Destiny Calling...

Seventy one articles, summing up nearly every landmark event that has crossed my path and every cerebration that has ever crossed my mind... I guess out of all things, this blog comes the closest to defining who I really am today! Sometimes, when I've nothing else to do and read some of my previous articles, it is like going through a psychological case study on yourself. It just makes me sit back and think about how each one of us is molded by time and altered bit by bit with every happening in our lives...

Now, as people of my age group slowly begin to settle down, getting into the groove professionally and personally, establishing ourselves in the world, I feel we should never let go of the ladder which brought us to this pedestal. Carrying all our past experiences not as a burden but as a passive shield, helps take on the future head on. The hereafter that awaits is an active playground open to all possibilities, and needs to be taken by the horns.

I've learned so much... Folks usually get a wind of how the world works may be by going through certain upheavals first hand, but I'm glad to say that there isn't much that I regret doing or having not done. If the world sees you how you would like to perceive yourself, then you are where you need to be. How the world treats you however depends on how you perceive the world.

I once asked a friend of mine how to make something special... His answer was simple: "You don't make something special; it simply becomes special". That really was an eye-opener, as I had always held the opinion that what makes something exceptional was exclusivity and uniqueness, and although that might play a part, doesn't a simple dinner shared with someone dear usually taste better than an expensive five-star one had alone? Also, remember that blank scroll in the Kung Fu Panda movie? Oh well! Enough rummaging for answers already... A quarter of a century worth of knowhow ought to be enough for a decent start.

So, what now? Destiny calling? As far as my current bearings here at Panipat go, the stage is all set for fate to reveal itself. As I convert my leased accommodation into a home away from home, even the landlord and landlady seem to be getting used to the idea of having me around, inviting me to marriage parties and a lot more. Even at the workplace, as I get acclimated to aligning my thoughts and actions in tune with IOC's vision, I hope in the long run I make a quantifiable impact on the oil and gas sector at large. A few more crucial elements added to this unending process of discovery called life over the next year or so, and I'll be ready to take it to the next level... Until then, three cheers and good luck to all!

Home away from home...

Final Juvenile Odyssey

There are some things that words simple cannot describe... When you’re possibly on your concluding juvenile trip in the wake of your 25th birthday, off to the southernmost corner of India on an official tour and yet end up visiting a total of not one, not two, but no less than six cities with some of your closest friends and colleagues, along with meeting up with some old buddies, then that’s really something else! Marked by vigorous energy, puerile jokes and a lot more, this was one experience I’m glad not to have missed out on.

Our journey took us from Panipat to New Delhi and then through Bangalore, on our way to Trichy, where we had a two week IOC-sponsored training programme at the Welding Research Institute of BHEL. Our half-day halt at Bangalore enabled us to pay a brief visit to Mysore, better known as the City of Palaces, which is where our real escapade begun... Returning to a place that I had visited at a very tender age with my family, it felt nostalgic to tread the hallways of the Mysore Palace once again as a young adult. The memories although vague and the recollections inaccurate helped me quietly time travel for a while. There were tonnes of other sites to travel to, but due to a tight schedule the only other place we could visit was the Sand Museum, showcasing complex sculptures ranging from ancient, medieval to modern times, that left us mesmerized.

Arriving at Trichy the day after, I was pleasantly shocked to find a birthday cake awaiting me in my hotel room at 4 am in the morning. I was supremely amazed by the hospitality showed by Hotel Sangam although I was to later discover that the surprise was partly my father’s handy work. Nonetheless, it really made my day and proved once again that there’s truly nothing that compares to having loved ones! After attending classes for the rest of the week it was the weekend that provided us with another opportunity to ramble.

We started early in the morning taking a few winks on the way, to reach Madurai, also known as the City of Festivals or the Temple City, at day break. First up was the famous Meenakshi Devi Temple! The prayers, although offered in an ungraspable tongue, truly ignite a spiritual vibe within... The towers that surround the temple in all four directions form an intricate lacework, with a lake at its heart and gold adorning its pillars. There wasn’t a square inch on any surface of the layered architecture that characterizes this place, left unsculpted. There were deities, artwork and carvings wherever the eye would gaze. The entire aura of the temple left us speechless and spellbound!

After visiting some more of the lesser known temples in the region that I feel share the DNA of the Meenakshi Temple, and having a typically South Indian breakfast served on banana leaves, we made our way to Rameswaram, where legend has it that the Ramsetu was constructed. We were fortunate enough to take a look at the house of late Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the highly respected ‘missile man’ and former president of India, who is a shining inspiration to many including myself. We followed this up with a visit to the Rameswaram Temple, where unfortunately photography was not permitted and spent the rest of our time until sundown watching a beautiful sunset at the beach.

For the next few days, after returning to Trichy, we managed to squeeze a few hours out of our daily schedule to visit some nearby tourist destinations including Thanjavur, and the local Srirangam and Rockfort Temples. The uploaded photos I think would do a better justice to these awe-inspiring places, as a picture speaks more than a thousand words, in fact some of which haven’t even been invented yet! As we bid farewell to Trichy I was faced with a unique chance to meet some of my dearest pals in Bangalore and bring the curtain down on a chapter that I felt I had left unfinished due to my unannounced departure from Flipkart a year back. Never the less, as we slowly traced our steps back to Panipat, I dreamily pondered upon the enigmatic expedition we had been lucky to be a part of...