The day after Tomorrow

Bluedart is renowned to be very reliable in delivering stuff. So today at 3 pm it was a surprise to have not got a mail from the Operations Desk yet regarding my expected courier. At 3:30 I finally decided that it’s time to enquire and sure enough 10 minutes later I had the ticket in hand, with the train scheduled for tomorrow night. At first awed by the sheer size, density and the pace of life at Mumbai it now feels that I have been here for ages.

Of all the cities I have been (and it would be futile to sit down and start making a list) there has been something about Mumbai that sets it apart. There are many places to talk of – Bandstand, Lonawala, Fuel, HN, HRC, Elephanta, South Bombay, Juhu, Malls, Vashi etc. to name a few and countless experiences to remember and recollect – WC matches at Convo Hall, the last locals, EAD, the MBA party, Impact Day, chocolate truffles, IMG nightouts etc. But perhaps the fondest memories that remain are those of the night walks in the rains. And this is a thing that I have now started to grasp, of how one can find the greatest joy in the smallest and simplest of things, the fact that it’s all in the mind. It would be hard to find another place which holds something for everyone. The city holds an amazing capacity to provide equal quantities of joy to all of its residents, irrespective of the amount of cash at their disposal.

As the time to leave approaches the amount of ‘lasts’ are beginning to burden me. From the ‘last time I am meeting this person’ to the ‘last time I am getting my clothes washed at the laundry’, with many others in between. Tonight is going to be the ‘last’ night here, followed tomorrow by the ‘last’ day in office, involving many ‘last’ meetings, and then a ‘last’ visit to room 228 at ‘The Lady of The Lake’ at IITB (which now feels like the third home, after home and IITR), ‘last’ tum tum ride, some more ‘last’ meetings, ‘last dinner’, a ‘last’ auto ride to LTT station, a ‘last’ look at Mumbai at midnight and the next day be no more.

There is a touch of excitement at homecoming, a tinge of sadness on leaving, a sense of gratification on the stay, a reminiscent of the memoirs, and a feeling of hope, that maybe this won’t be the last.

Dusk of a Episode

This March has proved to be quite an eventful period. One moment I was on my way home, tired, the sole desire being a bed to sleep on. Spending nearly half of my time in slumber at home proved to be a rejuvenating experience, without which I couldn't possibly have survived till now. Holidays could and should probably have stayed for a couple of days more though.

The fears of draconian laws being implemented at college after the 'Shimla incident' remained a mere fear. Govind Bhawan Day saw a new level of destructive behaviour being unleashed on its defenseless rooms. This further advanced to a higher level a few days later at Ravindra (For more details contact Amit Bhasin @9897845707). The next day proved to be what I would say is the most memorable birthday I have had (despite the worst beating of my life I had to take for it). And I haven't said this until now.. thank you everyone for making it so very special, I shall not be forgetting it for a long time to come.

Having shirked a lot from my commitments in February, March provided the platform to redeem myself. The occasion that I had been waiting for a long time (and on some occasions hoping for it to just end soon) finally arrived. Cognizance was an experience. Those four days everything in R-land seemed to have attained a new level of attraction. The sight on the night of day 0, with a sea of people gathered around the UG Club was both scary and mind blowing. I ended up spending all four nights sleeping on the couch there, not that I couldn't go to my room, I simply didn't wish to. Strolling (and sometimes riding) around the place at 2 in the night, with the place completely deserted had an splendor of its own, imagining the fact that there were hundreds here a few hours ago.

When it did finally did end, there was a sadness within, a realization that deep inside I had wanted it to continue forever.

Now I am trying to make up for the lost sleep, and getting my routine back on track. And while deranged people will continue to sniff, hack and destroy stuff.. and lamentable comments written in #hash #tags will grab some bakar time.. I cant help feeling indifferent. Anger is an emotion that I can simply no longer find inside me.. All this comes at a cost though. The quality of my jokes have degraded to a level that I find scary, even to myself.

P.S: I had to describe this
me: (Shaking Christopher James hand after the magic show) It was fabulous.
CJ: (Taking an excited look at my Led Zeppelin t-shirt) Yo.. Led Zepp (Thumbs up).

P.P.S: It feels good I could help someone find their wallet back.

Lights will guide you home..

Run, rabbit run.
Dig that hole, forget the sun,
And when at last the work is done
Don't sit down it's time to dig another one.

(Pink Floyd - Breathe)

Over the past few months, MBA vs GRE vs Job has been the hottest topic of discussion in the CS corridoors. Now on the brink of fourth year, this ugly topic has cropped up for many who have no idea about what they want to do. There are those who have decided to follow their interests and then there are those who advocate a career path just for the money in it.

Right from the childhood an individual is taught to sacrifice the present, for a better and more comfortable future. There are people who never initiate the process, those who give up in between after reaching a particular level and then there are those who never stop, forgetting the very basic purpose of their efforts. The question that comes is whether to stop, and if yes then when to stop?

There are three words that come to mind here: Success, Satisfaction and Happiness.

Generally speaking, Satisfaction is a necessary for Happiness, and Success is necessary for Satisfaction. To achieve Success one must have a desire for it, for which one needs to be dissatisfied in the first place. It is also important to realise that once one has attained happiness and satisfaction it wont last forever and in future one will only be driven to search for a greater level of satisfaction which will lead to disatisfaction and ultimately to satisfaction and happiness. So to stop is definitely not the answer. And often the level one attains by sarifices will require the same amount of sacrifices to sustain itself or move forward. So, to sacrifice oneself isnt right either.

The question here is who defines these three things for a person? If one allows someone else to define it for him then he can never trully be happy or satisfied. The most important thing is to be true to oneself. There is always a price to be paid for being good, for doing what one believes in. But the greater motive is ultimately to preserve ones own identity and that is what brings true happiness. The key lies in moving along at the right pace, which one decides for himself and that which one can maintain without sacrificing his identity in the process. At the end of the day its the identity that one creates for himself that matters.

Though this analysis has helped me little in making that crucial decision for myself, it certainly has helped me understand things better. And while there will be a time when I'll have to get up and make a run again, for today I can just lie down on my bed, turn on Dogs by Pink Floyd, close my eyes, and go to sleep without bothering about setting any alarm..

Influenced heavily by The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri) and Pink Floyd.

P.S: Dairy milk is the proof that God exists and wants us to be happy.

Origin

The past 2 weeks had been really hectic- code, receive a call, make a call, code, make a call, receive a call... Code and make people code, this pretty much describes what I had being doing for the past month. Having spent the last month thinking entirely about how to integrate one piece of code with another, whether I'm walking, watching tv, having lunch, dinner, breakfast or for that matter coding (obviously.. and for the record I rarely have breakfast) it was turning out hard to remain sane.

So though it turned out to be a welcome relief when it finally ended but it was marred by the disappointment of heading back to R-land and having to waste yet another new year away from the family (The credit for which as usual goes to our college administration). This frustration was shared by many as they were forced to head to R-land to 'celebrate' the new year. The opening of a Dominos just outside the campus may have seemed to have add some flavor to the life at R-land where the only familiar name for non R-landish people was a 'Cafe Coffee Day' a few kilometers away on a national highway. Now this post is about 'Last Night' (more specifically about the Last Night of 2009), so it will be unfair to talk more about day things like Cafe Coffee 'Day' (At the same time it would also be unfair to dish out more PJ's like this).

The night turned out more fun than I could have expected. Dinner at Sagar was followed by bonfire, and dance and act a minute sessions, the less about the later the better. Fire provided an escape from the rather chilling cold at R-land (Which leaves all this talk of Climate change and Global warming a bit hard to cooperate with). 'Happy New Year' wishing was followed by a dozen idiots watching 3 idiots. I had seen better movies before, but not enjoyed them more. All was well.

There are things in life that remain incomplete forever.. and some that have abrupt endings, however this


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