I spoke to this friend of mine after a long time today. We lost touch because we were too immersed in our own lives and I didn’t bother to make the effort. He was working in Bangalore in a top tier law firm and he had been picked up right after law school. I always envied him and told him so too cos he had soooooo much mullah to spare . There I was working for a construction company and earning peanuts and still am . He was a high profile associate in one of the most sought after law firms and they billed their clients a few hundred dollars per hour.
I remember this particular conversation we had when he tried to tell me why exactly I should work in an establishment such as the one he was working in.
A :- “ You know you’ll get used to the finer things in life and you won’t be able to work for a lesser salary. When you’d be able to pick up a Gucci or a Versace bag instead of the fakes one you’d know what I am talking about. You’d be able to take your folks on exotic holidays at the blink of an eye. Snobbery will become a habit and believe me it is quite a high when you meet your compatriots working in small lesser known law firms.”
Me:- “ Dude that is so not me. I can’t do that. But yeah I love the monetary benefits. Maybe secretly I’d love to turn up my nose too.” Sigh!
I never got a job in that firm and after a while I stopped pining for it since I truly believe grapes are sour . I got a surprise phone call from him today and he told me that he was resigning after a year of working for a bunch of slave drivers and that he’d been hospitalised and he was on the brink of a nervous breakdown and his folks wanted him to take a break and come back home as soon as possible. He said “ I just want peace of mind P and I take back all that I told you last year. I wanna be able to spend time with myself and not constantly be pestered by SMS’s at 4 in the morning asking me to finish a particular job by 9 in the morning. I want to be able to switch my phone of and not be hounded by my bosses. Even if it means earning considerably lesser. I don’t wanna burn out this early. Hell I am only 24.”
Yeah I am only 24 too and there is time. I don’t always need to be in this rat race where I am so unsure of the destination. Maybe doing things differently isn’t as appalling an idea that I always though it was. Guess money isn’t everything though it is a vital part of life. I don’t need an original Gucci and Prada right now I am quite happy with Janpath and M Block market. I know I cannot take my folks to foreign locales but someday I will be able to and not at the cost of my sanity and health. I live a peaceful life. My Boss doesn’t treat me like his paid slave. He gives me days off when I am PMSing and am all cranky and whiny. Yes I crib about paying bills but tis alright. I get to spend the loveliest times with my friends. I get to cuddle up in a corner with my books on a rainy day. I get to blog when I wanna and most of my posts are written amidst work. I haven’t given up on all the things I love in life just to earn the frivolous luxuries.
I can sneak out for the occasional coffee with my friends in the middle of a loony day at work. I can look up at the blue blue sky, I can play in the first rain and be all gleeful and cheery about it. I can smell the roses, I can stare rapturously at the Gulmohur Tree for hours while sitting on my terrace in the evening. Yes I have time to stand and stare.
"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare."
As for him well he is taking a break, waltzing off to Singapore for a couple of days,planning to learn French, spend time with his family and laze around doing absolutely nothing. heheh!
14 comments:
I totally agree...there is n point in earning a lakh a month but not having the time to spend it. I know you (and me also sometimes) crib about the money in our job but the whole pint is that this also allows us to have a life outside office and not stagnate. I am not only an Advocate, I also have the time to be a friend, a wife, a sister, and most importantly time to be ME.
Giving all this up for all the money in the world is sooo not worth it. Reminds me of a conversation I was having with another friend recently
daang!!I wish I could do that!!
scribblers inc.
Girl,you have 'THE LIFE'.Good for you :)
And good that your friend realized it before it's too late!
Baby I don't know you and yet i feel I know you.
Your take on your job is 'so me'.
and being atleast a few years ahead of you in age and experience let me add my voice to your conviction, It is more important to stand and smell the roses on the bushes than being able to buy them flown in from some exotic locale to your nearest up market boutique.
Life is much more than just a bank balance.
its great you think this way, shows a level of emotional and personal maturity that most people dont have - they get sucked into the vortex of greed, avarice and apathy that is peddled all over and forget the little things.
So many i know are going through problems much like those you describe your friend having.
Lifes too short and theres so much to do and see and feel, work is what you do for aliving, it shouldnt define you as a person, you should define and choose what work is right for you money wise and more importantly in the heart and mind.
Cheers.
Like the poem btw, and the new look is pretty awesome, congrats! ;)
hi, bloghopping and arrived here. I just kinda posted on the same thing too.. my question is your young and you dont need anything.. what happens when you grow older ,and have a family. Wouldnt you want something better for them? Not versace or gucci, but atleast Pantaloons ?
hi,
been on a blog-reading surge in the past couple of weeks and came across yours.
Just wanted to put a line on your posting of "Leisure". had read this poem first in school and while i wasn't then (or now) a poetry person, this one by Davies was one of my faves. i think this one and some of Ogden Nash's works were the only ones that really appealed.
Anyway it was nice lil blast-from-the-past to see Leisure :)
Cheers
Reading this post reminds me of my friends whom I have lost touch with. Nice!
The Lover
http://soulintoxicated.blogspot.com
hello there utopia.....so very nicely framed post...so very true....vry rare ppl introspect their lives as u've done....great!!
This post really makes me smile.
Reminds me of my old blog and my two years in Europe. It was the same story with me too. Too much money, business and first class travel and just about everything to push my nose up in the air until I got tired of it and realized there are better things in life than smoking a cigar and sipping whiskey at the most expensive restaurants.
Took a massive pay cut when I moved back to India and it's been fun all said and done.
The only reason i'm going back is because probably this time i'll settle down there, with 'her' hopefully and that's about it :D
Must say, it is a brilliant post and I don't think i've commented this much on any other post before.
Phew!! I am done.
I like the little poem :-)
Enjoy your trip to Singapore :-)
hey! I do agree with most of what you say... now of course the best thing would be to have the best of both worlds. wonder why it always has to be a trade off.
This is Anansi by the way. do leave me your email address, it's nice to have you drop by the blog.
its our habit that we take things for granted..the things we've in our hands for things which we don't!
we're like this & there's no denying this fact..anyhoo i am glad you realized few things by your own & its better than never..have fun & cheers;)
loved it... absolutely...
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