Tuesday, November 27, 2012


Growing UP


 
Hello everyone,

Remember me? The 'once in a while' blogger. An outsider down south....rings a bell??? Yeah right....I am back after a break to put into words about a brief period of my life which I lived in the recent past.
 

            Life was great (at least I thought so by painting it colourful). I had just finished my graduation from a premier engineering college (I claim it to be a premier one). I studied Mechanical Engineering and the class had 43 guys (‘khulle saand’) and a solitary gal (‘Mech Rani’). By the time I completed the 4 years of grind, I did manage to land a couple of decent jobs. My parents were over the moon for their li’l kid has grown up. I do not subscribe to that grown up part though (never will, for I believe – “There’s a li’l kid in all of us. The day that kid grows up, you lose the charm of life”). I started to prepare myself to leave the comforts of home and to face the hostile world outside. Movies, video-games, hanging out with pals and of course, most important of them all – ZzZZzzzz!! – They all formed my short preparation for the long battle up ahead (which I am still fighting and winning, or shall I say surviving).

 


                          *          *           *           *                       

             On a chilly October morning, I landed in Bangalore (Not by flight, but by keeping awake while travelling on the last row of a rusty and rickety bus- back bencher habit dies hard). Upon taking the next bus to my destination in the city, the conductor asked for a cool Rs.120 for 2 tickets – I reconfirmed the amount – not once but twice (probably thrice!) before handing it over to him. I could not quite comprehend, how a city bus can charge so high for a journey that would not allow me to enjoy the A/C for no more than 45 minutes (I had never travelled in a Volvo bus within the city before this incident). That was my first “real life shock” in the new city. I was going to live in one of the most happening cities of the world – BANGALORE. The IT capital of India (and probably the world – at least I thought so, for I had not seen the world). So much so, that this city would give sleepless nights to the likes of the American law makers about the outsourcing issue. WoooHooooo!!!

 
           Once into the job, it felt like I was on top of the world. I was supposed to design aircrafts. Yeah. You heard me right – DESIGN AIRCRAFTS. Though my knowledge was limited to the vague description of the stress - strain relationship of a mild steel bar under tension ( my engineer friends would know that this is the most basic thing that you are taught in college and a definite question in any job interview), I felt quietly confident. My daily routine changed from “Food-Movies-Games-Food-Movies-Games-Sleep” (before work started) to “Games-Food-Gossip-Games-Gossip-Food-Sleep”. In between though, I underwent a few trainings which were aimed at making me ‘fit’ for the job that I was supposed to perform. If only I could keep my eyes open while attending them.

 
 

            Though I must confess that the weekdays were fairly routine affair, it was the weekends that kept me going. Not only was I allowed to sleep and drool till the sun was directly above me, the after dark hours were irresistible. It seemed like I was attending the 9th semester of college with friends who were around me. All these things made me feel, “WOW, Life’s Good”. Other then weekends, everyone loved Fridays. You HAD to attend office on Fridays for its on Fridays that you get to see ‘colours’ in an otherwise ‘black and white’ world. It was one such Friday, we were told that the upcoming weekend would be a working one and that our slog through the week was deemed insufficient and that the slog had to be continued on Saturday as well. Though I was not averse to working on an odd weekend, what worried me was the huge dump of dirty linen that was overflowing out of my laundry bag and painting a very dirty picture of my otherwise well (un)kept room. Wearing the undies inside out was a good gag only in campus day gossips. That definitely could not be done in reality (or could they??) Well I know of men who have been there done that but I won’t reveal them (unless your offer is really unputdownable). Washing clothes was a thing that we all dreaded and it had to be done on every lazy Saturday afternoons...with a working weekend, WHAT NOW??

         
      I was getting used to life away from the comforts of home. Probably I was growing up....Was I?? Should I??
 

Nayyyyyyy!!!!!!

Love,
Chatz.

2 comments:

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  2. :P
    Took me back to those good old days...brought a 70 mm smile on my face...right from day 1 in B'lore to this date, that we have been tolerating, mentoring and what not...and still going even stronger...kudos to 'us' (or should I say 'me' :P )
    haha...we rock bro! :)

    And never grow up..for you are the best as you are...a kid! :-)

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