Sixth Sense

Since my transfer back to Bathinda, i have been partying hard. But deep down my heart, i always feared of something bad happening in near future. I had intuition that my happiness would not live longer. i discussed it with some of my friends also but they consoled like any other friend. my sixth sense was not allowing me to digest it. sooner or later, something bad will be going to happen; i feared.

On 20.11.2013, i got a call from my accountant that i had been transferred back to Zira once again with immediate effect. i could not believe him so i enquired about the news from office. they also confirmed the orders. my world of happiness shattered in the same way i predicted. i was shocked at the decision which came after a request letter from the fellow sdo who wanted to come to bathinda. he pursued the case from a political leader to which my department could not retaliate and shifted me to Zira.

From 30.10.13 to 19.11.13, a short span of about 20 days, i lived my life like never before. i was very happy and enjoying every bit of it. But as they say, somebody's ill wishes worked against me and i could not sustain my position as an sdo in Bathinda. my service book is again sent back to zira in papers which was not yet received in Bathinda in compliance to my earlier orders.

Lovely is another name who requires special mention in middle of all this. he was the only one person with whom i could share my personnel , professional problems. these 20 days would not have been the same without his support. though i have not said him on his face, but i really thank him from bottom of my heart for being there in my tough times. i know him for last two years as a contractor, but now i know him as a close friend. I don't know if i would be able to maintain our equation after the transfer to Zira in future, but i would definitely cherish all those moments spent with him.

it's been 5.5 years since i graduated from college and entered into this professional world but there are only three persons apart from my college friends with whom i shared special bonding viz. Piyush Ranka in Flour Daniel during my Gurgaon tenure, Kiran Tamwada in Reliance during my noida tenure and Lovely Bansal during my Bathinda tenure. The earlier two viz. Piyush and Kiran slowly faded away from my life as all of us moved ahead in respective lives. They are still in touch but, not like, they used to be. Similar should happen with lovely case. But i feel, he is going to be there for lifetime. This is what my sixth sense is all about. C...ya...

Regards

Parul Goyal

"I want to become an SDO"

It's been two months since we had a talk. in the last post, i told you all about my transfer to Zira. i have quite busy lately due to the hectic schedule i was following. But the amusement lies in the news which i am going to disclose in the next line. I have been transferred back to Bathinda on dated 29.10.2013. for about two months from 23.08.2013 to 29.10.2013, i was appointed as SDE Zira and was doing up down from Bathinda only. I was hopeful that i will get back to my favorite station so i did not opt for renting a room in Zira and that's the reason i was busy in handling work, catching up with buses, returning to Bathinda late evenings.

How those two months were, i do not want to mention even. though it was my first transfer, i may come across many more in my entire service, but still i was not ready for transfer at this moment, may be in future. If i would be given an option, i would like to erase those two months from my life. I know that's difficult, because that period has already been entered in my service book. Still in my blogs, which will be solely narration for my life in my later years, i do not want to mention about it. the only thing i would like to mention is a name of a person who stood by me throughout this period," Lovely".

on 30.10.2013, my office name plate changed to SDE-6, Bathinda. i have been given responsibility of three towns viz. Goniana, Rampura, Bhucho along with my old station Bathinda. the transfer became more special because of festival season around. Diwali happened on 4.11.2013. i enjoyed diwali at home with family they were all excited about my transfer. Bathinda has become more or less like a home town for our family over the past few years due to frequent visits of Papa.

It's been 15 days since transfer, every day me and lovely are having party. sometimes we were joined with other people also. one day he came along with his nephew called Ritik. he studies in 8th standard and is ready adorable. while we were talking, i just asked him what he would like to become when he will grow up. He promptly answered, " main bda hokar SDO bnna chahta hoon." i did not know that he knew about me and my post. Lovely must have briefed him about me. I was jaw struck at his answer. he continued the conversation asking me that how did i become SDO at this age. Although it was not a big deal as there are many other youngsters like me out there who have achieved much more in life as compared to me. But coming this appraisal from a child, was really heart touching. Suddenly i felt so proud of myself.

Through this platform, i would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who have contributed in some way or other in my life and have helped me out in tough situations, have given me courage to fight odd ones.

Regards

Parul Goyal

SDE Bathinda to SDE Zira

It's been 20 months since I have joined this government job, longest period in a job for me looking at my previous statistics. at the time of joining, I thought I would not be changing jobs anymore. I never got an increment letter after clearing probation period and I was expecting the same this time before any other letter come my way. this time it was transfer letter which spoiled the whole idea,

Till now I have been struggling in getting to know the streets of Bathinda to solve of water woes. after putting in so much efforts, what I got was a transfer letter. it was 23.08.2013 evening when i was informed by accountant that some mail have been received from head office depicting my transfer orders along with my Xen. i was jaw struck to heard the news. he did not deliberate on the topic and hung up.

i rushed towards computer to see the orders. the network connection was not working (after all it is a govt. office, one can't expect everything to be streamlined) . All others were equally excited to see the orders. so one of the contractors managed to get the letter from adjacent division office. it stated that Sh Parul Goyal has been shifted to Pb w/s & sew Sub div Zira With immediate effect.

other officers names were also there. i was dying to know the reason for this step. i called up my Xen who was in Chandigarh that day asking him about the transfers. He was really happy as he was trying for his transfer for last few months. as far as my name is concerned, he is the one who suggested my name to MD because he did not want to leave a subordinate like me. it was a moment of disappointment. though i was not satisfied with the way of working here but still i did not want to leave bathinda. From next day onwards only, everyone was trying to get my orders cancelled. Contractors because they were losing on a good SDO. Colleagues, because they were going to lose a hard working fellow. Anti, because she will not get a decent tenant like me. Subordinates because they will not get an officer who is patient and a great helping hand. i am not praising myself, these are the things which were told to me by all of them on a farewell party they offered me.

Though it's been ten days since the orders are out, yet i am bit hopeful that i will get back to Bathinda as no one has substituted me there till now and the post is lying vacant. let us see what happens..fingers crossed....

Regards

Parul Goyal

Amarnath Yatra...A Heavenly Experience (Part-3)

Next morning without wasting a single minute, we left for Baaltal. After covering a distance of around 40 km in mountanins, we reached there at around 9 am. The journey was awesome, full of mind blowing sceneries of landscapes, rivers etc. We parted our ways from NH leading to Leh to reach Baaltal checkpost. We parked our car in parking and asked driver to stay in Baaltal only till we return from the holy cave. we three left for the pilgrimage. we had already decided that we would hire a helicopter so we headed towards heli booking center. as they have their own criteria of weight limits in a helicopter in during one round, so we had to adjust in three different flights to reach Panchtarni. though we retaliated but in vain. till now we have been together throughout the journey but to save time , we agreed to board three different helipcopters as all three of them were devoid of only one passenger.

Among my group, i had the least weight (a bit surprising) , so i got an opportunity to be the co-pilot. we were strictly instructed not to talk inside the helicopter. it was my first experience to fly in the sky. though i got my passport ready 5 years ago when i joined a MNC company in wake of getting a chance to be on a plane. but 5 years passed, i never got a chance to be on a plane, neither international nor domestic even. The experience was out of the world. the moment it took off, i could feel my hearing senses getting blocked. for a moment, i did got frightened when the pilot took a sharp turn to enter in middle of two adjacent hills. Total duration of the ride was 7-8 minutes but the memories related to it are numerous.

From panchtarni, the holy cave was 5 km away. the track was sloppy, undulant and not easy to walk upon. we reached the holy cave around 2pm and took bath in chilled Ganga. after a small photo session, we took Parsad and went on to stairs leading to cave. We had heard that due to heat, this time the ShivLing had already disappeared but the information could not stop us to go there. There was no ShivLing but the Parvati mata was present in her true colors. we also got to see the two pigeons who are believed to have supernatural powers. The Mahant who was present, enlightened us with the history of the cave. after paying prayers and seeking blessings, we collected Ganga water in cans and left the holy cave.

i could not believe myself that i had successfully accomplished the Yatra. i was thinking of coming here for many years, 2013 proved to be the lucky one for me. we chose to get down the hill to reach our base at baaltal by walk. Total track distance was 18 km and was not at all easy. Through many halts, chit chat and sheer determination, we reached our base camp at 9 pm. we took refuge in a camp organized by Jaipur administration. Next morning we left for Srinagar. We visited Mughal gardens, Nishat Gardens, Chashm-e-Shahi, Botanical Garden, Dal Lake, old Shiv Mandir in Srinagar. Then we left for Gulmarg where already we had booked the room in army guest house. We did sightseeing in Gulmarg, visited Gondola trolley and stayed in army guest house for night. During our stay we met an old army officer and had a nice conversation with him and discussed over various issues starting from security forces of India to the future plans.

Next morning, we headed back to our origin, Punjab. It was Eid, that day. All markets were closed to shop. Still we bought some bats and dry fruits, specialty of J&K. The stretch was too long and our car was not upto the mark. So we got it serviced from a authorized service station in Srinagar before we could resume our journey. As it was getting dark and we had heard some news of violence in J&K, we decided to stay at patnitop in the night. Next morning we captured the beauty and had a horse ride around the hill station, the coolest place in the vicinity of Punjab. As soon as we planned to get back to our way, the road was blocked by some extremists who were not allowing anyone to escape. After waiting for few hours in queue, we took another route through some village to Jammu. Even Jammu-Pathankot Highways were also blocked. We had to wait for many hours before they let us go. In between, we took some wrong turns which lead us to reach Amritsar by 10pm. We had our dinner in Amritsar. It was 3'o clock in the 11th morning of the 8th month of the year two thousand and thirteen i came back to my room at Bathinda. Rest is history as they say....

Regards

Parul Goyal

Amarnath Yatra...A Heavenly Experience (Part-2)

It was 5'o clock in the office on 5th evening of the 8th month of the year two thousand and thirteen. only few hours left for the journey to start. I was very much excited due to two reasons, firstly i had not gone on a vacation for a very long time, secondly Amarnath, in itself, is more than just a pilgrimage. they picked me up in a white indigo at around 9 pm while the decided departure time was 8 pm. i met with Babbu (the third guy, who was lovely's friend) and satti (the driver..a so called singapore return). After settling down, we started chatting about the routine things. I chose to sit on the back seat to have a good sleep and moreover i did not want to adjust music or AC controls throughout the journey.

It was 3'o clock in the 11th morning of the 8th month of the year two thousand and thirteen i came back to my room. i was feeling sad again due to two reasons, firstly the splendid journey full of twists and turns came to an end secondly i needed to join office after few hours. a few lines ago, journey just started and now, journey has ended also. what a description to narrate a 5 days long adventure into just 5 lines by summing it up as splendid journey full of twists and turns. so let's roll back...

after travelling for whole night in the car, next early morning we reached a state called J&K. From now onwards, it was not easy to reach the holy destination. earlier also, when we started journey last night, we departed at around 9 pm instead of 8pm..the reason was the cab booked for around 5 days, denied to go along with us at the last moment due to his own some unavoidable circumstances and some other taxi was hired at the last moment only. Nevertheless, in Jammu, when all things were on track, we got another setback i.e. cab silencer got broke in midway and the singapore return driver had no tools to repair the same. on highway we borrowed some basic tools from a fellow truck driver to remove the silencer itself because there was no workshop to get it repaired.

Still we were in the awe of travelling in a car without silencer on hilly roads, Babbu noted some smoke coming out of the bonnet. we stopped immediately and got out of the car. it was green colored coolant which was bubbling out like anything due to heat. for me it was a new sight to watch. others were experienced in driving a car so they knew about the problem. somehow we cooled down the engine by putting plenty of water. we lost lots of time in between before finally starting our journey once again. it was getting dark and we needed to stay at srinagar as we had passes for Baaltal route where we could reach only through Srinagar. we had covered few kilometers only that yet another problem welcomed us and this time a bit serious one. Driver complained of break fail while escaping from an accident. WTF...in middle of high mountains, steep turns and sloppy ground, how could one think of driving a car without breaks.

we managed to find a small mechanic shop nearby and after screening he told us to rest for one hour or so coz car break oil was not working due to excessive heat and engine also need some rest as we were travelling for last night continuously. By this time we got to know that we had made a mistake by hiring that car for the reasons that driver was not experienced for mountainous routes, car was not serviced etc. after taking required hault, we started again keeping slow speed and regularly monitoring heat meter. we reached srinagar safely around 9 pm and decided to stay in srinagar only and leave for Baaltal next early morning.

To be continued...

Regards

Parul Goyal

Amarnath Yatra...A Heavenly Experience (Part-1)

Though i try to be regular on my postings but for the last two months i have been a defaulter. Reason was not to have any reason to speak my heart about. I was too busy with my work commitments lately that i could not even realize where the time flew. Amidst hot and humid airs, i was lost such that i could not retrieve my feelings for the passing months. after coming late from office, only thing i tried was sleeping, that too, 10 hours of sleeping. i was keeping myself going only with the most favorite time pass. had i not been slept that much, i would not have been able to handle the pressure.

But now, i am not feeling sleepy at all. i am in full swing to narrate you all about my journey to Amarnath- a heavenly experience. as already told i was busy with my work for last few months. besides i had some personal work back at home which needed to be settled out. another reason for being not able to communicate with all you guys was to hold Sarpanch elections in Phul block in capability of returning officers. starting from distributing the nomination forms to checking of the same, from filing the registration for candidates to scrutinizing them, from holding the elections to declaring the results. Whole process took around days which kept my overloaded like never before.

While writing about it, i am feeling the pressure yet again, so you must have understood how i bear with the whole scenario covered with work pressure due to summers, election activities and home responsibilities. that's why i required a much needed break and was looking for some outing. several times plans were made, but in vain. one day in early days of july, i was informed from one of my contractors (lovely bansal) that he had been a regular visitor to the holy Amarnath Shrine for last 8 years during july-august period. this time also he was planning to go there. Without even thinking twice, i asked him to take me along, if possible. he also agreed instantaneously. that's how a plan was worked out.

unlike previous years, visiting the holy cave was not easy this year due to some administrative restrictions by Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. Everybody was required to go through medical checkup from reputed and registered hospital to get entitled for the journey. moreover the registration forms only could be get via J&K bank offices. the forms bear the date of journey and the route according to the which only we could visit there. we got 7 august along with Baaltal route as our target.

Having said all of above, groundwork is ready. Full dish will be served in next segment..

Regards

Parul Goyal

Turning 26...

It's been 8 years now since i have crossed 18 year mark- the age limit required to be eligible for voting in India. In these years, i have casted my vote 2 times only 'coz of my busy life. On 20th May, 2013; 3 days prior to my 26th birthday, i was on the other side of election table. this time instead of casting the vote myself i was handling the proceedings of a voting session as PRO-presiding Officer. Block samitis and Zila Parishad Elections were announced by Punjab Govt in April which were held in may. And being a govt. officer, i was elected PRO by district election officer.

Intially i was worried about the whole scenario but all went fine when i met three Polling officers under me during rehearsals. They all seemed very supportive and co-operative as well. But during the last trail, our team was disintegrated to complete other teams. I was again in dilemma but as soon as i met my new team, i took the sigh of relief as they all were experienced and well behaved. We all went to our assigned booth for village " Gill Kalla". We received a warm welcome from the sarpanch of the village and made us feel like home. All the basic amenities were provided by them including food, bedding etc. On the next day, D day, our team was ready to start the voting. i managed to keep the papers, labels, envelopes intact resulting in smooth elections. We ended with 73% of voting and landed in first place in submitting the boxes back with the authorities. It was an awesome experience overall.

On 22nd May, i went for shopping as i was going to turn 26 next day. i bought some apparels for the day with a pair of shoes to make myself feel special. Though it costs me around whopping 10 thousand bucks but i wanted that day to be remembered throughout my life. Not like the last time, i wanted to enjoy my birthday to the fullest this time. On 23rd may, i received wishes from my relatives, friends, colleagues; Distributed sweets in office and celebrated with the near ones in the evening. I will cherish this birthday moments throughout my life as it was really special for being the first one to be celebrated at such a scale..i had never spent that much on my birthday ever. Secondly, being associated with the fact that now i am looking forward to get married in this year only...(i could not resist myself to record it)//

Regards

Parul Goyal

Ways to enjoy a government job

one more month is ready to bid goodbye to this beautiful world. we will never see april 2013 again in our lives. but for me , i will definitely cherish the moments which i have spent in this month. life is going at its pace smoothly without any speed breakers or humps etc. i have been keeping good with my personal and professional life both for quite a time now. i have managed to make out a balance. six days working, friday night movie and saturday evening to hometown, sunday relaxing and so on.

even during the working days, to enjoy my job and to digress myself from the government job tensions (believe me!! they are endless, if one starts thinking about them), i have started reading some books (my favorite companions since childhood). they might also prove to be useful in cracking some administrative exams. though i am not seriously involved with them, yet a decent time devotion and regularity what is making me little hopeful about the it. even if not, those are helping me to end my day at a good and positive note.

besides books, another person who is helping me to survive through is my PG mate. recently his brother has also joined in to share my room. so we three go for hangouts etc and chill ourselves. though they are about 10 years younger than me still i am able to cop up with their innocence and adolescence. moreover, there is electronic media like TV, Laptop, cell phones etc which can help one in making his life interesting. though i am not a computer maniac but still i manage to use it to cool down myself.

i am trying to make my life beautiful in the best possible way i can. even during the working hours, i maintain cool not to get frustrated over petty issues. i doubt if i will be able to be a good officer but (yeah!!) i promise to be a good person.

regards

Parul Goyal

Marriage on my mind..

though i could not serve you with the February installment but i assure you that i would compensate for the loss in this dish. the topic itself says it all. How interesting it is going to be? Marriage- for me it's always been an event to suit up and dance to music. Nothing more than that. i graduated in 2008 and most of my college friends have already tied their respective knots with their loved ones. till very recently i was not bothered about the same happening to me. I mean, to be the one, whom everybody looks upto, what he is wearing, what is he eating, how is he behaving? etc etc...

for last two three months, i have been continuously one way or the other told by my parents, relatives to think beyond dressing up and eating in a marriage. slowly and steadily i realized that they were talking about me getting married. is it the right time to get married, am i settle enough to have another responsibility on my shoulders. these questions keep hunting me and most of the times i find YES answer.

on the other side of the coin, as far as stability is concerned, i am not decided about my job locations, it might get shifted to some other place later or sooner. As far as job is concerned, i have still not completed my probation period. though i fully determined to complete it this time but life keeps on surprising us like it had been in the past. as far as family is concerned, younger brothers are struggling in their careers. so amidst all these uncertainties, is it really the right time?

having said all this, i will not deny the fact that whenever i listen and think about brighter side of the picture, i do get excited about the whole scenario. i will turn 26 in may and already working as a gazetted officer in a state government department . what else one needs? the answer to this question is: A girl. A girl who fits in your family properly and opens up to adjustments, a decent combination of beauty and brains and most importantly, should be working.

so gals , an eligible bachelor looking out for a perfect match!!!

Reagards

Parul Goyal

short of words...

Though it is 11.32'o clock in the night yet I am eager to write my next edition. Just finished psycho thriller" Saw", the first ever movie i have watched on my laptop after completing " Mahabharta." Already it's been 28 days since the new year has begun. i have pledged to be calm and hard working throughout this year. Calm because i think calmness can help us achieve big targets without panic. Hardworking is the another way to achieve success. so i have decided to head towards the motto with these two weapons.

Last month, i was busy in watching Mahabharta. it contained 97 episodes of about 50 minutes each. i managed to watch all the episodes with an interest. now i have knowledge of another epic apart from Ramayana. i got to learnt a lot from the mythological series. starting from Shri Krishna's Geeta Updesh to the great war between Kauravs and Paandavs, from yudhishithar's Dharamneeti to Arjun's arrows power, from Bheems's strength to Duryodhan's egoistic nature.

nothing but goodbye to say...i know its an abrupt ending but keep on reading to find an another interesting and suitable ending

regards

Parul Goyal