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

Santosh reported to his onsite project manager. He immediately pitched into his new responsibilities. He didn’t have many acquaintances in the beginning. He used to go out for lunch and coffee, lonely. Having more responsibilities, he didn’t have much time for his personal life. His schedule was very hectic. He was the POC for very important deliverables. He enquired his friends in offshore, about Siri. He didn’t get any positive reply from them. They told him that they didn’t see her at all after he left. It was very hard for Santosh to put aside Siri from his memories. He used to dream about meeting Siri and proposing to her…

Three months down the lane, a sudden and strange thing happened in his life. That incident made an indelible mark in his life. As usual, he left for lunch alone and found a table for two which was empty. He started eating and heard someone calling him-

Excuse Me. Would you mind me, sitting here?

He turned his head and saw ‘his’ girl. He was spell bound. He was not able to believe it. He was out of his senses for a while. Yes!!!! It was Siri. All the memories of her when he was in offshore began circling around his mind. He was into his sub-conscious state. Her appearance was like a bolt out the blue. She stood in front of him like an angel. Siri was talking again-

Excuse me Sir. Can I sit here?

Then he replied- Oh… M Sorry… S.S..Sure. You can sit here. He was still in a state of disbelief. His heart was thumping with joy. Sitting in front of his girl; looking in her eyes; talking to her jovially. All the things fell into place for Santosh finally. He was on cloud nine. She initiated the talk.

Siri (Si): Hi… This is Siri. Your good name please?

Santosh: (Sa): Hi.. I am Santosh.

Si: I have seen you when you were in offshore. I was staying at your residence only. Santosh was looking keen into her eyes. He can see the cheerfulness in her face. He can even see the excitement in her, when she was to talking to him.

Sa: Oh… Is it?? M Surprised to know that. Even, I saw you in office when I was in offshore. Cool….. Since, how long have you been here?

Si: Over three months. With this client just a week back. I am a new recruit to this account. I was working with another client for about three months. I have recently shifted to this place. Apart from my clients I don’t know anyone here. Today, I saw a familiar face and its you…

Sa: Heyyy.. Same with me yaar. I don’t know anyone here. I have been here for three months. But, I know very few people.

Si: Santosh… When I was in offshore, one day I came in the same cab that you have travelled. That was the first time I saw you. That day, you were completely asleep in the cab. We were the last ones to be dropped. As I was staying near your house, I thought of having a small talk with you. I started approaching you, but you looked back and started running to your house.

Sa: Oh…. That is you? I was asleep. I didn’t notice that someone got down from the cab along with me. I wanted to sleep soon and so didn’t bother my surroundings. Suddenly, I saw someone coming behind me. You know what….I thought it was a ghost. I ran to my house and slammed the door…..

Si: Oh… Santosh… They started laughing aloud. They almost blew the roof.Normally, Santosh finishes lunch within twenty minutes. That day, it took one hour fifteen minutes. Both of them were completely absorbed into the conversation and didn’t notice the time. They exchanged their contact numbers and left for work.

Santosh called his offshore friends and informed about his meeting with Siri. They suggested him to tell her about his love as soon as possible. He told that he still needs time. Now as she was a known person to him, he thought that things would be in his favor. He started meeting her now and then and they both realized their frequencies were matching. He started experiencing new flavor in his life. He enjoyed her company. Their intimacy grew day by day. They became thick friends.

It was winter. All the streets were covered with snow. It was a long weekend. Santosh and Siri met in a coffee shop. They were discussing about various topics. Suddenly Siri told these words:

Si: Santosh. Jokes apart. This is something serious. I feel something is missed out in my daily schedule when I don’t meet you. I feel that I am missing something in my Life when you are not with me. I get a feeling that I am with my family members when I spend time with you. I want to share my Life with you. I am in Love with you. Will you marry me?

Santosh was shell shocked. He was trying to reveal the same to Siri since a long time and finally the odds were in his favor.

The girl whom he had searched for a long time;

The girl whom he wanted to share his Life with;

The girl who was like a catalyst to his experiment of Life;

The girl who added flavor to his Life;

The girl whose memories are carved out in his Diary;

The same girl had proposed to him. Hez the happiest person on this world. He immediately hug her. Tears started rolling down from his eyes. He couldn’t stop crying. That was one of the most emotional moments in his Life. He revealed his Love; How he knew her before; What all he had done to catch a glimpse of her. The fact that Santosh was also loving her, had touched the emotional chords of her heart. Siri also broke down. They both were inconsolable. After getting consent from their family members, they got married.

One day, Santosh is working late night at home. Siri asked him what is pulling him so long. Then he smiled at her and replied- I am writing in my blog, about our love….. We shall gift these memories to our sweet little daughter Mittu, on her fifth birthday.

Disclaimer:The characters presented in these posts are completely imaginary. It is purely coincidental if it matches any ones lives. Thanks for your time here and do give your feedback in the comments…

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

Santosh looked back and was surprised. He shook his sleepy head and saw a white figure coming towards him. Oh… My….God…!!! Being an introvert, he is also afraid of devils. Though he was agnostic towards ghosts, yet his fear knew no bounds. His nerves were trembling. He can feel the pressure of the adrenaline in his veins. He ran towards his house which is at the end of that lane and shut the front door with a big bang. He didn’t dare to peep through the window. He immediately hit the bed and shut his eyes very tightly. The next day he woke up normally and didn’t dare to share the incident with his office buddies or roomies. He digested that incident within him. He just thought- Enough is enough..!! I won’t discuss this with anyone.


Days seem to pass very fast. Thoughts about Siri became a part and parcel of his daily schedule. One fine day, he got his H1 VISA stamped. Having contributed much to his client he was asked to travel for an onsite work. His offshore leads never had a second thought at him. His travel was confirmed and he needs to travel to US within a week. He informed to his office buddies about his onsite assignment. They cheered him and planned for a treat, before Santosh escapes to US. Two of his friends LN and Mahendra noticed tears in Santosh’s eyes as they were cheering him. They asked him why he was sad.


Frens: Hey Santosh! Come on yar. Why you are dull? You have been waiting for your H1 since a long time. Finally you hit it. Now, suddenly whatz wrong with you?
Santosh: Guyz, its all about Siri. You all know that I love her. I will be going to US and I won’t find a chance to look her from now on.
Frens: Easy buddy. We understand your concern. But if you really love her, express it. Talk to her. Just sort it out. You can’t stay like this looking at her daily and comeon dude… you are the most eligible person to her. She will definitely like you.
Santosh: I don’t want to spill the beans at this point of time. I can’t bear the pain, if she rejects me. I need to some time to make up my mind.
Frens: Its’s all over now Santosh. You have to talk to her before you go to US and tell her about your Love.


Two more days to go for the onsite travel. Santosh hasn’t yet talked to Siri. Working in second shift, he is not able to catch her before she left office. He didn’t see her in office that day. Even his friends had no clue regarding her.

The last day in office before the onsite travel, he talked to all his leads and friends. He waited for her to come along the way he used to see her daily. He spent almost the whole day waiting to see her. To his disappointment, she didn’t come to office even that day also. Having gathered all his courage to propose to Siri, Santosh felt very depressed. His friends consoled him that he will meet her some day or the other. He partied with his friends in one of the lavish pubs in Chennai, packed up his baggage. He checked into the airport and was waiting for his flight’s arrival. The thoughts about Siri were ringing in his mind- What happened to Siri? Why did she stop coming to office all of a sudden? Did she get released/ transferred? Did she resign from the job? Oh my God! Please find her for me….. Plzzz


To be continued….

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... :)