Monday, December 28, 2009

Life - then and now..

Somehow writing in broad daylight, with the world around steeped in normalcy, seems like a daunting task.

In the last few days, I -

..Was part of a school re-union - his, as part of the 'WAG' gang. Made me long for one of my own. I long to bask in the collective reminiscences of the women who were so much a part of my life then. My own memories don't do justice to my childhood.
..Sat around with some people from my team and my Boss, and drank. Like I have often said, sales is a combination of the three Ds - danda, dimaag and daaru, not necessarily in that order. Why daaru? It is an enabler to bonding, which leads to passion, without which Sales is not possible.
..Watched the three idiots. And liked it. And got excited over the fact that it was shot at B. And that I could recognize a few of the people in the frame as juniors. Liked Aamir Khan's acting - that man really tries and most often, succeeds.
..Partied the night away and decided that Eristoff is rather strong for my Absolut tastes.
..Flew to Delhi and realized that Delhi is less cold this year.

Saw some really awesome advertising for movies. Love, Sex and Dhoka - the 3-D eye that follows you from the hoarding. Sherlock Holmes - the cardboard house hoarding with doors and windows that open and shut. Neat. Is it a testimony to me being an engineer that I am fascinated by things that slide/click/turn precisely and exactly into their holes?

Maybe it is a testimony to me being a 'marketeer' that makes me so enthusiastic about searching for patterns in human behavior.

I had a brilliant 2009, one of the best ever. In retrospect, 2008 and 2009 feel like the years that changed the course of my life.

Leaping, frolicking, gushing with life
The spring raced its way down the mountain
Selecting paths at its whim and fancy
Taking along all who came
Not looking back for those who didn't
Motion being the motto if its existence

But one day the landscape changed
Greener, gentler, and still
Birds, wind and trees
The spring could now hear sounds
Other than just its own roaring rush
No longer racing against time, it fell to thinking

With a jerk, it realized that a spring it no longer was
Falling in love with the flora and fauna
Inside its vast waters, looking to it for sustainence
In love, most of all, with the bank that kept it company
Guiding it, defining course
And holding it in its protective embrace

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Beached

It finally so happened that I found myself in Goa. Ah, says the reader - this is a tale of debauchery.

Well, not really. It was due to a conference that I found myself in the vicinity of the white and sandy. Nevertheless, fun was had. To say that spirits were high would not be over-stating, in fact, quite the contrary.

The highlight of the whole thing had to be these two gentlemen making themselves available to give, what was meant to be - an inspirational talk and turned out to be, quite surprisingly, just that. These two were none other than - the man who lives by his ready wit and an eyesight powerful enough to spot a googly across 90 yards - 'HB' and the man who makes sincerity fashionable by being painfully so - 'AK'.

And cricket it was.

Off-late it has to be said that my proclivity to trust complete strangers has gone up quite a few notches. Tailors in dinghy corner shops, who hand over visiting cards saying - this is as good as any receipt, have never before met with a nod of perfect understanding for the modus operandi and a smile to ease things along. One can only hope that the artiste in question delivers the goods a week from now, that is, if the establishment does not get blown away first by an errant sea breeze.

On another slightly jarring note, I recently perused an article on workaholics with a mixture of mild amusement and not-so-mild indignation at the suggestion that they should seek medical help. Hah! As any workaholic worth his back-ache will tell you - Who me - a workaholic?

Also, if one were to list down all the things one should be seeing a therapist for, it would cause an outbreak of festive cheer and many a champagne uncorking in the offices of those remarkable mind-fixers.

And as we all know, champagne can kill. Goa comes to mind.