Note: The thoughts in this article are from November 2008. Posting it now, updates will follow.
If you are thinking this is another lecture on the current scenario of market going haywire, then you are about 10% correct. With the numerous biggies going bankrupt, the “safe” ones are trying out ways and means to save their asses. There is acute lack of funding, with employees being retrenched at the drop of a hat! The joke is around that says there is a shortfall of pink-slips in the market.
Panic has been over-bearing on the people’s minds. Many companies that were taken over had given the option to the employees to join the acquirer’s firm, which most gladly consented to. But tough luck for the people who were simply asked to leave. They were seen walking out of the office premises with their stuff in boxes. It was a sad trudge towards home with an indefinite tension of getting employed again.
Then again, companies also took this opportune moment to declare no raise for their employees. With top tier management giving up their yearly allowances to save the firm’s financial status, it only seems reasonable and even “justified” that the people give up their raise and just be glad with the fact that they have a job at hand.
Now coming to the point I started writing this article about, there are ongoing team changes that are happening because of sudden hacking of funding from the clients. It does seem very easy for people without jobs. They can always stand up and say, “Monsieur, be glad you still have the option of a monthly bulk of money being transferred to your account.” I agree and empathize with them. This article is not to demean their condition. It is about the self-doubt and dread a person goes through while he/she is being shifted to another team.
One – the doubt (and sometimes the fact) that you weren’t productive and important enough for the team to be selected to move out. It’s like implicitly shattering your morale. Two – before you are absorbed in another team, there is always the bell that rings in your head and says that if there is no requirement, they might as well ask you to leave! Moreover, the receiving end of the employee, as in the team that is going to recruit you, will know for sure that the manager is not going to push his/her best employees to them, so they also will be over-cautious of selecting new members.
By now you must have guessed that it is me who has to shift teams within three months’ of joining a company just because the client has no money to fund the entire team.
As for the flip (read better) side, office life is quite lazy due to this redeployment. With the team to change, there is around 10 hours of productive weekly work currently (the operative word here being ‘productive’)! Can you beat that? My project manager calls it honeymoon period and coaxes me to take full advantage of it.
Frankly, my second job has been a lucky break. I landed with a good hike and great work profile just before the economy touched its nadir. The current situation is that I was on the verge of settling down, getting comfy with my colleagues and starting to interact with people around, when this thing popped up! I’ll have to start all over again, of acquainting myself to the new work and people.
I have a problem, not a drinking one though. Throughout my 25 years of life, I have been very conscious about what others think about me. And by some weird calculations, I figure out if a person is better or worse than me. You know what I mean? Let me try and explain it. I get a fantastic instinct in my gut that ‘voila babes’! This nerd (in both male and female version) is better than me in some respect and ‘kapoot’ – there goes my confidence up the fire-shoot. I stammer a bit, smile a bit and pull through the conversation as smoothly as possible. Trust me; I do it pretty well too.
Of all surprises, guess what people actually think about me with about 3-4 months’ acquaintance! If I tell them I am a worry-head, they shrug it off and say – “You don’t look like one”. Now that comes as a pleasant comment for me, for someone who has heard throughout in life - “Your tension gets us nervous” (my school friends will testify happily).
Anyways, the point I am trying to make here is that the redeployment thing didn’t really help my confidence here but I have been consoling myself saying that it is easy to transfer a new recruit to another process.
To get back to what I started with saying, you can call me plain lucky. As the age-old adage goes – All’s well that ends well. I will be commencing work soon with a similar profile but seemingly better learning. Tons of work and responsibilities is imminent, so I am happy! You can say that all the apprehension bore fruit.
To sum it up, would like to say that my heart reaches out to people who are actually going through terrible nightmares due to job hacking. On my part, it is just another day, with a bit of learning, a bagful of dreams, and a couple of hours of free time in office which allowed me to finish this article.
A day’s respite – Innovative Film City
“Visit Me”! No, it is not the name of the place I am going to tell you about, but that’s what it conveys when you see the extravagant entry to this humongous fun park outside Bangalore.
Innovative Film City is 40 odd km away from Banerghatta Road. You just need to find your way on to Mysore highway and from there on 25 odd km towards Mysore. Mind you, do not miss the fork which leads you to the park, or else you will end up almost in Mysore. Just keep a look-out for Wonder-la, Film City’s fork is around 7 km after that on the left and another 2 km once you are on the forked out road.
The highway is a driver’s paradise, sit back and step on the accelerator, but do drive safe. If you take the toll-road from Banerghatta to reach Mysore road, it is even better. It will also be fun to ride your bike to the park, simply because of the windy and lesser polluted roads.
The entry gate has some sculptures of European architecture, and with the pictures of the amusements painted on it, it gives a very presentable welcome to the visitors. The fun part is you can spend one whole day here!
Innovative was inaugurated in 2007, in the lines of Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. I haven’t visited the latter but was quite content with the Bangalore version of it. But whenever you go, you need to have a fun-loving and adventurous buddy group to accompany you. Or else there is nothing exciting to just look around, unless of course if you would like to window-shop several kilometers away from the city!
The place itself is ensconced in the middle of hills and is a lovely getaway from city humdrums. Some of the must-see stuffs here are – Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Mirror Maze, and 4-D cinema in Fun City. The rest of the attractions depend on your time and budget. There is Tussaud’s museum, Roller Skating, Dinosaur Park, Cartoon City, Aqua World, the gaming consoles at Fun City, horse riding, Karaoke, Kid’s World, and etcetera. As per recent news, Charlie Chaplin’s 67 feet sculpture is also going to be set up in this park. The entry fees is 50 bucks and each ride ranges from 50-100 bucks. If you want a package for all the attractions combined, it will be 699 bucks.
One more thing that really excited me was the Stallion restaurant in Wild Wild West. The place is set in a huge compound and they have very nicely replicated the cowboy environment, complete with sand and hovels set in their style. The Mexican food here is not exorbitantly costly, so you can sit back and have a nice time inside the restaurant or take your food while sitting outside underneath the king-size cowboy hats! There are other choices of eateries in Innovative Film City, catering to different palates.
The place is still under construction. There are quite a few buildings and rides which are coming up. But these don’t hinder you from having fun. The place is pretty organized and clean. If you plan a trip on a sunny day, be sure to keep a hat on or lots of sunscreen (message for the girls, of course!).
So what are you waiting for? Enjoy a lovely outing!
Speed Mania
Scrrrreeecchhhh........dharrrr... karannnnngggg... jhaannnnn... and hence follows a gush of swears and curses, some of which you may not know of also but will pick up at the next incident...
I am sure you know by now what I am talking about...
Traffic these days is malicious, and traffic signals are like R.K. Narayan's story, "Martyr's Corner". A smart swivel of the biker, a practiced swerve of the car driver, the bullies of truck drivers who claim the road to be theirs, the Volvo buses who take for granted that they have the right of way, not to mention the drivers of state buses and the auto rickshaws who were never taught traffic rules (or rather they prefer the bliss in ignorance).
Minor road accidents have become a part and parcel of our daily lives. Everyone wants to think, "I’m the best" and the rest just goof up!! Maybe they bring along frustrations from home and office too, which they gladly inflict on the passer-by, who might have just managed to scrape past him.
What with the kind of soot and black smoke that some of the vehicles emit, it’s a wonder that they may possess a PUC!!
Then there are the vulnerable pedestrians who really don't care to wait for the green signal for them to walk. The constant movement of the vehicles has made them loose their road sense too. They are buffaloes impersonated!! A lazy gait, a cell phone attached to one ear, they cross the road, completely oblivious to the angry honks. The walk kind of says, "Wait dude, I need to cross first!"
Accidents have become inevitable and common-place, what with the high volume of vehicles just managing to fit in the roads. Solution, I see none. A bit more patience and empathy towards others sounds plausible but life's become too fast to retain our humaneness.
And the saga of speed mania continues....
I am sure you know by now what I am talking about...
Traffic these days is malicious, and traffic signals are like R.K. Narayan's story, "Martyr's Corner". A smart swivel of the biker, a practiced swerve of the car driver, the bullies of truck drivers who claim the road to be theirs, the Volvo buses who take for granted that they have the right of way, not to mention the drivers of state buses and the auto rickshaws who were never taught traffic rules (or rather they prefer the bliss in ignorance).
Minor road accidents have become a part and parcel of our daily lives. Everyone wants to think, "I’m the best" and the rest just goof up!! Maybe they bring along frustrations from home and office too, which they gladly inflict on the passer-by, who might have just managed to scrape past him.
What with the kind of soot and black smoke that some of the vehicles emit, it’s a wonder that they may possess a PUC!!
Then there are the vulnerable pedestrians who really don't care to wait for the green signal for them to walk. The constant movement of the vehicles has made them loose their road sense too. They are buffaloes impersonated!! A lazy gait, a cell phone attached to one ear, they cross the road, completely oblivious to the angry honks. The walk kind of says, "Wait dude, I need to cross first!"
Accidents have become inevitable and common-place, what with the high volume of vehicles just managing to fit in the roads. Solution, I see none. A bit more patience and empathy towards others sounds plausible but life's become too fast to retain our humaneness.
And the saga of speed mania continues....
Kolkata Knot Kalling
To start off, I do agree with you that the subject-line is pretty clichéd, but I wanted to try my hand at some stupid alliteration. So the refined version will be – Kolkata Not Calling.
I have never been a fan of Dominique Lapierre; simply because he couldn’t keep my interest going for his “It Was Five Past Midnight In Bhopal”. I had read around 50 odd pages before I gave it up 2 years back, and it’s still lying deserted under some stack of my books. Of what I remember, it was full of misery of the poor, and so disconnected with each chapter that it finally became a bore.
The point here is not why I didn’t like reading Lapierre then, the point is the same elucidation of misery and disconnection which is holding on to my fascination for “City of Joy”. I was quite apprehensive when I picked up the book to read because Kolkata has been a big debate in life. It is even wondrous because I have never stayed in the city per say – it has always been a brief visit to my numerous relatives or a trip as a tourist to relish the old architecture of the evergreen city.
Kolkata – now to explain why I have always been confused about the place. Some things about the city have been either repelling or fascinating for me. The roads, the countless yellow and black cabs, the feeling of moving on to modern architecture within half a kilometer of a slum, the metro, the sweating heat, the eve-teasing, the dozing passengers in trains and buses, Eden Gardens, Victoria Memorial, the human carts (rickshaws), the expanse of cosmopolitan culture and their acceptability with each other, phew, I can go on and on!
I still feel that the inhabitants of this old capital have a different genre of blood running in their veins. Especially the been-there-for-many-generations crowd here loves the city so much that their mother’s name might as well have been “Kolkata”! They hate the idea of leaving their ancestral home and try their fortune in some new city. Anjan Dutta has created this love very beautifully in his all-time favourite album “Priyo Bondhu”.
As for me, I have always been a bit skeptical of this love and glad that my parents didn’t decide to bring me up here. Mainly because I feel that Kolkata people lack the spirit of adventure. They are so damn happy with the laidback life and too much of family bonding that they are scared to live alone outside their small world. Hold on, I am not generalizing. I have actually seen it happen with one of my own uncles and the situation might well be evolving with our generation. With the comparatively lower cost of living here, youngsters are venturing to the more posh cities in search for higher salary.
Earlier, I guess there was a tinge of jealousy because I could never understand how a whole clan can be so bloody proud of the place they live in. But over the years, moving from Bangalore to Pune and back again, I realized that it is natural to have that feeling of belonging, to reach out to roots – and which I very well lack. I am usually content with either visiting my parents once in a while or them coming to Bangalore to see how their daughter is faring in her career. My Mom has asked me several times to find a job there so that I can be near home, but I have never been able to even dream close enough of living in the city. I am glad to think of the city as a fantasy, instead of being a part of the awe I have for the metro.
Well, this is not about me now. There are still 200 odd pages left to read in “City of Joy” but whatever I have gleaned till now has left quite an impact. The rich have their own comfortable shack but when it comes to the under-privileged, the hope which sees them through the excessive heat, the floods during monsoon, the illnesses, and their acceptability for the other. It is like a constant fight for mere existence, a race, a love, and a hatred which I just don’t understand. If you have forgotten, I did say I am in awe of the city!
As a second thought, I guess I couldn’t read “It Was Five Past Midnight In Bhopal” because I couldn’t relate to the tragedy that hit the city due to the emission of poisonous gas. I might dig out the book and give it a try after I am done with “City of Joy”.
I won’t say that all my feelings for Kolkata are encompassed in these few words but the city sure will remain one of the biggest debates in my life. It has not called me yet but who knows, down the lane responsibilities might call me to settle down here, and trust me, the simple thought of it is a mixture of feelings, 90% of which is dread!
I have never been a fan of Dominique Lapierre; simply because he couldn’t keep my interest going for his “It Was Five Past Midnight In Bhopal”. I had read around 50 odd pages before I gave it up 2 years back, and it’s still lying deserted under some stack of my books. Of what I remember, it was full of misery of the poor, and so disconnected with each chapter that it finally became a bore.
The point here is not why I didn’t like reading Lapierre then, the point is the same elucidation of misery and disconnection which is holding on to my fascination for “City of Joy”. I was quite apprehensive when I picked up the book to read because Kolkata has been a big debate in life. It is even wondrous because I have never stayed in the city per say – it has always been a brief visit to my numerous relatives or a trip as a tourist to relish the old architecture of the evergreen city.
Kolkata – now to explain why I have always been confused about the place. Some things about the city have been either repelling or fascinating for me. The roads, the countless yellow and black cabs, the feeling of moving on to modern architecture within half a kilometer of a slum, the metro, the sweating heat, the eve-teasing, the dozing passengers in trains and buses, Eden Gardens, Victoria Memorial, the human carts (rickshaws), the expanse of cosmopolitan culture and their acceptability with each other, phew, I can go on and on!
I still feel that the inhabitants of this old capital have a different genre of blood running in their veins. Especially the been-there-for-many-generations crowd here loves the city so much that their mother’s name might as well have been “Kolkata”! They hate the idea of leaving their ancestral home and try their fortune in some new city. Anjan Dutta has created this love very beautifully in his all-time favourite album “Priyo Bondhu”.
As for me, I have always been a bit skeptical of this love and glad that my parents didn’t decide to bring me up here. Mainly because I feel that Kolkata people lack the spirit of adventure. They are so damn happy with the laidback life and too much of family bonding that they are scared to live alone outside their small world. Hold on, I am not generalizing. I have actually seen it happen with one of my own uncles and the situation might well be evolving with our generation. With the comparatively lower cost of living here, youngsters are venturing to the more posh cities in search for higher salary.
Earlier, I guess there was a tinge of jealousy because I could never understand how a whole clan can be so bloody proud of the place they live in. But over the years, moving from Bangalore to Pune and back again, I realized that it is natural to have that feeling of belonging, to reach out to roots – and which I very well lack. I am usually content with either visiting my parents once in a while or them coming to Bangalore to see how their daughter is faring in her career. My Mom has asked me several times to find a job there so that I can be near home, but I have never been able to even dream close enough of living in the city. I am glad to think of the city as a fantasy, instead of being a part of the awe I have for the metro.
Well, this is not about me now. There are still 200 odd pages left to read in “City of Joy” but whatever I have gleaned till now has left quite an impact. The rich have their own comfortable shack but when it comes to the under-privileged, the hope which sees them through the excessive heat, the floods during monsoon, the illnesses, and their acceptability for the other. It is like a constant fight for mere existence, a race, a love, and a hatred which I just don’t understand. If you have forgotten, I did say I am in awe of the city!
As a second thought, I guess I couldn’t read “It Was Five Past Midnight In Bhopal” because I couldn’t relate to the tragedy that hit the city due to the emission of poisonous gas. I might dig out the book and give it a try after I am done with “City of Joy”.
I won’t say that all my feelings for Kolkata are encompassed in these few words but the city sure will remain one of the biggest debates in my life. It has not called me yet but who knows, down the lane responsibilities might call me to settle down here, and trust me, the simple thought of it is a mixture of feelings, 90% of which is dread!
Where architecture and nature go hand-in-hand!
Note: This article is strictly for people who love to pick up their bags and rush out for any extended weekend trip!
Just kidding guys! This is going to be my very first post and I’ll feed you with my latest escapade (to ensure that it is a fresh-out-of-my-mind article).
By now, I believe most of you have noticed that 2009 presents its public holidays mostly on a Friday or a Monday. And the first thought that came to my mind was the numerous weekends that I have to explore around Bangalore.
My first opportunity came in the very first month of the year, when we had the 26th Jan’s leave on a Monday. All I had to do was talk three more of my friends into the trip, book a car and zoom away! Well, of course we decided on the place first.
The trip was to consist of Belur, Halebidu and Chikmagalur – all in just three days. There were lots of speculations as to which is the best time to leave, i.e., drive during the night or leave early on Saturday morning. Finally, we took the driver’s suggestion and started off at 6.30am on Saturday, since he said we can catch up on Belur-Halebidu on our way to Chikmagalur, instead of doing the other way round.
The pleasant January cold and the mild sun did wonders to our journey. Sleepy-heads though I am, I surprisingly stayed awake the entire way to Belur. Whenever you plan to go, try not to miss the yummy idlis (each of which was the size of a big plate!) and the coconut water from the road-side vendors (mere 10 bucks and the water so sweet and in so much quantity, it’ll make you realize the difference of healthy country-side food and the polluted junk we get in the cities). One note of caution: try to take a 4-wheel drive instead of a small family car. The roads are BAD, sometimes beyond comprehension. Especially once you reach Chikmagalur, the uphill pot-holes will sure be too much for your Santro or Zen.
We reached Halebidu around 12.30pm. By that time we were actually cursing the heat. The sun scorched its fullest and a bare-footed tour of the temple didn’t help much either. Still we rolled up our sleeves and started looking around. I have heard from others who have already visited the place that is it similar architecture like that of Hampi. Maybe it was, but for us it was a marvel. The carvings were so intricate that it leaves you amazed that the masons didn’t chip off their fingers along with the stone. One more thing to keep an eye for is the angular structure of the temple. As you cover the circumference, I assure you complete awe of the symphony of the various stories that were carved on the walls, along with the temple construction itself. Then there is the serene lake beyond the green grass around the temple. You can sit under the shades of a tree and spend an entire day in its quiet and beauty.
We reluctantly left Halebidu and headed towards Belur. The second destination was somewhat a bit of disappointment as compared to the first. After the extravagant engravings of Halebidu, Belur looked somewhat bland. The temple supposedly still under construction, so many parts were of cement, which took away the charm. A brief and already tired look around Belur and we moved off for Chikmagalur.
One mistake of a hurried trip is lack of planning. We took for granted that hotels will be available, since it is not the peak season. We were definitely wrong, since it was not only us who decided on stealing away the weekend in the lap of nature. The search for a room lasted over an hour before we could settle down on a nice soft bed. I don’t need to say how tired we were. A thorough wash and a quick dinner that helped us sleep a dead man’s night.
Next morning, we left around 9.30am and headed for the Baba Budan Giri range and Baba Budan’s darga (Datta Peeta – Manikya Dhara falls) at the top of one of the hills. It was supposedly a falls but a big disappointment for us. I’ll suggest you skip it and head for Hebbe falls directly. Another caution: you won’t be able to visit the falls in monsoon because of its sheer bad roads. You CAN’T take your car to the falls directly. There is a point where you have to let go of your vehicle and book jeeps (per person 100 bucks and they will require eight people, or you can book one jeep for whole 800 bucks). The road leading to the falls wasn’t a road actually. Amongst boulders and dirt tracks, we bumped and jostled in the truck, sometimes we were on the slope of the hill-side, since there were no roads at all! It took all of 40 minutes to reach the village, and another 20 minutes’ walk through streams, hillocks and thin pathways.
The sight that awaited us, Police couldn’t have sung – ‘Take my breath away’ – with more emotion! Some 170 odd meters high waterfall, it was like God is pouring tons of milk. The water splashed and gurgled with all its beauty. Numerous photo clicks later we left the place, with the promise of visiting it again and another falls that we missed – the comparably beautiful Kalahatti Falls.
A shocked realization woke us up the third and final day – it was our day to head back. We packed up and left the hotel around 9.30am. We were going to the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary first, covering an area of about 500 sq. km. Another lovely getaway, you can book cottages here for just 500 bucks a night. Safari happens at 9am and 6pm, so obviously we missed it. We couldn’t wait till evening to head back for Bangalore, but a small stream hidden amongst the pine trees consoled us. We couldn’t have asked for a better time there. The added surprise was the wonderful lunch we could glean from the residents of the area.
We started off around 2pm, thinking we will reach Bangalore by 8pm. Our driver had something else stored for us. On the way, around 5pm, he asked whether we would like to see Gomteshwar. Not knowing what it is, we played along. What we experienced was a climb of numerous stairs, climaxing in an 18 meter tall granite monolith of Buddha and an expansive view from the hill-top! It was only after we climbed down counting, we realized that there were 1,200 stairs up and down. Sounds mind-numbing, but yes, we actually made it to the top and down again. Being a holy place, it was even more surprising to see old people climbing with the same enthusiasm that we had.
After a break for dinner, by the time we reached home it was around 11.30pm. It was a long day for us, but we knew it’s going to be even longer day at office the next day.
Distance:
1. Bangalore to Chikmagalur – 240 km
a. Bangalore to Halebidu – 220km
b. Halebidu to Belur – 7km
c. Belur to Chikmagalur – 14 km
2. Chikmagalur to Hebbe Falls – 40 km
3. Chikmagalur to Bhadra – 25km
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