The “McD” Beginning!

“Hey! Please tell me your story na? How did you guys meet? Where did you meet? Who said what? I am curious!”. Since 12th May 2019, these questions have slowly become a new constant in my life. Now, under an ideal scenario, answering them would have brought a brisk smile on my face while taking me to one of the most cherishing memories since September 1989. But then, ideal life is a myth, isn’t it? Exactly a year back, while sitting at the IIM Bangalore campus, I did not know that my love for the McDonald's, or McD as the restaurant chain is popularly addressed as would soon get etched so profoundly in my life that my story will technically be incomplete without its mention. I vividly recall as to how during my first visit to McD, I had embarrassingly spoiled my Blue colored college shirt by failing to properly open a stupid tomato ketchup sachet and had difficulty in adjusting my mouth to properly eat their burger – the first meetings are indeed memorable! Anyways, irrespective of whether I am at Punjab in the North, or Kerala in the South, or at Gujarat in the West, or Assam in the East, over the last 11 odd years, one thing which I have religiously done in India (and even in the USA) is to figure out the nearest McD and dine-in. Well, yes, Saumya, as you would have understood by now, I met Shikha first at one of the McD restaurants. It was a typical arranged marriage setup and I recall being tensed. And why would I not be? A completely new individual whom I did not know at all then, was in search of a share of the warmth which till then had mostly been dedicated by me to McD, Dominos, Pepsi, and of course, Cricket. To my surprise, however, the tenseness had tossed off within the initial few minutes. Things clicked and nearly a couple of months down the line we both were engaged. From our first meeting of February 2019 to today, we continue being headless chickens - wandering randomly in a disorganized and uncontrollable manner. We remain confident of not being able to answer most of the questions that life is constantly throwing upon us. We stay adamant about annoying each other to extremes and persistently live in distant and different cities. But as we steadily move towards closing a year since that first meeting, we both have started taking baby-steps towards being there for each other, as a friend as a confidant. After all, every new entrant in the world first learns to take baby steps and then only starts running! P.S: Hopefully, someday, we will be successful in revisiting that McD in Lucknow from where it all started! 😊

Making a difference at home and abroad

I will always treasure my two-week stay in USA, as a part of the PGPPM International Immersion module. The well-structured classroom sessions, split across Syracuse and Washington DC, strengthened my learning while the various site visits helped me appreciate the rich cultural heritage of the USA. I shall always cherish my visit to the historical monuments and the Smithsonian museums.

The classroom discussions gave us – students of Public Policy and Management at IIM Bangalore – an overview of policymaking in the USA. Talks on ‘American Federalism, Political Institutions, and Policy Change’, and ‘The Contemporary Challenges of Governance and Public Service in the United States’ gave us an understanding of the American political system. They also helped us understand the need for and the nature of independent policy-making and taxing authorities in each of the states in the USA, as contrasted to the governance structure in India.

Listening to the viewpoints of the professors of Maxwell School, on various concepts central to the policymaking, such as leading people and driving change, building coalitions, improving financial literacy, circles of influence, models of decision making, understanding disruption and its evaluation, helped us gain an international perspective.

The classroom discussions also revealed the increasing role of technology in Government, best practices in using strategic human capital in governance and an expanding role of think tanks in policy making in the US.

In his talk, ‘U.S. Health Care System: Comparison, Financing and Reform’, Prof. Thomas Dennison discussed the fact that healthcare in the USA is primarily privately funded. While explaining the underlying structures of Medicare and Medicaid, he described the efforts being made by the Government to achieve a universal health insurance coverage.

In Washington DC, many of us got an opportunity to visit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The meeting was facilitated by one of our batchmates and the discussions with the FCC officials and subject matter experts resulted in a productive exchange of thoughts on number of issues ranging from 5G spectrum and wireless infrastructure policies to closing the digital divide and other wireless-technology related matters.

Our immersion was structured in such a way that we got to visit Government offices, historical monuments, and heritage sites. These visits gave us glimpses of culture, heritage and governance in the US. Our visit to the Onondaga county local Government office and our interaction with the mayor helped us observe decision-making and governance at the county level. We also visited the Onondaga county courthouse, which, we were informed was opened in 1907 and housed the famous trial of Theodore Roosevelt in 1915.

I also discovered that Syracuse, situated on the edge of a lake plain near Onondaga lake, led industrial growth in the US. We learnt about the industrial progress of the state which began with the salt works industries in 1788 and subsequently expanded to include chinaware, alloy steel, automobiles and automotive gears, air-conditioning and typewriters, chemicals and electronics. We also understood the historical importance of the Erie Canal and the Oswego Canal and how they connected Erie in Syracuse with Lake Ontario, and thereby ushered in an era of prosperity and expansion after 1825.

While in Syracuse, our visits to the Niagara Falls and the 1000 Islands showed us nature at her best, our visits to the War Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial in the DC, left us in a reflective mood. A lucky encounter with the US Vice President Mike Pence at the US Capitol was a pleasant revelation.

I have brought back, with me, an understanding of how the USA has worked on certain complex challenges in the public policy space. The exchange of the ideas makes me wonder if such solutions can be implemented here in India. The discussions also taught me a few new concepts in the area of economic development.

This was my first overseas trip, and like any other first-time traveller, I had many apprehensions. I am glad to say that I never felt away from home – all credit to the efficient and well-organized planning of the IIMB Office of International Affairs and the Maxwell team led by Dan and Ronda. Getting to enjoy an Indian meal at Syracuse was a pleasant surprise.

The lectures and site visits were well organized and every activity kept us absorbed, and before we knew, it was the last day of our stay. That was the moment when I realized the relevance of Dan’s advice at the inaugural session: ‘Use your time wisely because you will not know how quickly things move!’

***She***

Her voice is Carol

You can’t escape listening to it on loop,

Formidable at start, it will eventually make you stoop.

Her face is solitaire

You can’t ignore the glow,

Be whatever the situation, you won’t ever find it at low.

Her humour is obsessive

You can’t help but appreciate the innate child,

Unaffected by the hate, somehow its always mildly wild.

Her heart is caressing

You won’t ever find her saying a no,

Regardless of the suffering, she will always save you from each crossbow.

:-)

The Gift

‘Even if we could turn back, we’d probably never end up where we started’. An encounter with this quote in one of the books suspended his reading. Something deep was imbibed in the line. Regardless of zero correlation, it made him remember her. The statement was flammable and in no time, he experienced an urge for contradicting it. Her friendship was the best thing which could have happened to him. However, it had gone astray since past some time and he could not think of anything better but this to achieve his contradiction.

Rekindling anything is tough and this situation was nothing different. After brainstorming for three weeks, the idea of gifting her on upcoming birthday sounded best to him. He was not oblivious of the fact that she did not like these formalities yet his belief that she’ll for sure be elated upon seeing the gift, overpowered any other thoughts. Somehow with her, he believed in instincts.

He was excited. He was happy. He had planned everything perfectly but little did he anticipate the upcoming jolt. A week prior to the day, he expressed his intent to meet her. She was a highbrow. It took her less than a minute to figure out what he had been up to. Their discussion that day ended up on a completely opposite lane than its start. Somewhere in the middle she even mentioned about not meeting him ever if he happened to get her a gift. She was apathetic. She was indifferent.

He had anticipated her reaction, however, the one thing which he did not anticipate was his strong aloofness to the efforts. She was unmoved, she remained untouched - totally opposite to the person he used to know some time back. The lines of the book danced strangely around him - ‘Even if we could turn back, we’d probably never end up where we started’.

The next morning, a gift was ordered with two changes - content and shipping address. Her smile was invaluable - true but beginning that night, he started appreciating his own smile even more.

That eatery and a rainy outing

With a slow downpour, nature was playing a mysterious beat. ‘Just two more blocks, keep walking’ she exclaimed. Headed towards an expensive eatery in the high-class locality of the town, it was a mini farewell treat from her. Throughout his 8 years of stay in the city, he had never been to that market and with a non-tucked shirt; he looked shabby amidst the classy crowd. ‘We are certainly non-dressed to be at this place’, she added. He preferred being quiet.

An ardent lover of 5 rupai wali ice-cream, such exquisite places haunted him and today was no exception. “What do you wanna have? I’m sure, all these will satisfy your sweet glands!” she asked. “Anything you like. Just make sure it doesn’t have a complete chocolate crux” he was still settling in.

Tempting, enticing and alluring, nothing could more aptly describe the desserts which were placed in front of him in the next few seconds. However coupled with a returning eeriness, his mind was already afar. With mismatching expressions, he expressed his mood. “Please don’t tell me you even don’t like this. God! What do you like then? This is the best in town” she was bewildered. He perfectly understood why she was puzzled, he knew what the occasion was and he even liked the desserts but he failed in expressions, again. All he could utter was: “They are good”.

And so one of their last few outings got killed!

An Untold Story (013)

Forty four minutes lasted their today’s meeting.

Her diary:
He noticed smile but failed to read eyes!

His diary:
She was smiling throughout but her eyes spoke differently.
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In the other world, fate wore a wicked smile.

An Untold Story (012)

It’s probably care which makes me go out of track and do things which occasionally are termed stupid. I still remember “Grow up” which you texted me once. Hopefully I shall learn to grow up and to be more rational and lesser sentimental soon.

Although he was a regular writer yet he somehow didn't publish anything that day and saved this draft.

Unknowingly he was hurt deep down.

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Season was changing and so was the companionship.