Tale of 2 lives

Sometimes years go by before something noteworthy happens in your life and sometimes things just happen so fast that you don’t have time to note them..

In the past 12 months, my own life has just zipped past me and looking back it seems like one of those mega starrer Bollywood dish out – something like "Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham" (literally). Its just that I’m both the Amitabh Bacchan and the Shah Rukh Khan of the movie, and at times the Hrithik Roshan too.

First I stood up to my principles of working for job satisfaction by taking up a job in a small firm in Mumbai. I put forward my family and the quality of my prospective work to the money that I was going to earn.

Then I backed out on those very principles, because, hey – I’m human and hence inherently greedy. I took up a job which paid me a lot more, guaranteed total brain numbness and took me to Europe.

I left my friends and family and it was here that the Bollywood part of my life comes into play. Tears galore. Heart breaks abundant. But still – one has to go…

Once in Europe, I was almost living my dreams, just almost. I had found a most wonderous group of friends. I traveled and partied and had fun. I saw Buckingham palace and climbed the Pisa tower. I played kai kotti kali, margam kali, went dressed in a sari to a James bond theme party, toured the famed Amsterdam “De Wall” - red light area….it was almost a dream.

The only thing which made it otherwise was the mundane activity of going to office everyday and doing something which added absolutely no value to anything in the world. But as I said before I had already given up my principles.

Then the world literally comes crashing down on me…I discover that my contract is not renewed. It comes as an instant pain and relief. Pain because – I don’t know why – the job was not important – all that the job was giving me certainly was. The financial strength, the European life… I was beginning to like and enjoy it all. Then there ensued a typical melodramatic sequence of me attending something like a dozen interviews in a foreign country which was becoming more and more alienated from me everyday. Rejections and more rejections – they became my constant companion in those last few days in Europe.

My last day in Amsterdam was almost as painful as the one 274 days before when I left India. I could have won an Oscar over that scene, the only thing being that my tears and the ache deep down in my heart were real. I was leaving my surrogate families to be with my real ones. What should one feel in such a moment? Sorrow or joy? I don’t know. I ended up watching 3 movies back to back on my flight which made sure that I forgot the sorrow and was not prepared for the joy.

Welcome back to India

I come with the idea of not getting into the 1st high paying job that I get. But hey, have you forgotten? I’m fickle minded, money wins again. I take a job that I had sworn that I would never do simply because I knew how miserable I would be from day one. And I was right. Or maybe it was the other way around. I was miserable because I had a pre conceived notion that I would be so. And so, whatever the reason, miserable I was in my job.

Meanwhile I bought a new car. After 7 years there is a car which my family can call its own and that too a brand new one at that.

And then I also succeed in not scaring off a guy, which means that I’m well on my way to marriage.

Two jobs, two countries and two major personal events.

Phew!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s a lot of excitement for a year!!!!! And I'm sure there’s more where this came from!