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I, Me, and Myself |
| All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. - William Shakespeare, As You Like It, II.vii.139-166 We all wonder what to say when it comes to talking about ourselves, don't we? I took the easy way out - this page will be based on an article I wrote sometime ago for the Times Of India. Of course, I've not been through all the "seven ages" Shakespeare wrote about, but let's see what I've covered already. |
 Stage I: The InfantAt first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms. I entered this world in the early 70's in a small town (Dadar) in a big Indian city (Bombay). From what I've heard, I wasn't as bad as chidren are made out to be - and proof lies in this old black and white picture where I'm smiling. And no, it's not been touched up in Photoshop. |
 Stage II: The School BoyAnd then the whining school-boy, with his satchel, And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. Speaking of school, I remember my first public kiss in nursery school, where I was Prince Charming in an enactment of "Snow White". In real life though, I grew up a very quiet and shy person. The picture you see is from when my parents and I went to Kashmir, while I was still an only child, and my brother was still just a thought in my parents' heads. I remember eating a red pepper (or red chilly as it is known in India) mistaking it for a cherry, and faintly remember the rest of the tour group giving me candy while the chef gave me a big bowl of sugar! I spent most of my summer vacations in Nashik, my Mum's hometown, with my grandparents and uncles and aunts. Being the eldest grandchild on that side got me my share of special treatment. |
Stage III: The Lover And then the lover Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Crushes came and crushes went away until I met Mugdha during my undergraduate studies. We started off as friends and things gradually became more serious as we fell in love. The path wasn't easy, but after June 2002, she will share my last name. |
Stage IV: The Soldier Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon's mouth. Maybe not to actual war, but I did enter the big bad world of work. I worked a year as a programmer around the time when the Internet was publicly made available in India. I was fascinated by it, learnt all I could, and wrote a lot, educating people about the power of the Net. I went back to business school, and applied my learning to this new techno-media, and worked as an Internet Strategist with rediff.com - India's first and premier portal. With the dotcom boom, I got a few offers for a similar position in the US. The one I eventually accepted was one that clicked through monster.com. I joined a startup division within Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and that's where I am today... |
Stage V: The Justice And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part. |
Stage VI: The Lean and Slipper'd Pantaloon The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, His youthful hose well saved a world too wide For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. |
Stage VII: Second Childishness Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. |