She moved in, but I had moved out – Part 7

So, just a small recap from the previous part, I was getting excited upon the news of moving to a new academic block, our regular academic session began in which Mithun & I shared most of our classes, and finally Mithun had woke me up from my nap just to share his excitement of finding Meenakshi in the same class and where I got petrified of a totally different sight.

A girl of peaches-and-cream skin tone with perfectly threaded eyebrows and waist length brunette half straight & half wavy hair had walked in right behind Meenakshi. Her eyes were calm and they were an instant attraction. She carried a perfect hour-glass figure with the right attire & accessories matching her complexion and structure, ending it with a neat box heel sandal. A shinning gold wrist watch slides down her smooth waxed arm every single time she moved the few strands of hair away from her face and a neat shade of “Starla” nail color gave a finishing touch to her beauty.

At the very moment, out of nowhere, the following lines started playing in my head, on a continuous loop.

“Chubby Cheeks, dimpled chin,

Rosy lips, teeth within,

Curly hair, very fair,

Eyes so blue, lovely too”

Do the lines sound familiar to you? Well, of course every one might have sung this famous nursery rhyme in their childhood.

I felt like the composer of rhyme composed it by looking at her, as it rightly exemplified her. She moved in gracefully with a broad smile that totally illuminated her face. And all these while my eyes were totally glued on her, ignoring what Mithun was saying to me or any other guy in the class, as this was the girl whom I wanted to meet right since my first encounter.

She was Ms. Elegant!

Thanks to my mind that it instantly put aside every other junk stacked in my brain and started prioritizing with the new job of just observing her. My eyes were in parallel acting swiftly to capture every single frame of her and getting it uploaded right away on to my hard disk.

Say, for another ten minutes or more, she was still involved in some sort of casual conversation with Harini, one of our other classmates from Coimbatore but I was doing just one task and it was to keep looking at her. And then suddenly it happened! She turned around and looked at me for the first time and it brought instant goosebumps within me. Her face was naturally radiant and the dimples were an instant eye catcher. Looking at me she gave a small smile.

“Khalaas!” I truly can’t express that feeling through words

(Honestly, even now, smile adorns my face while reminiscing that moment)

Getting back to my sense, my mind that was processing rapidly all these while did not expect this sudden bump to hit it that it got jammed totally. Not knowing how to react to the situation, I felt a gentle smile would do the justification. So, I acknowledged her with a warm smile and to my disbelief she welcomed it, turned around and blushed. Her peachy cheeks were turning bright red and she seemed to relish the moment.

What more will a guy ask for, other than this!

In your teens, normally if a girl looks at you and smiles; unquestionably you get butterflies in your stomach and I have heard a lot about it from my friends. But, for the first time when I experienced it, it was like a sudden rush of adrenaline flowing through me and as if all the other hormones that were on sleep mode were suddenly activated. It was one of those rare happy moments of my life when I had experienced such adrenaline rush; well of course the last time was when my brothers were born.

Amidst this cute moment, I failed to notice that the staff was already there in the class and she had been talking to Harini. Shortly then moving to the center of the class she gave a small self-intro and asked us to do the same. The guys in the front rows started introducing themselves finally ending it with Mithun and I. Now the staff turned her attention towards the girl’s side and so did we. Mithun was equally excited to know more about Meenakshi as how I was to know about Ms. Elegant.

Meenakshi started and finished off her part in an instant and she sat down quickly, to which Mithun was totally disappointed. Next in turn to speak was my girl. As she stood up, her thick free-flowing hair glided gently on her back like the waves that hit the shores. She introduced herself as Sri Vidya, from Bangalore. Her voice was so soft, she was very attentive and clear in speaking about her, just to make sure that I get hold onto every word that she spoke (which I learnt it later).

Finishing her part she sat, flipped her hair sideways, turned towards me and gave a small nod, asking if I had taken down the details. Well of course, every guy tends to put in his full attention on the girl he likes and I am nowhere different from them. In fact I had noted down inch-by-inch of her from head to toe. But being a good boy (as how the society tagged me) I acknowledged her with a small smile and for the next few minutes our eyes were glued on to each other. This new feeling was something first of its kind for both of us and we both seemed love it. So, we just ignored the rest of student’s intro and were busy with our own task.

But, when you have a friend like Mithun, your special moments aren’t supposed to last longer. Mithun shook me vigorously, as it seems he had been lately noticing the short romance that I was having with Sri (that’s how I always refer to her) and also purposely since he was annoyed with Meenakshi not speaking much.

“Hey Dude, get back to your sense and focus on the class. May be you can continue with your romance, later”, said Mithun, turning my face away from her, still pissed off!

I turned around and stared at him for ruining the lovely moment and started focusing on the class, though not whole heartedly. My mind was constantly hovering and over the next forty minutes, Sri & I would have exchanged looks at least 10 – 15 times.

The class came to an end and as per the school rules girls moved out of the class followed by the guys. On the way to the next class Mithun started pestering me with questions. “Well, you always stick with us but had never mentioned about her. So, how did this happen?” asked Mithun, cornering me inside the class.

“See there was nothing to hide from you guys. What you saw today happened for the first time”, I said, but Mithun was not ready to accept it.

And I was very sure that Mithun would definitely reveal the incident to Kishore and he will not take it easy and light. So, I had to warn Mithun to shut his mouth and keep this incident to himself and we made our way towards the boy’s staircase.

So, to what extent did this first sight between Sri Vidya & Raghav take them into?

Wish to know more? Then please stay tuned until the next part rolls out!

She moved in, but I had moved out – Part 6

She moved in, but I had moved out - Part 5  (The link to previous part)

In the last chapter, looking at Mithun’s thoughtless act, I gave him such a big philosophical lecture, just like some spiritual guru does, still not knowing that in another few days, I myself was about to get trapped in the charms of a girl. A girl, who just swept me off my feat!

Of course, every girl is beautiful in her own ways, but this particular girl, who made me insanely fall for her, was beyond every one. Getting back to our school days, it was slowly moving on and we were getting the hold on to the imprudent rules that were imposed on us. Yes, we evidently hated our school life; however our hostel life was something to relish about. From 4pm until 8am of the next day, Kishore, Mithun & I used to have the best time of our life. We three used to hang out together; be it at the room or the canteen or the study hall or even while doing yoga, which we purposely attended to continue with interrupted our early morning sleep.

To be honest, it was actually a hell of a life for anyone studying there and kids as small as 6 years were put up in the hostel, just with the false expectation of making them a successful person (WTF). Well that was where the parent’s belief rested upon. In fact they believed that the school would pave the way for their child’s future. Hmmm, what a foolish mindset is it. Well nothing more can be said of this, as by default we are stereotypes.

So, amidst this hard f***ing life, as a relief, came the news of us moving to the newly constructed academic block, which housed a part of the boys higher secondary classes, as well. It seemed not everyone welcomed this news as how I did it, since now they miss the chance to secretly catch an eye on the higher secondary girls. But, I was much relieved now, since I get the chance to meet my brother, every single working day.

Right since childhood, I had grown up seeing him and in particular, just by calling him as “Gautham anna” itself brought in some sort of excitement within me. Not all the words that you use every time have a strong sense of connection within you, but there are very few that holds the magic in it. And to me, his name was one of them. So, having him around in a place where everything else was against me was indeed a blessing in disguise and now I was least concerned about anything else happening to me there. In one way as this news elevated my endorphin level to unimaginable point, a part of my mind still hovered around Ms. Elegant (the girl whom I longed to see from a long time).

The actual academic year hadn’t started yet and instead we were having sort of extracurricular sessions, like, some sort of orientation program. Hanging around with the other two and participating in most of the activities, we never realized that we had successfully survived two months in that hell. And every now and then, Mithun tried his luck with Meenakshi but nothing worked out. Also, from my observation I understood that she is more of a studious type and doesn’t give a shit to any unwanted stuff trending around her.

Mithun’s act of getting Meenakshi’s attention was one among them in her list however it was well received by the other girls of the class. They seemed to like it, however going by the school’s rule; they resisted their emotions & relished by hiding it within themselves. But, not even a single time did Meenakshi pay attention to him or rather was busy glued to the text books always. And I didn’t want to reveal this to him, as I never wished pain for Mithun. I definitely knew that it would completely devastate him.

You know what; the best thing about Mithun was his smile. It was so refreshing & addictive that you instantly forget everything. And to a face that brings in happiness to others, how could I, being his close friend, add sorrow by revealing this news. So, every time that he speaks about her, I gave him my full attention and supported him, still making sure he didn’t do anything insane and land us all in a tight spot.

And very soon our class schedule turned up and luckily I was sharing most of my classes with Mithun. Since, Kishore had taken Tamil as his second language and we had taken Hindi, his schedule slightly differed from us.

The first day of the academic calendar began and classes started rolling on with every minute passing by. It was the first hour, post lunch and we had our Hindi class. As per the schedule the class was located somewhere in the ground floor of the academic block. On the way to the class, Mithun & I were heavily arguing that it will be more of a casual interaction session and rather a formal class. As we entered the class, there were a handful of guys seated and a single girl, whom we didn’t care much about.

The class just had four rows of seats and as usual, we took the last row. Feeling bored and not knowing what to do until the staff arrives, I laid on the desk to take a short nap, since my tummy was full, after a so called satisfying meal (totally sarcastic).

It would have been just a matter of seconds before I had closed my eyes that Mithun woke me up. I said, “What is it now man?” still not opening my eyes.

“Raghav…Raghav, wake up and look, its Meenakshi. I didn’t know that she had taken Hindi, as well, as her second language”, exclaimed Mithun happily. 

My mind voice was like “Hey Bhagawaan!!! mujhe is ladke se bachao naa (Oh God! Please save me from him)”. Cursing Mithun with some good words (again sarcastic), I slowly turned my head towards the doorway, when something else instantly caught my attention. Believe me or not, you should have looked at my face then. I was sitting stunned as if some powerful spell had hit me. The sorrow that held me all these while had suddenly vanished out of me and I was looking fresh & energetic, as if some sort of energy booster was released out of my brain.

So, what petrified me & what got rid of my sorrows?

Curious to know more about what happened, then please stay tuned until the next chapter rolls out.

The Perfect Grill-O

As the evening sun was setting low, my hunger was slowly building up. I looked at my watch and sadly I had an hour more for the shift to end. Today was one of those rare days when I missed bringing some food to much at the office. And as I had recently moved to a new apartment, just two days back, finding stuffs in the morning before rushing to office was also tiring for me.

So, not knowing what to do and sitting idle would rather increase my hunger, I decided to shift my focus onto the World Wide Web. Going through few financial news on the Economic Times website, I checked my watch again, hoping that time would have moved on, but just five minutes had passed by.

“Oh God, not today” was the thought running in my mind.

With every minute passing by the rumbling sound of my stomach was pitching up. I somehow tried to convince my stomach by saying to myself that, “Calm down, no hurry please. We shall be at the restaurant very soon.”

So, with this same excuse I somehow managed to get rid of the next one hour and was on my way to home. Usually on days when my shift is until 2100 hours, I take my food outside, since it would become very late if I go home and prepare the dinner.

As I was walking through the lake side, my attention caught sight of a small eatery at one corner of a big building and I proceeded towards it. I had never been to it before and so the curiosity naturally drove me towards it. Approaching the café, I remembered couple of people from the locality talking great about the place. Not once or twice but I have heard the café’s name a lot many times. Now that I am actually heading to it built up my expectation tenfold.

The Tea Break café was a small, tastefully decorated and less crampy hangout spot, positioned well away from the eyes of the public. Only to those people who had a hang of this place, visited it often and they were the ones who marketed it out to the unknown rest.

By the time I entered it, the place was totally empty and the guy at the billing desk welcomed me with a broad smile and a “Hello”. I figured out instantly with his accent that he was a Malabari (term used in Dubai to refer a person from Kerala). As I was tired of conversing in Malayalam at the office, I held myself this time and conversed in English with him. Their Menu was limited but the options were wide and the list of ingredients used with each was something new and unique. Never had I seen the mixed usage of such items, however they sounded flavorsome.

I made my order for an Egg Mushroom Semi Club sandwich with a small cup of Zafran Kadak Chai (Saffron Masala Tea). While waiting for the order, my eyes scanned the place and it felt refreshing to be in there. I had always wanted to open a café and the interiors of this place gave me ideas on how to make it appealing to the customers.

And before my stomach could make any further rumbles, the order arrived at the table. Though it was a simple order, the culinary presentation was awe-inspiring. I took the first bite, it was really hot and my tongue took the burnt. However, within minutes I suddenly felt the blend of soft mushrooms, egg and cheese melting in my mouth. I could not explain my feeling as it was beyond words. The ingredients were well cooked and grilled to perfection. And munching it with a hot sip of Zafran Kadak chai elevated the taste.

With a satisfied heart and soul, of course stomach as well, I complimented the chef and made my way out of the place. Walking back to my apartment, the taste of the sandwich that was still hovering in my mind, made me believe that offering good food can attract a great foot fall, irrespective of how big or small your space is.

Time Flies by!

Dubai, the land of dreams, has never failed to live up to its name. It is one city wherein you find people from all walks of life. Be it the tourists, who fly in to experience the grandeur of this desert nation or be it the white-collar employees, charting out big dreams for their life, or be it the blue collar employees, in the hope of earning some extra cash (in Dirhams) to support their families, back home. So, everyone whom you meet in this city will have a long story, left behind.

And so is one such story, the story of a young teenager, traveling all the way from India into a foreign country for the first time in his life. Never did he expect that even his passport will be stamped one fine day. Every single event that made his journey to Dubai was totally unplanned. What started off as a commitment to keep his relationship intact, ended up losing both the girl he loved and the anticipated B-School of his choice. But, his parents had always believed in him and they had always trusted his moves. It was they who suggested him to fly to Dubai, even though it meant burning their pockets heavily. But, they did not worry about it, as all that they wished was for him to have a new life, a better life, away from home, away from the losses that he suffered, and away from everything.

Classes went on well and so was his urge to learn. Over the past twenty-five years, it was here wherein the urge to study & learn more hit him like a thunder. Of course, he did it pretty well in comparison to the whole batch. And in the company some great people, his life was progressing fine. Days went by, weeks passed on and years flew by, and suddenly today he is still in Dubai, but not as a student anymore. A nice job at a multinational firm has made his schedule busy and engaged. He did understand that the next phase of his life has begun and it was the time for him to move out of the place, which hosted him for two long years; (i.e.) the college hostel.

No more late night studies, assignments, exams, chatting, fighting, gaming, late night walks and finally, preparing spicy Maggi in the middle of the night to feed the starving stomach. When he recollects those memories, a small smile pops up at the end of his lip. And at the same time thinking that there won’t be any more such moments to cherish upon does make him emotional. It is time for him to step out of academic city perimeter and relocate into some cozy neighborhood.

“It feels like yesterday when I first entered Dubai and now I don’t even remember how each day went by”. Time just swept me off my feet and I don’t know how further it will take me, is what dwells in his mind.

Those small moments, well enough to steer your life forward

With the series of unexpected death in the recent past (Sri Devi and other few Bollywood stars), it is evident that life is unpredictable. And in such a case what is the point of charting out your long-term plans, when you are unsure if you will be alive the next morning.

You may think that I am being pessimistic, but I would call it being “realistic”. Expectation and reality never come together and so I believe that it is better to stay alive and enjoy the very moment of the reality rather than living in the world of expectations. Who knows, if you or I will even get a second chance to live the moment?

And so was one such moment of reality that I shall cherish for the rest of my life. Though I am the only one who knows the true reason for seeking an admission with Institute of Management Technology Dubai, I adapted well early to this place and with my batchmates too. I started liking the place and made it work for me in the way I preferred. Though there were too many cases of back-stabbing and bitching about one another, nothing much happened with me or to me, as I was being fair with everyone (except for a set of students from a region). So, over the two years of MBA, life was pretty good with too many moments to cherish about.

One such incident that will remain close to my heart was this year’s birthday celebration that was planned by my close ones. To be honest, I, after a certain point in my life, felt no interest towards celebrating birthdays. But this birthday was so special, only because of them. I owe a million thanks to my besties (Boss, Rishab, Shivani, Sayani). You made the day and you also made me feel the importance of holding on to certain relationships.

So, a big thank you, to each one of you, who planned and executed it very well. I wish many more such happy moments in all our lives and hopefully, we shall all stay connected over an extended period.

No boundaries to confine you!

It was an overcast day over the island nation and the semi-barren agricultural land, far from the downtown city, was eagerly expecting the first few showers of the season. The weather man had forecasted rain by the dusk, but the usual bustling activity of a busy city did not recede at all. Vehicles kept honking through the streets, hawkers with their shops lying across the footpath and trying to woo in customers, Office goers having a round of their evening cigarette with a hot cup of coffee and school students hurrying off to their houses before the sky opens.

In the next few minutes, the initial few drops had hit the ground, thereby emulating the romantic scent of the barren earth, and kicking off the momentum among the city dwellers. Everyone wanted to get themselves covered under a shelter before the huge roar of the mighty sky take control over the exploited planet. And moments later, every pothole of city road was filled with water and those few surviving trees on either side of the road were taking some splashing shower, as the sky had finally taken its momentum. 

Standing behind the grilled bars of the verandah of her third-floor apartment, Priya was one among the thousand silent spectators of the city who enjoyed the thunderous downpour. The city was getting itself refreshed with the outburst and so was Priya. Extending her arm through the small gap in between the grills, she was enjoying the soft touch of the rain drops caressing her palm. With every single drop flowing out of her extended palm, she was feeling the joy of unboundedness, which the rain drops had privileged with.

Being brought up in a highly conservative society, Priya was mentally intoxicated with the repeated ritual of her parent, asking her to take forward the traditional values of the family. Though everything around her was technologically fast advancing, she wondered many a time as to what holds back her parent’s mindset from evolving. Why do they still stick to the meaningless customs of the ancient era? Instances like forbidding her from wearing skin-tight dress or mingling with the opposite gender had made her feel like an alien every single time when she tries overruling her parent’s ideologies. And when she tries to express her feelings to her parents about how wrong they are about the worldly perception, it usually ended up with her getting harsh abuses.

The age-old perception of the worldly matters doesn’t have an effect anymore. With every passing day bringing in some advancement in the field of science, why is not the human brain advancing, which was also evolved out of science? Why can’t everyone see what the truth is and what is their surroundings like and act accordingly! Just because some age old customized creature is still practicing and imposing his/her practice on his/her descendants, people like Priya, who wish to breakdown the barrier and lead the life as it is meant to be, are highly stressed out and traumatized.

“Is this how girls are treated in this modern society”? And what does everyone mean to be modern, when one does not even have the right to express one’s own feelings. Thinking deeply about how miserable her life was, she was brought back to her sense with few rain drops hitting her face. With solitary confinement in her case for the rest of the life, she envied the rain drops, which in turn had no boundaries to be confined within and was free to flow anywhere.

Birth of a new Salesman

Dubai, the dream destination for many travelers became a home to me, not before I chose to pursue my higher studies here. But right from the day I stepped in on this miracle land, where anything could rise out of the sand and touching the sky, money was concurrently out flowing from me. Ten months already flew with no opportunity to find a way of sourcing cash inflow. Too many pleas, requests and false guarantee of the close circle went useless, all through these months.

Finally came in an opportunity via a man whom I had always trusted (so far he hasn’t broken it). It was a four day assignment with Videocon mobile on a festival promotion activity. The company had come up with new range of mobiles and they were looking out for promoters for the same. I grabbed the opportunity and was offered a store in the farthest of the location, Al Quoz. Though it is considered to be a close proximity to the main business center of the New Dubai, yet it was far from IMT. A solid two hour travel will take me to this highly populated labor camp, mostly filled with Indians and Pakistanis.

There was no hesitation from my end, as I considered this as an opportunity to explore the beautiful city. Actually speaking, these locality project the other set of Dubai population, the working and labor class, who equally contribute to the economic fluctuations of the nation and less exposed on the media.

Occupied with mile long warehouses and labor camps on either side of the road, the way to my destination was entirely different than what I had witnessed with the other half of Dubai. The hypermarket was positioned in a prime location and with heavy footfall, throughout the day. To assist me at the store was a wonderful person, who could not be matched with anyone I had met at Dubai, so far. He was so supportive and encouraging, though knowing that this was my first attempt with sales. His encouragement and strong belief raised my spirit and together made us achieve a huge target sale of 71 mobiles, over the four day period. It was even the highest number achieved across locations, where similar promotion was happening.

Till that day I never realized that I could convince someone so well to take up a product, amidst heavy competition from competitor brands. And adding to my credit was the use of language. I had to keep switching my language between Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and English spontaneously, as people of different region visited the stall one at a time. Speaking fluently without stammering and conveying the information in a short span of time, it was such a daunting task, which was eventually done with ease.

In total, I would have spent close to 28 hours at the store, but the number of people who became my friends were innumerable. The store staffs were too friendly and the best part of this whole new experience was sharing the Iftar dinner with them. Never in my life had I ever witnessed such a mass dinner. Though the food was light, it was delicious and enjoyable when sharing it with everyone around you. I realized the real sense of togetherness and the motive of Ramadan, then. Over and all, I would say these four days to be highly productive days of my life.

Though on one side I feel happy about my new capability, on the other side I feel sad for making 71 people purchase a product, which I myself am pretty sure will not last longer. A kind of guilt crept within me as every single time when a mobile gets sold, since these people are not those few who purchase it for a passion. But, these are people who hesitate and think hundred times before investing their hard earned money on a product, which will not reap value, as it is conversely claimed to be.

God save them!

And thank you almighty for bringing out the “Salesman” out of me.

The biggest question of my life: Why MBA?

Seriously!

Yes, it was, until the moment I started my journey towards pursuing an MBA degree.

As your eyes linger over the bold text above, I believe the same question would have hit your brain too when you decided of taking up a management degree. If so, then consider you are lucky, since you are not blindly stepping into an unknown track, rather trying to form a track for yourself to race upon it, until the checkered flag of your destiny is waved.

So, how did it all began and most importantly, why did it begin with me?

As any other young and energetic teenager, I was also into engineering. Once graduated, the glitz and glamor of the Software Industry fascinated me towards it and so I kick-started my career as a software engineer. 3 years down the line, every ins and outs of the industry were very evident before me. The work that I was doing was easy enough to position me at the mid-managerial position and then on stagnant my growth once forever. Therefore, considering my long-term goal, I decided it was the time for the next big breakthrough. I decided to pursue my master’s degree in management.

Now as the decision was made, the next in line in the roadmap was to get constructive feedback and suggestions on my decision. As one of my cousins was an alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad (IIMA), I had no trouble in seeking his feedback. After listening to my conversation about the decision to take an MBA, he, in a very subtle way, put forward a question to me.

Why MBA?

Believe me or not, this was the greatest life changing question that I had faced till date. Though I started listing him with few reasons then, I steadily started feeling that maybe I haven’t done my homework well. Gradually I also understood the seriousness behind those two words and started self-assessing over the question, “why should I do an MBA?”

Answering to it are few points listed below that I considered were some of the benefits or the fruit that one would reap out of the MBA course.

Expanding your knowledge horizon

One of the primary benefits of doing a management degree is that it opens the scope of your knowledge by bringing in the concepts of the business world and thereby implanting the roots of the essential business skills within you. In the future, one might pursue to become an entrepreneur or find a role as a middle manager, but with no right business knowledge and skill, it might turn out to be a highly turbulent journey.

Streamlining your Career

You might be an expertise in your field of work and feel happy that you are doing good in your career and progressing well too. However, it is virtually impossible to achieve the highest role with just your expertise in one area. As you climb up the ladder of responsibility, you need to have a broader picture of the rough sea ahead, else you might end up on a sinking ship. And this is where the business degree comes in rescue. The course is designed and formulated in a manner to give you a broad and encompassing 360-degree view of the business, thereby helping you to focus on the areas that will help you sail smoothly.

Skill Development

Highly ambitious and self-focused candidates not just exist with one or two skills, but are always on the lookout for enhancing their skills. Because, they understand the importance of skill building and the effect it will have on their career, especially in this fast-paced competitive environment. Possessing diverse skill-set can help one choose his/her career accordingly since the market will be wide open to them and not constrained as of those with limited skill-set. Thus,

• ·         Business degree program augments the candidate’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills in tougher and short-deadline situations
• ·         Fine tune in-depth analysis of the market scenario, since business is not just about the exchange of goods, but it involves knowing the right economic formulas, the demand-supply pattern, production of goods, making financial decisions, etc.
• ·         People skills, negotiating skill, soft skills and effective communication are an essential part of running a smooth business

Broadening your network

Your knowledge should not be confined within a box. As you open up to the world, it cultivates new thoughts, when you come in contact with like-minded people. A business degree thus helps in broadening your network with like-minded people across oceans. It aids you in connecting with the right people, thereby increasing your profile’s credibility, and who can also be a greater asset to you and your organization’s growth. When these right group of people joins hands together, it unlocks the door to millions of ideas and opportunities.

Roadmap to become an effective Leader

People still confuse a lot between a leader and a manager. A leader is someone who sticks by his team, guide them in the right direction and offers timely support, whereas a manager just sticks to his orders and expects his team to get the job done. Everyone wishes to be the former and not the later. So, what makes you a good leader and not a manager. Well, every business degree curriculum is framed in a manner that right from day one, you are being molded accordingly to the art of leadership. Bright candidates figure it out soon and display their skills over their stay at the B-school. Might you well think that don’t organizations develop great leaders? Yes, they do. But, what is unique about a business degree is that it makes an individual in understanding his role of acting as an organization’s Anchorage every single day. It also makes you an aristocrat of integrity, which is something that is expected out of a good leader.

All eyes upon you!!!

At the very moment, you step into DXB, you could hear people calling out the city as the land of Arabs or even as the land of expats. However, as I stepped out, to me it was the land of wonders.

Every single step astonished me in this scintillating city. It was really a great feat achieved by the nation, in such a short span of time, transfiguring the desert into one of the world’s most acclaimed city. Be it the downtown or the outskirts, everything is as per the books and hardly one could come out with any concern.

Amidst the chaos of this busy city and shifting population, there, at a distance, she stood majestically that I stumbled upon the very first look.

Wrapped up elegantly as in a wedding gown with tiny beads, shimmering to the sun’s departure, she was bewitching.

And as the blanket of dusk wrapped its cover across the sky, her charm was intensifying slowly and gently.

Within minutes she was radiant, right from her head to toe, raising a jealousy eye among the other hotties of the region. Well, I could not lift my eyes off her and neither were anyone across the city. Her curves ran down flawlessly. Every other second she was draped in prodigious colors and livery, elevating the euphoria within me.

The moment I saw her first, I thought that she had just overstepped the clouds, growing beyond her limit. However later did I convince me that she grew infinitely high just to hold a bird’s eye view of her admirers. For a stardom of her stature, she needs to have her eyes wide open as the chances of her diadem (“world’s tallest building”) might shift hands.

Well as all know, the Burj Khalifa stands at a height of 829.8m from the ground. The visibility radius of it spans across 98 kilometers over the Persian Gulf, making it unquestionably visible to any eye, no matter when or where.

Wait a minute… Wait a minute!!!

I seriously doubt if it is we who have an eye with her always?

Or maybe it’s just the other way round. I feel like she holds a constant vigil upon all us thereby, reminding every single time that “you are being watched”. She ensures that the city and the Persian Gulf expand in all the horizons and the people are focused towards achieving it.

Well, that is something remarkable of its stature. So as I kept thinking of it, there was a loud bang behind me. And as I turned around, the fountains at the base of Burj Khalifa were ready for yet another elevated performance.

Enjoying the fountain show and being mesmerized by the great LED illumination on the building’s façade, I could hardly make a move. I wished I sat there all night just gazing at the aesthetic beauty across me. However, it didn’t last long as the reminders and agendas in my cell phone started snoozing.

So with one last look, I just turned back and walked away controlling my desire. Later, as I stepped onto the metro, this particular thought kept hitting my brains.

        “You are being watched!!”

Thousands of reasons to dislike; just one reason to like, it's LOVE!!!

“Millions of people with Zeta byte of dreams try very hard to set up a mark for themselves, while there are very few who turn their faces down and walk away.”

It might sound vague, to any onlookers, with no clue as to what I am referring to. Well as a teenager what else could I be more engaged with and be referring to?  

The answer is very straight, it’s LOVE!!! “What is more divine than it?” apart from God.

I never believed in destiny; not so long until I was uplifted by her charisma. Destiny brought me in touch with her and from then on it had been a smooth sail. Getting to know her was one of the best things happened in my life.

Well, wait a minute. Why don’t I just reveal something more about her? It would be unwise to keep it up to myself. Anyways, please don’t panic as I shall be very elegant with my description.

So here it goes.

The long strands of her hair flow gently over her face, acting as a topping over the ever glowing scintillating face. Every little smile that she draws, easily draws people towards her. Natural beauty has abode onto her right from inception. Her curves flush unwrinkled all the way to the bottom, personifying her as an embodiment of faultlessness. On top of these features, there is a perennial source of LOVE, overflowing out of her soul, making all those who had experienced it, indebted to her heavily.

So with such a beauty around you, I bet no one can stay away from her charm and neither was I, an exception to it.

I fell for her instantly and naturally the relationship blossomed flawlessly over the years. Bruises and rough patches did turn up sporadically over the years, however they were all well sorted out and never a time had I thought of moving away from her. Such was the love and affection that I had towards her.

Hmm…Wait a minute,

I sense couple of my well-wishers, who by now, would have read the above few lines with awe as to how openly I had revealed about my relationship into this cosmic e-world.

So, to all those humble souls who had spent their last few valuable minutes, trying to know more about the relationship, kindly pardon me as the text’s to follow is gone disappoint you heavily.

To be honest with you all, yes I was in a relationship. But, as you think so she is not yet another girl out of my college or a close colleague of mine at the office.

Rather she embraces thousands and thousands of modest soul every day with open arms, standing strong as an embodiment of optimism, as always. Enough of twist and turns as let me break the nutshell open and reveal my heart grabber.

I am in LOVE!!!

I am in love with this beautiful city CHENNAI, the land of hope. All the above words that I had crafted were a metaphor to this city.

Travelling back into the history…(not like the one as in the movie "24")

It was exactly 8 years ago that I first came to know her. The moment I landed here, the kind of feeling that I felt was something quirky, which is hard to describe through words and can be only felt personally.

A word of caution: I don’t thrust it upon you to feel the same as it was my DNA which reacted like that. It’s all left to one’s discretion as to how you reacted when you first landed at Chennai.

And so the bonding grew over the years. There were too many rough patches and brooding days over the tenure, but never a time had I thought of stepping out of Chennai.

I had always believed that this city will certainly set up a right course for my life one day, as it does to the whole world that comes in seek of her help. Eventually life was all set up and I was running non-stop in the race for survival. And thus everything went right.

Naturally time flew off expeditiously. Now I am here counting my final few days, as the relationship is about to wrap up and get chained in the hanger once for all.

It’s time for me to set foot upon a new geographical coordinate and start exploring it. Guess what, if I am lucky, I may be able to fall in love once again over there. However the first love will remain immortal within me, something that is universally known, till I rise up in the air as ashes.

“There is never a moment for goodbye. It is all about moving ahead and still staying connected.”

So with a heavy heart I move forward and wish I gain success in my new endeavors. Someday in the future I may me back here, cherishing all those delightful memories that this city gave me.

Thank you for the wonderful stay, the magnificent moments experienced, the appetizing food that kept me alive over the years, the incredible people whom I connected with, the lovely friends who made my days amusing and last of all couple of crushes and heart breaking moments.

Thank you CHENNAI!!! I love you a lot…

P.S. All the above words are copyrighted to me. It is what I experienced here and I do know that there are many who never had a chance to witness the best days of their life here. To all those folks, I feel really sorry. And to myself, I feel very lucky.