Reflections through my lens

“I wonder what do you do on weekends?” This is probably the most common question I have faced after “Which movies did you see recently?” Others that follow are: “Don’t you get bored living on your own; do you have a big gang of friends to hang around with?” Of course the assumption here is that single people living on their own really have all the time in the world and therefore the question around how can we possibly find something meaningful to do with ourselves. It’s not just about asking these questions, single people can also be taken for granted in line with the same assumption. Last moment invitations like -“We are having a get together tomorrow- you have to come, anyways what would you be doing?” Of course I could, just that it is a Wednesday, right in the middle of a hectic week and I need some heads up to plan my evening calls so that I can make it to your place. And then there are last minute cancellations- “hey, we had planned to meet since last week, but something else...

“Maximum accidents happen due to jumping traffic signals”, “Road rage on the rise”. As the New Year celebrations approach, the newspapers will be full of such stats. Reading them makes one feel that people who drive cars are the biggest evil on the roads. Of all the millions of car drivers, not all are drunk and rowdy. What makes the prim and proper executive rash on the road? What incites the presumably over cautious moms, uncles, grandpas to become aggressive behind the wheel? Doesn’t take much to figure out. We have a rage inciting environment all round us. Poor road infrastructure : In most cities of India, the roads are not prepared to handle the traffic. Road repairs happen during peak traffic hours. Flyovers are constructed when the roads become a dense jungle of vehicles and the construction itself contributes to the traffic. 4 lane roads culminate into a single lane bridge. One vehicle breaks down and blocks the way due to which hundreds of people get stranded in the traffic...

Travel time again- pack your bags, check everything, lock the house. All the signs of travel anxiety begin to crop up as soon as I sit in the cab for the airport. The journey mostly turns out to be an impersonal experience. Am lucky if I manage to speak a few words to other people in the check-in queue, otherwise it’s the mundane routine 1 hour of waiting at the airport with a cup of cappuccino and my phone. As I started on another one of these mundane flights, it made me go back a few years when even the journey was an experience in itself. Flights were either a luxury or used if travelling in emergency. Low cost airlines had not flooded the market and the trains were the preferred mode of travel. We used to prepare ourselves for the journey with an extra bag comprising of air pillows, bed sheets, food for the way packed by mom (the ubiquitous poori sabji and pickle being the staple meal for most passengers). The railway station in itself was an experience. The “station wali chai”...

Had seen this movie a long time back where Rehaan Engineer played a hairdresser who could read people’s thoughts while cutting their hair. I had found it brilliant, especially since I do find a haircut to be my most stress relieving experience. When the scissors snip through those tresses, it feels that they are doing away with those unwanted, unnecessary baggage of thoughts. To most people I know, the salon is a place where women go and splurge hard earned money. Haven’t you heard someone comment “You spent 1000 bucks on a facial, what’s the difference?” While that is a really mean comment, I know a lot of women who have been subjected to it sometime or the other. Of course, these days gold facials are the ‘in thing’ at men’s salons too, but we’ll let them be for now. The point here is that the salon for women is much more than a beautifying experience. It gives us a sense of royalty, individuality, community and of course the most obvious, relaxation. The salon experience ...

A series of surgeries amongst family and friends and a recent self experience opened my eyes to the new face of medical facilities in India. Gone are the days of dreary hospital stays. Circa 2010, the multi-specialty private hospitals have transformed hospitalization into an uber-cool experience with their state of the art facilities. My earlier experience of hospital visits used to be to the big city hospitals such as AIIMS, Safdarjung, Manipal, BHU and so on. Entering into the huge facility teeming with people, figuring out the departments, the typical hospital smells and the sight of illness all around were enough to make one reel in exhaustion. But in the modern private hospitals, relationship managers usher you around the air-conditioned lobbies as counselors explain the various “packages” ranging from economy ( read general ward) to deluxe ( read private ward) to the suites. All kinds of luxuries are available based on the size of your pocket. The rooms are not only equipped wit...

I’ve often wondered that if there is life after death and if we do get to meet some of the folks from our lives even after we are gone, who are the ones that I would like to meet. Of course there is a long list of family and friends; there are 500+ people in my business and social online networks. When I ask others, for most people, the spouse would top the list. While this is not an excerpt from the famous work of Mitch Albom, asking this question to myself just helped me be cognizant of those relationships in life that deserve to be invested in forever yet have been lost in the layers of a busy lifestyle, distance or maybe just a “Can’t care so much” attitude. For the current discussion, I would skip the popular choices and focus on some other not so apparent relationships that make all the difference. The Parents: You must be thinking why I included Parents here because they should also be part of the popular list. I did it because they are the most taken for granted. The one r...