A Simple Thought

When Life Drives Man...
He makes Divine of the Unknown
And makes Politics of the Known

When Man Drives Life...
He does the other way round...

So, what are you doing today?

What did WE do? [Nation]

Hi All,

This post I'm writing in reference to an article with subject "It rings of racial slurs" that came in Bangalore Times dated 13 July 2007. What the article brings out to light (if true) is shocking.

Once again, I would like to refer to my first post below My first stumble on the net... an impressive page [NATION] wherein I had had reference to his article on Indian History (http://www.francoisgautier.com/Written%20Material/suppressing-history.rtf)

Now let us come to our Bangalore Times article. It talks about Call Centre employees getting irate response from the UK. Yes, it might be true that the miscreants who caused havoc at Glasgow may be hailing from the Garden City. But that does not mean that we are all bad!

If we were to take revenge on anyone of those who sucked wealth from this golden land for some tens of centuries... we would have drawn our swords... atleast half a century back. But we will NOT. Whatever we speak, shout, blurt... we are secular... we are tolerant... we are kind and loving. Because these are in our blood, these are in our thoughts...

The article says callers from the UK point out to our people in call centers with reference to terrorists! They say they are happier that we are not there in the UK, and say one terrorist less! Look who is telling... had they not been parasiting on us for two centuries, we would have been lot lot happier. We still tolerate that. In fact we freed ourselves from their clutches without hurting them. The whole world knows the treasures we were relieved of in those dark years...

In spite of all these, how would they have the heart to harass and ill treat us? We still tolerate all this. We did not (and will not) protest... We would appreciate if the other end will realize...

Regards,
SKB

We Discussed. Please do the needful [Office]

Hi All,

If you are wondering what I am intending to write about... well... This is the most common statement you can see in my mailbox. This is actually the statement that pains us, but it is great fun to write about it and have a laugh.

To give some details...
This is the scene: I am heading a major execution / scheduled downtime activity / change process... a typical fish market scene... standing on the floor and shouting run-time instructions to your 10+ subordinates. Then my phone rings. A guy on the other side would say "Hi Shiv, I'm XYZ, and am handling ABC Project..."
Me: "Hi, but I'm busy right now, if it is not too urgent, shall we talk a bit later?"
XYZ: "Not a problem Shiv, I actually wanted a small clarification".
Me: "Sure, shoot".
XYZ: "For one of my activities, I need a smaaaal dump with details like blah... blah... blah... blah... blah... blah... blah... blah... blah... blah... blah... "
this is all that I can hear... I am in the middle of a major activity, as I said earlier.
Me: "OK XYZ, why don't you drop a mail with the details, I will analyse and take up your requirement"
XYZ: (quite delighted) "Why, Sure, I will do that... achcha secondly.... blah... blah... blah... blah... blah... blah... "
Now I get serious and interrupt...
Me: Sirjee, please put it all on mail, now I gotta hang up...
XYZ: "OK OK Sure... Take Care... Bye!"

After an hour, a mail comes. It is marked to you with a CC to my boss (who is a Group Manager -Associate VP), boss's boss (VP)... I get the first shock. Now the second shock... the Subject: "Reg. dump requirement". What a nice way of giving a subject to a mail. After 3 - 4 months, if I browse through the mail subjects, I will have no clue of what this mail is about. I will be tempted to delete it, or even to mark it as a spam!

The third shock... the mail body reads:
"Hi Shiva,
We discussed. Please provide the dump as agreed.
Hope you can give it by tomorrow as per our discussion

Regds,
XYZ."

I shatter... "we discussed?" I did not even have the time to hear...
"as agreed?" All that I asked for is a mail with details, so that I can revert...
"give it by tomorrow???" With my experience and what I heard out of what this guy said, I am sure that this will take at least a week to provide! Tomorrow? That too, "as discussed"???

By the way, where is the requirement in the mail? What is this guy's number? With the volume of calls that come in a day on my mobile, I can never trace back his number from my list of received calls...

Even worse, already about to pass, I can see my boss (who instantly read the mail) rushing towards me... "Shiv, have u gone mad? Have you entertained new requirements? We are already neck to neck... I want current project to be on line... it is worth millions... blah... blah... blah... blah... blah... blah... " I think I have passed off...

Now jokes apart. Some serious message:
Many-a-times, especially in IT environment where there is a multitude of teams dependant on each other, this phenomenon occurs. Somebody in this complex cobweb would have done a goof up on his / her Project Network... a typical failure to realize a dependency. He / she is in a state of immense pressure to finish a milestone... it could be that his / her credibility or even job itself is in stake. These are the people who get pushed to do an act like the story I narrated above. Even worse, the guy who sits as the boss to characters like XYZ, justify this state and throw all blame on an IT team that is given a less than 24 hour timeline to deliver a requirement that would normally take a couple of man-weeks!

Do these people recognize that even we have a project running and even we have to deliver to our deadlines? How can they eat into our quality time of delivery on their whims and fancy? OK, if this is too much to ask, what is the point in writing a mail with ABSOLUTELY NO DETAIL, marking to the world, with an irrelevant subject? And not caring to give your contact number...

I do not say I am perfect. I am just in the receiving end today... who knows... I would be playing XYZ tomorrow with some other team in the chain due to my goof-up on my project network!

As such I am open to comments. Anybody who wants to write for / against my post above will be treated with equal honor and respect. Do go ahead, and speak your heart out on this issue, via comments.

Regards,
SKB.

The Craze and Aspirations of Young Indians - Wishlist! [Youth]

Hi All,


I am writing this post, in an attempt to list down the "wishlist" of a young Indian Citizen living in a Class B town or above. Not exactly in the order, I bet this list will be a superset of what young Indian mass loves to acquire (with money)... if my understanding of an aspiring mass of youth is right. I would appreciate any comment that would add to the list. With that, let us go to the list:

1. Carrrrrrrr: Oh yes! Your own car (a small two box will do) first or second hand, would give you so much pride. The way you look at the world changes after you own a car.
2. Bike: This wish and the one above are (almost) mutually exclusive. In fact, the bigger the bike's CC, the crazier is the owner of the wishlist! Just kidding.
3. Home: I am including this in the wishlist with a heavy heart, after seeing young mass, who have started their career, and run from one construction site to another. Actually my wife and I were also in that race! We expect something... the builder shows something... then we also conclude this is good... this is bad... aah what life. Look at our dreams of owning a home... at the cost of a major chunk of our hard earned salaries.
4. Laptop: Latest Model Laptops, Dual Cores, 2GB DDRs, Video Enhancers, TV Cards, 200 GB HDD High Speed Net Connections... all those familiar sounding jargons those aspiring geeks talk in the smokers' lounge.
5. Mobile Phones: Flip, Slide, Swing, Swirl, Extended Memory, Mob Apps, Bluetooth, Wi Fi, Cam, FM, Battery Life, Slim, Diamond Studded... these are not just the jargons you could hear from mob-geeks, these are expectations of prospective mobile buyers. And the market is catering to all these fantasies, and making big bucks in the act!
6. Weekending: What is this??? Ok, lemme define the term for you. A collection of all acts, places, utilities, and accessories that a hard-working youngster (who toils for five days a week) looks at his / her possession to equip him/herself to break into a partying weekend. That's too much? Ok, examples work: Discos, Pubs, Beer, Vodka, Partywear, accessories... err... I can't think much, 'coz I'm not exactly experienced in this segment :). "Experienced" Readers, feel free to add to this.
7. Handy / Digicams: 10X Digital, 4X optical, SLR, DVD Compatible, instant replay... well!
8. Certifications (!): I'm serious! There are people who are crazy behind certifications. I am not talking anything about really hard working and smart youngsters who spend quality time and aquire good certifications, out of their efforts. This is about those youngsters who think certifications are somethings that money can buy...
9. Households: This is a very generic area. Generally one should watch young professionals who have plans to get married in near future. The amount of care and pleasure they take in hand picking their households... anything like washing machine, refridgerator, microwave, kitchen setups, food processors, TV, Sofa Sets, Dining Tables, crockery... err... I don't think there is an end to this list...
10. Hi Fi Audio Systems: This had been the craze of a lot of youngsters even before they start working... groovy audio, bass, treble, multiple CD Changer, Div-X compatiblity.

This list per se is growing forever. Putting whatever I had in my mind will make this blog posting unreadably long.

We will do one thing. I will wind up my list with this. I will add all User Comments and their wishlist items...

Regards,
SKB

Working Together to Success - What Hurts... [Family]

Hi All,

I am assuming that you have read my previous article on "Working Together to Success - The Good Part [Family]

I am not exactly an optimist nor am I a pessimist... and I know that I'm a perfect Gemini! Here, I am focusing on all pains and troubles that a couple would face, when they work in the same office. A prelude: I am quite young and inexperienced. I am pointing out a day in life scenarios you can expect to face in an IT Profile work in an organization whose core business in non-IT.

Let us pick up each of the nine points in my previous blog, and dissect them...

1. Yes, having a lot of time together is great, but remember, longer you are together, more you are exposed. I personally have faced scenarios where my wife felt I was not focusing on her. I am not blaming her, rather, it would be my mistake - I take her for granted... "aah... anyway we are together...". The compassion you have when you meet after 12 to 14 hours of work in two ends of the city... "honey! I'm hooooommmeee!!!" thing will be missing here. The choice is yours.
2. True that logistics become simpler. But there will be some points where you will have to wait till your spouse finishes his / her work, or even vice-versa. You may not be able to leave after wrapping up your work. Even worse, after a long wait, when your spouse has done with work and you are about to start... something pops up and you started getting work... it happens once in a while though. But if you are a person who takes things seriously... better think of the impacts! The choice, once again, is yours.
3. Not much to say about this point...
4. You can be a good guide to each other, no doubt, but as days pass by, you should know your limit of "guidance". I often give an overdose of "professional guidance" to my wife and become an object of her irritation. Take a loooot of care while doing so!
5. Yes, staying in your neighboring teams, you can get cross-team activities done with more confidence... but if the D-Day comes, where you are to draw your guns... you are in trouble. You can neither shoot - your spouse is in the receiving end... nor can u retreat - team spirit! Beware...
6. Yes you do understand your spouse's pressure and stress. But many-a-times, you are stressed yourself, and your sense of appreciation of your spouse's pains goes to drain. Trust me, this is more detrimental than actually not understanding your spouse's professional stressors. You can neither tell your spouse you are in pain too, nor can you explain her effectively to cope up with her pains.
7. Knowledge sharing and all that are fine. But there comes a point where comparison becomes a pain. We have seen people comparing their own growth with their spouse. Such a comparison happens in scenarios where man and wife work in the same place, except that the repercussions of such comparison are fare more severe! In IT work environment, there is no guarantee that two professionals putting the same amount of efforts, would have the same remuneration and career growth prospects. You often get hit due to this phenomenon. When your spouse gets hit and you don't, well, that isn't your day exactly! Neither you nor your spouse can help this phenomenon, but still, the frustration is real and unavoidable...
8. This part is a bit serious. Probability of both you and your spouse having a good and understanding reporting managers is close to zero, if not zero at all. In fact, in our case, we had reasonably good bosses, who understood and advised us in days of trouble. This, I should say is good luck... but things didn't stand ideally long... read through my next point and you will understand...
9. Friends... this is even more serious... we as couple are still evolving in this. We had made a lot of friends. A couple of them "friends" actually dug our graves in progress for a while. Things went to an extent where one of our bosses was "poisoned" by our common "friends". If you could take any advise from our experience, please... please take your time to judge who your friend is... fine even if it is a year. It is better to stay without friends around than to confide on a wrong friend. Addendum: We have now few trust worthy friends around. One of them, AKS, does not help us professionally, but saves us from harms around... he has a different thought pattern all together.

I am not attempting to give any conclusions on whether it is good for man and wife to work in the same office. We, as a couple, have now made best of the pros and coped up with the cons. All that I would tell my fellow prospects is, take extra efforts and care before you pick this option. Wish you best!

It would be my pleasure to accept reviews / criticisms!

Regards,
SKB

Working Together to Success - The Good Part [Family]

Hi All,



I am writing this post to give readers a feeler of how it would be if man-and-wife work together in the same office. My wife and I do. Working together is a blessing indeed. Not to mention, anything good and great would have its own drawbacks. The intention of this post is show couples in India (especially who are looking forward to work together) what it feels like to work together - On the Brighter Side.

The Brighter Side of Working Together:

1. You have a lot of time together with your spouse.


2. Your logistics will be far more simpler. I am looking at couples in my city who travel in two opposite directions, never sure of reaching their destinations in time, given the amount of traffic. No matter what sophesticated vehicles you have to commute!


3. You can plan your out-of-office activities, including personal works, entertainment etc easily, which otherwise would be a nightmare


4. You can look at being a mutual guidance


5. You can get things done at office with lesser hitch, provided you are in neighboring teams. This seriously, is on a lighter note...


6. You can understand better, what exactly is the pressure / stress your spouse is in. This generally is the root cause of all problems if you work in two different places. Especially, if you are a guy / gal who takes office stress home (I am one...)


7. If you are in same office and in same profile, then Knowledge Sharing (an important aspect for growth - and a very costly asset) would be greater mutually. I had had experiences of running from pole to pillar for knowledge - people would simply refuse to share!


8. If you both have understanding bosses, then, take it from me, your life is made!!! You actually get guidances and mentoring, actually considering the career path of the duo. If husband works in company A with wife in company B, even if they have great bosses, the respective bosses will have the smallest of clues of what the subordinate's spouse is up to in growth. The advice and guidance will be skewed accordingly


9. The friends you make here at office, is the best part. I have had some friends who are "unfriendly" to start with, but I have understood their goodness as days went by. Now, with man and wife in the same place, understanding and hand picking such good and reliable friends becomes a family affair. You can never make mistakes in that act.
   

Wait! Don't jump into conclusion. In fact, I am not going to suggest which one is best for you. But before concluding anything, WAIT FOR MY NEXT BLOG ON THE DARKER SIDE OF THIS BOON TOO! I will write on what problems we faced, as a couple, and how we are coping up...

Regards,
SKB Pillai.

My first stumble on the net... an impressive page [NATION]

Dear All,

This posting, in fact, is the first in my life. I just came across a web page of a French reporter, who had served as Political Correspondent to India for some 8 years. His name is François Gautie. His views of our country are completely different. I especially liked his article on Suppressing Indian History. Nothing personal against any religious fraternity, but what he has written is an eye opener to the conventional "meek" Indian...

In fact, this article that I am referring to, is not meant to be read just by an Indian, but it tells every loyal citizen of a country on how to boldly face his / her own country's history. The author, with simple example of Germany and Jews, explains how standing up to the truths of our history solves most complex problems on earth. Does this lead anywhere towards a solution to the "eternal" Indo-Pak Border issue? Do write back your comments.

Web link of this French Journalist: http://www.francoisgautier.com/mywork.htm
The article on Suppressing Indian History: http://www.francoisgautier.com/Written%20Material/suppressing-history.rtf

Regards,
SKB Pillai