Software Symphony 9 Book Shelf Analogy on 144 - Page 90

Created

Last reply

Replies

1160

Views

267108

Users

60

Likes

6128

Frequent Posters

Nisha0604 thumbnail
Anniversary 9 Thumbnail Group Promotion 6 Thumbnail Engager 1 Thumbnail
Posted: 9 years ago
Ethics & Babies  



Ranjan came looking for them, Mr B was here and Gurti, it was close to 10 PM, her parents had ate and left already, They had to be at work and Amma had to pick up her book writing, it had around 27 chapters and they were barely on 9... they hoped to get it published jumping the bureaucratic hoops during summer

Vandu and Bala were ready to leave as well she was told.

Chachu's family was here making the most of the occasion keeping all business acquaintances lawyers, partners in good mood
Chachu made it a point that his sons were "in constant touch" with all



She didn't know where her husband was..the French dudes were here and Thai, Mihir was missing... Naina and him "checked out" early
 Ranjan was on a "high" of sorts, cheerful chatty, lively, with no press anywhere around he had nothing to fear. Nothing unsavory will be written about him or his family

The top people from Excelsior were here and the people from KMPG and accomplished people from business and industry. II had invited her team to the wedding, and her best friends, she didn't have any names to give to Sam when she was drawing up the Reception list. The family attorneys, Auditors, family physicians, Embassy delegates from the neighborhood...the bankers, wealth managers..some Delhi Govt politicians

It was basically a whos who of Delhi power brokers, II introduced as many as possible to Amma and Appa, mostly Appa received respect and humility from the guests, a few not so pleasant responses... Appa was not swayed by either. Very impassive. Appa epitomized everything ethical and principled about work life, many that were here tonight were the exact opposite in principles and ambition and hunger for power

Appa would never be comfy in such a setting, if she were not married to the heir of such a family she wouldn't be either. By choosing to marry a man like R&B she had consciously overlooked not only her Appa's principles but many of her own

She chose to ignore it for now, because the joy he brought her in this moment surpassed any/all lofty principles she ever held. This was her parallel universe and it had become her "main universe", she existed within now... the feisty arguments she had with Appa about corruption and unaccounted for wealth seemed like a joke

She was "part of them"

She could bet she saw it in Appa's eyes when she introduced the people to him.
She was the complete unadulterated essence of Appa's values and ideology, she was interested in it deeply. Akka married before she turned 25, and Akka was Amma's favorite, she loved to teach and shared their love for education

II by being the youngest, had received not only Appa's unconditional love but also his deep admiration for how she had approached her life and career, and the common love for ethics and values

Akka worked because she had to raise a family... to an extent... she loved meeting people and did not want to stay home in a joint family... but did not have the passion, zeal and beliefs II had

By marrying R&B II had let Appa down in MANY ways...
the choice of man

His culture
His nature
His attitude
His family
The scandal
the wealth
MOST IMPORTANTLY

She had destroyed Appa's faith in her by choosing a person/family that embodied /symbolized
EVERYTHING that was wrong with Delhi today, Delhi and its way of life.

She could tell Appa wouldn't sleep tonight...




The food was FANTASTIC. Asian, European, American, you name it, they were serving it... except Desi of course


Mr Bansal : KMPG is pleasantly surprised Ms Iyer sorry Mrs Bhalla at the turn of events (satisfied smile)

II:I actually kept my maiden name (squirming)

Gurtej: I see more and more people doing that, so I am not surprised

WELL I DID IT BECAUSE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE I MAY HAVE TO KEEP IT
EVERY HOUR IT ONLY GETS HARDER AND MORE PAINFUL I CANNOT IMAGINE HOW I WOULD BE IN 2 YEARS FROM NOW OR 5 YEARS FROM NOW... LETTING GO MIGHT ACTUALLY STOP MY HEART
THE VERY THOUGHT KILLS ME TODAY...

Bally: We hear about client provider relationships, but not "this kind"

II smacked Bally
Mr Bansal chuckled "Yes the most difficult ones usually come with pleasant rewards Ms Iyer


Ranjan: She is a great singer... I wish the forum was different I could have asked her to sing for you all


II: No... No... No Dad (afraid)

Ranjan: why not?

II:I WORK with them

Mr B: If u are as good as he says u are u should be excited... Ranjan is very critical of art usually

Ranjan looked on proudly
.

"Maybe some other time when you visit?"

Mr B: If that's an invitation for South Indian food I will accept it right now

II nodded shyly

Gurtej :Bally says you talk a lot but u seem very quiet

Bally: Gurti give here a month or two, she is still scoping out the opposition when she settles down she might not let u get a word in

II giggled " That's not true"

BallY: talk to the husband, he has stood there for 7 minutes with not a word out of his mouth


Mr Bansal: Well I wish you well, the natural progression is starting a family, I am sure Bally cannot imagine your absence for months

II:He doesn't have to worry I have no plans as of now.

Mr Bansal: Really? WHY is that?

II: well.. it seems crazy for women to have a career and kids...chasing both usually means being half good in both so... I picked the easy way

Mr Bansal: But KMPG and corporate India is very welcoming of life events like family expansion u know


II: But a man wanting to raise a family is more welcomed than a woman who
harbors such desires, in fact studies show, a new father is seen as stable grounded and permanent settle down, have kids... u know
, a pregnant female employee is a flight risk

R&B: I DONT think its a gender issue
II: Why would you say that?

Mr Bansal and Gurtej excused themselves when Ranjan wanted them to meet a politician

R&B:  the fact that since 1970 women have made huge gains in income relatively speaking while men's income has been stagnant.
Forget that women are on track to keep increasing their salary relative to men.

II: Men are rewarded for talking about having family values. They are not rewarded for actually wanting to be around their families.

R&B: I think its an equal responsibility meant to be shared exactly like that

II Mommy  effectively becomes a single parent,
 while Daddy relentlessly pursues his career and the amassing  wealth and professional success

R&b:Again this is not a gender issue

II: As a female manager I was expected to be sexist against women who were in the childbearing zone.
That's not to say I didn't hire them...but in general if it came down to an equal choice,
man or woman who looked ready to start her family, I was expected to choose the man.
My department was understaffed and overworked, and I was told the company couldn't afford the luxury of new mothers who,
after being trained for the job, would then take six months off, leaving me and the department scrambling to backfill the hole her absence created.

R&B: Well I cant speak for the company you worked for before, children's cognitive, emotional, and social development,
as well as their levels of happiness and self-esteem, are TOTALLY unaffected when two parents work outside the home,
or if the sole earner/breadwinner is the mother so I think your sample may be tainted there.


II: What do u say for fertility harassment from bosses and coworkers alike "Doesnt your husband make enough WHY do you have to work?"

R&B: There are plenty of men who are more qualified than women that cant seem to land or hold a job, companies
 let go of men first during layoffs the proprtion of men let go during 2008 recession is hugely disroportionate, its not a gender issue.
There is little interest in news stories of why job cuts hit twice as many men, in a company that has almost equal proprtion of both

II:Ironic that this begins by perpetrating one of the most damaging assumptions -
that it's the woman's choices that bring about unwanted comments, treatment, and discrimination.
 Just like what we choose to wear, what we choose to do with our fertility is not the problem here and we must not carry the blame.


II reached for a glass of something to drink



Bally: GUYSS! GUYS!!! GUYS!!

R&B quietly reached for a refill of whatever he was drinking


They were married five days? And their passion for a good fight was INTACT...

Bally went looking for Suman... and the couple ignited each other on fire with their glares

Its any one's guess if they were going to have sex tonight...

This fight... was not over


 
swathi1990 thumbnail
Anniversary 9 Thumbnail Group Promotion 3 Thumbnail Visit Streak 30 0 Thumbnail
Posted: 9 years ago

Originally posted by: TanjoreGirl

Nisha -
I am waiting for my family to return from a class.
And had these random  thoughts:

1) will their reception make it to page 3 - how many super  rich dudes for Delhi marry an IIM A Iyer girl i think papers should tout it like the William/Kate wedding 😳

2)GA talk with the 2 - she is nanis sister so the oldest , i want to hear atleast 2 lines of punjabi and both of them getting blessings from her.

3) Why is Manny behaving this way ...😡 she may hate II but she has to be there for her brothers sake right?

4)Can we get a situation where she is lost in Paris and he finds her

5) will they ever leave their hotel room in paris 😆😉

6) will she buy new furniture

7) Want him to listen to her convo with Bally ( wishful thinking)

i dont want answers but thought will post the questions in case u hadnt made up your mind on these 😃


I so want her to bring colours to his room.. Remember the clock she bought in Jaipur. A fight over redecorating their 2nd floor...Pls
SunshineBliss thumbnail
Anniversary 9 Thumbnail Group Promotion 2 Thumbnail
Posted: 9 years ago

And I was thinking R&B kuch  zyaada hi accommodating ho raha tha - since the wedding!!!😆 And bang on comes this chapter..loved the fight...

II has a point and she is right. And  R&B has all  the right facts - can't deny that...  but for all practical purpose, II is right to feel motherhood might ground her given what she has seen in the corporate world.  ...  so I go with her, and I want to dunk R&B in a barrel of beer  (coz he sounds like my hub when he gives such theoretical reasoning's ...jeez... I guess I'm the meanest of all your readers Nisha...😆  )

But there is this humongous   wealth factor here...which may bring in a different  hue to career/motherhood balance ...she doesn't see that yet... no middle-class girl ethical girl would

swathi1990 thumbnail
Anniversary 9 Thumbnail Group Promotion 3 Thumbnail Visit Streak 30 0 Thumbnail
Posted: 9 years ago
I am afraid Nish !!
Nowadays I feel soo bad when they start fighting 😭 It upsets me and the way it is going we are going to see sooo many fights 😭
Nisha0604 thumbnail
Anniversary 9 Thumbnail Group Promotion 6 Thumbnail Engager 1 Thumbnail
Posted: 9 years ago

Originally posted by: swathi1990

I am afraid Nish !!

Nowadays I feel soo bad when they start fighting 😭 It upsets me and the way it is going we are going to see sooo many fights 😭

aww

Dont be
they are strong egotistical and opinionated and INCOMPATIBLE
in all matters other than sex😆
swathi1990 thumbnail
Anniversary 9 Thumbnail Group Promotion 3 Thumbnail Visit Streak 30 0 Thumbnail
Posted: 9 years ago
Actually I am confused about II's opinion... Does she never want to have babies or she does not want to have babies before becoming a director ?
If it the 1st case, then I wont comment. Because I believe it is a personal choice for anyone.. Everyone need not like to take care/responsibility of a kid...
But if it the second case, I think there is a age limit till which you can postpone..

But either ways, I like that II has openly discussed about this before marriage with him compared to him not saying anything about paris...

Wow..feels like Life is sooo complicated..
swathi1990 thumbnail
Anniversary 9 Thumbnail Group Promotion 3 Thumbnail Visit Streak 30 0 Thumbnail
Posted: 9 years ago

Originally posted by: Nisha0604

aww

Dont be
they are strong egotistical and opinionated and INCOMPATIBLE
in all matters other than sex😆


But I am happy that you give us a proper mix of emotions... A very funny chapter in the morning..A fight in the evening... Now I am probably waiting for make up sex/Paris packing in the night... And she is going to unpack probably..which means the room is going to get some more colors other than navy,black and white...
I would love it if they share a closet...closet fights are always fun...Just remembering the ones my parents and I had back at home on who is occupying most of the closet...

nividances thumbnail
Posted: 9 years ago

I don't know if this is a comment, review, summary, analysis...I seriously don't know what it is. 😕 I guess at best it's a hodge podge of things that I have thought of while reading this story, but never took the time out to pen into actual words and coherent sentences.  😊

I had written a whole essay about Subbu embedded in a broader context of looking at literature (and life) from the perspective of the so-called "antagonist." It seems that those words were destined to go into some sort of virtual black hole because the response was lost/deleted twice...even when I made the smart move of typing everything on a word document. You may find it to be unbelievable, but my laptop crashed while I was in the middle of trying to remember and rewrite the lost response and I LOST the already lost response yet again...AutoRecover failed me too.  #Facepalm #Headdesk #TechnologyHatesMe 😔 That analysis is just not meant to be published Nisha. You will never see it...I'm sorry. Perhaps talking about Subbu is a jinx for me so I'm going to talk about II and R&B instead. 😛😆

As intriguing as the pre-marriage "relationship" between a lanky nomadic Punjabi venture capitalist translocated from Malcha Marg to Paris and a feisty, talkative, ambitious, IIM-educated Iyer carnatic singer from RK Puram was, the post-marriage equation between the two is even more engaging to explore. 

In almost every sense, the two are opposites. You have to beg her to stop talking; you have to beg him to speak just a few words. She is the daughter of a typical middle class Iyer household; he is the son of an atypical excessively affluent Punjabi household. Her interactions with "boys" can perhaps be tallied on the fingers of one hand; his "interactions" will require the fingers of more than a few hands. She has such a strong bond with her father; he has cut his father out of his life almost completely. She is less aware of his inner feelings but tries to probe him constantly; he is able to sense her distress but doesn't continually question. She is shy about physical intimacy to a certain extent; he is unabashedly explicit about this topic.

As different as they are, the one major commonality that they share is what has brought them together and made this union possible. They both carry with them their respective mother's blessings and wishes. This is not the sole force that united them, as we cannot discount the intense attraction they share, but it cannot be denied that destiny was certainly beckoned to work some magic by the prayers of the two mothers.

Coming to their individual "expectations" from the relationship, I find it interesting that the conservatively raised middle class Iyer is on the fence about the marriage lasting (she has her own valid reasons that I will save to speak about in a future post), while the nomadic Punjabi "playboy" has few, if any, doubts about the marriage's survival. How beautifully ironic the situation is. This dichotomy of expectations is one of the vulnerabilities of this relationship; the second is their inability to properly communicate. Humans by nature are too complicated to be understood fully but communication certainly helps to dissipate the enigmatic complexity of the human mind. The ultimate truth, without a doubt, in their relationship is that he will never know all there is to know about her, just as she will never know all there is to know about him. Whether this will be the hamartia of their relationship or serve as the force that pushes them together is something that remains to be seen.

Setting the relationship on the back burner, let's focus now on R&B specifically. I would like to put forth a quote by JK Rowling in his honor. "Indifference...often do[es] much more damage than outright dislike." He cares for his wife; we, as readers, have seen enough glimpses into his thoughts to infer that. However, his aversion to verbal communication, in the context of the narrative, is often assumed to be indifference by people such as Appa and sometimes even II. His wife is beginning to see his caring nature through his "Enough II" as well as his subtle actions of dealing with Subbu, handing over his phone to her, and so forth, but his silence and unwillingness to communicate is what will cause the biggest problems between them. More often than not, couples want to avoid fighting, but from what we have seen transpire between II-R&B already, their verbal duels tend to push them closer together, as that is one of the only times R&B's complete thoughts come out in the open. Similarly, it is mainly during their verbal duels that II lets her guard down and speaks without a filter. Something I have noted is that although she chatters paragraph-long responses to the simplest questions, II has a tendency to filter her words when it comes to her emotions and inner thoughts.

In the last few chapters, we have begun to see small progressions in their relationship and emotional understanding of each other, but there are still many cans of worms left to be opened as of yet. They have become one physically, but they have yet to open up to each other and become one in the truest sense...emotionally that is.

I will end with the following because I think it fits II-R&B to the tee. "Don't worry when I fight with you, worry when I stop because it means there's nothing left to fight for."

nividances thumbnail
Posted: 9 years ago
And I see you posted another update. Let me go read it now. 😊
TanjoreGirl thumbnail
Anniversary 10 Thumbnail Group Promotion 4 Thumbnail Fascinator 1 Thumbnail
Posted: 9 years ago
@nivi you had me loooved ur thoughts perfect..
👏