The Journey Begins…..

Yes Yes..! I am back...Firstly i heartily welcome my new laptop aboard..:)I would also like to admit that i tried quite a times to put down the remaining part of the journey but couldn't...Each time i ended up with tears in my eyes and then couldn't take it forward. Last one try today...Hoping to get through...

Continuing from where I left…..8th june'2011

All the formalities done, as I returned back home it rained…It rained heavily with lightning threatening to reach the ground. I was confused, still I enjoyed.The water splashed as I raised the accelerator to reach home quicker. Water tripping off my helmet, squeezing inside the jacket made me shiver. Never did i find drenching in rain so enjoiable. Motorcyclists stopped everyever possible, but i had no intension of stopping.  No sooner I realised tears had tripped off my eyes without my consciousness. This was the best ride ever I took in my city.

At 8:15p.m we started off for the station. The luggage and the bogie location took lot of my precious time. I couldn’t make up my mind that I was leaving my city, parents, friends and much more when the train siren went off. Friends made it at the last moment. As I went ahead to climb the footer, I broke down. All the strong subterfuge took a back seat and I ran to my mom and hugged her tightly. For a moment second thoughts ran in mind. I didn’t want to leave her and my beautiful small world. The only comfort was that my dearest brother was still with me. He was accompanying me to the campus. Else I don’t know what would have i ended doing. I was crying like never before as I stood near the door and watched them disappear slowly on the crowded platform in the dark night. I preferred going to bed early for obvious reasons.

Magnetic is the simplest adjective I can use to describe the beauty of Nature which I saw on the way to Vasco. Although the train was running late, I didn’t mind as I was seeing heaven with my eyes for the first time. The long lushes of green grass, the big trees swaying in joy, the clouds kissing the hill top, the train rockling on the rail over the swirling rivers and lakes – I felt being in paradise. Couldn’t ask for a better beginning to this new journey.  The sky and the Earth looked one. The train twisting and turning like a serpent, running through the big tunnels reached the destination. This was the journey of life time. As said Best things happen when least expected. So didn’t I for this.

10^th June’ 2011 – Once again I was in the campus. I was here for the interview and today in capacity of a student of college. Didn’t think or didn’t want to………... One thing I love about this college is the location. It is located on a hill top and the monsoon here is crazy. Registration stuff went fine and the hostel allocation process was pathetic. Still I was lucky enough to get through my way to the room and roomie I preferred (with a few rude words to the management for the arrangement) whose windows open to the mesmerising Western Ghats. One can spend lifetime admiring the creation of Mother Nature.
Below are the few glimpses from the room window.

I love not man the less, but Nature more.

Great things are done when men and mountains meet

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!

Evening: My room is all set. All thanks to the packing of mom and helping of bhai for arranging things, my room is all lit up, charming and lively.  The photos of loved ones and the respective gifts have found the best places all around me. It shall always spread a smile on my face. We further purchased things needed from campus and my brother varied roles from a handsome brother to a dashing coolie. All praise for him from my roomie parents. He deserves much more than that. He’s my sweetheart. We roamed in the campus from one end to other in search of many things. People were flocking in groups trying to recognise persons in live after the facebook introduction. I didn’t care. All I knew was this was the only time I can spend with him. All others would be here for coming 2years but he..... Call it attitude or reserve nature I take my own time to mingle around. Socialising for the sake of it is not my funda.

Things facing my bed side...

My Cupboard..!All set...

As the evening progressed it was time to bid adieu to him. I didn’t want to let him go. We had no farewell words to tell each other. Only the eyes connected the hearts. I broke in tears and hugged him for the last time as he progressed towards the car. He wiped off tears from my eyes and now i am wiping myself. Tears started rolling down from his eyes and he waved off for the one last time. I stood there to get last glimpse of him and the car went down the road. I felt a vaccum of lonliness around me. Back in the room, i cuddled up in the bed. I didn't realise when i fell asleep with tears in my eyes. Never did i feel so lonely throughout.

My brother & Me!!!

MBA was the destination and so i have reached. Everytime i thought of future i found myself in a B-school and never did i think beyound that. Love u maa, dada and bhaiyya - for without your support the jounery couln't have this happy ending. I shall always remember the extra mile you have taken to send me away from you one time before marriage. Though the world have gone beyound this, I have personally come across or rather i am a part of the society which excuses itself with the reason of love and care for not sending  their daughters/sisters for higher education but believes in the caste bound ritual of marrying early and sending forever. Love you all - Dad - for being my dream dad, Maa - For being my lovable 'seems' and Bhaiyya - for being my super hero.

 As i look upon i feel the charm is lost in my life. Reason being the fact that the journey that started a year back, to be precise two year back have come to an end. MBA meant the destination for me. As as i landed up here, i realised its only a start of jouney. Probably this was one of the major milestones. Time being i am being racked off with the hectic schedule of 8:30am - 5:45pm. Lot of other meaningful learning taking place. All for good. I shall share those learnings very soon.

Signing off blog dosts...Finally i am able to finish in the 4th attempt. Thanku my lappie for providing the courage. Btw, blogdosts i would love to get suggesstions from you all to name my laptop.

Keep smiling and stay happy..:) :) :)

The Journey is about to begin…..

Journey Begins...

As i drove on my Activa today for the last time to office, I realized that i will not be having access to many things. Roads of Hyderabad and my activa I shall miss the most.The most important included my laptop. Soon after this blog, i shall be handing over the laptop to the office authorities with due respect. I wish to write this last one from my memorable laptop which shares lot of my memories.Now i am all set to leave this beautiful place and phase of life and welcome the new era. I take this opportunity to thank all my loved ones - Maa, dad, bhaiyya, 3 Idiots, SBG, Nits and office colleagues with help of whom i am embarking on my new journey.


Since the past 10days i am roaming everywhere in search of everything that shall make my life easier. All the memories and the thoughts i went through is:

Packing1: As I started packing my bags today memories of past flashed in my eyes. This city, this locality, this home and all people around me have seen me growing since I was a kid. As first bag of luggage lay completely packed with clothes, I stood still and my eyes stopped at the sight of my almirah. It was completely empty with pictures of my favorite stars and myself up on the cupboard doors standing all lonely. The empty cupboard looked like the trodden path that I took hundreds of time to reach many destinations and now I shall be leaving it forever. Recollecting occasions of how I fought with  my brother for the poster of a favorite hero from the newspaper to put up there and how I wandered around it standing, sitting taking many garments on that big occasion and banging it when I was in a dilemma to decide made my eyes wet . So many things, so many memories and so many people - People who care for me, people who love me, people who fight with me ,people who mean life to me. My heart asked me is it worthy to leave all these loved ones and go into a stranger’s world. You shall find friends but where will you look for family??? Mind counteracted with the wisdom of “This is life” theory. “Change” is the only one which shall never change. You are about to begin a new life and this is part of it…Ages abound mind and heart are on war and this shall be on ever.

Packing 2:  Another two bags of luggage is ready. The summary of these two bags goes like this – The things that filled the bags are the one whose presence does not/ is taken for granted but its absence makes you incomplete. Yes it starts right from my toothbrush, paste, bed spreads , mirror, to the emergency light, plate, spoon, socks, hair bands…Oh the list goes on. This packing tested the maximum sharpness of brain. Every minute my mom shouts – “beta this will also be needed” and I say “Maaa aap na hote to mera kya  hota”!!!

Packing 3:  This is the ultimatum. The gifts from my loved ones is making one more baggage with the most weight. Haha. My mom is having bad time. All shouting around the house insisting me not to take all the gifts at once. I am adamant. Yes I want all to be taken with me. I don’t understand the logic of leaving behind the gifts which are made for remembering and feeling good each time I miss them or whenever I feel low. I can compromise to an extent on the material stuff but not on lovable immaterial gifts which reminds you of the good old times and can get a smile instantly.


Today: I am here in office to finish all formalities of exit procedure. I completed my one year yesterday(7th june) in the corporate world and today(8th june'2011) i am ready to go back into my college life. As one of my friends said :"Make the most of this opportunity as you know now what is "after college life". By EOD i'll have more to write but would not be having the provision. Will update on that as soon as i can.


Till then take care all my Blog dosts..:) Keep smiling..:)

Best Thoughts in Bathroom

Would   Be   Manager

I was wanting to write about this for quite some time but couldn’t get to pen down thoughts in the midst of all that is happening in quick span. While still I m engaged in all of those, I think multi tasking is one of the key skills of a manager. Although the ‘Gyaan’ will start in a few days, self help is the best help. So why not start from now. So here I go…!!!

Best Thoughts in Bathroom!!!

Reading this caption how many of us can recollect the instances where we got the most ‘out of the box’ thought in the bathroom??? How many of us dream of the most lavish bathroom in the beautiful home with all luxury, that to some extent we are ready to compromise on bedroom but not bathroom??? How many of us get the most peace of mind while showering and jump out of happiness on the bang of the most needed thought..??? Be it how to plan a surprise for the birthday of a loved one or how to escape on a working Saturday with a posh reason to manager…This has happened to me time after time. Everything works out so perfect in that one place. The very realization of how amazing it is that such thoughts come to me in bathroom also came in bathroom:) And for that matter the zeroing of thought to write an article on this also came in the same place…

'Archimedes Eureka'

"Eureka!"  shouted the Greek scholar Archimedes when he stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose — he suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged. So it starts from History, I explained myself when I realized that it was not unusual. Right from childhood I had a kind of bond with my bathrooms. All thanks to mom for her cleanliness freak nature that  I often found bathroom to be an equally hygienic place. Living place changed many times but I was lucky enough always to have a long, polished and balcony embraced bathroom.

I have always been an early bird when it came to exam preparation. Being a single BHK flat and my brother being a person who hardly woke up anytime for studying, I had only two options to study without disturbing him. [BTW it is not out of concern that I preferred not to wake him up, but because if he wakes up he shall drag me too on the bed again.] Talking about two options, one was kitchen and the other bathroom. The fear of rats hindered me from entering in kitchen in initial days, so I had no other option but bathroom. As time passed, although there were no rats in the house, although I had other options in terms of places to study, I preferred bathroom. I always believed I got the best ROI of the time spent there.

I have been of the types who love spending time with myself and enjoyed doing so. Come what may, I make sure to find time for myself everyday. And most of the time bathroom provided me with that comfort.

Rejuvenating time!!!

Again the time came during my three months experience of hostel life in Mumbai. Three of us shared a room with a single bigggg bathroom. Bathroom looked more like a corridor and I expressed a sigh of relief as I went to check the bathroom on the first visit. Each of us belonged to a different species. One finished all the work and ppts during night, I always woke up early in the morning and the other switched between the two. I was renounced as the ‘Best Presenter’ of the class and I owe all not to my skills but what my skills become when I do things in bathroom :P Oh yes, not to forget, I always saw to it that the bathroom was cleaned a night before either by maid or myself and I missed my mom for sure. Now it has become kind of a superstition if you call so that I start thinking on all important things only in bathroom..!!! That was and shall always be the place where I find my true self, where I can talk to myself, vent out my anger, celebrate my happiness,  Plan a big surprise , motivate myself after a failure or sing a song all loud in the most worst voice…! All without intrusion !!!

And the May Saga continues…….

The road I shall take...

Yes!!! The ‘May month’ showered its blessings yet again and the journey is about to begin...So what if it is not an IIM it is GIM…It is a difference of only one alphabet (Heights of optimism..:) The latter represents only GOA and former entire INDIA. Specialization serves best…haha…Ohk no more talk on this…I might encourage enemies from IIM’s. To be clear it is ‘Doing MBA from a college which provides sound platform and lifetime experience that matters to me’. GIM is bound to do meet that. With a close knock out between “No MBA” and “MBA from Good but not best college” the latter survived. Everyone is happy and cheering around me. On a day when I least expected, the news came across in the form of a phone call which Ms. Laddha(me) as usual missed. On a call back considering it to be a customer call, a pleasing voice verified my credentials and finally disclosed that I am being offered.  As of now in a huge rush -  I am Juggling between so many things with too close deadlines. Before I sign off – This update is my way of Thanking to all my blog dosts and others who empathized and supported during my rough times.

For time being I would like to leave you with a copy of my first resignation and with glimpses of the wonderful campus -


First Resignation - Dated : Monday, 23rd May,2011

Dear sir,

This message is to formally communicate my resignation with *** effective June, 8, 2011.  After careful consideration, and as a direct result of my experience with ***, I have made the decision to pursue my higher education on a full time basis.  Over the course of my notice period of 2 weeks, I assure you that I will continue to work diligently and assure you of smooth transition of my responsibilities.

My association with *** since June 2010 has been a great learning experience and I am grateful to the entire organization and its esteemed associates for their unrelenting support and understanding extended to me. I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the opportunity, training, and guidance I have received over the last one year.  I am excited to further my career by completing my higher education.  Upon completion of my MBA program, should *** have need for my skill set, I would welcome the opportunity for re-employment.  Until that time, I wish you continued success.

Sincerely

Komal Laddha

Reason for Resignation - GIM

GIM

Threshold

Knowledge Hub

Small Town Girl !!!

Nature & Peace

Everytime I leave this place, everytime I depart from these people I feel nostalgic. I see from the window as far as my sight supports to get the last glimpse of the gigantic tower which is the representation of the place. This is the tower with which I recognized the threshold of the place each time I visited it when I was a kid. The tower, whose stories narrated by my maternal grannie meant lullabies to me. What makes this place so special??? What is it about the people, leaving whom my heart skips a beat. Welcome to the place of Fun…My Fun…

Play and Play and Play...

Miles away from the busyness of the city, kilometers away from the lifestyle and grandeur which makes it difficult to identify the true self, is a simple village in which I spent all my summer vacation’s most memorable days. This place meant the summer camp for me, this was my rejuvenating mantra for the tasks year ahead. The countdown would begin months before the time table for final exams arrived.

I come from a nuclear family. My mother too belonged from a nuclear family before marriage but the gathering it commands now every year is, if not more but equivalent to a joint family. My maternal grand ma and grand pa’s Four daughters and Two sons, each now having a family ranging from 1-4 kids each, I am one of those kids. Every summer, no matter where we all are, it’s a promise in which everyone finds common time in this span of 2 months summer vacation atleast for 10days. Irrespective of the, problems in in-law’s family or suffering of husbands with no food(like my mom’s) -  commitment is a commitment.

Our own idea of fun...

Whether or not calls where exchanged during the year, contact was maintained or not, the affection that these brothers and sisters share is remarkable .We as kids had a gala time. Our days would become longer and nights shorter. Waking up early in the morning to watch people sprinkle     water outside their homes, put rangolis in amazing fashion is a rare site in city. Unlike our city homes where we are blessed with a provision of 24*7 drinking water, people here keep waiting for hours together and store water in every possible utensil. Scramble would begin for one bathroom to attend Natures’s call and we would take combined showers in an open place. Holding each others hands, marching towards temple meant another 2 hrs of time pass. We would play and play in open spaces in temple till our stomach’s groaned for food. Junk food, daily ice creams, day wise special menu for food on demand made us kings and queens. Playing gulli(lane) cricket, street light badminton, terrace dumb charades, over boarded carom competitions, watching scary movies in a closed room and horrifying each other and getting horrified at nights are the most cherishable memories I shall be carrying for ever. And not to forget playing cards. I learnt and re-learnt to play cards very summer. Each time I go there I forget the basics and my cousins enjoy teaching me time and again and I relish learning again and again. The best being the joyness of sleeping under the open sky, watching moon and counting stars. And each year we would depart with an indispensable faith of meeting next year.

Gulli Cricket !!!

Twenty years have passed and today I left the place after a near to hardly stay of just two days. And on my journey back I am here sitting in a bus, recollecting how times have changed. All mumma’s kid have grown up . The place has changed from being a very small village to a well developed town. The thatched house which leaked and called for collecting water every time it rained has been modified into one of the most lavish styled house. Still it gives immense pleasure to visit this place and nostalgia when leaving – for only reason known to us that people haven’t changed. We still do the same stuff we did 10years back and enjoy in the same fashion. No matter where time takes us, this is a promise to be continued and we shall share the same bond as our parents do. Dedicated to all my siblings missing me there. Love you all. 

 

On The Downturn…

Walking out from the conference room, holding the performance appraisal in hand, mixed bag of thoughts of  the journey so far and future ahead spinned my head. What I thought to be a journey short-lived is bound to continue for year ahead (at least present scenario confirms that). The month of April which is believed to set platform for the onset of summer(which although didn’t happen this year in Hyd atleast – thanks to the timely showers) , had in store a series of bombards which  destroyed the platform for me and my Future. May’11 beyond which I never imagined myself to be honored to continue with my company is showering the extra bliss. Before something catch the enthralling brains let me clear, it is not that I was to be fired, but I expected to fire myself from the job and embrace in beautiful journey I always dreamt of. A journey of life time – MBA.

After a reject from top Indian Brand of IIM, nothing seem to be enchanting. Conversions from *Good* to *Not so bad institutes* adds to the series of self doubt questions elevated by your inner self. Although people might consider it be vice versa. Ref : Movie 3 Idiots – ***Dost fail ho jaye toh dukh hota hai, lekin dost first aa jaye toh jyada dukh hota hai. *** Yahi to hua hai. Two of very special people in my life have made it to the Top B schools of IIM. Any further explanation needed?

Flashback memories of a year back april month confirms to my belief of April being star-crossed for me. Having made to two of the best brands in campus recruitment and awaiting the confirmation from the bestest, April month again took the shoulder of breaking in the news. Out of the final shortlist of 13, *Google – the brand mania* decided to let go off 3 people. What else – I was among the minor lot. The entire success of making it to the most companies in college recruitments was overshadowed by the failure of one. History repeats and so did it.

If I don’t reveal the May’10 luck saga it would be unfair. After days of crib over not making it to *Google* and declining another good job for my own reasons I was at crossroads. I had to choose between last job offer left which I least thought about and which required me to travel to Mumbai for three months or take a break and prepare for the gang of entrance exams.  With the support of the family, I chose the former. Why I consider it be one of the best things in life would require another post (which I intend to in the near future). So will the History repeat for the month of May’11 is something to ‘Wait N Watch’

Steve Jobs said – *** Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards ***

None of this seems to make sense to me now, but hope to make at the end of this month

P.S: I am a happy-go-lucky and ever enthusiastic champ and this is one of the very rare times when I am on the Downturn.