Date : September 25th
Time : 5.30 PM
Place : H2 Admin Area, Cognizant-Pune
Just the second week of my journey with Cognizant, I stood in front of the lady and asked for the bus pass. I felt myself a bit tentative while asking her, the way it often is when you are new, you always find yourself defensive and extra polite.
I said "Excuse me !". She didn't move.. Bad start !
I once again uttered those words and she looked at me. I said "I need a Bus pass."
She fixed her gaze on me and I noticed her big-time irritated face. "It's going to be bad"- I said to myself.
She turned her chair and started crawling through a bunch of registers, I was still wondering whether she's doing this for me or has she ignored me totally. New place new people, you never know what you have to face.
She took out one register and placed it on her desk, and asked for my employee id.
Bad things happen all at once.. I was looking somewhere else when she asked me this. I realized that she was asking me something.. umm.. ya, what did you say - I uttered.
She raised her voice and I could see the anger in her voice. "Tell me your employee id !" She repeated.
"umm.. it's 189542" I said.
As she started telling me something her senior roared from the cubicle across. They exchanged a few words. She was supposed to finish something which she couldn't, too much of work. I felt bad for her.
Then she looked at me and said "See what's written over there !". My heart sunk as I read timings for bus pass distribution, I was comprehensively late. I was about to leave the place when she said "Wait !" She asked me my id and handed me the bus pass.
I said thanks with a smile but she didn't react. I turned my back and headed for the door with a grief. And then something suddenly rushed into my mind. I took out an eclair from my shirt pocket. Thanks to the panwala who didn't have change.
I went to her kept it on her desk and said "It's for you, thanks again."
That was the moment which made my day as I saw a wide smile on her face with a hint of amazement in it. I had certainly troubled her but I managed to bring the smile back on her face.
That was my moment of salvation.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
People Like Us and People Like Them
This article, written by Sandipan Deb, appeared in The Financial Express.
In a discussion on the net with a bunch of friends on the film Omkara, I wrote: “Yes, Omkara is the one film this year that all we PLUs have been waiting for.” Asked a dear pal, professor at a New York University: “And what be a PLU?” That set me thinking.
PLU (People Like Us), and the yang to its yin, PLT (People Like Them) entered our lexicon in the early ‘90s. And the terms neatly pinpoint the basic class divide in Indian society, as perceived and lived (in many cases, not even consciously) by the urban English-educated middle and upper middle classes. So what be a PLU?
Of course, we PLUs know another PLU the moment he or she starts speaking. And we know a PLT at first sight. This distinction is important. Many PLTs cleverly manage to dress and look like PLUs, but give themselves away as soon as they open their mouth. But let’s get more, well, scientific. In my mind, to be PLU, you have to fulfill all or most of the following conditions in complex and interconnected ways (and please remember, most of these qualities are necessary, but not sufficient).
• It helps to be a manager/ academic/ media/professional/ creative type (though obviously all people in these professions are not "like us"). If a businessman, you should preferably be in the knowledge/ IT/ ITES/ services industry. If you are a manufacturing entrepreneur, you need to be very strong on the other attributes. If you are a garment exporter or real estate agent, you have no hope of being a PLU.
• Most basic requirement: You have to be evolved in the way you express yourself in English. You could be an investment banker at Goldman Sachs earning a gazillion rupees a year and not be PLU, because you still call up someone and say: "Hello, Rakesh Marwah this side, can I speak to Mr Mukesh?"
• So money isn't important? Well, again it’s not so simple. PLUs are generally doing well in life, but you could do well in many ways, not necessarily monetarily. You could be teaching English Literature at St Stephen’s, earning a modest salary, and be PLU. But then you have to give the impression (or genuinely feel) that you give a damn for what your collegemate is earning. But you could be all that, and teach English Literature at Lala Omprakash College, and there, you’ve blown your chances of ever being a PLU.
• More than anything, education matters. Rarely is anyone who is not from a good college considered PLU. Sachin Tendulkar may end up scoring twice the number of runs Bradman made, but he is not PLU. (His wife is.)
• PLUs are for gender equality, globalisation, democracy. Above all, meritocracy, a concept they have crafted carefully, completely delinking it from any advantages that a PLU may have been born with. PLUs are secular and condemn the Gujarat riots from the bottom of their hearts, but would rather have Vajpayee than Sonia Gandhi, because she is a foreigner (To get over the ignominy of being ruled by a foreigner, all PLUs send their children to foreign lands for higher studies as soon as they can). PLUs are a class created by Dr Manmohan Singh, so feel let down by him, yet believe that he will finally do the right thing (that is, take care of PLU interests).
• But. Again, like everything about PLUs, it's not simple. PLUs have strong ideologies, as described above. Yet all PLUs know that Sitaram Yechury is one of them. Prakash Karat is not, because on TV, he comes across as a humourless Stal-inist to PLUs; he could have been, but missed the bus.
• Everyone who works or has worked in McKinsey is a PLU.
• Sachin Tendulkar may not be PLU, but Rahul Dravid is. So is Anil Kumble, even though all PLUs have been complaining for 15 years that he doesn’t turn the ball. Sourav Ganguly, though from St Xavier's Kolkata, is not, because he lives in a joint family. Shah Rukh and Aamir and Saif Ali Khan are PLU (Saif is currently the paradigm of PLU, and the fact that he could do Langda Tyagi so well in Omkara has made him the PLUs' favourite actor), but Salman will never be. Bobby Deol is PLU, Sunny is not. Sushmita Sen and Preity Zinta are PLUs, but Rani Mukherjee will have to try a wee bit harder to get in. Karan Johar thinks he is PLU, but PLUs (actually a small segment of them) are interested in him only as a post-modern cultural and sociological phenomenon that, if studied, would give the PLU stuff for interesting conversation over drinks.
• Ajay Devgan is PLU because Kajol married him.
• Is Narayana Murthy a PLU? This question keeps PLUs awake at night.
• You are, very likely, not a PLU, if
a) you are pro-reservation in any way, other than economic reservation (unless you are Sitaram Yechury), b) you haven't read The Da Vinci Code, c) you never mention China in your conversations, d) you don’t know at least the first two lines of Hotel California, e) you have never bought a pirated DVD of a foreign film, f) never wondered why Priyanka Gandhi married Robert Vadra, g) not believed in what the BRIC report predicts (even if you’ve never heard of the BRIC report), h) are not willing to give to charity every year, i) you are not proud to be Indian, and have chosen to stay here, and really hate it when your friends from the US come for a visit and never wear anything anywhere but shorts.
Those are the people who are the People Like Us. We are not bad people; like everyone else, we are trying to make sense of this country, and make sense of ourselves. And how to connect the truths that we find at the end of our twin searches. That, I told my professor friend sitting far away in New York, would be the crucial connection. "
In a discussion on the net with a bunch of friends on the film Omkara, I wrote: “Yes, Omkara is the one film this year that all we PLUs have been waiting for.” Asked a dear pal, professor at a New York University: “And what be a PLU?” That set me thinking.
PLU (People Like Us), and the yang to its yin, PLT (People Like Them) entered our lexicon in the early ‘90s. And the terms neatly pinpoint the basic class divide in Indian society, as perceived and lived (in many cases, not even consciously) by the urban English-educated middle and upper middle classes. So what be a PLU?
Of course, we PLUs know another PLU the moment he or she starts speaking. And we know a PLT at first sight. This distinction is important. Many PLTs cleverly manage to dress and look like PLUs, but give themselves away as soon as they open their mouth. But let’s get more, well, scientific. In my mind, to be PLU, you have to fulfill all or most of the following conditions in complex and interconnected ways (and please remember, most of these qualities are necessary, but not sufficient).
• It helps to be a manager/ academic/ media/professional/ creative type (though obviously all people in these professions are not "like us"). If a businessman, you should preferably be in the knowledge/ IT/ ITES/ services industry. If you are a manufacturing entrepreneur, you need to be very strong on the other attributes. If you are a garment exporter or real estate agent, you have no hope of being a PLU.
• Most basic requirement: You have to be evolved in the way you express yourself in English. You could be an investment banker at Goldman Sachs earning a gazillion rupees a year and not be PLU, because you still call up someone and say: "Hello, Rakesh Marwah this side, can I speak to Mr Mukesh?"
• So money isn't important? Well, again it’s not so simple. PLUs are generally doing well in life, but you could do well in many ways, not necessarily monetarily. You could be teaching English Literature at St Stephen’s, earning a modest salary, and be PLU. But then you have to give the impression (or genuinely feel) that you give a damn for what your collegemate is earning. But you could be all that, and teach English Literature at Lala Omprakash College, and there, you’ve blown your chances of ever being a PLU.
• More than anything, education matters. Rarely is anyone who is not from a good college considered PLU. Sachin Tendulkar may end up scoring twice the number of runs Bradman made, but he is not PLU. (His wife is.)
• PLUs are for gender equality, globalisation, democracy. Above all, meritocracy, a concept they have crafted carefully, completely delinking it from any advantages that a PLU may have been born with. PLUs are secular and condemn the Gujarat riots from the bottom of their hearts, but would rather have Vajpayee than Sonia Gandhi, because she is a foreigner (To get over the ignominy of being ruled by a foreigner, all PLUs send their children to foreign lands for higher studies as soon as they can). PLUs are a class created by Dr Manmohan Singh, so feel let down by him, yet believe that he will finally do the right thing (that is, take care of PLU interests).
• But. Again, like everything about PLUs, it's not simple. PLUs have strong ideologies, as described above. Yet all PLUs know that Sitaram Yechury is one of them. Prakash Karat is not, because on TV, he comes across as a humourless Stal-inist to PLUs; he could have been, but missed the bus.
• Everyone who works or has worked in McKinsey is a PLU.
• Sachin Tendulkar may not be PLU, but Rahul Dravid is. So is Anil Kumble, even though all PLUs have been complaining for 15 years that he doesn’t turn the ball. Sourav Ganguly, though from St Xavier's Kolkata, is not, because he lives in a joint family. Shah Rukh and Aamir and Saif Ali Khan are PLU (Saif is currently the paradigm of PLU, and the fact that he could do Langda Tyagi so well in Omkara has made him the PLUs' favourite actor), but Salman will never be. Bobby Deol is PLU, Sunny is not. Sushmita Sen and Preity Zinta are PLUs, but Rani Mukherjee will have to try a wee bit harder to get in. Karan Johar thinks he is PLU, but PLUs (actually a small segment of them) are interested in him only as a post-modern cultural and sociological phenomenon that, if studied, would give the PLU stuff for interesting conversation over drinks.
• Ajay Devgan is PLU because Kajol married him.
• Is Narayana Murthy a PLU? This question keeps PLUs awake at night.
• You are, very likely, not a PLU, if
a) you are pro-reservation in any way, other than economic reservation (unless you are Sitaram Yechury), b) you haven't read The Da Vinci Code, c) you never mention China in your conversations, d) you don’t know at least the first two lines of Hotel California, e) you have never bought a pirated DVD of a foreign film, f) never wondered why Priyanka Gandhi married Robert Vadra, g) not believed in what the BRIC report predicts (even if you’ve never heard of the BRIC report), h) are not willing to give to charity every year, i) you are not proud to be Indian, and have chosen to stay here, and really hate it when your friends from the US come for a visit and never wear anything anywhere but shorts.
Those are the people who are the People Like Us. We are not bad people; like everyone else, we are trying to make sense of this country, and make sense of ourselves. And how to connect the truths that we find at the end of our twin searches. That, I told my professor friend sitting far away in New York, would be the crucial connection. "
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
छत्री
छत्री
पाऊस हॊता पडत, वारा हॊता सॊसाट्याचा
चाललॊ हॊतॊ रस्त्यावरून, एक छत्री घॆऊन
हाक आली ऐकू म्हणुन पाहीले शेजारी
ठोका चुकला ह्रुदयाचा माझ्या, क्षणभर गेलो हरवून
भिजत होती एकटीच, का कोण जाणे
किती वाईट वाटले म्हणून सांगू तिला पाहून
म्हणालो छत्रीत ये, माणूस आहे तसा मी बरा
हम्म्म्म... म्हणाली ते कळतेय तुम्हाला पाहून
काय दुर्बुध्दी झाली मला, जे तिला विचारले
माझे असेच किती पावसाळे गेले निघून
एक वेळ मी भिजलोही असतो, तिला माझी छत्री देऊन
पण ती भिजत राहिली तशीच, आणी माझी छत्री गेली गंजून
- अनिरूद्ध रहाळकर.
पाऊस हॊता पडत, वारा हॊता सॊसाट्याचा
चाललॊ हॊतॊ रस्त्यावरून, एक छत्री घॆऊन
हाक आली ऐकू म्हणुन पाहीले शेजारी
ठोका चुकला ह्रुदयाचा माझ्या, क्षणभर गेलो हरवून
भिजत होती एकटीच, का कोण जाणे
किती वाईट वाटले म्हणून सांगू तिला पाहून
म्हणालो छत्रीत ये, माणूस आहे तसा मी बरा
हम्म्म्म... म्हणाली ते कळतेय तुम्हाला पाहून
काय दुर्बुध्दी झाली मला, जे तिला विचारले
माझे असेच किती पावसाळे गेले निघून
एक वेळ मी भिजलोही असतो, तिला माझी छत्री देऊन
पण ती भिजत राहिली तशीच, आणी माझी छत्री गेली गंजून
- अनिरूद्ध रहाळकर.
Monday, April 16, 2007
आणखी एक...
आणखी एक...
आणखी एक माणूस
हल्ली समाधीसाठी संभॊग करतो
आणखी एक कुत्रा
तूप चाटून पॊळी टाकून दॆतॊ
आणखी एक बाई
पडलॆला पदर हल्ली डॊक्यावरून घॆतॆ
आणखी एक तरूण
हल्ली दिवसाचीच रात्र करतॊ
आणखी एक वाघ
मांजरीकडून नखॆ उसनी घॆतो
आणखी एक चिखल
हल्ली ज्यात कमळॆ उगवत नाहीत
आणखी एक ठॆच
लागली तरी रक्त यॆत नाही
आणखी एक अश्रू
हल्ली जॊ बाहॆरच यॆत नाही
आणखी एक मी
पूर्वी फक्त बघायचो हल्ली कविता करतॊ
- अनिरूद्ध रहाळकर.
आणखी एक माणूस
हल्ली समाधीसाठी संभॊग करतो
आणखी एक कुत्रा
तूप चाटून पॊळी टाकून दॆतॊ
आणखी एक बाई
पडलॆला पदर हल्ली डॊक्यावरून घॆतॆ
आणखी एक तरूण
हल्ली दिवसाचीच रात्र करतॊ
आणखी एक वाघ
मांजरीकडून नखॆ उसनी घॆतो
आणखी एक चिखल
हल्ली ज्यात कमळॆ उगवत नाहीत
आणखी एक ठॆच
लागली तरी रक्त यॆत नाही
आणखी एक अश्रू
हल्ली जॊ बाहॆरच यॆत नाही
आणखी एक मी
पूर्वी फक्त बघायचो हल्ली कविता करतॊ
- अनिरूद्ध रहाळकर.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
First Mumbai-Pune Kobra meet
17th March Lonavla
Here we go...
Till Friday...
I had least idea about who's gonna come, from where.. nothing. Andy was co-ordinating basically. I got Gunesh's number from him, called him up on friday. We decided to meet at Kalyan station and to reach Lonavla by Deccan.
Saturday...
I had to get up early in spite of it being a saturday, but had to follow lord andy's orders :)
Had never met Gunesh before, just had seen his profile pic, but I managed to recognize him even without his mustache.
Train came a bit late, journey was uneventful too, but we ate everything we could :)
Reached Lonavla bus stand by 10 AM. Andy and Adi were already there. So after formal intro n stuff andy suggested a place called Hotel Mulaquat, so we settled there. It was a small restaurant kinda place but was cool.
When we started the affair, all four members present were from Mumbai. Mr. Prasad Limaye from Pune, the sole representative joined us later. There was no fixed agenda as such but do we Kobra's need it ? Hell no... It hardly took 15-20 minutes for people to settle and get going :)
Discussions consisted of topics from sex to meditation, history to politics, culture, traditions and many more...
They just won't fit here, you just have to be there ! Fag, tea, cold-drinks, snacks everything was there to keep our spirit up.
Finally we adjourned at around 2.30-2.45.
Andy dropped me and Gunesh at Sion station, Adi too got himself (And his wife) dropped at home by a tow-van.
Not gonna mention in detail what happened in journey back home, otherwise he would kill me :)
Had a rocking time.
Here we go...
Till Friday...
I had least idea about who's gonna come, from where.. nothing. Andy was co-ordinating basically. I got Gunesh's number from him, called him up on friday. We decided to meet at Kalyan station and to reach Lonavla by Deccan.
Saturday...
I had to get up early in spite of it being a saturday, but had to follow lord andy's orders :)
Had never met Gunesh before, just had seen his profile pic, but I managed to recognize him even without his mustache.
Train came a bit late, journey was uneventful too, but we ate everything we could :)
Reached Lonavla bus stand by 10 AM. Andy and Adi were already there. So after formal intro n stuff andy suggested a place called Hotel Mulaquat, so we settled there. It was a small restaurant kinda place but was cool.
When we started the affair, all four members present were from Mumbai. Mr. Prasad Limaye from Pune, the sole representative joined us later. There was no fixed agenda as such but do we Kobra's need it ? Hell no... It hardly took 15-20 minutes for people to settle and get going :)
Discussions consisted of topics from sex to meditation, history to politics, culture, traditions and many more...
They just won't fit here, you just have to be there ! Fag, tea, cold-drinks, snacks everything was there to keep our spirit up.
Finally we adjourned at around 2.30-2.45.
Andy dropped me and Gunesh at Sion station, Adi too got himself (And his wife) dropped at home by a tow-van.
Not gonna mention in detail what happened in journey back home, otherwise he would kill me :)
Had a rocking time.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
लाल शॆंबूड
शिमगा झाला
खेळ संपला
आलो घरी
शिंकरले नाक
शॆंबूड आला बाहेर
लाल
काय केले शिमग्याला
रंग फासले तॊंडाला
खेचले लोकांचे पाय
खुन्नस काढली जुनी
चिखलात बुडवले एकेकाला
शॆंबूड आला बाहेर लाल
विचार केला कसा होतो हा तयार
अनेक दिवसांच्या सर्दीने
तो साठतो आत
जेव्हा कोंडतो श्वास
आपण शिंकरतो नाक
तो कसा झाला लाल
झाले शिमग्याचे निमित्त्त
चिकट असतो नेहेमी तेवढाच
पण नसतो रंग त्याला
होत असतो तयार आत
नेहेमीच
निमित्त्त मिळाले की येतो बाहेर
नाक सोलवटेपर्यंत
कधी भगवा कधी हिरवा
कधी निळा कधी लाल.
- अनिरुद्ध रहाळकर.
खेळ संपला
आलो घरी
शिंकरले नाक
शॆंबूड आला बाहेर
लाल
काय केले शिमग्याला
रंग फासले तॊंडाला
खेचले लोकांचे पाय
खुन्नस काढली जुनी
चिखलात बुडवले एकेकाला
शॆंबूड आला बाहेर लाल
विचार केला कसा होतो हा तयार
अनेक दिवसांच्या सर्दीने
तो साठतो आत
जेव्हा कोंडतो श्वास
आपण शिंकरतो नाक
तो कसा झाला लाल
झाले शिमग्याचे निमित्त्त
चिकट असतो नेहेमी तेवढाच
पण नसतो रंग त्याला
होत असतो तयार आत
नेहेमीच
निमित्त्त मिळाले की येतो बाहेर
नाक सोलवटेपर्यंत
कधी भगवा कधी हिरवा
कधी निळा कधी लाल.
- अनिरुद्ध रहाळकर.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Human Touch
Heard this Bruce Springsteen song on the radio one evening, never heard it before though it was there in my collection.
I reached home, listened to it again 3-4 times. It touched my heart deeply.
You and me we were the pretenders
We let it all slip away
In the end what you don't surrender
Well the world just strips away
Girl, ain't no kindness in the face of strangers
Ain't gonna find no miracles here
Well you can wait on your blesses my darling
I got a deal for you right here
I ain't looking for praise or pity
I ain't coming round searching for a crutch
I just want someone to talk to
And a little of that human touch
Just a little of that human touch
Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town
Ain't no bread from heavenly skies
Ain't nobody drawing wine from this blood
Its just you and me tonight
Tell me, in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much
I just want something to hold on to
And a little of that human touch
Just a little of that human touch
Oh girl that feeling of safety that you prize
Well it comes at a hard hard price
You cant shut off the risk and the pain
Without losing the love that remains
We're all riders on this train
So you've been broken and you've been hurt
Show me somebody who ain't
Yeah, I know I ain't nobody's bargain
But, hell, a little touch up and a little paint...
You might need something to hold on to
When all the answers, they don't amount to much
Somebody that you could just to talk to
And a little of that human touch
Baby, in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much
I just want to feel you in my arms
Share a little of that human touch
Feel a little of that human touch
Give me a little of that human touch.
I need it.
I reached home, listened to it again 3-4 times. It touched my heart deeply.
You and me we were the pretenders
We let it all slip away
In the end what you don't surrender
Well the world just strips away
Girl, ain't no kindness in the face of strangers
Ain't gonna find no miracles here
Well you can wait on your blesses my darling
I got a deal for you right here
I ain't looking for praise or pity
I ain't coming round searching for a crutch
I just want someone to talk to
And a little of that human touch
Just a little of that human touch
Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town
Ain't no bread from heavenly skies
Ain't nobody drawing wine from this blood
Its just you and me tonight
Tell me, in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much
I just want something to hold on to
And a little of that human touch
Just a little of that human touch
Oh girl that feeling of safety that you prize
Well it comes at a hard hard price
You cant shut off the risk and the pain
Without losing the love that remains
We're all riders on this train
So you've been broken and you've been hurt
Show me somebody who ain't
Yeah, I know I ain't nobody's bargain
But, hell, a little touch up and a little paint...
You might need something to hold on to
When all the answers, they don't amount to much
Somebody that you could just to talk to
And a little of that human touch
Baby, in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much
I just want to feel you in my arms
Share a little of that human touch
Feel a little of that human touch
Give me a little of that human touch.
I need it.
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