A day off #1..

PART 1 -- The Magicians

Today (24 July 2025), I met MTR and Anand after a long long time. 6 months to be precise. I don’t know why I wanted to meet them. Mostly because it had been very long and I was missing them. For a person, who usually has a plan for such special occasions, this time I could not come up with anything! 

We had planned to meet in Phoenix Mall. It was close to MTR’s place. Anand could be there after office. And I was good with any place. Although Phoenix Mall was pretty much close to my place too. 

It was a Thursday afternoon. MTR came from home. Anand came from office. And I came after taking a leave from office. I did not want to have my mind and heart anywhere else for the time. 

And finally, I saw the familiar face I knew,  in person now. As MTR came down the escalators and smiled and said – How have you been! The thoughts of what we could do today and what I should talk about melted away. 

We spoke about how retirement was treating MTR and how my new job was treating me. Quite the extreme ends. We sat outdoors for a while and chatted!

And picked a spot where we would see all cars passing by as a side pastime. Hoping we would spot Anand when he came .. 

And then, it started drizzling, like a sign.. And we saw Anand. As Anand as always. Fit and cool and fun ..

Since none of us had a particular place in mind to go to, we decided on the food court, where we would have options to pick from. 

And spoke about a bunch of things here and there.

I cribbed about how hectic corporate jobs had become. And how my life went around in sprints and deadlines.

Then I started telling the most broken ones of ideas, the ones I wanted to do something about but they were all over the place. Hoping to get more clarity.

I did not get answers, but I got questions which later in the day, led to answers.

I know now, if I ever have ideas, I should pitch them to MTR, after running a pilot though! :p 

Then we compared life these days,10-15 years back when I was in school and college. And 30 years back when Anand and MTR were. About their times. about my times and about Shreya's (Anand's daughter) times.

And time just flew by. 

In small bites and random conversations.

And we clicked pictures.

Anand, as just “Anand” that he is, very kindly offered to drop me to Deepthi (a friend’s) place, which I had planned to go to next.

On the way, we spoke about “What was up on the marriage side”. And then some abstract things like “love in the modern times” and “family”.

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So, on the surface of it, it did look like a very simple meet up for an hour or two.

I didn’t know why I wanted to meet them. I just felt like I did.

Later, at the end of the day, everything felt different, did I know why I wanted to meet them. By the end of the day I happened to have a take on the why!

Seeing them navigate maps and google maps much faster than me. I realised if put in a race with the future force or the so called GenZs these computer scientists would make them feel like Iron Man makes mere humans feel!

Being more than comfortable talking to them about things like “love” and “marriage” and “family” and “kids”, topics that I get annoyed talking about to most people. And wanting to hear their take on it. Then realising they are far more logical and modern than I am! I am the illogical and conservative one here. 

I had become hesitant and naysayer lately. Hesitant to do anything that needed the slightest effort. I used to be someone who said yes, and just went ahead with trying stuff. And I came back and wanted to do everything I was putting aside. 

For instance, I had stopped driving cars. Because they felt too much of an effort. In traffic, in Bangalore.. When I saw Anand driving comfortably, being able to talk, multitask, see maps.. I was reminded of the reason why I wanted to learn driving in the first place. To be able to do that and go on long trips.

I was in the zone where I found my job hectic. But then.. 

“There are two types of things. Either you do what you like, or you are a person who can like what he does.“ And you know you want to be the latter. I came home with the realisation that my job is the one I had prayed for. A full stack role with the latest stack, steep learning and good money. What a fool was I to have started looking at it with anxiety and fear. It was my chance to like what I always wanted. 

I also got more ideas and clarity on the ones I actually wanted to do, even without talking about them per se.

I did not have to think of what I wanted to talk to them about. They just brought it out. 

Let me give a parallel. 

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When I was 15, I went to VMC. It was a coaching for IITJEE preparation. In 2 years, my teachers (popularly known as bhaiyas) turned an introverted shy, no confidence, no personality kid into just the opposite – an outgoing, happy, cheerful and possibly an overconfident person. Which I still carry within me. Till date, I am confused how they did it. 

And till date, whenever I am very happy or very sad, I end up in VMC.

When happy, with sweets and chocolates to just share that high.

When sad, to crib and cry about anything and everything. And after just talking to Sandeep bhaiya and Bade bhaiya, I somehow returned back upbeat and in a very cheerful mood. And it lasted for a long time. And whenever I was back in the down zone, I went back for another doze. Probably since I came to Bangalore, I did not get my doses.

You might find parallels in Kota Factory’s Jeetu bhaiya. 

Someone had rightly called them – “The Gods”

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Anand and MTR had the same effect in essence today on me. Like pouring life into inanimate objects or lost souls.

Since the place of Gods and Bhaiyas, we have already given.

So, let's call Anand and MTR- Magicians!

They tell you anecdotes, stories about themselves, people they know and about their experiences, while you are busy cribbing and crying over your broken ideas and sad tales. They are just amazing in every way.

And still, when their eyes shine on seeing you, on listening to you, they treat you like their friends and kids.

They don’t have to make an effort to genuinely care and be nice. They just are that way. 

One line I would remember from today is - "I like the sound of deadlines whooshing by :D"

I knew something had changed, after meeting them,I was back to taking notes on any thought that came to my head. When after months today, words started flowing when I started writing.

Thoughts and words that had dried out, started flowing.. The ideas that were broken, they started taking shape. Became clearer! … 

Yet one thing is not clear! How are such magicians made! And can one ever make them feel a small part of their magic.. So they know! 

#twwg