Mortal beings and immortal memories!

Man is mortal but memories are not...never! It is never lost to us as long as we remember it. ‘Tabula rasa’ that’s what our mind is when we are born. Apparently we become the victim (at times) of ‘growing up’ and get trapped in this vicious cycle of life. Growing up can mean a lot, adding up in the list and leaving a lot behind. I am still beyond obsessed with my childhood days and the memories that are left behind…I hate when I realize I cannot go back to my ‘grandmother-grandfather’s ‘ days..is it because I am so called ‘grown-up’ now? Or just because I am away from them? No…not at all! It is just that they are gone..gone for good….ended up with their ‘growing-up’ process and freed from the vicious cycle called life. I will die one day too…everyone will die…we are mortal but memories are not (remember?)

I know, people get aged and they go away from us. Losing someone at their old age also means more memories with them. Isnt it? (If I live for 99 years it means 99 years of togetherness with the family). It is hard to accept the fact that ‘people die and part away from us for forever and ever’…we know they will never come back to us (may be at times in our dream) but MEMORIES are immortal!

My letter to my grandfather (Expired:9/4/2014)

Dear koka,

I hope you are resting in peace now. I know your body gave up because ‘growing-up’ hurts, isnt it? But don’t worry; now you are free…free from the pain. Will you miss us?

As soon as I heard the news about you(that you are no more), all that came to my mind was that little girl (me) who pissed you/embarrassed you with the stupid questions in front of your daughter-in-laws (of Corse I was not supposed to ask why you were hiding and smoking, in front of your daughter-in-laws). I am sorry!

Rs.5 was a huge amount during then when you used to take me to ‘xobha’ (a cultural fest of Assam). How can I forget I used to hold your finger and walk for a while and then used to stand still and say ‘no way I can’t walk, pick me up, hold me and walk back home or else I will not move’. I can never get those days back!

I know I cannot write everything in one letter because it is never ending but MEMORIES will remain and I choose to remember it for the rest of my life. I am one of the luckiest on the earth to get people like you who moves away for liberation but leaves behind MERORIES…the IMMORTAL MEMORIES!

You will be missed and sorry for the troubles I gave!

Yours,

Eldest grand-daughter (who could not see you for the last time)

Rightly said ‘BROKEN KNEES WERE BETTER THAN THE BROKEN HEART’

Picked up by a father and thrown to GOD!

Dusky, frizzy–uncombed hair, a half pant, almost broken bathroom slippers and an old t-shirt.....that’s all he came with! His small eyes filled with shyness and embarrassment never faced anyone in my family. He wasn’t Bangladeshi?  ‘This is Noor’, my father introduced, when he kept his head down staring at the ground! He didn't speak out a word for almost that evening when he first arrived at my house. This 9 year old first pronounced the word ‘baideu’ (which means sister basically ma’am). ‘No no don’t call me ‘baideu’, call me ‘MAA’......Those words of my mother still echo. And that’s how we four added one more member to our family.....NOOR, the fifth one!

He wasn’t Bangladeshi even if he was the son of Bengali parents of Assam. He wasn’t Bangladeshi even if he had that typical Bengali accent. He wasn’t! When the society is patched by the tags of caste, creed, sub-caste and all bullshit, you still never hesitated to eat in the plat that I left out. Never!  More than 8 years of togetherness and still the first look of yours aren’t forgotten. I guess I was your elder sister sometime, somewhere, in some-birth. I wonder how you can be 5 years younger than me; you were more perfect than me in so many works! Weren’t you? 

How will I repay you all that you did on our (me and my brother) behalf? My mummy was all alone and we were busy with our so-called career, she had only you near her to talk to, to share, to scold, to listen, and to call her MAA.  How can I forget NOOR?

You don’t have to shed tears today on knowing that you are going to die because you are suffering from a bloody disease called BLOOD CANCER. Please don’t! You did a great job dude, by making all of us your ‘slave of emotions’. Purely unpaid slaves!  My father will still shout for you before leaving for the office to open the gate to take out his car, my mother will still ask you what to cook for lunch, my brother will still call out your name when he watches a comedy scene in the TV and I will still plan the trip for you that you always wanted me to do. I could not bring you to Delhi and show you India Gate Noor. I am sorry!

Please don’t die now, let me earn a bit more and fulfil your dream of ‘air travel’. Please do not die now, papa still need to teach you driving. Please do not die now, mummy still need to buy you the FM station with earphones, also teach you to read those fat books that you always wanted to read. It is so soon for you to die Noor, we cannot be without you! You said you never saw your mother but got MAA as the best gift of God, then why you want to leave so early? Please don’t, we need to re-pay you so much! There are still many unfulfilled promises waiting for you....Please do not die!  

BEHAVE YOURSELF……….

Off course if I start talking about human psychology I am going to run into pages. It is not also the fact that I am (even if I am) very keen towards the subject called ‘psychology’ but there are few rows and columns of thoughts that are lining up in my psychology about ‘psychology’. God has made the structure of our head same (round in shape) then why we all don’t have the same thoughts or perception about things. What I interpret you may not or intervene in the similar way as I do. Why? Because of our different mentalities and different ways of thinking. No wonder what you like, I may hate. Neither your fault nor my mistake!

What I have learned from my psychology teacher is ‘psychology is the study of behavior’. BEHAVE YOURSELF! People, mind when you behave because you never know who is studying your psychology when you are not behaving. :P

God is so organized…isn’t it? See the way he created feelings and see the symbols that he gave to express your feeling. Cry=when you are hurt/or in pain. Smile=when you happy. Scold= when you are angry. The human race is also so apt in all the organized ways of God.

I wonder why Dulu (my 4 years old cousin) is so much into Doremon(cartoon)? Doremon brings out gadgets from the pocket on his stomach and gives it to Nobita (a character) which always saves him from homework, scoldings etc etc. Then I realized, he (dulu) himself doesn’t like doing his homework and he must be having a desire to have a Doremon for himself. His behavior helped me learning his psychology.

Dulu is just an example but I guess it’s the same case with all of us. We unknowingly do some activities which can help others to read our psychology too.

Tragedy Queen for a DAY!

How about a day when you get stuck in the lift....I mean, A DAY when you get stuck TWICE in the lift and you don’t have a cell phone with you? Can you imagine? Well getting stuck in a lift TWICE in a day sounds boring....how about A DAY when your room gets locked from inside and your cell phone remains inside the room and you are getting late for the office? Now that sounds little happening but............to make it more happening how about A DAY when you are half dressed with bathroom slippers, your room gets locked from inside with your cell phone inside the room, you get stuck in the lift TWICE in a day and you are required to go and get another pair of keys from your roommate by traveling 11 kms? And you don’t have money?.........now that is most the happening one...right?

Subah subah ye kya huwa, najane main……main phaas gayeeeeeeeee…….yes in a lift TWICE……my room got locked from inside and my cell phone remained inside and the clock reminding me “babes you are getting late for office”. One of the most memorable days that I am going to mark in my life’s history would be 18^th July, 2011.

Getting stuck in the lift was less that’s why the tragedy repeated again and again…that too SAME DAY! Oh God it was such a mess with me that day. I traveled almost 11 kms with a non-matching dupatta (that too borrowed from my flat mate). Bathroom slippers…..a dupatta which didn’t matched my dress at all….. Using auto-walla’s mobile…..and my messy hair…..wow what a trip it was (awesome experience while going to collect the extra keys from my roommate).

Finally when I got back with the keys, I got stuck in the lift for 15 minutes as the power went off. No cell phone with me and no one around to help me out…. But I was busy inside the lift. You know with what I was busy with? THINKING…..thinking whether I should laugh at my situation or I should cry?

A red rose and a silent heart......

She passes by that florist shop every morning. Morning bliss and a new world ahead, loaded with things in mind and heart...and a pair of dreamy eyes which still wants to go back to the bed and sleep...rather dream! It’s a different world out here and a different life too. The blend of everything is best experienced…..

A silent red rose which rest in the water bucket of the florist can express so many things of a silent heart.…never knew that! Everything has a purpose in this world....the flower grows (it is the purpose of nature).....the flower is taken care by the gardeners (it is the purpose of the gardener to cut and deliver it to florist).....it is sold in the florist shop (it is the purpose of the florist for business and earnings).....it is bought by someone for someone (it is the purpose to show the feelings that are left unexpressed)

She wanted to buy the rose badly.....she wanted a chance to hand it over to someone....she wanted to express few things of her silent heart! Truly…..a simple silent rose expresses too much of a silent heart!

‘Make my trip’ vs ‘Ruined my trip’!

Economic Times on 6th May carried the story of “Make my trip.com” (17th page). The fairytale beginning & stupendous journey of MakeMyTrip! As soon as I saw the story, it took me back to the story that I read few days back (may be 13th April) in almost all the newspapers (main lines) about ‘make my trip’. After analyzing the story, I admitted to myself “wow what a wonderful crises management and PR strategy of the company (makemytrip.com)”.

Story pitched on 13th April: Mangalore-based Vishal Rao was cheated by the online travel agency MakeMyTrip. Aggrieved by this treatment, Mr Rao created a blog, 'Ruined My Trip', to make people aware about his experience and the unfair business practice by the company. Being, an expert in the web business, Mr Rao used his skills in the search engine optimization (SEO) area to push his blog into the top ten Google search results for 'Make My Trip'!

Feeling cheated by a company, either because of unfair treatment or poor services, many of us would usually end up staying silent. Yes, in the head of the moment, we did get angry and some of us may even vent the anger on the company's staff. Still fewer would choose to take legal recourse through the consumer court, where the battle could be long. But here's an example of a person who chose to use his skills with the Internet to fight against injustice.

Story pitched on 6th May: The fairytale beginning & stupendous journey of MakeMyTrip! Deep Kalra says he was following a gut instinct when he set up online travel portal MakeMyTrip way back in 2000. But the fairytale beginning would soon run into some very rough weather as the global dotcom meltdown, the 9/11 attacks and the SARS outbreak led to a severe loss of business. In conversation with Radhika P Nair, Kalra tracks the many milestones that have since marked the company's journey, including a blockbuster IPO in the US, where on the first day of listing, the MakeMyTrip stock closed 89% up, the best listing in the US since the pre-recession year of 2007.

My analyses: The negative coverage in almost all the main lines spoilt the brand image in front of the consumer. ‘Makemytrip.com’ has recently invested a lot in the promotional activities (I mean TV ads etc). Mr.Rao is almost a nightmare for the company. It’s a thread to the company and in lieu to that the company has adopted a new PR policy. Their PR is basically talking about their brand which will now divert the audience. THIS IS A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE FOR ALL THE PR PROS AND HATS OFF TO MR.RAO! JAGO GRAHAK JAGO……

PS-For any further details on this story you can log on to www.runinedmytrip.com

A ‘B-School’ Dream!

A ‘B-School’ dream….oscillating, galloping, escalating, and waving high! Obviously not frenzy. B- School does give me a stereotype meaning i.e. ‘Best School’ rather ‘Business School’. Life is all about ‘terms and conditions apply’. Term- A white collar job before your Dad’s retirement and condition- Get into a B-School. I think I am right here! Sometimes I wonder, life is too short to achieve so much. But then there are no exceptions to it because we have term and others apply conditions. :(

Stepping into IIM’s or FMS (Faculty of Management studies) doesn’t make you the Protagonist within the campus, off course but definitely allows you to venture your dreams (with jeopardizing it). My teachers never wrote on the blackboard about ‘IIM’ or ‘FMS’ when I was in nursery. Then from where I learned it? Out of myself…probably?

The rigorous selection process of these B-Schools comforts the students with many sleepless nights. All the hard work pays but its still ‘hard’ for the ‘hard work’. CAT, MAT, XAT, ATMA, MBA CET, ICET, TANCET, MAHCET……and what not? To bag a smart package and wrapping yourself ‘corporate’ is the ‘flip of the coin’. One side of the coin consists, preparation for a B-School admission and the other side is the fat package and status (an aspiration).

What’s my B-School dream whisper to me? If I get into (IF)…..it will be a tribute to my parents rather than anything else!