Enchantee (pronounced on-shon-tay)

Mumbai has charmed me. And far sooner than I expected! It stinks most of the time, it's over-crowded, and the weather is horrible. On the other hand, there are loads of places to see and loads of fun things to do - of all shapes and sizes and for all income groups. It's a vibrant place - not for nothing it is called the "city that never sleeps"! The people are genuine, and proud to be ordinary. Mumbai has also done the impossible to me - it has made me a compulsive shopper! :-)
As I leaned out of the local train and the wind whooshed past my face, I felt all my tiredness and my worries slip away. It was an exhilerating feeling.
After Bangalore I thought that I would never be able to like any other city. Bangalore seemed perfect in so many ways - the weather mainly, and the fact that I have lived there for most of my life, of course. In Mumbai, I have found perfection of a new kind - one with many imperfections in it.

For the better good

Someone once said that we in India take one step forward and two steps backward. Our progress was termed remarkable because we were moving ahead inspite of our system and not aided by it. Many found this idea charming. I didn't.
I must admit, though, that lately, I was becoming convinced that my cynicism was unfounded. Considering that we are growing at an average rate of 8.5%, something must be going right!
But there are some things that never change. The Indo-US Nuclear Deal has been put in deep freeze, thanks to the lack of support from the Left. Nuclear Energy as such has its share of proponents and opponents, but I would say that for a 'rapidly growing' country like India, alternate forms of energy is the key to a successful future. The Congress, after deliberations, has concluded that without the Left's support, the UPA Alliance will not be able to form the required majority in Parliament in the event of early polls. The end result: save your backside first, and if there's time, the country.
In my opinion, the present cabinet is one that is far more capable than many others before it. They have disappointed me, at least.
But again, this spineless behaviour is definitely not uniquely Indian. History abounds with instances of responsible goverments who ignored selfish interests and worked for the larger good. They were inevitably voted out of office in the next poll, as a reward for their far sightedness.
The upside is that there will not be early polls. During every election the obscene sums of money that the political parties spend on their campaigns have disgusted me. I can find atleast a 100 other better ways in which the money could be spent! Not to mention the prevalance of goonda raj and poll booth kidnappings in some parts of the country. No, we'd rather do without early polls, thank you very much.
The fact remains however, that we continue to take one step forward and two backward. I am not one to preach about what we should or should not do. All I want to say is, work for the better good of the country, not yourself.

Good Music. Et al.

God, how I miss it! Was listening to Sadimchene some time back and nostalgia of the good ol' Raag days flooded the mind. All the practice sessions, so much fun :) I can write volumes and yet not do justice..
I listen to music the way I do any other work: with complete attention on it. Maybe that's why I never get time to listen to music here. (I mean, think about it. If you had to choose between anything and sleeping, what would your sleep starved brain tell you??) Well, tonight is an exception. I have the earphones plugged on, and I ploughed through the Carnatic archives.
I am now soaking in the best feeling in the world.

Ambiguity

One thing that I knew about myself (and which was enforced by all those obscure psychometric tests in OB class) is that I am not comfortable with ambiguity. The information given to me has to be clear and categorical. It's easy to say "Of course, getting all that you want is an ideal case", but in a situation which warrants an important decision, you would want all the information you can get your hands on before you press the button. Unfortunately, this NEVER happens in the real world.The lesson to be learnt here is to learn how to use the (unclear/insufficient) information given to us to the maximum possible extent, and make logical inferences and conclusions.

Ambiguity rules!

Into a gaping hole

This is what happens when, deviod of empathy and a listening ear, all the thoughts and turmoil get locked deep inside the heart, creating a virtual explosion. I walk in no particular direction; it doesn't make a difference beacuse I can't see where I am going. Every time I try harder than the last time, and fall down harder. Like a foolish moth attracted to the flame, I singe myself, time and again.This is when I realise that I have learnt nothing from my past mistakes. Far from making me stronger, they have only accumulated and caught dust in the mind.I don't know how long I am going to wander aimlessly thus. I just await the end of the tunnel. Hopefully. Sometime. Life will be what it once was.

Why!!

According to the law of nature, the careful and the prudent are rewarded with good health. In a heart-breaking and tragic way, I am an exception to this rule. I eat all 3 meals heartily (sometimes more than heartily) and on time, I never drink anything cold, and I have never got wet in the rain till today. But, when the sun shines on one day and it pours sheets the next, my sneeze is the first to be heard in the corridors. A whiff of the flu or illness and I run to the doctor,and return armed with a bunch of tablets, ready to drive the virus out of my body. I "sleep it through", as vigorously advised by friends and family alike. Today is Day 4 of this painful schedule, and I am no better than I was when I first visited the doctor. More than the illness, what is getting to me is all the classes and assignment work that I am missing. As I sleep through each day the backlog piles up. Here I am, not able to complete all that I am supposed to do in a day, and now I also have the backlog to clear! Sometimes I get so fed up, I just want to pretend that I am ok and get on with life. To hell with the cold, cough and the fever. Sooner or later the virus will slink away, ashamed at the lack of attention. If only it was that straightforward. The illness has weakened me a lot physically, so much so that just going to the mess for meals tires me out completely. Lousy sense of timing. Lousy sense of humour (DEFINITELY!) Lousy life! :(

Read, Read, Read

Just completed the fourth day of the first trimester, and my first day of not sleeping through a single lecture. ;) The amount of reading that I am supposed to be doing everyday, I can spend the rest of my life doing that! And here, apart from the classes, assignments and "managerial roles in an administrative context" :D, sleeping and eating (two vital functions that are first priority) I have to read the paper, a couple of magazines atleast (not including HBR), the textbooks for the 9 courses that we will be doing in the next 10 weeks, and other management books. So how many more hours do I need in a day?... I don't know!

I cannot possibly be without mentioning PG Lab, where the entire 160+ of us and some faculty went to Lonavla. It was 4 days of incredible fun, 4 days of meeting countless interesting and extremely nice people, 4 days of being together as a batch throughout. We got to know each other in a way that would never have been possible in the 2 years here at SP. And the learnings! (oops..) Lots and lots of them. Both on paper and through experiences :)

The whistle has blown. The wheels creak into motion slowly, belying the speed they are soon to reach once they catch momentum. In the Train, I hold on to one of the beams for support. We are off!