RIP Fr Maggie

Fr Maggie,

A frail, white gentleman in his mid-70’s ( I assumed his age) entered in the class. I was awestruck by his appearance in his typical white bushshirt and grey trousers.

"Hello class" in his amazing voice and relaxing eyes, my name is McGrath.  I could still remember his convincing methodology in “Basic Managerial skills”.  He made us comfortable in his own way in the class.

Lesson 1: The first lesson was to know each other with our pet names (Ghar ka Naam). Such a simple idea, implemented by him and in first 3 classes, he could remember all the pet names of each 44 students. My takehome was that people tend to love calling by the names they love, much easier entry to people’s mind.

Lesson 2: We all love stories and we all are basically good human being created equal by Almighty was his further lessons. Strange quite… where this basic managerial skill course is, pondered the think tanks of the class during the evening chai pe charcha? But yes, Maggie’s manager was/ is a human being, who believed that all men and women are created equal and everyone who got opportunity should utilize his/her knowledge/skills and position to pull the ones who are less opportune. Being Human was I guess his idea at XIMB. RIP Fr Maggie you would be remembered.

Room Partner "Ladki"

I joined the PGPRM course in 2001 in Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar , India (Called as XIMB)after finishing my graduation in Agriculture from Raipur, which was the capital of the then, recently announced new state, Chhattisgarh. In all, to be exact we were 44 students, including two brothers from the Jesuit Society.  So here the key words to note are Agriculture, Raipur and Capital. If I start mentioning the importance of each of these key words, it would fill pages but then I am told that this entry does have some limitations on words. So, just as a heads-up, all these words are systematically different when one talks about a personality. Agriculture means would not be so very happening persona. Then, Capital and Raipur were two diagonally very opposite, as the word capital of a state comes with a different expectation and Raipur in 2001 was NOT a REAL Capital. Totally myself NOT a very happening character then! So I call myself a small Towner.

The moment I entered XIMB, ( I can say for a small Towner like me it was a BIG thing), the well groomed admins, mannerisms and the way they communicated,  the handsome guys and the REAL PYT’s, one can imagine eyes popping out with surprise, Gosh!  I am finally HERE.

After initial registration on 11^th June 2001, we all new comers were shown the CENDERET hostel and were directed to check the room number from the notice board. As a next step, I picked up my full one suitcase and one bedding and started walking to the CENDERET hostel, controlling my joy of staying in  a hostel. I slowly gazed at the soccer field through the well-trimmed Ashoka trees and found them so orderly (standing and waving with wind as if they all were welcoming each student).

And there I was standing on the main lobby of our holy abode which would leave everlasting impression in our entire lives(CENDERET). There were other people queued on the notice board to look at the room allotments and I was pushed to a good 7^th number. At my turn, I glanced through the list to find my name and correspondingly found the room number #103. What amazed me the second name as a room partner in bold Bharavi Mishra . Amazed with this name this small Towner quickly started screening this name as a possible male name (unheard of this name said my brain). Quickly jumped into conclusion that this is a FEMALE, Whoa! Nikal padi apni… my room partner is a FEMALE..

All sort of Good thoughts started flowing in my mind that now it is 21^st century, and in these big institutes (7th best in India as per Outlook in 2000) this would be quite a normal. So small Towner, common control your nerves, relax and feel like it is normal and lets go and meet this BHAIRVI MISHRA.

With all these emotions started moving to #103 and the heart nearly stopped when I entered the room, when I saw this moustache clad young MALE saying  “ Bharavi Mishra is my name, Welcome Haider, we are partner for the next of 15 months”.

The first sentence I asked was please help me with the meaning of your name Bharavi.

For name ignorants: Bharavi means the first ray of Sunlight of the day.

Small world, small things...learn

After my MBA from XIMB, started working for a seeds company in Orissa... wherein I used to travel to villages to meet farmers and tell them about my products... meeting farmers was a fun those days as well.

I took one room on rent at a Senior Secretary of Agriculture with Orissa Government house... A nice family...Uncle and Aunty stayed at the ground floor...and first floor was renetd by a group of college going students and I was on the top floor(always on top..hehehe)

The Aunty knew hardly anything in Hindi... she used to communicate with me in Oriya... and I picked up some words in oriya and used to respond her in mixed Oriya cum Hindi...

One fine morning... while taking out my Bike...

Ferman, Jauchenti? Koti re(Ferman, where are you going).. Asked my Landlady...a very kind soul of over 55 years..at Bhubaneswar...
I replied I am going to attend a farmer meeting Aunty...
Good... She said-- It seems you have used an old Shirt straight from the washing room...it looks odd...Press shirt nahi pehna?
I replied aunty... they are farmers... why will they be looking at my shirt? whether it is pressed or not? they are not much educated...

But you are educated my Son....I had an answer of my life...(Padh likh kar koi Manager nahi banta)

 

My  respect for the kind lady increased manifold when I was rushing for again a farmer meeting and the last night had cool showers...I saw Aunty cleaning the seat and handle of  my Bike...

 

Who was I to her? Why was she more concerned? It was not because I was an MBA? or I was her tenant? (Neither Qualification nor Money) 

No idea... But I could sense that in this world, you are a passenger(a traveller), continue doing small good things... be Human and be kind to all is what I learnt from her.... May Almighty bless her always.

Is asking Age...Sacrosanct?

Asking Age is Sacrosanct

Recently my dear Son and Wife went to my parents’ house for a month for the summer vacations. That meant, I would no longer be welcomed at my home with the sweet hug from my wife and Son… That means no free food or laundry.. That means everything by own… Do it yourself kiddo…

It was one long month. I kept thinking what should I do, this question used to hop around mainly during my Sundays…Sometimes catching up with old friends over phone was my option...(But My ears and tongue started painting… m talkative)… and how many Sundays… afterall it’s my family out… and not theirs.

Checking up Facebook… bored…. As looking at weird things on social networking sites and liking or commenting them was a bore thing to do….

All of sudden saw the old carton with a small carry bag carrying photos from my childhood(Yes I was a kid too)… greeting cards from my friends from school, college, festivals, trains…chat etc..

And I started spending marvelous time being in history and I loved it…

I found my age old Driving license.. Bearing my wrong age… and I recalled the number of times I shouted at the RTO office clerks for getting it wrong or right…

People are so very concern of their age (Male or female or both)… I learnt…

To reconfirm my assumptions or presumptions...let us drive down some 15 years back. This  was a noble family)of three, mother ,father and Daughter a kid) staying as our kind neighbor… exchanging  not only delicious baigan ka bharta(Eggplant stuffing) or chicken curry but also, kind smiles.. Those were the days when the mobile telephones were not at all common…(1997…) so people had enough time to come to each other’s home and talk face to face…this often used to create a much stronger bonding… a part of family …though not a family…(sukh Dukh ke sathi types) …

One fine evening… the daughter got a severe stomach ache..and with her father out on work …they had no one to take her to the hospital…and As a good neighbor…I accompanied Aunty and the kid to the nearest hospital….The doc admitted her.. her father was informed and as a very caring dad which he was,he too rushed to the hospital...The Girl  was admitted to the hospital and her mother sitting besides her caring her…

Seanwhile Since I was the male person who came with the patient… I was asked by the hospital administration to fill up a form… I patiently started filling up the form and after all the formalities, the father came to me and since he had to sign the same, he started going through all the details carefully….

WHAT IS THIS? He nearly screamed his lungs out? Showing me the form! I was awestruck…did I committed some sin or what ?Did I mentioned the name of the patient correct… (mostly people are quite concern about the spellings of the name…including me)I wrote in my best of the handwritings I could..

He pointed his fingers on the AGE of the patient column…where I put up age as 16…I could see all the seven colors of the  rainbow  on his face, with more prominence of red and yellow… This is what I thought Chhagol’s age is I said meekly…He said are you nuts? She is only 13 Grrrrrrrrrr……..I thought I took them to hospital and did what ever best I could… But my wrong input on age of the patient  created such a big Hungama in the hospital…no value of humanity....(Hehehe)

So people are really concerned about their own age/their spouse’s age/their daughter’s age I realized now.

 

Aiywe

I have started liking for this word "Aiywe"... a punjabi word which means aise hi in hindi, yun hi in urdu or Just Like That in English..

Being unreasonable is what i most of the times like. Any act of my tongue or my thought is the outcome of Aiywe... yuni hi..

why there should be any reason for anything you do or you say? why?

I believe that the outcome of the act or the words should make you happy thatz it...yes ofcourse without any harm to anyone..

kitna achha lagta if people start doing things what they like without any reasons in all seasons...no explanations and no regrets...it would be a real painfree life..

Kyon likha ye Blog? Aiwye:::

Mobile Charged

I was in Delhi airport (when it was not DIAL), old arport old amenities and in the month of May last week, tired due to the hectic travel entire day, the Sun God was at His full bloom, it was hotter than the HOT bipasha basu.

Taking a late evening flight always helps you to come back to your family and spend time with them. My flight was at 8 pm to Hyderabad. Due to God known reasons there was heavy traffic (yes air traffic too, you thought the road traffic, common its delhi baba)
Large cues were formed for the security check in and people were waiting in front of the their respective gates (only one gate was given the burden to take care of 3 flights in an interval of 10 minutes)

My flight departure was announced and we were supposed to form a line/ a cue. Due to less availability of space the cue formed was not a geometrically straight line but like a Jalebi( a circular round round round stop sweets in India)

Due to better purchasing power (they say India Shining)or the lower tariff of the mobile phone (Thanks to tele kranti) or a mix of both, no one in airport was having a mobile and not talking. The more you talk the more you require assistance for battery charging station. Luckily in mid of our serpentine cue, there was one but full with all kinds of mobile phones. There was this Kind lady in her 50”s using phone.

The empty sockets were taken over by the fresh cellphones as the person moved ahead.

Our this kind lady in mid fifty’s also kept it for recharged and she was 20 people ahead, now why I was looking at her or any reasons of the attention….

She looked like Waheeda Rehman(I am a good fan of her till now), same gracious smile, nice silk saree neatly tied.

Slowly after 20 odd minutes the cue moved ahead and I got an opportunity to recharge my handset, but Alas! I carry a blackberry and none of the socket fit in. But what I saw was a sony ericsson mobile with no takers? I thought I have seen this mobile handset (My father carries a similar model), Bingo! It’s the same which the Aunty was carrying….But where is Aunty? She already left to catch a flight. I said leave it mujhe kya?

I boarded the flight and I got the first seat (again aisle), and just before the flight was about to take off, the same aunty came and requested the air hostess about her cellphone(she at last remembered), the air hostess was kind enough to talk to her Ground staff and in next 15 minutes(the flight got delayed by 15 minutes)and it was here.

I felt so very much ashamed, that I could have helped this kind lady.

But this is how I behaved.

Mariyam travels to Dubai-It requires courage

The Air India flight from Hyderabad goes to Dubai via Ahmedabad.
I was escorted by the kind air hostess to my seat 12C(again an aisle no pun intended).
The flight was full upto the brim, it seemed the airline gave free tickets to everyone. Passengers were coming in like red ants in line BUT in large number.

I felt comfortable in my seat and started searching for the earheads (since this flight had a nice small TV). While doing so, messaged my Wife about the boarding information(you ought to be dutiful…) most of people were taking the benefits of talking to their friends/relatives regarding the boarding except some of the business wallahs taking about the rates and found this as an opportunity to close the deal.

Mariyam bol rahe hain, a soft voice came from behind, saw a cute(see I could see her eyes and were cute and one can imagine the rest)girl of around 25-27 years of age(was in a veil, top to bottom) but how come I be so sure about the age, see dekh kar idea to lag hi jata hai(chahe burqa pehna ho ya nahi).

Amma ko phone dena, haan amma hum baith gaye hain.. dekhiye awaz aa rahee hai na pilot ke message ki…haan amma fikra nako karo aap, pahunch kar bata denge aapko….
Since voice was coming from behind, I could not resist myself listening to the conversation.Poor human instincts you see.(apne se zyada doosre ki duniya mein kya ho raha hai wo dekhna chahhta hai)

Ladies and Gentlemen, please switch off all your electronic devices as these may create problems in navigation- come the HEAD MISTRESS type voice- was the announcement cum order.

I was surprised that Mariyam overheard the announcement and the conversation goes like this.

Amma, suniye ab awaaz aayee jahaaz ke chalu hone ki?...pause….. Hai na achhi… pause… ab dekhiye ud raha hai… take off hone ki taiyaree hai… pause… dekhiye ye uda… uda uda…My GOD I said myself…what the ****, this girl kept talking till the network went automatically off(within milliseconds of the plane started on runway), I could see the unhappiness on her face(eyes) for not been able to connect to her relatives back on ground.

But I cursed myself, why people like me become ignorant of the fact that this type of carelessness could cause a major problem sometimes. The ideal way was if I saw no airhostess bothered to come(more busy pampering the Business class passengers) and check the same, I should have raised the alarm and made them notice the same else, should have asked the cute looking Mariyam to switch off her mobile devices. But it requires courage to stand up and ask.