Nirvana

My usual day is full of action, emotion and drama....

Typically, my day starts at 6 in the morning when the cook rings the bell. I wake up cursing my self for keeping a cook -but for her, I could have slept a little longer. All such thoughts vanish by the time I reach the door-I send a silent thanks to God for getting me a cook who can come so early to work.
I give her instructions and busy myself in the mundane chores of getting ready to get out of the house by 7:30. I wake up hubby dear and the little one and go to take bath. 7:20 am - I am out of the bathroom and Hubby has readied the little one. I look forward to the morning cup of chai.. 7:25 and the little one has a 'Eureka' moment. She remembers teacher has told them to cover the assignment file. I know there is no point arguing with her so I immediately rush to find the paper, scissors and cellotape. As I complete covering the file, Hubby is having his morning cuppa and lecturing on being more organized and disciplined to both of us; but I am already on my way out. My cup of tea is cold and I have to leave it halfway.

At the elevator, I realize I need to leave pocket money for the college going son. I ring the bell and the door is opened by an angry looking husband(when was the last time I saw him smiling...). I kick myself for not giving enough time at home. We reach the school bus in the nick of time and I wave to her till the bus turns the corner.

8:10am my day at office starts. I am one of the early comers. I am pleased with the calm in the office after the hurricane at home. I log into my emails- sure enough there are 8-10 new mails even though I have checked my mails late in the night. I check my list of things to do and add more items to it. Recently, the organization has taken over another company and we are integrating the both the teams. Even though integration is still going on, there are tough targets to meet in the remaining quarter. I once again glance through my targets for the quarter. I am determined to overachieve on them-by now I have forgotten my busy morning at home.

As the morning progesses, I am reviewing plans and roadmaps sent by my teams, talking to them on progress, issues, advising them and enthusing them to do better. I realize I need all the energy in the world to make sure they are charged up. I need another cup of tea. In between this,I call my son to check if he has woken up; check whether he ate something and remind him to get out early to reach college in time

Before Lunch time, I get a message from one of my senior managers to call her immediately.  She comes from that part of the organization which has been newly integrated . I sense the urgency in the message and call her. She has a good offer in hand and wants to resign. I ask her if we can do anything to match the offer; but she says the company that has offered her is headquartered out of her city and that is why she sees potential for growth. I tell her that in todays world, location is immaterial and to rethink over the weekend. I guess out of respect, she agrees to rethink over the weekend. My mind is already thinking on impact and backup plans.

Some more calls with global counterparts in the afternoon, some calls with two managers in the team who don't seem to agree on each others approach. I am determined to make them see each others view point and reach a consensus. By the end of the call, I have partially achieved this. I make a mental note of giving at least one of them a strong message on collaboration.
The last call is with the integrated team; to communicate to them about their roles and responsibilities in the new organization structure. I deliberately try to keep the tone calm and breezy. The last call is to tackle some show-stopper issues. At 6:30 in the evening as I finish the last call; I feel drained of energy. I must rush back home to pick daughter from the creche. I see a message from hubby saying he has already picked her up. On my way back, I am taking stock of what I completed and what I did not.

I reach home at 7:30 and am greeted by the little one watching TV and hubby on conference calls. I freshen up, light the diya, call the little one and say the evening prayers. I start cooking for the evening dinner and am determined to give the family a hot and fresh dinner. In between, I realize the elder one has not reached home and give him a call. He is hanging around with friends discussing assignments. I must talk to him in the night and check out more on what is going in his life. 

Hubby dear does not like one of the sabzi's (even without tasting) and is ready to do with an omelette. The little one wants to follow him. The volcano in my mind is ready to burst. But I silently count 1 to 100 and try to remind myself that hubby had single handedly looked after the kids when I was away in Paris for a week.

9:30 at night, I have just finished all my work and want to relax. The little one remembers a homework she needs to do and needs my help. By the time I retire to bed at 11 in the night, I am totally exhausted.

I think of the wise men who attained spiritual enlightenement and nirvana by going away to the forests and meditating in peace. Suddenly, their life seems very attractive :)

On second thoughts, I realize that I need to achieve nirvana amidst my daily life....