Wednesday, April 21, 2021

The drowning murders

 

'Iss laash ka muh ab Dr Salunke hi khulwayega'  ACP Pradyuman said as he looked at the dead body in front of him.

 

The body was discovered on a Monday morning, by two aunties in salwar kameez and Nikes.

 

Inspector Joshi was stoic, every other week there was a drowning at Versova beach. The only question was ‘who’.

 

He handed over this case to the CID hoping to solve these mysterious deaths.

 

The dead person was Sabina. A girl studying in class 14. A total of 3 drowning deaths had happened till now, all of girls who belonged to Sabina's group of runners.

 

Sabina was a fitness and running enthusiast. She along with her 10 friends was a part of Juhu runners group. They used to run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Sunday and Monday, they would also swim. Despite being professional swimmers, 2 of her friends died due to drowning. But that did not deter Sabina from continuing her swimming practice.

 

Further investigation by Dr Salunke revealed that Sabina had taken some sleeping pill 15 mins before her death.

 

'Why would she take a sleeping pill before swim? ' ACP wondered.

 

'Maybe someone made her take it ' his assistant Daya said.

 

ACP and his team reached Juhu beach for investigation.

 

'Is ladki ko aapne dekha hain?' Daya asked the chaiwala at the beach

'Nahi, Sir.’

 

He went to each stall at the beach with a photo of Sabina in his hand and asked the same question.

 

He reached the juicewala.

 

"Haan, jaanta hoon main inhe. Ye hamare idhar juice leti thi" he said.

 

"Aur kya jaante ho?”

 

"Last Monday she came to have juice. After that she went for a swim and got drowned. We don't know how a professional swimmer can get drowned like this. 2 of her friends died the same way,” he said.

 

" Who else was here on your stall that day that morning?” ACP asked.

 

" Sabina's group and her coach,” he said.

 

" One more thing Sir. Sabina and her friends who died used to have a special energy drink and her coach used to add some powder to it in the end.

 

“Lets meet the coach, " ACP said.

 

They immediately drove to the coach's house.

 

It was locked.

 

“Daya Darwaza tod do,” ACP said.

 

Daya, ACP and the team searched each nook and corner of the coach’s house to find any evidence.They found a box full of protein powder sachets . Alongside that box was a packet of sleeping pills. They sent the sleeping pills for investigation to Dr Salunke.

 

“Ab, bas coach ko dhoond nikalo” ACP said

 

An update from Freddie from ACPs team revealed that the coach was trying to escape abroad. They stopped him at the airport and he was brought to CID.

 

“Why did you do this? Will you tell or should we make you tell…” ACP said in his trademark style.

 

“Sir, sir . Let me tell you. The story goes back to 6 months ago. Me and my friend Vivek were partners in a business. Vivek wanted to make fast money. He suggested that I get closer to Sabina so that we could get money from her rich dad and put it in business. With time , we got closer and started going on dates quite often. I used to mention my business problems to Sabina and she would quietly get money from her dad. Then one fine day she suddenly stopped getting money. Her friends behaviour towards me also changed. We had an argument once and she mentioned that she’s no more interested in me. My life was going on a downward spiral and the root cause of it was Sabina and her friends who instigated her against me. Hence I decided to kill them. I used to put protein powder in the juice they used to have. On the day of the murder, I put sleeping pills so that they would sleep off while swimming and get drowned.”

 

“Sharam nahi aai tumhe ye karte hue?Chalo ab jail ki hawa khane" ACP said.

 

 

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

माझं_काम_माझा_अभिमान - भाग ३

 #माझं_काम_माझा_अभिमान

भाग ३ 

२०१३ ला मी IIMB मधून graduate झाले. Graduate झाल्यावर लगेच त्या वर्षीच्या मे महिन्यात माझं लग्न झालं. आमचं लव मॅरेज होतं. माझ्या नवऱ्याला , सिद्धेश ला मी लग्नाच्या आधीपासून ओळखत होते. मात्र आम्ही प्रत्यक्ष VJTI नंतर २-३ वेळाच भेटलो होतो.मे महिन्यात लग्न आणि जून महिन्यात मी आदित्य बिर्ला ग्रुप जॉईन केलं. यावेळी माझा संसार आणि नोकरी दोन्ही सुरू झालं. लग्नाआधी आई बाबांबरोबर राहिल्यामुळे संसाराची जबाबदारी माझ्यावर नव्हती.


२०१४ ला माझा Accenture Consulting चा इंटरव्ह्यू झाला. जेव्हा इंटरव्ह्यू झाला त्यानंतर त्यांच्याकडून काही reply आला नाही. मग November ला कॉल आला final इंटरव्ह्यूसाठी. तेव्हा मी 4 months pregnant होते. मी pregnant असताना मला कोण का  जॉब देईल असा मी विचार केला. पण तरीही मी इंटरव्ह्यूला गेले. इंटरव्ह्यूमध्ये मी माझ्या pregnancy बद्दल सांगितलं. मला Accenture तेव्हा recruit करेल असं वाटलं नव्हतं. पण Accenture ने माझी प्रोफाइल बघून मला job offer दिला.


२०१५ मे मध्ये मी पहिल्यांदा आई झाले- स्वरा ची आई. त्याच वर्षी माझ्या नवऱ्याला नोकरीसाठी बंगलोरला relocate करावं लागणार होत. ऑक्टोबर मध्ये तो relocate झाला आणि २०१६ January ला मलासुद्धा बंगलोर मध्ये प्रोजेक्ट मिळालं आणि मी सुद्धा तिकडे relocate झाले. तेव्हा माझा भाऊ तिकडे नोकरी करत होता आणि त्यामुळे त्याच्यासाठी माझे आई बाबा तिकडे होते. मला त्यावेळी आई बाबांच्या बिल्डिंग मध्ये फ्लॅट मिळाला. त्यामुळे माझा स्वराच्या सांभाळण्याचा प्रश्न सुटला. माझे आई बाबा आणि यापैकी कोणी मुंबईला येणार असेल तर आत्या स्वरा ची काळजी घेत होते.


२०१९ सप्टेंबर मध्ये मी परत एकदा आई झाले. आर्याचा जन्म झाला.२०१५ ते २०२० या काळात आम्ही अनेक घर बदलली. मुंबई ते बंगलोर आणि बंगलोर ते मुंबई अशी शहर ही बदलली. एक वर्ष long distance relationship मध्ये सुद्धा राहिले. 


करिअर करताना आणि दोन मुलींना वाढवताना, खूप अनुभव गाठीशी आले. या काळात आपली माणसं कोण याचा अनुभव आला. आपल्या हाताशी दोन मुली असताना, आपल्याला मदतीची गरज असताना काही लोक किती फालतू कारण निर्माण करून अडवून दाखवतात याचा अनुभव आला. जितक्या लोकांनी अडवून दाखवलं त्यापेक्षा कित्येक जास्त  छान माणसं भेटली. मुलींना वाढवताना त्यांच्यामुळेच काही कमी पडलं असं वाटलं नाही. 


माझ्या नोकरीमुळे एक छान दुसरं विश्व होतं- नोकरी केल्यामुळे एक वेगळाच आत्मविश्वास होता. आपले पैसे आणि त्याचं स्वातंत्र्य ही एक वेगळीच चीज आहे. मी आधीच्या भागात सांगितल्याप्रमाणे नोकरी न करणं हा ऑप्शन मला माहीतच नव्हतं.माझ्या नोकरी मुळे मला financial freedom मिळालं. नोकरी आणि मुलींचं करताना आपण दोन्ही गोष्टींना न्याय देतोय ना असा विचार नेहेमी यायचा. पण तेव्हा माझा नवरा आणि आई बाबा मला नेहेमी मला motivate करत होते. नुसतं शब्दानेच नव्हे तर actively मदत करत होते. 


2020 ला एप्रिल मध्ये माझी दुसरी maternity leave संपणार होती. तेव्हाच lockdown सुरु झाला. त्यामुळे आता मुलींना सांभाळून घरकाम करून नोकरी कशी करता येईल हा विचार होता. आई बाबा मालाडला राहतात त्यामुळे ते दादरला lockdown मध्ये मदतीला येऊ शकत नव्हते. मी विचार केला - lets do it. जॉईन तरी होऊया आणि मग बघुया काय होतंय ते. मी जॉईन झाले. नवरा आणि मी  २ मुलींना सांभाळत , घरकाम करत, जेवण करून सगळं करत होतो. माझी जवळ राहणारी मावशी आम्हाला गरज लागल्यास अगदी घरपोच हव्या त्या वेळी सामान आणून देत होती, मदत करत होती. माझी मैत्रीण सुखदा मला घरपोच पोळी भाजी देत होती. नाश्ता, आमटी भात , रात्रीचा स्वयंपाक सगळं मी करत होते. २०२० हे वर्ष कसं निघून गेलं ते कळलंच नाही.काळ फार पटापट निघून जातो. आज माझी मोठी मुलगी साडेपाच वर्षांची आहे. 


माझी आजी नेहेमी म्हणायाची आपल्याकडे पैसे असले की सगळे आपल्याला देतात, पण नसले तर कोण मदतीला येत नाही. म्हणून नेहेमी स्वावलंबी असावं.   मी स्वावलंबी आहे , पण मी एकटीच सगळं करू शकत नाही. आज इथपर्यंतच्या प्रवासात सिद्धेश, आई बाबा‌ भाऊ,  आत्या ची साथ होती आणि ती पुढे सुद्धा राहीलच. मावशी ,भावंडं सुद्धा मदत करणारे आणि उगीचच  माझ्या संसारात ढवळाढवळ करणार असे नाहीत.  काही छान मैत्रिणी, family friends आहेत जे कधीही धावून येतील मदतीसाठी. 


 पैसा महत्त्वाचा की माणसं? दोन्ही महत्त्वाचं - आपली माणसं आपल्याबरोबर असतात पण त्याबरोबर पैसा हवाच. आणि त्यासाठी आपण स्वावलंबी हवच. There is no alternative. Atleast not for a girl like me.

पण एक मात्र नक्की माझ्या या प्रवासात जी छान साथ देणारी माणसं मिळालं त्यामुळे तो खूप सुखकर , enjoyable झाला. Three cheers to them!


समाप्त

माझं_काम_माझा_अभिमान - भाग २

 #माझं_काम_माझा_अभिमान  

Tejal Krishnakumar Raut Himali Kokate

भाग २

ई - मेल बघितल्यावर बाबा म्हणाले - मला IIM - Bangalore कडून interview कॉल आला होता. त्यात essay writing आणि interview असे दोन भाग होते. interview साधारण दीड महिन्यांनी होता. interview च्या तयारीला लागले. खूप वाचन  चालू होतं . एक मात्र पक्क ठरवलं होत-  " I will not worry about how I should present myself to be an eligible IIM B candidate in the interview. Instead I will just be myself and present my true authentic self" . माझा interview खूप  छान झाला.  interview झाल्यानंतर ऍडमिशन मिळेल कि नाही याचा फार विचार केला नाही. यावेळी मी बरीच detached होते. Give your best and leave the rest to god- याला  मी तंतोतंत follow करत होते. गेल्यावर्षीच्या CAT च्या अपयशानंतर मला खूप वाईट वाटलं होत. त्यामुळे यावेळी मी फक्त माझ्या हातात जे आहे त्यावर फोकस करायचं ठरवलं होतं. एप्रिलमध्ये final result लागला.

April 19 was the day. And the email read - "Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that, you are offered admission to the Post Graduate Programme in Management 2011-13 batch at IIM Bangalore."

हे वाचून माझा माझ्यावरच विश्वास बसत नव्हता. An admit from IIM  - was this even real? But hey, it was !

आणि यानंतर माझा एक वेगळा प्रवास सुरु झाला. कधीही आई बाबांपासून दूर  न राहिलेली, IIMB मध्ये बंगलोरला हॉस्टेल मध्ये राहणार होते. IIMB चा अभ्यास, competition याचा विचार न करता , MBA मध्ये खूप कमी झोप मिळते त्यामुळे आपल्यासारख्या झोपावेड्या मुलीचं कसं होणार या विचारात मी होते.

IIMB मध्ये गेल्यावर लक्षात आलं कि इथे येणार प्रत्येक विद्यार्थी तत्याच्या कॉलेज, युनिव्हर्सिटीचं टॉपर होता. त्याशिवाय अनेक extra -curricular गोष्टीत प्राविण्य मिळवलेलं होतं .  बॅच मध्ये इतकी हुशार मुलं /मुली होते की Am I even good enough? हा प्रश्न मला नेहेमी पडायचा.

IIM च्या placement  interview मध्ये हमखास विचारला जाणारा प्रश्न म्हणजे "Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?. खरं सांगायचं तर मनातलं उत्तर असायचं " ५ वर्ष पुढचं कुणी बघितलंय". पण बोलावं मात्र काहीतरी वेगळंच लागायचं . काय तेव्हा बोलले होते ते आठवत नाही पण "I will learn and grow even further in my field" या आशयाचं काहीतरी बोलले असेन.

पाच वर्षांनंतर म्हणजे २०१७-२०१८. होतं माझ्यासाठी.

2017-2018 साली माझ विश्व इतक बदलेल आणि इतक्या गोष्टी मी balance आणि prioritize करत  असेन याची मला अजिबात 2012-13 साली कल्पना नव्हती . हे सगळं करता करता मी खूप काही शिकले आणि मनुष्य स्वभावाचे अनेक पैलू बघितले ...त्याबद्दल पुढच्या भागात 


(To be continued)

क्रमशः -भाग 2 

-धनश्री

माझं_काम_माझा_अभिमान -भाग १

 फेसबुक या माध्यमातूंन खूप छान छान ब्लॉग्जर्सचे लिखाण वाचायला मिळाले. Tejal Krishnakumar Raut  आणि Himali Kokate  यांची मी एक अशीच फेसबुक follower . त्यांच्या #माझं_काम_माझा_अभिमान या सदरासाठी माझी story share करतेय --

माझा जन्म मुंबईत  एक मराठी मध्यमवर्गीय कुटुंबात झाला. खाऊन , पिऊन सुखी म्हणतात अशा कुटुंबात. घरी आई , बाबा , आत्या, आजी आणि आम्ही दोन भावंडं. वरच्या मजल्यावर राहणारी मोठी आत्या आणि शिल्पा ताई.आम्ही लहान असताना आजी, आत्यानेच सांभाळलं . कधी बाहेर राहण्याची, किंवा घरी मदतनिसांच्या हाताखाली वाढण्याची पाळी आली नाही. शाळेत जाताना आजी जेवण द्यायची आणि घरी आल्यावर आत्या गरम चहा करून ठेवायची. शनिवारी शाळेतून आल्यावर आई काहीतरी special करायची. घरात अभ्यासाला खूप महत्त्व . पहिला अभ्यास , आणि मग सारं काही. बाबाचं तत्त्व - तुला जे काय करायचंय ते कर, पण अगदी मन लावून कर, अगदी top  येण्याचं ध्येय ठेवूनच कर. घरात वैचारिक, अभ्यासू वातावरण. बाबांच पेपर वाचन, आई- आत्या चा कोडी सोडवणं इत्यादी. 

माझी ताई माझ्यापेक्षा १२ वर्षांनी मोठी. मी शाळेत असताना ती मेडिकलला होती . MBBS झाल्यानंतर MD साठी कुठली फील्ड निवडायची यासाठी फॉर्म भरणं  चालू होतं . तेव्हा मला माझ्या आजीचे शब्द आठवतात " तुका जा करुचा ता कर  , पण नोकरी कर. आपण आपल्या पायावर उभ्या रवाक होया . पगार कितीही असुंदेत , पण नोकरी होई ". मी ज्या वातावरणात वाढले तिथे खरंतर मुलींनी नोकरी न करणं हा option नव्हताच.  [ तेजल च्या मागच्या पोस्टमध्ये ती हे म्हणालेली तसं काहीतरी ] आई, आत्या, मावशी, मामी, काकी सगळ्याच नोकरी करायच्या किव्वा full - time ट्युशन्स तरी . 

माझा शाळेत नेहेमी पहिला नंबर असायचा . १० वी नंतर science आणि मग VJTI मधून IT  engineering केलं . इंजिनीरिंग मध्ये सुद्धा टॉप ३ मध्ये होते. कॅम्पस प्लेसमेंट  through Lehman Brothers या त्या काळच्या (२००८) Top  5 investment banks मध्ये सिलेक्ट झाले.तेव्हा नोकरी करताना माझ्यावर कोणाची जबाबदारी नव्हती. आई बाबा आर्थिक रित्या independent होते, आणि कोणाची caring जबाबदारी पण नव्हती.त्यामुळे फक्त काम , वाचन आणि मी असं  चालू होतं . पहिल्या नोकरीने मला एक professional confidence दिला.  ही नोकरी करत असतानाच  MBA साठी लागणाऱ्या CAT entrance exam ची तयारी करत होते. २००९ साली खूप तयारी करून CAT दिली पण IIM call नाही आला. MBA करायचं तर IIM A, B , C मधूनच असं मी ठरवलंच होतं . त्यामुळेच कदाचित मला FMS मधून admit मिळूनही मी तिथे जॉईन केलं नाही . त्यावेळी मी TIME coaching इन्स्टिटयूट मधल्या मंदार सरांशी आणि Arkss सरांशी बोलल्याचं आठवतंय. मी अजून एक attempt दिली तर मला IIM मिळेल असा त्यांचा विश्वास होता. मी २०१० ला परत CAT द्यायचा ठरवलं. पण त्यावेळी मी न pressure  घेता CAT दिली .No intense practice. Result day ला मी रिझल्टही बघितला नाही. शेवटी बाबांनी दोन दिवसांनी मेल open केली.

(To be continued)


क्रमशः -भाग १

-धनश्री

Value Education


How do I impart the right values to my kids ? Is a question I think about everyday. 

"Kids learn a lot by observation" I then tell myself.

I have hardly read any parenting books. My parenting style is derived from my own parents, grandma, aunts, friends and some blog readings. It is evolving as I learn from my own daughter. Among the most important values that my parents inculcated in me, one of them has to be punctuality and showing up. 

I am very punctual and reach a venue before time. I take into account cab booking time , traffic time, loo time after reaching the venue etc and accordingly plan the time (including buffer time) that I will leave home .

On the occassions when my daughter and I go together , I explain her this logic of planning ahead, though she still doesn't fully understand the clock.( She is 5.5 yrs old)


I remember this incident somewhere around last July  when my daughter's online classes started.  Her class timings were 7 pm. Since evening she was asking me what is the time?Around 6:30 pm she told me, "Mumma, please help with laptop and login". I asked her why so early? 

She then told me she wants to be fully ready before her teacher joins. So I set her laptop, she was ready with her school bag and all set to say " Good Evening Teacher"

From the next day onwards she said she will have snacks and water before 6:30 as teacher told them to have food before class and not during class.Over a few weeks time, she discovered that her teacher joins at 6:57 pm. She felt 6:30 was too early to join. She was  by then fairly accustomed to her online class routine. Hence she said she would be ready with her laptop by 6:45 pm. She follows this schedule always. I do not need to nag her to be prepared on time.


Last week she fell down while playing. Her nose was bleeding and swollen. The next day she had a test. By then she was feeling okayish-   a bit of swelling was there but she could manage to write the test. She showed up and did it.


Being on time and showing up consistently are very very valuable traits to have.I don't know how talented  or intelligent I am. But I do know I get up and show up on time. I don't do too many things at a time. But what I do, I really do consistently. And I do hope, my daughter carries these traits with her as she grows up.


- Dhanashree

Friday, January 1, 2021

What 2020 taught me

 

2020 has been a phenomenal year. It was different in so many ways yet similar in some but overwhelming at times. The thing that was similar was that my circle, the people who stood by me always were with me helping me in 2020 as well despite the challenges that they themselves faced in the pandemic.

 I resumed work post maternity leave in April and since then it has been juggling between Work from home, work for home , childcare , family time and what not.

2020 reinforced some of the values that my aaji , parents and atya taught me. So here goes- What 2020 taught me

 

1. Know your close circle. They matter. No one else does- 

Who comes in your closest circle? Who will help you when things go wrong? Who will get you food  when you yourself can't? Who will sit in the hospital with you if the need be? Who will help you when despite your monetary status( when you are not as well off)? These are the people that matter. Identify these people, cherish them, love them. Have gratitude that you have a few such people in life. It is tough to identify your circle when everything is going on well in your life.

You truly know who is with you when you need help from them. How do they react then? People who come to n parties with you, do they come to help? People who come to you because you have a certain amount of money, a car or a big house are never yours no matter how closely they are related to you.

Time and again when I have faced challenges in my life, only my close circle came running for me. Rest were just spectators or visitors. They came just to mark their attendance and show others that they visited me. But my circle was the one that stood by me like a rock and actively helped to get out of a tough situation. 

In 2020 too, I needed help. House movement ,and raising children, doing a job amidst a pandemic were tough. My close circle kept me going. Right from doing the house movement , to childcare, providing me food when I couldn't cook, the list is endless. 

At the end of 2020, all I have is gratitude for them

 

2. Saving for a rainy day works. It really does

I grew up in a middle class family. Where saving and spending only on necessities and not on extravagance was a way of life. My aaji and everyone in the house would emphasize the importance of saving for a rainy day. 

2020 was a living example of how savings were important . When I joined back work in April, I was worried whether I would be able to manage all of this. I thought what would be the worse case. When I imagined the worse case scenario maybe of taking some unpaid time off, I realised it was an option only because of saving habit and a regular and not so hi-fi lifestyle

 

3. Take one day at a time

In school , when I used to feel the exam papers ahead are tough subjects, my atya used to say first focus on tomorrow's paper. Then we can see about the rest. 

Come 2020 , I applied this principle like anything. Some days were so overwhelming and busy , but focusing on the task at hand produced great results.

Not worrying too much about we have so much to do in the week . But focussing on what needs to be done today is an effective strategy

 

4. Planning and discipline are a must

I grew up surrounded by teachers and hence planning and discipline are in my blood.

2020 was a year of even more intense planning as weekends were dedicated to that: - grocery shopping list, menu planning. syncing mine and husband's calendar etc etc. There is no way I could have done so much of jugglery in 2020 without this detailed planning 

 

5. There is no better time to start than now

My aaji used to say "kasa honar, kay honar vichar karnyapeksha kamak laga". That means instead of thinking what will happen etc, just start working on the task. I have been thinking about losing weight since long. In 2020, amidst all the madness, I started my weight loss journey by following a healthy diet. That involved some additional cooking, planning and hence more effort. But I did it. My thinking of how Iwill be able to manage this in a pandemic madness transformed to lets focus on what all small stuff I can do daily that takes me closer to my weight loss goal. 

The difference that this attitude can create is phenomenal

 

6.Unsolicited advice comes in plenty. The only action that it should have is ignore

At the start of 2020, I made a resolution of not to reason with unreasonable people.

It was not easy but by being mindful about this, I was reasonably successful in meeting this resolution. A lot of unsolicited advice that I received was either to put me down or to boost the advice giver's ego or for the advice giver's selfishness. None of the people who gave this advice came to help me even once. They were not in my close circle.

Hence the best strategy to deal with unsolicited advice is to ignore it,

 

7. You are not answerable to everyone

This is a follow-up from point above. Everyone has advice to give you but you are not answerable to everyone. Who matters is your close circle. No one is your judge.

For example, In 2020, I stopped answering people after the first time if they asked why I am not venturing out.

Once you decide who is your circle, you decide who should you answer

 

The list can go on but these are my key learnings. At the start of 2020 , my younger one was just 3 months. At the end of 2020, she is 15 months. At the start of 2020, I was much more dependent for help in terms of arranging house( my dad did this and I couldn't have imagined where we would be had he not come in to help). At the end of 2020, my dependence has slightly reduced in some things, increased in other. This itself brings about a lot of changes in people dynamics . The people who are not in your close circle want to portray that they are in the hope of receiving help from you .

The people who are in your close circle are always with you. That matters. And that is the only thing that matters.

Happy new year 2021 folks.

What is your learning from 2020?

-Dhanashree

 

 

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