The view from above

Source : Internet

Bored and listless a Face, Not keeping up with the case

Passionate & Energetic the speaker went on

All the while the tutor’s eyes leered on

A flash of light within my sight,

Selfies and photos being taken on the right

Some reading across(in secret) to be kind

Phones on table, fingers sliding across,

Some heads were bent not listening at all

Another’s vacant expression, a distant dream,

Off to La La land, and others gaggling in teams,

One Engaging a lady, then engaging another,

And a fiery debate ravaging on for two others

I Caught a smile across, flow of thought disrupted

Smiling back, the look and understanding

Before I went back to my musings

Contemplations #1

Sometimes you look for ways to open up.
Sometimes words are so hard to express.
Sometimes all you can is write or do what you feel
A lot of times you can never speak what you feel
Many a times happiness is just plain annoying.
When all happiness does is to repel you or you repel happiness
Sometimes you just want to scream but feel tonguetied
Sometimes you crave for a friend to talk to
Yet that is when all your "friends" seem so far away
Sometimes you just can't make peace with solitude
When it rears its ugly head of loneliness.
Sometimes you feel so alone in the milling crowd
Sometimes you realize your a stranger among strangers
And that's the time when you pick up that diary you never used
And make sense of those feelings

The Great Indian Bazaar

A friend of mine had once written an essay that if he were to take a foreign tourist to India the first place he would take is a Bazaar. Bazaar in Hindi is a market place, as a souk in Arabic. All the Indians know the feel is completely different - the haggling of the prices, the variety of assortments, the row of shops with differential pricing in all of them. If it doesn't work in one, move to another and so on till you get the best deal.

Bazaars serve different wares. Here are the most prominent ones in Chennai  : 

1. Parrys -

Source : New Indian express

Parrys or Parry's corner is where everyone in Chennai comes for retail items at wholesale price . It has everything under the Sun and is the ultimate market place . Fruits, jewellery, fancy ware and everything you could think of is just there within the streets of Parrys. One of the few places where you could get everything under the sun. The place is meant for wholesalers. A colleague had once mentioned that a friend of his buys items from here and sells it in Singapore and that's his business.

Cringy, narrow alleys on the side sell specific items. For example - one street is dedicated to just wedding cards. And shop after shop is selling the same. Most of the designs are available across the shops. Another street just sold pens and notebooks. Besides the regular shops hawkers sell their wares on the pavement. The place is unkempt but busy and bustling with people. This is also one of the older areas in Chennai. Ensure you bargain well or have someone with you who could bargain well.

2. Pondy Bazaar

Source : Internet

No doubts on the Bazaar status of this ! It is in the name after all. Road side hawkers sell purses, cheap clothing, fake jewellery, and shoes. Branded stores exist along with the street hawkers. Instore is where I usually go to purchase kurtas and kurtis. Ratna Stores is haven for those looking for value for money utensils. And after the shopping head to Balajee Bhavan (opposite Instore) for a meal and to refresh.

3. Usman Road and Ranganathan Street -

Source : Internet

Ranganathan street may be more of the Bazaar but the crowd in these stores lays bare the claim they can qualify for a bazaar. If you intend to shop here leave your vehicle, catch an auto and come over. Ranganathan Street has Saravana Stores, which is the desi or tamilian version of a hypermarket. In a place of resource constraint, and in this case - land, they have managed the jugaad well. Every floor has a certain set of things to buy and you climb the floor above to shop some more. Try not to make the mistake of going there over a weekend. The agoraphobics and the claustrophobics can get a panic attack seeing the tide of people overwhelming them. I had the misfortune to visit this place on a Sunday evening .. and hence the advice.

Strategy lessons teach you never stay close to you competitor. Chennai is famous for silks coming in from Kancheepuram. The name Chennai Silks is also the first name that comes to mind when you think of Chennai and its silks. But you have Pothys a walking distance from Chennai Silks, Kumaran Silks at the side, Nalli opposite, Rmkv not too far. These silk stores have four to five floors (not too sure about Kumaran) . When I took mom the first time here she was lost for words seeing the magnitude and the selection of clothes , mostly sarees at these places.

Silk sarees are synonymous with gold ornaments. Hence on the same stretch of road jewelers have opened shop here. The five storey Joy Alukkas building can be seen from far. GRT - the other old shop is a stone's throw . Malabar Gold is a little distance away on the same road. Nalli and Chennai Silks have their in house gold stores.

Lunch after shopping is normally at Murugan Idly a good walk away. There is also this sugarcane juice seller on the way. Pretty refreshing on a summer afternoon.

4. Sowcarpet - The place to go for junk jewellery.

5. Koyambedu market -
 

Source : Internet

The market is active from 4 am in the morning. Vegetables and fruits if wanted in whole sale this is the place to be. Most kirana store owners come here and buy the vegetables. Those with big families or shopping for the month find it way more economical to buy the less- easily perishable items from here. I also heard of 2 to 3 families clubbing together and buying their month's stock of vegetables from here.

A flower market is also here. Don't have pictures to show though.

6. Ritchie street - Electronic hub

That's all. If you have any interesting places which I may have missed out please feel free to comment.

"Go"Karna

An extended weekend. Well for an MBA student undergoing the regular  rigors of an MBA routine, 3 days of no exams and no submissions amounts to an extended weekend. Having being confined within the greenery of the campus with all its little (and big) angels and demons of varieties, I finally listened to my heart (and my husband) - a budget trip just to escape this place. Moreover, I felt it was the ideal opportunity to quench my wanderlust.

Place after place checked, then striked out - location : not too far from Bangalore , budget accommodations, idyllic scenery and setting, just laze around.. hmm.. Goa would have been an option but then it hit us there was Gokarna. For all those who love words, it technically (and literally) has Goa in it. So off we went on a KSRTC bus booked at the last moment. "Shambo Mahadeva" said the man sitting behind me.

When I woke up I found myself in a place apparently known for honeymaking. The bus stopped a while there, and then finally through narrow roads we finally elated at Gokarna Bus station. I had the feeling of entering a village. The place was small and reminiscent of my village back in Kerala.

We had booked accommodation at Namaste Yoga Farm.

One point to note - Gokarna is a small place, and the auto drivers do like to make their business with the unassuming tourist. The prices are pretty much fixed among them though one can give bargaining a shot. 

Another point to note Gokarna is aptly named "Go"karna. The place has cows freely roaming around everywhere. Be it the steepest slopes, narrowest streets or even the hard-to-climb stairs. 

The auto whizzed through the narrow streets, and came to the main road where we were met by a vast expanse of plain, and then downhill to a narrow road again. Backpackers, tattoos, yoga mat, the matted hair - this place was screaming spirituality from both extremes. On the one hand near the main temples - the Indians with dhotis, ladies with colorful flowers on their heads going to the temple and on coming to the beach it was a different sight which greeted us. 

Spirituality has different meanings for all of us .. eh? 

Kudle and Om are the main beaches. Kudle was closest to our acco but a decent trek (nah!! I am exaggerating ) . Navigating through the stony trails, we finally are greeted by the waves, the sun and the sand.

Borrowing a line from my friend - sea, sand, shack and smoke, sums up the Gokarna beach experience. 

The part which I enjoyed the most was the trek from Kudle to Om. Our hostess had informed us how to get there. 

Its a straight road - up the hill, and just follow the arrows.

We followed a straight road, up the hill - but were not so sure, there was no clearcut path there. After making some more enquiries, we continued on the same trail till we reached a paved road facing a hill.

A passer pointed to the hill. However we thought we were getting nowhere as again no road. Luckily another party was going to the same place, and there we found it -- the arrows , marked on the grass in white chalk. 

Om Beach was more crowded. Namaste cafe was the largest shack/cafe on the beach. Yoga enthusiasts, swimming, couples posing for photos at sunset (as seen above :) ) , birdwatchers ogling at bikinis adorning the female anatomy, cows climbing up and down those narrow stairs leading to Om, and also a sight of completely suited up businessmen walking with his entourage (2 other suited up guys) are some forgettable sights. What you cannot forget though is the beauty of the sunset, the crash of the waves, the Om shoreline along the beach, and the gentle descent across the horizon as the sun says goodbye to the day and welcomes the night. 

Woes with Hues

"Don't see the world as black and white. It's actually varying shades of gray." This was a phrase I heard in a movie. Color adds beauty to this life, and the wonderful aesthetic feel which stimulates serotonin and then makes you happy.

At B school, we are taught to celebrate diversity. Yet, when it comes to grooming, for making our mark in those heady halls of corporate culture, which is our short term goal at the end of a year(s) - We are trained to be uniform. Uniformity may make it difficult to make those big shots pick yet, we are trained to look alike, speak alike, talk alike - such that we become black or white. 

A perpetual question for which no convincing answer has been given to is the query on why to look alike - wear only black and white. The politically correct are quick to qualify - light colors, not necessarily white and dark colors - not necessarily black. 

But despite being in a sea of engineers, they fail to clarify that light -> (tends to ) white, and dark ->(tends to) black, is what they are REALLY looking for. I suppose they are learning the language of journalists. However, the microminiscule minority of Arts students among us see light as a light shaded color, and dark as dark shaded color. Spoken in the language of science, learnt in hight school, (Ah! the memories) the light color which absorbs more and the dark color which reflects more. 

Yet to be presentable and to be present at the presentations and show ourselves as creme de la creme, literally, we are asked to be the color of cream/ softy ice cream on top on a "dark" bowl. 

If anything besides these light (read "white or tending to white") and dark (read "dark or tending to dark") colors, you just don't fit into the crowd that would make their mark in the heady halls of corporate culture. In other words, you are pulled out by the guards (Juvenile PRick), headed by Head of Security ( Senior PRick) , denied entry and made to watch the long line of potential markers in the heady hall of corporate culture.

To the scientists : Where art thou curiosity? To the managers : Where art thou diversity?

As for me , you won't see me. I am lost in this sea of white and black.

Picasso predominantly used grey, black, white and light blue during his “grey” or sad period, where he went hungry in the streets of Paris while awaiting his big break. Is this thine way of saying this is a premonition for the years to come?

We are told not to see the world as black and white but we are taught to be seen as such. Elementary, my dear Watson. C'est la vie. 

Everyone has a story..

This would be my first post after joining MBA, or PGP program to be more specific.

In the movie Rockstar, the Hindi one, Ranbir Kapoor cribs to his friend that he had no interesting life experiences to become a Jim Morrison. He says he was never adopted, and no major life changing event happened for him to get "inspired". Finally in the course of the movie he meets his "heartbreak machine", and while he got all that he dreamt of - the money, fame, appreciation for talent - he did not get the girl he loved.


Everyone has stories, and experiences and it is truly remarkable just to talk to them and get a feel of their experiences. I met a girl who taught in the centre for special education, who was two years my senior at school. She had an interesting story. Dyslexia - which is treated as a learning difficulty in other parts of the world, is treated as a disorder in India, and kids are sent to special education schools for dyslexia.

When I was little girl, I had always wondered how it felt like to be unconscious. Would I have any near-death or after-death like experiences ? I got to see how it actually felt while I "fell" off a bus in college. I had passed out for a few minutes, and then I realised it was all black.

There was a person, who was so curious, and so frustrated, with life in general, he chose to explore his then unchartered areas where the body could go. His frustrations found some solace in the carnal pleasures a certain country had to offer, which he mixed with his then business training.

Another person I studied with left her high paying corporate job to teach underprivileged school kids. Her most moving experience was living at the home of one of her students. Despite being  a cramped one bedroom house with a family of 5, the hospitality and generosity of the family was overwhelming. She went on to describe how the mother was adamant that my friend sleep on the single cot, despite her reservations of doing it.

It is also an experience when while traveling in a train, against the rickety noise of the engine, in the wee hours of the morning, when the sun has not climbed up the mountains, yet announcing its presence with those faint rays, your closest friend unravels some of his deepest, darkest secrets, and just as he finishes the first orange hits the sky.

Stories are numerous and all around us. Stories are plenty. Some cynics choose not to believe it. Some dreamers and optimists choose to and wonder at the beauty of it. Some braggards love to go a step beyond. Some love the shell they are in and refuse to venture out. But, the beauty in this world lies in the experiences and the stories. The beauty of everyday life is because of the stories which churn out. The beauty in life is discovering the stories both of yours and everyone else's.