Force Visit from the Tooth Fairy

In my 27 years of existence, I had never had a fracture, surgery of any kind or hospitalized for even 10 mins. Touch wood...! So it came as a surprise when I came to know that my first ever surgery of any kind would be to extract a tooth. Now I believe tooth ache is the most unbearable pain which one can endure in his/her lifetime, but I never knew that there was something such as a tooth surgery until my dentist suggested I underwent one at the earliest in order to eradicate the pain and the infection on my last molar in the lower left of my teeth structure. I had heard about root canal procedure, extraction etc , but an actual tooth surgery was unheard off till date.

So I prepared my self for 2 weeks for the D-Day which was on 3rd Nov'11. The doctor saw my discomfort and apprehension and bought me to ease straight away saying that the procedure would take only 45 to 50 mins and the entire procedure would be painless.

So we get to work. I switch on the music on my phone and settle my self in the patient's chair as the Doc and her assistants get ready for work as usual. First up an anaesthesia injection in order to numb up the entire area of the surgery. Then started the ordeal. First up a mini driller to drill a hole through the centre in order to break down the tooth since we need to remove it through its roots. Once the drill started its work, if seemed to me as if an F1 car was zooming across inside my mouth. The sound of the drill was more frightening even though I could feel an pain whatsoever and with Lady Gaga and Black eyes Pea for company I was rather enjoying the music as well as the feeling of the F1 engine inside my mouth.

However after 20 minutes of on-off F1 drilling it was time to pull the teeth out. Now this was petrifying because 2 of the assistants held my head as the doc tried her mighty best to pull of the teeth from its well entreched roots. I could here the cracking of the roots and also the force exerted on it by the doc but it just refused to budge. No this was scary since I could see the amount of strength used by 3 women to get one tooth out of my mouth. With the operation light firmly pointed into my mouth and the faces of three masked women glaring into my mouth I couldn't help but think of the irony of having 3 women focus soley on me even if it was for a mere tooth.

So after an ordeal of 40 mins, the lower tooth was drilled, broken and pulled in installments. In the end the entire tooth was ruptured and extracted out in 11-12 bits and pieces. The cavity and the extent of rotting can be comprehended by just seeing that very little of the white calcium of the teeth was visible.

Now came the googly by the doc. Here I was listening to chamak chalo on my phone, and feeling secured within, thinking that I had passed my first surgery with flying colours. at this precise moment the doc asks one of her assistance to get the needle ready for another go. I was taken aback and completely clueless, until the doc comes up with the gem: - ek par ek free. We need to extract the upper molar too, since there is no supporting teeth for the same and it will create complications in the future. So there I was, sitted on the dentist's chair, as the clock read 11.45 am , readying myself for another nerve racking extraction.

Well the second time round, it was less of F! style drilling and more of plucking. I could hear my tooth crackling and been uprooted from its roots. The sound was very similar to when a tree is uprooted from its root.

Finally with both the teeth uprooted the doc finally starts with the stitches. Now I am completed numb and actually sleepy because of the anasthesia and also the ordeal of the last 1 hour. so my reaction was one of absolute disbelief when the doc started stictching the incisions she had done to get the lower molar uprooted.

It is absolutely bizarre to witness oneself getting stiched in side the mouth and getting to feel the thread and the needle through your gums. I have to give it to these docs. They really have steady hands and also the heart to actually put a needle inside someone's mouth and stich it up.

At the end of the day, after 1 hr and 15 mins, the ordeal was over with 2 of my teeth extracted from my gums and my left cheek looking as if I had just come second best after a round with Manny Pacquio.

Well the entire surgery was an experience to cherish and remember for a lifetime. Lets pray and hope that's the only surgery I ever endure.

Courage...

Right from childhood I have been fed with stories of courage and sacrifice by the great Indian kings of old as well the freedom fighters and people who fought for India's freedom from the British.

Films depicting struggle and extreme adversities which in the end of the day is overcome by true grit and courage of the protangist has always done well at the BO, if provided the correct treatment by its makers.

Even after being exposed to stories of courage through stories, books, t.v, movies etc, I am still in a dillema as to the true meaning of courage.

Do only soldiers show courage in their day to day life? Or do sportsman show courage during a game? Well I am sure they are the most glorified of the lot...Or is courage something which social activists show while going against a corrupt minister or the government.

I believe every individual shows courage in their day to day life. For a kid it takes courage to go learn riding a bike for the first time. It takes courage for a mother to give birth to her children. It takes courage for a bachelor to change his status to married after 25 odd yrs of a carefree life.

In essense what I am saying is courage is needed in anything and everything we do...

Sometimes we need courage to go against the norm. To do what we feel is right. To go against established practises in order to bring a sense of existence in our own lives. So courage can sometime be seen as been prudent... It could be percieved as an act of arrogance by the person who exibits such courage...Or as a act of foolishness by others.

For e.g if you go against your parents, it is percieved as an act of disrespect towards them. Similarly if at work, you go against the set norms, you are considered to be an outcast. I could give numerous examples where an act of courage could be easily mistaken for a more negative adjective.

The biggest pridicament, I face right now is to decide between what I know is right for me and what people closest to me, think is right for me.

In the end I know its my decision, but the no. of people affected by that decision has an overbearing affect on me deciding on my decision. (Confusing isn't it)...

Well as of now I guess the courage lies in enduring the pain and going through the motions for a little while longer. In the end of the day, the tide has to turn sometime or the other.

The smarter thing would to wait for the tide to turn... The foolish and more courageous thing, would be to force the tide to change...

Well knowing myself, and the way things are panning out, it will be much sooner than latter that I decide on acting the fool all over again...

Bored To Death with mundane Existence

Life's back to same old death knell like it was before I went to do my MBA...:(

Working life sucks...N when you are in a job for which you have no inclination or motivation to do well, it sucks even more... There is no doubt about that what so ever.
So what makes me go to the same work place 5 days a week for an average of 12 hrs everyday to bust my ass off. What motivates me to go through this ordeal day in - day out...
Well if I had the answer, I wouldn't have been blogging...right...:)

The 16 months at AIM had filled a sense of optimism in me, that post MBa I would be able to follow my dream and realize it easily. However the situation at ground level is completely different. Getting a job itself is an arduous task now a days, so one can imagine my plight trying to make a foray in to an industry in which I have no experience what so ever, though the determination and passion to do well knows no bound.

After 16 months of (I wouldn't say arduous) learning, strategizing, implementing and understanding different marketing jargons and models, I thought I was ready to jump into the word of marketing, branding and advertising and make a huge difference in the industry.
However, I couldn't have been farther from the truth. Not only getting a foot in a marketing job is difficult at the moment I am finding it difficult to get a toe nail in to this vertical.

I just don't understand these economical forecast made by different banks, publicationsand research companies saying that India is a growing economy and there is no stopping its progress. How can I believe this hog wash when I and my peers are struggling to get a job in an industry we prefer. The only industry willing to hire and is hiring at the moment is the ITELS industry. With most of my MBA-Engineering background batchmates have found themself getting into the same set up in an IT company as a Business Associate or a Project Manager I guess only IT is fuelling India's growth engine at present.

Going back to the question of what motivates to continue with this meaningless existence is the knowledge at the back of my mind that 30th of every month my bank account will be compensated for the frustration of the preceding 30 days with a good salary to boot.
However what's the use of getting money to spend when you don't have the time to spend it. After a 12 hr routine at the work place and an avg of 7 hrs of sleep, and counting around an hr for commuting to the workplace and back, I am left with a paltry 4 hrs.

Well atleast my parents seem to be reaping the benefits of my salary at long last. However the frustration within is quite visible to them too.

So what's the solution.... Pre-MBA I would have answered- Go get an MBA and switch industries.
During MBA - The MBA has taught me so many things and enabled me to look at things differently. I have a flair for marketing; it wouldn't be difficult to land a job of my choice. After all I am empowered to choose what I want to do...lol
Post MBA- Lag gayi re waat, zindagi main...Abhi kudh ka business karneka sochna padega...Afterall I have learnt a lot in the MBA; isn't it...

What's in a domain name?

" What's in a name?" is a favourite quote from lore, that we know. However Facebook has gone a step further in order to prove us otherwise. While browsing the news I came across an article which highlighted the fact that Mark Zukerberg led company paid a whooping $ 8.5 million to American Farm Bureau Federation to own the domain name FB.com...

Well I know Facebook makes a lot of money but this is something else.$ 8.5 million on aquiring a domain name might seem like an insane investment for the risk averse but its one made with an eye on the future of the brand itself.

Just goes to show how companies in the 21st century are willing to spurge in order to uphold and enhance thier brand image at every given opportunity.

Well all I can say is that when most corporate are reacting to this news with awe, some Farm Federation in the U.S is laughing its way to the bank with this deal.

Just goes to show, money can buy you anything...Mr Obama is the recession still on in the US.
...Just checking...!!!

Death- A Reality

Its after 5 years that I am back, living in the city which has been my home since birth. Mumbai the city of dreams for many, is just home for me...Nothing more or less...
However the familiar faces which were a constant fixture in my childhood and teens are slowly but surely fading away. In the past 2 years, the faces which adorned my childhood and were a constant distraction then, have perished to the wishes of Yama (Death-God in Indian Mythology).
As a kid, I was always apprehensive of growing older. As time went by and I progressed from being a school kid to a teenager and then a engineering student and then a professional, and till date, I have this notion in my head that all of this is a dream and sooner or later I'll wake up from it and find myself playing cricket in school with my friends...wishful thinking right...
However at the same time when I was growing into a not so mature adult, my mom n dad, relatives, uncles n aunts etc were aging too... I am not sure if anyone has noticed this but we tend to disregard the ageing of people closest to us while we are growing.
I used to think that my mom n dad would never age and my dad will be the superman he was 12-15 years back...(not that he isn't now at 72...)
But with reality sinking in now, and the constant reminder of the near and dear ones losing their battles with life, it frightens me to even think of the future.
However it is destiny and when the time comes a person has to embrace it no matter what. I just wish all the souls who have left for a better place, a peaceful abode....

Chennai Likes n Dislikes

Last weekend i.e from 1st Oct'10 to 6th Oct'10, I paid a short visit to my friends Sambit, Rajdeep, KK, Saumya, Amrita and Sid Das in Chennai... It was a fun weekend alright but I was actually smitten by Chennai and its greenery.

Here is my list of like n dislike for the city of Chennai...

Well the dislikes first...Actually not that many but still Chennai ain't perfect...(Sorry Chai but that's the fact)

1.] Lack of ice- a place which is known for its sweaty and humid conditions does not provide one of the basic commodities in its grocery shops. We roamed around the whole of Velachery to find ice but to no avail. Its definitely a business plan waiting to be explored...(Chai are u listening)

2.] Lack of quality and economical booze- The place where we were staying had only one liquor store in its vicinity and it provided only signature whiskey as a premium whiskey. Man Signature sucks especially without ice.

3.] Lack of eye candy- One criteria where Chennai lacks in comparison to other metros is in the paucity of good looking opposite sex. I didn't find a single good looking girl in my whole Chennai trip...Sorry for being a sexist here.

Now to the good part and there are many.

1.] Awesome roads- The roads is Chennai are 100 times better than what we have here in Mumbai. Traffic or no traffic at least the roads are ridable.

2.] Perfect setting for House party- The houses in which my friends were staying in Chennai were not only huge but well furnished too with Rajdeep's in particular a very wonderful place with a joint personal terrace. With the paucity of high rises in Chennai as of now the view is spectacular and the place can accommodate 20 people very easily. (Next to impossible thinking of having a house party for 20 in a house in Mumbai).

3.] Greenery- May be because I was staying away from the main city, that I felt that way about Chennai but it is still 100 times more greener than Mumbai. Plus the city also has its cover of greenery which is a rarity in Mumbai.

4.] Spacious trains and no crowd what so ever- The train which I caught from Velachery to Light house was actually bound to the Beach which was its last stop. No only were the trains spacious and clean but unlike Mumbai locals they were not at all crowded (according to Mumbai standards). The 23 minute trip from Velachery to Light house was a blissful journey where I saw the different colours of Chennai. (I was told later that that was one end of Chennai; so there is lot more to see and explore).

5,] Cheap South Indian food- Just like Mumbai is known for its sev puris, pani puris etc it was heaven to have dosas, medu wadas and Mysore filter coffee. A cheap and a wonderful cuisine.

6.] Long beautiful, clean and secluded beaches- Well the credit for showing me the beach in Chennai goes to Gokul (Kumi's engineering batchmate). The beach he took up to at 3 am in the night was not only beautiful, but it was pristine clean. We even found a dude you offered us a joint. What else could you ask for?

Here are a few pictures which for me symbolizes Chennai the way I like it...:)

Manila ---> Mumbai...Transition

It's been close to 2 weeks since I have got back to Mumbai after completing my MBA from AIM. In those 2 weeks I have rarely missed AIM as much as a few of my batch mates. They still can't believe that the honeymoon period is over and we are back in reality. May be since I am enjoying a short holiday before I start work again, my feeling differ from my peers. I am in a way now happy to be back in Mumbai, and be with my parents after a gap of 5 years.

However the memories of AIM, and Philippines will endure in conscience for years to come. It has been a life changing experience for me. An opportunity to learn in a new country, embrace a new culture and make new friends.

I guess when I look back in hindsight, there was so much more which I could have done and achieved in Manila & The Philippines. There were so many more places which I could have visited, so many more friends I could have made etc.

Now back to reality, in the busy city of Mumbai, and I am starting to find my feet all over again in the city which has been my home for 25 odd years. Its difficult to get used to life here in Mumbai after having had lived such a carefree life in Manila.

The last few days in Manila went off in a blur, without me having an idea whether it was night or day even though during the last week alcohol consumption was still very low by our own set standards.

The last pool party was worth remembering and thanks to Megha, the last of the cohort 4 junta can remember & savor the last pool party of batch 4 at AIM by watching it on VLC...

It has been a memorable experience...