Under Renovation…

Well, Diwali is here and I hope that all of you are geared up for the festive season. Well, I have decided to give my readers a surprise this Diwali in the form of a complete makeover of the blog. I am going to change the look of the blog right from head to toe (I know what you are thinking- do blogs have toes? Well beats me!!!) starting today…(if you didn’t notice I have already tweaked my profile and my theme…)

I know that, with only posts, the blog is quite young to undergo a makeover, but hey, it isn’t against the law!!! Also I’ll try my level best to give it a revolutionary new look as well as make it user friendly.

So, don’t forget to keep checking in to have a look at your favourite blog with it’s new and improved design and layout.

Last but not the least, Wish all of you and your family, a very Happy and Safe Diwali.

Left Out…High and Dry…and Taken Back In...

The events that took place since last Tuesday will have a lasting impression on the Indian industrial as well as political scene. It will also had a lasting impression on me, as it was the very next day that I learnt ‘lay-off’ is a more civilized term used to reduce the guilt (for the employers) and the agony (for the employees) that results from usage of harsh word like ‘fired’.

By now you may be aware that I am referring to the latest removal of about 2000 employees from the Jet Airways (please do forgive me, if my own words sound too harsh!!!). Oh my, what a storm it raised and rightfully so!!! However all seems merry again with Jet announcing the reinstatement. A major advantage of looking at the matter after it has been settled is that it gives a clearer picture, and that is exactly why I have taken up this topic a week after the events unfolded.

Now Mr. Naresh Goyal, who emerged at the eleventh hour to become the gallant knight-in-the-shining-armor, proves to be quite an interesting personality. Here are some snippets, from various news sources over the net, to prove my point:

• "Decision is not under any political pressure"
  Yeah, right!!! With so much politics going on behind the matter, with Raj Thackeray’s MNS, the ruling Congress lashing out on the issue and Civil Aviation Ministry expressing it’s displeasure…I am sure you remained as cool as a cat.
• "I have nothing to do with Kingfisher, the decision does not relate with alliance (with Kingfisher)"
  Well, forgive us Mr. Goyal but common sense dictates that a decision that comes after a merger has to be linked with the merger. And if you say you’ve nothing to do with Kingfisher, why is the news circulating that you had a quick chat with Mr. Mallya after pressures began mounting?
• "Management had decided it and when I read about it I saw tears in their eyes, I decided on my own to call them back.”
  Surprisingly, Mr. Goyal (or should we say Mr. Emotional), Founder Chairman of Jet Airways, claimed that he ‘did not know about the day-to-day decisions of the management’, no wonder the airline is incurring losses. With all due respect Sir, if you looked into the decision making process of your company more often and take better decisions ‘on your own’, maybe, just maybe you would accumulate enough good karma to take your company out of the dumps.
  

Also, when the case has just been resolved and all seems just fine. My ‘other side’ makes a guest appearance to hint that all is not as simple as it seems, coincidentally I come across this article by a Citizournalist that tells us what Mr. Goyal could gain from this fiasco.
However, all this uproar seems to have had another advantage it has also prevented further lay-offs from other airlines like Kingfisher and Air India.
All this reminds me of a quote by the former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam:
“Love your job but never fall in love with your company for you never know when it stops loving you.”

A Dilemma with Friends...

I have already introduced you people to the gang (my closest friends from college). I would like to share another incident that changed the way I used to look at relationships.
You see, a week ago we had this college fest to welcome the juniors to the campus. It’s one of the happening events on the campus with preparations lasting for weeks (funded by the money that’s literally extorted from us!!!). All lectures after the lunch break were suspended to make way for the party. The bell rang indicating that the break had begun and I hurried downstairs to the classroom where the gang was having their lunch. I did this everyday since the start of the semester, in that half an hour we had our lunch together, we caught up on the latest happenings in our respective classes, all this with lots of mazaak-masti.

I thought this arrangement was fine until that day. I sat for lunch with them; we had our share of food and fun. A few minutes after the break got over we got a call from our classmates telling us that the party had begun; we all went down on the playground to find that the party still hadn’t got into the groove and a few last minute arrangements were underway.

Hitesh suggested that we sit in the adjacent garden and so we headed in it’s direction. The garden was crowded that day (there’s not even a dog to be seen there on a regular day), students sat on the grass in large circles with their own groups of friends. Hitesh ran ahead and sat down with the students from his class; I looked at them and found no one recognizable other than the few from the gang. Right beside them were the guys from my own class. Just when Hitesh beckoned to me, one of my own classmates spotted me and called me in to join them.

That’s when it happened…that’s when I realized what a mess I was in. Now I know that this would not sound like a dilemma to some of you but for me it was! Here’s something you should understand - I had been in the dumps when I realized that I would not be with the rest of the gang for the new semester. I was trying hard to make new contacts and friends in my own class, but it wasn’t the same as the last year, it couldn’t have been and never will be. Also, I was dying to be with the gang and found the lunch-break arrangement a good excuse to be with them. - The chain of thoughts broke as they called out to me again; I looked at Hitesh, who was still beckoning, I looked back at my classmates, uttered a hurried ‘excuse me’ and went ahead and joined Hitesh’s circle. As I sat there and looked on the guys having fun, I realized that I could not relate to them or their conversation…I wasn’t fitting in. I glanced at my classmates’ circle and realized (my second big realization of the day…) that I wasn’t sure that I knew all of them well enough either. A perfect “Na ghar ka na ghat kaa” situation.

The rest of the evening was quite normal, mostly Sagar, Sourabh and me stuck together enjoying the fest, accompanied by our regular mazaak-masti.

From then on the dilemma persists. I still continue with the same lunch-break arrangement, still don’t know my classmates well enough to call them friends and try to ignore my ‘other side’ that keeps telling me to resolve my confusion as soon as possible.
But, it just seems easier to let the things go on as they are. Though I know that I need to sort things out.

P.S. I know this post turned out to be really, really long…but I just had to get it all out of my system.

A Day Out with Friends...

I know the title sounds like some 5th grade essay. But believe me in the past week, this has been one of the many ‘teenage milestones’ and an iconic and enjoyable experience. It all took place very spontaneously. I had just left the college campus and I met up with the whole gang, I and all these guys have literally shared the same bench in our junior year. Unfortunately we were assigned to separate classes in our present year… let me introduce you to all of them;

• Hitesh …The fun loving, cheerful and completely bindaas guy.


• Sagar…Simple, straight-forward, ready to bring a smile to your face with his own unique style.


• Sandeep…Cheerful yet responsible, he was and still is the Class Rep’.


• Amit…Small in size, but with a sharp mind and sparky tongue.


• Parth…The brightest, cleverest and most scholarly kid of our course.


• Sourabh…He’s soft, silent yet with a hint of mischief and a complete gaming enthusiast.

One of them announced that Hitesh was gonna give a treat to celebrate his birthday. I was persuaded to join the celebrations which, it was later planned, would take place at the nearby McDonald’s joint.

It was a surprisingly simple affair. All of us ordered a burger and a cola each and sat eating at a large table for about an hour. What was so special you would ask? Well, first, it was my first spontaneous get-together with college buddies (without having to bother about parent-permission…) Also it was the first time I was sharing personal time with these guys, since the re-assignment of classes. It was complete casual ‘guy thing’. All this made it a beautiful experience.

Don’t get me wrong, I also have other groups of friends with whom I enjoy some time out. But going somewhere with your college buddies without having to worry about lectures, assignments or home!!! That is what made a truly great experience. Way to go guys…This post is especially dedicated to all of you.

It was at that time, I realized what I had been missing out. That day I understood, sometimes Life can be so confusing and problematic, and yet suddenly it gives you these little moments that make our living so special and worth it.

Back To The Blog!!!

A hearty hello to one and all! Even before looking back at the last blog I realize that it’s been a hell lot of time since I last posted. You see, the end of the term period is spelt ‘H-E-L-L’ for students of technical courses in Mumbai. Once again I can offer nothing more than my sincere apologies.
Just after the last post, I realized that nothing remarkable was happening, neither on the current affairs scene nor in my own life… and that was when my brain went into the ‘writer’s block’ status and I was kinda stuck in the same rut all this time. It was only last Friday while reading the news, that I realized what all events I had missed out on!!!
The blasts in major cities across the nation, devastating Bihar floods, the unrest and violence in Orissa, Tata’s move out of Singur, the story of the unstable global markets and the great 700 billion $ bail out and not to forget the hottest ‘talk of the town’ the recent ban on Smoking. A few incidents in my own life these past few weeks are also worth a post or two.
Well, trying my best to provide you with the ‘viewpoint’ I’ll be trying to come up with a few blogs in quick succession.