The Satyam Saga

Being in India has meant that I’ve seen the Satyam saga unfold up close and personal with the extensive media coverage. The media seems like a wild cat ready to pounce on fresh meat. There is no semblance of respect for a company that has been a beacon of Indian IT success. The endless hypotheticals and coverage that includes theme music and a logo affecting the livelihood of 50,000 employees sickens me.

I might be really dense but what has the company done wrong really? They wanted to invest in a sister firm, isnt that the instinct of any family-owned business? People who buy shares in a family-owned firm should surely know the risk before investing. I work in the biggest company in its industry and it is family run.

Nobody is saying that it was a daft decision. Nobody is arguing that the return on investment would be lower than if the same amount was invested in a competitor. The only issue is “misgovernance” which is of concern to shareholders.

I’ve gone beyond the point of rage to a sadness that this is how much the media cares. Surely, this can’t be the result of freedom of press in the world’s largest democracy.

Exploring Goa

I remember receiving the call from my friend earlier this year saying “I’d really like to come to Goa in the next couple of years”. Clueless as I usually am, I assumed that her inner craziness had finally taken over only to realise later that she was infact going to be schooling there for a while.

So, it was a relatively easy choice for a short trip this time. We took a bus from Hyderabad to Goa for a weekend getaway in between ‘mas and the new year. We expected Goa to be full of crazy rastas, happy foreigners and wannabes. Instead, we stumbled onto a rather sleepy town with a penchant for colourful houses (bright purple and orange!) and shady palm trees. Liberal expanses of river and the unique Portugese architecture just make you want to quit your job and settle down here with a shack on a small patch of land, drink toddy and be happy.

We made a conscious choice to stay away from the stereotypical which probably explains the lack of encounters with hippies. The body searches, strict security and ban on beach parties this year was also probably a big factor though. So, we ended up with a very chilled out trip the highlight of which was Chapora fort of Dil Chahta Hai  fame. We made the short, steep climb up the hill relatively easily and were treated to a scintillating view and sunrise. It was just the three of us for most part which sets it apart from overcrowded, overhyped sunrise/sunset points around the world. This was simply special.

Endless rain into a paper cup

As my friends and I approach the quarter-century mark, the search for meaning has taken centre stage on life’s dashboard. We are all reasonably average guys, working in reasonably good jobs for reasonably good pay. Slowly but surely, the feeling that the current routine isn’t enough creeps up on you. Learn a new language some say or go cross-country biking while others dabble in charity but these seem like mere diversions. Meet new people is the other common clutch though the wisdom shared with inebriated strangers on fri evenings is as enlightening as the sat hangover.

And if yeh dil maange even more, is there a different route from the get married-have kids-take responsibility bandwagon?

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in this (http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/376791.html) brilliant piece talks about how his group of 20-something friends are going through a career crisis due to the phasing out of the fab five of Indian cricket. A close friend talks about how some couples have taken the nosedive into marriage while we are only left with broken hearts. Facebooking is the new excuse for keeping in touch with friends and travelling to more countries than your peers is ‘the’ excuse to be snobbish.

More and more, we find meaning in the lyrics of songs. Surely, these doped-up inspired souls can give us direction. Nothings gonna change my world sing the Beatles. Satisfaction achieved.