Those were the days

When we were watching good serials on TV like Wonder Years and Doogie Howser MD. I was having this conversation with a couple of my friends and we were discussing how these serials introduced us to the world of America. Long before ‘Friends’ and the like. We remembered that one of the best parts of watching Doogie Howser was the journal entry he used to make at the end of each episode (Actually he could have been one of the first bloggers, he maintained a journal on the computer after all!!). Some of those entries did hit home…like these:   

“This week I butted heads with a very stubborn, closed- minded person. I’m just glad I had the sense to realize that it was me.”

“There’s nothing better than being cool and having a lot of friends… except being uncool and having one real friend.”

Check out the rest of them here.   

In the bus

Isn’t it such a good feeling to meet an absolute stranger in the bus and enjoy a good conversation? So, I was engrossed in Kafka on the Shore (which by the way is turning out to be a spell binding page turner), and it was after a delay of a few seconds that I realised someone was peering onto the cover of the book trying to see which book it was! I turned around and told her which one it was. And then asked about the one she was reading…turns out she was reading a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while (Yuganta by Irawati Karve).  Thus began a conversation that spanned not only about the respective books we were reading but also a few varied topics like how we interpret our epics,  how libraries are dwindling, about the lack of time for books among other things. It was a pleasant enough beginning to the journey back home afer work. You know, of course, about reaching your destination faster if you have a good companion? Oh and we introduced ourselves by the end of the conversation…thankfully! Books truly can bind us, isn’t it?

p.s. Just read about the Amazon Kindle today (it’s already been unveiled). Well, my personal opinion is that books will never go away…there’s a different kind of joy in reading an actual book. Opening the covers and gettting pulled into its story is something else altogether!

Adieu to a friend

Not really of course, but bidding adieu at work. Meaning…a close friend and colleague quit the company. The workplace was what bound us, that’s where we’d met more than 5 years ago. What started off as an initial aquaintance (since we didn’t really know anyone else there and we were just out of training) has built into a thick friendship.

You know, it’s different, when you have a close friend at work. It gets personal, ‘coz you share your everyday life…at break times and otherwise. Office politics, policies, bosses, peers, subordinates, projects, deadlines, clients, company share price, stock market,  promotions, coffee, food, more coffee, spouses, in-laws, friends, movies, technology…you name it; the friendship spans all of it and more. There is also this wonderful feeling of comfort…when your boss is giving you a hard time, when you’re stuck with something seemingly hopeless, all you need is that quick break with this friend and voila, you’re fine! The feeling that, help is literally a shout away!

 Not that we won’t be meeting each other just because we don’t share the same employer anymore. Of course we will. But the frequency and the kind of conversation is bound to change. It’s an altogether different thing when you discuss everyday happenings with someone when compared to the ‘catching up’ conversation that will happen (Hopefully, once a month atleast).  

Well anyway, I’m not here to crib about this (like who I’ll talk to in my break; of course there are other colleagues n friends, but still…you get what I mean). All this has left me rather nostalgic. It’s difficult to let go of someone who’s been an almost-constant companion throughout my worklife. Who truly understands what goes on in the workplace.

Here’s to you my friend, I will miss you…a lot…especially in all my innumerable coffee breaks. The office will defintely not be the same without you. Here’s wishing you all the very best in your next endeavour! I’m sure you’ll do just great.

Festival time

It’s that time of the year again! Deepavali (or Diwali), the festival of lights is here to bring joy and prosperity. The festival marks the celebration of good over evil. Of Lord Rama’s homecoming, victorious after slaying Ravana, the evil king of Lanka. And some other legends. For me, any festival means a time to be with family and friends. Time to gorge on some yummy specially made food and sweets for the occasion. But the special attraction of Diwali is the lighting of diyas (lamps). The evening turns into a celebration of light. Of hope and happiness that darkness will never be able to destroy the light for long.

Ah yes, you think I forgot about the firecrackers. Well, I choose to forget actually. I don’t really want to confront the fact, that nowadays Diwali is more of a noise festival than a festival of lights. Awful sounding crackers everywhere, the paper left by them strewn in all directions on all roads (And I’m not kidding when I say ALL). The terrible air pollution from the fumes of the crackers and the ear shattering noise pollution from the sound. Apart from the environmental -, there are the accidents that happen. A cracker bursting in the face. Burn incidents. Horror stories of child labour in fireworks factories. All this mar the significance of a celebration.

Let’s try and minimize the hazards. Let’s celebrate the true spirit of the occasion. Happy Diwali. Have a safe one. Have a good one. Eat lots