Bakwas Bath

January 2020:  The CAT scorecard flashed on my screen. 96.x percentile was the final score. Not great, but certainly not bad. For a guy who gave the exam just to complete his bingo book of floundering through engineering (at least once try and raise funding for an idea doomed from its inception, flunk one placement interview so bad you go underground for at least a week and spend a semester flirting with the idea of dropping everything for Civil Services are few more honorable mentions). But it planted a seed in my mind that perhaps I should come again later, with better preparation and more conviction of thought. June 2021:  I join work straight out of graduation. And it’s fun. Nice team, cool colleagues, and a very relaxed work environment. No real stress or anxiety of any kind as I begin to learn the nuances of IT. But at the back of my mind, a niggling thought was ever present- What next? Like any self-respecting son of middle-aged Bengali parents, I knew I was expected to...

Two separate and seemingly unrelated incidents incited me to write this blog post. First is my rank of a humble foot soldier in the all-conquering Bot Army ( the fandom of failed comedian, failed CEO, and general menace to society -Tanmay Bhat). Second is the horrid Gachibowli traffic which continues to be the bane of my existence as I sit pillion behind ever-disgruntled Rappido riders. You might wonder how these two seemingly mundane and unrelated aspects of my being could converge in this impromptu and poorly constructed defense of mediocrity. It all boils down to one of those random convergences of chance where coincidence meets an extremely bored little man with too much time on his hand and a penchant for bullshitting on this personal blog. So let us begin… The Original Bakchod: I have followed, laughed with, and deeply loved Tanmay Bhat right from his AIB days. But I only started respecting the man and viewing him as a role model after the failure of his media company and his res...

2022 was kind to me. I had started the year on rather unsure footing, a young professional with less than 6 months in the corporate jungle saying goodbye to the city he had called home for 23 years. Stuck at home amidst a seemingly unending pandemic my sanity was slipping before the first month had passed. Things definitely got better. I started taking better care of my body and felt fitter mentally and physically. Shifted again as I left the comfort of home for the first time and finally became a fully functional adult (sort of, my roommates got a strong ‘Papa’ energy) and made lots of new friends and cherished memories along the way. I got over the demons of my past and was able to let go of toxic bonds. And finally after 14 long years in the mud Arsenal feel like title contenders and Leo Messi; the undisputed GOAT( that's right, the debate is over) won the World Cup in the greatest final in sports history. 2022 was definitely very kind to me. But as any self respecting Bengali p...

  The following lines are from a poem by Pablo Neruda I have always loved The world is a tapestry Of color and light Of beauty and wonder That fills me with delight The sun on the horizon The stars in the night The flowers in the meadow A breathtaking sight But there is one thing That fills me with joy More than the wonders Of nature's employ It is you, my love With your smile so bright Your touch, your kiss That makes everything right So let us wander Through fields and through streams Hand in hand, forever In this beautiful dream In a century blessed with many outstanding literary figures, Neruda is perhaps one name that holds a weight greater than most. Arguably the greatest poet to emerge from Latin America; his ability to blend the absurd with the day to day, creating verses capable of  deep emotions of love and loss showed the incredible mastery he had over his craft. The above lines are a fine example of his remarkable skills. Only there is one problem, Pablo Neruda nev...

I remember picking up the 'Scion of Ikshvaku' with much enthusiasm when it first came out. Having loved the author’s previous trilogy of novels and wanting more, I was left sadly disappointed by the mediocre storyline and cheaply composed prose marred by a thousand cliches. It felt like I was reading a caricature of my much beloved author and not the real thing. But somewhere along a really dragged out middle section, a plot snippet stood out in my mind. In it the protagonist, prince Ram has his first encounter with the princess Sita. The incident left him not smittened or awestruck like most first encounters in fiction tend to pan out, but rather with his head bowing in respect. It was unique how pure and sincere the emotion was; no slow violins playing in the background, no skipped heartbeats or butterfly filled stomachs, but simple old fashioned respect and admiration. I found this emotion, spread across the pages of an extremely mediocre piece of fiction fascinating and a...