Saturday, April 30, 2005

Yesterday, for some reason, I was suddenly reminded of my grandfather's barber. He would come every alternate Sunday to give my grandad a haircut and a shave. There was this ledge in the front yard - just enough to seat 2 people crosslegged and high (for quite a number of years I would have to clamber up that ledge).
He would arrive sharp at 7am and without even announcing his arrival at the house go straight to the ledge. He would first seat himself and put his bag in front of him. He would then spread a small black cloth in front of him and carefully take his instruments out of the bag and put them on the cloth. These generally included a knife, scissors, a small mirror and some other stuff which I dont remember.
Then my grandfather would come and sit opposite the barber. And the process would begin - a haircut and a shave. Most of the time, it was done in total silence - once in a while, my grandad would say a word or two, as if to break the silence. The barber would reply when required of him and then get back to his work. Though the same barber came every other Sunday for many years, I never knew his name. Unlike in a lot of short stories, he never made friends with the wide eyed child in the house who would come running as soon as he entered the yard and sit staring at him till he left.
Yet I was fascinated by this ritual. Indeed, it was my long cherished dream to have a haircut by the barber. I would imagine how it would be to have a haircut the way my grandfather did. It was something I looked upon with awe and even a little fear because, for some reason, I imagined that if I wasnt careful the barber would cut my ear!!It was a cause of great grief to me that my mother never let my hair under the barber's scissors.
Well, the end of the story is that after my grandparents shifted to Duvvada, I never saw the barber again and completely forgot about him. And suddenly, yesterday, I was reminded of him.

Friday, April 15, 2005

A woman at work

Well, I got back to Bangalore this Sunday. An update:
10th Sunday:
Flew Deccan Air from Vizag to Bangalore...I believe this deserves special mention because my company is paying for my flight. So here is the first flight I have earned for myself!! Lunch at Wok and Gill. Dinner at Transit followed by 'Socha Na Tha' at PVR. The 1st half of the movie was fun...the 2nd half was like a typical Hindi movie though. The campus looks so so good and has a fresh, clean, green look. It rained an hour after I landed on campus. Actually, the fact that there is hardly anyone here and the weather...the campus reminds of howit was when I first came here for my IIMB interview. I fell in love with this place...and I felt bad about going to IIMA instead (and this before giving any nterviews!!). Its so very beautiful here.
11th Monday:
The day of joining...and I was late!!! Luckily, the security sign up process took so long for the 26 internees that no one noticed. Then a couple of video's of IBM followed by a long speech by the VP HR. This was my biggest challenge...how not to sleep at the workplace. IIMB students wer e13...the remaining were from IIMA,IIMC and XLRI. 11 of us in the HR dept. We were given 4 hours of presentations. I got back at 7 and went to Induss for dinner.

12th Tuesday:
I spent just an hour at the office meeting my project guide...hes quite a big shot in the IBM HR dept. He must be in his late forties and a rather serious guy. He said I could choose my own work hours and work place or even work from the hostel if I was more comfortable with that!! Shopping at Commercial Street for a couple of formal shirts and then lunch with GV at Adiga's. Went skating in the evening. The 1st time im using inline skates...was good fun. Pankaj was coming from Delhi so we went to to the airport and then to Empire Hotel for dinner.

13th Wednesday:
A typical day from 9 to 6 which I spent meeting people from the HR Learning team in order to understand the 'dynamics of the issue'. Gave my spectacles and watch for repair and then gorged on panipuri followed by cake fudge at Corner House. Naomi had just come back from France and got some wine with her. So ordered in from Guru Gardens and laid out the spread at the H block terrace. I did try the wine but was too full to eat anything. Howevre, it was a fun evening.
14th Thursday:
I was attending a training session but had to come back in the middle coz of a problem with the lens.I planned to go back to office in 2hrs but I didnt. Just didnt do a thing the whole day. Finally went for dinner to Guru Gardens with Pankaj and Naomi. Felt like icecream so we found a Barista at Koramangala.
15th Friday:
Went to work at 12:45, met my project guide, ate lunch, made a couple of official calls, met a colleague at work and am now back on campus. Im going back to office to attend a conference call. I can do it from any phone I want to but might as well go to office and use the office phone than blow up more money than I already am for food.

Well, lots of thoughts on how it feels to have finished off with a year at IIMB. things I plan to do during the summer, how it feels to be working. Will definitely write on them and update more regularly. But for now, I got to run.

Saturday, April 02, 2005

Randomly...

I havent updated my post in a while since most of the seniors have left. That makes me sad and it would reflect on my post. Just did not feel upto a sad, emotional post so refrained from posting altogether. End terms happening right now. Finished Business Law yesterday and Corporate Strategy today. I have Macro Economics tomorrow. The paper gets over at 12 and my train departs for Vizag at 2. I guess that says it all for now. So you can expect my next post from home.