AADIJAY DEV

5TH OF FEBRUARY, 2023

Excitement and ecstasy with apprehension and tonnes of sleepless nights… Finally stepping into parenthood thrilled to welcome our little miracle, our sweet bundle of joy, our brighest ray of sunshine, our next generation into the world, in the form of our son Aadijay, feels nothing short of hypnagogic! A buoyant shout-out to the new grandparents on their elevation, and ardent thanks for the tireless hours put in during the nine months, to bring this to a successful fruition, along with the rest of our friends and kin for the wishes and blessings pouring in from far and wide. It seems to be divine governance that despite a non-sedentary lifestyle, this birth is incidentally our dynasty's fourth iteration in the very same city of Guwahati, starting from my maternal grandpa, followed by my mother and me, and now assuredly my son too!

If a family can be represented as pieces on a chess board, then it is important for a new dad to figure out who the most valuable piece is… It is not him, but the newborn who is the king! Continued protection must be ensured for the wee munchkin as he quickly learns and grows under our vigilance, at the same time not forgetting to harbor this rapidly passing phase. There is a saying that “Hard times create tough men, tough men create soft times, soft times create weak men, weak men create hard times!” Hence, irrespective of one’s financial standing and place in the social strata, one must raise warriors, so that efforts of one’s past generations can be used as a spring-board and built upon, rather than stagnancy or regression resulting from smugness.

The name ‘Aadijay’ meaning ‘the first victory’, struck a chord with me the moment we came across it, as it is symbolic in so many ways… While it is true that the parents’ longings may differ from their child’s ambitions, probably one of the only regrets I have had in my own life till date, is that although I have been a step or two ahead of our recent foregoers, I wouldn’t call it a quantum leap. I wasn’t able to professionally pursue the career of my first choice, which was to be at the forefront of our existential quest as an astrophysicist or a scientist in general, nor have I been able to set up a laissez faire milieu for us. So, if our son can actually follow his most preferred path albeit without sacrificing practical necessities, it would surely be the first true victory, not only for him but may be for mankind at large! Who knows?

The shift in priorities has been stark… While on the work front I have always tried to do my best all around, it is best remembered that plant shut-downs come and go, and you try for little achievements between your daily punch-in and punch-out, but our career’s end normally isn’t too different than foretold by our trajectories, which in itself usually varies only marginally with any added push. On the personal front too, although my wife and I have already well-utilized the five years of ‘we-time’ we’ve had, ensuring soundness of our way of life and roving places, there are still quite a handful of domestic and international destinations on our radar, which I wish we are able to visit sooner than later, even more so now with the newest and cutest member of our family.

Last but not the least, Son… If you happen to read this article some time later in the near future, remember that all said and done, it is ultimately you who defines your name and not the other way round… You have for sure inherited some capable genes for the most part, and having brought you into being of our own velleity, nothing is more important for us than to provide you with the finest upbringing possible at our level, from the best nutrition to painless inoculations to class tutelage and a lot else wrapped in an unconditionally altruistic cloak... But I believe that at the end of the day, nothing truly surpasses one's own resolve and effort. 

While it may be lonely at the top, it must be imbibed that an attempt to get to that echelon can thereby often become a lonesome march too. Strength in numbers is after all the fancied go-to measure only endorsed by the feeble and the incapable, borne out of necessity rather than one's disposition. No wonder jillions of influential personages these days prefer low-key conjugal rites and such, realizing the paramountcy of quality over quantity! 

Aadi, you are the embodiment of your parents’ will and we have the utmost love and faith in you. There is nothing that we hold dearer in this universe or the next...

BE THE FORCE!!!

Not even one, but trotting across the Indian peninsula from the vibrance of Goa to the lore of Kolkata...!

The Gravest Error: Self-deceit

As was once expressed by the 19^th century British writer and politician Edward Bulwer-Lytton, “The easiest person to deceive is oneself.” Self-deceit, a term although commonplace, is often treated too lackadaisically for one's own good, which leads me to question the awareness regarding its implications. It is usually borne from reluctance to accept the naked truth, preferring to pull the wool over one’s own eyes rather than having the industriousness to transform one’s imagined world into reality. It is a false road to fulfillment, which vanishes as one nears its end, and one’s actuality crumbles like a house built on sand.

Think of con artists like Charles Ponzi, after whom the infamous ‘Ponzi Scheme’ is named. He knew his methods would be unsustainable in the long run, but still pursued his ways for an enviable twelve months or so, before being imprisoned for more than twelve long years, eventually dying in poverty at a charity hospital. A classic case of self-deception indeed! But we needn’t look that far, when examples in our day to day lives are a dime a dozen…

What would you call the use of unfair means in a mock test for short-lived glory, instead of using it to assess your present level in all verisimilitude, for the actual exam and improve? Or shying away from medical test results, knowing full well that they are just a reflection of what you already have in your system, preferring ignorance over haleness? Similarly, you must have come across folks who spend a couple of days in the gym, and believe they can effortlessly take on professional fighters and strength athletes. Some expert street bikers too, thinking they can always get away with their hooligan stunts on crowded roads, despite their common recklessness, without ever getting into an accident, is another worrying prospect. On a graver note, secretly wishing for the departure of someone chronically sick on the pretext of concern for the patient's discomfort, when all you want is to get rid of your own burden, is another often overlooked example of self-deceit.

So, how can we counter the sometimes overwhelming urge for self-betrayal, something that I would rate as even more negatively potent than the seven cardinal sins? I’d say every time we tend to fly off the handle, we should perform an immediate reality check and remind ourselves of our current footing. But the more we rehash this process, the more our determination needs to increase, to avoid complacency arising from repetitiveness, so that we never get sucked into the fake realm of self-deceit!

STAY REAL!!!... 

#AsRealAsRealGets! Welcoming our Hon'ble Director (Refineries) to Guwahati on the occasion of Indian Oil Athletics Meet - 2022

75 Years of Independence

Celebrating the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ commemorating 75 years of modern Indian independence, the fervor with which this year’s Independence Day is being observed in our country is unprecedented. With almost every household here adorned with the Indian tricolor, in line with the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ initiative by our Hon’ble PM, it is truly a sight to behold. With flagged bike and electric rickshaw rallies, and even small-time roadside vegetable and fruit vendors proudly displaying our national flag on their hand-pulled trolleys, and school students performing to patriotic songs in the farthest and remotest reaches of our vast and diverse nation, adding to the already zealous festivities, 2022 is turning out to be a year like none other.

Being presently located in North-East India, whose athletes had a fabulous showing in the recently concluded Common Wealth Games at Birmingham, only acted as an embellishment to the jollification, which was unmistakable at the live programme we attended at the Mahabahu Brahmaputra River Heritage Centre on the eve of our 76^th Independence Day. With the mighty river Brahmaputra gushing past our venue on one side, and the fantastically lighted erstwhile DC’s bungalow in the backdrop, as well as Starbucks Coffee and Radisson Blu outlets bordering the stage area, it couldn’t get more scenic than that!

But for me, this is not just about national independence, but about personal freedom too. However, with increasing day to day liabilities, it is easier said than done... Or is it? You might have come across a truism stating that complete control is an illusion and the closest we can get to it, is by being authentic in our decision making, the hows of which I have previously touched upon way back in 2012, on this very blog in “Stop The Waiting Game!.....” While we may have control over putting in the right amounts of elbow grease in the right directions at the right instants, which undeniably have a bearing on the final outcome, it is best earliest understood that the actual outcome itself can never be directly controlled by us.

Hence, with this realization comes plenty of rope for the mind, and as a result peace, which is extraordinarily important especially considering that the next big shovel of coal that I had mentioned in my last article might not be too far after all… ;) The sooner you stop woolgathering over consequences after having done the needful, the sooner will you learn to get the most out of life! Wishing all the do-gooders of our nation bright days ahead…

VANDE MATARAM!

Nature’s Apotheosis

Meghalaya re-discovered!

The title of this scoop really says it all… If there is one state in India where nature is prioritized over any pecuniary objectives, then Meghalaya would surely be one of the strongest contestants for it. While the heavily frequented Rock Capital of India, Shillong and one of the top contenders for the world's rainiest place, Cherrapunji may be the polestars of tourism here, many don’t realize that there is so much more to this state especially for naturalists often left unexplored! So, my wifey and I embarked on a 3-day campaign of re-discovery of this miraculous province.

First among the places of exceptional curiosity, was Asia’s cleanest village Mawlynnong… Enter it and not only can you forget about morsels of street-side refuse, but you can safely bet on the absence of even a single dried leaf on its roads! The level of spruceness maintained here along with lines of baroque chalets, could not only challenge any 5-star resort but probably also come out the winner. And nearby one can find another global uniqueness native to only some parts of Meghalaya, the picture perfect Mawlynnong living root bridge, connecting the opposite banks of a ferocious cascade. Nature is truly the best engineer there is…!

Next up was the border town of Dawki in the West Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya… Boating on the crystal-clear waters of the Wah Umngot between sheer cliff faces, offered one of the most immersive natural experiences we’ve ever had! Although it can get a bit murky during times of heavy rains, washing the surrounding hillside soil into the river, row to its central patch and it is likely to more than live up to its reputation. The India – Bangladesh Tamabil border also offered a rare sight where Indian and Bangladeshi tourists crossed their respective national territories to exchange greetings in the no-man’s land, clicking selfies with each other.

The Mawphlang Sacred Grove, a few miles offset from the Shillong – Cherrapunji road, was another spell-binding experience, the local guide giving us an exclusive insight into their clan’s history and centuries’ old tradition practiced to this date, not to mention his skill with the camera, no less than a seasoned photographer, giving us some exquisite shots with the forest. Hope we didn't anger their deity Labasa, who legend has it, does not allow anything that belongs there to leave the grove! At the end of the day, these are the winks of time that get mortared to our minds. Personally, if my head ever needed a factory reset and I had the superpower of teleportation, then this would definitely be the spot I'd arrive at!

All in all, this was surely our most momentous trek since our Chail-Kufri getaway about a year and a half back. Our harmonious surroundings made us realize that we have already been blessed with and achieved so much in a short time, be it professional stability or overall familial well-being or being able to go places unconstrained, without having to worry much about finances or otherwise, and much more... We are grateful to be in a position, if we can say so with utmost humility, where the number of cars or properties in our family is almost equal to the number of members, be it for present convenience or envisaged future necessity. Our level of preparedness is almost as if we are waiting for life to catch up to us, albeit in a very positive way... For the next big shovel of coal in our steam engine, so to say! Sorry, I guess the philosopher in me is at it again… Hahaha… Thank you ‘Megh’-‘alaya’ or should I say ‘Abode of the Clouds’!

Back to work then... *SIGH*

Too advanced for our own good?

As it was once mentioned by one of the foremost minds in theoretical physics of the past century, Richard P. Feynman: ‘Science is just a key for every man to the gates of heaven, but the same key can also open the gates of hell’! Nothing else could be truer…

Just for instance, as we all know harnessing nuclear power in reactors can be a boon as a sustainable energy resource, but use it to create weapons of mass destruction and the horrors become instantly apparent. Think of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War-II, where about a quarter of a million people were wiped out in two fell swoops, the majority of whom were innocent civilians. Genetic malformations are observed to this date in the descendants of the survivors of the cruel attack! Besides, excessive nuclear tests have a massive detrimental impact on the ecosystem and the environment, creating temperatures equivalent to the Sun’s surface for a few seconds here on mother Earth. Are we not concerned about harming the very things that help sustain life on our precious planet? So much for a term as casual as ‘collateral damage’…

But, this is not just about nuclear power… In our day to day lives, would we the common folk, stand even a remote chance if let’s say, a sniper or someone with any decent long range fire-arm, were to target us while climbing into our vehicles or simply strolling down the street? Think about it for a second… Earlier in the age of sticks and stones there was at least a possibility to defend oneself, but now it appears to be more luck than anything else, especially with relaxed gun laws in quite a handful of countries, leading to increasing incidents of shootings in schools, subways and other public places. The sheer fragility of life like a bone china dish, haunts me to the extent that I have developed a rather unique addiction for keeping busy all the time, not knowing the paucity of time the future holds. Have we become too advanced for our own good?

Diplomatic allegiances aside, today as Russia wages war against Ukraine without any clear perpetration of violence or territorial infiltration by the latter, with Soviet tanks running over Ukrainian civilian cars and much more, what power does a regular person have in the face of such adversity? The very reason the United Nations was formed after two consecutive world wars was to prevent an occurrence approaching such magnitude of loss, but we see history repeating itself exposing these organizations as hollow rubber stamps just to appease some of the super powers of the world. Any vote against one of these super powers would simply be vetoed by that nation. Isn’t it obvious?! It seems Nazi captive Anne Frank’s chilling quote that the strong live and the weak die, still stands in the present modern era.

In any case, I think evidence is aplenty that at the end of the day there is no substitute to strength, from the might of a country right down to that of an individual. No wonder so many Indians have tremendous respect for our martyred freedom fighters, like the trio of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Udham Singh and countless others, who were ready to go the distance to achieve their goals, unlike certain others whose methods were akin to emotional blackmail and long term political propaganda. These revolutionaries laid the foundation stone for our country to be as independent and strong as it is today, and the least they deserve is a humble salute from each and every citizen of this prosperous nation.

Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!

Personal strength forms the building blocks for national strength! #Home Gym Modest Beginnings

Health & Fitness

Didn't imagine that I'd ever get to say this, but after burning at its brightest globally over the last month, it looks like the Corona-virus is finally on its way out of its pandemic status, although not before infecting my mother, my wife and I, as a final goodbye. Yeah… After all the hearsay, it is bizarre that now we are part of that worldwide case count too! But I’m allayed that we escaped relatively unscathed, especially as far as my diabetic mother is concerned. Anyhow, the COVID tally as on date stands at 42.6 Crore cases with 59.1 Lakh unfortunate demises, a narrative that will forever stick in the minds of all those who have lived through these dicey times.

But, moving past the whole Corona business, I would like this article to cover a lot more than just that. None of us are getting any younger, are we? No matter what age group we presently fall in, the clock’s hands only tick clockwise... Just for instance, even at the healthy age of 30, I feel more comfortable in the 205 lbs weight range rather than carrying around close to a beefy 225 lbs at a shade under 6 ft tall, which came naturally to me at 25. The power of my lenses which were constant for the better part of two decades, have more than doubled in recent times, probably due to increased time spent on a PC at work. My tonsillitis which lay dormant since my pre-teenage years has become a recurring issue as of late as well. And I would definitely think twice before lifting my wifey from a supine position just for fun, which was a piece of cake back in the day, for fear of spraining by back! Hahaha…

But age is surely not the only factor causing changes in one’s health. Climactic conditions, current lifestyle and other parameters also have a role to play in our day-to-day fitness. For example, after we moved to Guwahati, the duration of my wife’s allergic coughing bouts has gone up from days to weeks, at least partially due to the heightened humidity of this place. Routine medical checkups or trips to the gyno have also become more frequent. All in all, I have realized that this is a time when we need to put in more of a conscious effort to take care of our health to keep it on a steady track, be it diet regulation or the appropriate amount of cardio and resistance training, to keep our vitality at the required level.

But this is not just about one’s physical health alone. I think we can all agree that the significance of mental health has been showcased all too well by the exiting pandemic. With countless folks having faced protracted quarantines and lockdowns, it is easy to feel isolated not only from each other but from our very purpose to live. However, I think my wifey and I have received the sweeter end of the deal in this regard, thanks to Guwahati’s lively environment, with our Refinery’s annual fate and flower show at our township here a few days back, where we won the 3^rd prize for ‘Best Kitchen Garden’ cultivated at our residence! Whatever uplifts your psyche, remember that you are the only one uniquely qualified to deal with your own impalpable issues.

Towards a greener future with our award winning nursery!

Shangri-la

No twaddle and no buzzwords required… What can I say? Modern day Guwahati has simply been our Zion for the past couple of months here! I still remember a time when my wifey and I used to hanker for the tiniest of de vacaciones, but now that my posting has brought us to the Garden of Eden itself, our cravings have been briefly quelled. Other than the marvels of Guwahati, nearby places like Sonapur with a multitude of activity-packed resorts and hillside tea gardens, Chandrapur with scenic riverside hideaway auberges ideal for a day out, as well as wildlife sanctuaries like Pobitora with umpteen species of migratory birds and rhinos, are quite the catch! What more could one ask for in a world consumed by COVID yet again? Yeah… A new year and with it a new variant of the Corona virus… Enough already!

This time it is Omicron, first detected in South Africa and spreading inchmeal to eventually grip the world in the most infectious upsurge of the virus yet. Till date over 4% of the global population has been infected by one or the other form of the notorious Corona virus, leaving more than five and a half million dead in its wake! It has already been more than two years since this horror story began and memories of a COVID-free world have become truly obscure, with daily COVID cases in India climbing from a few thousand to over a quarter million within the first two mere weeks of 2022, ushering in its third wave. Vaccination of children has commenced, with frontline workers and senior citizens having co-morbidities being prescribed booster doses, and many brands which were basing their advertisements on the exit of the virus, having to revert back to their old commercials... How anti-climactic!

On the work front, I’m glad that my efforts at Panipat were finally officially recognized with a top grade in our annual ratings after a two year lull. And although this does not change the hard facts mentioned in some of my recent articles, it does hint that there are at least a handful of individuals even in a public sector like ours, ready to look past short sighted politics for overall betterment, to whom I’m grateful. Nevertheless, there is a long and tedious road ahead… As a fish named Dory once said: “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…” LOL!

On the personal front, one of my old colleagues who recently got hitched mentioned that the pressure to ‘enjoy’ is a lot… Haha! While family planning may have been the only priority for many amongst the past generations, enhanced prosperity and the resulting open-mindedness has led most of the present generation to reconsider the bucket list of stuff that were previously often ignored prior to parenthood, be it a career launch or simply touring some of the wonders of this world together without too many additional responsibilities. But it is time when it is time… Counting on your blessings o’Lord ;) 

My interaction with Hon'ble Chairman, IOCL during inauguration of our new DIP unit at Guwahati Refinery, as part of the core commissioning team!...

Sayonara Twenties!

Our Guwahati saga begins!

As I bid adieu to my twenties within the next 2 weeks, it is indeed a strange sensation stepping into my tricenarian years… Somehow, even before my teenage, I could always visualize myself as a twenty something year old, but I could never look past thirty. As I had rightly mentioned in one of my previous articles, it truly does feel like a whole different phase of life, separated by a well-defined barrier. But I guess there is no better place to cross it, than my birthplace itself, Guwahati…! Is it coincidence or providence? Either way, 1991 to 2021… Man, what a journey! Earlier, even ten years seemed to be monumental, but as every passing year forms a lesser and lesser percentage of our total time spent on this planet than the years past, I’m only beginning to slowly assimilate these thirty long chalked up years. 

I’m glad my parents had come over to live with my wife and I for the entirety of my 29^th year, which is the longest I’ve spent with them at a stretch, since having to leave home about eleven years back, for my higher education. And whilst all of us spent some savory time together, let us admit that most families these days do require a sort of post marriage ice-breaker. It is never easy when the paths of two families get intertwined, with potential difference in precedences, expectations and a lot else, things which come to light only after prolonged exposure to one another. However, it is important to reach a level of logical acceptability, albeit with care for each other’s inclinations or aversions to the extent feasible.

I feel blessed to have a terrific family, be it my wife or my parents, or my in-laws. When my maternal grandma was critically ill a few years back and counting her days in a half conscious state, barely able to respond or gesture to anyone, my wifey was the one who had the foresight to convince me to buy air tickets within a day’s notice, for only a couple of hours visit to my hometown, leaving all my official obligations aside, and today I can thankfully say that the smile on my grandma’s face on seeing us, was beyond priceless, which might not have been possible had we arrived any later. Then again, when it was time to get vaccinated against COVID-19, my wifey was the one who convinced by conspiracy theory spinning father to get the dose, something which proved to be of immense importance not only from a health point of view, but also for essential travel and in other avenues later on. The list is endless…

On the other hand, my parents as always have tried their best to be as compassionate and inclusive as possible, despite the dynamic many a times being different from their age-old imagery, for which I’m grateful. From our childhood we are used to seeing our parents as pillars of strength, but as we grow up the tables are turned, and although they might still continue at a fever pitch, the fragility of our older generations, be it physical or mental, slowly becomes apparent. Once approaching our thirties, we should be matured enough to accept our role as a heavy-duty hinge, doing our bit for the proverbial door-frame assembly not to fall apart. People often tend be amnesiac about the good that is done, while the bad seems to get cemented in history downplaying one's own shortcomings, but that’s not me.

Any way… On the professional front, as far as my present calling at Indian Oil goes, after a blistering start in my initial few years with some brilliant colleagues and unprejudiced top brass, piloting through the quite antithetical widespread reality has gradually become more and more onerous… I’ve seen highly competent all-rounders retiring at average ranks, and relatively bush-league individuals fast-tracked to higher levels in no time at all. Sometimes, getting too involved in this petty game of cat and mouse really doesn’t feel worth it, especially when you have a family to look after, but alas the world doesn’t always bend to our will easily. 

I guess successes and debacles are always part of the voyage, but as our Guwahati saga begins, I have nothing but heartfelt gratitude for all my friends at Panipat for all the fond memoirs, and my well-wishing seniors for their constant guidance and support. On the personal front though, I’m relieved that Guwahati is treating us a lot better than Panipat ever did, with a wide mishmash of places to brighten up our evenings and the weekends. As the Dutch writer, Corrie Ten Boom once said: “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

Wishing everyone a happy and safe Diwali'2021... 

A special thanks to our respected CGM & GM for gracing my farewell at Panipat! Au revoir until we meet again...

Resurgence

After having been posted at Panipat for nearly six long years, I guess it is finally time to move again, thanks to my life’s first official transfer, to a place none other than the gateway of North-East India, Guwahati. To say that this order was a shocker would be an understatement, as so many in our company have tried for the same in vain, Guwahati being one of only two major refinery locations under the Indian Oil banner (the other being Baroda), where you do not have to run to another city for the nearest airport, and the only one out of the two to be situated in the lap of nature.

But these aren’t normal times, are they? Yeah! I’m talking about COVID-19, a pandemic which has again raised its loathsome head in our country, with this wave being far worse than the first, with more than 350,000 new cases being reported daily and no signs of slowing down. Medical systems are on the brink of collapse, with a severe deficit of oxygen being faced across most major hospitals pan India, and Govt. organizations and public sectors diving into the mix, converting industrial grade oxygen to medical grade, and supplying thousands of tonnes of this life saving resource to the nearest cities. The air-force too have been tasked to airlift liquid oxygen tankers and mobile oxygen generation units to locations being overrun by the corona virus. Even the ongoing vaccination process promises to save you only from the severity of the disease rather than to prevent contracting the virus in the first place. These turbulent eddies have a grim outlook indeed! But life must go on as always...

Personally, despite the challenges involved, I’m happy with the anticipation of settling at a new place. Well, not completely new though... Our family might have chosen to settle at Pune for the long term, but my parents grew up in the North-East, with my father hailing from Shillong and my mother from Guwahati itself, making it my ancestral place of sorts. The tales of my great grandfather, Prof. Atul Ch. Dutta, who was the founding father of the Botany Department of Guwahati's 116 years old Cotton University, are legendary. And the memory of my grandparents’ glory days will forever be linked to that titular Assam-style house near Paltan Bazaar, proudly standing to this date, surrounded by concrete highrises. Sad that the tenants to whom we’ve rented the place, could hardly understand its significance to us.

Anyway, although some might call this transfer ill-timed due to present global circumstances, I would say the timing couldn’t have been any better. Not only does it give me an opportunity to trace back my roots, but one must admit that after a certain while spent somewhere other than probably one’s home, one simply outgrows the place, which is exactly how I feel about Panipat now. Other than leisure, although I have put in some of the best work of my career in the past couple of years here, be it the actual assignments or the necessary peripherals, it has unfortunately been the least rewarding, with possible effects of distasteful workplace politics, incompetent audit committees having the nerve to criticize those who perform their role for them, and an unwillingness to provide leaves even when practically unavoidable, causing me to lose the little faith I had in the system. A private firm even with all its follies, would know how to value its assets. Oh, well... Having squeezed every bit of worth out of this place and its surroundings, I guess it is time to gracefully bow out.

Thank you Guwahati Refinery, IOCL for the warm welcome!

Teaching the Mind ‘NOT’ to Think

There is a popular saying which I’m sure most of us have heard by now, that ‘the brain is a GOOD SERVANT, but a TERRIBLE MASTER’, an adage that I’ve laughed off without much thought till date. After all, we are our brains, aren’t we? But I’ve finally begun to appreciate the symbolism behind this axiom, which is actually trying to tell us to avoid cursory irrational thoughts, by which the mind can be plagued from time to time. Remember that old drill where you are not supposed to think about the 'pink elephant'? I bet most of you just did exactly that!

I have beared upon some of the theoretical aspects of this topic in few of my previous articles including ‘Abstraction’, ‘A Different Perspective’ and quite recently in ‘Emotional Equilibrium’. But the question now is how it can be practically inculcated. Although some might talk about meditation as a possible solution, let us be honest that in today’s ultra-busy lifestyle, hours of daily meditation might not always be feasible... So I decided to device a thought experiment!

Imagine you are at your office desk working on an excel sheet, and your mind begins to wander when you want it to focus. Just choose a cell towards the centre of the very file you are working on, highlight it in your favourite colour, and simply concentrate on that highlighted cell with your entire mind. I chose the colour green as it represents nature, and brings with it a certain sense of peace for me. If you still get senseless ephemeral thoughts during this exercise, then imagine a similar ‘green screen’ in your mind as well, and gradually try to increase the duration of your focus. In my case, my first few distractions were at intervals of about 1 minute each and then when I rivetted my eyes harder, the interval begun to increase and gradually went up to almost 5 minutes at a stretch, which I’d say is decent progress.

The objective here is to reach the maximum ceiling of mental perfection allowed by our singular personal circumstances, which in my case couldn't get more nonpareil. After all, each one of us is running an empire in our own right and can’t always afford to think of the past battles it took to get our kingdom established, even if those memories are as winningly fond as mine, or anything else that might creep up once in a while, within the extremities of one's mind.

I’ve kept this one short, but I hope it helps...

***FOCUS***

College Feels Revisited

As my sister-in-law begins her college journey away from home next week at MMU Mullana, a visit to the campus took me back to my own voyage at IIT (BHU) Varanasi which ended five years back. Watching groups of students chatting at the cafeteria reminded me of the lunches my friends and I used to share at VT in the BHU campus back in the day, its dosa being my most favorite till date. And who could forget Chaubey ji’s juice corner or the fresh smell of dahi-jalebi at HG in the weekend mornings or that yummy chole-samose and tea almost every evening at LC, the cobbled walkways being witness to so many of our stories, not to mention those who were here before us as well as those who are yet to adorn these hallowed grounds in the times to come... The small things are the ones that you remember the most, like ‘hocruxes’ holding pieces of you!

The day you start out at college, you step onto a blank canvas, which you can paint as you want. And while some make clever strokes with their brushes, with an overall vision of a final portrait, others flounder around with a blotch here and a streak there… 2020 truly brought down the curtain on a decade full of volatility and changes, as many of our batch-mates get nestled into their lives and tie the knot, while some hopeless dolts hilariously get hitched to their ousted college hand-me-downs, helping them keep up their façade, in a futile attempt to cover up their past fiascos. Oh! Well…  I crossed that finish line a long time back and I’d have to say my 5-year sketch turned out exactly as intended. I guess once a hard-nosed crazy hatter, always a hard-nosed crazy hatter, eh? Haha... It is all about the continuum for my generation now, moving along the creases of our own choosing, for those of us who have been fortunate enough, and trying to make the best of what's left, by others with a relatively sour deal. When one plays the game hard in the big boy's league, the results are likely to be hardcore too!

But, at present this is all about my sis-in-law and her journey henceforth… Those final year students at MMU giving my wife and I strange looks as our new faces walked down the department hallways in full confidence, was beyond comical! Little could they have guessed that we were a lot senior even to the last yearites there, albeit from starkly different fields of law and engineering, until obviously we introduced ourselves to the professors of the dental school. Having our lunch at the university mess amongst the deafening clanking of cutlery, which could be heard from half a mile away, was something we had sorely missed. It is funny how time passes…

I wish I get the opportunity to revisit my own college campus some day with my wifey in the near future, as some things just never get old. So much has happened since those golden days, I have almost begun to forget some of the names of the popular spots I used to hang out with my friends at, which is never a good sign. Nonetheless, right now I would just like to congratulate my sis-in-law, Shreya, on having made it to this juncture, despite a worldwide pandemic still wreaking havoc globally, albeit with a few vaccines on the verge of commercial production here in India. I’m sure her generation will probably be the first to experience regular long term online classes and a lot else, something I would like to hear from Shreya herself, over a cup of tea someday.

Alas! I guess the time has finally come for someone else to recite their college tales from here on out…

WISHING YOU THE VERY BEST FOR THIS NEW CHAPTER OF LIFE!!!...

Gateway to the Azure

As this decade draws to a close, this blog which started its journey from the very first year of this decennium in 2011, has been my public diary of sorts, ever since. Consequential would be a very mild way to describe these ten red-letter years for me, which saw me move out of my static lifestyle at Pune after a stay of sixteen long years, and cover almost half a dozen odd cities from Varanasi to Mumbai to Bangalore just to name a few, before settling down for the time being here at Panipat in the NCR, for my career following my higher education, this ledger capturing almost all the undulations along the way.

So, concluding this decennary alongside my family with a trip to Chail followed by Kufri, the second highest peak I’ve ever visited after Rohtang and the first snow-clad terrain my wifey and I have together stepped foot on, during this Christmas, just felt right. Although I am no stranger to ensorcelled views of raw nature, the sheer presence of the Kali Tibba Temple at the highest point near Chail, offering unobstructed views of the valley around and sweeping views of the ice-capped lower Himalayas, forming a gateway to the empyrean, was simply something out of a fairytale. For would-be wayfarers, Chail also has some other interesting sites including the highest cricket ground in the world and the palace of the erstwhile royal family of Patiala.

Kufri, on the other hand, offered us a lot of numero-unos, including our first yak ride and our first tryst shooting arrows instead of air gun pellets, not to mention telescopic views of the Kedarnath and Badrinath peaks, and a sore back as a memento for the days to come, thanks to the slippery melting ice on its surface. Having some extra time on our hands, we thought of taking a detour to Shimla, which I must admit was rather disappointing, with utter hubbub on the streets and an infrastructure utterly inadequate to handle the onslaught of post-lockdown tourists on top of the increasing local population of the city.

Anyhow, I guess it is time to bid this year as well as this decade a final ciao! With a new strain of the Coronavirus, even deadlier than the existing one, emerging in the UK and slowly taking stem in India and other parts of the world, who knows what the coming year has in store for us all... Nonetheless, wishing everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous new year, as we cautiously step into 2021, I would like to end with a catchphrase I had devised for the very first article on this blog, apt against today’s disquieted circumstances.

BE THE FORCE!!!...

3 Years of Betrothal

A milestone event for my landmark 101^st article on this blog... Completing 3 years of espousal with my dearest Priya on the 4^th of December this year has been nothing short of magical but also enlightening. As the corona-virus outbreak has taken a turn for the worse, going from simple numbers to an unfortunate personal toll, claiming one of our own, in the form of my wifey’s paternal granny, I’d like to thank my parents for being here for us through these baffling times. But keeping all the doldrums aside and getting back to our anniversary, I’d like to reflect upon our journey thus far, for any would-be bride or groom who happens to stumble upon these ruminations.

Like most other couples, we’ve had our highs and lows over the years. Both of us being strongly opinionated, highly professionally capable in our respective fields, having strong likes and dislikes, and hiding mountains of temper beneath an ocean of serenity, it is always a blast... Balloons, sparklers and crackers when times are good and nuclear warheads when times are less peachy! Hahaha... However, our love has always won the day with its purity, helping us stick together through thick and thin no matter what, as we work out the nitty-gritties. There are so many aspects to marriage, which bachelors can hardly guess. Your preference for an aisle or window seat while flying, will probably turn to a middle row seat as your better half occupies one of the other two, the number of leaves you take at your workplace will drastically increase with increased responsibility, your family will replace your friends as compulsory companions on most trips and a majority of your stag parties will turn into family gatherings, just to name a few. It might sometimes seem a bit overwhelming for the uninitiated. But at the end of the day more often than not, those who embrace it will be all the better for it.

As for our celebrations this year, just as we were beginning to lose hope trying to figure out a suitable destination to visit dodging COVID hotspots, we chanced upon Themis Mudhouse, a quaint resort on the outskirts of Rohtak and our knight in shining armour. Starting off the day by feasting on the world’s largest parantha, two and a half feet across, at Tapasya Parantha Junction, Rohtak, followed by a stroll around the Tilyar lake, we finally reached our target resort, spending a spellbinding evening, complete with a night's stay in thatched mud-themed cottages with 5-star interiors and antique telephones, a Multani mud-bath, jacuzzi, pottery, live folkdance and a lot else, other than standard amenities like poolside dining and a wide variety of indoor games. Thank you Themis group!

Last but not the least, with my social media pages flooded with more than a couple of dozen wed locks at the peak of this marriage season, I would like to welcome all the newlywed couples into the fold, wishing them all the very best for their lives ahead!

The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect... One of Hollywood’s staples for sci-fi flicks! By now most of us already know what it implies, in terms of minor differences in initial conditions resulting in a major change later on, like the flapping of a butterfly’s wings altering the path of a tornado, not directly but by a sequence of inconsiderable perturbations sparked off by the embryonic stimulus, as researched by Edward Lorenz. But the question now is that, does it have any practical significance in our day-to-day lives? I have observed that although it is difficult to predict looking forward, this effect is quite clearly visible glancing backward at the events which led up to a particular occurrence. Here are some examples from my own life observed first hand, where this effect was not as vague as one would expect it to be.

Just for instance, on the official front, while obtaining clearance from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) for the commissioning of one of our new units, some physical document was urgently required overnight at their headquarters in Nagpur, about 1100 kms. from my current place of posting at Panipat. However, my boss was somehow unable to reach me at the time, and as a result someone else ended up carrying the paperwork to its intended destination. Now, PESO is known to give a hard time even to head honchos of foremost companies, who invariably show up at their doorstep at the eleventh hour to meet MoU targets, following PESO culture. But as it turns out, the person who was sent in my stead, a mid-ranking official at best, was a personal friend of the PESO official in charge of our case. And surely enough, before long the necessary approval for start-up of our unit, was accorded by PESO without too much hassle. So, it can be indirectly said that the chance unavailability of my phone at the moment, was one of the major reasons our firm got the required sanctions on time towards achieving a major target.

Similarly, talking about something a bit more personal, I had to spend two extra years before my recruitment in Indian Oil, one of which was due to the drop I had taken after my 12th std to get a seat in one of the revered IITs, something which at the time felt like the Iron Throne of King’s Landing, that I’m grateful to have achieved eventually though. And the other was due to my course being a 5-year dual degree rather than a simple 4-year bachelor’s programme. As a result, with a compulsory superannuation age of 60, my job life (and pay) was cut two years short, from around 38 years to 36 years. So, with officials lesser qualified than me and with more years of service (and as a result promotion) left, roaming about my workplace, one would naturally question whether my decision to take a drop 11 years back, was justified or not. I have thought long and hard but it is not that easy to answer, due to the various reasons I have listed out below.

Firstly, my education in probably the most elite league of engineering institutes in the country provided me with a solid technical base, which may have been the very reason that I was able to crack the GATE entrance exam for Indian Oil, being an un-reserved candidate, a category which appears to be in the minority these days. Secondly, due to my 5-year course I was forced to give GATE twice as explained in one of my previous articles, thereby enabling me to improve on my score the second time, to the required level for IOCL. So, although the drop may have been the ground for cutting my career a bit short, it may also be the very reason why I have a career of this stature at all in the first place, not to mention the added benefit of a Master's in long term career progression. Besides, my 3-month stint at Flipkart, which was a very unique and rewarding experience in its own right, could have only been facilitated by an IIT, as Flipkart at the time, was recruiting only from the IITs, along with secondary pre-placement offers being given only to a few internees from BITS. However, exclusivity need not necessarily mean money or security, as I can confidently say today, being part of Indian Oil!

Lastly, but most importantly, today I am honoured to be part of a life changing decision for my dear sister-in-law, with regard to her higher education. As options other than MBBS from a Govt. College, were being explored by my in-laws, based on her NEET score and necessary finances, Homeopathy and Ayurveda were mainly being focussed on, which aren't exactly the main stay of medicine these days. However, the idea of pursuing a career in dental sciences popped up in my mind and today as she prepares to get admitted to one of the best private dental colleges in the northern part of our country, following several brainstorming sessions with my wife and the rest of our family, after my initial short-listing, I suddenly realized that her career might as well have gone down a starkly different path had my better half and I not met when we did. Just another example of the incredible Butterfly Effect!

The Equation of Life

35,399,250 and 1,041,824 – These are the staggering figures for worldwide COVID-19 cases and deaths as on date, respectively, with India at 2nd place on the dreaded statistic list of this pandemic, lagging behind only the US. And while I had to undergo the feared test for this vicious virus some time back, which fortunately turned out to be negative, today I’m here to talk about something different...

Yes... The equation of life... And guess what? You don’t need to be a famous cricketer or a movie star with a criminal record to have your own story. Each and every one of us - and by ‘us’ I mean all seven and a half billion of mankind, friend and foe alike, already have our own unique tale, with years as chapters, months as pages and every day being a fresh line of the latest paragraph. The only challenge is to be the best version of ourselves, trying to live in the fullest richest way possible!

Here, we can say that the people in our lives are the variables in this complex expression, and when the variables change, so does the equation... The deletion or introduction of even a single one of these variables can profoundly impact all the other variables in this delicate balance and the way they interact with each other. For example, as on date, many in my age bracket have unfortunately lost their grandparents, amongst whom however many have been lucky to have welcomed their better halves into their lives. This is simply how life progresses.

But these variables are not just restricted to our families. Every single one of us interacts with a variety of different variables daily, in the line of our personal and professional pursuits, which may lead to either a constructive or a destructive interference (terms which I’m sure engineers would be glad to relate to... hahaha). It is like two bubbles colliding... They may merge creating a bigger bubble or bounce off of each other when not compatible. Now, it is up to us to try to enrich our equation by retaining the former in every fibre of our being, as opposed to the latter.

This blog has witnessed numerous articles on the various aspects of life, highlighting its different outlooks, challenges, solutions and much more, but I think this excerpt conveniently sums it all up in the simplest way possible. A recent trip to the Tiger Gate of Rajasthan, Alwar, our first breather since the commencement of the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, to kick-off what seems like a 3-month year for us, although a far cry from our international plans swindled by the novel Coronavirus, nevertheless helped us rekindle the fire and cherish these very bonds we are blessed to have in our lives. After all, nature knows no political borders and India fortuitously has one of the most diverse geographies of any nation on the planet.

Here's to life...! #Bala Quila / Siliserh Lake, Alwar