15 September
2022
14 September
2022
I am so glad I did not pay $1500 for a hotel night
Something was up in Chicago this week. I had meetings in downtown on Tuesday and Wednesday morning and then meetings in office west of the airport thru Thursday night. Every hotel in downtown was $800+ per night. The hotel next to my office – which I normally pay between $120-$160 per night was listed for $1500 for Tuesday night! And there was not a single rental car available with any company in any location.
I had finally settled for a hotel near the airport for Tuesday night. It was double the normal rate but at least it was under $400. This also meant, I had to use the train to go from meeting to meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But life, I guess, has a way of giving back. If not for all this inconveniences, I would not have met an old friend of mine.
I had finished my breakfast with Tyler in the city and had come back to the hotel to pack up and check out. I was going to an Urgent Care for an ear related issue that has gone out of control. I had hailed an Uber and then instead of standing outside, waited inside the doors. (Was trying not to expose the ears to the cold outside).
As I was peeking thru the doors to see if my ride had arrived, I noticed somebody walking down the corridor of the hotel. She looked at me and then looked away. I looked at her and wondered if it was who I thought it was. She looked at me a second time but still did not recognize me. She probably had realized that I had been looking at her all this time that she was walking by.
She looked at me the third time. This time, I took a chance. “Amy?” I asked. She must have recognized my voice or face by then. “Rajib Roy?”
Turns out Amy and I used to work together some 17 years back in a Boston based company. I had left that job by 2006. Amy had moved away to New York. Many moons later, in December 2013, I did meet her in New York and we put in a run together in Central Park.
She was in the hotel for an event for that day! What is the chance of that?
Unfortunately, my ride had arrived and I had to leave. But not before we promised to make time to meet in the evening. We both had meetings scheduled till late. I was done only around 8:15PM. But Amy was kind enough to come over to my hotel to meet me. Deval from my current company was also there and we had a great time together. Most of it was about the old times together but some of it was about what Sharmila refers to as “crop circles”.
I will let you ask her what they are all about!
13 September
2022
The perks of working in my industry
I have worked in industries ranging from banks to supply chains to identity fraud solutions to geospatial. But the current one – education – is probably the most mission oriented. I can see every day how we make a difference to kids.
And that gives rise to some interesting intersection points on the road. Take today for example. I had flown into Chicago, taken the train to downtown and started individual meetings. Coffee with Demetre, drinks with Nurzhan and then dinner with Lela.
Lela was already at the dinner table when I showed up a bit late. For all that patience she had shown, the first thing I did was made her get up from the table and move to the bar area. For some reason, when it comes to drinks or dinner, I prefer the high chairs.
I am so glad I did it though. We had barely settled down when one of the restaurant employees – a young lady – came up to us excitedly and looking at Lela, exclaimed “Miss Day?” Lela immediately recognized her.
As a background, Lela was with TFA (Teach For America) before she joined us. TFA teachers tend to work with inner city schools frequently in the poorest and most violent parts of the city offering lessons to kids who often tend to be troubled . Lela worked in such a school in Chicago before joining us. She was very clear that she was not going to take me there after sunset – it gets so unsafe.
Well, as it turns out, the young lady – Keisha – went to the same school. In fact, her younger sister was in Lela’s class. They recognized each other immediately.
I was totally intrigued by their conversations. Keisha was talking about her troubled childhood.
“How old are you?”, I asked her
“23”
“Oh! I have a daughter one year elder to you. I heard your conversation. Were you really troubled?”
“Oh! yes. I used to throw books at my teachers!”
“How about now?”, I teased her
“Well, I have settled down now. It is a little late now but now I understand how teachers like Miss Day made all the difference to kids like me.”
Keisha told me part of her life story. Puerto Rican by descent, she grew up like many other inner city kids with access to very little. She had her first baby when she was 19 and second one when she was 21. But she has a steady income now from the restaurant and is rebuilding her life.
To my usual “So, what do you want to be when you grow up?”, she felt she needed a little more time to think that thru.
She thanked Lela again and left us to our dinner. I could not help wonder what kind of environment Lela and other TFA teachers have to teach in. And my respect for them redoubled for doing what they do. And making a real difference in the world. To the young kids that need it the most.
13 September
2022
Late morning 5K in Alpha Loop
10 September
2022
Out on the lake with the Bandyopadhyays
8 September
2022
Heart warming sight
After one and a half days of journey, finally reached home. Freshened up, had some snacks and then headed out to Alpharetta downtown with Sharmila and Jay Jay. Chatted up with our old friends in Chiringa, grabbed a couple of drinks and then settled down by the Green to watch all the cornhole games going on.
It was a very pleasant evening to just sit out and watch the crowds over a glass of wine. The best sight happened late in the evening. An elderly gentleman started practicing some throws. There is nothing uncommon about that. Except that he waas carrying a baby in his other hand.
I could not help myself but go up and introduce myself. I told him that this is the best thing I have seen in some time. Turns out the baby is his grand child who just turned 12 weeks. He lives in Johns Creek and his daughter lives in Roswell. They meet at the Alpharetta Green regularly for evenings out. I told him I will take a picture of him and the grandchild when he is playing.
The baby was too cute!! Again, best thing I have seen in some time. Loving this downtown living!
8 September
2022
My reception committee
8 September
2022
How these folks became my friends to begin with
This time I met a dozen of my St. Xavier’s School (SXS) classmates in three different settings. All that within the 2 days that I was in India!! There is an interesting story about how they almost never became my friends to begin with. This involves Father Wautier – the best principal I have ever had in my life, my own dad and my brother.
In 1971 December, SXS had admission test scheduled on one Friday, Saturday and Sunday over a weekend. My father, having figured that all kids will be interviewed first before results would be declared, went to visit his mom in Debipur village on Friday. Came back on Saturday and took me for tests on Sunday. Only to be told that all seats had been filled up.
My dad was terribly crestfallen. It was his dream that I would go to SXS. I do not think he ever forgave himself for that.
I went to Benachity Junior High School (next door to SXS on Mirabai road) instead. Every December thereafter, my dad would take my report card to Fr. Wautier and plead “e bochhoro first hoyecche. ebaar-e niye nin”. (This year too he has stood first – you have to take him now). But Fr. Wautier always sent him back.
Fast forward to 1976 December. My brother now had to go to school. Dad took him to interview in SXS. No points for guessing which day he took him there of the three day options. I remember being in the room with the whole family when Fr. Wautier interviewed my brother. I distinctly remember he asking him to narrate a poem.
For some reason, my brother froze up. Fr. Wautier was incredibly warm and comforting and gave him some encouragement. And like summer tempest came out “Baa Baa Black Sheep” from my brother’s mouth like he was waiting to throw those words up all his life.
On Monday, results were out. My brother was in.
Dec 12, my results came out.
Dec 13, my dad went on his annual pilgrimage to Fr Wautier.
Same old “e bochhoro first hoyecche. ebaar-e niye nin”
Fr. Wautier: “Congratulations, Mr. Roy. But there is no vacancy”.
To hear my dad say it, he pleaded a couple of times. With no result. And then he put down his trump card…
“But his brother got thru this time”
Fr. Wautier was nonplussed. “His brother? What is his name?”
“Chiradeep. Chiradeep Roy.”
Fr. Wautier went to those metal folder racks, fished out some paperwork and asked my dad if that kid whose papers he was holding was my brother.
“Yes, father. They are five years apart”
“Bring Rajib’s report card tomorrow. He will be in our school from January”.
My father, well prepared as he was, promptly fished out my report card from his pocket.
A few signatures and some admission money later, I became part of these guys!!!
Never got a chance to say good bye to my friends in Benachity Junior High School 🙁
Had it not been for my brother…
8 September
2022
Oh! And this happened
Since I had over 4 hours of wait time in Delhi airport, I started checking out the stores before going to the Lounge. Well, checking out is an overstatement. Since most of them were selling clothes or jewelry or suitcases and all that, I browsed them from a fairly safe distance. Till I came to the book shop. Which had a pen section!!
Ten minutes later, these two old style Parker pens were mine! Some of you might remember these from our childhood as the pens with the short nibs. Made of stainless steel, they are less flexible and therefore “give” very little even under pressure. If you like fine tip nibs, you will like these. Found out that Luxor is the company that markets Parker pens in India.
The ink pot was part of the package. I could not convince the shopkeeper to open the package (these require those scissors and all that to open up) and throw away the ink.
7 September
2022
My school friends agree on one thing about me
Abhik had made me promise that the next time I would be in Delhi, I would have to let him know. He would round up our school friends from elementary days and have a gathering. I had about 3 hours between flights to spare. And Abhik came thru with his promise. The last time I had seen Abhik was in 1986 May!
Some of the folks I had last seen even earlier (like Chinmoy). While I am not big into group meetings, the school friends have always been an exception. Perhaps because we have a lot in common – in terms of experiences we went thru together in the early, formative stages of our lives. Each one of them – Kushal, Sushil, Chinmoy, Abhik, Aniruddha, Mithun, Deepak and Jay had to fight a lot of Delhi traffic snarls to get to our meeting spot near the airport. Sanjay was in fact visiting from Bombay and he rearranged his schedule to meet us too!
Those young boys in grey shorts and white shirts have now prospered is so many different ways – from doctors to engineers to managing directors to NGO … you name it… and yet when the folks get together, it is almost like the conversations pick up from where we left off during school. Down to even discussing the crushes from those days!!
The Delhi folks made it very special for me by getting the restaurant to even put in a name plate for me. Those guys really know how to get my ego up.
For all that never-changed-spirits of friendship, everybody agreed on one thing. There is one thing that has changed a lot. And that is me. By general consensus (including my own vote), I was an awkward, thin-as-a-rail nerd toting thick black framed glasses. Nothing really stood out about me other than that I used to get good grades. (Which today I have concluded counts for next to nothing).
Apparently, nobody would have ever predicted the person I am today if they had seen the kid then. Which, upon reflection, could not be truer.
It would be an interesting exercise for me to reflect on whether my traits today are learned traits that I made myself learn or were those traits always there and they just happened to come out as my life context and environments changed around me. As an example, how different would I be today, if I had never come to the USA?
I was fortunate that the group did not deliberate on whether this me is better or that me was better. I was fairly sure that they would demand the old guy back!!
