A Bowl of Elusive

"Why are you on T****r?" Mirza asked himself. The dating/hookup app had brought him nothing but pain and heartbreak in the past and he had sworn off it. Yet, reading one of those sarcastic answers on Quora to the question, "What was your experience with T****r in India?", Mirza felt this need to explore the app one last time. He was visiting a small town for a project and by installing the app, he was scratching an itch more than anything else. Like always, he didn't expect to match with anyone, especially since the nearest girl showing up on the app was from forty kilometers away, which meant from the neighboring more prosperous district. Yet, like millions of men before him, he swiped away till he ran out of profiles to swipe on. The app suggested that he should relax the parameters he had set for potential matches - Age: 28 to 37 & Range: Within 40 km. "Why not!" Mirza exclaimed to himself and dragged the bars to make the age range - 18 to 99 an...

When I passed out of school in March’ 2007, I was not sure about what I wanted to do with my life. I had decided to join hotel management but I had missed the national entrance exam for the same, so I had a year free. While many of my classmates were preparing for IIT or Medical entrance tests, I was positive that those career options were not suitable for me. I did eventually join hotel management and by the time I passed out of college, I did not want to join the hotel industry. This article is not about that. You can read my article ‘ Why I Didn't Pursue a Career in Hotels... ’ to know about that story. This article is about that one year I spent in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of my home state Odisha.  Sometime during the period between the board exams and the announcement of results, one of my uncle’s acquaintances suggested that I could be a pilot. I had the height for it, standing at 185 centimeters at that point in time and great eyesight. Moreover, when I explored the req...

Please don't let the dramatic title or that picture lead you astray. I recently got transferred to the divisional headquarters of my company, which is at IMT- Manesar, Gurgaon. I am still in the process of relocation and this article is about that. A few years back, "relocation" was no big deal. I would pack two bags and a backpack with all my precious stuff and scoot to a new place. As simple as that. But I am a grown up now. Once I could afford it, I rented a place of my own back in 2014. At first, I lived like a bachelor, living on junk food and hoarding trash till the house smelled like someone died in it. But then a girlfriend helped me buy some furniture and make the place more like a home. Before I realized, I had set up the whole place - bought a big bead, several appliances and a sofa too. So I plan stuff now. I can't just get up and go. Except, I did just that. I was offered this new profile in Gurgaon and I said yes.  The whole moving to a new plac...