The Last Mile..Chapter II

Seasons are changing....life is rearranging. or it seemed so. does the locale have a say on ur emotions?

It certainly looked like that.

A 100 days of togetherness in solitude was a testimony to this. There were ofcourse minor..very minor meetings. like there is actually no meeting. no feeling. just physical stares. many times unawares. nothing more. not even a bit more to be precise. The closest they came to was when they actually accidentally met at common prayers. Prayers have their own wonderful way of bringing together people. usually. but not here. did destiny will? correction. did their destinies will?

They talked for the first time. officially. like making their backgrounds clear. not too many intentions. does every intro need to have a meaning really? a question that has confused many a souls. a question for which answers are hard to find. a search into the infinite space of the mind. oh mind, unwind....

Life is full of introductions. People meet, know, see ppl. knowing does not mean that it shd serve a purpose. knowing means knowing. it can lead to a lot of events. "can" does not mean "should". The problem with mankind is that everytime one knows another there is a tendency to extrapolate events. exaggerate circumstances. aggrevate misconceptions. expedite rejections. wallow in dejections.

Still he was not to fall into the trap. He had been carefull all these years. he had seen ppl fall in. and out. down and out. drought.

But strange are the ways of love. in catching up with someone who never wanted to get into the vague shades of life. and love.

The last mile.... chapter 1

It seemed like some major celebration. the whole crowd was seated. he was in a world of his own. blissfully ignorant of a larger plan. it was all a part of nature's design. destiny.

The days went by. until the day everyone was to follow different paths. 6 paths to be exact. temporary though. well how temporary is temporary? he left much earlier.he belonged to a different species. she followed much later. it did not matter. they never knew each other. or rather. he did not know her. it was a huge crowd. he easily missed her.

and then nature plays. a small bunch arrives one day. to the same place. and one among them. intuitive glances exchange. he has no idea. yet. the smile passes. so does she.

they never met. never had to. though the group was small. and though she did know him. why should everything happen so fast ?

on the contrary, if things happen too fast..maybe something is not quite right. well..

What next?

rediff.com can give a zillion reasons for defeat of amma and the returning of dmk to power.

there can be only two truths abt TN elections for eternity. i m dead sure.

1. verdicts r always clear.
2. the principle of - u one time - i one time.

nothing more needs to be said. throw all reasons. into the dustbin.

via my marketing project, i can say that TN people exhibit variety seeking tendency. if anyone wants to check. i am ready to float my marketing survey questionnaire. volunteers please!!

i m not too worried. but curious.

now i m looking forward to see how CTVs r going into enter into BPL families. i guess the brand of TVs ppl will get also be BPL brand only;)

as if BPL ppl needed just this TV for enriching their lives....not education n other useful stuff. TV is all they need. and ppl select such governments. way back in 1971 i guess, anna promised 3 padis of arisi for a rupee. paati told me. n not one padi was also given. pls chk with respective thaathas n paatis for credibility of this info n tell me. pls give me a break now.

well i need a break really. for the next five years!!!!

So Beautiful..

Nothing beats Darren Hayes Lyrics....and his voice....so beautiful..
_________________________________
So Beautiful..

Whether I'm right or wrong
There's no phrase that hits
Like an ocean needs the sand
Or a dirty old shoe that fits
And if all the world was perfect
I would only ever want to see your scars
You know they can have their universe
We'll be in the dirt designing stars

And darlin' you know
You make me feel so beautiful
Nowhere else in the world I wanna be
You make me feel so beautiful

Whether I'm up or down
There's no crowd to please
I'm like a faith without a clause to believe in it
And if all the world was smiling
I would only ever want to see your frown
You know they can sail away in sunsets
We'll be right here stranded on the ground
Just happy to be found

You make me feel so beautiful
Nowhere else in the worldI wanna be
You make me feel so beautiful

I have lost my illusions
I have drowned in your words
I have left my confusion to a cynical world
I am throwing myself at things I don't understand
Discover enlightenment holding your hand

You are..

So Beautiful
________________________________________
A Savage Garden Song

Puguntha veedu ( The In-laws House)

The inlaws concept has always fascinated me. ofcourse not that i found one lately. but i observed an interesting parallel.

It struck me this morning while in office, trying to work on my summer project( unsuccessfully though). see what summer projects can do to u. u can get all the ideas on thw world except abt what shd be done abt the project!

the situation is woefully similar for the two persons in question. one is the newly wed girl who moves into the puguntha veedu or inlaws house. i make the assumption that the girl is a house wife. the other is the fresh graduate who walks into a company. bit unsure of the company atmosphere.

believe me. this analysis is interesting. both have very much the same road ahead as they walk into the new family (or company) ahead into their careers of married life(or job).

The Maatu Ponnu or Daughter in Law

The daughter in law steps into the house valathu kaal inside first! the guys family members carefully take the bahu inside ( with that kyun ki saas bhi effect)! she is slowly introduced to every member. she has to smile at everyone whether she likes or not. now this is interesting really. in case of a tamil wedding, @ the reception, it happens that u smile at every guy/girl wishing u on the stage for maybe 3 -4 hrs. ur 16 muscles in ur face being constantly overworked. developing sulukku and all. u just cannot get away without any pain in a marriage even if u r the bride or the groom!

then u have to repeat the same puraanam. ur background et al. as u meet new ppl, u r bit unsure. coz some ppl r happy to have u as bahu. some r maybe jealous ( maybe becoz u r either beautfiul than them or perhaps u snatched that guy via love marriage stuff). playing mindgames. and all ppl extoll teh virtues of her hubby. his grt qualities ( even if not any)

now everything has settled. down to a typical day. imagine the plight of this girl. sitting idle can be a nightmare. she either has to make sure that nobody needs anything else. well, i m talking abt traditional girls. intha kaalathu puthumai ponnungalukku apply aagaathu. they r too smart to handle things. and ppl. i wonder they recieve some spl training from college !!!!

so she sits on the sofa. trying to empathise with the zillions of soap characters. glass in hand. ( where else to pour all the tears generated during the course of the soap) . afternoon soaps r too gud. as i happened to read abt it in some other blog. everytime someone walks by the girl, she feels uneasy. her eyes wavers around. hoping that there is not much for her to do. paavam. tough job. if there r any tasks for the day, she has to get them done and probably make sure that the elders ( namely the mother-in-law) get to know that all has been duly completed.

till the moment of arrival of her better half. sudden reassurance now. After a few days she gets used to it all. gains experience to handle everything tactfully. she knows that she can gradually start easing herself, enjoy big time and yet keep ppl happy. diplomacy. suaveness. what not. i guess one of the things that can really bind a motherinlaw and daughterinlaw are those useless discussions on these faltoo episodes. if there is anything in this univere that they can ever concur, it can only be these soaps.

The Freshie

He joins the company. induction time now. he is given a list of ppl who all to meet and get acquainted with. now ready for the grind. to say good morning to everybody. so many times. that he does not realise that even in afternoons he keeps wishing good morning !!

same crap he utters abt himself. to all ppl he meets. and the company manager utters some crap abt the company culture et al. again every manager looks at him with differnt eyes. like our manager for instance, thinking within himself that we r here for some time pass! yet others with some misguided impressions abt mgmt grads. that they r supposed to know a few things. someone pls enlighten these ignorant souls.

then he is shown a small cabin complete with a comp with internet and a phone connection. now comes the tougher part. he keeps constantly looking around. watching out for ppl. while opening one by one. yahoo messenger. then gtalk. then blog. then orkut. and finally one window on the project doc. simply becoz that alt+tab should get this lone window whenever anybody passes by. and ya one more word doc file too. some cut copy paste on it to give an impression that some fruitful googling has been carried out. the life of the freshie is further complicated by the work culture.. for example the company ceo says we have a very open work culture. what this poor freshie fails to realise is that the cabins have as a portion of the wall a glass portion. and ppl can see right thro it. 'open' work culture that is !!!! and teh comp placed tight in front so that one with a small peep can have a clean look at his comp. so this guy has some ready explanation for his boss any time he might ask him the progress.

finally when the moment of leaving from office comes, the elation in his face is conspicuous.
again just like our new house wife, the guy gradually picks up 'work ethics'. the art of managing ppl more than managing his own work. all the guy needs to do is to get a hang of what keeps the boss going. thats it. just like these tv serials, he can do wonders at the help of his boss with the right dose of flattery.


once the initials moments r handled tactfully @ both home and @ work for these two ppl, then life gets cooler.

politics and skillful diplomacy is a necessary recipe for success for both the daughterinlaw and for this freshie.

how do girls by and large handle things @ office pretty coolly? after all if the bahu does not know the secret of success who else does????

Proud to be a.........

Take a quick quiz.

How long does one take to recover from an accident? an accident that can change one's life!

it changed mine. and am yet to recover.

well....

june 1998. the accident happened.

place of accident: counselling hall in anna university

accident: admission to chemical engg

hospital admitted : Vellore institute of technology

i had no idea what chemical engg was all abt. it really happened by chance. one last seaat in a decent college. and i took it.......rest is history.

but i realised how chemical engg has saved me all thro. inspite of the fact that i had paid scant regard for it during engg

except for chemical engg thermodynamics n chemical process calculations, i never bothered abt chemical engg. nevertheless, chemical engg has always been generous to me.

for example reliance happened. had some happy days. yeah i had my share of faliures too. but after tat , here during summer interviews, i wsa getting rejected in every gd. wat cud i do? my communicative abilities had hit all time low.

finally this xyz company had a direct interview in store. for a marketing project....i was asked why i wanted to do marketing project. despite being a chemical engineer. they wanted me to work in the operations side being a chemical engineer. sure i din hav an answer. so replied that i have no idea abt marketing. and maybe thast why i shd consider doing it. still they selected me. chemical engg did the trick. PERUMAL designed it.

so i was in. today as i was briefed abt my project, i was sinking into a feeling that i was slowly getting into rotary vane compressors, surfactants, lubricants and more of chem engg stuff.

my engg knowledge however poor it may be will be in use. that too for an mba project.

but what really opened my eyes today was the agrochemical market.

how agrochemicals can unlock agricultural productivity in india. how much grains r wasted due to pests and all every year. how decreasing land holdings will have to support bigger population in future. how chemical engineering is going to help in this process. how innovations in chemical field can do wonders. so many things.

how many kinds of foodgrains r produceed? how much role this chemical engg plays in all these things? though i din play a role myself, i m a part of such a community. and ofcourse i have diff roles to play. in other realms of chemm engg. worked for a while in polymers. things like that.

one can live without surfing but can one live without saapaadu?


chemical engg is one field that touches every walk of life. it really is.

today i have a reason to feel proud. i am a chemical engineer. amn't I ?