Mumbai and Me

Mumbai is a humbling city. No matter how much money you make, there is always someone making more than that. And its not just about money. The typical middle class dream of owning a house is a luxury here!
No matter when you reach this place, you would feel that you missed the bus by atleast 3 years.
How come the magical number of 3? The property prices double every 3 years, so the flat that you could have bought in your today's salary 3 years ago is already beyond your budget. By the time you make and save enough, the locality of your affordable house will move 5 further from your place of work (away from Mumbai, not towards it). So you have to chose cheaper house,or longer commutation time daily. And trust me, the prices will decide for the latter.

So every day when you hang on to the dear handle in the local train, you curse for being a good 3 years late!

Its like you are always chasing something here, no wonder the city never stops. Its like running on a treadmill which is moving faster than you can. You huff and puff, but you don't progress. This place sucks the life out of people, and leave them walking zombies, dazed with dreams that were never fulfilled.

It is a thought that scares the hell out of me. Everyday I back myself to survive this place, every night I convince myself that I did.

Transformation begins...

Just two months back I was a student in a B-School. We have a tradition of yearbook where my friends wrote testimonials for me. I have not been very wise in choosing the right words to express myself when I talk to people. My friends joked that I had the subtlety of a sledge hammer. They said I needed to be more politically correct in expressing myself.

Now that I am working on an assignment where I will be facing clients, clients who, by the nature of the business I am dealing with, would be eccentric and egoist! My boss says that I am the right person to do the job coz he thinks 'I am a nice, diplomatic kid".

I am sure my friends will laugh out loud when they hear it. I don't know why but I take that as a compliment.
The game is on.

Qualifications and Politics

Bhartiya Janta Party took on board IIM Calcutta graduates to 'manage' their campaign.
The result is that they had a loss of 22 seats.

Just reinforces my belief that qualification has no role in Indian Politics.

Its been a long time...

It has been really long since I have posted anything here. Going by some of the comments, I have been missed by some. Thanks for that.

There has been a lot that has happened in my life over the last four months but although it is important for me, (the new job, moving to Mumbai, earning again) there is not much masala there. I work with a Dotcom firm now that is known for the interesting comments on its message boards. I have seen some of them on my blog too, and that is something that I am not happy about.

It is a free world, we all have opinions. What is important is how we express them. I was a 20-21 year old not so long ago in my life, and have seen some of them on MTV Roadies. I always believed that the Roadies culture was a one off thing. I have never seen such obscenities mouthed in real life and I certainly do not endorse them.

One must understand that certain things is this world are contextual. An American will not understand Gajodhar Bhaiya jokes. Someone who has lived in condos all his life would not be able to see the challenges people living in a house made of thatched roofs face during the monsoon. There is a wide spectrum of experiences that people have, and nobody can feel all of them.

We all must learn to respect when we do not agree or understand.

A comment by a gentleman/lady by the name of Readoholic and its reply by anonymous is what I am talking about.

To Readoholic: You do not have the judgment of what to read and what not, then it is not my fault. I am sure you would not dare to say such things when you meet people face to face, else you might have your face rearranged. But Internet gives people like you a place to hide. Good for you, bad for us!
To Anonymous: Thanks for defending me. One's dignity must always be maintained! My father taught me not to bite a dog when he bites you, and I think you can use the same advice.

May be, we all need to learn a bit of netiquettes.

An extraordinary love story!

These are bad times, in every possible way. Economy, politics, jobs, even the Gaza strip, there are things the way they should not be.

I am sure there are tales of doom to be told, but I will try not to add to the general sinking feeling that is around and will tell you a story. A story which happened around me, a story that I think would leave a smile on your face, and if it doesn’t, then you have been tracking the financial world a bit too much. Leave the pink paper down and read Calvin and Hobbes for a change!

I was standing at the Chatlet Le Halles metro station in Paris, waiting for the M4. I was annoyed about the fact that time between two metros at around mid night is 8 minutes instead of the 3 minutes during the day. My education has taught me that it minimizes cost and optimizes performance but when you are waiting on a cold night at a station, you don’t really care much about economic sense.

It was not really crowded and I was waiting for the train. My attention was caught by a man who was signaling something to a woman on the opposite platform. He threw a kiss at her and she blushed. Buoyed by the fact that there were not too many passengers around, she responded.  The man went down on his knees as if proposing. She extended her hand as nodded as if she agreed. They were both smiling and throwing kisses. I said to myself, Paris is indeed a romantic city.

I was smiling as I looked on, but the drama was cut short as her train arrived. The woman got into the train and leapt for a window seat. She was still smiling and throwing kisses. The man waved his hand and she reciprocated. They kept waving to each other till the train disappeared. The man stood on the platform waving his hand.

My train arrived and I got in. I left for my apartment wishing all the happiness in the world for the couple. I wished them good health too, so that their love lives long. I guess they needed it.

And yes, the man was over 65 and the woman was atleast 60 years old. 

Snow and a song

It was snowing last morning,
And I was feeling like a kid.
I thought of taking some in my bag,
Rest assured I did.

I want mom to be here some time,
With flakes of snow all around.
I want to jump up and down again,
My joy would know no bound.

"What crap", you might think
"This is a nursery rhyme"
I totally agree with you but,
the kid in me had a bloody good time.

Help needed!

Hi,
I am doing a project on "Ethics in International Business" and I can use your help.
Irrespective of the country you are reading this in, please spare 2 minutes of your time to take this survey.
http://www.esurveyspro.com/Survey.aspx?id=c17b5f08-31cc-460d-9cc6-c3cd7be9a71f
Please spread it among your friends as I can use as many responses as I get. The more geographies I cover, the better.
Thanks in advance.