What has a city got to do with your state of mind?
My answer would be, pretty much everything. Shift your place of life and work and your outlook towards life changes.
Take my example. I live and work in Bombay, one of India's busiest cities. From the top the whole city looks like a sprawling and a very crowded colony of ants. Entire families spanning across generations live in a single rooms. Suburban trains run across huge distances ferrying millions of people daily. There is no time to rest here, no time to feel the pulse of nature, to time to contemplate life's mysteries, no time to introspect. It's basically a very shitty way to live especially if you come from a small town.
Now for the last week or so I have moved into Chandigarh, I understand how Bombay has been affecting me, in ways that I could never have imagined. Chandigarh is India's first planned city, and was laid out by Le Corbusier. Therefore it has managed to avoid a lot of problems that typical cities in India face: unplanned growth, chronic overcrowding, traffic snarls et al. The roads are ridiculously empty even during so called rush hours and there is plenty of greenery. I can say that almost 90% of the roads here are what can be qualified as leafy boulevards.I have seen another funny thing: even at 10.30 in the night, when the roads are all deserted the traffic lights work and drivers stop at the light. Totally un-Indian like behaviour.
Therefore, what I imagine is driving on these roads is a breeze. You get almost zero pollution, you have disciplined drivers and you get empty streets. In fact it is a shock to some one from a messy place like Bombay and almost creeped me out the first time. Now that I have gotten used to it I wonder how it would feel when I would be plonked into the horrible Bambaiya traffic snarls.
I will leave off now. If I praise Chandigarh enough it might suffer from the Evil Eye syndrome.!!! I still have a lot more, but it is a bit personal and I will probably say it later.
Oh and my office is 5 minutes walk away from my room, compared to a torturous and crowded 45 minutes bus ride (lesser of the two evils. Forget the locals). Take that, Bombay
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
14 Oct 2008
14 Jul 2008
Adios
One phase of my life is over, another is about to begin. Professionally, that is. Personally I have already got into another territory altogether, a state of mind where people get blind and go around the world.
The thing is, I am no longer employed. I quit my job at Digit and now am searching for another job. I will get one eventually but there is going to be a wait. The one question, actually two questions I have been getting are: Why? and Why didn't you wait until you had an offer?
Why indeed? Sometimes it happens that you loose the will to work. Life becomes a routine and feels monotonous. You don't want to wake up in the morning, you don't want to do your daily routines and go for work. You lose that fire inside you when you feel that you are being cheated, that you are wasting your time.
Right now things are normal on the surface. I am serving out my notice period and there has been no change in the daily routine. I still come in, do my research, write out the articles, talk to people and go home late in the night. What has changed is the fact that I will be getting out of my comfort zone and learning some new stuff. Good stuff and exciting stuff, I hope.
The thing is, I am no longer employed. I quit my job at Digit and now am searching for another job. I will get one eventually but there is going to be a wait. The one question, actually two questions I have been getting are: Why? and Why didn't you wait until you had an offer?
Why indeed? Sometimes it happens that you loose the will to work. Life becomes a routine and feels monotonous. You don't want to wake up in the morning, you don't want to do your daily routines and go for work. You lose that fire inside you when you feel that you are being cheated, that you are wasting your time.
Right now things are normal on the surface. I am serving out my notice period and there has been no change in the daily routine. I still come in, do my research, write out the articles, talk to people and go home late in the night. What has changed is the fact that I will be getting out of my comfort zone and learning some new stuff. Good stuff and exciting stuff, I hope.
8 Jul 2008
On leaving my mobile...
Something bad happened. I left my mobile phone at home today.
I am not one of those gadget freaks who are in love with any device that has an LCD screen and a microprocessor. I also really didn't depend on the mobile for my livelihood, as I was neither a doctor on call or a stockbroker in the middle of a bull run. I am just one of those regular guys that use the mobile phone to keep in touch with friends and family.
When I first came to know I was scared. How would I survive without the cell? A minute or two later I felt an emptiness. And then was the concern about missing all those calls, and missing that one important call which could change your life. Y'know, something like a job interview.
So why I was distressed by the loss? Simply because it has become a part of me. Look around you: apart from wallets and purses the one thing common to all people would be a cell phone. Often, in a city where you are alone in the crowds the cell phone is the only lifeline to the warmth and companionship of a drawing room, or a primeval campfire. I am missing you, my Nokia 3110.
However I am also a bit peeved at how much we have started to rely on something that is so easily misplaced or stolen. Take the ability to remember things, for instance. Our memories are so full of holes that we can't recall even 5 phone numbers if our lives depended on it. Every time we are doing something or the other: playing inane games, reading or sending SMSes, clicking photos or listening to GB worth of music. I am no Luddite but I think that we are in the danger of becoming too dependent on technology, too much for our own good.
So this is what I am gonna do: Remember at least 5 numbers everyday, numbers that I think would be important. I am also going to check my pockets everytime I leave home so that I don't forget my mobile anymore.
These two things should do the trick.
I am not one of those gadget freaks who are in love with any device that has an LCD screen and a microprocessor. I also really didn't depend on the mobile for my livelihood, as I was neither a doctor on call or a stockbroker in the middle of a bull run. I am just one of those regular guys that use the mobile phone to keep in touch with friends and family.
When I first came to know I was scared. How would I survive without the cell? A minute or two later I felt an emptiness. And then was the concern about missing all those calls, and missing that one important call which could change your life. Y'know, something like a job interview.
So why I was distressed by the loss? Simply because it has become a part of me. Look around you: apart from wallets and purses the one thing common to all people would be a cell phone. Often, in a city where you are alone in the crowds the cell phone is the only lifeline to the warmth and companionship of a drawing room, or a primeval campfire. I am missing you, my Nokia 3110.
However I am also a bit peeved at how much we have started to rely on something that is so easily misplaced or stolen. Take the ability to remember things, for instance. Our memories are so full of holes that we can't recall even 5 phone numbers if our lives depended on it. Every time we are doing something or the other: playing inane games, reading or sending SMSes, clicking photos or listening to GB worth of music. I am no Luddite but I think that we are in the danger of becoming too dependent on technology, too much for our own good.
So this is what I am gonna do: Remember at least 5 numbers everyday, numbers that I think would be important. I am also going to check my pockets everytime I leave home so that I don't forget my mobile anymore.
These two things should do the trick.
4 Feb 2007
Boulevard of Joggin' Dreams
About four years ago I landed in my college,SVNIT.The rooms were cramped,the food just enough for survival and the classes and professors dull.But one thing I will not bitch about is the state of its connecting roads.For a guy who has had to trudge through mud every rainy day of his life,walking on a black topped road without getting a single clod of mud in rainy season was something novel.So I began thinking,why not take advantage of this.I mean I was badly out of shape and short winded.Seemed jogging on these all weather roads would be the easiest and fastest way of getting back to shape.You only had to get a pair of running shoes,wake up in the morning and bingo!All excess flab out.
Seemed too easy.Its always like this-good intentions but not enough follow up action.You see this sort of thing all around .I knew there would be a catch,there always is.Here the catch was the waking up part.It was too difficult to get out of bed and slog like some grunt on say ,a chilly morning.After all,why take the trouble-the voice with the prongs and the forked tail was saying.The voice with the halo,drowned out was down and out.And so while I did not get any fatter,I certainly did not get fitter.One day it was cold,another day plain lazy ,still another day was night outs.But the end result was same.Except for some sporadic mornings when struck by guilt I would half heartedly crawl out of the bed and go through the motions of stretching my legs,running a few metres until I would gasp for breath like a fish out of the water and convince myself that next time would be better.But there was no next time,and the jinx was never broken.
Until something snapped suddenly a few days ago.I did not know where the push came from,but I guess the realisation that those roads would no longer be a part of my life after 4 months was the trigger.I also had a neighbor who was trying to get up in the morning for the last three years .So we worked out a nice scheme.This guy had a sister who was an early bird.So she would give him a missed call,he would wake up and then wake me up.The first morning,as usual,I panted for breath after the usual 100 meters.But thinking enough was enough,and also the thing that my neighbor was with me,I pushed ahead.We had to think of dream up many incentives to keep going.One trick was to promise to rest once after crossing a tree.Or if there was a chick ahead jogging,I would say to myself old boy,have a look at her arse from close up and we will stop this running.Of course,after I had a good look there would be another arse some distance ahead and there was the need for an expert comparison. Basically I was able to persuade myself until the leg muscles plainly threatened to crumble under me.There would be cramps and aches the whole day,but frankly there were no thoughts of turning back.
We continued for three days until there was no need for promises of anatomical appraisal to keep going ahead.Once or twice old habits threatened to kick in,but I was able to sufficienly shame myself to put on my shoes.And once that was done,I would have looked silly if I did not run.So the trick is to get out of bed and wear the shoes without thinking.No more pain now,and only a little panting .I feel fine,just fine.And another advantage-I am not missing early morning classes or breakfasts.Though I still sleep late.Now if only something could be done to remedy that.
Seemed too easy.Its always like this-good intentions but not enough follow up action.You see this sort of thing all around .I knew there would be a catch,there always is.Here the catch was the waking up part.It was too difficult to get out of bed and slog like some grunt on say ,a chilly morning.After all,why take the trouble-the voice with the prongs and the forked tail was saying.The voice with the halo,drowned out was down and out.And so while I did not get any fatter,I certainly did not get fitter.One day it was cold,another day plain lazy ,still another day was night outs.But the end result was same.Except for some sporadic mornings when struck by guilt I would half heartedly crawl out of the bed and go through the motions of stretching my legs,running a few metres until I would gasp for breath like a fish out of the water and convince myself that next time would be better.But there was no next time,and the jinx was never broken.
Until something snapped suddenly a few days ago.I did not know where the push came from,but I guess the realisation that those roads would no longer be a part of my life after 4 months was the trigger.I also had a neighbor who was trying to get up in the morning for the last three years .So we worked out a nice scheme.This guy had a sister who was an early bird.So she would give him a missed call,he would wake up and then wake me up.The first morning,as usual,I panted for breath after the usual 100 meters.But thinking enough was enough,and also the thing that my neighbor was with me,I pushed ahead.We had to think of dream up many incentives to keep going.One trick was to promise to rest once after crossing a tree.Or if there was a chick ahead jogging,I would say to myself old boy,have a look at her arse from close up and we will stop this running.Of course,after I had a good look there would be another arse some distance ahead and there was the need for an expert comparison. Basically I was able to persuade myself until the leg muscles plainly threatened to crumble under me.There would be cramps and aches the whole day,but frankly there were no thoughts of turning back.
We continued for three days until there was no need for promises of anatomical appraisal to keep going ahead.Once or twice old habits threatened to kick in,but I was able to sufficienly shame myself to put on my shoes.And once that was done,I would have looked silly if I did not run.So the trick is to get out of bed and wear the shoes without thinking.No more pain now,and only a little panting .I feel fine,just fine.And another advantage-I am not missing early morning classes or breakfasts.Though I still sleep late.Now if only something could be done to remedy that.
10 Dec 2006
Back from sabbatical
Am back into blogosphere after a pretty long time.What with exams and submissions and things like that these days have seen my adrenaline levels soar to record highs.But the storm has passed over,and all is calm on the study front now.I have a feeling of deja vu,but I am tempted to hold forth on the various stages of exam preparation before a typical engineering end semester exam.Make a few modifications and I wager that the same thing,same techniques are applicable for other professional courses.
Take my case.Our average semester length is about 4 months....never mind the dictionary definition of six months.The first three months are one of the most relaxed ones you could dream for.Sure there are practicals to do,reports and submissions to be made ,but what the heck.We just keep pushing these things with a will-do-it-tomorrow-there-is-enough-time attitude.And when the third month is almost ending notices start appearing in college and departmental notice boards.Dates of exams and opening of new semester start getting released while the teachers get into their element,fixing dates for final submissions and practical examinations.And then ,like the beginning of a bad dream,we realize the amount of time which we had whiled away.And I don't know about others but at these times I really would have loved to get my hands on a time machine and turn the clock back.But having said that,all we can do is to do it the long ,hard way.And so starts the crazy days when one master copy of assingments and programs make the rounds of the entire hostel .One of the bes examples of I scratch your back,you scratch mine.Days and nights become kaleidoscopic bars of black and white during the run up to D-Day.And the best part is that,the majority of the people are totally clueless about the syllabus.So when looking at the past questions the only thought that comes into our minds -we are doomed.However ,with the gradual unearthing of the topics and syllabus,the flower of hope shows its face in the barren snow filled terrain of despair (I know that this sounds horribly cliched,but studying operating systems and Unix and computer networks have blunted my linguistic skills.Will have to wait for some time before the systems are up and running).
Anyway,with the practicals and submissions over,the real exam starts.Typically in most colleges these exams have no gaps in between.For example,we had five exams in five days.And let me tell you ,that was no walk in the park.With our sins of wasting the whole semester coming back and haunting us,the typical situation before each exam was discovering newer and newer questions with no answers.I mean when I were in school the routine was that you revised before exams.Here you saw new topics two hours before an exam.Another thing which I suspect my schoolmasters wouldn't approve of.But as most of the people are in the same jam,I guess that evens out everybody's odds. And the body art part is ,of course always there,along with tiny chits up the sleeves.And no sir,I an saying this not metaphorically,but literally.And since we,as a generation are more savvy than our parents when it comes to, gadgets some use cellphones to write down formulae and stuff.But that is another story altogether.
All's well that ends well,as they say.And in our case too,usually the story has a happy ending,except in some cases where the paper setter was in a particularly foul mood while setting the questions.Then even God will wash His hands off you.And no amount of chits can save you from flunking.Most of us,except the superstars have been through this at least once.But I digress.The moment the last exam is over,you feel as light as a dove.You feel no grudge in wasting 200 bucks watching a stupid flick in a multiplex when you knew before hand you would be suckered.The therauupatic value of watching a movie in a theatre is great,believe me.It means that you are completely relaxed .And it is much cheaper than getting your mind analyzed by a Freud spouting pshrink.And of course for folks living far from home,end of exams means boarding a train or a bus and going home to meet the family and eating homecooked meals.Grrrrr...,sorry that was my tummy.Goes about growling like a grizzly whenever home food is mentioned.Can't blame him,it has been almost 5 months.
I will be back soon.May the force be with you
Take my case.Our average semester length is about 4 months....never mind the dictionary definition of six months.The first three months are one of the most relaxed ones you could dream for.Sure there are practicals to do,reports and submissions to be made ,but what the heck.We just keep pushing these things with a will-do-it-tomorrow-there-is-enough-time attitude.And when the third month is almost ending notices start appearing in college and departmental notice boards.Dates of exams and opening of new semester start getting released while the teachers get into their element,fixing dates for final submissions and practical examinations.And then ,like the beginning of a bad dream,we realize the amount of time which we had whiled away.And I don't know about others but at these times I really would have loved to get my hands on a time machine and turn the clock back.But having said that,all we can do is to do it the long ,hard way.And so starts the crazy days when one master copy of assingments and programs make the rounds of the entire hostel .One of the bes examples of I scratch your back,you scratch mine.Days and nights become kaleidoscopic bars of black and white during the run up to D-Day.And the best part is that,the majority of the people are totally clueless about the syllabus.So when looking at the past questions the only thought that comes into our minds -we are doomed.However ,with the gradual unearthing of the topics and syllabus,the flower of hope shows its face in the barren snow filled terrain of despair (I know that this sounds horribly cliched,but studying operating systems and Unix and computer networks have blunted my linguistic skills.Will have to wait for some time before the systems are up and running).
Anyway,with the practicals and submissions over,the real exam starts.Typically in most colleges these exams have no gaps in between.For example,we had five exams in five days.And let me tell you ,that was no walk in the park.With our sins of wasting the whole semester coming back and haunting us,the typical situation before each exam was discovering newer and newer questions with no answers.I mean when I were in school the routine was that you revised before exams.Here you saw new topics two hours before an exam.Another thing which I suspect my schoolmasters wouldn't approve of.But as most of the people are in the same jam,I guess that evens out everybody's odds. And the body art part is ,of course always there,along with tiny chits up the sleeves.And no sir,I an saying this not metaphorically,but literally.And since we,as a generation are more savvy than our parents when it comes to, gadgets some use cellphones to write down formulae and stuff.But that is another story altogether.
All's well that ends well,as they say.And in our case too,usually the story has a happy ending,except in some cases where the paper setter was in a particularly foul mood while setting the questions.Then even God will wash His hands off you.And no amount of chits can save you from flunking.Most of us,except the superstars have been through this at least once.But I digress.The moment the last exam is over,you feel as light as a dove.You feel no grudge in wasting 200 bucks watching a stupid flick in a multiplex when you knew before hand you would be suckered.The therauupatic value of watching a movie in a theatre is great,believe me.It means that you are completely relaxed .And it is much cheaper than getting your mind analyzed by a Freud spouting pshrink.And of course for folks living far from home,end of exams means boarding a train or a bus and going home to meet the family and eating homecooked meals.Grrrrr...,sorry that was my tummy.Goes about growling like a grizzly whenever home food is mentioned.Can't blame him,it has been almost 5 months.
I will be back soon.May the force be with you
16 May 2006
Grand slam(s)
For the past few days have put a lot of strain on my nerves.you see the thing is that we are leaving college and many good friends are unlikely to see each other’s faces in entire life.So this is the last moment to savor friendships.And savoring friendship is done here by writing slam books.
And this is where I am at a strain.For the past few day I have filled at least 20 odd slam book.Now writing a slam book is different from writing answers in an exam.You have t pour your heart and soul into the job.And if you donot wite perfectly,there is a feeling of a job half done.These things remain forever and I want my work t olook and last good.
Writing them has forced me to examine a lot of feelings and reminisce a lot of memories.Hostel life was completely differently from that of home and we had tons of fun.All that went into the slam book.So nowadays I am walking about in a sort of haze where events from the past years with faces that you will probably,definitely never again see makes a jerk like me want to become sentimental.And guess what , I did.Let my emotions flow as they say you don’t keep anything bottled up if you want good health.Feeling much better now.
And this is where I am at a strain.For the past few day I have filled at least 20 odd slam book.Now writing a slam book is different from writing answers in an exam.You have t pour your heart and soul into the job.And if you donot wite perfectly,there is a feeling of a job half done.These things remain forever and I want my work t olook and last good.
Writing them has forced me to examine a lot of feelings and reminisce a lot of memories.Hostel life was completely differently from that of home and we had tons of fun.All that went into the slam book.So nowadays I am walking about in a sort of haze where events from the past years with faces that you will probably,definitely never again see makes a jerk like me want to become sentimental.And guess what , I did.Let my emotions flow as they say you don’t keep anything bottled up if you want good health.Feeling much better now.
19 Feb 2006
Fresher party '06
Yesterday was a blast. There is no other way to describe our freshers party. I went into the party determined to work off every rupee of my contribution of 460 bucks, and boy, didn’t I.I went into the party wearing a clean and pressed shirt and tee. I came out with a completely sweaty and crumpled one. Remind me never to wear so clean clothes. They are gonna get dirty anyway.
So here is the rundown of the day. Scheduled to start from 6.30 pm, the party got off after one hour because as Indians, we are real suckers for punctuality. Formal introductions with the juniors over, it was time to start the party proper. After steaming soup and starters, most of the folks spilled out into the dance floor. Some guys had dosed themselves with too much alcohol so all they could do was barely stand still. One of them was so stoned that no amount of rousing woke him up and at the end of the party he had to be practically carried between two chaps all the way to the hostel. But more of that later.
So there was everybody on the dance floor, free for all. It was sort of improvisation whereby you danced according to the music belting out from the speakers. After a particular vigorous bout of hip shaking, everybody would stand aside to get a few moments breadth, and then would again plunge headlong. To cut a long story short, everybody let their hair down, myself included even though I had shaved off my hair .Soon it was only the adrenaline that sustained us, as we were pretty inexperienced and out of practice at this sort of thing. Any decent party ought to have food, and in my mind I had not yet worked up all the money. So I sat down and began to shovel in till it was bursting. Even though I had focused my attention on food, yet I spied some people who seemed to be crying. Alcohol and emotions sometimes loosens up your tear glands.I have seen it happen before.
To cut a long story short, the music, food, everything was superb. The 3rd yearites deserve our appreciation for organizing such a wonderful party. And speaking of myself, I soon began to feel the effects of overexertion on my seldom used muscles and joints. After trudging back on foot for more than a kilometer, when I reached my room bone tired and threw myself on the bed, the blasted electricity went off. No fans and no mosquito repellant. With mosquitoes practicing their singing I had to hunker under a blanket, which left me stewing. I drifted off to sleep when it was 7 in the morning and woke up at noon, whole body aching. And a shocker of news awaited me-bird flu had come to India and the place of outbreak, I heard someone say was only four hours away. This scared the living headlights out of me when I thought about the chicken I ate yesterday. So no chicken until this threat goes-I think I am going to be a veggie for the time being. And eggs are also banned. Wonder how long this ache lasts?
So here is the rundown of the day. Scheduled to start from 6.30 pm, the party got off after one hour because as Indians, we are real suckers for punctuality. Formal introductions with the juniors over, it was time to start the party proper. After steaming soup and starters, most of the folks spilled out into the dance floor. Some guys had dosed themselves with too much alcohol so all they could do was barely stand still. One of them was so stoned that no amount of rousing woke him up and at the end of the party he had to be practically carried between two chaps all the way to the hostel. But more of that later.
So there was everybody on the dance floor, free for all. It was sort of improvisation whereby you danced according to the music belting out from the speakers. After a particular vigorous bout of hip shaking, everybody would stand aside to get a few moments breadth, and then would again plunge headlong. To cut a long story short, everybody let their hair down, myself included even though I had shaved off my hair .Soon it was only the adrenaline that sustained us, as we were pretty inexperienced and out of practice at this sort of thing. Any decent party ought to have food, and in my mind I had not yet worked up all the money. So I sat down and began to shovel in till it was bursting. Even though I had focused my attention on food, yet I spied some people who seemed to be crying. Alcohol and emotions sometimes loosens up your tear glands.I have seen it happen before.
To cut a long story short, the music, food, everything was superb. The 3rd yearites deserve our appreciation for organizing such a wonderful party. And speaking of myself, I soon began to feel the effects of overexertion on my seldom used muscles and joints. After trudging back on foot for more than a kilometer, when I reached my room bone tired and threw myself on the bed, the blasted electricity went off. No fans and no mosquito repellant. With mosquitoes practicing their singing I had to hunker under a blanket, which left me stewing. I drifted off to sleep when it was 7 in the morning and woke up at noon, whole body aching. And a shocker of news awaited me-bird flu had come to India and the place of outbreak, I heard someone say was only four hours away. This scared the living headlights out of me when I thought about the chicken I ate yesterday. So no chicken until this threat goes-I think I am going to be a veggie for the time being. And eggs are also banned. Wonder how long this ache lasts?
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