Blog@GraceJunction

 
Shekhar,

This letter is as good as an SOS call. I am leaving this at your parents place because I knew no other place I could track you. Although I shared a few things with your parents but I hope this letter will help you to know the whole story. It’s not about me, my health, your career or anything else but it’s about our son Rahul. (more…)

Finally Vodafone seems to have found the nemesis for the ‘Pug”. Hutch, the ex-name of Vodafone, was known for its pug, a dog that followed its owner everywhere, conveying the ‘where ever you go, our network follows’ punchline. The pug was such a hit that Hutch couldn’t keep the pug out of any of its strategies and ads! I mean literally, whatever Hutch did, the pug followed! The pug tried to enter the Vodafone camp after Hutch was bought by Vodafone. However, Ogilvy & Mather finally seem to have come to the rescue with a new mascot(s), thus paving the way for the last and final departure of the good old pug ‘Chika’. (more…)

Hey Freddy,

I reached Mumbai a week back in search of a better job and opportunities. But I have been missing those beaches and the time that we used to spend watching those beautiful waves, sipping lemonade, our hangouts near D’Souza restaurant and those football fields.

Here you get the real taste of city life. The huge population, the busy streets and stations, rush hour, the confluence of the rich and poor, skyscrapers overlooking hutments and slums, brightly lit buildings hosting glitzy and glamorous events and the hungry man who begs on the roads and sleeps on the streets. (more…)

Last week I happened to visit a nationalized bank after a long time. Frankly speaking I expected to see some changes in the office premises and the attitude of the employees. Not that all of them were the same always, but there were some branches whose employees were extremely helpful and courteous but I was talking about the approach adopted in these competitive times.

When I went to the counter to enquire, the officer just pointed me to another desk without even looking up at me. When I confirmed the direction, he just nodded and seemed to not care. The next experience was not too good either, a middle aged lady was handling some customers and wore a frustrated look, probably because of handling a continuous flow of customers from the morning. My problem seemed to evoke some interest on her face when she realized that she can get some easy deposits but that too disappeared when she came to know that I wanted to continue it at another branch of theirs. What followed were the same old pointers with fingers without much human touch. (more…)

The credit cards and easily available loans made almost everything available to the common man. When the generation of the 50s-70s worked a good 25 plus years to buy a decent house with minimum facilties and bought a car after the age of 40, the new generation is buying a much costlier and better equipped (loaded) or rather luxurious house at a much earlier age (early 30s) and this generation is also buying a car much earlier too. Of course the myriad professional options have resulted in greater opportunities for earning, but the thrust has mainly come in from easier funding - credit. However, there are still things out there that even credit will not allow many of the big dreamers to acquire.

Satiated at a much earlier age, it takes much more to now challenge and satisfy these young turks. High ticket paraphrenalia, available at the malls and exclusive shops, or even in the high-end shops don’t catch their attention at all. They are aiming much higher, at things not even in the luxury list of the average citizen (muggles!). The boundaries have been pushed much higher (monetarily). Now, what’s enabling these proponents of “dare-to-dream” to fulfil their dreams and desires has nothing to do with wizarding, but its the age old business of ‘Hiring’ and ‘Renting’! (more…)

Dear Sarita,

I am writing this letter which I am sure has come as a surprise to you. But it definitely would have brought back memories of our college days when we would exchange letters, I wish I had some of them with me today to read. But those carefree days when we would hold our hands and walk through the park, those tasty kulfis which we would relish and long nights where I would keep reading those letters and keep dreaming well in to the night.

Another reason I am writing is that I could not bear to listen to your voice on the phone, it is too painful for me, I still remember when you would keep calling just to persuade me to give our marriage another chance, but I believe I was blinded by the beauty of my colleague then to reconsider my decision to go through a divorce. But I guess it is now too late to think on those issues. (more…)

A friend of mine once took his dad for finishing some errands and to visit some friends. His dad never knew riding I suppose, but from the time he sat behind my friend’s two-wheeler, he kept on giving directions about what to do, when to change gears, when to apply brakes, whether to speed up or slow down, which road to take etc. Since it was his dad, my friend obliged and his dad’s assertions just grew stronger and stronger! At one particular point during their adventurous journey, his dad literally tore him apart for his allegedly irresponsible riding! That was it. The last straw. My friend stopped his vehicle. He asked his dad to get down. When he did, my friend quietly rode off asking him to reach home on a rickshaw!

We have had many a laughs about that incident, and poor uncle learnt a hard lesson that day. Now, by no means have I cited this incident to celebrate my friend’s decision making skills. It was not a good thing by any (Indian) standards. But I have highlighted the incident just to bring to your notice what happens when someone is victimised by back seat driving. Its really bugging when there is someone with you who gives you directions all the time. It’s as if they don’t trust your skills at all and also that they are judging distances and anticipating objects and vehicles better than you! It can be annoying. (more…)