For the love of reading..

 I sat by the lawns surrounding the Bangalore literature festival admiring my new purchase - a book recounting 13 stories about life in Pakistan, when I was promptly jolted to the present by an over enthusiastic man conducting a survey on reading habits. I courteously accepted the form he thrust at me and started filling it out. One question that made me stop and think was ' Do the family's reading habits set the tone for the child's future tryst with books'. While intuitively that sounded right, I caught myself thinking about my childhood and the role that books played in it. Well, on any given day until my late teens, I picked the most stupid TV show over a book (any book, really). My father was always a voracious reader and tried so hard to get me to read. He bought me all kinds of books hoping something would strike a chord. By the time I was 18, he was thoroughly  disappointed in the way I stubbornly chose to spend time in a book-less world and pretty much gave up on that changing. It wasn't until my early 20s when I just started to work that I considered reading. I still remember walking through the corridor at work and spotting a book by an Indian author with short stories. The cover which had a Buddha and a lotus was what caught my eye. That was the first book I voluntarily read and there has been no looking back since.

It has added so much to my life. I never thought it was possible to experience places I've never been to through a book and always failed to understand people who made such statements, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Last month, on a friend's recommendation, I finished reading a book called Americanah by African author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It was a wonderful book that gave me so much more insight in to Nigeria. It talked about an African's experience of migrating to the States. It talks about the lead protagonist, Ifamelu failing to feel like she was home even after 15 years and what prompts her to return to Nigeria. In so many ways, it echos what you hear from scores of Indians who move to the US, but in many ways the Nigerian references are also distinctly different from India - perhaps still bearing a vague resemblance to India in the 19th century.

And then there is this moving read called 'Our Moon has blood clots' by Indian journalist Rahul Pandita. I've never been to Kashmir but have heard about the trials and tribulations of the people there from Kashmiri friends and through

 documentaries. It always highlighted the POK angle or the fact that Kashmiri's didnt feel part of either nations wanting instead to be an independent state. This book however talks so much about the Pandits / Muslim angle, the killings, and the number of rulers with completely different visions this state has had. Its an amazing read and at an unintellectual, human level - its just incredibly sad what people had to go through. I was so caught up in his writing that I've just started his next book called 'Hello Bastar' which talks about the maoist movement.

Back at the lit fest, a friend and I were talking about a shared interest in history and I was wondering aloud what that knowledge adds to life and she said, yes  it doesn't offer you anything immediate as a business book would perhaps if applied to the corporate world , but this gives you so much more; something intangible, perspective in life, wisdom and sometimes the feeling that a Saturday night spent reading a book added a little more to life than one spent hopping around bars (although each has its own place and is much needed in life ;))!

The only Amazon I have ever known..

With all this hype about the recent NYT article about Amazon, I feel compelled to share my experience as a proud Amazonian. An Amazonian who has been able to build  a satisfying career at Amazon, while having to deal with personal challenges along the way. I have been working here since early 2014 and in the last 20 months, I have had the opportunity to work on many exciting aspects of the business, to work with some of the brightest brains and above all to keep learning and growing. Somewhere along this journey, I also had to deal with a huge personal blow. A year back, I lost my father to a terminal disease. It was perhaps the most challenging phase in my life and it was expectedly hard to focus on much else. I took some days off and requested to work from my hometown for the days that followed. As soon as I informed my team and my manager, I received nothing but unconditional support. I was told to take as much time off as I needed to be with my family. Within a day, I was sent white flowers with a note that read ‘We are with you during these tough times’. Most of the senior leaders I had worked with sent me notes asking how I was doing. My peers covered for me until I was fit to be back at work. The management and colleagues did not HAVE to react this way, but they chose to do so. It only made me value my job and workplace more.

A few weeks back, I was ill and was subsequently ordered to take time off work. Again, my experience was no different. The support and understanding I have received here during hard times is nothing short of amazing. 

 I would describe Amazon as fast paced yet understanding, challenging yet fun and smart yet humble – an organization I am proud to be a part of!

Daddy's little girl...forever and after!

A little over a month back, as the entire city around us started to light up in festive spirit, one man knocked the living daylights out of us by deciding to leave this world (in the physical sense of being).This amazing man who I worship, emulate, respect and love so dearly, my father, left a void that I doubt anybody or anything can ever fill.

Growing up, like any other kid, I believed my dad was some kind of super-man who would fly in to any situation and bail me out (God knows he had to bail me out of something literally every other day).

As I got older, I started to see him more as a parent, a friend and a mentor - only to re-discover years later that this man was indeed a hero. What else can explain him surviving 14 hospitalizations, inexplicable pain and a complete change of lifestyle for 2 years. Yet, day after day, he never failed to give me his toothy grin and crooked smile and the adorable frown if I dare stepped out of the house for anything other than work!

He fought against all odds and outlived everyone's expectations. That was my dad - the man who even fought destiny for a bit.

Way back in time - when I was in school, mom and dad, amongst a
host of other parents sat by the stage cheering me - as I sang a chorus song for parent's day. It went by 'I'm everything I am because you loved me'. I looked at him straight and sang every word sincerely and with real emotion because it was so true. I was and still am everything I am because he loved me.



He raised my sister and me to believe that we could achieve whatever we willed to achieve. He often told us - I would have brought you two up no differently had you been boys.

It was always his kind and loving words that encouraged me. Go study. Go nail that job. Travel. Be that writer you always wanted to be. Be kind and never do any harm. So many wonderful words of encouragement!

He was also the coolest dad. He was ahead of his times in so many ways. He was my sounding board for everything under the sun. He was my rock and my solution to every problem I've ever had.

In the last few weeks, emails and notes have been pouring in from his friends and well-wishers. I realize everyone has the same thing to say about him. He has touched so many lives in some way or the other. I'd consider myself lucky if I managed to be a fraction of the person that he was.



Over the last few years, he often told people (as I now find out) that he considered himself very lucky to have two gems for daughters (words that keep my sister and I going). But, really, he was clueless because we were the lucky ones - lucky to have been born to him and lucky to have spent these decades with him.

While it is indeed hard to move on in life without him, I chide myself everyday to keep going. Tears are wasted on a man this amazing. I have dreams (that we have both talked about) to fulfill and lives to effect - so when I meet him again someday, he'd be proud.



I know he will continue to be my inspiration, my guiding light and occupy the largest room in my heart!


-Always Daddy's Little Girl
 

Life post the MBA..

You know how everyone tells you that your life during the MBA is a bubble ? Well, that is so true. It is a year long bubble - one that is exciting, amazing, fulfilling in so many ways and in all probability the best time of your life. And this - you understand and value a lot more once its done!

So its been a few weeks since graduation and a few months since I moved back from Barcelona. In many ways, it feels good to be back in Mumbai. It is home, familiar ground, busy and bustling as always. But one thing remains, a part of me will always love and miss what I had in Barcelona - that weather, those beaches, the clubs, the coffee shops and those friends!

Another thing I seem to have brought back with me from the last year  is all the travel. In the last three months, the airport has come to be my second home and the flight my source of entertainment (I have caught up on so many movies and Big Bang Theory episodes thanks to in flight entertainment :)). I am not complaining at all (okay sometimes, but I secretly hope this continues)

I've been meeting a lot of new people for work and otherwise since I have moved back. Some people ask me with that wide eyed look 'What was it like to live in Spain?" (Thank you very much - Zindagi na Milegi Dobara) and then there are some who question - Why did you choose Spain? Its not the most common destination for higher education, is it (And thanks to the million Indians who diligently continue to move to the States every year). Was it worth it? And then there are those who ask why I chose to move back to India?

I catch myself saying it was completely worth it and it was! I have made some amazing friends who I know I will be in touch with for the rest of my life. I have people to visit no matter what country I go to and memories that will truly last a lifetime. And lastly, working at Google is probably my biggest dream come true till date. Its only been a month here, but I gotta good feeling about this :)

So yes, it was every bit worth it!

And all good things too come to an end!

As I sat in on my last MBA class at ESADE yesterday (and probably the last class in my life), it was a strange bitter sweet feeling. Sweet cos it does feel like a bit of an achievement and bitter because it marks the end of 15 intense and exhilarating months! Just the thought of not knowing when I will see some people who have come to become very close friends is sad to say the very least!

But one thing is for sure, life will never be the same after ESADE and I mean that in a good way. When I got accepted to the MBA and readied myself to move to Barcelona, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. A year and a half later I know a lot of what I am today is because of this very experience and for that I will always be thankful for ESADE and the people who I crossed paths with here!

Time to go take the real world by storm :-)

Dream Weekend!

So the one weekend that I decided not to travel, the whole world and their neighbors are travelling! Since I don't have any 'social engagements', I have the whole weekend to myself and it totally helps that I happened to go on a book shopping spree last weekend - courtesy Netherlands having an English book section in every store!

After a long long time, here I am stuck at home on a cold winter weekend with Spotify, books and some hot chocolate for company! Dream weekend, indeed! Unfortunately, the nerd in me is really jumping with joy :P!

Perspective of happiness can be so limited..

Last weekend I was  travelling in Amsterdam, an incredibly charming city. While I was there, I happened to visit the Anne Frank house - popularly known as the museum with a soul and a story. It is the story of a little jewish girl, Anne Frank, who was holed up in hiding (from the Nazis) in this very house (now presented as a museum for tourists) for years before she was killed at the age of 15 during the World War 2. She and her family hid in this secret annexe for two whole years fearing their discovery every minute. It is a heart wrenching story about the trials and tribulations she went through during those years.

The museum has everything from excerpts of her diary, decorations on her wall, the kitchen they used and the hiding place to the black curtains.

This little girl lived there with her family and started writing a diary of daily events at the age of 13. She wrote about her life and many war related stories for two years. After she died, her father chose to publish the diary in to a book and reveal her story to the rest of the world.

The museum had interviews of surviving members, friends and family. This is one of the most intriguing, astonishing and yet excruciating stories I have come across.

After the museum visit, I felt compelled to go to the bookstore and buy her book. I wanted to know more!
The book is highly recommended - a testament to innocent prosecution!

But the one thing about her diary that really caught my attention wass that she was a very real girl (although she is often projected as this hero) who sometimes had more negative than positive things to say about people. She went through heartbreak, tension and struggle - but she still managed to find happiness in the smallest of things. She had to crave for the most basic things like sunlight and food, but she was also perfectly delighted about decorating the walls of her room with cut outs of old magazines.

It kind of makes you think about how relative the concept of happiness or unhappiness is. And our perspective of happiness can sometimes be so limited..