Guilt.....

I was returning back from the office. I had just got down from the bus and started to stroll down the path to return to my PG. I was in deep thought thinking about how my day had been and what to do to make the evening eventful. Then I remembered having taken two movies from my friend in the office and thought of screening them on my 17 inch laptop. Suddenly my eyes went across and I spotted a guy standing on the footpath, dressed in formals, looking tired and concerned. Before I took my eyes off him, he came walking towards me and started speaking something in Tamil in a very hurried manner. He was worried that I must not leave fast without listening to him.
I said “Tamil illa” (trying to tell him that I do not know Tamil) and showed my inability to converse with him. I was then about to move on and this happened.
(Let me refer that guy as: “He”)
He: What language do you speak?
Me: English is fine?
He: Are you a salesperson?
Me: No
He: Where do you work?
Me: (lied to him) I work for Software Company
He: I want to work in Avaya Call Centre. Can I directly go there and ask for employment?
Me: hmm... I don’t know.... What do you do now? What is your qualification?
He: Oh.. ya I am basically from Hyderabad, my family has come here now. I completed my 12th from there and here we do not have anything to do. I am actually working in a restaurant now, but they do not pay me much. I want to do my B.Com. I do not have money. One of my classmates failed in 12th and she straight away went to this call centre and got a job. So can I also go there?
Me: [By simple logic you should, but then that was “she” and you are “he” ;)].. Hmm, why don’t you apply through consultants?
He: Consultants?
Me: They are broker kind of people. You give your resume and they will apply and then call you.
He: But I not have a phone. They will not be able to call me. Can I not just go there and ask them to interview me?
Me: You better call then in their office. Tell them that I want to join this company. How do I apply for this? When can I come for interview? I was getting a little irritated. Wanted to go home and sit inside the AC. I started looking forward hinting him about my intention to move on.
He: I am just 19 now so do you think that I have got enough time?
Me: Enough time for what?
He: I have to find a job and then study so is it getting late?
Me: No you have got a lot of time. I am 8 years elder to you and I am still shaping my career. Good Luck. Bye.

While I was walking back I was thinking- How much a guy completely deprived of resources in terms of money, information and guidance is concerned about his future and probably worried. What if I had refused to talk to him and left. Would my advice really help him? Could I have done better to help him? I got the answer as No. I could have easily gotten him a job in some call centre or other. So I immediately turned back to talk to him more. Sadly he was gone and now when I am watching the movie I am still thinking about it and feeling guilty.

Run Forrest Run !!!!!!!!!

I ran today. I ran on an on. No thoughts in the mind- just the next milestone in sight- heart pumping fast- breathe getting heavier and heavier.

Overnight resolution unlike every night did not break. At 6 a.m. in the morning my friend was there to wake me up. Resisting the temptation of staying in the bed, I got my running shoes on and we left for the lovely campus of Anna University. After the first step it felt that I will not be able to run for more than 100 meters. But as it unfolded slowly and slowly all the thoughts in the mind started disappearing and all I was thinking about was of running and shedding more and more of sweat. The tightness and the tiredness of the legs were subdued by the constant lightness and refreshment of the mind.
Only then I realised that I had been missing this vital part of life since I left college and came here at Chennai. Some amount of physical exercise is must not only for the body but also for the mind.
All I am thinking of now is to continue running every morning and start the day by trashing all the mind bogglers in sweat.

Chennai me chain

I used to laugh vehemently in opposition when my Tamil friends adored Chennai as a great place to live in. Everyone else told me about the tough times North Indians face in Chennai- the language problem, dealing with auto drivers, scorching climate, tendency of the natives to dislike the outsiders, food etc ... I was prepared for the hostile treatment I could receive in the city. To my surprise my one month stay here so far has been really comfortable and a lot of experiences have been eye openers for me. One more month to go and a lot of prejudiced speculations are getting pushed into the stack. I hope and feel that the stack will not do a pop operation.
Food is not a problem if you like south Indian. Dosas, idlis and vadas are the tastiest here. Apart from that there are plenty of places where you get north Indian food. One of the best chaats I ever had was here in Gangotri. Summers of Chennai are supposed to be painful but they are not as intense as they are in North India and evenings are much cooler.

Place is humid but then if you love beaches, you got to go where humidity is. Language problem occurs only with the few illiterate people as most of the people have Hindi or English as their second language in school and can manage to converse in either or both.

So then the only problem I faced initially was with auto drivers and this is how you can overcome to this problem: - Here the meter starts from Rs. 30. By meter I mean drivers’ greedy mind.The physical machine never operates- I am sure for more than half the autos in the city this machine would have got rusted. But I have found a good way of bargaining. All you need to do before travelling is to call up your local friend and know the exact fare. Now, when the auto driver places his bid, tell the exact amount and then say this – “naan dhinamum inth route la poitu varen” meaning boss, I do travel up and down daily on this route. Even Hindi works well (for those who cannot by heart this phrase). You then need to leave that auto and pretend to look for another. 95% of times the same auto driver will come back and agree to your amount. Best practice- never catch a stationary auto, always stop a running auto.

For my friend

It has been looooong since I wrote here... Have started tweeting these days though. This blog is for my friend whose wedding anniversary is on 19th of this month. Dunno if I will get time on 19th to write this so thought will write today(16th) on saturday evening itself.. 4 years we were together in engineering college. This is my second stint but he is not here. But infinite number of times similar events happen here in college which remind me of him. I keep relating that if we were together here, we would have done this thing in that way, we would have laughed today on this matter, we would have participated in that cricket tournament, we would have traveled back home together talking and laughing all the night etc etc..
But just one more week to go. I am gonna be in Bangalore then and we shall catch up.
Lots of wishes to both of you on your wedding anniversary ....

Sharmajiiiii......
Here nobody calls me sharmaji :(