One night, when he left Office.... Part I

Santosh is a very hard working person. He is the topper of his training batch. Committed to work during most part of the day, he is working with one of the most reputed software companies. He is working for a client based out of Middletown, located in Connecticut an eastern state of US. He is a bit introvert. He didn't hang out with freinds whenever possible. Hmmm, its quite rare to find such persons now a days. Neverthless there are a few near our bay, in office.

He works in second shift according to the client requirement to support until 12noon EST. He daily goes to office by two in the afternoon. He would return home at around eleven in the night. He can reach home early, if he catches the first cab which is at 10:30PM. Being an introvert he is not having much friends in office. He always moves around with Anil, Rajesh and Raju who are his close freinds. One day the fabulous four are having a discussion regarding salary hike during their coffee break. Suddenly as there are talking, Santosh's eyes caught the image of a girl who is damn good. He is spellbound, while the others are still buried in the discussion. Immediately Anil noticed Santosh and shook him. Santosh told them that he wanted to marry such a girl and showed her. He pleaded his friends to find out her whereabouts. His friends, pulled his legs singing- Love at first sight...!!

He started looking at her daily in office. He came to know that she is a lateral entrant. His friends reported that she is a nice person and doesn't hang around often. The final testament is that she is not having a boy friend. Listening to his freinds, Santosh's heart is thumping with joy. Her name is Siri. From then on when the fab four met, their topic of discussion is one and only Siri. Santosh's thoughts from then on, are always attached to Siri. Ofcourse he is in love with her. He wants to talk to her but, he is so shy. He is afraid that if she rejects him he will loose his soul mate. He didn't want to spoil the party by spilling the beans very early. Whereas Anil and Rajesh are always pressurising him. They tell him all the well known proverbs- Its now or never and inturn santosh replies to them- Better late than never. This is how the battle continued between him and his freinds. He collected all her details- family, education, her nature, project and what not. To say colloquially, he got to know A to Z regarding her. He tuned his mind that he is going to share his life with her. Days rolled by. Santosh is progressing well in his job life. He received many appreciations from his client. He even received the coveted- Best Performer of the Year award. But, there is always someone bothering him. Yes, its Siri.

One night he had lot of deliverables to be submitted and thereby he got into 11:30PM cab. There are hardly any folks waiting for the cabs. Many people might have left early that day, as it is Friday. Finally the cab co-ordinator allocated a Travera and it started from the office within five minutes. There are five members in the cab. Santosh hardly saw their faces. His eye lids are forcing him to close his eyes. So, he is just managing a nap. He is not bothering about other members in the cab. Three members have got down after some time. Its 12 midnight, when he just managed to give a look at his watch. He is so much tired that he didn't even notice the other person who got down along with him from the cab. The cab driver dropped them on the main road, since their street is very narrow for the cab to fit in.

To be continued....

Happy Birthday Chinnu !!!

Chinnu,

Days have rolled by and months have passed by, since day one when I met you;

Destiny has made our relationship remain as fresh as a budding flower;

A flower in its budding stage, fights for strength from the rays of the Sun;

A student in learning stage thrives for knowledge from teachers;

Similarly our friendship is picking up strength day by day;

May this day bring you more joy into your Life;

A joy that redefines your personality;

A joy that strengthens your relations with your well wishers;

A joy that unites all your positiveness within you to thrash away your weakness;

I wish you the best results in your future endeavors;

I wish you to be the best at your health in the years to come;

I wish you all the happiness that you have been waiting for;

I wish and pray to God for the utmost strength in your tough times;

I pray to God that all your wishes get fulfilled in the days to come;

You are there to comfort me when I am sad;

You are there for me to share my happy moments;

You shared with me your sad moments;

You have been and you are an inspiration to me;

You are a friend, a philosopher and a guide to me;

You are the one of the persons who grabbed some important portion of my 'Diary' of Life;

It's an orthodox way to just wish you with a hand shake and load your mouth with a piece of cake;

I wanted to spend some time thinking about you and write few lines that can make an attempt to touch your heart;

Few lines that fill in some encouragement on this auspicious day;

Few lines that brings a smile on your face;

Few lines that increase the flow of your adrenaline;

Few lines that adds value to our friendship;

Few lines that would add flavor to our relationship;

Yours Ever- Very Jovial >> VJ <<

NB: I have been waiting to publish this post since three weeks, for this auspicious day. I am thankful to God for gifting me such a friend who opened my mind to bring out this post. As mentioned, I thought of giving this pleasant surprise to Chinnu on this day (19th Sep).

Disclaimer: Readers! Please write down your wishes (in the comments) to Chinnu, irrespective of the day you read this post. Thanks in advance Readers...!!

The pain of Separation

There are some people in our lives who are part of our day to day activities. It may be office spouse; our boss; friends; parents; lover etc... We converse with them daily and in a way they influence our lives. We may not feel their importance when we are with them daily. We begin to feel the pinch when we don't interact with them for at least one day. We miss them very badly. They are in away absorbed into our diary and definitely occupy some part of it.

When a soldier leaves his family on duty, it’s very hard for his family to digest the fact that he is going to stay away from them. They know that he is going to fight with danger, yet it is his responsibility. Their feeling of separation is subdued by the thought, that he is putting his life at stake for the sake of our country.

When two lovers are separated from each other, the pain they experience is inexplicable. Though they are separated, they always think about each other. Their hearts are tied with the bond of Love. You can never eliminate each other from their thoughts. They leave an indelible mark in each other lives.

When a child goes for higher education to a distant place, its hard for the mother to bear the pain of separation. Though they are separated temporarily, each others company can never be replaced. A mother is the best company for a child and vice-verse. Knowing that her child is going for a better future, the mother digests the feeling of separation.

I have been acquainted with two persons who are a part and parcel of my daily life. I converse with them daily before going to office. Later, when I come back from my office they are there for me to shed away my office burden by sharing some light moments. Yes, they are my roomies- Sandy and Chaitu. I started realizing their importance first, when Sandy told me suddenly that he got transferred to Hyderabad. Later after some point of time Chaitu informed me that he is also going to get transferred to Hyd. Oh my God! What is this? Why is it happening all of a sudden? I felt sick, realising the fact that after few days they won’t be there to share some light moments. The feeling of separation, started pinching me.

Couple of months back when I was released from my project, I had a conversation with my on- site business counterpart- Cindy.

Cindy: Vijay! Its hard for me to digest the fact that you are released from our domain. I am very sad.

Me: I am also sad to leave you Cindy.... Anyways, they would appoint someone to replace me.

Cindy: Persons may come and go Vijay. But, its hard to build relationship. You have been doing good until now. I never know whoz gonna come but I am gonna miss you.

I had memorable time with these friends. Those dinners in restaurants; mid night B’day celebrations; playing on the seashore ; shouting in the room while watching cricket matches; hanging around in shopping malls and movie theatres... blah..... blah.... We have been together for about two years. All of a sudden, its happening for me. All those wonderful moments are going to be stolen from my dairy. To reiterate Cindy’s words; though I may be acquainted with new persons, no one can replace these two friends.

Sandy and Chaitu- You are like my two eyes. I remember telling you these words. I am very sad that our memories going to be thrown to the warehouse. I am going to miss you a lot. I wish you all the best on your next assignments.

I dedicate this post to you folks...!!!

Change is what we need....

Its surprising to hear that $1500 bn of black money from India is lying out there in the Swiss banks. I have no words to express, the moment I heard this news. This shows the level of corruption that is running around the current system that we have in India. I really don't know if the flaw is within the system or within us. We, the people of India have to realize the current situation. Itseems that this is nearly ten times the annual budget of India.

The questions that are lingering at this point of time are- How is that much money flowing out of India illegally? Who are the persons, escaping from the clutches of the tax system? Can Indian government bring home that money? Well, these seem to be billion dollar questions for the billion dollar amount.

Its interesting to know that people are very well aware of the level of corruption that is prevailing. Now and then people from film industry come up with movies which are thought provoking. We see movies that expose the government officials who are very much corrupted. Some movies depict the rich exploiting the poor; some showing the rich storing black money out of the country. Yes, we can go on and on like that. People just watch the movie and come out. An Aparichithudu (Anniyan), a Sivaji, a Tagore, a Stalin and the latest one to do the rounds is Mallanna (Kanthaswamy)- I can guarantee that if there are hundreds of such movies going to come in the future, the situation is not going to change. In one of these movies, we come to know how developed are Hiroshima and Nagasaki today. Be it economy, education, infrastructure, industrial etc, they are far developed than India currently.

Is it the system that is to be changed or is it 'we' the people of India who needs to change? Well, this an open ended question. There are three aspects of change- Culture, People, Processes. These three are interdependent as shown below:

Finally, these are the questions that need to be answered;

What aspects of change need to be taken care?

Up to what extent these aspects needs to be mended?

How this is going to be achieved?

Innovation at its peak- Bay Decoration Contest for Aug 15th

Context: Aug 15- Independence Day
Theme: India in 2020
Team: LN, VJ, Anu, Balaji, Suha, Vidya
Team Name: TN 74 A 2020

To start with, there is an old saying: It is better to fail in originality rather than to get success through imitation. We had a bay decoration contest with the theme as depicting India, in 2020. This seems to be a good concept to decorate our bays for Independence day. Thanks to the talent management folks for conducting this event. Well, to reiterate the proverb- we didn't want to decorate the bay in a normal fashion. We thought of mixing the context to the theme. We started brain storming around the theme and many ideas hit our minds. And, the credit goes to LN. He suggested for the design of mobile work station. The innovation started while coining the team name itself. It is TN 74 A 2020.

TN 74 A 2020
TN- Tamil Nadu
74- In the year 2020, India celebrates 74th Independence Day
A- Aetna (Name of our Account, which is a Health care giant in US)
2020- The year

Mobile Workstation erases the concept of onsite and offshore model. It is the highest level of business transformation in corporate India. People won't need to go to a separate place and work. Of course, we see this concept in US currently. The idea is to depict the advanced level of living, in India. The so called mobile work station encompasses all the things that you need for living and working. The number plate, headlights, indicator lights would be greeting the people. We took out the front parts of table fan and to make our work station mobile (i.e.) the wheels. The interesting and exciting part is the various things that are found in the bay. To depict the development of India in 2020, we pasted news papers and pictures on the walls.


>A drawing on chart, showing India and Pakistan united. It contains a map wherein India and Pakistan are united into a single country named Youngistan.
>An advertisement from government, recruiting young professionals into politics. Qualifications- Any bachelor's degree from a reputed university with minimum age 24 and retirement age at 52. The screening process will include a written test followed by an interview. Vision for India- to be telecasted live on Doordarshan. Performance compensation and more details awaited.
>Abdul Kalam- The UN Secretary General wishes the people of Youngistan, on their 74th Independence Day.
>Lakshmi Narayanan (Current Cognizant Vice Chairman), the president of Youngistan to deliver the Independence Day speech from 8AM.
>Nandan Nilekani,the prime minister of Youngistan takes two more young professionals into the cabinet.
>A chart showing currency conversion rate as heading and a silver screen. What's behind the silver screen? Oh my GOD!! $10 note = Rs.10 note
>Secularism- There no question of Secularism in 2020. There is no more caste and religion. A day before the Independence Day, Nilekani’s government abolishes caste system. We are all one and we are will be one. There is only unity and no diversity.
>Sachin lifts the 10- 10 world cup. He scores a 50 in the final. He plans to open innings, with his son Arjun in the next match. Rahul Dravid, Youngistan's coach applauds the team members on winning the 10-10 World Cup.
>India surges ahead of other developed nations. Allocations to health care and primary education to be 40% of GDP.
>Bharti and Nokia launch new service for people holding National ID Card. Pay through Nokia micro-touch watch and get 2000 minutes top up absolutely free.

Equipment in the mobile work station
>Micro touch Television (Monitor)
>Radar (Made out of chart)
>Multipurpose Door (An almirah) alias Bed O’Corner - Contains racks, pillow, bed for sleeping; >Oxygen Supplier; Heater; Cooler; RTM- Room Temperature Maintainer.
>Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Tablets (Dusters wrapped up with decoration papers)- Each have difference in variation of the energy output when eaten.
>Fluid Tap (Mouse is left hanging)- Left Click for soft drink; Right click for hot drink; scroller for water.
>Projector Screen (Curtain)
>Laser Projector (Dog Doll)- Indicates the improvement of technology, that the systems have become too compact. This redefines the concept of nano technology in the products that we use daily.
>Owen; Refrigerator; Wardrobe; Storage Space; Power back up; Solar Energy Saver; Emergency Exit.

And, here are the features of our mobile work station controller (the printer):
20,000 CC
Intake is air; generates water
Solar driven for back up
15 gears
Pick up: 0 to 120km in 3seconds
Automatic Climate Controller
Maximum Speed on road is 300kmph
Maximum Speed on air is 900kmph
Maximum Speed on water is 200kmph
1000KW Backup

We have stuck some extracts from newspapers.
THE TIMES OF TAMILNADU May15, 2015- Vikram’s son eagerly awaiting the release of Kandhaswamy
THE HINDU Nov28, 2018- Literacy Rate in India is at 99.95%
THE TIMES OF TAMILNADU Dec25, 2019- The BRTS between Tirumailai and Velachery is inaugurated (BRTS- Boat Route Transport System. Velachery is a place in Chennai which gets easily flooded, whenever there is a rainfall.)
THE TIMES OF HYDERABAD Jan26, 2020- Vijay Kanamarlapudi elected as Chief Minister of Hyderabad ( Oh my God!! LN is too crazy. He made me the chief minister of Hyderabad in 2020. Here the concept is- People in Telangana region of AP are fighting for a separate state. So, in 2018 Telangana will be announced as a separate state. In 2020, Hyderabad also will be announced as a separate state.)
IT CHRONICLE May2, 2020- Cognizant head count reaches 2.5 lakhs.

Disclaimer: All the pictures displayed are purely not intentional. It’s not to hurt anyone’s sentiments.

When the judges came to visit our bay, they were spell bound listening to our concept. If decoration is one stage, the way we presented to the judges is another step. Here again credit goes to LN, who leaded our team with his astounding presentation.

And, guess what…. We have won the second prize…!!!

Here are some pictures that I have managed to capture, before everything is plucked out... :)

Friendship

First Relative In Every New Difficulty

This sounds to be a familiar definition of a friend. Yes, it seems to be very true way of defining it. A very special relationship that holds many of us in our lives. There is no one on this earth without a friend. Knowingly or unknowingly friends influence our Life. It is due to them, that we are in the current situation. We share many of our personal experiences (either good or bad) with them and pull them to our comfort zones. They make an indelible mark in our diaries.



Friends add color to our Life and thereby enhance the beauty in it.

Friends pour in enthusiasm when we are alone.

Friends give a value add to our very presence.

Friends give us strength when we are experiencing crests in Life.

Friends add flavour to the atmosphere that we are in.

Friends share with us, our happiest moments.

Friends digest with us, our sad moments.

Friends are like a catalyst to enhance our performance in career.

Friends are like lifelines when we have no options.

I would say that friendship is a gift given by God to make our life beautiful. Imagine yourself without friends- I know that the very thought is disgusting. If there are some persons whom we can't erase from our lives, (apart from our family members) definitely it is our friends. As years roll by, we may get in touch with new people always. But, if we sit and look back at the years passed by, we feel very happy about the sweet memories. The memorable school days, college days can never be replaced by any other best chapters in our life. When we enter into corporate field, the days during our training are also interesting. Those training days are the best ones in our career through our job.

One more important thing is that we should accept our friends 'as they are'. Its very important in strengthening the relationship and to avoid any misunderstanding.

To those who supported me in need;

To those who held out their hand at me when I am down;

To those who encouraged me when I am disgusted;

To those whom I shared with, my sorrows;

To those who helped to shape my career;

To those who laid the foundation to my success stories;

To those who are emotionally close to my heart;

To those who are in some way responsible for what I am today - I dedicate this post you. I wish all my Friends a very Happy Friendship Day.

Marriage.... Before and After

Marriage - A social union of individuals that creates kinship. This is what the Wikipedia says.

We hear different definitions from people when we ask them about marriage. Some, who are married say that it is a part of life where we experience hell; some say that it is interesting part of life; some say that it is a relationship that binds a boy and a girl to.... blah.. blah. Well, these versions are all one side of the coin. The other side- those who are not married. These people say that it is the part of life that is yet to be explored; some say that it is a promotion from one stage of the life to another stage; a burden that draws comfort zone around an individual. It all depends on how people perceive it. Be it a love marriage or an arranged one, it is up to the individuals how they take it. All of us at one stage of the life will go through this transformation. I would say that it is a transformation that changes the life or lifestyle of a person.

Most of us tend to be very easy going before marriage. It is because; we depend on our parents mostly until our studies. When once we enter into job life, we start thinking differently. We start coming out of the comfort zones to explore life. Yes, it is during the time when we are independent.

When people get married, they change their thinking and by the way they change their life. I see people more reserved, after they are married. Until then, they will be so jovial and easy going. All of a sudden things start changing for them. They start behaving in a different manner. They don't accompany us for breaks, during office hours. They don't join us for lunch. They don't involve much in the gossips. They start developing a boundary around them. They don't seem to care for what is happening around them. And yes, they don't join us for the weekly movie outings and for hang around places. Yes, I understand that they need to spend time with their family. But, it should not isolate from doing other normal stuff.

Is marriage a barrier to an important relationship called friendship? I don't think so. I don't want it to be like that. I don't want my friends to be like that. I don't want my friendship to be weakend due to marriage. I want my friends to be the same with me as they are before. After all, marriage is just a part of Life and it should be digested along with all the other relationships.

Yes, I agree that marriage adds color to our lives. But, it shouldn't be at the cost of relations with friends.

Finally, a tid bit regarding marriage-