A New Hope!!

I have suddenly received a dose of optimism.I was just flipping through some sites related to World Economic Forum at Davos where the theme this year is 'Resurgence and growth of India and China'.Reading some of the comments and interviews of leading CEO's,business leaders and marketing gurus,I couldnt help but feeling deeply exhilirated and hopeful.And the difference in perception of India actually shows.Everywhere I have gone,people repeatedly ask me about India's IT prowess with there being genuine respect in the manner in which the country is trying to shed the shackles of mediocrity that have plagued it for so long.

And surely there couldnt be anythting more exciting than being a part of such revolution.I sincerely believe that the phase when a country transforms itself from being a developing to a developed and self reliant economy must be the most vibrant,dynamic and vivacious phase of its existence.For its citizens too this has to be the most invigorating and professionally satisfying period as man satisfies the one desire so essential for progress-the desire for making his life better.So many of us work to rise above the restrictions imposed by region,language,background and economic status.And thats where dynamic aspect comes in.We can actually see the forces of change working their way through our everyday society-be it construction of roads,latest gadgets or supermarkets.There's an air of unpredictability-u never know what will emerge out of the next empty space you are standing.Most of the European cities in comparison are just for lack of better word"well preserved".There's no construction going on,no vigour that comes into developing something new.I am sure that its a very comfortable lifestyle but it doesnt provide the same challenges and stimulation then one gets in shaping a society.Its like a peak has been reached and now they are just waiting and maybe meddling in world affairs in some cases.

The reason behind such optimism is no doubt the nascent nature of progress in India and the fact that the sellers have a very lucrative market with millions of rural population to aim for.Now I also understand that why the Westerns can afford to party and work at the same time.Thats because for most of them the future has been laid on a platter.They are like an army stationed at peace time locations.They are just relaxing and bearing the fruits of the plant planted a long time ago.But we Indians are like a warring army-constantly on the run and on the edge.There's not a moment to lose,not a breadth to spare and not an oppurtunity to relax.The aspirations of the country can be seen in the eyes of every young person in India.Its the quest of making India stand on the same stage as other wealthy countries of world.A hope that someday India will be synonymous with technology and high class living with its large cultural diversity than the faces of poor, homeless or orphaned childern.Everytime I see some photographic exhibition depicting the sufferings of Indian people,a sear of pain shoots out somewhere.

So rather than detesting and complaining about all the comforts of the Western life as compared to the toil and hardwork put up by the equivalent Indians,I have just this to say "We are all a part of great churning process which is turning India into a superpower and finally helping it gain respect in the eyes of the world so rather than fuss and complain,its better to plunge headlong and make a difference instead."

Me- A budding counsellor?

Most people with whom I spend sufficient time tend to think of me as a very good listener,this trait maybe matching well with my spectator status.People have been able to pour out stories about all their triumphs,insecurities and frustrations and romantic interests to me.Though I cant say if the fairer sex would conform to this view considering the lack of oppurtunity I have had of interacting with them.I dont know who is losing out more by this forced detachment-them or me.

Anyway lately I had started taking note of the average time it takes for the girl to first mention abt their boyfriend to me.Believe me it didnt take more than 3-4 mins.The mention comes quite innocently,almost casually like in the case of an anceint architectural history girl in Italy whom I was impressing with my knowledge of ancient Roman and Greek history suddenly asked me abt my profession and on hearing engineering went into an overdrive as her boyfriend was also studying engineering at Rome.Or a girl in my department who was very sympathetic to my cause but put things into perspective by telling me abt her boyfriend who was in a 'similar' position at Dublin.After the subject is mentioned the first time,I suddenly become very relaxed and become even more friendly,and consider a huge pressure having been lifted of my shoulders-the pressure to perform.

One other dodgy question is that of age.Now most of places I go,the only single people I find are young girls of 25-26 or middle aged women wanting a respite from their busy professional life.Earlier they used to ask me my age and shrunk away remarking all sorts of things from being too young to move abt on my own or marvelling at the experience that I was having at such an early age.So recently I decided to start asking them first about their age and profession and then inventing a new story depending on the situation at hand.This I learned from an Australian whom I met at a youth hostel in Vienna.For example,we met a girl who told us that she was an aspiring marketing student and hearing this he told her that he was working in McKenzie and me in BCG,and we came to know that she was recently rejected from both the companies and was fully overawed and flustered by our acheivement.We spent lots of time having an animated conversation about the state of multinational company's recruiting policy.

But I was actually talking about the confidence that I inspire in people to tell their innermost feelings to me.This can be reflected from an incident that happened while my Australian friend and I were sitting in a coffee shop and talking some philosophical shit.A south Asian woman came upto us apparantly hearing us talk in English and after being sufficiently surprised at finding an Indian engineering student studying in Lyon and touring Vienna(though I realized that the girls that I met there loved my resume),launched into her life history which made me remember the plot of movie 'Murder'.She said that her Latvian husband was married to computer and she was frustrated with lack of social acceptance in an Austrian society even after 3-4 years of stay there.Our well intented sympthies coupled with some random observations that we had made about the uptight nature of the Austrians and my Australian Jewish friend's inherent hatred of the Austrians for the crimes committed by them against Jews(he never hesitated to remark to anyone who would listen that its possible that ur grandfather shoved my grandfather in a concentration camp), made her pour her heart out to us like we were two counsellers in a Freudian land treating a patient.After giving many solutions including one of spicing up her sex life(with me half expecting the Australian to make a move in showing her how to) we told her what she wanted to listen-that if she had made her mind, she should seperate from him.

This is just one example of many occassions when a person has imposed complete trust on me.Maybe its because of my varied background that I understand people's problems and try to compare them to my own.But I must admit that I have never had a chance to do that myself.I have had interaction with many people but I remember just 1-2 instance when I was able to bare my innermost feelings in front of someone.And those are the moments I remember most.Most of the other times its like a mask that I wear which changes its faces depending on the person I am talking to.And I realize that its really difficult to find a person with whom you can share your true feelings and insecurities by shedding all inhibitions.And few though such moments and people may be,they are surely priceless and must be well cherished.It has also shown me the role that some persons play in ones life,u learn as much or even more from such experiences as you do from books, movies and other material stuff.

A Traveller's diary

I will have to confess that I was not a well travelled person,atleast not in India.Except of few hill stations and regular trips to Agra and Jaipur I havent explored different regions of India.Nowadays whenever I leave for some trip or talk to any European who has seen more of India than me,I feel quite guilty at my lack of effort.

But like many other things this too changed in Europe.Here I discovered the nuances of travelling in a big way.One of the reasons for this is surely the ease of travelling in Europe and the fact that most countries are no bigger than Indian states.I became so confident that I left for my last tour of 18 days without making any reservation before.Somehow the prospect of travelling in India never seems to give the same kind of joy and confidence that Europe inspires.First reason for this is obviously the climate.With almost 7-8 months of the year spent battling the heat,it becomes just impossible to travel around in oppresseve heat and humidity.Another is the Great Indian Population which makes it difficult to find tickets even sometimes a month beforehand.

Travelling acts as a relaxant for me.Years of reading books and watching movies have created many images and led to many pre conceived notions about the great European cities.And I find it an exhilirating experience whenever pictures of chilhood memories or just something seen and read in history books materialises in front of me.It seems to validate all those pointless looking historical events and makes me feel educated.It was this adrenaline feeling which made me go to Pompeii and Pisa.When I was standing in the priceless preserves of Pompeii where the vanquished is still watched over by the vanquisher(Mt.Vesuvius) ,I couldnt but help thinking abt our very own Harappan artifacts and world famous Khajuraho Temples.One has to give this to Europeans -they know how to promote tourism and go all out to conserve the historical monuments and palaces.

After quite an extensive travelling in last few months,I have made some impressions about different cities.There are some cities that just overawe you by their beauty and historical or cultural background.Paris,Rome,Vienna,Barcelona are these kind of cities.One can
spend days in these cities and still find some new facet or avenue to spend time on.
Paris being pure art-its easy to see where the impressionists got their inspiration.Being the heart and soul of France,its truly a beautiful place.
Rome being the historical capital of Europe-the Roman culture and Baroque architecture just oozes out of every nook and corner.
Vienna-can easily be called the music capital of the world.They sure know how to promote Mozart,Schubert,Vivaldi,Beethovan and many other great composers among tourists.One can easily understand why Before Sunrise was inspired here.Its musical environment,coffee houses are just perfect for philosophical conversations.
Barcelona is simply the most dynamic and vivacious city in Europe.One can say this for Barcelona that this city never sleeps.With its Salsa beating atmosphere,there's no better place for partying.

And yeah we cant forget Amsterdam,which puts all ur worst desires(urges) in front of ur eyes making it absolutely impossible to ignore its many mires of darkness and satisfaction.

And then theres Stockholm,one of the most beautiful places I have been to or French Riviera which is simply a playground for the rich and famous.
Yeah I suppose that I can atleast become a travelling counsellor if not anything else on my return-I sure can suggest places satisfying every mood and occasion.

Here,I remember my first visit to an art gallery.It was at the India Habitat Centre with a friend.We had just gone there to eat at the restaurant,when we saw an art gallery with some important looking people around.Curiousity getting the better of us,we decided to enter the gallery to find us among some prominent art critics and the editor of Indian Express supposedly enjoying a private viewing.This became clear to us after we were offered wine.We decided to finish it before clearing off and mockingly stared at the paintings in front of us wearing track suits and sipping wine.Well its certainly been a rapid journey from that innocent bystander to one who has visited Museum of Louvre and Orsay at Paris,Prada and Picasso at Madrid,Van Gogh at Amsterdam,Vatican with Sistine Chapel at Rome,Museum of Contemporary Art at Vienna and countless others at Florence,Milan,Venice etc.

For the last some months it has always been like this,travelling or just making plans for travelling.And all the travelling has fuels an even further desire.I remember an Australian whom I met at Rome saying to me,'The more I travel and see the world,the more a realization sinks in that there are so many places that I will never see'.But I have no complaints.I have already seen more than I thought would be possible in my lifetime.I cant wait to go back and finally explore those lagoons of Kerela(God's own country),the forests of Assam and the forts of Rajasthan.