Update

Hello Folks,

I know the Unplugger is always late in his posts. But this time it's gonna be more as it's Life Unplugged- "7". Hope you all are doing fine. One last thought guys,smile till you run at least a mile because "Smile is the electricity and Life is a battery" and discharging is not a fascinating option. So charge up!!!

Will be back around April first week.

Signing out for now.

Bon jour!!

Life Unplugged – 6

Hello Folks,

Uneasy lies the head under the crown, but I find it damn suffocating . Some changes have taken place. My newspaper colour has changed from white to light brown. Casuals have made way for formals. I bet I studied more in these few months than I did in the past 24 years, I worked more in these two weeks than I did in the two years of my job. Life has suddenly changed lanes and nitro boosters are a common go these days. But I still find time to talk to people I like, chat with besties and have Gol-gappas/pani-puri/fugge (thanks to diversity in India) with them. The whole essence of life lies in breaking the monotonies with some small moves.

People do need to change gears when they drive the vehicle called life. Some like to zoom past and some try to beat the turtles. We have wide variety of them but no one can stick to his/her comfortable speed. The level of adjustment one does with the speed of life can determine one’s type whether one is social, practical, introvert/nerd. The speed of the life in inversely proportional to the social life of a person. But some get beguiled by the notion of speed. They give due importance to finish time rather than enjoying the things on race course. Helping troubled souls, having light moments, playing pranks, innocuous overtaking and sharing food make more sense to me rather than zooming to first and staying alone(both in the journey and at the finish line). I really pity these lone finishers and worshippers of solitary.

By this time, many go-getters’ hands would have come to my collars and many socialites would have felt like a million. I am not telling to opt out of the competitive nature of life but to make the competition healthy at least. I have seen people get drowned by the pressure right at the end of my schooling and I promise you it's painful to see someone’s mother weeping so early. You guys know more than me how deadlines can make us look dead as a duck, how juggling with tasks can take the fizz out of us. Whatever pressure it may be social, economical or personal; Easing it out can only save your life from derail. So people just prick the balloon of pressure and have a little sigh. Chuck some exams, screw up a meeting, overrun some deadlines, miss some trains, give your boss his attitude back, take a random break from office. I tell you just freak out guys and sometimes with gals to make the voyage more salubrious and enjoyable. Three magical words for you: Digress, Explore and Rejoin.

Anyways guys, Barbie resurfaced from nowhere. I was hopeful though. Some times Almighty only knows why He wants some things to happen but I enjoy the story of my Scriptwriter. So what’s next? I can very well smell the naughtiness in the air. So guys, come this Holi and time to speak your hearts if you missed out on Vday. (Saviour line after failed attempts: “Bura na mano: Holi Hai!!”)

Yours truly,
Life Unplugger.

Life Unplugged – 5

I know it has been long, but life can make an idle look hectic sometimes and that’s what has happened to me over the past few weeks. Joys and sorrows blended equally well and the juice of life tasted really good this time. Persistence paid well though hard work was unanswered. Friends do make integral part of one's life. One must be having a host of friends, but these MBA jargons have compelled me to think whether all friends fall under same category.

Okay(Barbie says like this), I could hear a unison “No” from all of you. I have some ramifications about them too. Some friends can be Operational friends: Where you both try to get the max of other one’s skills. Once the job’s done both turn to their individual dens. It is as good as a joint venture. They do smile when they meet up but the smile lasts only till they cross. Some friends are a function of time. They do give regular visits when you are king/queen of good times and lurk nowhere in your visibility when life gets hazy. These successes are the real test of a human being. If one can’t differentiate the goldies (the besties) from these chameleons you are screwing up big time. Goldies are the ones who see your priorities above theirs. Some may call them fools but I just admire these ones because they have taught me a lot.

The underlying fact I have observed is besties turn up only when you are in a pickle. They leave you enjoy white threads of life with these chameleons but monitor your well being like a hawk. Some more in the category are the Financers(landlords). They do take vantage of their moolah and always try to get artificial set of friends around them and thus make a bigger fool of themselves than they are. Anyways these superficials(Baratis) have a good time at the financers’ expense but they do maintain some loyalty towards the landlords. Some friends use you like a sheer product. These are none other than Mar-ke-teers who can beat a dead horse out of you. These folks hardly meet you but give your references or cite your examples during all possible events. This can be a double edged sword which can work well if the person really understands your good work(doesn’t matter how the bad one is reported). The real managerial skills lies in how you handle these species of the friends except the goldies. Because they are the ones who are the important pillars of your life and it is would be insane to play with them.

Life can be really bi***y at times. Why do the people you love the most always have the highest probability of leaving your life? Why good time don’t last much and bad time has a bigger pie? How does it feel when you try to forget things but couldn’t? Memories mutate and attack your mind like clouds in a monsoon attack a defenceless sky. Sharing dosas at Udipi resto, fighting for bills, late night gossiping or just walking down the isle hand in hand; How small and big the memories may be, they do make indelible marks on your mind. I too got nostalgic when I met my oldies and goldies friends during a recent visit.

But I am a follower of “Jo bhi hota acche k liye hota hai”. Every damn thing in this life happens for a reason. These small things are nuggets of life which play some part or the other and are somehow linked. The masters of the life are the ones who identify these nuances, connect the links and capture the bigger play of life. Sometimes these nuances are trying to help you when go wrong or are signalling the things which are going to happen to you in your life. Life gives you enough clues and makes difficulty level easy when the game of life gets tough. So at which level are you playing folks?

My train is lurking in the outskirts of Delhi now. Cya and take care guys because I know, guys will take care of gals. :)

Life Unplugged- 4

Hi Folks,

Basking in the sun in Delhi with cold waves swirling around coupled with my hot tea, I am back in action. Life has been a charismatic friend till now showing its various “Avatars”. Each time I think this is the fathom of life, I see people further down the barrel making me realize life is not that bad. The hope in the eyes of these troubled souls for some silver lining makes me feel more inspired.

Many times you are about to throw arms after putting every damn effort. You feel defeat is imminent. Relatives show back, near ones act as strangers, and adversity becomes the first word of life. Then some people turn up in life as angels (farishtas). (My dear friends, this is the point of inflection in life which tells us helping people in soup can come back positively.) I recently realized that the help one gets in one’s dire times comes from the people you haven’t even thought of. It makes me wonder whether telepathy with God is faster than light. So people, always have that extra little faith in life before giving up. You never know that may make your day.

People do say life is simple. But many giants have been dwarfed by this simplicity. There are no short cuts to your goals other than perseverance. Some may get lucky but in the long run your hard learning pays off. The level to which you stretch your stress-limit to get that extra punch determines which way your life is heading. Some feel this is the max what they can do and settle for mediocrity while some strive to shine by seeing tasks to end. This segment of humans become the front runners. No matter from where do you start the lap, the motto is to cruise. But some take it as a race and in short take away the grace of life.

My first day after the winter break. One of my profs was preaching (literally) Listen students, life is full of tradeoffs. The more you try to juggle around more chances are for your downfall. Choose! Studies or Fun. I was initially bemused and murmured is this the way to welcome back at campus. But seriously life does throw dilemmas at us. Like a son stuck between mom and wife and given an option to pick one. Dad-Mom’s anniversary or best friend’s wedding? Job continuation or giving CAT one more shot? Whether to use law against close ones? The question is how to deal with these quandaries. Some of you may try to optimize while some may choose one of the options. But the point the life wants to make is, it wants you to do a real time check on your ideals. How clear and passionate are you for them? So guys and gals welcome these ambiguous situations warmly. One who makes most of them makes a life.

Lemme borrow a famous line one of my friends uses, if life throws you lemons, make lemonade :)

Life Unplugged- 3

Life is a battle. It’s not about garnering success but giving meaning to one’s life. You must be wondering what kind of meaning am blabbering. It’s justifying one’s existence on earth. This happens only when one’s skills and passion resonates with one’s job requirements. Very few end up with this rare but desirable combination. Some folks sacrifice this for family, some for moolah and some of us have learnt to compromise over the years. (Chalta hai kind of..). But few years down the line when one does a cross sectional analysis of one’s life holy s**t happens. You remember your colleague’s birthdays more than your family. You like being at office more than spending time with near ones. Career and job are almost at different ends of a string. You are not the same person you imagined to be some five years ago.

It hurts when you are forced to face this reality. You mind corroborates about your failure but heart still makes you optimistic about a screwed interview/horrible breakup (in short a lost battle). This dilemma must have been faced by many of you. Some would have made a fool of yourself by not accepting the fact while some, giving due importance to neurons, would have digested their defeat. The whole drama is to make life happy. Some do this with forged lies while some achieve this with naked truths. This leads to two species of humans i.e. bold and cowards. Critics may find the above statement too crude. But the bare fact is, this is how you confuse your mind by giving unwanted rationale. Recognizing one’s specie and working on it may help than pondering over why I am so.

I am forced to write about the impossible trinity mentioned in Life Unplugged-2. This covers life in all respects. Every human will eventually land up at certain corner of this triangle. Each corner is junction of two elements of this trinity. Suppose Lakhan is successful and raking in moolah. He may have either screwed his life (by burning the midnight oil) or may have been a victim of infidelity (compromising morals). The more Lakhan tries to run close to the third element the more away he gets from first one. But still I find spirit in life by seeing humans catching the last Virar local with balloons in their hand for their children. Some though crippled by life were trying to run faster than me at Jogger’s park. I loved losing that battle. Some slogging hard at office to sustain the marathon run called life. Your child giving you his/her piggy bank when s/he sees financial stress in the family. This indomitable spirit resurrects the faith in you every time the bi**h (life) tries to ebb you down. This helps us making the trinity possible though virtually.

Much depends upon the values humans assimilate over the time. Some argue that they are the derivatives of those 46 chromosomes. But I believe that these values are variables of time and environment. Grooming with a moron will certainly vanish the optimist out of you. Similarly a martinet mother will make an HMT/Titan out of you. Humans do evolve but how positively that needs to be looked out for. The more positive values they imbibe the more stronger they become mentally. Many confuse that this values harnessing process completes with your childhood but unknowingly it is an unending process. What these values do is they create humans like us of varied nature. This variety adds spice to life. But right now I need to catch a breath as I have landed in Delhi with MBA trimester three eagerly waiting to munch me :)
Cya folks and take care.

Life Unplugged- 2

Here I am with my second thoughts about life. It feels good to be at home after a hard but sweet struggle for personal life. After this visit I am compelled to write how life takes turns.


Life stops when you get everything in life but not the person you want to be with. But “practicality” is a term which haunts like a Hindi film villain. It makes you think why are you doing this dude? Common sense tries to prevail but fails when confronted with might of love. That’s why I always try to play hide and seek with the arrow of Amor.

But every damn human wants a good wife, superb life and money in rife. This trinity always is an impossible one. But the funny fact is humans never lose hope and that’s what attracts me the most. The extent to which one can go in maximizing the three elements is indeed an admirable one. But, one comes at the cost of another. Sacrificing career to avoid infidelity at home, losing morals for career high and screwing life and health for wife and moolah is another evil of this trinity.

Everyone tries to get the better of their colleagues, friends and sometimes even their siblings in the race to the pinnacle. But will trouncing on so many souls make the journey and the result worthy? I still don’t know why short but moral victories smell so sweet than plundering the common man for booty through various financial derivatives products; I still don’t know why sharing the food in sleeper class is more mesmerising than dining at Hyatt; I still don’t know why fighting for my right successfully gives more delight than bribing the person; I still don’t know why being with my parents is more divine than praying the Gods. I know my questions have bored you to the hilt.

But I will continue to unravel the mystery called life… happy new year folks…

Life Unplugged- 1

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn't know and may or may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you do not realize is that they are realizing that too and are not really cold or catty or mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and are scared.

You miss the comforts of college, of groups, of socializing with the same people on a constant basis. But then you realize that maybe they weren't so great after all.

You are beginning to understand yourself and what you want and do not want. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging a bit more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and add things to your list of what is acceptable and what is not. You are insecure and then secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you or you lay in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough to get to know better. You love someone but maybe love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you are not a bad person.

One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap and getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision.

You worry about loans and money and the future and making a life for yourself and while wining the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.