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"

The most beautiful love story :)

Life & love share a symbiotic relationship. The topic of love is very close to my heart right from childhood. I had a fairytale childhood, loved by everyone & cared & comforted by my dear grandparents who taught me the meaning of love.

Thani & dadu are the epitome of unconditional love for me. I consider myself very lucky to have been close to them & feeling the love they have for each other.Just like the good old romantic classics , thani & dadu had an arranged marriage which later transformed into the love lasting a lifetime.

You may have read in books that "for everyone you might be someone in the world but for someone you are the world". Thani & dadu found a world in each other. Their love was so pure & unconditional that it was reflected in them at every moment. Dadu has been in love with thani unconditionally..right from his playful indulgence in whatever thani did, to complementing her on her looks, to flirting with her , to wanting to be there with her every moment. Thani's love for dadu is also beyond words. The fond memories of me sleeping in between both of them & chatting till late hours & three of us giggling are still fresh in my mind. 

Whenever my parents would go out, three of us would have a gala time. We would order dosa from a local shop, switch on some slow bengali songs & play ludo.Dadu would come to his true self then, teasing Thani with playful words & it felt like heaven for me. Thani used to giggle shyly & i used to make them hold hands just in case they had minor disagreements on things. I know the song dadu had sung for thani during a moonlit night at puri beach describing her smile. These intimate details which they have shared with me are priceless treasures now.

Once i asked Dadu, which was the best achievement of his life. He replied with a smile saying " Your thani is the most beautiful woman for me & i am lucky that she married me".They exchanged letters during 1955-1958 when dadu had stay at cuttack & Thani at the village. Thani used to say how her father in law, my great grandfather used to get annoyed at the frequent letters suggesting that the cost of letters would be equal to the monthly grocery. Both of them would ignore it & continue as their love was vivacious just as it was in their 50th year of togetherness in 2005.

Their love has grown each moment since they have been together. The respect & faith they had in their relationship was nurtured with their unconditional affection for each other.I always wanted to get those letters from Thani, but she would tell me "Me & Dadu would gift it to you when time comes ".

Thani's sad demise in 2008 came as a rude shock to me.Till now i am unable to accept it & i dont think i can ever accept it. Dadu is suffering from Parkison syndrome & his memory does not contain the fact of Thani's absence. Earlier he used to enquire everyone about Thani's whereabouts but slowly it has decreased. He asks me sometimes "How is Thani? She should be here taking care of me..Where is she now?" To which smile and put his hand on his heart and say "Thani is right here now and forever".

PS: On my recent visit to my village after my graduation i found an old box containing 137 letter from 1955 to 1958. My graduation gift from my dear grandparents :)

Of Wannabes and Fake Accents

I am an Indian and very proud of it. I have lived in India throughout my life. I have never been to any foreign country but secretly wish to visit many of them. I love English movies because of the beautiful display of emotions and characters in them. To be honest, when watching an American movie..i can manage without sub titles but while watching a British movie i seriously need sub titles :P 

Though i am a budding IT Professional yet i have a deep love for English. The reason being the fact that English introduced me to the world of stories, novels , poems and to thoughts which enriched me as a person. It is my deep love for English that made it so close to my heart..right from school to college.In my Engineering days..the stories and poems part of English metamorphosed to "Communication". Intonation, Pronunciation, Presentation all of this became an  inherent part of English for me.

Presently as i am undergoing my training at Trivandrum, i have been introduced to another part of English which i was blandly unaware of :P "IMPRESSION CREATION". 

Thanks to my humble upbringing, i have always been aware of the principle of  making your work speak for you. But yet sometimes one comes across peculiar characters who are BITAA..that is my definition of people very much Born in India but Talk with American Accent.

Why??? Why?? do Indians especially have the mindset that when they speak like Americans they become "The Elite" among the simple  normal accented creatures like me. Is speaking in any foriegn accent..esp when it doesnt come naturally to you a symbol of great pride. 

In the recent times i have come across many pretty ladies in beautiful attires..wearing something like a rado watch..all decked up with make up and perfume..raring to go..seeing them i sometimes wonder..am i travelling on a bus to office or to Lakme India Fashion Week. Well thats a different story altogether.

There is nothing wrong  in putting brown kajal or pink lipgloss to office, especially when you are just in your Traineeship. But what is baffling is when you hear the pathetic attempts to sound "so American". In my opinion, Intonation & Pronunciation are definitely important in today's Business scenario.But being loud & speaking in that extra made up way like one's make up is definitely the sign of a wannabe.

Why do i have to show off by saying "Can i have some surfffffffffff" in the American way in a grocery store.Those pathetic creatures who want to draw attention by speaking loudly in their fake Accents in any elevator or canteen or lobby or corridor or office , one simple advice from me.."please be your natural self".

We are educated individuals & there are tons of ways by which we can make a mark before others, one of the simple ways is being polite & humble. Just speaking anything rubbishwith that decked up accent can only make one the ambassador of Wannabeism". 

There's much more to life than just becoming a Wannabe with fashionable clothes & Fake Accents :)

The Summer of 2012

A couple of months back when i was on the brink of completing my Bachelor's in Computer Science & Engineering..i realized the meaning of smiling and working in the face of adversity. I have undergone everything that can possibly go wrong for an undergraduate student..right from a system crash just before report submission..to last minute faults in the project code..to attendance troubles..to the drought of notes and books just before the final semesters..to sleepless nights..to constant powercuts..to battery back up for 5 mins only..to inability in the intake of extra greasy hostel food..to sleeping on the hostel roof with the company of melodious mosquitoes..to being broke(almost :P ) ..to crying in solitude..and all of this in the blistering heat of the summer of 2012.

Summer of '69 were the best days of Bryan Adam's life and Summer of 2012 was memorable for me..though for all different reasons. When i shifted to my new hostel in the beginning of Final Year..i was very excited to get the room on the top floor with two of my besties. Awesome well ventilated and well lit room with balcony and terrace just a step away. A perfect setting for my poetic mind. Initially i would just sit and enjoy the awesome view i got. My Apple Ipod acted as the best companion during my quests of soul searching and finding hidden meanings of the simplicities of life.

Days passed and Summer came..days became hotter and more humid and nights were frequented with power cuts.Being on the top floor our room soon got transformed into a blast furnace. My college timings were from 8 am to 1 pm. And after reaching from college..it was like having lunch and afternoon siesta in a burning kiln. Deadlines for Final Year Project, the most important endeavor of an Undergraduate Engineering Student's life were fast approaching. Me & My Friend Sangita were attending classes on Android Application Development during that time and our class timings were in mid afternoons when getting an auto rickshaw is as difficult as finding an oasis in a burning desert.

The heat took away our appetite..and all that i wanted after a long day was some light dinner and a peaceful sleep both of which was impossible as hostel food can never be light and subtle and sleeping at night in powercuts is as good as starting a war with the mosquitoes. 

My project was based on Radio Frequency Identification and it took us quite a long time to find a proper hardware for the same. There were times when on holidays me and my team mates went to college and slogged over the coding, design etc of the project the whole day..only to find that our hardware was incompatible. 

One fine day after resolving major issues of our project and with final semesters approaching soon..day and night slogging took a toll on me. I was down mentally. In order to refresh myself i started watching a movie in mid afternoon..with my project report work side by side. And bam..the current goes..and my laptop with 5 mins battery back up shuts down in no time..With a damn! in my head..after the current comes..i restart my lappy only to find that it has crashed and on the top of it i realise that i havent created a backup for the project report.

My lappy is formatted the same day..and minutes before completion of formatting..current goes again..stormy weather..current will be gone for few hours and my lappy is still in the crashed state and my report is yet to start all over again.Was it a nightmare?? 

No it was not and i accepted it. My laptop was finally ok after hours of hard work.My Report was finished within 2 days. 90 pages report. I learnt that some things work out just in time no matter how horrendous it might be to achieve it.

That night after the usual powercut I slept on the hostel terrace with my besties on my side..i took a break..we chatted the whole night..we giggled..shared our secrets..caught up on all that we had lost..with three mosquito coils around us guarding us..and in the cool breeze of the midnight we fell asleep..only to wake up early morning to the songs of a frantic cuckoo who was desperate to wake us up. Unlike the alarm we can't put a snooze on a real cuckoo..In short we can't change certain bits of life yet we can definitely wake up smiling to a new day :)

The Highway love stories :)

Coming back to my hostel from home with my father on an early winter evening had many pleasant surprises for me on the cuttack-bhubaneswar highway. Sitting behind my father who was intently driving the Honda Activa amidst speeding trucks and buses, I was gazing here and there when some priceless moments caught my attention. The Two wheelers racing on the highway around us carried people and emotions which were inexplicable.

While the young twosomes were racing away... with speed of the bike depending on how tight the hug the driver got from his sweetheart behind him.There one could see all the gigglings, whispers of sweet nothings and sweet smiles intricately associated with the driving. These couples were mostly newly married or with one kid, the wife clinging the husband tight & the husband loving every bit of it.

Then there were the middle aged couples with one or two grown up kids, looking at them you feel, the love is same but its way of expression has changed with time. There are puckered eyebrow conversations, worried faces, yet there is love there somewhere which got mingled with domestic responsibilities with time.

  The vehicles ranged from the humble Luna to the racy Pulsar, yet what remained same was the happiness and satisfaction one gets by seeing so many diferent forms of love. Somewhere deep down, I had a silent prayer in my heart.

I prayed that may these lovely twosomes be happy and intimate always..not just in the journey on the highway but in a bigger journey..the journey of a lifetime of togetherness :)

Cheers to the amazing feeling called "love" :)

Why do i have to be fair to be lovely??

One of the few things that you are bound to see when u watch an Indian Television channel is the ubiquitous "Fair And Lovely" advertisement. The model, location or situation of the advertisement changes with time but what doesn't change is the underlying theme..That is "First U are dark or wheatish skinned(which is the normal Indian skin tone)..you suffer from self pity due to your present skin color..you never win any competition..which may range from singing to dancing to modelling and one day your friend suggests you to try the "Revolutionary Fair & Lovely" and with its unique ingredients you become "White and Fair as milk". You wear a Pink dress and go out and then the miracle happens..you win every competition..people notice you..the boy you had a crush on finally falls for you..your life changes..all because of "Fair & Lovely". 

Utter bull shit!!! is what my head screams when i see the advertisement. It is in stark contrast to what we term as lovely..to fulfill the commercial goals..these companies are reflecting a very wrong ideology which is grasping the Indian mentality.. "Obsession for being fair". I stand up and ask what is abnormal with a girl having a skin tone which she is supposed to have due to her demography. Why do we project girls with the normal Indian skin tone as "undesirable and looked down upon". It is really unfortunate that living in this modern era we have such a downtrodden thinking where being fair gives you everything you ever wanted..right from winning a competition to getting your prince charming".

It is time when we identify the importance of nurturing one's talent and building a strong personality irrespective of any skin tone and not get swayed away by these money sucking companies who have the sole aim to degrade the Indian mentality's take further about their natural skin tone and make a fortune out of it. 

We need to understand the being "fair" and being "lovely" are two entirely different things. BEING FAIR is something you have no control on..it depends on your genes and demography. But BEING LOVELY is certainly something you can work on by being self confident and building a personality which makes you unique.A personality depends on a range of things which you need to learn and instill in a gradual manner to build a unique image that will encourage you to move ahead in life and make you fall in love with a person who loves you inside out.

So next time you see a "Fair & Lovely" Ad , treat it like just an instance of hypocrisy because there is certainly more to you than your skin tone and the world is waiting for you to unleash your talents and virtues which is certainly much more than a white skin with a pink dress.

Of small towns and BIG Hearts :)

I live in Cuttack..and before you ask " Where's that?? " Its a "small town" in Odisha , India. And given the "Gangs of Waaseypur" Phenomenon..the small towns in India have acquired a typical image in the eyes of the "elite and sophisticated metropolitans" . A typical small town would be pictured as a dusty landscape having narrow lanes, unclean drains, hordes of people and cattle moving here and there, scooters carrying uncle, aunty and their chunu-munu , paan eating local goons ornamented with sickles, knives and revolvers ready for war anytime and every time.

And i have noticed,  the moment you introduce yourself  dwelling from a city that  can be categorized as "small town".. you create an impression that  you can never speak English without that typical "small town accent", you know nothing about the subtleties of modern  day living, all you do is watch saas- bahu soaps and are bland and unaware of those progressive advances in the world. A typical small town girl is figured as someone who wears salwar kameez throughout her childhood and teenage, is decked with gold earrings, goes to temple every tuesday, has a moti choti of oiled up hair, dreams of getting married right after school, only to become the ideal bahu with colorful bangles, sarees, sindoor.

I wonder what is the criteria that makes a city or town "small". If it is on the basis of area..then why this sheer branding of it and its people as backward and unsophisticated. 

Here's a few instances which i would love to share about my Cuttack, it is a city with a Heart, It is a city where people of various languages, cultures, castes and religions come together and celebrate festivals that encompass every boundary of inhibition one can think of, where you can see a wealthy businessman and a modest labourer gorge on dahibara- aludum from the same vendor on the street, where you'll have people stop and care if you met with an accident, where you can still catch a glimpse of a grandfather and grandchild on the same cycle or luna, where shopkeepers treat you more than just a mere customer and care about your needs, where a modest rickshaw puller can teach you a lesson or two about life,where people would support you and create a furore if some jobless romeo passed lewd comments on you, where the spirit of people to be happy and to celebrate harmony is of far more importance than their economic status.

I think these are few of the many characteristics of my Cuttack which may be small in size, may not have multiplexes and malls, may not be suave and sleek but it certainly has a BIG HEART :) So all the people reading this..please do not stereotype cities and its people as "small" on the basis of your imaginative assumptions. Every city with its people has a heart and a unique spirit which should be saluted and revered :) Only then can we broaden our own horizons rather than casting others as shallow and backward.