I am bought up in a generation that is changing. I had this perception during my school days that i would get out of india as soon as i do a Engineering, get my parents to stay with me and build my own cocoon somewhere in the US. Eveything about the US was fascinating. Clean roads, swanky cars, come once a while to india and spend big when here. In my mind, India just seemed to be this place which is destined to be the same, it cannot change, just get out of here.
But something has changed in me, in india, and in BOllywood. First of all the word Bollywood itself looks a mundane reflection of what India is... We aspire to be like the West. We have no identity of our own. Life in School in Chennai was all about having a good time, just getting ready to do Engineering and get out. Part executed, I am now in College in Mumbai though. That is a real change from being in suburban-Iyer-Chennai.
Life here is totally different. People are different than they were in school. College Life is more dikhawa than anything i know. Hey i have changed. Dressing styles are different, I even talk differently in just 3 months of college. What is the net result. Mumbai has changed me in 3 months. I look at it how. Mumbai has taught me to be more independant. I am this person completely dependant on friends for fun and time. Its changed, Here i am with no friends as if a frog out of his well. I realise that this is preparation for the US. Life there is expected to be like this. Yes its going fine.
Then as time moves, i start making friends. Its now pyaara Mumbai. Life is totally different. Filled with movies every other day, bunking classes for them, booing teachers, and running for the trains. It is really the best. Then Bollywood turns it around for me..... a bang called Rang De Basanti is released. I wouldnt know if this movie impacted people any which way that it did to me, But it seriously changed the whole perception of me. I think more so that Rakesh OmPrakash Mehra intended to do this to us. Maybe i was impacted most. I identify with the movie so much. Bhagat singh and Azad made me respect myself, as an Indian. I really gave up this craze for even going to the US right in the few days after the movie (though i didnt plan to kill the defence minister for anything). The movie showed NDTV as a messenger for journalism, and i compeltely am of the belief that Media in India has to evolve as well to play the role of the watch dog. A R Rahman became an obsession. Though i was a fan even till before RDB, in the few days later, i have all his compositions( even he may not have it all). i always believe we need a jhatka to wake up. and RDP was just that.
In the next few months, another masterpiece made me fall for all that is India. Lage Raho Munnabhai. This made me fall for Bollywood, i really started seeing every thing out of bollywood after this masterpiece.. Gandhiji became fashionable. It had individual brilliance written all over it. How could a movie impact national conscience. It certainly tried to. Even Sanjay Dutt became akin to a gandhian and even his past misadventures were pardoned by the public at large.
Cut to the present, Bollywood still has its escapades from reality like a Bachna ae Haseeno, i drooled over the movie and even became a Ranbir Kapoor Fan. Movies like Aamir and A Wednesday have made me think about the terrorists and the problems plagued by it in india. Like in A Wednesday, i believe that as an individual, its our responsibility to be aware of our surroundings and react to it rather than not react at all and have a chalta hai attitude. I have pledged to do my bit as far as i can.
Watching Aamir, i had this strange feeling. I didnt quite completely agree to the movie. In the movie when Rajeev Khandelwal is sashaying through the muslim bylanes of Mumbai, all on lookers seemed to be staring at the protagonist. I was wondering if they all knew that he was beeing used to plant the bomb. If it was the case, was the director showing an entire community being party to the bomb plans. If it is true, then we need to seriously have a look at ourselves and they at themselves. I believe that the muslim community as a whole isnt party to this all and its just misguided individuals who press a button and decide the fate of millions as Nasseruddin Shah put it.
What has bollywood done? It has changed itself in the world opinion.. HOW? It relooked at itself, said I am proud of the song and dance routine. I am proud of its length of 3 hour movies. I am proud of cricket... I am proud of portraying us just as we are.. "happy".
Thats my learning out of it all, Its all about you , how you percieve yourself and your surroundings. Working with infosys has given me an environment around me which i am proud of. World class workplaces, Enough money to survive here well and shop within limits. Why go our of the country... India is such a glorious place to stay. And I am proud of having taken the decision not to move out of here for now. Now with going out of the country to persue an MBA, i have promised myslef that i l return here to my nest as soon as i am done with my education
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Most Adventurous Day of my life
21st May 2008
Most adventurous day of my life so far-- Day dawned normally. Reached Bus Stop normally at 11 25. But first signs of a great day. I call up Transport desk to find out that shuttle is cancelled. So fend for myself and get to office in Chennai with public transport comparable with hell. 3 Rickshaws and 2 MTC buses later, I land up at work 2 hours after I left home. Sweating like a hog, decided to go to gym and have a shower as I felt totally uncomfortable. Work was pleasantly fine. With Onsite Server down, not much work to do, hammed through office.
Decided to leave office early at 6 20, but decided at 6 18, Dashed through campus to reach gate to find buses leaving…. Fortunately mine is among the last buses, Managed to get in , or so I thought. Managed to get a cozy cool(fan wala) seat and settled in to sleep with iPod plugged in. Great. Dream sets in. Best days of life I thought, humming nice romantic tune of the song I was listening to.
Woken up mid dream, mid sleep to find that the bus is empty, Driver shouts at me and another person to get off at the last stop.
But hey, its half way home. It was a wrong bus supposedly ( I still argue that I go by the same bus, but the driver had gone crazy), run off and get down……. Bus chugs away… Hey wheres my iPod. Almost down to tears, I call up infy help desk, complain abt bus stopping midway, lost iPod. Transport desk finally assures me that things lost in the bus would be safely kept with the Security and I could collect it tomorrow. Feeling reassured, look around, Its mid way and I don’t know way back home.
Fortunately I have company, Later know her as my HR and she stays close to my home and both of us in the same situation, Stranded. Manage to get into a rickshaw. Two near accidents, three big impact hits to fellow vehicles, and the most drunk person I have seen in my life behind the rickshaw wheel(what do you call that!?). Still on the phone and tense abt the iPod, see that we are going to further hell. Egged on, We get down in the middle of nowhere. The driver chases us with expletives !!! But manage to get into another rickshaw and finally get on a sane travel home. Thanks to her for the sanity in the middle of all the confusion, I get a lift home and some reassurance….
Any further twists? Ya in middle responding to messages from dear friend planning for the weekend!!!, A final call confirms that Security find my iPod in the bus and I can collect it next day from the desk… A day to remember, near misses, near losses but down memory lane an adventure worth remembering. (though Sachin lost, Rahul won and that’s a good deal as long as Sachin manages the Semis )
22nd May, Man U won, what a game on penalties!!!!!… Manage to sleep at 3 and get up kicked out of bed… Getting up I get a fright looking at the clock and to avoid the previous day adventure at all costs, do things at break neck pace.. In the bus stop 10 minutes ahead of time, Bus on time, now iPod in hand…. Same song running…. Life’s Great.
Most adventurous day of my life so far-- Day dawned normally. Reached Bus Stop normally at 11 25. But first signs of a great day. I call up Transport desk to find out that shuttle is cancelled. So fend for myself and get to office in Chennai with public transport comparable with hell. 3 Rickshaws and 2 MTC buses later, I land up at work 2 hours after I left home. Sweating like a hog, decided to go to gym and have a shower as I felt totally uncomfortable. Work was pleasantly fine. With Onsite Server down, not much work to do, hammed through office.
Decided to leave office early at 6 20, but decided at 6 18, Dashed through campus to reach gate to find buses leaving…. Fortunately mine is among the last buses, Managed to get in , or so I thought. Managed to get a cozy cool(fan wala) seat and settled in to sleep with iPod plugged in. Great. Dream sets in. Best days of life I thought, humming nice romantic tune of the song I was listening to.
Woken up mid dream, mid sleep to find that the bus is empty, Driver shouts at me and another person to get off at the last stop.
But hey, its half way home. It was a wrong bus supposedly ( I still argue that I go by the same bus, but the driver had gone crazy), run off and get down……. Bus chugs away… Hey wheres my iPod. Almost down to tears, I call up infy help desk, complain abt bus stopping midway, lost iPod. Transport desk finally assures me that things lost in the bus would be safely kept with the Security and I could collect it tomorrow. Feeling reassured, look around, Its mid way and I don’t know way back home.
Fortunately I have company, Later know her as my HR and she stays close to my home and both of us in the same situation, Stranded. Manage to get into a rickshaw. Two near accidents, three big impact hits to fellow vehicles, and the most drunk person I have seen in my life behind the rickshaw wheel(what do you call that!?). Still on the phone and tense abt the iPod, see that we are going to further hell. Egged on, We get down in the middle of nowhere. The driver chases us with expletives !!! But manage to get into another rickshaw and finally get on a sane travel home. Thanks to her for the sanity in the middle of all the confusion, I get a lift home and some reassurance….
Any further twists? Ya in middle responding to messages from dear friend planning for the weekend!!!, A final call confirms that Security find my iPod in the bus and I can collect it next day from the desk… A day to remember, near misses, near losses but down memory lane an adventure worth remembering. (though Sachin lost, Rahul won and that’s a good deal as long as Sachin manages the Semis )
22nd May, Man U won, what a game on penalties!!!!!… Manage to sleep at 3 and get up kicked out of bed… Getting up I get a fright looking at the clock and to avoid the previous day adventure at all costs, do things at break neck pace.. In the bus stop 10 minutes ahead of time, Bus on time, now iPod in hand…. Same song running…. Life’s Great.
THE SP JAIN EXPERIENCE
the day starts with me going over early. i meet a few people. the first person i meet is a smart young guy ( i mistook him to be of my age..) he incidently is in the merchant navy for 8 years. is 29 years old and married since a year.... i was taken aback...... then met a few others. i realise that all people here are average aged 25 or more. and i am going to be the baby of the interview process.
I need to assert myself.They take us to a conference hall and provide us papers for the essays.First topic is " what is recession and what is the impact of recession on todays economy"... i dont know exactly what it means, but i just said when market slows down , and demand is much lesser than supply, the price of goods/stocks/commodities drops and as a result individual/entire economy suffer very grave losses. A recession in todays economy could greatly impact the developing countries including india... Lots of beating around the bush i did for the above two lines...
second topic is " list out three major accomplishments" i made up all three... ha ha. thats the best part and i made it look decent, i guess. then there is a case study, the topic being ' what would you do as head of ur organisation to curb financial irregularities"i am like, a company is composed of individuals and i l make sure each employee of the organisation has ethics and high moral values. i would also personally set an example of good conduct and ensure each transaction that my company goes through would be clean and would adhere to best norms. also citing social responsibility, paying proper taxes as an individual, as employees and as a company, i would ensure that my company is as respected as say an infosys is today... the GD ;topic is :is corruption the price for indian democracy :i take part in the conversation. add a few points. but i am in the average speak list of the GD.off the six , 2 spoke well and valid points. 2 were average and 2 were bad. so not too bad.
the interview starts. i am first asked introduce yourself.then asked why retail. i am like, when i started out in infy, i was completely new to retail, but i had a bench period of about 2 months, in which i developed a lot of interest for the domain, gave a couple of certification exams that the company proposes for employees. i was fascinated that how retailing, which i thought was just about storing and selling goods had sooo much to it, that all including layout of the store, placemtn of departments in the store, how the goods are placed and marketed, even the music that plays in the background all enthused me.the interviewer asks.. what kind of music should be played and why: the music actually soothes and relaxes the mind of the customer. afterall a cool customer would think more about what he needs and would shop more.then
what is ITs Role in Retailing., say specifically 3 areas where it operates: i am like, IT has its role in Retail just like in every spher of life, just making life simpler, tracking all the things. making accounting easier etc.what are challenges faced by IT today: attrition leads to lack of skills in the middle level organisation and lack of complete skill set as a result.tell me whats the turnover of Kraft (i said my project is in Retail in Kraft Foods). i am like, i am not sure, but i handle Kraft cheese and meat divisions, and i guess their turnover is around 10,11 billion dollars. So how big a company is Kraft: i am like it is the second biggest retailer after Nestle.]\but i thought Nestles turnover was about 70 billion dollars: yes it might be, as i said, Kraft is just behind Nestle and Kraft is worth about 10 billion dollars in cheese and meat alone, it must be worth much more , other products like chocolates, biscuits etc.but u said krafts entire turnover is 10 billion dollars: i as like. no i said only kraft cheese and meat is 10 billion, so he was like, you shoudl be clear on what you tell.i dont argue, but say, i tried to be clear, maybe i wasnt clear enough(phew, dont know how i managed this one, but probably that was the crucial thing. i got all figures wrong, all points wrong, but, to my mind i managed it alright)So what kind of a retailer is Kraft. i stutter badly at this one,, its a manufactorer as well as seller, but doesnt have its own outlets, has shops within a shop etc.
ok whats the turnover of infosys : 4.5 billion dollars.how much is it in indian rupee : i think for a while and say 1600 crores., interviewer smiling,, are u sure, i think again and say, yes sir 1600 croresthen which is the biggest IT company of india : its TCS, its worth about 5.5 billion dollars. But infy would beat TCS at it by 2010 or so...oh really.. what do u think the dollar rising and falling impacts the indian industry so much : yes sir, to counterbalance infy is looking to make deals in INR in which most employees are paid rather than in dollars so that, infy doesnt get impacted that much ( This is my worst answer, may be my killer)...ok Varun, had a good time talking to you, please wait outside and send th enext person.
i came out, was happy, though apprehensive. i know that a measure of success is how the assistant with my file returns and what she asks me to do next. she says, fill up the feedback form, i thought it was all over, i did that and then she says, u now have another interview with the director.i am tooooo happy, i know that the interivew i just faced was a elimination interview, i might have been eliminated if i stand no chance. but since i am called for the next round, i do have a chance. meet the entire batch up again. we do another round of intros. where are u from etc. exchanged cards etc. then we asked each other our marks.. that was my thriller. everyone was like, SPJAT-79, SPJ-81, CAT-92, SPJ-74 and when it comes to me, i am like SPJ-99, and all people are like,, arrey tu toh star hai...uske baad, everyone every sentence had a bash line. tu toh 99 hai, tereko kya interview lenge, tu jaaek bol, lena hai to loh nahi toh chod do and all that. the talk was centered around 99 for some time when one said, that he passed out school in 99, he has never got a 99 in any subject in life. it was fun. great interacting with people from different professions.
then the director intreview. Director was like, how was your experience since morning, how do you find the process, any change u suggest.then goes through my file, oh, so u have moved around india quite a bit, tell me how has been work with infy: i am like its been such a good learning experience. just a short while, but i know i have come a long way since been a college studentyou have been given a good appraisal in infy why do u think you have gotten it: i was like, since i was new to the team, i worked extra harder to blend in to the team, the project required working long hours, and i have worked 14-15 hours for weeks at a stretch without complaint. maybe that impresesd the managers.thats it.. ok, you have any questions? i am like. nope. nothing.ok, thanks for being part of the SPJain Evaluation process, the results you would know soon enough. thats all .
Quite an experience. Even if i dont get in, i would have learnt a lot from the entire experience in the least. i know i have a 50-50 chance but think that the one year expereince thing might weigh heavily against me. the interview and GD went quite decently
I need to assert myself.They take us to a conference hall and provide us papers for the essays.First topic is " what is recession and what is the impact of recession on todays economy"... i dont know exactly what it means, but i just said when market slows down , and demand is much lesser than supply, the price of goods/stocks/commodities drops and as a result individual/entire economy suffer very grave losses. A recession in todays economy could greatly impact the developing countries including india... Lots of beating around the bush i did for the above two lines...
second topic is " list out three major accomplishments" i made up all three... ha ha. thats the best part and i made it look decent, i guess. then there is a case study, the topic being ' what would you do as head of ur organisation to curb financial irregularities"i am like, a company is composed of individuals and i l make sure each employee of the organisation has ethics and high moral values. i would also personally set an example of good conduct and ensure each transaction that my company goes through would be clean and would adhere to best norms. also citing social responsibility, paying proper taxes as an individual, as employees and as a company, i would ensure that my company is as respected as say an infosys is today... the GD ;topic is :is corruption the price for indian democracy :i take part in the conversation. add a few points. but i am in the average speak list of the GD.off the six , 2 spoke well and valid points. 2 were average and 2 were bad. so not too bad.
the interview starts. i am first asked introduce yourself.then asked why retail. i am like, when i started out in infy, i was completely new to retail, but i had a bench period of about 2 months, in which i developed a lot of interest for the domain, gave a couple of certification exams that the company proposes for employees. i was fascinated that how retailing, which i thought was just about storing and selling goods had sooo much to it, that all including layout of the store, placemtn of departments in the store, how the goods are placed and marketed, even the music that plays in the background all enthused me.the interviewer asks.. what kind of music should be played and why: the music actually soothes and relaxes the mind of the customer. afterall a cool customer would think more about what he needs and would shop more.then
what is ITs Role in Retailing., say specifically 3 areas where it operates: i am like, IT has its role in Retail just like in every spher of life, just making life simpler, tracking all the things. making accounting easier etc.what are challenges faced by IT today: attrition leads to lack of skills in the middle level organisation and lack of complete skill set as a result.tell me whats the turnover of Kraft (i said my project is in Retail in Kraft Foods). i am like, i am not sure, but i handle Kraft cheese and meat divisions, and i guess their turnover is around 10,11 billion dollars. So how big a company is Kraft: i am like it is the second biggest retailer after Nestle.]\but i thought Nestles turnover was about 70 billion dollars: yes it might be, as i said, Kraft is just behind Nestle and Kraft is worth about 10 billion dollars in cheese and meat alone, it must be worth much more , other products like chocolates, biscuits etc.but u said krafts entire turnover is 10 billion dollars: i as like. no i said only kraft cheese and meat is 10 billion, so he was like, you shoudl be clear on what you tell.i dont argue, but say, i tried to be clear, maybe i wasnt clear enough(phew, dont know how i managed this one, but probably that was the crucial thing. i got all figures wrong, all points wrong, but, to my mind i managed it alright)So what kind of a retailer is Kraft. i stutter badly at this one,, its a manufactorer as well as seller, but doesnt have its own outlets, has shops within a shop etc.
ok whats the turnover of infosys : 4.5 billion dollars.how much is it in indian rupee : i think for a while and say 1600 crores., interviewer smiling,, are u sure, i think again and say, yes sir 1600 croresthen which is the biggest IT company of india : its TCS, its worth about 5.5 billion dollars. But infy would beat TCS at it by 2010 or so...oh really.. what do u think the dollar rising and falling impacts the indian industry so much : yes sir, to counterbalance infy is looking to make deals in INR in which most employees are paid rather than in dollars so that, infy doesnt get impacted that much ( This is my worst answer, may be my killer)...ok Varun, had a good time talking to you, please wait outside and send th enext person.
i came out, was happy, though apprehensive. i know that a measure of success is how the assistant with my file returns and what she asks me to do next. she says, fill up the feedback form, i thought it was all over, i did that and then she says, u now have another interview with the director.i am tooooo happy, i know that the interivew i just faced was a elimination interview, i might have been eliminated if i stand no chance. but since i am called for the next round, i do have a chance. meet the entire batch up again. we do another round of intros. where are u from etc. exchanged cards etc. then we asked each other our marks.. that was my thriller. everyone was like, SPJAT-79, SPJ-81, CAT-92, SPJ-74 and when it comes to me, i am like SPJ-99, and all people are like,, arrey tu toh star hai...uske baad, everyone every sentence had a bash line. tu toh 99 hai, tereko kya interview lenge, tu jaaek bol, lena hai to loh nahi toh chod do and all that. the talk was centered around 99 for some time when one said, that he passed out school in 99, he has never got a 99 in any subject in life. it was fun. great interacting with people from different professions.
then the director intreview. Director was like, how was your experience since morning, how do you find the process, any change u suggest.then goes through my file, oh, so u have moved around india quite a bit, tell me how has been work with infy: i am like its been such a good learning experience. just a short while, but i know i have come a long way since been a college studentyou have been given a good appraisal in infy why do u think you have gotten it: i was like, since i was new to the team, i worked extra harder to blend in to the team, the project required working long hours, and i have worked 14-15 hours for weeks at a stretch without complaint. maybe that impresesd the managers.thats it.. ok, you have any questions? i am like. nope. nothing.ok, thanks for being part of the SPJain Evaluation process, the results you would know soon enough. thats all .
Quite an experience. Even if i dont get in, i would have learnt a lot from the entire experience in the least. i know i have a 50-50 chance but think that the one year expereince thing might weigh heavily against me. the interview and GD went quite decently
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