sabir!!!!...sabir kaun???.....hmmmm
Well he is the 20-21-22.(do i care???...maybe i do) year old.... who used to sell me CDs at Lal Darwaza....well i presume gujarat is the hub of all pirated CDs originating in India....and sabir was one of the foot soldiers....i guess he was the first acquaintance/friend i made in ahmedabad...well his location was just perfect...near hotel paramount...where i get my weekly share of food( read..non veg) and he used to be just next to it....
it started around 2 years ago....i was one of his regular customers...and we had our share of discussions...if i may call them so....one being when i pestered him about why he was into this illegal business...and he pointed to the row of beggars outside mosque nearby and asked...wahan baith jaaon kya????...and another when he wanted a bank account with an ATM card....despite my numerous encouragements he could never garner the courage to go to the SBI branch barely 20 steps from his laari....
well yesterday after killing the CAT...or rather being killed...(yeah again!!!!)...went for my food...and cudn't find sabir after that....was surprised but decided to come back in the evening....again..no sabir....went to the laari which i presumed was his....and found a boy ..no more than 12 rattling the names of the latest block-busts(..or blockbusters..were they???)...i asked him...sabir ki laari yahi hai kya???....he replied...nahi saab sabir bhai to pakda gaya...uski laari thane mein hai???. ...pakda gaya???..."haan" he said....and there it ended....don't know if i'd ever see him there again...but the words stuck on....Sabir bhai pakda gaya....
but...woh bhaag kisse raha tha jo pakda gaya???...from hunger....from dependence...from suffering of his family....or maybe.a bigger crime....none...maybe all....but am sure police would have a different name for the being chasing him.....but the bigger question that struck me was...how is it that all the Cd sellers i have seen are muslims????....i couldn't help but draw parallels between the crack trade in the states and the particular community involved in that ( yeah!!! a hangover from freakonomics)....maybe i'm right...maybe not...but the fact is all the illegal work i see in this city be it selling pirated books..Cds or bootlegging its by and large one community which is involved .....this certainly couldn't be a coincidence....and the fact is the youth involved in it were convinced that this was much better than sitting in the row of beggars outside the mosque...can we fault them???...i couldn't...
well a few of my thoughts were vindicated by the report of a committee ( set up by the Govt) recently....the problem they found was lack of education primarily...and at a higher level lack of oppurtunity....but so much discrimination couldn't have been just an ordinary occurence...was this backwardness of a community planned???...i guess the case could be argued from both sides..but i refuse to believe that the problem was hidden for so long.....then what has brought the problem to light now....
well if you ask me...it is the fear of losing what we have gained in the very recent past and looking at shining india we have gained quite a lot....so the basic fear of "haves" from "have nots"..has raised its head and people have understood that the community left behind also needs to be brought to a level where it doesn't get so desperate that it attacks the " haves" to get its share...in other words make them have something..albeit a small something.... but one that makes them feel like haves and let them have something that they may fear losing....hmmmm....
Another question that sprang-up that time was..."Does the present state of muslims in India after 60 years of independence justify the creation of Pakistan?????"...well honestly i couldn't find an argument against it.....
hmmm...stupid crap....the point is sabir pakda gaya...and a 12-13 year old...sameer...or shahid was it????( who cares anyways) has taken a step out of the row of beggars outside the mosque and set up his laari which may land him a stint in the jail before he is out of teens.....
is someone doing something???....and the worst most humiliating part is that i can't do anything...coz one i don't have the courage, stamina or dedication to do something...and secondly...i can't really bring my self to say "i care"...but the silver lining behind the cloud is that someone has started thinking and the recent report is a step in that direction....rest assured i would be following developments on that front very closely....
and one more of our discussions i remember....i don't know if it makes sense here.....i remember watching a few beauty pageants and a oft repeated question is " What would you want to be reborn as??"...i have seen most of those dumb girls saying no-one in particular....and over years i have reflected over the same question and have predominantly received one of the following two answers..." as myself again" or "noone in particular, but with the same mind"....implying that most people i knew were to quite some extent impressed by themselves and were quite happy with their situations.....well sabir answered it a bit differently..." i 'd like to be born as anyone but me".....hmmmm...i guess someone needs to make the sabirs of this world love themselves....or ensure conditions where they begin to love their lives, their circumstances and wish to be born as themselves again..... anyone listening????
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Interview....had it....
hmmm...had the interview yesterday....in Mumbai....maan the city is dirty...everytime i go there i know i would never want to stay there for long....luckily reached in the morning and had a return train at 10 in the night....
the interview was at 4:40....wierdness again....my name was put in white font on a white sheet....what the heck....i cudn't find it there...the ppl called up hyderabad and were told of the error in printing....aur upar se saala hotel waala was outright rude....bloody hell...interview nahi hota to ek do dilli style gaaliyan suna ke aata....
the interview went fine ( well atleast i think so)....my low work-ex seemed to be an issue....what the heck...three years of managerial experience in the central policy making body of the world's largest democracy is less....whatever..le's see...if they take me...good for them...if they don't...well their loss would be bigger than mine...:)
the interview was at 4:40....wierdness again....my name was put in white font on a white sheet....what the heck....i cudn't find it there...the ppl called up hyderabad and were told of the error in printing....aur upar se saala hotel waala was outright rude....bloody hell...interview nahi hota to ek do dilli style gaaliyan suna ke aata....
the interview went fine ( well atleast i think so)....my low work-ex seemed to be an issue....what the heck...three years of managerial experience in the central policy making body of the world's largest democracy is less....whatever..le's see...if they take me...good for them...if they don't...well their loss would be bigger than mine...:)
Friday, November 03, 2006
they haven't ...they have....technically not as yet....
hmmm....weirdness and i go back a long way. Would share those past stories fursat mein. For today though the ISB interview story would do fine.
I had given my choice of interview centre as New Delhi. Some queer luck the interviews for Delhi clash with CAT ( told ya weirdness has a bond with me). I called up ISB and enquired if Delhi dates would be changed as the CAT (& mouse) game is played by almost 2 lakh aspirants every year and cud be that some other Delhi fellas are in the same boat as me (trying for the IIMs again). They Informed me it may not be so. I dropped them a mail to change my location to Mumbai (which are scheduled a week earlier). Got a self generated mail that admissions office is busy and would get back in a few days. I called them over the telephone and requested them to help me. They advised me to put in another mail and within two days i got a mail saying that my interview location had been changed to mumbai in the "backend".
Well yesterday they gave out calls for mumbai and lo-behold my status hadn't changed. Was I upset or was I upset. Went for an early lunch and in a rage ate 7 pooris ( I had been avoiding them for 3 months as I was trying to be in shape for the interview). Came back checked my status again...same response. Gathered some courage and called up ISB. A lady answered the following is the conversation
Me : I believe the list for Mumbai interviews is out
Lady : Yeah it's just been released.
Me: Apparently it seems I have not been shortlisted, but i had changed my centre from Delhi to Mumbai, I hope there's no confusion as regards that coz my status hasn't changed.
Lady: Status is same??? ( was I talking in Hebrew!!!!)
Me: Yeah it shows application is to be evaluated.
She asked me for my details and told me to hold the line.....the next five minutes were really long...she came back
Lady: The status would be updated by the evening and you'd know whether you have been shortlisted, waitlisted or rejected.
Me: can't you tell me now??? ( Why did she make me wait for those torturous five mins???...ladies and torture have some stupid link)
Lady: We are actually a bit tied up...it'll be nice if you could call up in the evening....( bloody hell...isn't 4 in the afternoon ...evening???)
I hung up.
the next 10 minutes i decided the course of life for the next five years with a lot of twists and twirls being planned. the biggest trouble was whom would i marry...coz maan ne kaha tha agar padhna nahin hai to shaadi karo....ufff bharat ka abla purush
and then my mobile rang...the number was from hyderabad....i picked up....the admissions manager from ISB...Rohit?? ( he said)
Me : yes
ISB: Where are you?? ( now how would that make a difference)
Me: I'm in Ahmedabad...workinng with RBI ( as if that would make him seek forgiveness...hah!!!)
ISB: apparently, we are facing a problem as we can't find a slot for you in Mumbai
Me : Sir!!!!....you mean i have been shortlisted?????
ISB: yeah...you don't know...but Mumbai seems to be a problem
Me: I'd have it in Delhi then....( I would have gone to mars if he had told me to)
ISB: No No give us a couple of days let's see if there are any cancellations....we'll try and fit you in...
Me: right sure...I'll give you a call tomorrow
ISB: yeah right
hmmm...i did call them today they still don't have a slot for me. I tried to help them by suggesting Pune. " It's worse there", they told me. They told me to call on monday and check up...
So now I know (or atleast have been told) that i have been shortlisted but have no intimation in writing, I could have my interview in mumbai or delhi. my status on the site is "Further updates would be available once the application has been evaluated". The status has remained same since the past 15 days or so...but I experienced a series of highs & lows with the same thing in the last 30 odd hours....yeah it's the weird that happens to me.....:)
I had given my choice of interview centre as New Delhi. Some queer luck the interviews for Delhi clash with CAT ( told ya weirdness has a bond with me). I called up ISB and enquired if Delhi dates would be changed as the CAT (& mouse) game is played by almost 2 lakh aspirants every year and cud be that some other Delhi fellas are in the same boat as me (trying for the IIMs again). They Informed me it may not be so. I dropped them a mail to change my location to Mumbai (which are scheduled a week earlier). Got a self generated mail that admissions office is busy and would get back in a few days. I called them over the telephone and requested them to help me. They advised me to put in another mail and within two days i got a mail saying that my interview location had been changed to mumbai in the "backend".
Well yesterday they gave out calls for mumbai and lo-behold my status hadn't changed. Was I upset or was I upset. Went for an early lunch and in a rage ate 7 pooris ( I had been avoiding them for 3 months as I was trying to be in shape for the interview). Came back checked my status again...same response. Gathered some courage and called up ISB. A lady answered the following is the conversation
Me : I believe the list for Mumbai interviews is out
Lady : Yeah it's just been released.
Me: Apparently it seems I have not been shortlisted, but i had changed my centre from Delhi to Mumbai, I hope there's no confusion as regards that coz my status hasn't changed.
Lady: Status is same??? ( was I talking in Hebrew!!!!)
Me: Yeah it shows application is to be evaluated.
She asked me for my details and told me to hold the line.....the next five minutes were really long...she came back
Lady: The status would be updated by the evening and you'd know whether you have been shortlisted, waitlisted or rejected.
Me: can't you tell me now??? ( Why did she make me wait for those torturous five mins???...ladies and torture have some stupid link)
Lady: We are actually a bit tied up...it'll be nice if you could call up in the evening....( bloody hell...isn't 4 in the afternoon ...evening???)
I hung up.
the next 10 minutes i decided the course of life for the next five years with a lot of twists and twirls being planned. the biggest trouble was whom would i marry...coz maan ne kaha tha agar padhna nahin hai to shaadi karo....ufff bharat ka abla purush
and then my mobile rang...the number was from hyderabad....i picked up....the admissions manager from ISB...Rohit?? ( he said)
Me : yes
ISB: Where are you?? ( now how would that make a difference)
Me: I'm in Ahmedabad...workinng with RBI ( as if that would make him seek forgiveness...hah!!!)
ISB: apparently, we are facing a problem as we can't find a slot for you in Mumbai
Me : Sir!!!!....you mean i have been shortlisted?????
ISB: yeah...you don't know...but Mumbai seems to be a problem
Me: I'd have it in Delhi then....( I would have gone to mars if he had told me to)
ISB: No No give us a couple of days let's see if there are any cancellations....we'll try and fit you in...
Me: right sure...I'll give you a call tomorrow
ISB: yeah right
hmmm...i did call them today they still don't have a slot for me. I tried to help them by suggesting Pune. " It's worse there", they told me. They told me to call on monday and check up...
So now I know (or atleast have been told) that i have been shortlisted but have no intimation in writing, I could have my interview in mumbai or delhi. my status on the site is "Further updates would be available once the application has been evaluated". The status has remained same since the past 15 days or so...but I experienced a series of highs & lows with the same thing in the last 30 odd hours....yeah it's the weird that happens to me.....:)
Thursday, November 02, 2006
my day at the railway station
well...interesting days happen every day in India....the day was monday....yeah the one that just went by....
had to came back from home after the Diwali break....had a train at 8:00....by some queer luck the traffic on roads was non existent and i reached the station (Delhi Cantt.) by 7:20.....asked my folks to go back coz the wait seemed to be too long....and i don't mind some time with myself once in a while......
the station is a smallish one....well compared to Delhi standards its tiny.....the platform was no.3....the usual.....i found a bench under a light....and sat there looking at my surroundings....the delhi chill had started and the weather was....ummm...well beyond pleasant more towrds chilly.....two gentlemen hopelessly drunk sat next to me.....interesting conversation....they discussed the traders bandh and shop sealings in Delhi.....they seemed to be employees of a sealed shop....their talk on the delhi economy was quite informative...it actually gave insight into the world away from the glamour of malls that all of us expect in place of the shops they work in.....they also had a few choice words for the government which are better left unrepeated....
well they tried to make conversation with me trying to drag me into the conversation...better sense prevailed and i did not take their bait...they thought i was snooty....hmmm...well ok...in hindsight the decision proved to be ok as the two ended up arguing and breaking into a small scuffle....
i decided to change my bench and moved onto another one....to be safe i pulled out a book and tried to read it.....an oldish gentleman came and sat next to me.....and the first question was....."arre yeh 7 baje ki rewari wali gayi kya??".... i tried to explain the time was 7:30 ....he repeate the question..."na time nahi pooch raha hoon train ke baare mein pooch raha hoon"....i said " mujhe nahi pata"....guess the best way to end the conversation....but the gentleman wudn't back off.....he tried to make conversation....i replied with hmmms.....but i came out much wiser about his wife's ( who seamlessly became my maasi)...cooking...his two sons...and their studies and the subsequent jobs.....and ofcourse that stupid 7'o clock train that went on time that day.....
a different train came from the other side coming from rewari and going towards new delhi.....it's starange how looking at a movingtrain can make you dizzy..don't believe me???....try looking through the windows of a moving train when you are sitting on a platform.....:)
people started moving out.....people most coming back from work...with tiredness writ on their faces....discussing everything from the cricket team's "bakwaas khel" to the price of the pouch they were going to buy from the "theka" outside the station.....the scene was very different from the glam world of malls and delhi markets my eyes are most used to.....this was the other side....The leeward side of "Shining India".....
i saw a pretty girl....smiling at me.....the gentle man next to me warned me uttering a chaste word that made me understand clearly what the girl's profession was......well u guess it....
then the announcement....the Ahmedabad Rajdhani was delay by 30 minutes......the gentleman complained to me that this would mean his train to rewari getting delayed....his ire was against all those souls who travel in rajdhanis and thus get the precedence over the poors like him who travelled in passengers.....i got to understand how the govt's greed was making the poor more poor in his discourse for the next twenty minutes....
i kept gathering the views around me....a beggar whom i had refused twice was having his evening tea at a nearby tea stall.....our eyes met for a secon and he gave me a happy grin.....i saw a child holding one hand each of a boy and girl(must have been his parents) walkingaway blissfully....i say a boy and girl coz they looked so young....yeah they still marry them off young in India.....
Did i forget the mosquitoes who had a feast on my body for those 75 odd minutes....maan they were real vampires.....
thankfully my train came in at 8:40 and i could bid goodbye to my companion on the bench who by now seemed least intersted in me......
interesting experience though....
had to came back from home after the Diwali break....had a train at 8:00....by some queer luck the traffic on roads was non existent and i reached the station (Delhi Cantt.) by 7:20.....asked my folks to go back coz the wait seemed to be too long....and i don't mind some time with myself once in a while......
the station is a smallish one....well compared to Delhi standards its tiny.....the platform was no.3....the usual.....i found a bench under a light....and sat there looking at my surroundings....the delhi chill had started and the weather was....ummm...well beyond pleasant more towrds chilly.....two gentlemen hopelessly drunk sat next to me.....interesting conversation....they discussed the traders bandh and shop sealings in Delhi.....they seemed to be employees of a sealed shop....their talk on the delhi economy was quite informative...it actually gave insight into the world away from the glamour of malls that all of us expect in place of the shops they work in.....they also had a few choice words for the government which are better left unrepeated....
well they tried to make conversation with me trying to drag me into the conversation...better sense prevailed and i did not take their bait...they thought i was snooty....hmmm...well ok...in hindsight the decision proved to be ok as the two ended up arguing and breaking into a small scuffle....
i decided to change my bench and moved onto another one....to be safe i pulled out a book and tried to read it.....an oldish gentleman came and sat next to me.....and the first question was....."arre yeh 7 baje ki rewari wali gayi kya??".... i tried to explain the time was 7:30 ....he repeate the question..."na time nahi pooch raha hoon train ke baare mein pooch raha hoon"....i said " mujhe nahi pata"....guess the best way to end the conversation....but the gentleman wudn't back off.....he tried to make conversation....i replied with hmmms.....but i came out much wiser about his wife's ( who seamlessly became my maasi)...cooking...his two sons...and their studies and the subsequent jobs.....and ofcourse that stupid 7'o clock train that went on time that day.....
a different train came from the other side coming from rewari and going towards new delhi.....it's starange how looking at a movingtrain can make you dizzy..don't believe me???....try looking through the windows of a moving train when you are sitting on a platform.....:)
people started moving out.....people most coming back from work...with tiredness writ on their faces....discussing everything from the cricket team's "bakwaas khel" to the price of the pouch they were going to buy from the "theka" outside the station.....the scene was very different from the glam world of malls and delhi markets my eyes are most used to.....this was the other side....The leeward side of "Shining India".....
i saw a pretty girl....smiling at me.....the gentle man next to me warned me uttering a chaste word that made me understand clearly what the girl's profession was......well u guess it....
then the announcement....the Ahmedabad Rajdhani was delay by 30 minutes......the gentleman complained to me that this would mean his train to rewari getting delayed....his ire was against all those souls who travel in rajdhanis and thus get the precedence over the poors like him who travelled in passengers.....i got to understand how the govt's greed was making the poor more poor in his discourse for the next twenty minutes....
i kept gathering the views around me....a beggar whom i had refused twice was having his evening tea at a nearby tea stall.....our eyes met for a secon and he gave me a happy grin.....i saw a child holding one hand each of a boy and girl(must have been his parents) walkingaway blissfully....i say a boy and girl coz they looked so young....yeah they still marry them off young in India.....
Did i forget the mosquitoes who had a feast on my body for those 75 odd minutes....maan they were real vampires.....
thankfully my train came in at 8:40 and i could bid goodbye to my companion on the bench who by now seemed least intersted in me......
interesting experience though....
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)