THE IRONY OF IMMORTALITY

Immortality is so ironic. The more mortal you are the more immortal you become.

Look at the shadowed footprints of those long gone.For the greater part,it is not those who sighed their last in infirmity and old age who are well remembered and long mourned but those whose breath were abruptly halted through foul means or fair,at least by the terms of heavens above, who are wistfully remembered and deeply mourned. The younger you are the better.
People think of you and see your face in photographs yellowing with age and bitterly wonder 'Where would you be, What would you be doing and What would you say were you alive?'. They look at your unlined face timeless in its youth and uncreased from worries and wonder if their life would have been different if you would have still been alive. They see those happy memories captured in still images, forgetting the tough times they suffered with you and wish you were there to partake in both their sorrows and joys. They attribute many a current success to you and wonder what you would have said if you had been around to feel the same euphoric rise as they do at that moment.

Immortal aren't you? No one lives to see you brittle with age and turn sour as experiences add an astringent dash of lemon to your character. No one lives to see your beauty erode as your shiny black tresses turn into dusty grey, your features decompose into a distorted mirror of your vibrant youth, your weaknesses magnified and your strengths underplayed and those wonderful dreams and promises of success fade into the tempered mediocrity of reality.

Immortal you are. You live on long after you are gone as a monument to perfection;your weaknesses non existent, your courage and character amplified and your unfulfilled dreams and hopes now the dreams and promises of those you left behind.

You... You... You who were most mortal of all men and women are now the pinnacle of immortality. So ironic.

IF I EVER...

If i ever think of you
so hard,so hard I try not to
I only wish that before you had gone
I only wish that you had said good bye

In all these years I never knew
that when I ever thought of you
that every time I reached for you
these were the words I needed to hear

"Goodbye, farewell,thank you,my friend
the journey was lovely, but it had to end
When I am gone, I wont look back, wont turn around
Farewell, godspeed, do not hold on"

© Deepti Ravi
February 2009

BACK AGAIN...

It's been so long since I last blogged - A period of enforced silence. The reason I did not write was not because I had nothing to say, but, rather, too much. With my head constantly exploding with a gazillion thoughts that begged to be released, I yearned to pour down my thoughts here, but the very fact, that all that I felt was too intimate and personal for public consumption held me back. My outpourings found a different vessel.

Now that the year is over, now that I return to the real world, a world I find myself flapping in like a fish out of water. I look at the clock ticking away and wonder why seconds seem to stretch on like hours. I sit in the home that has been my home for nearly twenty years and yearn to stretch my wings again. *Sigh....*....*Wanderlust....*

COMPASSION UNLIMITED

Some of my classmates at ISB have been working really hard. No, not at studying, but at more important things in life. A group of them who stayed back during the term break,initiated a fund and clothing drive to help those misfortunate souls who lost so much in the calamity in Bihar.To know more about what's being done by the students of ISB, read Sumantra's Blog
I'm proud of them and proud of myself for knowing them.

If you would like to do your bit, do get in touch rajarshi_ray@pgp2009.isb.edu or Sumantra_dasgupta@pgp2009.isb.edu.

......

Reality Check. Downward Spiral.
Laundry List. Stunted Thinking.Set Apart.
Crack the box. Live Life. Moody Blues.
Hootie and the Blowfish.
Stop.Start.
Rewind. Backtrack.
Silent Scream. Cluttered Thoughts. Hold Tight.
Crippled Mind. Fear of _____ ?
Subtle Sarcasm. Define Inituition. Shattered Confidence.
Deep Denial. Intelligence Under-rated.
Unexploited Opportunities. Unmet Expectations.
Risk Neutrality. Knowledge Unlimited.
Sea of Faces. Integrity. Commitment.
Left Behind.
Thriving on Challenge. Shorted Time.
Cruel Humour. Distorted Morality. Perspective Change.
Unsatiated Needs. Bleak Outlook. Ripped Innards.
Bitter Beta. Matter Matters.
Suppressed Depression.
Peter Lynch. George Soros. Desired.
Futile Prayer. Intextricably Linked.
Raucous Laughter. Split Personality.
Destination ________?
Outside. Looking In.
Remember.Remember.

A LETTER OF PARTING

It has been a long time since I have written, and I don't intend on letting my creative juices flow now either since I have my Final exams of Term 2 right around the corner, but I couldn't help but post this wonderful mail which our Economics professor wrote to us right before he left back to the US.

Dear Students:

Thanks for your kindness during the last session (and indeed all the sessions)! It has been a pleasure interacting with you and it was your intellectual curiosity that added spark to the course.

I am sure I will read about you soon in the papers as great examples of people who harnessed the market for social good as much as for profits. Meanwhile, question everything. Defy conventional wisdom. Buck the trend. Read the less known novelist. Watch the movie without stars. Listen to the less famous person. What you encounter might enlighten you, entertain you, and even change your life!

Cheers,

XXX

THE WEEKS THAT WHIZZ BY....

In exactly a week’s time, I will be done with my final exams of Term 1. Time seems to be flying past me and waving goodbye while I'm still strolling at a sedate pace. It seems like just a wink back the term had just begun. How do I feel now that the term is coming to an end? Confused? Elated? Depressed? Resigned? Enthused?
To be frank, I feel a mix of all of them.

There is so much to learn out here. I am not strictly talking about the Academics. Though, the academic aspect of learning has been elating though rushed. We seem to be thrust on a roller coaster ride. Are we being tested to see if we still hang on at the end of the ride? Mid term exams 2.5 weeks after the start of the term and final exams another 2.5 weeks after the mid term exams. There have been a whole lot of assignments, quizzes and even more assignments to keep you on your toes while you hope to find time to breathe throughout. The marvel of it all is that I hear that Term 1 is the honeymoon period. The term when things actually move at a relaxed pace. If this is relaxed, I don’t want to really look ahead and gaze into how things are going to be once the other terms happen!! I think I’ve learned to enjoy the academic aspect of learning more post the mid terms. It has taken me time to adjust to it and I hate to admit that it has taken its toll on my mid term results :-(. I guess that though I knew that my peer group out here is brilliant, I never expected to be outrun as fast as I have been. It’s unnerving to find yourself average in Academics, after having topped your class throughout your college years.

Dump the academics. It’s probably one of the most overrated aspects of learning. Truly, think about it. Did your engineering (or any other degree) score really make a difference to how you performed at your work place? I doubt it. With an average work experience of 5 years, you would think that the students out here (baring those with consulting ambitions) would know to not place a lot of credence on their academic performance.
As Rhett Butler would have said, ‘Frankly my dear, I couldn’t give a damn’.

It is for this reason that I am now trying to explore how best can I enhance my learning in a 360 degree manner in the next 10 months. When I first came in, I thought 12 months was a looooong time. Now that nearly 2 months have whizzed by I realize that I was wrong. I need to capitalize on the 10 months that I still have remaining. The kind of facilities, peer group and opportunities that are available here are mind blowing!!

I remember Professor MV telling us on our first day of Financial Accounting, don’t hesitate to ask any question that comes to your mind or fear making a mistake. You’re paying through your nose to be here and learn. You have taken a year off just to learn. So make all the mistakes you want to, because while your mistakes don’t make a difference here, out in the real world as managers mistakes are costly, and you cannot afford to make them.