Mumbai Musing 4 and final part: Life In a Hostel

The room on the ninth floor was a gate way for heavy partying and music were often played blaring loud among the residents. Every now and then, some parties were happening in some of the rooms of residents and after a moment of hesitation, I bonded well with the guys. I was well- settled in the single room on the ninth floor where I would often sneak in my favorite whisky, Imperial Blue or Smirnoff flavored Vodka in the room. The booze session was spent listening to radio mirchi, munching chikki and, waving to girls in the neighboring hostel. It was good fun.

I wasn't spared from the mischief as some of the hostel mates  would often lock my door from outside and had to yell, urging the neighbors to unlock the door for me. I mean, it was crazy and often, I would get angry at such kinda but, with the passage of time, I laugh when I think of the harmless fun. And, to think, I fumed out of the room, screaming, bc, mc and c*****.
If the room could speak, it could tell tales of silly antics, dancing in the room as I fell in love with S and my disappointment, crying session nursing my heart break. How I performed jigs in the room, how S was calling me during the night, our lovey-dovey sms session and late phone calls. It is in the room that I grew restless when S silence was killing me post our break-ups and me shouting on the phone. S was my life at that point of time in life and my growing frustration when things didn't work out between us. I hardly studied in the room as Rajabhai Tower in Fort was the hang out spot where we dated and studied in the old, gothic and colonial building with the chairs, tables and fan dating from the British Raj. On the eve of exams, me, Dhruv and Partha studied on the first floor where the warden resides and there were tables and chairs that were a facility provided to studious hostellites. The warden's floor has a huge space and where we spent the whole night studying for exams and, no doubt, girls from the opposite hostel, Telang was a big distraction. Since the floor faced the chicks room, they were calling us and hiding, what we could listen were giggle as they played hide-and-seek games with us. We also spotted some girls, switching the light in their room on and off, and some even walked naked in the room, pulling a towel on their body, shouting like mad dogs in a cage to seek attention. We could hear whispers, "Look, look, they are watching now," and they giggled.
It was on this floor that we were having daaru and cigarettes as a study break, as warden and his wife were sleeping. On the eve of the exams, we stayed awake throughout the night and we would only catch some sleep in the morning at 8.
It was the time to leave the hostel after completing my two years as a student in the hostel. I knew that I was going to miss ISH, good friends made, the canteen guys, security wale mama and also, Pintoo the guy from UP who runs a telephone booth and who boast a lot. It was quite an education staying at ISH where I've met various characters, ranging from funny to serious kind and really chilled out dudes. It was the time to call the cabbie and carry my stuffs inside as I waved ta-ta and good bye to Mumbai, promising to be back with a bang. I still miss hostel life in ISH and Mumbai, where I spent one of the best days of life. How lucky to stay in Churchgate and pay rent of 20,000 per year while rent of a flat ranges between 30,000 to one lakh. The perks of staying in a university hostel. I still miss the place.
Love
Vishal

Mumbai Musing-3: Life in a hostel

November 2006:

Finally, I shifted to the hostel I've been dreaming of staying, International Students House (ISH) on C-Road from J S Hall, located on B-Road, which means I made three to four  trips to drag my luggage on the streets of Mumbai. It didn't make sense to hire a cab since it's a distance between two roads close to each other and I dragged my stuffs, mattresses, pillow, two huge luggage and various other items stuffed in the suitcases. All said and done, I received a warm welcome in the toilet. Bang on!

'Make sure you flush your shit down the drain, Mind that poor child who has to face your explosion," Okie, okie, I apologize for the writing on the wall, I mean toilet wall, but that's how I was greeted in the toilet on my floor. It's sensible on our part to move away from my welcome in ISH's toilet, isn't it?! I spent the whole day in the room, feeling so happy that, finally, I got a single room. The day was spent cleaning the room and re-arranging my stuffs and the remaining hours was spent the day peering at my neighbors, lesser mortals like me of the feminine species in their shelter, Telang Hostel. The fan was on. After all, in a city like Mumbai, one cannot switch the fan off due to the heat caused by humidity. I decided that the light will not be switched off tonight after bearing the torture of lights off for more than three months. I feel like dancing in the room.

The picture has been taken from the ISH facebook page/https://www.facebook.com/ISHmumbai?ref=br_tf

Eight months elapsed at ISH leading to the first year M A exams where I made my first friends Nitin, Subhodeep, Mahesh, Karan, Rizwan and also, Ali, a super cool dude from Delhi who is always seen in shorts. Often, we would have a glass of tea and smoking in the hostel canteen which was not allowed by rules but we ended breaking up the rules like so many students did. I guess the warden knew about it but pretended to turn a deaf ear to our sinful but fun activities. We often spoke about chicks staying in the neighboring hostel and who were often spotted in our canteen. Yes! Our canteen was frequented by our cute and hot neighbors dropping for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Lil' did I know that Ali would one day become an actor or for that matter a star and he did a cameo in Three Idiots and was one of the main heroes in SRK's Always Kabhie Kabhie and Farhan Akhtar's Fukrey. One can imagine the sheer delight when I moved out of India and the hostel to see a dear friend of mine on the silver screen and I was like, it's so fucking awesome. We should always live up to our dreams in life and I am sure Ali, my hostel mate, will become a big star one day.

Hostel life means stupid and silly bickering with friends and inmates which is a very normal part of hostel life. I had my share of fights with some neighbors who were friends and became foes at a later time due to misunderstanding and, also our, plain stupidity. It could have turned into an ugly spat but, then, hostel life is very boring without petty squabbles between students. ISH was the place where the cops would often visit at night since neighbors in the posh locality would complain about some students yelling at night and shouting, bhenchod, maderchod. When I joined hostel in 2006, I also witnessed the frenzy of cricket craze since the famous Wankhede stadium was within walking distance of the hostel on D-Road as one could see TV crew stationed on Marine Drive, film stars traipsing at Inter Continental Hotel and on 12th  floor of hostel, we would get a partial view of the iconic Wankhede stadium, known as Sachin's turf.

I remember, Harry whom we would affectionately call Harria, the tiny and skiny fellow who would roam C-Road to sell us, hostellites, cigarettes that he would keep in a carry bag. Harry would reach the hostel gate in  the morning at nine and stay till noon. He would be back at nine p.m and would stay till midnight. Cops normally patrolled the hostel area in the evening and since selling cigarettes and paan is strictly not allowed within parameters of educational institutions and hostel, he would play cat-and-mouse game with the cops. We were very cautious when buying cigarettes since Harry was dispensing a service to hostellites who had to walk all the way towards Ambassador hotel or Jazz by the way, sea face on Marine Drive and Churchgate Station to buy their provisions. Thus, Harry took an extra buck providing fags and a classic mild was sold for six rupees rather than the normal 4 rupees. That was way back in 2006.

The mornings and evenings were spent on Marine Drive where I became friends with two twin sisters and street urchins who were begging on the streets. My heart sunk for those lil' and cute six year olds who look battered in the face of an unfair life and ruthless world as they tendered their tiny hands to the people sitting on the parapet and asking for money. I always looked for my lil friends and would give them a rupee or two or got them some bun and bananas to eat. How life can be cruel at times where innocent kids are robbed of their childhood? They would just crash on the parapet because they were so tired in the scorching sun after begging throughout some. One evening, their so-called guardian started beating them mercilessly because for falling asleep and some of us, intervened. I just pray that they find happiness in life and may the shining light always guide my two lil' friends.

The sleepless nights were spent in the rooms of friends who narrated some interesting but thrilling stories about ghosts that took place in the hill stations in India. Our friend, Subho, narrated some very interesting stories about ghosts that took place in a hostel in Shimla and we sat through till the wee hours in the morning.

There were also some rumors doing the rounds in our super luxurious hostel that one of the floor was haunted by a female ghost who was killed by some African students. In the start, I laughed it off but it actually turned out to be true where some Afra students high on Cocaine invited the local girl, who was their friend, inside the room and the bastards raped her. They flung her body on the first floor where the warden stays. The room where the incident happened remained closed till date and no hostellite was allowed to stay there.
Guess, there are certain things that cannot be explained. We were told that if we happen to be on the specific floor during the night, we will feel some 'weird' kinda vibration and a chill down the spine. There were days when we would watch cricket and football matches in the TV room past midnight. According to hostel rules, students have to climb the stairs to their rooms since lift is not allowed to operate past midnight. There were few occasions when we walked past the 'haunted' floor and felt some fear owing to negative vibration. This led me to believe that the spirit is present on the floor, albeit the hostel and that there are more to the rumors.

It is also a fact that the hostel gate close down at midnight and there has been times when we would be late after a movie show or partying where we had no other choice but climb jump the gate and knock on the door. We had to bang on the door several times and coax the 'mama', security guy whom we woke up, to let us in. Most of the times, the 'mama' would relent to our demands but not without giving him some notes so that he can buy 'chai.' Or, during revision time, we wanted to go out for tea at Churchgate Station after midnight since it's at this specific time that amazing tea is made. We would take the warden son with us as a shield to get out and P would sweetly ask the security, 'Kakka' or 'Mamma', depending on his age to open the door for us. If our friend, the warden son, who resides in the hostel, is not with us, it's the time to give some notes to the 'mamma' so that he let us out. After all, we were night owls.

It was the same hostel where I received the bad news that my dad was battling his life as he has sunked in the coma. At that time, I had no handset on me but the, 'Mamma' would pass the calls as there are two landlines on all the hostel floors. The security guards were nice guys and since I was quite friendly with me and they would always pass me the urgent phone calls. Do you know how they were calling us? My room number in first year was 601 and he would tell me over phone, "Oye! 601! phone from your parents."
 I vividly remember that I received the call on Saturday morning and the next day, Sunday, I had to pack my stuffs to visit home. What an ordeal it was coz I had to stay near the phone for two consecutive days so that mom and relatives would give me updates on air tickets and dad's progress. When I reached home, I was able to meet Dad but he passed away after one week.

I was back in Mumbai after spending three months with mom and reached in August and finally, convinced the warden to change my room to the one, sea face. I got a nice sea view room on ninth floor which made me run with excitement and happiness.

Gosh! What started as just one single post on life in hostel under Mumbai Musing has already run into three parts as I relived my memories in Mumbai. Three parts is not enough to describe two wonderful years of my life in Mumbai. Watch out for the final part.

To be continued..Mumbai Musing 4 and final part on Life in a hostel to come soon.

Love

Vishal

Mumbai Musing 2: Life in a hostel

Commuting from hostel at Churchgate to Santacruz station and from there, taking the Best Bus to University of Mumbai, Kalina campus was quite a task that took me two good hours in travelling, to and fro. Going to the university in the morning means waking up early and waiting for one's turn to get into the shower since students made a beeline to get inside. Well, it means, if you wanna take your chance, you gotta stand in front of the bathroom door with towel in hand and try to sneak inside.

It's been a regular and daily affair, waking up early in the morning and brushing the teeth, toileting..of course, waiting in the line for the morning shower. Frankly speaking, I was getting tired of the routine, and, of course, the lights going off at 11 p.m since roomies' habit of sleeping early and I was a night owl who is literally awake throughout the night. The evenings were spent at Marine Drive but, even after I reached the room post midnight, I couldn't sleep. My only solace was the handset and plugging the ear phone, so that I listen to songs, surfing to Radio Mirchi and Radio City,while  lying on the bed, till I doze off.

In the mean time, I again spoke to the university authorities since they promised that they will shift me to another hostel as per my demand in Churchgate only. I was coveting the second hostel on C-Road Churchgate since it is nothing less than luxury with amenities such as TV, single room and water cooler. The plus point with International Students Hostel is that there are two bath room on both sides on one floor and one would be spared the trouble of waiting in line like movie-goers hunting for movie tickets.

In the mean time, I wrote a letter to Professor Ritu who is in charge of hostel admissions and the nice lady that she is, promised to help me. Around November, my expensive handset worth 10k was stolen in my room while I was taking a nap during the day. I vividly remember the fateful Saturday when I hardly slept and woke up early for lectures. Around noon, I was planning to catch a train from Santacruz to Bandra to spend some time at Barista Bandstand, one of ma favorite hang out. But, I decided not to alight since I was feeling drowsy. I went back to the room to sleep. I was reading a copy of India Today and slink my handset under the pillow. When I woke up after some time, my specs and the India Today magazine were lying on the side of the bed but the handset was gone. I led a frantic search in the room but no success in getting back my prized possesion. My only fault is that I didn't lock the door, thinking, that if roomies' comes, I have to wake up and open the door.

Few days later, I went to meet Professor Ritu but she was so pissed at me since I didn't attend my lectures for several months. She shouted at me in front of everybody saying, "I want an answer Vishal and please reply to me. I am very disappointed with you." Finally, she gave me the letter, not without chiding me, make sure you attend lectures since you are a brilliant student. Yay! I got my new room on sixth floor, room no. 601. When I entered the room, I saw that the wall papers were wearing and tearing off but I was happy that I got the new room that faced the girls hostel, Telang. What more can a young man wish for?! Hieeeee....Moreover, I got a view of Marine Drive and the sea breeze that flew into the room. Outside, my room there was a 24 hours cold water cooler and, of course, hot water in the geyser for bath, phone service and what's not. Life is beautiful.

The next time I met professor Ritu at the campus,  she was all smiling and was chatting with a student and batch mate, Atul. Professor called me and inquired whether I got the room. I thanked her and said that I was happy with the new single room at the new hostel. She told Atul, Vishal has been troubling us to change his hostel and she smiled to me, ' ab,Theek se padhai kar." Professor Ritu was a very charming lady but she can be a tough task master, not mincing her words to scold you since she cares for her students. Thanks ma'am.

To be continued...

Mumbai Musing-1: Life in a hostel

July/August 2006:
Hostel life forges the characters of young men and women, don't they say?! I was already running late for my admission for my Masters in Economics after sealing a first class degree in Economics from Fergusson College in Pune. Somehow, our bachelor degree result got delayed and stuck which compelled me to make on and off trips to the city of dreams in an effort to sweet talk admission authority at Kalina Campus in Mumbai. Finally, things got settled and was awarded admission on merit list at Kalina Campus.
Since admission for hostel seats already started in the city of dreams, the director of Economics department got me a place to stay on Kalina Campus for a week or two, before shifting me in the hostel at South Bombay (SoBo). It was my dream to stay at SoBo in one of the hostels that face Marine Drive, one of my favorite place in the heart of the city. Hostels are really a cheap option for students like us who cannot afford the over-expensive flats in Sobo whose rental power goes over and above 30 to 40 k a month.
The initial days were spent running from one place to another, shuttling in the locals from Kalina Campus to Churchgate in order to convince the wardens to get me admission in SoBo hostels. Then, back to university in an attempt to convince authorities since I was told that seats are jam-packed and there is no vacancy. My luggage were left at a friend's place in Pune and been surviving in Mumbai for a month with a bag, few tee, shirts, jeans, banyan and under wears. Finally, the director gave me a letter to give to the warden at J S Hostel on B-Road, Churchgate and earlier, he promised, 'I can do something for hostel in the city.'

Admission was granted one fine day when I reached the building of J S Hall hostel, opposite Jai Hind College on B-Road, Churchgate and few minutes walk away from the amazingly awesome Marine Drive.  I must confess that the hostel building was not impressive at all but I found solace in my new home because of the fact that it was opposite Jai Hind college? You got it right?! Of course, girls in one of the coolest college Jai Hind and our Marine Drive. When nothing works for guys, girls in one of the most hip college make the heart beat faster...dhak dhak karne laga..
After paying 8,000 bucks for the six-months semester which is actually cheap, I was directed to the room and must say, I was quite taken aback that I gotta share the room with three other guys, which means that four of us will be in the room. Four people in a room means different personalities and of course, clashes which came quite early coz of the lights since the guys would turn the lights off at 11 p.m. Me, being me, I found it quite boring but, somehow, had to adjust in some way or another. There were two Kashmiri guys and another one, Lalit, whom I didn't like in the start but found him to be quite nice as we got to know each other. Our first days were spent hanging around at Colaba since he wanted to buy something for a girl he liked and who was cross with him for saying something stupid. One Saturday, we went to the shops at Colaba Causeway and I suggested that he surprises her with a, a wooden heart shaped key chain with her name inscribed on it and a card saying, 'I am Sorry.' Lalit liked my idea and they were back to good friends. The next day, was Ganesh Chaturthi and we walked all the way from Churchgate to Chowpathy Beach amidst the whole crowd where Ganesha was immersed. It was my first Ganesh Visarjan in the city and I bonded well with Lalit. It was awesome watching hordes of people, shouting Ganpati Bappa Morya. We ended the day with Pav Bhaji. The Ganesh Visarjan remains one of my fondest memories in Mumbai.

The nights were spent alone, strolling at Marine Drive and listening to Radio Mirchi, plugging the earphone to my newly acquired and prized Nokia handset. Life was a dream that became true in the city that never sleeps. I was sitting on the parapet, smoking a cigarette or two, gulping the cuttting chai down the throat and watching the sober crowd of SoBo. I dreamed to be part of the local crowd and I was on my way to be a localite. I would stay at Marine Drive till midnight, the time our hostel gate closes down and would listen to one of my favorite RJ on Radio Mirchi, Kalindi on the programme, 'Purani Jeans' where songs of 70s and 80s were played. It became a daily routine to spend the whole night at Marine Drive after dinner time and taking a long walk, dreaming of making it big in the most amazing city, Mumbai.
Welcome to Mumbai! ahem! ahem! The city welcomed me with malaria where I was confined to the bed and couldn't move for a week or two. What started as a mild fever turned into weakness and cold but thanks, to my doctor in Colaba Dr Pophale, I slowly started to pick up my threads which took a month or so. As friends told me, 'Welcome to Mumbai. Now, after malaria, you gotta make it big in the city.

To be continued..

100 Words on Saturday-7: I Knew It Was My Last Day There

I am participating in 100 Words on Saturday-7, a prompt provided by Sugandha of Shades of Life (http://somethings-sugandha.blogspot.in) on writetribe.com. I am penning a short story on the prompt, 'I knew It was My Last Day There and hope you like it.

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I Knew It Was My Last Day ThereHordes of relatives and friends thronged to catch a final glimpse as I sat among them in the hall. The mood was sober and some shed a tear or two. I smiled as I remember the day I was born and as I grow up, my parents held my tiny hands to make me walk. I felt a tinge of sadness when I saw the friends I made in college, my first crush and kiss. They carried me on their shoulders in my last journey. I smiled and bade the last farewell to them. I knew it was my last day there.

Complexity of my life

There are days in life where you feel everything fall out of place when you suddenly lose track of things in life and you feel sad for no reason, whatsoever. I am going through this stage right now and feel that it got to do with the inactive mind and inert body that spend the day and night sitting on the couch.

What's interesting is that at times, I feel so low and out of place but suddenly, the mood sprang up with positive thoughts in life. There are the good wishes, blessings and words of courage from friends that make the mood upbeat. My friends really know how to surprise me with the faraway phone calls, soothing words and, of course, unexpected gift in the form of tagging an old picture on Facebook. It warms the heart and brings a harbinger of hope in life. I have reason to believe that good things in life is waiting patiently behind the door. With so many good wishes, there is no reason to sound negative and deep inside, I know that positive things will usher its way in my life.

Still, why the lull and the emotional and mental conflict is dominating the mind? I know, the mind is fickle but to that extent? Gawd!!!! I think that I am going crazy with the weird turn of events in life, what with the proper job taking its own time to take shape. I've been sitting at home for the past six months and tired of waiting for things to turn up the way I want. The whole scene is so confusing and I know, it is the result of my own doing and, of course, unforeseen circumstances. But, why, why? I am in a hurry to script the story of my life and it's not really moving at my own speed. Life can be strange, at time. 

It's been months that I haven't written anything in my diary and my procrastination is hitting my nerves. How do someone arrange things to be properly executed? I am being patient and look furtively as a passive spectator at the way things are moving. And, to think, life moved at 360 degrees a year back with oodles of happiness. Still, I am not losing heart since I know that if good things doesn't stay forever, why should bad things gain a permanent place in my life.

I feel blessed and learning to count my blessing and not sorrow.

Good Night

Vishal

100 Words on Saturday: Every Once In a While

I participated in the Write Tribe 100 Words Challenge on Saturday, 'Every Once in a While' provided by  Richa Singh of The Philosopher’s Stone from my other blog, www.vishalbheeroo.wordpress.com. Since, I already submitted the entry on wordtribe.com, I putting my post on the blog and not participating from my blogspot. But, the reason I choose to participate here is that I want to know the response of bloggers. Enjoy.

Every Once in a While

Every Once in a While, tears drop on my cheek as I remember the wonderful memories and the times spent together. In the flash of moments, images on TV remind me that you exist and you are my muse. As I gulp the cup of coffee, I think of times spent together and sinful moments we enjoyed in the monsoon as we danced together. We celebrated life where things were almost perfect. There was never a dull moment in our relationship. Every Once In a While, I long for us to be reunited and be together. I love you, Mumbai.

Guest Post: Sneha Bhat, 'It's Complicated'

Today, I welcome on the blog Sneha Bhat, a prolific and amazingly talented writer who hails from the beautiful land of Jammu and who is an engineer by profession and dreamer by choice. I have known Sneha for more than three years on the blogging space and requested her to pen a guest post for my blog. The nice girl that she is readily accepted and get set to read Sneha on this thought-provoking piece, 'It's Complicated' as to how technology and social media has impacted our lives. Sneha works in Mumbai at Tata Consultancy Services and is someone whose writing I admire a lot. Give her a loud shout on snehabhatsepo.blogspot.com and make sure to hop on her blog after you read her piece here.

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SNEHA BHAT on 'It's Complicated'

It's Complicated
Sometimes I sit back and reminisce about the good 'old childhood days. The simpler times. The days of playgrounds filled with us kids playing silly games. The time when counter-strike and Xbox were unheard of. The uncountable hours spent saving Mario's girlfriend. It is so amazing that I still remember all the places to collect the coins, eat that mushroom after a smart head-bang against the brick but I would have a very hard time remembering something like, say Bernoulli theory. With the advent of technology in every little sphere of our day to day lives, a lot has changed. The way we eat, the way we communicate, the way our relationships are is quite different from what it was around 10 years back.

Sneha Bhat

I still remember when I was a kid we used to write letters to our cousins in other states. It was quite a taxing job, buying envelopes, stamps and finally the little voyage to that omnipresent little red letter box. However, the actual test started after the letter was posted, the anticipation and the wait involved had its own sweet sour experience. Sometimes calls from STD-PCOs were made to check whether the letter was received or not. Now imagine the state of lovers staying apart with only letters as the means of communication between them. Archie’s gift shops must have earned quite a fortune in 90s selling those colourful heart shaped letter pads and perfumed notepads. My English teacher once told us how her husband used to write her long beautiful letters when they were courting. She went on to explain how she would have to sit with a dictionary and try to understand the beautiful words he used. At that time I would have difficulty imagining someone written love filled notes for that devil of a teacher. But thinking of it now, it is so romantic, so old English and so Jane Austen and Margaret Mitchell.
Our generation is so far away from the genuine romance. The feeling unadulterated by desire. To us everything is just so accessible. Anybody is just a call away. To make that call we don’t have to go anywhere but just press a few buttons on our mobiles and that’s that. If not call there are other different modes by which we can transmit our messages. There’s text, then there is email, social networking sites and thanks to smart phones there are numerous apps which allow any one from anywhere to contact you.
Come to think of it, wasn’t the older time simpler and easier? Limited means meant there was nothing much to do apart from yearning and waiting. However in today’s scenario there is way too much confusion. I mean anticipation of hearing from someone is surely going to drive you nuts. Messaging someone on Facebook, then checking them on whatsapp to check out the “last seen” and god forbid if the last seen is greater than the time of the Facebook message, the other people is surely going to be on the receiving end of a lot of agony. And, not just this, there viber and wechat, on one hand and Skype and hangout on the other. Sometimes it just feels really bad to wait and then get dejected by these different types of gadgets created to make our lives simpler. At times like this, I usually start missing the old times when there was one landline phone and you were either available or not. No mind games no confusions no mix-ups.
Apart from adding a complication into our lives, it is my personal belief that the presence of various gadgets have made us dumber. Take the mobile phone, for instance, all the contacts are stored into it. There was a time when I remembered all the phone numbers by heart friends, relatives, neighbours, mom’s friends, dad’s colleagues. Now sometimes I have trouble remembering my own number. My to-do and to-buy list is also very conveniently fed into my phone as and when I remember it. If I don’t do that I fail to recollect anything in the shop. And early morning dose of almonds also doesn’t seem to work. The dependency on my phone is so huge that sometimes I wake up sweating from the nightmares of losing it. Not just the phone, while jotting down some points in a meeting, I sometimes have trouble spelling simplest words, such is the dependency on the spellcheck tools. Thanks to MS Word for correcting my senselessly spelled words in a jiffy and making by posts readable.
The whole point of this rambling is that sometimes simplicity is really the best. Happiness derived from simple things in life is usually the best. An unexpected call from a friend, a sweet gesture, feelings, emotions and love. We need to come out of the gadget zone and try to spend some time with real people doing real things and experiencing the real happiness.

What your first job can teach you?

You are a fresh graduate and landed your first job where you embrace the corporate world. Like any idealist youngster, you are ready to take the world and keen to learn your way to the top. What your first job can teach you and how do you break the ice with senior colleagues? First thing first, you gotta be part of the team and it takes months to be accepted a a player in the group.

9-to-5 and beyond:

The concept of 9-to-5 job is such an old and conservative concept. In today's competitive world and, in particular, liberal professions, fixed timings simply does not exist. Since it is your first job, concentrate all your energies in being respectful to seniors and treat your task as if you own it. Fine, you may feel tired and drained, but surmount all mind obstacles to be part of the team. The already existing team mates will not take it kindly that you upset the balance by wanting to home as the clock struck five when they are slogging their asses. Always offer to help whenever you are free and do not hesitate to ask questions as well as speak to your head of department when you are facing some confusion. The buzz word is, Learn, Learn and Learn. As you are gradually welcomed in the team, you will not feel like leaving the office and enjoy the fun moments at work. Learn to laugh at your mistakes and realize the office is more a fun place rather than a monster.

Social Networking:

The biggest mistakes so many of us make at work is to add people we've met for the first time on Facebook or Twitter. Let's learn to deal with people on a professional level and employers often check your FB profile and status to see what's you are up-to. Remember, there is a thin line between professional work and social life. Your social life is not for grabs and remember, there is no friends at work. However, for work purpose, it is common to add each other on Gchat and often employees interact on a professional level. Also, be friendly and it doesn't mean that one should be the best of pals at work. It is only when I left my job that I added few of my close colleagues on Facebook and I believe that there should be a demarcation between professional and personal lives.

Happiness at work:

The best way to be truly happy at work is to be passionate and give selflessly as if it's your own your company. The moment you feel that your work is your passion, nothing will stop you from rising in your career and be truly happy at work. So many times, we have heard people saying, 'I hate my job.' Any prize for guessing?! People lack a certain a meaningful relationship with what they do at work and they often treat the job as a burden. Be ready to own your product and ignite the fire of passion in your belly. Happiness will follow.

Retirement age:
The classic view of many people are that they will retire peacefully at the age of 50 or 60. I do not subscribe to this conservative view since there is no age to retire and 50 can be the new 30 where we grow more passionate. I mean, what will I do by retiring at 50 or 60? Sitting at home and waiting to be consumed by the jaw of death! I mean, there are so many things to do by the time I reach 50 or 60 and interact with people my age. The young people are full of bright ideas and there are so much to learn from them. For once, I would love to start a content based website, work as a freelancer or columnist and write a book. In that way, the muscles of the brain will be active and I prefer to clamp down my ego by thinking that I've seen so much. There is no better pleasure than being youthful at the age of 50 or 60. Yeah! I would love to travel a lot. Therefore, the first job is the stepping stone to keep the brain alive, seek happiness and be passionate in what I do.
What's your first hand experiment at your first job?
Cheerz
Vishal

Oktober fest

Oktober..Oktober..Oktober..why do I feel it's a fest month? Lalloo and the likes of Masood have been jailed which comes as a bonus to the junta. Sanju (Baba) is out on sick leave to meet family members and the path is set for 2013 to end in a jiffy. Bapu is visiting us for his birthday as we sing in chorus, Happy Gandhi Jayanti and gently reminds us it's October. We have reasons to cheer and warm up to October, the month that sets the tone for miracles to happen in our lives.

I wonder how the nation will be devoid of Lalloo-ism, jab aloo mein samoosa, jail mein rahega aloo. What will happen to Rabri now and who will munch on Rabri now. Pun intended, Laloo Prasad Yadav, desh aur Bihar ki dhadkan?! Just imagine Bappu visiting Lalloo in jail and the former must be telling him, 'See, Lalloo-ji, I told you not to steal people's hard earned money and see how you broke my heart by pilfering the country's resources. Lalloo must be justifying himself and told Bappu, "Now, Bappu-ji, you adding salt to my wounds now and you visit us once in a year, you are still giving me lessons with your teachings. Your teachings doesn't hold and ask the people who don't hesitate to pay bribe." Bappu is disappointed with Lalloo and tells him, 'At least, wish me happy birthday. You are so selfish despite everything. Anyways, I gotta go right now but I haven't forgotten you, beta. Take some Rabri and samoosa. Munch in jail." Lalloo smiles as he watches Bappu disappear with his stick. Our dear Lalloo is at least feasting on samoosa and rabri inside jail. So what, poor Rabri devi is at home? Our dear Lalloo is eating his Rabri and takes solace in the fact that Gandhi-ji abstained from sex. After all, it's Gandhi-ji's birthday and poor Lalloo, jail sweet jail.

Wondering what to feast on in October?! At least, Lalloo got his Rabri and Samoosa  from Gandhi-ji and what people like me can do, except blogging and secretly making a wish to the October Angel. Angel! Dear Angel! Will the madness ever gets over and I get to make merry..I know each passing days seemed to be the same old day and can't you work a miracle for me. After all, it's October fest. I gotta wish for better days and even Lalloo must be enjoying his jail days and Sanju-Baba relishing his jail break.

Hey! I have reasons to cheer as this is the 99th post on blogspot for this year and we are less than three months away from December. Great Going, I suppose in October as the blog is ushering into its third anniversary. I am doing for a hot capuccino by the sea face and miracles, miracles, hope I get to enjoy my coffee. I am dying to start work this months as my six months long break is almost done.

Cheerz N Happy October