Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Retirement...

My tauji, my father’s elder brother, retired on 30th June, 2009, yesterday. He stays with my parents. His wife is no more in this world and he has no kids. But then, he love all the kids of our family like a father.
I called him up to congratulate him. I asked how many years of service. I had to make him repeat. 38 years. My God!!! And I was celebrating the completion of my one year in the job, in the same company where I joined a year ago as if I have conquered the Mt. Everest. 38 years of untainted service record. It sure calls for a celebration and yes, it was arranged and he was getting ready for it. My father will also retire the next year. And I have, since my birth, seen him in the same bank.
I sometimes think how they managed to stick to the same company for so long. Many answers and many reasons. May be they were never so ambitious; they were never so insecure; they had limited spending; they invested in a planned way in few but secure means; they never had such stiff competition at work place; the companies also made them a part of their family. So many reasons to stick to the same company for so long.
As oppose to these reasons and the temperament of our elders, we always live in the environment which is full of tensions; we are over ambitious, which if not fulfilled hurts us; we are so insecure that each day I pray to God to save my job, which I can lose without any fault of mine; why is it that I would feel jealous and pull down of any of my peer who is ascending the success ladder; why do I invest my limited salary in so many places for future that for my present, I have to think twice before spending; why do I have to pretend myself in my social circle to maintain it; why do I buy expensive phones, clothes and dine at expensive hotels and cafes just to remain the part of the herd.
I remember that my father finally bought his own house in the year 1998-99, but most of our generation tries to own a house and car in early stages of life so that we have ample time to pay back our loans. Most of us are re-paying at-least 2-3 loans and credit card bills by now.
Even after retirement, we may not retire, for we would have left so much mess behind us to clear. But I wish that my elder generation do retire in the true sense. CHEERS!!!

Happy Birthday to Me...

Yes, it was my birthday few days back, 27th June. Don’t ask the age.
Celebrated with bhaiyya and bhabhi at their place. It was short but again a memorable trip. Bhabhi tried her best to prepare those dishes which I normally miss being away from home. Chole-Poori, pao-bhaji and finally, gatte. Cut the cake at 12 midnight, when all three of us ran to change from our rag-type clothes to good presentable clothes, for we were to do the photo session at the cake-cutting-ceremony (we actually put on some deodorants as well, as if the camera is going to capture the smell also). Got an external hard-drive of 320 GB and a suit as gifts. The hard-drive is so sleek and trendy. All of us fell in love with it. Friends called to wish (if they had not, I would have murdered them). My mom was trying to remind me of my age, typical of mom. Clicked each others’ photo and few using the timer technique and smiling just at the moment when the camera would capture the photo (now we are trained to smile at the camera running on the timer). Next morning went to watch New York, first most sought-after movie after some disturbances between the producers and the multiplex owners’ associations, when no movie was being released. The movie can be considered ok types. It was going good. John and Katrina played their roles nicely. But the logics given by Irrfan Khan were totally unconvincing. Neil Nitin Mukesh. What to say. Initially was good, but at the end, the most annoying acting by him. By yes, I liked the concept. Not based on WTC 9/11 attacks but what happened, to whom after that, which sent the shiver down our spines. It was scary. Could not even imagine what such people would have gone through. The torture, the humiliation, the treatment; what was shown in the movie could have been just the tip of an iceberg. And it became a blame game. The FBI told that they had orders from their seniors, their seniors told that they had orders from the government, the government officials told that they were ordered by the President. And the President simply said that “I never ordered for such torture”. But they were tortured and the world knew. I still remember reading news about such jails in USA after the attacks. If I knew this, I can’t believe that the President of that nation was not aware. He could have stopped all that as soon as he came to know about it.
Anyways, back to my birthday. After movie, we were roaming in the mall. This roaming proved a bit expensive for my brother since two of us bought 3 t-shirts and made him buy 2 shirts for himself and again a photo session. Copied few serials like F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Prison Break, Byomkesh Bakshi and movies to the hard-drive. My joy was coming to an end. Bhabhi prepared besan laddoos. And I have to say. They were almost same to what my mother prepares. Finally, I am back to where I never wanted to come.