Mumbai It Is...

For now, at least. Though, that could change very soon. The ball is in my court actually. Depending on how life shapes up over the next few months, I will be able to take a decision on that. I am aiming to be back in Mumbai in April. It's another thing that I am making a short business trip to Mumbai on Sunday. Be back on Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, life goes on. It's good to think that I will be going back to Mumbai. I won't really miss Bangalore though it's been a bittersweet symphony for the past 6 months. Further details will be made public in the coming months.

Quick Update

There's a lot to tell but somehow nothing new or maybe not even worth telling. You know how it is, don't you?

Was at the memorial for my friend yesterday evening. It was held in the sylvan surroundings of Alliance Francaise; songs, speeches and her favourite sweets. Surreal.

The coming week is an important one, especially today. Some answers in store for me.

Pleasant Surprise

Of all the people that I can bump into in Bangalore, I bumped into these guys.

UH is here on tour, they play in Bangalore tomorrow and Mumbai the day after. These legends of rock are however not very well known in a city that just played host to Bryan Adams and Jethro Tull.

I managed to get their autographs. For good measure, I even got them to autograph my pod. Bernie wanted the pod for himself but was kind enough to let go after some entreaties. I took two photographs of the guys, here and there. Couldn't pose with them et al, though I would have loved to. Participated in a contest after that and won their CD, which I gifted to Annie alongwith the autographed poster :)

You have to listen to UH. These guys truly ROCK! More on them in my next.

Whole Lotta Medley

Listening to a song – Wanted, Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi. The acoustic/live version. Haven’t heard it in a long time. Used to freak out on it when I first laid my hands on it around 6 years ago. Those were my ‘glam-rock’ days probably; not an era when I freaked out on glam rock, rather when I was much younger and probably wiser. Also, I used to be an avid guitarist at that time. As professional responsibilities increased, everything else in life got lower priorities. So now, when I look at the guitars lying in the corner of the house, I feel much more than a twinge of sadness.

I did manage to write a song on Monday night though. Inspired by the untimely demise of a friend on Sunday night, I wrote the first few lines of a poem. Annie went on to complete it with a set of three haikus and it ended up as a song. We plan to record it as a group during a memorial we have planned for this vibrant and lively 22 year old, who left us so suddenly.

I set the tune and did a rough recording on Monday night itself. I have uploaded it here; the words are probably not clearly audible. I might change it to the key of G-major (it’s in C-major right now).

Bryan Adams is playing now. ‘I’ll Always Be Right There’, he croons. He will be crooning live in Bangalore soon. Jethro Tull performs today; but I am not going. Bryan won’t be seeing me either.

I was at a seminar/meeting with some chambers of the European Commission yesterday. The evening ended in a detailed discussion with Dee about the merits and demerits of globalization. It’s all about money, honey. If consumers wouldn’t have a problem with paying more for local produce, I guess all this outsourcing would really take a backseat. It also featured today morning in my meeting with a French delegation that’s considering India as an outsourcing destination for IT and related work. They already get a lot of products manufactured in India currently. I will be meeting them for more detailed discussions later in the day probably.

My mind is quite fragmented right now. I am so looking forward to the weekend and in some ways, I am not. I welcome the break but I dread the ‘weekend work’ all the same. Sometimes, it can get too bloody lonely.

At least the fractured ribs seem to be healing. Did I mention how they got fractured anyway? A motorcycle accident it was. Towards the last days of December, I was driving sedately to a client meeting when this lady and her two children decided to jump from the divider onto my path. I managed to brake and steer it away from them, in the process hitting them slightly with the handle while the motorcycle itself went for a spin with me in tow. I was thrown off and landed on my left side, wasn’t wearing a helmet and the basic training I have had helped save me from serious injuries. I must have spun close to 10 metres. The fall fractured the ribs. The doctor said that nothing could be done and I would have to grin and bear it. I don’t know about the grinning, but I sure grimaced a lot. It hurts a lot lesser now than the first days of the New Year, when I would be calling out to Mom every few minutes. It’s just a niggling thing now; it did get slightly aggravated after my rickshaw overturned last weekend though…

I wish I didn’t have to depend on these rickshaws. I would have bought a bike by now, but thanks to the total uncertainty over my future (I don’t know when and where I am getting transferred, but I expect something to be finalized in the coming weeks). One thing is for sure though. If it’s Mumbai, then I am getting the Thunderbird as planned. However, if NY calls, a Harley it is!

P.S. Dee, thanks for this. It’s exactly how I feel.

P.S.2: I had written this post earlier in the evening and then I had to rush to meet the French delegation again. Fielded questions ranging from the education system, value of women in Indian society, corruption in Indian govt. to specifics on agriculture, IT and call centers.. More on that some other time.

P.S.3. Just for kicks, the last two PS' were posted while waiting at a bus stop in Residency Road, for Annie to finish an official engagement :) Yeah, technology.