From Death to Life: An interesting read

The unfair thing about life is the way it ends. I mean, life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time and what do you get at the end of it? You die. I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first; get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You get kicked out when you’re too young. You get a gold watch when you go to work. You work forty years until you’re young enough to enjoy your retirement. You do drugs, alcohol, you party, and you get ready for high school. You go to grade school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back into the womb, you spend your last nine months floating…and you finish off as a glint in someone's eye!!

An Epitaph

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glint on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awake in the morning hush,

I am the soft unflinging rush,

Of quiet birds in circling flight,

I am the soft star-shine in the night.

And so my friend, do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there, I did not die

Amen

Phases....

I wanted nothing less than hope,
But, relishing despair,
I plunged into the nearest hell
And spent some weekends there.

I saw no answers on the walls,
No rebirth in the rain,
No saving grace in suffering,
No rapture born of pain.

What held me there? It must have been
The jackal, crazed and lean,
Who took my face between his paws
And, hungry, picked it clean.

Rain Rain Come Again!!

For the uninitiated, rains have finally hit Udaipur... And how so!! I saw the Palace, literally washed apart by the flash rains. All the lounge chairs in the pool plopped right in, the furniture at our fine dining restro went for a toss, the Spa tents could not sustain the heavy onslaught and collapsed. In a nutshell, it was a nightmare for my operations team for the next 90 mins.

But then to actually see the guest enjoying the rains, in their own little ways was a treat in itself. An aged German couple was taking a walk in our Guava garden. When the rains came, instead of running for shelter or finding an umbrella, they simply sat down on one of the marble benches, holding hands and enjoying the view,(I hope!!) The poor butler on the other hand was havin a hard time convincing them to at least take an umbrella.

And it was beautiful, the view!! With all the flora in the landscape taking a different hue altogether with the first raindrops. And the fragrance was.... well heavenly!! I just wish I had my loved ones around to take it all in and stay in this one moment forever.. Yes, Udaipur is beautiful...!!

Am I in paradise?? That remains to be seen...

Peace

Newsflash: Mars=Venus!!

Sporadic blogs, crazy shifts.. corporate life is a muff!!! I'll be the umpteenth one to say it but, well, a fact is a fact. Anyway was running through a period of mass recruitments for the Palace for the past week. Out of the numerous things that meeting 20 new people a day teaches you, one of the realities that dawned on me was.. Men are becoming more and more womanized by the day....

(Disclaimer: Before I proceed may I add that I respect and admire all the ladies I know, and also that I am a big fan of the feminist movement. But having said that, I personally believe that some things are better when they remain the same.)

Anyway, coming back to the original issue, one of the things that I noted was the guys were sitting and chatting among themselves for hours at an end, oblivious to the fact that we offered them some quality food. On the other hand, the girls were quieter than usual, very to-the-point and unusually serious. All this makes me think.. Have the tables really turned??? Whatever happened to Chirpy Chics and Serious Sams?? I say this at the risk of sounding sexist, but its true.

Secondly, almost every male candidate who came along had problem with night shifts. The females on the other hand were totally gung-ho about it. As much as I was pleased to see this, I felt a tad melancholic to see my gender behaving like, well anti-stereotypes.

I mean, I agree the world has changed. But certain things are best when they remain unchanged. Guys having problem with night shifts is like so weird!! I would welcome my nocturnal adventures..ahem!! But then again, I was amazed by the gusto of the Ladies. They were conceptually better, better groomed, well-prepared and of course, much more charming.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again- "Women are finally taking their rightful place in the society". We, on the other hand should not take it as an insult or a call to arms. Rather, a sense of healthy competition and a mature attitude towards the opposite sex is the least that is expected of us at present.

In a nutshell- "Men, Pull up your socks... or get ready to be phased out of the Solar System"!! :-(

Ciao

When You Lose A Boss!!

4 hours & 30 minutes..... I can't believe he's gone. It feels like it was just yesterday when I walked thorugh the corridors of the Palace and entered the HR office. The first handshake we had said it all.. Here was somebody I could relate with.. Here was somebody who listened to me when I made mistakes. Explained the basics of what I was supposed to do till the time he was sure I got it. And yet never hesitated to reprimand me when I went wrong. I guess what they say is true- Your first boss is everything.. He will either make you or break you. Whatever little that I have achieved over the past 6 months in the company, its because there was somebody behind me, every step of the way. You are my inspiration Govind Sir, and you always will be. And its not that I'm doing this coz I'm emotional or sumthin. Yes, emotions do run high with Librans but so do facts!!
Fact 1: I was allowed a free hand in the Training Department, within 15 days of me coming to the property. Who would do that for a trainee??
Fact 2: I was given handovers that went beyond appointment letters and administrative issues, e.g. Performance Appraisals, Corporate Reports etc etc the list is endless.. Where in the world can we see that happening??
Fact 3: Whenever I made a mistake, instead of just pointing fingers, he would actually counsel, advise & tell me the corrective measures to be taken.
Fact 4: No matter what others thought of him, he knew what he was and he was good at it.
Fact 5: He became a Unit HR Head at the age of 30, when most people could only dream of reaching there when they are at least 40 years of age. That says something!!
Sir, if there is even the slightest chance of you reading this, its not been the same since you've told that you are leaving. And now that you are gone, I can't believe that the office is empty. I never expected something like this to happen to me, but I guess I miss my boss!!
Wish you all the luck in the future Sir, GodSpeed!!! :)

Two States

Another interesting take on the stark reality of arranged marriages! As Chetan takes us through a journey that has partly been transcended from his own experiences, I can't help but feel sorry for a substantial number of teenagers who have embarked on the treacherous path of "love"...

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against arranged marriages. But the sheer thought of two people working round the clock just to convince their parents sends a chill down my spine. Mr. Bhagat starts of on a very euphoric note in the IIM Ahmedabad cafeteria (who doesn't like mushy cafeteria romance) But as the pages unfold, the plot gets darker and darker, marred probably by the crimson colour of the couple's life blood.

Though we see everything working out in the end (Hurray!!), somehow something seems amiss in the way the two lovebirds have evolved, from the "I-can't-let-go-of-you" college goers to the "I-think-my-parents-won't-approve" adults.. And that my friends, is the reality that we face today.

All in all, a nice interesting work of fiction (or is it). The book also explains a lot of unsolved mysteries from the protagonist's past, including his relationship with his father which ultimately is the twist in the tale, to his ex-gf. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who thinks India is evolving and maturing.

Peace