Surprising (to me) that I have decided to touch upon this topic so late in my blog. Considering the ever increasing count of allegations which I have to field every day, I should’ve been inspired to write this earlier. Well, better late than never. Or as they say among the alcoholics, better drunk than sober.
There came a movie once titled “Sixteen years of alcohol”. How apt, I’d thought when I first heard of it. But I strongly opine that merely sixteen years are perhaps not enough to understand the spirit of the spirits.
And so this time, we shall be discussing at length the various modes in which alcoholic consumption can be witnessed.
(Continued in next post...)
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Cherish
It’s true that most of us would rather want that one moment to culminate into something more wonderful, but I suppose it’s best if we understand that life is a lot more meaningful if we learn to appreciate and understand the beauty of these individual moments; and more importantly, to not lose these moments in the pursuit of “goals” and “destinations”. Or with reference to what I said earlier, milestones are important, but not at the expense of miles…
You can’t ignore the smell of earth after the first few drops of rain, to worry about the number of inches by which the water table will rise…
You can’t ignore the smell of earth after the first few drops of rain, to worry about the number of inches by which the water table will rise…
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Last night at IIMB…
It seems strange now. That what has ended was perhaps one of the most memorable phases of my life. This place has now become another chapter in my life. Pages of which I shall keep turning to, to find those lost words that I would have accidentally missed. The realization has actually not hit that hard still. But it will, after a few days when thoughts turn back to this place, then perhaps a lot of us will suddenly wake up to the fact that we are never going to live through it all again.
And of course, in hindsight, it’s always so much fun. Even though there were times when we just wished that it would all just end and that we could fly away. IIMB has been another learning point that has taught me that our life is not a sum total of all its milestones, but instead, is a sum of all the miles that we traverse between those milestones.
And in these last few hours that I am here, I will probably take a walk around. Have a cup of tea. Look over the balcony. Do the simple things. Seemingly useless, but precisely what will be missed the most.
“So long, and thanks for all the fish…”
And of course, in hindsight, it’s always so much fun. Even though there were times when we just wished that it would all just end and that we could fly away. IIMB has been another learning point that has taught me that our life is not a sum total of all its milestones, but instead, is a sum of all the miles that we traverse between those milestones.
And in these last few hours that I am here, I will probably take a walk around. Have a cup of tea. Look over the balcony. Do the simple things. Seemingly useless, but precisely what will be missed the most.
“So long, and thanks for all the fish…”
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Moving on…
Because when it finally comes to deciding whether I want to be happy or not, guess I still have the choice. To pick up the pieces that I want to. Our present is like a photo album, where we place pictures from our past. There were some moments full of joy and then some not so great; moments that still make me smile, and moments that still cause a soft pain, a gentle reminder, like a child poking in your ribs and asking you to wake up.
And this is where I pick up the snaps I want to keep. My past is certainly not in my control anymore. But what I do with that past, is entirely (well, almost) upto me. I can choose to either savor the times I spent with my closest companions, or fret and fume about moments when I was away from them.
And so as I move ahead, I will decide cautiously and consciously to relish the more worthy moments. I suppose this is how I would like my life to be. A life that treads softly upto me, like the sudden autumn wind that surprises the fallen leaves; that disturbs the reverie of the silent lake, with a short, rippling dance.
Of course, it’s easier said than done; times when you realize that computers are perhaps the happiest entities on this planet. Just one “delete” and it’s gone. No pain, no suffering, and its over. Not like us. Humans. We hold on to those broken blades till we don’t know how much we have bled.
But still, I will try to throw the blades away. I’ll forget the blood that I’ve drained. Will stop looking at those wounds that won’t heal. Will instead make this attempt to look at what’s left of me. To go ahead with it.
To meet Life. Like a long-lost friend. To say Hello after all these years. This time, with both hands. And even a hug perhaps; for there are no suitcases that I am carrying. No backpacks full of ragged dolls. It’s just me. And my Life. And the road ahead…
And this is where I pick up the snaps I want to keep. My past is certainly not in my control anymore. But what I do with that past, is entirely (well, almost) upto me. I can choose to either savor the times I spent with my closest companions, or fret and fume about moments when I was away from them.
And so as I move ahead, I will decide cautiously and consciously to relish the more worthy moments. I suppose this is how I would like my life to be. A life that treads softly upto me, like the sudden autumn wind that surprises the fallen leaves; that disturbs the reverie of the silent lake, with a short, rippling dance.
Of course, it’s easier said than done; times when you realize that computers are perhaps the happiest entities on this planet. Just one “delete” and it’s gone. No pain, no suffering, and its over. Not like us. Humans. We hold on to those broken blades till we don’t know how much we have bled.
But still, I will try to throw the blades away. I’ll forget the blood that I’ve drained. Will stop looking at those wounds that won’t heal. Will instead make this attempt to look at what’s left of me. To go ahead with it.
To meet Life. Like a long-lost friend. To say Hello after all these years. This time, with both hands. And even a hug perhaps; for there are no suitcases that I am carrying. No backpacks full of ragged dolls. It’s just me. And my Life. And the road ahead…
Monday, March 13, 2006
The numbers don’t add up…
86 lakh, someone said. And I paused for a moment, and then realized how conveniently a few numbers have been multiplied together to come up with this figure. Take a few pound sterling, convert it to US dollars, and then again convert that to Indian Rupees, and there, lo and behold, you have defied logic, gravity, and everything we thought we could rely on.
It is an achievement, undoubtedly. Placement season at my school is amazing, no doubt about that. The best companies. The best offers. The best students.
But unfortunately the exceedingly pretty picture painted for the outside world perhaps does a little damage to those who still aren’t placed. Or who are not placed on the first day (because eventually, everyone will definitely be placed in a matter of 5 days). It does hurt when friends and family start calling up and ask for “good news” from your side. It makes you feel sorry for yourself, when you are not one of those who could "make it" on the first day. Makes you feel incomplete, and you start questioning yourself (Or rather, those friends and family start questioning you as to what went wrong).
And more importantly, or disturbingly perhaps, a hajaar people out there start looking upon this building of IIMB as a money churning machine. No one cares about subjects or courses or learning or anything else. All that shines in the eyes of the starry-eyed aspirants, are dreams of dollars. All that glitters for them, is nothing but gold. And quite a few of them do get a shock when they realize that not everything was as bright as what was promised to them. That this moon too, has spots of its own. For about one third of the batch, perhaps yes, this place gives them what they came for (that they don't know what they came for, is perhaps a different issue altogether). For the others, it leaves them equally confused by the time they are done with it.
But I guess that’s what management is all about, isn’t it?
It is an achievement, undoubtedly. Placement season at my school is amazing, no doubt about that. The best companies. The best offers. The best students.
But unfortunately the exceedingly pretty picture painted for the outside world perhaps does a little damage to those who still aren’t placed. Or who are not placed on the first day (because eventually, everyone will definitely be placed in a matter of 5 days). It does hurt when friends and family start calling up and ask for “good news” from your side. It makes you feel sorry for yourself, when you are not one of those who could "make it" on the first day. Makes you feel incomplete, and you start questioning yourself (Or rather, those friends and family start questioning you as to what went wrong).
And more importantly, or disturbingly perhaps, a hajaar people out there start looking upon this building of IIMB as a money churning machine. No one cares about subjects or courses or learning or anything else. All that shines in the eyes of the starry-eyed aspirants, are dreams of dollars. All that glitters for them, is nothing but gold. And quite a few of them do get a shock when they realize that not everything was as bright as what was promised to them. That this moon too, has spots of its own. For about one third of the batch, perhaps yes, this place gives them what they came for (that they don't know what they came for, is perhaps a different issue altogether). For the others, it leaves them equally confused by the time they are done with it.
But I guess that’s what management is all about, isn’t it?
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