A new phase in life

On many occasions, I have complained about how life has become uninteresting or that nothing is happening. However, last few months have been anything but ordinary.

For starters, I got married. It initially took some time for this feeling to sunk in. But now that it has sunk in, it looks like it was the only obvious direction in which I should have gone. I always used to think that once married, I will have more responsibilities on my shoulders. But now, I think that I have a more strengthened support system.

The other important development is that I resigned from my job and am now pursuing MBA from Indian School of Business. I got the admit letter from the institute only fifteen days after marriage while we were in Goa on our honeymoon. What an occasion to get the news !

It has already been a month since I started with my MBA program. Things are going well as of now. I had thought that it would be difficult to get back into study mode after a two and half year break. But things have gone smoothly. I am liking the classes, the teachers and also my peers. I have also taken up squash again. Although, it would take me significant time to regain the lost stamina. But I am hoping to improve that with time.

And in between the busy schedule, I hope to start writing again.

Pretentious world

Pretension is one of the less talked about gift of development. As people prosper or as they get polished, they inevitably get pretentious. Or do they? This does look like a norm at least to us city dwellers. But you only have to look so far as our small towns and villages to see genuineness  still preserved in thoughts, talks and actions.

I spent 5 years of my childhood in Jodhpur (also happens to be the best part of my childhood). We used to live in a rented house. It was a double storeyed house. We used to live on the ground floor and our landlord used to live on the first floor. Our landlord was a police officer originating from one of the nearby villages. Our landlady was basically a village woman. She had very recently moved to Jodhpur when her husband got transferred.

Few months ago, I went to Jodhpur with my family. While we were there, we visited our old house. And fortunately we met almost all its residents. We met the two girls of the family who are now married with a child and  were visiting their home for few days. We met the youngest son of the family whom I could barely recognize. His elder brother, who also got married was however in the village with his wife.

As we sat in the drawing room, the son brought us some water in a steel pitcher. No glasses and tray. It looked a bit 'unsophisticated'. Next we knew, the daughters were showing us their marriage albums. All the while, our landlady was talking about her family. She talked about his elder son, how he got involved in untoward things and is now living in a village doing farming. All this in a very matter-of-fact tone. No hiding facts or justifying things. No shame in acknowledgment either.  As we were leaving, the landlady gave my mother a hug. Since when do we greet goodbyes in this fashion? My mother later told me that this how they do it in villages.

It all looked so plain and simple. I actually believed them when they said they felt happy to see us after this long. And after that brief interlude, I was back in my world.

Expectations !

How we always hear things about life not being so easy for the fairer sex. But sometimes, things can get difficult for boys too(I use boys and not men for the simple reason that I don't feel like a grown up yet). Not that I have much to complain about with all the freedom and so little scrutiny accorded to us for most of our lives. But still, there are times when I feel burdened by the expectations - expectations from the son of the family, from a to-be husband of a household.

Many of these expectations are borne by myself only without anyone imposing them. My family and father in particular have always given me all the freedom to do what I like and pursue what I dream. The expectations are more of a result of the learnings from the society, toeing the line set by the culture and tradition. The expectations are what I have from myself. It is the society which expects a man to earn for his family and I expect the same from myself. I guess this is why I had sought for a partner who could support herself - it would relieve me from an expectation.

I have had this wish since a long time to leave everything behind, to just go to some remote scenic corner of this country and stay there till I get bored of it. But I don't think that this wish will ever materialize. It will possibly remain that regret that people have about the things that they haven't done and that which they so desperately wanted in their life.

PS: I am getting married next year in February. Any one caring to read this post is by default invited :)

Pessimism over optimism ?

Is everyone more pessimistic than optimistic or is it just me? In other words, which is a stronger trait - optimism or pessimism?

I can see the pull of pessimism. It is difficult to bear when the expectations are not met. So as a safe strategy, one might set low expectations to begin with while still hoping for the best.

I can also see a charm in feeling like a victim without actually being a victim, giving a vent to all the frustration within, in the guise of retaliation.

A trip to Black Forest

Finally, my wish to see the European country side was fulfilled during last visit to Germany when I visited Black Forest.  I first read about this region in South Germany in the biography of Indira Gandhi. I then heard about it from few friends living in Europe. It was a fabulous 2 day trip over the weekend during which I was accompanied by two colleagues, one of whom also happens to be my junior from the college.

 Black forest is spread over a large area and covering some cities, towns and many hamlets. It is around 3 hours away from Frankfurt via the fast speed long distance trains (ICE). For these trains, if one books the tickets 3 days or earlier in advance, then it is possible to obtain the tickets at Savings Fare on a very reasonable prices. In fact I noticed that standard tickets were priced almost 50% higher than the savings fare. Thus, we had to buy our to and fro long distance tickets in advance.

After doing an extensive research on the internet, we planned our trip via Freiburg im breisgau. Frieburg is a small university town and is a gateway to Black Forest. We chose Titisee as our first destination of Black Forest. It is a spa town in Titisee-Neustadt municipality located next to a lake by the same name. Titisee has direct connectivity from Frieburg via the regional trains (RB). Tickets of RB can be booked in advance or can be purchased from ticket vending machines on the station.

City center - Titisee

After reaching the railway station, we walked towards the city center and reached the tourist information center. In most of the tourist towns in Black Forest, these tourist centers are present which can guide you through the region and can also provide you with the maps. If you are planning to go for hiking like we did, then these maps can come very handy.

Lake Titisee

Coming out of the tourist center, we decided to do boating in the lake. There are different options available for boating. One can take rowing boats or paddle boats or can also take ferries. The prices are very reasonable at EUR 5 for half hour and EUR 8 for one hour for one boat (which can accomodate around 4 people). After boating for an hour we decided to visit some shops and have our lunch.

Black forest and Titisee in particular is famous for its clock makers. Especially, cuckoo clocks from this region are very famous. There are few shops near the lake. If one is planning to buy these clocks or some other souvenirs, then Titisee is a very good place. Looking for a bargain, I didn't purchase any thing from Titisee only to buy some of them from Frieburg a day later at somewhat higher price.

A camping region next to lake Titisee

After lunch, we started our hiking - something that we are looking forward to in this trip. We walked around the lake, coming across picturesque grasslands, black and green forest and the lake glittering with sunlight. We also came across two regions dedicated to camping. There were many Travelers and Caravans parked with people sitting outside bathing in the May sunlight. Some of them had brought their bicycles for cycling whereas some others had even brought their own rowing boats. If I have to describe a leisure holiday then this would come as close as anything else.

Titisee to Hinterzarten

While walking around the lake, we came across a road sign directing towards Hinterzarten. This was one trek which was recommended to us. I should mention here that there are many long distance hiking treks in Black Forest but we were looking for a 7-8 km trek from one town to the other. Hinterzarten is one station earlier on the train line from Frieburg to Titisee. There is one trek which follows the railway line but we took another one using the map.

 Titisee to Hinterzarten

The distance from Titisee to Hinterzarten via this route was around 4-5 kms. The elevation could be steep at some places but is never difficult to walk. After walking for an hour we reached Hinterzarten, a resort town popular for skiing. The best time to visit Black Forest is in summers from May to September. Hinterzarten, though a small town is packed with hotels of all kinds. There are luxury hotels like Adler and Reppert, budget accommodations like Imbery as well as some apartments available for rent. But being a tourist season, these hotels were all fully booked. We then got to know about the tourist information center from a native lady. Since it was late in the evening on Saturday, the tourist center was closed but we were told about an information board outside the center which lists most of the hotels and their reservations status!

Hotel information board

This board lists the types of accommodation available in different places (single bed, double bed, apartment, suite). The green light means there are vacant rooms and the red light means all the rooms are booked. The phone number of all the hotels was also provided and you can call them using a free phone to inquire and confirm the status. There is also an interactive screen using which you can locate the place on the map of the city. Can a place be any more tourist friendly!

We finally stayed in Hotel Silberdistel. This beautiful hotel is few minutes walk away from the town center and is managed by an elderly couple. In small towns, one can sometimes face difficulty in communicating as there are not many English speakers. We somehow managed to get two rooms booked for ourselves using signs and broken German that my colleague knows.

Morning in Hinterzarten - view from the hotel

After taking some rest in the hotel, we walked around the town, saw the church and had a very German dinner. Next morning during breakfast, we were greeted by the wife from whom we came to know about the places to visit in and near Hinterzarten. We finally decided to visit Ravennaschlucht. It is a gorge 3kms away from Hinterzarten.

Train bridge at Ravenna gorge

We walked to Ravenna gorge and after reaching there took a small trek uphill along the course of the water. After coming back from the trek, we went atop a small hillock which offered us an exquisite view of the surroundings.

 View from the hillock

 

Near Ravenna Gorge - Church in the background

We ate our lunch there at Best Western Hotel, walked to a nearby church (which was closed) and then walked our way back to Hinterzarten. From Hinterzarten, we took a train back to Frieburg from where we had our tickets to Frankfurt. As mentioned earlier, Frieburg is a small university town with a large proportion of student population which keeps the city vibrant. There are many clubs and bars there to cater to the youth
 but few other places of interest.

A street in Frieburg

Frieburg Church

Frieburg has a very extensive network of trams. The city has an old town feel to it. One landmark that stands out is the Frieburg Church or Minister as it is called there. After spending some time in the church, we walked around the city for some time, reached the railway station and caught our train for Frankfurt.

After spending 2 days there, I would strongly recommend Black Forest to any traveler interested in visiting European country side. There are many other towns there which could be of interest so search for them on internet. And just ensure that you are traveling there in the right season. In case, any one wants more information about anything, leave me a comment.

Impressed by Germany

I cam back from Frankfurt this week from my third business trip to that city in last one and a half year. And in all 3 trips, I have been mightily impressed by Germany.

The best part of course is all the cars that you get to see there. I was once told that Germans love their cars. They might compromise on a home but would not compromise on their cars. And then there is that superb road network on which you can enjoy the maximum performance of these machines. I have been told many people from across Europe come to Germany only to drive on 'Autobahns' as they are called there.

Second best thing about Germany is the people. One thing common in most big cities of the world is their nonchalant people. But in Germany, I have found people to be mostly friendly.

One big difference that I see in the India and other countries is the working hours. While in India, 10 am is universally a time when office starts, in Germany (and probably in many other countries) the norm is 8-8:30 am. One reason for that could be to maximally utilize sun light during their work hours especially during the winters. This is also the reason for having day light savings time in many countries in West.

Another difference that I saw there is in the portion size of the food served. While that has lot to do with the genetic difference between our race and European race because of which their average build is greater than ours, I have also been told that Germans eat little between their meals unlike in India where we have afternoon tea and evening snacks.

Europe can be difficult for English speakers sometimes. However in Germany, many people, especially in urban centers are very much proficient in English. In Frankfurt where a large percentage of population is those of immigrants I have never faced any language problem. The signs of course are mostly in German but you would always find someone who will translate that for you in English.

Valuing the happiness

Some of the parameters for evaluating a commodity are the importance that it holds for us and the ease or rather difficulty in obtaining it. If that is indeed the case, then does it not make the happiness of a poor more valuable than the happiness of a rich.

The other day, I watched a kid playing on the road side while walking past by a 'Kacchi basti'. I can't recall how he looked like. But I do remember an image of a little boy wearing nothing but shorts, his chest white with mud and many other things. I also remember his laugh while he was running.

And I also remember thinking how similar and different his happiness is with mine. Similarity lies in the state of mind at that moment- carefree, devoid of any other thoughts, living in the moment. And the difference lies in the reason that makes him happy.

How people pass their time on internet ?

Its been a long time since I last blogged. The desire of writing has mellowed down in the past few months. It is probably a reflection of the fact that I am comfortably settled in this 'job' life. Everything seems to be going smoothly. Too smoothly in fact to bother me to think about other things - which is not necessarily a good thing.

Anyways, the reason I wrote after this long was I was tired of sitting on the internet not knowing what to do. My browser always has some specific 2-3 tabs open. Some of them are either of the 3 news website that I follow: BBC News, The Hindu and CNN-IBN. But the left most is always Gmail. It seems like a kind of OCD - the left most tab always HAS to be gmail. If it isn't, life looks incomplete - seriously !

So, I had almost exhausted most of the news articles. I had checked all the 'updates' on my Facebook account, read few cricket articles on Cricinfo. What else can I do ? Its not a rhetorical question by the way. I would actually like to know how people spend their time on internet. I might be missing on some of the good things out there.

A big dustbin



Do we have any garbage management plans in this country? I am wondering whether the effort that I put up in locating a dustbin for my trash is worth it. Does the garbage thrown in the  dustbin and thrown on a railway track end up at the same place. In this case that place is railway track of course. I have seen so many  instances when the sweeper on the railway station empties the bin on the tracks itself.



We Indians have a very poor sense of cleanliness. For us, it means keeping our immediate surrounding clean. Few minutes ago a woman sitting on the berth above me cleaned her seat, put all that garbage in a polythene and just dropped it below. It seems as if other person's right to neat and clean surroundings is oblivious to them.



To certain extent all of us are party to these crimes. There is always a  place in the neighbourhood where all the garbage is thrown. That way our homes are clean but what about our surroundings.

In the foreign countries that I have visited, garbage is separated by each individual into the disposable and non-disposable groups. Some other countries have very high rate of recycling of non-disposable waste. I would love to see something like this in India as well. I feel such a guilt in throwing a paper and a broken bulb in the same bin. With the population that we have, we may soon turn this country into a big waste land.

Gilli-danda

Few days ago when I was in Tagore Garden in Delhi, I saw a group of  young children playing gilli-danda. I watched them for sometime and was able to deduce some of the rules of the game after watching them
play for sometime.



It was such a pleasant surprise watching them  play the game. It definitely reminded me of some of the games I played during my childhood like 'sitoliya' and few others whose name I can't even recall now.

A dinner at fort

Not many things can beat the charm of a fort at night. I was in Jodhpur this weekend. The two of us went to the Mehrangarh fort at night and had dinner at the roof of one of the Mahals with nothing but candles and yellow light at distance to alight the surroundings.

The restaurant – Chokelao - serves only Rajasthani thali in the main course. For starters there are few other options. The service is not the best in the world. In fact for the first 10 minutes, the 2 of us were left waiting at the roof. A vegetarian thali costs around Rs 600, a bit on the higher side for a place like Jodhpur but still reasonable in comparison to the expensive restaurants in Delhi and Gurgaon.

 

But if you consider the view that the place has to offer, I would consider it a very good bargain. From the elevation of the fort which is itself built on a hill, you can see the lights of Jodhpur in one direction only to be matched by the majestic walls and the roof top of the fort on the other. When visiting just remember to take a good camera to capture the pics of the fort at night. I am sure you would not be disappointed by what the place has to offer.

Reasons why I think I had an awesome childhood

1. In all the different schools that I studied, there was no holiday homework given which meant I could actually enjoy my summer holidays and not have to worry about writing one page of essay everyday or solving the recap exercises of my Maths book. Every summers mother, sister and I used to go and visit our Nana-Nani, accompanied by cousins of our age, playing hide and seek in our maternal house.

2. Going to my hometown every Diwali. Jains celebrate Diwali as an occasion when Mahavir attained Nirvana. On the morning of Diwali, everyone in the family (actually all the Jains in that town) used to go out to offer Coconut Laddus in the different temples (there are 6-7 of them). And on the next day - Rama Shama - my grandfather, father, sister and I used to visit different acquaintances. Those were the days when my sister and I used to judge a household by the sweets that they serve. There were brownie points for those serving chocolates. We use to sleep on the roof every night, sometimes counting stars, wishing for the tall neem tree in the next house to sway and waking up in the mornings to see other people sleeping on their roofs. Sometime, we my grandfather used to give a glass of wheat to me and my sister which we then used to feed to the pigeons wishing they would come in numbers and getting disappointed when they didn't.

3. There were play grounds near the houses that I lived in. This may not sound as a reason for which I should actually go to lengths as writing a post. But when I see our metros, I see apartments, offices, club houses, community centers, malls but never a play ground. A place where you can go along with your friends, play some sport, engage in some petty quarrels and come back home, all sweaty. I still remember the days when I use to go to the playground every evening and play football or cricket.

4. I never went to tuitions. Thus at home, I could read those lessons of  History or Geography which were, as told by our teachers, not in the course. Or could read those stories of Hindi and English textbooks that I really enjoyed reading. It also meant that I didn't have to read Physics, Chemistry or Maths everyday - one reason which helped preserved my interest for these subjects.

5. I didn't have mobile phones and internet as companions. Thus, I had all the time in the world to myself. It also meant that to complete an assignment of General Knowledge, I had to actually take out old newspapers and read through the news.

6. I got a chance to travel across India - an advantage that you enjoy when your father is working for a PSU. Those trips really make for some of the most vivid and vibrant memories that I have of my childhood. Whether it was walking through a wooden house in Shilong, or standing at Kanyakumari and watching the water in different colours,  or sitting on a beach in Trivandrum and watching a sunset or walking through the Cellular Jail in Port Blair or playing in pristine, untouched shallow waters of Andaman or standing in front of a giant Golden statue of Buddha at Rajgiri, I remember it all.

Contradictions of India

Read this news in The Times of India - National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) has recommended to raise the income limit of "creamy layer" for OBCs from 4.5L to 9L per annum.

In a country where poverty level has been set at an individual income of Rs 32 per day, a family income of 4.5 lakh was not considered sufficient for defining who should be considered "backward" enough to be eligible for the quota benefits.

What is it ? A new attack on our sensibilities !

If disaster strikes..

I am watching Day After Tomorrow, one of those disaster movies in which earth has been struck by one of those disasters which has wiped much of the mankind. And suddenly a thought comes to my mind. If something like that really happens and few among the mankind needs to be evacuated to start a civilization again, then who will be the ones who would be saved.

Scientists would definitely make the cut. Then there would be some doctors and engineers. There might be some lawyers and philosophers to establish a rule of law. There could be some bankers, accountant and economists to establish a monetary system and enable the exchange of goods and services. There might also be some farmers - growing a vegetation is not all that an easy task. There could also be some athletes to produce genetically resistive species. There would certainly be some politicians and that to for two reasons. Firstly, people might think that they would need a leader for a new start. And secondly and more importantly, these would actually be the people calling the shots for this evacuation mission.

But would there be a consultant? Probably. To ensure that best practices are followed :P

Another Rangoli

It started in 4th year of my college when I participated in a Rangoli competition for the first time. And since then I have been participating in a Rangoli competition once every year. I participated in my fifth year and have done so after coming in Gurgaon.

My company organizes a Diwali party every year few days before Diwali. As a part of celebration the entire staff is divided into different teams and each team is then given a space in the office which they have to decorate. Side by side few members of the team work on Rangoli. A winner is then declared in the end based on the points earned in Rangoli making and pod decoration. This year and also the last year, I participated in Rangoli competition. This is the rangoli that my 3 colleagues and I made this year.

The theme that my team chose this year was "Angry Birds". For those of you don't know what it is its a (pretty addictive) video game played on touch screen devices. The story of the game is that the pigs have stolen the eggs from the birds and the 'angry' birds then take their revenge by breaking the homes of the pig. By the way, does any of the birds actually look angry?

Anyways, we did win the first prize in rangoli this year and I hope this streak of participating in rangoli competition doesn't break. It really feels nice to just stand back and look at what you have made once you are done.

Gurgaon - Really the millennium city ?

Before I was moving to Gurgaon, a relative of mine said Gurgaon is India's America. To be fair to that relative, one can be misled to think that if he/she is going from Delhi to Jaipur passing through National Highway 8 where all the fancy buildings lie. But after having lived here, the only comparison (which is admittedly exaggerated) that I would make is with the America before Columbus discovered it. And I am sure the native Americans with their arrows, spears and feather dress (pardon the stereotype) would still be more civilized than a typical coarse, uncouth native of Gurgaon. All it takes to uncover this is a left right turn into the city from one of the exits.

I am super miffed these days. Gurgaon -the city with countless malls, out of place residential buildings with inexplicable Mughal domes and names taken from American counties, depleting green belts, expensive autos driven by people with no respect for the traffic rules(which I am sorry to say is something that reflects the behaviour of most of the natives), a virtually non-existent public transport system.

But none of them is the cause for this burst of frustration. What is irking me these days is the state of roads, which I can safely say is the most pathetic among all the cities that I have lived in. With literally no drainage facility, many of the roads have been converted into puddles in this monsoon season. This in turn causes traffic jams on the crossroads. Given the fact that Gurgaon generates a large chunk of revenue for the Haryana government, what surprises me is the government's apathy to this most basic infrastructure support that they are supposed to provide.

The differences between a city that has grown over many decades and the city that has grown over the past 5-6 years become very clear here. New sectors are being planned on the land which until few years back was used for agriculture.  But the city authorities have failed to catch up with the private builders when it comes to development. I am not sure how much revenue they make from such land deals but somebody has to be made accountable for this. Either the authorities or the developers who have been making unlimited profits from these deals.

Finally Parents Met

The parents finally met. She, her parents and her sister came to my house and met my parents and my sister. She was looking gorgeous as she always does when she wears a sari. 

And probably for the first time, I saw her shying. That was not something which she forced upon herself (given the facts that Indian brides are expected to act shy in front of their in-laws). It was spontaneous and something which looked out of her control. No matter how much I like her for her forthrightness, it felt so good to see her in that avatar – the one of an obedient and abiding daughter-in-law.

There are 2 occasions of that day which I remember very distinctly. Not long after she and her family had come and settled, I looked at her and I found her looking downwards, attentively listening to the ongoing conversations, and for a change not saying anything. The expressions on her face were just plain simple. She was just nodding her head after every statement. It was closest to how I would describe innocence if asked by someone.

Later in the evening, she, my sister and I went to the Bandstand in Bandra (our parents had suggested that place so that we can spend some time out). We 3 were sitting on a wall when she spotted some birds in the sky. She then said how she wished she could be like them. While saying this, she was swaying her legs. She looked like a kid. A kid draped in a sari or rather caged in a sari – puerile and pristine.

Anyways, things went okay. Parents have approved of us being together and have given us time to pursue things we want before we decide to settle down and marry. I could not have expected for anything more or better and can only thank our parents for gifting us this life.

Observational power in girls

I might not be the most suitable person to write a post on girls and their observational powers but I still feel I have seen enough of it to actually turn my own observations into a post.

Girls in general have an immense power to notice and remember even the most minute details. This I think is the outcome of the heightened awareness of the surroundings which itself arises from the need to remain alert at all times. They notice everything from your unconscious habits to the kind of dress that you wear. They notice the way you walk, the way you talk and even the way you avoid talks.

They observe, ruminate and remember.Ask a girl that you know well, to tell 5 things unique to you. And I am sure that she would. She might even tell some things which you didn't even know about yourself and which you would start noticing from that point onwards. But ask the same thing to a boy and you would find him clueless (the later situation can particularly lend you some trouble if the asker is a girl).

Rabbits are hungry

Just stop here for a moment. What does the heading suggest you? What things would come in your mind if I write nothing and just stop here? Does the heading have any philosophical interpretations? Does it look like that Nirvana song which doesn't seem to make any sense when you read the lyrics but nonetheless create an enigma because of the very fact that someone somewhere spent some valuable write creating them and thus should be something meaningful and significant? In any case, just give your imagination a rest. Its not something philosophical.

While I was away from my city for two weeks, my flatmates brought home 2 rabbits. Now one of the things that I don't like at my home is animals littering around (yes, even the rabbits). I admire animals but only from a distance. And I dislike it when the get touchy.

From the day that I came back till today, these rabbits just run around from the mere sight of me which is very much to my liking. But today, as the fate would have it, all other flatmates were out of the house leaving me alone with them. At night came a call from one of them asking me to feed them carrots that they have purchased for the rabbits.

So I went into the kitchen, took some carrots and approached the baskets in which they are kept. When I opened the basket, one of them just jumped out and ran while the other one stayed. I gave few pieces of the carrot to the one in the basket and chased the other one to give him some pieces. But he kept running. To cut this long (and apparently boring) description short, at the end of the entire ordeal, I fed both of them, return back to my room and closed the door.

After few minutes, I came out again to find the rabbits waiting for me. They came near me to smell me, to tickle me with my whiskers and their hair.

So the point behind writing all this - even the animals appreciate the gestures. Not that it is something new but still reading it in the books and witnessing it in person is a different thing altogether. And while it still hasn't made me any more animal friendly, I for a starter have started appreciating the bond that can exist between the humans and the animals.

This blog is active again

This end of the month, I will complete 10 months in my job - my first job. A general laziness has set in once I entered this phase. It is so much more convenient to come home and not do anything but watch TV and occasionally read a book. Off late, even the weekends have been passing just like that. And in between all this, I just abandoned my beloved blog.

But not anymore. This blog is going to be active again. I am not going to be lazy now(at least not in this regard). While in college there were so many things to write about. These days, even with supposedly more happening and vibrant life, I write nothing. All those hours in the office in front of laptop can cumulatively make your mind numb.

But not anymore. No matter what my engagements are, I will again indulge in the things that I like, the things that make me happy, the things that give me a sense of completion.

So do watch this space for some regular posts from now on.