बरगद का पेड़

जैसे जैसे दिन ढला और आसमान ने रात की चादर ओढ़ी, रमन और व्याकुल हो उठा। उस रात का हर क्षण उसे यही चिंता दिला रहा था कि ‘क्या पता, मेरे अलावा किसी और को इस बात से कोई फ़र्क न पड़े!’ या ‘शायद मेरे साथ कोई और न जुड़े!’ इसी चिंता में गुम उसने पूरी रात बिता दी।

सुबह उठकर वह अपने घर के पास एक जंगल में स्थित एक बरगद के पेड़ की ओर चला ही था कि दूर से छुटकी, उसकी पोती, दौड़ के आई और बोली “जल्दी चलिये दादाजी! वहाँ बहुत भीड़ जमा हो गयी है!” रमन के दिल की धड़कन तेज़ हो चली। क्या वाकई में लोग उसकी बात सुनने आए हैं?

जब वो स्थल पर पहुंचा तो चौंक उठा। ‘वृक्ष बचाओ’, ‘चलो धरती की रक्षा करें’, आदि नारों से सुसज्जित चिन्ह लेकर हर तरफ लोग खड़े थे। एक वृद्ध व्यक्ति उसके पास आकर हल्के से बोला, “हम यहाँ सिर्फ आपके लिए नहीं, अपने खुद के लिए आए हैं!”

रमन का मन उल्लास से भर गया। उसने अपना निश्चय और भी दृढ़ कर लिया। प्रकृति की रक्षा तो मानो उसके जीवन का एकमात्र उद्देश्य बन गया। सालों की मेहनत रंग लायी, यह सोचकर वह डटकर लोगों के समक्ष खड़ा हुआ और उसके द्वारा शुरू की गयी पहल में जुडने के लिए उनका आभार व्यक्त किया।

रमन एक पिछड़े गाँव का निवासी था। बिजली, गैस तो क्या, पानी तक लाने के लिए रोज़ मिलों चलना पड़ता था और कतार में खड़ा रहना पड़ता था।रमन का परिवार शहद बेचकर अपना गुजारा करता था।जब भी वह कोई छत्ते से शहद निकालता, वह आधा छत्ता वहीं छोड़ देता, ताकि उस छत्ते की मूल निवासी मधुमक्खियाँ मायूस ना हो और उनके पास वापस आने के लिए कोई जगह बनी रहे।

यह छत्ता रमन के गाँव के पास एक बरगद के पेड़ पर स्थित था। इस जंगल में कई तरह के पशु पक्षी एवं जानवर निवास करते थे। इस जंगल से कई लोगों की ज़िंदगी जुड़ी थी, जो वहीं रहते थे और कई पीढ़ियों से अपना जीवन प्रकृति के साथ खुशी से रहकर बिताते थे।

एक दिन उस जंगल के पास एक फ़ैक्टरी खुली। रोजगार एवं अच्छी ज़िंदगी का लालच देकर उधर के निवासियों की ज़मीन ले ली गयी। कुछ महीनों में ही वो जंगल हल्के हल्के खत्म हो गया। पशु पक्षी एवं जानवर या तो खत्म हो गये या खत्म कर दिये गए। एक दिन वह पेड़ भी काट दिया गया जिससे रमन के परिवार की रोज़ी रोटी चलती थी।

अपने सामने यह सब होता देख रमन मायूसी से भर गया। उसने ठान लिया कि वह उन मूक वृक्षों और जानवरों के लिए बोलेगा और लड़ेगा। उसने अलग अलग गाँव में जाकर लोगों से इस विषय पर बातचीत की। एक दिन उसको यूएन की एक संस्था में ‘फॉरेस्ट रिजर्व ऑफिसर’ के पद पर रखा गया।

अपनी मुहिम जारी रख रमन ने रोज़ एक बीज बोकर आस पास के अकाल पीड़ित इलाकों को फिर से हरा भरा कर दिया। पशु पक्षी एवं जानवरों को रहने का नया स्थान दिया। एक बरगद के पेड़ के बीज से की गयी रमन की ये पहल जल्द ही क्रांति सी बनने लगी। कुछ ही वर्षों में कई लोग उसे मसीहा मानने लगे। देश विदेश से उसे बुलावे आने लगे। उससे प्रेरणा लेकर देश भर में हजारों लोग उसके पदचिन्हों पर चलने लगे। उसे कई पुरस्कारों से सम्मानित किया गया।

एक दिन जब उसने अपनी मेहनत से बनाए जंगल के पास एक फ़ैक्टरी के आने की खबर सुनी तो उसका दिल दहल गया। बीती हुई सारी दर्द भरी यादों ने उसे घेर लिया। उसने यह रोकने के लिए अपनी जान लगा देने का फैसला किया।

वह दिन उसकी सालों की मेहनत की परीक्षा थी। और अपने सामने इतने लोगों को देख उसे पता चल गया की वह अपनी जीवन भर की परीक्षा में सफल हो गया है। वाकई, लोगों ने उसकी पहल में जुड़ जुड़ के उसे एक कारवां बना दिया।

हर बीज जो बोया था, वो पाना था जो खोया था।
उस बरगद के लिए, जिसकी छाँव तले मैं सोया था॥

The Art of Yoga

Instinct
The cry of an infant is one of  first display of instinct. As the child grows, it learns to do many things by itself without any guidance.

Physical activity is one of the things that came to most of us instinctively. Any open space is a playground for children, and most of us spent our childhoods running amok even in the smallest of places we could find.

Among my favorite ways to kill time as a child, was to go on an endless spree of front rolls, until I was confronted with a better distraction.

Strangely, as we grew, we outgrew our instincts. The rolls, the runs, the agility, disappeared one by one from our routine. To go out and play became a task and we settled for the life we got, as we forgot the one we had. 

Initiation:
It took me a long time to discover yoga. It had been all around me and I had seen many relatives, friends, television, people immersed in practice.

It was curious thing to see the experts practicing on TV, with calm and focused faces, as they moved slowly from one posture to the other. I largely thought it was a part of an act, a gimmick to gain viewers.

I gave it a try several times. A few twists here, some turns there. I got hang of some of the easy poses and decided to stay clear of the seemingly difficult ones. The distractions ended up getting the better of me. In the absence of proper guidance, I largely ignored yoga as a viable option for fitness.

In a casual conversation about the perils of adulthood, such as weight gain, a friend suggested I accompany him for yoga practice. Slightly apprehensive due to previous experiences, I agreed, and thus began my tryst with the age old practice.

Practice:
The clock strikes 7 and the class echoes together with the singular sound, OM. Eyes shut, spine erect, head erect, shoulders rolling back. The breathing gets deeper as the world outside disappears. The class begins shortly.

It has been 5 years of practice. Seems like a long time. It is not.

Many of my friends are curious about yoga but most drop out after a few sessions of practice. Some find no visible change in body structure, others find it too slow. Many feel there are better ways to lose weight.

In the world promising instant solutions, yoga requires investment. It requires weeks of practice to see the slightest external change. Perfecting even the simplest postures takes months and even years of practice. And even after that there is always scope for improvement.

Perfection
This brings us to the biggest contradiction in yoga - Perfection.

It is something you strive for in each pose, knowing fully well that there will always be scope for improvement. Yet you continue.

The position of the feet, the angle of the knees, the alignment of arms, and the precision of every movement makes each yoga pose unique. All this, as you constantly remind yourself to keep breathing.

It is within the hours of efforts that you put in that you find moments of exhilaration. When you manage to get into a perfect pose. When the effort disappears, when the mind becomes quiet and the senses become calm.

As your practice becomes better, the moments of exhilaration increase and the joyfulness multiplies. This is the perfection we strive for.

Fulfilment:
When I first started practicing Yoga, I used to set aims for myself. I was inspired to get into the handstand. Or dreamt of a day when my torso would descend perfectly into a forward bend.

I looked at others. In the class, on video, as they perfected different poses. I wondered how long they had taken to get where they were.

However, with time, I realized that we were all on our own paths with our own discoveries. Our journeys were different. The only aim was to be the best we could be, do the best we were capable of, and to attain joy within our own practice.

The perfection that we seek needs to come from within, as we became the best versions of ourselves.

Learning:
The practice of Yoga has many lessons. In the focus behind each pose, and the quietness around, you begin to notice the chirping of birds, the movement of breeze and the fragrances that abound. You begin to value them and realize what they add to your life.

You leave behind the pollution in the city, the negative experiences, toxicity of thoughts and embrace the joy of solitude, the beauty of silence and the wholesomeness of life.

Experts in yoga have devoted entire lifetimes, many schools propagating the practice have devoted generations to study the effect and benefits of the practice. Yet even they acknowledge that they still have a lot to explore.

It is this depth that draws the people who have rejected plush corporate jobs, foreigners who queue up to join Indian ashrams or saints who have decided to spend large portions of their lives away from materialism.

While it has originated in India, yoga can be viewed as a universal practice and suitably adapted to suit ones’ sensibilities. While it may be impossible as we live our regular lives to let go of all the issues that surround us, yoga can bless us with little moments to discover ourselves and the beauty that nature has to offer.

Flight of the Peacock

Growing up, on my visits to my village, I could often spot peacocks. Their omnipresence in the village was a stark contrast to the city where I lived, and despite there being so many of them around, I could rarely hide my awe when I saw them.

The brilliance of their feathers, their colorful appearance and hypnotic eyes had me mesmerised. As I saw them walk around with slow and controlled steps, I often wondered if they knew how beautiful they were. And then one day I saw them dance, and it put to rest any doubts that I had. The display seemed nothing short of a proud display of beauty, strutting with confidence that here was something the world needed to see.

It was routine in the mornings to wake up to the loud calls of the peacocks, and hear their sounds all through the day. These sounds were complimented with the various songs sung and artistic pieces created by villagers dedicated to them, which are integral to the local fabric.

The harsh environment of Rajasthan is one of the last places where you would expect to find these majestic birds. It is something that I still find surprising. However, I came to realise that the birds had developed a bond with the villagers and so it was truly a place they could call home.

The houses in our village had pots of water embedded in the construction of the roofs. As a part of the daily household duties, we would replenish the water stock in the pots and scatter a handful of grains for the birds to eat. The birds, obviously conditioned through this practice, would pay a visit, sometimes routine sometimes random, and feed on the supplies shared with them.

One of my fondest memories is when I took a fistful of grains in my hand to a peacock and watched it slowly eat the grains one by one, without so much as a scratch on my palm.

I have often wondered why the people in the village were so considerate. After all there was little that the birds had to offer them, especially in a time when most families were starved for resources and everything was scarce.


I contrast this today, with life in the financial capital of the county, where everything comes at a price, and only the fittest survive. In the ruthless struggles of life, surrounded with concrete jungles, there is little time to feed the birds and not much left of nature to savor.

In fact, nowadays we have grills to keep the birds out. A special feature of the grills is the design, which is such that the birds don't get a place to rest. Birds are considered little more than a menace, who can be given no such place to spread dirt and filth.

While on my daily commute to work, I spotted a man carrying a bunch of peacock feathers, stacked together tightly with a rope. I wondered how many birds would have paid with their own feathers, and maybe their lives, so that some homes could be decorated.

I looked around on my way to work, and thought why the only birds I could see around me were the crows. Maybe it is a metaphor for the lifestyle we have embraced as ordinary citizens in this unforgiving city, that of scavengers.

A few years back, in an area not far from our village in Rajasthan, people were overjoyed with a good news. A factory from a large business conglomerate was to soon open nearby, bringing with it jobs, wealth and prosperity. The work on the factory had already begun, with the area being cleared and new roads being laid out. The excitement was palpable as life was about to change for many.

The imagination of a new life for everyone around me comprised of big cars, bigger houses, shiny watches. With their old lives behind them, the imagination didn't have any space for anything of the past now, least of all peacocks.

On my recent visit to my village, I could see the factory, but the birds had all but vanished. It took me some time to spot a single bird perched atop a tree. It dawned upon me that this could perhaps be the last time I see one of its kind in my village. I watched it turn and fly away into the distance.

Machli - The Tiger Queen

I have always loved wildlife and nothing fascinates me more than a visit to a wildlife sanctuary. For in a wildlife sanctuary, you get to see nature at its best and worst. 

The tigers rule the jungles of India, but there was a tigress that ruled them all - Machli, The Tiger Queen.

As the longest living tigress, Machli dominated the majestic jungles of Ranthambore with ferociousness and class. She is mother to an entire generation of tigers and has brought glory to the whole jungle.

A subject of many documentaries, Machli got her name from fish like patterns on her face. She started ruling the jungle from a very early age.

Her moment of glory was when she was recorded hunting crocodiles, an art she taught to her little cubs as well. Till date, Ranthambore remains one of the few jungles where tigers hunt crocodiles.

As the word spread, tourists from around the world flocked to see the Tiger Queen for real. 

Time takes a toll on everyone and so it did on Machli too. Her last years were painful and she was at the mercy of the food that was served to her. A lifetime of hunting was reduced to scavenging.

As Machli left this world, all that remained was the image of her, perched atop the forts of Ranthambore, looking over her Kingdom as she let out a loud growl to stamp her authority. A fitting memory of this great tigress with a remarkable life!

The Love Triangle- About my love for the Amul Chocolate Tricone

It was a typical hectic Monday at work and as I completed yet another day of my sentence, I craved for something to make me feel better about a day. I passed through host of small shops on my return journey, most existing with nothing exciting to offer, as I thought about what could be a suitable fix for my cravings. I saw a blue freezer with the word Amul on it, and instantly knew what I wanted.

I stepped in and excitedly looked inside the freezer. My heart sank a bit when I couldn't sight it at first glance. I called the shopkeeper and asked him to help me out. It took him a bit of rummaging through the heap of ice creams before he found what I wanted - the Amul Chocolate Tricone.

It was sitting in the center of the pile, like a king among his subjects. I quickly tendered the small amount that I owed to the shopkeeper to buy it and with a deep sense of satisfaction started the ritual of savoring this magical item.

I quickly unwrapped it starting with its cap, ensuring that none of the precious ice cream is lost in the 'paperwork'. The cone looked just right, the chocolate was dark and shiny, the ice cream looked perfectly frozen, and the shape was not at all distorted. 

I took the first bite and it took me down memory lane reminiscing about all the years and the tricones I have had. I used to have the tricone much before I realised how much I liked it. In those days the butterscotch tricone was the preferred option, maybe due to the lack of knowledge about other available choices. I remember having a conversation with a friend in those days discussing how great and affordable this product was. This was the time when we had little money to spare as kids, and the tricone mostly acted as a reward for getting useful household groceries. 

On one such day, while buying the groceries, I spotted the chocolate tricone alongside the butterscotch one. I was instantly curious and wanted to try it out. I immediately bought it and as I started to eat it I realised it was not just as good as the butterscotch one, it was actually far better. 

There are a handful of times in your life when you stumble across a product and instantly know that it is different, and has the potential to be successful. I remember feeling this way about very few packaged food products, kurkure and pulse candy being the only ones I can remember. This is how I felt about the chocolate tricone.

There are a few important reasons why it is such a great product, and these are crucial for its uniqueness. The toppings are thoughtful, chocolates and nuts done right make the ideal combo. The cone itself is crisp and adequately flavored with a chocolate coating on the inside. The heart of the tricone, of course, is the ice cream. And the chocolate center of the tricone is everything that a perfect ice cream should be like. It has the right texture, sweetness and ties in perfectly with the taste of the cone and the toppings. At the bottom of the cone is a tiny layer of chocolate that acts as a reminder of the completeness of the cone. At no point while eating the tricone, do you feel that it is overdone, a key to its perfect flavor.

A key element to the taste of the cone however, is the last mile distribution. Carelessness and storage at the wrong temperature often leads to disfigurement of the cone or impacts the taste of the ice cream, in the worst of cases melting it. I have noticed that it is the newly opened kirana shops that store it with the best quality and it is disappointing to see this deteriorate with time, which I've now realised as something which inevitably happens.

Its difficult to believe that it has been over a decade since I first fell in love with the Chocolate Tricone. Even today, as I go out for work or while I am completing some household chore, I keep an eye out for a shop selling Amul Icecreams, more importantly the Chocolate Tricone. And like all the times that I enjoyed it as a kid, I feel rewarded.

Three colors!

"Though I speak with the tongues of angels,
If I have not love...
My words would resound with but a tinkling of a cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy...
And understand all mysteries...
and all knowledge...
And though I have all faith
So that I could remove mountains,
if I have not love...
I am nothing.
Love is patient, full of goodness;
Love tolerates all things,
Aspires to all things,
Love never dies,
while the prophecies shall be done away,
tongues shall be silenced,
knowledge shall fade...
thus then shall linger only 
faith, hope, and love...
but greatest of these...
is love".

(the song from Three Colours : Blue)

The context is set. There is loss, pain, death. There is a need to be liberated, to be free, to be equal and to just belong. Then there are these beautiful lines narrated in the background as you see flashes of the characters built so beautifully on celluloid. The music reaches a crescendo. Kieslowski's name shows up on screen. The trilogy ends.

Expressing a simple thought, that the ideals of liberty, equality or fraternity will all turn hollow if there is no love, in the most brilliant manner these movies are a life changing experience. Do watch!

Next up on the list - The Decalogue! 

Black Coffee- Volume 10

*Trumpets*
*Drum Rolls*

After months and months of hard work, we finally did it. Team LitComm came out with the 10th edition of Black Coffee, the in-house magazine. The link for the launch video for the magazine is given below:

Personally, this was one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. To see a magazine that I had worked so hard on finally get published felt really good. So, it wasn't surprising at all that during the first Literary Fest at MICA "Oblique" when the magazine was launched, I was overcome with emotions.

As an outsider with no experience of the magazine business, I could hardly imagine how much work went into publishing a magazine. I always thought that once the content was sent, it would be a real piece of cake to get the magazine out.

It turned out to be so much more! When I break it down into the number of things we did to get this magazine out, only then a fair estimate of the amount of work involved can be gauged. The invitation of articles which took a whole lot of convincing. The editing of articles which took quite a bit of time. The time when we had to think of a theme for the magazine (we came up with the theme of a journey). Thinking of a cover page to go with the theme (which was decided as a modified version of Truck Art). The effort that had to be put in to come up with a cover which looks so awesome (check the video). The task of designing the templates (We came up with a template showing a milestone and a radio broadcasting quotes about a journey). To top all this, the time when we decided to number the magazine in reverse order. As in the time when you travel the distance on a road trip the number on the milestones keeps on decreasing, similarly as you progressed through the magazine the number on the milestone decreased. And of course, this whole process was followed by a whole lot of modifications to suit the needs of the printers!

The difficult part about a magazine is that if you really want to do it properly, like we did, with quotes at the bottom and two columns and all the artwork, each page of the magazine becomes like a poster. This means if you are publishing an 80 odd page magazine, it involves an effort to create about 80 posters from the creative side. Add to this the editing and the logistics and its a pretty tough job.

Finally, with the launch of the magazine, we completed another task on LitComm's checklist for the year. Add to this the successful organizing of the fest which deserves another post, we did most of the things that we had decided on doing in LitComm 2010-11. 

The Keep India Clean Campaign Experience

There are two things that have driven me to madness this year. The first one is my committee work, some of which is still left with the upcoming Lit Fest. The other one is the Keep India Clean Campaign.

It all started in October when I and my friend Abhinit decided that we should go all out to participate in a few events in the 5^th term. So we narrowed down some events based on the kind of things we were interested in. The first and the closest one to both of us was Mycampaign and this blog is about the three month long experience we had while participating in this event.

The entries that were asked were promptly sent. In the first round we sent an executive summary for the “Keep India Clean Campaign” that we had conceptualised, followed by a complete marketing plan in the second round. The results were out soon. We made it to the final 5 of My Campaign. We were going to IIM Indore!!

For the third round of My Campaign, we had to run a blog for 10 days. This round really taught us a few lessons. Firstly, we never thought how difficult it would be to post regular content on a blog. Secondly, our decision to go ahead with two members while all the other teams had three really had us making a lot of extra effort. But we did post good content. Our aim was originality and creativity. We succeeded on both fronts. As this round went along we became more and more involved with the cause. We did research. We did a signature campaign In our college. We did a broadcast on radio. And then we went to the village and met people to find out what their problems are. At the end of the blogging round we were not just satisfied with the kind of work we had done, but wiser with the experience we had just been through.

The fourth and fifth rounds were On-Campus. We went to IIM Indore in an unforgettable bus journey. The lesser said the better. Given the time constraints we had while booking the tickets though, it was something we could live with. On our entry into the campus we were greeted with huge signboards which read “Have you seen 30 judges for 5 teams?? Witness the grilling today!!” And so we got a sense of what awaited us.

We got our presentation ready. The first On Campus round was in front of 30 opinion leaders from in and around Indore. Dressed in Kurtas, we went in and started presenting. We spoke for about 15 minutes. When we were done there was pin drop silence in the room. Then suddenly the entire audience started clapping. The first thing that we heard from a judge in the Q&A round was “I don’t have a question. I just want to say that your campaign emotionally connected with me”. We answered some more questions and when we were done, we were on top of the world. Outside, we met the people from the panel who all personally congratulated us for coming up with such a campaign. Two of them belonging to NGOs said that “We do run NGOs, but not at this level!”

Next round we faced 3 judges. My experience with the first spot during presentations has generally been bad. You don’t know what to expect from the judges and the judges have not gauged the level of the competitors, so they tend to experiment on you. Although, I personally think we did better this time, one of the judges didn’t think so. We got a cold response from him. Sadly, after 5 rounds of the campaign, we had managed to convince 32 judges. But we didn’t convince the one that mattered. We came in third. I personally think we were good enough for the first spot.

But the whole experience was unbelievable. By the end of the campaign, we had shot 5 videos, more than the total videos I had shot in MICA before. We had made numerous print ads, written articles, designed a mascot, logo, created facebook and twitter pages and most importantly raised awareness about this cause among a lot of people. We were sad that we didn’t win, but the experience we gained was worth a million dollars. And no snooty judge can take that away from us.

YouTube Links for Keep India Clean Campaign!

Consolidated YouTube links for the videos:

Village Campaign

Signature Campaign in MICA:

Honk it Out!!

What's the Point -

Final Pledge Campaign

Our Campaign for IIM Indore Event- MyCampaign

Find below the social media links for a campaign that we are running. It is called the "Keep India Clean" Campaign. Do comment on it as it is an issue that concerns all of us..

Facebook Link
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keep-India-Clean/171835362843990
Twitter Link:
http://twitter.com/#!/keepindiaclean

Hope you like the posts..:)

Absolut Love!!

This is my Second Video- It's a short film with product placement!

Credits:
Director: Me
Story: Abhipsa Gaur
Actor: Keats Sukumar


 a.Why the product: 
Drinking is a social as well as an individual phenomenon. At times of depression or frustration some people prefer drinking alone. There are some who are very brand conscious and particular about the drinks they choose, in order to go with their position and lifestyle. The drink that fits the character on which the movie is based is Absolut Vodka. 


b.Concept of the film :
The protagonist suffers from depression despite being bestowed with all the money and affluence, etc in the world. The film shows how this man who has been deserted by the love of his life, in an extreme state of depression, has an outburst against the unfairness of it all. His tone changes from sad, to frustrated to accusatory to pleading. The final scene of the movie with the dialogue "My love for you was absolute" shows the concept of the movie as well as hints indirectly at the product being placed. 


c.Relevance of the product in the film: 
Where does a young, single, affluent professional go after his day at work when something that mattered most in his life no longer exists? In a metropolitan city in India, he might not want to go over to a friend's place as most of them are preoccupied with their personal and professional lives. He does not want to stay at home because he is sick of its monotony. An upmarket place gives him a sense of self worth in the sense that he can still afford/ has the spending power to command some things in life, while brooding/ lamenting over his miseries or troubles. A good brand of alcohol helps reaffirm that sense of self worth. It shows how even in a state of depression he is still brand conscious.


d. Inspiration: Devdas.. Primarily the story of the film was driven by logistical constraints that we face in the hostels with regards to arranging props for films.. So we(me and my sister) thought of a story, which minimizes both the number of characters and props required.

RAIT

Getting nostalgic while I'm back in Mumbai and close to my engineering college. This post goes to the place where I spent four really important years of my life!

The first time I went to RAIT was when my sister was giving her engineering entrance exam there. It was a huge college. A part of the D Y Patil empire, you got overwhelmed by how huge the place was. The campus had everything. I said to myself, "Dude, this is the kind of college you want to get into!". Call it destiny or whatever, but 3 years later when my engineering entrance time came up, I got into RAIT!

Now as I entered first year, I realised that there are three types of engineers. The first types are those who really love their machines. Second who learn to love machines while they do engineering. And third, the ones who just want to have fun and get a degree. I fit in the second category. In fact, most of my friends did. I really didn't know about the first category till I met Ishminder Singh Dhanjal, a.k.a. Changa!! The first time I met him, he got started about some C Program that he had developed and how hacking Windows 95 was his favourite activity. I was taken aback and to be frank, i thought he was really weird. Through my 4 years at RAIT, he was my teammate in most of the Robotics events I participated in and one of my dearest friends. Another one of my friends to be poached by Uncle Sam, hopefully he will get his wiring fixed there!

Some of my other weird friends included Jitin 'Oh, I'm going to the church again" Jacob, Abhishek "We're just friends" Dubey, Jayant "Results aa gaye!!" Gholap and Atul "My dog is a Wolf!!" Jadhav.

College life was good! I didnt know half the stuff that was going on, yet there was too much to keep one occupied and happy. There were two cultural fests, the smaller one was called Akarshan. I still remember how beautiful the scrap paper looked when it was showered down from the staircases of the four floors to the stage on the ground floor. At first I was amazed at how something so simple could look so beautiful. We got used to it later, but it still looked almost as good in our last year, probably more since it was the last time that we were going to see it!

The mega-fest was called Horizons. It was a huge thing. One of the biggest in Mumbai. In some ways, the identity of RAIT. I could write a whole blog about the fest. But there are some things that I really have to mention. The Jal Concert in the second year was one such thing. I still remember how we broke the barricades that held us back on the bands request and ran right up to the stage as we witnessed one of the best concerts ever. The crowd, the noise, the madness, and the dust in the air (yeah, that too!) as we listened to them play one great song after another. The best part was I fell in love with songs I heard there for the first time("Teri yaad!! Sigh!"). Other concerts from Strings, DJ Aqeel and the fashion shows, etc were really good too. Four amazing fests in four years, truly!

So what did we do when we were not attending fests and 'studying'? We watched cricket! Live! One of our professors informed us in the first year about a new International Cricket Stadium that was going to come on campus. Of course, I didn't believe it! It stood before us a year later. With imported grass from South Africa and some of the most lavish VIP rooms, I was amazed to see this 'thing' inside my college!! Holy Wow!! We watched I dont know how many matches there. One of the benefits of being a student at RAIT- passes were never an issue. I missed out on the IPL matches held there though. Pity! But it was due to the stadium really that I found another person to really respect- Vijay Patil. Our Director and one of the sharpest young people in India today.

The last two years of my college life were spent for MBA preperation and Placements. First came the placements. I got through Infosys first. A huge company to work for and the package was decent too. One of the interviews where you just know you are through when you walk in. I chatted for about 15 mins with a really sweet HR recruiter about Puzzles, Jodha Akhbar and its cultural implications(believe it!!). Next day while I'm with a doctor getting eye drops for Conjunctivitis, I got the message that I had landed with my first job offer!! Always a proud moment!!

Another offer I landed up with was with the Indian Navy, the defence! It is easily the best interview I have ever given. I was literally fighting with an experienced defence person and strangely, both of us were enjoying it. Two of his subordinates seemed to be enjoying it as well from the smiles on their faces. I was really proud to be invited to join the defence services! I missed this opportunity though as a side effect of having a barely higher eye power than what the eligibility criteria specified.

Finally I gave my MICA interview and got through a college which in a very strange way was nothing like my home, but felt exactly like it! Another place where I said the same words "Dude, this is the kind of college you want to get into!". And another placed where I would eventually go to!! I guess some things in life are just meant to happen!

My first ad film

This was the TVC me and Abhijith Shetty (Bapu), from MICA, came up with for the client Hungama.com. Consider the fact that this was our debut. 

Thanks to:

Me(!) : Story , editing and acting

Bapu: Direction, camera work, hair, makeup and costume

Ashish Sharma, Rohit Goyal and Neelu : Cast

Annamalai and anubhav nanda: Technical expertise

Charu Chopra/GK/Aaron : Location

Taaze: For the CD's

Mani : Cassettes

Aparna : Micavaani props

Abhinit: For your undying moral support

रेल यात्रा – एक अनुभव

रेल से यात्रा करना अक्सर आनन्ददायक अनुभव होता है। रास्ते में खेतों, पहाड़ों और झरनों जैसे अलग-अलग दृश्यों को निहारने, और कुछ न कुछ मनोरम दृश्य देखने का अवसर आह्लादित करता है।

रास्ते में  रेलगाड़ी के रुकने पर कुछ स्वादिष्ट खाने के लिए उतरना, खाते-खाते उसी में मग्न हो जाना, और फिर भागते हुए वापस आना, इससे पहले कि ट्रेन छूट जाए, यह अनुभव हमेशा ही रोमांचक लगता है।

हालांकि जबसे मुझे याद है, ट्रेन के खाने का स्वाद ज़्यादा बदला नहीं है, लेकिन यात्रा में आपकी दिलचस्पी बनाए रखने के लिए, बिस्कुट, सॉफ्ट ड्रिंक और मिठाइयों, आदि के साथ आने वाले विक्रेताओं की लगातार चहल पहल बनी रहती है, जो यात्रियों को व्यस्त रखने में सहायक होती है।

यात्राओं को अक्सर वह लोग यादगार बनाते हैं , जिनके साथ आप यात्रा करते हैं। यह बात रेल के मामले में भी सत्य है। यात्रा के दौरान देर रात तक बात करने वालों से लेकर भोजन के अनेक डब्बे साथ लेकर चलने वाले परिवारों तक, कॉलेज और स्कूलों के शोर करने वाले बच्चों से लेकर, ज़ोर के खर्राटे लेने वाले यात्रियों तक, सबका अपना अपना समाज शास्त्र होता है। बस !आपको कभी पता नहीं होता कि आपके नसीब में यात्रा के दौरान  कौन सा सहयात्री मिलेगा।

जब मैं रेल का सफर करता हूँ, खिड़की से बाहर के दृश्यों को देखना और कुछ नया खा-पीकर, आराम की नींद का सेवन करना पसंद करता हूँ। हाँ, कई बार ऐसा भी समय आता है, जब बाकी चीजों से ऊबकर मैं ट्रेन में मेरे सहयात्रियों के साथ कुछ बातचीत शुरू कर लेता हूँ।

एक बार मैं अहमदाबाद से मुंबई तक की रेल यात्रा कर रहा था, और मैंने इस तरह की बातचीत शुरू करने के बारे में सोचा। मेरी बगल में बैठा व्यक्ति एक बुद्धिमान और आत्मविश्वास से भरा सज्जन लग रहा था। फोन पर उनकी बातचीत को सुनकर, मैंने अंदाजा लगाया कि वह एक गुजराती है, जो शायद एक व्यावसायिक यात्रा पर है।

मैंने उसके साथ छुटपुट बातचीत शुरू की और पाया कि मैं सही था। वह कपड़े के क्षेत्र में काम करने वाला एक व्यापारी था। यह जानते हुए कि गुजरात की वस्त्रों के लिए भारत के प्राथमिक केंद्रों में गिनती होती है, मैंने सोचा कि इस विषय पर उनसे कुछ ज्ञान हासिल करना सही होगा। जैसा कि मेरा अनुमान था, इस विषय पर उसने जो ज्ञान की गहराई साझा की, उसने मुझे पूरी तरह से उसका प्रशंसक बना दिया।

यह व्यक्ति, जैसा कि मुझे बातचीत में थोड़ी देर बाद पता चला, कपडों की मशीनों का सप्लायर था। उसने अपने द्वारा बेची गयी प्रत्येक मशीन की कीमत औसतन दस लाख रुपये बताई। उसने मुझे हाल ही में ऐसी कई मशीनों के लिए ऑर्डर पाने की सूचना भी दी। वह एक पारिवारिक व्यवसाय का मालिक था, जिसे उसे 5 साल पहले सौंप दिया गया था, और उसका व्यवसाय बहुत अच्छा चल रहा था।

इसके बाद उसने वस्त्रों के लिए प्रसिद्ध विभिन्न देशों- मिस्र, भारत और पाकिस्तान, और अंतर्राष्ट्रीय निर्यात को प्रभावित करने वाले कारण, आदि के बारे में जानकारी देनी शुरू की। उसने व्यापार में भारत की प्रगति और गुजरात और महाराष्ट्र के योगदान के बारे में मुझे गर्व से बताया और  इस बात पर भी प्रकाश डाला कि कैसे भारत के सूती वस्त्रों की गुणवत्ता अन्य देशों के वस्त्रों से श्रेष्ठ है।  कपड़ा बनाने में शामिल विभिन्न प्रक्रियाओं - कताई, बुनाई, छपाई और परिष्करण, के बारे में जानकारी देते हुए

उसने मुझे वस्त्रों के लिए प्रसिद्ध विभिन्न कंपनियों और क्षेत्र में गुजराती कंपनियों की सफलता के बारे में बताया । यह भी बताया कि कैसे बेड-शीट में विशेषज्ञता वाली कंपनियां टी शर्ट्स की तुलना में बहुत छोटी हैं। उसने कहा, "आपके घर में हो सकता है मात्र 2 ही बेड-शीट हों, लेकिन 20 से अधिक टी शर्ट्स ज़रूर होंगी"। संयोग से मेरी अलमारी के बारे में उसके यह आंकड़े बिलकुल सही थे।

इसी दरम्यान हमारी बातचीत में दो और गुजराती सज्जन जुड़ गए। आश्चर्य की बात यह थी कि वे भी वस्त्रों के क्षेत्र में ही काम करते थे! जल्द ही एक मिनी फोकस्ड समूहचर्चा सी शुरू हो गयी जिसका संचालन मैं कर रहा था।

मेरे साथ एक ही प्रदेश के इन तीन अतिउत्साहित लोगों ने फिर भारत के विभिन्न अग्रणी टेक्सटाइल हाउस, व्यवसाय में अपनी काबलियत को कैसे पेश करना, आदि पर गहन बातें बताईं।  भारत के सबसे मूल्यवान क्षेत्रों में से एक होने के बावजूद, कपड़ा उद्योग किस तरह आज भी एक पारिवारिक क्षेत्र है, इस बारे में उनकी बातें चालू रहीं।

हम शीघ्र ही चर्चा के अन्य विषयों की ओर बढ़े। इससे पहले कि मैं सोच पाता कि वस्त्रों के अलावा इन्हें किस चीज़ में दिलचस्पी हो सकती है, उन्होने रियल एस्टेट पर बातचीत शुरू कर दी! यह तीनों सज्जन संपत्ति खरीदने और बेचने में पेशेवर थे, जैसे वे शेयर को खरीद या बेच रहे हों। उनके लिए घर या दूकान खरीदने का एकमात्र उद्देश्य उपयोग करना नहीं, बल्कि बेहतर दाम में बेचना था।

अगला विषय? खाना!

उन्होंने शहर के विभिन्न कोनों में लोकप्रिय खाने की दुकानों के बारे में चर्चा की। कुछ प्रसिद्ध स्थान जिनके बाहर विशाल कतारें होती हैं, उनकी विशेषताएं और कैसे यह दुकानें लाखों की बिक्री करती हैं ,इस बारे में विस्तार से बताया!

अधिकांश आंकड़े बहुत ही सटीकता के साथ बताए गए थे। मुझे जल्द ही पता चला, कि तीनों में से कोई भी ज़्यादा पढ़ा हुआ नहीं किया था, पर उन्हे अपने बच्चों पर बहुत गर्व था जो शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में इनके सपनों को पूरा कर रहे थे। इसके बावजूद भी व्यवसाय क्षेत्र में इनकी समझ को देख यह तो पता चल गया, कि भले ही उनके पास एमबीए न हो, पुश्तैनी संपत्ति और विशाल स्थापित व्यवसायों के होने के सौभाग्य ने उनको ऐसा अनुभव दे दिया था जो शायद ही कोई एमबीए की डिग्री  दे सके।

बातचीत जल्द ही परिवारों और सामाजिक मुद्दों की ओर बढ़ने लगी। बिस्तर की ओर बढ़ने का मेरा लिए यह सही इशारा था। मेरे सो जाने के बाद भी उनकी बातें ज़ोर शोर से चालू रहीं और मैंने ऐसा महसूस किया, कि अगर आप थके हुए हैं और एक ऐसी यात्रा पर हैं जहाँ आप एक अच्छी रात की नींद लेना चाहते हैं, तो व्यवसायियों के समूह से उनके व्यवसाय के बारे में चर्चा शुरू करने से पहले ज़रूर भलीभाँति सोच लें!!

Internship Diaries- Part 1: The Magadha Express:

This is a brief description of my journey to Patna during my internship. It starts with me in Gurgaon going to the New Delhi Railway Station.

So this is how it is. Of the known trains that travel to Patna, apart from the Rajdhanis, the best train is called the Sampoorna Kranti Express. And arguably the worst train is the Magadha express. Famous for train thefts, it’s second only to the train that takes 4 days to travel from Delhi to Patna.

If we were expecting it to move from its usual USP of providing worst in class journeys, we were sadly mistaken. So while the time taken for the entire journey is officially around15 hours., the train took its own time to arrive. It came 4 hours late.

We thought we should dump the bags somewhere. I struggled my way to the cloak room from platform 16 to platform 1. With the heavy baggage I was carrying and the cold that I had picked up in Gurgaon, things just couldn't be easier!!

So what do I do on my birthday with 4 hours to spare? Well, I want to eat something nice. We chose Karims, with our strong Non- Veg lobby. Little did I know where it was. The area had poverty, the likes of which I had never seen before. What made it worse were bundles of mutton legs lying scattered all over, with the smoke of them cooking being diverted towards me. I went inside Karims and had a look at the menu. That’s where I saw the most expensive item I have ever seen on a menu, a Tandoori Goat, for Rs. 5800. I got out of the place, as there was too much flesh on the menu for me. All I could have that night for my dinner was a Lassi and a kulfi. So much for a birthday dinner!!

We came back and carried our bags back from the cloakroom at platform 1 back to platform 16. Ouch!! Just then, there was an announcement. Train was now arriving on platform 15 instead of 16.

OK!! I lifted the mountain sized luggage and made my way to the other platform through the never ending staircases. And at 11:50 as my birthday came to an end, 4 hours behind schedule, began the longest journey of my life.

24 hours!

Sleeper Class!!

Delhi to Bihar!!!

We gulped down Cold drinks that were barely at room temperature. Our water became hot enough for a steam bath! The temperature was unbelievable. We were sweating uncontrollably. The train was a nightmare. The last five hours were unbearable. It was one hour to Patna all through those five hours. The train kept deciding to take one hour halts at random stops.

Finally when we thought we had seen everything, a funny thing happened. The train stopped yet again at a random station and as we were chatting, more like crying, a plane took off just 200m away from us. It was a sad reminder as to what we should have done. As we sat in the compartment, sweating, tired, exhausted and thirsty I and Prasad agreed that this was the worst trip we’d ever had. Shadab (another fellow intern from IIM-L), though had a different take. He narrated an incident which made us feel better. Very slightly though.

The train reached Patna (finally) at 8:00PM. We walked up the staircase again, and as a tired and exhausted person I looked up and saw a big smile on Prasad’s face. I looked up and the entire pathway was covered with S Tel boards. I could see the irony!

We walked out and we had a company Ambassador greet us at the station. It dropped us at “Bloom Guest House”. The hotel that cost a bomb per day for each person did not have a lift. And it was on the third floor. As I picked up my suitcases to climb yet another staircase, I said things could not be worse. I spoke too early!!

Think before you read!

Thinking is such a waste of time when it comes to most important issues in life. The best decisions in life sometimes are the ones about which you think the least. Be it a friend, a lover or a dog, you just know who the right one is. When you go out and feel the fresh air, or feel the sharp, cold raindrops piercing your hands, you don’t want to think about the complex psychological twirling going around inside you. It’s about feeling the small joy, the smile that the moment brings to your face. Does it really matter whether it is spelt as happiness or misspelt as happyness as long as you are happy?

 We have a theory for everything. Life fits into complex models. Our brain is conditioned to behave in a certain way. It does not matter if we all have different heads on your shoulders. As long as you are human, you will necessarily have a complex, be it Oedipus or Electra. Your dreams always indicate an underlying need to succumb to violence. Irrationality will always fetch better results because humans are naturally conditioned to behave better with irrational people as compared to the rational ones who are almost always taken for granted. There are different kinds of smiles; different kinds of fears, there are dimensions for love, and what not.

In essence you are damned to behave in a certain way as long as you are human. The interesting part is, that in the quest to find out what makes us human or behave like humans, we have forgotten that there is not one thing about us that is predictable. Each one of us likes a different flavour of chocolate, a different sound or a different person (mostly).

The funny thing is that you never really know why you do something. You might try and explain your behaviour later, but did you really think about your motivations in a structured manner when you went through all those moments in your life? When was the last time you really evaluated a friend on the parameters of emotional compatibility, or predicted what the person you love may do next based on the theories of evolutionary psychology? There is no reason for why you don’t care about the piles of files that you have on your desk when you sit and talk for hours with someone you feel great affection for.

But then we do need to study behaviour. We do need to know the mystery behind actions, justified and unjustified. We like to predict behaviour because we want to feel that human behaviour is predictable. We want to feel that everything is logical. Maybe it gives us peace to believe that people will be rational, that they will respond in a certain way. Even so, if all these laws are true, if all the models perfectly fit your behaviour, isn’t it a lot more fun to forget about all this, not think about anything and just enjoy the moment for once?

MICA welcomes Six Legged Freshers

A new batch has arrived at MICA. Qualifying criteria: smelly, crawly and dirty. The monsoons have arrived. And so have the pests. They are all over the place. In rooms, cupboards and bathrooms, they are everywhere!! The students are scared to death. According to sources there has been a 33% increase in demand of “Baygon” from Micare. Remarks Abhinit Agarwal,” Pest infestation is a major problem in MICA, especially during the rainy season. This year things have only become worse. When I came to my room I saw some scary flies all over my room and it reminded me of those scenes from the movie “Mummy””. That’s not all. Ramesh, a well known entomologist, among other things, says” most of these bugs are not normal bugs, they look mutated. In fact I’m doing a case study on this called” bug bug bigalow””. Akshaya, a student who had been on the Global Immersion trip to Hungary says” when I left Budapest, I thought that the experience will stay with me forever. But while the pests are everywhere, Buda is nowhere to be found”. There are many who agree with Abhinit and Akshaya, but are scared to voice their opinions. There are unconfirmed reports that these bugs are a part of the great academic rigour that everyone has been talking about. For all we know, this is just a rumour. Because when it comes to the scary stuff, “chacha knows pest”