Paradox is the way of life

Consistency in academics was a prime concern for my father in my school days. He used to be really upset with me if I scored lower than my previous test results, even if the difference was minor. My cousin, who was also my tuition teacher, made sure my father is aware if I am not focusing enough on studies and when complaints were constant, my dad used to beat the shit out of me. Once I got my test results in which I performed poor than my previous test. My cousin told me that she informed my dad and he was very angry. She said, "Be prepared. Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad!" That scared the hell out of me.

My dad being a Police man, his beating was rough and painful. All the while in the bus commute back home, I was getting petrified of getting hurt, and go school the next day with swollen face and bruised back. With heavy steps I reached the entrance of my building and suddenly all my fear was gone! I wasn't scared to face my dad's beating any more. I was totally prepared for it. But (And) my dad did not beat me up that day!

Now switch back to recent time. I was trying to get into a company since second half of 2011. But for some reason I was not even being considered for the job on offer, even with relevant experience and skill set. After almost 6 months of trying hard to just get an interview call nothing was happening; I gave up. I thought it was not meant to happen. Just a few days later I got that interview call, in February this year. I was asked to work on an assignment as well. I did all that but really had no hopes at all. But (And) I got that job in April this year!

My new employer wanted me to join within a month. That wasn't possible as official notice period at my ex employer was 2 months. I negotiated my notice period with my new employer, to join in 45 days. But I didn't imagine being relieved in this much time, because of handovers and transfer of responsibilities. I expected my ex employer to make me serve entire 2 months just to trouble me or get more time to try and retain me. But (And) when I approached my super boss regarding resignation I was relieved from my duties on the same day!

You get late to office at times and try to hurry up. There's chaos on display with you missing out on few things on the way. Sometimes you just give up the idea of reaching in time. But (And) those are the times when you somehow manage to reach on time without getting late remark! Is this a common observation for you? Am I over analyzing these random experiences?

Maybe God's act is at play in such cases. Some wise-guy once told me, "Never give up, you just might win! ". But when you really give up maybe God works out his magic. When you are actually prepared for the worst, just then it doesn't happen! This may not apply always but I believe it will apply for everything in our destiny. But (And) we can't fake it, I think. You really need to be prepared to loose out on it if you want it to happen; quite a paradox, isn't it? I hope I have unraveled this mystery of life correctly, and if so, I know now to be prepared for the worst for the best to happen!

Being Lazy is Being Human

One fine afternoon Mr. Issac Newton was taking a lazy nap below an apple tree. The fruit fell on him and he went on to discover Gravity. Well, you all know this. But just the way we appreciate Newton's intellect, do we appreciate his laziness and what followed post that? More scientists came up with their studies and went on to build machines to simplify human effort. Or, to put it in a different way, scientists, and people in general, made sure they remain lazy!

A quote by Bill Gates says, "If you got to finish a tough task soon, assign it to the laziest chap in your team, as he's most likely to find the quickest solution to it!" You got to appreciate laziness, people like Bill Gates praise it. Evolution of machines, conceptualized and implemented by us, falls completely in line with reducing human effort and thus being more lazy. This laziness is recommended to save time and money to utilize it for something more preferable.

The rise and acceptance of Online shopping in India has been one of the factors making us lazy (in a good way). Post Facebook period has been responsible for this majorly, as people were spending so much time online and did not know what to do with it. Marketers dangled their online shopping baits to us and we grabbed it. What were majorly travel related transactions suddenly had e-tail transactions as well! Flipkart, Myntra and Snapdeal, among few more have been very influential  for this.

How this helps me is the convenience of shopping almost everything sitting at home or office. Thanks to secure payment mechanisms, there has been a confidence boost in being involved in online transactions. So you can now purchase tshirts, footwear, gadgets, books, recharge mobile talk time and much more on weekdays and keep all the fun for weekends. Time saved by shopping online is happily spent with humans. Your friend 'likes' some cool tshirt or footwear and you get to see it and buy it then and there, thanks to online shopping. Discounts are high when we purchase products online as inventory display cost is scaled down, which is passed on to the consumer. What also has been incredible is the promotion of discount coupons or coupon codes by these ecommerce shopping websites to offer us these discounts.

A discount coupon or coupon code is a short text mostly in alpha numeric characters representing a discount offer being promoted or provided by an online shopping website. This coupon code text has to be mentioned during the checkout phase and the specified discount would apply (How to use coupon codes?). So lets say you have a 10% Off coupon code from Inkfruit, you apply it during your online shopping checkout at Inkfruit to get the discount. What makes a coupon code unique is the fact that it encourages online shopping in such a subtle manner!

Why do Credit Card companies give away loyalty points and cash back rewards? It's an incentive for a customer to use that card more often. Similarly, coupon codes makes us more keen on shopping and transacting online. These ecommerce websites share these coupon codes via their newsletters, Facebook and Twitter platforms and in banner ads as well. How are we supposed to scan and keep a copy of so many discount coupons from so many websites? Thanks to coupon portal sites like CouponRaja.com, we don't need to worry about it no more. CouponRaja.com has latest discount coupons and online deals of almost all ecommerce websites in India. Once you register for newsletters and set alerts, you get personalized promotional newsletters with discount codes and thus get more savings overall. 

You save time, money and energy and utilize it all for more meaningful things in life, like your friends, family, close one's and yourself! So, isn't laziness good? Keep running towards being lazy coz its being human :)

The great (Anshu) Man

It was during the first year of my MBA course that I heard about it. Our HR professor mentioned that one of the major reasons behind a person switching his/her job is a bad boss. It is not always about the money, being the moral of this argument. Upon experiencing this in my first ever stint post MBA completion, I realized this argument was infact a fact! My boss (I am itching to mention his name but I am refraining myself from it) had made my job hell. It was ofcourse the worst phase of my life for several reasons and boss was making sure to be on top of those reasons of my dismay. Fortunately, I got into Logicserve and it was a changeover, a satisfying one.

In professional life you know you look up to certain people. They really stand out for you. You are in awe, grateful to them for unusual reasons at times. I really want to appreciate one such person who will no longer work with us for quite some time, may be never ever. But, for me, he stands out. He is one person I will certainly look up to for advice related to my professional career. The great Anshuman Misra. 

I have had the most enlightening pleasure of working with him, as he served for Logicserve as Senior Vice President - Sales and Operations. I remember going to him right after 2 months of joining Logicserve, with a totally confused mind. I asked him, "What is expected of me? What is it that I am doing? Am I doing good?". That was the first thing I learned from him, that people senior to you always keep a close watch and they know if you are doing good or not. And you should never ask whether you are doing good or not. If you are doing good, you will surely get that feedback.

That interaction probably set the tone for the wonderful professional relationship, or mentoring, which I have had with him. He was certainly one among those who elected for me to be promoted to Team Lead role. Weekly Hits and Misses discussion with him was the best which could have happened for me. Constant interaction, receiving a mature outlook towards business was sinking in really well. At times I was overwhelmed by the judicious ways in which he tackled strife between my team and other teams. At one on one level, he is the best negotiator I have ever came across with. Some inputs related to work conduct like formal attire, clean shave were also registered in me by him. He once quoted, "If you want to be a manager, behave like a manager!". I still follow some of these things which he mentioned supporting that statement.

The best thing which came to me from him was his guidance regarding a job switch I was considering. Ofcourse it was his duty to retain his employee, but he went beyond that. He made me understand what and how to consider before a switch, what kind of company it is and some other relevant inputs. I was convinced not to join that company, and I will always cherish that decision - that company has gone bust now, in just 1 and half year of setting up. 

He was like a Godfather to me, as for numerous other colleagues. I would seek him in times of corporate conflicts, career advice, profile and role clarity and job expectations. Now that he is moving on to venture into uncharted areas for him, career wise, I can notice the vaccum he leaves behind. But I know he will be available to me for guidance, always! 

Anshuman Sir, I have had a few people influence my life, shaping it the way it is today. But for my professional career so far, it has majorly been you. Thank you will not suffice my dues to you. Yet, I appreciate whatever you have done for me and wish you have a very long and successful professional and personal life. You will always be (career wise) my Super Man, someone I will always look up to!

It happened for the Master!

16th March 2012 will be etched in one of my happiest memories forever. After a year long wait Sachin Tendulkar completed his 100th International century. I have been avoiding watching him play since the England tour because I felt I was being unlucky for him. Even today, as he neared this milestone and my friends started passing comments I just left the floor, restless, desperate for him to get this gorilla off his back.

I wont say his 100th ton went in vain on account of our loss. He never had an ODI century against Bangladesh before, even when we consider them to be a weak cricketing nation. This ton is the check mark against all ODI playing nations of his generation. And it is his 100th international century while representing India! So why do you think it was a lost effort? Yes, the win would have made it sweeter but has he announced retirement yet?

For quite some time now I have been hearing and reading FB posts by many people saying India loses when Sachin hit's a ton. I think it is really hard for them to believe that 76 of his hundreds have helped India win or draw matches (references below). Now consider below stats. 2011 onwards whenever he has gone on to make a big one, the team has let him down. Is Sachin the unlucky charm?

Result
Period	Tally	Win	Draw	Lost
1990 to 1995	12	7	4	1
1996 to 2000	39	20	8	11
2001 to 2005	22	14	4	4
2006 to 2010	23	13	4	6
2011 onwards	5	0	2	3

One of the passing comments I heard was Sachin playing selfishly for his milestone 100, as his strike rate was lower than his ODI career average. I don't buy this but lets just consider anyone in his place in this scenario. Tell me that person would not have done so, would not have tried to achieve such an impossible record having been so close to the finish line? You cant say that right, coz you are human; isn't he one?

Perhaps you must have assessed my frustration level behind this philosophy, research and number crunching. Hearing and reading a lot of stuff about the much awaited ton, retirement, breeding youngsters had really frustrated me to the core. I can't even say I imagine what level will be Sachin's frustration.Could there have been any other person to endure what he has done so brilliantly?

Sachin is my role model. I love him far more for the kind of person he is than a great cricketer. Sachin always shows you how important it is to be a good human being more than anything else. We belong to the same hometown and are maharashtrians, in which I take immense pride. He has always handled praise and criticism equally well. He has always made sure his work speaks for him. He is so very passionate about his game even after such a long career. His philosophy about his work is simply to improve what you do and results will follow. Be patient and humble. Quite certainly is a rare specimen, isn't he?

In today's press conference a reporter mentioned, "Are you aware this is your maiden ODI ton against Bangladesh?" to which he replied, "No. I didn't know that. I don't get involved in numbers. If I do that I will end up spending too much time, might as well put that time to practice for games to follow!" That's so true. Another century in ODI cricket by him will be the first ever 50 centuries posted by one man in history of ODI. 650 odd additional runs will make him the first ever batsman to post over 19000 ODI runs. And many more we wouldn't even had thought about.

It's my genuine request to everyone interested in the game of cricket. Enjoy Sachin's game till you can! These are his sunset years and you never know when you will cease to witness such a human being with this overwhelming aura, talent and conduct. We are too meager to comment, suggest or criticize him. Somewhere you know you love him for what he has done for India. Your envy for him is useless coz you can never match him. He is not an ordinary human, you see. He is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, the God of Cricket for so many and the Master, for me!

Stats references - 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_cricket_centuries_by_Sachin_Tendulkar

Happy Holi - Women's Day

What makes this year unique? End of the world rumour? Leap year? Naah. It's about today. It's coinciding of Holi festival and International Women's day. Confused? Well, this uniqueness is related to me. 

So let me start by wishing all women, more specifically those who have been a part of my life, a very Happy Women 's day. I think today is about taking some time out to appreciate the role a women plays in your life. I am proud to mention that I have had the pleasure of having a good number of female friends (and more than friends) and now when I look back I can appreciate the little (and in some cases, huge) differences they have made to my life. Women change you, temporarily or even permanently. They have such powers, trust me. And I am not complaining about it.

Holi festival is one of those few which I do not celebrate. I don't remember playing Holi after the age of 12, with just one exception (more about this follows soon). The reason had been the violence with which people from my residential building played it, not to mention the booze. Colors and water always had the least preference. It was all about mud, dirty water, kicking and throwing and other such ruthless stuff. I experienced it once and decided never ever to face it again. I used to lock myself inside my house on Holi, when people from my building came on our floor. I preferred being neat and sober on Holi. But exception happened in the year 2004.

I was trying my luck with one of my more than good female friends and things were shaping up good. We had become close friends. Holi was approaching and in one of our conversations, she mentioned that she plays Holi with her school friends every year. I thought it would be a good idea to play Holi this year with her. Some of her school friends were my acquaintances as well, and they knew I had a crush on her. So when I expressed my request of playing Holi with them that year, they happily obliged.

My mom was a bit surprised to hear that I was gonna play Holi that year, quite obviously. But she did not bother much when I told her it's my college friends. She knew I had better friends in college than at our locality. So I left my house at about 7 that morning and reached Girgaum. I met those friends of mine. Without further ado, I was showered with colors and water. Those guys picked me up and dropped me in a mini pool of color water. Some of them kicked me as well. Focus kept changing from one person to another. So even I got my chances of doing these things with other guys. 

We left from there in some time heading to her locality. By the time I reached, she was already colored. For a moment I did not realize her at all. I applied some color on her cheeks, wishing her "Happy Holi". She did the same and soon all her friends joined in. Some of the guys went berserk and also smashed eggs on our head. I was one of those (un)lucky guys. We really enjoyed a lot!

My energy dried up in some time and I decided to leave for home. In the bus, people were staring at me like crazy, often murmuring as well. It was when I reached home did I realize what might have been the reason. My mom was shocked to see me in that avatar. She asked me, "What's that awful smell?" I told her about the eggs and she made an awful expression. It was my stench which irritated the people in that bus. Mom told me she would have to throw away my tshirt and shorts, which I was wearing that day because there was no chance of that smell going away. I was sorry to hear that because I really liked that tshirt, but had no choice. And that was the last time, of me playing Holi, so far :)

Women, I tell you, have magical powers of making men do things they have refrained from. It's good to be in good books of women, saying this based on personal experience. Women are much worse than men when it comes to being bad. But, with a right women, the man can never be more happy. Women have a significant impact on a man's life and I am glad I can realize it. Just appreciating the same by wishing all women, Happy Women's day!

I hated my Hindi teacher

There is nothing as complex as human memory. It is capable of recording everything which ever happened in your life but you really cant call out everything of it at will. You remember all the regular stuff, also some special moments which mean a lot. But there are some memories which mean a lot to us in hindsight, which is probably the reason we cannot remember them at will. They flash across our mind only when we realize their importance.

These days at office are really crazy, too much work, everything seems to be haywire at times, priorities change, miscommunication occurs; simply too much chaos. Amidst all this, I was having a light conversation with my colleagues Sandeep and Ajeet. Ajeet was telling us how he beat some crooks that week, with punches and dabs and round house kicks and all. Ajeet, by the way, has been a boxer, karate player, basically a strong lad we knew of. What we did not know was that he was so lethal! I was really scared to listen how he beat the crap out of those crooks, while enjoying a good laugh. Ajeet mentioned he was kind of a bully when a kid, used to beat other kids until he met this one professor in his H.S.C. year. He claimed he could improve only because of this professor, who really changed him. Sandeep also added, saying he also had this one professor who kind of changed his life. I said, there's always this one professor in your life who has an unforgettable impact on you. That was when visuals of my Hindi teacher lit up in my mind.

My academic performance in school have always been very good, always among top 5 in class. I have taken a beating from my dad at times only because I scored a first class and not distinction! I was in my teens now and had started to take things lightly, the usual metamorphosis which occurs during this phase of life. I tend to be overconfident at times, even now, and back then it was more prominent. I was in 9th standard and started to feel I can score first class in tests very easily. I would ignore all language subjects citing to myself not to waste time studying such easy stuff. Unit tests commenced and it was Hindi paper the next day. I did not touch the textbook until the day of exam, scanning through the chapters and poems 15 mins before exam bell rang. I wrote god knows what, and not even once did it run across my mind that I should have studied a bit.

Tiwari sir, serving his last term at our school, was the one to check my division's answer sheets. 3 days post exam, he comes to our class with bundles of answer sheets in his hand. He asked our class monitor to distribute the papers. I got mine, and was dumbfound to look at my marks - 15 out of 50, FAIL! I gathered myself and recounted all marks, which added to 15. I checked through the answers and thought I should have given a few marks more for some. My friends came to know about my marks and were equally shocked. I could not take it any more, so I approached sir asking for a revaluation. He glanced through the paper but did not increase my marks anywhere. I requested him, citing that it's the first time something like this has happened with me so it must be a mistake. He was cold about my pleadings. He ignored me and I had nothing left to do than coming back to my seat and cry. Taking pity at me, some of my girl friends (I remember Shraddha, Linanjali doing this) approached him requesting to increase  marks and pass me. He simply refused!

So I had failed for the first time. I got the worst whack of my life from my dad. He beat me like crazy a day before my birthday, did not make me go to school on my birthday (I tried to be smart; I got my paper on 14th Aug, I decided to tell my parents on my birthday on 17th Aug so I may get away with less beating but (un)fortunately my dad came across it on 16th night and he figured out my plan which made him even more angry!).

That was it, Tiwari sir was my enemy now. I took it all very personally, cursed him a lot. I hated him to the core, could not stand him at all. I disrespected him (Don't ask how). And he was there, totally unaware of all this, preparing for his post retirement time. Since that incident, my parents started taking keen interest in my studies. My mom thought I had a difficulty in languages so she helped me with Hindi and Marathi. Rakhi, my cousin who was also my tuition teacher, was more focused on my studies now. My studies and progress was constantly monitored and eventually I started taking my studies seriously. Later on no one had to look after my studies, I did it all by myself. The rest lies in my academic records - 83% in S.S.C., 3rd in school and 2nd in Hindi, 75% in H.S.C. with 92 in Chemistry, 77% in T.Y.BSc Information Technology, 1st in college and 196/200 in University project and 72% in MBA Operations. 

Could all this have been possible if Tiwari sir had been lineant back then? Probably yes. But that jolt was required back then. You may take 20 hard blows to break a rock but does that mean the first one was not important? For him it was easy to raise my marks and pass me. I never knew of anyone trying to persuade a professor to pass someone else. Still, he was adamant not to pass me, and rightly so! Perhaps he must have sensed what was necessary for me at that time and he did it. It was a tough decision for him as well, but he did it because it was right. And he has certainly helped one of his students progress in life.

Shraddha always told me Tiwari sir was a nice person and I must say I agree with her now, thanks to this happy realization. Thank you Tiwari sir. I wish you had a wonderful life so far and continue to do so. I am glad I could realize the significance of your action in my lifetime. God bless you sir.

Boss is always right!

There goes the cliche yet again. Unlike some cliches, this one certainly holds true most of the times. And it is not just the apt action or words chosen by the Boss which matter here. The authority which a Boss holds is key to this argument. I have always believed in this right from my degree college days but this incident which happened recently made my belief firm as a rock. 

My sis celebrated her 21st birthday this year on 19th Jan. My dad suggested we gift her a laptop, and he insisted we gift her one on the day of her birthday. The problem was timing of this wonderful idea; it struck him on 16th Jan! At such short notice we had to rely on Known Devil. So I called up Just Dial to find out Vijay Sales stores in and around Vashi. I fetched contact number of their store in Palm Beach Galleria mall and called up to enquire about Dell Inspiron 14R. I spoke to Vedprakash, who is the Head of Laptop department at this store. He answered all my queries related to laptop configuration, price, availability, available colors and payment mode. Now I just had to drop in there and make my purchase. We all visited the store on 19th only to find Vedprakash on leave for that day. We went ahead with the purchase but were not happy with one of the accessories. This laptop has changeable lids, and Sayali did not find the available lids any classy. We asked the sales guy attending us if we can change the lid later to which he said he will need to talk to his senior, who was absent for the day. Anyways, we took the available lid back home but another trip to this store was due.

We went home only to find out that the laptop charger was not working. Apparently it was compatible with some other model. I needed to go back to the store the next day for this issue (This is why I call them Known Devil. I distinctly remember replacing my iPod touch as the one which I got first was not working!). Also, a fair copy of receipt was yet to be received. I went to the store again, and this time I met Vedprakash. I discussed the problem with him and he realized what might have happened. He replaced the charger and suggested to charge the laptop for a while. He then went away and I could not see him for the next 15-20 mins; apparently he was not in the store nor the office. The other sales guys were gosipping a few things and I had no choice but to hear them as they were in the vicinity of my laptop being charged. I interrupted their gossip to ask if I could get a different bagpack, to which that guy suggested to talk to his senior. Few minutes later I interrupted again, this time about replacing lid. The sales guy said my laptop model was provided only with the lid which I already had and so it cant be replaced. I was not so happy knowing this but I could not do anything about it. I was now patiently waiting for my laptop to be charged when I heard about the latest gossip topic related to Vedprakash. Those guys junior to him were cribbing about him, questioning his position, claiming that he takes long breaks which go unnoticed because of his position, and how all this is unfair and he does not deserve it!

I did not listen to all of it as I was getting late for office. The charger was working fine now but Vedprakash was not there yet, so I asked those sales guys to try and call him. He was not reachable so I packed up and left. I just came out of the store and there he was approaching me. He enquired if my laptop is now working fine. I nodded and asked him about replacing the lid. He assured me not to worry about it and noted by contact number; he said he will inform me once a fresh lot of lids are in stock. I had to visit the store again after a few days, to collect my copy of receipt. This time I forgot the copy to be shown at the bill counter but here again Vedprakash bailed me out. He traced the transaction after I told him the date of purchase and made sure I receive the receipt. Fresh stock of lids was still not available yet he assured me that he would inform about it once it arrives.

As a Boss, Vedprakash had the command to let me know what is possible and what is not. He had the authority to help me out, the knowledge to resolve my queries right from the time we interacted. Apparently he takes extended breaks and is a little bossy with his juniors, so what? He is still the best person of that Vijay Sales store when it comes to satisfying customers looking for laptops. Part of this authority is ego, no doubt. But most of it is 'been there, done that'. Boss has this power and very understandably he likes to exercise it, take advantage of it. Yet, he is still the best person to bail you out, mentor you, assign tasks and get work done. He may take credit for your work at times, because he might have faced the same when he was you. He needs a little bit of ego massage in a while, and nothing wrong about that. Shift in perspective about your boss and his actions is what you ought to seek. Make it simple, put your feet in your Boss's shoes and you'll know, that the Boss is always right!