Subhajit

"I do not like travelling, I do not like noise, Italian food, crowd, crabs, honking, spontaneous plans at midnight, people on social media, selfies, people getting married." "What do you like?" "I like mountains, chocolates, bikes, beaches, Mughlai Chicken, the smell of coffee, picking up a nice shirt to wear in the morning and I like you." The conversations between June & Sydney never stopped. They meet to talk and talk about almost everything under the sun. They were friends, more than friends and less than what people usually loved to term them as. They never cared what others thought, except for the times when they had to lie, a rare for them. Life has changed quite a lot between them in all these years, ten to be precise. They studied together, started working together and then moved cities, separately. But the chemistry never died. They always started from where they have left. It has been close to a year they are in the same city a...

Do not get surprised or offended by such an outrageous title of the post. And if you do, then do not kill me. I normally keep opinions related to religion or spiritual beliefs to myself. I know eyebrows will be raised and I will be judged for my opinions. I neither have the energy nor the interest to defend my stand or my views to people who would just want to align my views with theirs. I used to be an atheist but tilted towards being an agnostic over the last few years. I am not exactly proud of being a Hindu or for that matter a Brahmin (no reservation quota, you know). While growing up, I was equally inclined to Islamic & Christianity and never could understand what differentiates ‘them’ from ‘us’. I remember asking my friends to know who created this differentiation. At that age, they didn’t have the answers nor did I. When I went to my parents, they only told me these are beliefs that are there since centuries and being a part of ‘this’ religion; we need to abide by it....

I am not able to blog. Blog regularly. This used to be "my space". A space where I used to vent, shout & seek peace. I still want to do that. But I am not able to write. My reading habit too, is on a decline. I was doing so many thing when I was busy, now I am not able to do half of it with double the time in my hand. I am not able to meet my evenings, the ones which used to energise me. I am not able to sprint hundred yards to catch my next destination. Are things slow around? Yes they are, they will be. I was ready for this transition, but was not ready for people becoming unknown entities. May be I thought I am getting into a more real world, only to realise artificially has made its way deep into my old place. People have turned into something that I am not able to comprehend. My nights are stretching into oblivion. Are these my complaints? Am I unhappy? Who defines 'unhappiness' index? And what makes us 'happy' in real terms? I try to look at thing...

It feels good to be back here after 3 months. But it feels terrible not to have a specific topic to write. So, I will not force myself to come up with something artificial. And these days, the weather in Mumbai is so beautifully natural that I am trying not to do anything artificial throughout the day ;) It's cold, there are drizzles and there are cold windy evenings. What else one can ask for in a city known for its humidity levels. Last few weeks have been the best when it comes to my sleep, such weather provides quality sleeping and I am just not complaining. I have been doing so many things in last couple of months, both personally and professionally, that I am not able to keep a track of my priorities. But then, who all can I keep happy. So I am just moving from one day to the other keeping myself afloat. Spendings have shot up in recent months without any changes in the salary, that leaves me on the brink of being declared a bankrupt. But I like the idea, I want to be decl...

When it rains, it does not decide where to go. It does not belong to anyone, yet it is for everyone. Sometimes the sheer noise of the raindrops make you go blank. All you hear is that sound. Nothing distracts you, you start concentrating amidst the noise. These are facts of nature we must understand, for they don’t come with sponsored posts on social networks. The number of events, people and situations around us are enough to divert our attention, or are they? The truth, if we start exploring, will come out simple: if we like what we are doing, nothing can distract us. I never realized the umpteen number of times my father told me the same thing; assuming that how in the world it is possible to concentrate with Tendulkar playing those signature straight drives, Mom cooking those delicious fries, Mr. Vajpayee giving those speeches, those landline ringing during those odd-hours, friends calling for evening Cricket match with the life on stake. With each year, I realized how critic...

7.5 years in Mumbai. 6.5 years at blog. 5.5 at work. And the sum of all right and wrong choices made in life stands at 28.5. While I want the span of the first three to go further, I want the last one to shrink. But life only moves in one direction: 'forward'. There is no 'pause' button to hold back and the 'stop' button is not under our control. The 'play' button is on auto-mode since birth. So all these tells us that there is no break, until the final one. When I came to Mumbai, my life was wandering in many directions. The priorities were slightly different. Today, there are still directions and priorities, but the definition of terms itself has changed. The perspective of looking at life has taken many turns, while it has matured, it has become more restrictive as well. I seek answers, for I believe that asking right questions are so important. Else, we should not be repentant about the outcomes. I remained silent for the majority part of my...

Last one and half months have brought in quite a change in our country. Not because it has rained less than the normal, but we, as a country obsessed with just one sport, are thinking, talking and fighting over new sports. Sports, which were pretty alien to us few months back. They existed since long, but we never thought of giving them the due they deserved. So they never got the attention, exposure and funding. In any sports, in any country you look upto people who has gone for glory in the past, you need to emulate people who has created history. In wrestling and shooting, we are now creating a tradition, and that helps in the 'know-how' for the generations to follow. It's amazing to see when a game of Badminton is termed as 'Saina v/s China' over the built up to main event. We also cheered for the humble and unassuming Gopichand who shared the medal as a part the dream he once saw for himself. Now all of a sudden, every state government, parliament, activis...

Life's moving on, so are the timelines, priorities and responsibilities. I don't know where exactly life's moving towards. I am very much aware of the fact that where my professional life heading towards, where my priorities lie and where I belong today.  Your life is the sum of the choices you made. I made some correct ones, so many wrong ones. But do all those have any significance today or will they impact tomorrow! Sometimes I feel I am just keeping my pace up with the race that I am a part of today. The so-called term "value-addition" that I read & lectured some uncountable times during my MBA, is looking so hazy today. May be I need to have few add-ons in my professional life to make it up for the void that I feel inside me. May be I need to go back to the basics and start doing few corrections in my priorities. May be I am sounding weird, may be I need treatment, but I really do not believe that I stand at the wrong end. I don't know, but I fee...

It's been a grueling past few months with almost every possible thing happening in the workplace. Have always tried balancing both the personal & professional life, but last 3/4 months has made me almost a machine. It has programmed me to the needs of various departments, people & the organization as a whole. It's not that I am not liking it, though it's too damn hectic, but what I realize is I have started missing few things that was/is on my priority list. Won't blame anyone apart from me, for not being able to balance it out. Had taken few but effective initiatives in the ever going to attempt of 'Change Management'. It is a constant process and will take long. Aligning mindsets, overcoming the resistance to change & accepting differences are my core areas to work for these days. With my little and negligible experience in the corporate world compared to other Gurus, but loaded heavily with my experience of understanding and analyzing people, I...

After long getting some time for yourself is really a welcome change. Amongst all the mismatched schedule and last minute no-shows the soothing sound of unending waves are more than enough to take you to an introspective ride. So I went to so many such rides and it really made up for my lost water rides due to bad health. Goa, has its own charm and it lies in its sheer small little things. Be it the old-styled homes, simple people, narrowest possible roads, no-rush-to-modern ethos in every corner. Life goes for a sudden break and throws you to the relaxed seat. You start noticing these tiny little things of life and relish it again and again. Such places makes me tell myself that I can still be the same person without so many things I feel is essential for life. I, as a person, keep a low profile for many reasons and it works. Off late, this status of mine has been tampered by people as well as by me in some cases. But a sharp SWOT analysis has given me the result that I could still...

I wonder how a large chunk of people very smartly but conveniently portray an image of a citizen very much concerned about the real rural India, the aam junta aka ‘mango people’ and show the connection they have with them. They also are the ones who seldom travelled through different parts of the country apart from some luxurious beaches and selected hill stations. They avidly read the ‘internet’ editions of the newspapers to ‘connect’ with the people! And they visit the sports websites to know about the most irrelevant matches & upcoming cricket teams around the world, including teams from countries even historians won’t recognize. They love to visit the best of the restobars to have a go at a premium scotch with the best of the chicken delicacy and then suddenly jump into discussing about the rotting grains. Nothing wrong in discussing about your own country sitting in a cozy pub, but thinking that you only know everything, you only understand the country and you have seen enough...

Sometimes I wonder, where is the time for myself when all the people I love need the entire time, attention & whatnot! One vendor once remarked, “Sir you name it, we have got any stuff under the sun”. Here ‘stuff’ should not be misunderstood by that ‘ stuff’. Money, in today’s world, can actually buy you happiness in all sorts of forms. You got to choose the right places to go for the shopping. Even wrong places will result in delivering some awesome experience minus the ‘morality’ crap ;) I am different. I want to be different. These are kind of statements we hear from almost anyone & everyone. Most clichéd ones come from the film makers & actors. Be it corporates or business houses, they all are different. A singer says I could have sung this song so differently. And talks of some raags that Ustaad Bismillha Khan won’t understand. Our maid claims she is also different as she is doing so much work with such less monthly pay. Each of my friend says the kind of prof...