2015

This blog post almost got relegated to obscurity. 

Considering the period of inactivity (since early 2015), I should actually reframe that - This blog post actually got relegated to obscurity. And it took a couple of colleagues from work to remind me that I should pull it out from there and update it.

Now co-workers/colleagues following your blogs do not exactly give you the 'YAY' moment. You instead become contemplative - 

• Which post did they actually read? 
• What nonsense did I write there?
• Did they share with others - was it well intentioned (or "I alway knew this guy was hairy, pot-bellied, smelly, with yellow teeth. And his blogs prove he is a fuckin retard too.")

So I gently nudged them on how they got hold of the link. The response left me somewhat startled. Apparently, my Skype profile lists out the name of this blog (which I would have proudly entered during the heights of stardom). 

So let me get this clear. You click on my picture > Go through my abridged profile > Click on my full profile > Reference the link to the blog post > Read up the blogs > You develop a point of view about them.

Usually, people go through such pains while downloading full-length Sunny Leone movies from dubious torrent sites. I felt redeemed.

But I miss writing. 2015 has come and gone and I have generally found an excuse to not write. Not that events were not interesting - but generally found it exhausting to dig into my energy reserves and chronicle my experiences.

2015 has been spectacularly uneventful from an attainment perspective. But there were a couple of episodes that would probably make me look back at the year with a smirk if not a fulsome smile.

I upgraded to a new set of wheels - (in a series of incremental screw ups all through the year). And we decided to visit a quaint place in North Karnataka - Gokarna for the first planned getaway. All this while navigating through the still dense and unforgiving Western Ghats. Tiredness, duration of the drive, hardness of the clutch and heaviness of the steering wheel apart, there was little to complain. The weather was holding up nicely and there were far too many gorgeous Russians in bikinis at the Om Beach. Did I marry too soon?

The second day of our trip, we were taken to visit the town. Gokarna town has been around for a long time - something that can be endured by walking through its narrow bylanes, standing by old shops and visiting numerous temples from a bygone era. 

Visiting temples did I mention? 

We visited the Mahabaleshvara temple (or so I think) to seek some divine intervention into out lives. The temple is a few hundred meters from the Arabian sea. As we enter the premises we were surrounded by a number of Godmen - of the kind we have seen in Paresh Rawal's Oh My God! Each offering a shorter path to Nirvana (in lieu of an offering).

After politely refusing to leverage their divine connections to achieve salvation, we move towards the Sanctum Sanctorum of the temple. At this time, we came across a notice board which prominently displayed that male devotees needed to disrobe themselves partially before entering - essentially go topless!

My Lord why? Oh! Supreme Godhead of things - you would know how many times I have given up on my gym regime. Okay - my body fat would look cute if I was still 6 years old or had less body hair or at least, did not sweat as much. Dear God - this is an 'either-or' clause and not an 'and-if' clause.

But it was an experience. The focus completely shifted from having a private tete-a-tete with the deity to looking around to see who was immediately behind me. It was a naked moment inside a temple with scores of people going about their prayers nonchalantly. I questioned myself for a moment what made me so uncomfortable given the brief period for which this ritual was to be undertaken. Maybe it was to do with not understanding the need to do something which is so uncharacteristic (possibly drastic). And when you do not appreciate the intent, the execution falters. 

There is a lesson in management in the unlikeliest of places. Hope you have a good day!

PS: Will come back someday with the second event of 2015