Been running a little dry on the positives apart from being very exhausted.
Welcome the bed.
Time out.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
In The Name Of
I am totally out of touch with the life that should be. To make it the affirmative, it is now the new life that makes me think back to the one that was.
Someone told me Cal makes you lazy and disproportionate. The second transformation is moulding itself into my routine yes, but I'm pushing hard to keep away from the first. Let's hope that sticks. But now, to address the second is a priority of the first order.
Anyway, life's been all that off late - revising a 'proposed' keep in touch list,putting on a blobs of weight over 2 months,experimenting more with seafood,finding more politics on my plate than I'd imagined and having to swallow it with a straight face etc etc.
Sit back and then fathom this experience for 30 more years to come. Delicious.
What I also wondered at times, was how ineptly formed certain structures were. It happens everywhere but it's so puzzling to see senior people who don't know jackshit about their job. How do they get there? How does HR not see it? Why do so many companies have a similar scenario? Is this whole performance review term a put on? How often do we see some guys at the bottom who should be pushed higher up the ladder than their superiors? Does the top worker work his way up and slack off as he approaches the top?
How how how.
I don't get this.
Someone told me Cal makes you lazy and disproportionate. The second transformation is moulding itself into my routine yes, but I'm pushing hard to keep away from the first. Let's hope that sticks. But now, to address the second is a priority of the first order.
Anyway, life's been all that off late - revising a 'proposed' keep in touch list,putting on a blobs of weight over 2 months,experimenting more with seafood,finding more politics on my plate than I'd imagined and having to swallow it with a straight face etc etc.
Sit back and then fathom this experience for 30 more years to come. Delicious.
What I also wondered at times, was how ineptly formed certain structures were. It happens everywhere but it's so puzzling to see senior people who don't know jackshit about their job. How do they get there? How does HR not see it? Why do so many companies have a similar scenario? Is this whole performance review term a put on? How often do we see some guys at the bottom who should be pushed higher up the ladder than their superiors? Does the top worker work his way up and slack off as he approaches the top?
How how how.
I don't get this.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Resurrect
This is the pits.
Again and again a burst of blog posts and then I'm out of it for weeks. Last post almost a month ago. Not good signs.
Ok, so I didn't get to go home for the first long weekend that was gifted late last month. And I'm not doing anything special this weekend either. Some of my friends went to Goa,near it or did something spectacularly adventurous.
Pujo was a good outing. I saw 6-7 pandals and got a nice flavour of the event. People say its really crowded but I don't think it's that big a deal. Coming from a packed place like Mumbai - no chance. Very picturesque themes done up for the pandal.
Lemme place a pic for ya. (click on it for a better view of the glimmerin' neons)
Again and again a burst of blog posts and then I'm out of it for weeks. Last post almost a month ago. Not good signs.
Ok, so I didn't get to go home for the first long weekend that was gifted late last month. And I'm not doing anything special this weekend either. Some of my friends went to Goa,near it or did something spectacularly adventurous.
Pujo was a good outing. I saw 6-7 pandals and got a nice flavour of the event. People say its really crowded but I don't think it's that big a deal. Coming from a packed place like Mumbai - no chance. Very picturesque themes done up for the pandal.
Lemme place a pic for ya. (click on it for a better view of the glimmerin' neons)
Friday, September 04, 2009
No Rhyme
It's been 4 weeks since we moved into the new flat & there have been 4 maids who've stopped by at our place offering to help/aid in household cleaning/servicing.
I guess word gets around the minute they see an open window that was closed for months together or light emanating from an odd spot in the building. Good to know help is at hand. The only problem being that..
We can't converse in a common language. All the maids rattle off in Bangla and leave me speechless. I try hard to go slow on the Hindi with timely gestures to illustrate critical tasks like cooking,jhaadu,poccha and the like. They follow my hand movements and pause a few seconds before smiling and starting off again. In full flow.
Yes, it's a sweet sounding language but I really can't tell the questions from the statements - assuming that both are imbibed in her sales pitch - which becomes a bit of a worry because I don't know where I'm supposed to hold the talk & reply or nod my head and let it go on.
And each of these four times, I resort to my (expected) saving grace - asking for a mobile number to get back with details at a later date. So I motion with a make believe handset against my ear, waiting for a positive from the lady at my door. She watches my actions and responds with a shake of the head. More incomprehensible talk for my ears.
That brings an abrupt end to something that may have been a likely pact with a domestic help.
I need a crash course in basic Bangla. Maybe I should consult Mr. Ghose, our next door neighbour for one. Or from anyone else who's willing to.
I guess word gets around the minute they see an open window that was closed for months together or light emanating from an odd spot in the building. Good to know help is at hand. The only problem being that..
We can't converse in a common language. All the maids rattle off in Bangla and leave me speechless. I try hard to go slow on the Hindi with timely gestures to illustrate critical tasks like cooking,jhaadu,poccha and the like. They follow my hand movements and pause a few seconds before smiling and starting off again. In full flow.
Yes, it's a sweet sounding language but I really can't tell the questions from the statements - assuming that both are imbibed in her sales pitch - which becomes a bit of a worry because I don't know where I'm supposed to hold the talk & reply or nod my head and let it go on.
And each of these four times, I resort to my (expected) saving grace - asking for a mobile number to get back with details at a later date. So I motion with a make believe handset against my ear, waiting for a positive from the lady at my door. She watches my actions and responds with a shake of the head. More incomprehensible talk for my ears.
That brings an abrupt end to something that may have been a likely pact with a domestic help.
I need a crash course in basic Bangla. Maybe I should consult Mr. Ghose, our next door neighbour for one. Or from anyone else who's willing to.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
India's Bulletproof Train
ToI recently had an article on the most dangerous train ride in the country - a 103km trip from Lumding to Haflong in Assam, which has been repeatedly ambushed by militants.
Off late, there has been no activity after the Black Widow leader, Jewel Garosa was arrested two months ago. These militants understand the inconvenience and danger caused to the locals but they won't tolerate any movement of security forces along this route. As long as they spot army/police personnel, they will be target the trains. The locals however, have a second filler. They say there is a road transport lobby backed by a former Union minister which is using these forces to prevent goods trains from plying on the route.
20km en route, a forest area approaches. This is where the dangerous part begins. There are forces along the tracks with sand bagged walls et all. Between this point and the 32km mark, a train had been derailed by the warring lot, who'd removed 3metres of railway lines. The bogies are still lying on their side, engulfed by creepers and shrubs. After the 35km zone, the sabotage zone ends. "They prefer to shoot you after this point", says an official.
There are 37 tunnels along this section. Each station is fortified with bunkers and manned by jawans. Four stations were so vulnerable that they had to be closed down. Work on the broad gauge line is also affected. Appeals have been made to Mamata Bannerjee.
The enginer drivers are experienced and they can only smile in the face of this danger. They've seen things happen. And all they have for protection are bullet proof windows. "It's not possible to keep them shut all the time since it gets hot inside the engine", notes one driver. Also, if the militants choose to shoot from atop the hills, there is no cover for them. But they go about their job, just like their colleague Nityananda Bora did. A year ago, the militants had shot Bora several times but he still managed to reverse the engine into the tunnel in order to save lives. He was shot at point blank range soon enough. Bora was awarded the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peace-time gallantry award.
It's an ongoing fight for the Hill Queen.
Off late, there has been no activity after the Black Widow leader, Jewel Garosa was arrested two months ago. These militants understand the inconvenience and danger caused to the locals but they won't tolerate any movement of security forces along this route. As long as they spot army/police personnel, they will be target the trains. The locals however, have a second filler. They say there is a road transport lobby backed by a former Union minister which is using these forces to prevent goods trains from plying on the route.
20km en route, a forest area approaches. This is where the dangerous part begins. There are forces along the tracks with sand bagged walls et all. Between this point and the 32km mark, a train had been derailed by the warring lot, who'd removed 3metres of railway lines. The bogies are still lying on their side, engulfed by creepers and shrubs. After the 35km zone, the sabotage zone ends. "They prefer to shoot you after this point", says an official.
There are 37 tunnels along this section. Each station is fortified with bunkers and manned by jawans. Four stations were so vulnerable that they had to be closed down. Work on the broad gauge line is also affected. Appeals have been made to Mamata Bannerjee.
The enginer drivers are experienced and they can only smile in the face of this danger. They've seen things happen. And all they have for protection are bullet proof windows. "It's not possible to keep them shut all the time since it gets hot inside the engine", notes one driver. Also, if the militants choose to shoot from atop the hills, there is no cover for them. But they go about their job, just like their colleague Nityananda Bora did. A year ago, the militants had shot Bora several times but he still managed to reverse the engine into the tunnel in order to save lives. He was shot at point blank range soon enough. Bora was awarded the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peace-time gallantry award.
It's an ongoing fight for the Hill Queen.
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