Commuting from Gurgaon to Rohini...

Last Saturday, after a very long time, I travelled to Gurgaon. As I had booked a cab so the travel was quite comfortable. I had all the time and luxury to observe and to realize how much Gurgaon – in particular commuting to and from Gurgaon- has changed over the last three and half years.

Back then I was working with Aricent and was staying as a PG (Paying Guest). My Aunt’s house is in Rohini and I used to visit her and family every weekend, traveling all the way from Gurgaon to Rohini...!!

Phew..!! Now when I imagine... I wonder how I managed to do so... week after week for about 6 months... (August 2006 - December 2006) !! On a typical Saturday, at around 9 am, I would start my journey from the PG accommodation at Sector 22, Gurgaon.

1. My PG was inside an alley, so a rickshaw to the main road -Old Gurgaon Road.

2. On the Old Gurgaon Road,  a shared auto to the Kapashera border (Delhi-Gurgaon Border).

 3. A DTC bus (Route number- 729) from Kapashera border to Dhaula Kuan.

4. Another DTC bus from Dhaula Kuan to Wazirpur Bus Depot.

5. From the bus depot, walking for a while to the nearest metro station - Netaji Subhash Place Metro Station and boarding a metro.

6. Finally getting down at the Rohini West Metro Station, the last leg of journey on a Rickshaw to the my Aunt's house.

The distance from Gurgaon to Rohini is around 35-36 kilometers ... and the travel time between 2-3 hours...!!

Although those trips were by no standards even close to comfortable... they were definitely adventurous and interesting...!! As I recollect one of those typical trips, I am smiling. It sure was lot of fun. :):)

Footprints on the sands of time...

   TELL me not, in mournful numbers,

        Life is but an empty dream ! —

    For the soul is dead that slumbers,

        And things are not what they seem.

    Life is real !   Life is earnest!

        And the grave is not its goal ;

    Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

        Was not spoken of the soul.

    Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

        Is our destined end or way ;

    But to act, that each to-morrow

        Find us farther than to-day.

    Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

        And our hearts, though stout and brave,

    Still, like muffled drums, are beating

        Funeral marches to the grave.

    In the world's broad field of battle,

        In the bivouac of Life,

    Be not like dumb, driven cattle !

        Be a hero in the strife !

    Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !

        Let the dead Past bury its dead !

    Act,— act in the living Present !

        Heart within, and God o'erhead !

    Lives of great men all remind us

        We can make our lives sublime,

    And, departing, leave behind us

        Footprints on the sands of time ;

    Footprints, that perhaps another,

        Sailing o'er life's solemn main,

    A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

        Seeing, shall take heart again.

    Let us, then, be up and doing,

        With a heart for any fate ;

    Still achieving, still pursuing,

        Learn to labor and to wait.

 (A PSALM OF LIFE by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow )

I recited this poem for one of the English Recitation Competition at my school. Even though I could not fully comprehend and appreciate this poem then, I loved it... I loved its lyrics... for beautiful rhyming and for picturesque wordings. And now when I read this poem... I am absolutely bowled over by the content...  it inspires... and enlightens...!! Absolutely simple... yet absolutely mind-blowing..!! This poem, just the few lines, captures the gist of whole life...!! It is so fresh... so modern....!! So realistic in the present context that at times I am surprised that it was penned down as early as October 1838.

That this poem is contemporary to our times....tells that... though world has changed...  and that we have changed... and also our outlooks... priorities... beliefs... and everything... but still the true meaning of life has not changed... over these years... rather the centuries...!!

I believe that the real meaning of the life can never change...it is passed on from one generation to next...  knowingly or unknowingly...!! Our generation is following the footprints left behind by the past generations... and the coming generations will follow ours...!!

Those old mails...

We belong to the IT age... where the handwritten letters are soon going to be an extinct art...!! And I firmly believe that nothing can ever replace... the smell that comes from an old, folded letter... the warmth of words... the earnestness of feelings... and the effort of the person who wrote the letter....!!

I loved it very much... more than any precious gifts... whenever he (now my husband of 3.5 years :)) gave me handwritten notes or letters...!! And I have preserved nearly all of his handwritten notes to me :) ... and each of these notes is very close to my heart...!!

That he has written these notes... in his own handwriting... makes them ... all the more special and romantic :) :) Alas!!!... This not-so-new email culture has nearly killed the art of writing letters by hand... the real letters... but still sometimes ... on demand ... he writes to me... in his own handwriting ... :) :) and I love those letters so much!!

Nonetheless be it handwritten letters or emails.... I believe... all old mails are real treasures...!! Every mail has a history and a memory associated with it...!! Each of these mails has a story to remind.... a story that can make us smile... laugh... blush... and sometimes... even cry... but in any case... it stirs emotions...!!

After a very long time... today I got a chance to skim through some of my old emails... and I could not stop myself from being transported to past... and the memories overwhelmed me... !! I felt so happy... and at the same time... so content... and so blessed.... for having such wonderful memories... Touch wood!!!

Goodbye mails... the last few words...

I keep hearing... IT market is doing good... and that economy is picking up again... and soon it would be booming...!! :) :) Thank God!! This is definitely a breather... and a much awaited break from the bleak and gloomy global ‘recession’.... that we faced over last one year and a half...!! (October 2008 to the first quarter of 2010)!!

Even the stock exchange and the market indicators confirm the recovery and promise growth of the economy...!! But there is another... more prominent... and more visible indicator of the health of IT sector...  and it is the "ATTRITION"!! ... :):)

As things are now looking up... and future appears bright... so the job market is upbeat ...and we say that this is the best time to switch jobs...!! :):) The fact is... the industry is in a state of flux... with lot of people moving out... and lot of new people moving in...!!

Initially, I thought... that this is the story of my organization only... but then realized ... this is the same everywhere... across locations... and across companies...!! All of a sudden ... people are looking out for job change... primarily for money...  possibly for designation... or location... may be for quality of work... even for the work-life balance...!! There can be varied reasons... but one thing that is common and consistent... is the ‘Goodbye’ mail. :) !!!

Nearly everyone who leaves... sends in one last email from the (soon-to-be discontinued) official email id... to say the last few words...!! Some mails are short and sweet, some are longer. Some mails are professional and to the point, some are emotional and tear-inducing. But in any case, these mails are pretty interesting. :)..

Even without us realizing it or giving it any serious thought.... sending ‘Goodbye’ mail has become a tradition... though untold and unacknowledged...!!

In the recent past.... I have received quite a few goodbye mails... and each of these mails is distinct ... in its style... its content... its way of expression....!! These mails speak a lot about the person.... his or her emotional quotient...  attachment with the organization... the quality of the time spent...  and also of the memories created...!!

PS- I am not biased for any specific industry or sector... just that I am limited by my own exposure... I have only worked with the IT industry...!!

Jo ... Don't go... :)

That day... our first job location was announced... and then she left Chennai....!! That was the last time... when we were together... Me and Jo...!!

It was in the last week of September... 2004...!! We had completed our two months freshers' training (at Cognizant, Chennai) ...  and we were ready to embark upon our professional journey... and so we were eagerly waiting for our first posting...!! It was after lunch... that our training coordinator came to the classroom... with a sheet that had the location listed for each of us... in the batch CS001.

All the freshers' were grouped under various batches based on different technologies... and ours was batch-1 for 'Client Server' technology :)

He first announced the names of the people who were to join at the Kolkata center...  and our names were not there.... and it was just fine...!! And then the names for Pune location followed...  and after a few... he announced Jo’s name...!! I was standing just next to her... and she was happy... (Why not... after all in IT....Pune is one of the coolest locations to be at...!) ... And I crossed my fingers... hoping to hear my name next... but it was not to be....!!  Coordinator finished the names for Pune....  and my name was not announced yet... !! Then he looked up from the sheet...!!

I was getting tense... a bit restless and just then he told... that the people whose names were not called as  yet.... would be based out of Chennai..!! And my heart missed a beat...!! I was shocked...  and... I was sad...  inconsolable....!!  It took a while, at least 5 minutes or so, for me to accept that ... one of my fears had come true.... and that Jo was to MOVE to Pune and I was to STAY BACK in Chennai...!! My eye filled with tears... and then tears started rolling down my face...... I could not hold any longer...!! I broke down and I cried... and I did cry a lot...!! :)

It was not that I had any issues whatsoever with Chennai... or that I wanted Pune or any another specific location...!! I was not even bothered with the hot (or very hot weather) of Chennai...!!Sure... I was not thinking about the language problem that I would soon realize (to be continued in one of the next episodes of the Chennai Series :))!! 

That day... at that place.... the only thing that mattered to me was... that Jo was leaving...!!... I was least bothered that everyone else was making fun of me... and that they were singing in unison and teasing me.... "Jo.... Don’t go..."!!

It’s now almost 6 years that we have not met in person... though we mail at times... and talk over phone sometimes...!! But not distance or time could change the place that she holds in my life...!! She has been a great friend... and a mentor...!! I could confide anything in her... because I know she would understand and that she would not judge...!!

We are two completely different people... from hugely different backgrounds...  upbringings ... faiths... and even mother tongue :)...!! But these differences could only strengthen the bond I share with her...!!

I am blessed to have her in my life...!!

And miles to go before I sleep...

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

                                  - Robert Frost

I don't remember when I read these lines ... for the first time... but for long... these have been my favorites. Just four lines... and they define life perfectly... :) So beautiful... and so simple yet so meaningful... and so complete!!

Life is a journey... and each of us is a lonely traveler... and we have to continually walk ahead... and when we stop...we seize to exist anymore...!!

Yes... It's a journey... of gradually growing up...of continuously evolving.... and of attaining the wisdom...!! It's unique because... there are no destinations...to this!! It's a journey... through and through :) ... And the beauty is... that everyone is journeying... inherently, even without realizing it… and that we do not have any choices or options... it’s compulsory... and the very essence of our being!!

In life... everyone is for himself or herself... we are always alone...!! We live with people... we live among people... but still each of us has a different and a unique path to tread...!! No two people can ever be together in the same space... time and context...!! It’s weird... right?? I know...!! But I have thought over it... again and again... and this belief has only grown stronger...!! Even when we are together.... like... celebrating a festival... or watching a movie... or simply talking.... each of us still has a distinct identity... either in space or time or context....!!

It’s a continuous travel... and there are no stops... :) ....Every second of every minute of every hour of every day... and even when we are apparently not doing anything... we are still walking.... it’s a travel through time... and we are always traveling ahead... there are no looking back :)

The day... we reach our destination... our journey comes to an end and so does the life... because this journey is nothing but the LIFE itself!!