Emotions….

Hey what are emotions ? I had wanted to write about this for a long time now. What the hell are emotions…happiness, moroseness or sadness, anger, pity, kindness etc. etc. ?

Well to put all this into words is difficult but after reading a lot of best-selling self help books by some noted authors (of course since the ones by lesser known authors are not widely known, one will hardly come across them), I can say one thing for sure that the gamut (Uh..range..I mean) of emotions are there for us to see and feel.

There are primarily two kinds of people society as per the nomenclature society has given to us humans. Introvert or Shy as the synonym has come out to be and Extrovert or outgoing.

I will talk about me as I still consider myself an Introvert as far as expressing myself is concerned, though I have consciously attempted to change myself after the end of teens and into early twenties. In school & partly at college I used to be the book-worm types. The college was one of the biggest impressions I had on my personality & outlook. There I slowly started realizing that life is not all black & white and this view has slowly been taking shape into the opinion that life is every possible shades of gray :)

I distinctly remember when I was filling up the essays for admission into the Indian School of Business in February 2003 ( though I didn't make it to the class is another story to be told sometime later), and I had to mention the events that shaped me up or had the maximum impact on me as a person. I mentioned, the realization of the fact that the people who are most brilliant in studies / college and got top ranks consistently in studies were, most often that not, the people who fared miserably in their professional lives and careers. I also realized at every stage or step of your life namely school, college, career, marriage, kids life just completely shifted the stage (as in dramatics / theatre) under your feet, one on which you were performing. The net result being one has to continuously monitor the background and references and the ever-pervasive change was inevitable. So to fare in life one has to continuously keep evaluating the situation and attempt to condition your response to it. If one is able to do that most effectively, one is GREAT, else one falls alongside the path of Life. Stuck in the rut or personal relationships, career and everything. That’s how I have seen many people in the society or the majority I must confess (at least true in the Indian context).

If we reverse the coin, we will find that emotions are what make us up. X is very happy go lucky guy, Y always is always sullen to talk to, Z seems to remain in her own world. What is this I mean ?

So the situations that impact our lives also give rise to the kind of emotions we undergo. When you get a raise, you are happy or you may even be sad considering that your colleague got a much higher rise when compared to you. Some of the so called self help books ask you to control your emotions, get hold of them. Yes they may help or not, I can’t say for if one were to follow all these books in Toto at the end you’ll find that you’re closer to being God. I am at best happy feeling like a God on my bike (that what its advertisement says :).

However when you do follow these books and more often that not I have found it does take a lot of (and when I say a lot believe me it is really lots..lots & lots) of efforts to follow them in entirety so what do I do, I take the easy way out, I only pick and choose the things I am comfortable with and I am happy even if I am able to get a few things from any book. So in the process I am creating my own school of thought.

Last but not the least one book has had a big impression on me, its called Emotional Intelligence and another one called Working with Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Coleman. He helps you realize what you undergo and suggest corrective measures to overcome the negative emotions. Needless to mention, I hardly follow the latter part.

To conclude, I am happy, I am sad, I am kind, I am angry, I am empathetic all at the same time. I feel..I..I feel like God ! That’s what makes me up….the package called Me, I or Myself.

Kaun aayega yaahan....? (Who must have come here....?)

Kaun aayega yaahaan koi na aaya hogaaa... (Who would have come here, no one would have....)
Mere blog ko hawaaon ne hilaya hogaa :) (The winds must have ruffled my blog :)

Shaam hone ko hai.... (Its just about evening....)

Shaam hone ko hai, lal suraj samandar mein khone ko hai; Shaam hone ko hai, lal suraj samandar mein khone ko hai. (Its just about evening getting darker and the reddish sun is about to set in the sea; Its just about evening getting darker and the reddish sun is about to set in the sea)

Aur uspe kahin kuch parinde kataarein banaye unhi junglon ko chale, jinke pedon ki chhavon mein haaain ghonsale. (On top of that somewhere some birds flying in a row are going towards those forests in which under the trees' shadows are their nests.)

Shaam hone ko hai..... hum kahaan jayenge ! (Its about to get dark....... where shall I go !)

Untitled

Hi !

Been a while since I put up something here, a week to be precise.

Had not been feeling like putting any thoughts. Yesterday at office was discussing with a Senior colleague whom I met after 3 years (since he was away at a Project site) and we discovered our common passion for books. Happened to come to Stephen Covey & I told him that I have the book but I was unable to complete it. He recommended me to try again. So once I got back home was looking for the book by Stephen Covey, "7 Habits of Highly Effective People". I rummaged through the heap of books I have collected over the years but was unable to locate it. Disappointed I was.

In the process though found an old photo album (1999') containing pictures of the first project site I had been to at Jamshedpur (Bihar....presently Jharkhand State) as I was taking my first steps into the corporate world. Also found some old photos of me & brijesh...one was of holi....another one at my house of our VIIth or VIIIth Grades and yet another one in which I was very FAT.

Also came across some books which I had fondly bought inbetween this time (6 years). Books on emotional intelligence by Daniel Coleman. The Goal by Elliyat Netanyahu. Some Premchand novels in hindi...4 or 5. Two books which I had bought but never really got to their second pages' such as The Third Wave & The Third Eye. Every Street is paved with Gold by the Daewoo founder. Some books on Personality Development & Self help, Shiv Khera's book "You can win". Magic of Thinking Big, How to read a person like a book, The art of communication and some books of Graphology (Handwriting Analysis) which I were very fond of once upon a time.

I was ashamed of myself that I have such a good collection of books but they've not been kept properly. Intend to get a rack built for it.

Frankly speaking the only passions I had in my bachelorhood were music, I have a collection of over 4000 mp3 songs on the CD's and books. Of course whatever money was left out was spent on the weekend parties in those years between 1999 & 2002.

Another passion (once upon a time...now its more of a necessity) used to be Internet. Those days (1999) surfing Internet at the cybercafes used to cost Rs.80 per hour & was beyond the reach of most people. I distinctly remember having spent almost Rs.2500 (it was a princely sum then with it being almost 30% of my monthly salary) in first 3 months of 2001 over internet surfing. I mean it was another matter that I was really caught up on the net with a person whom we came about to be good friends and we went on chatting & exchanging mails like mad, all of the 24 hours in a day. It sure was a heady feeling to share your thoughts with someone over the net who was sitting thousands of kilometers away behind a monitor just as I was. I happened to go to Bangalore accompanying one of my office colleague (also a good friend) who had to go there on some work & met this long distance friend.

I got a mobile for myself as soon as I could afford one (this was in 2000) when the call charges were Rs. 16 a minute for outgoing & more or less the same for incoming calls. The handset I got was a Mitsubishi 'Trium' and cost me Rs.3600. It was such a luxury that time that I remember I used to carry it in the pocket of my trousers, lest someone thought I was trying to show off and the only people who possessed a mobile phone in our office were me & the VP. Needless to mention his was provided by the company, mine was not. I was just an Engineer Trainee that time.

Hey but those were enjoyable times (1999-2002). At home since I did not have a computer, after coming back from office, used to read a book accompanied with Jagjit's Ghazals on the rocks. Then often used to go to a cybercafe and stayed there till 10 - 11 in the night. Back home used to make some maggi (synonymous with noodles in India) and tea. That's it the day used to come to an end. On some other days used to go to the hospital where Brijesh & gang were studying medicine and stay there for sometime, after which would go out for food at our favourite fast food joint "Hot Stuff" and then the cuppa of "Golden" chai at Samrat near the railway station.

Bliss it was !

Announcement....

Hi !

Got a spanking new avenger (metallic blue color) for myself today (a 180 cc motorbike by Bajaj...for the uninitiated). I was really torn in deciding between Pulsar & Avenger but the comfort+style factor & moreover that I won't be using the bike for racing helped tilt the scales in favour of avenger. I feel the bike is much like me in character, we go lumbering along & I've taken to it like a fish does to water. I mean I've hardly driven a bike but I am steering it effortlessly. I rode it today for around 50 kilometers today.

Its been a long haul on my Vespa...9 long years & it was time I said good bye to her...albeit with a heavy heart....for it was her on which I rode into the youth & she's never let me down ever since I got her in first year of my college. Its still good enough to pull along another year or two or even more. Adieu sweetheart. I love you.

Success....

How does one define success ? Dictionary definition of success is "an event that accomplishes its intended purpose" or "a state of prosperity or fame".

Success is most of the times loosely linked to money. More money inevitably is suggestive of a person being more successful in view of the world. I will like to link success essentially with Maslow’s pyramid of needs leading to Self-actualization. The point where & when one is aware of oneself & the surroundings. One is happy with one’s situation and able to contribute meaningfully to the society at large.

I define success as having enough money to take care of one’s (with family) basic needs and being able to indulge in one’s passions, desires etc. creatively, i.e. lead a fulfilling life.

For some individuals success means power. Power to create, maybe, for an entrepreneur. For some big shot CEO, it could be his ability to manage & grow his company. For a mother it could be to raise her kids into fine adults.

I also realized the stepping stones to one’s career (& also personal life….since they come to be two sides of the same coin) are laid right at the beginning itself when one opts for a career, unless one takes a conscious stand to go along with one’s aptitude. A doctor will be guided by what he sees to be a successful doctor same with an engineer & a lawyer & so on. A doctor’s definition of success may be vastly different from that of a lawyer.

Of course there always are exceptions. I would say above is true in majority of the cases. Then you also have examples such as Mahatma Gandhi who is perceived to be very successful in his fight against the Britishers but ultimately if you analyze his achievements they are more in terms of contribution to the society than for himself personally. Even Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam our prez, he may never have imagined, the scientist he was, that he may don the president-ship of India anyday. He sure is successful….Yes !

You may also have cases where a person is very successful in his / her career but really screwed up in the personal life. Corporate history has many examples here, the case of Jack Welch..legendary CEO of GE or closer home our very own Bollywood stars as Aamir Khan & Saif Ali Khan. They are successful in their profession yes but not so much in their personal lifes.

So the conclusion I (tend to) reach is that an accurate definition of success is as elusive as the success itself. But someone who’s been able to reach a fair degree of success in the professional & personal life is successful in my opinion.

Essay....

Hi !

One of my friends had sent this to me. It seems this essay was written in response to an MBA application. After going through it, I could not help but post it here for benefit of mankind at large :-) I think we should make this guy the PM of India.

3A. ESSAY

IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I can cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basis from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets. I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four-course meals using only a Mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prize-winning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

Without doubt all copyrights belong to the Guy who must have written this. This is beyond the imagination of my creativity.

Friends-II....

Some other friends I made during my four years at the Engineering College. Its been six long years since we got out of college but these guys are responsible for making the experience worth remembering. Those were the best days of my life !

We still are in regular touch over yahoo groups "hellobhailog". Thanks Anant for thinking of this.

# Vihang Shah - I don't know how he is now ( i mean as a person....no major changes expected) but I admire the guy for his guts he had when at college. Though it seems an antithesis now, then his antics surprised one and all. To top it he had the guts to pull it off everytime. I still remember poor guy fractured his right leg (or left was it ? i think it was right) in process of helping a gal(friend...who was not a girlfriend mind you) at the college helping her with her stubborn kinetic which just refused to start. His leg was in a plaster for 3-4 weeks after that. What a big price to pay for a small help ? Not to mention the kinetic did not start ultimately.

I was lucky to be in Mumbai when he got married at Pune & was able to attend his wedding in 2003. He is in Germany now on a company assignment, is with Infosys.

# Mrinmoy Pal - Thy name is Pal...Mrinmoy Pal. Friendship was his second name. He was one of the best buddies in college. Happy go lucky guy. Nothing ever bothered him....still envy him for his cool headedness. He used to know all my secrets, heartburns etc. etc. He stayed close to my house. I mostly used to help him with his journals. He is with Wipro (I still wonder how he got through it...hey just joking pal) and in the UK now. Getting married in November. Congratulations Pal & best of luck for your married life.

# Anant Acharya - Happy that is back in Vadodara though not for the reasons due to which he came back. We have not been able to meet up often but I understand. One of the smartest guys around in college (he still is....i am sure) with a great sense of humour. Married & with a kid (Ansh). You've been a man of great courage & may god give you so much strength that you're able to being back to yourself and able to get over loss of bhai. Anant is with TCS. Lucky to have attended his & bhai's weddings at Ahmedabad & Bharuch.

# Viral Desai - I drove like mad to get to his wedding at Vadodara (from Surat) in time. Smart no doubt. The only Mane Baddu Avade Chhe (MBA...I know everything) as the famous saying goes in Gujarati. Very balanced & clear about his vision for himself. Is with HDFC in Mumbai.

# Pragnesh - Impeccable timing. He was (oops...is) a genius. He was the one who was able to solve first all difficult questions in maths before people could touch their paper with the pens. He is with Infosys in Pune. Had met him, Ritesh & Gargi when had gone to Pune.

# Ritesh - Hi Ritesh ! Though we could not spend much time together, it has been a pleasure knowing you since college. Undoubtadly the most outgoing & smart guy in our batch (or so I felt). He is with Infosys at Pune. Hey I think Ritesh is still an eligible bachelor.

# Nimit Desai, Vishal Patel - Nimit & Vishal were our jackpot of jokes. Their PJ's or "hathodas" as we used to fondly refer to their jokes always left our jawlines paining. Vishal is married & with Infosys at Pune & Nimit (also married) best of luck wherever you are.

# Chirayu Bhansali - Chirayu was my partner for the project & we did come up with a stunner in a very short time. He happens to be employed at Blue Star which also do some work with my company & we hence are in regular touch since I returned to Vadoara. Married & with a baby.

There are some other names I would like to mention whom I came in touch with during college and we shared the camaraderie though I may not be able to elaborate (for I would have liked to know them better) however they have equally contributed in making me what I am today.

Maulin Patel, KK, Sameer Shah, Akshay Singh, Makrand Upasane, Pankaj Shrivastav, Kunal Patel, Ajit, Madhav.....the list is long. They have been of great help during the college years and my development as an individual.

Past....

Every second that goes by…just goes….till its past. Speaking of past, I recently asked myself “Do I have this tendency of living too much in the past ?”

Maybe its because humans generally have the habit of remembering only good things out of the past. We get over life, misery, bad times, ups, downs & what not. Whoever said “Grass is greener on the other side”, said so rightly.

There are some people who live in the past. I accept my situations albeit with a pinch of salt. I have to take responsibility for my actions & beliefs. Whereas some people carry the emotional baggage from the past for eternity. Some people just remember anything which you may have said or done and which they did not like, even years later.

I forgive & forget. Life is too short to be wasted on such things. One has to think big of the larger issues of how to achieve your dreams and not get caught up in the mundane.

Sometimes life may not leave you with the choice like it happened in the case of one of my friends. His 30 yr old brother was diagnosed with cancer & his brother passed away before he could celebrate his 31st Birthday. This friend of mine shifted from Mumbai to be with his parents & sister-in-law at Vadodara and he will have to take care of them as he is the only earning member. Moreover they’ve spent a fortune in the medical treatment. This guy is married and has a newborn. Whoever said life was easy.

Great minds should talk about ideas, I had read somewhere.

....Nostalgia

A search on google.com for 'definition of nostalgia' yielded the following results "A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past" or "a feeling of pleasure and sometimes slight sadness at the same time as you think about things that happened in the past" or "a longing for the past, often idealized and unrealistic".


So what exactly is Nostalgia. I personally strongly link Nostalgia to some feelings or events which we had experienced in the past & which we come across again triggers Nostalgia. Experiences with a song or a festival in past can be some of them (he he that's all i can recount at the moment).


So ladies & gentlemen allow me to share my experiences..


Irshaaaad !


There was this song "Chhaiya Chhaiya" from the bollywood blockbuster "Dil Se". We (me & my friends) when in the Mechanical Engineering batch, we had a final submission (for the Semester) to be made of a journal (Engineering Drawing was the subject i vaguely remember) next day afternoon. So we (around 10 -12 of us), we had got a master copy of some smart asses' journal which had already been submitted & accepted. We assembled at this house of one of the friends for carrying out the operation 'Journal Completion'. Now this guy had recently purchased a 1000W Akai home theatre & those times (1998) it was considered a luxury ( in India) at about Rs.19000. He had a VCD of Hot Shots-Part Deux. Its one of the funniest movies I have ever seen and by the time, and had the movie not ended we would have split up laughing. So after that we began the sacred activity for which we had assembled, mass copying of the Journal. Some smart chaps had been writing the journals as the movie was on, so there were many copies now as they took a break. Since the movie was over, we put on an audio CD of Dil Se. I had not heard closely a song on CD till that time. Naturally the music & clarity of sound amazed me to no ends. I volunteered to put the 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' song on a repeat. For almost 6-7 hours, we sat there writing & hearing this song. This song thus evokes every single time, a very strong sense of nostalgia associated with that day (or night I should say) that whenever I hear this song, I am flooded with those memories. In an almost similar experience, we listened to old LP records at another friends house whole night while completing another journal. We listened to the songs of Kabhi kabhi, Silsila & some other Bacchan movies. This was after I had repaired the reading pin which some of my friends tried rectifying before me since it was dislodged from its original position & no one knew how to put it back. The gramophone had not been in use for many years.


Second event is the 'Navratri' festival or the Garbas. Navratri holds a very special place in the hearts of Gujaratis (or Gujjus as they are fondly referred). Even in the marriages or any event of significance, its not complete without a round of Garba (The song & dance sequence during Navratri). For people who are from Gujarat or who have been to Gujarat in Navratri will know what I am talking about for others...anyway you'll have to visit to appreciate whatever I may mean. So I may end by saying this paragraph is self explanatory :-)

to be continued....or maybe not....

Extempore....

Hi !


Guys (and gals of course, if any) I am writing this slow as I know you cannot read fast. Oops ! I know..I know its an old joke. Sorry.

Office sucks. This morning after I got up I did not even have the minimum will to come to office. This has been going on for a week or so. Though I am comfortably placed at the office with no major live projects around. But that's precisely the problem, I find it criminal to kill time though don't have many options on that. I tried doing some assignments to keep myself busy, something on Commodity Hedging, some analysis of the project data etc. etc. but every third day I am down. Perhaps I derive a lot of strength from the kind of work I do, same as when I am dressed well I feel much more confident.


I have to make a name for myself in my career. I have a family to take care, my wife & daughter depend on me. I can't afford to take sanyas & be in an ashram or a temple serving god. Though I would love to do precisely that


Recently got some shirts, 3 of them to be exact. They are fabulous. These are short shirts & after wearing them it seemed I had gone back in time by 5-6 years. I was looking all of 22-23. One is a black (with shades of gray....of course I am talking only about the shirt :), second one is white & third is a checked shirt with shades of maroon & light brown. I was able to get them cheap (Rs.275 bucks a piece or 6 dollars ), by the way I was looking out for cheap shirts as I wanted them for daily use. Branded ones start from Rs. 1000 (22 dollars).


I realised recently, as I made the first monthly budget of household expenses, that I am not earning enough to splurge at free will, I have cut down on the car as petrol (gas) prices have shot out of the roof. In the last 3 months its shot up by more than 20% to Rs.48 (1.2 dollars) a litre. To my horror I realised that I had been using about Rs.2000-2500 worth of petrol every month on the car. So the car is only for weekends now else every month I will end up screwing the budget. I am using my scooter for commuting to & from office. My office is 14 kms. from where I stay. Its painful but worth the savings.

This could go on & on & on....like a Duracell....but

The conclusion I arrive at is that I am not good at extempore, I can babble & babble well at that if I wish but I would never consider it to be one of my strengths. I need to think to be good or even okay....to make sense. Hmmm that's it. :-)


'Thought of the today' which I thought of today : "In the past I lived in present, presently I live in the past."

PS: The author was suffering from bouts of schizophrenia when he composed this piece and & hence does not take any responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise of the contents. He may please be excused for whatever he may have written :-)

Ganges, Varanasi, Vadodara & Beyond....

For people who belong to or who’ve been to Varanasi (or Kashi) will know how & what Ganges is.

For those who haven't let me try & explain. “Ganges” or “Ganga” as its commonly called is a holy river which owes its origins to the Hindu lord “Shiva” and he is known as “Kashi Vishwanath” – The lord of Kashi. There is a big temple of Kashi Vishwanath in the midst of the city, quite near to the Ghats. The “Ghats” (about 80 or so) as the periphery of the river bank is known spans the entire city tracing each curve & bend the river undergoes.

I may consider myself lucky to have been born there, though I have not had the opportunity to live there and connect to the place on a deeper level. I was born in Varanasi & brought up in Vadodara.

I sometimes wonder there is so much similarity in the two. Baroda & Benaras are the common names for both places. Both are also known as Vadodara & Varanasi. Varanasi is the temple city & Vadodara is famous for its palatial buildings, gardens & the Banyan trees (Vadodara literally means the City of Banyan trees).

Earliest conscious memories of Varanasi are of the times I was a kid (IIIrd or IVth Grades), we used to go there from Dehra Dun (where dad used to work) and Vadodara (where dad was transferred from Dehra Dun) during the summer vacations. These typically were short (2-3 week) holidays during which we used to visit the grandparents of both sides (maternal & paternal), though we used to enjoy more with Nana & Nani than anyone else.

During one such trip had gone to Sarnath (it’s a prominent place of importance for Buddhists…its where Buddha had given his first Diksha under a tree). It was a sprawling complex with foreigners swarming across the complex.

Then got busy with the Board exams (Xth & XIIth) and then four years of college. By the time I could visit again, 9 long years had elapsed. I went there in April 2001 when I was there to see Pratibha (my wife) just before our engagement. That was a trip I will never forget. It lasted all of just 4 or 5 days, since that was the only leave I was able to get from my job. I was 24 that time and it was the first time I was on my own during a trip to Varanasi. I remember one evening I went to the Ghats & stood there watching as the sun was setting as if it was returning to its elements in an orangish red shade. As darkness enveloped the place, lakhs of diyas were seen along the ghats stretching into many kilometers. Chant of the bhajans, aartis and sound of cymbals & temple bells from some of the more prominent Ghats such as ‘Dashashwamedh’ were audible even as I was seated at ‘Assi’ Ghat. The feeling was heavenly.

I sometimes wonder if I will have an opportunity to stay at Varanasi anytime in future. I am not sure, there are not many good Industries or companies around & the place is gaining notoriety due to the anti-social elements & local mafia.

So as long as its career zindabad, I doubt but who knows, I might get lucky.

On the other hand talking of Vadodara , where I have spent almost 19 yrs now, I feel lucky to have known & lived in Vadodara. Its got that element of peace in it & a middle class feel, its neither pompous nor very costly to live in....maybe I have this view because I have grown up here. Don't know. Of course other places as Bangalore & Mumbai have their own pace of life & quality too. For that matter though personally it was a struggle for me in Mumbai, as far as the quality of life, accomodation & travel were concerned but i really enjoyed the learnings I had from there. One even learns a lot from day to day experiences there in the local trains on how to manage in the crowd. Of course that's not rocket science, anybody learns it with time...but it was fun & I really enjoyed.

Remembered from Mumbai, I had the most fast paced phase in my life when at Mumbai. Khushi (daughter) was born there, I was in my second job of the career. I was there for almost about 2 years. It was a mad rush. I sometimes miss that life too. Best part was that the city made me punctual…very punctual.

Surat also was a not so bad experience, its one of the fastest growing cities in India today. Personal life was great, me, Prati & Khushi (daughter) we’ve had some great times there. There were days when Khushi would just refuse to sleep in the evening & then I had to drive her around in the car on the silky smooth roads for her to fall asleep. I also enjoyed those weekend getaways on the highway from Surat to Vadodara & back. Though the Surat experience was marred on some other counts, Surat itself was not responsible for that per se. I stayed there for just 9 months & the gestation was over, so to speak. I returned to Vadodara this year in April. Now that I am here all my friends have moved out of here.

I’ve been having this gypsy feeling over the last 5-6 years ever since I got into a job. Let’s see it will be Vadodara or Varanasi ultimately or some other entirely new destination. At least for the next 3-4 years have planned to stay put at Vadodara.

Zindagiiiii yun hui basar tanhaaaaaa, Kaaafilaa saath aur safar tanhaaaaa….

Published....

Hi !

The "Economic Times" published my comments on the article (the previous post). Click here to read. Mine is sixth from the bottom. I am happy.

Santosh