In the summer time

I am a proper fire sign - I love the sun. The sun makes me feel happy! I don't mind the sweat or the fatigue that comes with it. And more than the sun, I like the change to the summer season which is otherwise known as spring.

By 9 ish, the sun is high in the sky, grinning at every one mischievously. But then, though hes shining bright, his rays don't pierce the body. And the mild breeze is a perfect consort for the blazing sun. I feel so pepped up with the magic the dazzling sun and frisky wind create. It makes me all nostalgic and remember the good things of life - remember the God of small things :)

The weather makes me remember, how my sister and I used to study at this time for our last term examinations. We would be left alone in the house by mom and dad, and the whole morning we would sit in front of the TV. After a nice scrumptious lunch, we would doze off. Conscience would awaken in either of us, and we would scramble to the study table. But it would only be at the fag end of the day when mom and dad would have returned that we would step on the accelerator. Then we would both realise, how much time we wasted as a result of being lax in the morning, vow to not repeat the same mistake the next day, but end up doing just the same thing even the next day.

For the first big exam of my life - the 10th standard ICSE exam, it was this very time of the year, that I actually started studying. When folks around me were comparing how many revisions they had done, which all test papers they had completed, and what not, Sam and I would be blissfully analysing the latest SRK flick or some other utterly trivial stuff for hours at end. It was only in Feb, that God pumped some sense into the 2 idiots and we started with the old Question papers :) How we managed to read the entire course within 3rd of March is in itself a miracle. And the results of that exam are something I still put up in the academic acheivements section. :)

The spring was also the time for cupid to come flying around! When in college, we would have one hellova time teasing folks, inflating the ego of some by hooking them up with the first good looking bloke we could lay our eyes on, going to parks just to find out who are the new couples of the season and being the reporters from ground zero for the rest of the bunch and of course celebrating our singledom with a boisterous treat. And it was also the time for the spring fest, which gave the hormonally charged guys and gals of the college, more opportunities to interact with each other. Being the perfect shusheel, shaleen parivarik ladki, I used to have no seconds thoughts, but go ahead and book tickets for my home town. Come on not every day you get a college leave of 3 days + add the weekends and you get 5 days at home!! Only a moron or a committed person or a wannabe commited person would miss the chance. One time, since a friend of mine did not manage tickets to go home, I promised not to abandon her and never booked my tickets. But seeing the frenzy of the couples around, I thought I had made the wrong decision. I just sooooo wanted to be home. End result, I pulled my friend, went up to the bus terminus and got 2 tickets for my place. I did not abandon her you see. We spent 3 gorgeous days at home. It was such fun :) But then the very last year,the entire batch, unnanimously decided to stay back and get all the prizes from the bloody joons :)
That was the summer of 2004.

Phew.
And this season I am at Chennai - a place famous for the 3 seasons being summer, more summer and even more summer. But its a pleasure to see the subtle nuances even in the tropical climate that it is said to have. And 2 people are making a difference and bringing a smile on my lips everyday.

One of them is M49 uncle. Well hes the driver of the bus M49 which comes to my office. Its a public transport bus - and thats the only one I got to get to office. This uncle, is ALWAYs on time. If I am around the bus terminus from the timespan of 1010 - 1030 I am bound to hop into his bus only. I am seriously amazed at the way he keeps time inspite of driving some 20 odd kms. from the start to end point (one way) . He has a pretty stern disposition and he simply does not wait for any one. If he is a tad late in getting to the bus depot, many times I have seen, he does not even park the vehicle and get a smoke. He just simply makes a U turn and moves on. Sometimes I used to feel, he should wait for a bit more, because there might be people missing his bus by seconds. But then I thought, he has got to keep time even for the folks at the other end of the route. There might be people on the end terminus similarly planning their itinerary depending on his timing. He does not disregard that! Kudos to you sir. If I knew tamil, I would go up to you and say, You do your job dutifully to the T. You are truly an inspiration.

The other person is the lady in the gym. She too sweats along with us with a smile on her face. In the place I am currently going to, we have a new floor activity every weekday. One day its yoga, the other aerobics, on another swish ball, and so on. She makes us do every single thing every single day without making any of the slow learners feel left out. One truly feels good after the session. Thank you very much for making each day good.

There are quite some happy news pouring in from family and extended family - people getting married, people getting approvals for getting married to the person they have chosen ;) , people doing good at office, people going very good in colleges, :) These things only make the crescent come on the face. The sun is shining, things will be nothing but bright.

I chose to make it a Happy New year

This time I am getting the same response from nearly everyone - the new year never made an impact. I am not sure if each and every person has taken a beating because of the economic meltdown :S but somehow everyone seemed to be giving me the same response.

Every year, I generally have some travel plans, to or from home, which makes the new year day or the days close to it(depending on the which part of the calendar I am traveling)pass by happily - if I would be going home, I would be at my chirpiest best, if I would be leaving home, I would be surrounded by relatives and hugs and kisses and with the wishes of seeing each other soon, that would make me brim with hope. But this year, it was for the first time that I was static.There was no trip in the offing. Thus it resulted in the new year not being accompanied with the fizz that it usually has.

Since our client offices were virtually vacant, work was nearly non existent. This prompted a lot of people to go forth on vacations or french leaves :) The empty chairs and just 60 minutes of work per day kind of made me feel, ok something is different, new year is coming up etc etc.

I had planned a dinner outing for K, mil and me for the 31st of December. But then mil suddenly did not seem to be in the spirits to go for it. K also being recently inducted into a high pressure assignment was not so game for any action :( And doing nothing special would have made me feel that there was nothing special. I know I know, as K remarked, it was just a change of calendar, but then, if we ignore the relevance of some days and carry on as usual, we might as well end up obliterating birthdays, holis, diwalis, christmases, anniversaries from our calendars. Cos, technically speaking, each one is just another day. It is because we chose to celebrate the occasion that the charm comes in. So I chose to make the new year, a happy one.

Since there was nothing much to be done, I scooted out at 1600 hrs on 31st evening. Seeing the bright twilight itself pepped me up. Was able to reach my area within an hour. The Ganesha temple which I adore a lot, was resplendent with flower decorations and I went inside and wished Chubby God to keep his benovelent eye on each one I love. On the way home from the temple, I picked some veggies - I had gajar ka halwa, puri and aloo subji in mind.

By the time I reached home, mil had convinced K to take me out for dinner. She wanted us to not spoil the program because she was not feeling up to it. But then I was all set to make dinner. I deferred making a call on the dinner plan till K returned home. Meanwhile mil and I savored ginger tea and watched Shrek 3 :)

K was stuck in deep traffic, which negated his chances of getting home before 2100 hrs. So I got on to making the dinner, and thankkkkkkkkk God! It came good. I was in the celebration mood already. After savoring a good dinner, I went on to watch RNBDJ yet again, to savor SRK :) Deliberately stayed up till 0000 hours, when I could do the functionary pranaam to God and zzzzed peacefully.

Come 1st, I started feeling a bit bored and nostalgic. All the while I kept remembering how vivacious things would be at my parents place, with mom cooking elaborate dishes, incessant chatter, telephones buzzing around, my sister prancing around. The day here at Chennai seemed very drab with K on with some office chores and mil generally mulling over family issues. Then I suggested lunch outside. Mil had had her fill at a havan she had attended and was more into having a simpler affair rather than lunching out. So she prompted us to eat out, while she rested her sleep deprived self( she had woken at 0400 to attend the Ganesha havan! )

Food was not out of the world, but the fresh air and winter sun and the sight of the decorated shops satiated me. Once back, I chose to drool over John Abraham and Bobby Deol in Dostana. Evening was spent talking , attending to some guests, having the remaining halwa and later having some serious discussion with K (Some times some remarks about news, views, current affairs, celebrities result in us having good quality discussions even at home. Yesterday it was something SRK had said in an interview :) ) Once that done, we watched Ghazini for an hour within which I dozed off and K wrapped up the laptop and cables.

The 1st passed off, without making a mark, but I will remember it, cos I had good food and caught up on some time pass movies - I felt all New Yearish - as a saying goes, you feel what you want to feel :)

The year 2008

Last year when I posted this I had scant thought that yet another year will pass by andddd it will be time to post another year ending thingy.

Hmm.... the end of this year does not seem like the end of a year at all. Partly I can blame it on the fact that TAMIL NADU SARKAR DOES NOT GIVE LEAVE ON 1st of JANUARY COS THE NEW YEAR BEGINS WITH THE TAM NEW YEAR. Grrrrrr......
Another reason might be, there were many things which were evened out in the year that I don't have any thing to anticipate in the coming year. There is nothing that I have planned and have to execute it next year. There is nothing that I have executed and have to await the results next year. Most of the rough and tumble happened in the year itself.

• I got married
• 2 of my closest friends got married
• I was able to trot around the country with my better half
  
• I had a splendid and a pretty educative year with my in laws ( education about the traits and quirks of the people who are to be my family hence forth :D )
  
• I moved in to a new firm and got used to it pretty decently.
  
• Got to spend awesome quality time with my parents and had helova lot of fun
• And the bestest I had a neice, the cutest thing on earth currently :)
  

Touchwood to all that ( I am superstitious in this) I hope I am able to post a placid post next year too. Wish all chancing upon this post a wonderful and glorious year and hope the new year with a new government down the line also brings in a lot of peace and prosperity to the country.

Come September

September is such a nice time of the year. The autumn air some how brings in many facets of me - one moment I might be full of anticipation, the other I would done a totally pessimistic attitude to the way of things, and yet in another I would be full of profundities.

And it being the 9th month of the year, its somehow a perfect time - to look back. To look back at the beginning of the year,how was a new year kick started, how sunny the summer was, how well the glooms in the monsoons were coped. And it is also the time to look forward - to a jam packed festive season, to weddings and get togethers and most important to a glorious wintery year end to compensate for any rough time that went by in the year.



Some how September especially September end, the mild chill in the air et al, makes me stand and take stock. With the Dusshera time coming up, I savor the wait for those nine days. Psychologically I feel as if all the elements of nature are gearing up for the festivities. The roads seems extra bright to me, people seem happier and I am flooded with nostalgia of my home town and state. I literally teleport myself to my home town and get gooseflesh. Whoa!! nothing like this time.

With 3 more months remaining for the year to be over, this time gives me a feeling, ok just three more months, this is the time to sprint. You got to cover up on all the lost time, all the lost connections with people, all the un fulfilled desires of shopping, all the planning for next year and the year after that - now. You just got 3 months!!

I will be home with my parents for a good 10 days after a long time and I think the skip in my gait is un missable. I am not sure why I penned down this post - maybe to keep still for some time atleast :)

Positive People

This I feel is one of the very rare posts inspired from office. :)
There have been days in office when everything seems so repulsive. Everything seems to antagonize the way I plan to take to get somewhere.

But then sometimes there are folks whose very presence gives that awesome positive aura that hey presto!! I am back.

I had a person in one of the previous firms I used to work with. Brilliance in the form of a human being - that's what he was! I used to adore his skills - be it technical or inter personal. And somehow I observed this weird pattern, the days thing would be going haywire, I would chance to meet him. Even after a chat of say a couple of minutes, I would be so enthused with positive energy, that I would be at my productive and effective best.

Similar is the case with my US counterpart now. I am simply amazed at the length and breadth of knowledge he has. If I was in his place, I wonder if I would be able to go from one day to the other.

Being an immigrant from Brasil, he has the cutest accent possible. He has this quirk of humming ta pa ri da pa ra ta pa di da dum as he is working on. During the calls, when there are moment when he has to stop by to fetch some document or grab some detail, his ubiquitous humming has all the folks on the other side of the call in splits :) And his sense of humour is a biggie feather in his cap. Working with him is such a pleasure. Its not only the dedication he demands from us by raising the bar himself, but he also has respect for our personal time, our space. That is something which is so commendable.

Yesterday I was getting news which was irking me from left right and center, and I had decided to give two hoots to work and just get home and put my feet up at the earliest possible time. But then during the evening call, just the customary status updates itself, made me feel - what the heck; why should I be postponing something which can be done today. And the only thing that made the day yesterday, was getting the job done- on time, on demand ;)

Well, I just hope I have an iota of the positive vibe these folks exude. Its sometimes one of the best gift you can unwittingly give to others. (Apart from a smile which can raise hearts )

Knot to be

I am writing this post on behalf of a very lazy friend of mine whose out groom hunting :)

Shes my alter ego and we often have this tag between us that we don t need to talk cos our thoughts are just mirror images :)

Now her parents are looking for alliances and after every session with a prospective groom she is sure to have a session with me, discussing what were the good, bad, ugly, immaterial aspects of the person whom she met.

She expects some one who would have all her good traits and negate all her bad ones (Perfect is boring but who would not want to have a try at some one perfect ) So she wants some one who reads, is intellectual at the same time game for a dash of fun once in a while, a sport when it comes to outdoor as well as indoor activities, not lazy, is frank, superior to her in terms of educational qualification and monthly income,etc etc.. Apart from these tangibles, she also wants some one with whom she feels an instant connection, feels mutual respect, some one who has a nice personality, some one who would support her in her future ambitions, some one who would encompass her and make her comfortable in his own circle while also allowing her room to continue all her old relations and friendships, and some more qualities which I am not able to recollect now. I know her wish list is pretty long, but being a girl, who has to leave so much and consign herself to an utter stranger, it out right SCARY.

When I was deciding upon the point whether K was the right person for me or not, I had innumerable sessions with her and another friend of mine discussing, debating, analyzing. There were more loose ends and question marks initially. But slowly there were a few but pressing reasons for me to go ahead with the alliance. I wish I remembered the deliberations that went on then. But now as I help my friend analyze the people she meets I feel scared and tensed and really worried for her. Every time she goes to meet some one I nearly pray that may she make the correct choice, may she get the nuances of the person's behavior. But just how much can you grasp in one meeting? :-S

The other day while talking she said, "I know with what reasons you can reject a person but what do people see that makes them say yes." I had no answer to that. Then she went on to say"How are you doing Amu?" I was like what kind of question is that? She said , "No dear, you are so mature. (She always feels I am mature :| ) You can handle a lot of things. But you are also a jovial fun loving person who does not like any strings attached? How are doing? How is marriage treating you? Don t you ever feel burdened? Tied down?" I did not want to answer her with the fears I have of leaving my old life. Of leaving the smooth circle of friends I have now.

Then she continued "Really I am not sure I can live with one person all the life" I was surprised at this. She comes from a pretty traditional family where some things are not questioned. Shes a thorough romantic at heart and she having doubts about living with one person brought me face to face with the fact how freaking nervous she was. She said, "I have seen people being happy when their alliances are being fixed. Why am I not feeling so? Wish I never questioned anything and went ahead with any alliance my parents got for me." I said," See dear, we are intelligent enough and free enough to questions some things. And I am sure our parents are proud of this fact. They will be sadder if we compromise and settle down thinking we are troubling them rather than speaking our mind. So please tell whatever you feel about the person to your parents and take a judicious decision."

I don t even know if I am guiding her on the right path. I just speak as I feel, what I feel at that point of time.

She s close to getting an alliance fixed. Hope things work fine for you dear friend. And as we say, marriages happen with the person with whom its supposed to happen. I just hope that person is the rightest for you dear, a real good friend and who loves you to pieces. Amen.

CAT - Over and OUT

This goes out to all the people before they start asking me my CAT score. Got a paltry 81.27% ile. Leaves me heading to no where.

So am I sad? Not exactly. I feel like a lost warrior. I fought I lost. Hmm but I did nt give in in between. I fought till the whistle was blown thrice.

Did I give in my best? Hmm... Tough question. Aint sure. If I look back maybe I could have tried a bit harder, but then, No ones died of hard work, but why take chances? :-D

I had some visions of the year ahead, under the presumption that I would be clearing the exams. Guess those visions get to go back to the Archive folder in my memory management system. Now its time to start creating new visions.

As soon as I got the result and was discussing the same with mom and my first impulse was to say "Mom I will give it again."
She was like "What the hell... Will you keep giving it ad infinitum. Ridiculous. Stay put. Try to concentrate on your new job from hence forth."

Then I realized, Yea that makes sense actually. I should know my limits. By giving the exam again and again and again whom am I trying to prove that I am a determined person? And I have always believed in the saying, "You get what you deserve, not what you want". So maybe those elite IIMs are too grand a dream for me.

If I look at the positives, not clearing CAT irons out quite a lot of troublesome months of decision making on the personal and professional front. I just have a straight path now with no future probable quandaries regarding the road not taken.



So heres me, the optimist, still believing, whatever happens, happens for the good only.....