Cleaning my Closet

Horizon (n) - The apparent intersection of the earth and sky as seen by an observer.

“So does the horizon belong to the earth or to the sky”, I asked.

“To neither. And to both”, she replied.

It amazed me as to how something could be a part of two such distinct elements. The sky which stands for ambition, serenity and grace. The rugged ground with all its imperfections. But that is what makes the horizon truly unique. It can effortlessly merge with the ground only to be part of the sky again. I can gaze at it for hours without end and wonder. And still not have an answer as to where it really belongs. Perhaps there isn’t an answer. And that’s why I find the horizon so special and enigmatic....

I've Lost You...

I've lost you
To the Earth's rotation
To technology's limitation

You say only ten hours separate us, but to me that seems a lifetime
I pray everyday that you get deported, I hope you forgive me the crime

I've lost you
To the greenback's sway
To the bright lights of broadway

Manhattan's sky line and the bustle of Queens have charmed you away from me
And Apple pies and hot dogs win over samosas laden with ghee

I've lost you
To the Earth's rotation
To technology's limitations
I've lost you
To my own ambitions

Mystified Sanity

~ I just read a tweet which said that there is a marriage breaking amount of sport on television this month. True! The French Open has just ended and Wimbledon is here. Not to mention Euro, Formula 1 and the English cricket series. The French Open has always been my favourite grand slam. For one, it had much longer rallies, which make for better viewing. And secondly, it gave me sadistic pleasure to see top ranked players like Sampras, Agassi, Rafter and the likes, struggle against little known names.

~ Talking about tennis, I really don't get how the seeding in women's tennis works or why they even bother having it. Women's seeding is pretty much like the ranks we had in school - never a true reflection of the persons' potential.

~ The other day I was travelling to work and I realised that there isn't one particular thing / hobby that I am extremely passionate about. And that's really sad. A Hindu friend of mine pointed out, that not being passionate is actually a very desirable quality. It shows lack of maya and enhances my chances of escaping the cycle of life and death! Well I guess there are two ways of looking at everything! Reminds me of an IIM interview where I was selling myself like a street walker. At one point in the interview, I mentioned how the fact that I got great scores in all sections shows that I don't have one particular weakness. To which the interviewer replied that it also meant I didn't have any particular strength. #facepalm

~ So my commute to office involves taking a rickshaw from Kanjurmarg station to Powai. Now these rick guys act so pricey when it comes to going to Powai, that I have come up with an ingenious plan. I strike a conversation with every rickshaw driver during my twenty minute ride. Ask his name, dhandha kaisa hai bhaiyya and the likes, hoping that the next time they see me they find it harder to say no!

~ Working is strange in a way. It is the first time in life that I've started something without knowing when it will end. And so when I go to work day in, day out, I begin to think about the purpose of life and all that jazz. But then by the end of the month my bank account is credited and the world is all rosy again.


~ And ya, in case you are wondering what my title is all about, I flicked it from a painting. That is the way paintings sell you know. You paint just about anything, but give it an enigmatic title and people lap it up. Throw in some thunderclouds for good measure.

Work, Wilde and Demand Supply mismatches

~ Last fortnight, I went with my friends to the Janjira fort and then on to Diveagar beach. We settled for beaches because the hill stations in and around Mumbai, like Mahabaleshwar and Khandala, are highly over rated. I mean they remind me of the girls in engineering. Mediocre at best, but immensely popular due to the unbalanced demand supply equation.

~ I started working from Monday. The first thing I did when I got access to the intra net was to look up the organisational tree. 9 levels till I become CEO!

~ It happened during my internship and now it happened again. New joinees will always get a cubicle where your screen can be viewed by at least 60% of the people working in the office. The only way to get a better place is to wait a year for the next batch of newbies to join. Pretty much reminds me of the debutant who invariably fields at sily mid off!

~ In case you are wondering what I am working as, then I am a credit analyst. Liar's Poker, Michael Lewis' hilarious rendition of the sub prime crisis mentions credit analysts only twice, if I am not mistaken.

"In the investment banking world, credit analysts are the lowest of the low. But the world views them as the lowest of the high."

"The most foolish thing a credit analyst can do is to be the best credit analyst, because frankly no one really cares!"

Don't know how true that is, but with weekends off and a subsidized canteen, I'm taking the job dude! Besides, it doesn't pay too bad either!


~ I had heard of Oscar Wilde before but became a fan in 2008, when I saw the guys tomb in Paris. I mean screw the Eiffel tower and Mona Lisa, Wilde's tomb is easily the best attraction in Paris. It is covered with lipstick and graffiti and the people just love the guy. So I have started reading a lot of Wilde's quotes off late. Here are a couple of not so famous, but really good ones that I just came across.

There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up.

If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life.

~ I went to watch a play yesterday. The Great Raja Master Dance Company. Was a really nice play. Part of the Kala Ghoda Festival. I needed to have something cool to say na when colleagues ask tomorrow ki weekend pe kya kiya? Updating my blog which I force my three closest friends to read, doesn't quite make an impression, does it?

Post Script : New Joinee Tip #1 - You are expected to know the name of your company CEO.

A Conversation

He:

Every time we meet, the picture is complete.
Every time you smile, the feeling is divine.

She:

A glance from you makes the sun shine on me,
Your thought makes me laugh even in a melee.

He:

You are all I ever need to fall in love again.
I knew it from the very start, you are the queen of my heart.

She:

But alas the bus has been missed, it was ten years ago that he and I first kissed. You came along a tad too late, by that time I'd already found my soul mate.

He:

And so I realise that I should move on in life and not whine;
and hope that one day I reach a stage when your happiness becomes mine.

(Not written entirely by me)

Snap Judgement

The Golden Dragon,
Mumbai.

I was just about to dig into my lobster, when I spotted them. Sitting in the corner, overlooking the Arabian sea, they had the best table in the restaurant.

I would have put them as one of the many young couples that form a major chunk of the clintele of the place, but her chooda gave it away.

He played the role of the doting husband to a tee. From folding the napkin and setting it on her lap to reading out the menu to her, he did it all.

For someone like me who is not given into maudlin display of emotions, I found it quite nauseating. I set my gaze to the vast body of water beyond them.

Half way into my dessert, I noticed them get up. Her awkward, fumbling walk told me he wasn't just a caring husband. He was her eyes too.

*Chooda is a kind of bangle that is worn by Punjabi women in the recent weeks after her wedding.

Gini and Goldie

There is this website, which tells you where you sit in the list of the richest people in the world. I entered the annual income of the Francis family and was happy to find that we lie in the top 7% in the world. My joy was short lived when Goldie told me that she was in the top 0.7% of the world! Now Goldie is younger than the youngest Francis (that would be me!) and still earns more than all of us put together! It didn't feel very good. I mean someone whom I have beaten in every semester of engineering, doesn't deserve to earn that much more than us!!

That is when I read about the Gini coefficient. Some background on that. A Gini coefficient of 0, means everyone in a country earns the exact same amount. On the other hand, a Gini coefficient of 100 means that all the wealth of the nation is earned by a single individual. (which made me wonder as to what would be the Gini coefficient of a one individual nation!)

Getting back, countries like Sweden and Denmark have Gini coefficients of 30, the lowest in the spectrum. India on the other hand, like most developing countries has a Gini coefficient of 45. But the catch is that, if you look at the world as a whole, it has a Gini coefficient of 70!

Which goes to tell you that how much you earn doesn't depend on the skills and intellect you possess, but rather on the geography where you work!

There you go Goldie :P

Goldie, is a very eligible Kokanastha Brahmin, currently living the American dream. And she has the memory span of a goldfish!