A Little Less Conversation

Everyone around me was thinking deeply. A seemingly casual comment suddenly seemed practical enough to be seriously implemented. I had suggested that we change our final engineering project partners and choose from those school and college friends we were most comfortable working with since many of us had had a disdainful experience with the current partners. (Now what is queer is that it’s been a year since I submitted my final year project and it’s only now that I think it’s time to get into damage control mode) Out of nowhere I caught the strains of “ A little less conversation, a little more action please”. Deep reflection indicated it was emanating from a source close by. Further contemplation suggested the possibility of it being my cell phone. Waltzing back to reality I found that it was indeed my cellphone and when it rang at this unearthly hour I didn’t have to look to see who it was. And not surprisingly Armaan never bothered himself with the pleasantries and formalities of a telephonic conversation. So calls from him never (and still don’t) begin with a ‘Hi-How are you- Did I disturb you?”. If the lord finds it worthy enough of being spoken about then the constraints of time and location don’t apply. “There is this interview happening tomorrow at 2:00 P.M. I’ll mail you the address and other details shortly. Just in case you have forgotten tomorrow is a holiday so don’t let go off this and be there. Ok?” “Hmm”. “Bye”. This is how the early morning calls end. I don’t have to say anything just try hard and listen and we are done!

“A little less conversation, a little more action please…” This time round someone had unceremoniously drawn the curtains of my room open and broad daylight was streaming in but everything else was the same. “ Huhlo?!” “Thought as much. Wake up, get the documents in place and move!” “Oh yea..The interview. Which company? What post? What’s the remuneration?”. “It’s a small company you haven’t heard of, so don’t bother. It’s for the post of a technical writer and I’m sure you fit the bill to the T and I don’t know about the salary, but if you don’t want to be stuck with what you have at the moment you ought to give it a try!” (When you are looking for one word that defines “A friend in need is a friend indeed” the answer hands down is Armaan). A longer hmm later I dragged my sorry self out of bed and checked my mail. The details didn’t particularly set the adrenaline rushing but then asking for a gourmet meal when one survives on a frugal existence is a tad too much.

At 1:30 in the afternoon I was at the site which was supposed to be my future office. This could also be titled “The tale of the disappearing smile and rising vexation”. The look and feel of the place had that effect on me. I’ve never seen a tinier company and I tried to imagine what my salary would be like. I didn’t have to wait long and I was called in. The interviewer was the CEO of that company (Jeez!) The interview was a cakewalk. I’ve seen worst ones. He was mighty impressed with me (I’m not surprised! (Talk about being a self conceited idiot)). Then I was told that we could move to round two but before that he wanted to make something clear, which could be a matter of concern. (Note the stress on could be). The salary that he could offer me for donning many hats since my role wasn’t defined was (ok hold your breath. And release it) 3000. It felt like a visual resounding slap. This is one of those occasions where I don’t know how to react. But well. I maintained my composure and a few pleasantries and a commitment to revert later I left the place.

To do or not to do buzzed real hard in my head. I happened to chance upon my phone. It had a message from my gang, which asked me to buzz when done. I did as much. “I’m done”. “Wow! That was quick”. “Yea”. “Okay, details later, see you in 15 minutes from now at Barista. Bye”. My friends have this uncanny habit of not letting me say anything. That’s another something that I didn’t have anything to say.

“Hello there! Long time no see!” “Yea! The last time we saw each other was what.. 12 hours back?” One small smile avalanched into a guffaw. “Alright shoot. All the details with the spice”. My narration ended with the magical figure of 3000 and the few doubts and reservations I had. Everyone looked at each other and me with all the seriousness they were capable of and moments later they were laughing like a possessed lot. “What!?” “Babes you’re worth much more than this, even if it is for experience. Don’t bother. “By the way who suggested this?” A wicked smile later both of us spilled the beans on this. No I am not angry with the outcome or the beginning. It speaks so highly of the intentions. I am elated and I wonder why they don’t make more like him these days. We had a sumptuous lunch of sandwiches and cappuccino. When we had lounged in Barista for close to 4 hours we were handed the bill. All of us pooled in for this extravagant lunch. That one afternoon left me with one of those lines that get stuck in my head.
" Never compromise on your dreams if you have a choice." Because it's simply not worth it.

A note out of nowhere

I’ve been writing for quite a while now and it’s only recently that I went over all that I had written. I can, only now, well imagine what all those people have to go though, who accidentally drop by! Judging by the way it is going, I am so sure I will author a book one day which will be a rip off so many others, but (unlike them), might not find a lot of takers. But I guess all creative geniuses started out some shoddy way or the other and in this Internet age, this seemed like the obvious choice to me. So! That should explain most of it I think. For the uninitiated, or for those low on patience, most of the posts have been reflections on a life and times gone by. An honest attempt to make sure the road ahead is less rocky for those who’ve gained anything what so ever from it. (Charity begins at home right!) Is there any dearth of self-help literature you might ask. Absolutely not. Then why do I have to butt in? Well because expressing myself gives me a high for starters. And because blogger.com hasn’t started to charge me for their space yet, so I take that as a right to abuse precious space. Settled? Great (Trust me, I have read more pathetic blogs than this :-))

Awakening

There’s always more to it than meets the eye. At times facts are stranger than fiction. Facts we could never imagine existed. Or at times, facts that kept glaring at us in the face but were excused away or rationalized. “ We only see what our eyes want to see” goes a famous song. And then one fine day realization dawns on us like a tone of bricks and our life changes forever. May I add for the better. It needs a discerning eye and a strong rooted objectivity to separate facts from fiction. Something we can easily loose grip on, if we allow ourselves to. Emotions at times take us to places we ought not be going to. Making mistakes is not a crime, but repeating them is. When we rise above the shackles of life, we begin to see how trivial was all that we invested so much of our time, attention and emotion on. We have this knack of blowing things out of proportion. Everything related to us is big. Stephen Hawkings once said that “ We live on a minor planet of a very average star located within the outer limits of one of a hundred thousand million galaxies”. “How’s that for a change of perspective? Can our problems be that big when our lives are mere blips on the canvas of eternity”. Life is very short to hold grudges and to cling on to things. There are a whole lot of worthier pursuits that are clamoring for our attention. There is so much to be learnt, so much to be done, much more to be achieved. Time we open our eyes and get real :-)

Some other time...Some other life...

All that we have to do is ask. And ask sincerely from the very fiber of our being. The universe will always move circumstances, events and people to get us what we want. All that it takes is asking. At times it could be a matter of days, at times months and at times it could be a wait till eternity. But some other time, some other life..... things will be the way we always wanted them to be. The universe never denies us anything.If something delays it, it is our undivided attention to the distractions. It takes some doing to stay rooted. Rooted to all that is good and gives us peace.

Like attracts like.You give out something to the world and it will return to you manifold. Be it material riches or love for humanity. "As you sow, so shall you reap" is more than just a phrase taught to children. It rings true when you look back at your life from a higher perspective The good that we do selflessly never ever goes unnoticed. And that holds true for the bad as well. Every step is being closely watched and every move being monitored.

All that is required to keep going is the faith and conviction in our vision for our self. When you dwell upon it day in and day out so much so that it almost becomes your second nature and you cannot conceive a moment without your vision, it inevitably has to come to you. Sooner or later. The universe has its own way of delivering what we desire. It's ways are beyond our finding out. And we don't even need to know everything. When the goal is clear, the road to it becomes indifferent. And this is because we don't want to be caught up in the details of how, when, why and where so as to loose sight of our vision. The universe will give you the cues and one thing will always lead to another. And then...some other time..some other life...we will get everything that we desperately wanted.