Four Eyes and Two Lenses

  "Most of your friends will leave you eventually, will get busy in their lives, and you will be on your own." I was furious when the campus mentor at the Infosys Mysore campus said these lines. I was in my early 20s and was not able to digest the fact that my friends, who were sitting beside me, with whom I just came back from celebrating my birthday party, will eventually leave me or maybe I will never be able to see them again in my life, let alone celebrate my birthday with them. It was not that I had not heard this sentence before in my life from several other people on several other occasions. I was angry with her because she was saying something that my then state of mind - which was euphoric , my then life events – which was like utopic , my then understanding of human affairs – which was naively unrealistic , did not allow me to take it inside of my conscious mind. I stood up and started walking out of the seminar hall as I could not take her words anymore, lea...

मैं आज़ाद हूँ आज ज़माने के उस बोझ से जिसने कभी मुझें चलना सिखाया आज कह रहा कदम को ठहरने मेरे जिसने कभी मुझें बोलना सिखाया आज कह रहा ज़ुबा को बांधने मेरे जिसने कभी मुझें हसना सिखाया आज कह रहा आँसुओ को पोछने मेरे बंदिशों में नहीं जीना है अब मुझें चिड़ियों की राह को तलाशना है अब मुझें ख़ुद की इज़्ज़त को बचाने ख़ुद की राह बानाने आवाज़ को बुलंद करना है अब मुझें मेरी बहनों के साथ हुईं जो इंतेहाई हिमाक़त उसका बदला लेना है अब मुझें हक़ की बात तो हुईं है कहाँ अब तो बस उसे छीनना है मुझें मेरे बालों से हुईं थीं शुरुआत ख़त्म अब उनके ख़ून से होगी ये बात क्योंकि बंदिशों में नहीं जीना है अब मुझें चिड़ियों की राह को तलाशना है अब मुझें मैं आज़ाद हूँ आज ज़माने के उस बोझ से ... The above poem was inspired by the recent event that happened in Iran. Take a look at the picture below. I feel this is the (most) strongest picture I have seen in recent times. Note: I have always thought, throughout my life, that I could never think of writing a poem let alone writing an actual one. This is my second attempt at it. If you feel ...

It was that evening during the December of 2021 when the bone-chilling winds were casually window-shopping every house of the town, sneaking in the small crevices, and leaving behind a shiver and a teeth chatter to prove their presence. While in the distance, an all-day hide & seek game of clouds and the sun was witnessing a closure, with a meeky sun accepting its defeat, lurking behind the clouds, and leaving for the day. With the daylight to a bare minimum for the human eyes to see anything, darkness slowly started to spread its carpet over the horizon. A flock of birds danced and formed a beautiful pattern in the grey sky while returning from their daylong excursion. It was one of those times when you crave a hot cup of tea and a warm blanket to give you some warmth in that retirement of the day. Overlooking these events getting unfolded through my window, sitting on my workstation, I was working on my project, wrapped in every woolen cloth that I could get to cover myself, with...

Recently, I received a very personal message, that also happen to be a personal anecdote, from one of my long-time long-distance friends that went something like this: " Ankit, Yesterday I traveled 3500 KM up North East of Arunachal Pradesh from the Southern part of India to attend my uncle's funeral. Dai was 65 and although he went far too soon, I somehow find comfort in knowing that he was doing what he loved most, swimming, before his heart decided to suddenly stop. Turns out, something bizarre happens when someone you know dies. For starters, you have to dance with feelings of guilt about all the things you wished you had done differently. Secondly, you get flooded with memories that you had completely forgotten about up until now, which fills you up with a sense of connection and appreciation. As my 95 years young Grandmother described her former son-in-law, Dai was a "Big Man". Standing tall at 6ft2, a lover of football, he was a big unit. My u...

I recently eavesdropped on a conversation, while traveling in a train, wherein two young gentlemen were discussing their financial & future life plans, how they would be earning as much as Jeff Bezos in the next few years riding on a 'super disruptive' idea they have for a startup, and how they would be retiring young at an age of 35. It was more like a Deja Vu for me and so I, smilingly & bendingly, continued eavesdropping on their fantasies, oops, financial & future plans. From Jeff Bezos's divorce alimony to bitching about their bosses, to mundane 9 to 5 schedule, to their 'awesome' startup idea, to leaving the job, to hiring smart 'men', and earning pool of money, their discussion explored everything a young mind could fantasize about. Listening to their exchange of thoughts, I had a constant smile on my face to the point where the woman sitting in front of me, facing towards me, started to 'adjust' herself feeling threatened by it....

While attending several marriage functions over the course of a few months, I noticed something unique. The bride cries a little more when she hugs her father or her brother during the bidayi time/ceremony. I wondered why. I came up with 3 possible reasons behind this: 1. A sense of support & care that she received in her life till then at her home is suddenly getting away (perceived notion) and she is in doubt if she could get that kind of support, care, & love, that she received from her father and brother, at her new home and from her husband. 2. Secondly, a sense of respect for her father and brother, and an uncertain aspiration/expectation to get the same qualities in her husband could be another reason behind this. 3. Thirdly, a sudden burst of the comfort zone bubble and a detachment from a familiar place & people, & the anxiety for an unfamiliar place and people could be another reason for this. P.S: I may be wrong in thinking all about this. If you think that I...

Till the start of a New Journey Her mother put a full tablespoon of sweetened curd in her mouth. Priyanka thought of rejecting her mother’s wish (and order at the same time) but could not able to or rather was not ready to start a fight (which she never won earlier) on this auspicious morning. “ Beta, Dahi-Chini kha lo, interview accha jaega ”, said her mother. [“ Daughter, have some sweetened curd, your interview will go well ”] Priyanka was appearing for the interview of a reputed management institution for which she was dreaming for the past year. For her, it was never easy to manage the day job with late-night preparation for the management studies, but with her determination and her mother’s support, she was able to crack all the elementary rounds and qualified herself for the last interview round. Gulping down the curd, Priyanka hurried towards the Ola cab driver, who was waiting patiently and was watching all the drama until now. “ Chalo Bhaiya ”, Priyanka asked the dri...

“New Life New Beginnings” – this was the status I put across on my social media profiles when I got placed and started to work at Infosys almost 5 years back (2014). I was thrilled and excited to work in the corporates. Saying goodbye to my college life, I went ahead to create new experiences at Infosys. Mysore welcomed me with a jaw-dropping look on my face and stepped in to enjoy the second golden period of my life. Life at Infosys was very different from what it used to be in college. Apart from learning different programming languages, I learned people management, as in I learned whom to approach, when to approach, and how to approach. Basically, Infosys gave me the training to survive in the corporate world. Being the first employer, Infosys will always remain very close to my heart. Years passed, and it was time for me to say goodbye to Infosys. My colleagues at Infosys flocked together and gave me well wishes for my future and I walked ahead making friends...

A state once called the land of intellectuals, is now the talk of the town and being shamed across the country because few students were caught copying in the examination. It certainly goes into the national newspapers and thus the reputation of the state deteriorates. These incidents not only bring shame to the identity of the individuals of Bihar but also possess a great barrier in the development of the state. Before the NDA government came to power Bihar was led by Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav. Under his governance, the state went into negative development. Corruption, kidnapping, murder, scams, injustice, unemployment, low economic growth were norms. NDA government came to power with a basket full of negligence from the previous government. Although they took several initiatives to curb the slow growth of the state, several factors that are still prevalent today came as a hurdle to the development process. Corruption, poverty, flood, tax collection, lack of infrastructure for co...