The Long Hair Short Story

 

Toh kafi tapasaya ke baad woh din aahi gaya ki mere baal itne lambe ho gayi main usse choti bana sakta hu.

Parantu uske peeche chupe pidha, gum aur jo dard sahena pada hain is safar main woh sirf musafir hi jaanta hain. 

Chalye mere bachpan main chalte hain. 

As a kid I wanted to grow long hair. Speaking of this desire would evoke strange responses from Indian parents who would threaten to cut the hair in the night while sleeping.

As a kid growing in an Indian household, it was like living in the British Raj where your freedom was decided by your parents.

Never thought that the day will come until it finally happened.

Corona virus happened and the world turned topsy turvy straight out of a hollywood movie. Movements were restricted, masks to be worn at all time and office work to be done from home i.e., Work from Home (WFH).

In midst of all these, saloons were also shut and people were having a hard time taking care of their hair & facial issues especially the women. For a majority of the men, trimmer did the work.

Since I was on my own on this, I decided to play the long game and it paid off when the hair started to grow longer (but not long enough to tie a pony).

Except not the way I wanted. Men with long hair would always look spick & span and I wonder why I am not. The hair above my ears decided to take a different path on its own.

As one visits a doctor for their illness, I decided to pay a visit to the barber shop which had by then opened up.

As I sat on the barber's chair, I explained the guy that I am growing my hair long and he needs to take care of the hair above the ears. Before he moved his hand on the scissors, I asked him if he understood my requirement. He nodded yes.

The next thing he does is snip up my front hair and no amount of screaming at the guy would make it grow back again. Growing hair is like planting a seed into the ground and watering it over the days, weeks and months to see the stem of the plant growing and getting bigger. Except this one gets cut short.

I was back to square one and the dream soon became a distant one. Called up one of my friend who had kept the John Abraham long hair look from Dhoom to share my grief. Asked him if someone can get this wrong and he said no & had laughs at my expense. Talk about some luck.

Days, weeks & months passed. Slowly & steadily the hair kept growing and finally I was happy. However this time there was another problem. I had a different layer of hair growing at the back of the neck making me look like Sanjay Dutt. As I did not liked it I thought a little bit of snip should do the trick.

This time though I went to a different hair saloon. Went through the same drill and yet ended up getting the hair shorter. I wish I was making this up but this was the sad truth. 

Happened to meet few of my friends later and saw one of my other friend end up with long hair. Spoke to him for his advise and he just let it grow and did nothing. Hearing my barber woes made him laugh and not so for me.

That's almost a year and half worth of efforts gone waste. 

Never thought growing hair can be so troublesome. Most importantly how dumb can be the barbers who dont know how to handle the long hair looks. I was running out of hair saloons and prayers made to god to make sure they get it right.

The good thing though happened in the last six months I was able to grow it back again and this time finally I got it right without a visit to a barber. Finally mere baal ki chotti bani gayi.

However it was short lived since I had to take the decision to keep it as is or go back to my normal hair cut for reasons that cannot be disclosed.

Though short lived, it made me happy knowing that I was able to tick off one of the items from my bucket list.

This is my Long Hair Short Story :)

Closure

 

Closure is something that is good to have. When there is ample amount of clarity that things have come to an end. 

No guess work, no overthinking just precise & clear. No matter what goes in one's mind, closure is like the big full stop that one cannot miss.

The question does arise though do we get a closure at all? The way it should have been in the utopian world of righteousness.

Though disturbing the answer is a big NO. Majority of the times we don't get the "oh it's a wrap" and we can move on with our lives.

It just only makes you think if this what its supposed to be. Something perhaps not acceptable to one. Then again one cannot change it and have to come terms with it & make the choice of either accepting or rejecting it.

Both of the choices can cause a lot of pain or agony before one ends up with the dilemma of continuing it till the extent they can. The passage of time can either be a boon or bane if you choose either to move on or be stuck with the hurt.

Do we really need the closure to clear things in the air? Is it not better at times to not have the answers that we are looking for and deliberate about the what ifs & what nots.

Sometimes not getting the ending one wanted enables us to stretch our imagination and ability to tell the story the way we want which could have its basis on the foundation of truth or lie.

Maybe closure is the choice we make to either accept a situation as-is or take the initiative to change it for the good or bad. Only time will tell how it works out.

Its only when we look back at the puzzle of the jigsaw fit in together that gives us a better understanding of how it could have been managed better. If only there was a time machine to go back in time and change it for the good we believe in.

Irrespective of the closure, it remains with you till the end. Every time someone speaks of it, it brings back the emotions/feelings felt back in time. Memories come back to haunt again with sleepless nights.

The dance of the monkey continues until we get hold of it to stop. A choice that could do very well for one when you are not in the position to change the status quo. Its better than burning up oneself for life if one seek justice/righteousness. 

Only a fool end up burning themselves up in the fire of their own emotions which does no good to anyone.

Perhaps closure is the lesson of letting go when you know its better to let go than hold on to it. Then again it all comes to the choice we make during those turn of events that decides the outcome. 

One can finally go to sleep peacefully in the night knowing you did what you had to about the choices that were made. No matter how much one looks back in the past, the closure needs to be bought in one's present & future.

As the movie quote sums it all:

“Zindagi mein bhi end mein sab theek ho jaata hai. Happys Endings. Aur agar, aur agar theek na ho to woh the end nahin hai dosto, picture abhi baaki hai.”

  

Insta Story

Suchi was looking at him intently listening to what her boss was saying to the bunch of sales guys huddled up in the conference room for the morning meeting.

It took more than half an hour for the every day 15 mins of morning meeting today. Coming out of the room, the day that looked brighter went on to become gloomy.

She moved to her desk and checked her phone and replied to a few messages, checked a few apps and then went about her work leaving a few of them unread.

Across the city, Rishabh had just put up a story on his Instagram sitting on his desk having his sip of coffee and looking at the monitor now and then. After every sip of his coffee, he would check on the number of views of his story but still looked dejected. 

He got up to keep the coffee mug back to its place and poured himself into the work that awaited his attention. 

Time felt still. Every now and then he would check on his Instagram story views and that would make him more restless. He looked at his watch and only 15 mins had passed away since he started his work. It looked like a long day ahead.

It was past dinner time Rishabh kept checking on his phone and the Instagram story. As the night had set in, Suchi was already in bed trying to fall asleep by watching random reels on Instagram. As she got bored of it, she started watching Insta Story of the people she followed.

As the story moved from one person to another, she landed on Rishabh's story. It was about him holding his ears and doing sit ups and saying he his sorry in a hilarious way that got her smiling cheek to cheek as she turned on the other side of the bed.

As she was reading his messages, she got a call from Rishabh whose restlessness got the better out of him as they finally spoke...

My Doppelganger

 

Recently I got in touch with my Doppelganger.

Not face to face but yes something that was buried in the memories got a jolt. I have know about it for years now.

I assume she does not about me, but I know about her for more than 10 years now.

A whatsapp message took me back in time when I was first mistaken for her. I remember vividly being at home in the evening when I got the call. The whole conversation then turned around me being employed in a bank, which I was not.

I let it go thinking that it must be a wrong number. Then again who knew the calls were only going to increase.

I started getting calls for visit that I never made to a building for flat purchase, an appointment at a parlor and what not. The calls started getting so annoying that I could not take it and decided enough is enough.

I had to get to the root of it. This was the time when the truecaller app was not around and I had to put the hat of detective once again. Read this post to know more about it.

Did my digging through the calls that I received and came to know her name. My doppelganger had a name to identify with.

Over time, the calls reduced and I too let it go as it was not a nuisance anymore and would receive a call once in a blue moon that it did not affect me.

Then it happened few years back, I got a call when I was in office. An unknown number and I picked it up and said hello and I heard the other person stating that I (as in her) have joined the call and they started discussing their office topics making me realize that I was in a con-call with other people.

I said hello again and my male voice got the attention it required. They realized their folly and I kept the phone down. This time I got her number as they confirmed with me.

I thought of calling her many times but would stop thinking what I am doing? This does not make any sense. The frequency of the calls that I used to receive had watered down. I then let go my thoughts of calling her and telling about me being her doppelganger.

In fact, whenever I used to get a call and they said her name, I would guide them to her.

All was good enough until the calls stopping coming for about 3-4 years now, that it became a distant past.

Until I received a whatsapp message few days back sharing her laundry bill and informing me to make the payment.

Reading her name on it made it all clear. Informed the messenger that its a wrong number. I now got to know where she lives.

Here I am who knows so much about her and almost connected in a twisted way and her not knowing about the connection nor me.

She is not my doppelganger neither I am. She though is my cell number doppelganger and I am hers. The only difference between our mobile numbers is of one digit.

Strange are the ways the world work and I do not intend to cross path until I must...

P.S. What do you think you would have done in my place? Would love to hear them out.

OTT Ka Power Play

 

 

I am/was a television addict and the ones who have been following this blog can vouch for that.

Coming home from school/college/work, it was sitting in front of the idiot box watching movies, good content was the way days would be spent.

I have written about the change of content on the idiot box that it was perhaps time that someone put those tv channels into place who would show regressive tv shows all in the grab of this what people want to see.

The entry of the different OTT platforms had begun and it took a Jio to break the internet access and offer data services for a reasonable price which a majority of the Indian people can afford and provided accessibility to.

The pricing of the OTT platforms still keep it restrictive to a small piece of the cake instead of a bigger piece of the cake. Something that still needs to be worked out.

Cutting the chase to the pandemic, most of us are stuck at home thanks to the lockdown with the exception of people employed in the essential services. 

With me being stuck in the work from home routine, the television set had to be provider of entertainment to provide some relief. Have to say that I had only a year of Amazon Prime Subscription which got over before I become a prisoner in my own home.

The television set became nothing more than a binge watching of Crime Patrol. I will not suggest it for the weak hearted. Apart from that it would be the Kapil Sharma show which for a change had a few good episodes on it.

Movies is what I used to binge on and guess what no new movies would be available on the movie channels. I have to say the Setup Box did no good to the television industry restricting the number of tv channels to a few. Soon enough it is going to be a death knell for the television. 

It came to such a point that we actually stopped watching tv in our home. Few months down the line decided to pull the cord on the cable tv as their was no good content to watch, entertain or binge on...

I guess the next question would be how would I survive without my tv?

Thanks to Reliance Jio, I was hooked on to Youtube before the entry of the OTT platforms and they became a crux of my daily binge as and when I was bored on what to watch. Then again it also offered to me to do some thinking. REAL THINKING.

I see that there are a lot of OTT platforms offering an array of web series, movies and a whole lot more content than the tv channels could cater to. In other words concentrate on that segment of the population who would avoid the rona dhona saas-bhau types serials and pay for good content.

The entry of the OTT platforms is a good thing that has happened and would save the people who would have to depend on the idiot box for content and have no say in it whatsoever.

The audience that never existed before came alive for these OTT platforms. The success of some of the web series, movies being launched on OTT platforms are a proof to it.

However the penetration is still very low as much as 32 millions approx. which is spread across different platforms. Here not counting the regional OTT' platforms like Cave, Hoichoi, etc. 

The OTT platforms monthly/yearly subscription seems to be priced reasonably. However they seem to have not undertaken the other factors that impact that penetration.

Firstly, though the mobile data have been cheaper than what it was earlier priced. The data does not last long and no wonder we can always find links in the telegram channels for download of their content.

A typical household has a cable connection, which let say cost around Rs. 500 and wifi monthly costs around Rs 500. With so many platforms offering an array of content, why would one stick around with them with a yearly subscription? Also do others have the same kind of purchase power to subscribe to other OTT platforms? This is where the real thought needs to be put in.

There will always be a set of people who would be loyal to their OTT platforms irrespective if good content is offered or not. Then again there will be also the other set of people who would try to utilize every bit of the money they spend. If you remember the ad "Kitna deti hain" ad.

Yes that's the mentality of a majority of the Indians who want every worth of their penny. They would only want what works for them.

Now YouTube has also come with a YouTube Premium plan. I think that says a lot about the spread in OTT.

The big question is how to have the bigger piece of the cake. The solution would not be the liking to the OTT platforms as everyone like to a monthly fixed income and not a variable one. Then again how does fixed income+variable income looks? Better than fixed income and yes increase in revenue...

For this one needs to look at the telecom industry. The number of prepaid users outdo the number of postpaid users in India. Though prepaid is considered of low value they are still reckon with and yes the opportunity to convert them into a postpaid user is also there. From variable to fixed income that sound like an opportunity  knocking at the door.

The OTT platforms can come with similar plans and offer complete or limited access as they deem it to be self serving.

I think any OTT platform which consistently offer good content would be the King.

Did I mention that customer would be the one who would decide on that? :)

P.S.: This was suppose to come out around 2 years back but never late than before ha!. In terms of disclaimer, I have a subscription of Amazon Prime, Disney Hotstar and not forgetting the free ka Youtube.

The Past

 

 

Sugandha asked Jinesh to talk her friend as she curled herself on the other side of the bed holding a pillow. 

"Let me check with her and message you" replied Jinesh as he kept the phone down. He told Sungandha that she needed the PNR of their flight tickets to cancel. 

"Its in the sms, please send it to her na". "Yeah, I will if you could unlock your phone." he said. 

She gestures to hand over the phone to her and gives it back unlocking the phone. Jinesh forwards the text to her friend as he is laying next to Sugandha as she is trying to sleep.

As he was going to keep the phone next to her, a whatsapp message pops up which caught his attention.

Scrolling through her chat messages, he wondered if he knew Sugandha at all. The night became a bit longer for the sun to rise.

They had met through a common friend a year back. Jinesh never thought he could come across someone who would make him feel complete.Sugandha too felt the same for him. They decided to take it ahead formally as they decided to be together for the rest of their lives.

They both got engaged to be married in a few months. Life could not get any better from both of them.

Sugandha's parents had gone out of town, when she fell ill. With no one to take care, Jinesh decided to be there for her.

He looked at her sleeping and found himself unbearable to deal with what he came across.

All he could think of was did he knew Sugandha at all? Planning to marry her?

Jinesh kept her phone on her side and he moved to his side of the bed. Staring at the wall, all he could think about was the chats from the past.

He kept thinking if he should confront her or not or let past remain the past...

IKEA: Yeh Tune Kya Kia

 

The year 2020 was a tough year for an end of the decade. Not that 2021 is better, but atleast we know what we are up against and in much better position to fight the pandemic, even though the struggles are also a work in progress.

Hoping everyone is doing well and praying they do well along with their families.

This tale is about the beginning of the pandemic which we thought would go away when we would usher in a lockdown. Apparently the corona virus was smarter than and we ended up playing an hide and seek game that is still going on...

Since it was a lockdown, offices were closed and work from home became a norm.

The only thing that I miss about the office is the adjustable chair. Being a tall guy, having a lever for adjusting your chair's height, pushing it back feels like heaven which I miss a lot. This is not about the chair, which again I would have loved to have one.

I have to say a home is certainly not a place to work for a tall guy where the ergonomics goes against them. If you don't believe, please do search for the average Indian height, you will know better.

The start of the lockdown I managed to do my work through my arrangements. As months passed by and duration of work getting longer, my back began to complain.

The complaint of the back was so much that I knew I needed a solution. That is getting a work desk which should take care of the problem.

This was going to be the first time experience of mine buying an furniture online. I did not knew that I would be regretting it so badly. After going through a couple of home decor sites I zeroed in on one and that was IKEA.

The purchase and delivery of the table was fine. It was when I opened the box, I realized that one of the corners of the table was chipped off.

Immediately I got in touch with their chat box support on the site and they assured me that they would take care of it. What I did not know was this was just the start of my nightmare. It all began in Oct 2020.

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. I had nothing better to do than doing follow-ups to the great international brand of IKEA and keep asking when the replacement would happen. All I got was a date. Yeah I am too reminded of Sunny Deol's famous dailogue tareek pe tareek.....

I seriously wanted to be one of those guys working in the chat support system. I hope they pay nice. The beauty of the chat support system is that the employees can disconnect the chat without even providing you a resolution. On top of that there is no feedback system with regards to the interaction. Sone pe Suagha.

The email system should be replaced by postal service. Such is the world class treatment was provided by this global MNC that the only thing I would get would be a call and a date. No responses or even an acknowledgment to one's email.

The call center was no better. The only good thing was I could vent out my frustration, despair on those hapless agents who would assure of looking into it but nothing would happen. Any talk of speaking to higher ups will be met with a silence stating we cannot do that. How pathetic is the customer service? You cannot give solution nor intent to provide an escalation matrix to ensure that people in the top knows what is going around. 

The person who handles the customer service department surely needs to be given a raise. This kind of customer delight is not heard of before. May well give them an award.

Finally the month of Dec 2020 arrived, I was again assured that I would get a replacement on 31st Dec 2020 which again turned out to be a dud.

I gave it up and stopped following with this company who seems to be lost on responding to their customers and fulfilling their commitments.

2021 turned out to be a good year though. Out of the blue, in the second week of Jan 2021 got a mail from the company stating about the replacement.

Guess what they actually got it replaced. I should thank my lucky stars.

One lesson that I learned through this ordeal is never to buy furniture online. Tauba kar le humne.

I only hope this only helps others as I came across lot of other people on social media awaiting their replacement/refunds. Such kind of pathetic service was not expected from a brand like IKEA. Naam bade aur darshan chote.

Ikea yeh tune kya kia....

Tick Tok

Time is ticking and with each tick of the clock is your life too.

Such strange times that we live in. We needed a pandemic to hit the pause button of our lives to look around and smell the grass.

 Not sure if the year 2020 can be called great, but yes life did take a 360 degree turn for most of the people, turn upside down. For some made to wonder what the future holds for them.   

I will be honest enough that the beginning of the work from home was not great for me. Someone who cannot stay at home for long told you cannot move out of your home because there is a lock down.

One of the good things that happened I ended up reading books, doing other stuff and yes taking a pause from this blog. In reality was not in a good headspace to write almost about anything. 

The year was supposed to end in a different note but ended up in a different way.

Who says God does not have humor? I certainly experienced it the details of which will be revealed later if everything goes on a happy ending or maybe not...

I have come across people who have choose to live a complicated life which could have been much better if they had made the right choices. I guess trying to understand or bring sense would not make any sense since that ship has already sailed. The next best thing that one can do is hope that they move in the right direction and add meaning to their lives instead of living in a short term happiness and unhappiness in the long term. Why do anyone even want to live such a life of emptiness?

Independence means different to different people but stretching the limits of it is to test yourself or bring harm to one. I hope people realize life jhand nahi hoti but the choices one makes in their lives decides where it will take you.

The year 2021 is no different than 2020 but yes there is this hope that things will get better and we may go back to our old lives finding ourselves back in our homes, offices or wherever you thought was your life. Hope there is no regret that during this pause phase of our lives, we did not get an opportunity to have a reassess our lives, our lifestyle and yes of course health both physically and mentally.

Hope that you find your purpose of living, happiness and love that you look for.

I certainly hope that I can get back to write more on this space of mine :)

Daddy's Little Princess

Source: ispcc

Karan was sitting in the hall, his shoulders drooping elbows resting on his legs as his hands covered his face. He could hear the voices coming from inside and wanted them to stop.

It went for quiet a while, screams could be heard and then Anju his wife came out and said "You talk to her. She is not listening to me" she said.

"Let me try" Karan said and went inside. He saw his 15 year old daughter Arohi sitting near the window looking outside. Eyes swelled up and face sullen.

He walked toward her and sat down to the floor to look upwards towards her. "Beta, what happened?" he asked her which was met with a silence and indifference to his presence. "We talked about this. Remember we had a deal" Again there was no response from her end.

Sensing that she was in no mood to talk he offered to leave to which she responded "I don't want to go" still looking outside the window. "Who is talking about leaving? We are still a family and will be always. The only difference will be I will not be around much but just a phone call away. Your wish will be my command".

"Dad, I want you to live with us just like old times. Why can't we be like one happy family like we used to be? No one cares about what I want. she said as her eyes let the tears flow out.

"I know its difficult for you to understand right now but when you grow up, you will know it was in the best interest of everyone. This is not what I wanted you to go through but here we are" as he held her hands into his.

"Dad, do you still love Mom? she asked and he nodded his head in sadness. "Why don't you fight for her, make her stay?

He looked at her with a smirk smile. "Don't you think I tried hard enough? You cannot hold on to people who have choose to move on. For a relationship to work it has be from both the ends. Otherwise both end up losing".

"People grow apart but that does not changes how you feel about them. You choose to move on with your life".

"I want to live with you Dad, not her". "Arohi beta, you know I tried from my end. Don't hate your Mom for this. She is doing what she think is best for her and you. Life is not a bed of roses and situations like this makes one realize to let each other know that you love them from time to time. Maybe I was not paying attention to what was going on with her and paid for it".

"I will never stop loving her and so should you. Remember the happy times and I will be just a phone call away" he looked at her and smiled as he held on to her hands. She smiled back.

"Be a good girl now and give your Dad a hug" Karan said as he got up. "You know, you look so pretty when you smile, your face lights up" as they hugged each other.

"You will be always be your Daddy's little princess"

Book Review: Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India by William Dalrymple

Its been almost a year now that I have started reading books again. Made sure that I touched upon the writers never read or heard before. It gives a good perspective when one engages oneself in the thoughts that is put into writing. Questioning, Understanding and Differing views gives an understanding of the larger picture. 

When I decided to read this book, I had no idea what it was all about. I had heard only about the author William Dalrymple but nothing to gloat.

I have to say that I did not know that there exists different types of writers. Mostly what I have read was mostly fiction, biography, etc. but never a travel book. This was my first travel book.

India is rich in diversity, culture and so many stories to tell. Religion plays an important part in our daily lives and this book offers us a peek into the lives of people who dedicate their lives to God wholeheartedly and ask for nothing more.

It stuck me how little we know of them who are only revered during religious ceremonies. I have to say the author did a pretty good job reminding us about the hardships, dedication and ways of life to live. 

It reflects upon on the lives of nine such individuals who found their calling in God.

I could relate to the story of the Theyyam dancer having witnessed Bhuta Kola up close which is similar to it. What I did not know was the back story of these dancers that I came to know through this book.

We think we know all about religion/God but its the lives that has been touched upon have the tales to tell.

The glimpse into the life of a girl who always knew she wanted to become a monk, wandered places, learned the ways to live and it was the passing of her friend that led her to question and then on the path of Sallekhana.

It's intriguing to see the author ask them about their choices, the path they walked on and to an outsider that gives a lot of insight into their lives.

Among the nine lives, its the narrative of Manisha Ma Bhairavi, the Bauls & Tibetan monk that makes an interesting read.

I have to say that I at times find the author too excessively describing the surroundings which did made me wonder if that was needed.

Nonetheless each interaction with the nine lives makes you think the path they walked on, the road less traveled and the kind of determination and dedication shown all in the name of God.

I will recommend this book to anyone who wants to explore the facets of these lives who remain invisible to our naked eyes and come to prominence only when we need the presence of our higher calling.

Suicides

The first time when I heard someone saying “suicide” was during my class tenth, when one of my friends told me that one of our classmates had committed suicide. That guy used to sit besides me.

I wondered what prompted him to take such a drastic step even as the results were still to be declared.

The thought evaporated over the years but comes back as I read or hear about people committing suicides through the newspapers or news channel. The number of people committing suicides has gone up and some of the reasons may even baffle you.

Growing up, we are all taught the winning ways but are left alone when faced with a setback. Has the society reached to such a level that failures are simply not acceptable? As it is said “Success has many fathers, Failure has none”.

Committing Suicide is like taking the easy way out. Not facing the people who keep reminding you that you have failed, lost your job, are unemployed and other numerous taunts that becomes unbearable for some. Has the tolerance level of today’s individual’s stoop so low that they just cannot accept failure and try again?

No one can really understand the predicament of such an individual who contemplates such thoughts or is it that we never try to when they try to reach us out?

People today have become so closed-up that some of them actually think twice before they lay their bare chest open. The love between the family members, friends and others are hardly shown and are kept for occasions only. It needs to be shown everyday in forms of hugs, words and support to show that there are people who care for you so that they can reach out to them when they need the support and help.

No wonder it leaves many people stumped when they hear someone they knew commit suicide as they had never saw it coming.

Suicides by celebrities evoke the same shock as behind the glam life; one could never see the true emotions hidden behind the face. The truth is, there are always signs to see if one can observe it, an individual who thinks about taking such a drastic step often shows withdrawal symptoms which is in contrast to their personalities.

Life is all about living and not about running away when one finds themselves in troubled waters. We need to learn living through our bad times as we do in our good times.

Nothing lasts forever.

It’s just a phase which either makes you realize something you haven’t or gives you enough strength so that you can bounce back, but for that to happen one has to try.

Problems come and go, but life once gone cannot come back again.

Before taking that big step, one should think about their loved ones and what would they be put up through…