2020 - Thank God its getting over !!! Welcome 2021

This is the first time after several years that I am writing a blog.

So I am going to write as I think. Absolutely no preparation. What you see is what I am thinking right now.

How often does one check office mails while on a holiday. And why does one do that ?

Is it boredom ? Is it anxiety ? Is it the FOMO kicking in ?

Which brings us to the question ? How does one spend a holiday ?

Is holiday much different than a working day ? Especially since March this year when most of us have had to be cooped up in a room, staring at a screen and working non stop. Yet not feeling like actually working ? And though being at home, not feeling like being on "leave"   The pandemic has turned our work life and our holiday on its head. We are constantly on a guilt trip....feeling overworked, worthless, spent, all at the same time. 

Do we need leisure ? IF so for what ? Watch TV, binge watch OTT stuff, go for walks, eat and eat nonstop. Didnt you do all this during Work from Home too ?

Coming back to work ... what is work ? Has the definition changed. Does work mean going to office, sit in a cabin with AC on full blast, sorting and replying to mails, seeking and giving information, attending virtual meets, negotiations and closing deals etc.   Ah...but didnt you do all this sitting at home all these months ? So is going to work  necessary ?

I think pandemic or not, in the days to come there has to be a major resetting required in our lives.

A new year is a great way to do that ...

Lets do something acftually different in 2021... Any ideas ?

Share Autos ofvChennai

One of the cheapest yet easy modes of travel in Chennai is by share auto. If you are ready to sit a little cramped in a space for three seats as the fourth seat you will do well. Be also prepared to hear the colorful language of the drivers. Also don't expect a very safe driving. The fares are very economical. Typically a 5 km journey will cost you just 10 bucks. A 15 km ride would cost about Rs.35/-.

The best part is the various types of co passengers you will meet. You are likely to encounter young college kids chattering away, some reading, some with earphones clamped onto their ears, young mothers with infants in arms, school children sharing toffees with their friends, the occasional drunk man, some office types who pompously talk loudly on their mobiles, housewives with vegetable laden bags and several such people.  A share auto rider comes from all classes. I have seen middle aged ladies praying and chanting. One most common site is whatsapping and gaming..

Kodaikanal Road Station

Recently I had to take a train from Kodaikanal Road station at around 1130 at night. We reached the station around 8 pm. The crowd at the station was very thin and by the time it was 10 pm the whole station was deserted. There was literally no one except me and my wife and a couple of staff including the station master.  It was a scene straight out of a horror movie. Then we changed platforms and found at the far end a couple of guys chatting with a eunuch in between. It was all very suggestive.  The waiting room at platform No.1 had toilets which didn't have water.
I feel it's a huge security risk when anyone could enter the station and commit acts of crime including plant some stuff like explosives.
At such stations and especially at odd hours there must be regular patrolling by Railway police.
We found one Railway Police post unmanned.

Most Often Asked Question

Most of us who have a reasonably good job have disposal incomes. We can definitely spare some cash (a few hundreds a month surely) for some charity work. But most of us, despite our intentions, do not do charity for a variety of reaons ranging from a) boredom b) whom to give c) whether it will reach the recepiants d) Will the money be gobbled by someone along the way etc. Be that as it may if each of one of us gets a correct opportunity, a just cause and an honest and able individual or organisation to whom the money can be entrusted then I am reasonably sure a large section of our population can be helped in living thier day to day lives in dignity. I look for ideas from each one of you....ram