A new milestone... a new beginning

November 16, 2006 – Just another day, or was it… Not for me at least…
It was my 30th birthday…

For the first time I felt that I had become old… for the first time I felt that I had reached a new milestone in my life and for the first time I felt that I would no more be as fortunate to find young and beautiful women to flirt with ;-)

I also felt that I had become old enough to avoid making the dumb mistakes of my 20s (I really hope they are behind me), and yet young enough to take risks with confidence so that even if they do fall apart, I would have plenty of time to bounce back.

However, when I sat down to think of the years that had gone by, 30 seemed like an unfathomably distant milestone. I had travelled so much in all these years…30 sure seemed old! A part of me felt nostalgic (and a little sad) remembering the years that had gone by… when anything was possible and my whole future was ahead of me.

At the same time, I feel incredibly lucky to have had the past decade.

I graduated, despite my terrible grasp of accountancy and economics nearly causing me to flunk the B.Com exams.

I have had a bunch of great friends — friends who've been by my side at some of the toughest times of my life.

I have also met some of the most amazing people at my workplace (workplaces to be precise...I've changed 4 jobs in 6 years). They have gone on to become an integral part of my life... They are the people whom I can trust, with whom I can be myself... and above all whom I can call friends, not colleagues.

However, the best part of the last decade was meeting the most amazing woman who is part of my life today. She inspires me to be a better person in every facet of my life. I am so lucky to have found her.

Though there are so many things I didn't do or so many things that I won't get a chance to do again, I am still proud of my 20s. The one thing that I have realised is that there is so little time in life, no matter how long a life you have. There's so much more I want to accomplish in my life and in my career that I feel I am already behind. A decade ago thinking 30 was old. However, now that I am 30, I am ready to take on the next decade full-throttle.

Again away from home, during Durga Pujo...

Durga Puja starts today. And even this year I would miss Kolkata the most during these five days.

The sound of the dhakis, the fragrance of the dhup and dhunuchi (coconut hair burning with an incense-like powder in an earthen hand held pot that looks like a very fat wine glass - couldn't think of anything else), the chant of the mantras in the pandals, spending the evenings at Maddox Square (ask a Bengali what being at Maddox Square means during Durga Puja), pandal hopping and of course moving from one roadside stall to another, following the nose as it trails the smells of food as oily, greasy, and over priced as ever, but nonetheless adding to the spirit – that’s how all my Durga Pujas, or Pujo as it is referred to in Bengali, have been since 1992, the year that I started staying in Kolkata.

Though this is the second consecutive year that I am away from home during Pujo, but I know I carry a bit of Kolkata with me wherever I go. I can feel it. What else could be the reason that every Pujo I am overcome by emotions that I never feel throughout the year, emotions that only a Bengali could relate to, emotions that I’ve always felt during Pujo when I used to stay in Kolkata. They keep coming back to me year after year during Pujo.

Pujo is much more than just worship. I would miss it all.

Where is Osama?

George Bush and Co watch out! Rediff.com may already have some come clues on the exact hideout of Osama Bin Laden courtesy the people who browse the site. Some time ago they ran a contest that said, "Where is Osama? SMS us and win prizes."
(http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/sep/14contest.htm).
Can anything get more absurd than this???

I miss my days in DNA...

It's been just a month and half since I left my previous organisation. But it seems like I haven't seen the place for ages. My desk, my friends, the conference room where we used to have our daily meetings, the reporters, the photographers, the chaos in the evenings... I miss everything. Today I realise how special were all those days. I would forever cherish every moment that I spent in DNA.

Even the weekends are not what they used to be. We were a group of four. On most of the Saturdays we used to meet up and have a blast. And then on Sundays we used to make some plan while on our way to office and meet up at a place called Sea Lord in Worli. Once we were there we didn't even realise how fast time just flew by. By the time we were through, we used to be dead drunk. But then we had to get back to office and release the edition. And then on some days we used to again go back to Sea Lord for another drinking session and get sloshed again. I am missing all of that.

But life's like that... however, I am sure we would again re-live those days, those moments and have even more fun... coz life is a roller coaster ride... one moment you are laughing and then the very next moment you are screaming as you are being flung around and flipped topsy turvey. This is the topsy turvey period... the laughter would follow soon.