Overdue post about an overdue holiday

So a holiday, longgg time in the making, is finally over. The quiet, laidback, tucked away in a corner land of khajuraho.. When you visit the temples, sit through the light and sound show, one gets a feel of how the place must have been in the 10th century when this was built.. everything from scratch, inside a dense forest, lined with scores of date palms.. Solid mounds of granite must have been identified to serve as the foundation for the temples,  the thick vegetation then cleared, the artisans, or should I say artists, would have set up their little huts in a clearing nearby and soon the forest would have reverberated with the sounds of thousands of chisels chipping away at stones, day after day, year after year..

And then, just as the crescendo of work and workmanship mounted through time, slowly and surely did it die down as well.. time and tide wait for no one, nature reclaiming what was always its, at the same time respecting the creation of man just enough as to preserve it for our eyes..

The best part of the visit for me though, was the walk to the light and sound show and the coffee on the rooftop of raja Cafe with my beloved.. the walk back to the room through the cool night air.. Sitting on the rooftop of the Cafe, it struck me that nothing would be a better holiday for me than coming here for another week, with just my beloved and spending the hot days in the room, working through my laptop and spending the early mornings and evenings walking around the village that is khajuraho, soaking in the wonderful amalgamation of the ancient sculptures with modern food..

An experience to remember..

Who would have thought that the worst nightmare was yet to come? Lulled into a sense of security by past experiences about my abilities to handle all sorts of people, I am so stunned and amazed at the sheer audacity of the opposition I am facing.. Little did I realise that I was interfering with a well settled pecking order.. an order where she speaks and you listen and you sign. Thats it. There better not be anything more than that.

What beats me and what I ask myself everyday is, why on earth am I here?

I wrote these lines a week ago in frustration.. and let it sit without publishing, hoping that this anger will pass in a few weeks. But better still, yesterday I got absolved of my duties altogether.. the very first 'kicking-out' posting of mine! 

I suppose I was expecting this.. writing was clear on the wall. But like a mentor told me, in the face of adversity, the best thing to do is put your head down, work hard and build credibility among the people you are there to serve. I tried to do that and the love and anguished messages I am getting from people of different walks of life has surprised and moved me.. 

2 months is like a blink of an eye in this profile. The rule of thumb is, first 3 months, just get to know the place, things and issues. Dont do anything drastic. But for the machinery, these first 3 months are also crucial in terms of setting of expectations and goals for subordinates. So while I tried not to do anything 'drastic' I found myself up against the most audacious and difficult challenge I have ever faced. I tried to put that aside and focus on getting the machinery moving. There was so much to do... We achieved a lot in this time.. but I still didnt expect that the message of my work, enough to build a certain credibility, would have reached throughout the jurisdiction. 

Oh there are many who are celebrating! And I dont grudge them their happiness - people dont like to be shifted from their comfort zone very easily. But my initial euphoria at getting out of this situation has slowly been replaced by a sadness.. the support and love that the place and its people are showing me is no less than what I received from another profile at which I got to work for a whole year. People sending me photos of what my interventions have achieved, criticizing this decision as inimical to the people.. 

From the beginning of my time here the thing that has struck me the most is the decency of the people here, which unfortunately is in some ways responsible for the poor delivery by a dull machinery. At the same time, the machinery was more responsive to my call to work than I expected.. There was so much to do.. and we were just getting started... I really want this sadness to leave me so I go to the new place and take on the new tasks full of energy.. I dont want to come back to a profile like this because it is too difficult to part like this.. its like seeing the seed you've sown get yanked out and thrown while your hands are tied up so you cant stop it.. 

Murphy and his antics

Ironic that my very next post after this is about an exactly opposite time in my life.. Less than 2 weeks after that post, I get transferred.. To the very post I warned against the addiction of.. Murphy just has a way of finding his way into everything!

This ill timed shift coincided with a looonnnngg holiday my parents took with my kids , far away from me for almost a month and a half.. leaving me alone in this new place to cope with some of the toughest people and situations I have ever had to..