Hi Jack, have you evolved today?

Several ideas have been invading my mind lately. Half baked ideas that are burnt coz of the humdrum outside. Today, after reading 'What's your big plan?' in Brunch, I am somewhere close to a fully baked idea. So here goes...

My friends and I, often, have these discussions about our childhood days. I shamelessly have to admit that we are old enough to have seen a 'real' transformation. Things have changed so much and so fast. We discuss and fondly remember the simple and uncomplicated 'Doordarshan' days. The neighborhood Mehtas and Kapoors would finish all the chores to bond together and share the excitement of 'Chitrahaar'. The kids hurriedly finished homeworks to watch the Wednesday movies and didn't we all hate 'Krishi Darshan'. And do you remember the Sunday 'Mahabharat' curfews, nothing so strong can drive so many people indoors these days. Needless to say, if someone important passed away, it meant all of us had to suffer. The sparse entertainment that we were blessed with would turn into melancholic mourning on the sole channel. Of course, we also remember the VCRs and the fun of visiting the neighboring video library requesting the video bhaiya to get the latest video tapes. I remember I spent a lot of my pocket money getting English songs recorded on audio cassettes. I would keep rewinding the cassette to note down the lyrics of my Backstreet Boys and Westlife songs. To a kid today reading this, I would sound insanely bizarre.

The greatest change we experienced were, of course, the computers. After my 'not so impressive' Xth board results, my dad was sweet enough to gift me a desktop. And boy, I was the queen of this world. I could spend hours on DOS and the basic DOS games. Gradually we saw Microsoft rule the world and then there was Apple. The floppies were devoured by the CDs and the CDs being devoured by the pen drives and I am sure as I write this, the pen drives are also on their way out.

We may sit and crib that all these changes have made us more individualistic and less social. But today we can't resist the googles, facebooks and more changes in the making. There is an information overload and we have more power with remotes of all kinds and now, of course, just our fingers thanks to the touchscreens.

What our schools taught us, then, is now obsolete. The jobs that we prepared for in college are passe. What we know today is driven by curiosity and more to keep up with the change. The phenomenal change we have experienced may or may not be experienced by the coming generations. But yes, one thing is for sure, change is happening real fast. We can't claim to be an expert today. Today's experts are obsolete tomorrow or maybe even today for all you know.

The jack of all trades is a reality, rather I would call it the jack of all changes. It is difficult to keep up with everything. But survival is for the one who changes and adapts equally fast. The ones at the forefront are creating the changes. So all you jacks, brace up. Happy changing and evolving.

The horror called Marriage

I chanced upon this writing I had written in 2008. Fun read, still is :)

Marriage was a horrifying idea. I thought it to be confining, restrictive and an invasion of my personal space. With paranoia for marriage, my parents could see their hope to see their only child settled being strangled. Every weekend they relentlessly searched for a potential groom to be and fixed a meeting, while I repeatedly turned them down or created a situation for the potential groom to turn me down. One failed weekend passed another and I showed no signs to surrender.

On a hot day of June while I shuttled from one meeting to another at office, I heard a pleasant voice on my phone only to discover him to be yet another prospect recently short listed by my mother. I was quick to postpone our conversation till the evening. It was only by late evening that I returned his call after mom’s insistence to do so. With our first conversation ending in a disagreement of how Sales and Marketing are different and not interchangeable terms, I expected no more calls from him. Proving me wrong, he called the next day during the lunch hour and we discussed the most bizarre foods around the world. For the next few days, our discussions ranged from anything but the topic of ‘marriage’. When it was time to meet, I joked and told him only if there will be lightening and it rains, would I know I met the right guy. Soon enough, I found myself facing a light hearted and a good looking man who passionately told me all about his trip to Europe. True to my nature, I bantered and teased and he took it all sportingly. Our conversation was as comfortable as that of two old friends meeting after a long time and sharing jokes. It was a relief not having to answer the usual daunting matrimony questions. Never did the thought of spending my entire life with this person intimidate me as it had in the past with others. We stayed there for a little longer as there really was a storm and later had started to rain.

Sumit and I got engaged after a few days and married after a few months later. Having been married for little more than a year now, we enjoy travelling extensively, sipping coffee over a serious discussion, crying together watching a movie and even searching and devouring after midnight road side food. It hardly feels like being married. It’s like living with your closest buddy, enjoying the same things together and moving with the same pace in life. And love…it follows.