When I first heard this phrase, it took me by surprise, primarily because I have considered myself lucky to be in an ever “booming” industry. I might sound cynical but this is the only industry that gives “average” people a chance to dress up in whites, sit in AC-ied offices, drive cars at the age of 26 yrs, travel to different places around the globe, flash costly mobile phones and have the audacity to ask for more money every year and never talk of the “quality” of the work that they did.
Yes, I am a part of this industry for I will not be fitting anywhere else; I am pretty sure about myself that I won’t fit on a shop floor of a manufacturing industry, or even in a constant pressure accounting firm which deals in stocks. For some reason, I could never use the most popular phrase in IT industry in front of my dad who has been a civil engineer for 30 yrs now. The phrase most of you have guessed by now is “I work so hard”. I mean what are we talking about, we work hard!!! Sitting on a cushioned chair, having 3 may be 4 coffee breaks, listening to mp3s while we do something on a machine that is made to perform as per its user!! Gosh!!.
Ok, I deviated a little from the topic, coming back to what made me write this article is my recent trip to “THE USA”. Now, there is a reason why I wrote THE USA in bold, the reason is for apparently some reason (I am not sure what!!) we have such a big picture of this country where we are treated nothing more than the inhabitants from the category of Blacks or Mexicans. Now before you jump off your chair to beat me up for this racist thing, visit USA and read the looks on faces of “Americans”.
Again I deviated, ok; I will try to focus now. “Cyber coolie” was a phrase that I heard from a colleague on the current project, and needless to say it made an immediate connection with me. What else would you call someone who works on Computers, for 16-18 hours, has no personal life and no say in anything?
Let me break it down for further understanding, in older days when we were being ruled by British, Indians were used as slaves to do hard work like lifting blocks, and moving goods, in short “coolies”. British left us and we Indians grew and travelled to different countries and got settled in there. We started considering ourselves to be equivalent of whites/British – Rulers. We started exporting people from India to these remote destinations at the behest of good life and little money. We made them work like dogs, paid them peanuts and ensured that they do not have any say in anything. So, we transformed the whole thing into a glamorous world of coolies. “Cyber Coolies”
My worst fears and thoughts have come true with my maiden trip to USA. I was someone who was always convinced that life is better off in India, but I couldn’t gather enough points to debate, hence whenever people used to talk about USA, I used to stand defeated. Now I can definitely go back and talk about it.
There is nothing wrong with USA but what’s wrong is our perception of this country. It’s a very normal place, trust me, they are just ahead of us – Indians, maybe a little more disciplined, and definitely more focused. But not something that we can’t achieve if only we forget about what’s cooking in Khanna sahib’s home or what Mrs Sharma is wearing tonight , etc.
In short, we are cyber coolies and will remain so, unless people who are at the top by virtue of they having first mover advantage start having a bigger perspective in life then just exploiting people. We Indians are at the top of most organizations and increasingly world is recognizing us, lets break the shackles of exploiting our own people and garner some respect. Let’s behave a little more matured then “I am in USA to earn some money for home”. Let’s stop looking for 1USD=44INR, let’s stop “assuming” that I am American just because I am in America for “You can take a man out of the country, but you can never take a country out of a man”. I will and always remain an Indian, no matter where I am and what I am, and I should never forget this.
Sachin.... A legend
I get really amazed looking at the world when it comes to critizing sachin and undermining his achievements. So, i have brought together some of the best quotations available on him. Whats the biggest noticeable point is that these quotes are from his contemporaries, seniors, journalists and fans all across the globe..including BBC... so here i go...
---------------
“Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world. “
- Allan Donald
“I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes) to be alert and i know a way to pin Sachin. And i delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delevery outside offstump. And i shouted catch. To my astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His reflex time is the best i have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec. To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast u wont regret if he hits you for boundaries.”
-From Allan Donald’s interview in Cricket Talk.
“On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!”
- Peter Rebouck – Aussie Journalist
“Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to politics. It’s clear discrimination.”
-NKP Salve, former Union Minister. This was when he was accused of ball tempering.
“There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.”
-Andy Flower
“I think he will fit in whatever category of cricket that has been played.. He can play in any era and at any level. I would say he is 99.5 % perfect.”
-Vivan Richards
“Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting, they will go unnoticed, bcouz even Lord is busy watching him play”
-A banner in Sydney by the Australian fans
“Nothing bad can happen to us if we’re on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it.”
-Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight
“Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job.”
-Yaseer Hameed
“To Sachin, the man we all want to be”
- What Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin
“Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don’t know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives”
-BBC on Sachin
“Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?”
-Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq when the latter dropped Sachin’s catch during the India Pakistan match in the 2003 World Cup.
“Sachin is a genius. I’m a mere mortal.”
-Brian Charles Lara
“We did not lose to a team called India…we lost to a man called Sachin”
-Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)
“The more I see of him the more confused I’m getting to which is his best knock.”
-M. L. Jaisimha
“The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility -all make for a one-in-a-billion individual”
-Glenn McGrath
“I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play.”
-Anjali, Sachin’s Wife
“I HAVE SEEN GOD, HE BATS AT NO.4 FOR INDIA”
-MATHEW HAYDEN - I feel this is one of the best SACHIN QUOTE
“Even my father’s name is Sachin Tendulkar.”
-Tendulkar’s daughter, Sara, tells her class her father’s name after the teacher informs
them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai.
“I am fortunate that I’ve to bowl at him only in the nets!”
-ANIL KUMBLE
Question: Who do you think as most important celebrity ?
Shahrukh: There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachhan. Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the GENIUS!!
-A quote of Shahrukh Khan from one of his interviews
“India me aap PrimeMinister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain..Par Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte..”
-Navjot Singh Sidhu
“He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also .”
-Waqar Younis
“I WILL SEE GOD WHEN I DIE BUT TILL THEN I WILL SEE SACHIN “
-Displayed on a banner at a cricket ground
---------------
“Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world. “
- Allan Donald
“I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes) to be alert and i know a way to pin Sachin. And i delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delevery outside offstump. And i shouted catch. To my astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His reflex time is the best i have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec. To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast u wont regret if he hits you for boundaries.”
-From Allan Donald’s interview in Cricket Talk.
“On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!”
- Peter Rebouck – Aussie Journalist
“Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to politics. It’s clear discrimination.”
-NKP Salve, former Union Minister. This was when he was accused of ball tempering.
“There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.”
-Andy Flower
“I think he will fit in whatever category of cricket that has been played.. He can play in any era and at any level. I would say he is 99.5 % perfect.”
-Vivan Richards
“Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting, they will go unnoticed, bcouz even Lord is busy watching him play”
-A banner in Sydney by the Australian fans
“Nothing bad can happen to us if we’re on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it.”
-Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight
“Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job.”
-Yaseer Hameed
“To Sachin, the man we all want to be”
- What Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin
“Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don’t know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives”
-BBC on Sachin
“Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?”
-Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq when the latter dropped Sachin’s catch during the India Pakistan match in the 2003 World Cup.
“Sachin is a genius. I’m a mere mortal.”
-Brian Charles Lara
“We did not lose to a team called India…we lost to a man called Sachin”
-Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)
“The more I see of him the more confused I’m getting to which is his best knock.”
-M. L. Jaisimha
“The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility -all make for a one-in-a-billion individual”
-Glenn McGrath
“I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play.”
-Anjali, Sachin’s Wife
“I HAVE SEEN GOD, HE BATS AT NO.4 FOR INDIA”
-MATHEW HAYDEN - I feel this is one of the best SACHIN QUOTE
“Even my father’s name is Sachin Tendulkar.”
-Tendulkar’s daughter, Sara, tells her class her father’s name after the teacher informs
them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai.
“I am fortunate that I’ve to bowl at him only in the nets!”
-ANIL KUMBLE
Question: Who do you think as most important celebrity ?
Shahrukh: There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachhan. Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the GENIUS!!
-A quote of Shahrukh Khan from one of his interviews
“India me aap PrimeMinister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain..Par Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte..”
-Navjot Singh Sidhu
“He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also .”
-Waqar Younis
“I WILL SEE GOD WHEN I DIE BUT TILL THEN I WILL SEE SACHIN “
-Displayed on a banner at a cricket ground
Ayodhya Verdict
I had never thought that i would be promoting this anytime in life, but looks like Sri Harivansh Rai Bacchan has thought of this day much earlier in life. Today we stand at a juncture where i feel uncomfortable to talk to few of my friends for the religion stands like a wall in front of us.
I have always believed in the lines "Mazhab nahin sikhata aapas main bair karna" (Religion never teaches/preaches hatred). But guess whatever be the verdict today, the religion would have sowed in the deep rooted hatred in few of the hearts which would take ages to be cleaned up.
Hence, quoting my favorite lines from Bacchan Sahab's Madhushala,
I have always believed in the lines "Mazhab nahin sikhata aapas main bair karna" (Religion never teaches/preaches hatred). But guess whatever be the verdict today, the religion would have sowed in the deep rooted hatred in few of the hearts which would take ages to be cleaned up.
Hence, quoting my favorite lines from Bacchan Sahab's Madhushala,
मुसलमान औ' हिन्दू है दो, एक, मगर, उनका प्याला,
एक, मगर, उनका मदिरालय, एक, मगर, उनकी हाला,
दोनों रहते एक न जब तक मस्जिद मन्दिर में जाते,
बैर बढ़ाते मस्जिद मन्दिर मेल कराती मधुशाला!
What makes USA a different place then India?
This is an obvious question, and almost everyone who happens to be either an Indian or a US citizen who has been to India will have opinion. However, I would still like to present my thoughts around it. I have been here for close to a month and though I have primarily worked all this time I could still sense some difference which is apparent.
1. Attitude of “being USA”: - “It’s not a third world country it’s USA” so what even if every citizen has a burden of USD42000 on their head due to federal losses. The attitude is killing, they never think that they “can’t”, every possible thing in the world is do-able. Now if we come to sit and think of it, guess it’s the attitude that makes you take first few steps. We as Indians are too much worried about “My bad luck”, “My destiny”, etc. and our favorite quote being “I tried hard but couldn’t make it”. These statements are something that you would never hear in here. It’s simply a sense of feeling that I belong to the strongest country in the world.
2. Population: - Now do I even need to write in here, guess, yes. I agree we are over 1billion and USA is much less with much more area, but the point that I want to make is, here too they have queues, traffic jams, cluttered shopping areas, etc. What is remarkable is their respect of being “you” which is very different then being an “I”. In India, we just do not have respect for people. I have never understood this in my entire life, why we do not have patience? I have never understood why we can’t ride our bikes straight? Or why we have to take a U turn where there is no U Turn, why do we have to throw the garbage on roads?
I agree the USA has better facilities, not that they do not have problems, but they respect the stuff.
3. The non negotiable approach: - My AC was leaking and the person in the apartment below was facing a problem. Hence, we received a repair-man at 12am to mend the AC. The fellow came in opened the duct (kept saying sorry for disturbing but kept working!!) and used the adhesive to fix the problem, he kept trying until the problem was fixed which was in about 15 mins. He kept sorry to us during this whole duration. First of all in india, it’s impossible to find a repair-man at that hour (despite we having so many people and no money no one will come to work at that hour!!) and second if he will come in, it’s impossible that he would say sorry to you for disturbing.
Guys, before you jump to conclusions that I am favoring USA, let me tell you I have always admired the way these guys work. The admiration has reached a different level with my onsite visit, however, I would be hugely proud and happy if even we get to these levels in our life.
Moto, change the Attitude.
• India’s economy has grown much more then USA
• India has best brain and best workforce
• It’s Indians who are running most of the companies in here
• It’s Indians who are becoming rich by the day!!
While riches can be earned, attitude can’t be, it either has to be home grown or live without it.
1. Attitude of “being USA”: - “It’s not a third world country it’s USA” so what even if every citizen has a burden of USD42000 on their head due to federal losses. The attitude is killing, they never think that they “can’t”, every possible thing in the world is do-able. Now if we come to sit and think of it, guess it’s the attitude that makes you take first few steps. We as Indians are too much worried about “My bad luck”, “My destiny”, etc. and our favorite quote being “I tried hard but couldn’t make it”. These statements are something that you would never hear in here. It’s simply a sense of feeling that I belong to the strongest country in the world.
2. Population: - Now do I even need to write in here, guess, yes. I agree we are over 1billion and USA is much less with much more area, but the point that I want to make is, here too they have queues, traffic jams, cluttered shopping areas, etc. What is remarkable is their respect of being “you” which is very different then being an “I”. In India, we just do not have respect for people. I have never understood this in my entire life, why we do not have patience? I have never understood why we can’t ride our bikes straight? Or why we have to take a U turn where there is no U Turn, why do we have to throw the garbage on roads?
I agree the USA has better facilities, not that they do not have problems, but they respect the stuff.
3. The non negotiable approach: - My AC was leaking and the person in the apartment below was facing a problem. Hence, we received a repair-man at 12am to mend the AC. The fellow came in opened the duct (kept saying sorry for disturbing but kept working!!) and used the adhesive to fix the problem, he kept trying until the problem was fixed which was in about 15 mins. He kept sorry to us during this whole duration. First of all in india, it’s impossible to find a repair-man at that hour (despite we having so many people and no money no one will come to work at that hour!!) and second if he will come in, it’s impossible that he would say sorry to you for disturbing.
Guys, before you jump to conclusions that I am favoring USA, let me tell you I have always admired the way these guys work. The admiration has reached a different level with my onsite visit, however, I would be hugely proud and happy if even we get to these levels in our life.
Moto, change the Attitude.
• India’s economy has grown much more then USA
• India has best brain and best workforce
• It’s Indians who are running most of the companies in here
• It’s Indians who are becoming rich by the day!!
While riches can be earned, attitude can’t be, it either has to be home grown or live without it.
Lufthansa and the trip to USA
When I was very young, about 8-10 yrs of age, I heard someone talk “That uncle has just returned from foreign”. My small mind did a calculation, and decided that like India, Pakistan, USA, etc, foreign is also a country. My knowledge about geography was very poor :- ). Then some more countries got added to my world but foreign remained to be a big country where if someone goes then he returns with lots of money. This foreign dilemna got sorted much later in life. :)
Life moved on, I got introduced to Lufthansa, at first, it was the name that got my attention for being different, and then as I read more, I came to know that Lufthansa is the best carrier in the world for air passengers. I made an uncertain prayer to God that if I have to ever travel, please make me board it.
One day much later, about two months back from now, my boss called me and asked me to get ready for a USA trip. I almost ran back to my desk and search for tickets on Lufthansa. They were very costly, I suffered a heart break. I kept my patience, and kept holding on to that prayer of a kid who wanted to board a Lufthansa. Then the project dates kept delaying and uncertainty kept longing on. I kept my focus on the project asking God for all the help and energy that He can grant me with.
The dates kept changing and so were the flights, it was june and continental, july and some other carriers. Finally, things started rolling very fast and I was told to board a flight in one week’s time. I got busy with lot of work. One day, I received an email from HR manager, asking me if I am ok with a certain itinerary. Since I was busy, I said to her that anything is fine. Then in a break, I went and saw the tickets, gosh!! It was with Lufthansa. I ran 3 floors and straight into the cabin of Komala (my HR manager) to check if this is true. She looked perplexed about a 30 something man behaving like a kid, but she said, yes it is and you are going to travel with Lufthansa. I couldn’t believe that something of this sort is happening with me. I called up Nidhi and told her about it, she was excited too coz she knew about my thoughts. Then in a while when the whole excitement cooled a bit, I told komala about dream of a child that came true. She was excited too and was happy.
Though I had to focus on lot of work, I let myself bask in some glory of returning back to India in a Lufthansa. Then, the day came, when I had to actually board the flight. The plane was huge, a 71 mts jumbo jet. I couldn’t stop grinning, and kept on saying hello to everyone. I was so excited that I almost forgot to read the in-flight magazine. I had heard that economy class on long haul flights is not very comfortable, but I guess, it was due to my excitement that I didn’t find it tiring or maybe it was not the case with Lufthansa.
They served me good food, good tea, etc. I tried my hands onto some red wine too. The flight was very smooth and never shook at all. It climbed up to 38000ft and for most part of the journey remained at that level. The only turbulence we encountered was when we were descending for IAD. The touch downs and take offs were very smooth and the in-flight TV kept showing the route for us.
Exciting as it might be, I was very charged up when I landed at the IAD. Quickly went through immigration checks and was on my way to my apartment. Rest is all good, thanks to God to get me a chance to fly with my dream carrier and thanks to Komala for arranging whole of this.
Life moved on, I got introduced to Lufthansa, at first, it was the name that got my attention for being different, and then as I read more, I came to know that Lufthansa is the best carrier in the world for air passengers. I made an uncertain prayer to God that if I have to ever travel, please make me board it.
One day much later, about two months back from now, my boss called me and asked me to get ready for a USA trip. I almost ran back to my desk and search for tickets on Lufthansa. They were very costly, I suffered a heart break. I kept my patience, and kept holding on to that prayer of a kid who wanted to board a Lufthansa. Then the project dates kept delaying and uncertainty kept longing on. I kept my focus on the project asking God for all the help and energy that He can grant me with.
The dates kept changing and so were the flights, it was june and continental, july and some other carriers. Finally, things started rolling very fast and I was told to board a flight in one week’s time. I got busy with lot of work. One day, I received an email from HR manager, asking me if I am ok with a certain itinerary. Since I was busy, I said to her that anything is fine. Then in a break, I went and saw the tickets, gosh!! It was with Lufthansa. I ran 3 floors and straight into the cabin of Komala (my HR manager) to check if this is true. She looked perplexed about a 30 something man behaving like a kid, but she said, yes it is and you are going to travel with Lufthansa. I couldn’t believe that something of this sort is happening with me. I called up Nidhi and told her about it, she was excited too coz she knew about my thoughts. Then in a while when the whole excitement cooled a bit, I told komala about dream of a child that came true. She was excited too and was happy.
Though I had to focus on lot of work, I let myself bask in some glory of returning back to India in a Lufthansa. Then, the day came, when I had to actually board the flight. The plane was huge, a 71 mts jumbo jet. I couldn’t stop grinning, and kept on saying hello to everyone. I was so excited that I almost forgot to read the in-flight magazine. I had heard that economy class on long haul flights is not very comfortable, but I guess, it was due to my excitement that I didn’t find it tiring or maybe it was not the case with Lufthansa.
They served me good food, good tea, etc. I tried my hands onto some red wine too. The flight was very smooth and never shook at all. It climbed up to 38000ft and for most part of the journey remained at that level. The only turbulence we encountered was when we were descending for IAD. The touch downs and take offs were very smooth and the in-flight TV kept showing the route for us.
Exciting as it might be, I was very charged up when I landed at the IAD. Quickly went through immigration checks and was on my way to my apartment. Rest is all good, thanks to God to get me a chance to fly with my dream carrier and thanks to Komala for arranging whole of this.
Idexcel or a life changing experience
It was about 11 months back when I decided to leave my most loved organization MindTree. The initial thought was to get into a better role and some more money. I used to be very frustrated in those days and kept burning my red blood cells for no reasons. This was until one fine day (read completely done bearing my frustration!!) my wife decided to help me out. The thing that was a mere hit on a website eventually turned out to be one of the better experiences in life. Hold on!! I am going to talk about that too.
So, one fine day, my lovely wifey-Nidhi, who was more bothered then me coz I was so much frustrated, decided to give my job hunting priority over her office work and used her office hours to find out a better place to work for me. What resulted was a call from a certain Mr Srinivas (he is now a very good friend!!) for a un-heard, un-seen company called E2S Corp(now called as Idexcel Inc). He wanted to know if I am interested in a bigger, better position and a new place to work for. I decided to take a shot at this; I went met few wonderful people and decided to call it quits at MT.
My first day (I still very clearly remember that day) was full of surprises for me. No formal induction, no signing of too many documents, a neatly arranged machine, a clean bottle of drinking water, a notepad and a pen was arranged for me. Felt a little good until the day progressed, for some reason I was feeling out of place. Before I could release one month had passed and it was time for collecting bigger paycheck. Worst!! It got delayed, I was nervous, I was anxious and I was very scared. But I kept it to myself. Kept saying to inner self, things are going to improve and Nidhi kept holding on to my ever increasing frustration and now depression.
The salary came, and so did peace of mind. Thereafter, there was no looking back, things started to roll. One crisis after another, long working hours, fights and fights at office start becoming a daily routine. I started wondering if that’s how the life would remain. In walked my current boss, Kannan. A man of super capability someone who comes with huge amount of patience and diligence. He started guiding me towards new learnings. I was again finding the lost focus. With him being around, I had little to worry, one of the first things that he ensured was to get our faith in the company which until then was slightly shaky.
Projects began to become a little more stable, QA started earning respect within the company and then we bagged a big project - Mexico National Id for system testing. With this project, I decided to pull myself up and try and reach to next level. I always knew that kannan was backing me up and hence that fear of failure started to become less each passing day. One thing that I realized during this whole course was that if you have some kind of a shield from fear, then you can be confident of being successful.
This project gave us a new pathway, new learning and then the biggest break for most of us. A trip to client side to USA. I would be lying if I say that the thought of going to USA wasn’t exciting, but I would also like to tell you that it was the feeling that I am going to lead a team being at US that gave me super energy to be upbeat about it.
I have always admired the way people at USA operate, they are so much more professional then us, they are so much focused towards their work and aim. This project gave me a chance to learn and see it all very closely. As I am writing this blog, I am Frankfurt airport, waiting to board my connecting flight to IAD-Washington dulles airport.
I don’t think I will ever forget what nidhi said before I departed from home. She said “one year back we were struggling to remain afloat amidst all financial/personal crisis and see today you are ready to board a flight to USA trying to get where you always wanted to be. Whole of this is changed because of Idexcel. I think we must be thankful to them”. And I said, indeed I will be and I will try to ensure that this project remains sketched to be one of the better managed projects.
Thanks Idexcel was making me reach a little closer to my dream!!.
So, one fine day, my lovely wifey-Nidhi, who was more bothered then me coz I was so much frustrated, decided to give my job hunting priority over her office work and used her office hours to find out a better place to work for me. What resulted was a call from a certain Mr Srinivas (he is now a very good friend!!) for a un-heard, un-seen company called E2S Corp(now called as Idexcel Inc). He wanted to know if I am interested in a bigger, better position and a new place to work for. I decided to take a shot at this; I went met few wonderful people and decided to call it quits at MT.
My first day (I still very clearly remember that day) was full of surprises for me. No formal induction, no signing of too many documents, a neatly arranged machine, a clean bottle of drinking water, a notepad and a pen was arranged for me. Felt a little good until the day progressed, for some reason I was feeling out of place. Before I could release one month had passed and it was time for collecting bigger paycheck. Worst!! It got delayed, I was nervous, I was anxious and I was very scared. But I kept it to myself. Kept saying to inner self, things are going to improve and Nidhi kept holding on to my ever increasing frustration and now depression.
The salary came, and so did peace of mind. Thereafter, there was no looking back, things started to roll. One crisis after another, long working hours, fights and fights at office start becoming a daily routine. I started wondering if that’s how the life would remain. In walked my current boss, Kannan. A man of super capability someone who comes with huge amount of patience and diligence. He started guiding me towards new learnings. I was again finding the lost focus. With him being around, I had little to worry, one of the first things that he ensured was to get our faith in the company which until then was slightly shaky.
Projects began to become a little more stable, QA started earning respect within the company and then we bagged a big project - Mexico National Id for system testing. With this project, I decided to pull myself up and try and reach to next level. I always knew that kannan was backing me up and hence that fear of failure started to become less each passing day. One thing that I realized during this whole course was that if you have some kind of a shield from fear, then you can be confident of being successful.
This project gave us a new pathway, new learning and then the biggest break for most of us. A trip to client side to USA. I would be lying if I say that the thought of going to USA wasn’t exciting, but I would also like to tell you that it was the feeling that I am going to lead a team being at US that gave me super energy to be upbeat about it.
I have always admired the way people at USA operate, they are so much more professional then us, they are so much focused towards their work and aim. This project gave me a chance to learn and see it all very closely. As I am writing this blog, I am Frankfurt airport, waiting to board my connecting flight to IAD-Washington dulles airport.
I don’t think I will ever forget what nidhi said before I departed from home. She said “one year back we were struggling to remain afloat amidst all financial/personal crisis and see today you are ready to board a flight to USA trying to get where you always wanted to be. Whole of this is changed because of Idexcel. I think we must be thankful to them”. And I said, indeed I will be and I will try to ensure that this project remains sketched to be one of the better managed projects.
Thanks Idexcel was making me reach a little closer to my dream!!.
Change and its inevitable nature
For a while now, i have been hooked to things that relate to "How to manage change?". And i am sure all you people who visit my blog would've noticed this paradigm shift. As a basic personality, i hate changes to the max. Changes related to location, job, professional life, personal life, home, etc. Being a true taurian, i like to be in a comfort zone of myself. But you bet, life is a movement of "constant change".
Now though it might sound as an Oxymoron but the entire bunch of inspiring personalities would like to agree with me. Change is inevitable. Change is out there every single second. Change is happening even when you don't want it to happen, or you are not participating in its happening. A change within you, a change around you, and a change that you do not control.
How do you cope with it? How much change is cop-able? How to identify the thresholds beyond which you would start getting uncomfortable and how to control it well with in the thresholds?
I guess answers to these questions are not constant, but will vary from person to person. Each one of us need to provide an answer to ourselves in order to keep cool and keep adapting to that change.
Following steps might help: -
1) Change focus – look for the positive aspects of the world. Remember, world is as you see it.
2) Get into a continuous education program, learn coz i) there is no limit to it, ii) it is such a pleasurable thing, remember the kindergarten days!!
3) Start your day with a positive thought: - Thank Almighty for giving you a new day, open your eyes and join hands in gratitude
4) Take ownership: - Ownership helps people accept and learn from their mistakes.
5)Commitment: - Be committed to your work, even if you might not get instant success, keep walking the same path with as much confidence as you had when you started
The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. - Vince Lombardi
6) Character: - Never trade off with your character. Even if you are in dire circumstances, don't leave. Even if life is pushing you hard, never quit.
7) Be positive: - There is no medicine for being negative and worst is that being negative gives you nothing!!!
And last but not the least, the Prayer!!
God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change and courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.
Now though it might sound as an Oxymoron but the entire bunch of inspiring personalities would like to agree with me. Change is inevitable. Change is out there every single second. Change is happening even when you don't want it to happen, or you are not participating in its happening. A change within you, a change around you, and a change that you do not control.
How do you cope with it? How much change is cop-able? How to identify the thresholds beyond which you would start getting uncomfortable and how to control it well with in the thresholds?
I guess answers to these questions are not constant, but will vary from person to person. Each one of us need to provide an answer to ourselves in order to keep cool and keep adapting to that change.
Following steps might help: -
1) Change focus – look for the positive aspects of the world. Remember, world is as you see it.
2) Get into a continuous education program, learn coz i) there is no limit to it, ii) it is such a pleasurable thing, remember the kindergarten days!!
3) Start your day with a positive thought: - Thank Almighty for giving you a new day, open your eyes and join hands in gratitude
4) Take ownership: - Ownership helps people accept and learn from their mistakes.
5)Commitment: - Be committed to your work, even if you might not get instant success, keep walking the same path with as much confidence as you had when you started
The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. - Vince Lombardi
6) Character: - Never trade off with your character. Even if you are in dire circumstances, don't leave. Even if life is pushing you hard, never quit.
7) Be positive: - There is no medicine for being negative and worst is that being negative gives you nothing!!!
And last but not the least, the Prayer!!
God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change and courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.
Change management
Hi All,
I came across this article on CitemanHR forum. This article is by far the best one, that i have come across, on the topic of "change management". Please take out sometime and read it through. At the end, the learning would be wonderful.
Regards
Deepak
-------------
Priti and the Stubborn frog
Priti is studying MBA in a reputed college; she is smart, beautiful and intelligent. She scores very good marks in her exams and keenly participates in extra curricular activities. All her lecturers are fond of her but she is fond of one lecturer by the name of ‘Raj’. She never misses a single class of his.
One day Raj was describing “how change is a vital & important component of organizational survival?” He used various examples to demonstrate this point. He gave example of Internet, which is constantly changing and many organizations have failed to embrace change and therefore have suffered massive consequences. AOL (American Online) is the pioneer in the field of Internet connectivity; it was the dominant player in the field of ‘Dial-up connections’. But later on it failed to upgrade itself and lost its battle as better technologies such as Broadband, Wireless came to the fore front. A similar example is that of IBM (International Business Machine); which was the dominant player in 1980s’ in the computer (Mainframe) industry. It was twice the size of Microsoft and DELL put together. But it failed to cope up with the change as semiconductor technology improved giving rise to the production of PCs. And it slowly lost its market dominance to smaller rivals such as DELL, HP & Apple.
Similarly in the 21st Century the Book retailers suffered a major set back. Companies like Borders, WaterStones etc. saw a massive decline in profit as buyers took their custom to online book retailers like Amazon.
Priti after hearing this could not digest the point. She was thinking to herself how come these large companies failed in analyzing such small things? Is it not silly? These companies hire the best brains in the industry and they are not stupid. She is running through a lot of questions and could not totally agree with the Lecturer’s point of view.
After the class she went up to ‘Raj’ and queried about it. Raj knew that this is not easy for students to understand and he is glad that someone is making an effort to understand this.
Priti: ‘Sir! I love your lectures’
Raj: ‘I am glad, thank you’
Priti: ‘However organizations failing to recognize change sound a bit silly to me?’
Raj: ‘Priti! You want to understand this’
Priti nodded in agreement
Raj: ‘You have to do a little experiment to understand this’, ‘Are you willing to do this?’
Priti: ‘Yes! Of course’
Raj: ‘Think again, before committing’
Priti: ‘Sir! I will do it’
Raj: Then listen carefully
‘Take a frog and put it in a kettle & then put the kettle on gas and turn it on slowly till it reaches a maximum. And observe what is happening?
Priti is surprised and thought that Raj is kidding. She with her raised eyebrow asked ‘Are you serious?’
I am 100% came the reply from Raj.
Priti went home that day and decided to carry out the experiment. She is afraid of frogs but ordered their maid to catch one for her. She then repeated the experiment as exactly detailed by Raj. She thought that as soon the frog is put in the kettle and put on the gas it will jump out of it.
She slowly turned the gas on and to her surprise the frog did not jump out. She thought to her may be it is not that hot and definitely the frog will jump out soon. She increased the heat slowly and yet the frog did not jump out. Every time she increased the heat, she saw some movement from frog but later it sat comfortably. When the gas was at its full might, the heat became unbearable even for Preeti to stand next to the gas. The frog finally tried to jump out of the kettle. However it was too late by that time; although it had a thick skin but it was turning pale. Preeti in a bid to save the frog switched off the gas quickly. She was feeling bad that she would have killed the frog by doing this experiment & was in fact blaming Raj for this.
The next day she went straight to Raj and described the situation. Raj laughed and laughed. Preeti on the other hand was rather shocked by Raj’s behavior. Later on Raj calmed down and explained her following:
“See Preeti this is what happens to companies as well. Imagine the frog to be a giant company, the kettle as the industry in which the company is operating and the heat as the change that is taking place. So when the heat (change) is less the frog (Company) thinks it is pretty comfortable within its industry. And with every increase in heat (change) the frog (Company) gets adjusted to the heat and remains ideally seated rather than reacting to change. And suddenly when the heat is at its peak the frog (company) realizes that it is loosing ground and tries to react by jumping but for many that is already too late.”
Preeti is looking mesmerized as Raj continued:
“Every organization over the course develops a fundamental way of thinking and acting that is called organization culture. And after a certain period this becomes the guiding principle for organization as if it is a myth and can not be changed. This stifles creativity, restricts flow of new ideas to business and makes it blind to the changes happening around. Therefore in Chinese they say if you meet someone after a gap of 3 days you must point out the changes in him/her; as we often are unaware of the changes happening to us. “
Preeti now understands the importance of change and how it is easy for companies to miss it. She does not regret doing the silly experiment but most importantly she has learned the lesson of her life “To survive you have to be aware of the change and prepare to deal with it”. May be this deals with the Darwinian principle of
‘Survival of the fittest’.
------------------
This article is written by ©Prof Raj D, MAMS (UK), ME (UK), BE (E&T); CEO & Head Trainer YouSucceed
I came across this article on CitemanHR forum. This article is by far the best one, that i have come across, on the topic of "change management". Please take out sometime and read it through. At the end, the learning would be wonderful.
Regards
Deepak
-------------
Priti and the Stubborn frog
Priti is studying MBA in a reputed college; she is smart, beautiful and intelligent. She scores very good marks in her exams and keenly participates in extra curricular activities. All her lecturers are fond of her but she is fond of one lecturer by the name of ‘Raj’. She never misses a single class of his.
One day Raj was describing “how change is a vital & important component of organizational survival?” He used various examples to demonstrate this point. He gave example of Internet, which is constantly changing and many organizations have failed to embrace change and therefore have suffered massive consequences. AOL (American Online) is the pioneer in the field of Internet connectivity; it was the dominant player in the field of ‘Dial-up connections’. But later on it failed to upgrade itself and lost its battle as better technologies such as Broadband, Wireless came to the fore front. A similar example is that of IBM (International Business Machine); which was the dominant player in 1980s’ in the computer (Mainframe) industry. It was twice the size of Microsoft and DELL put together. But it failed to cope up with the change as semiconductor technology improved giving rise to the production of PCs. And it slowly lost its market dominance to smaller rivals such as DELL, HP & Apple.
Similarly in the 21st Century the Book retailers suffered a major set back. Companies like Borders, WaterStones etc. saw a massive decline in profit as buyers took their custom to online book retailers like Amazon.
Priti after hearing this could not digest the point. She was thinking to herself how come these large companies failed in analyzing such small things? Is it not silly? These companies hire the best brains in the industry and they are not stupid. She is running through a lot of questions and could not totally agree with the Lecturer’s point of view.
After the class she went up to ‘Raj’ and queried about it. Raj knew that this is not easy for students to understand and he is glad that someone is making an effort to understand this.
Priti: ‘Sir! I love your lectures’
Raj: ‘I am glad, thank you’
Priti: ‘However organizations failing to recognize change sound a bit silly to me?’
Raj: ‘Priti! You want to understand this’
Priti nodded in agreement
Raj: ‘You have to do a little experiment to understand this’, ‘Are you willing to do this?’
Priti: ‘Yes! Of course’
Raj: ‘Think again, before committing’
Priti: ‘Sir! I will do it’
Raj: Then listen carefully
‘Take a frog and put it in a kettle & then put the kettle on gas and turn it on slowly till it reaches a maximum. And observe what is happening?
Priti is surprised and thought that Raj is kidding. She with her raised eyebrow asked ‘Are you serious?’
I am 100% came the reply from Raj.
Priti went home that day and decided to carry out the experiment. She is afraid of frogs but ordered their maid to catch one for her. She then repeated the experiment as exactly detailed by Raj. She thought that as soon the frog is put in the kettle and put on the gas it will jump out of it.
She slowly turned the gas on and to her surprise the frog did not jump out. She thought to her may be it is not that hot and definitely the frog will jump out soon. She increased the heat slowly and yet the frog did not jump out. Every time she increased the heat, she saw some movement from frog but later it sat comfortably. When the gas was at its full might, the heat became unbearable even for Preeti to stand next to the gas. The frog finally tried to jump out of the kettle. However it was too late by that time; although it had a thick skin but it was turning pale. Preeti in a bid to save the frog switched off the gas quickly. She was feeling bad that she would have killed the frog by doing this experiment & was in fact blaming Raj for this.
The next day she went straight to Raj and described the situation. Raj laughed and laughed. Preeti on the other hand was rather shocked by Raj’s behavior. Later on Raj calmed down and explained her following:
“See Preeti this is what happens to companies as well. Imagine the frog to be a giant company, the kettle as the industry in which the company is operating and the heat as the change that is taking place. So when the heat (change) is less the frog (Company) thinks it is pretty comfortable within its industry. And with every increase in heat (change) the frog (Company) gets adjusted to the heat and remains ideally seated rather than reacting to change. And suddenly when the heat is at its peak the frog (company) realizes that it is loosing ground and tries to react by jumping but for many that is already too late.”
Preeti is looking mesmerized as Raj continued:
“Every organization over the course develops a fundamental way of thinking and acting that is called organization culture. And after a certain period this becomes the guiding principle for organization as if it is a myth and can not be changed. This stifles creativity, restricts flow of new ideas to business and makes it blind to the changes happening around. Therefore in Chinese they say if you meet someone after a gap of 3 days you must point out the changes in him/her; as we often are unaware of the changes happening to us. “
Preeti now understands the importance of change and how it is easy for companies to miss it. She does not regret doing the silly experiment but most importantly she has learned the lesson of her life “To survive you have to be aware of the change and prepare to deal with it”. May be this deals with the Darwinian principle of
‘Survival of the fittest’.
------------------
This article is written by ©Prof Raj D, MAMS (UK), ME (UK), BE (E&T); CEO & Head Trainer YouSucceed
Dont Quit
Came across this poem while going through a ppt from Shiv Khera on Managing the Change.
Worth a read..
------
When things go wrong,
As they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far ;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.
Worth a read..
------
When things go wrong,
As they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far ;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.
Three of the best stories I came across
We learn a lot through our experiences in life.
The following 3 examples of TURTLES, FROGS and THE PRETTY LADY teach us some lesson.
Enjoy reading the same and do ponder over them.
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *********
The Turtles
A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. The turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last!
For about six months they cleaned the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.
Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years...six years... then on the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich. At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, 'See! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt.'
[Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we do not do anything ourselves.]
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *********
The Frogs
A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied, 'There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs - millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!' So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.
The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, 'Well... where are all the frogs?' The farmer said, 'I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!'
[ Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember that problems always seem bigger in the dark. Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.]
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *********
The Pretty Lady
Once upon a time a big monk and a little monk were traveling together. They came to the bank of a river and found the bridge was damaged. They had to wade across the river. There was a pretty lady who was stuck at the damaged bridge and couldn't cross the river. The big monk offered to carry her across the river on his back. The lady accepted. The little monk was shocked by the move of the big monk. 'How can big brother carry a lady when we are supposed to avoid all intimacy with females?' thought the little monk. But he kept quiet... The big monk carried the lady across the river and the small monk followed unhappily. When they crossed the river, the big monk let the lady down and they parted ways with her. All along the way for several miles, the little monk was very unhappy with the act of the big monk. He was making up all kinds of accusations about big monk in his head. This got him madder and madder. But he still kept quiet. And the big monk had no inclination to explain his situation. Finally, at a rest point many hours later, the little monk could not stand it any further, he burst out angrily at the big monk. 'How can you claim yourself a devout monk, when you seize the first opportunity to touch a female, especially when she is very pretty? All your teachings to me make you a big hypocrite The big monk looked surprised and said, 'I had put down the pretty lady at the river bank many hours ago, how come you are still carrying her along?'
[This very old Chinese Zen story reflects the thinking of many people today. We encounter many unpleasant things in our life, they irritate us and they make us angry. Sometimes, they cause us a lot of hurt, sometimes they cause us to be bitter or jealous .. But like the little monk, we are not willing to let them go away.We keep on carrying the baggage of the 'pretty lady' with us. We let them keep on coming back to hurt us, make us angry, make us bitter and cause us a lot of agony. Why? Simply because we are not willing to put down or let go of the baggage of the 'pretty lady'. We should let go of the pretty lady immediately after crossing the river. This will immediately remove all our agonies. There is no need to be further hurt by the unpleasant event after it is over.
The following 3 examples of TURTLES, FROGS and THE PRETTY LADY teach us some lesson.
Enjoy reading the same and do ponder over them.
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *********
The Turtles
A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. The turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last!
For about six months they cleaned the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.
Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years...six years... then on the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich. At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, 'See! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt.'
[Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we do not do anything ourselves.]
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *********
The Frogs
A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied, 'There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs - millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!' So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.
The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, 'Well... where are all the frogs?' The farmer said, 'I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!'
[ Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember that problems always seem bigger in the dark. Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.]
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *********
The Pretty Lady
Once upon a time a big monk and a little monk were traveling together. They came to the bank of a river and found the bridge was damaged. They had to wade across the river. There was a pretty lady who was stuck at the damaged bridge and couldn't cross the river. The big monk offered to carry her across the river on his back. The lady accepted. The little monk was shocked by the move of the big monk. 'How can big brother carry a lady when we are supposed to avoid all intimacy with females?' thought the little monk. But he kept quiet... The big monk carried the lady across the river and the small monk followed unhappily. When they crossed the river, the big monk let the lady down and they parted ways with her. All along the way for several miles, the little monk was very unhappy with the act of the big monk. He was making up all kinds of accusations about big monk in his head. This got him madder and madder. But he still kept quiet. And the big monk had no inclination to explain his situation. Finally, at a rest point many hours later, the little monk could not stand it any further, he burst out angrily at the big monk. 'How can you claim yourself a devout monk, when you seize the first opportunity to touch a female, especially when she is very pretty? All your teachings to me make you a big hypocrite The big monk looked surprised and said, 'I had put down the pretty lady at the river bank many hours ago, how come you are still carrying her along?'
[This very old Chinese Zen story reflects the thinking of many people today. We encounter many unpleasant things in our life, they irritate us and they make us angry. Sometimes, they cause us a lot of hurt, sometimes they cause us to be bitter or jealous .. But like the little monk, we are not willing to let them go away.We keep on carrying the baggage of the 'pretty lady' with us. We let them keep on coming back to hurt us, make us angry, make us bitter and cause us a lot of agony. Why? Simply because we are not willing to put down or let go of the baggage of the 'pretty lady'. We should let go of the pretty lady immediately after crossing the river. This will immediately remove all our agonies. There is no need to be further hurt by the unpleasant event after it is over.
2009-2010
A round up of 2009, I know I am a bit late on this one, but nonetheless
A recap
* what was your biggest achievement of the year?
nothing much except being able to move out of MT with much deliberations and fights
* what was the best thing you bought?
Several, a 29” TV, a double door fridge, a carved TV stand, a beautiful shoe rack, several others
* One word/phrase that you used maximum number of times
I Love you (To nidhi) :-) – this continues to be the same from last year
* what did you get really excited/enthu about?
joining a new upcoming/growing company
* Best day of your life
27th Nov, this is when munnu got married to Ramya
* where did most of your money go?
Travel, purchases of household stuff
* what did you wanted and did not get?
Car, got it in first month of 2010
* what did you wanted and get?
a little peace of mind
* what one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
money- just a little bit more
* what/who kept you sane?
walks
* which political issue stirred you the most?
Women reservation bill
* which social issue stirred you the most?
None
* quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"I'll survive, I will survive!" by Gloria Gaynor – this continues from last year
* what did you miss?
my friends, my family
* what was your favorite film of this year?
My Name is khan… khan from the epiglotis and I am not a terrorist – what innocense and super acting.
* what was the best book you read?
2 states – trust me, I was rolling all over place while reading it.
* Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
None, actully, I found out this one thing. My hatred for that one person was making me remember him and that was making me loose the peace of mind. So I gave up.. :) and stopped hating him
* what was your biggest failure?
Several, one being, had to quit my fav organisation for not being able to solve the things
* whose behavior made you depressed?
Not worth mentioning here yeah, he doesn’t even deserve a thought. Actually there are two of them, both related to my ex company.
* what did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Whatever little I could do – was able help munnu in getting married :)
* did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't remember what was my resolution in 2009 but definitely will make one and try and live up to it . :)
* what places did you visit?
Goa, Pondicherry
* One thing that you want to do differently in 2009
Become slightly more focussed
* One thing that you wish you could change
Few people in my close Relationships
* One thing that you wish had never happened
Not worth mentioning in here- How I wish, june 2009 was never there in life. I will never forget this one month.
* One thing/event/person that had significant impact on your personality
Event: - Munnu-Ramya’s wedding
Person: - My Dad(his experience helped me every single time i needed it)
This year was difficult again, personl life was being torn apart by near ones, lot of confusion and a lot of frustration from work places saw things go from bad to worse. Learnt how bad can arrogance be and worst is when the person believes that he/she is not arrogant while actually he/she is. But in the end as they say.. In our life too, like our movies, ending is always happy.. and if it is not happy, then it is not the end... picture abhi baaki hai merey dost!!!. Just searching for that happiness quotient in life. Not saying that i am not happy, instead just looking out for more happiness.
Found one great word: - "Determination" and the good that it can do.
Found one great phrase: - "Life is all that you make and God gives"
Found one biggest problem: - Pessimism : - The thoughts of not knowing where to go and what to do.
A recap
* what was your biggest achievement of the year?
nothing much except being able to move out of MT with much deliberations and fights
* what was the best thing you bought?
Several, a 29” TV, a double door fridge, a carved TV stand, a beautiful shoe rack, several others
* One word/phrase that you used maximum number of times
I Love you (To nidhi) :-) – this continues to be the same from last year
* what did you get really excited/enthu about?
joining a new upcoming/growing company
* Best day of your life
27th Nov, this is when munnu got married to Ramya
* where did most of your money go?
Travel, purchases of household stuff
* what did you wanted and did not get?
Car, got it in first month of 2010
* what did you wanted and get?
a little peace of mind
* what one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
money- just a little bit more
* what/who kept you sane?
walks
* which political issue stirred you the most?
Women reservation bill
* which social issue stirred you the most?
None
* quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"I'll survive, I will survive!" by Gloria Gaynor – this continues from last year
* what did you miss?
my friends, my family
* what was your favorite film of this year?
My Name is khan… khan from the epiglotis and I am not a terrorist – what innocense and super acting.
* what was the best book you read?
2 states – trust me, I was rolling all over place while reading it.
* Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
None, actully, I found out this one thing. My hatred for that one person was making me remember him and that was making me loose the peace of mind. So I gave up.. :) and stopped hating him
* what was your biggest failure?
Several, one being, had to quit my fav organisation for not being able to solve the things
* whose behavior made you depressed?
Not worth mentioning here yeah, he doesn’t even deserve a thought. Actually there are two of them, both related to my ex company.
* what did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Whatever little I could do – was able help munnu in getting married :)
* did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't remember what was my resolution in 2009 but definitely will make one and try and live up to it . :)
* what places did you visit?
Goa, Pondicherry
* One thing that you want to do differently in 2009
Become slightly more focussed
* One thing that you wish you could change
Few people in my close Relationships
* One thing that you wish had never happened
Not worth mentioning in here- How I wish, june 2009 was never there in life. I will never forget this one month.
* One thing/event/person that had significant impact on your personality
Event: - Munnu-Ramya’s wedding
Person: - My Dad(his experience helped me every single time i needed it)
This year was difficult again, personl life was being torn apart by near ones, lot of confusion and a lot of frustration from work places saw things go from bad to worse. Learnt how bad can arrogance be and worst is when the person believes that he/she is not arrogant while actually he/she is. But in the end as they say.. In our life too, like our movies, ending is always happy.. and if it is not happy, then it is not the end... picture abhi baaki hai merey dost!!!. Just searching for that happiness quotient in life. Not saying that i am not happy, instead just looking out for more happiness.
Found one great word: - "Determination" and the good that it can do.
Found one great phrase: - "Life is all that you make and God gives"
Found one biggest problem: - Pessimism : - The thoughts of not knowing where to go and what to do.
Six short stories with Morals
Title: - "A dialogue between a child and a mother"
A child told the mother: “Mum you are very beautiful today.”
Credits: -
Special mention: -M.Peer Mohamed Sardhar
http://www.citehr.com/149490-six-short-stories-moral.html
A child told the mother: “Mum you are very beautiful today.”
Replied the mother : “Why?”
The child said : “ Because you did not get angry today .”
Moral of the story:
1. It is easy to possess beauty:- do not get angry.
2. Anger is temporary madness.
-------------
A man attended an interview for a job.
Along the corridor, he picked up a piece and threw it into a dustbin.
The interviewer passed by and saw it.
This man got the job.
Moral of the story:
Live with good habits, and you will be recognised.
-------------
A small boy worked as an apprentice in a bicycle shop.
A man sent a bicycle for repair.
After repairing the bicycle, this boy cleaned up the bicycle and it looked like a new one.
Other apprentices laughed at him for doing redundant work.
The second day after the owner claimed the bicycle back, this boy was pinched and offered a job.
Moral of the story :
1.Go the extra mile to be successful.
2. Doing more gains more & Doing less loses more.
-------------
The owner of a farm asked his child to work everyday at the farm.
His friend said to him : “ You do not have to make your son work so hard. The crops would grow just as good.”
Owner of the farm replied: “ I am not cultivating my crops, but my child.”
Moral of the story:
1. A simple way to groom a child is to let him experience some hardships.
2. If not cut, jade would not turn into useful ware.
-------------
A shop is always brightly lit up.
Someone asked : “What brand of bulb are you using ? It is so lasting.”
The shop owner replied : “Our bulbs blew out frequently. We replaced them once a bulb blew out.”
Moral of the story:
1. It is simple to maintain brightness , change the bulbs regularly.
2. To brightening up everyday life : Endeavour to abandon unwholesome states of mind and make an effort to encourage wholesome states to grow.
-------------The child said : “ Because you did not get angry today .”
Moral of the story:
1. It is easy to possess beauty:- do not get angry.
2. Anger is temporary madness.
-------------
A man attended an interview for a job.
Along the corridor, he picked up a piece and threw it into a dustbin.
The interviewer passed by and saw it.
This man got the job.
Moral of the story:
Live with good habits, and you will be recognised.
-------------
A small boy worked as an apprentice in a bicycle shop.
A man sent a bicycle for repair.
After repairing the bicycle, this boy cleaned up the bicycle and it looked like a new one.
Other apprentices laughed at him for doing redundant work.
The second day after the owner claimed the bicycle back, this boy was pinched and offered a job.
Moral of the story :
1.Go the extra mile to be successful.
2. Doing more gains more & Doing less loses more.
-------------
The owner of a farm asked his child to work everyday at the farm.
His friend said to him : “ You do not have to make your son work so hard. The crops would grow just as good.”
Owner of the farm replied: “ I am not cultivating my crops, but my child.”
Moral of the story:
1. A simple way to groom a child is to let him experience some hardships.
2. If not cut, jade would not turn into useful ware.
-------------
A shop is always brightly lit up.
Someone asked : “What brand of bulb are you using ? It is so lasting.”
The shop owner replied : “Our bulbs blew out frequently. We replaced them once a bulb blew out.”
Moral of the story:
1. It is simple to maintain brightness , change the bulbs regularly.
2. To brightening up everyday life : Endeavour to abandon unwholesome states of mind and make an effort to encourage wholesome states to grow.
Credits: -
Special mention: -M.Peer Mohamed Sardhar
http://www.citehr.com/149490-six-short-stories-moral.html
Out from self imposed Exile!!
Yes, indeed it was a self imposed exile from blogging; partially due to the pain that was caused by my ex workplace (read it in the previous blog) and partially due to the work load that my new work place came up with.
This is by far the longest time that i have been away from blogging. Though a good break, gave me lot of subjects to write upon. Very soon you would see a series of articles on commercialization of cricket, prediction of winner of IPL3 - the conclusive story, or day as it goes. I am working on drafts of these three write up currently.
But for now, i will sign off by the poem that i wrote on my mummy's birthday: - Title "Maa"
This is by far the longest time that i have been away from blogging. Though a good break, gave me lot of subjects to write upon. Very soon you would see a series of articles on commercialization of cricket, prediction of winner of IPL3 - the conclusive story, or day as it goes. I am working on drafts of these three write up currently.
But for now, i will sign off by the poem that i wrote on my mummy's birthday: - Title "Maa"
Sochtey hue chala ja raha tha,
ki, Kaun hota hai sabse bada
sabse mahaan, sabse shaktishaali.
Kabhi mann ne kaha ki vishnu,dimag bola, shiv
dil ne kaha ki, swyam bhrahma se bada kaun hai
par kisi tarah shanti na mili
isi mahaul mein main chala ja raha tha
dheemi gati se, gadiyoon ke beech mein se
laga ki ho sakta hai mera sochna hi vrath ho,
ki tabhi dekha maine kuch aisa ki mujhe jawab mil gaya
durr ek bacche ko sambhale ek "Maa" aa rahi thi
Natkhat baccha kabhi kisi cheez ki zid karta
to kabhi kisi baat pe machalta,
maa usse sambhalti, puchkaarti,fatkarti
har thodi der mein bacha chahek uthta.
mujhe mera jawab mil gaya tha
laga ki woh maa hi to hai jo sabse shakti shaali hai
kaun bolta hai ki vishu-brhama hain shrithi ke racheta,
main bolta hun na hoti maa to vishnu swyam na hote,
bhrahmaji ka astitava hi nahin hota,
tabhi aaya woh khayaal jisne sabhi baaton ka nibtara kar diya
"mera jab ansh bhi na tha, tab jisne mujhe upna ansh banaya"
woh maa hi to hai
"mera jab astitva hi nahin tha, tab mujhe jisne astitva diya"
woh maa hi to hai
"jab apne angon ka dhyaan nahin tha, jisne mujhe upna ang banaya"
woh maa hi to hai
barbas hi ankhein nam hogayi aur main natmastak ho gaya.
ki, Kaun hota hai sabse bada
sabse mahaan, sabse shaktishaali.
Kabhi mann ne kaha ki vishnu,dimag bola, shiv
dil ne kaha ki, swyam bhrahma se bada kaun hai
par kisi tarah shanti na mili
isi mahaul mein main chala ja raha tha
dheemi gati se, gadiyoon ke beech mein se
laga ki ho sakta hai mera sochna hi vrath ho,
ki tabhi dekha maine kuch aisa ki mujhe jawab mil gaya
durr ek bacche ko sambhale ek "Maa" aa rahi thi
Natkhat baccha kabhi kisi cheez ki zid karta
to kabhi kisi baat pe machalta,
maa usse sambhalti, puchkaarti,fatkarti
har thodi der mein bacha chahek uthta.
mujhe mera jawab mil gaya tha
laga ki woh maa hi to hai jo sabse shakti shaali hai
kaun bolta hai ki vishu-brhama hain shrithi ke racheta,
main bolta hun na hoti maa to vishnu swyam na hote,
bhrahmaji ka astitava hi nahin hota,
tabhi aaya woh khayaal jisne sabhi baaton ka nibtara kar diya
"mera jab ansh bhi na tha, tab jisne mujhe upna ansh banaya"
woh maa hi to hai
"mera jab astitva hi nahin tha, tab mujhe jisne astitva diya"
woh maa hi to hai
"jab apne angon ka dhyaan nahin tha, jisne mujhe upna ang banaya"
woh maa hi to hai
barbas hi ankhein nam hogayi aur main natmastak ho gaya.
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