Middle-class emblems

India has a flourishing(by count only, pun intended) middle-class. Perhaps it's a pervasive phenomenon world-wide with income disparities only growing. However, with Indian economy leap-frogging from Agro to Services skipping the Manufacturing-based construct only cemented the construct(as much as it continues to contradict economic theories)

Though there may be innumerable emblems but few which caught my fancy more than other are as follows alongside my musings:

Use of calendars as 'interior' decoration stalwarts: 

Calendars from Insurance companies & Wholesale dealers were a very common affair. Little did i realize the strong Religious themes innate to it till a close friend 'subscribing' to an alternate faith felt bit out-of-place visiting us

[sidebar: subscription makes for a hope of fluid-choice of opting-out in of auto-enrollment by birth]. Couldn't garner courage to ask if she had her's similarly landscaped tweaked per her faith ofcourse, considering she did also belong to similar financial (or psychological?)cohort. And did i mention the incense did add a zing to the setting? :)

To be noted, i then realized that even our wall-clock had a religious imprint.

Steel cutlery: 

Rugged, easy-maintenance, hygienic, long-lasting etc. an endless set of virtues. Except....aesthetics! 

As with most my thoughts lacking any originality whatsoever, above is also a borrowed observation from a married friend while dropping by my humble bachelor hamlet. Duly noted, if that's any comfort :)

Tea-drinking: (North & east India specific observation perhaps)

If it may make for a perk, people of such demographics are not particularly constrained for time. Also, the social fabric is so intertwined as to have little regard/understanding/need for personal space. Thus, unannounced evening walk-in were a familiar affair(alas, now more as an exception than a rule, even at the time of writing this). 

Tea has been the choice of beverage - was it because it's affordable than say a fruit juice, mildly intoxicating(beer anyone?), tends to give a make-believe(no nutrients) sense of invigoration etc.

Perhaps the rebels - young restless & new earners - thus choose to claim the new found freedom by shaking-off this habit as a foremost undertaking towards a rather premium alternative of coffee.

[Sidebar: Another post on tryst with the beverage]

Dairy-based diet:

Doesn't look like a mere co-incidence that we've a heavy reliance on dairy product - providing for cheap source of Calcium/protein.

Pattern in worship:(not universally applicable)

Being vulnerable to forces of nature, the idea to worship diet-source & contingency sits quite comfortably with us(easy to extrapolate the idea & silence herein would serve better than words/expression)

Home-cooked food: 

Ambivalent to if this being a middle-class thing per-se but just as a thought almost in-sync with the mood of the post. 

No doubt a healthier choice, but wonder how many from the said cohort actually can afford a restaurant-fixed meal either? I do take relief in such an arrangement even if a few may find it as a regressive practice(as usually undertakings 'defaults' to women members of the household). 

But then again it took me a while to understand as to why my muh-boli chachi would insist making 'fresh' sooji-halwa & was so against the consideration of biscuit(my young taste buds preferred latter! :) 

A distinguished life...

Understandably a subjective inquiry. Believe most people have identified a set of KPI's to 'chase'...

But then there're unsung 'heroes' in that journey - the orderlies or the ordinary often overlooked. But being from a small-town those are very much an integral part of our reflection/narrative.

A glimpse into an everyday conversation could've the protagonist as, say great-grandson on Aata-chakki wala did so & so...

Today, was nudged into a similar reminiscence, when on my folks return from an evening shopping trip it was announced that batashe-wala(Pani-puri/Golgappa/Gupchup) continues to be stationed at same spot even during festive time rush, though he has grown about rickety old. 

Immediately it was yet another reminder that while we were growing up & now growing old...they're ppl who've inched towards retirement age. However our memory has their snapshot transfixed to that of over 15yrs ago! when we used to return from our Engineering entrance coaching classes & would make a surreptitious stop-over before heading home :) 

These vocations would never perhaps be glorious but yet remain endearingly fond - for the joys/breather they've render to our lives at numerous occasions. How's such an existence not remarkable?

[Related - will put in an anchor post why i prefer a barrage of not-so-awesome jokes if they still spark a smile or two]

Another such incident remained etched in my memory from perhaps around my Xth - XIIth boards is when i went to 'our' cobbler who sat right outside our Rly Colony entrance. When i gave my shoe for mend, little did i notice that he looked much healthy & bright. Only when i chatted a few more minutes, came to realise it was actually his son who has taken over his father's profession. When would we 'notice' these faceless vocations - a generation 'lost'?

Our childhood tailor, bicycle repair guy etc. who were hero's of young mind just couldn't weather the squeeze of 'organised' life.

How long are we gonna stay relevant - only time will tell. But we do wither away in dust eventually so perhaps there's no alternate to taking a lesson or two in humility...& be kind & forgiving to those who couldn't have had a remarkable career, as much of it is to no innate credit of ours but just the timing of our stars to land up in coordinates to pick the trajectory we're traversing today...

Waiting for office shuttle - Part B

This would be more around the flora & fauna as observed during the wait.

Few perks of a late night return from office is that you may interface with nature with much less regard to consciousness of social propriety from fellow colleagues.
Night sets in early, shrouding everything in a veil of mystery rendering additional sense of privacy/personal space.
As I walk past the Security reception point of office, a breeze of wind reinforces a sense of freedom(or relief of another day struck down?) - perhaps those black-ironed gates brings to fore that effect in a more pronounced way.

Few minute past those gates is the S1 pick-point. With Spring-Autumn season for Oct, the leaves have turned a pale yellow hue. With the trees lined up in a series, the yellow light of lamp-post sifts through making this color transformation more animated.
However, this leaves-pattern isn't _familiar_ to me. These leaves are more like flakes/chips/wafers condescending gravity. Perched (on top of branches) in all possible direction. Though still orderly, these are thin almost lacking any 'pulse' of life - very veinous.
Amidst all this, thought crosses that somehow this alien county lacks the innate warmth of life & the cold breeze whips that idea further. Ironically, this torrid land still provides for their fauna freedom to behave a certain way & are thus aligned per their wishes(Hindi word: un-mukt). Is it that they aren't burdened with responsibility(Government-hedged?) or societal protocols to be able to express themselves unobstructed?!

This strange land is free, cold, lean(under-nourished), lacks warmth, goes about its natural rhythm  oblivious to my presence.
Yet orderly(even the heaps of underlying dry leaves) and prosperous with all signs of healthy growth.

Waiting for office shuttle - Part A

I'll take a detour before embarking on context this post's title takes its inspiration from.

Imperfections are what makes us beautifully-unique & thus need to be embraced/encouraged. It could be our eccentricities, vulnerabilities, preference of arts over say maths etc or at an ephemeral level facial incongruities like buck-tooth, freckles etc.
Modern day marketing/advertising fuels our quest towards perfection to belong to a revered coterie - which perhaps serves economic interests more than any self-goals

Now, coming back to the topic of this post i.e. choice of District vs Picaddily line. Former is an obvious choice for any time-resource optimization. However, latter is an absolute imperfect choice:
+ runs slow
+ old rickety coaches
+ poor teleco signal coverage
But..... for the people traveling - the latter has people vacationing with excited relaxation. Bright faces, enthusiasm, often traveling their partners/family, thrill of exploration & not getting separated in the crowd...
Even the office shuttle seldom runs on time!Also, the Ost train station is insulated from city, pickled-in-time

This takes away some of the strain of corporate mad-race & daily grime of the clock-work schedules. Breather or a window into the world - as it should be...

Then, there's this Wall graffiti visible right before train pulls into Acton Town station, of a young kid hugging to his mother - making one heartache even more, pining for the warmth of the familiar albiet sub-optimal way of life called home.

Continued here

The Start: If there could've been a place away from home..

...always pining to be in place-for-work as similar to Calcutta, destiny unfolds it's own designs for an inadvertent move to this mesmerizing 'marble' of a city(pun on the colorful microcosm of the world at large it entails/represents)

So many things are particularly endearing & reminiscent of the similarities(in no particular order)
+ Tea
+ People being nice & courteous; yet socially vigilant, culturally inclusive & active
+ Rains - incessant but never a large gush
+ reliance on public transport
+ Freedom to women, LGBT etc. - inclusiveness
+ Public spaces claimed & not hot-spots of miscreants
+ On a lighter note - similar struggle to find Veg food.But then bakeries are similarly fantastic
+ Architecture: Broad promenade like Esplanade, Oxford street/SoHo similar to Park Street, stadium on the city periphery & yes the river-body and bridges

Though, haven't yet seen most of the city, as such explorations no longer hold the charm as they once did. Also, the heartache of being away from dear ones weighs heavier than ever.

Let's see, how long this sustains.

For now, the commute in direction opposite to city-traffic has insulated the corporate mad-rush whilst yet keeping a handle on live-wire of city life (lest should get carried away to confront of larger question about the course of life...)