R.i.P
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
- from Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Address in 2005
Thank you, Steve. For showing us that there is still magic in an industry dominated by processing speed, chip sizes and wires. For having the vision to create products that literally light up people’s eyes when they see them. For giving us products that don’t fall over themselves in the market, trying to be louder than the rest, clamouring to be bought. For filling the world with so much colour, by only using black and white.
For reminding us time and time again that no matter how much the world transforms and advances, there will always be beauty in simplicity.
Rest in peace.
Something Borrowed : Thoughts on the book
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
So, a confession : I actually watched the movie before I read the book. Which may influence a lot of what I felt – I really, really tried hard to like this book but I have to say that I didn’t.
Although I liked the movie, there are some things I chose to ignore while watching because overall I like the actors and just the “chick flick” movie in general. However, there are certain aspects that I chose to ignore in the movie which I couldn’t ignore here because when things are typed out, you tend to find it harder to suppress that “uneasy” feeling you get when something isn’t right. For example, I think Rachel’s character is incredibly weak and spineless – and not even in a “cutesy” way. Her choices in the book, which are spelled out more clearly than in the movie, are just plain inexplicable. Not even the “rush of love” explanation can fix things.
Do I feel good about the ending? In the movie, I did. Here? Not so much. This is largely to do with the fact that I don’t think the characters themselves were happy with the ending. However, I see there is a sequel, which I plan to read, so I guess I will find out soon enough.
Catch a poem by its tail
Just re-watched one of my favourite TED videos : Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity. The bit about poet Ruth Stone’s writing process is what I love most about this talk :
“As [Stone] was growing up in rural Virginia, she would be out, working in the fields and she would feel and hear a poem coming at her from over the landscape. It was like a thunderous train of air and it would come barrelling down at her over the landscape. And when she felt it coming…cause it would shake the earth under her feet, she knew she had only one thing to do at that point. That was to, in her words, run like hell to the house as she would be chased by this poem. The whole deal was that she had to get to a piece of paper fast enough so that when it thundered through her, she could collect it and grab it on the page. Other times she wouldn’t be fast enough, so she would be running and running, and she wouldn’t get to the house, and the poem would barrel through her and she would miss it, and it would continue on across the landscape looking for ‘another poet’. And then there were these times, there were moments where she would almost miss it. She is running to the house and is looking for the paper and the poem passes through her. She grabs a pencil just as it’s going through her and she would reach out with her other hand and she would catch it. She would catch the poem by its tail and she would pull it backwards into her body as she was transcribing on the page. In those instances, the poem would come up on the page perfect and intact, but backwards, from the last word to the first.”
(Stole the above text from this blog)
Adele, Writing and Test Cricket
I know that I really need to be writing more often, but I suppose this is what happens if writing is a major part of your day job! Also, this is what happens when you get used to restricting yourself to 140 characters *glares at a certain micro-blogging site*
Anyway what have I been doing? Listening to Adele, pretty much all day long. Her voice is so incredibly beautiful and her words seem to pull thoughts right out of my soul (corny alert). So far, I’ve been hooked to “Lovesong”, “Hometown Glory”, “Set Fire To The Rain” and (of course) “Rolling In The Deep”. It makes for good writing music while I’m at work, and I’ve learnt that a lot of writers tend to listen to the same song (or set of songs) for a considerable period of time while they work. You get used to the rhythm and the words, so it doesn’t interrupt your flow of thought, and you also get to drown out anything else that distracts you – ringing phones, annoying humming etc.
I’ve also been watching a lot of Test cricket – specifically the Indian tour of England. I’m so glad Dravid is doing well, although it wouldn’t hurt if the other guys pitched in occasionally 
It does annoy me that the entire country is again focussed on a certain record that could be made, but I guess this will always happen. It also angered me a great deal to learn that the Indian media was portraying Dhoni’s decision as being “heavily influenced” (translation : he meekly listened) by a certain senior pro. I think we’ve seen enough of this guy to know that he’s strong-willed and confident enough to play his role as captain thoroughly and intelligently – heck, the guy led us to a World Cup victory! I’m also pretty kicked about the fact that he made that decision when he could have very easily have chosen not to and still look good. This shows immense maturity on his part and sort of represents the India I choose to belong to – we’re loyal to what we believe is right, and we’re confident enough to uphold these values without hiding behind this jingoist attitude that is normally associated with “representing India”. Where’s the value of independence and intelligent thinking if we are forever going to say “you did the same thing, so we can too” ? That faintly sounds like the admonishing I used to get when I was younger : “If he/she jumps in a well, will you also?”
Ok, enough about cricket. I could go on and on!
I’ve meaning to catch up on my reading, and I have made some progress on that front : I started Siddartha Deb’s “The Beautiful and the Damned”, a book that caught my interest after I read excerpts from it’s first chapter (based on the infamous Arindham Chaudhuri of the infamous IIPM)
- can I just take a break here and say that I really love the role of the word “infamous” ? I mean, we all know it really means famous, but it still gets to be a word by itself, so much more effective than plain old “famous” ; I guess the baggage of negativity is what makes it exciting -
that was published in Caravan magazine (I do hope all of you have read about how IIPM “handled” this). I was excited to read about a lot of my city in the book – sights, people and localities that I am more than familiar with – but unfortunately this a book that DEMANDS every ounce of your attention (it certainly merits it) in order for you to make any sense of it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to say that it’s heavy or unreadable; it just isn’t quite cut out for short work commutes or that time you spend reading just before you fall into zzz land. On the other hand, I wouldn’t call this a holiday-reading type book, either. Whatever the case, I do intend on finishing it at the earliest.
On August 1st, I completed two months as an employee. I’ve been having a great time so far, getting to do a lot of learning – and I’m glad to report that unlike many graduates I know, it is not disconnected from what I studied in college at all 
I find it thoroughly satisfying that I get to research and write about topics that are not usually things I would have pushed myself to read up about.
Here’s to more successful days ahead!
Finishing a book
I have forgotten what it feels like to finish a book.
The physical turning of a page, or the filling up of that electronic status bar. It’s all the same to me, really. At this point I just want to pick up something and read it from start to finish and I just can’t seem to do that any more.
I’ve never had to beg anybody to lay my hands on something interesting to read, I’ve been lucky that way. I remember how I felt while reading (and watching) Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda’ – her dad ripping that book to shreds, I could feel my own eyes tearing up. Anyway, the point is there has ALWAYS been something to read , and it’s very rare for me to leave the house without a book in my bag.
But that’s the problem. I’ve become so superficial, floating from one book to another. Disrespectful, I want to cringe with embarrassment, but it’s the truth. At the back of my mind, I know there’s no time limit, no ‘form of the book’ limitation either. Earlier, I would carry only one book with me pretty much everywhere I went. This meant I had no choice but to read that one, single book when I had the chance. If it was a library book (oh, those Mills & Boons!) I would try to not take them out of the house for fearing of losing them. So I’d end up rushing home after school or college, waiting for the moment when I could delve back into it. Now, I rarely go to libraries anymore because I hardly read physical books.
Ebooks are wonderful. But ebooks have spoilt me. I carry them on every device I have with me – my Mac, my phone, my iPod. I have multiple forms and copies of the “current book I’m reading” – and at least 15 other ones. Hypothetically, I should be reading more books right? Wrong. I think I’m over-prepared. I’ve lost that NEED to finish a book, because I know it’s always with me.
Anyway, I just wanted to get this out of my system. It isn’t a debate on whether ebooks are good or bad. It’s just something I noticed, and something I really need to do something about. So I am going to try and write reviews of whatever I read, hopefully that will push me to actually go through with completely reading a book. Any other suggestions?
Joy
You know what joy is?
Joy is reading an article in the paper about BMTC launching a new ‘feeder’ bus service called Big Connect. Joy is spotting half of your daily route to work covered in that list of new routes. Joy is finding out that there are not one, or two, but SIX new buses on this route. Joy is actually catching that bus and reaching home a whole 45 mins earlier.
BMTC, today you have made me an extremely happy commuter. Not only me, but I saw several tired, weary people who boarded this bus burst into wide grins as we realised that getting home was going to be a lot more easier, a lot more faster and a LOT less tiring. Our bus literally trumpeted down the street, inviting people to get on board which they did very, very gladly. So many voiced their relief on learning about this new route and about its frequency (touch wood that it sticks to it).
To read more about the new Big Connect bus service in Bangalore please go here. And please, please spread the word and make it a success so that it continues!
The Next Step
Back when I was in college..
(Sorry, I couldn’t resist)
.. my friends would joke about my obsession to stay organized. In final year, this was symbolized by my kick-ass pink folder which a friend gave me as a christmas present.The fact that it contained all my notes and handouts never translated into me getting the highest marks or anything amazingly special. At the end of the day, it was just a folder filled with plastic sheets that held a whole bunch of papers – some of which I probably looked at only the night before an exam.
Yet, I loved my folder to death. I insisted on carrying my heavy, large folder with me everyday even when I really didn’t have to. It was a source of comfort – and not just because it was candy pink. It just reminded me of my faith in structure, in planning, in being efficient. These things have become so important to me over the past couple of years, and it’s only hitting me seriously now. Although I love the fact that I am done with college, and everything else that goes with it, I hate waking up to an unplanned day. I hate not having to anything to fill into my organizer. My days are as empty as my folder, now.
It feels like my life is unhinged. I know that I need to be out there like the rest of my classmates, making a case for myself as a potential employee. I know I need to say the right lines, the words are in my head, but somehow it just isn’t happening. It’s new, and strange and I hate it. And it angers me. I’ve always believed that I knew exactly where I want to be. My life was like my folder, each compartment filled with content that needed to be dealt with at a certain time.
And now it feels like the papers are all over the place, blowing in the wind, and I am just watching them fly away.
A large part of this is my fault. This is really hard for me to admit, but for the first time in ages, I don’t know how to take the next step. What do I want to do? I fell in love with the idea of marketing communications in my final semester. The fact that you, as a communicator, play such a large role in the way a product is conceptualised, created and marketed is exciting. Starting from the beginning, the research that goes into who your consumer is, their tastes and preferences, your competition. Then the product itself, giving it an identity, a persona that is going to cater to this consumer. The packaging, the advertising, the consuming, the feedback. The power of communications has always enticed me, but translating that power using only creative writing has never appealed to me. For me, the idea of marketing communications gives structure to this power that “communication” offers. A structure and framework to work within, with goals to meet and results that are quantifiable. These are concepts that define the way I work, which is why I believe that marketing communications is an area I want to work in. Of course, this is all just an idealistic impression of what I have of the profession and I might be thoroughly wrong, but in any case, this is the kind of field I want to work in
But taking the “next step” hasn’t come to me so easily and smoothly. I’ve sent my CV to a couple of places, and I’m still waiting to hear from some of them, but if any of you out there reading this have any ideas on what you think I should do next, or may know of any opportunities that you think I might apply to then PLEASE let me know!
Things people never tell you about college
I’m officially a graduate!
Now I can dispense college-related advice I might say things like ..
- Never take the canteen for granted. Sometimes, you may disagree with its choices and leave, but once you realise that the KFC down the road is just too high maintainance, you’ll go running back.
- Teachers have favourites, no matter what they tell you. The sooner you accept this, the better. Then its up to you if you want to be one of those elite few, or the ones sniggering at the elite few (who, by the way, still want to be part of the elite few).
- Assignments never have a fixed due date, no matter how dire the first warning. There will always be another “last date” – especially when you’ve worked your ass off to get your assignment done on time.
- No matter how smart you think you are for deciding to start on an assignment early, it will never happen. You will always put it off, till the night before.
- On a related note – the one time you decide not to do an assignment? Yeah, that one’s going to be considered for internal assessment.
- You will always be told “your batch is one of the best I’ve taught” when you approach graduation.
- Someone will always be missing in your class photo, despite having planned the date five gazillion days in advance.
- Someone will always slack off in a group project. And then might even try to take credit for “work they did”.
- Everyone bitches about everyone.
- If someone says : “OHMYGOD! I am going to fail! I didn’t study AT ALL. I watched tv all day, and then fell asleep! Help me!” it actually means “OHMYGOD! I am going to get distinction and make you want to kill yourself for feeling bad for me and giving me your essay points when in reality I started studying while I was still in the auto on the way home from the previous exam HAHA SUCKER!”
- If a teacher understandingly says : “If you’re here just for attendance, you can leave. I will give you attendance” DON’T FALL FOR IT. You’re not going to get attendance if you leave. Probably for the whole semester.
- There will be resident complainers. The kind that probably went “I’ll tell to Miss” when they were in school. Unfortunately, this kind never grew up and will still continue to believe that going to the teacher and “letting them know” something will somehow give them eternal glory.
- Seniors are scary. Treat them with the respect they deserve, and they will in turn help you out later. I’ve learnt this first-hand! Their tips are invaluable and they are mostly ALWAYS RIGHT.
- Don’t plagiarise. You WILL get caught. And everybody WILL find out.
My first collection : Bits of BMTC
My first collection of writing!
This is a collection I wrote for my final semester writing portfolio. Each piece is a reflection of what I have felt/seen/heard/experienced while traveling through Bangalore using BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) buses. To download as .pdf, click here.
