Wishes

As light as a feather floating in the air,
As stark as a lion lolling in its lair.
As fragile as glass on the fringe,
As dense as a metal attached to a hinge.

Unflappable said some, not to be budged,
Unfulfilled too, but still not smudged.
Never are all realized, never are all gone,
Some are lost in time, some are reborn.


Tender as a curl on a baby's lips,
Acute as a snake's venomous hiss.
They are sacred as a bride's red hue,
And innocent as child's eye blue.


They are concentrated emotions galore,
Deluge sometimes, sometimes sore.
Unbridled, bohemian...they are the rainbow,
They sprout beyond the efforts we show.


Unbiased and unabashed, no predilection,
Wishes are the man's greatest invention.
They are a slander for those who don't dream,
They are the voice to those who dare to dream.


They require no age, they ask no money,
They can be as serious, as they can be funny.
The moon and the stars add to their flavour,
Wishes are to nurture and savour.


They are the crayons to a barren canvas,
They are marbles in a jar brimless.
They are imperfect, and perfect as it may,
They maybe hard as rock or soft as clay.

A wish is a gasp at the mundane life,
A wish is an attempt to wipe a strife.
It could be those lazy afternoon naps,
Or lying nonchalant on your mother's lap.

As small as a stroll in the morning,
To as magnanimous as curbing global warming.
A wish could be world peace,
Or for a pain to cease.


Even if you cannot afford,
Wish at your own accord.
For a wish don't judge you by your wallet,
Even if it doesn't arrive, the promise stays in the closet.

The ache of the past and the hope for the future,
Wishes are the heart's best tutor.
Some are partial, some are whole,
Wishes help us bare our soul.

Distance

Separated by a thousand miles,
Treacherous seas and weeded isles
Talking of the night dark and days sunny,
Not allowing distance to have the hegemony

As the longing grows and happens a segue,
From despair to ecstasy and back
Notwithstanding the constraints we face,
Disobedient to the time's track

The crinkles of your chortles and
The sound of your breath
Inspite of the virtuality makes,
You sit at an arm's length

It is the memories we weave every night,
That makes this seem alright
It maybe a step too small,
But a leap so giant...

Distance shall not dictate,
The terms and of our run
As a dewdrop on the green,
Can reflect the moon and the sun

What is real and what is farce,

Mind again ruminates…

Beneath the pain of being apart,

Is the hope of this to culminate

Sanity takes a backseat,
Technology comes to rescue
The way I feel glued to this,
It is rare and and I rue-
The distance again is the reason,
To not see your face,
But with the destiny,
I somehow manage to brace...

The Rumis and the Gibrans of the world,
Would have understood the dent
That I face; but not my heart,
As it is a poor student...


No witness to our murmurs,
Except the silence of the night
But in the midst of it all,
The connect comes to dazzle

Feelings refuse to subside,
Mind cannot decipher the fuss
Amidst the awkward silence,
The stars are rooting for us...

Best halves

As the lockdown extends, and

Stagnation reigns  supreme,

Going through the memories, I started

Weaving my dreams.

Countless hours compressed,

In the jar of our story.

From the winters to the sun,

All have watched us in glory.

Like a movie, with its twists,

Our script, my friend, isn't smooth.

Like this black swan event,

Life is a bit rude.

As we geared up to mount

Parachute to travel to our dreams.

Chaos became our new friend,

Like the Dalgona with cream.

The nights brightened by your giggles,

And our many online duels.

Provide to this relationship,

The much necessary fuel.

I know, my dearest friend,

I know what you feel.

The crests we face today,

Will turn the bond to steel.

When the going gets tough,

The tough gets going.

In these treacherous waters,

Let's keep our boat rowing.

Sharing those moments of angst

And clubbing it with laughs

Let us, amidst the crisis,

Try to be the best halves.


-written by Udit Bhatia (circa April, 2020 Lockdown 2.0)

Rectangles

It was unassuming, when we first talked,
Not quite a love story, my mind mocked
Goosebumps, the reds and the pinks absent,
Nothing extraordinary about the time spent

The texts became longer as the clock ticked,
At some time we both felt something clicked
Rectangles stored the vibes of our thoughts,
But yet I never expected being tied in a knot

Finding trust and assurance in those texts,
We both wondered what is next!
Unruly kids, Sandy, Yellow dal and sleep
I gushed on the your stories, so deep


Simple, at times mundane without any frills,
You told me about your bargaining skills

Your stern yet sweet way to speak,
Did not let the interaction become weak

Your visage appeared on those shapes,
From shy beings, we did graduate
"Bakwaas" poured down like it was rain,
Your laugh and tough looks became my cocaine

When the chords of your heart play,
Even silence has something to say
I just became glued to the tune,
Wanted to see you in even soon



We did meet, albeit scanty,
But the feelings were aplenty
We both promised to take the plunge,
Knowing that miles we'd need to challenge

Notwithstanding the differences, I started to feel,
With our resolve, distance would kneel
The rectangles bore testimony to our craziness,
Clarity did substitute haziness


Just a few hours together suffice at times,
To make promises for seven lifetimes
The miles don't feel weird anymore,
Because the loves comes to the fore


Seeing you in those little rectangles,
Six inches of weird angles
It aches but I wait for the spree,
One day, you'll be here, with me...





Written for someone special

Apostrophe

Stepping out on the tarmac,
As the new winds struck my visage.
Chasing the dreams I yearned for,
Felt like finally coming off age.

The cobbled streets and grand structures,
Pristine scapes all around.
The manicured views I saw,
Made my love more profound.

The dreams engulfed myself,
The infinity seemed near.
World was my playground,
Life felt on top gear!

The daily chore continued,
As I beyond the confined.
Flying like a bird, oblivious,
To what I had left behind.

Days, months of the living,
Though elite and plush.
Could not filled a void,
That I yearned so much...

The balmy rural dawn,
The warmth of mother's lap.
Life seemed a farrago,
Like a flautist trying to rap.

The wild weed of my farm,
Felt like the jasmines and the lilly.
The exodus from my courtyard,
Seemed like a step so silly.

It felt like a pursuit,
To betray my own soul.
In this labyrinth of connecting the missing dots,
I had created a new hole.


Reflection of my roots,
The memories of the trail.
The irascible me could not be contained,
With this fairytale.

Imperfection never seemed so complete,
I stared at the dark zero.
I needed my fountainhead to yell,
That I was indeed a hero...



This poem was shortlisted under poetry category by the reputed Wordweavers magazine in 2019

Poles Apart

I was thought, she action,
I the lamp, she beacon.
I was solid, she vapor,
I the secret, she promulgator.

I was passive, she active,
I was inert, she radioactive.
I was a whisper, she the cheer!
I was dew, she stratosphere.

As I stumbled across her effervescence,
It was like a troglodyte met a GenZ
In our lexicon of interactions,
She was the fizz, I was gravity.

                    _____

Times were plenty when,
I had noting to share.
She always conjured something or the other,
A quality which I found rare

My silence was met with derision
As her chortles and tantrums went in unison
Her alacrity was a perfect foil for my recluse,
Her unbridled demeanour was my muse.

Expressive as she was, she let her hair down,
The non-linear thoughts array.
Keeping pace with her, 
Was my moment of hurray!

As the clock ticked,
And the monotony began to claw.
My monosyllables filled,
The missing pieces of our jigsaw.

The mingling of emotive and cognitive,
An occurrence out of the blue.
We somehow managed to align
The poles we belonged to...



_______________________________________________________________

Amidst the chaos

As the clock ticks along,

And the life’s moves to the next song

Mind wants to take a step back,

Sift through the growing stack

---

Memories matter little now,

Hours in office churned and how

Why can’t we take it slow,

Soak the life with its shine and glow

---

The moments that I cherish the most,

Scanty and transient like a ghost

The waves of world ever so brute,

Makes us pluck the low hanging fruit

---

Society dictates the way we operate,

Aplomb often loses to hesitate

As we put the brick to our wall of life,

Eyes gaze us on the edge of knife

---

To choose what means more to us,

To devour in luxuries without fuss

To chase beauty over splendour,

Making most of the time so slender

---

Going against the wave,

Has never been the rave

But for the mind to breathe,

And the heart to seethe...

We need to contemplate,

The life and its template

To amend our living law,

And mend the puzzle jigsaw…

Book Review- AQSON Level 1

Captivating....enchanted...enigmatic

There are few books which don't give it away till the last moment and this is the one. It is non formulaic writing which delves into the characters and very deeply. There are so many layers that as a reader, you would be spellbound. 

Aqson ( name derived from Aqua and Crimson) is a game played between God and Lucifer (a Satan) and revolves around a battle to determine future of the nature. They have their own "weapons" to play the game. From the political bout to become India’s Prime minister to the union fracas in the historical Kolkata, the book captures all.

The characters, especially Yuvrani is endearing and you can connect with her at so many levels. Another superbly sketched character is Toya, who is timid but dexterous too

Though is starts in Athens, but to bring out that Indo element with intersperses of the Greek mythology concoction. Sreejib works as a true craftsman to take us to Delhi and Kolkata introducing us to relatable characters albeit underlying fantasy.

The game for me wasn’t about the winner but whom will you support and that is where the beauty of the book lies. The book without much divulgence leaves you at crossroads as to where to go and which side to support. 

Part political, part mythological, the story is a thriller. Kudos to author for going with such an imaginative concept and using lucid language to unravel the story for a non-fantasy reader like me. Eagerly waiting to read Part 2. 

I don't want to divulge more for the fellow readers as that may act like spoilers but Aqson Level 1 is a fabulous read for all fantasy connoisseurs out here.

This book review is a part of The Readers Comsos Book Review Program and Blog Tours , for details log on to thereaderscosmos.blogspot.in

Agastya International Foundation- Bosch CSR excursion

                        The young minds at the school

I happened to visit the quaint hilly town of Kuppam that lies precariously at the borders of three Indian states- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. As a part of the rural immersion for the leadership program candidates at Bosch, we were to visit the acclaimed Agastya Foundation here. Though what seemed a sleepy place to spend two days at, ended with me being extremely connected to the place, the vision of the foundation and especially the people.

Meeting with the founder, Mr Raghavan

 Agastya foundation works in the upliftment of education sector in India. An NGO working towards education for the underprivileged, sounds familiar, isn't it. Yes. But that's where Agastya is different. It  is not just WHAT the kids learn, it is HOW they learn that separates it from the plethora of such institutions out there. We had an opportunity to interact with the founder, Ramaji Raghavan, who is an academician and a philanthropist. He told us why was Agastya conceived and why question storming is essential.

Sampling plantation at one of the schools in Kuppam

The pedagogy of Agastya (Ah, Aha, Haha) is implicitly engraved around the campus which is built to spark curiosity and make you wonder, WHY.

Ah- to spark curiosity in young minds, stimulation of mind
Aha- to make them ask questions like "How" was this done
Haha- enjoyment or the joy of learning...

These are the three pillars of Agastya vision of redefining education.

The auditorium

Agastya constitutes of a sprawling 170 acres of campus that is rich in biodiversity and also the learning tools. We visited multiple labs such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Robotics, Media, Art and Discovery. One common element in all the labs was the experiential learning they wanted to imbibe. Learning by Doing is the mantra. Hosting school children from classes 6-10, the foundation ensures that these impressionable minds touch and feel the things around them and learn the world up, close and personal.

In a country like India where rote learning is practised even at the most elite institutions, Agastya is challenging the odds and trying to build the art of reasoning amongst the GenZ.

The breathtaking campus

Apart from the education, the campus is breathtaking especially during the sunset time. We also had a chance to go for a nature walk around the campus to see the diverse flora.

The humility and the simplicity of the people and the passion they had for the cause was exemplary.



Udit Bhatia
Junior Managers Program
Bosch

The Forever Number One

He should retire,

He doesn't have it in him anymore,

He's too far behind Nole,

He should retire before it's too late,

He is not fit anymore,

He doesn't have the touch he used to once...

This was 2013, 2014, 2015 and even 2016. 

But then when so many people want you to be history, you just pick your Wilson wand and make it. That's Roger Federer for you.

As the ATP rankings were declared this Monday, there was a significant piece of history awaiting all of us. We witnessed the oldest Number 1 ever. It was Roger. Regaining this position for the first time since 2012 and the third time since he held it for the first time, back in 2004. His tally at the helm stands at 303 weeks now and counting, more than any player in tennis' long history.

Well, statistics, among many other things, is what have stopped to matter for the guy called Roger Federer. There's no number that doesn't shout in his favor, not a single speck of grass, clay or decoturf that isn't the testimony to his greatness. Then, why such a brouhaha about this ranking. Aren't we accustomed to the Federer magic by now? We are, for sure. But there's a life lesson in this.

When the experts and tennis veterans had written him off, the man, with an already illustrious career and 17 Grand Slams, could have easily walked into the annals of history as a great. But then, the love for the game and the hunger to improve and compete with people half his age in arguably one of the most rigorous sports, is what kept him going. Improve is another verb that ideally shouldn't figure in Federer's dictionary. But then, he has the knack of amazing us. That one backhand down the line, that fleeting volley at the net, that oil painting of the cross-forehand, Federer can just extend his brilliance to all parts, leaving spectators gasping at his actions. And he just did that. 

Playing fewer tournaments, skipping the clay season, recuperating and of course IMPROVING his already sharp weapons, he had a fairytale 2017 and now extending it even into 2018, winning his Grand Slam number 20 in Melbourne. Well, 17 was good for other legends, other world number 1s, but Federer is once in a lifetime. As he won his 97th career title and regains his throne at Rotterdam, the folklore of tennis shots as much as it can and says his name. Then, Now, Forever, Federer.

Life Down Under 2.0- Living with the monks

"That's the library", he says with his voice gleaming with pride. "I am getting this built from scratch, you know. More than 5000 monks can be accommodated in it." He swipes to show me another image of the under-construction library from his tablet's gallery.

Lobsang Chamtoz, one of my flatmates has been studying and preaching at a monastery near Coorg. He came from his village in Nubra valley, Ladakh in 1991 and since then has been settled here. "I want to teach more students, so need to learn English", he explains me the reason for coming to Bangalore.

As we chat at the dinner table, we are joined by two more flatmates. It is 7:30 PM but it is the dinner time for the monks. Two more flatmates join us as they get ready to prepare the supper. Lungrik, keeps the saucepan on the simmer. "Thukpa today", he gleams and the Jamba, chops the tomatoes.
"You must taste it, you should like it", they insist to me.

Lungrik and Jamba come from Tibet. They love India and have been here, teaching and now preaching in monasteries near Goa. They like India it seems. "It is very free here, not like China", Lungrik says as he puts the onion and tomato in the pan. "India, so many different religions, live together with peace", he says.

Well, hostel life at IIFT gave me all kinds of quirky characters to mingle with. Some nerdy, some creative geniuses, some hasty workers and some tardy blokes. This though is a new territory. An MBA money-minded folk staying alongside people who have left all assets-friends, family, homes behind to spread their learnings. They have been away from the families living a minimalist life serving in the monasteries and living in an austere world of knowledge, meditation and celibacy. It looks like coming together of two worlds under one roof.

"How are you feeling here in Bangalore?", I ask Chamtoz. "Weather good, our school is close, so easy to go", he says in English. All the monks have decided to converse in their new language.

"I love Coorg, so cold in winters", he says. He last went to his village five years ago. He has 5 siblings, all married now.

"How were your classes today", I try to strike a conversation with Jamba, the most introvert of the three. He nods with a smile as he stirs the noodles simultaneously.

"My reading good but speaking bad", chortles Lungrik. I need practice, more practice.


I wonder what made them leave mainstream society? How have they been able to live without a family, without any materialistic ambitions? Spirituality must be extremely powerful. Observing these three souls is like witnessing self control in motion.

"Don't your families miss you?", " I ask all of them. "In our culture, it is a matter of pride to have a son become a monk. Families want us that way only. They proud of us". I don't remember who said this but felt like all three uttered in unison.

The scent of the words and of the Thukpa reverberated the room. "It's done, let's eat", suggests Jamba as we have the supper together on a balmy December evening.

2017 @ 360°

The year that caused all around,
The impact of which was so profound.
From glamour to business, to sports and pol,
The year had something to note for all.

India coming to terms with Demo,
The further rise of BJP and NaMo.
The Rexit causing ripples in RBI,
Talvar's fleeing the shackles of CBI.

Virushka tying the knot
Women's cricket team's dream running riot,
Royal family getting a new member,
2017 was the year to remember.


Mugabe stepping down from the throne,
Jerusalem status' got the eyeballs to roll.
Moonlight's Oscar grab,
And Mayweather's victorious jab.

Angela still the queen of EU,
Startups finding takers so few.
Article 50 in UK became a landmark,
ISIS territory losses grew stark.


Federer finding a new avatar,
Tesla pioneering electric car.
Adele's Grammy sweep,
Somali, Turkey continued to weep.




My IIFT journey marking an end,
Corporate life became a new friend.
Life down south has been both merry and rough
The year that had more crests than troughs.

National JMP Meet- A get-together of Bosch leadership

As a member of the leadership program at Robert Bosch- Junior Managers Program or JMP as it is colloquially called, we had the annual National JMP Meet. The prime objective of this meet is to unite the JMP candidates from all the Bosch entities around India and to facilitate interaction between the JMPs and the senior management at Bosch.
The venue for the National JMP Meet, 2017 was Bangalore- the city housing Bosch India headquarters. It was after a hiatus of a few years that the meet returned to Bangalore. The events and the agenda of the JMP Meet revolved around the role of JMPs and the career progression, challenges faced by JMPs and how to plans your stations to garner maximum learnings during the program.

The program was organized by the JMP candidates themselves and was facilitated by the Bosch HR department

Day 1 : The kickoff started with the Bidadi plant (BidP) visit. Bosch has its roots as a manufacturing organisation and this visit was a maiden plant visit for several JMPs who saw the operations behind the cutting edge tools which form the backbone of Bosch's revenues. The plant facilities, the overall dynamics of shop floor and the products being manufactured. It was a great learning experience to witness the industry 4.0 being implemented in several processes at the plant.

Next pitstop of the meet was the Mentor interaction at one of the leading hotels in Bangalore. The list of mentors included Vice Presidents and senior management office bearers at Bosch India. It was great to see the mentors in their informal avatar talking about life beyond work, the need to unwind and also how to make use of JMP as a platform to get into higher managerial roles in one's career. The event was also graced by some ex-JMPs who were kind enough to share their learnings and how the JMP helped them to assume higher roles at Bosch.

The Day 1 ended with a gala dinner with the members and the ex-JMP fraternity .

Day 2 : Day 2 started of with the much awaited interaction with the President of Bosch India- Mr. Soumitra Bhattacharya. He had an extremely unbuttoned reverie with us and shared his life journey. It was indeed humbling to see the struggles and challenges he faced in his personal and professional career, the latter of which was spread across 10 Indian states and 4 countries.

The final halt of the JMP Meet was the Wonderla resort- situated on the outskirts of Bangalore. A cocoon surrounded by unbridled greenery away from the bustling metropolis, it was an ideal way to rejuvinate and mingle with other JMPs. The final session of the meet- Transformational leadership was held at the resort which gave cursory insights into leadership styles and change management.

It was great to be a part of the meet which gave the entire JMP cohort to meet the senior management and set their expectation, albeit in a more informal environment. Looking forward to more such initiatives at Bosch!

Life down under 1.0- New beginnings

As the transition finally happened from a rigorous MBA program to a even more rigorous corporate life, I just hoped for some respite when I got Bangalore as the location. Well, to compensate for the weather,  there was traffic and life again was a zero sum game.

What hit me the most was the first weekend of my tryst with Bangalore and life out of the comforting environs of my house. Yes, the hostel stint was there but it never kicks you until you're thrown out in a new city where you are all by yourself. The novelty factor- new job, new city, new people around, new places to visit- helped to overcome the solitude to a certain extent. The weekdays were generally wrapped around work whereas the weekends were when I tried to invest in myself- joining a gym, playing a sport and of course continuing this passion to write something.

Now, that I have completed the first 6 months of my tryst with the City of lakes/gardens/silicon valley of the east...whatever you may call, it has been an experience that has helped me "manage" not just my finances but myself too. This "staying away from home" sojourn has taught me how to embrace not being pampered and fed and create an independent world around me.

The lanes of Sultanpet

If you happen to be a Bangalorean (one of the many who flock to the city of gardens/lakes/traffic/IT), the chances are high that you may have visited Nandi hills. Well, it is a cool tranquil place situated 2 hours from the city and is like a convenient weekend getaway. But, there's more to the Nandi hills excursion that what I had thought and this led me to a bit more research about the surrounding villages and voila, I found a sweet nugget called Sultanpet.

View of the hill from Sultanpet

Situated at the foothills of the Nandi, this village is a quaint one. With vineyards grazing its boundaries at one end and a magnificent temple at the other, Sultanpet is one of those pages it the Nandi book which gets skipped. I visited the place with a colleague and we decided to flock through the bylanes of this quaint village to unravel the small kernels of knowledge and make the Nandi excursion more meaningful.

We started of with an abolished mosque situated right across the fields. This mosque in shambles is not used presently and serves as a cemetery. The tamarind trees highlighting the main gate of Sultanpet with the monkeys hanging reminded me of the childhood. The village school just opposite the main gate had sounds of some Kannada rhymes being chanted in unison. And then there was the village barber, who was kind enough to understand my Hindi (people rarely know Hindi in remote pockets of Karnataka) and lead me to the potter's workshop.

Next, we headed to the Bhog Nandeeshwara temple, just next to Sultanpet village. The temple is apparently 1000 years old and houses the motifs of Shiva. The temple courtyard is gigantic and again flocked with monkeys. We were happy to do the darshan (worship) as the temple wasn't as crowded that day. The temple presents one of the more pretty views of the Nandi betta.

Bhog Nandeeshwara Temple

A two kilometre walk from this temple, leads you to Nandi halt. This essentially is a railway station and connects Chikkaballapur district to the other districts of Karnataka. The station though dilapidated provides a panoramic view of the magnificent eucalyptus groves and is a feast to the eyes.

Team Explorers

As we treaded further to explore the balmy countryside, we visited the museum as well as the samadhi (resting place) of Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. He was a statesman, engineer and a Bharat Ratna recipient; a stalwart from these part of the globe.




We next drove to the Nandi betta and explored the panoramic view from the summit. The Summer Palace and the adjoining gardens were enriched with the flora of vivid varieties and hues.

The Sultanpet tour not just unravelled the rustic countryside with pleased the eyes but also the timelessness and the simplicity of the life that is rare to observe in a city. Our senses had a field day as we conjured the ingredients that satiate the soul.

The Hill