Mundane Musings

Sometime ago I had written about the water shortage in Chennai and how I had hardly faced any in that city. What was most amazing was the number of people who had never been to Madras seemed to know about acute water shortage and I who had lived there for 23 years didnt!. Irony isnt it. Recently saw a couple of Malayalam films on TV, Mukunda etta Sumithra Vilikunnu and one more not so heard of movie where the main highlight is this endless queue of pink, yellow, green and myriad color pots behind the lorry. Ok ...gotcha now I get the source of information for all these people, it is the movies!. Ever wonder how much it influences our thought process of a place! Now I do, I definitely do. But before we make a viewpoint about it, the least we could do is to actually check with people who have suffered this severe shortage. The next time we form an opinion about people or places, let's take into consideration atleast a second viewpoint from people with firsthand experience.

Another b'day has gone past. Several emails and facebook messages later I am still clueless as to what I am doing with my life. I have no aim, no dream or aspirations. I still havent done anything to enhance my writing skills. I am trying to run a house yet I am miserably failing in it. I badly need a break and go back to India, but I am not getting it. I cannot throw this job away and run away because for once people actually think I am good at this! Which was definitely not how I was perceived in my IT job. But I still feel so wretched, why!! Why is this happening to me alone?? ...............................................

Every once in a while you reach a situation or a point in life where you are confused about some of the choices that lie ahead of you. I am right now in a job that is not too demanding, but at the same time has little or no future. On the other hand, a job related to my degree beckons me. But with the same old story of coding, testing, bug-fixing and never ending new-releases which anyway dont excite me anymore. But I am a computer science engineer. How can I forget that. 4 years of painful learning with a high fee at a private engineering college. And it is still the highest degree I posess. I was offered a job yesterday in a PR firm for doing what I like doing the most which is writing. But quite frankly speaking, I am scared of taking it up. Why ..... There are many reasons for this. I am not sure I can start a career all over again. Primarily because I am not getting any younger with every passing day. I might have taken it up 4 years ago when I first came to Dubai, but now havi...

Phew, last 3 days have seen a spate of articles about water conservation with Mar 22n d being World Water Conservation Day and all. Everybody underestimates the value of water. I remember one of my relatives who went to Chennai more than 30 years ago (or maybe even before that) remarking as if even now there is no water in Chennai and as a result people have a bath only once in a week, and there are still people defecating on the road. I wanted to shout at him at that point of time. I was literally born and brought up in that city. Of course he was fully aware of that. And I (touch wood) never faced any water problem in the 23 years that I spent there. Yes , part of it because we lived in a water-rich suburb called Thiruvanmiyur . But also in part because of rain water harvesting being taken up very seriously in this city. Even today the well that was dug at my home more than 20 years ago hasn't dried up!. A few years back there was very little water in this same well. Now this...

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ALVIN TOFFLER, American Writer and Futurist.

I have been reading the metroplus section of The Hindu for many years now. Even though I shifted from Chennai to Dubai nearly 4 years ago, I still make it a point to read this paper online wherever I am. These 2 articles I read today were really good. And it really lifted my spirits: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/03/23/stories/2010032350170500.htm http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/03/23/stories/2010032350160500.htm

I don't want to start another blog post with the same sentence that its been a while since I blogged. Somehow in the mundane humdrum that my life is I don't do much blogging. I have lost the will that I had. The enthusiasm to somehow move forward. A total lack of direction, and a constant question that nags constantly What Next? Why on earth did I ever leave the comfortable existence of mine in Chennai. So Dubai is a world class city. But not all world class cities are meant for everyone. And definitely not for people like me for whom less is better. When you go into a ahopping mall you are left with this feeling, ok if you purchase this dress it will look good on you, people will take note etc. But do they really? Of course a faux pas will be noticed really quickly. But a normal dress is almost never seen. Likewise unless you throw your weight around nobody notices, but once you act unbearably everyone sits up and takes note. Another interesting thought I read in a campus jour...