A Traveler’s Symphony

-           1          -

A sack on his back and smile on his lips

Aching legs and excited eyes

Humming a song in his tongue

which perhaps sings of a his journey

A Traveler’s Symphony

Perhaps he sings of a Lover’s Lost Ballad

or perhaps of the stars he’s seen along the way

Or perhaps just a rainbow of colorful thoughts

I don’t know, but I wish he’d stop and say

I wish, he’d take a moment, and recount his stories

of damsels and shepherds, of castles and woods

His smile is nostalgic, as if remembering a wonderful year

His eyes seem full of stories, some he looks eager to share

But some he wishes to keep to himself

I see it in his eyes, but I do not probe

The stories he shares do little to quench my thirst

But make me eager for stories of my own

So he walks again, the same way he came

Purposelessly strolling, absorbing each moment of his life

Does he lead a life without purpose

Or does he lead where he has found one

-           2          -

I asked him if he ever felt lonesome, in the secluded quest

He said he did, at times

Sometimes, his road was painful

Boulders of misunderstandings stand in our way

Suffering becomes as much a part of life as breath

But sometimes, sweet memories take away the pain of the present

Memories, of a shared laugh or a long hug

Of something as simple as a first date

or as hard as a last handshake

But memories have power to wipe both smiles and tears

He spoke of a girl, the recollection of whose eyes never failed his smile

He showed me a picture, I couldn’t appreciate

Because, he said, it was his story, and I had to search for my own

He said he was lucky to have earned such memories

Memories which give him courage to walk his path alone

He knows even if his life has nothing but a sack today

his memories shall never desert him

-           3          -

I asked him, if this was what he wanted to do

if the motive of his life was being met

If he always wished to be a traveler

If he always wished to be alone

He replied life works on no plans

Life is a series of random chaotic events which take you somewhere

It always takes you somewhere, on a road of your choice

But your choice is limited to your opportunities, which life provides

He never imagined when he was growing up

That 25 years later he’d meet a man on the other side of the world

Who’d question him of his way of life

Never imagined finding the answer would be so difficult

Because life doesn’t make sense when you try to predict

it appears a long dark forest which only shows its depth once you step in

Yet, whenever you look back, it seems as if it was always meant to be

Somehow, the dots always connect looking backwards

And that he said was the beauty of life

That’s the mystery which makes life the wonder it is

It is in knowing your next destination

It is in living in the present one

-           4          -

Finally, I asked him one last question

In his travels, I asked

across valleys and seas and mountains and plains

and cities and villages and towns and roads

had he ever met God. Did he believe God guided him

In the life force he talked about, in destiny

in creation in people in science in religion

If he ever encountered God

He smiled, and said

His sack gave him food when he was hungry

His legs took him to what he believes is his destiny

His body kept him alive

and one day, when he dies it wouldn’t have mattered to anyone

What only matters in his short stint in the world is his own happiness

And he worships whatever it comes from

He worshiped a beautiful lake whence he came across one

He worshiped the sky when it rained

he worshiped the old couple who gave him a roof for a night

he worshiped the ships which helped him in his travels

As he stood up, he said the world needed a religion so it created one

And God is as real as the Universe

Yet, religion is one way of getting close to God and traveling is another

I might find my own path, in words or children or music or a soulmate

He turned back and the last words I heard

‘You don’t need a religion to believe in God.

Religion made one for itself, you get to make one for yourself.’

Vishal Gupta

October 3^rd, 2013

A Traveler’s Guide to the World

10 Things you need to know before you embark on your journey to feel the world a little closer.

10.       Eat where the locals eat

There’s a reason why small local eateries exist – because people eat there. The food’s cheap enough to be afforded by the regular crowd, and hygienic enough to gain the locals’ trust. No one knows their food better than the locals. So when it comes to eating in India, try the occasional local Dhaba. Trust me; pizzas aren’t going to remind you of your homeland.

9.         Know the weather and pack accordingly

Because as much as you say you want to be this guy, you really can’t pull this off.

8.         Go where the city looks from, not where it looks to

Once you reach the end of the rainbow, it isn’t as pleasant to look at. The tall lighted buildings look nice from a distance. You can’t see a palm tree once you’re on the palm tree island. Some things are meant to be enjoyed at a distance and some are meant to be conquered. While you are just a wanderer, you’ll find the perfect view. Resolve in your mind to scale it some other day.

7.         Spend on experiences, not souvenirs

Because a book on Shakespeare brought from his home down isn’t quite the experience as sitting on the bench on which he sat and brought Hamlet to life. The thrill of riding the World’s biggest roller-coaster isn’t quite the same as bringing a smaller model of it home to gift your loved ones. Tell them the story, that’ll be a better gift.

6.         Don’t let go of a once in a lifetime opportunity just because it’s “too expensive”

Yes money matters and it’s good to save. With that, you’re also entitled to use your savings before you’re mugged or you lose it in a friendly game of poker. If speed gives you thrills, riding the fastest train in the world will be worth the experience.

5.         Think in terms of the local currency

Just because it “costs the same in my country” doesn’t mean it’s a good buy. Some things are cheaper in your world and some aren’t. It’s a difficult practice, but once you master it spending decisions are far more easier (and wiser).

4.         Visit the local shops

Every city will have malls and supermarkets, who will sell exactly what is sold in your hometown. And every city will have the local market which is actually a fancy market for the foreigners. A local shop is not where the local people sell; it’s where the local people buy. If you don’t see Mexicans buying from a shop in Mexico, it’s because it’s a rip-off. You don’t find local shops on the main expat street. You’ll find them where you’re likely to be abducted, but won’t be.

3.         Date a Local

Because no one knows the city better than she does. She’ll haggle for the prices, ask for directions in the native tongue, and warn you for any cultural offences you might commit. She’s the point of view which you won’t find in your guidebook. She’ll tell you that the temple which you’re eager to see is nothing but an old rickety building to her. And hey, who doesn’t like a good date.

2.         Do what YOU want to do, not what the guidebook wants you to do

This will be the most difficult part. Specially while people at home are waiting to ask, ‘You went to China and came back without climbing the Great Wall?’ But ignore that. The guidebook will only help you see the highlights. If you want to touch the heart of the city, you need to read the book, and then throw it away. Because nothing teaches you to adapt better than the unknown. If you prefer a disco to a TED talk, do that. If you think going atop the Eifel tower is better than skydiving, so be it. Your life. Your decisions. Your regrets.

1.         Be a Traveler, not a tourist

This final rule isn’t for everyone. Only if you think you are ready to venture out into the unknown carrying only your wit and a backpack, you’re ready. It’ll leave you hungry, stranded, helpless, desolate and hostile. But remember, what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.

“A new city is a good book. One introduces you to new people, see sights you hadn’t imagined before, think in ways you didn’t know you were capable of, appreciate someone else’s perspective; and the other allows you to live the entire experience yourself.”

Vishal Gupta

(The Lonely Traveler)

December 2013

Final Frontiers Revisited

It’s been an year since I’ve had those horrid dreams… TTI Kharagnagar had left me, but the memories had remained. In hindsight, the dreams had left me stronger than I had ever known myself to be. I didn’t realise it then, but the nightmares prepared me for the next great adventure. Ofcourse, I could only understand it looking backwards. But was there more to be seen if I looked back? Did I miss anything in my agony? Was I too close to the equation to see the bigger picture? Could I see something more, coming out of the world of Kharagnagar to look at it from another dimension?

So I went back to the world of Kharagnagar, this time with different eyes. And I was astounded by what I saw. A world of facts and numbers. Ofcourse it was all in a dream, but it felt almost real. I began sketching out what I saw. And touched upon some fine aspects of those dreams which I’d like to share with you.

To begin with, this was astounding. The 20 days of placements reinforced some truths, and removed some myths. If CTC was a measure of the quality of a job, then the Day of the placement had little to do with it. The “Week 1” quotient was overhyped. Also, the high number of selections on Day 1 and Day 2 hardly meant anything good. The number of candidates per company for Day 1 and Day 2 was actually lower than the average, which was maximum for Day 8 with 53 selections with 7 companies. Also, Day 1 undoubtedly was more active than any other day. But that does not mean that it offered the best pay.

Barring Day 1 and Day 2, there was no systematic trend in the Days in terms of the number of companies, CTC or the number of selections. It simply went as berserk as my investments in BSE right now!

So I thought of not looking at the data from a student’s perspective, but from the point of view of the campus. After all, we know that the campus puts itself first. The sure measure of a campus’ performance was the total of all CTCs its students had achieved for an year. After all, if at all it came to outsourcing, this would be the amount based on which the HR consulting companies would charge the campus. As it turned out, the figure came at a whooping ₹ 83.86 Crores. However, the sad thing was while this showed a shiny picture for Day 1 and 2 when the media reports came out, it made life tough for the remaining 82% students who were yet to be placed after Day 2.

But the star of the show for me was the CTC analysis where I grouped the placements on the basis of CTCs. What I expected was a standard bell curve. Most people would earn an average amount, few would make the millions and few would look back just to ask, “what went wrong?” However, the real picture was nothing I could imagine on my own.

Most people seem to be getting paid less than the average income. Ofcourse the lowest always went to a few, but the shape told a story different from a bell curve. While it took an early spike, it remained low for the end of the curve. Which meant the number of people getting paid less was significantly more than the number of people getting paid more. Also, the number of selections per company was significantly lower in case of more paying jobs. I smiled. This was exactly what the human resource market was supposed to be like. Lesser wages for more work. Isn’t that what the market strives for?

At this point I needed to see the highlights of the placements before delving into deeper fields. I needed to know what to expect. The first surprise came when I saw the average CTC. This was a number which a lot of Business Management students aspired for. There was something wrong here. Ofcourse! The few high payers had offset the mean into a high range. Thankfully I had my statistics course right and looked for the mean. That, still higher than my expectations, looked like an acceptable number.

At this point I heard a faint echo in my head which said 1,000+. I had a question to ask – “With or without the PPOs? Did KGN take credit of the PPOs too?”

But this was just the tip of the iceberg. How was this helping the future candidates in any way? This was just a story to look back on and smile at. I was sure there was more to my dream. There was something hidden which would let me see more. And this is what the dream handed over to me.

It classified each company in an industry and the profiles offered. I didn’t really understand how a “Trainee” was different from an “Associate” or what exactly did these companies mean when they said “Graduate Engineer,” “Engineer,” “Post-Graduate Engineer Trainee,” “Trainee Engineer,” and similar things. But it was the dream handing things out to me and not the other way around. It said that each industry had a preference to a profile in which it wished to hire. And each profile was best suited to an industry. And the 2 might not always be in a perfect marriage. Also, there were certain profiles which everyone wanted. And there were some “hot” industries in the market. Slowly, I was able to carve a map of which companies needed what. I found this useful as I know that people generally stuck to an industry they began with. Companies change, but it’s tough to exit sales or IT once you have entered life in those fields. They shaped the direction of your career. So even if the company paid low, I’d like to go to the industry which I wish to understand to later move to another company in the same industry. After all, why would I like to be a beginner again in a new industry?

If the dream could tell me which industry preferred which kind of profile, hence the kind of preparation a candidate must undergo to ensure his preferred industry, it could also tell me more about the industry. Such as what employment opportunities did it offer? What was the competition like in that industry?  How much did it pay? And how big was each industry? I cannot say the results were surprising, but were surely an eye-opener.

If the dream could tell me so much about the industries, why not about the profiles? The more I got to know, the more questions I had. If I specialized in a particular work, how many people would be willing to hire me? How much would I be paid for my skills? How easy would it be to switch a company, or maybe even an industry?

Alright. So I had my answers. I could not think of anything else to ask. But there was this nagging thought in my head regarding the Day of my placement. I think the desire of an early placement was so deeply inculcated into my mind, which I simply could not let it go. I wanted to know the spread of the industries and the profiles over the days. “All days are not the same.” But could some companies evade the dynamics of the days and come through? Was it worth waiting for my dream company? How many companies in each category did each day offer? As I struggled for my answers, my fingers kept moving on the keyboard.

I know I was groggy when I wrote this piece. My data cannot be completely correct. Not all results came up on the Notice Board. Not all selections were accounted for. The screen I looked from wasn’t very transparent. But I think I could not have overlooked the fate of 149 students in 20 days. That margin of error, even to me, seemed absurd. Specially when I heard echoes of “1,000+” and “poor results this year” together. Something did not make sense.

Also, I realized that some profiles were well-distributed over the days. While some seemed to be clogged in corners. While this made no significant difference in the long run, this added anxiety to the candidates in the 20 days of Hell. Perhaps allowing different profiles to be spread over the days and avoiding clashes between the days for the same profiles would help matters; but then I’m no expert in controlling my dreams.

As a final note, I heard faint whispers of the assumptions I’d taken. Different companies of the same conglomerate were considered as 2 companies. There were 2 companies for whom the number of selections remained unavailable, though I think even they could not help the margin of 149 candidates. There were cases when a company offered different CTCs for the same profile for different qualifications of the candidates. A weighted average was taken in all such cases wherever possible. The companies which visited the campus but did not select any students did not become a part of this analysis. A company making selections on 2 different days was considered twice for the analysis as 2 different companies. In a lot of cases, the profiles for recent graduates remained a grey area, and were left to my judgment which I wisely exercised.

Shanghai Sagas – Of Arts and Brands

It was one of my last lonely excursions in Shanghai. I was on an all-out expedition to the very edge of the city. A part which still hadn’t caught up to the lights and blazes of Shanghai. It felt like traveling in time. As I walked across the old signboards, my mind told me that this is what Shanghai must’ve looked 5 years ago. Given the wild constructions going at the place, it wouldn’t take too long for another Xintiandi to open up. Already they had constructed an awaiting subway station, an international expo and a couple of touristic sights. How long would it take to bring in visitors too.

But I had an itinerary to keep up with. After going through the expo I had loads of time to kill before the TED event I had to attend. The Shanghai Art museum was nearby so I decided to check it out. The guard said I’d need a ticket. I thought of checking out the ticket price. If it were anything close to 20¥, it would be a fair deal. This surely didn’t seem anything worth 50¥. But it were the last days and I’d saved enough, so why not indulge in a little Chinese art, I thought.

As I got to the counter, turned out the ticket was free! One just had to go to the counter to collect it. “What’s the point?” a voice rang in my head. But I’d long since taught these voices to be quiet. So I go in and at the security check the guards, painstakingly, try to tell me that my swill knife would not be allowed in the museum. I tried to ask if I’d get it back after my visit and they sent me to a half-English speaking orc. The orc spoke in spitting-English which sounded ‘Fifty Fifty PM for you.’ It took us 10 minutes, a writing pad and a handkerchief (to wipe the spit) to figure out that he meant I’d get the knife back at 15:50 PM. There was only an hour to that but it didn’t seem worth leaving my treasured knife with this ocean of enzymes.

So I said I won’t go and after the second repetition he understood. So I’m out on the road, but a part of me wanted to see the museum. I considered options such as putting the knife in a secluded corner of the road or hiding it in a tree or under my sock when it hit me! BAM. I’d crashed into a pillar. Who the hell puts a pillar in the middle of the footpath anyway? As I looked up to curse it, the pillar haughtily proclaimed the words “BMW” and an arrow near the words. I smiled.

I walked towards the nearby BMW showroom. I was a foreigner. My beard was long enough to say I’m not a whimsical boy and short enough to say that I could afford shaving cream. I had a simple muffler around my neck under a coincidentally matching coat which added to some persona. I held my chin up and walked into the BMW showroom. Two beautiful Chinese girls greeted me as I walked in to whom I waved in dismissal. I was not someone to care about smiles at the door, I thought. I headed straight for the reception where another beautiful Chinese girl greeted me to whom I told my situation at the museum. The girl was taken aback at first but held her own as she wrote down my name and time of entry on a piece of paper. The things they do for brand image! I love corporate culture!

I then made way for the art museum. What transpired there is a story for another day. As I went back to the BMW showroom the girl beamed while handing me back my prized knife. My precious. She asked me if I’d like to see “their museum’ now. Now I wasn’t one who knew Lxi from Sxi. Till now I’d pretended as if I owned the place. Now she was asking me to step out of my comfort zone. Knife in hand, I wasn’t willing to do that. I didn’t even glance at the cars and said, ‘Nah I’ve seen all this.’

I asked for her name. On her reply, I gave a momentary thoughtful look, said bye and turned around. If anything, a memorable event. The time when I waked into a Chinese BMW showroom for no good reason.

Yet Another Article on Arvind Kejriwal

I know the internet is clogged with innumerable articles about Arvind Kejriwal and in the world of commercial blogging, this is not the best time to write about the man who achieved the impossible. Yet it is one of the perils of being a writer that the pen governs you and not the other way round. So without further ado, here’s Yet Another Article on the man on a mission, Arvind Kejriwal.

Who the hell is Arvind Kejriwal?

Born in Siwani, Haryana in 1968 to an aam couple with an aam family, Arvind had bearings of “aam”hood since his schooldays in Campus School, Hisar. The first big achievement came when he secured admission into IIT Kharagpur. Being an alumnus of the same institute myself, I know that the last words one hears in the campus are usually go like, “till now this campus has been your identity. When you go out of that gate, make sure you become the identity of this campus.” Little did anyone know that Arvind would take these words to heart.

He graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 1989 and got placed in Tata Steel. I can’t be sure about those days but in 2013 Tata Steel paid fresh IIT graduates 8-9 lakhs per annum plus perks as CTC. He left the job after 2 years in 1992 to study for the Civil Services Examination and spend time at the Ramakrishna mission, Kolkata.

Arvind was able to join the IRS in 1995. In 2000, he was allowed 2 years’ paid leave on the condition that upon resuming work he could not resign from the service for atleast 3 years. Failure to abide by that condition would require him to repay the salary given during the leave period. He rejoined in 2003 and worked for 18 months before taking an unpaid leave for another 18 months. In February 2006, he resigned from the post of Joint Commissioner, Income Tax, New Delhi. The Government of India claimed that Arvind violated his original agreement by not working for 3 years. Arvind claimed that the clause said that he could not resign from his post for 3 years, which he did not. Eventually in 2011, he had to pay his way out by taking loans from friends.

Over the course of time, he has been known to be involved in numerous social ativist movements. A few prominent ones are listed below

·         December 1999: Parivartan

·         December 2006: Right to Information

·         April 2011: Jan Lokpal

What the phuck does he want?

Honestly speaking, I do not understand what Arvind wants. I believe in power. Power fights, power endures, power wins and power rules. I never expected an aam aadmi to fight, much less win, an election in the heart of the nation.

Time and again, Arvind has surprised us. Initially, he was just another social working fasting and agitating. Such people made the news for 2 days. A week, if lucky. I remember an interview before all the political activity where he was asked that if he was so much concerned about the nation, why doesn’t he contest the elections? To that Arvind beautifully (and to my surprise, calmly) replied,

“Do we live in a nation where if an ordinary citizen demands a right, he’d first have to contest the elections? As a citizen, it is my constitutional right to make a demand from the government. And to be told that I can only be allowed such demands if I run for the elections is against the Constitution of India.”

Yet, when after 2 fasts lasting 13 and 15 days, there was no response from the Government, Arvind decided to enter the system to clean it. This was much to the apprehension of his mentor Anna Hazare who maintains that politics is a swamp which contaminates anything which enters it. Arvind said that it may be the case, but the only way to clean this swamp was to enter it, even if it be at the cost of his own reputation. With those words, the 2 parted ways and while the media left Anna into his own oblivion, Arvind came out on Twitter and Youtube depending on social network “like”s, “share”s and “+1”s to make and grow his own political party.

Political Party! Aah… That was his plan all along. The power hungry rascal

Okay. As soon as one hears the words politics, the mind is filled with images of scams, ghotala, money, power and rabdi. But let’s look deeper. Arvind can be either one of 2 men.

1.      Either, he can be someone who left the post of a Commissioner of the Income Tax Department in a state like New Delhi, agitated and protested for 2 years, fasted in a condition of diabetes twice, brought RTI (which even a gentleman with questionable nationality status appreciated) and is currently working day and night in fever in Delhi winters to give the citizens basic amenities like water and electricity. Someone for whom getting into the system as an IRS officer wasn’t enough and decided to hit the mark himself fighting from the constituency which (let’s be honest here) was the toughest to win.

2.      Or he can be a master schemer who planned his entry into politics after joining the IRS. Identified Anna Hazare as the activist who would bring him into limelight. Somehow managed to get the public’s attention after being neglected by mass media and is currently looking to secure a position in the heart of the country.

To those who believe him to be the 2^nd man, I have nothing more to offer. You may choose to keep reading to criticize me later.

There was a time when the Delhi election results of 2013 were being counted where AAP had a significant lead over INC but Arvind was lagging behind the then Chief Minister by a margin of 2,000. Then a journalist asked Arvind what would it mean for his political career if AAP wins but Arvind loses. Arvind gave a reply which I feel deserves to be mentioned here.

“I did not join politics to make a career. Career was something I left in 1992.”

Alright… But what now?

Right now 4 major challenges for Arvind stand.

1. People’s Expectations

Like it or not, but we live in a country where people are just waiting to say, “see I told you. He was only a 4 day story. So who else was raped today?”

Most people today are only looking to point a finger and laugh when something goes bad. Specially to the one who tries to stand out. Yet one of the hazards of trying to fix something broken is to stand out and be pointed at. By standing out and already making a change in such a short span of time, Arvind has exposed himself to people’s expectations like never before. And this was established by the long line of activists from different sections of society making a variety of demands infront of his house on the morning of December 30^th, 2013.

There are those who are just waiting for him to fail. Specially those who have long supported the voices of the 2 major political parties of India. At the first mistake he makes people will burn his posters (and him if given a chance) down. The weight of expectations runs heavy on Arvind. The question remains, how long before people realize that they have chosen a common man as their representative. Not God.

2. Life

Mahatama Gandhi. Vidya Lal Shukla. Rajiv Gandhi. Mahendra Karma. All these names have a common feature. They stood up for something. They exposed themselves. They were killed.

India not a safe place. Filmstars get their clothes torn, cricketers have their homes attacked, politicians are killed and murderers are preserved. In these circumstances, one thinks how many days will Arvind be able to go between the public, use public transportation, hold open meetings and give speeches before being shot.

In India, every party has a face. It’s not the party people vote to. They vote for their trust in the face. Every party promotes the face which they think is popular among the people and usually that face gets the seat and the votes. While this works in favor of 2 parties, ironically lately the face-concept of voting has led to troubles for the 3^rd party. But the bottom-line remains, that parties function on faces. Right now, people have their faith in a face. Arvind. The moment he is disappears in ashes, I don’t know how long it would take before AAP meets the same fate. Or, it may rise from the ashes like a Phoenix with yet another miracle. But I don’t put hope in miracles. Nor does India.

3. Fatigue

It’s been 2 days since Arvind held office and has already caught a 102° fever and diarrhea. With the kind of promises he has to live up to, his undivided attention and focus is needed. He has already worked a Sunday, met all his meetings with punctuality and is already delivering results. It’s like watching Nayak on Star News instead of Star Movies. But reality is no movie. One has to cope with one’s health which works on not only the physical level, but also on the mental level. Arvind might have been a part of IIT’s Illumination which taught him to work everyday with no regard to his physical health. But it does not mean that this continuous work won’t take a toll on his mental health. Since the day he has announced the formation of AAP, he has not rested a single day. The question is, how long before his brain simply gives up?

4. 2014 Lok Sabha Elections

AAP has already announced that they will be contesting the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. While this is a welcome move by many it raises a lot of problems.

Till now, people had their hearts set on either one of the two conventional parties in India. Of them, one even promised to take India forward with industrialization and strong economic policies. And this seemed to be a good model. But now a new model has come up. A model of the common man. While this new model has little to say on economic and industrial reforms, it promises a better social life and common welfare. And David is about to collide with Goliath. This leaves the voter confused. To vote for the one who will allow India to compete with giants like America, China and Europe? Or to vote for the one who promises to keep our daughters safe. And while this tussle continues, a snake lurks in the dark. Waiting to strike. Patiently. Calmly. Shrewdly.