... And only our lives haven't changed...

Its been 7 years in sales and marketing or a little more than that.... Yeah it itches alright. And its been that long at the market research conference that happens every year.

Year 1 .. Excited roukee in marketing. Enthusiastically reached on time and took notes.

Year 2.. Still fairly excited. Reached on time but networked with other brand managers and had lots of black coffee.

Year 3.. Switched companies. So went back to meet old colleagues and Bitch about life. Drank lots of black coffee.

Year 4.. Went a little before first coffee break and left after lunch.

Year 5 or 6 .. Think I was blissfully away in south america and away from the marketing world.

Year 7... Back to the grind. Met some more old colleagues, drank coffee, blogged abt it and planning to leave after lunch.

Topic of day: changing consumers, changing lives, changing marketing.

Oh god. Why doesn't our life change?

Mumbai mornings

Every since I started working in Worli, its been a 30 minute commute. I was used to a 5 minute commute to work or no commute. So, this sudden shift to 30 came as a shock initially. Till I realised that its actually 5.5 songs and some people watching and scenery watching that can make the 30 minutes look like 3.

The stereotypical man in a striped shirt with the Economic Times in his hand, as he tries to relax in the backseat of a car, which is too large for the Bombay roads starkly contrasts the whole queue of people who sit next to the Mahim mosque with the previous days Eco times or previous months Eco times (crumpled makeshift plate) for food, who do not have a care in the world except that piece of old naan they would receive. The little kid defecates in absolute oblivion under the Bandra flyover, as the entire corporate world of Bandra take the very same route turn away in avoidance (escapism at its best) and make it a pseudo topic of discussion at a party (the much spoken about disparity of income between the rich and the poor in Bombay). The same old traffic signal book vendors who try to sell me the 90 Rs Chetan Bhagat novels now smile in recognition that I detest the recent commercialisation of Indian authors (who should have stayed in their air conditioned investment banks), under the false genre of 'Indian Literature'. The traffic jam in Mahim causeway (which was the perfect excuse to anyone who was running late for a meeting) does turn out to be a traffic jam.. pleasant to find out some excuses are for real. The view of the Sea Link brings back some memorie.. ooooh.. delightfully compensating for the blaring horns in the traffic jam.. When will people ever learn that honking does not facilitate red to green. The Siddhi Vinayak signal is a living example of people who have absolutely no driving sense - firstly, they are speeding towards the temple... the minute they spot the temple 20 metres away, they slow down abruptly with some bumper kissing... then, they remove both hands away from the steering wheel and start doing the entire criss cross holding ear and touching cheek Ganesha movement with their hands... looking 45 degrees to the left and not ahead.... forgetting the important fact that, when you are in a 4 wheeler, doing something called driving, you need to be looking ahead with your hands on vehicle control... Well, they survive this blind ride due to faith. So, I heard.

It sounds like Im ranting about the ride. Not true. There are some unexpected pleasant elements to the ride too. When and if I take the shortcut through Chapel road towards Lilavati, I wave out to the meat shop owner, who is probably the only person who really felt my exit from my previous organisation. I used to take that very route to work every day for 4.5 years and wishing him or waving to him was a part of my daily routine. So, now, I make it a point to take that route every once in a blue moon. I love the wind in my face as the taxi speeds down the Shivaji park section, the only freeway on route. And there is this particular barricaded land, just before reaching Shivaji park, which has asbestos sheets with random colours that catches your eye.... with a boring message about not trespassing, but still the colours make up. Just before reaching Doordarshan tower, there is a construction coming up on the left side and the construction walls are built in such a way there are thin gaps between them and they let the sunlight stream through and create striped shadows on the road. As the taxi was slowing down in this particular patch, the music I was listening to was this nice Latin reggae number, which hopped and skipped... matching the hopping and skipping of the shadows as the vehicles drove by obstructing the shadows. One minute you see a line and the next minute, its done.... looked like piano keys on the street going in perfect sync with the music I was listening to. An unforgettable moment that would stay on my mind forever.

Every morning is different. Depends on the music. Depends on the weather. Depends on the traffic. Depends on the coffee I drank or not drank. And depends on my taxi driver, who takes a route, that I don't ask him to, suprising me with whatever is in store...

Will you have lunch with me?

It all started with the 2 boiled eggs that lay in my fridge for 2 whole days... and the bowl of salad, which was turning stale. I tried reviving the eggs by throwing some cheese along with it to make these sad looking egg and cheese sandwiches and packed up the salad in a not so appetising old plastic Janta bar box. Just the look of takeaway boxes from Pali naka makes you lose your appetite if it has cold food in them. So, juggling the boxes, my laptop bag and a jacket, I tried getting into a taxi this morning and it was a matter of time before I dropped something... there went my food !

Well.. headed to work.. no food.. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to message the few friends who worked around the neighbourhood to check whether they would have lunch.

First SMS to my good old friend from an Ad agency that used to work with me -

SMS : Hey, wanna catch up? Lunch at Pheonix?
Reply: At a shoot

Figured that its too short a notice for people in agencies cause lunch hour minus two is about the time they come into work and stepping out for lunch may not be a possibility.

So, next SMS to an old B school buddy who joined a newspaper and is a busy journalist

SMS: Hey, long time? You back in Mumbai? Wanna catch up?
Reply: Back from Delhi. But, in Kashmir now. Saw you in Goa and you were headed into a restaurant and tried your mobile but did not get through.

Phew! That means he is not having lunch with me.

So, SMS to another old friend, who was known to do impromptu things.

SMS: Hey, you have 1 hour notice. Lunch? Not asking you to run away to Brazil with me.
Reply: I don't like Thursdays.

What is that supposed to mean? I really wonder. I really really wonder.

Losing time.. just 45 minutes left for lunch time. Im getting desperate. Decided to send a group SMS to a few friends.

SMS: Anyone wants to have lunch at Phoenix today? Im sorry ... Ive sent a group SMS. But, Im desperate and looking for some company.

Reply 1: My stupid boss has organised a working lunch (Banker)
Reply 2: No reply (Cousin)
Reply 3: No reply (Agency)
Reply 4: Do you think we can meet up in Andheri. (I had to educate this friend its more than 1.5 years since I left my previous organisation, which was in Bandra and now I work in Worli)

So.... all that.. and now, Im left lunchless and lunch companionless.

Reply 5: Lets do coffee post lunch.

So..... afterall, I can just rely on good old black coffee and one friend who still has the word 'spontaneous' in his dictionary. Cheers to that.

Update: 2 hours later
And that friend too did not turn up!

And why I did not blog for 2 months...

I just returned from a meeting with one of my agencies and someone who reads my blog there mentioned that he hasn't seen any updates. I realised its been pretty chaotic.... and I've been spending time writing about everything I want in my head.. I've had the time to write but my fingers have been moving automatically to Lotus notes or Microsoft Excel in automation of work that filled my life. Not an excuse......

I did take a break to Goa last weekend and consciously left my laptop behind. It was my fifth visit to Goa in 3 years.... Its always been sun and sand and beer.. Its been the same homestay in Candolim... Its been the wishful brazilian tan... Its been the 250 Rs rent a scooter... Its also been Prawn curry and rice and an impulse buy of a technicolour sarong... This time, it was actually a bit of all these with a lot of void. This time, it was very different...

I went to Goa after a time period in my life, which I consider as the most intense... It was ups and downs and all extremes possible...

I lost my step father 2 months back... unexpectedly... I guess you never expect such things...

I overworked myself to avoid that grief... (my mom was dusting and cleaning like there was no tomorrow.. I do know who I take after)

I sat for the first time in my life in a Formula 1 car..... ecstacy is an understatement ... (really, who would have thought this would happen)

I tried not to sound elated about it but I realised that if there is one person who would have been elated for me, it would have been my step dad... so, what the heck! Let me rejoice and let me pay it as a tribute to the man who loved racing so much...

I spent 3 days with an F1 driver, who I pretty much hated when I was a Schumi fan.. and I realise today how stupid I was to hate someone without meeting the person... (Thanks DC for making me wiser on this front)

I messed up a lot and forgot to call the people who matter a lot... my mom, my sister, my husband... (but, they understood... they know me I guess.. and they know the Kahlil Gibran philosophy on love and marriage and family)

I worked till 3 or 4 am everyday and Im doing this after 7 years I think.. the last time I did this, I was making my college yearbook with 2 guys who I loved dearly..

I also met some insane people who were willing to work all night with me.. made up for the college buddy memories... (and more..)

I lived a lot on air and Red Bull.. (I cannot believe that I started drinking Red Bull.. had to do that to make up for the horrible coffee at work)

I went through dehydration, kidney infection, sun burn, migraines, fever and cramps all in 2 months... (unhealthy wreck)

I missed capoeira classes for 5 weeks continuously and feel like shit about it... (but Im back at class and feel better)

I picked up something new... I started to run... I dont think I love it... I don't think I'll ever love it... Its very painful infact.. But, it works beautifully with my Capoeira philosophy - Kill pain with pain... and the pain this running is creating, whether its physical or mental actually is strong enough to make some other things look light.. (and I guess I should write a separate post on this... somehow, doesn't do justice to what I feel about this very very very new hobby)

I spent more time online, on my mobile, on chat, on all the bloody communication modes overdosing myself... an unimaginable addiction... like the constant need to be connected.. wired up... work or otherwise.. I miss those days when I had nothing to connect except my Ipod headphones...

I got used to my workplace... the seat which was uncomfortable.. the cold corner.. the dirty grey walls amidst the red walls.. the people... the smoking corner for them.. the horrible coffee machine.. the security guy who doesn't hear too well.. the noise.. the silence.. the air..

I forgot to practice Portuguese. Just an occassional SMS to a friend with words I love to use in a foreign language and that's it. Not much practice.

I did a lot but just did not write. On those normal days that I would have actually spent time writing, I spent with someone who heard me out. Now, I need to get back to writing.

I gave up life on the edge for a life on two thumbs

Lately, Ive been making some choices and have actually wondered what the hell has happened to me..... Post my birthday, I had money to buy myself a cool mountain bike. My stupid phone gave away at that time and I went and spent the money I had on an E series business phone.

A friend highlighted the choice I had - a mountain bike vis a vis a business phone and reminded me of the life choice I had made myself victim too. And since then, I've spent hours thinking about how I made this choice and what drove me to buy that phone. I've been spending hours everyday hooked and addicted to this gadget, discovering the internet all over again through a screen the size of a matchbox and living life on two thumbs (something I thought was ridiculous till I got this phone).

My eyes hurt, peering at this bright display.
My thumbs hurt from constant typing.
My head hurts from thinking about how to write a short message.
Everything hurts pretty much... but, not the kind of pain I want.

Everyone who has gone on a long bike ride sweating it out would know the satisfaction of that pain! I crave for that now..

Whats happened to the way we normally speak?

Text Conversation - This is life today

Friend: Long time Apu! We must catch up... Where have you been?

Me: Work has been killing me. Must make time to catch up.

Friend: Im shuttling between Delhi and Mumbai and just have to check my POA for the weekend

Me: Sunday may be free

Friend: Ill connect with you Saturday EOD to check logistics on our meeting

What ever happened to simple "Ill call you on Saturday to fix dinner time for Sunday". TLA's and MBA's have messed up our approach to simple communication.

Status Update: Victim of Status Updates

Who is to blame. The guys who came up with social networking or the gullible audience? Well, its a chicken and egg story. When I decided not to take my mobile phone on my trip, I thought I was cutting my technological umbilical cord. Little did I realise that what would replace simple SMS would be messages on walls, scraps, pokes, status updates and all those painful things. Through the 7 months traveling, I had no option but to update photos and put up status messages. It was exciting...

I was stuck in a hut in the border of Chile and Bolivia in the freezing cold.
I just trekked up a 400 metre high Smoke waterfall in Brazil.
I had beer and barbeque for breakfast.
I got bitten by mosquitos in Machu Picchu.
I am fighting altitude sickness by drinking Coca tea (coca : source of cocaine)

I am back and honestly, I don't have exciting status updates....

I woke up and saw ants in my wall.
I called the plumber to fix my hand shower.
I cleaned the crow shit from the window ledge.
I told my cook that to make Anda curry for lunch.
I wrote an essay 'My house' in Spanish.

What a bunch of nonsense! Actually, I shouldn't call it nonsense. Now that I have a lot of time in my hands, messages about OTHER people being stuck in airports, business meetings at 9 pm, friends struggling with their 3 week olds, people with sleep disorders.... all that and more.... it is entertainment galore. The obsession to check live updates on Facebook every few minutes... when will that go away? I used to complain when my husband wanted to see those stupid cricket scores on the mobile phone at one point of time. Im no different today. Even as I say this, Ive received 2 funny messages about a friend who is nursing a hangover and wondering whether apple juice is a good remedy... and another friend who just cannot decide who the next James Bond should be.

Wish it would all go away.
I intend to spend some more time on the internet this week cleaning up my internet footprints.
I deleted my Twitter account (which was anyway inactive) and felt a rush.
Im back to my simple text messages and phone calls.
Lets see how long all this lasts.

Is it my imagination or is Dahi Puri 45 Rs?

It doesn't feel like I was away only for 7 months. I honestly remember eating Dahi puri for something like 20 bucks before I left for Latin America. And now that I am back and craving for all the food I've missed, I've been heading to the usual hangouts. Holy cow... everything has doubled in price...

Punjab Sweet House Dahi Puri is 45 Rs

Candies excuse for a chicken quiche is now 35 Rs (Its actually the size of a ping pong ball)

Chicken roll in Kareem's is 85 Rs and halved in size (depressing)

Walls Cornetto is 30 Rs (I never used to buy this before.. however, I just feel its still criminal to charge that much)

Any Chinese side dish in Bandra is around 200 plus... (what ever happened to chicken 65 at less than 100 Rs)

Naariyal Pani in Carter road has 2 SKUs now - 17 Rs and 19 Rs (hell yeah)

Beer at Totos is now 130 per mug (I really should just stock up from Deepak wines... If only I did not feel that emotional connect to Totos)

A really horrible oriental buffet in a new restaurant in Bandra called Global fusion served us stale dimsums and charged us Rs 800 per head.

If 2 people head to a coffee shop, be sure to carry 200 Rs.. Gone are the days you can drink for less than 100 Rs.

Even the cutting chai at my Spanish class is now 6 Rs.

The only meal that I was thoroughly satisfied with was at this street chinese stall that has opened up next door to my place and charged me 25 Rs for a plate of Egg fried rice.

And all the home cooked food by Asha ji.

What's this nonsense about recession or whatever.... why the hell are people getting pay cuts and prices going up? I told you.. I can never understand economics. Or, is it just me... feeling the pinch.. not having a salary being credited to my bank account... and having lived on a shoestring the past couple of months...

Whatever the case may be..... Mumbai prices have gone bonkers!

Every mother is a working mother !

Dedicated to 2 of the best moms in the world -

• My mom - a social worker, cook, gardener, babysitter, counselor, PTA member, event organizer, party host, activist... blah blah... and more than anything a mom to Anu and me
  
• Sandhya - a PR superwoman, fashion designer, make up artist, hair stylist, beauty consultant, cook, environmentalist, keen appreciator of 'marine life'... blah blah.. and a fantastic mom to Kabir
  

Is this what you want to leave behind?

I spent a couple of hours at the Wisconsin Historical Museum, walking through the 4 floors... a lot of interesting information on the states rich history... ranging from politics to lifestyle, immigrant history to community living. There was one exhibit that clearly caught my eye... It was called 'What will you leave behind?'. It was 4 levels of stuff that archeologists discovered under the earth (what a 70s family dumped). I did not have to study archeology to understand what it was trying to say. With the material that we use today and dump on Mother Earth, what will archeologists many thousand years later say about our times. Would there be anything meaningful from the material they collect..What would it say about our lifestyle... It is time for us to think about recycling and polluting our Earth with the garbage that we pollute it with. On the contrary, there was a person at the museum who got me thinking even more... He said 'If we recycle everything, what would the archeologists find at all many many years later?'. I guess they may not exist (stuff and archeologists). Everything may be online and archived for people to see 10000 years later. Is that bad? I guess not... cause if we don't change what we are doing and start dumping things even more, the Earth itself may not exist (forget about archeologists and their discoveries). Hope my post made some sense. It doesn't matter if it didn't. Just start using a cloth bag instead of a plastic bag after you read this....