Woman, thy beauty surpass : A Poem

This Women's Day, I dedicate this poem to all the women who have touched my life or continue to.

Woman, thy beauty surpass

Woman, thy beauty surpass the beauty,
Of nature, whose you are the creation best
Nurture is your nature, eve,

From since when I was a seed at first.

You've borne me within and sustained me
Peace I found as a child in your warm breast,
Holding me as I slept and I learned to dream
You instructed me on respect, values and trust.

A welcome gift of life, from the same womb,
You played with me, fought, and you competed,
Taking both of us higher, as you inspired at times
Growing up, my upbringing you completed

Grappling with rules of life as I learned and schooled, you,
Encouraged me, as you taught; and got taught beside
I discovered weaknesses, built strengths as we
Chatted, frolicked, studied and raced side-by-side.

As I labour to earn my bread, you make it fun,
You lead, help, manage, collaborate, critique
With your thoughts, ideas, efforts and lending hand,
You help achieve the common objectives we seek

Destiny brought us together to nurture

Each other, help us grow and nourish our souls
You teach me ways to love and take care of me
As life partner, you share my hopes, plans and life's goals

As friend, you are always there, beside me
To help me get through travails with unconditional support
You are my partner, my advisor, my companion,

My muse, and at times source of soulful rapport.

Woman, thy beauty surpass the beauty,
Of nature, whose you are the creation best

They say you borrowed man's rib to get your form

But you give back so much more; we attest.

-Gowrish

How do you explain this whacky coincidence?

"It's just unbelievable; carefully listen to what I will tell you now ", I told my friend as I took my seat behind the wheel. My car had just been hit from behind, but the statistical odds of what had happened had given me a bigger jolt. While the rear bumper was spotless, I was mentally wrung.

I had stopped my car at a traffic light. Then I had felt a push, more than a nudge, less than a crash, from behind. Mentally cursing the driver behind me for the potential paperwork arising out of potential damage caused from this dash, I got out of the car and proceeded to inspect the damage. Turned out it was nothing. But I still had to give a piece of my mind to the guy who had eased his car into mine. He had already been apologizing as I had been checking for damage. Then out of habit my eyes ran over the registration number plate of the car.

What the? As I read the number the second time, I could not believe it. Wasn't this the same number for which I had placed a gate pass request this morning? I had had a couple of official visitors and my workplace needs prior requests for all incoming vehicles. Then the description of the car given to me by Ms. P played back to me mentally; White Ford sedan. We use the descriptions to help the pass-carriers to quickly spot the cars at the gate. This was a White Ford. Out of requirement, I also needed to place the pass request for the driver. So, I knew his name. But what is happening here. This guy and I are in a completely different part of town, late in the evening, and he has to accidentally dash my car! I know this driver and the car simply because I remembered the details from the morning. Ok, I just proved to myself that I have good short term memory and was able to instantly make the connections. But, what are the odds that a person somehow connected to me, but unknown to me, dashes my car out of the blue later that day in a remote part of town? Doesn't Mumbai nest 20 million people or am I missing something?

Stumped as I was by the flood of recognition that was hitting me combined with the realisation that this was among the whackiest coincidences I have faced in my life, I thought I should share the surprise with the other driver too. I was smiling mentally, but frowning on the outside when I said to the driver in colloquial Hindi "Aren't you Ashraf? And haven't you been driving Mr.B all day? Were you following me? Couldn't you have found another car to hit?" He instantly apologised once again (totally unnecessary, I should tell you), but suddenly became silent. I could see the realisation of what I had told him drawing on his face.The look on the face of Ashraf was a sight to watch; not something money can buy.

Letting Ashraf deal with the absurdity of the coincidence, I walked back to my car and proceeded to tell the unbelievable story to my friend.

Can someone explain this to me? While I see no larger scheme behind what happened, I am unable to comprehend the odds of this happening.

PS: Ashraf is not the real name of the driver; for protecting identity I have changed the name
PS: I am a little kicked about the first PS; I have always wanted to write one like it.

It's irresponsible to be pessimistic. Happy New Year!

While anytime of the day or the year is a good time to reflect upon one's accomplishments and failures, gains and losses, joys and sadnesses, weakness and strengths the end of the year is an apt time as the general spirit in the air aided by sort of unbridled optimism, permits, if not encourages, such introspection. An advantage in taking some time out at the end of the year is that you are sitting at home avoiding traffic going toward not so far locales where annual revelry would be in full swing if not already kicked in. You could do this in a hotel or a resort farther away. But these places are usually priced higher inviting only those 'who are keen to shell out the marked up' fares. So, the introspective exercise might turn out to be an expensive affair.

Anyway, as I sit down and write at this odd hour, unable to sleep for some reason ...

I recall how my year began with doing something new this year. I completed the Mumbai Half Marathon. I did that at my own sweet pace, although, the timing was good enough to qualify me for the 2012 round without worry.

The next month or so was spent in a hospital tending to a close one, not knowing that they will not be coming home and the loss would be there to bear through the rest of my life. While this shook me up, I discovered my capacity to deal with fundamental realities of life. I learned that life's moments need to be seized with gusto, lest it is too late. Say your thanks now, to those who deserve it; forgive those who have been unkind to you, for it is not your karma whether they deserve it or not, but you deserve the peace that comes with the forgiving.

I also discovered the value of values; the value of human relationships. When I needed it, help came from unexpected quarters. It did not, also, come from some expected quarters. What a funny world we live in! We are generally blind to our surroundings. On a different plane, we also underestimate ourselves about how people perceive us. Whatever you think you know, there are surprises in store for you.

I traveled to more new places; a first, traveled below the Equator. I experienced the shorter version of the famed African Safari, briefly lived among a couple of oldest cultures, ate their food, traveled in their local transportation and got a glimpse of the emerging Dark Continent.

I spoke with authority at a couple gatherings and symposiums for bankers and other technology buyers. In my quest for being a better manager and to lead better, I learned more about what works and what does not. A strong balance between efficiency and commitment is necessary to be productive as a team. Striking that balance is the key to success. Something I started last year at work, showed results this year, boosting my confidence. A few others fizzled out, only teaching me that some things are beyond my control and I need to let go.

There is something for everyone on Twitter. I become active and discovered new channels to keep myself curious about some aspects of life. So far, I have not been disappointed, except that I am probably getting hooked on to it.

The economy has taken a dive, globally. There is general dissatisfaction about Indian state of affairs.

But at the turn of the year here's what we need to remind ourselves "We live in times where anything is possible. We live in a world of infinite possibilities. It's irresponsible to be pessimistic".  A friend said " I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a good year. Something good is going to happen." Agreed, mon ami!

Welcome 2012! Bring in the goodies and the toughness to deal with the baddies.

A walk in the rain

It has been raining in Mumbai continuously for the last two nights. Sometimes a drizzle, sometimes a downpour, but unrelentingly on, the rain has kept at it.

This morning, it picked up pace with much louder pitter-patter. As I looked out beyond the balcony from the cozy living room with the cuppa in my hand I thought about the times, as kids, when we used to play in the rain. Busy life has a way of drawing you away from little pleasures like these. The itch to relive getting soaked in pelting water kept getting bigger.

So, I decided to take a walk in the rain. As if on a cue the rain turned into a downpour. As I stepped into the three inches of water on the concrete road, I noticed people going about their business as usual, on foot. No one seem to be particularly bothered. I was soaked to the core in no time.

There is a natural symmetry that comes with the rain. Water falling from corrugated rooftop sheets create umpteen number of little waterfalls all falling alongside each other, creating umpteen number of little puddles that get washed away in overflowing street water. Nature reminds you that she is all powerful.The underground drains were so flooded, the concrete covers were bobbing up and down in the water gushing from below.

The rain also brings alive sounds new to unaccustomed ears. I stood under a tree and could hear at least seven different water sounds; the pitter-patter of falling rain, the gushing from a water drain pipe into the water bubbling in the drain, water streaming down the street every now & then splashed about by a passing motorbike, slapping of the flip-flops of passers by, drops cracking on an abandoned plastic bag and the harmonic cycle of blobs crashing on to an inverted paint can. On the inverted paint can there was a different sound with every first, second and third drop, only to repeat the cycle of sounds thereafter, making you wonder what must be causing the drops to change size.

I was not the only one that thought a walk in the rain was all fun. There was a quartet of boys from a nearby slum  shouting and singing an undecipherable Bollywood number. Two on a bicycle kept goading the other two who were cartwheeling in ankle-deep water. I shouted in Hindi - Are you having fun in this rain? The boys on the bicycle shouted back in affirmation and flashed a beaming smile. I decided to let the camera phone rolled up in a plastic bag in my pocket remain inside. No point killing the phone even for a good shot.

We take some things for granted. We are too careful and protective of ourselves, maybe even a little inhibited. Walking in abandon in the rain offers a little escape from the life we spend ensconced in our cubbyhole apartments. There is a lot more fun in being a part of the rain than watching it from the living room. There is a sense of  liberation that comes from walking on the streets in soaked clothing, a feeling much distant from walking down the street in formal wear, watching out for and avoiding every little dirty puddle. I was smiling as passing vehicles created waves in their wake and the water kept lapping up to my shins.

After about an hour, I returned to my building and the security guard was beaming. He must have recognized my game. I thought maybe he was wondering what fun these people find walking soaked in heavy rain, or may be he was remembering his fun days in the rain.

As I waited outside my door, I was wondering what the reaction of my folks would be. My wife opened the door and gave me instructions on how to avoid getting the whole floor wet, including a side remark on washing my feet with Dettol water before getting under the shower.

Then, she asked how it had been. I said that I had had a lot of fun and saw new things. She said she would join me in the walk next time.

Mysterious Four

Sometimes, it takes a while to see a pattern. And when you see a pattern there is a natural tendency to fit everything that you encounter into that pattern. I am not sure why a string of coincidences should, firstly, cause us to weave a pattern around it. But we do it all the time. Maybe it is natural (like the seasons). Maybe it is thousands of years of mental evolution that has brought patterns to bring comfort to humans. After all, there are festivals aligned to events that no one has witnessed and then there are those that are created by men; the new years day for example, which are directly linked to our annual trip around the sun. In any case, patterns comfort us; trying to find a meaning each time might be vain task. The fans of numerology may shower a satisfied laugh on us, but that's a matter of faith i cannot dispute until i know better. At least, watching in anticipation is very much entertaining. All it takes is a little effort to spot the markers. A small story follows.

This evening i flew back after a long-weekend trip. The number of the flight i took began with a 4 and the remaining two digits added up to 4. I requested for a window seat and was given one on row# 4. I had dinner at the airport, the bill amount was a multiple of 4 . We boarded from Gate #4. I had seen the pattern by now and was watching intently how far this went. We landed ahead of time, as usual it is for this 'sexy' airline, anyway. There was a brief announcement prior to disembarkation that our luggage could be collected at belt #4.

My bag was the first to arrive (not fourth) and i promptly proceeded to the fleet taxi counter. I was assigned a cab whose registration number had digits that added up to 16, square of 4. When i stepped off at the end of the short trip and paid the bill, the amount was a multiple of 16. I walked into our home and did my little routine of bringing the house back up. One of the last things i did was turning  the microwave on (better keep it off the 16 amps outlet when away for a few days). This meant i had to reset the clock and while at the exact instant it was 3 minutes past midnight, i thought there was no harm in waiting for a minute and setting the clock to 00:04.

PS: By the way, i did not pay attention to the number of the taxi that took me to the departure terminal, but, i am willing to bet & even lose a  few bucks (reasonable multiple of 4)  that the number might have been a multiple of 4.

Ode to a Road

[Inspired by NH17 Goa-Mangalore stretch on the current road trip.
Something was definitely right about this place this time of the year.]

As the mist fades away in reverence to the rising sun,
Shades of green tell on the annual rain-dance that's begun
With the green, not any green but a bright florescent glow,
Dark shades play with shadows of tall trees, in perfect flow

Large trucks rushing past the awakening village & town,
Get mocked by the bullock carts of wet hay light brown
Life begins asimple, on the clockwork of daily routine,
What you saw here yesterday, today's just the same scene

Coastal road this one, teases you with rare cliffs and the sea,
Taking scene away after just a glimpse, like unsure dance of a bee
Meandering road; colorful offshoots,some straight some cower,
Sprinkled among jack-fruit, mango and banyan, lies mayflower

Bedecked elephant cloaked in saffron, green and gold marches,
To the hill where he would bless the crowd by the temple arches
Dew drops fall on the windshield, in a splash, turning to stream,
Reminding me to not lose track of road, not lose my driving steam

As miles roll down under my wheels, each turn alive and fresh,
Brown earth on the shoulder changes color, zephyr becomes windy thresh
As I move down the ghats, gaining speed and swaying on the bends,
I think- this is real, I am here, with nature, there is no pretense

As morning recedes making way to forenoon, waiting crowds behold,
For carriers to take them to their place of work and their life's goals
Sun breaks through the clouds, makes schoolgirls open their shades,
In grey and pink pinafores, mayflowers in hand, such gleeful maids

Envious I become of the offices here, structures overlooking the sea
I work on a sixth floor by a window, but this is where I want work to be
For I have seen sights ante-monsoon; wet fields and blooming trees,
Cruising down this homely route, I have seen even a peacock fly by me

My eyes are fixed on the statue at a distance, rising above the waters,
Temple of the Destroyer, the tall tower, ode to His virtuous powers
As I drive away from the highway, into the little town by Arabian sea,
I wonder whether this coastal road is as beautiful as any road can be.

-MGP

A proud father

A father so proud, of his little boy
He sees himself, only younger, ah what joy
Those baby eyes, show him once more
Innocence he thought was lost in yore

A little outburst, from a nudge here
His toothless smile, from a tickle dear
Lilting laughter, mellifluous like stream
But boy's antics make his mother scream

Tiny yawns beacon the li'l guy to bed
But his curious mind, refuses to be led
His tired body, yearning to turn in
But racy mind, wins over, won't give in

His grit is unnerving, his strength to see
Moving chair, table and things bigger than he
His curiosity brimming, he opens all doors
Scrambling in and out cupboards, on all fours

Doesn't speak a word, yet, says so much
With his eyes, with his cries and his touch
Oh! that puppy face, when he wants his way
Let alone father, the mountains would sway

Everyday father learns a new lesson
Of life, happiness and abandon
Sees each day how the son grows tall
Even as the he feels his own age fall

Father thinks 'wait my son, don't grow, you'
I'm just getting to know now, can't outgrow you
Wait for me, I am growing, at heart, young and blue
Keep playing, and one day I'll be as young as you

-MGP

Mongoose and snake

In the era of bite sized entertainment, 'byte sized' if you bring in the digital angle to it, shortness and sports are related at some level.

"Jesus wept" is the shortest verse in The Bible. The phrase, however, found its way into popular jargon when short skirts found their place in international tennis. The phrase now represents the phenomenon personified by Navratilova and her predecessors, Kournikova, Sherapova and their successors.

At another level of shortness, take cricket for example: from a 5-day-long affair to a day long version to the now as-long-as-a-movie format with T20, innovation in cricket has found for it new fans. Cricket has probably also recovered lost fans.

The information convergence led to competition, for the attention of the consumer, between traditional broadcasting media and the mobile & the Internet as media. And the consumer is increasingly drawn toward personalised entertainment. Anyone who has enjoyed the award winning video feeds on youtube (dispite all the garbage that people upload) and other video feeds can tell you why the Internet offers better quality (measured as better value per unit time?) over TV in general. Don't like NGC or Discovery channel in Hindi? Personalise it into English (or vice versa) with digital DTH. DTH is driven by technology, but consumerism (of it) is mixedly driven by need and affordability.

To apply this logic to sports, I think the race for quality content measured per unit time is another reason why shorter formats of games like cricket will revolutionize the way we consume sports-as-entertainment. You personalise the consumption of sports by chosing the format you like best.

A couple of days back, two new IPL team franchises were sold for almost 150% of the price paid for all eight original franchise teams three years back. It's like saying 'two for the price of ten'. Franchise owners know that the IPL wave has only touched the shores of Tier II cities. There is a lot of cricket ground waiting to be covered.

Talking of shortness, the quintessential cricket bat has become shorter!!! "Mongoose" is deemed to become the latest innovation in cricket. Named eponymously for the animal's ferocity, the new bat is 44% shorter on the body, compensated in weight by thickness and in length by a longer handle. Like one cricket commentator was saying, the bat in Mathew Hayden's hands looks more like a club than a bat. And clobbering Hayden did demonstrate a couple of matches ago. Mongoose helped run the meter fast!

If the the five day version of the game is the snake and the T20 version the Mongoose, who will win this match? The match, you can bet, will be much longer than an evening with IPL.

Spook of numbers and names

Let me first confess that I am posting this stranded at a domestic airport in a city which is usually in the news for being lashed by rains. This time, however, force majeure in The Capital has impelled me to look for something to do for two hours in an airport that has very little to offer by way of anything to do. There is a massage parlour;'Massage, My foot!', I think.

If there were a South East Asian kitchen here, I would have relished each bite knowing very well that the voice that beckons me to the airplane (and always makes the mistake of putting kindness in the wrong place saying "all passengers are kindly requested to proceed toward the aircraft") will not wake up for sometime. But alas, there is only junk food all around. The vending machine has only magazines from God's Own Country (and I am nowhere near there). Thank heavens for little mercies such as wireless broadband.

Anyway, talking about coincidences...

A few months back, I joined a company the name of which shares most of its characters with the name of my previous employer(Note: Each has its own place and brand in the industry and it is a part of my job to make sure my current one shines brighter). The initials of names of the companies are the same. The last building I worked in the last job carries the same name as one of two office building I shuttle between nowadays. Remember, I am talking about two different cities here, my stay separated by a year and a half.

Last year, a new generation of car got introduced and it caught my fancy. Even though I knew very well that I would be graduating in a downswing year, I developed a progressively stronger desire to possess one. My wise wife brought me back to reality. But by then I had already mail-ordered the car brochure to our address in the campus. You can say that the intent to buy the car was established. It was about this time last year. Anyway, in the milieu of hectic job search, all was forgotten. One year hence... I have rented (rented) a home and bought (hypothecated) a new car. Both will 'arrive' next week. Why am I ranting about all this?

Coincidences continue- both the car and the complex that I have rented share a part of the name. But that's not what excites me the most. A couple of days back, my wife just pointed out to me that the 'door number' of the house we are moving into is the same as that we had last rented.(The same one to where I ordered the car brochure).

So, if you get the flow some names and numbers have been chasing me for a year and a half. Somehow they have gotten linked across months and places. It is like being in a continuum of numbers and names across time and space. Some of this has bothering me. For someone who believes in astronomical alignments, this will be a minuscule case study. For someone likes numbers, this is a good example of statistical congregation of sorts. For someone who believes that inner and probably sublime processes of the mind driving man's actions (a la Freud, who said there are no accidental actions?) I am really getting it going, isn't it?

But, darn.. maybe it is just that the airport is getting to me and that I am a little desperate, not having posted in a long time.

Ah, there it is.. the voice "All passengers are kindly requested to proceed toward the aircraft". The kindness of this public address is indeed painful.

On your marks...

We arrived at the hallowed portal of IIM Ahmedabad yesterday morning. We had for company another batch mate R and her husband M on the 36 hour train journey.We were planning to travel lock, stock and barrel (and hence the choice of a train). But given that we wanted to feel 'at home' at Ahmedabad, our situation could be summed up as 'lock, stock and two barrels'.

For the first time in two decades, I travelled on a rail-trip lasting more than a few hours. So, while the stink and snafu that we associate with Indian railway stations and trains have not changed much, the AC two tier treatment was not bad at all. Chatting up with the electrical incharge of our train, I found out that the trains are apparently much more cleaner and quieter the South of the Cancer line. He associated the regional attitudes and the major ethnicity of the passengers to how clean or otherwise a train is when it cruises into the last station.

Another thing I learnt, during an unscheduled stop, was that, apparently, even if the train were to not move for another six hours, we would still arrive at Ahmedabad on time. The reason he said was that the current time-table had been made keeping in mind a maximum speed of 60 kmph. The reality is that most trains run around 100 kmph on most tracks. So, while most trains could have shorter journey-times, they just don't. Hmm...

First two days here have been all about setting up our on-campus apartment for the rest of the year and meeting many people. The atmosphere is almost like returning to college after a vacation. The reason I say returning and not joining, is because thanks to web 2.0 and collaborative technology we know most of us- have discussed online, emailed each other, have either spoken on phone and/or met several times- before meeting here. So, the ice was broken long back. Only a few who chose so or otherwise remained inactive in our online forum needed any introduction.

The fact that Ahmedabad, as we are finding out slowly, is a hospitable city is making things very easy and simple. I cannot imagine -saying this for all it is worth- travelling in to Bangalore as a student with a family and without a car and at the mercy of auto rickshaw drivers and then finding it this easy to settle down. So far, the auto drivers are not only super-congenial, they are very enterprising. One guy introduced himself at the end of a twenty minute ride and urged me to note down his cellphone number. He said he is mostly lingering outside the campus gates and will be able to service us anytime. Amen! Bangalore auto drivers sit on their backsides and with no hesitation refuse to carry passengers to just any spot. It shows that Bangalore drivers are not hungry enough, if you see what I mean.

After seeing the malls of Bangalore, I will say that malls here are huge. The ISKCON (name owing to proximity to a temple) Mega Mall, is impressively big. Put a Forum and Garuda and some more to get an IMM. And I am told that IMM is not the biggest mall in Ahmedabad. No wonder RelianceMart chose Ahmedabad for launching its Hyper format.

I will be unnecessarily biased toward Ahmedabad, if I do not say a few words about the driving sense in Ahmedabad. For the size of the roads, big, and for the type of roads, pristine, visibly reliable and well lit, the aggressive behaviour of the drivers is confusing. Bangalore suffers from bad roads; here roads are not an issue. I do not yet know where it comes from, but something is not right about the rush.

Anyway, first two days, despite having followed a day and a half long train journey seem conveniently normal. A nice city, a nice campus and a nice feeling.

A pupil's progress

Five more days to do before I set out lock, stock and barrel to Ahmedabad. The three weeks I had taken off from work have resulted in part success. The aim of the break had been four fold - Relaxation, recreation,reading and regularisation. While I can say that I have made sufficient progress on the first two, the third is where it is in the list- lagging. The obscuring reference to regularisation is with regard to catching up on administrative tasks.

Right now, I think I am at the apex of a roller-coaster, the car is chugging its way to the highest peak. A few days from now, once we arrive at Ahmedabad, the car will be past the acme and then will hurtle down at breakneck speed and everything will pass in a blur.

But looking down (from the peak of the imaginary roller coaster) the feeling is very much like being on a real roller coaster or for that matter more like having taken off, out from the door of a propeller plane at 13000 feet for a sky dive. You have to do it right and land on your feet. And to do it right, you don't want to close your eyes; where's the fun anyway in doing that?

So, let's get it started in here.

Next phase: A thousand suns

Well into my first week of 'officially' doing nothing, but otherwise doing a lot I can say I have discovered a few things. Foremost among them is the fact that Bangalore does not have that much traffic at all! Surprised? Even I was, because rarely, if ever at all, have I ventured into the heart of the city between 11 AM and 5 PM on a working day.THIS is the time, Bangalore has no traffic at all.

In the process of learning the ropes of Financial Reporting and Accounting from pre-course learning material, at least I have figured out the difference between Expense and Expenditure. Being a layman to the domain, I should say it is no less than a discovery, albeit a technical one.

One of the first things that hits me when I converse with people is my inability to say I work for so and so. A momentary lapse of identity is quickly replaced by the realisation of what it meant before and what it will mean in future.

My break, simply, has started in uncertain times. Overall, there is a lot of grimness about how the events will unfold in the next eighteen months. Indian Banks' revelation on exposure to Sub-Prime Funds, recession fears(? or!) stalking Indian and global markets have started a ebbing phase which will be sustained by impending elections in the US and carried over by elections in India. Bolstering the fears are falling industrial output in Indian manufacturing, sky rocketing oil and gold prices,5.1%-nine-month high Inflation rate in India, 0.6% fall in US retail spending and analyst opinions that US recession could muster enough rubble to match the recession of the twenties.Yesterday's Bear Stearns bailout story is just another nail in the coffin. This is going to be one long year if not a longer eighteen months.

So, while the next twelve months will test a lot of new waters,cause there is bound to be many a storm, on the personal front optimism is rife because behind the dark clouds are a thousand suns.

A chapter closes

The day that I had been waiting for came; Not 'finally came',it just came.

I started from home later than I had planned for. The current favourite songs were playing on the radio as I drove to work, windows rolled down to let in just the right kind of morning breeze. I also got the favourite spot in the parking lot. So, it’s all falling in place, I thought.

At the desk, it began with opening the mailbox as usual. But instead of looking at the ‘work emails' my attention was focused on numerous responses to my goodbye emails. Only after perusing them did I open the work emails (Oh yeah, even on the last day!). This was followed by chats with a couple of colleagues, who on learning my reason for exit chose to have a tête-à-tête with me. A conversation always yields more than email ping-pong.

My colleagues and managers threw a farewell lunch for me. I had been forewarned that a farewell speech was due. I had only found time to figure out what makes up a good farewell speech. So, with a lot of extempore, I think I delivered a recommended complete speech; after all, it did last about five minutes and I ended it just before they could have begun to lose interest. Anyway, I was keen on listening to what people thought of me. A couple of pleasant surprises came along. You can even say it made my day or my month.

One can never plan the last day to be perfect or smooth. It was a funfilled day but also busy as it could get. I found myself jogging as I shuttled between meeting people, the day's first international conference call, checking on my clearances, getting to the farewell lunch and back, the second international conference call, intermittently backing up my emails that just kept pouring in, taking and making phone calls and surrendering 'company assets' before collecting my relieving letter.

A few people have asked me “Are you feeling sentimental about leaving?”, “Are you feeling sad?” and “How does it feel after so long?” I could only tell them that I have mixed feelings about leaving the current workplace. I am leaving with a little bit of sadness but a lot of excitement and anticipation. (Look for the ‘ship’ in my previous blogpost). May be I gave it enough time to let it settle down in my mind. After all, today marked the end of my 101-day long notice period.

The day that I had been waiting for has gone. Not to be forgotten, but to be blithely put away in that realm of memory where felicitous remembering resides.

Shooting my neck off

I spent my second last evening at office doing what I like doing most- shooting my neck off! That's just another way of saying that I like setting up my camera on the Monfrotto and shooting away.

I am a huge fan of this campus. When the lights come up and the reflection of each structure is seen in another, it is difficult to stay away from the trigger. Right after sun set, I set up the tools and set out to the remotest corner of the campus. The idea was to capture the splendour of glass and concrete intermingling with greenery, water and light-natural and otherwise.

Ignoring curious looks from people making their way to the company bus terminal, I carried around my camera mounted on the stretched-open tripod. My paraphernalia usually gives an impression that there is some serious work going on. That makes things easier for me, as no one bothers.

And honestly, journalists (by invitation) and cameramen are so common in the campus that one gets used to it. At least once a month, one can spot a bunch of OB vans around the campus. This brings me to an interesting experience, a first for me. Last week, right outside my office building, which is outside the campus, someone from an English language news channel took a reaction from me on the budget. She said I would be on TV 'at 8 PM'. But then I do not get that channel at home. Its sister Hindi channel did not carry me. What do you think...I was glued to the TV. Because never have I been on that side of a camera with a mike pointed at me; for the record, by a good looking journalist. So, unless I was really on TV but missed it, those were five minutes of breath wasted that day.

But you get the picture? Bottom line is that I could work in peace.

I started at around 6 PM, did not care to look at the watch, only made a couple phone calls home to say I would be late and shot around two hundred pictures. I must have walked about three kilometers by the time I made my way back to the main gate. What I did not realise was that it was close to 10 PM when I checked out my 'personal items' on the security register. About four hours? You bet, it was time well spent.

Lest I forget, thanks D for your farewell lunch treat! It made my day.

Separation Blues- The Final Episode

Three days to go before I walk my last walk out of office gates. Preparing farewell mailing-lists and customising the message for each list is keeping me busy on top of new commitments (believe it! I am sucker for it) at workplace. Meanwhile, getting greetings and goodbyes in return is reminding me that my days here are numbered, literally, "3-2-1".

A colleague who will be joining me at Ahmedabad pinged me to ask how it feels to be so close to the last day. I remarked that the thought is just about setting in and that I do not know how it would feel to wake up this Monday and realise that there is no office to go to.

True, that would be a new feeling. The only time I changed jobs, I worked till the Saturday and joined the current place on the immediate Monday. Sunday had gone in preparing for Monday. Never got time to think that the ship had left the shores in search of new ones, because the new shore was round the bend. This time, the ship is leaving shores seeking new oceans. The ship will not harbour for a long time. What will keep the ship going on is the truth behind-"Good timber does not come with ease. The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees. -Williard Marriot".

With such thoughts of optimism and with some realism drilled in by the brewing global economic situation (sorry for swinging from romanticism to pragmatism in the same breath!), I am counting down from 3. Next three days will be a series of review meetings, courtsey coffees, lunch, sign-offs, return-lunch and final sign-off. It will all go past in a whizz. In the midst of all this, I am planning a photoshoot of the campus around dusk. Let's see how that turns out.

Why we like Udayan Mukherjee:

Those who watch CNBC-TV18's 'India Business Hour' and 'Business Center' at dinner time, need no introduction to this smart face (Executive Editor) of the channel.

There have been times when I have thought Udayan Mukherjee (UM) is a super cool dude and times when I have also thought he is self righteous, but never condescending. Well, I am no great judge of people when a one way interaction happens over the Tube and the interaction is scripted and recorded. UM has the mannerisms of a seer, if I may say so. He speaks slowly in a way that the message is understood correctly, chooses his words carefully and during talk shows and interviews, UM is also very patient and under time constraints waits for the point be made by the other party. He displays the depth of analysis, insight and a lot of homework he would have needed and done before meeting the interviewee, a business honcho in most cases. He does not juggle around with jargon, any more than that needed to convey the technicals. Even so much sometimes flies over my head, but that's mea culpa, not the speaker's.

When you see the carpet of security get pulled out from under your feet, you need to understand from someone reliable, why it is happening. I may be exaggerating about the security part, but there is no doubt that I jumped up from my seat when I saw, in my portfolio, the 'blacks' becoming smaller and the 'reds' becoming deeper. Traders worry, investors don't; at least this one doesn't. Fundamental and blue chip investment is a 'horse for a long race', as they say in Indian parlance.

Yesterday, when the bloodbath happened in the markets, I was waiting for UM to speak out. UM said little yesterday about why of it, except the technicals of margin trading causing a bulk of the loss yesterday. Quite understandably, global cues from Dow and Nasdaq were missing, it being a weekend in The States. The cues would be missing today too, Monday being a holiday there. But, later today, surely the US would not go against a global wave of dipping indices?

In India, however, it was another day altogether. Cues from the eastern markets and the growing sense of uneasiness of the (already here? impending?) recession in the US economy and panic selling triggered by yesterday's losses, especially by those with muscle and those with short positions induced heavy selling, leading to the circuit breaking within a couple of minutes of the session opening. Many a fist has been wrung into the palm, many a tear shed and many a brow wiped by millions today. In the second half of a record smashing trading day, Bulls turned around the multitudes of 52-week lows and put brakws on the downslide , pulling the index up from, about -13% to -4.5%. If only, I were more liquid at this point in time, I myself might have added a nickel or two more.

It is at a time like this that one needs to drive home a simple message. One that this more of a reminder of a simple truth than a brainwave. Because it's "Just that our memories tend to be too short and our greed too much." (quoting the last line of UM's article today).Read here, UM's message today.
This article is one of several reasons why we like Udayan Mukherjee.

Nano-voce-philia: Defined as...

...love of talking about Nano!

I am not a fanatic for the car per se but am for the principle behind it, for the alternatives Nano provides (still saying that it will be a big hot potato to swallow), the fundamentals it will change, utilitarian concept it embodies and frugal manufacturing technology it testifies. But for the record, I must admit that despite my fears about Nano, Nano is all over my mind. Nano is having an 'in your face' effect on me.

Nano is bound to change our lives and the signs are already showing. Here are some samples.

A recent article in the newspaper prophesied about the peripheral,in several meanings of the word,industries that will flourish in the shadow of Nano. Will not cheap (economical) accessories well embellish a cheap car? It also took a shot at how our conversations and attitudes and jargon would change to accommodate the shifts in paradigms that Nano would trigger. You might say I am progressively becoming a Nano-voce-philic (For good or bad, such people as yours truly like talking about Nano!). Now that is a word I made up. Is there a "Nano" word for someone who makes up Nano words? Nana-verbo-philic, perhaps? If you are getting the hang of it and think I am getting carried away, I have made my point.

If the masses get their bread should the 'nouveau' as well as the 'riche' not get their cakes? Dilip Chabbria has unveiled his impression of a car that could buy a hundred Nanos. Pegged at 1 crore, the rich man's space age answer to Nano will snub the masses with its antiNano philosphy. There in lies the irony: For the rich India, an answer to a frugal car is an extravagant car of similar dimensions with little else in common.

The irony also represents the socio-economic divide that has manifested in different forms in different cities. Be it the Bangalore-commons' quasi-despisal of those working in, literally, glass houses that are IT complexes. Opportunism, crime, harassment and verbal abuse against techies in Bangalore, Pune and other cities. It also shows up in the amplified pillage caused by mobs incited by any issue, the damage in which is mosty incommensurate to what one would expect in response(!) to the problem which triggered it in the first place.

Here is a more significant example of how Nano is raising its hydra-head even before it juggernauts onto the road ten months down the line. Read here about how Nano has upset another automobile manufacturer's grand plans. Electrotherm had a big idea of a small priced AutoRickshaw, but Nano would allow none of it. But as you would have read in the quoted article, ElectroTherm has plans of salvaging their project by converting the prototype into one that is electric and at the same time cheaper. Now, that is innovation driven by market forces. How often do we get witness that so closely and in the live?

We are in exciting times in India and, going by the international pulse, beyond. The show has just began. Nano has just entered the building.

PS: Now, would you call me a Nano-blogo-philic for that matter? Apologies to OUP for misusing the poetic license. For, officially, Oxford has done away with hyphenated words.

Big little things

A non-working day in the middle of the week works like a charm. Doubling the joy, I chose to not work on the first day of the new year,only an optional holiday. How precious is that?

That evening, after a long time, we thought we should ride around the countryside on our bike. It's always a pleasure to ride an Enfield. The drive took us to the Anekal lake and presented us with a carmine sunset over the still shallow waters. Confined to the corridors of Vastrapur campus for the latter part of the year, I think will only be able to look back at life's little pleasures such as watching a painted sky withdraw out of horizon like expensive silk sliding off a dark rosewood table inscribed with glitter. At the end of the clear day, the colours lingered even as we turned our backs and chugged on.

Rolling down the unusually slug (many offices in E-city were not working, we guessed) and therefore pleasant Hosur Road, we made our way yet another time to our deary chinese eating place China Pearl. Finding it too early to sit down for dinner and moreover needing to stretch our legs after a fifty kilometer ride, we decided to take a walk on the street. That is when my wife's slipper broke (Who listens to unsolicited advice on apt footwear for a bike ride?). A little late for a cobbler to be open, we realised, when after hunting down a repair shop found it shut. My offer to replace broken slippers with new ones was gently declined, as there were 'many pairs unused yet'.While S was dragging her right foot along, I was trying figure out how the slipper could be revived for a couple of more hours.

They say something about necessity bearing ideas, but I will qualify it as simple improvisation. An idea sprung up when we were passing by a tender-coconut seller. When I was a kid , I remembered, there was a neat way in which the tender-coconut seller would tie up two tender coconuts by using strands drawn out of the green damp shells of each of those and hang the pair over the bar of my bicycle. I still remember how the knot would survive the bumps on the road and needed to be scissored to be undone. So, there it was- an idea hanging over a pile of tender coconuts. The strands from the green shell of the coconut could be used as a makeshift tie for the broken slipper. The fix would also be inconspicuous. But even as I was explaining to the lady who was clasping a sickle about how she could help us with the the broken slipper, she offered other ideas such as giving us a safety pin. But the design of the fancy slipper would not allow a pin to fix things, so we declined and we went ahead with our idea of stringing up the slipper with the juicy strands. We were good to go!

Dinner was delectable, as expected. We have some favourites which we mix and match with new items on the menu. China Pearl has never disappointed us.

Something strikes me when I think about the evening. The eagerness of the lady to help in the situation is commendable. I do not mean to make a big deal of a safety pin offer. It is the attitude that is in point. I am sure she endures a lot of flack from the street and the public on a daily basis and it leaves a bitter taste in her mouth. And here we were talking to her at the end of her rough day explaining a weird patch-up I was attempting on the broken slipper. She was cool and eager to listen. May be, then again, only I do not meet such enthusiastic people so often.

Or am I becoming progressively cynical about people and expecting very little? Then again , may be she values human interaction. How many times do we try and listen to anything a stranger has to ask of us? Thoughts of mugging and mooching ensnare us (I will concede to the part-truth behind this). Technology is a useful raider. It robs us of basic interactions with the lure of productivity and efficiency. How many times do we walk down to our colleagues instead of picking up the phone and getting it done? How many of us know our support staff on first name basis?

Anyway, her help was appreciated and we let her know that.For the records, the slipper lasted till it was retired out to the corner of the shoe box.

I relearned, in more ways than one in the evening, that it's the little things that make life livable.

Separation Blues

A couple of months from now, I will be seeing the last(For now? For ever?) of the place that was, as is more common in this industry, like it or hate it, second-home for the last six years. Nice! Now, I have said it! I was not concious of how much this workplace might have come to grow on me, even until after I triggered off the workflow of my separation.I did not get a full night's sleep yesterday; and that's when I knew. May be it's coming out now. (Just a nice word it might be for resignation, but the intranet application for this purpose is actually called 'Separation'.)

I do not like the word 'quit', because I am really not quitting anything here. I also do not like the word resign in any meaning of it except that which implies 'give up a possession'. Because, not sure whether my employer saw it that way, all along I took my job and workplace personally. I made many mistakes on the way;but did not stumble upon them again. I travelled to many new places, made many friends and worked with some dynamic managers and, though did not contribute much to them, operated closely with some considered as thought-leaders within the company and outside.

I will miss several things. Foremost among them is the pristine campus that has all the comforts of a resort, if not home. This facility for more than twenty thousand people has two bank branches, close to a dozen ATMs, 5 food courts with more than 35'eateries' of all cusines, a pizza place, an upscale buffet-garden restaurant,two gymnasia, a swimming pool, tennis, basketball and volley ball courts, a brand-store for apparel and accessories, a photo studio and camera shop, a printing shop, a grocery store, a computer store, two beauty salons, two cellphone shops, several travel agencies, a couple of easy-bill-pay centers, a meditation room, a clinic and my hangout- a book store. Apparently, this green campus is home to more than 80 species of birds and more than as many varieties of plant and trees. I am sure I have missed a few things in the list.

I will miss the youthfulness that drives this place. Six years ago, I added to lowering the average age at this place. Today, I am dragging the average higher, but the place has only grown marginally older in those terms. There is at least one major event happening in any given week, making it the most happening place for many people I know. I will miss the sense of comfort that entered me the minute I entered my own 'manager's cube'; my personal fifty square feet.

I will miss the kiss of the spray, on the walk back from the gym, from the sprinklers turned on after sun down. I will miss the reflections of the crimson skies on thousands of glass panes on over fifty architectural expressions. I will miss the silhoutte of the library dome. On a rainy day, I will miss the waves of green-white-and-blue umbrellas with 'Ozone' (an internal eco-club) written on them. I will miss the Fridays that break the monotony of formal wear with an explosion of casual colors.(Out here, we 'boyz' say- No matter what season, here, it's Spring on a Friday).

When passing by Building 1 (quite aptly the corporate block), there would be a mild sense of anticipation of catching a glimpse of a corporate or international digintary or even one of our own IT gurus. Because, rarely have I walked the same ground as a leader whose words and values are sought after by an international audience. Working within walking distance of moguls never become second nature to me.I will miss that sense of expectancy.

I will also miss the inanities of the johnny-come-latelies who fall up from the comfort of their homes in to the comfort of this workplace and then complain about what more they want! I will miss such inanities like I would miss a Peter Seller's movie; something to to laugh back upon.

Of course there are a few things I will not miss and would rather forget, but I am not one to regret.

Simply because, yesterday is not coming back and I have tommorrow to take on.

2007: A Year of waitlists - Part 3 of 3

Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Those were annoying waitlists. Here are some that will impact life in a big way.

The year began with great expectations to join one of the top business schools in India; in full time business (Exec) programs offered by IIMA, IIMC and ISB; in that order, for my own reasons.

By the time Ahmedabad opened its online applications in April, I was ready to register; was among the first few of 1350 to do so. But the journey ahead would prove to be a long one.

In the next three weeks, I had to complete the forms for IIMC, get recos from across multiple time-zones and send the docket out to Calcutta. "If things have to go wrong, they will. If they do not have to, they still will". Cutting the long story short, my application reached on the day after the last date. Between the time I sent out the application and I was shortlisted to the interviews, I moved back home. In mid-August, the interview happened. It went well, by most standards. Regardless of that, the bottomline was that I was not yet in. I was on the fourth waitlist this year.

Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad application was submitted and interview date announced. As luck would have it, the interview was in the same location as the Calcutta interview has been. I put aside any thoughts of destiny around the coincidence of interview location. If the interview has opinions flying back and forth , a few moments of laughter and a smiling panel at the end, I think I am allowed to think it went well. But I would not know for another month.

While waiting for the Ahmedabad results, the most practical thing to do was to apply for Round 2 of ISB. ISB application process is perhaps the most technologically mature one, much like that of INSEAD and a couple of tier-1 schools in the US (I have filled my share of recos for a few folks). Every part of the process, including recos is online. It makes life much easier in one way. But automation also requires you to follow the instructions to the T. It would be a cakewalk I had been told, by a friend of mine who had studied at ISB. So, I was taken aback when ISB sent me a regret mail a few weeks after that.

Since then, I have thought a little more about it. What stood out is the fact that I was not even shortlisted for the interview. (Without leading you to any conclusion, I would like to add that later I was to find out that many others with my profile or more experience had been in the same predicament). So, while this did not put me in a waitlist, my being on the waitlist of Calcutta gained more significance. More so because it was a little over a month before the term at Calcutta would begin. Chances were getting slimmer by the day.

So, while I was nursing the regret message and the vacuum of Calcutta waitlist and IIM Ahmedabad results, I started making enquiries about the waitlist mechanisms in the latter schools. It turned out that Ahmedabad waitlist had gotten fully used last year. That was good news, but each year is different. So, I braced myself just in case some surpise were to be awaiting around the corner.

No surprise (not no regret) then, that Ahmedabad put me on the waitlist. Those were undoubtedly the most harrowing days of the year. Much of November was not sweet at all. Fifth waitlist of the year had me in its grip.

No one said life was easy, but one has to be ready. It was I then sent out my scores to INSEAD, the first school I thought about outside India, in such case that the India story did not work out. I had already sent my scores to another British school earlier.I was getting reminders from them about application deadlines. I repeat, those were the most harrowing days of this year.

In the middle of the last week of November when the first set of waitlisted folks were bumped up by Ahmedabad, came the most gratifying email I have received this year, or life maybe? I think I need not say more.

Looking back, all's well. But this has been a year of waitlists, down to the penultimate month. With this, I will end this note, this year, and the waitlist saga.

Wish you a very Happy New Year 2008!