Life and Its Whereabouts

Six years earlier: Adrenalin - pumping, dreams - soaring, ambition – sky high, goals – materialistic. That was the time when I finished my highest degree, a degree that stood in the pinnacle of my academic achievements, though not by merit, and has not got threatened nor challenged by an ambition of mine to have another go at books. Maybe it is because I thought enough is enough, or maybe I do not want to hang by the thread between a degree certificate and the door to eviction – which I experienced for two years.



We came out with our heads held high, and the wallets of our folks empty, and we promised that we will fill those wallets first before we ever drank another cola.


Six Years Later - Now: You see the parts of a state you never thought you would set your foot on. You travel in transport system which you never even looked at when you were living on your dad’s money. You travel from home to office and from office to people and palaces you hate, and back home. You do not have time for dreams or goals or friends. You just have time for your family and for the last report that you had to send some 3 hours ago.


Life has been in the fast lane and people go look at options which are smarter and shorter and less time consuming cos you still have got some more sales analysis to do, before you head for your next assignment. You end up texting your partner that you’ll be late from office, cos if you talk, you might lose a minute. You stop sending emails because anyways all of us are in touch through Facebook or Orkut – which by the way has overtaken bharath matrimony dot com for fixing alliances. You have time to scrap and poke but no time to write a mail. And finally, when you find time to talk to someone, you get a SMS reply saying “I am in a meeting and shall call you back as soon as possible” – but it becomes impossible cos he never calls you back.


Six years ago, you dreamt of exotic locations, and now the only exotic locations that you see are the rural areas of a state you had nightmares of when you were young, or exploring how you can avoid taking the train if taking a bus might be cost saving for the company in this time of difficulty, and put in a mail circulating in the company that I have saved the company Rs. 2000 by not staying in a hotel but by traveling in a bus non stop. And you expect the MD of your 1 billion dollar company to reply that our bottom-line has been better because of the way people have traveled in bus. Even after all the sacrifices that you made, which you didn’t have to, you still continue to get no extra pay and lot of extra work.


For People like us, who joins corporate life, it goes on for the first few years happily cos everyone knows that people who have carried dirt earlier on in their lives have sat in golden thrones later on. But soon, you seem to be carrying only dirt and the pile around you has no intention of coming down.


You ask for a profile change, and they give you a new designation, with a new shovel to carry and handle the same pile of crap. You ask for a location change, and they give you a place where people would rather wear Kevlar than take a lunchbox – cos it ensures better rate of survival.


Then you put your foot down and say – That’s it, enough is enough. Then you quote lines from the mails that you’ve read earlier like – “Love your job and not your company”, “If you want loyalty, get a dog” etc. etc. So after six years, you restart doing something that you were an expert 6 years ago – making resumes.


Then you get a conflict in your mind on the fellows who look upto you. You remember all the faces of people to whom you said that there is no other place like the place you are working for now, and you should thank the stars that you are all here.


Those faces suddenly get replaced with the pile that I had mentioned earlier and then you comfort yourself with the though that people should remember you for the way you were as a person, and how human you were, rather than the position that you held. I can say this with absolute certainty because the associates of my company remember the former greats even now for the support that they gave as a professional and the greatness as a person and not because of the designation.


Now after the ‘gyan’ session, I want to go back to the period 6 years earlier: The Modern era. It is really ironical that when you grow older, your era changes from Modern to Golden to Classic, and later on to Antique and finally Fossil… Ok. Sorry, I was talking about the modern era. (In case you get confused with the Eras I mention, please look up.) It was when you had ideologies in place. That you dreamt of being the brand management king. And then you joined your dream job. Now, in the Golden Era, the dream job has made way for another idea – get a job that can fulfill your dreams. Even if that means doing stuff that you do not completely like for 50% of your time so that you get to do things that you like for the rest 20 % (I assume that I sleep for the 30% of my life).


So, as I have moved on from the Modern Era ( Parties and eatouts and nightouts and hangovers) to the Golden Era (family and diapers and schooling), I have made this decision. Life is only once. Enjoy it. Life has always been a balancing act. So balance it with a job to fulfill your dreams. A few are fortunate to get a dream job and get to fulfill their dreams. My advice – do not ask for more. Life is to be enjoyed in simplicity and it is to be lived like a dream. And when you dream, it should have all that you care about and all who care about you - your parents, your partner, your kids, your friends and yourself.