i.was.there

Corporate Madness

Weekends. Defined as multiple days at the fag end of the week meant entirely for leisure and for pursuing what's close to one's heart.

Fast forward to the corporate life. I, for one, have not had a decent weekend in ages. Circa October 2010, I've had the chance to avail only three WHOLE weekends. Towards the end of 2010,deadlines and targets were the only thing playing in my head. The client was ruthless and was making us work 10+ hour shifts on a regular basis. The only compensation? Free pizzas during the extra time. It was almost as if I had had literally ZERO time to give to myself.

It's worse for a freshman. The seniors look down at you and judge you in terms of your 'drive' and 'passion'. Throw in the presence of seniors who only speak the alien, guttural language called Tamil (yes... even in the workplace), and you'd know why it would be easy for me to hit the bottle (not that I did).

Which leads to the bigger question... whether the profits of an overlord client are reason enough to enslave oneself in the rituals of the corporate life?

There are some who enjoy it and yours truly respects them for that. As for me, I'd prefer a balance of the easy life and the tough rigors of office. I mean, that fat paycheck hardly means anything if you can't savour it at the end of the day. My only worry is that I'd burn out before I get that kind of peace of mind.

The Trip Home

Revivals are never easy. Especially when you've been so out of touch with the world of writing. What with juggling a hectic IT life and trying to get a footing in an otherwise eccentric city, I have hardly had any time to give to my supposed life blog. But as easy as it is to fall out of habit, it's just as easy and spontaneous to fall back in love with the power of the pen.

And that is exactly what happened when I went back home this January. You see, part of my trip back home involved a trip to Rishikesh - a lovely little town which apart from being incredibly beautiful is notorious for sowing seeds of discord amongst The Beetles.

Anyhow. One look at the beautiful mountains surrounding this little town and I knew that I would be writing about it here. Sure, I'd been here a million times before and sure it was essentially just a little town with friendly people, but Rishikesh once again blew me away with its serenity.

A dear cousin took me to this interesting place called the Freedom Café, which was basically unlike any other cafe I'd been to. Housed entirely in the lap of nature and extending out nonchalantly over the mighty Ganges, the view from Freedom is one meant to be freeze-framed in time. The food was also reasonably good and overall the ambience was one to kill for. The icing on the cake is the fact that despite its rather open construction, it is rarely, if ever tormented by the frequent rains. Oh... and did I mention the live music?

Another sight worth seeing is the Marine drive look alike that runs along the Ganges. It's essentially a walkway for people, lovers, the handicapped and the elderly. If you've ever craved for peace of mind, this is the place you need to head to. I had the good fortune of visiting the place right after some spells of shower and was completely blown away by the depths of nature's beauty.

Which brings me to a very important lesson that I learnt on this trip of mine. Rishikesh taught me to find beauty in the simplest of things. More importantly, it taught me to let loose every once in a while and just appreciate the things around me. It's something I'd forgotten how to do. It's something we all need to relearn how to do.

Apartment Love

The house was a pleasant surprise. An apartment in one of the more upwardly apartment blocks around my office. The good part - it was just 5 minutes from my office. The bad - we were being provided the accommodation for just 10 days. But bad things can be put off to a later point of time, and so I banished all thoughts of apartment hunting from my head. The present time was a moment to be savoured, one to be cherished.

The apartment was modern in every sense of the word. It had all the usual accessories. Swanky sofas, a decent entertainment unit, a kitchen, and climate control were standard features. My two new friends were equally thrilled to be here. The apartment projected a very modern, very posh image of this new, alien city. I was already starting to feel like I would enjoy it here.

With those happy thoughts in mind, I went into the Verandah and gazed at the night sky, wondering what the future held in store for me.