Thursday, October 16, 2008

Rewind and Rejuvenate!

Re-experiencing the past days of life always gives one a nicer feeling. Going back to the past, reliving those happy moments, forgetting all about the present makes one a happier person. The other day, I took off to New York City to meet a friend. Pressingly short, yet incredible vacation right in the middle of an otherwise hectic work week it turned out to be. I used to work in NYC for 3 years and after I moved out of the city, in spite of so many weekends I go there to meet friends, its been a while I spent a week-day there. It indeed gave me an incredible feeling to witness the same fast life, where there is an untold haste in every body's lives. I reassured for the nth time that nothing is slow in this city, except for the hobos.

After a sumptuous meal at Saravana Bhavan, my friend and I decided to get out of the city and go to Long Island beach. As we were passing Queensboro Bridge, I saw the building we used to work and I instantly felt the surge of nostalgia inside me. Without giving much of thought, I took the exit and in minutes, pulled over in front of the building. I found the number of an ex-colleague and called him. He was fortunately still working there and he said he would be more than happy to meet us. He came down to the lobby and we met for coffee. A few minutes later, we called up another colleague and he joined us too. The four of us spent more than an hour, talking nothing but old memories. It was like school-kids talking fondly of their previous years as they grow up.

In a while, I enquired for our ex-boss and one of the colleagues suggested we go up and see her. He signed us in. We went to the 37th floor to meet her. I knocked her office and peeped inside. She was still for a short second and her face lighted up instantly. She enthusiastically screamed and gave me a huge hug. That her scream did make a couple of other folks open their office and check if everything was alright did not bother her. She enquired about my well-being and said she is really happy to see us. She wanted to go out for a smoke. And we all went down - another one hour passed in a jiffy.

Overall, it turned out to be such a wonderful evening. I honestly never knew I would be such a wanted guest at my previous workplace. I have busted my ass off for a good 3 years there and opted out of the place myself, because of fear of career stagnancy. The decision of moving out has been good for me, but to revisit the place for one day was absolutely great! When I stepped into the elevator and walked among the cubicles, it gave me such an inexplicable happiness. I have felt such a strange felicity only once before when I went to my school. Rewinding the days of life is indeed nice!

The other thought that I had, as I was driving back home is the gratitude that Americans show. I know it’s a tad silly to compare Nations in this regard and invoke generalization. Yet, as much as I hate to say this, I have not seen many desi managers who are great vis-à-vis western managers. Maybe it has got to do with the basic instincts or ethos.

My plan of going to the beach was messed up, yet I felt so satiated to have met people from the past. That immediate happiness my ex-boss showed or the excitement my colleagues displayed - I guess I cannot forget for some more days to come.

Rewinding in life does rejuvenate! Big time.

16 comments:

Lavanya said...

Macha vayasaayiduthu da onakku. Ipdi laam nostalgia oda feel panra.

Preeti said...

Saravana bhavan anga naala iruka??! Inga (especially) mylapore branch...cha!

i know there was much more to ur post, but i found this to comment only :D

Anonymous said...

Come home. To NJ. :D

Nandini Vishwanath said...

I loooooooove this post man! I love it. Its long, and its nostalgia. Two things that make it similar to my blog ;)

And I read every single word however short it is ;) I don't skim through it :P

Arun Sundar said...

Chutney,
Yaaaa....enakkum adhaan bayamaa irukku. And ippo ellaam if I see school kids I start "when I was in school....." showing the typical trait of an elderly. Sigh.

Preeti,
:) Inga super'a irukkum :)

Confounded,
NJ used to be home before. Vandhaa lunch samaikkariyaa?

Nandini,
Thanks. And who skims through the posts by the way? ;)

A wo(a)ndering mind said...

hmm... saravana bhavan-a?!!!! nadathunga..
i will make sure i will make a long coversation with u before i leave to india this dec.. :P

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the mosquito coil club!! Turning back time does make wonders. :)

Narendra shenoy said...

Well written. I know that feeling so well!

-=A.R.N.=- said...

They say the past is the mirror to the future...and I couldn't agree more.

Wonderful experience...reminds me of the time I caught up with old buddies on my last vacation.

Although I'm not too sure I'd wanna go back to my old office again
:)

Arun B said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Arun B said...

you have just triggered the nostalgia inside me ... LIC.. WallStreet ... good old days ... and we shouldn't forget our KFC meets ....

Anonymous said...

Nostalgia is a very nice thing. Period. After all, distance makes the heart grow fonder, no! Distance, time, ellam same thing!

Anonymous said...

It's beautiful. I can understand the feeling that ran through you, the good feeling. I experienced it when I went back to school too.

However, going back to a past workplace and meet your boss who gets exited, is a great high.

Seems like super fun. It was worth the lie to take off, eh :)

Raz said...

i time traveled for sometime reading ur post. :) nice one.

N.V.Prashanth said...

That is the correct! I can't agree with you more on the point you made abt Indian managers. I believe the human touch often goes begging in our managers.

I haven't seen great farewell to people atleast in my company. There is no personal touch at all!

Arun Sundar said...

Manasi,
I'll pick up your call only after you come back and tell me how much you miss India. That should be fun :)

Aziaf,
Yaaa yaa mosquito coil only. Smokeless one though ;)

Naren,
Thank you.

Rahman,
Indeed. Memories are simply incredible. And to re-experience them is all the more fun!

Arun,
KFC meets!! Oh yaaa, that used to be fun! Not to mention the starbucks or 7 train or Queens library :)

Gradwolf,
"Distance time ellaam same thing" - Scientist range'kku poitta po!!

Inwantofbeingme,
Thanks. It was indeed more than worth the simple lie. I always believe in 'take it when you want' concept :)

Raz,
Thank you mam.

Prashanth,
Yup. From desi managers, one should learn the "Don'ts of management" than the "do's" :)