Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head

Of guts and brains

2008-12-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

I have recently made friends with a cardiac surgeon from Ruby Hall in my German classes. Ashish is often tense and worried in the evenings, especially when he gets calls from junior doctors monitoring patients back in the hospital. At times he has had to leave the classes and rush to the hospital. A professional hazard, I guess.

Reminds me of David, the paediatrician from Sick Kids in Edinburgh. I made friends with David during my 8 month stay in Scotland this year. David was equally tense at times in the evenings when he was on call and there was a critically ill child back in the hospital. My conversations with David and Praveen were anything but boring. Praveen is a dentist practising in Edinburgh and a common friend. We discussed anything and everything, a refreshing change for me who was happy to escape the usual dull conversations with techies. The state of the economy, NHS, Indian software professionals, the Edinburgh Fringe, books, stand-up comedians, investments, theatre, Bible, their stay in the middle east, Bangalore, the local church, nightlife, Indian eateries in Edinburgh, the social security system in UK and David's sick kids of course.

One evening when David was driving me and Praveen back home after dinner, he gazed pensively at the road ahead and described the irony of it all. Think of all the tension he had to go through in ensuring that those premature babies in the neonatal units survive while it is legal for termination to be carried out up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. "Jigar, those premature babies have all sorts of problems. Underdeveloped guts, problems with their brain and I have to ensure they survive."

"Underdeveloped guts and brains? Sounds so familiar" I said. "I meet these kind all the time. And in my world they not only survive, they thrive !"

Arrash

2008-03-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

Arrash is the name of Hussain's new family member, his and Rutu's first baby. I can imagine how happy and proud they must be feeling. They have posted their pictures with Arrash on the net and the smiles on their faces say it all.

The news of his birth got me to wake up after a longish slumber and key in this posting. Thank you technology. You keep friends together even when separated by thousands of miles. I wish I was there to see Hussain and Rutu enjoy this moment.

My old friend, I apologize

For the years that have passed

Since the last time you and I

Dusted off those memories

But the running and the races

The people and the places

There's always somewhere else I had to be

Time gets slim, my old friend

Don't know why, don't know why

Take me home, country roads

2007-11-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

It is that time of the year when I would want to be with my larger family for Diwali and New Year. But I just cancelled my two week vacation yesterday to be in office on November 6th and meet a senior executive who is travelling to Pune. I am still hoping to be able to board a flight to my native place on Friday AM and be home by evening.

It is that time of the year when I have often found myself at crossroads and deciding on which road to take. Time and time again I have found myself taking the road less travelled, only to find myself lonely and disappointed later. This time, this year, the highlands are calling me. Those snow-capped mountains beckon me to come and make happen what has been destined. But destiny had some other promises too !!

I hear her voice, in the mornin' hours she calls me,
The radio reminds me of my home far away.
And drivin' down the road,
I get a feelin' that I should have been home yesterday,
Yesterday.Country Roads, take me home,
To the place I belong:
West Virginia, mountain momma,
Take me home, country roads.

I'm gonna treat you so nice, you're never gonna let me go.

2007-10-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Letting go was never easy. When you have loved someone so much.

Can one just vanish, howsoever one wishes to? And not think of or be thought of? Only if He made memory that could be erased or overwritten. The pain lingers for a lifetime.

Edward Lewis: So what happens after he climbs up and rescues her?
Vivian: She rescues him right back.

Not all knights are rescued right back.

How many roads

2007-10-05T01:18:00.000-07:00

The season for rewards is here. Yesterday the SBU head, who had come down from Chennai, was addressing the team. The names of a few associates getting promoted were announced, most of them my team, with the intention of cheering them up. Some were happy, some others sad. Some could conceal, some others could not.

A boy who had not walked as many roads, but lost no opportunity to sing the protest song, was named a man. A white dove was given a shore to rest. This dove still does not seem to have found the sand to sleep. I hope she does not sail the wrong seas and end up hurt. Earlier in the day, I had a chat with her and quizzed her about her wishes. I think she did not really get my message. Even if she did, she has her sight on different shores. I can only give her wings now, and hope the winds carry her to the shores I want. Two members have not yet received their rewards. I owe it to you guys.

Some men still walk down many roads, waiting to be called men.

How many roads must a man walk down

Before you call him a man?

Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail

Before she sleeps in the sand?

Of DJIA And Tai

2007-07-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

DJIA is down 149.33 points (1.07%) as I write this and I am expecting at least 100 points rise in the BSE sensex on Monday.

Also expected is the ascent of the Tai and the fall of Mr. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Poor man. He has friends across political outfits but cannot speak to spirits !

Loss

2007-07-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

The markets ended flat today. NSE at 4,566 (+3.95) and BSE at 15,566 (+15.42) today. But the loss on this 2oth day of July 2007 was big.

Today I lost a very nice colleague. A colleague who shall take off to a distant land to pursue her dreams and maybe her father's dreams too.

The young lady in question was too good for her age and experience. Hardly six months out of college, she turned out to be so dependable. So sincere and such a sweetheart. I am not sure how much I was able to influence her, but I shall never forget her for certain.

Manjiri, if you are reading this, take a bow !

Of Software "Tasters", Influential People, Flying Mamas & Papa's Darling Daughters

2007-07-14T23:41:00.000-07:00

Scene I - Me on WWW

I have done this in the past for some good humor and I keep on doing this once in a while. I run a search on Orkut for all having Infosys in their profile. The idea is to find out about young people in my profession. I have a soft corner for Infy as I learnt my tricks there and thought highly of the young crowd who joined the place until I was around.

One gent has put "Software Taster" in his career skills. Then there is a testimonial written for a lady that reads something like "she is the most influential person in my life". Obviously the references are to software testing and some lady who has been the greatest influence in this guys life. Once again I am reminded of Basab and his claim about young techies in India.

Scene II - Me at Piramyd (TruMart)

I am shopping at TruMart on SB Road when I see a mama with a kid in tow. The kid is old enough to comprehend simple sentences. So? What is it about this mama and this kid? You find plenty of them at Piramyd!

Mama is wearing a black tee-shirt that has a smart message on the front. It reads:
"Avoid airport security. Fly nude."

Scene III - Me at Dominos Pizza outlet (flashback)

A cute kid and her warm n huge dad (a sardar with turban and beard) are playing a game while all of us wait for our takeaway pizza. The kid wants to take a short run-up and jump off from the plinth which is about 2 feet high. She is slightly worried if daddy dearest would be able to hold her in his arms when she takes off! "Papa aap pakadoge naa?" she asks and papa assures her.

After the first attempt she realises that papa would be there and she does an encore. Wish daddy dearest will always be there to break her fall when she grows up & takes off for other kind of flights.

Their Cheese, My Cheese

2007-07-14T01:10:00.000-07:00

Last night I started keying in a paper on the contractual aspects of setting up an India to India engagement between Indian IT service firms and India captives of US/ European firms. Something that I was closely involved with in my previous job and I suspect was one of the first few attempts in India. The paper was nearly done before I switched over to Orkut and my weblogs. But I was left with a couple of thoughts.

It has been a while (more than six months) since I did something that was intellectually challenging and professionally satisfying. All these six months I was involved in business development, resource mobilization and management of program and/or project objectives. Not that these activities are less challenging in themselves, but these were not the kind of challenges I am looking for. And when you end up doing something you do not enjoy, it is like pushin' shit uphill.

The second thought that crossed my mind was that maybe I am working with people who are less intense than me, or with people who have a different set of priorities.

I can understand that programmers and analysts who are too junior might have a different set of challenges and different priorities. Their immediate challenge might be to get the piece of software working and still manage to leave office in time enough to catch the latest movie they planned with their buddies & the dinner at a chic restaurant on high street. Good for them !

What worries me more are the priorities of peers & superiors. They seem to be in no hurry to get home in time for a movie or a dinner at some fancy eatery. They spend most of their times at their desks adding very little value to the firm and the industry. Their immediate priority seems to be to settle into a position, overseas for most of them, where they have a promised tenure and a decent sized crowd to manage. A promised tenure for the overseas candidates so that they can repatriate dollar savings back home and fund the purchase of that fancy row house. A decent sized crowd for the ones left in India so that they can stake their claim to the next big title and the next big cubicle. Their cheese !

Living My Rhapsody - In Pune this year

2007-03-09T20:56:00.000-08:00

The nomad that I am, I find myself availing the services of packers & movers every other year. In Dec 2006, life has come a full circle. I moved to Pune. To work for a firm just accross the street from where I worked in 2000-2001. To bank with the same branch where I banked six years back, to frequent the same eateries I visited six years back and to work again for a software consulting firm after having worked for a software captive.

Pune is no longer what it used to be in the year 2000. It is a crowded city now. The person on the road does not really have a leisurely gait. He seems to have lost his relaxed ways, for which he and his city was known earlier. Traffic is bad. Landlords and auto wallahs have got greedier. The city is suffering from the same disease that is slowly and steadily killing Bangalore. The city is swamped by software peasants from various parts of the country. And if this sample represents the larger universe, I must say I have to disagree with Basab (http://6ampacific.com/) who thinks that the average Indian techie was a bright student when in school. The last time I interviewd a few, none of them could define a circle.

Certain things about the city have not changed at all. Pune guys still make that puttering sound with their lips to draw the attention of the boys serving at eateries. Pune females still wear those scarves or dupattas to mask their pretty faces when riding. Yes, I believe that on an average the females in Pune are prettier than those in Mumbai. I know that my friend Ajay is going to hate me for putting this on my blog. He is from Mumbai and tells me that statistical distribution is skewed in Pune's favour because of the sheer numbers in Mumbai. But that is a topic for another posting, some other day.

Now that I have a new job, I have new worries. As I deal with a very recently acquired client, much of my time is spent on supporting business development activities. My days are spent orchestrating the effort of putting together responses to opportunities and identifying people to service opportunities we managed to win. I am not sure if all the people we identified could define a circle. I would not dare ask them to try, for I run the risk of being disappointed. But then, I am told that they deliver. And some of them "Exceed Expectations" too !! My evenings are spent like those of a teenage expectant girl, waiting by the phone. The onsite account team almost never has good news to share. Lately I have started dialling into calls from home, from McD, from on the road and just about anywhere to escape long hours in office. These calls usually have 20 % meaningful discussions and useful information embedded in 80% sound bytes that can best described as crap. But that is a topic for another posting, some other day.

Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning
Red, crying's not for me, 'cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free, nothing's worryin' me.

Bangalore to Ndola

2006-11-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

Just received a mail from Steve. Back in London Steve and Synah loved the Raajma (the runny curry as Steve called it then) I cooked for them and they bought me Italian fare for lunch as they bade farewell to Bangalore a couple of years later.

Steve and Synah are among the most endearing friends I have found from colleagues and they at the moment are doing something I have always wanted to do but never found the time because of other priorities. I have known them since 2002 and have always found them eager to travel to far away places and meet people from different cultures. Back in 2004 they decided to move to Bangalore where Steve's firm was setting up their India operations. In the bargain Steve got to work in India and get first-hand experience of an Indian workplace. They have arguably seen more places in India during their year long stay than me. Now they have moved to the African continent for 8 months and they spend their time looking after AIDS affected people and visiting all those places they always wanted to visit.

Do I really need to wait for my sabbatical to travel to all the places where I have always wanted to go? Would it not be too late then?

http://www.stevesynah.co.uk/index.htm

Big Brother House

2006-11-11T05:32:00.000-08:00

The week before Diwali when I visited Gujarat, I brought along my Naani with me to Mumbai for her to spend some time with us. She does not love the city in particular, but she does enjoy spending time with me and my maa.

She has found something interesting this time. She makes it a point to watch Big Boss, the Indian adaptation of Big Brother. It is not the idea of subjecting the house guests to constant scrutiny and voting them out that appeals to her though. She just finds the guests very strange and interesting. She loves Rakhi Sawant and her nautanki for sure.

Big Brother houses are certainly meant for the Rakhis of this world and I would not be surprised if she emerges a winner !

The last straw, and the ones before !

2006-11-11T05:14:00.000-08:00

I am surprised to find how very similar the exit conversations are in every organization after a employee conveys his decision to separate !

Be it the line manager or the HR manager, almost everyone is interested in finding out what the last straw on the proverbial camel's back was ! Is it always the last straw that counts? What about the penultimate straw and the ones before that?

I am sure camels all the world over do say it was not just the last straw !

The blues they send to meet me...

2006-11-11T05:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I drafted my third resignation mail in a career of little more than 8 years. I must say I am getting better.

So I just did me some talkin' to the sun

And I said I didn't like the way he got things

Done, sleep in' on the job, these

Raindrops keep falling on my head

They keep fallin'

6 AM Pacific and a CEO blogger

2006-11-11T04:38:00.000-08:00

6 AM Pacific is the best time for a global conference call. Who would know this better than those who contributed in making India a software services offshoring destination of choice?

6 AM Pacific also happens to be the blog of Basab and is now one of my daily reads.

http://6ampacific.com/

For Old Times' Sake

2006-10-19T03:04:00.000-07:00

How often do you feel like returning to the places with which you have some fond memories associated? To relive those moments! To sit in the same corner of a restaurant where you used to sit six years back with a cup of coffee and some dreams. To shop from the same place where you shopped years ago! To visit the neighbourhood where you lived, the spot where you alighted from your bus every evening and the eatery you frequented for your dinner and drinks, the salon where you got your hair done, the street where you raced bikes with your mates, the corner where you had that nasty fight with one of your mates only to make up a couple of days later. And the spot where you had a not so nasty fight but never made up !

I did just that this weekend. I am off again tomorrow to the town I grew up in as a child. Nostalgia is a funny feeling.

Where Hearts Can Heal And Souls Can Mend

2006-10-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

Came across a very well written blog that I thought deserves mention. Travails of a lady in Iraq.

Time for a quick prayer. Almighty, please spare the innocent from the wars that are brought about by despotic regimes and whimsical leaders. Amen.

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

Heaven

2006-10-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

Today's fortune on Orkut reads:

When winter comes heaven will rain success on you.

Why does heaven have to wait till winter? Seems it is raining success some other place and not my turn yet ! Heaven, my woollens are out of the closet.

Loss Of Innocence

2006-10-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

Today is a day to remember. Not many years ago, on this very day I walked into my first job.

I walked in that job unaware of my own naivete in assuming that I will trade my best efforts for the honest appreciation and equally good efforts of others. Clearly the sign of a workplace virgin. Over the years I gained what they call experience and lost what I feel was innocence.

Worked from five different cities and two continents. I got to work with colleagues of different nationalities speaking many languages and wearing different hats. Colleagues from the Americas, from the Scottish Highlands, from the Jatland around Delhi, from the place in Germany where they brew the best lager arguably, from the banks of the Hoogli, from farms of Hubli and most recently from the city where they say "I swear" in the same tone as "Aiee Shapath !". Had all weird sort of managers for bosses, from Narcissus to Sun Tzu.

Compared to what I gained, I seem to have lost a lot. But am not giving up yet.

The Ts and the Cs.

2006-10-01T02:46:00.000-07:00

This week was crazy. I was trying to push through contracts with a couple of software services companies so that my firm can use their services. Had to deal with a lot of lawyers from India and from the US, and believe me they are funny people.

Most of them live under the impression that we do business so that they can argue and negotiate the Terms and the Conditions. And if they had their way they would go on arguing indefinitely. Had to tell them in a subtle way that they argue and negotiate so that we can do business and not the other way round.

The other type of lawyers are the slippery kind. You never get straight answers from them and you can never hold them to anything ever. This kind often feel the need to cover themselves when actually they are expected to cover the firm against risks. When I sent a mail to one such dude at 9:00 PM mentioning to him that I had walked to his desk but he was not around and that I expected him to get me the contract ready next day AM, he actually responded the next day that he had left office "on time" (6:30 PM) the previous day and so he was not seen at his desk at 9:00 PM.

Other type of lawyers are the ones who can negotiate and at times negotiate well. They make more money than the two types discussed above. They yield on things that do not really matter but score points on things that do. That way they have given the other party a chance to score points as well. Win all.

One more kind is those lawyers who take the moral high ground. A lawyer in the US we were talking to, was not inclined to providing us with some documents on an ongoing basis. He told us that he was trying to help us as he did not want us buried in unnecessary paper and that if we agreed to him we might just as well save a tree.

Viable Die-able Age

2006-09-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

Not old, not young. Thirty one is a "very viable die-able age", to borrow from Arundhati Roy.

Just got a reminder this weekend when I had to undergo a minimal medical procedure.

Lemons

2006-09-24T01:49:00.000-07:00

What do you do when life hands you lemons?

a) Make lemonade.
b) Ask for tequila and salt.
c) Juggle with them.
d) Ask life to mix you a martini instead.
e) Make yourself a Lemon Drop Martini.
f) Squeeze the citric juice in your boss's eyes. ( Feel free to replace "boss" with your "ex" )
g) Give life a wedgie.
h) Sell lemonade at ten dollars per cup.
i) Make them into Lemon and Chilly talismans and hang them outside your house/ cubicles.
j) None of the above.

If your answer is "None of the above", please let me know what is it that you do?

Mr. Min, Rupees 300 & Project Management

2006-09-17T06:59:00.000-07:00

This Thursday me and Amitabh were waiting for Prashant to wind up his day's work. I was actually expecting Prashant to drop me at a mall in Mulund on his way back home so that I can buy myself some casuals.

Something was keeping Prashant from calling it a day at 7:30 PM. What was that? Expectations. One of the project managers in UK wanted him to hang about in the office. Not because he wanted Prashant to fix something that might come up, but because he wanted Prashant to be updated with the latest status on a release that was being tested in the UK. Prashant would have been of no real help as his developers had signed off for the day. And the status could have been mailed to him anyways. By the way he also carries a BlackBerry. Amitabh who is the India project manager was not loving this. But the "relationships guy" that he is, he never really calls a spade a spade.

I have nothing to do with their project, but I could not resist from sticking my nose where it did not belong. I told them about my divisional manager in my first job.

Less than an year out of the college, I was mismanaging (with the wisdom of hindsight) the manufacturing of some equipment that were to be a part of a new plant for one of the biggest industrial house of this country. The project plan said that a shell had to be completely welded by end of the day and it was not. I made a decision that I was allowed to make. I asked the welder and his help to stay over for extra 4 hours and complete the shell. That would mean an extra Rupees 300 paid out as overtime. I left the shop and the welder called me up later in the evening to update me that the shell was done. The next day I was summoned by Mr. Min in his cabin at 8:30 AM. I was expecting a pat on the back when he actually asked me the reason for spending that extra 300 Rupees. He opened up the project plan and explained to me that the welding activity had a float of more than 7 days and that the project would not have been delayed if that shell had taken one extra week to complete. There I was standing in front of one my Gurus, admiring the power of critical path which until that moment was just a silly path got by forward and backward pass on a network diagram. I loved the lessons, but they came in front of Mr. Syan and I am sure he thought I was an idiot. Mr. Syan, who was having his morning tea with Mr. Min that day, was another senior executive. He had been Mr. Min's manager once and was one of my Gurus too. Thank you Mr. Min. Thank you Mr. Syan.

After recounting this incident, I asked Amitabh if he, the UK project manager, Prashant or their managers would ever want anyone to work extra hours, unless absolutely necessary, if they were paying for those hours?

Welcome to the world of software development, white-collar workers and loose project management.

Smoking with the CXO and Kasumba

2006-09-09T04:30:00.000-07:00

This is becoming a more usual affair now. Often when I enter the lobby of my office building, I find a group of wannabees surrounding one of our CXOs and smoking their way to glory. The CXO would be smoking too, of course !

And this reminds me of an old tradition from Saurashtra, the land from where I come. The tradition of consuming Kasumba (opium-water prepared in a special way). The ruling class in Saurashtra then, the Kathi Darbars, used to be the hosts to what was called a Dayaro. Dayaro was a gathering of people who were favourably inclined to the Darbar, usually his courtiers. The riff-raff were not invited and the Darbar used to have class preferences for the Dayaro. The Charan had to be there. The Charan used to sing songs that praised the Darbar and his illustrious ancestors and their bravery in wars. Kasumba flowed and was consumed by the gathering often in expensive metal cups or even using their palm-cup, depending on the status of the host. Many decisions of administartion (Amal) were taken at such Dayaras. Opium was also called Amal. Many of those in the Dayaras were wicked or plain asinine, but they had the Darbar's ears. A Darbar under the influence of Kasumba.

Hope the Dayaras have not moved from Darbargadhs of Saurashtra to the Business Parks of the nation !

Growing Up

2006-08-27T04:50:00.000-07:00

I guess I must be growing up. Lately I have started reading books which otherwise I used to just flip through quickly and put back on the shelf.

During my last visit to Crossword, I decided to pick up “The God of Small Things”. I have read its first few pages in the past and also some pages from in between. I have always admired the narrative for being different from others, but have never found the courage to read it completely. But now I have decided to do it. In the process, I spent a part of my budgeted outlay for books for September even before the beginning of the month. I then moved on to the shelf that had titles from Salman Rushdie. I was considering if I should pick one of the titles from Rushdie too, when I saw a few titles from Harlod Robbins in the shelf just above Rushdie’s. And that reminded me about adolescence and growing up. The age when Harold Robbins and Alberto Moravia were hidden away behind the boring Math and Physics books, only to be read after dinner when Ma thought I was asleep.

Nostalgia is a funny feeling. So I chucked Rushdie and picked up a Harold Robbins.