Thursday, November 30, 2006

The Trainer...

This is the first part of a short story that would unwind right here on callcentrediaries...and is dedicated to all the awesome trainers that made the honeymoon period a memorable experience...

Shweta waited as the machine rolled out coffee into the small cup. Her fifth cup of the night, she mused and grabbed it. She did not care which cup it was...as long as it was hot and warm she was happy. With the cup held in one hand and the pack of cigarette in another she stood in front of the door, feeling unsure as to how to open it! "There...let me help you." the voice was definitely masculine as a hand slided from behind her and pulled the door open. Shweta looked around at her saviour and found herself staring at a set of dark eyes under thick dark eye brows that seemed to meet in centre. He was someone she had never seen in office before for she was certain had she seen him she would have recalled a face like this one. Smiling her thanks she walked out into the pleasant night. It had rained a little while ago and there was a sweet smell in the air that refreshed her senses. She looked around and saw him lighting a cigarette. Presently he looked towards her and she asked for the matchbox. A matchbox was lying snuggly in the pocket of her jeans yet she felt like talking to this man. There was just something in his eyes."Sure...""Thanks again.""My pleasure lady."Shweta smiled and looked around."Training?" he asked and Shweta nodded."Yup. I joined three days ago.""Welcome to the organisation!' he said and after a polite smile he walked away towards the other corner. Shweta kept staring long after he was gone. She had never ever imagined that just one look could do that to her. Three long days of induction and her first night on the job! Or rather the first night of a month long training! She had liked it so far. Just two hours in it and she was enjoying. "There you are!" the girl who was in her team caught up with her. She was a pleasant enough girl, short in height and extremely thin with straight black hair and a slightly long face. Shweta smiled at her and kept looking in the direction the man had left."You looking for someone?" the girl...Neha...asked and Shweta recounted the stranger that she would have hard time forgetting."Did youa ask him which process he was working in? Or his name in the least?" she asked and Shweta frowned."No...why?'"Did you attend the induction or what? Remember there are three thousand people working in this place day in and out with over 18 processes. Chances are lady...you might never see this man again!"Shweta looked at the girl and felt disappointed. That was true indeed. There were chances she would never see him again. Gulping down the liquid she walked behind Neha, feeling grumpy and lost. She should have asked his name...introduce herself or something like that. She found a seat towards the end of the bay. All of a sudden she was not intersted in the training. There trainer was nice...had seemed friendly yet she found herself thinking about the man...the one man who in all probability she might never see again. The door to the room opened as her trainer walked in followed by a man of about 6 in height. He was dressed casually in blue denims and a cream colored shirt tucked in ever so neatly. His hair were thick and mouth curved in a pleasant smile. Her eyes locked with his, the deep black eyes that seemed to read her very soul...Shweta felt her heart skip a beat as her trainer spoke..."Please meet Sanjay...my colleague and your second trainer!"

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Feel Like a Woman!

I woke up with a dream in my eyes today morning, the dream of a beautiful kitchen. Strange as it may seem but I just can't take out that kitchen from my mind. It was done in shades of brown with a semi circular end that had the stove and a chimney on top, making it look like an alcove of sorts. The slab in the middle was perfectly placed, not breaking down the path nor making the kitchen look any smaller.

People might wonder what's wrong with me? Why am I talking about a kitchen this early? Why am I talking about a kitchen at all?

Well because I am amused by the change in me. The things that I never paid attention to are now glaringly important for me. I worry about my skin....for the first time in my life I actually had a sleepless night about a zit on my face!!! I think & dream about kitchens! I worry about my wardrobe...my hair...its like all of a sudden I just feel like being a woman!

I was not a tom boy by any means. I had my own style yet I hated all the fuss about combing your hair thirteen times in 15 minutes routine, the look in the mirror and rectify my make up minutes, the oh my god am I looking fat stuff!!!
We can discount the last in the sense because I am fat to the extent that asking this question won't be wise! Yet for the first time in how many years I just want to look pretty!!!
I always managed to...but once the make up was in place it would take a nice daant from mama to 'touch it up!'. But now I am a little too conscious about all that.

I was always a woman...yet I had guarded myself from all the 'girly' stuff!

Today all I want to say is...MAN...I FEEL LIKE A WOMAN!

Monday, November 27, 2006

TOUCHWOOD!!!

The two girls walked around the park, each battling with a strange thought. Ayesha felt the strange tension envelope them. She could barely imagine the secret Nitika was about to share with her. Yet if Niti had something to talk about then Ayesha had all the time in the world. Niti walked in silence, her heart in a turmoil. Was it the right moment? Could she trust Ayesha? Would Ayesha judge her? She had know Ayu for over two years now and they somehow
understood each other. Looking at the students rushing through the ground Niti felt indecisive about her judgement agin but she just had to share it with someone and at that instant she could not share it with anyone other than Ayesha. They found a lonely spot and sat down for what was the first discussion of its kind...Niti looked definitely preoccupied, though Ayesha. What was it that was bothering her so much? What was it that Niti had to tell her? She waited patiently and accepted the silence that followed. Niti finally took a breath and looked at Ayesha."I am in love," she said and Ayesha waited. The silence made her think again. She had not heard the complete sentence. Was it what she had heard? Love?"Huh?' the first thought that crossed Ayesha's mind was...WHAT??? You are hardly twelve girl! We are hardly 12!!!""I know...I am in love. I have seen him around Ayu and there is just something about him. When today in the bus he sat by my side I just felt..."Ayesha was not listening anymore. Her mind was mingled with different emotions. A part of her heart was crying out in plain amusement...How weird!! and the other was trying to understand the look on the face. For some reason Niti looked pretty. Her eyes were alight with a passion she had never seen in them before. She was glowing with not the love of the man but just the idea of being in love. A smile broke on her lips as she sat and listened as her friend reconted her first ever crush...

They sat across the table, the silence broken occaionally by the click of the cup as Niti kept it back on the saucer. Ayesha held her glass of diet coke, savouring the moment. Life had walked wih them for a long time now...And they had come such a long way. She looked as Niti's face glowed under the dim light, eyes glittering due to the hint of tears. She looked as radiant as ever and Ayesha felt the affection bring back tears to her own eyes."You just love him so much..." Ayesha said and Niti smiled."I do..." her eyes wondered towards her friends for reasurance. It was just there...no words required to explain how she felt for this man. And no words required to explain to Ayesha...Sighing both looked at the table and then their hands went out to touch the wooden surface simultaneously as they said it out loud...'TOUCHWOOD'. The silence was instantly broken down with the giggle as the two friends revelled in the comfortable silence.

Monday, November 20, 2006

An apology

I have lost it. For the past three days I have been trying to write something yet I am failing miserably. Nothing I write gives me that satisfaction. My creativity is suffering. I stare for hours together at the screen as if words would call back to me, wake me up from the slumber my mind has forced upon me yet nothing really happens. My hands remain poised in front of the keyboard and eyes focussed on a blank screen. And then I force them to start motion, write something atleast and then words start forming only to be deleted a while later. Why is it happening? I wish I could talk about it. Yet I am not too keen on divulging the secret. But write I must...to unburden the words that are waiting on my fingertips...Three days ago I was almost certain what I wanted to write about. I even talked about it with the person it was concerned with and then by the time the pleasant conversation ended there was nothing left to say. I would not say I cried for I did not. Yet I felt a strange pain settle somewhere close to my heart. I know I was wrong, maybe obstinate and completely out of line. I know I was downright rude by the end...yet the damage was done!
Who was hurt more I can not comment. But the fact remains that I hurt the only person I call my sunshine!I have known him for close to 6 years now...infact 7 years. The acquaintance was a joke in the beginning, one of the many teenage whims. Yet with age things changed. As I went on to understand him, things began to change. He was a boy unlike any other I had ever met...outgoing, funny and downright arrogant. For some strange reason I never hated his humongous attitude for there was never false ego. In one simple sentence he was the boy who loved himself...totally. It was completely infectious. His laughter was resonant, and no matter how blue my mood was...ten minutes after talking with him I was smiling ear to ear. The only person who could call me an Idiot a 100 times without irking me. Many of my diary entries refer to him as the feel good factor! As I sat around, trying to understand him I saw him change from a totally 'biggra' boy to a responsible and considerate man. His laughter did not change, nor did the criticisms get any softer (infact they grew!), his self love increased and he remained essentially the same! At times I like to believe that he never changed...it was just that with time I started to understand him a bit better. Yet I feel I don't know him at all.
He can carry himself extremely well, his voice is textured, accent refined and mannerisms perfect. He would smile and frown at you, raise his eyebrow in mockery and laugh out loud when you realize the reason and blush like a kid. He would chide you for your behaviour, scream his exasperation yet never loose his control. He is still the man who could make the bluest day just fade into memories...if bharti is the comfortable cool of the night that will just wait patiently by my side, he is the sunshine that would make all the miseries look insignificant.
And being the Idiot that I am I hurt him. Just one sentence and I felt dark clouds gather around. Sometimes I think I do it on purpose for I love the clouds. They promise me shelter from getting burnt. Was it my fear? I don't want to dwell on it any more. For the moment I am happy with the comfort of darkness around me. Yet I know I have hurt someone and he did not deserve that. For that reason all I want to say is that I am sorry.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Milestone 25!

25...just a number. Yet today it is more than just that in my life. For so many reasons...

When I had barely joined the call centre a good friend once asked me what was it that I wanted to do...and I knew that I had to set goals for myself. I pondered over and over, tried to analyse what all i wanted to do and decided that I should have a definite goal. The only thing i came up with just one...have to earn a minimum package of 50G by the age of 25...own and drive my own car by the age of 25...complete my first book by the age of 25...
It is anybody's guess that what was simply my goal was to achieve a certain something by that age. Then why now am I refering to this number?

In July 2007 I would be 25.

When Deepti tagged me I pondered...thought and analysed how to disturb the pattern to make it more me. And the answer was a simple 25...My idea...stating 25 things I have done and 25 I would want to do. Majority are from the list...the rest I would be adding to...shall I say...customize the tag a bit!

Here goes the 2 twenty fives...

25 Miles already travelled...

1. Climbed a mountain
2. Said 'I love you' and meant it...(do that often:))
3. Stayed up all night and watched the SUNRISE
4. Slept under the stars
5. Changed a baby's diaper
6. Watched a meteor shower
7. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
8. Asked out a stranger
9. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
10.Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
11.Adopted an accent for an entire day
12.Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
13.Had two hard drives for your computer (Just got that!)
14.Taken care of someone who was drunk
15.Had amazing friends (STILL HAVE THEM...TOUCHWOOD!)
16.Taken a road-trip
17.Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
18.Played in the mud
19.Played in the rain
20.Toured ancient sites
21.Got flowers for no reason
22.Performed on stage
23.Buried one of your parents
24.Had an entire black wardrobe...(In totality...my mother shrieked after

she realised I actually had no other color to wear!!!)
25.Had a series of weird dreams about people I know that came true!!!

ANd Miles to go before I Sleep...

1. Watch Wild Whales in their natural habitat
2. Dance with a stranger in a foreign land
3. Take a Ferrari for a test drive
4. Visit Paris
5. Stand on top of a lighthouse and look at the sea.
6. Go bagpacking in European countryside
7. Start a business
8. An evening in gobdola in Venice.
9. Be on a television show as an EXPERT!!! (wow wow wow)
10.Hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (I just worry about coming back up!)
11.Skip all school reunions
12.Eat Shushi...
13.Go on a much planned vacation with someone special
14.Swim in the moonlight.
15.Walk on the beach on a full moon night...
16.Own atleast 10 different black shoes!
17.Be in shape and have a Sexy Black evening dress.
18.Get my work published
19.Witness the ALPS and the PYRAMIDS
20.Stroll in the Paris by myself
21. Own a house in Mussourie
22.Swim with Wild Dolphins
23.Read Gone with the Wind
24.Gift a Mercedes to my nephew on his 18th b'day.
AND
25. GET A SALARY PACKAGE OF 50 G A MONTH BY MY 25TH B'DAY...

Monday, November 06, 2006

A Glimpse of Gauri

To all those who don't know, Gauri is my latest creation. She is the Queen of the lot...the main protogonist of my first full fledged novel. Why am I giving an insight into her abhi se? Well...for at this very moment she is all I have...she is my inspiration as much as I am her imagination....(conscious interchange of inspiration and imagination!)

Gauri sat on the cold bench, welcoming the chill in the air. Life, she thought, had a lot instore for her. She knew the next morning the sun would smile down at her and warm her. Yet...
Gently she touched her belly and felt the movement murmur the presence she could never deny.
"You look lost." Amit said and Gauri turned to look at the man, dressed in a blue cardigan, his curly hair indicating the slight wind.
"Maybe I am." She replied. She heard him sigh and sit besides her.
"It's not a good feeling."
"And why not?" Gauri asked.
"Well...Why would you like being lost?"
Gauri smiled and looked at the log of wood that was now gently simmering. Fire had consumed life out of it and made it into a pile of ash held together for another while.
"So that someone would find me." Gauri murmured and kept her gaze fixed at the burning ambers. She felt his eyes on her, felt the softness alight the dark eyes yet she kept staring at the fire. Her heart had no place for that softness. It felt nothing at the instant. A mean block of ice was placed in her chest, beating as if forced to. Every instant the cold became her. The fire failed to warm her frozen heart. She was waiting...for that moment when that fire would be her again. When warmth would course through her blood and make her alive...again!

Sighing she looked at Amit and smiled.
"I think I need to rest now."
"Sure." Amit stood up yet his smile was instantly replaced by concern for the lady in front. She was covered in beads of perspiration. Her eyes that had been cold were now wide with fear and acute pain.
"What's the matter?" he asked and Gauri sat on the bench again. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest now. A smile hovered over her lips. With the realization of pain she felt life flow into her.
"It's time...Chabili...the baby..." she gasped, fighting for air to fill her lungs. The fire was burning wildly now and she felt it in her body.
"Oh my god. You wait...I would call someone..."Amit said and she held on to his sleeve. Tears were forming in her eyes now...Warm tears of gratitude and pain mingled with fear.
"Don't leave me..." She said and held on to his arm and he looked down at the face glowing in the light of fire, the wide dark eyes blazing with such pain that rendered the woman an angelic aura. He stared transfixed and put his hand on the forehead lovingly...
"I would never leave you!"....

Friday, November 03, 2006

Point 47....

Well...Prashant wrote a long list of his itches and the only itch that seemed to be unanimous was the POINT 47. What do women think when they check out men...

I ain't no expert but here are a few things that most of the women check out...

Hands...are they clean?
How does he laugh?
His clothes.....dirty? shirt tucked in?
Hair....nicely combed or unruly?

Hands....are they scratching?
Eyes....is he checking out my breast?

Lips....does he lick them too often?
His mobile phone....is he playing with it?

The bulk in the trousers....show me the money!

Hands....are the nails clipped? are they clean?
Smile....

Height....
approximate weight...
approximate length......

Does he slouch?
Let me see if he takes out a 100 ka note or 500 ka?

Hands...where is he keeping them...


And then almost all of them are thinking exactly the following things while checking out a guy...

He's...umm okay. What's with this guy? Am i looking okay? I should have worn that black dress...it would have made me look slimmer! Damn...is he checking me out? That ass...can't look at my face!/ Why is he not looking at my breast??? I should have worn a tighter top...damn! What did he say he was doing again? Hmm...would it look okay if i order a chicken sandwich...am so hungry...no he would think i am a pig...I should have left my hair open...damn is he going to say something/ Kitna bolta hain!......No watch? Nice phone....wish i could throw that in the bin....Oh what the hell....I bet he has never seen a better looking woman in his life...that bitch in white top is smiling...why can't she live with her own?/ Is that bitch smirking? God...why did he have to wear this weird combination....i mean a T on a Thursday???
Man I am sooooo hungry...I think I should take that Chicken Sub...To hell with the diet...
"Just Irish Coffee for me...without cream..." Damn, will wait till he goes....