A long journey to remember…the final

My last day at Infosys

As I enclosed myself within my 3 and a half walled cubicle and started drafting good-bye mails, I felt a bit low. There were many to whom I thought to get in touch with. There were many good managers and colleagues that I had interaction with and few of my friends and batch mates in the campus. But despite of them, I felt all alone. I used to accompany my friends towards food courts before, but for now I am all by myself. Most of my friends had either been transferred to another office or onsite or had left Infosys. Few guys that I interact with are no more than colleagues. Right from the start of my career with Infosys, I was deputed to projects that had smallest team (apart from Oracle Hyderabad project) that gave me less chance to hang around. There were very few with whom I could share my resonance, but they are not employed in Infosys anymore. As a professional I can say I had done my best, but on the personality front I would say I need to struggle more. I am looking forward to a good social network in Mumbai, the place where there is no space for isolation, I think so.

I have never complained about it but I always felt that my beliefs and my potential were always ahead of what I have in possession now. And that made me firm to quit a well-established job and run for a marathon. I know I would have to struggle a lot in a real metropolitan Mumbai, but that is the actual reality. This is the age to get out of comfort zone and feel the heat that will make you strong and more robust.

I would be missing the ornamental pathways, the luxurious guest house, odd architectural buildings, long queue at food court, people running desperately for spoons, table and chairs in food court, policy to spend atleast 9.15 hours in office irrespective of your work nature, bulletin board where you can sell or buy anything ranging from a needle to private aircraft or discuss any damn topic like cockroach in food or questioning the gender of a lizard, my last cubicle (4 places till now) where I could sleep whenever I wanted without being disturbed, multi-level-car-parking where I could never got a chance to park my car below 7th floor, endless mails asking for free laptop so that the guy can travel onsite, my desktop in which all networking sites are blocked along with USB/CD/DVD and sound drives, coffee machines that are 45% of the time running out of milk or steam, gym where atleast 2 people wait for their turn to arrive at each treadmill, performance appraisal in which almost 40% of the section doesn’t belong to you and even if you had filled that it doesn’t matter during actual discussion, dress code that makes you daily check the day of week, celebrity shows for which the amphitheater gets filled up much before than expected etc etc.

Sounds cynical?? Not really. If I had spelled these deficiencies in front of HR during my exit interview I would have expected the same reply every time, “Infosys is such a big company that these policies are made to control over 1 lakh employees”. I know they are right, actually helpless. Actually these issues/observations are felt by those who have good spare time that is destined to be wasted. I have never heard of these observations from a person at managerial level (except few exceptions), because he must be too busy for these petty issues. Infosys has good policies to keep the idle or new employees engaged in activities, but there is a need to pay attention to these ‘busy managers’ who form the valuable chunk of the population.

Anyways, my stay at Infosys was good. But I have to quit to explore the world outside, to become a good manager, a nice human being and a better professional. In the end I would again like to thank Infosys for providing a robust start to my career and made me think beyond my horizons. I would never forget the charm and hospitality of this organization. We’ll meet again if destiny allows…

Signing off,

Employee ID: 83965

A long journey to remember…part 2

The worst phase

Given the situation, I was made to sit on bench for sometime. But this was against my disposition. I could no longer sit idle and wait for opportunity to be bestowed on me. I retaliate and then I was offered (actually ordered) to join a big team (though, not the best team to work with) that was bound for a product development project with Oracle Hyderabad. Moving from consultancy business to product development wasn’t acceptable to me, but I couldn’t raise my voice. After all it was better than been kicked out of the company. During this 1-year project, I had a realization that I had to go and leave this company/industry. This was the first time that my realization was strong enough that made me look for opportunities outside. I had planned to shift my career to core supply chain intensive companies, but it was next-to-impossible for me to convince the employers that I could match their expectations; credit to my ‘IT consultant’ tag from Infosys. But one thing I had learned from this industry is that, you need to have good patience to survive for long time. My struggle for new employment coupled with bitter experiences at the project along with tough APICS examinations made this phase of my professional life, the worst one in my consulting career.

Domestic onsite..!!

This time I got a really good opportunity for which I am still very much thankful to my new delivery manager. The project was based out of Noida. It was a short project and I had a good share of responsibilities that I had managed efficiently. This project was a turning point in my career. It bought me fame and respect within the group. People came to recognize me for my good work. My manager had planned a long term project in Germany plus 2 months trip to USA to get my H1B visa extended. I was feeling more confident as a consultant as well as manager. But then it was written in my destiny, that…

The decision

It was sometime in November, 2010 when I had got a call from TCS regarding an opportunity with them in the domain of business/management/strategy consulting. I was bit reluctant to attend this because I was doing well at Noida project and secondly I had negative notions about TCS as an employer. Then came an invite from the unit head of TCS to have a meeting over a cup of coffee in a coffee bar. Sounds interesting..!! I thought to give it a try. I met two managers from TCS and in half an hour or 45 minutes I was totally convinced that this is where I may want to go. It goes like: TCS came up with an idea to focus on real consulting capabilities and had formed a group within that will provide the consulting services to Indian manufacturing clients. It would advice on business, management and strategic issues of clients. To begin with, I would have been the third person to join this group at the time I was interviewed.

Clash of my opinions

The final offer from TCS got materialized in late January, 2011. At that time, I had initiated my visa for Germany, plus I had started my preparations for US based project. Lot of thoughts wandered through my mind. After all it was a big big decision to be made. On one hand there was Germany project with Infosys that was an overseas opportunity plus good money saving and stable career for another 1 year. On the other hand, the profile that TCS had offered was something I had been looking after for so long. There was good amount of risk but I would term it as calculated. For the savings, we came to the conclusion that savings in case of Germany project with my wife working as dependent would be nearly equal or slightly less than the case if I join TCS in Mumbai with my wife still working as before. Finally we broke the decision that I HAVE TO QUIT INFOSYS TO JOIN TCS..!!!

A long journey to remember…part 1

4th June, 2007

As I entered a big conference hall I saw a tall man with fair complexion standing over the podium and speaking with utmost enthusiasm. There were around 60 odd people spread across the entire room listening to this man with curiosity. The man was Mr. Narsimha Rao profoundly called as ‘Narry’, and he was present in the hall for welcoming us and introducing us to our new employment. Can’t imagine I have completed almost 4 wonderful years in Infosys. I would be leaving Infosys on 15th April, 2011 to join my new employer in Mumbai. These 4 years have been full of opportunities-fair and unfair, and I had my share of memories with this organization. Although the four years that I had spent with Infosys are not comparable with two years that I had spent with Chambal Fertilizers or two years in IIT, but still four years is a big time to gather the moments to be penned down one fine day.

Infosys hangover

I must say to be a part of Infosys family wasn’t easy enough. In the winters of 2006, during our placement sessions in IIT, it took me great pains to convince the Infosys panel that I had all the capabilities that they are looking for in this campus. After grilling and rejecting 4 candidates, the panel finally selected me and 3 more candidates. I being from manufacturing and supply chain background had this hangover of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) that finally took me to the ERP consultancy in Infosys. Right from the initial I had my priorities set and wanted to get associated with Supply Chain ERP modules, and so I got it. It was rare but perfect to get your priorities meet accomplishment at an early stage.

Examinations never end..!!

Even after clearing toughest of toughest semester exams in IIT, I found it tough to cope up with Infosys internal certifications. I couldn’t even believe that an organization could have a separate big institution within itself and we are required to pass through that with good CGPA..!!! Come on, how can your employment depend upon your consolidated CGPA that you score in internal examinations. Infact, it was announced that the project allocations might get dependent on these scores..!!! And on top of it, I failed the very first certification with valor. Anyways, at the end of 2 months training at Infosys, I secured the lowest position in my group as per my CGPA. Still I couldn’t digest the fact that CGPA means a lot for your professional career, and then, my thinking was proved right. I was the first person to get on-board a project out of my entire batch. Got my lesson there: These internal certifications are meant for enhancement of your knowledge, but not your career progression. These might be scary but I never took them seriously.

My first manager

My first project was with a European client that dealt with manufacturing of pneumatic valves. I haven’t heard about this company before. I was introduced to this guy, a short, agile and a true Bengali. He was my offshore project manager. He was too quick, active and sharp in his actions. He always speaks to-the-point and because of that I couldn’t dare to speak a word during my appraisal interviews. I had always felt that I got a wrong manager at first, but in 2008 he was the only guy who gave me an opportunity to travel onsite. My perception towards him got changed since then. Infact he was a good organizer and too knowledgeable. Now-a-days he is considered to be most valuable employee in the group.

My first onsite travel

Forget about Europe, I had never stepped out of Indian soil, not even Nepal..!!! The decision about sending me to onsite came as a shock rather than a surprise. I was required to travel to Netherlands in two weeks time during which I had to arrange for my visa documents, travel to Bangalore for some training and more importantly, travel to Jaipur to meet a girl (she is known as my wife now). Holland was an extraordinary place and it took my breath away at first sight. However my interaction with the client was gruesome. I felt like an inexpert in front of them. My brain was split between the beauty of Holland and torment at client’s space. But again, there was my second project manager who saved me every time I shook a bit. He has all the qualities that are adorable.

New inspirations

By this time I had completed almost 2 years with this organization. My onsite assignment infused a sense of confidence in me. I had realized that I had the potential to do much more than what I had been doing. Consulting is a vast industry and Infosys being most populous of them all. The big problem with this company or industry is that there are many employees like you to fill up your position. In order to stand ahead of them, you need to shout and fight, not literally though. I had started pursuing APICS certification that brought me to the realization that I was not exactly pursuing supply chain as I had planned to do. I took many trainings and internal certifications to make myself compatible with any kind of onsite projects. Unfortunately that was the time when the company was going low. The period was in recession. There weren’t many clients and the projects. The onsite employees were either asked to leave or return to India. The situation was scary and I preferred to keep my mouth shut for sometime.

Mera Neta Chor Hai..!!!

I would recommend reading the following article before I can say anything:-http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/what-is-the-jan-lokpal-bill-why-its-important-96600?cp

“He looks like Gandhi”, the first thought that came to my mind when I saw this man wearing a white khadi cap. I am not a good historian, but still, looking at Anna Hazare reminded me of the beliefs he shares with Mahatma. Apart from the looks that he shares with Gandhi ji, he has roped in the same philosophy that Mahatma had thought when he went through similar fast-unto-death agitation. Wearing a traditional white kurta and topi, smiling at the audience, he is the man who has stood up for a cause that we all had suffered for long… Corruption.

We all do suffer from corruption and wants to get rid of it. At the moment, we can’t even think of a state or any small government office that is free of corruption. If I spend a day in government office without bribing anyone, I would feel ecstatic. I always control myself against offering bribes, but certainly there is a limit and now-a-days the limit seems more fragile. But hey, I am not the only one..!!!

I might get criticized for not supporting this, but see the features about Jan-Lokpal bill that Anna is recommending. Is he contemplating another supreme court in India???? Some of the points look theoretical and idealistic. For example, “No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations”, “Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year”, “The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent”. I am sure any governing body in India had been established keeping these points in their declaration, like courts, police services etc. Unfortunately despite of all these declarations, we still face our common enemy.

The success of such theoretical Lokpal will depend upon the intentions and the profile of officials who will constitute the committee. Now, keeping this in mind, I felt virtuous when I saw Anna’s basic intention of going the Gandhian way. He feels that by introducing Lokpal bill in the parliament and going fast-unto-death would help unite the people for a common cause. Not only the politicians and bureaucrats are corrupt, the shades of corruption lie within us. If we wish to see a Corrupt-free-India, the major responsibility first belongs to us. Success of Lokpal bill will signify the realization of corruption within self by every citizen vouching for it. Now recall the intentions of Mahatma behind his fast-unto-death in 1948 (Quick reading on Mahatma:http://www.ceeby.com/people/mahatmagandhi.cfm). He wasn’t proposing any separate Telangana state or hike in his salary. He had just wished for peace and harmony among different communities. And I feel so glad to know that in this age of modern society, we do have a person like Anna who thinking is so pure.

This is the only reason I support Anna and his noble cause, and urge others too. .

Few interesting articles for reading:http://www.chetanbhagat.com/2011/04/mera-neta-chor-hai/ and http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Young-activists-keep-a-distance-from-Kavita/articleshow/7906916.cms

Meaning-less songs

Ok, so let me know your expressions when you hear this out, “oonche se ooncha banda, potty pe baithe nanga..”

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The first time I heard this song, I made a ‘thizz face’ and felt the video was totally filthy. Now-a-days, movies don’t need a good lyricist. Just sing what you want in your way, and you’ll get a hit pep song. Some people danced at the ‘badnaami’ of ‘Munni’, while others celebrated the ‘jawani’ of ‘Sheela’…!! Gone are the days when ‘Gabbar’ used to get excited hearing ‘Mehbooba O Mehbooba’ while Helen danced to the tunes of R.D. Burman. Just the facial expressions of Helen coupled with exotic moves were enough for the whistle blowers in the cinema halls. Often, people even appreciated the lyrics of the song, which was actually supposed to entertain differently.

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In the recent times, Indian cinema had provided a good dictionary of names that you can use frequently. You can choose among, ‘Munni’ or ‘Sheela’ or ‘Razia’ or the recent one ‘Tinku’..!!! I rolled over my floor laughing when I heard these lyrics. It goes like, “Pal pal na maane tinku jiya, haan tinku jiya…Ishak ka manjan ghisey hai piya”. The director must have spent lakhs to find a girl with extra shining teeth to give an extra edge to the lyrics. And at the top of it, Dharmendra and Bobby Deol were seen pranking with this un-sexy under-age girl. The situation went grim when my wife started humming this song...

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Try to compare these lyrics with the likes of Gulzar. We would often need a Hindi dictionary while listening to his songs, my personal favorite being “omkara” from movie ‘Omkara’. There is so much of depth and meaning to his songs. He often describes the nature and the situation’s background in simple, yet rhetoric words. .

Hey, tu phir dekh raha hai..

Aaj aankh sek raha hai, kal haath sekega....

Aaj deel chod raha hai, kal khudi rokega...

Aaj mere liye chair kheech raha hai, kal meri skirt kheechega....

kheechega ke nahin hun .

Actually this is the current success mantra in the industry to drag the audience to the multiplex if you feel the story of the film lack substance. You can try like this: Hire a celebrity dancer with a fantastic body.. Appoint a music director who can play the beats or maybe form a new remix.. Rent out an exotic location and start shooting for a song. You don’t actually a need a good dress designer, the waste ones can be picked and lady can get dressed automatically. And I forgot to mention, the lyrics can follow anytime. You must be a fool if you are thinking about the theme of the song. Let audience decide on their own..!!! Remember the song might get legendary and win awards inspite of the film being a complete crap (refer ‘Tees Maar Khan’).

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God save this industry..!!!