A 360 Degree View of 365 Days

Every New Year that begins has innumerable experiences and memories in store for each one of us. It unfolds yet another chapter in our lives. It is not just a year that we live and survive; it is a phase which makes us better persons than what we were in the year before. When I look back at 2017, I think this year to be the year of accomplishments and bittersweet experiences.

I would call 2017 as a year when I absorbed many things. It was a year of new beginnings and revival of something close to my heart. On a professional front, it was about taking up new responsibilities. Change can be difficult and bumpy at first; but it was something I had to accept, to experiment. In this new ‘change’ I came across certain idiosyncrasies of people. I started believing that some people could really be experts in giving you a tough time. They are devoid of empathy and insist on getting their interests served first. Well, if that is what having a professional face means, then I was quite baffled to know how people show little consideration for others’ limitations. But I believe that only in times of adversities you can really improve yourself or look for alternatives which can make your life better. Through these times, I learned one of the significant things that was absent in me since long: Assertiveness. To say No is equally important. You cannot please everyone at the same time. I learned to be acerbic where polite words did not succeed. You learn from your mistakes and they help you to excel. In a way, I should thank these difficult people who helped me instill these necessary qualities in myself. Difficult people teach you to battle tough situations, whereas the positive people around you encourage and motivate you to do better. I was fortunate to have met some people who exuded sanguinity.

Having completed a year in my job and having a bag full of lessons in it, I decided to give my passion of learning German a thrust by letting it add colour to my life. What is life without passions after all! It was a wonderful feeling to be a student again, to sit in a classroom as the teachers shared their expertise in the language which I have been loving since 6 years now. The successful completion of two levels and beginning of the final level has been my biggest achievement and fulfilment of a crucial goal for 2017. It was like a dream coming true after a wait of almost 3 years. The language gets elegant and intense every time I am in its company. German, which for others is a ‘foreign language’, no more seems foreign to me. I feel close to its beauty, the same closeness that I feel towards Marathi, Hindi and English. It has become a part of me. It is the sugar which adds sweetness in my life. My aspiration to pursue German and the journey covered so far, reminds of Paulo Coelho's line in his book 'The Alchemist': “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” 

The world which seemed diverse to me only in form of novels that I read, seemed real and fascinating when I went on my first international trip this year. Not only the time spent in Malaysia and Singapore but also the entire process making it possible to reach there- let it be booking the tour, going through immigration process at airports, looking around the airports- everything was exciting. It was a memorable trip with lot of takeaways, awe and inspiration. I had a historic flavour of appreciation when I visited Jadhavgadh, a heritage fort of the Marathas. The grandeur of the fort and the history which adorns it was worth paying obeisance to the bravery of our forefathers. They had the vision and strategies which were exemplars of human intelligence. Adventure means experiencing a thrill and doing something that looks perilous. My visit to Imagica was one such day when I enjoyed getting topsy-turvy views from the rides that we went in. Truly a wonder of limitless imagination and fun in its pure form, Imagica promised full amusement in its theme park.

Bill Cunningham, an American fashion photographer, said, "Fashion is the armour to survive the reality of everyday life." This year, I explored the traditional forms of Indian sartorial elegance, quite hesitantly at first: be it the white sari of Kerala or traditional nine yard sari of Maharashtra. I realized that India is indeed a hub of fashion and traditional dressing styles, and Indians are in fact, the models who proudly walk donning these diverse looks. I enjoyed dressing up in these different and exciting styles which seemed quite distant for me earlier. The reality of everyday life transformed for me for few hours at least when I experimented that something different is something better, for which people around appreciate.

Life was serene, challenging and enjoyable, yet all these moments were worth cherishing. Times of laughter with friends and loved ones provided the much needed solace and provided a break from monotony. The New Year will come up with bigger challenges and hopes. It would be yet another year when I will learn something new; it will give lots of opportunities to grow and develop from good and bitter experiences. It will have many more memories worth treasuring in my mind. Every passing year plays like a recap in my mind, which leaves footprints of lessons that I learn. New Year is not about resolutions and their fulfilment. It also provides a roadmap of how we can make our lives better by bringing about constant improvement in ourselves. 

The Gift (?) of Gab

Animal kingdom amazes me every time I watch a documentary; especially during the moments when the animals are communicating with each other- a lioness calling out to her cubs when she brings them a meal, monkeys alerting the deer when the predators are around or the arguments when prides, pairs or packs have disagreements. What really distinguishes humans from them are the advanced intellect and the ability to speak. Our vehicles to communicate are words and languages which should make sense to us and to the others we are communicating with.

We often appreciate people who have the gift of gab or confident and persuasive speaking skills. There are many professions associated with this talent. There are courses which teach you to be a good orator and train you in public speaking skills. Having command over language always helps in speaking effectively. Speeches and talks are effective when they are spoken in a language one is comfortable with. The impact is better and the purpose intended is also achieved.

After reaching a stage in German language learning where not only bombastic words but also strong and impactful content matters for scoring better, it made me think how important it is to speak wisely in our day-to-day lives as well. Actions speak louder than words, but these words themselves can have lasting impact on someone. Words can build or break relationships. Words, body language, the tone of speaking and most importantly the intent leave great impressions on someone’s mind to form opinions or judgments. The marks which a person scores or loses in these aspects differ in the certificates existing in numerous minds.

As a working professional I learn everyday where can stern or amicable language be used- sometimes combination of both. If management is the art of getting things done from people, then it is necessary that you talk in a language where your peers would really feel like working with you and giving results. I come across people who have years of experience glittering on them, but have condescending and authoritative speaking tones while dealing with their colleagues. I remember one such incident at work where two people from the same team were having a conversation with someone who could probably get their work done. Person A was being as understanding and courteous as possible. Person B was a complete contrast who spoke in a dictating and aggressive language. How much they both scored in the mind of the person they were speaking to, is again a matter of curiosity. Then come the threatening types whose survival on earth is dependent on one file that you send them. Panic and urgency is always surging within these people as they speak. With such people, it is always better to call a spade a spade. There are also mellifluously talking people who have a hypnotizing effect on someone. They can easily have their way, thanks to their oratory skills, which is in fact an art of winning people.

In our day-to-day lives too, it is necessary to introspect as to how we talk with people. It depends on the propinquity and the kind of camaraderie we share with someone. However, it should be kept in mind, especially in formal relationships, as to how you should deal with colleagues of opposite gender. Words, phrases or expressions which relate to the physical appearance or financial status should be carefully used. Holding the wrong end of the stick can spoil relationships and also can take ugly turn in form of legal actions. Therefore, boundaries have to be set when it comes to speaking, in any kind of relationship.

There’s a proverb in Marathi which literally translates into, “An arrow released from a bow and words once spoken cannot be taken back.” Yet you often wish that you could take words back. But the damage is already done. You have already lost someone’s trust. Sometimes in a foul mood, we often tend to speak harshly, though it might not be our true nature. Therefore, a serious thought always has to be given to the background, mindset and nature of the persons you deal with.  One casual comment can bring back bitter memories for someone. Words are like non-renewable resources; they have to be used prudently to have a promising and pleasant future with people around you. Your interaction with people should be such that they appreciate you even when you are not around. That is when gab is really a gift or talent and not mere gibberish.

Truly Asia!

My German class is a blissful place where we discuss a plethora of topics, with an ultimate objective to improve our language. In this process, our thoughts are channelized into thinking deeply about a particular theme, so that we express our ideas better in German. Since globalization is a pervasive phenomenon which affects every walk of our lives, we discussed one very important component of it: Tourism. We discussed as to how tours to foreign nations help us understand people and cultures; whether tours to foreign nations are preferable at very young age or at a stage where one can sense the difference between one’s nation and a foreign country. Some of my classmates suggested that trips to foreign nations help us in comparing two nations. Yes, this surely is one of the factors one realizes when one goes overseas. However, more than comparison I would view visit to foreign countries as an opportunity to appreciate their uniqueness. Quite coincidentally this topic was being discussed in our class before my very first overseas trip to two beautiful countries- Singapore and Malaysia.  A visit to both these countries left me in complete awe for them.

At the onset of my exciting journey, I could not help but notice the amazing wonder of Mumbai- T2 Airport or Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The structure illuminates with our tricolour flag hoisted proudly in front of it. Inside this impressive structure, my eyes were fixated upon the rich cultural heritage of India which the airport beautifully depicted. The multifarious brands around again taught me the reach of globalization and the improved purchasing power of Indians.  I was convinced that this Indian airport was at par with other renowned airports of the world. Thus, I boarded my flight with excitement, lots of expectations and anticipation. In my 5-hour flight, I painted pictures in my mind as to in what way the countries could be unique than mine.

Our first destination was Malaysia. We headed towards our first stop: Putrajaya Cruise. Putrajaya is the administrative city of Malaysia. Putrajaya cruise is on man-made Putrajaya lake where we enjoyed magnificent view of Prime Minister’s office, Putra Mosque, important administrative buildings and bridges whose construction was inspired from other famous bridges of the world. One of the structures was inspired from our very own wonder, Taj Mahal. From Putrajaya, we could see its neighbouring city Cyberjaya or the IT City of Malaysia.   After visiting this awe-inspiring city, we headed towards Genting Highlands- a high altitude hill resort.

To reach Genting Highlands, we went by one of the fastest cable cars of the world. It was a marvelous experience, as we literally travelled through the clouds to reach there. Genting Highlands had Las-Vegas style casino. However, having no experience of casinos at all, we chose to simply enjoy its grandeur, by being mere onlookers. We saw huge hordes of people approaching the casino when we decided to call it a night. For those thousands of people, night life had just begun to try their luck and win some lucre. We had our dinner at a multi-cuisine restaurant, where one could taste all flavours of Asia and Europe. The weather was cold and pleasant as one would expect on a hill station. Feeling rejuvenated at Genting Highlands, we drove to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. We visited Batu Caves where Karthik Swamy’s temple is nestled. The temple is in a limestone hill. To reach the temple atop, one has to climb 272 steps. However, the adrenaline rush to see what lay at the top, we climbed the steps within 10 minutes, taking frequent breaks, acting like typical sedentary Mumbaikars. Near the steps we saw the 42 metres statue of Lord Murugan or Karthik, the tallest in the world. While climbing the steps we had to be wary of the notorious macaques around, as they are known to snatch things from your hands. During my climb, I was reminded of Marleshwar Temple in Ratnagiri, where Lord Shiva’s temple is high in the mountains, located in a cave. It seemed as though Karthik too had followed his father’s footsteps by posing a challenge to his devotees to seek his blessings. The temples at the top looked like typical South Indian temples. For a moment, I thought I was in India. When I got down from the temple and was enjoying refreshingly cold coconut water, I looked at the mountains where this temple lay. On one side it had vegetation, while on the other side I saw the denuded state of it. Man’s interference with Nature seemed omnipresent as the mountains looked barren because of excessive limestone extraction by the British when they ruled Malaysia. Hoping that the invincible Murugan standing outside would protect his creations, we left for our next destination.

Inspired by the Marine Corps War Memorial in the United States, the National Monument in Kuala Lumpur is a sculpture that commemorates those who died in Malaysia’s freedom struggle. Near the monument, is a memorial that has names of the brave fighters engraved on it, which is quite similar to our India Gate in New Delhi. Every country has a solemn way to pay homage to its brave countrymen. Later, we visited the King’s palace which was a regal structure with a shining yellow dome, depicting the royal colour of the Malayan rulers. The palace has 13 flags of 13 states of Malaysia hoisted around it. The surrounding gardens and the huge expanse of land as though brought enough serenity. After getting a glimpse of Malaysia’s history and cultural heritage, we were about to see next its architectural wonder: Kuala Lumpur Tower. It is the seventh largest tower in the world and the highest viewpoint in Kuala Lumpur. This tower reminded me of Fernsehturm in Berlin, the tallest structure in Germany. Since it was evening by the time we reached up KL Tower, we could get a splendid view of the illuminating Kuala Lumpur City. It looked as though the entire city were preparing to celebrate a festival.

The next day we visited Petronas Twin Towers, the landmark of Kuala Lumpur. This 88-storey steel and glass structure is tall beyond the reach of our eyes. Petronas stands for the oil and gas company of Malaysia which has its offices and subsidiaries in one tower and the second one houses offices of other renowned companies. I realized widely that good infrastructure is one of the significant competing factors which defines the development and strength of a nation. After getting a whiff of Malaysian commerce, we visited Sunway lagoon which was a recreation park where one could get drenched in water park or enjoy watching white tigers, white lions, birds, reptiles and panthers or simply enjoy the rides. Thus, our 3-day sojourn in Malaysia ended, where I could see a potpourri of natural, cultural, historical and architectural wonders.

Next morning, we headed to reach the country of the rich: Singapore. We travelled by bus from Malaysia to Singapore. It was a unique experience for me as I had always known travelling from one country to another by air. It was indeed a great experience to know how boundaries of one country ended at one place and began for another. Singapore was a part of Malaysia until 1965 when it was carved out as a separate nation. However, Malay language of Malaysia is one of the official languages of Singapore, the other ones being English, Mandarin and Tamil. It was quite surprising to know that among the top 20 richest persons of Singapore, two were Indians. I wondered how Indians can wander to any part of the globe to make a better living, when we were told that many Indians, especially South Indians had settled in Singapore. We were soon to explore what Singapore had to offer that made it so conducive for everyone.  That night, we went on a Night Safari where we saw wild animals from different parts of the world wandering or eating in the areas that were allotted to them. Thankfully they were not imprisoned in cages. The tram ride had recorded narrations which described each of these animals. It also mentioned which all were endangered and what can one do to prevent extinction of these exotic creatures. I was particularly glad to see my favourite animals, tiger and lion. We bade good night to the animals looking curiously at us, or so we thought. Maybe the animals had grown to be indifferent of human presence, who knows!

Next day was an exciting one as we set out to explore the heart of happening Singapore. We sailed on a river cruise which described the history of Singapore and the structures around. If one tries to get a 360-degree view around, one can see the boastful tall buildings of banks and companies, which symbolize the wealth and prosperity of Singapore. We got down the cruise to face the famous sculpture which defines Singapore: The Merlion. This half lion- half fish structure signifies the fishing village that Singapore was, once upon a time. Lion lies in the name of the country, ‘Singa’ meaning lion and ‘Pura’ meaning city in Sanskrit. It is believed that when a Sumatran prince first landed on Singapore, he saw a lion and hence decided to name the city so. However, it is also said that the prince must have seen a tiger who is a native of Asia than lion, who is a prime inhabitant in Africa. Being a lover of etymology, languages, history and wildlife, this interesting story added to my knowledge and curiosity about the world. We rode on Singapore Flyer i.e. a Ferris wheel from where we got a view of entire Singapore in a 30-minute rotation. The view was breath-taking as one can see few islands of Indonesia as well. Later we visited the Flower Dome of Gardens by the Bay where we could see a palette of resplendent flowers. Think of any colour and you could see flowers in various shades of that colour. There were trees and flowers from all over the world. A saunter in the park seemed like a therapy which had the power to make me forget all worries and tensions. Such is the healing power of nature’s beauty, I thought.

After lunch, we drove to Sentosa Island. Sentosa Island was a place of fun where we went Go-carting and relived childhood days. We also sat in a cable car where enjoyed the view of dense forests and beaches which lay below. What amazed me was that Singapore not only boasted of well-built infrastructure but also preserved nature by planting good number of trees. That is what I call, striking a balance. Sentosa Island also has Madame Tussauds Wax Statue Museum where we posed with life-like statues of famous personalities of the world. As we were soon reaching dusk, a beautiful light and show awaited us which was pure treat for the eyes. The show ‘Wings of Time’ was an exhilarating experience as we witnessed the wonders light and water could do, while narrating a story. I could not take eyes off in the entire 20-minute show. It was truly captivating to experience diverse shades of light, sound and technology when darkness was around.

Next day was the one I looked forward to the most. We visited Universal Studios, a heaven of man’s limitless imagination, creativity and technological innovation. It also has an aquarium in its periphery where we saw fish of diverse shapes, sizes and colours from different parts of the world. We had entered a blue world where we saw all fish swimming placidly having nothing to worry or fear about. The aquarium had soothing music playing which encouraged us to feel relaxed and at peace, just like the fish. After experiencing tranquility at the aquarium, we geared ourselves up for some adventurous rides in Universal Studios. In all the rides that we sat, we experienced the thrill that we cannot in our daily lives. Stunt show, 4D show and a special effects show that we saw made us realize how some movies promise jaw-dropping entertainment with lasting effect. The amount of technological vision is immense. Thus another day in our exciting tour ended with limitless fun.

Singapore gives glimpses of both natural and man-made worlds for the tourists. Our last stop of the tour was Jurong Bird Park where we saw beautiful birds clad in fresh colours. This was yet another place where we could find peace in nature’s arms. The soulful voice of birds had a healing effect on mind. We saw a bird show of these exotic creatures which left us agape. The birds were trained ones and the instructor of the show told us how one needs to have patience in order to teach them. They showed us their amazing flight skills. Although all birds were majestic, one bird in particular caught my attention. It was a South American parrot who was trained to speak like humans. It wished all of us a ‘Hello’ and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ for those who celebrated their birthday that day. The parrot seemed like an innocent, obedient child who did as it was told. Later we visited some owls kept in a dark area. As we silently passed through different types of owls, we saw some of them sleeping, while others stared suspiciously at us.

As we bade goodbye to this little world of birds, it was also time to end our pleasant stay in Singapore. I marveled at how Singapore had transformed itself from a fishing village to a modern state where there is a perfect balance of nature and infrastructure. It looks like wise investment of money to bring in more money through tourism and fast developing economy. This progress has been done in 52 years since its formation. Discipline, punctuality and effective use of natural and human resources are principal forces why this summit of development can be reached. No wonder Singapore is called a ‘fine city’ with pun intended.

As I boarded my flight back to Mumbai to go back to the daily routine, I carried innumerable memories and learnings which would help me in some or the other to face challenges in life; be it lessons learnt from nature, history, culture or people of those nations. These two truly Asian countries introduced me to some of the peculiar facets of Asia, the largest continent on earth.

Changing Façade of Relationships

There are some TV shows which are so much discussed about that it piques your curiosity and you actually end up watching it, justifying herd behaviour among humans. A few days back I watched one such hyped show, ‘13 Reasons Why’. It was a show about a teenager who commits suicide because she is a victim of bullying in her high school. She is in dire need of friends and wants to have a feeling of belongingness. She is emotionally wrecked by her classmates who she approaches with an expectation of building friendship. The 13 episodes show the 13 reasons why she takes her own life and the people compelling her to do it.  I felt some of the reasons were highly ludicrous, yet it made me think about the superficiality and changed forms of relationships these days.

Human beings are social animals and therefore we often find people in groups. The primitive man, too needed people along with him to chase and bring down a big game in forest. As man progressed, the need to be a part of a group grew. Man felt the need to be among the people who gave him warmth, with someone he could share his joys and sadness. It is an influx of countless emotions. These emotions led to creation of a society. As individuals, we are minions in this gargantuan organization called society. Relationships are something which bind the society together. We have developed a lot over the years and so have our relationships with people around us. Our relationships got bifurcated into personal and professional relationships. Professional relationships are highly masqueraded ones. No matter how much of difference of opinions you have with someone, it always has to be suppressed with a smile. We often hide our true selves only because we want to be accepted. Building relationships and nurturing them helps to build long lasting businesses. Genuineness in relationships does not really matter in professional world, as long as you work or get the work done. As someone who has lately started to understand the mechanism of professional relationships, I realized that very few would really be concerned and help you out in times of need. Others are just passive onlookers who would be good at pretending and sighing at your maladies. I think sometimes that in an attempt to appear ‘strictly professional’ we often forget basic human values. Talking about relationships in business world, where customer is God, a lot of emphasis is laid on keeping the customers happy, or so is propagated. Recently when my mobile talktime had got unrightfully deducted from my account, my cellphone service providers credited the lost amount to my account, as a ‘one-time goodwill activity’. That means the goodwill was limited to only this one instance and I shouldn’t expect any further ‘act of kindness’ from them again, when I face similar unjust situation in future. Even if I change my service provider in future, it will hardly matter to the company. It would be like losing just one drop from huge ocean of customers.

Personal Relationships too have changed and modernized. We are emotionally attached to our families and friends, or so since I last heard it. Sadly ‘give and take’ is the foundation of many friendships today. We feel obligated to return the favour done to us by our friends, otherwise we fear that our perception in the minds of our friends might change. This is hardly a surprising phenomenon in the materialistic world. Nowadays the standard of living has improved. People are attracted to those friends who would throw huge parties or spend heavily on them, but would neglect those who would be silent well-wishers. ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed’ seems like a passé in this fast developing world, where people face huge paucity of time. As if to overcome this guilt for not being there for friends, verbal expressions of concern and emoticons do the soothing or providing of mental support. A lot has to be expressed these days rather than implying. However, the world still possesses innumerable selfless beings for whom trust, honesty, respect and love are the foundation of long lasting friendships.

Even the idea of family has changed. For Indians, a family would mean parents, grandparents, children and a huge chain of extended family. We consider blood relationships to be supreme and ultimate. We are sensitive towards our families and they form epicenter of every decision that we make. In western countries, the face of family itself has changed, thanks to technology and more preference towards better professional life. I believe that learning a language does not only mean learning new words or expressions. It also means understanding the culture and society of the country. A few weeks back we were discussing the nature of relationships in German society. I learnt this interesting and never-heard-before concept of ‘Mehrgenerationenhaus’ where people of different generations who are not related by blood stay together cordially in a house or a building. The main purposes of such a living are to have meaningful conversations, an exchange of ideas with each other and develop relationships. The young help the old by doing their chores or by teaching them aspects of modern technology. There are various activities and courses for people of different generations, thus building a synergy and optimistic attitude among people. No one feels lonely in such a structure. There are ‘Leihomas’ and ‘Leihopas’ literally meaning ‘borrowed grandmas and grandpas’ where the retired old people volunteer to look after the children of working parents. The parents are more than delighted to leave their children with these ‘grandparents’ as they are assured that their children will learn good values from them. Nowadays where even the blood relationships are not so deep, this serves as an example as to how humanity, trust and respect are the basis to begin any relationship.

Live-ins, co-parenting, single parenthood, long distance relationships are prevalent in German society. There are couples who meet only on weekends i.e. who belong to ‘Wochenendbeziehung’ and plan to spend quality time together. I read one interesting article about this concept. It said that such relationships give enough freedom to partners to have their own space and not intrude into each other’s privacy which might happen while living together. This avoids arguments and the love is believed to remain intact, where the couples can discuss their problems and worries when they meet and emotionally support each other. In France, under the legal contract of ‘Pacte civil de solidarité’ unmarried couples live together. These contracts can be easily revoked. This contract is signed in presence of a notary, without any ceremony. The partners get visiting rights if either of them is hospitalized. They are also entitled for pensions, if either of the partners dies. And then we thought that marriage is the final step or a ‘license’ to stay together! Laws can be innovative too, something which encourages us to change the way we think.

In co-parenting, two or three individuals, who are not in love with each other, who do not know each other very well, can be united with the common purpose of raising a child together. This is common among the LGBT community who fulfil their wish to have a child; of course love is a factor that is very much present. On the contrary there are instances of persons who have failed relationships in the past, but would like to have children without getting married or without getting into serious relationships. A lot of heterosexuals, too welcome such a model of relationship to raise a child in a loveless relationship. As Indians, we would be brutally and culturally shocked to think of such new forms of relationships. Most of us would term such kind of societies as ‘westernized’ or ‘without values or morals’. We cannot be blamed for such thinking as we have grown in a patriarchal society. We would still stand firm on our conventional model of family. Sometimes I think we should thank our traditions and values for our closely knit families, which teach us tolerance, sharing, empathy and understanding.

Relationships are like plants which have to be nurtured with love and care. Any form of hatred, anger or misunderstanding can wither them away. In any relationship, the spark is alive as long as there is love and warmth. The faces of relationships have changed; people have explored new ways and means to strike harmony with fellow human beings. Some relationships provide temporary respite, while others last for a lifetime. When the river of life is slowly ebbing away, we won’t think of those relationships in which we have been superficially present, but those who have gifted us precious memories and lots of smiles- our genuine relationships, be it our family, friends, neighbours or any stranger who has contributed to make our life better.

On Hat-trick of Enrichment & Learning

This month, on the 10^th of May, I completed three years of blogging. With blogging having entered my life, a new identity, or rather a new title for me came into existence: ‘Student and a blogger’ and since a year, ‘working professional and a blogger’. I started thinking what all changed in these three long years and how have I developed as a person and a writer. I went into self introspection and thought of some significant incidents that had an impact on the way I think and the conclusions I drew from them. Being a 90s kid, in whose childhood, cassettes were not outdated, but constituted a very important source of musical entertainment, I rewound this cassette of three amazing years in my mind, whose melody was not always pleasant but at times doleful as well. This cassette of memories and experiences was rewinding in my mind while riding my bicycle, whose wheels and therefore my future ideas I was pedaling ahead.

The biggest metamorphosis was becoming a working professional from a student. The entry into the ambitious, glamorous and demanding corporate world was a significant step for me. Before entering into this world, there were a number of experiences and lessons learnt, even as a student. I began blogging as a medium to express my thoughts to a wider audience when I was at the end of one phase of my student life and was about to enter the next one. These two years were going to be memorable ones, with their own share of good and bad lessons. Apart from the usual academia, there were corporate grooming lessons, which I particularly found noteworthy. To be sartorially good and sober, the institute I studied in insisted us to view the corporate world in ‘black’ and ‘white’. It is during this phase I realized that colours indeed played a significant role in our lives and there are people who judge you by your cover i.e. your clothes. Hence, to strictly abide by rules, we always wore white shirts and black blazers and suited up for companies, who would be our potential employers. Mind you, black blazer could not be replaced by navy blue and white was an irreplaceable shade. No matter how diffident or hollow you are deep inside, the blazer always ensured that you look presentable to employers, who sometimes pay little attention to your dress code. These experiences taught me triviality of rules and our ability to question and challenge them. I believe that as we grow up, we often forget to ask ‘Why’ and demand answers. We merely accept things the way they are. We lose the child-like curiosity which wants to know everything that is going on around.

Then finally I entered the corporate world, in my very first job, with my own set of perceptions and expectations. As a fresher recently out of college, the world of work looked magical. For me, this one year in my organization was a roller coaster ride. This ride gave me bitter experiences as well as some sweet memories. As destiny favoured me, some of my very good friends became my colleagues as well. Then we had only theoretically known how an organization runs. We were about to experience it on our own. I still remember my second day at work, where we as freshers participated in various team games organized by our department. It gave us a first practical lesson of functioning as a team and also to build a rapport with our fellow colleagues.

When I look back at the one year spent in my organization, I realize that along with your skills and efficiency at work, it is dealing with people or people management skills that are critically important. I met some really difficult people here, who tested my courage and patience. Some really astonishing questions had to be answered, which made me think of mentalities existing within people. Then I had to work and interact with people who believed in redoing work as they were of the mindset that only the work done by them is ultimately reliable. Such people were totally oblivious to the concept of delegation of authority and responsibility. Other category of people believed in being pedantic and therefore attempting to create more work than necessary.

The subject of work-life balance is always spoken about and is always thought of when employee welfare is concerned. Unfortunately in India, work-life balance is still a myth for some. While working with one of the onshore teams, I realized how Indians are expected to work and stretch for more than working hours. In the developed countries, the employees leave on time and work can wait for the next day. However, the Indian leadership believes in working beyond the office hours. They often expect their employees to bend as and when the onshore demands. I had to work with one of these draconian teams who expected me to stay back ‘for as long as I could’. Surprisingly the Indian team here had decided to comply with this unreasonable demand. The British rule of 150 years in our country did not really teach us much. Labour, which is an abundant factor of production in our country, is often exploited as the per capita income is low in our country. It is similar to obtaining huge discounts on goods when bought in bulk. Such testing moments taught me to stand firm for my beliefs and not fall prey to unreasonable requirements. Before the movie Pink widely preached the famous line, “No means No”, I had implemented this principle well before in my work life. I believe that none of us is good or bad; it is the situation which requires us to act in a particular way. Our innate and acquired traits, our upbringing have lot to do with the way we behave or react.

Though I battled with challenges faced, I always looked forward to spend time with my friends, to have my daily doses of laughter and interesting conversations. Then there were others who soon became friends from colleagues. In this one year, I could very well learn the game of masquerades, behind which people hide. The smiling faces came bearing daggers, ready to sabotage in some or the other way. Instances of blindly giving commitments without understanding the feasibility were another sad and disappointing set of scenarios. The word ‘escalation’ which for me, was only one of the known words existing in the dictionary, soon became the frequently used and heard word. Mary Parker Follet defined Management as, “the art of getting things done through people”. Of course the definitions have to be updated as the quantum of knowledge grows and develops. Therefore, I could rephrase the definition as “Escalation is the art of getting things done through people”; if at all my views are asked for revision of this definition. I would not necessarily term the above encounters as bad. As I said, these experiences taught me to deal with people; they made me stronger, which no textbook could have ever done. I view them as case studies of psychological behaviour.

Winds of change came into my life, but there were few friends whose support always provided me relief. These friends are none other than my beloved novels and my German books. The real world is not utopian; hence I often engage myself in the fictional world and meet new people in every book. There comes a point when fictional people seem more real than people with flesh and blood. Some friends go far away from your life, but you always share a special bond with these friends. Time cannot tear apart some friendships. German language is one such friend who could charge me with optimism even after the distance of four years that we shared. When I opened those books after a long time to embrace and introduce the language back into my life, the language as though welcomed me with its open arms. The long lost friends were thus reunited. Now that the German learning is back into my life, it has planted seeds of hope and positivity in my life. Most importantly it has given me this Elysian feeling of being a student once again. These passions of mine teach me that motivation and sanguinity could come in any form.

When I wrote my first article back in 2014, I had quoted some of Ruskin Bond’s lines. On 19^th May 2017, he turned 83 and was asked about the source of inspiration for his novels. He said that the memories of places where he lived and his past gave him ideas to write different plots of his novels. The line by him which I liked the most was, “I’m of the opinion that every writer needs a window. Preferably two. A good wordsmith should be able to work anywhere- in a moving train, in a hotel room, on board a ship struggling against a typhoon or under an erupting volcano.”  When I write something, the people I spend time with or I know of, often become the part of the content that I write. In other words, they are the catalysts of my writing. I implement my experiences and opinions about them and fictionalize them at times when I write a story. They can be protagonists, antagonists or simply one of the umpteen characters. And of course, command over language and inspiration from my favourite writers always help me to shape my characters.

When I look back at those three years, I realize that I lost and found many things. I started seeing world from others’ eyes. Myriad forms of human nature marveled me and convinced me yet again that each one of us is so unique. In some way or the other, they helped me to be someone better, showed me that the world is still a good place and contributed significantly to enrich my thoughts and writing. There will be many more people in the future that I meet who will have pure hearts or not so pure hearts. But as an opportunist, these people would be my muses whose pictures I may paint in various shades of my writing.

Lost in Global Village

I have read that watching foreign language movies is one of the ways to relieve stress. To strictly practise what I read, it was my German movie Saturday afternoon, though the language is no more foreign to me. The themes of German movies range from history to various social issues. The theme of the movie that I watched was ‘Migration’. It was about a Turkish family which moves to Germany in search of better jobs and better lifestyle. The family integrates quite well in the German culture and eventually receive German passport, officially gaining citizenship of the country. However, even after several years, the family finds its deep roots and warmth in their Turkish village of provenance. The movie was an engaging entertainer portraying the challenges the immigrants face in a foreign country, especially the cultural differences.

Before watching the movie, I had read one German write-up which explained how Germany became a land of immigrants. In 1950s when Germany was at her summit of economic prosperity, she needed more workforces to work in her industries and improve the infrastructure. Gradually the Gastarbeiter or ‘guest workers’ as the Germans liked to call them, started coming from countries like Italy, Greece, Spain and later in 1961 from Turkey, Morocco, Portugal, Tunisia and Yugoslavia. In 1964, the millionth guest worker, Armando Rodrigues from Portugal was welcomed by the minister and was gifted a moped. The article also threw light on how the rules for immigration changed over the years. Soon the workers brought their families to Germany and settled there. As a step towards better integration, mandatory German language courses were facilitated to the immigrants. Till date, the Turks constitute to be the largest number of immigrants in Germany.

The article and the movie took me back to a definition, which was still lying at the back of my mind: Globalization is the free movement of goods, services and people across the world in a seamless integrated manner. My mind was focused on the word ‘seamless’. Like goods and services, can movement of people from one country to another be really called seamless? We are human beings who grow up in a particular environment, culture, traditions and values. Globalization also means movement of all these intangible factors, though their movement may not necessarily be ‘seamless’. Over the years, surely we integrate with the foreign culture and become one with them. Isn’t why there is a term called as cultural exchange? I believe that adapting to cultures is the biggest challenge in globalization. Of course, languages play significant roles in bridging this gap. As Indians, most of us are fascinated by and exposed to a bigger, modern world. In India, the basics of globalization can be learned from localization, thanks to our 29 distinct states, their unique cultures and vast number of languages. We are drawn towards the foreign lands like we are attracted to the foreign brands. We start getting a better view of the world and have a checklist ready of what we lack in our nation. We all have our own scales of measurement, don’t we? These individual scales lead to brain drain, in search of better opportunities. But how is life exactly when people land in their ‘lands of opportunities’? It is definitely not a smooth ride in the initial days. It is similar to a newlywed bride adjusting in her new family. Thanks to the adaptive ability of humans, the foundation of globalization is not shaken easily. Foreign and globally accepted etiquettes and manners become the way of life. We move from being intercultural to international. There is betterment of thought processes most of the times, depending on how well the new culture treats you. We build relationships with people of different nationalities. We become one with the world and realize that there are so many varied facets to it. Slowly the affinity towards something, which is once upon a time, ‘new and foreign’, grows and soon it becomes own. Adaption turns into adoption. A foreign land, a foreign culture as though transforms us in some or the other way.

When I thought of this theme, I remembered an article written by Swaminathan Anklesaria Iyer in which he wrote how his children had gone to various countries to study or to work and blended with the countries and married people of different nationalities . He said in that article how his children, i.e. the next generation of his family had gone international, whereas his own generation had gone inter-caste or rather intercultural. He beautifully states in the article that he therefore is a citizen of the globe now and feels one with the world. He feels at home and has a sense of belongingness in any part of the world. He still reminisces his days in his village in Tamil Nadu, where he enjoys eating food from a banana leaf with his hands.

The recent cases of Indians being shot dead or racially abused in some parts of the world, I view this as the ugly face of globalization. The ‘seamless’ process is hence distorted by such incidents. Globalization should not result into cultural conflicts or developing hatred for people having a particular skin colour. People move in quest of livelihood, so that the families back home can reap benefits and get a better taste of life. When one actually deals with the practicality of living in a foreign land, one can use the same scale of comparison and check if perceptions are better than reality or vice versa. Integration not just remains a word, but is a whole painstaking process which involves acclimatization as a major factor.

 I learned two unique or rather two profound German words during my studies: ‘fernweh’ and ‘heimweh’. Fernweh is a feeling, an excitement to travel to distant countries to have new experiences. Heimweh, on the other hand, is the feeling of homesickness. Globalization, according to me, is a process of feeling ‘fernweh’ to ‘heimweh’ at some point of life. It also means a phase when the faraway land becomes home and home becomes a faraway land. To look at the brighter side of globalization, your original home also visits your new home one day and that is when you are glad to see Indian restaurants in any part of the world that you go. Yes, we Indians are large in number and we do carry our cultures, traditions and most importantly our food and cooking methods wherever we go. And looking at this new scenario, where your birth motherland meets your adoptive motherland, one hums the melody by the singer Sia, ‘I found my way….found my way home…’

An Ordeal to Excel

In our lives we make a lot of friends – Real and Virtual, both. These days our number of virtual friends has gone up thanks to social media. These virtual friends help us to get glimpses of lives of our real friends, even if we are not in touch with them.

I made one such virtual friend, not an ‘online’ but an ‘offline’ one, since I became a working professional. This friend of mine has a plethora of friends all over the world as it strives to be ‘user friendly’. It is none other than Microsoft Excel, hailing from the famous Microsoft Office family. Excel has been my ‘friend-in-law’ as Elaine in the famous sitcom Seinfeld would say. It is my ‘friend-in-law’ as it is friends with many of my colleagues. “It is our bread and butter”, they often say.

Microsoft Excel has been my acquaintance since school days. I remember that in Class 8 we were taught some basic functions of Excel. Soon it became a faint memory. During MBA days, I got to know it a little better. But again it was buried under the heap of other subjects to be learnt. We were better friends with Excel’s brother, Microsoft PowerPoint. As MBA students then, PowerPoint presentations were a hope to get better marks and a means to articulate our ideas well. In an effort to look creative and professional at the same time, we resorted to Prezi presentations once in a while. I remember how much I enjoyed making presentations, even as a school kid. Creativity is better displayed. Since writing happened to me, Microsoft Word became my amigo fulfilling my desire to save papers. Though I missed my handwritten drafts with umpteen cancellations and alterations, typing my thoughts on a laptop reminds me of Carrie Bradshaw in the series Sex & The City.

So, let me get back with ‘How I Met Microsoft Excel’. Let me quote it like Ted Mosby, “Readers, today I am going to tell you an incredible story, the story of how I met Microsoft Excel.” In fact, it is a journey with several ups and downs, like any relationship. In Finance world, Excel holds a position of supreme importance. Graphs and pivot tables help to get a bird’s eye view of the huge data that forms its basis. I could understand the significance of Excel better only after ‘diving’ into it, as it is believed to be an ocean of countless functions. It is said that it is nearly impossible to master entire Excel. My knowledge of Excel could be considered smaller than a drop in this (Pacific) ocean. Functions like Vlookup have become daily colleagues, coming to rescue and fill in the blanks of huge data. However, the ominous appearance of ‘#N/A’ values come as a huge disappointment as it requires further digging for data from other sources. Excruciating scenario would be to enter the #N/A values manually! With so many keyboard shortcuts, working on Excel can be quicker and easier.

In my professional experience of 10 months now, Excel has taught me an important virtue -- Patience. Immense Patience. Often we work on Excel files which are loaded with information involving thousands and lakhs of rows, making it slower to open and operate on. They remind me of women in Mauritania. As the tradition in Mauritania goes, girls are force fed by their families in order to look presentable future brides hailing from well-to-do families. As a result of this force feeding, women suffer from obesity and other health disorders, which refrain them from carrying out daily household activities. Similarly, Excel sheets of huge sizes suffer from low, tortoise-like speed! Many a times I stare at my screen blankly, listening to the gasping sounds coming from my computer as it tries hard to process the data that I (force) feed in it. My eyes are fixated at the bottom of the screen looking at the words ‘Calculating: (4 Processor(s)): 1%, 2%....’ till the calculation reaches 100%. A sense of relief finally sweeps over as work regains normalcy after a much longer wait. Sometimes the wait is as long as 10 to 20 minutes or even more, in worst case scenarios. In the meanwhile, sitting at my desk, an avid reader like me engages herself in the fictional interesting world residing in a novel. The distraction is much needed when time comes to a standstill. In a fast paced professional world, such moments of waiting act like hindrance.

There are times when Excel retaliates through non co-operation movement when there are problems with the server. After working on the file by investing significant amount of time, I  proudly hit the keys Ctrl+S with a sense of accomplishment. As though with a vengeance, Excel comes up with a heart shattering message: ‘Document not saved’. Still, not losing my hope I try to save it on my desktop. But Excel plays dirty further by not letting me save my piece of work even on my desktop. There are also times when I am busy working on something and Excel suddenly goes AWOL by saying ‘Microsoft Excel has stopped working’ and I am left with my mouth agape. If I am fortunate enough, some of my data is recovered, like an aftermath. The sentiment is similar to a calculator which stops working during an Accounts paper! If Excel is an ocean, then such sinister messages can push you into the Mariana Trench, the deepest point on Earth located in the Pacific Ocean. Then again follows the drudgery of redoing some of the work done!

Nothing in this world is perfect, be it humans or machines. Yet we accept the people around us along with their imperfections and build lasting relationships. My journey with Excel so far is filled with bittersweet memories. As an amateur, I am still delving into the depths of Excel. It is a golden rule, that to master anything, start from its basics. If any tautological relationship can be established, I would put it as learning the alphabets and roots of a language before learning words and then going on to be proficient in it. I see my colleagues everyday working very efficiently on Excel, as though they have befriended Excel since childhood. ‘Experience teaches you to be better on Excel’, they say. The ease, with which they hit the keys and get the accurate results, truly marvels me. I silently mouth ‘Bravo!’ when they solve my queries when I am caught in the net of doubts.

Now as I finish my litany of experiences with Excel and come out of my reverie, I stare back at my computer screen and see that the Excel sheet I have been working on has finally ‘processed’ and it smiles at me for having done my work. I brace myself to work further on it, trying to understand it better every time. I am sure that some day we will be the best of buddies, enjoying each other’s company. Let’s see how many more lessons I get to learn from this ‘user friendly’ application the world knows of!

How Old or Modern can History get?

Quite contrary to the ‘bright students’ who excelled in Mathematics and Science, my favourite subjects were Social Sciences and Languages. While History, Geography and languages were Achilles Heels for most of the students, I considered the very same subjects as my forte. Still, I considered myself a bright or rather an exceptional student because I could achieve the unachievable or unfathomable. Anyway, that is all in the past. It’s History, which brings me to the present theme for my very first piece in this fresh year 2017.

As rote learning was inevitable in almost every subject that we learned in school, definitions had to be written word to word in exams to gain complete marks. Keeping that in mind, we reiterated every definition like a parrot, something which the coaching classes particularly emphasized on. One such definition which I remember till date is that of History. I still remember it, not because I am blessed with elephantine memory, but it made me look with a wider perspective at history. “History is the coherent account of all significant events of the past”, said our textbooks aka our Bibles in school. They further elaborated on why one must learn history- so that we learn from our past, they said. Past helps us to shape our present and future.

History is divided into ancient, medieval and modern. Evolution of man, the Mauryan and other well-known empires of India dating back to several centuries formed part of ancient history. Maharashtra’s deity, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his formidable feats against the Mughal Empire were chapters of medieval history. Several chapters in our textbooks covered the onset and expansion of Mughal Empire in India. Not limiting our view of history only to India, we learnt American, French and Russian Revolution as well. I remember how I loved reading about Renaissance and Reformation in the 14^th and 15^th century Europe. Modern history constituted Indian freedom struggle and the world destiny changing World Wars.

Present of those days are today’s past. When I think that our generation too, would be a thing of the past one day, what would our history be like? What would constitute as ‘history’ which our successors would learn about? Certainly, Indian freedom struggle and world wars would no more be ‘modern’ for future generations. In today’s world which is changing fast, any incident which is as old as 10 is also considered as ancient! So, what would be the significant events which could shape the future history? Surely, there have been so many events since Independence which have truly created a mark in history. But have we really learned anything from our history or is it only locked in our history textbooks, with its key thrown away in some deep ocean?

Take for example, the World Wars which happened in 1914 and 1939. The cataclysm which the wars caused could bring chills down anybody’s spine. The wars taught us that there is no victory in war; only despair and annihilation of mankind. Yet we face the biggest war of our times: Terrorism. Thousands of innocent lives are lost all over the world. Violence can never be a way of showing supremacy. We invest millions in arms and ammunitions and boast that we possess arms of latest technology. Similar to Nazis which left no stone unturned to carry out genocide, the world today is bogged down by global terrorism, which aims destruction of certain strata of society. It seems we learnt nothing from history after all.

Coming to Indian history, we learnt about social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Dayanand Saraswati, Mahatma Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule who strived to uplift women. If history means learning from our great ancestors, then we have miserably failed in this aspect. In a land of these venerable personalities, rape cases as gruesome as Nirbhaya’s or the very recent mass molestation in Bangalore happen. There are countless silent suffering women whose cases are not even filed by the police. It is ignominious that such cases happen in a society which wanders under the façade of egalitarianism.

History textbooks taught us the about the tyrannical British rule in India, as to how they exploited the people by taking away our wealth and heritage. With so many scams that we read about in newspapers, it is no different than how British treated the Indians. It is true since that era, that those in power robbed the commoners of their money and became even more powerful and richer. We learnt about the Non Co-operation movement, Civil Disobedience and revolutionaries of India in separate chapters. If history were to be written afresh, one could easily list the scams in India in different chapters!

Industrial Revolution which cradled in England in 1850 and spread gradually throughout Europe and the United States can be replaced with the present technological revolution which has eased man’s life over the years. We experience technological strides almost every day, in every field. We learnt about Ferdinand Magellan, Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Bartholomew Diaz, Amerigo Vespucci who discovered various countries of the world. Today we are trying to discover life on Mars as well! Thus, history has surely given a thrust to technology and encourages us to continue exploring not only the world but also the universe.

In present news we read about Shivaji Maharaj’s memorial to be built on an islet in the Arabian Sea. The government intends to spend generously on it and the memorial is expected to be taller than Statue of Liberty. Given the engineering strength that we have today, it is not very difficult to build a grand structure like this. In one of the many inspiring chapters from Shivaji Maharaj’s life and the forts that he built, my favourite and jaw dropping structure is Sindhudurg Fort. Constructed in 1664 on an islet in Arabian Sea, this fort represents the epitome of engineering of that era and great vision of Shivaji Maharaj. History again taught us that nothing is impossible for human beings, as we are blessed with intelligence and mind better than animals.

Economics, also being a social science has seen many dynamic changes that have changed the face of Indian economy. The various Government initiatives, some notable ones beginning from 2014 to the very recent demonetization surely has taught us a lot, making us a part of economical revolution. We are in a phase where technology and economy are walking hand-in-hand to make a mark in history. From barter exchange to coins and paper money to cashless transaction, we have come a long way. We are witnesses of the new history that is made and will be engraved not only in textbooks but also in our minds.

History urges us to not repeat the mistakes of the past and also learn from the good that happened in the past. Time progresses. We progress, as individuals, as nations and as world. From handwritten letters and texts to emails, WhatsApp and Facebook, we grow, we develop. Some of my handwritten texts still bring me a sense of nostalgia and makes me explore my handwriting once again. I wish that someday I start writing my thoughts on papers, so that some people will explore my texts and preserve them like that Timbuktu Manuscripts!

One should not cling to the past, instead learn from the past and build a better present and future ahead. It is only then that history plays a successful role in reforming the minds. Let’s create history in such a way that when the future generations read about the revolutions we were part of, we only smile listening to them and say, “Those good old days!”