Monday, September 24, 2007

Mobile N Home

One fine morning I got up and affirmed my decision to shift kolkata to be precise Ichapur, a small town in the outskirts of the city which is now a days been seen as one of the destinations for growing telecom services as the autorickshawalla to the guy selling Puchka “junk food” on the street corner everyone is a proud owner of a Tata Indicom handset which surely has the free 2 year talktime scheme and I really wonder what would happen when these customers would reach the deadline I have seen many a people who have only one rupee in there cell but it’s the scheme which is letting them talk to there girlfriends/boyfriends, friends, siblings, cousins and all the other networking individuals. What essentially was seen as a mode of communication has outgrown to be a mode of time pass. People suffer from diseases like ringxiety, a type of anxiety where an individual thinks that his cello phone is ringing whereas it doesn’t even blink its various colours. When I read the article on ringxiety I realised I am one of the victims of this new found disease. When one passes by the main street or lanes small shops adorn the posters of Tata Indicom, Reliance, Spice, Hutch and Airtel boxes, cartons, glass shields even the lamppost is not spared from the posters. The propinquity of the dealer with his customers is also noteworthy, the dealer tries to sell the network which gives him the maximum profit (usual selling method) but the way he sells it is something to lookout for, he would present such beautiful excuses that even you will start thinking about the consequences in case you don’t purchase that scheme (even in your heart you know he is trying to cheat you somewhere!!) and then the consumer ends up buying what the dealer had spoken; the memorised virtues of the scheme and there the customer goes happily boasting about the offer he validated and the dealer laughs how playfully he fooled another god damn fool!!
I wonder what would be the repercussions when these people who flaunt these gadgets would see the day when they would need to pay for the services? As town like Ichapur would be flooded with handsets which would not work with normal simcards and also they are financially not stable that they could pay for each recharges.
This situation supports another aspect of life which I am gravely concerned about- building homes for the future than as need of the hour. The constructions that meddle up in the midst of any empty space is startling, people don’t protest and the builder in these towns aren’t architects who design buildings, the contractors design and operate the structures which fetch them a huge amount of money and perhaps the buyers also know inside there unspoken heart that these buildings would fade there colours in next three years, the corners would rake rain water by the first monsoon and fungus would playfully feature itself as part of the interiors and to add the falling distemper. The burgeoning need is of understanding that building a structures costs money even more energy and emission of GHG’s (green house gases) which in turn combines to aggravate the climate change circle. Once a small contractor pin pointed me that he builds small buildings and apartments and it doesn’t add much but he forgot that as the population is exploding in India and there are lakhs of contractors and small time builders like him and thousands of big realtors who are constructing beautiful figures without considering any parameters. The building costs of these constructions might be higher but if seen they turn out to be only the initial investments and the maintenance cost is way less than what buyers end up paying. Architects like Laurie Baker, Dr.B.V.Doshi who have spent there life practising wonderful local architecture with global norms have exemplary art in there pockets which others feel difficult to manoeuvre.

MY INSPECTION:
Think for the future (years to come) than for the immediate present and future because money doesn’t come easily it has been earned by wiping our own sweat then why put it in those sources which would not yield results and of course the need of the hour is to GO GREEN!! So tell your architect you want a green building and manifold those happier times in your kitty!!!! Cheers!

Hastey hastey kat jay raste...

When I started my journey from Mumbai to Kolkata by Jnaneshwari Super Deluxe passenger train (Spelled Gyaneshwari) I was filled with joy, sorrow, hope, anxiety and various other emotions clogging my brain and I was sifting through the pages of The Kite Runner ready to read for the second time while answering the queries put forth by fellow passenger who happened to be a lady of 84 years travelling all alone. The other co-passenger were a bunch of Marwari ladies belonging to the same family going Kolkata for three days to shop for the upcoming wedding in there family. An entire compartment filled with ladies and it doesn’t take much time for me to start a conversation.
After the series of introduction I realised that every individual on this earth is disappointed with there own strata and the age old proverb stands true,” the grass is always greener on the other side of the road”.
Those Marwari girls were unhappy because they are not allowed to work or study, they have the mighty freedom to shop anywhere and anything at any amount but they are not provided with the opportunity to work and earn there own moolah. It was quite a knowledgeable discussion where I came to know about other coveted community of Marwari’s, about Agarwal’s where dowry is demanded before hand and if the bride’s family doesn’t fit the standard then they are not allowed to bring there Rishta (proposal) to the boy’s house. While listening to these stories the old aunty who was sitting across the table on the other seat said “I am more than 80 years old!” and everyone stunningly looked at her…an old lady with withered body, mix of grey and white hair, stout face and talking like a teenager excitedly tells the five marwari girls “why don’t you rebel?” I was looking at her face with enthusiasm as she narrated her story.
She lost her father at a very young age and being the oldest she had the responsibility of the entire household and her mother couldn’t materialise her wedding ceremony and finally she completed her studies Bachelor in Arts with English Majors (wonder 65 years ago!!) and then she started teaching after her retirement now she stays with her elder sister taking care of all her siblings and she had come Mumbai with her younger brother to drop him at his son’s place as he is unwell who is 60 years old. I was wondering how she manages to be so strong at this age and to note that at two stations her relatives came with food and gifts to meet her.She has lead a life which she never desired for yet she is contended and I looked at my seat where we all youngsters were sitting and complaining about our situations, where on one hand I have a job and was wishing if I could shop till I drop but I was bound by financial constraints and the other girls who had money everywhere but they wanted to earn and stand on there own. Of course I had the privilege of having my own identity and I adore that more than anything but this trip had been one of those where I could see three different perspectives and all three agreeing at a point which said “with time we need to change” because change is the need of the hour. Progress is good but not at the cost of defying our culture and heritage but today it is important that every individual needs to earn as there is no guarantee of anyone’s future as I came to know that if you live life of a Marwari widow you live the life of a caged women crying, wearing blue sari and they are not allowed to be a part of the societal obligations.
To spice up the conversation there came a girl who self volunteered and told that she is a Bengali model and Tv actress and was fagging at the door and chitchatting with the vendors and we all were wondering how low one can get to grab attention and then we realised that at the end of the second day the entire compartment had one purpose gossip about the female who was wearing a gogs(inside the AC compartment of the train at night!!), dangerously low waist cotton pants and t-shirt which I guess was bought when she had been a small kid!! Ahh..she was the lone piece who was talked I would say bitched and gossiped about till the train reached Howrah station where we all bid goodbye without offering our bye’s to each other but silently we all know that people whom we meet on a journey are like the footprints on a seashore, when the wave comes it takes away the imprint on the sand with its flow and with time our human mind forgets the conversations which we have during the journey, thus I thought of scribbling and keeping a note of a wonderful discussion that I had!!!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Ekdum Rapchik Ishtyled Log ~~ERIL

ERIL-----
After my board exams when all my freinds were busy shopping for the college tour i was hanging around at Pheonix mills and suddenly i got a call from some lady called Garima Rastogi,who wanted me to come down for an interview and i asked where is her office ,she said Marine Lines i thought its near by then why not just check it out...and then i landed up at ERIL and joviantly gave my interview to her and then she took me to the editor and after a tedious one hour interview the editor said, would you join us..i said"ok!!"
today its been four months i am part of this organisation where the most chilled out people come to work every morning and make it a norm to be happy the whole day. the editorial team is never silent when its working time people do it seriously and when its the time to let your hair loose who better than us.
now lemme describe the entire ed team who are now a daily routine of my life even if i am not in office i hav a talk with them everyday:

1. Raksha aka rakku baby: the most beautiful girl in the ed room, she might not have the educational qualifications but i challenge anyone that when it comes to gathering information noone can beat her!! very soft at heart and yes my Rakku baby is also the owner of oil factory as her tiffin leaks the maximum oil everyday...she is the precious oil girl!!!

2.Suchitra aka suchi/suchu: the Admin girl of the ed team...from tenders to admin she handles them perfectly. very dedicated and precise when it comes to work and the only person who understands my problems regarding cheques-notepads-tissues..don't u suchi?
The above dignified two individual happen to be my best friends since i hav joined office , life has become easier and yes i always feel great when you both laugh on those silly jokes which i crack when we are together, will miss those night outs, dancing at the disc, Partner and ofcourse marine drive wd chana chor garamm!!!

3. Architecture Update Team-My Team
Manju ma'm: the very first day she told me not to call her mam but manju!! but i can never imagine me calling her manju coz she is my teacher..how i hate her when she chops and operates my article at times but ofcourse thats the best way to learn. a person who always makes sure that i am well, i do my work on time, how to edit, report and which matters to be taken care of-i wished her Happy teachers day..because yes she is my teacher..and there is lot more to learn from her, this is just the begining..and i appreciate her how she carries the entire paper on her back , she does have the strongest shoulders in the entire team.

Renu mam: i dont know but we reach the same sites at the same moment, reach same people at the same time, call same people for same work ..it might not betelepathy but i have always observed that she is always one step aheadof me and how i love it because that gives me the kick to do something different. intelligent and still a child from heart!

Anoder bunch of Friends:

4.Tasneem aka Gola: people call her tassu or Motorwala but i call her Gola, infact we both call each other Gola.if there is any sale or shopping to be done you just need to visit her because she already has all the details. Books to websites, movies to career , shopping to travelogue she has all the information stored in her brain kit and yes if it is someone's birthday in the office she is our World Bank who collects money not by requesting but by haftagiri[;)]u simply rock and i love it the way u give me suggestions on that MSword format!!!

5.Poonam: A very good friend who is now a days alighted in her own world but yes she has good knowledge and always there to guide you and help you all the time.

6.Sandeep aka sandy: he comes office at 9am and leaves exactly at six coz he cant go without his bandra local and he is nowadays busy going gymming....one of those friends whom i respect a lot because of his knowledge, wisdom, caring nature and he knows how to deal with every individual. he is always ready to ask us to finish his dabba..and we always promise him that we would call up his mom and ask her to stop giving him tiffin[;)]

7.Shripad Sir aka Shree sir: we sit on the same desk, man with experience and knowledge and the kid of all, i quote him simply the BEST.

8. Harish sir aka HR: he is not aware that i have christened him with the tag of HR not because of his initials but he actualy handles the entire editorial as the human resource organiser. he is silent and yet chirpy, he always nods his head when some one says bye but yes when it comes to me he is compelled to say a big goodbye cheerfully coz otherwise i will make a small face and leave and when he blasts people need to run and find place and hide and i am waiting for my turn[:(]

and there are other people like Preeti mam(very sweet), Madhu(the oldest reporter wid experience), Shalini(my college senior)
and there are two people whom i know Mehboob and Kishore who comprise the marketing team.
Kishore: when quered how is he, he would always reply "same as before" thats why i believe he wears dose same coloured shirts(white n grey ) all the time... and for Mehboob i don undderstand why he needs to wear a red tie all the time?[:0] but they both r very well behaved people!!! ;)
anyways dis are my great office colleagues who have tolerated the most lazy girl everyday wid a cheerful smile and hearty wishes..i hope the path that i have trodden shouldnt take me much far from these people...you guys ROCk!!!!!!I wish You all Besta Luck :)