Madras Mail

source : http://www.jorgetutor.com/india/sindia/chennai/chennai2.htm

Chennai beckons. Over the past few days i have realised that i have a stereotypical image of the city in my head. My interactions with my friends further strengthens this stereotype. But every city has got a character of its own and provides a unique experience to different individuals. Till now i have heard more negatives than positives about the city but i am sure the good things are hidden there waiting to be explored. That is what excites me. New city all on my own with the freedom to explore it the way i want to. Perfect.

As far as the internship goes. i hope i get decent work and more than that understand thoroughly how an ad agency functions while developing some good relationships in the process. Hopefully i manage to interact and open up soon enough since 2 months is a short period. I am mentally preparing myself and will reach the office sans any ego willing to do whatever is required. There is no point getting frustrated with the work or lack of it in an internship. It is more about experience and observation. In 2 months nobody can do something mind blowing and alter the course of the company as such. It is a limited impact and the more open and receptive i am to any kind of work coming my way the better it will be. Will also have interns from other MBA colleges to give me company so hopefully i end up having some good company.

This however is the main problem that i will face :

Right from the moment you alight at the Chennai Central railway station you notice something everywhere in the air...it's a tremendous linguistic pride, to the extent of being an inertia. The coolie will come up to you, and depending what you look like - talk in Hindi or Tamil. Having found that you are Hindi-speaking, he will, very politely, offer his help to carry your luggage. You, being a light traveller, refuse and then ask him, in Hindi, where the main gate is. He will suddenly, behave as if someone just attacked his linguistic independence. He will shake his hands all over his body, dance around for a while and before you think you have got the right quantam-mechanical equation to pin down his momentum and position, he will depart, leaving you feeling stupid all over. He has shown you that he does not understand Hindi. In fact, this attribute of the people is most wonderful, and is of tremendous academic interest. Unless they want something from you or want to exercise their skills in Hindi, they will not talk to you in Hindi. English they might speak, but Hindi, an emphatic no!

source : http://www.indiatravelogue.com/trav/impr19.html

The heat i suppose will take some getting used to but then i had managed decently well over there when i had gone for my cousin sister's wedding in the middle of may in the recent past. Whatever happens it is going to hell lot different to life at Mumbai. I remember being mighty pissed when i got placed in JWT Chennai since i had almost assumed that they would place me in Mumbai and had no clue about the office in Chennai. Was pretty devastated with the news but then gradually started seeing the plus points of coming to a different city and a smaller branch. Now i am positively upbeat about this opportunity and hopefully will make something good of it.

Not so random

Often you try and question yourself. Wonder whether you have changed. It does not seem as such but the world around you accuses of having changed.

I am very stubborn and obstinate when it comes to something i believe in and i am especially forceful about it with the people who are close to me. I enforce what i believe in on them and do not accept any rebuttal. Specially in a situation, if i believe that 'x' is a logical outcome then i will push for it and manipulate as much required till that has been adopted.

this attitude is Not doing a lot of good to my relationships though....

But then i still persist.

23

Thats my age. Does not sound too good. I feel awkward. 23 years of my life are done with and i am half way through in becoming a 24 year old. That sounds old to me. When i was a teenager i had a very different vision of myself at this age. Somehow i feel different to what i had imagined myself to be.

I used to think i would be fit. Contrary to that i am quite a lump. imagined myself to be mature and sure of my decisions. Nothing of that sort has happened and i am still as indecisive as ever and prone to some real immature decisions.Thought that i would be able to take up big responsibilities without the blink of an eyelid. I still cringe at assuming responsibility.Somehow have the feeling that responsibility ties you down and does not let you explore.

I do not have much to show for my 23 years of life. Nothing beyond the ordinary. Feels weird especially when i hear about other successful 23 year olds.

At this point of my life, i am in a quest to change myself for the better or at least what i think is good for me. If i am able to make the leap by the time my 24th birthday arrives , i will be a much happier 24 year old.

Well thought i will put up my book wait list.

Currently reading: ( since almost 2 weeks, somehow i am finishing books much slower than before. Do not have sustained periods of reading) A short history of nearly everything - Bill Bryson
A fascinating book that is improving my general knowledge tremendously. It is like instant science, without the bothersome equations and elaborate theories. Just concepts explained very succinctly and with an entertaining approach with little tit bits that make you realize that scientists aren't as dull as they are made out to be. I am done with half the book. Planning to finish it over this weekend

Wait list

1) Shantaram: Have heard so much about this book that i have to absolutely read it. Guess i will a buy a copy of this book.

2) Kite runner: Another highly recommended book. The book is there in Mica library. Have observed three people reading it and whoever has picked it up has taken a maximum of 2 days to finish it off since it is a very addictive read.

3) The long tail: A book i picked up at crosswords recently. Had a read an article about the concept of long tail and liked it. So picked it up and hoping for some value add here.

4) The Goal 2: Had read the first part and absolutely loved it. Talks about operations management but in the laymans language and extremely informative.

Well this is my wish list for the next month and odd. Hopefully i would be able to rev up my reading speed and fiish most of them. Will keep updating about this quest of mine.

The Wall

So i went to this shop in dadar today. I went there with my mom. A standard ritual that i have been accustomed to over the 12 years that i have spent in this city. The shop in question is a blouse matching center. When we first came to mumbai, we used to stay in bandra. During our explorations of the city, we tumbled into this shop bang in the middle of dadar market. My mom has been a regular there since she is generally very loyal in her purchases. Owing to her inability to catch on and remember roads the responsibility to take her to this place fell on me. And so it has been ever since. Once every 3 to 4 months we make a trip to dadar market and mom gets her dresses made, altered etc.

In the past 12 years a lot of changes took place in my life. I grew up for starters. Had a lively and interesting bunch of teenage years. Entered adulthood but still not sure about my footing. Lots of things changed around me, so did my lifestyle. Dad prospered a lot and i was the direct beneficiary. But ad mist all this my trips to this shop were a constant. Once or twice i tried coaxing my mom into trying out some other place but she never budged. The attendants of the shop were by now familiar faces especially a certain short gentleman with a forever smiling face. All these years went by and we never exchanged more than a smile. Until today when for the first time we spoke. He has been working in the shop for the past 18 years out of which me and my my mom featured in 12 of those. An utterly genial man, had a pleasant conversation with him and finally got to know his name - Dilip Desai.

On my way back, i realised that i could have had this little conversation years back. Could have known him better and developed a better relationship and connect with the chop. But i have always since childhood taken a lot of time to open up. Initially i always appear very reserved practically a snob. Led me to think on how many such Dilip Desai's i have missed interacting with in my life. Thought about my life in Mica over the past year. I could easily have been more forthcoming and approachable than what i was. I do tend to build these walls around me which i let very few people break into. But i am missing a lot more by doing this than i earlier thought i was. I always have this feeling that i am being judged at every moment. A wierd feeling indeed but it is precisely the reason why i tend to hide myself and expose very little of what i am. Simply because i hate being judged. But now i shall try and not bother about being judged and be more open and look put for relationships with my fellow humans.