Idealistic thought..

I have just come back from a hard days of work, rather I'd like to think I worked hard. Anyways I doubt it matters.These days work has become extremely hectic and really at times this gets me wondering whether I am in the right job, am i doing a good job and more importantly am I deriving happiness from what I am doing. Why does one essentially work? The most obvious answer would be so that one can satisfy his needs and wants. Is the greater aim of one only to earn money so that he fulfill his aspirations or is the aim to fulfill ones aspirations without earning too much but still be content with what he has.I guess its logical to assume that when someones fulfills his desires or achieves something he is bound to be happy...but at what cost is something that each one of us needs to introspect and understand.

Am i trying to say that making money is bad? The answer is NO...wealth is important, and since we don't live in an egalitarian society,however much we would like to live in one, it is imperative that one takes care of himself without becoming a liability on any other individual. But what is dislike, rather disapprove of is the ostentatious display of wealth, when in country like mine millions of people are living below the poverty line and each day is a battle for survival. People could label me as hypocrite since I wear a pair of Adidas sneakers,carry an Ipod,a zippo and other expensive accessories which are not essential for leading ones life but just enhance his way of living. I may be at fault but then I am not displaying wealth in a 'vulgar' manner. It atleast isn't at the level where a chief minister of a state was decorated with garland of 1000 rupee notes fetching a value of over a crore. How can one in a country like ours, where people do not have the access the basic amenities to lead a respected life, have the conscious to display their wealth in a very arrogant manner and claim to be working for the upliftment of the downtrodden. I do not say that one needs to lead a life of austerity or live like an ascetic but the very least that one can do is be consistent with what he stands for and also at the same time help others in overcoming social and financial difficulties if possible.

I started off wanting to write about something else but ended up going on a tangent. I guess am being way too idealistic and expecting Utopian society. At this moment Lennon's most famous song comes to mind and all that i can say is... I Hope Someday You'll Join us and the World will live as ONE.

A city called Pune

yes...thats the place am dwelling at these days. It was quite a change for me from my 8 years of stay in the south of India. And after staying in pune for a little more than a year I think it would be be rather safe to assume I know a few characteristics of the place, I could stand corrected in certain issues but then it wouldn't matter.. ;)

Well anyways what got me to Pune..?? My job...actually was very keen on going to Bombay( yes...i prefer calling it by its old name...hopefully won't get hammered for it) but my folks back at home brain washed me against choosing it and in hindsight it was a good decision. Nothing against Bombay but then on a couple visits to the city felt it was too fast for my liking. Anyways i came in expecting a lot from the city and well its been a mixture of hits and misses so far. It certainly isn't something like Bangalore or Bombay but I think it can be compared to cities like Hyderbad,Indore etc. I came from Madras and really one thing that I immediately liked about Pune was the weather. Thousand times better than Madras where one is generally sweating without even doing anything. Plenty of places to go and kill time...restraunts,bars,lounges,cafes or quite simply the telas..the point is that there loads of opportunities for one to kill time or make use of it. Personally I prefer Camp amongst all the places in Pune.The Place is one place that recommend people to visit.

A few other observations...

1)The public transport is really no good. Hardly have any buses or rather is frequency is ridiculously poor. So most've of the times one ends up taking a rickshaw...and its here thats ones Marathi comes into use. The fares that the rickshawalas demand are rather insane...just to give you an idea...to go to 3 phase in Hinjewadi(a place where all the IT coolies work..me too being one) from University one would need to shell out about 450 bucks. Thats as good as going to and fro to Bombay...!! + 1 for bombay ;) After a good 5 minutes in bargaining one can settle for a reasonable fare but still a little hefty on the pocket.

2) There are more institutes on the streets of Pune than in any other city in India. Almost every street will have an Institute in Management,Sciences or Arts. No wonder its called the 'Oxford of the East'...God alone knows about the quality.

3) The ratio 'boys' and 'girls' is quite a healthy one. Infact one will soon start getting an inferiority complex if he doesn't have a bike with a fairer sex riding pillion . Believe you me...I've experienced it..! How does one define a Loser...i guess you know the answer. Another feature that one will notice is that people either below 30-32 or above 50 on the streets of Pune. If there is one place in India where you will plenty of young people its got to be Pune.

4)The most interesting feature are the women on the streets. 99% of them will be walking or driving with a scraf wrapped across the face..almost like the burkha clad women in Afghansitan. Don't know the logic of the scraf...is it the dust..or the heat...or is it just that they feel their eyes are more beautiful...or is because they don't want to be recognised..?? I am still searching for an answer. Another interesting fact is that they have different scraves for different days of the week..polka dotted ones for mondays, purple for tuesdays,blues for wednesdays.. etc. Its quite fascinating and one can actually do a thesis titled 'Scarves, Women and their daily relationship' :)

5) Traffic...probably the most craziest issue is traffic.Peak hours are utterly hopeless...and really one crawls during early mornings and late evenings. At times it can turn into a demolition derby and if you manage decently in pune...you'll be doing wonderfully well anywhere else. I would like to see Schumi getting some practise on these streets...will help him a lot on the track when it comes to overtaking. My cousin gave me some good advice when I first reached here..."Never behave like a gentleman on the road...you never know when you'll get knocked...! "

None the less...despite all of this , Pune is a city with a lot of vibrancy,energy,bubbling with enthusiasm and with shades of grey that only add to its beauty and make it a more interesting place to live in...

Teach For India

Today i have something big to announce. I am one of the few to have been selected as a fellow by a non profit organisation called 'Teach for India' (TFI) , To all those who don't know about TFI, it is a nascent organisation, just a year and a half old aiming at reducing inequity in the field of education. It falls under a world wide organization called 'Teach for All' and essentially is being run on the lines of a sister organization called 'Teach for America' (TFA) . TFI was conceived after a study conducted by McKinsey & Co as to whether the TFA model could be replicated in India and study gave two thumbs up :) . One can get more information by visiting www.teachforindia.org

Anyways that was about history TFI.I got to know about TFI when Kavita Rajagopalan, a representative of theirs, held an innocuous presentation at my company premises sometime in the month of Dec 09 inviting applications for the fellowship programme to be held in 2010. Once she had completed with her presentation, whether she had other people in the audience convinced or not she definitely had me convinced and guess she had done her job. The same day in the evening, I went and gathered as much information regarding TFI and what I read was something distinct and real. Over the next couple of days I made sure that I answered their questions in their application form in the best possible manner. The questions that they put forward to you really make one think and introspect whether one has really achieved something in life or not. That was the moment I realized that in my 23 years of existence there was nothing exemplary about and something that I could be really proud of. Anyways putting all my grey cells into action, got the answers ready and after a series of telephonic interview and agonising wait I got a mail informing that I had been shortlisted for the final round.

And really, on 28 Feb when I went to Thermax House, I was quite blown away by the people I met.Different individuals with different qualities, each one bringing something new to the table. I really felt that I was at the wrong place but it felt good that atleast TFI considered me at par with them. :) Anyways what followed was evaluations which were extremely professional, which included a GD,a case study, regular analytical and reasoning issues, a sample teaching exercise and finally the interview. My interview was taken by a program manager called Tom, who was part of the Teach First in the UK. And really the questions that he posed were really issues that one needed to search within himself. Reality can at times be such an illusion, that inspite of one thinking very high of himself, simple questions can put ones consciousness to shame. The entire process the convinced me as to how professional TFI was and how serious and committed they were towards the challenge that they had taken up and I really was sure that I had to be a part of this revolution and change rather than giving comments on talk shows and signing check books for NGOs. I went from the assessment centre not only as a more informative person but also as a person who had many difficult questions to answer. I badly wanted to be a part of TFI and when I got the mail confirming my admit I was ecstatic. My prayers had been answered...and I now embark on a journey of a different kind hoping to make a success of it...I am now officially an Teach for India Fellow for the year 2010 :)