Between Mom & Aunt :P

Migrating from Cuttack to Bangalore has been a huge metamorphosing experience for me.Its like moving from a place of gentle breezes to a place where you dont have time to breathe :P For most part of my life I have stayed in a place where time flows like a meandering river & a sea of humans is something one notices only at Bali jatra.It is where old friends or acquaintances still happily stop by for a chit chat if they meet each other on the road, where having pizza,pasta,taco,nacho,grilled chicken,crushers,coffee  at Dominoes or KFC or CCD  etc is not the "it" thing when compared to Raghu or Trinatha's heavenly dahibara aludum.

It is where one doesnt have to dress up to look like a million dollar property to just roam for shopping :P It is a  place where still there are people who recognize you with an honest smile even if they dont know you. It is a place where kids know amoeba as a microbe and not as a bowling hub. Cuttack I feel has a soul in it, I am among the countless others who feel so. It has a warmth which enraptures you, nurtures you and finally leaves you craving for it when you fly away to far off places in the quest of glory.

Bangalore is a beautiful place too.But if one thinks of Cuttack as the warm & loving mother, then Bangalore is the stylish & trendy aunt who makes sure that you become confident & nonchalant just like her. It is a city where "IT" has engulfed people in "ITself" :P.

I have travelled in buses quite extensively in the last few years during my graduation. Sitting in overcrowded buses & noticing people around me has become a hobby.In odisha I have seen an element of camaraderie in buses.Whether it be a collective abuse to driver/conductor or "mausi tike side hela" or countless such moments where one cant help but smile.

Due to all this noise, I remember tugging in my earphones to get away from it .I wondered why people couldnt do away with all that chit chat during bus travels.And now here I am in Bangalore. Going to my office in International Tech Park, I see many people like me travelling in AC Volvo buses.

Smart, well dressed IT professionals..raring to go! All of them have the typical corporate look.Suave,nonchalant and subtle expressions, not concerned about what's going on around,too engrossed in today's schedule and too busy to look at anyone leave alone starting a conversation.I think there is a notion  that if they smile or laugh, it'll create wrinkles on their face and moreover destroy the "Corporate" air surrounding them.

 I feel the difference..here the bus is quiet yet people have ear phones tugged in.And  I realize  that there is a moment in life when one does miss some happy noises in a crowded bus too !

Memoirs of ILP @ Trivandrum : Landing at Trivandrum

There is one peculiar thing about flight journeys for people with middle class ethos like me, that is when we are about to travel by flight..we are all excited & charged up & the moment we step into it we are bored like hell.The reason being the beautiful landscape speeding by, all the camaraderie, friendly aunties & uncles, chatpati chole, key ring vendors and lot more such elements which make our journeys in bus & trains worthwhile are all missing in a flight journey. Flight journeys have a lot of sophistication in them i feel, they require you to sit quietly or whisper slowly, smile gently at your copassenger, read a good english novel, ask the air hostess whether mousse or salad with mexican dressing is available or not and in rare occassions looking outside the window to see the huge white clouds floating sthealthily.

This Flight to Trivandrum was a bit different. It was like time travel travel for me. Sitting in the middle seat, I began contemplating. I wonder how people fall into depression & even commit suicides just out of loneliness coz one can never feel lonely when there is so much self talk to be done.My mind travelled back to childhood,my grandparents,my parents.I remembered their eyes tearful yet hopeful that I would do well in my new phase of life.My friends were moving about the plane sometimes, there were 10 of us.

Our flight had to be changed at Hyderabad & the Hyderabad airport took my breath away. After security checkin we landed up at the airport lounge which had all those awesome international brand shops which lesser mortals like me were blandly unaware of. There were mochi shoes, swarvorski crystals, handicrafts and a score of food outlets. Seeing the price there, 10 of us ordered 5 hyderabadi biriyanis :P sharing & caring ! We also promised to come back once we became rich & famous :P

We also caught a glimpse of Ajay Devgan.He was walking so casually that I & my friend swati took a minute to comprehend if it was actually him. By the time we realised & ran to meet him, he had already gone for boarding.

So finally we were on our way to Trivandrum. It was a tender evening with the crimson hued sky.Then all of a sudden somebody exclaimed "Oh what a sight! " We all looked through the window to see the beautiful Kerala coast with golden sands, blue green sea & coconut trees dancing as if they were welcoming us to their land. Some sights take one's breath away and this was one such sight. The passengers were all taking photos & there was an air of happiness.So this is it! Finally we are in Kerala :)

Our flight landed and we moved to the baggage collection conveyor belt.Trivandrum airport is very small, its like a cinema hall or something. Over excited i caught hold of a blue suitcase in the conveyor and put it on my trolley.My friends were taking time to come & i was getting restless."Please hurry up! We need to get to the guest house as soon as possible" I was blurting.

There is a moment of intution that each one of us goes through.I looked at the suitcase again..my moment had arrived. It was not my suitcase.

That moment i felt dizzy..about to vomit..my suitcase!Where is it?? Why was I in such a hurry?? My mom had warned me of this..It had everything I needed... even money.Some how i gathered courage & looked around.

There was a single blue suitcase moving on the conveyor.There was a very worried uncle gaping towards the conveyor. God had saved me from my apocalypse. I went to him and apologised for exchanging our luggage. He smiled and said "Its fine amma! Just be careful in future ".

Taking my suitcase I moved towards the airport exit.The warm sultry sea winds welcomed me. So I am in kerala for my Initial Learning Programme :) And my learning has already begun from the airport I pondered.

Memoirs of ILP @ Trivandrum : Before the journey

There is a strange hidden beauty in life. Whenever we have a memorable phase in life, its effect & impression on our minds & hearts becomes more deeper as time passes.One of the most awesome phase of my life was my Initial Learning Programme (ILP) at Trivandrum. The ILP is nothing but the baby steps one takes before entering the great organisation of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)--Naam toh suna hoga ! 

I was having mixed feelings to get Trivandrum as  my ILP location. Happy because I had always wanted to experience Kerala & this was my opportunity. Sad because most of my close friends got Hyderabad as their ILP location. Wearing my thinking hat, i pondered whether this ILP could be my road towards self exploration.

1st October was fast approaching & so was my shopping, packing, eating delicacies, getting pampered by near and dear ones. Being the only child of my parents, the thought of staying away from them was killing me. I remember how I used to hug them , go through the old family photos, roam on my terrace, play with spoty & make her sit on my lap for a long time realising that I wont get these moments after few weeks. 

It was a mini Kal Ho Naa Ho movie for me. I realised that indeed we take for granted a lot of things in life & when the race against time begins, we feel we should have spent a little more time on this & that. Unfortunately my grandfather had an accident that time & seeing him in pain made me very weak emotionally. All my relatives were visiting us that time wishing for dadu's speedy recovery on one hand & extending their best wishes to me for my new phase of life.

TCS requires a lot of documents during joining & I remember my father's smile shuttling between his office at Bhubaneshwar to Orissa High Court to Gazzetted Officers to checking for dadu's plaster & medicines with the local pharmacist. There is a line from a TV show called Parvarish which says parents do what not for their children unconditionally and this we should always keep in our mind. Baba is a strict disciplinarian & one of his principles is to get up early. During this phase I saw him being liberal with me on this.He was far more patient with me. Maybe in this leniency he was hiding his pain.

My mom made all my favourite dishes inspite of being in so much stress. I remember her hugging me when I used to be in bed in the morning, her fasts & special pujas for my well being.& last but not the least my dadu.Being away from him pained me the most. He is suffering from Parkinson's syndrome which runs in our family. I remember him wiping my tears & kissing my forehead when I was hugging him after his plaster.

My heart goes out to my uncles, aunts, neighbors & friends who took the effort of meeting me & showering me with love & gifts :P So with all this I was on my way to the airport. I met  my friends who were coming with me to Trivandrum. Seeing them brought in me a thrill to go. We discussed about our documents with each other. As most of us were unfamiliar with flights we discussed about the process of boarding :P

All this while my parents had tearful eyes. I went to them & hugged them. There are some embraces which make you warm no matter what. Assuring them that I would do my best I moved towards check in.All our parents were waving to us till our final boarding from the airport lounge.

We boarded the flight & it took off to Trivandrum. Later my mom said that after we boarded, all the parents went to the window on the first floor of Bbsr airport to catch a glimpse of our flight. With tearful eyes all of them had a similar feeling in their hearts " Our little birds are now going to fly away from our nests"