Jumping Jobs

Recently, during the flag hoisting ceremony at my colony we had a gentleman who had worked for his organisation, a bank, for approximately 35 years, before he retired. It's quite surprising that one person could be with an organisation for such a long time. Probably his entire working life which is pretty remarkable. In the present time he would have been considered as stagnated in one job.

We are people who are used to jumping from one job to another, never staying with a single organisations for more than year. I know I have too in my almost 8 years of working experience. I have moved from one organisation to another. The longest I have been with an organisation is 4 years with Fuel.

What causes us modern people to jump jobs??? Is it the pay hike that we crave for??? The job satisfaction (which is something that we tend to compromise at times in a materialistic world)??? Bad appraisal, not getting the position and raise we desired??? As a way to move up the corporate ladder??? Not wanting to be stagnated in one organisation, after all isn't variety the spice of life. Probably all these are the possible reason that cause to move from one job to another.

Wonder if anyone of us all will ever get stuck with an organisation for such long time. You can say completing a year with a single organisation is quite a landmark.

Definitely, Maybe

Life always has a way of giving us a second chance. Look at what a second chance did for our Indian wrestler, Sushil Kumar. After loosing his first round bout he was given a second chance and he went on to win the bronze medal at the Olympics.

Second chances are all about redeeming ourselves and avoid repeating the same mistakes. Taking another stab at life. I know I have had my own share in love, but somehow blundered it up initially but I guess I got it right now.

A couple of minutes a go watched the movie Definitely, Maybe, about man on the cusp of a divorce, spending time with his daughter who just had her sex-ed class, and curious to know how he met her mother. So he creates a story about his three loves of his life, changing their names, and all the heartbreak he goes through. For the daughter this is not only a love mystery game of which one of her father's lady love is mother, but finding out about love and its complications, and most of all her father. For him it's a realisation about love and what was there in front of him and with him the whole time.

Many a time we are searching for love when love has always been right in front of us, staring us in the face. Love been our confidante, our friend, but we always turned a blind eye towards it or didn't realise or may even deny it. Love is all about the friend that you care, about the one you cannot live without, about the one you want to spend the rest of your life with. The one you unintentionally hurt and then feel like a dog-gone wretch about it. Love is your best friend. I know I found love and love is my best friend, the one I cannot do with you.

P.S. I was really surprised to see Ryan Reynolds act in a mature way (for a person normally associate with screw-ball comedy). And I am definitely falling in love with Abigail Breslin with each movie of hers that I see.

So am I in Love
Definitely, Maybe

So You Think You Can Dance: Bollywood

So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance reality competition from the creators of American Idol. You have the contestant competing against each other for the title of America's Favorite Dancer. The contestant are paired together. Each week a couple picks a different dance style, which rages from Salsa to the Cha Cha. In the current season they have introduced a new dance style called Bollywood (Yes that's right after our good old Hindi film industry). The couple Katee Shean and Joshua Allen actually picked this dance style (loved the way she said Bollywood when they picked the dance style). This was something they knew nothing about and in the rehearsal looked quite funny. But the end product was pretty damn good. Yeah! They did put some of their own style in the dance. They performed on Dhoom Tanna from Om Shanti Om and they did it even better than the Indian actors. See for yourself. They looked great and danced pretty well. Loved the way they did the namaste at the end of their performance.

But then at the end of the day it nice to see an Indian dance form (though not exactly a dance form) being recognized on international stage. And nice to see contestant other than our actors perform it.

Problems and Solutions

At times we are so wrapped up in our problems that we are not able to see the solutions, even if it was standing right in front of us. Just keep worrying and quacking like ducks, bitching and complaining, but not making any effort to find the solution. We continue to get stressed rather than removing the stressor.

61 Years of Independence

Another couple of days and we will complete 61 years of independence. Though mean feet, how far have come since that historic day in 1947. Well we could say there have been a lot of changes over the years. For one thing an Indian runs the country (or someone of Italian origin). But then you have the other political parties trying to pull the ruling government. Often they end making a spectacle of themselves which actually is more entertaining than the daily soaps on television. We have had a dalit, a scientist, a woman as presidents, and now we have a dalit leader who has shown her aspiration of taking over the running of the country (God save us). We have political parties, government and parliament full of tainted leaders. Some accused of various scams, some for inciting riots, some for murder. But even still they are elected to represent the common man. These political parties love to polarise the country on the basis of religion, by taking a problem and putting a religious spin to it. So in the end they trying to create a vote bank by adding more fuel to the fire, instead of finding a solution to it.

It's been 61 years since we have got independence but life has grown difficult. Inflation is at a all time high, making it difficult for the common man even to attain the basic necessities. Price are sky rocketing and the interest rates on home loans only seem to heading north. Add to that power shortages and political parties against finding an alternative. Plus you have bombs going on after every couple of months, making it unsafe. We live in a constant fear for our lives.

Even though we claim to be a free country we have political parties chasing out people from different states. We have political parties and religious leaders who love to oppose every freedom of expression. We have the so called Moral Police who make it their duty to decide what is moral and what is immoral.

But anyway it's been 61 years since we attained freedom. So wish you a Happy Independence Day.

How Do You Pick Yourself????

What do you when you find yourself in the dumps, all lonely and sad in the muck, but definitely not frolicking in it. What do you do when you feel low and all your attempts to pick yourself seems to be failing, just like team India trying to win a gold at the Olympic (even though we finally have one). A number of Self-Help books asks you to take the negative and convert it to a positive. But then what do you do when your mind refuse to see beyond the negative. What do you do when you want someone to console you, but the unfortunate thing is that spirit refuses to take-off in spite all their attempts to console you. You know your present is secure but you worry about the future and bury yourself deeper in the muck.

I guess I know what U can do about it, I'll just blog about it :) Yeah!!! And that's what I am doing :)

Why So Serious???

When you normally go to the theater to watch a superhero film you normally expect something that very campy (read Batman and Robin) with over the top villains (read Dr. Freeze and Poison Ivy), elaborate sets and visual effects and weird costume (remember the bat suit with nipples) and mostly bad characterization (Daredevil, Electra, anyone???). Well this all changed withe release of Ironman (and please I'm not even taken into account Spiderman, even though it has earned millions). A great character that's quite believable and not over-the-top, and so were the villains, these were real. A great story with great supporting character. And you sang your Halleuah and thought that a superhero movie couldn't get better than this. But then enter Dark Knight and all this has to be rewritten.

For a movie on a superhero, the Dark Knight is literally a pretty dark movie. Watching this movie only one word came to my mind "Bloody Brilliant" (OK so that's more than one word). Never thought that a superhero movie can be this interesting and yes DARK. For two and half hour the movie is pretty long by Hollywood standards, but there is enough action, enough of stories, enough of everything to grab on to you from the very beginning and never let you go till the very end.

What makes this fair so interesting is surprisingly the character called the Joker, and yes not Batman. I never thought anyone would top Jack Nicholson's performance of the same character and was pretty pessimistic when they announced that Heath Ledger would be playing the character. But I must say he takes the Joker to a whole new level. He's pure evil who knows no bounds. Pretty maniacal as well as diabolical, who falls no rule and believes in chaos and anarchy. Brilliant portrayal of the character that makes you want to see more of him than even the hero. You real believe he's freak and not queer like some of the other villains. A evil genius behind the clown make up. Someone who can easily send chills up your spine.

Even though the Joker overshadows everyone in the film that doesn't mean that the others are not good. Each character is portrayed brilliantly. Whether it's Christian Bale portraying the Batman, Gary Oldman as Commisioner Gordon, Aaron Eckhart as DA Harvey Dent (and yes later as the Two-Face), Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and the brilliant Michael Caine as Alfred. And yes Maggie Gyllenhall is a definite improvement over the wooden Katie Holm, as Rachel Dawes. Each of these people make their character credible and believable and good. But then at the end of the day it's all about the Joker.

But then at the end of the day the credit must go to Christopher Nolan for creating something that nothing short of a masterpiece. Making everything real and not campy. One movie that I definitely enjoyed and wouldn't mind watching again or owning on VCD.

So let's say "Why So Serious????"

Rickshawallas: A Tale of Two Cities - A Tale of Woes

Anyone who has come across the species called rickshawallas know the plight that I am talking about. The obnoxious, self-centred, egoistic, so called "Public Servant" who are unwilling to go anywhere. What more, I have the misfortune of encountering these species in two different cities every week, the Puneities and Mumbaikar. Each bearing the similar attitude of not wanting to go anywhere you want to go.

A rickshawalla in Pune are totally disinterested in taking you any where and often quote exorobent prices to take you for short distance, even though they have been supplied a meter, under the pretext that they wouldn't get a return fare. They look at you as if they are doing a great service to you and are mostly unwilling to go.

The Mumbaikar ones maybe a bit better, but then they are always saying no and shaking their head. "Ek number chalenga???", "Orlem Chalenga????"...each of these are met with the same reply, "NO". Imagine you just arrived from an approximately 4 hours journey, you are roaming with your baggage and you are unable to find a rickshawalla to take you, at the same time you are competing with a bunch of people. At times I do give these guys the finger salute and the choicest of words.

But in the end we all are tortured by these species in one way or the other. Whether you are riding in one or encountering one while you are in the comfort of your own vehicle.