Biking in Bali!

One of the first things we did on arriving in Bali was to sign up for the Batur cycling tour. Little did I know what I was getting into. Done with the booking formalities, we were told to be ready in the hotel lobby at around 9am on the appointed day. We were taken in a minivan along with a Japanese family - a husband, wife and two young children, both below 10 years on a longish drive.

The drive itself was enjoyable - we took winding roads through Balinese villages, listened to streams gurgling and cut through lush tropical forests and green rice fields. On our way, we passed villages that sold Balinese handicrafts - masks, wind chimes, statues and figurines, batik and ikat (yes, Bali has a flourishing Ikat industry and the woven material looks like the Sambalpuri material that we see in India) and all kinds of knick knacks.....

Mount Batur at a distance - don't miss the black lava!

Lake Batur in the background

The drive took us to a hotel which gave us a panoramic view of the volcano, Mount Batur and the adjoining Batur Lake. You can feel a nip in the air at the hotel. Mount Batur is over 5000 feet high and you can clearly see signs of its last eruption, which happened in 2000, in the form of a river of black lava right along the slope of the volcano. It periodically shows volcanic activity and such activity is constantly monitored.You can trek up the volcano if you are adventurous enough. Lake Batur on the other hand, exudes serenity. It is considered a good source of fish and you notice indigenous fishing apparatus near the shores of the lake. What stands out is the greenery all around the volcano and the lake and I must admit, it is a treat to the eyes. We were treated to a light breakfast of Balinese items - many of which reminded me of old Kerala snacks eaten many years ago and since forgotten. Refreshed after sipping flavourful Balinese coffee, we were ready for our adventure. We were introduced to our guide who went by the name "Skinny" and had a cheerful and happy air about himself. He gave us our initial instructions and led us to the minivan which was to take us to the starting point of the cycling tour. Back in the van, I felt a churn of emotions as we were led closer to what could end up as a test for my fitness and endurance.

At the starting point, we were greeted by a line of cycles in different sizes. The guide helped us to our own bikes, helmets, riding gloves and water bottles. He gave us the riding and safety instructions to follow for the trip, repeating some of them for added emphasis. I was surprised to see the two Japanese children all kitted for the 26 km ride along with their parents. How many Indian parents would allow this?

Ready, steady, go......

The 26 kilometer long ride was mostly downhill and or on flat plains. It felt easy and nice as we went on village roads, mostly well covered with tarmac and a few, potholed. We jostled with hens and stray dogs for space on narrow paths. We passed by lush green paddy fields, waiting to be harvested. We crossed groups of school children walking to school in the villages and on mobikes in the towns. The workers in the paddy fields were mostly elderly men and women. Villagers of all age groups sitting by the roadside, waved and cheered us along. The sound of gushing water in the streams that border the rice fields was music to the ears.

We made a few stops during the tour. The first one was on a bamboo plantation where the guide explained to us about the varieties and the ways in which this grass was used extensively in Bali. So, it was bamboo leaves for making offering baskets, bamboo poles as scaffolding, bamboo for construction, young bamboo shoots in cooking and so on..... Then, we took a dirt road which led us to a Balinese farm - small areas which had mixed crops - pepper vines, cocoa bushes, papaya trees, orange bushes, arecanut palms - all growing side by side in no particular order. The farm also had a few cows. I was left wondering how similar the Balinese fields were to the ones in Kerala, in terms of the size of the farm as well as in terms of the crops grown. The next stop was by the side of a village temple. It was one of the larger ones that I had seen in Bali - but similar in terms of architecture and layout. We could not enter the temple since we were not appropriately dressed. Our next stopover was a typical Balinese house - complete with its own temple, a house for the grandparents (pretty dilapidated), the parents' home (much used) and the new and fancy house for the younger occupants (swanky, ornate and somewhat tastelessly done). We could see the animal barns on the rear side of the house as well as the wood fired kitchen still in use. We were treated to some freshly made sticky rice crisps and they tasted yummy. The house obviously belonged to a rich man and it had a rice granary to show for his prosperity.

Balinese coffee plant and beans

Entrance to a village Pura (temple)

The last stretch of the adventure turned out to be the most difficult - there were some six uphill climbs to negotiate. The first one was difficult but the remaining ones turned out to be easier as the technique to maneuver them became obvious. The cycling expedition ended with lunch where we were treated to items from local Balinese cuisine in a restaurant overlooking a paddy field.

Entrance to a Balinese home

Lush green paddy fields.....

Bicycle carrier!

The bicycle ride turned out to be very memorable. Besides opening up to me unknown facets of Balinese life, it got me to appreciate local values and beliefs. It gave me a glimpse of day to day living on the island as it exists now or perhaps, how it existed many years ago. For someone like me who can be considered minimally fit, it was a fitting outdoor adventure. Sore and painful legs and a sunburnt body notwithstanding, it is a trip that I would recommend to all my friends who are eager to take in Bali - in the raw. At the end of the tour, it didn't seem like the twenty six kilometers that it claimed to be. And, what better motivation than to have two young ladies cycle the entire distance, without a whimper.

Rice fields, again.....

My Sunny Balcony!!!

My apartment has a balcony that faces the East. At first, rays of the golden sun stream in through trees and buildings that stand in front of the balcony. Soon the entire balcony is enveloped in yellow.

Over the last 10 years, I have tried to make my balcony green. As we moved in to the apartment, I lugged flower pots that I had acquired from our days in Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad. I was apprehensive about having enough space to line up my collection but fortunately, they all fitted pretty well.

I have a couple of ferns in my balcony. They are pretty sturdy and grow well in the balcony. You can bring them inside the house once in a while and they provide an instant makeover for the room. I use cuttings from the ferns every now and then to add the zing to my flower arrangements.

The plant on the right here taught me a thing about maintaining plants. Being fed with "pure" reverse osmosis water for many years, it refused to flower. Then one fine day I requested my help to use normal tap water and as if to acknowledge my decision, the plant flowered soon after. Frangipani, it is in miniature, I think. They have a strong identity of their own and can stand on their own any time.

Anthuriums - very tough to grow on a balcony - and very pretty when in flower. I am yet to master the technique to make sure there are plenty of flowers through the year and for some reason, the flowers always appear limp in my balcony.

Of late, I have been adding to my collection of small potted plants. I find that they are easy to move around and they can easily be shifted to add to the decor of our apartment. Besides, these days, one can find very interesting containers and I have grown fond of making a collection of them too.

That is my green corner. It has a variety of plants - all indoor varieties. The corner is cosy and looks like an evergreen patch in my sunny balcony. I sometimes let the creepers trail on the balcony wall and they do make a beautiful picture. Recently when we painted our apartment, we were forced to pull down the creepers. I like the wrought iron furniture that I have in the balcony. And, I make sure that the furniture always have colourful upholstery to provide the contrast. Please do not miss the mask hanging on the wall. Gifted by dear friends, it has found its perfect place in my little forest.

Mother-in-law's tongue, this plant is called. I do not see any connection. It is hardy and pretty easy to grow. They easily outgrow the container and have to be repotted. They have a graceful look and I like the lines that these tough leaves make.

Here is another nice green plant which can allowed to creep on walls, on moss sticks or just along the ground. I like the freshness in the green of this plant. Again, a very hardy plant, it is easy to grow and you can use cuttings of this plant and multiply them easily. I have seen people grow this plant in a water medium and it looks very classy.

This plant adds some colour to my green balcony. The purplish-maroon leaves are pretty to look at. Again, this is a plant that can add to the atmosphere in any room. It looks majestic but does not overpower with its presence when kept in the living area.

Here's my attempt at making a terrarium! It ended up being anything but a terrarium. I have a habit to collect pebbles from places I go to. Once when I got back from a river rafting trip in the Ganges, I had a bagful of pebbles collected from the sacred river. The security staff at the airport were amused at what I was lugging several thousands of kilometers. My son always brings at least one pebble from the places he visits and my collection continues to grow..... The cement plant holder has cacti, aloe vera and a thorny plant. These plants flourish in Chennai's heat making sure that there is always some greenery in the balcony. I have kept two wooden ducks that I got from a speaking engagement in the container. It is a little sad but the ducks get very little water.

 I have a Tulsi in my balcony. I think it will add to the good vibes in our apartment. However, I have learnt that the Tulsi plant is quite temperamental. It grows well but wilts all of a sudden. So, this is my nth plant and I get a regular supply of tiny Tulsi plants from my mother's garden. I hope to have a traditional Tulsi container one day - one with Lakshmi on one side and a lamp holder on the other. I am still looking for the ideal one!!!

I have one hanging plant - the common money plant. It appears to be growing well. I hope it will one day, grow till it touches the ground. I have a smiling sunny face hung from a springy wire which was picked up from the footpath in Warsaw. And, you can see one of the two mirrors that I have placed on the balcony. This one was from presented to me by my assistant after a trip to Rameshwaram. It has a frame made of sea shells. The other mirror adorns the opposite wall and has a terracotta frame made by the famous potter from Kerala, Jinan.

I owe this green balcony to two people - Shekhar, who drops in once a month to tend to the plants. He changes the soil, adds manure, loosens the mud around the plants, repots them as required and makes sure that they are all in good nick. Prem Singh waters the plants regularly although he does err every now and then when he overwaters them. I love the greenery and hope the plants will stay green forever!!!

Passport pains.....

Summer holidays were approaching and we were considering holiday options. A holiday abroad did seem like a good idea. Which meant research had to be done, tickets and hotels booked and passports readied..... It dawned on us that our son's passport would expire in the last week of March and our own passports would run short of pages for the forthcoming holiday abroad. So, off we started the work on renewing our passports..... Renewal of our son's passport was the priority. Additional pages could wait for our return from our vacation - we could just about manage with what we had.

We had heard that the Passport Offices across the country had been computerized so we felt a high degree of optimism about getting our passports renewed rather easily and quickly. Our enthusiasm and positiveness was short lived as we found out otherwise over the following days and weeks. Here is our own story......

It all started with three faces peering into our respective computer screens to read the instructions for renewal of our passports. Don't know if it was an Indian quirk but all three of us ended up with different interpretations of what was required of us for the process of renewal. For one, our son had turned 15 in end February which meant that he would be eligible for a passport with a 10 year validity. However, the website did offer the possibility of having it renewed for just 5 years with lesser documentation. So, we opted for the latter. As for additional pages, the website does not differentiate the procedure for this from that required for a renewal on expiry of the term so we had to go all the way as if it were a regular renewal.

Armed with knowledge that we gathered independently from the website, we completed the form available online and arrived at the Passport office at around 11am on the appointed (by ourselves) day. We were shocked to be received by a sea of people in different queues lined up all over the office - in corridors, on stairways, beyond the entrance - snaking rows of Indian citizens, in their quest for that powerful document. The document that would give them an identity as a citizen, the document that would enable them to fly across the seven seas, the document that would make them stand out as an Indian in far away lands. There were toddlers and senior citizens, mothers with babes in arms, husbands with wives, families, students seeking higher qualifications, sole breadwinners seeking brighter opportunities, professionals looking for better careers, devout in preparation of a religious journey and so on..... We had not anticipated this. After all, we had imagined that the systems had been computerised and hopefully, streamlined to reduce such crowds and bring in appropriate efficiency into the administering the process. Surveying the office premises and the crowds that had gathered there, we made a few enquiries and decided to head back home. On the way, we argued about what could have been done better or differently and ended up having one of those inconclusive and pointless discussions that families often have. We also spoke about taking assistance for getting the passports renewed, from an agent with the requisite experience to traverse Indian officialdom.

Having made some crucial decisions, we approached a local travel agent operating from a dingy office close to our home. Family members had on previous occasions taken help from the agent for booking airline tickets (at a time when online portals were absent from our lives) and had spoken about their efficiency and responsiveness. Armed with whatever documents we had prepared, we sat down to hear the lady at the desk issue a set of instructions. She spoke with an air of authority, with no emotion, as if the process had been etched in her brain so deeply that she could rattle it off even when in deep slumber. She did not pause to take questions, she fished out papers from here and there to show us examples of formats and wrote down simultaneously on a sheet of paper the list of documents and items required for the renewal process. Through her explanation we realised that the online process was actually restricted to 1) getting an appointment for a particular day for submitting your papers and 2) for taking a print out of the passport application form. Phew! That was a big revelation......

Considering we had attempted to complete the renewal application form ourselves, we were armed with several documents that were to be submitted along with the application form. For the additional documents, we all had to scramble for the next couple of days. My son had to get a bonafide certificate from his school along with an identity card. My husband had to call his friend who was a well placed officer in the Revenue Department asking for a Verification certificate and I was left to handle inputs like birth certificate, bank passbook, old passports, referrals, demand drafts, etc. We worked as a team and the documents required for the applications were lined up for scrutiny in front of little Miss Efficient at the travel agency. She compiled the documents in proper order, double checked for completeness and made a bundle of each.

Tatkal facility which involved a higher fee but a quicker turnaround of the process for reissue of the new passports.

As we stood in the queue, we made friends with people who were ahead of and behind us. They spoke of their experiences with the passport application process. We exchanged notes on what we heard of the process that awaited us. We spoke of the need to privatise the Passport Office. We discussed the inefficiencies of the government in providing basic citizens' services. It was the story that most Indians could relate to or had heard for years now. We spoke about our families, our work, our homes, our children and our backgrounds.....

We were waiting in this queue for a token to be affixed on our application form which would serve to put us in sequential order for a brief appointment with a staff at the office to whom we had to submit the application. No government office opens before 9.30am in India. And, given the punctuality record of government staff, it would be 10 by the time they appeared at their seats for carrying out their duties. There was a commotion around 10am followed by an expansion (people resting on ledges nearby joined the queue) and then contraction of the queue (early arrivers were released with stickers on the forms) which indicated that the token issuer had arrived and was at work. It was a rather quick process and we were allotted token numbers C 26 and 27. Please note that all along one had to contend with people who crossed the queue or interrupted the progress of the queue by posing sundry questions to anyone willing to provide an answer besides security staff who performed duties that went beyond providing for the safety and security of the visitors to the office premises.

During our 3 hour long wait, we had been told that the sequence number would roughly indicate the likely time of day when we could be called for the interaction with the passport official. Making a quick estimate of the wait time, we decided to step out of the office, get some fresh air and treat ourselves to breakfast at a nearby cafeteria. In no hurry to get back to the office and with time on our hands, we ordered well and enjoyed the meal.

We got back to the office for another wait which lasted close to an hour before we saw our token number flash on an electronic board. We submitted our papers and eagerly answered questions posed by the lady at the counter. To us she seemed intent on finding fault with the application and the information furnished. She had a pen with red ink which she used to scribble on the application. Every scribble felt like a wound. She found a couple of items overlooked in our application which she wanted us to redo. She directed us to some other office for confirmation of certain details. But importantly, she returned both applications confirming that they were not ready to be accepted for processing. The heart sank...... Through all of the cursory scan of our application, the lady was interrupted several times by other applicants who shouted out their queries and doubts from the side, her cellphone which she answered time and again and lastly by her colleagues who had very important information to convey from time to time. She was impatient to answer our queries, snapped when we tried to get more clarity on what was expected and raised her voice when we were persistent. It was close to 12.30pm by now and the crowds, the heat and the dust, the unhelpful attitude of the staff besides the process itself were beginning to hurt.

Gathering my self, I decided on the next course of action. Handing over my son's application form to my husband, I instructed him on what needed to be done to make sure we submitted it on the same day itself. He proceeded to act on it while I moved to another queue to make the payment for the renewal fees on my application. Now that queue was longish too but it gave me time to collect my thoughts on the next course of action. After a relatively short wait, I was able to deposit the fee and get an acknowledgment for my application form. At least one task was completed on that day.

I waited for my husband to return after what he had been assigned to do. He called me to inform me that he would be done in a few minutes and I took a place in the queue again to resubmit the application. I once again handed the documents over to the lady at the desk. I pointed out that all she had asked for was addressed, repeated that this was a routine renewal application with no change in details from the earlier passport, trying hard to make her see that it was a straightforward case for renewal. She seemed willing to listen this time round, made some marks in red ink again on the application before transferring it to the office file for processing. Having gone through the process before, I asked my son to hurry across to the queue for the payment of the renewal fees. As it happened, the counter closed for lunch just as my son stretched his arm to submit the fee against this application. We had to wait another half hour for the staff to return from lunch before the fee was accepted and a receipt returned to us. It was 2.30pm by then.

8 hours for mere submission of the two applications. And, then the wait for the passports began. It has been Tatkal applications so we have been told that the renewed passports would be dispatched in a fortnight's time.

We returned tired and broken at the end of the exercise. Every time I mentioned our experience to a friend, he or she would tell me that they spent only about half an hour in all at the Passport office. Or, that I should have mentioned of the renewal to them and they would have put me in touch with so and so.....

I wonder if and what we had done wrong.... Could it have been avoided? If so, what would we had to do? And, at what cost?

As I think through these questions, I wait for the postman who will bring our new passports......

Thinking about Stuff

Ever since I left my job, I have been going through and sorting out stuff every now and then....

Stuff, that has been collected over the last 40 plus years. Stuff, that have been boxed and put away in the loft. Stuff, that has been gathering dust. Stuff, that has been lying untouched and unseen. Stuff, that has been forgotten. Stuff, that had been bought on a whim. Stuff, that was gifted on an occasion. Stuff, that was picked up as souvenir during a visit. Stuff, that reminds you of an incident that has been quietly tucked away in the corner of your memory. Stuff, that evokes a lot of emotion. Stuff, that makes you cringe. Stuff, that has been kept aside for the future. Stuff, that you need to work on one day. Stuff, that you thought you had lost or consumed. Stuff, that you feel like giving away. Stuff, that you want to discard. Stuff, that will make place for some other stuff. Stuff, that makes you feel stuffy at home........

Strangely, encountering all these stuff reminded me of my own mortality.... I calculated at the back of my mind that I had enough of certain things to last my lifetime. And, some (in good measure) that would outlive me and probably, my son too. There was a lot of stuff that would be useful for someone else. And, there definitely was loads of stuff that had to be simply thrown away.......

Which leads me to the questions:

• Do I know, remember and care for all the things that I already have?
• What is it that I really need?
• How much do I need?
• Is there someone who needs it more than me?

And, that will make one less thoughtless consumer in the country........and, I am happy in that thought!

Sumptuous Buffett!!!!

The "Oracle of Omaha" is visiting India these days. He invited his customers for a free lunch and urged more to buy his products if they wanted to listen to him. He visited Taegu Tec, the low profile tool maker that he has invested in, while in Bangalore. Customary meetings with the Chief Minister and government officials followed. And soon, he along with close friends Bill Gates, will speak to rich folks in India to influence them to make pledges to give away their wealth in charity. Overwhelmed with the hospitality that he received in India, he said, "They treat me much better in India than they do in the United States."

Warren Buffett, aged 80, has been the only good news in the Indian media for the last few days. The blitzkrieg unleashed in Libya, the noise over the Wiki leaks revelations, the upcoming assembly elections, the poor display by India at the World Cup have made for a generally depressing morning newspaper read. In the midst of all this gloom, I found Buffett a refreshing change. His words were very pithy and yet so wise. He had a unassuming manner about him. He spoke in a self effacing manner at most times. He seemed to give little credence to "one of the wealthiest in the world" status. This was all in the face of wide eyed reporters (who seem to know everything) and all knowing stock analysts (who seem to be able to predict everything)....

I have been mostly amused and somewhat tickled by some of things that this gent said. "I am a retard for coming to India so late", he said as reporter after reporter quizzed him on his investment plans in India. So, where did all the brains for those marvellous investment decisions come from? He further added, "I don’t have to be smart about everything; I didn’t deliver my wife’s baby!" He definitely did not see himself as an all knowing guru that people were making him out to be....and note, he came to the interview carrying a can of Coke, the company he has earned much from.....that's what you call - putting your money where your mouth is!!!

In response to questions about his philanthropy, he merely said, "Money has no value to me but has value to other people so it makes sense to give it away." He added, "Personally, I would much prefer not to be born rich. I would like to be born with "certain talents" that are useful to the society so that I would lead a good life." So, money did not matter much to him too.....

When eager beaver investors and stock brokers asked for tips on investing, he responded, "The best investment one can do is to invest in yourself. The more you understand yourself, the better is your judgment." Now, that was an answer none in the investing community would have ever expected! He also blunt trigger happy investors with sage advice - "Invest in what you understand...don't go outside your circle of confidence...don't just buy and sell." To add to that he had the gall to come to Bangalore and say that he did not invest in Information technology because he understood very little of it, adding that he had a mere 100 shares in his best friend's company, Microsoft. And, when questioned on the rationale behind his recent purchase of a chemical company, Lubrizol, for a whopping USD 9.7 billion, he said in a rather matter of fact manner that as long as goods had to be produced, machines would be required and as long as machines needed to work, there was a need for lubricants to keep them functioning smoothly...... simple, isn't it?

On a slightly sombre note, reflecting on his success, he said, "I have been enormously lucky. I had very, very lucky genes. I was born in 1930, a 'wonderful time' to be born in. Had I been born in a different society and also as a black, I would not have same chances." 1930 - a wonderful time to be born? Ask anyone who lived in the United States in that year, they would never agree with him what with the Great Depression looming large........soon to be followed with World War II. And, he trailed off......."Life's about planting trees for others." Wonderful sentiment......

Still unhappy with him for not generating the "breaking news" kind of sound bites, our media men prodded him further to share the most interesting aspect of his life and all he said was, "And so far as I can tell -- after being a parent -- it's the most gratifying job on earth." Lovely thought!

Buffett is the man after my own heart......he brings good and simple values to the fore and highlights the importance of commonsense, which seems to be in short supply these days.

Attending an Unconference

Have you attended an Unconference? Well, I did.......

Trawling through the Internet one lazy Saturday afternoon, I stumbled upon an invitation to attend an Unconference being organised by ChennaiCityConnect (CCC). Curious and jobless as I was, I registered as a participant. And, it turned out to be a fun experience.......

CCC (www.chennaicityconnect.com) is a non governmental agency working to bring together various stakeholders involved in dealing with the challenges of being a rapidly growing city. The organization aims to bring together, on a single platform, different bodies that are working for the improvement of the city - laudable goal!

To highlight the issues of urban transportation, all participants were asked to use public transportation to reach the Indira Nagar MRT station. I decided to trek to the venue. I left home at 2pm for the station, an umbrella in hand to protect against the blazing sun (and undesirable fellow walkers and unpalatable city sights!) towards the metro station. Through most of the 2 plus km long trek, I was surprised to note that the road was flanked by reasonably wide footpaths. But, the footpath was hardly available for the use of the pedestrian - it was unevenly laid (or rearranged) in several parts, occupied by vendors selling this and that, converted into a home by a group of gypsies, covered with rubble from nearby construction and of course, used a lavatory......But the good news was - there was a footpath through almost three quarters of the distance that I walked. Now, that I am told is good news for urban planners and transportation managers. Space has already been set aside for the poor pedestrian.......we only need to give the space back to whom it belongs.....

What waited for me at the Indira Nagar MRT station was not something that I was prepared for. I followed the neon sign board indicating the station entrance only to be led into a vacant hall, with broken windows, rusty grills, puddles of water, row of clothes being dried and a heap of construction material. The cobwebs and the streams of light added to the effect! I mustered courage to walk through the wide corridors to find the real entrance to the station. It was surprisingly cleaner and better maintained and the escalators to the train station were actually working! Now, it must be mentioned here that the Indira Nagar MRT station will bag the first place for the most ugly building in Chennai. It almost seems like the builders were called to war at short notice and left the building incomplete as they went away to attend to more pressing matters. So you will see steel rods used for its construction jutting out in every single direction and the bricks left uncemented - well, could make for some interesting city art!

After gathering at the station, we were to proceed to an office across the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Road (we definitely suffer the leadership vacuum - not too many names to choose from!) to the actual venue of the Unconference. We made a beeline for the sky walk (yes there is one for those who care!), including one of the participants on his cycle, to reach the other side of the road. I decided then and there - if ever I had an office on the IT Highway, the MRT would NOT be my choice of transportation!!! I would need to recover from my journey before I set out to work.....

The Unconference itself was an experience. Kiruba Shankar (www.kiruba.com), the evangelist blogger and the guru of social networking was present to anchor the event. He explained the moot idea behind an Unconference - the combined wisdom of the audience is greater than that of the presenter/ speaker. So, Unconference is all about participation. As he spoke, he pulled out of his small rucksack, various equipment for use at the Unconference - a camera with a tiny tripod to capture the proceedings for publication on the net, an audio recorder (not a microphone!) for recording the discussions, again for uploading on the net - and handed them over to the volunteers from the audience for use. He asked one person to take notes too - I suppose voice recognition is still not at a stage where paper and pencil could have been avoided! There were talks on rainwater harvesting (www.raincentre.net) and CCC's recommendations for the Chennai Metro Rail Project. Cool......this was a good example for the democratization of knowledge......everyone got an opportunity to speak! I returned home (I cheated, I took an autorickshaw for the ride back home, but come on, autos are public transport too!) feeling good about what I had heard, learned and experienced....

Resigned to reactions.........

When I decided to resign from the company where I had spent the last twelve years of my life, I did not anticipate that a decision that look rather commonplace would evoke a range of reactions......and, in fact it got me thinking of "ME" and my decision in a new light.

The overwhelming response to my decision, to my surprise, was of course, relief!!! Many of my colleagues in the firm were happy to see the beginning of the end of what was considered an unbreakable relationship. A few of them actually kept asking me, repeatedly, if it was for real and if I would stick firmly to my decision. And, in doing so, they made sure that I was unwavering in my resolve to break the tie.

There were many who were shocked. These were people who had strongly associated me with the firm and I was considered an inseparable part of the organization. I was variously referred to as antique, fixed asset, dinosaur, etc at various points of time and in their minds my identity was intertwined with that of the organization. That I could take such a decision was an impossibility for them.

There were others who were ready with opinions, suggestions, recommendations and views on what I needed to do next. Start off on your own, give up corporate life for good, go on a vacation, partner for a new venture, work for a non profit, blah blah......I was in no mood for any advice and nodded my head to all that was being suggested......

My parents had been hearing of the recession for the last several months and had come across many people who had left their jobs (taken a break!) and were cooling their heels. A few of their friends had children who were suddenly relocating to India.......and this trend was regarded suspiciously in their circle. First and foremost, my parents wanted to make sure that the decision to leave the firm was mine rather than that of my firm. Having convinced themselves of the true reason for the separation, they were worried if I would find another job in a market that was characterized by dwindling job opportunities......

My husband was ambivalent about my decision to part ways with my employer. While encouraging me to take a decision based on "merits of the case" and not get swayed by emotions, he has been flitting about in the background while I try to figure out my future.

My son is not one to show too much emotion or reaction. I cannot make out what he thinks of me and my decision and I think I am better off not delving too much into it!!!
 
My brother was only keen to know what my next port of call would be - would I look for an international posting, would there be travel, what would the pay be, would I have some awesome responsibilities....in that order!!! He seemed a bit in a hurry and completely oblivious to my need for a break!!!

My extended circle of relatives heaved a sigh of relief when they got news of my resignation. They said - it was high time - and wished I would concentrate my energies on running my home and caring for my husband and son, rather than spending time in airports, aeroplanes and foreign lands! One high flying cousin who heard of the decision rather late was aggrieved that I had beaten him to it - I have heard him talk of retirement since the time he finished management school!!!

Some of my dearest (and nearest!) friends were happy for me.....and possibly for themselves. They knew we could have more lunches together, get more cinema on working days and generally have a good time. And, the rest of them were plain angry - they asked why I was chucking it all away while the going was good.

My boss's reaction has been the most endearing. He still thinks it is a nightmare and that he will wake up to a happy ending. He firmly believes that I will return soon.......

My help at home made a face showing happiness and worry as I told him that I was jobless. I have been snooping around the kitchen and giving him grief. He does not fail to ask me everyday if I have found a job yet........

In the meanwhile, I enjoy my self imposed holiday hoping that I will discover a new ME!!!