Life is about solving those maths problems

In fact, my vacation did not end in my home town. I decided to visit the holy city of Puri just before coming back to Bangalore. It was here that I came before I went on to do my MBA in 2007. I have come back here after 3 years to thank the God and Goddess for all that has happened in my life since then. On my one-night train journey from Calcutta to Puri, I was trying to recollect all the good and not-so-good things that took place in my life particularly in the last 3 years. The good ones that surfaced first – my days in Cranfield, our visit to Benaras, my job in Oracle, the birth of our little angel, the satisfaction of owning a house and a car, the trip to Melbourne and many others scattered here and there. Then I thought of the bad and evil days, when things did not go the way I wanted it to be – the last days of Cranfield when I had to struggle to find a job, the days in Calcutta and the sacrifice my wife made to quit her stable job in Hyderabad to join me in Calcutta, some relationships going bitter and the bitterness lingering...

It was in the last week of my stay in UK, when the MBA course was almost over, saving a couple of submissions. By that time, I had already made up my mind to return to India for good. I was not able to find good job in UK and was already in talks with some companies in India. Suddenly by turn of some events in a short span of time, I found that I “almost” landed myself in a job in Arcelor Mittal in Luxembourgh. Arcellor Mittal – the largest steel manufacturer in the world and whose CEO, Mr. LN Mittal is one of my heroes. I got an email confirmation from them about the job. I was very excited. But, then due to the global meltdown during that time, they decided to freeze the position and my offer went “on hold”.. My heart sank. No doubt, had I made it then, my life would have been totally different. I can’t say whether it would have been any better. All I can say is, today I don’t repent it at all.
It was the 7th Semester in my Engineering college days. Things were at an all-time low for me. This particular semester was notorious for the toughness of the subjects. One, I was not a good student in the engineering days. Two, to top it I had been preparing for different MBA entrance exams. I always thought I was living on the edge. My dear friend, Sandipan, now Dr. Sandipan Pramanik, a professor in the University of Alberta, Canada, a brilliant student in his own right, was beside me, providing me the required support and guidance. Sandipan was a good performer in the class, but not an outstanding one, which he should have been, if any justice had to be done to his academic credentials and past records. We both toiled a lot, especially in the 7th Semester, but was hardly rewarded (with marks). Things just didn’t seem to go right our way. We agreed that it was by far the toughest time we faced till then. We used to say “the darkest hour is just before the dawn” to boost our morale.

Its almost 10 years ago that we had this infamous 7th Semester. I forgot all that was taught then. (Well, I forgot everything that was taught in engineering). But what I learned during those apparently bad days is the never-say-die attitude. A lesson that good days never taught me. Even today when I go through some lean patch, I remind myself of the 7th Semester and how I successfully came out of it.
And this brings me to my thought that perhaps every evil day, every not-so-sunny day has some good effects in future. When things are going hunky dory, we don’t tend to go to any sort of self-analysis mode. Only during evil days we may find it necessary to analyse the situation and deep-dive into oneself, into one’s inner self to improve. It also matures a person. Evil days are not as evil as they seem apparently. Perhaps they are not evil at all. Perhaps they are the like “difficult problems” in the Mathematics books of our school days. They are tough, but they are better for the brains. They stain the good ones from the rest of the crowd. A difficult problem does not necessarily bring a pleasant smile. But once it is solved, it makes the student a shade better in that field. Life is all about solving those maths problems – arithmatics, algebra, calculus, trigonometry…
As a student we don’t initially understand and appreciate the reason for the presence of such “difficult problems”. The author knows, the parents know, the teachers know the reason for their existence. Likewise, as a student in the curriculum known as “life” the author, the Almighty, knows the reason for the “difficult problems” albeit difficult or bad days. So, the best way is to, just like we did in our school days, concentrate on solving them, rather than question and crib their presence. One day we will get the reward and be a better student in life.

My prayer to the Almighty was all about thanking HIM for the easier and difficult problems and giving me the power to tackle such problems in future with the right mix of values and virtues.

End of my vacation

I am now sitting by the window of the train which is running through the lush-green paddy fields as it races towards its destination, Bangalore. My vacation in my home town has come to an end. It was short and sweet. Vacations should be like this. In fact, everything in life should be like this -- precise. It should be like the delicacies which fills the stomach, doesn’t over-stuff it and at the same time the tongue longs for some more of it. So, you don’t get to eat more, but you always feel if only you could have more – you crave for it! The taste-buds enjoy it, the mind enjoys it, the stomach enjoys it and its healthy – the health enjoys it.
Had my vacation been a month-long program, then surely I would have been so bored that I would not look forward to any other vacation. In life those who live life till their eighties and nineties, often crippled and bed-ridden at the end of their life, perhaps lose the sweetness of their life. They forget their interesting part of their life when they had fun and frolic. They only look up to the Almighty to call it a day for them Dragging is never interesting, stretching anything unnecessarily beyond a certain point becomes more of a liability Be it stretching a vacation, stretching a relationship, stretching life, stretching a movie or stretching a journey.
So, when I planned my vacation, I made sure that I don’t stretch it so long that it becomes a bore and at the same time it is not so short that it will fly in a jiffy. My vacation should be optimum.
My stay in my home town went on pretty well. There was fun and enjoyment. The first birthday celebration of my daughter was a memorable day. It reminded me again how fast time flies and how each and every moment of our life is precious and hence should be enjoyed to the fullest. It was also an occasion to meet quite a few relatives, whom I had not met for years due to my stay in bangalore and hence the inability to attend other social gatherings. The thing I realized during my stay in Chandannagore is my five senses, and also perhaps my sixth sense, do not have to be as alert as they are when in Bangalore. The calm and serene surroundings and the pace of the life there, which may be like the slow motion of the life in Bangalore, provided a much-needed soothing effect on me.
It’s a small town with warm people having small dreams. They take life as it comes. They are content with the small things in life. All may not know the huge world outside. To many over there, Bangalore is a far-off place, Durga Puja (the main festival of the Bengalis, the residents of that place) is celebrated in most parts of India, earning a square meal a day and saving something for the future are all that they look forward to.
The sun is setting in the western horizon. It has drenched the sky and the floating clouds in crimson orange. Tomorrow I will wake up and find the sun rise in Bangalore as the train will enter the station at around 6 in the morning. It seems that the setting sun has taken with it a handful of memories – memories of fun, enjoyment, merry-making, laughter...all with a tinge of sadness.