Raj Thakre, Laloo Yadav and Abject failure of UP - Bihar

Once again the same old story…
Raj Thakre is once again at the center stage…

It had happened in past and I had written about it…
This times a little different thought…. May be I have begun to understand his stand now…

A few points strike right away…
First one being; why any advertisement was not given in any of the Marathi local news papers? Giving news only in north Indian papers…. Is it not discrimination? Or may be it was a preplanned act.

Second one being… when all the north Indian leaders stand in for defense of so called “Bhaiyaas”,
Why not a single Marathi politician supported Raj Thakre except for Narayan Rane?
I can understand that Shiv Sena must be in a catch-22 situation… they can not support Raj for fear that he will gain political advantage. And if they don’t then they appear like abandoning Marathi people…

Whatever happened was a little necessary because it brought out what is going on in railways under Laloo Yadav…and also it highlighted the failed state of UP and Bihar…
Anyway, let's come to the main point…. The point to ponder is, why do so many poor people from UP-Bihar have to migrate to Mumbai?

This highlights the abject failure of the local governments in UP and Bihar. They can’t even provide enough opportunities in the state that will keep the grass root level people employed.

I have stayed in various cities in India but everywhere I have noticed that people who generally migrate to other states are generally highly qualified professionals who go out searching for bigger challenges. But the grass root level jobs like the labor are always with the local population.

But in case of UP – Bihar people seem to be moving out even for basic jobs. Primarily because there does not seem to be any substantial industrial / agricultural growth in the region.
All the north Indian leaders who talk Maharashtra government and blame Marathi’s and so on… have they ever thought about why so many people migrate?

Bihar arguably has one of the best farmlands in the country… it is also home to a lot of mines…
Remember that Jamshedji Tata started his first steel factory in Bihar…
First President of India…. Babu Rajendra Prasad was also from Bihar…
But after that initial head start… everything went downhill after leaders like Laloo and Nitish took over the helm. I am not wrong at the time of independence Bihar was one of the richest and developed states due to all the steel plants... mines etc..

As far as UP is concerned… it has given the whole bunch of political leaders to the nation including Nehru - Gandhi family. The Most populated state in the country…. having maximum number of Assembly seats…it also has some good industrialized areas… in regions surrounding Delhi… but what about the rest?

And what do all these so called “representatives of the people” do for them? They somehow seem to be busy in fooling around the poor people and maintain their political positions… it is not that resources are not available… Especially the Eastern part of Utter Pradesh

Laloo… Nitish, Paswan and Mayavati better clean their own home first….. :-)
…Here is a good article on same lines

Nothing Official About It

After 15th September, though everyone was looking worried…confused… tensed… and all those similar words, the fact that everyone was trying to be secured for future had created a totally different atmosphere in the office…

Especially after our top brass itself told us to prepare for plan B, the office was completely transformed…

Here lay a bunch of people… in thousands… and all seeking for jobs… it reminded me of college days.

A lot of people were preparing together… all helping each other to get a job.
Information about interviews… referrals were openly exchanged, when someone came back from interview, all others should interview him again to check out the questions… reactions… treatments given and all to gauge the outside industry reaction to our crisis.

It also reminded me of the viva’s during college days. The moment someone came out of the examiner‘s cabin, all sitting outside would surround him to find out about questions… examiners mood… his favorite topics etc etc.

We used to come to office… as usual… but if anyone had any interview call then it was no more a matter of secrecy as it normally is. People would tell all others that they have an interview scheduled… if it is telephonic then sometimes even conference rooms were used for giving interviews.

If someone had to go to attend a face to face interview then people would inform boss and go for attending interview during office time.

It was a totally different office for at least 3 weeks period during which our future was uncertain. No work… the only activities were either study or surf or chitchat at desks or sitting in the canteen… sometimes I used to think whether to go to office or not after getting up…

Alas… gone are those wonderful days now… we are no more “Lehman Brothers” now…. We are “Nomura Holdings”… the work is slowly picking up pace… but the habits of those days are making it a little bit difficult to start work again in full throttle.

It was amazing to observe how people who were working full fledged just three weeks ago became so sluggish…. It is very easy to get spoiled I guess….

Life After Lehman

It’s around three weeks now… but it all seems so long…

15^th September… Monday, the day when the great Lehman Brothers filed for chapter 11… In the India office day began as usual. For past two weeks stocks were tumbling but we were hopeful that we could survive. From USD 16 it came down to 14…. 8… then finally in the range of 4… in the end we saw it touching 0.7 in the pre market rates… L

We were sure that on Friday management was in search of a buyer… and on Monday we would get some concrete news… but instead the news of bankruptcy came in. All operations were suspended… for the first time in life I was in office with no work officially. I was never “on bench” throughout my career and never expected to be on this special kind of bench.

Whole office was suddenly full of uncertainty… what will happen to jobs… will there be mass layoffs… or maybe we will be in same office but wearing new ID’s… nothing was sure…

All the people who till 2 days before were busy completing daily tasks were suddenly moving all their personal belongings from the office. And news and images of people from new York and London offices moving out with belongings and all made everyone think that there was no future left.

Discussing with colleagues across the oceans only added to the panic…

All of a sudden everyone was in doubt. And when even senior management finally started asking us to prepare plan B, everyone went into a panic mode. All of a sudden everyone started applying everywhere. Of course everyone out there in the job market was aware of this and all the vultures out there in the job market were ready to grab whatever they could as cheaply as they could….

One of the major reasons was the very high salaries of Lehman. Many employees had financial commitments like home loans that were in proportion to their current salaries. The very prospect of job loss brought with it grinding worries about how to meet those obligations. And that was one of the major reasons that made people search frantically for new jobs.

Now to add to the trouble, service sector companies that were also facing the heat of the American meltdown, started layoffs in thousands… so all of a sudden job market was flooded…

Soon “Lehman special” walk ins were arranged by many companies… and people who were not sure what to do next started flocking there… companies knew that we were cornered and would come over without much salary negotiations. They were not at all discussing salaries… they would interview people and then just say that “we would let you know later”… even when interviews went too good… then also they would not release offers….

Everyone was waiting for a final collapse so that when we would officially become jobless they could take us on their terms. Some of us had even 4 “verbal offers” with no official offer letter.

Soon the news of Barclays taking over Lehman’s North American operations came over… the news of saved jobs kindled hopes. People were now a little composed… interviews reduced. Many decided to wait and watch. Still there were doubts since no one had taken over Indian operations… and to the ultimate question was still unanswered.

The fact that Barclays had given only three month guarantee to US employees did little to assure Indian employees who were accustomed to “permanent” jobs. So the atmosphere of doubt still remained.

Soon Barclays people were in India to access the office. Senior management was very happy with their feedback and were very much sure that they were going to take over but talks failed and again it was back to square one. Now people started getting anxious and started putting down papers. In order to stop the exodus management started enforcing one month contractual notice period.

In the background there were news of Credit Suisse and Nomura were also in contact with management for tasking over the Powai unit.

Finally few days ago management’s efforts bore fruits and there was announcements that Powai unit was being taken over by Nomura Holdings Inc. of Japan. The best thing they did was to guarantee no job cuts and no salary cuts. This put to rest all the speculations and the good mood is back again in the office.

On 3^rd we got internal news that Nomura has taken us over…

On 6^th the one of the Nomura board members addressed the Powai unit and welcomed everyone onboard Nomura…

On 10th we are supposed to get our official employment contracts from Nomura.

A new era has begun…

Sinking ship dilemma....

Lehman Brothers has filed for bankruptcy…
Of course for past one week no one was working in real sense… only half hearted…
Drowned share prices had already drowned everyone’s hopes...
Somehow in all this I have a sense of déjà vu…

Of course this is first time I am facing a bankruptcy situation….
But underlying feelings they are all the same…
Under stress I somehow tend to get calm and composed… but excited at the same time….
Everyone around seem to be frantic but not me…
This has happened quite a few times before….
It has happened when one of my subordinates was on verge of dying in the Bombay High fields….

It happened when once I was in office in L&T and it was shut down due to rumor of Balasaheb Thakrey’s arrest… while everyone left in frenzy fearing riots…
I stayed back in office till late evening and went home after it all settled down.
Same thing had happened when once it rained so much that even western lines failed…. Again everyone worried...panicking… but not me…
Don’t know why this happens…
I happened a few times while in Infosys also…

But this time it is a little different….. I would like to call it my sinking ship dilemma….
Shall I jump off the ship… or wait till the captain calls for Abandon ship and then leave using the safety raft?
If I jump off… then I will have to struggle in the sea all alone…. Clutching to whatever I can for safety…
But I will be independent….
But If I stay back… I may get some cushion… may be some compensation….
Not sure what way to go…
Let’s see….

I am not willing to stay back till people in US come to office and give us some news….
UK teams are already in packing off mode…
May be tomorrow will bring out more news….

Beijing Olympics and after….

The Olympics are over… this I am a little more happy…

We got three medals… highest ever for the nation… out of curiosity I used to keep open the Olympics official website open whole day and used to check the medal tally.

Initially at bottom… after Abhinav Bindra's gpld medal, India suddenly zoomed at a position around 10-12…. Buoyed… my frequency for checking medal tally and news websites for any more medals also increased.

Out of excitement I also put up a wall paper from Olympics website on my desktop.. :-)

Days passed by… from the "teens" we slowly graduated into the "twenties" then "thirties" and finally ended up in the "fifties"

In the end two of our men got bronze medals… thanks to Sushil Kumar and Vijender Kumar . This took our tally to 3... Our highest ever…

The interesting part started after that. The winners were bestowed with too many prizes… a rare sight in a country where only cricketers get all the money. If they had given that much money to them before Olympics for practice and equipments etc… and provided them with quality coaches then results might have been even better…

As I kept browsing through different news.. Articled… posts etc… I came across a few more interesting things…like The sports ministry has a budget of around 170 crores… most of which is spent on salaries of the staff…

For some teams like badminton, there was no coach but a "government official" was sent with them instead… What a way to have a full sponsored "picnic" at the of not only govt money but also the prospect of winning some medals…

Worst came after Abhinav Bindra wrote some articles in Times of India after they invited him as a guest editor…

After he rightly pointed toward the apathy and lack of knowledge and skills among those who manage the sports in India.. Mostly politicians and officials who have never played the game…

Next day the newspaper had remark from Mr. Kalmadi on those articles… saying that politicians are best suited as sports chiefs since they can gather large amounts of funds…

The question is where are those funds…?

So much of apathy… in a way it is woven in our culture that projects sports in bad light…

I remember something like..

"Padhoge likhoge banoge nawab"

"Kheloge koodoge banoge kharab…."

I am not sure of exact wording… but it is something like that…If this is our viewpoint then no wonder we lack behind in sports...

The player who reached in the quarter finals in the boxing during Sidney Olympics… Gurcharan Singh

after he failed to win medal… he did not want to waste his career in a country where he would have to weight for another 4 years… he quit playing for India and went to US for joining professional boxing circuits…

I hope that somehow our govt will not let this happen to other players…. Otherwise it won't be too long before we see Vijender kumar quitting boxing and turning to modeling and acting as career.

No doubt china ruled the games in all respects.. . I was also amazed by how small countries manage to clinch quite a few medals… and that too countries like Kenya that are not only poor but also facing internal problems…

For first few days in the medal tally behind the US and China was south Korea and not the usual suspects like Russia Britain or Australia…

So much of passion... Efforts… to win for own country…that more than 30 world records were broken during the Olympics.

As far as our country is concerned the fears of Abhinav Bindra are already coming true it seems… the days of glory seem to be over for those brave sportsmen who fought against all odds… even when their own government that did not support them…

Sri Lanka tour has already taken importance….

We are back to square one...

क्या लोग थे वो दीवाने … क्या लोग थे वो अभिमानी… जो शहीद हुए हैं उनकी…

Once again 15th August dawned… I got up very early morning ( 6 30.. :-)). Reason was the patriotic songs being played at nearby school. All the usual songs that are generally played on 15th Aug and 26th Jan were being played. Usual stuff…

After some time the famous “Aye Mere Vatan Ke Logo” started. I was listening lying on the bed… after some time my eyes were moist… such powerful lyrics… and equally powerful voice…

So began my “Independence Day” nothing great really happened… I was still following the loudspeaker at the school… some speeches… then some song sung by students and that was it…it was all over.

I sometimes feel the day is losing its charm… somehow becoming a sort of formality.

In office most people were not even thinking of Independence day… Just a Holiday. Unfortunately I was also one of them (so shameless…)

After 10 00 am... there was virtually no trace of Independence day except for the flags on the top of many buildings and the same old patriotic songs at some places…

I think generally we tend not to feel the importance of the things that we get without any efforts of our own. I still remember during school days so many old people used to come to the school just to attend the ceremony... they knew what the word “Independence Day” really meant.

And in Mumbai we have not bear any brunt of any of the wars either… (Aye Mere Vatan Ke logo… was written at the time of Indo China war of 1962). So response here is even pathetic I guess…

I realized this when I visited Sikkim early this year… On the way to Gurudongmar Lake. the lake is near China border and obviously one has to pass through strict security of the army and only Indian nationals are allowed to visit there.

(Above : The Cold Desert of North Sikkim...)

At one such post one soldier gave us a Sikh religious flag to put up at the small shrine near the lake on his behalf. The lake is worshiped by Hindus as well as Sikhs and Buddhists and the shrine is common for all. We took it along and put it up on a flagpole there. Now on our way back we were treated as guests... taken inside the bunker... were served tea... fruity and all...

Now even though one can drive there, the lake is at a super height of 17000+ feet... the area is so low in temp that it is other extreme of hot... it is cold desert... even ice is so hard that it feels like stone. There is medical camp run by the army at 15000 feet and not all make beyond it... some go back from there...

(Above : Me and Deepa with our brave soldiers at the army check post...)

The soldiers stay for a full span of 6 months there... during course of conversation so many points came up. for all the sufferings those poor chaps were getting only 9k as salary and 5k as allowance when on border.

When asked... for the first time in my life i was feeling ashamed to say about my salary... I told him a decent figure... they were impressed to know that me and Deepa both were engineers... some of the soldiers had dreams of seeing their children become engineers. they were also not happy with the 6th pay commission... I felt very bad and i explained to them how they are respected everywhere and the booming private security business in the country hire retired army personals at high salaries as officers there and all...

Before leaving we thanked them for protecting we all....

All this time while stay secured and earn a lot and talk a lot about a lot os security issues and problems and all without practically doing anything.... the people who really face it are in such a pathetic condition... they don't even earn enough... :-(

For this one thing I appreciate government's decision to give a 21% hike over and above 6th pay commission.

Same story applies to our police friends... what they get is almost like pittance if you see what they go through daily...

The only thing I think that can keep them motivated may be love for the nation... but that alone won't be enough... after all they too have families...

Even though it is wrong.... nothing surprising if they take bribes....

King for 2 days.... part 2 - Grihasthashrama....

it's about 3 months now....
the celebrations are over....it's time to get on with life....
Start of so called "Grihasthashrama".
The "Pink Days" have began.. ;-)

Also now it is time to take a look at the ground realities and change course accordingly.
Time to better understand all other members from each others family...
Time to set up the nest....
Time to work hard to turn the dreams seen together into reality....
Time to take a fresh look at everything...

Of course there is nothing new in this.... for generations people have been going through this...
but still it is a fresh experience for the couple that go through it....no doubt we have a lot of people around to help us... and ensure a smooth sailing.

I feel much like the time when you go first time in school... or first day in college....
Full of hope... confident and at the same time worried about what's in store in future....
Now i am no more responsible for only my life... it's me and Deepa "two in one" now...
This has changed everything... right from the way i think....

It's a sort of worrying stuff... will i bw able to discharge all my responsibilities correctly? will i be aqble to manage all the expectations?
Will i be able to deliver good on all the new relations?
Will i be a good son in law? will i be a good brother in law?
Because even the basic relation of "son" now has taken a new meaning now.

Never before this have I experienced so many changes and challenges together in my life.
I am no more expected to be dependent on my parents for daily decisions... I am expected to be able to make decisions for my family.
but somehow i think all my ancestors would have gone through this process.... they also must have overcome all these apprehensions
If they could do it.. so will I...

I am just setting off from harbor... weather looks fair... I shall go ahead with confidence...
I definitely believe I have the capability to navigate through stormy weather if I come across it... My ship's hull is made of our love... it is powered by our common sense and understanding,
equipped with all the advanced warning system from our parents about possible storm zones....
I feel it is strong enough to make us bear it shall we come across any storms...

It again comes to same exam analogy... if so many people clear it .. so will I...

Having graduated from "Brahmacharya".... I feel i am entering a new
school called "Grihasthashrama"...

Blogged with the Flock Browser

King for 2 days... Part 1

Finally "Yours truly" has got a promotion of a lifetime... The status has changed from "Committed" to "Married" (yet to reflect on Orkut :-))
Bachelorhood is lost forever... marriage Ceremony...Final stage of the process that was going on for quite some time was completed on 20th April
It lasted for two days that is 19th and 20th... I was like a king for 2
days...
So many rituals, as I was going through them... I could not resist but
to try to guess what would have been the original ritual and the
meaning... what all was going on; everything looked so symbolic.

The very first ritual... that of sacrifice of a "Kohala" (winter melon,
white gourd or green pumpkin). Everything was looking normal during the
ritual and then all of a sudden when people said that it should be cut
into two in one shot only!!!!!!! Very close to animal sacrifice where
Hindu's believe that the animal should die at first stroke only!!

What is the exact purpose...
symbolic...historical....scientific...mythological...whatever...
for the"Muhurta Medhi"?
may be something like an anchor or something firm that

can provide stability to whole arrangement.... And the fact that the
"Muhurta medh" is removed at the end of the ceremony.
So many such questions... including about the use of the turmeric...

From a boy's family point of view the first day is more busy at home
than the next one when they go to the girl's house where the actual
marriage ritual takes place. As a rule I was not even supposed to go out
of the house on the first day...any anyway there was no time either...
so many rituals from morning till the evening and whenever there was any
free time then it was fully utilized by friends and relatives.

The first day ended at 2 00am next day when my father forced us to stop
the DJ and go to sleep...hardly 4-5 hrs of sleep and I was up at 6
oclock in the morning to get ready for the big day ahead.

Once again visits to a few gods... a few more "aarati's"... a few more
rituals.... and I was ready to leave

We left for the wedding location that is Mahim by 8 15 in the morning...
and reached there by 10 30.
We were a little late and as a result we had to run through the rituals
there since we had a time only upto 12 38 which was the "Muhurta".
So soon after we reached there me and Deepa were sitting on the stage
and the rituals began as per "Vaidic Methodology" .

There were a few arguments between the elders and the prist regarding
some rituals... or the way they were supposed to be performed. But
somehow we managed to complete all the rituals before the muhurta.

I was told that some people come under so much pressure at the "biggest turning point" in life that they even start trembling. but in my cased it was found to be quite opposite. I was in really happy mood and we even exchanged light comments with deepa's cousins.

at the time of exchanging "Haar" (or "Mala" ... i really don't know the exact english word), my cousins lifted me up to make it difficult for deepa... so her brothers also lifted her up and we exchanged "Haar" while we both were lifted up...

the moment it was over i could see a smile of relif on both parents face... and soon everyone from Deepa's side were in tears in wake of the reality that she was to leave her family to join mine...

My favorite song from Calvin and Hobbes...

The Yukon Song

My tiger friend has got the sled,
And I have packed a snack.
We're all set for the trip ahead.
We're never coming back!

We're abandoning this life we've led!
So long, Mom and Pop!
We're sick of doing what you've said,
And now it's going to stop!

We're going where it snows all year,
Where life can have real meaning.
A place where we wont have to hear,
"Your room could stand some cleaning."

The Yukon is the place for us!
That's where we want to live.
Up there we'll ge to yell and cuss
And act real primitive.

We'll never have to go to school,
Forced into submission,
By monst, crabby teachers who'll
Make us learn addition.

We'll never have to clean a plate,
Of veggie glops and goos.
Messily we'll masticate,
Using any fork we choose!

The timber wolves will be our friends.
Well stay up late and howl,
At the moon, till nightmare ends,
Before going on the prowl.

Oh, what a life! we cannot wait,
To be in that arctic land,
Where we'll be masters of our fate,
And lead a life that's grand!

No more of parental rules!
We're heading for some snow!
Good riddance to those grown-up-ghouls!
We're leaving! Yukon Ho!

Till now I was bored of typing it out but I found that someone has
already done it here <http://home3.inet.tele.dk/stadil/poemyuk.htm>
Thanks pal...... for the song...

Preparing for the big day..

Hmmmm… so the big day is fast approaching….

Preparations are on the verge of reaching peak for both the families….

All orders decoration catering etc…placed…..

Almost all jeweray bought…or ordered….

All the sarees and other cloth shopping ….done….

Invitations… work in progress….

Still a lot of things pending…. Transport….DJ… and a lot of other small small things….

Someone has rightly said….. "Ghar pahave bandhun aani lagna pahave karun" (roughly….."Building a house and getting married are two things that you must do on your own to get a feel of expenses…" )

For my parents it a little easier since they are doing it for second time…. But for Deepa's parents, it is first wedding in the family…. So a few more troubles…. That too for the girl's side it is more complicated affair since almost entire ceremony takes place at girl's house.

To be frank… I am yet to do any major work till now…. Since everything is contracted, it is not like past days when every member of the family had to work hard to make it happen. The only major activity is that of inviting people. And almost entirely it was taken care by my parents.

 

A raised gold price has hit the budget like anything. Certain things you just can not avoid. But I don't look at it as an expense, but as an investment for future. But the sudden expense no doubt pinches…

Another major shopping…. And of course biggest of them all was the cloths shopping. Apart from money what made matter more complicated was that none of us… neither me… or Deepa… or Hansini and Yogesh (my sister and brother in law) could afford to take leaves. So everything had to be managed on weekend when you already have too many other tasks lined up. Especially for me since it is a new job… and I need a long leave for marriage and honeymoon, I can not afford to take any leave before marriage.

As a result the entire shopping process went on for almost a month.

As I see around... everyone seems to be preparing to enjoy the event in their own way…

 

I am approaching of perhaps what is the biggest turning point in anyone’s life. A transition that was going on since a few months after engagement will finally be complete.

I will be entering a new phase of life… new relations… new responsibilities… new challenges… it all seems exciting and worrying at the same time… how will be the waters ahead? Calm or turbulent or stormy? Will it be a smooth sailing or a hell of rolling and pitching?

Lot of questions… no answers…only hopes….

And I am hoping for the best….

ParPraantiya….

Seems like all the fuss going on the “Par Prantiya” issue has gone down now.
Finally the court had to intervene. And again all the dirty politics going on as usual…
But frankly…. That was a real bad thing to do… I don’t think it is going to lead to “Nava Nirman” of Maharashtra in any way. If at al it does contribute then it will contribute in taking the state a few years backwards I think.

After the MNS people made all the north Indians move out of Nashik, it was none other than Maharashtrian entrepreneurs who suffered. I still remember a quote from one of them in Times of India.
He said he won’t mind and would happily employ Maharashtrian people, but they don’t want to work as hard and as dedicatedly as north Indians… and still they want higher salaries.

I think in one shot he tols the root cause behind the presence of all the people who MNS is now trying to target. It is nothing but simple basic funda of demand and supply.
All the jobs that these north Indian people do; if Maharashtrian people would have taken them up, then there was no need of these people from outside here. It is only because we are not ready to do these jobs which we think are of low category that the people who are willing to do those jobs have come to this city.

We prefer to stay unemployed and then cry about other people coming and taking up out jobs than to try to take up available jobs. Every society needs all the roles to be played for its smooth functioning.
We need Doodhwala… we need SubjiWala…. We need the fruit vendors…. We need the Taxiwala… we need sweepers… we need Lundriwala…. BhelPuriwala… all these are as essential ingredients for the society as are doctors and engineers and clerks.

But we have a certain mentality set…. We want only the higher category jobs…. We don’t want to start our business…. That’s why all the Guajarati’s and Marwari’s thriving in the city.

This reminds me of one more thing…. What is definition of “Par Prantiya” ? why only people from Bihar and UP are being targeted? Why not Guajarati’s, South Indians , Bengali’s?
Are the not outsiders? Are they not eating up on jobs of Maharashtrians? In fact these people are in the areas that are of interest to Marathi people like High profile jobs and businesses etc.
Instead of them... the poor people from Bihar and UP are being targeted. Those poor people who starve sometimes…. They sleep in footpath to make sure that they send money back home to their family. Instead of learning and picking up the hard working tendency and dedication from these people, they are driving them out for no fault of theirs.

Only a “Bhaiya” can sell fruits during day and then sleep on the same hand cart out in open during night. I respect them for this hardworking ability.
They have done nothing wrong by coming to Mumbai. They are also Indians and they have full right to settle in any city they wish to.

It also reminds me of my days as a “par prantiya” when I was staying in Bangalore and Hyderabad. By strict definition and by the current MNS rules…. Even those people could have driven me out. And I think Raj should also keep in mind that now Maharashtrian people are also settling down in other states. What will happen to them if other states decide to give tit for tat?

Again some days I ago I heard a person saying in train that ever since Laloo became railway minister fe filled up entire railway with people from Bihar. I will say… why Suresh Kalmadi could not do the same for Marathi people when he was in the ministry? We don’t pick up opportunities and then we cry when someone else picks them up.
I think the old saying that termed Marathi people as crabs who are happy pulling each others legs... still holds true….
We won’t to do and we won’t let others do….

End of an episode….

After all the chaos for past 3 months…. I got rid of Infosys and I finally joined Lehman.
It was a roller coaster ride I must say. A nail biting finish till the last day.

I still remember the first encounter with Lehman while I was in Hong Kong. Initially also it did not go well. My mobile connection used to give troubles. Once or twice the call was dropped in between. Sometimes the interview team used to inform that they were not able to connect at all.
Finally somehow the first round of interview was over. I was not T all satisfied with my performance. I was not expecting any return call from them and started thinking about other options

But somehow, the interviewers had seen something during interview that I had missed out.
I got call for a second round of interview. This time I was well prepared. And as expected, the interview went well and I got an offer too. I was expected to join within a month. With leman ready to bear any payback that may be required, this looked like a sure thing.

Till now everything was fine. I submitted my resignation letter asking for a release after a month.
At this point the real story began. There was no response for the resignation mail. Initially I got a call from my top management to discuss the things but after that what followed was complete ignorance. No commitment on the release date… no comment on handover of activities…

Frustrated… finally I threatened to stop working on the project if I was not given due attention. Only after this, I got a response giving a date after nearly 2 months.
I decided to use the salary payback option. There was one more bad news in store for me. The documents had the payback clause at the discretion of the company!!! My bosses chose to use it immediately and denied me that opportunity also.

Frustrated, I walked out of Hong Kong and came back to Mumbai. I was expecting that this will have some impact. But there was none.
I escalated the matter to still higher management as well as HR…. as a result I got a call where I was threatened in indirect terms about disciplinary actions and all.
On the other hand I got calls from other senior mangers making all sort of promises so that I stay back.

On the other hand Lehman team was also getting frustrated at the entire episode. They finally decided to break the ties and revoked the offer.
I decided to go ahead with resignation and vowed to quit Infosys even in case I did not find a job for a few days. The hunt started again.
Fortunately I got another job. So I went ahead with resignation.
This was how my 4+ years stint with Infosys ended. I never wanted to end it the way it happened. I had started my career there and I had grown up professionally there. I Always wanted to end it in a graceful manner but alas!!!

A few days before my joining date, I again got call for Lehman!!! This was to be a fresh round of selection. I decided to try it once again. Results were as expected. I was given another offer and this time there were no restrictions.

This effectively marks end of my first career episode…. I am back in Mumbai…. A whole new game has begun….

I have learned...

The period since last November has provided me with a lot of learning experiences… not in a good way really but still they have made me a little stronger… added a little more confidence…a little more value…. Personally as well as professionally.

My first job switch… first separation process has taught me a lot. I has promised something to my new employer based on the word of my immediate superiors. And when the time came for action… the higher ones refused point blank. Even option of buyout was refused.
All pleadings… begging went in vain….finally frustrated, I threatened to go on leave if I was not paid attention to. That time I was told in plain words that I will not be released as expected... when I escalated to still higher authorities… the HR simply called up to threaten in indirect words…everyone took side of the manager who refused to release me.

I had to stay back as I was contractually bound. My new employer was not ready to wait and revoked the offer they had made to me. May be my superiors had expected to retain me back by making me loose the opportunity. But by the time all this happened…. I had lost my interest…enthusiasm…willingness to work….goodwill and all…. I still pressed ahead with resignation and found another job…..
Now hopefully I will join there once this last torture tenure here is over in a few days.
I still think that even this time it is my right to get released… I still will have to fight for it. I think I will start that off tomorrow……

I have learned a lot of things during this three month long episode….

I Have learned that word of your immediate boss need not be honored by the higher ones. One should think twice before going ahead` based on word of immediate superiors…

I have learned that no matter how much hard work you put in your job… ultimately your extra work may be taken for granted.

I have learned that one should not really trust on what the logo or the advertise says… no matter how much one may be claiming to be driven by values…. It does not mean that they will actually follow that when it matters…

I have learned that If you work beyond your stipulated duty… management will not value that. No one will care for you in the end…

I have learned that a good employee so far “automatically” becomes undisciplined… ill mannered etc... the moment he put down his papers….

I have learned that a good way to curb attrition in your organization is to try to trouble and screw up as much as you can when an employee plans to leave the organization.

I have learned that not paying attention to an employee when it is needed is an easy way to make them frustrated.

I have learned that in order to get the top management think about you, you really need to talk about some drastic measures…. That too with much senior people in loop….
That way it will also attract some attention from otherwise non-attending HR people…
They will then call you up only to give some indirect threats…. And then justify their decision to screw up your career….

I have learned that quitting a job may not be as easy as it looks. You never know when all the goody goody talks’ turns into negative actions…that look towards retaining you back by making sure that you loose the opportunity….

I have also learned that if you have enough talent there is no dearth of jobs… even if one is lost you can easily get another one within a few days…

I have learned that in order to keep afloat in the competition you need to keep adding constantly some value to yourself.

More importantly I have learned what not to do with my subordinates when I will step into similar role few years down the line…. May be this was god’s way of preparing me for a higher role.

As I have always believed…. Whatever happens... happens for good…. Only time will tell what that good point is….

I am back !!!

I am back!!!
Back in India...
Back in Mumbai...
Back to my family... friends...
Back to my love...

Life has begun to rock n roll...
Ever since I am back from HongKong life has become like a roller coaster.
It is hardly a month, but already a lot of ups and downs... high and low...
A lot to write about... in fact major events...On the professional front... on the personal front... transition into a new phase of life.... a new phase of career... new horizons.... new opportunities....
it's so exciting...

This December has really been a happening month in all sense.
I sometimes feel it is because i suddenly got exposed to all this after a long stagnant period. it is very much like what happens when after staying in dark for a some time, we all of a sudden see bright light.

After nearly being isolated socially for around 10 months, all of a sudden i found myself surrounded by my loved ones. One can easily have a look at my posts from February till December... number of posts as well as content of posts... they all speak the same story... story of a workaholic person...who had nearly isolated himself from anything that was not related to his work... even people !!!

I felt this strongly when i attended a local sports event on weekend. i was really feeling uncomfortable for a few hours initially. It was strange feeling of being among so many people where many of them recognised me.

After initial disappointment disappointment over loss of good opportunities...and subsequent treatments i got from my company... there began a real good time.

Once the date of engagement was finalised.. and shopping etc began, before i realised anything; it was 30 Dec already!!

The main reason behind this was that me n Deepa , both were busy trying to catch up for "lost 10 months" of courtship..... So we made sure that we did not miss a single opportunity of being together... may it be shopping... or visiting to Siddhivinayak temple... or meeting each others relatives... or simply roaming around together.... all these activities were as much for the cause of being together as they were for the original intended purpose....

Along with all these major things in between there were some small but sweet events like party for Kapil's new job at Hyderabad. we met after almost two years.
Then there was another function for celebrating my sister Hansini's third wedding anniversary.

On the 30th of Dec came up the big event of my engagement with Deepa. This was something that was being planned for almost past 6 months but was getting postponed because of my unavailability at home. Once the function was over then on the next day we celebrated 31st at home with family. This too was my first celebrated at home after a long time.

Not one or two... many events packed in such a short time span...
and as a result...
I am back...
back into life....
and back on blogger too......!!!