Haraami Kismat!

Next Steps?

A few weeks ago I was imagining about getting a new lens and wondering which one would be my next. Broadly - macro or wide angle. Today I have the opportunity of getting a good deal but I am wondering if I really need a lens. I have lately been feeling that the quality of my photographs has been going down, and therefore my motivation too. So, will it really make any sense to spend money on more expensive gear? Or will a new toy help me get the drive to click more and better pictures. 

What is to be doing?! Your free advice is solicited. 

*Respect*

A conversation led to a question thrown at me about my internships and the bosses at each of those internships. And I realise that I had some of the best people to learn from through each one of those experiences. All five were organisations from different industries, of different sizes, and made up of fairly different people as well.

Thinking about them reminds me of the fabulous luck I have had. All of them are such brilliant minds, such amazing mentors! 

Their contribution to my professional life has been so significant that I cannot imagine where I would have been if I hadn't undertaken these internships. 

Piyush Bajpai and Laveesh Bhandari of Indicus Analytics,

Shadan Parveen, Amar Dutta and Angshuman Chakraborty of Pearson Education,

Bindiya Rawat and Aqueel Khan of ASK India,

Mitabh Saud and Sugato Hazra of Adfactors PR, and

Anshuman N. and Namita Asnani of ABB India...

...are the gods I am talking about. 

My first cheque, grammar lessons for a lifetime, the perfect perspective, insight into the world of lobbying, and an example of what leadership is all about, all this and a lot lot more has come from these people. 

Can never be thankful enough, I guess. 

Weekend Package

I am not going into the details of what I did during the weekend, but

with a Friday that had 

a light lunch with Chatterjee and a looooong walk in heels with a well-behaved knee, in the evening,

a Saturday that had

me watching two movies (Chalo Dilli and Shor in the City) back to back in a proper theatre (and not a multiplex hall), with pocorn in one and nachos in the other, and sleepover at my grandparents',

and a Sunday that

begun as early as 5:00 am for a photoshoot around the Yamuna, stopover at Chandni Chowk, chhole bhature at the Bengali Market, followed by a super afternoon spent with Avantika and Lynn,

I am now getting serious withdrawal symptoms. I don't know why I attended so many calls from office through the weekend. Have enough to do even before I get into office tomorrow. 

But what a weekend it was. Especially with the last three having been slow and boring. 

The Big Question

Can you do it?
Can you let go of your weekends?
Can you give up on all the things that do not add value?
Can you take the heat?
Can you take more pressure?

CAN.YOU.DO.IT?

I have to do it.

A Defence!

There are times when you ignore things people say about you or your identity. And there are times when you defend.

As a Delhiite, I have, on most occasions ignored the things people have said about me - some juvenile, some seriously condescending - simply because more often than not it is pointless to argue stereotype. 

I reached home a while back, opened my laptop because I had been out for meetings since lunch, and obviously, happened to login to Facebook too. Noticed a friend's comment on a link posted by one of her friends: City of Sperms. Delhi, of course. I clicked on it out of curiosity, only to get infuriated by the things it mentions. Very articulately derogatory. For me. And for my people. There are some aspects of it which I cannot defend and will not attempt to either, but its perspective stinks. And in my free space I am going to elucidate on an insider's story. 

Without getting into my little but enough-to-form-opinions experience of Bombay or the things about the city that have an equal number of people detesting it too, I will come straight to the point. 

Historically, most major cities across the world have developed around water bodies. New York, London, Moscow, Shanghai, Singapore, etc. At home, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and also Delhi. Port cities for the easy transportation in the olden days, and cities around rivers for easy availability of drinking water. I thought this was common knowledge. However, the greatness of these cities is not because of their advantageous geographical location, but because of their people*. I must not forget though that the article in question mentions that the people of Delhi are a questionable, pretentious lot. I guess I should focus on the people then. 

Delhi, 1947. Monuments left by the Mughals, roads & a few buildings left by the British, and the centre for most of the greats who helped bring in 15th August. Barring the last point, Delhi wasn't too different from some other cities of India. Or maybe it was. There were Indians who didn't know they had become Pakistanis, there were the homeless 'rich', the 'travellers' who did not know of their destination, and there were the scared. 

The scared who managed to hold on are today's Old Delhi with generations-old businesses. The culturally rich generations. The rest of Delhi of '47 began with opportunities in the form of a government. The political will attracted people from disturbed areas to Delhi. The refugees were given homes. Those homes are today's bungalows**. The existent trade channels helped bring up industry as much as they could. 

Khalistan pushed people to Delhi, Kashmiri Pandits on hitlists found recluse in Delhi, the Green Revolution gave neighbouring farmers a market in Delhi, liberalisation gave UP and Bihar an opportunity for much higher daily wages, privatisation and offshoring brought the rest of India to Delhi, Bihar's hard work got appreciated in diplomacy, and of course, the government and politics remained in Delhi. Tch, trade channels. Not exclusive in India. Built. And still exist. Naturally. Organically. Not undeserved. 

Alleged Intellectual Pursuits

The common man in Delhi talks about the weather. It is always too hot, too cold or too humid. It rains too much when not expected. It rains too little when expected. The common man also talks about governance and policy. Heard of that feature of journalism where proximity makes news more interesting? Hmm. The debates on policy take place on the porch that Delhi's homes boast of. And in the college canteens that give students the freedom to discuss what they like, and choose a future that does not result in making hoards of money every month. Where students can enjoy the lectures on Marxist theories and have the option of knowing more about it in a masters or a doctorate course. JNU is a cult. Contemporary culture deceives a visitor of JNU's mind. JNU is not about a meaningless existence or a hip MNC future, but of keeping a school of thought alive which capitalism obviously would not allow to exist. JNU also possibly gives entertainment products like _Capitalism_.
A society is made of layers. Layers of various colours and textures. These layers lend the society a character, a meaning. These layers help in evolution and growth. Layers exist for a reason. Just like vegetarians and carnivores. So, onions being at the heart of all north-Indian dishes are playing an important role. Read about the price issue?

One can always debate the objective and role of media in a democratic state, but The Times of India being quoted as a game-changer in media is a big misrepresentation in my mind. A game-changer in the business of media, yes. Journalism, NO. 

Going back to the layers that Delhi is made of - the city lets you decide whether you want to make money or not. It gives you the opportunity to go to Gurgaon and earn a BMW or make a living out of painting and dancing. It does not throw you off a railway platform for not running the race to earn more money. Or call it a commercially viable existence!

Delhi, like any other part of the world has stood the test of time. It does not become endearing because a loser decides that his city has some related flaws. It does not become hateful because it happens to be home to corrupt politicians. Delhi is beyond labels. It is a lot more than the stereotype.

*Which is why there are numerous cities across the world which are great even in the most challenging geographical terrains. People make a city, not its terrain or climate. 

**Rest of the bungalows belong to rich industrialists and Bollywood stars. Perhaps made for their extended family and extended servants. Perhaps the same in number as those in Bombay. 

P.S. - Didn't Bombay inherit fish? Does it not make millions off it every day? Undeserved? I don't think so. It is distressing to imagine that people like a Manu Joseph talk on behalf of an entire city. A city that minds its own business. Of its contempt for another city of the same country?!
P.P.S. - When did 'sperm' become a dirty word? The art of making normal words sound gross. Appreciation-worthy!

And talking of a crass Jat and the 'thousands like him' is like talking about India and comparing population-based indices with a country like, what, Iceland! Of course there are thousands like him from neighbouring states in a city of over one crore people. About the Jat behaviour, go do some reading!

And I rest my case.

Boolean

I believe that one does not need to be a geek to appreciate the beauty of boolean. I especially love it since school when it was the only thing in maths that was easy to score in. 

The zeros and ones, for me, also relate to the dots and lines of the hinduism universe at some level. 

But can we appreciate a human mind that works the boolean way? I have figured that I cannot. Somebody who cannot interpret expressions or read silence, dig beneath the surface or look beyond the sky, I am unable to have a conversation with someone like that. Maybe these are the people who are always sorted in the head and do not have incomprehensible muses. I have realised though that while I strive to disentangle my mind's wires, I don't think I want to be boolean in my mind. 

And this is the only logical reason why I am still not over you. 

For The Love of White

I want to write. I want to let it flow. I want to frame proper sentences, not join a noun, adjective and a verb. 

I know what is happening to my universe right now. I know it is a circle, the origin of which I cannot locate. I could hope that knowing about it would help sorting it out as well. But I think my monarch-ic ambitions would win the day I'd be able to achieve that. 

It is not flowing. Therefore, I am indulging in white.

Where's Goofy?

My obsession with myself and my mind doesn't need any testimonials. But the lack of something fun/exciting/not drab over the past few weeks has made me indulge in this by giving up on over an hour of sleep. Now tell me if you are offering me some money to let you click a picture of me too. No? Ok. 

P.S. - I have 21 GB of photographs on my system. #justsaying

For The Record

India has won. Fellow countrymen and women are all out on the streets. High-fiving through cars, bikes and even autos. Autos which have dozens of people in them each. Cars which had probably never used their sun roofs before. I saw a family distributing slices of cake to cars passing by. Smiling policemen only telling people to not swing from their cars' windows. Tiny kids not understanding what is happening but participating in the fun. 

Sachin had the best smile. The Vande Mataram chant was unmatchable. And the tears. Wow.

Feels good to have been witness to such history. And on an unrelated note, I will miss seeing Gauti in the Delhi jersey later this month. 

Faces I Saw Recently

I have had days when every person I see reminds me of someone I know/have known. Such days are rather creepy. But in the past few weeks I have spotted people on different occasions who look like people I have known. Some of them being...

Sayantani (pretty close to where her parents stay)

Rohini (with only the nose looking different)

Sumit (I think he has more than one look-alikes)

Aditi Raisurana (minus the specs)

Prashant (similar face with a similar height and build)

My bua (if she had a replica it was the lady I saw in the metro!)

Sometimes it's plain uneasy to go through this given the frequency. Isn't it?