I don't know why...it made me happy

When a spark of mischief
an impulse, a whim
took us miles and miles away
from the daily din

When a rash driver whizzed by
forcing us to brake
only to tag an ambling truck
while we overtake...

When the stray brown dog
lying on the road, dead
turned out to be a scrap of
sack cloth instead...

When from the car window
I looked out to see
two girls apart from their group
chatting away happily...

When just off the busy main road
we walked down a rocky trail
to a ragged edge, a winding stream
some old oak trees, a tranquil scene

When three and a half hours later
with a casualness much admired
we returned to work
Refreshed, ready to retire!!!

[Minutes of our 'team lunch' at Mulshi last Thursday!!! :) ]

3 p.m.

Not a word heard

Nor a single key click

Not a footfall in the hall

Just the clock’s steady tick…

[Professionals hard at work

The screens’ alight alright

The pride of a company

A manager’s delight…]

It’s the call of the hour

No man dare refuse

Stay!! Keep away!!

Employee on Snooze

(When you see my office, it's impressive, very business-like! It makes you believe that there are super brains at work here - people so engrossed in work that's so important and complex... A class apart from the normal office-goers! Watch long enough and through the crack you can see - glimpses of human fallibility!!)

Coffee Break!!

Fresh into a work day,
fingers itching for keys to punch
the mind all set to analyze
the back just waiting to hunch

Deadlines have no fear for me
I’ll get things done in a jiffy
and then my plans go for a toss --
for want of a cup, the deadline is lost…!

(When I joined office, I was introduced to the wonderful contraption called the coffee machine and the pleasures of whiling away time, chatting, philosophising and letting out frustration, under the pretext of a coffee break... also, the irritating effort of finding a clean cup!!!)

Interview Blues

There are tortures and there are tortures
And then there are interviews
Bloodless, deceptively humane,
Modern man’s conniving ruse.

The plush office interiors
Shiveringly over-cooled
The polite cordiality
But I’m not fooled!

An interview’s still an interview
A scary, unnerving ordeal
One that I have to smile and suffer
No matter how I feel.

Icy fingers hidden under the table
Lips still dry, but breathing stable
(How difficult can it possibly be? -
a friendly chat over coffee!)

Somehow the pep talk fails to bring
The usual confidence and ease
Resignedly clearing my throat, I say,
“Send in the first candidate please.”


(22nd November 2006. Reliving what I felt when I, for the first time, took two interviews on 17th November 2006, the day I also completed 7 months in the company.)