Valentine @ KFC

Valentine day is a day of expression. You express your love for that someone special. In other words, it is a day on which record number of people say “I LOVE U” and hope to say the same a year later to hopefully the same person. This day is the most planned of all days in the entire calendar. Everything from “good mornings” to “good nights” is planned well in advance. Important office/college work is kept on hold just so that the mornings and nights are not only good but excellent.

The planning is not only confined to the people who do a “celebration” of love but also by the resource providers. Who are they you may ask? These are no one but the florist, Archie’s gallery, hallmark people who sell stuff at higher prices on this day with a view to recover all their year’s costs! All in the name of providing your respective love one day of happiness which should be enough to last for a year (even though you don’t care to express it for the next 364 days).

But ultimately it is the pressure to conform to such rituals which drives all couples to conjure various routes of expression. Hence I set out on a journey of self righteousness to find a way to provide the most perfect articulation of love. Heavy isn’t it?

It was my 1st valentine and I made the biggest rookie mistake – I forgot to plan! So here I was on 12th February amidst high valentine day inflation to create a plan out of nothing. Then in a “Home Alone” kind of way, I drew up a baby plan to support the cause. Flowers in the morning, good happiness lunch in the afternoon, snacks on the house and then a lavish dinner. Pls don’t ask for the quotations for this plan. Let’s just say that if there was anything more than this, I would have most certainly required to take a small loan or something from friends, family, RBI etc.

“Ye bouquet ka 300 rupees hoga sahib (this bouquet is for Rs 300 sir)” barked the extremely busy florist. 300 bucks for something I would call a small twig planted in a takeaway pav bhaji style plastic container with a few roses who most certainly passed their prime (they might as well have been last year’s valentine day rejects). When I complained about the sky high price and quality, the florist replied “2 din pehle toh aisa hi hota hai, kya aapka pehla hai kya? Log toh pehle se hi order kar lete hai! Dekhiye Bhabhiji ko kush karna ho toh ye chal jayega…nahi toh thoda aur paise dalke “MEGA Bouquet” le sakte ho. Ek Cadbury iske saath free hai (you will get such prizes 2 days prior to V-day. I think this is your 1st time. Others do ordering in advance. Let me tell you something, add some more money, get this bouquet on which you get a Cadbury free!)”. WOW!! Valentine day combo offer from a florist for my lady love! There can be nothing more uncomfortable than to discuss what my lady love would like and what not with a florist!

Then with a lot of lightness in my wallet (around 350 rupees lighter – 50 rupees “special delivery charges”) I gave the florist the address of delivery and then went off. On 13th February, I realized another fact – I haven’t purchased any gift! Getting off my bus @ 9:15 pm, I rushed to Archies gallery fearing that it might be closed. But no, it was open, special valentine day thing where they remain open for a fairer part of the night for bakras like me who forget stuff! The guys at such shops are really laid back people who know that I am the person in need and would give any prize to escape the wrath of my lady love. They have catalogue specially placed to confuse you and put you in a bigger dilemma – what to get! Finally after going through the entire catalogue for more than 45 minutes, I got a gift which would ensure that I am safe for at least a year.

So the day finally arrived, my 1st valentine day! Morning was perfect. I got up, called her in order to make her day. Then I got my 1st shock, the florist who was suppose to reach her place by 8 am was late in a big way! Maybe the logistics calculation went wrong somewhere! Anyways, I was at a loss, 350 bucks on a bouquet and no smile on her face - a raw deal indeed. I liaised with her roommate to ensure that she was late that day. The place worked and they got the bouquet on the road to office! A smile on the face which implied 350 rupees well spent!

Lunch and snacks went to plan and through my wallet! Office was a breeze that day as most of the people were either busy forwarding valentine day emails or on call with their respective partners. Basically, telecom industry works and toils hard for this day! Surprisingly this day doesn’t see any network congestion or sms delay! It’s like they flip a switch to get that extra spectrum for such times!

Anyways, after an eventful day @ office, we left for dinner which highlighted my second mistake – No reservations! Guys and girls, let me tell you something, you can forget the flowers, gifts and cards, but you cannot afford to forget reservation, single most important aspect on valentine day - something which can make or break your day, something which puts the “!” mark or “?” mark on your love commitment!

However, this was my second mistake and I had to deal with it. We went to a restaurant and asked for a table for 2. When explained about the absence of a reservation, the guy at the reception gave a chuckle and asked us to wait for a very small duration of time – 90 mins - to get a table. Sighting some good opportunities on the horizon, we left the 1st place and went to another one. Slowly, slowly, the horizon became an oasis and the prospect of having a nice fun filled dinner was looking like a remote possibility.

Finally, the most regrettable decision was taken and we headed over to KFC for our valentine day dinner. The shock of my life would have been a waiting list for that place also, but God isn’t that cruel. KFC, McDonalds are places made for boneheads like us who forget the 1 important things on a day like this. So, there I was, in KFC, at a small table, biting in on a freshly oiled chicken drumstick and pushing towards her the gift of Valentine! She was happy! After a very average day, she was happy and that put the “!” mark in the relationship!

I would never forget this day on 2 counts, it taught me the very beautiful yet often ignored art of planning and KFC chicken is really good!

Luxury versus Necessity!

Yesterday, I was driving, and the FM radio went off for few seconds. I thought, I should have an iPod. Then suddenly I realized that I have not used my iPod in last 6 months. And then more things, Handy cam in last 2 years, Digital Camera in last 2 months, DVD player in last 1 month and many more. Now I can say that I bought that Handy cam just out of impulse, I have used it twice only in last 4 years.

So, what’s wrong and where? When I look at myself or my friends I can see it everywhere. We are not happy with what we have but all are stressed and not happy for the things we don’t have. You have a Santro, but you want City. You have a City, but you want Skoda. Just after buying a new phone, we need another one. Better laptop, bigger TV, faster car, bigger house, more money. I mean, these examples are endless. The point is, does it actually worth? Do we ever think if we actually need those things before we want them?

After this, I was forced to think what I need and what I don’t. May be I didn’t need this Handy cam or the iPod or that DVD player. When I see my father back at home, he has a simple BPL colour TV, he doesn’t need 32″ Sony LCD wall mount. He has a cell phone worth Rs 2,500. Whenever I ask him to change the phone, he always says ‘Its a phone, I need this just for calls.’ And believe me; he is much happier in life than me with those limited resources and simple gadgets. The very basic reason why he is happy with so little is that he doesn’t want things in life to make it luxurious, but he wants only those things which are making his life easier. It’s a very fine line between these two, but after looking my father’s life style closely, I got the point. He needs a cell phone but not the iPhone. He needs a TV but not the 32″ plasma. He needs a car but not an expensive one.

Initially I had lot of questions.

I am earning good, still I am not happy… Why ?

I have all luxuries, still I am stressed… Why ?

I had a great weekend, still I am feeling tired… Why?

I met lot of people, I thought over it again and again, I still don’t know if I have the answers, but certainly figured out few things. I realized that one thing which is keeping me stressed is the stay-connected syndrome. I realized that, at home also I am logged in on messengers, checking mails, using social networks, and on the top of that, the windows mobile is not letting me disconnect. On the weekend, trying to avoid unwanted calls is keeping my mind always full of stress. I realized that I am spending far lesser money than what I earn, even then I am always worried about money and more money. I realized that I am saving more money than I would ever need but still I am stressed about job and salary and spending.

May be, many people will call this approach not a progressive attitude, but I want my life back. Ultimately it’s a single life, a day gone is a day gone. I believe if I am not happy tonight, I’ll never be happy tomorrow morning. I finally realized that meeting friends, spending quality time with your loved ones; spending time with yourself is the most important thing. If on Sunday you are alone and you don’t have anybody to talk with, then all those luxuries of life, all that money is wasted. May be cutting down your requirements, re-calculating your future goal in the light of today’s happiness is a worthwhile thing to do. May be selling off your Santro and buying a Honda City on EMIs is not a good idea. I believe putting your happiness ahead of money is the choice we need to make.

I think, a lot can be said and done but what we need the most is re-evaluation of the value of happiness and time we are giving to our life and people associate with it.

"Change does not Happen when Circumstances Improve. Change happens when YOU Decide to Improve YOUR circumstances!"