Sunday, February 17, 2008

Right here!

No, I haven't forgotten you, my dears. The thing is that I'm just not coping very well with being back at work. The sunshine of the last six months has transformed into too many bright lights and smiling customers — both of which I am not entirely equipped to handle. I spend the whole day in the office or at the store, not knowing when afternoon has flown to dusk. To help things along, I am in Chennai. Without the first idea about when I'm headed back to Bombay. This is, most certainly, depressing me at least a little. The experience would be much easier if I spoke the language, I am sure, but I've had six days of being ranted at (and fleeced by!) by rick drivers and of suffering the irritation of continually being excluded from conversations.

But that apart, there are at least a few upshots of being here — the breathtakingly fabulous discount racks, both books and music. Whatever little money I have left after this break teaches me a new way to watch it dance away in gleeful delight everyday. One day it's the music and the other, it's all browsing the best buys instead of continuing with the racking. My colleagues threaten to show me the returns books (books that have remained unsold for between 6-12 months and will be sent back to the distributors for the cost price). This way, apparently, everyone's happy but I, though, have no clue how!! But the greatest reward of the past 10 days? That I know that we're not as badly read as I'd imagined. Can't tell you how heartening that is, don't you know.

But there there's so much pending — the ex-reviewer's first incredibly wonderful concert, the One Tree Music Festival (in Bombay and Chennai both!), a performance by a jazz band, observations about books, publishing, and book-selling and so, so many photos! Between washing clothes by hand, cooking, and trying to keep up with the endless tide of information from a new industry, I don't think I'm doing such a good job of managing. In the middle of being taught some software and the supply chain in the organization, I start chasing words and arrange them into sentences that I assuredly forget later. I'm hoping things will be better this week onwards but why I would imagine that, I don't know though. :-)

That's the ex-reviewer at Kala Ghoda. A proper post with more pictures will follow but let me leave you with something.

The Ex Reviewer at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival

7 comments:

SwB said...

who is this guy? what kinda music he play?

Parth said...

Don't know if it was intentional, but the angle of the mike and its placement makes it appear on the neck of the guitar. At first I thought he was playing some exotic type of guitar :-)

G Shrivastava said...

"I start chasing words and arrange them into sentences that I assuredly forget later"

I muchly liked this sentence, though not so much its import if it means you shall blog lesser! ;-)

PS How much does the ex-reviwer pay for the marketing?;-)

{illyria} said...

i think, though, reading between the lines, that life has been very good. :)

Anonymous said...

dishy. :D

Extempore said...

@SwB: His name is Garreth D'Mello and he is the vocalist for a band called Split and his solo project is called Dischordian. His music is a mix of a lot of influences and you could call Indie. There are a couple of songs available for download at myspace but you should come and watch him perform. :-)

@Parth: Ha, yes only! Since I noticed only once you mentioned it, you know it was completely unintentional. :-)

@Plain Jane: Dearie, I am trying hard not to let it only. And the ex-reviwer, pay for publicity? I don't think so - esp since he has at least some stake in this space!

@Illyria: For the most part of it - right now, I am at least a little tempted to change my mind. :-) How have you been, my dear?

@Nocturne: Now why, why oh why, did I know you would say that?! :D

G Shrivastava said...

Hey and what's with you not blogging? Double standards I tell you - didn't anyone tell you to practice what your preach?