and becomes a friend. But this had something else in store.

On returning back to their home, he expresses his true feelings for her, which, she doesn't obstruct and their friendship blossoms into real love. She even tries to distance herself from him, but slowly she starts to accept the reality that she cant live without him. This is somehow leaked and both of their parents refuse straight away, specially from the lady's side. Fearing consequences, the lady is now fickle minded to the "fantastic chemistry" between them. Our hero doesn't give up that easily either. He goes back to where she is now forcibly been married and to his shock, finds the lady refusing the marriage right in front of everyone. Who doesn't want to give his life for such a woman !

She finally accepts of being in love with him after a long battle of talks and trips. Then the regular stuff of roaming together and all happen.

One day, the hero invites her in his friend's house to talk. She is scared and is finding herself in a dilemma as she is lying too much and in unable to convince her parents about her relationship. "You just convince your parents and I would show you how to live", was the hero's reply.

Ahh.. Aaromale..........

An old memory to re-live !

Sometimes, why the time has to tick forward? Why should not it tick backwards ? So that I could re-live those days again ?!!

Guess, this again, makes me hum the song, "Give me some sunshine, Give me some Rain; Give me another chance, I wanna grow up once again......." from the movie, '3 idiots'. So hypothetical, but very true. This song always pings me whenever I see my old Engineering photos in my computer.

Gosh, how quickly time flies ! It looks like just the other day, on the first day of my Engineering Physics Lab, when I was doing some random stuffs on the apparatus setup with another geek. God knows what it was, but then it led me stand besides 2 chattering guys unknowingly. Irritated on the first moment, I tried to stay away but then as time advanced during the lab, became quite cool with that. But heck, I never realized that those 2 guys were the starting bond of a terrific gang that made waves in the department itself !!

This then advanced to sitting beside them the next day onwards, having loads of chattering and talking nonsense (which looked quite sensible at that time like canteen food , Kannada actresses, college chicks and a few other silly stuff). This led to the growth of our gang by a few more, I mean a couple of benches in the front and in the back. All types of people, Short-tempered, maniacal, patient, dumb, intelligent and what not. Slowly, we all bonded very well, the first step being going out for a movie. I still remember the one called "Lakshya" of Farhan Akhtar for which we all went after a tough semester exam. The joy, the pranks and the fun we had was quite awesome. Then we all grew together, as if staying in the same house; internals with a jolly mood, externals with total seriousness and then goofing it up in the end; parties for each and every occasion, be it for flunking in exams or a reason like coming to college !

There was something unique, so peaceful and so much life in every moment that you can try it even now. Just pass through a nearby college and you shall get to know what I am conveying out here. See a couple or two ? Now roll back to history and see for yourself. There is fun, seriousness and a somewhat, "student" approach, totally absent of worldly responsibilities, just like the smile of an innocent child and a substance, somewhat divine and pure that you wont get anywhere else.

All this sounds normal now, but this was very much special for me. For it was a complete opposite to what I was grown into ; in a meritorious, competitive-edged and a dumb environment. All were total geeks, delved into those 200 page text-books, having just eaten it up a thousand times over and over. Nothing but study; no cricket, no time pass and no outside eateries too ! Harsh thing was, I was kept aside by everyone until I came face to face with a tragedy ! Sometimes, while going for the counselling rounds, I used to curse god for giving me such bad luck, but now he juxtaposed me to this totally whacky, out-of-this world experience, which I would certainly cherish for a lifetime.

By the way, shall post about the department fun activities sometime later. Chao !

Excellent Article !

Sounds a little bit crazy in the lifestyle in my country, but here goes..

Learn to Live, not just Exist !

A long trip, with nature and dust !

Coimbatore experience was on its way was what I had promised, so I am back ! Well, this was a total opposite to my expectations !

A dull, routine-oriented station, worse than Bangalore was what I observed when I stepped outside the AC-3 Tier coach of Coimbatore Express, for which my company paid for it (of course!). Everybody in a big hurry to just snap off from the place and then get to work. an auto, hired for a money bigger than my rail ticket (!) looked unconvincing. But, I had to reach the new office as that was my first day on deputation, a word and an experience, quite new to me.

This auto drew to a mere 4 kms and I was dumb-founded for the price tag for it. Couldnt even fight as I was weak in Tamil and feared Coimbatore to be worse than Chennai in terms of attitude. But still, controlled myself and then reached the lodge where I was about to stay for a month long of my visit (or wasnt one?).

The lodge was a guest house type, an apartment to be shared with another person. There I found a new colleague. He was quite friendly, drove me to my new office without request and helped me out with finding local transport too ! I then, reached my office, in a temperature hotter than an afternoon in Bangalore during morning and then waited for my manager. She came and took me to a cooler place, from which I was unwilling to get out and then started to work from day one itself!

Then, the fun really started ! Mails, Calls and work.. All is Hell, rather than well now ! Took 15 days to settle down, but then discovered some real fun filled pals, even in such a boring place. It was a sheer co-incidence too. It happened like this: As I was going back to my apartment, a tall, lean guy sat beside me and began to chatter in Kannada. As I was just overwhelmed by the smell of my own land, conversation was bound to happen. A small meetup, after which he got down at this stop made me get closer. He then introduced to his gang, all in fact from my own hometown, of course ! Well, then the fun started. Withing 2 days of our meet, he invited me for the trip that they had planned 3 months back ! Shocking part was, I jumped into it too.

Scene 1:
Morning 4 AM: Everybody excited and ready for the trip. The van came in late, making everybody curse to the driver but then the journey started. The destination ? Alleppey, Kerala (or Alapuzzha in new style!). . 300 kms of joy ride, having good time pass: shouting in the van, singing loudly in chorus to the playing music and having a jolly time. Reaching Alleppey was a sweaty experience. I mean, too much of heat and Kerala chicks !!

Scene 2:
Scary Beach Experience: Whoa ! This was really weird. The beach was a short one, gushing in water swiftly due to huge tides. Add to the prank, friends were chasing the tides.. One of our gang members, tried to do the same and tripped. To our horror, a big, really big wave came over and pulled her into the sea ! To help her out, another held her hand, but to our luck, another monster wave came in now, pulling both of them ! I was completely lost seeing this, but all of us made a chain and pulled them back. Thank God, apart from meaty water into their bodies and minor scratches, nothing worse happened. Had a lush, smacky meal at a restaurant remembering the ghastly incident and changed ourselves for the next scene.

Scene 3:
Lovely Boat Experience: This was the show's highlight. We had already booked a boat house and were damn waiting for the moment. Then it came in, as per our expectations. It was a big one, exactly like a house (refer the link), wishing to stay in it forever. We then detached from the shore, and made a round trip all over the town, as it is called Venice of India.. Water, Water everywhere. Fun filled and exciting, nothing short of an illusion, somewhat similar to movies, it was truly, an exhilarating one. After the round, the boat rider, then hovered the anchor down in a remote place where in there is nothing but water. Sexy na ? ;-) Had rocking fun, of course after another lip-smacking meal, and slept over in the AC room provided in the boat (sounds cheesy, but true!).

Scene 4:
Another not-me one: Morning and we were back to the shore. To our surprise, the van driver (remember, cursing?) lost the keys and made us wait till the evening to get them back from Coimbatore !! That was sheer negligence, keeping the room door open so that anybody can snatch whatever they get is really foolish. But still, this gang was not disappointed. Played Cards (newer games this time), ate lip-smacking food (again)in a restaurant (somewhat unusual, as Kerala food was allergic to me, at the least !) and roamed around communicating in our as usual broken Tamil accent in Malayalam boarded buggatis (Autos, I mean).

Scene 5:
Back to Coimbatore and doze off to another day at the office till the last day of the stay, fortunately ending it as expected.

To summarize, I must say, those 2 days were the best days for me this year. Backed by work upto my throat and short deadlines, I finally completed the mammoth task and drove back to Bangalore. Of course, with some pleasant memories !

Photos:
Alleppey Extravaganza. Do check them out, as it was taken in a SLR camera.

A better place.. Or hoping to ?

Ahh.. after a month long trekking deputation to Coimbatore, I landed in Bommanahalli office for a new life. Was this the right decision ?

God knows ! Because, this looks the total opposite of what I was currently at my old office. People are damn serious about their work, sometimes have seen people doing night-outs (unknown at Koramangala) and enjoying the process too !

I feel, sometimes life gives you chances only to take them away later. But hope is what makes our zeal stronger.

Shall post about Coimbatore experiences some other time..

A Paradigm Shift !

Recently, I happen to do some career moves which, I think are fairly justified now. But what, really made me to write this post was from a request of a close friend who wanted to analyze my moves correctly before pitching some advice. Well, if that is the case, as I respect him for what he is for, read on..

I belong to one of those people who are really serious about making a career change and don't know where and how to proceed. There are tons of options available in this world, all looks equally attractive, emotionally and financially. But the fact is that, you have only one life and thats the worst part, you cannot live all of it !

Take my case. I have my own dreams to be, let them be where they are at present. But why does God gives only one single life to live ? Or only a certain limited number of years in that, and not forever? I guess, Nature has its own law to follow but, we are pretty small creatures who cannot compete. But anyways, this looks like I have Time-management problem and unnecessarily putting blames on others which is also a common problem found.

Ahh.. where am I heading to ! Lets come back. Remember my older post of 2 guys standing outside a private bank to obtain some kind of forms ? Many guessed it on-the-spot ! Well, that was me and my friend only. Life was sucking out and then, no growth seen even in the farther areas, tried to attempt this shot. But, when I saw the maddening rush, was shocked and convinced together as most of the youngsters are facing the same problem. Everybody wants everything quick. Be it quick money, quick admissions, quick jobs, quick loans and quick needs. Hope this would not result in quick children in future ! But on a December night, I fell in love with a movie character.

This movie character was just similar to my friend whom i was discussing in my previous posts. Full of passion towards his studied field and had no demands from it. Contributing heavily in that and living life like he wanted. Carving out his own paths when others just walk on roads carved, swims against the tide when others are with the water. Consoling himself to be motivated all the time by tricking out himself. And helping out friends ! I learnt something from that character. Live your passion !!

But the fact remains, I don't have not just one passion ! And moreover, my motivation factor zooms up to a level, then back to zero ! Need some tips from fellow bloggers to stay atop all the time without even turning my eyes off the track.

Why me ?????

Feels like blogging daily nowadays. Guess what, I have my own room to boast off and the damn computer resides here itself !

All night downloads, Chat engines active all the time and some movie watching have become too common in just 7 days. New discoveries? Well, learnt to skim through the code a little bit smoothly, everything near my new house is very far to get and moreover, mileage of the bike has dropped !! Sounds vague but true.

Usually people think of some great achievements, but for me, even going to office sounds like ohh-gaad!! not again.

Missing my old college days: no responsibility, no headaches and moreover, no managers !!

New World..

Well, things are turning up a little hotter for me nowadays.

1. Got some good advice from friend about the way life goes and have become a little bit relaxed and patient.

2. Found some good thing to read. A recommended One.

3. Becoming more technically oriented; found a good site to research. That MBA stuff is like kicking your own bum from the past experience.

4. Finally became Bangalore-d after a long wait of 20+ years !

Some things are brightening up for sure. Cheers to life !

Followers !

Aha ! I got some followers of my blog as well !
czar
Arun
Thanks guys !

I too follow them up and must admit, they blog hard ! Blog ON !!

Let the blog-ology continue ! ;-)