#2 Up and Close with the Ambanis

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2019

Thane, Maharashtra

---

First day of the office in the New Year. And it was very eventful

Reliance Corporate Park, Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai

Before moving on to my first day of the New Year in the office, I want to note that my morning did not start on a good note. Writing that first day blog late in the night meant that I was woken up by a nightmare. My heart must be beating at 200 the moment I woke up. The characters those appeared in that dream weren't new and are actually, recurring. "Haunting" is strangely a very apt word for the events and has been used the other way round as well and that's perfectly acceptable.

Let's move on. Three more days to go for the completion of my internship tenure. I started a bit early today and was hopeful that I won't find much crowd in the Mumbai local train therefore. But today morning was just not mine.

The Trans-harbor line was late, albeit just 4 minutes, but still meant that there was complete pandemonium when the train arrived. First Class felt like third class. But you know what, this hustle and bustle and never stop attitude of Mumbai turns me on. So, I reached the office still earlier than my boss, Kiran Choudhari Sir and the proceeding began as usual.

Barely two hours had passed, and my senior but friendly colleagues, Arivarasu Perumal and Sulochana Pai, informed that our team was moving to a new building in the campus. Everyone was excited and some of them were even emotional because they were attached to their existing workplace for a few years now. Moving on is certainly tough for many and surprisingly very easy for some. I was particularly eager to move to that new location not because I didn't like my existing workplace but because my new cubicle was in a very prime location.

The Richest Siblings of India: Anant, Isha and Akash Ambani

On the left was Isha Ambani's cabin and the right was Anant Ambani's. I believe this is the closest I can come to them, at least for the next 10 years. Although both of them didn't come to office, I still feel very grateful that Kiran Sir was kind enough to assign me my personal workplace, that too, at such a prime location, despite the fact that merely three days remained for the completion of my internship period. Getting acclimatized to the new office took me some time. Everyone whispered there. No one made any sort of loud talking sound whatsoever, which is unlike the previous work location where everyone felt free to move and talk in a decibel level they felt comfortable. I even jokingly asked Kiran Sir about his personal choice. "तुम्हाला कुठे जास्त आवडलं - 2A मधे कि इकडे?" (Which place do you like more the previous one or this?). He replied quickly, "मला कुठे हि चालतं। (Anything is fine for me)". Of course, he has a cabin and not a cubicle, so for him, it doesn't make any difference really. I, also, took the opportunity to get more social with my senior colleagues, exchanged numbers, connected with them on LinkedIn and had meaningful conversation.

I also started with this book known as "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck". I feel it is a must-read for Gen-Z who tend to give too much f*ck about anything and everything.

A Quote from the book 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck'

All of this meant that it was past 7 before I saw myself returning and this implied that I was going to have a very rough return journey. I'll admit my back felt immense stress, while standing in whatever space was available in the local train from Koparkhairane to Thane and then later, while sitting in the front of the auto rickshaw and sharing that seat with the driver for the last 15 kilometers of the journey from station to home. But it was all okay in the end because of this quote I read from the book:

To try to avoid pain is too give too many fucks about pain. In contrast, if you are able to not give a fuck about the pain, you become unstoppable. - Mark Manson, Author, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Cheers,

S