AND, SHE MISSED HER BUS!!

                                      The flowery white curtains on the seventh floor in the rain lashed city of Chennai kept fluttering as and when the breeze carrying moist kissed along them gently sexy. The curtains opened up every now and then to catch glimpses of Akanksha sipping her coffee off her smiley mug staring at the clock to tick the much needed time in the clock. She was happy she chose such a mug for at least it wore a smile if not her life. She began packing her bags swiftly although there was enough time left for her bus to leave. 

                                      Akanksha eyed Shreyas, the man who was sprawling on the bed relentlessly like he hasn’t slept for days together. He is a kind of a man who left undisturbed would sleep for two whole days at a stretch. There were days when Shreyas slept over the weekend wholly although that’s the only time they got to spend together with. He wasn’t to be blamed and she was worried only about the fact that he was still sleeping even after knowing that weekends are the only time that they got to spend together. 

                                      Having nothing to do about all of this, she tied her hair and headed for kitchen to prepare something for him to eat. The first thing that he generally searches immediately after a nap is something to eat rather a hug or kiss from Akanksha. From whatever has been happening between Akanksha and Shreyas, she was clear that their relationship was dragging towards nowhere and that they will not be able to live together for years together. They were gradually becoming emotionless bots who failed to express each other with what they truly feel. Akanksha thought this is the right time for her to end the relationship with him rather taking it nowhere and dwindling in the air for nothing. 

                                      Akanksha was a Chennai based girl who worked for a Software firm with its branches spread wide all across the nation; also Shreyas based in Bangalore who worked for the same firm but from the Bangalore branch. They happened to meet each other at a company meet happened in Chennai a couple of years back and that’s when they fell in love with each other. They thought they loved each other with a love that’s just more than love. They were in touch through messages, e-mails, phone calls and later which they started meeting each other occasionally. Over the weekends they used to visit each other with either of them travelling to their places. They would fuck, eat, sleep, shop and roam around places after a long and tiresome week of work. This went on for weeks together after which they felt they got bored of each other. They were really wondering if it was really love or is it just a relationship where man and woman live together alone. They really wondered if there was any of love left in their hearts.

                                      Giving it a tight thought she thought she should put an end to all of this relationship and she thought this was the last weekend that they both ever met in their lives. She wanted to put a daunting end to their relationship that was heading towards nowhere but hate. Although she wasn’t sure on what was running in his mind yet she at least was clear that this relationship is nothing more than just a burden for each other. She was devoid of her normal life and she started hating the weekends especially. Even when they made love she was emotionless when he pumped her up like an animal. She gave up on her love life and was mere a robot that stuck to the commands. She was desperate enough of giving it up an end for this relationship even when she didn’t know what was running on his mind.

                                     

                                           This was when she decided upon packing things to her place, deciding not to come back ever again. She had her bus in less than three hours and she had to prepare something for him to eat as well. She decided on making dosas that she could save some time for her to get ready with all of her stuffs for the travel. She was obsessed with breaking up with him as this relationship gave her all necessary burdens that she will no longer be able to take it. She was clear enough that neither she wasn’t attracted to anybody else nor Shreyas was useless. She in fact had a great deal of respect for Shreyas as he was seemingly talented and filthy rich enough to run a family with all luxury. Giving a damn at all these thoughts she made her mind up to leave him forever and she was sure that this was the last day of her life with him. 

                             When she had already started preparing dosas for him, she felt some hand running along her tummy to get hold of her at the earliest tightest possible. It was Shreyas standing behind Akanksha holding her closest to him hugging her along her waist line. He kissed her neck from behind when his hot breath reached out to her neck. He uttered on her ears in a husky voice “Baby you smell great today and I feel like kissing you all over the whole day”. She hardly have had heard such words from him ever. He began kissing her along the neck, shoulders eventually after which he moved down her hands. She was moved to shock as she hasn’t experienced anything from him like this at least in the recent past. He removed the strand of hair that remained a disturbance for him whilst kissing her ears from behind. He bit her ears passionately in all love and passion.

                             He turned her towards him letting eyes do the talking. He looked deep into her eyes, started kissing her on the eyes holding her closest possible to him. He hugged her like he has never hugged her before. He clutched her to him so close that not even air could pass in between them. He let his nose run all along her face, throat and neck tickling her to death. She couldn’t just respond him as a matter of fact that she was shell-shocked. He let his lips meet hers as gently as it could with all passion in his eyes. Akanksha couldn’t just trust her eyes and she couldn’t believe all that’s happening. She closed her eyes and started enjoying his kiss with all due emotions running across her body. She re-visited her thought of going away from him. Their breath met, their bodies met and so did their lips. Their lips did the talking much longer than they did and they lost completely in each other. He glided his hands across her body starting from her neck till the tummy. She experienced noting more than just love all over his touch and feel. 

                             Kissing her lips so tight, he went on his knee to give her away the diamond pendant that he had bought for her long time back. He pleaded her to understand that he was all suffering from office tension this while and that she meant the world to him. He made her realize that it wasn’t just love that he loved her with and it is much more to the word. He made her understand how much of her influenced his life and told her that there is nothing much more than her in his life. He also showed her the air tickets to Australia that he got for them like a long back on the occasion of their honeymoon and asked her to marry him right away. She was moved and elated. She wanted to shout in joy that she has got one of the loveliest boy-friend possible. She knew Shreyas is always ambitious and daunting but she never knew he loved her and liked her this much. She was moved to tears after Shreyas spoke to her all that he had for her. He told her that she was his life and breathe without which he would never exist.

                             He sensed her and found that she wanted to end this relationship for days now. He explained her everything in spite of which he asked her “Do you really want to go away from me, baby?” for which she replied him, “Yes I want to go………… not to my place but Australia” and hugged his face tight against her bosom. She held him so tight with her that she cannot afford to let him go off her or vice versa. She grabbed his face and kissed him all over asking to marry her right away and take her to Australia. She also told him she loved him with a love that’s just more than just love. He wasn’t able to resist himself for her after which he grabbed her to him held her up high in the air kissed her tummy and swung her in the air like a princess. He naughtily hinted about the blackened dosa in the stove which she failed to feed him with. They swiftly turned the stove off to turn each other on with all that love and passion.

AND, SHE MISSED HER BUS!!

                                     

                                     

A Strange(R) Love

                                                With rain splashing the cross sections of the city, sun reluctantly woke from slumber up spreading across the intense beam of light rays to reach out to the varied latitudes all across the city. The rays penetrated the thing strip of smog to brighten the city up with all its energy and luminance succeeding flawlessly in its routine. The roads of the city looked ridiculously clean with rain water splashing the roads and guiding the water along the gutters, halting almost the normal lives of the people in the city. The tallest apartment in one such locality experienced mild, breezy and pleasant strip of air kissing the houses with the altitude kept increasing gradually. Wanting to experience whole of this sight, Catherine relentlessly put her body out of the bed to reach out to the balcony which was filled with creepers and boutiques. She took a look at the breath taking view of the city from her balcony which gave her a relaxed piece of mind and an undivided journey on to her past.

                                                Having dressed herself in a long white night pant and a girly pink coloured top she put her speck of hair back to its original position that fell on her lips every time the breeze kissed her from the back. She clamped it behind her ears so that it would not be of a constant disturbance anymore and started playing with the rain drops that approached her balcony. She splashed a couple of them with her hand; allowing them to touch her face which gave her a reverberant refreshment and joy. Climatic changes brought in a sudden flock of mild air that kissed her face all over with at most sensuality. Closing her eyes, she travelled five years backward with a voice “Bidding Adieu Catherine, It was nice being with you” resonating all along her heart/mind. 

                                                Curtains flocked in air, glasses went moist and the world stood still for she travelled down her memory lane to experience eternal joy and happiness. With her swaying curtains making the smallest of noises, there she goes to re-live her past, much happily and involving.

                        5 Years Ago……

                                                Catherine reached the airport after dumping all of her clothes in a mega sized trolley trying to accommodate as much she could and as much as it could hold. She had saved all of her best clothes for this trip and she was so keen in getting them aboard that she looks exquisitely beautiful on this trip. Catherine was dressed in a curvy jean that enabled everybody admire her for her curves, a white pull over that over fashioned her yet subtle and a loafer that portrayed her as a trend setter amongst many other girls out there. People in the airport did not miss to take a sneak peek at her for her beauty and the way she carried herself away with people. Almost everybody in the airport noticed her and admired the way she looked and behaved. 

                                                Catherine managed to board her flight that headed for Singapore after a couple of hours of tiresome wait. She took a quick look at the ticket and learnt that her seat number was “A8”.

                                                She saw a young man of her age who was professionally well dressed, well-built and handsome looking already occupied her seat for no reasons.

                                                She approached him, pointing at the seat uttered, “A8 is mine and I probably think you are trans-positioned”

                                                The young man replied, “Oh my bad, mine is A9, sorry for the confusion, here you go madam” he guided her to the seat leaving her some way to pass him beyond.

                                                They were sitting beside each other and got acquainted of their names. She was carried away by his handsomeness and was so evident that she seriously liked him. They hardly spoke during the entire due course of their flight and silence played its part the rest of the time. They turned towards each other only to see each other and smile but not to talk to each other. Their flight journey came to an end only with silence doing all the talking. She bid him adieu to each other reluctantly with their eyes asking for more time to be spent together.

                                                A couple of days later, Catherine had been to one of the most famous beaches in the country. Watching the beach waters, waves and breezy evening along the shore, Catherine felt rejuvenated. She praised the lord for creating nature as beautiful as it was. The crystal clear water washed her off all the pain, worries and sorrows that she had been going through for days together. It was during one such evening she met Aryan again. He was found dressed in a transparent white shirt and a three-fourth walking along the shore talking to somebody over the phone. Seeing him, she could not hide her happiness for him, running to him she uttered, “Heyy, remember me? We met in the flight”, extending her hands covered with amorphous sand.            

                                                “Of course yeah Catherine, can I join you for a walk along the shore?”, replied Aryan in an aim to strike friendship with her. She could not just refuse the offer and in a jiffy she nodded the head in joy and ecstasy for such an offer of her lifetime. It looked as though God sent Aryan that moment for Catherine to fall in love with him yet again. It looked as though they were destined to meet one more time to be together in life under the vast blue cloud. 

                                                They spoke the entire evening till they ran short of words to take it forward then. They laughed, patted, smiled, giggled, made fun of each other and cared for each other the entire conversation and looked not to end the whole of the talking they did. They learnt that they had been to Singapore for a week’s time away from family and friends to enjoy loneliness and re-discover themselves.  

                                                Aryan and Catherine decided to spend rest of the days together to the places they visited. They visited amusement parks, zoos, water parks, temples and movies together like they are destined to be made for each other. They held their hands tight wherever they went and she meant love; where he meant friendship. Aryan was looking astonishing and Catherine looked fabulous and anybody would accept them falling in love with each other. They were nearly inseparable throughout the trip and they clinged on to each other for anything, anytime. She was completely soaked in his beauty in the sights and sounds of Singapore.

                                                It was the last day of the trip and soon had come for both to depart. 

“Bidding Adieu Catherine, It was nice being with you, please stay in touch” uttered Aryan and started walking towards the cab grabbing his baggage from the room.

“Nice being with you too, I completely enjoyed your company, Aryan”, uttered Catherine in a melancholic voice. Saying so, she started feeling numb and void as if the whole life has come to a halt. She was gasping for breath and tears started rolling down her eyes. 

                                                Aryan started walking inches away towards the cab. She called him in a louder voice and started running towards him to hug him. She hugged him so tight that even air could not pass by and looked into his eyes deep to find Aryan puzzled and indifferent. 

                                                “Aryan, I don’t know what I never feel like leaving you and I don’t want to go away from you. I just want to hold you and face the whole world standing beside you. I want to spend every moment of my life with you and only with you” echoed Catherine’s inner voice. She wanted to tell him all this the very moment, but her heart always stopped every time she wanted to tell him all this. 

                                                She was reluctantly unhappy that she did not get a chance to express her love for Aryan and leaned towards him to kiss him on his lips. She helped Aryan’s lip meet hers’ and when she kissed him love, a tear drop rolled from her eyes to reach their lips. She suddenly realized the fact that he was not even holding her; he was not reciprocating the same love that she had on him. In fact, she realized the fact that he didn’t even love her. She suddenly took her lips away not to make him uncomfortable and disgusting. Her love was after all one-sided. 

                                                With tear drops flooding out at a constant egress, she tried to hide them from Aryan and started running away from him bidding him adieu. She ran into the room and exploded with tears. She filled the open space on the ground with her tear drops and was left with nothing in her eyes to let them go off. She cried so hard that the whole world to her meant nothing but crying. 

                                                Now…..

                                                A rain drop suddenly fell on her cheeks to make her realize that the journey to her past came to an end and it is time for her to live the present. She just opened her eyes to realize her husband sleeping next to her and he loved her like anything more than the world. He looked after her like his queen, wife, baby and more a friend. She somehow tried to love him the way she loved Aryan, but failed eventually as it was something incomparable. 

                                                Whatsoever she tried to do, her life failed to compensate for the void that Aryan created in her life. How much ever she tried, she was not able to love her husband the way she loved Aryan. 

                                                She always keeps telling the fact that, “Aryan was the best thing happened to her ever, no matter what!!”

                                                She keeps telling Aryan in air, “If I could choose between loving you and breathing I would use my last breathe to say I love you”

“Under the wide spread could, runs a million emotions across human and one such eternal feel is love. When two people are meant for each other, no time is too long, no distance is too far, no one can ever tear them apart. It is not hard to find someone who tells you they love you, it is hard to find someone who actually means it”

Life Of a Software EngineeR (L.O.S.E.R)

If somebody is born a human on earth, they are entitled to accomplish the so called “Basic pre-requisite of mankind”: the food, clothing, shelter and also the much embellished part of life, “Money”. The times have come more to a scenario where money rules life and without money it is nearly impossible living on this planet earth for which we spend nearly three-fourth of our life running behind money which eventually is not the ultimate companion at death. We run like dogs, work like donkeys and eat like goats to make the most of the currency notes flowing across the country ours, choosing very many professions spread across and one such flamboyant and posh industry is the Information Technology Industry where millions fall into.

Like the saying goes, “other bank of the river looks greener”, for anybody and everybody who is out of this altar, the grass is still greener even on the septic tanks and so have decided to take everybody through the cross-sections of this industry.

1)    IF YOU HAVE GOT SELECTED IN A CAMPUS DRIVE, PLEASE MIND THAT YOU HAVE GOT SELECTED FOR WHO YOU ARE NOT: This is the primary and proportionate point in the history of this industry. A lot of people in the industry would have pretended to be somebody else who he/she is not to get this job occupied. It’s quite a trend that people have multiple offers in hand and is always in look out for the best in terms of the monetary capacities and if you are a fresher it’s quite obvious that you are always in look out for a job in the government sector. Having spoken enough about all this I would want to put forth a classic incident to illustrate this piece of notion. “There was this girl who got placed alongside me accepting for a re-location to any part of the country for her job and when she was posted to a far-off location she wanted to talk to the HR asking them to re-visit on her slot on a nearby location”. So by having acted assertive in the interview she tried to be somebody else who she is not and so kindly do not jump into thinking only sheer talent has fetched somebody a job. That’s crap!

2)    BEING PROFESSIONAL ONLY REFERS TO THE WAY ONE GETS DRESSED UP: As soon as the word “Software Engineer” strikes the cross sections of anybody’s hemispheres, the first thing that anybody get reminded of is the formal attire which he/she dons however bad/worst they are from the inside. People in the industry are greatly of the thought that the dressing as a whole will bring in some tremendous discipline and harmony at work while it’s just degrading far off now. Times have come to a scenario where it is acceptable to write an email stating “I carefull next time, I won’t repeat” being dressed up professionally formal and it is not acceptable when you write a sleek, crispy English if you are not dressed formally. One substantial point to prove this is half the population in IT still believes that suites were brought into picture only for the purpose of client visits.

3)    AS A FRESHER YOU WILL ALWAYS BE WORKING ON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES LIKE THE MS WORD, MS EXCEL and POWERPOINT: In IT the term “fresher” are synonymous to “scape goat”. As a fresher you always have to do more than just what is being defined for you to. Very many managers say a “yes” to any kind of presentations, report generations to clients knowing the fact that there are always freshers behind them to do anything and everything that they want them to. Be it any presentations of any topic irrespective of their knowledge levels they still will be made to work on them. So being a fresher teaches you not just the technical stuff but also the much needed diplomacy which on a longer run will be of greater help.

4)    THERE WILL BE AN ABNORMAL CHANGE IN THE METABOLISM AND EATING HABITS: “Eat to live” times have changed and it has come to “eat to show-off”. It is considered highly outdated to bring to offices your own food and is totally cool eating out and new every other day. Friday is meant to be the “junk munching day” for many of the employees out there and there used to be humungous crowd at every other reputed food joints especially on this day. In very man projects/teams it’s the contrast, where in people hardly get to eat anything at all. They still stick to the lunch breaks like those of the conventional schooling confined to specific timings and employees will be called back to their seats if they exceed this time frame. On top of all these if you are into support projects people are not even bothered of the fact that you are starving and they won’t let you go out of that seat unless and until the job is done while the clients give so much importance on the food and the quality time spent with peers over the lunch breaks.

5)    THAT AWKWARD MOMENT WHEN YOU REALIZE YOUR MANAGER/TECH LEAD KNOWS SHIT ABOUT WHATS HAPPENING AROUND: This is a very common sight in very many organizations and it has almost become a thumb rule according to which the intellectual and technical skills are always inversely proportional to the hierarchy with which a person grows. Behind every successful manager/team leads there is always one ardently hard working employees who is always considered the pulse of the project and when this person is not around the designations mentioned remains just names with no power. Very common sight in any organization is a manager talking to the team members for hours together and still making no sense at all even after that lengthy discussion or lecture and trust me  when I say this not even a word would have had actually been thought-provoking.

6)    THE APPRAISAL/RECOGNITION AT ANY POINT IN TIME IS ALWAYS FOR WHAT YOU HAVEN'T DONE YET AND NEVER FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE: By the term rewards/appraisal, I don’t mean the literal meaning that the term tries to convey but it’s just quite the opposite of whatever it means.  Quarterly/Half-yearly and annually companies rate its employees based on their performances so as to segregate them in groups for the hikes that company is going to give them and I tell you 98% of people get a number which they do not deserve at all. Somebody who has done extremely well would have got very poor rating and somebody who has not done anything at all would have got an excellent rating which is absolutely out of anybody’s hands. I suggest that the mangers keep this process transparent for most of the employees that they actually understand what is being played with numbers across. If you have got a good/bad rating it is not always for what you have done and its always for what you haven’t. Appraisals haven’t have had motivated the majority of the population but it has just De-motivated.

7)    ONSITE OPPORTUNITY IS LIKE A BONE THROWN AT AN HUNGRY DOG: Yet another stupendous attraction that this IT industry carries is the process of sending people for free to other countries that they save some money, bring them back home, get as big as a three bed room apartments and get settled down. There used to be a super-natural guy/girl in the team who has lot of talent under his/her belt (kind of over-qualified for the job) and is always looking out for the best job in town. So as to retain this minor population companies arrange for them a free visit to countries across for a month’s/years’ time depending on the diplomacy drawn that he/she will be convinced of this offer and would stay back. So this is as simple as throwing a nice shiny bone at a dog which is hungry that it stops barking for a while.

8)    WHILE TERMS LIKE “FUN AT WORK”/”PEACE AT WORK” REMAINS MERE A TERM YET: When it comes to IT industry, to work is to die, and when I say “die” I literally mean it. Would you think it is possible to have fun at death or peace at death? It is just close to impossible and so does these terms. These terms have almost no connection with the industry and when somebody says they are having fun at work you can jump into a conclusion that they refer to any other work but their professional work. On top of everything your own manager or team lead would try stacking you for work forgetting the fact that both are just slaves but just the degree of slavery varies.

Okay now that the post is done, at least few of the readers would come up with the question stating “WAS NEVER BEEN IT KIND ENOUGH TO YOU THE WAY IT HAD TO ME? WHY DO YOU EVEN WRITE WITH SUCH ANGUISH THIS LOT OF STUFF?” and for such people am I so happy that IT is/was once a life-saver and would also tell you that this is never a place to be within (close this post ASAP).

And for those who can only crib about how things are in the industry, this goes out to you fellas, Love you!!

TRY FOR A CHANGE AND IF THINGS DON’T WORK, BE THE CHANGE!!

This is not the end and this is not the true reflection of IT firms yet. Much more to come and the primary reason I am keeping the post short is not to lose a number of readers who have no affinity reading lengthy posts.