தனிமையிலே இனிமை காண முடியுமா?
இந்த பதிவை நான் ஆங்கிலத்திலேயே எழுதியிருக்கலாம், ஏனென்றால் இது உலகத்தில் உள்ள எல்லா வேலை பார்க்கும் மனிதர்களுக்கும் பொருந்தக்கூடியது, எனினும் என் மனதில் உள்ளதை effective-ஆக சொல்ல என் தாய்மொழியில் எழுதினால் மட்டுமே முடியும் என்பதால் தமிழில் எழுதுகிறேன். கொஞ்ச நாட்களாகவே எனக்கு தனிமை மிகவும் அதிகமாக உறைக்கத் தொடங்கிவிட்டது. வேலையில் உள்ள அழுத்தம், வெள்ளிக்கிழமை விடுமுறையில் கூட வேலை செய்யும் நிர்ப்பந்தம், இரவு அறைக்கு வந்தால் படுக்க மட்டுமே தோன்றுகிறது. இந்தியாவில் இருந்தபோது ஒரு colourful வாழ்க்கை வாழ்ந்துக்கொண்டு இருந்தேன். வார இறுதிகளில் தொலைதூர பயணங்கள், புதிய இடங்கள், புதிய மனிதர்கள், புதுப்புது கலைப்பொருள் முயற்சிகள் என வாழ்க்கை மிக அழகாக இருந்தது. ஆனால் onsite-க்கு வந்தப்புறம் வாழ்க்கை மொத்தமாக மாறிவிட்டது. வேலையினால் வரும் அழுத்தம் மட்டும் என்றால் கூட என்னால சமாளித்துவிட முடிகிறது. ஆனால் சில அனாவசியமான காரணமற்ற நிர்ப்பந்தங்களை, அதிலும் மேலதிகாரிகளால் வரும் காரணம் விளக்கப்படாத கட்டுப்பாடுகளால் சோர்ந்து போகும் மனதை, அந்த அழுத்தத்தின் வீரியத்தை தனிமை மேலும் பல மடங்காக பெருக்கிவிடுகிறது.
Till now it had been all car travels in Dubai either to office and on weekends because my friend was there who took me in car wherever we wanted to go. But after moving to Bur Dubai and with my friend going to India on vacation, I am exploring the public transport options. The situation is not so different from our Indian State transport services, except that here RTA (Road Transport Authority) has a good customer service (only) through a call center, who gives details about the routes and bus numbers when called. Along with this difference are other aspects like - a flat Dhs. 2/- for anywhere in Dubai, the standard of bus - Air conditioned, closed and infact thats the disadvantage because of the perspiration inside a closed space. Other than that there is no difference - same unpredictable timings of the bus arrival like in Chennai and even a checker doing the ticket checking in the mid way. However these bus travels take me back to the simple days of mine in Coimbatore and I am really enjoying waiting, 50 minute travel in the bus, so I am not complaining. I should have tried this much before itself and this is the only regret.
typing in the laptop I had bought to indulge myself for this otherwise lonely birthday. Last time in 2005 I had a lonely birthday in Abu Dhabi, on when I decided that I should do something to be with my family in the coming birthdays, which was instrumental in moving to SAP. Even though I was in Abu Dhabi for 2006 birthday I was sure that I'll be heading back to India in few months because I had taken SAP certification in May 06. May be I realised the gravity of being alone on occassions like birthday I enjoyed the next two birthdays very much with family & also usefully. For 2009 birthday I am back to a lone birthday that too in the same UAE. Just hoping that the next & coming birthdays will be with my family. Am I alone feeling this way quite emotionally or do others also feel the same way? As far as I had seen, most of the people who doesn't think this way enjoy their life much more than people like me do. That set the ball rolling for this blog.
It was a regular 'gtalk' chat request from an unknown email address and I never expected that the 'OK' button was going to get me somebody who could sweep me off. Like I had said that I had got some nice friends through my blogs, this chat request too was one of the regular ones. Normally I don't approve chats from strangers, but this time out of sheer boredom I accepted this person. He is from the Kangaroo's land and we hit off since the first chat. Slowly slowly he is becoming addictive and we are planning to meet in December when he comes to India on vacation. Sometimes you can get a feel where the relationship is going. Last time I felt so was with Ananya, whom I fondly address as 'Akka'. Normally I am very possessive about my friendship that I never shout from roof top like this but this time I am just hoping that this friendship should blossom into a long term relationship.
It has been almost a week I had come to Dubai for a project work, but I feel like being here for a long time. After Coimbatore, this is one place I feel at home. When looking back I can't reason why I feel comfortable about this place because it is so hot, dry, policies are quite expats unfriendly but something holds me in this place. May be some sweet memories of the last time stay is doing the magic. We are quite deeply engaged in work, so not much time to go around, but Thirumalai took me outside for a couple of days to buy some basic things and dinner. My website (www dot maheshwaran dot com) is blocked here and due to technicalities the *.net domain was not working fine, which made em think that I won't be able to blog for next 6 months. But thankfully I got one proxy that helped me to make changes to keep the *.net domain working. Love to keep you all informed about my stay here in Dubai.