The Star Effect

I have always complained that bluetooth is over rated. Yes, I used to sell it – but that is a different thing altogether, right? I remember the weird look I used to give to my friends for using one. I thought it was a “show-off”.

And a few minutes ago, I heard myself telling my roomie that Bodyguard has made bluetooth a cool thing. Salman Khan with the bluetooth and black sunglasses looks dashing and has changed my opinion at the drop of a hat. Am taken aback but amused at the same time! Bollywood has a much bigger effect on our daily lives than we acknowledge. Our clothes, the jokes we crack, the swearing, gestures, slangs, haircut!

I know girls who went to salons and asked for the “Priyanka Chopra” haircut. I know a friend who manages to find the exact same looking clothes in the movie that he watched recently. Hrithik Roshan was telling Priety Zinta in one of those chat shows about how crazy he was about those blue glasses after he saw Bobby Deol wear it in one of his movies. There are a bunch of over romantics that Shah Rukh has created. The list is endless!

Am not complaining. Just marveling what it is capable of! Will we learn the good stuff too at the same pace? Or must it appeal to us as cool?

Project 1

Two weeks had passed in the new company. Ideally, I should not be feeling “all that new” anymore. There is this huge campus with all the greenery and extremely well maintained natural beauty. Also, there are these extremely helpful people out here. Still I have been feeling lonely. Oh, please do not get me wrong. There have been people to give me company. Most people out here taking an extra effort to make sure I do not feel left out. But, I guess it has more to do with what I used to do before than what I might end up doing here (only work intended).

But, the first fun thing came my way and I grabbed it. Having been brought up in Kerala, I have a special place for everything that is Mallu. Yes there is an exception to it – they way they say my name. I have always wanted to tell them, “No, my name is not Remya. It is Ramya with 2 As!!”. But, I have accepted the fact that it is impossible to correct them and have resigned.

Onam brings a lot of joy and fun and the best part is the pookkalam or the flower carpet. I have fond memories of having been extremely competitive to make the best. School, College and now at work – all the excitement has returned.

My team's pookkalam

This simple activity brought together people from all kinds of background and brought out the child in each one of us. It was a great experience planning and executing this awesome flower carpet. My team mates mock me saying this is my first project at Infy. If so, I loved it.

I have heard this story as a kid and it has stuck with me. I am bad at storytelling and hence you can skip this part.

There was this old man who sat at the reception of an inn on the way to Rome. One of the travelers asked him, “How is Rome?”. The old man asked him back, “How was the city that you are coming from?”. The  traveler replied, “It was terrible. The people are extremely selfish and rude. I am so glad am out of there.” The old man replied with a sigh, “Rome is pretty much the same my friend!”. Disappointed, the traveller went on.

Another traveler who came by, asked the old man the same question. The old man repeated his question in reciprocation. The traveler replied, “It is the best city ever! I had so many friends and I still miss them. I was so happy there and it was very difficult to leave.” The old man replied with a smile, “Rome is pretty much the same my friend!”

Maybe, the same thing would happen with me.

The right thing

It has been a while since I blogged. Lets face it – am very bad at it. To add to that, lethargy took over. Until tonight. I felt the urge to write. Maybe I do not want to forget this incident. It is more of a note to myself than to any reader who might accidentally stumble upon this post. I feel emotionally and spiritually challenged tonight.

I have been down with terrible pain and have not done much today – in spite of the fact that a Sunday without rain has become rare. Water being at the bottom of the Maslow’s Hierarchy, its depletion caused me to overcome my horizontality and walk across the lane to the shop and order a refill. As I almost reached my house, I heard a cry from far away. From the distance all I could see was a bunch of dogs barking, a woman screaming and walking on the same lane towards me. Everybody on the road went into their respective houses. It was about to rain and a few huge drops have given a sample of what was coming. They might have gone inside because they did not want to get wet… or because they wanted to ignore this woman.

She did not stop screaming. Neither did she stop walking. She approached and I saw that she carried an infant in her hand. Her clothes were dirty, worn out, perhaps not washed for days. She had a visible limp. Suggesting from her cries, I guessed that she must be hurt. Did the dogs bite her? Did someone hurt her? Did she fall? Or…

I wanted to help. I paused and stood at the gate waiting for her to get closer. She did not look at me. She did not look at any of those people who were watching her, not the security guards, not the guy sipping chai… none. She walked straight ahead. I did not know what to do. Suddenly, I felt more helpless than her. There was no sign of any blood or dog bite. I stood looking as she passed me, still screaming.

I walked into the shelter of my home, with a heavy heart. I did not do anything!

What is the right thing to do? What would you have done?