Call of the wild!!

No!! This is not about a trip to the wild jungles and stuff like that. This is about what's there and what we are going to loose, what our future generations may never see. A couple of weeks ago I saw this report on NDTV (I guess) where they were talking of the diminishing number of Tigers and Gharials. While the number of Tigers have gone down, its the Gharials who are really the matter of concern. With an alarming death of more than 100 at the Chambal Sanctuary in the past couple of months for reasons unknown, the Gharial is now one of teh critically endangered species. I've been trying to dig up more on them, but its a painstaking work, what with our daily obligations in place. Anywyz, amidst all this I came across one such enthusiast, Apoorva Joshi, who has actually gone out there and is trying to do something about this. Please go through her blog: the wilderness n its wild kid.

Now after all this talk, I'd like some inputs from you as to how we can contribute to such issues. We can write, yes!! But apart from that, what?? Speak out, I don't care how absurd your ideas are, how naive, impossible illogical they are. Provide information if you have any. And if you are already involved do tell us about it. Every thought that you'd share counts. It's because of us that they are in the condition that they are!!!

This is not about us, it's about the environment that we live in. It's about the ecological balance. It's about what we pass on to future generations. Please, let's do something about it.

Something to ponder about!!!

Spetember 2005, I had started my professional journey. I was wary of the jungle that awaited me. Though I'd be cocooned for about 6 months due to training, it won't last forever would it?? In those impressionable times, I came across someone, who became my idol in little or no time. Some casual conversations and other interactions made me revere this person like I had never done before. Was able to observe him for a few months more before he moved on.

Today while going through my mail archives, I chanced upon his parting mail and it made me think. I'll qoute his words for you:

"A person goes through many associations in his/her professional life. Most of these associations are meant to be and treated as temporary; some are proven to be significant and cared for, for a much longer duration than the preceding category. A few, however, stay on for ever in the cosiest corner of one's heart. With passage of time, one's fondness for these only increases.

My association with ****** falls in this last category and now that I am disengaging myself from the organisation for the second time, I know that I am going to yearn for this assocation's continuation in my life. To tell you the truth, I value this as much as I value some of my very personal associations.

At such time of parting, people write mails to their erstwhile colleagues and friends. More often than not, such mails tend to be either a lachrymose huddle of words, or collection of cut and dried, inanimate sentences thanking ex-colleagues or, in some cases, even disaffected musings about how one's life outside the organisation would not be the same again! My mails in the past, in similar situations were not very different, I have to admit. In fact, most of the times, such mails are too predictable in their tone and in their contents to elicit a caring read from the intended recipients.

Hence, I have decided not to write a mail to tell you all about my fondness for ******, and my fascination for its environment and people. Instead, let me just say that through my 14+ years of struggle to survive in this unpredictable, demanding but thoroughly enjoyable industry, I have come to understand that life is much bigger than all these. To excel in work, one needs to have passion, demonstrate perseverance, exercise resilience and learn and unlearn things in a frenetic speed. But to be successful in life, one probably needs these and much more, the most important being the ability to look beyond our immediate work environment. A career gives a lot, but demands a lot in return. But, a close relation or a close friend gives a lot too, but not necessarily demand a lot in return, if anything. We all need to wriggle out of this all-consuming clutch of a race in professional life - a race which has a beginning but no seeming end - and being to look at life in its entirety. That is where the best of the human attributes like love, affection,kindness and friendship, flourish. They define the completeness of us as human beings.

Therefore, I would end this the mail with a honest request to you all (as well as myself) to begin to segregate between work and life, to look beyond the fantasy land that an IT job creates, to begin to appreciate precious softer sides of life that spring forth around us everyday, to reach out to family and friends for whom we usually keep the bottom-most of the ToDo list, aside."

Doesn't that make you stop and think about what you've been doing all this while??

When, I read this mail, I simply stopped working. I couldn't write a single line of code. As I sat back and wondered, I realised how much I have been running after my career or rather what I believe I'm qualified enough to do. I'm losing out on the personal front so much. I'm losing touch with most of my friends. Where is this going to take me? A deep lying thought probably planted by my idol years ago, again shook itself out of its slumber and made me look around and question my motives for working and what is it I am paying in kind with to get that cash?? And I go back to a favourite line of mine:

"Never be so busy, that cannot stop by and smell the flowers!!"

Work, but as a free man/woman not as a slave!!! Enjoy life..... you gotta play at times too... be impulsive.... be yourself!!!! :)

Gotta be 18!!

Well, now all of you in tune with the latest news would have come across this debate that's going on regarding bringing down the marriageable age for boys from 21 to 18. Now, this actualy brings me to one of my questions. No answers found till date to be honest, but then I still have that question. Ready for it??

An Indian is deemed to be an adult at the age of 18 means, you can vote, you can drive, you can enter the pubs. Does it mean anything else to youngsters?? People who are about to step out of their teens and are not really worldly wise being given the license to marry?? Marriage is not a joke. It takes a lot for an individual to make a relationship click. And marriage is the most important one you'd have had since you started walking (parents happened when you were born, right?? :)) So now, does one really think that at 18, one is mature enough to marry another person and then settle down to a life with him/her?? Someone who hasn't had an iota of idea of being an adult is being allowed to marry, why?? Law Commission has put forth this recommendation... wonder why not the other way around?? I mean given the way girls do get packed off in India, I personally am of the opinion that the marriagable age for girls should be 21 or above. Likewise for guys. That way, one might ensure that the girl does get to complete graduation and opens her up to the world outside and helps her mature as an adult. And the guys too would get the time to grow up.

Now, another recommendation by the Law Commission is to raise the age for consentual sex for girls to 16 from 15 (I wonder what it is for boys??). My question is the does the general psychology of a 16 year old allows him/her to handle the emotional aspect of a sexual intercourse?? I doubt!! And given the nature of sex-education in India, I personally don't approve of this. but then, what to do for the curious teenage mind?? There are enough material out there to tell them about the basics of the show and chances are they'd be interested in trying it out. So, if we raise the age bar too much, loads would be breaking the law, if we make it too low we might encounter teens making out quite often. May be 16 balances it out, but then sexual awareness should also be spread and in a BIG way at that, then and only then one can ensure that the teens are at least responsible when engaging in the act.

I hope my rambling was sensible enough. Check out IBN Live :
Sex at 16, marry at 18: Big Indian adulthood debate

Do let me know, what you think!!! Be honest and frank....

Smiling Drivers

How many times while driving have you felt like socking the driver ahead of you for say jumping lanes/signals, honking as if there's no tomorrow, zigzagging like crazy, braking all too frequently and stuff like that? Let me guess, every so often is it not?

Well.... I too am one such harassed driver. Now, this is what --XH-- wrote in one of his posts. It's about a group of smiling drivers. I really liked the concept. Go ahead and check it out!!

Crib a lil more....

Alright now, I'm here to crib a lil more.

Ok, so there I was working from 3-11 last week, and the main task at hand was to go through about 2200 documents. I had to verify them. One of my colleagues was also helping me out at that. So that's the two of us, working our ass off. The week goes by, haven't progressed much, just about 500 done. Honestly, its such a bugging task, we weren't really enjoying it. Anywyz, so there we were quite happy that we will get some more through on regular work hours this week and then came the blow on Monday. We both had to turn up again this week and work from 3-11. Isn't that amazing??

Here's the icing on the cake. I'm leaving early tomorrow on a weekend trip. So there I am stuck with loads of those irksome docs and have to get through with my list by EOD today. Dunno, how I wil manage it, but was just wondering why can't those buggers do it for themselves, maybe then they would realise why we are hating that task!!!

Who said software engineers had it easy in life, but must have been super ignorant!!! hmpf!!!