The Mumbai professional
Some things are just not meant to be. Long back, when I'd not even decided what to study post-10th, I had decided one thing - I will never work in Bombay. But here I am!
Other things are simply meant to be. Sometime during my IIFM years, when I decided to start reading stuff about microfinance (somewhat like a major deviation from my primary purpose), I downloaded a document from the Net, published by a company called Intellecap. The look of the document itself was so cool! Halfway through the reading, I thought "If I have to ever work in the microfinance sector, I wouldn't mind working here!" And here I am.
That's how life is, I believe. Things are a khichdi of your innermost hopes and fears. Because both of these lead your thoughts which, in turn, guide your actions.
So here's looking at it another way - What if I have no fears? I won't be beaten around, I won't keep running away. I'll be happy. What if I have no hopes? I can't imagine such a life - coz for me, Life and Hope are synonymous. But yes, the fear if 'minus'ed, could accelerate my onward journey... hmm...
So here I still am. In Mumbai, a place crores call their home, never wanting to leave. I don't mind it. Of course, it's not everything that I want. The peace, the love, the comfort I've come to recognize over the years are not here in an overt way. But what makes me continue - and for this, many will cry out with chagrin - is the fact that this is just a bigger Ahmedabad, a city I call my home. The same foods, the same larger community, the same streets... Of course, the people quality has a lot to be bettered, but then, that's Mumbai!
I just hope I don't turn into an indifferent Mumbaikar myself. The other day on the way back from office, at a busy traffic junction, a lady struggled with her huge bundle of vegetable bags. A plastic cover tore and out tumbled its contents. While she flustered about, trying to retrieve them, a dozen Mumbaikars watched her... from a distance of 2-3 metres.
I passed by.
I hope this was not the beginning. I will it... to be the end.
Other things are simply meant to be. Sometime during my IIFM years, when I decided to start reading stuff about microfinance (somewhat like a major deviation from my primary purpose), I downloaded a document from the Net, published by a company called Intellecap. The look of the document itself was so cool! Halfway through the reading, I thought "If I have to ever work in the microfinance sector, I wouldn't mind working here!" And here I am.
That's how life is, I believe. Things are a khichdi of your innermost hopes and fears. Because both of these lead your thoughts which, in turn, guide your actions.
So here's looking at it another way - What if I have no fears? I won't be beaten around, I won't keep running away. I'll be happy. What if I have no hopes? I can't imagine such a life - coz for me, Life and Hope are synonymous. But yes, the fear if 'minus'ed, could accelerate my onward journey... hmm...
So here I still am. In Mumbai, a place crores call their home, never wanting to leave. I don't mind it. Of course, it's not everything that I want. The peace, the love, the comfort I've come to recognize over the years are not here in an overt way. But what makes me continue - and for this, many will cry out with chagrin - is the fact that this is just a bigger Ahmedabad, a city I call my home. The same foods, the same larger community, the same streets... Of course, the people quality has a lot to be bettered, but then, that's Mumbai!
I just hope I don't turn into an indifferent Mumbaikar myself. The other day on the way back from office, at a busy traffic junction, a lady struggled with her huge bundle of vegetable bags. A plastic cover tore and out tumbled its contents. While she flustered about, trying to retrieve them, a dozen Mumbaikars watched her... from a distance of 2-3 metres.
I passed by.
I hope this was not the beginning. I will it... to be the end.
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