A Lot of Firsts!

This festive season has surely witnessed a lot of firsts! The first Durga Puja my wife and I celebrated together... Our first 4D(X) movie... Our first bowling match... My first ride on a Harley Davidson... My parents’ first treat at Barbeque Nation... Our first family outing to the holy place of Shirdi... Well, the list goes on... But, above all else, this auspicious time has helped me, as always, to clear my head and view all that is really important in life.

Unlike what many might think, Durga Puja is a widespread phenomenon in many parts of the world and not just limited to Bengal. Sure, there might not be a pandal across the street at every nook and corner, but here in Pune the five or six major locations which do host this annual wing-ding, do it in absolute fervour & ebullience, thereby keeping up the tradition. The enchanting sound of the dhak pervades the calm air, the beautiful deity on one side and delicious food stalls on the other, the aroma of the Dhunachi bringing back fond memories as you exhale all the day-to-day b***s**t...

Anyway, reminiscing aside, the very first day of our hometown visit, was marked by a trip to the Shirdi Sai Baba temple, the final resting place of the 19th century saint. I must say, apart from the lavish gold decor and a queue which redefined the word serpentine, the thing that caught my notice was the security standards implemented here, complete with biometric finger scanning. After enjoying the following few days attending Durga Puja festivities at numerous locations across the city, we made another day long trip to the nearby Lonavala and Khandala, the first time I visited the place since I was probably half my mother’s height... Hahaha...

All the scenic points including Tiger’s Leap, Bushi Dam and others seemed to have been preserved in time, with us being the only variables. And although some novelties like the Celebrity Wax Museum had cropped up in recent times, it was difficult to comprehend just how much we had changed compared to our photos from two decades back, the surroundings virtually unaltered! Nonetheless, spending our remaining time exploring some additions to the modernity of Pune including the new Amoeba gaming zone and bowling alley, proved worthwhile.

Well, until next year... A very happy and prosperous Dussehra and Diwali to all!

The Vow

For the majority of us, I guess there comes a time in everyone’s life where the constant drag of a 9-to-5 day job (where the ‘5’ often turns into a larger number) becomes too much to bear, and we think of doing something else. As for me, I guess that time has arrived rather soon! Although I’ve always tried, and many a times succeeded, to contribute in whatever capacity I’ve been employed in my current firm, all new ideas and suggestions seem to get diluted travelling up the enormous hierarchy of our massive company and the corresponding benefits at lower levels amount to peanuts. Couple this with excess mental stress, unreasonable expectations, insufficient family time, and you have the perfect recipe for utter frustration and the burning desire to seek a new purpose...

So, how do you picture your dream life? Owning a huge business in something which interests you? Being your own boss? Spend your time travelling the world? Sharing your thoughts and experiences as a writer in your leisure time? Well, like anyone else’s, those are my dreams precisely... Seem a bit far-fetched? Well, no one said we could get there overnight now, did they? Everything has a humble beginning, but a start is what really matters. Irrespective of how well-paying and secured your job might be, if you dare to dream big, you know that your job alone won’t get you even halfway there!

For the average joe, the daily job life has an established trajectory: Slog è Earn just enough money for leading an average or above average life è Slog more if you want to get promoted è Then one fine morning, retire from a mid or senior management level at the ripe age of 60, regretting all the other fields you could have pursued in your prime. This is a viscous cycle that even the three consecutive ‘OS’ (outstanding) ratings that I’ve earned over my three years here, do very little to alter.

Now, I understand that resigning from a decent job right off the bat, without having any significant backup, is like putting one foot in your financial grave. Instead, what can be done is, you start a small parallel venture and allow it to flourish and become self-sustaining, so that one day it progressively grows to a level that far overshadows your job, to the point where lack of your full-time participation in your business causes more loss than the amount you earn from your service. Then and only then, can you even think of devoting yourself entirely to your venture. I have invested almost all the time I can squeeze out from my routine drudge in researching the subject, including the concepts of linear income, leverage income and passive income.

Our job life refers to a linear source of income which pays for everyday you work, meaning if you absent yourself exceeding the meagre number of leaves you are designated, then you stop getting paid. Leverage income refers to a job where you put in a massive amount of effort initially and then reap the benefits for the rest of your life. And passive income mainly refers to returns on investment, where your active participation isn’t required. So, our basic aim should be to gradually switch from a linear source of income to a leverage source, with passive income being part of both.

So, how do you choose to plan your future? Don’t know about you, but I would rather set out on an unknown path than exclusively following one I know in all probability, will never lead to fulfilling my aspirations whether they be for myself, my family or for anyone else!

“LIVE YOUR DREAMS!!!”

The Boss is Always Right!

The world is full of clichés! But once every now and then a ‘Bali Sadu’ comes along who really lives up to the reputation... Hahaha... Here are some snippets to lighten your day :P

Boss: Meet me at 2:00 pm sharp
Subordinate @ 2:00 pm: Sir! I’m here... :)
Boss: If you are here, who is looking after your field duties?
Subordinate: ..............

Boss: Where is the file?!
Subordinate: Sir, I submitted the file to you a month back...
Boss: Then why is it not on my table?
Subordinate (thinking): How am I supposed to know? A dog ate it for all that’s worth!

Subordinate: Sir...
Boss: What is it?! I don’t have time...
Subordinate: I’ve completed my office work! May I attend to my field duties now??
Boss: Two people are already looking after field work.
Subordinate: Then what should I do??
Boss: Stay here... Just in case!
Super-boss: Why are you not attending to your field duties?!
Subordinate: Sir gave me some......
Super-boss: Who has stopped you from going to field??
Subordinate: I’m doing whatever......
Super-boss: Who has stopped you from going to field??!!!!
Boss: ............
Subordinate: :(

Boss: Why haven’t you informed the agency yet?
Subordinate: Sir, I have informed the agency yesterday itself verbally... Thrice...
Boss: Give them in writing.
Subordinate: (Typing)
Boss: Do you work for the agency that you are doing their work for them?!!
Subordinate: ????????

Boss: What is 10 – 5?
Subordinate: Sir! 5 :)
Boss: For how many years have you worked in this firm?!
Subordinate: Why? What’s wrong?
Boss: The answer is 3.
Subordinate: ??????????
Boss: Do I have to tell you to subtract an additional 2? You shouldn’t require spoon feeding... Do it yourself!!
Subordinate (thinking): WTF...

Boss: What's the status of that file?
Subordinate: I submitted it to you an hour back for review...
Boss: So! What's it's status now??
Suborordinate: Sir...... Have you reviewed it?
Boss: So!! You don't know it's current status...
Subordinate: ......
Boss: Who is supposed to remind me? You've changed!!
Subordinate (thinking): Yor're right! I've stopped giving a damn...

Disclaimer: The events, characters and firms depicted in these dialogues are real. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual firms, is purely intentional.

Life Remodelled



A weekend junket...

Hoof! Everyone said life wouldn’t remain the same after marriage, though I never paid much heed to such clichés. But, what can I say? My (or rather our) life has indeed been completely transformed... The past year has been witness to some quantum changes, not only personally but in every aspect!

Just fifteen days from my return to office after marriage, I was transferred to the Projects Dept. of IOCL, leaving behind the Inspection Dept. family, towards a new professional start. Although I do miss the cohesiveness and ties our closely knit group had garnered in my previous dept., there are pros to the all new Projects dept. too. Getting to be not only a witness but the driving force behind multiple projects inc. the first of its kind 2G ethanol plant, is a reward in itself, the likes of which cannot be matched by any other dept. in the company.

But enough said about work... 2018 takes the cake for being the first year of my marriage! The time my lovely wife and I spend together will always be the highlight that’ll make this year stand out from the rest. Our first post-honeymoon family trip to the pilgrim town of Kushinagar was enchanting to say the least, followed by a short visit to Gurgaon and the nearby Worlds of Wonder in Noida. But all said and done, our trip to Kodaikanal in southern India, nicknamed "the Princess of Hill Stations", was by far the most unbelievably fascinating, providing a peaceful scenic winter retreat at the peak of summer!

But everything wasn’t all fun and glory as my beloved maternal granny sadly passed away recently. And as if this wasn’t painful enough, my paternal grandpa also coincidentally departed within a week of my granny’s death, effectively putting an end to their generation in our immediate family. The only solace I found was that, other than a bit of last moment delirium, both of them passed peacefully with relatively less pain, in the safety of their homes and comfort of their loved ones.

Well, rolling along, my wife and I have finally moved to our new 2.5 BHK in the beautiful Panipat Refinery township after a three year long wait. With the addition of my Ciaz’s little sister, the new TVS Jupiter, to my wife’s kitty, to tend to domestic work, everything has gradually begun to fall in place, helping us set up our little life, one small piece at a time. Although I’ve never lazied away from attending to my official duties, I must say, nowadays I have to make a greater effort each morning to leave home not because my work is not enticing enough but because our home finally feels like home, in its truest sense. Back in the day I used to jump at the thought of a bachelor party or a night-out but not anymore... There is nothing more rewarding than quality time spent with family! Alas... Life has changed, hasn’t it?

The allure of Kodaikanal!

The Sense of 'Me'

Consciousness... A word casually thrown around so often, but what does it actually imply? Some would describe it as simply being awake or awareness of self... Sure! But what does self-awareness or being awake really mean?? Let’s just take out a single minute for contemplating what was just said... Think about it for a moment. You could have been anyone, or better anything, among the countless entities you observe every passing second in your day to day life. After all, we can only even think of beginning to control our lives after we’re born, right??

Did you decide that you wanted to be you before your birth? Absolutely not! You could have been the ice-cream vendor opposite your house or a business magnate you might occasionally see on TV. Oh! Better still, you could have been your neighbor’s dog! But no... You are none other than you! Close your eyes and let that sink in, and you might begin to grasp the enormity of this simple yet complex word ‘consciousness’!

You are unique no matter who you are. Even if you have an identical twin, you are still you! Your arms are only yours, your eyes enable only you to see, your mouth enables only you to eat, your nose enables only you to breathe... And last but not the least your brain, the seat of your very consciousness, is also specific to you and you alone!

The power to take decisions based on any number of changing parameters and spontaneously react to any unforeseen circumstance in our own unique way is something that no machine can match! No matter how smart our so-called artificial intelligence (AI) gets and how advanced their programming becomes, do you really feel that the limitlessness of a sense of 'me' can be cooked up in a computer?! How do you expect your robot to actively reason about a thing that even you haven’t dreamt of and which cannot be derived from the parameters you fed into the system??? No doubt, that with modern day technology, bots have become more and more human-like... But that’s still human-‘like’ and not human!

The ever so popular touring test, made famous my numerous Hollywood blockbusters only evaluates if one can distinguish between a human and a machine after speaking with both. But let’s say that some machine passed the test, would it be able to spin new theories about our cosmos? Would it have imagination which could conjure up literally anything in our infinite universe? Would it be able to do something not even distantly derived from your programming directly or indirectly, with sufficient logic behind its reasoning? Could its artificial mind evolve beyond the scope of your work?? Well, as far as the present day goes... Guess not...

This is when you finally begin to realize how exclusive you really are... You affect the world around you with every step you take in your own original way and the world affects you too... You are already special irrespective of who or what you are. Although, whether you want to magnify or diminish that, is completely up to you! As far as I’m concerned, one should not spend his or her life trying to be someone else or chasing after another’s dreams... Remember that the name Jamsetji Tata is not famous because he was born a Tata; rather, the name Tata is famous because Jamsetji Tata dedicated his life to pioneering Indian industry. Be the most levelheaded you in as unapologetic a way you please! After all, that’s the only thing you owe yourself...

A New Inning!

Whoa! It’s ironical to think that in spite of 2017 being one of the busiest years for me both personally and professionally, it seemed to be the longest ever. In the short few months I was away from the blogosphere since my last article, I had to plan a visit home for Durga Pooja and more importantly, for going shopping on account of my marriage. Returning to my workplace shortly thereafter, I was nominated for a 10-day in-house training followed by an official half month tour to Chennai, all this right before my huge wedding plans for December.

The bachelor party organized by my office colleagues a few days before I left was a roar! Other than the nuptials, the very prospect of being able to get away from all those daily chores, that too for a complete month seemed enticing... The last time I was away from work for this long was probably on one of my school summer vacations! LOL... Nonetheless, the long awaited moment, that would mark the beginning of a new inning in my life, had finally arrived...

Travelling to Delhi, then Lucknow, finally arriving at Gorakhpur, my family received the best welcome possible, being showered with roses, and every moment from then on was a memoir for the ages. Every day before the final wedding night was marked by some rite or the other including Ai Buro Bhaat, Nani Mukh, Holud Bor, Holud May Pokho & Mehendi. Yeah! The first time I heard all those names, I was wide-eyed too... Hehe... But the one ritual I was completely unaware of was that on D-day the groom actually had to be carried all the way from the car to the podium without letting his feet touch the ground! Hmmmmm... What can I say other than that it was completely hilarious for me and an eon’s workout for those unfortunate shoulders who had so eagerly volunteered to carry me! Hahaha...

With all the bells, whistles & smoke, the wedlock was surreal to say the least! Swearing our final vows in clear view of the full moon, my fiancée & I were finally united... All within the span of an hour or two! With our next day early morning visit to the Gorakhnath Temple, as is customary, it was already time to pack our bags, and before we knew it, we were headed back to Pune for our reception. Another week or so of parties and rituals, topped off by a fabulous evening at Radisson Blu, and hats off to the extraordinary amount of effort put in by both our families for bringing this entire event to a successful conclusion.

Next up was our honeymoon! And while there are those who prefer to simply spend a couple of nights at a posh hotel, and others who would rather pick an international destination with a fancy name as today's trending social media hashtags demand, over the experience it might actually offer, we just wanted to get away from the routine rumpus... And as it turns out, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, pretty much isolated from the rest of the world, was an ideal fit. Spending some time at Port Blair, the Cellular Jail, Kalapani Museum, Chidiya Tapu and Corbyn Cove’s Beach were all good but the even more remote Havelock and Neil Islands were simply magical! Untouched by commercialization, the Radhanagar Beach at Havelock, touted as Asia’s best beach was an immense expanse of serene ocean as far as the eye could see with a backdrop of sand and coconut trees. Its rocky brother, The Kalapatthar Beach wasn’t far behind. The Natural Beach at Neil was special as during low tide, it showcased an exposed coral reef with octopi, starfish, crabs and whatnot crawling on the moist rocks! Spending the dusk hours at the Sunset Point only added charm to an already otherworldly experience... Travelling from island to island in a luxurious ferry completed the topping on our already spicy vacation! Just wished my wifey's fear for skin tanning hadn't kept us from scuba diving... LOL! Girls...

One hell of a month!! Wasn’t it...? Phewww...