The debate...

Now here comes the issue of whether it’s only the money that matters. More often than not it’s more than just the money. The social stigmata attached with being unemployed is huge enough to deal with. One good thing companies follow while deciding the firing dates is the fact that more often than not it’s a Friday. Imagine a person getting up on a Wednesday, getting dressed up and realizing just about when he is to turn the ignition on, that he was fired only the day before. At least on a Saturday the feeling is a little reduced, coz you weren’t anyway going to work. But here we are getting a little away from the initial point that how one takes the entire decision, taken by someone who doesn’t even know who you are, how you have performed, about firing you.
Initially when I came to know about the severance package paid in our firm, there was a sudden excitement!! Would you believe getting fired, suddenly began to sound exciting. Thoughts of pre-paying the home loan, a Europe trip began to form in the mind. But what after that? Will I be able to cope up with hours of boredom stuck up at home? And will the social stigmata of being unemployed….be too much? The burdens of the loans that are on the head…the impending wedding bells….have heard a lot about all set marriages being put on hold because of the recession. Being a banker, which was a privilege a few months back suddenly, becomes a disqualification for being a groom! Yet another silver lining!! The good thing is, being single helps!! And here in a situation like this it sure comes as a benefit!!...no dates, no money spent on wooing someone….and better still…no relationship…no expectations!! Another way of justifying my single status.
A good bargain would be to get fired and get a job in the first month!! Not only does it leave you richer but also re-instates the steady cash flows to keep going. The severance package would be more than the bonus you would expect in atleast another 2-3 years. So you end up a winner. But still wishful thinking!! Isn’t it?

The axe falls....

To begin what I started a long time back, seated in the office chair. The news had been trickling down for almost a month now, and then this happened. It wasn’t that we were expecting this but we were probably taken in by the suddenness of the act.
Going back in to the office after the customary after lunch walk, we saw the first signs. She walked down the stairs talking to someone on the phone. That was probably the first indication, but there were reasons for doubt too. I walked into the room as usual, and there were a few hushed discussions going on between the people there and I could smell fear in the air. The room reeked of fear. But what was the discussion about? Was it about the numbers, or was it about who is going to get out. But the new was enormous once it came out. A guy whom we had taken a couple of years back, for a huge premium kicked out. To say the least I was shocked. The other two were relatively insignificant, but it was P who was the shocker. I still couldn’t believe that it’s the same guy with whom I had a great one to one talk in the last office picnic. He was the one who gave me guidance about which home loan to take. Yes he was famous for his outbursts on the brokers, yes he was known for hi volatile temper but he was unarguably the best. Never had I seen a man of his integrity and composure when dealing with those around him. He knew when to heat up and when to calm down.
But what concerned me more than all this was the fact that A was still to come with new about her team. A and me share the same birthdays. By this time the news that so far had been from the horses’ mouth had become a confirmed one from confirmed sources. But Gori Bi was the last to know about it. And we were told as if it was common news, BAU (Business As Usual). And so it went. The 5 o’ clock tea came and we got back to our Parle-G/ginger tea routine. And as soon as it began, it was over.
The whole process was so brutal and quick, no one, not even the people directly affected were in any pain. They had their own fat severance packages to take home. Huge enough to satisfy all their need for atleast one year. Or in other words LAU (Life As Usual). There want enough time for them to say their final byes, the final handshakes or to the deserving few the final jhappis. Made me think…who next?

long lost family...

Beginning this blog for nth time...its high time I write something and go about to end it eventually...have had umpteen number of botched attempts at writing ONE complete blog...but never materialized...but that was till today :) Specially with so many things happening in life, this was bound to happen sooner than later... So here I am, beginning what I hope will be a long lasting affair with blogging (since I haven't had much success with affairs) And this is a recollection of whatever happened in January :) I should've started earlier....the beginning of the year was an opportune moment...but that was when I began with this new thing, keeping track of the cash I spent... have been keeping accounts for some time now...but was restricted to monitoring only by bank account and re-distributing it into various heads....but this time around I wanted it to be an even more detailed analysis!! so here goes another sheet into the template....showing the way the cash was spent too... The end result, a good enough excel sheet that enables me analyze my pending patterns!! Also helps me remember what I’ve lent to whom! One resolution done (oh.. I didn't tell you it was one of my resolution :) ) All of a sudden out of nowhere I have developed this pain in the left leg...strange it is! It occurs only when I am sitting!! Horrible pain..makes me feel like wanting to cut my leg off!! Imagine the pain being so horrible that I think about cutting the left leg!! My shooting leg in football!! (For those who don’t know....Football is religion for me) showed it to a doctor and he came up with this problem in the back..something related to the spinal vertebrae rubbing against each other....and recommended me to undergo a MRI scan (Magnetic Resonance Imaging something like that) but that gave me an opportunity to go home for a second opinion!! A welcome break away from work. At home I was told that one of my cousins was getting married...had lost all touch with their family ages back....and what turns out to be better news...they were all in Mumbai! On reaching back Mumbai I got in touch and that is when the floodgates opened!! I was getting calls from all the people of the LOST family...(would you believe that I go a call while running the marathon!! and YES, I did run the full Standard Chartered Mumbai marathon, 2009)I found out that I had a set of 5 cousins and their families in Mumbai itself!! Then began the journey!! Going to everybody's house...and getting acquainted with everyone. One good that came out of all this was the fact that I came to know a lot about my mother....whom I had little memory off...was 7 when she passed away. Then came the engagement and the wedding, where I caught up with the rest of the family, and suddenly I was mama, chacha, sala and devar!! (all uncles in English...how ridiculous!! you cant differentiate between relations!!) On the work front it has been a pretty bad month. banking seems no longer is as lucrative a job as it was an year back. Lunch table discussions were about who is gonna be kept and who getting fired. And finally one day the list arrived. I could smell fear in the air. A bloody ruthless firing, 10 mins to leave the office, accesses withdrawn before the hour was over and done with it. No time to say final byes (Should I say Dasavidaniyan?) The biggest achievement for the month was the Marathon!! was aiming at a sub 4 hour time, but got big time cramps between 32-34 kms mark and lost 20 mins in the process. February has come with little promise. We got our shares of the already cut short bonuses, not even enough to buy a laptop! but yeas good reason enough to celebrate at Sheesha :) was joined by a couple of friends and the walk that followed the dinner on bandra bandstand will well be remembered for the laughter that followed all the discussions! Time to pack up....heading back home...more laterz... PS: the end was a bit abrupt...wasn’t it??