Back again

I had almost given up on the blog after what happened last time I tried to write something. There was also this thing that is popularly called writers' block that I had hit and I hardly knew what to write or even had the enthusiasm to try finding out things that were interesting enough to recount to those who still read this space. Habit, however, as they say, is a leech and so I am back here with yet another update. If I offend someone or something by what I write (both here down below or anytime in the past or future), I am unconditionally apologetic but that is the best that I can do.

So, what have I been up to all these days? Let me see, I have watched a lot of movies for a first. Unfortunately, none of them have excited me enough to want to write a review. Whether it is the idyllic Ishqiya or the message-heavy My Name Is Khan, the thought-provoking Up In The Air or the different Karthik Calling Karthik, or even the visual marvel Avatar, I may have liked or disliked them but not really loved or hated any of them enough to warrant a blog post.

Holi just went by and was awesome because Papa and Mummy were here to celebrate it with us at the new house (this is the first Holi here). They are here for another week or so and plan to go after Papa and I go to watch the inaugural IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket match at the stadium on the 12th. The times when parents are home are such blessings, one looks forward to going home from work and spending weekends out of bed with so much more enthusiasm. Priya, my sister, does manage to keep me on my toes even otherwise but hard as she may try, poor thing can never match the impact that Papa and Mummy have.

Life is chugging along just fine and I am in one of those phases of mine where even if I am not really excited about the way things are going, I am pretty content and that, I believe, is more than half the battle won. I like my friends, am reasonably stable financially and do not hate my work even though I have form and content issues (more content than form, if you know what I mean)

Work, as I said, is getting slightly complicated with the mid-work-life crisis showing its face yet again. As a practice so far, I have not spent exactly 22 months with each of my previous assignments, 22 months at Infosys, another 22 at Kotak Wealth, Delhi as a Relationship Manager, and as you may have guessed by now, I have completed 22 months in Mumbai at Kotak Wealth. So is it time to start something new (as the logo of Shoppers Stop, the company in which my sister works, says)? I am not too sure but what I am sure of is that I need to be prepared for some tough questions from both sides during the upcoming appraisal.

Appraisal reminds me of something Jassi (colleague and dear friend) showed me this morning. It was the status update of a friend of his related to appraisal which pointed to the dialogue of one of the few classic Hindi Film Industry's comedies, Andaz Apna Apna. The dialogue goes like this (and reads beautifully if the context with which you are reading it is the appraisal process):

bbbbba .... bolna kya tha chup kara diya
unka ek ek sawal, mere do do jawab
sawal ek ... jawab do
sawal-jawab...sawal-jawab...sawal-jawab

chupppp...lambi khamoshi

Just another update

I recently attended a friend's wedding in Kolkata. I intended to write a tome describing the events around the wedding but petered down upon realizing that although these events deserve recounting, things may turn out to be a little uncomfortable for some, including me if I did go through with the idea.

Amongst other things, one year is behind the day Mumbai (and to a less extent, I) faced one of the most horrifying and terrible nights. The night of 26/11, as it is fashionably called by the press and the Mumbai glitterati, will remain etched for quite some time in my mind, as it would in the minds of many others who were directly or indirectly affected by the events of that ominous night. I can only wish and pray that those affected get the strength of spirit to go through whatever they have been forced to go through.

There is a new chapter at work and I am supposedly heading a new vertical that has been set up to analyze client investment portfolios. Christened Investment Analytics, the team is responsible for marrying the generic research and product recommendations that is generated by the Products & Research Team with the client specific requirements provided by the Relationship Management Team. Typically, this role is performed by the Investment Advisory practice in most of the global private banks but the work is not as appealing here. As it has turned out, most of the work is aimed at assisting what would have been an investment advisory practice. Going forward, the practice may become bigger and closer to the Investment Advisory kind of a vertical and the responsibility to make that happen, scarily enough, lies on me.

I have been having a good time generally over the last few months with busy weeks and busier weekends. Movies, plays, meeting family and friends, going out-station for weddings...I have had some really nice time recently. I only hope that the run continues and I do not slip into one of those pseudo-depressions that I have the habit of doing.