Gratefullness Part 1

He had a fitful sleep but was happy that it was morning. At least he could go out and breathe the crisp morning air. Waiting to get away from the suffocating room. Something fresh to replace a stale existence temporarily. As he walked out of his room briskly thoughts came out his head like a hot geyser out of cold earth. A distinguished English teacher at his peak, he was very close to his ideals. He was proud of this. His ideals were the imaginary gods he prayed to and kept happy. It was the same reason due to which he was alone even post retirement.

He lost touch with relatives long time back and he practically lived alone since the age of fourty. He recollected events in his life as he walked down the dirt path down to the main road leading to the corporation playground. Teaching at the local government school had never been easy since the students were not very much interested in anything apart from breaking something or the other save for very few students who tried hard but never gave him intellectual satisfaction. It was not like this always, he taught in an elite school for around twenty years he was thrown out for bad attendance and temper. The truth was that the standard of the school had gone down. Being a disciplined teacher meant that he was old school therefore unfit for the current crop of students who were impertinent and they came to school since they just had to. A bad period followed which led to him joining a government school another move which backfired for him.
He satiated himself on literature -the Elliots, the Wordsworths, the Salingers kept his pallate hungry for more. From popular fiction to classics there was virtually no author he missed, no poet he did not relish. He enjoyed good literature like a gourmet, the cheap ones supported his survival. He wrote voraciously as well. His ill maintained single bedroom apartment was full of paper, books and silverfish. The journey from being a gregarious person to a loner was slow. A forced metamorphosis. May be it was meant to be this way he thought as he walked into the public garden. He perched himself on a bench.

I am in a meeting and I dont want you to disturb me

Have been reading a lot of Dilbert so wanted to weave a yarn around some stolen concepts and some of my own experiences. I does not necessarily refer to me :-)

It was great to be there. Yes trust me the babes were really hot. Here I was working for this software company with a paltry salary. But for once I felt really happy as they sent me on site to a Carribean country dont remember which one. The beaches were great and the attitude of the people rocked. Felt like staying there forever. Then the hottest female in the whole beach called me by my name . I wondered how she knew my name??? That too in the most perfect Indian accent. When I took a closer look .. it was magical… it was truly my dream come true kinda gal . . The female who works in ABC services- dunno her name - called me. She asked me in the most morbid fashion if i was paying attention . Sounds started echoing in my brain. people giggling and laughing. I woke up to realize that I was in the freezing board room of the IT company for which i worked. I realised that I was in India and not in some exotic beach. Darn went all my dreams.

My hopelessly unsmart project manager kept yapping about how we must keep in touch with the latest technology and how one becomes outdated in the industry very soon etc etc… The female who called my name out was a good friend - who wanted to wake me up from my slumber . She was the only person who could discuss a wide variety of topics. The others were near robots. Never thought from their own brains. Always outsourced their thinking to some idle brain like me !!

I suddenly realised that did not pay even a seconds attention to what the psycho was saying. I surealy knew that no one else spoke because he was a tyrant, a person who belonged to the secret brotherhood of hecklers. His morphine was speech, in speech he did everything - took the company from a rag to a billion dollar company ( his latest fad nowadays), recruited some thousand people, converted us unsmart people to entrepreneurs and a lot more came from the hollow cave behind his tongue and head ? Yeah.

My case is very cliched. I am hopelessly single. Working for peanuts ( but paying a large amount for peanuts too in restaurants and other creative money burning avenues !!!). Get easily frustrated when I see the hordes of good looking females in It parks. Eveything else is more or less stable.Could have a good future if I dont screw things up intentionally.

The boardroom for me is the place of my dreams meaning the air conditioning is perfect and you can think and pamper yourself by dreaming about anything. Moreover you are not in front of your PC in your sappy cubicle.

Hits and Misses of the IPL

Frankly this years IPL is far better in terms of quality than the previous one. Bowlers are getting Man of the Match awards. The best players in the world are still the run scorers. Great shots can be played in a 2020 too. Closer games. More professionalism. But a lot of cricket buffs have dismissed it as being slam bang but when they come home from office they have a score to catch up with. And the Fake IPL Player ? We love masala isnt it ?
Although I enjoy the event thoroughly. I hate comparisions with One Dayers and Test Matches. There are certain points which I feel strongly about as far as the IPL is concerned. The chearleader thing is unecessary, the concept springs out of this irresistable itch to copy the west. The tactics used by the shows organizers to focus the cameras only on the crowded stands. Using sponsor names instead of saying that it is a '4' or a '6' is idiotic.
The beauty of 2020 is that it could be anybodys game. An over or two could change things dramatically. The wooden spoon winners of last year have performed brilliantly thus far. The finalists were lingering at the bottom of the table at least for some time.
For obvious reasons the Kolkata Knight Riders have not been performing well. Horrendous management decisions seems to be the root cause. The team owner's histrionics proves that he is the same even in real life. The coach proposing the multiple captian theory. A mercurial dada. Their failure is a lesson to all the managers of the franchisees. Cricket is a game of strategy and matches cannot be won by synthetic means. Real talent will talk. If we remove this officious characters and means of acheiving TRP's and in place try to be mature in non match content I beleive that the IPL could be a 'greater' show.
The make up is not required since the face is beautiful without it !!!

Civics is not a subject really . . .

I never understood the civics which was taught to me in school. I used to secretly love history but never civics. My teachers would hum lines from the text and we would pretend that we are underlining the important passages which come in the board exams. All those rights. The preamble. When teachers notice closed eyes gaping mouths oozing saliva they would come up snippets of General Knowledge. I am talking about class 9,10 when we were begining to develop some political insight. We were extremely patriotic in a filmy way. Did not know what right wing meant or what what left wing meant.

At that time we were not aware of an election commision. We could owe our awareness now to the numerous news channels. Good old Doordarshan never mentioned about them. Had they mentioned it would have been discussed over dinner. Snapshots of Mr Deve Gowda taking ten winks together on television stir my mind when I think of it. Coming back to civics - my suggestion is that there should be practical work in civics as opposed to drowsy classes. Students will stop shaking in their knees if civics is before english literature in the afternoon.

The practical work should give case studies like this - considering the current political scenario.
The Congress party has 10 allies, BJP 10 also there are a bunch of other regional parties angry over something or the other. Which of these parties would stick to their original allegiances ?
If this subject is taught at a time when elections are not on. The title of the project should be this - before the elections in 2009 the following was the coalition structure, please buy another notebook specifically to keep track of the different fronts - no stupid not the left front. I am talking about the third, fourth, fifth ... fronts (remember arithmetic progression !!) . Please go to the kabadi wala if possible and get all the old newspapers scourge for information and list all the parties with the date and the front they belonged to. If possible also add ( for humorous purposes ) why they were in that front. The conclusion of the project should include the actual results of the elections - change of alliances and comments.

For repeaters the topic would be fairly easy. Mapping political promises to actual work done.

Marks would obviously be awarded for correctness in prediction, hadwriting and how many colours were used in the report.

In awe of Eastwood

Recently I saw two acclaimed movies of last year - Gran Torino and Changeling. I watched Gran Torino sometime back and I loved them. Yesterday I happened to watch Changeling, but it completely slipped out of my mind that it was also directed and written by Clint Eastwood. Both the movies have such distinct styles and they had not been released after a huge gap. Gran Torino starred the man himself and literally carried the movie on his shoulders even at such an advanced age. Changeling was an inspiring movie without chest thumping dialoges but neat. When the titles suggested that it was Clint Eastwood who directed it I was amazed.
The other day I was watching an episode of Entourage - a 'dramedy' revolving around a movie star and his travails in Big Bad Hollywood along with his friends - slick in its approach and stylish to the hilt. The protagonist shoots a movie along with a German director and a particular scene required multiple retakes. The Hero( a very patient guy ) goes crazy, insists that the director explain what was wrong with the scene. The director replies that the hero is being himself which is not required for movie but he has to play the character written for him. Then the director says that any movie is a directors baby. For an actor it is just another performance, they go into the next project without any problems - whereas for a director a movie it is a matter of years of thinking crystallised. So no movie belongs actually to an actor but to the director. Of course this applies only to masters of the art.
Gran Torino and Changeling reflects this very argument. Clint Eastwood is such a master at story telling, not belonging to any league but his own

Two sides of a thick coin.

The wise men said Athithi Devo Bhava, I have also read about it in text books in school. Experiencing it could be a little tough but if you pay loads of money people might do ADB duty reluctantly.
I was suffering from a terrible headache for around 3 three days. I wanted to consult a doctor for the same. I walked into a swanky hospital very apprehensively knowing that I can come out in tattered clothes. Since the headache was just unbearable the part of the brain which wanted to save itself from the raging virus forced me to enter the premises of a hospital which offers a discount on heart surgery (as suggested by a board outside ).
I had to wait for another half an hour to fourty five minutes during which I had to fill up a gazzilion forms asking questions to the uninterested receptionist. Finally my turn came and I entered the doctors cabin. She was late by another 15 minutes. The lady smiled, we shook hands , apologized for being late after which she started asking me about what I do where I work etc. After around 10 minutes she asked me what my problem was. I explained that I have a persistent headache which is driving me crazy. In between our conversation she had also mentioned that she was working in the US before coming back to India. My head had stopped thobbing a little, the lady made me feel really comfortable. Before every question with repect my personal habits she added words like "If you dont mind may I know if you are a smoker ?". Her instructions where crystal clear and she examined me almost for half an hour.
She wrote her instructions on a paper like an essay explaining my condition so that the next time I come with the same problem I dont have to "go through" a lot of formalities or at least there would be a history of all my health issues. I had an issue with my neck beacuse of spending long hours in front of the computer and not exercising it enough - and that was causing a throbbing headache. As opposed to the usual . What do you do ? I am a software engineer. Hmm You people are so reckless with your habits. Hehe. Ok take these medicines on time, and a . . you come back to me after a month or two. Ya ok fine . Nurse !!
Headache or no headache I felt like seeking an appointment with the Doctor every week so I can just talk with her feel happy and start my day. It was a first time experience for me.

The Flip Side.
I had to check if my Bank Account had been created with a leading PS Bank on the same day. I felt really happy because of the doctor experience. I sat in front of the lady who was supposed to anser my questions. She was talking over the phone sometimes and talking to the person sitting next to me. The dude left and I was alone in the cabin with this sleepy old lady. She kept checking some stuff, signing letters, cheque books , she was also talking over the phone. This continued for another 15 minutes. I initiated 'Madam I have come here to collect my cheque book, it has been a month since I applied and I have not received any post regarding this'. Then I had to answer a series of questions which I have answered at least 5 times - "When did you apply for the account ? " - Answer - 3 months back. "When did you apply for the cheque book ?" - Answer - 1 month back. "Hmmm Can you come next week, I am really busy this whole week " - Answer - But that is what you said last week. "Arrey !! You should have come in the morning then , I am really tied up in the afternoons " - Answer - I am sorry I am working and I can come only during lunch hours. "Sigh ! Ok fine ". Some name was called and it turned out to be a peon. He was instructed to give me the cheque book. He shook his head and went inside in a hurried manner. He came out with a flask of coffee or tea or poison or whatever it was. I asked him - "Boss where s my cheque book " - "Oh sorry sir I ll bring it rightaway ". After 15 mins I got my cheque book. The lady smiled feebly , I left the bank in a huff.
I guess since I did not have billions of notes in my account I was treated shabbily . Another instance is when I had to change my address. I was made to go through 5 minutes of hell before the half bald guy changed it.

Well, I experienced rare treatment on that day . The other 'normal' treatment was what I could relate better with. :D

The sad story of culture

Right and Left are strange bedfellows. They care of their child Culture with a feeling of overwehlming responsibility. To the extent of becoming overbearing.
Right also hates Left and vice versa, they snide and chide each other but to the outside world they are one. Since our society has undergone rapid urbanization in the past decade, the rules of playing the game seem to have changed. Culture is a big person now, Left thinks that Culture should not be hanging out in pubs and strutting about in malls wearing loose clothes. Left does not like the attention Culture is getting. Left wants Culture to be demure and workaholic, Culture should not indulge in acts of pompousness or indulgence. Culture is not acting upon the standards set by the forefathers.
Right on the other hand has radically different thoughts. Culture can be indulgent. What is so wrong about it ? Even if Culture tries to be like some other person. Right gives two hoots about having a defined identity. Culture can be imitative and pretentious. Theres no problem with that. Left and his friends and idiotic and unreasonable. Why should they put shackles on Cultures feet. Right quotes Cool and says this is correct. Gives examples of evolving cultures, quotes lines from movies and snubs Right. Right secrelty asks Culture to stay away from Left as much possible. Left is bad influence.Left fears for some reason that if Rights ideas are followed, Culture would remain backward.
Right conversely thinks that if Lefts ideas are implemented then the Rights lofty ideas of respect would be lost.

Unfortunately, Culture could not thrive in a place where everybody is right and wrong !