Yeah!!! Thanks IPL...for promoting what we should not...
In one of the recent advertisements promoting this new mode of cricket...a patient is asked by the dentist about his likes for teams....the poor guy grins and names Delhi...and in the process loses all his teeth...because the dentist was for Mumbai.
This concept which is so prevalent in the European countries for various games is being imitated by IPL in India now. Unfortunately, it so happens that India has a cultural diversity which showcases a different India after almost every 100 kms...In such diverse environs, it anyways becomes a big task to ensure that people call themselves Indian and not address themselves by areas (thanks to Chak De! and SRK for promoting Indianism which seems to be losing its importance and relevance in this new India...really unfortunately) And now IPL is making things even more stingy...
I keep saying this and I keep thinking about it...I just hope that a day does not come when people forget that their is an India which they live in.........
Rgds,
Falcon
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Learnings on unity...from a taxi driver
We call these huge ambassadors in Kolkata as Yellow Buffaloes...one such buffalo was taking me from my office in Taratala to my guest house in Alipur - a small distance of around 15-20 minutes. These were some of the most interesting minutes of mine for quite some time before.
The driver was from Bihar - a small district called Burdwan. I had felt that my knowledge of development was too good and started having a small conversation with him regarding the latest development related activities which the new government of Bihar was doing. This includes setting up of educational institutes, infrasrtucture, setups for MNC's etc.
This is what the driver had to say (the entire thing was in Hindi but translated here for convenience of the idle reader) :
"Saab, I am matric pass. I call myself educated from Bihar standards but I know that I am still uneducated. When we uneducated people have a dispute, we have a fight. It may or may not be a fist fight but we definitely fight. We abuse and we shout and scream at each other. We say things about each other's mothers and sisters. We do everything that our feeble mind feels will give the other person pain. But we do it on their face. AND we forget about it as soon as the incidence is over.
What do educated people do saab? Look at Maharashtra. These people call themselves educated and developed? They keep small things in their hearts till these small things become big and then simply cut up the poor person who is living away from his village working in their homes, offices and factories, doing menial jobs just to ensure that his family back home is able to eat two meals a day! Will you call Bal Thakeray or what is his son's name...educated? If this is educated and developed, then I will not want Bihar to be this saab.
I will want that before opening all these IIM's and IIT's, we should first teach our people to live like one...to ensure that the education - if and when they get it - is used for purposes that it should be used for...and these are for the development of the fellow beings living not only in their localities but also in their states and even more importantly...in their country.
Its been such a long time since I last heard someone saying that he was from India saab. All that everyone says is that he is from a state of a region."
Eye opener? I was stunned by this seemingly 30-35 year old who claimed to be just class X pass to say something so astounding that I wish I could make him stand on a podium and say these words in front of the entire country....I wish I could hear him speak for some more time...
Rgds,
Falcon
The driver was from Bihar - a small district called Burdwan. I had felt that my knowledge of development was too good and started having a small conversation with him regarding the latest development related activities which the new government of Bihar was doing. This includes setting up of educational institutes, infrasrtucture, setups for MNC's etc.
This is what the driver had to say (the entire thing was in Hindi but translated here for convenience of the idle reader) :
"Saab, I am matric pass. I call myself educated from Bihar standards but I know that I am still uneducated. When we uneducated people have a dispute, we have a fight. It may or may not be a fist fight but we definitely fight. We abuse and we shout and scream at each other. We say things about each other's mothers and sisters. We do everything that our feeble mind feels will give the other person pain. But we do it on their face. AND we forget about it as soon as the incidence is over.
What do educated people do saab? Look at Maharashtra. These people call themselves educated and developed? They keep small things in their hearts till these small things become big and then simply cut up the poor person who is living away from his village working in their homes, offices and factories, doing menial jobs just to ensure that his family back home is able to eat two meals a day! Will you call Bal Thakeray or what is his son's name...educated? If this is educated and developed, then I will not want Bihar to be this saab.
I will want that before opening all these IIM's and IIT's, we should first teach our people to live like one...to ensure that the education - if and when they get it - is used for purposes that it should be used for...and these are for the development of the fellow beings living not only in their localities but also in their states and even more importantly...in their country.
Its been such a long time since I last heard someone saying that he was from India saab. All that everyone says is that he is from a state of a region."
Eye opener? I was stunned by this seemingly 30-35 year old who claimed to be just class X pass to say something so astounding that I wish I could make him stand on a podium and say these words in front of the entire country....I wish I could hear him speak for some more time...
Rgds,
Falcon
Monday, March 03, 2008
Waiting....
Still waiting....for "something" to happen to me that will make me appreciate my own or anyone else's existence in this world...
Still waiting....for "someone" to appear who will make us understand that we dont exist just because we need to and their could be other reasons...
Still waiting....for "someplace" to open that could give me the solace and the peace that I feel is what we should endeavour to achieve in our short stay here....
TRYING....to understand that maybe that "something", "someone" or "someplace" could be inside me rather than outside....
If their is God....Prayer to thee for everyone here......help me live or help me otherwise
Still waiting....for "someone" to appear who will make us understand that we dont exist just because we need to and their could be other reasons...
Still waiting....for "someplace" to open that could give me the solace and the peace that I feel is what we should endeavour to achieve in our short stay here....
TRYING....to understand that maybe that "something", "someone" or "someplace" could be inside me rather than outside....
If their is God....Prayer to thee for everyone here......help me live or help me otherwise
Friday, February 29, 2008
Getting late...and lovin it
I am one of those people who love to reach the airport an hour in advance if the airline wants me to be their 45 minutes before. I follow this and barring afew anomalies, I have stuck to this...and then will be sitting on a chair waiting for boarding announcement and very religiously board without anyone in the airline having to worry about me.
Last week, I had to take a flight from Guwahati to Jorhat...Jet is my fav airline (after all they treat thr frequent fliers in the most royal way) and I was at my best reaching the airport an hour in advance. Checked in and went and sat down comfortably....and went off to sleep.
I was the last to board and the airline actually had to arrange a separate bus to take me to the flight...and they got at least 20 mts late because of this......I understand that this will possibly be common (or not so uncommon) for a lot of ppl....but frankly this was a first for me (after arnd 100-150 flights taken till date)
And the experience (airlines ppl....plz dont read this)......it brought an ADRENALINE RUSH! Absolute thrill...!!! And the stares of the airline staff was awesome!!! Felt so good that immediately went to sleep again on boarding.....a tired satisfaction.
Falcon
Last week, I had to take a flight from Guwahati to Jorhat...Jet is my fav airline (after all they treat thr frequent fliers in the most royal way) and I was at my best reaching the airport an hour in advance. Checked in and went and sat down comfortably....and went off to sleep.
I was the last to board and the airline actually had to arrange a separate bus to take me to the flight...and they got at least 20 mts late because of this......I understand that this will possibly be common (or not so uncommon) for a lot of ppl....but frankly this was a first for me (after arnd 100-150 flights taken till date)
And the experience (airlines ppl....plz dont read this)......it brought an ADRENALINE RUSH! Absolute thrill...!!! And the stares of the airline staff was awesome!!! Felt so good that immediately went to sleep again on boarding.....a tired satisfaction.
Falcon
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Long time no see...heeheehee
Some ppl will be surprised that I still remember the password of this page. Sply those newspaper guys who write about all those ex-bloggers who have stopped writing anything on thr blogs. Anyways.....you all guys can count one out...because I m not going to let go so easily.
These last few months have been toooooo long. Lost some very very good frnds....to accidents or to time....whatever. Gone.
Joined (of all the places in this entire country) ....North East as Area Sales Manager...and now taking care of something like 25 odd ppl getting in a whole lot of sales. I never understand where and in whose stomach all those biscuits go. I never bought so many of them at one go! But then...why do I care....these ppl get me my salary...and that is what I m here for na!
And then....started my own biz!!! Surprised??!!! Hehehehe....more at some future date...lets see what happens on this front.
Anyways...do stay in touch with my travel blog....i m going to make it a glossary of various places in North East very soon!!! Complete with pics etc!!!
These last few months have been toooooo long. Lost some very very good frnds....to accidents or to time....whatever. Gone.
Joined (of all the places in this entire country) ....North East as Area Sales Manager...and now taking care of something like 25 odd ppl getting in a whole lot of sales. I never understand where and in whose stomach all those biscuits go. I never bought so many of them at one go! But then...why do I care....these ppl get me my salary...and that is what I m here for na!
And then....started my own biz!!! Surprised??!!! Hehehehe....more at some future date...lets see what happens on this front.
Anyways...do stay in touch with my travel blog....i m going to make it a glossary of various places in North East very soon!!! Complete with pics etc!!!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
For Ramki...
I dont know how to put these thoughts into words. I had a holi which I know I will never forget but I will have loved to forget ASAP. And I know that till the time I stay in Britannia, from this sunday onwards, everyone is going to remember me as the guy who got Ramki out.....I just feel sad that it was not Ramki that I got out of the pool but just his..............
Feels earie to think that the nice sweet fellow who used to wave a hi whenever he saw me and whose voice used to boom into my ears whenever I went to take coffee on first floor is no more.....and I was instrumental in finding out that this was the case.....
Ramki.....in your end, I have found a new meaning of life.....and I assure you that I will not forget this new meaning.....this new meaning that life is not in our hands....a meaning that life can be as short or as long as someone else wants....a meaning that whatever is left of our life....we shld ensure that we live it not just to the full for ourselves...but try to make everyone else arnd us know that life (or whatever we have left of it) is to be enjoyed and lived to the full. That life has been given to us for making us do what we are capable of....hence we shld do what we can with it to ensure a very happy and fruitfull living for ourselves and all the stakeholders in our life.
To Ramki......may your soul rest in peace
Feels earie to think that the nice sweet fellow who used to wave a hi whenever he saw me and whose voice used to boom into my ears whenever I went to take coffee on first floor is no more.....and I was instrumental in finding out that this was the case.....
Ramki.....in your end, I have found a new meaning of life.....and I assure you that I will not forget this new meaning.....this new meaning that life is not in our hands....a meaning that life can be as short or as long as someone else wants....a meaning that whatever is left of our life....we shld ensure that we live it not just to the full for ourselves...but try to make everyone else arnd us know that life (or whatever we have left of it) is to be enjoyed and lived to the full. That life has been given to us for making us do what we are capable of....hence we shld do what we can with it to ensure a very happy and fruitfull living for ourselves and all the stakeholders in our life.
To Ramki......may your soul rest in peace
Friday, March 02, 2007
Friday, February 09, 2007
HR stint...saara kaam khatam...finally
Phew!!!! That was some work. Possibly because the only time I have tried doing something in HR was during my MBA and that too with a mind and body both refusing to obey the commands of my HR profs and (having a mind of their own) deciding to go to sleep at the slightest mention of Human Resources...almost the same ordeal was being sufferred by the poor me during these last couple of weeks. Infinitely looooong hours of using my hands keeping my eyelids open rather than using them for purposes more useful (like typing this blog)
Finally it is over and I am starting on my marketing stint...the last but one stint in this 6 month training program which I am sure has taught me more than I learnt in any other 6 months of my life....and this from me after having completed only 4.5 of the 6 months I am talking about.
Lets see what Britannia has in store for me next. I am sure it is going to be fun...working on the largest brand of the company...and to top it all...the brand manager is from XIMB!! (came to know that yesterday only during my first introduction to her)
Wish me luck pleeeaaasssee somebody...
Regards for the minions of the Earth,
Falcon
Finally it is over and I am starting on my marketing stint...the last but one stint in this 6 month training program which I am sure has taught me more than I learnt in any other 6 months of my life....and this from me after having completed only 4.5 of the 6 months I am talking about.
Lets see what Britannia has in store for me next. I am sure it is going to be fun...working on the largest brand of the company...and to top it all...the brand manager is from XIMB!! (came to know that yesterday only during my first introduction to her)
Wish me luck pleeeaaasssee somebody...
Regards for the minions of the Earth,
Falcon
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Blood Diamond
Leonardo Di Caprio in a hell of a role. Along with Djimon Housou (both of them in award nomination roles....should win if I were to decide) they have created a movie with an impact so powerfull that it can be put into league with the very best. Djimon has shown the kind of talent that lies in movie industries which even though are not as famous as hollywood or bollywood but have starts who can compete with the very best in business (incidentally this is the second such movie after Kabul Express taking support from local actors who have worked wonders to the movie).
The movie is a lovely package which though could possibly do without the love part cropping up. Thankfully it was not hyped any further than it was. And Leo dying in the end made for a fitting end to a movie which was intented to work on the emotional nerve of the audience. To top it were the dialogues....my fav..."...I sometimes feel that God left this place a long time back...he got too depressed...." (this one is currently my google talk status message).
An all out blockbuster which makes you feel that living in Kashmir in the 90's would have been peacefull. I hope the condition in Africa is not that bad....and if it is...I hope to God that it improves ASAP.
One mention too for all the other characters in the movie. The director played his part and so did all of them.
Must see...if u already have not
Regards,
Nishant
The movie is a lovely package which though could possibly do without the love part cropping up. Thankfully it was not hyped any further than it was. And Leo dying in the end made for a fitting end to a movie which was intented to work on the emotional nerve of the audience. To top it were the dialogues....my fav..."...I sometimes feel that God left this place a long time back...he got too depressed...." (this one is currently my google talk status message).
An all out blockbuster which makes you feel that living in Kashmir in the 90's would have been peacefull. I hope the condition in Africa is not that bad....and if it is...I hope to God that it improves ASAP.
One mention too for all the other characters in the movie. The director played his part and so did all of them.
Must see...if u already have not
Regards,
Nishant
HR ppl do work!!!
HR guys to work!!! Yep, that is the conclusion that I have drawn after this rigorous HR stint that just got over. 3 working days + 3 holidays in between and I had to finish preparing one training program. Thanks to my great pals working as HR managers in different companies, I managed to make some progress and finish the work on time (I totally screwed up my long weekend in the process with Guru and Salaam e'Ishq still remaining unseen..).
Result of the stint: Realization that HR guys do have some work to do...even though the job that I did could have been taken care of by any vendor but a great experience in googling :-D
And I did not get to write about Blood Diamond which is a superb movie btw...will be my next post.
Take careRegards,Nishant
Result of the stint: Realization that HR guys do have some work to do...even though the job that I did could have been taken care of by any vendor but a great experience in googling :-D
And I did not get to write about Blood Diamond which is a superb movie btw...will be my next post.
Take careRegards,Nishant
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
The World's Fastest Indian
I was surprised to hear Antony Hopkins in a movie about an Indian. Good that it came out to be the old bike.
Awesome movie shot with a 1963 New Zealand and USA as the backdrop, it talks about how a man dreamt big and ensured that he achieved it amongst all odds. Who cares if the dream was just to break the land record for the fastest streamline bike under 1000CC. Who cares that the man had a bad heart and a bike with hairline fractures in the wheels and no chutes or breaks to stop. Who cares that the bike was almost done for on so many occasions that the movie watcher will lose count. The one thing that matterred was the old man's attitude....sample this one; "what if I lose a leg....I have a spare one" or for that matter....."if you do not dream son....you might as well be a vegetable..." Their are more where these come from.
I will definitely recommend this movie for anyone and everyone who actually wants to get some motivation to go out into this world and get what they dream about....and dont just watch the damn movie....learn from it....that is what I am going to try and do....or rather try...
Awesome movie shot with a 1963 New Zealand and USA as the backdrop, it talks about how a man dreamt big and ensured that he achieved it amongst all odds. Who cares if the dream was just to break the land record for the fastest streamline bike under 1000CC. Who cares that the man had a bad heart and a bike with hairline fractures in the wheels and no chutes or breaks to stop. Who cares that the bike was almost done for on so many occasions that the movie watcher will lose count. The one thing that matterred was the old man's attitude....sample this one; "what if I lose a leg....I have a spare one" or for that matter....."if you do not dream son....you might as well be a vegetable..." Their are more where these come from.
I will definitely recommend this movie for anyone and everyone who actually wants to get some motivation to go out into this world and get what they dream about....and dont just watch the damn movie....learn from it....that is what I am going to try and do....or rather try...
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Salem...an unknown wonder
Some of the most beautiful places in the world are still unexplored. The words came true when I was forced (literally) to do my Sales Officer stint as part of my training program in a place called Salem. Salem is a district in the north of Tamil Nadu, a place where people do not speek any other language but Tamil and without which, I felt my life for the next one month will be a living hell...
It was not. What it actually was was a beautiful experience visiting some really lovely locales (not always with my camera since I WAS on an official work) and some good food (most of the times I even liked the rice meals most common for lunches).
What follows in the next few posts is an account of all that hapenned (and did not) in Salem, Krishnagiri, Vanyambadi, Thiruannamalayi and loads of other places where I went.
Hope the accounts are as intersting as the trip was.
Regards,
Nishant
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Yerkaud today....mast Salem
Seriously a great place....Yerkaud was coooooool!!!!!!!
will write in detail about it during more time... :-(
imagine not having time even for my beloved blog...but now...will come with pics!!!...from my very own Canon
will write in detail about it during more time... :-(
imagine not having time even for my beloved blog...but now...will come with pics!!!...from my very own Canon
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Numbers...Salem and more
One month in Chennai has given to me more education in FMCG S&D and a host of other things than I could have imagined in my wildest dreams. After all how can anyone find out on their own how pathetic they have been at so many things that they always thought was their forte? Take presentations for that matter....I make a beautiful presentation (according to my mundane standards) and with pride, show it to arnd 3 top-brasses of the company! A royal screw will be a much pleasurable experience compared to what I went through after that. Butchered, annihilated, swashbuckled......these are the words that come to my mind. 24 hours and around 14 hours in front of the computer later, I came up with something completely different. Now that same presentation is doing the rounds of almost everyone on the company's board!!! So one day to learn something so important which I had never realized I did not know for all these years and months as that flashy MBA!!!
Another thought went through my mind while waiting for a table at a very good restaurant (in terms of the mughlai cuisine that they serve). We always seem to feel that a person inside a prison will be spending a life as a number and not as a name. For some time during our lives, almost all of us do have that kind of life in our daily work.....in a restaurant, you are known as Table no 4, in a cinema hall u r seat no F42, in a flight u might be 12D......so what is the diff?
Next stop...Salem for my SO stint!!! Hope to keep upto the reputation that I have created here.
Nishant
Another thought went through my mind while waiting for a table at a very good restaurant (in terms of the mughlai cuisine that they serve). We always seem to feel that a person inside a prison will be spending a life as a number and not as a name. For some time during our lives, almost all of us do have that kind of life in our daily work.....in a restaurant, you are known as Table no 4, in a cinema hall u r seat no F42, in a flight u might be 12D......so what is the diff?
Next stop...Salem for my SO stint!!! Hope to keep upto the reputation that I have created here.
Nishant
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
In Chennai....!!!
Yep, I finally get to write afew more words into this unknown blog which no one but myself reads. Not that I have not thought about it, I guess the amount of times I thnk about writing something here far exceeds the amount of time I thnk of calling my best of frnds. Just that I dont get to sit at a computer so often here with all this sales stint that is going on. Right now I just hapenned to get stuck in a cyber cafe because of rains.....imagine....Chennai and rains!!!! I never thought that actually was a phonomenon that hapenned.
Anyways...here I am in Chennai, far away from any living thing that I know personally (though a lot of my known frnds claim to be in Chennai) enjoying my days and somehow finding enuf good places to eat (unlike claims made by another set of frnds who happen to have spent some time of thr lives inChennai). One thing I find here...all men are equal! Color, clothes...take whatever u want to take....they are all black and wear white dhotis (no derogatory meaning intented....everyone here IS black)...so black that they actually make me feel white (which of course i m not)!!!
So finding life in Chennai a helluva lot better than had been made to imagine but will really find a problem in case i have to spend longer here than i have to. nyways i have finished all Dan Brown's and Jeffrey Archer's that i could lay my hands on and eaten as much rice as could come into my hands at a time. Though the rajisthani thali in the rajisthani dhaba on the main Anna Nagar road (the one with Saravana Bhavan...Still dont remember what number the road is).....is great...Try the Rajwadi Thali (80 bucks) and i m sure anyone will like it.
Looks like the rain has stopped...
Ciao
Nishant
Anyways...here I am in Chennai, far away from any living thing that I know personally (though a lot of my known frnds claim to be in Chennai) enjoying my days and somehow finding enuf good places to eat (unlike claims made by another set of frnds who happen to have spent some time of thr lives inChennai). One thing I find here...all men are equal! Color, clothes...take whatever u want to take....they are all black and wear white dhotis (no derogatory meaning intented....everyone here IS black)...so black that they actually make me feel white (which of course i m not)!!!
So finding life in Chennai a helluva lot better than had been made to imagine but will really find a problem in case i have to spend longer here than i have to. nyways i have finished all Dan Brown's and Jeffrey Archer's that i could lay my hands on and eaten as much rice as could come into my hands at a time. Though the rajisthani thali in the rajisthani dhaba on the main Anna Nagar road (the one with Saravana Bhavan...Still dont remember what number the road is).....is great...Try the Rajwadi Thali (80 bucks) and i m sure anyone will like it.
Looks like the rain has stopped...
Ciao
Nishant
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
And me becoming a mama
AFter giving all that gyaan on how I will not be able to write another post in a long time....I write one within half an hour.
My 2 great frnds...Anuj and Soumya...who did find mention in at least one previous post are now going to be proud parents... (actually I am not supposed to be telling this since the two of them have full right to tell this...but I just could not keep this inside my stomach....sorry Anuj and Soumya Gupta)....and I have decided that instead of becoming a tau...i will be a mama...(it sounds younger...tau has a hint of old in it...this is just one of the reason)
and i m sending the link to Anuj and Soumya so that they can see me publishing the news and come and kill me... :D
Enjoy!!!
Nishant
My 2 great frnds...Anuj and Soumya...who did find mention in at least one previous post are now going to be proud parents... (actually I am not supposed to be telling this since the two of them have full right to tell this...but I just could not keep this inside my stomach....sorry Anuj and Soumya Gupta)....and I have decided that instead of becoming a tau...i will be a mama...(it sounds younger...tau has a hint of old in it...this is just one of the reason)
and i m sending the link to Anuj and Soumya so that they can see me publishing the news and come and kill me... :D
Enjoy!!!
Nishant
And off I fly again....
I believe today is my last day in front of the computer in I3L. Tomorrow the SMG (Systems dept) will take it away. Possibly the best days of my life in this place were spent at the times when I was not in front of this machine. That is because I was most probably away from the office either in coffee day or in CLI3L or somewhere outside. Hence not many "fond" memories with this box of wires....but still a computer is a computer, specially when it comes with the glorious thing called the internet. I am sure that my next big personal purchase is going to be a laptop and then of course...an internet connection in whichever place I finally settle down.
Now that is a completely different matter that I have no clue where I will finally settle down. Or even when I will be able to write another post on this lovely wonderful blog of mine. Hope both the things become clear soon.
Bangalore has been good to me and even though I have hated the people here (not the frnds...but somehow the junta here has been able to really piss me off) and I have hated almost everything except the food and the weather....the place is good and I kind of started having a liking for it towards the end. Possibly because I knew that the ordeal was coming to an end. I dont know for how long I am going to stay here (joining Brit in Blore but then may shift at any time out of the place) so bidding adieu to it right now.
Take care ppl and be good...!!!
Nishant
Now that is a completely different matter that I have no clue where I will finally settle down. Or even when I will be able to write another post on this lovely wonderful blog of mine. Hope both the things become clear soon.
Bangalore has been good to me and even though I have hated the people here (not the frnds...but somehow the junta here has been able to really piss me off) and I have hated almost everything except the food and the weather....the place is good and I kind of started having a liking for it towards the end. Possibly because I knew that the ordeal was coming to an end. I dont know for how long I am going to stay here (joining Brit in Blore but then may shift at any time out of the place) so bidding adieu to it right now.
Take care ppl and be good...!!!
Nishant
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Phew....!!!! Finally....!!!!
Yeah, I know. Whoever will hear the news will definitely come to this blog to check out what I have put here regarding this.
So ladies and gentlemen....I have resigned. Or to put it more subtely, I have put in my papers. The decision seems to be a big one but believe me, after all the high hopes and high expectations that I had entertained while joining here and seen all of them (barring none) getting dashed one at a time, this decision was just waiting to happen. All that was required was a new place to go to and a new way to start off.
Lucky for me, here it is.
And....I have resigned. Or to put it more subtely, I have put in my papers.
So ladies and gentlemen....I have resigned. Or to put it more subtely, I have put in my papers. The decision seems to be a big one but believe me, after all the high hopes and high expectations that I had entertained while joining here and seen all of them (barring none) getting dashed one at a time, this decision was just waiting to happen. All that was required was a new place to go to and a new way to start off.
Lucky for me, here it is.
And....I have resigned. Or to put it more subtely, I have put in my papers.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Taxi Driver's MBA lesson
Got this from a dear friend of mine...another awesome read
This is a true story from a Microsoft employee in China, very long but an interesting read. It reveals the power of statistics.
The Taxi Driver Taught Me An MBA Lesson
I needed to go from Xujiahui to the airport, so I hurriedly concluded a meeting and I was looking for a taxi in front of the Meiluo building. A taxi driver saw me and very professionally came in a straight line and stopped right in front of me. Thus followed the story that astonished me greatly as if I had attended a lively MBA course. In order to faithfully preserve the intent of the taxi driver, I have tried to reproduce his original words according to my memory.
"Where do you want to go? Good, the airport. At Xujiahui, I loved to get business in front of the Meiluo building. Over here, I only work two places: Meiluo building ( 美罗 ) and Junyao building (均瑶 ). Did you know? Before I picked you up, I circled around Meiluo building twice before I saw you! People who come out of office building are definitely not going to some place nearby ...."
"Oh? You have a method!" I agreed.
"A taxi driver must also have scientific methods," he said. I was surprised and I got curious: "What scientific methods?"
"I have to know statistics. I have made detailed calculations. Let me tell you. I operate the car 17 hours a day, and my hourly cost is 34.5 RMB ..."
"How did you arrive at that?" I asked
"You calculate. I have to pay 380 RMB to the company each day for the car. The gas is about 210 RMB. I work 17 hours per day. On an hourly basis, the fixed cost is the 22 RMB that I give to the taxi company and an average of 12.5 RMB per hour in gasoline expenses. Isn't that 34.5 RMB?" I was a bit surprised. I have taken taxis for ten years, but this is the first time that a taxi driver has calculated the costs this way. Previously, the taxi drivers all tell me that the cost per kilometer was 0.3 RMB in addition to the total company fee.
"Costs should not be calculated on a per-kilometer basis. It should be calculated on an hourly basis. You see, each meter has a 'review' function through which you can see the details of the day. I have done a data analysis. The averarge time gap between customers is seven minutes. If I started counting the costs when someone gets in, it is 10 RMB for about 10 minutes. That means each 10 RMB customer takes 17 minutes of time, which costs 9.8 RMB (=34.5 x 17 / 60). This is not making money! If we say that customers who want to go to Pudong, Hangzhou or Qingpu are like meals, then a 10 RMB customer is not even a bite of food. You can only say that this is just a sprinkle of MSG."
Great! This driver did not sound like a taxi driver. He seemed more like an accountant. "So what you do then?" I was even more interested and I continued my questioning. It looked like I was going to learn something new on the way to the airport.
"You must not let the customer lead you all over the place. You decide what you want to do based upon the location, time and customer." I was very surprised, but this sounded significant. "Someone said that the taxi driving is a profession that depends on luck. I don't think so. You have to stand in the position of the customer and consider things from the customer's perspective." This sounded very professional, and very much like many business management teachers who say "put yourself in others' shoes."
"Let me give you an example. You are at the entrance to a hospital. There is someone holding some medicine and there is someone else holding a wash basin. Which person will you pick up?" I thought about it and I said that I didn't know.
"You take the one with the wash basin. If you have a minor complaint that you want to be examined and to get some medicine, you don't usually go to a faraway hospital. Anyone who is carrying a wash basin has just been discharged from the hospital. When people enter the hospital, some of them die. Today, someone on the second floor dies. Tomorrow, someone on the third floor dies. Those who make it out of the hospital usually have a feeling of having been given a second life and they recognize the meaning of life again -- health is the most important thing. So on that day, that person told me, "Go ... go to Qingpu." He did not even blink. Would you say that he wanted to take a taxi to People's Plaza to transfer to the Qingpu line subway? Absolutely not!"
I began to admire him.
"Let me give you another example. That day at People's Plaza, three people were waving at me. One was a young woman who had just finished shopping and was holding some small bags. Another was a young couple who were out for a stroll. The third one was a man who wore a silk shirt and a down jacket and holding a notebook computer bag. I spent three seconds looking at each person and I stopped in front of the man without hesitation. When the man got in, he said: 'Yannan Elevated Highway. South North Elevated Highway ...' Before even finishing, he could not help but ask, 'Why did you stop in front of me without hesitating? There were two people in front. They wanted to get on as well. I was too embarrassed to fight with them.' I replied, 'It is around noon and just a dozen or so minutes before one o'clock. That young woman must have slipped out at noon to buy something and I guess that her company must be nearby. That couple are tourists because they are not holding anything and they are not going to travel far. You are going out on business. You are holding a notebook computer bag, so I can tell that this is business. If you are going out at this time, I guess that it would not be too close.' The man said, 'You are right. I'm going to Baoshan.'"
"Are those people wearing pajamas in front of supermarkets or subway stations going to travel far? Are they going to the airport? The airport is not going to let them enter."
That makes sense! I was liking this more and more.
"Many drivers complain that business is tough and the price of gas has gone up. They are trying to pin the cause down on other people. If you keep pinning the cause on other people, you will never get any better. You must look at yourself to see where the problem is." This sounds very familiar. It seems like "If you cannot change the world, then you should change yourself" or perhaps a pirated copy of Steven Corey's "Circles of Influence and Concern." "One time, on Nandan Road, someone flagged me down and wanted to go to Tianlin. Later on, someone else flagged me down on Nandan Road and he also wanted to go to Tianlin. So I asked, 'How come all you people who come out on Nandan Road want to go to Tianlin?' He said, 'There is a public bus depot at Nandan Road. We all take the public bus from Pudong to there, and then we take the taxi to Tianlin. So I understood. For example, you look at the road that we just passed. There are no offices, no hotels, nothing. Just a public bus station. Those people who flag down taxis there are mostly people who just got off the public bus, and they look for the shortest road for a taxi. People who flag down taxis here will usually ride not more than 15 RMB."
"Therefore, I say that the attitude determines everything!" I have heard dozens of company CEO's say that, but this was the first time that I heard a taxi driver say that.
"We need to use scientific methods and statistics to conduct business. Those people who wait at the subway exits every day for business will never make money. How are you going to provide for your wife and kids at 500 RMB a month? This is murder? This is slowly murdering your whole family. You must arm yourself with knowledge. You have to learn knowledge to become a smart person. A smart person learns knowledge in order to become a very smart person. A very smart person learns knowledge in order to become a genius."
"One time, a person wanted a taxi in order to get to the train station. I asked him how he wanted to go. He told me how to get there. I said that was slow. I said to get on the elevated highway and go this other way. He said that it was a longer way. I said, 'No problem. You have experience because you go that way frequently. It costs you 50 RMB. If you go my way, I will turn off the meter when it reaches 50 RMB. You can just pay me 50 RMB. Anything more is mine. If you go your way, it will take 50 minutes. If I go my way, it will take 25 minutes.' So in the end, we went my way. We traveled an additional four kilometers but 25 minutes quicker. I accepted only 50 RMB. The customer was very delighted for saving about 10 RMB. This extra four kilometers cost me just over 1 RMB in gas. So I have swapped 1 RMB for 25 extra minutes of my time. As I just said, my hourly cost is 34.5 RMB. It was quite worthwhile for me!"
"In a public taxi company, an ordinary driver takes three to four thousand RMB home per month. The good driver can get around five thousand. The top driver can get seven thousand RMB. Out of the 20,000 drivers, there are about two to three who can make more than 8,000 RMB a month. I am one of those two or three. Furthermore, it is very stable without too much fluctuation."
Great! By this point, I admired this taxi driver more and more.
"I often say that I am a happy driver. Some people say, 'That's because you earn a lot of money. Of course, you must be happy.' I tell them, 'You are wrong. This is because I have a happy and active mind, and that is why I make a lot of money.'"
What a wonderful way to put it!
"You have to appreciate the beauty that your work brings. Stuck in a traffic jam at People's Plaza, many drivers complain, 'Oh, there's a traffic jam again! What rotten luck!' You must not be like that. You should try to experience the beauty of the city. There are many pretty girls passing by. There are many tall modern buildings; although you cannot afford them, you can still enjoy them with an appreciative look. While driving to the airport, you can look at the greenery on both sides. In the winter, it is white. How beautiful! Look at the meter -- it is more than 100 RMB. That is even more beautiful! Each job has its own beauty. We need to learn how to experience that beauty in our work."
"Ten years ago, I was a general instructor at Johnson's. Eight years ago, I had been the department manager for three different departments. I quit because there was no point in making three or five thousand a month. I decided to become a taxi driver. I want to be a happy driver. Ha ha ha ..."
When we arrived at the airport, I gave him my business card and said, "Are you interested in coming this Friday to my office and explain to the Microsoft workers about how you operate your taxi? You can treat it as if your meter is running at 60 kilometers per hour. I will pay you for the time that you talk to us. Give me a call."
Then I began to write down his lively MBA lecture on the airplane.
This is a true story from a Microsoft employee in China, very long but an interesting read. It reveals the power of statistics.
The Taxi Driver Taught Me An MBA Lesson
I needed to go from Xujiahui to the airport, so I hurriedly concluded a meeting and I was looking for a taxi in front of the Meiluo building. A taxi driver saw me and very professionally came in a straight line and stopped right in front of me. Thus followed the story that astonished me greatly as if I had attended a lively MBA course. In order to faithfully preserve the intent of the taxi driver, I have tried to reproduce his original words according to my memory.
"Where do you want to go? Good, the airport. At Xujiahui, I loved to get business in front of the Meiluo building. Over here, I only work two places: Meiluo building ( 美罗 ) and Junyao building (均瑶 ). Did you know? Before I picked you up, I circled around Meiluo building twice before I saw you! People who come out of office building are definitely not going to some place nearby ...."
"Oh? You have a method!" I agreed.
"A taxi driver must also have scientific methods," he said. I was surprised and I got curious: "What scientific methods?"
"I have to know statistics. I have made detailed calculations. Let me tell you. I operate the car 17 hours a day, and my hourly cost is 34.5 RMB ..."
"How did you arrive at that?" I asked
"You calculate. I have to pay 380 RMB to the company each day for the car. The gas is about 210 RMB. I work 17 hours per day. On an hourly basis, the fixed cost is the 22 RMB that I give to the taxi company and an average of 12.5 RMB per hour in gasoline expenses. Isn't that 34.5 RMB?" I was a bit surprised. I have taken taxis for ten years, but this is the first time that a taxi driver has calculated the costs this way. Previously, the taxi drivers all tell me that the cost per kilometer was 0.3 RMB in addition to the total company fee.
"Costs should not be calculated on a per-kilometer basis. It should be calculated on an hourly basis. You see, each meter has a 'review' function through which you can see the details of the day. I have done a data analysis. The averarge time gap between customers is seven minutes. If I started counting the costs when someone gets in, it is 10 RMB for about 10 minutes. That means each 10 RMB customer takes 17 minutes of time, which costs 9.8 RMB (=34.5 x 17 / 60). This is not making money! If we say that customers who want to go to Pudong, Hangzhou or Qingpu are like meals, then a 10 RMB customer is not even a bite of food. You can only say that this is just a sprinkle of MSG."
Great! This driver did not sound like a taxi driver. He seemed more like an accountant. "So what you do then?" I was even more interested and I continued my questioning. It looked like I was going to learn something new on the way to the airport.
"You must not let the customer lead you all over the place. You decide what you want to do based upon the location, time and customer." I was very surprised, but this sounded significant. "Someone said that the taxi driving is a profession that depends on luck. I don't think so. You have to stand in the position of the customer and consider things from the customer's perspective." This sounded very professional, and very much like many business management teachers who say "put yourself in others' shoes."
"Let me give you an example. You are at the entrance to a hospital. There is someone holding some medicine and there is someone else holding a wash basin. Which person will you pick up?" I thought about it and I said that I didn't know.
"You take the one with the wash basin. If you have a minor complaint that you want to be examined and to get some medicine, you don't usually go to a faraway hospital. Anyone who is carrying a wash basin has just been discharged from the hospital. When people enter the hospital, some of them die. Today, someone on the second floor dies. Tomorrow, someone on the third floor dies. Those who make it out of the hospital usually have a feeling of having been given a second life and they recognize the meaning of life again -- health is the most important thing. So on that day, that person told me, "Go ... go to Qingpu." He did not even blink. Would you say that he wanted to take a taxi to People's Plaza to transfer to the Qingpu line subway? Absolutely not!"
I began to admire him.
"Let me give you another example. That day at People's Plaza, three people were waving at me. One was a young woman who had just finished shopping and was holding some small bags. Another was a young couple who were out for a stroll. The third one was a man who wore a silk shirt and a down jacket and holding a notebook computer bag. I spent three seconds looking at each person and I stopped in front of the man without hesitation. When the man got in, he said: 'Yannan Elevated Highway. South North Elevated Highway ...' Before even finishing, he could not help but ask, 'Why did you stop in front of me without hesitating? There were two people in front. They wanted to get on as well. I was too embarrassed to fight with them.' I replied, 'It is around noon and just a dozen or so minutes before one o'clock. That young woman must have slipped out at noon to buy something and I guess that her company must be nearby. That couple are tourists because they are not holding anything and they are not going to travel far. You are going out on business. You are holding a notebook computer bag, so I can tell that this is business. If you are going out at this time, I guess that it would not be too close.' The man said, 'You are right. I'm going to Baoshan.'"
"Are those people wearing pajamas in front of supermarkets or subway stations going to travel far? Are they going to the airport? The airport is not going to let them enter."
That makes sense! I was liking this more and more.
"Many drivers complain that business is tough and the price of gas has gone up. They are trying to pin the cause down on other people. If you keep pinning the cause on other people, you will never get any better. You must look at yourself to see where the problem is." This sounds very familiar. It seems like "If you cannot change the world, then you should change yourself" or perhaps a pirated copy of Steven Corey's "Circles of Influence and Concern." "One time, on Nandan Road, someone flagged me down and wanted to go to Tianlin. Later on, someone else flagged me down on Nandan Road and he also wanted to go to Tianlin. So I asked, 'How come all you people who come out on Nandan Road want to go to Tianlin?' He said, 'There is a public bus depot at Nandan Road. We all take the public bus from Pudong to there, and then we take the taxi to Tianlin. So I understood. For example, you look at the road that we just passed. There are no offices, no hotels, nothing. Just a public bus station. Those people who flag down taxis there are mostly people who just got off the public bus, and they look for the shortest road for a taxi. People who flag down taxis here will usually ride not more than 15 RMB."
"Therefore, I say that the attitude determines everything!" I have heard dozens of company CEO's say that, but this was the first time that I heard a taxi driver say that.
"We need to use scientific methods and statistics to conduct business. Those people who wait at the subway exits every day for business will never make money. How are you going to provide for your wife and kids at 500 RMB a month? This is murder? This is slowly murdering your whole family. You must arm yourself with knowledge. You have to learn knowledge to become a smart person. A smart person learns knowledge in order to become a very smart person. A very smart person learns knowledge in order to become a genius."
"One time, a person wanted a taxi in order to get to the train station. I asked him how he wanted to go. He told me how to get there. I said that was slow. I said to get on the elevated highway and go this other way. He said that it was a longer way. I said, 'No problem. You have experience because you go that way frequently. It costs you 50 RMB. If you go my way, I will turn off the meter when it reaches 50 RMB. You can just pay me 50 RMB. Anything more is mine. If you go your way, it will take 50 minutes. If I go my way, it will take 25 minutes.' So in the end, we went my way. We traveled an additional four kilometers but 25 minutes quicker. I accepted only 50 RMB. The customer was very delighted for saving about 10 RMB. This extra four kilometers cost me just over 1 RMB in gas. So I have swapped 1 RMB for 25 extra minutes of my time. As I just said, my hourly cost is 34.5 RMB. It was quite worthwhile for me!"
"In a public taxi company, an ordinary driver takes three to four thousand RMB home per month. The good driver can get around five thousand. The top driver can get seven thousand RMB. Out of the 20,000 drivers, there are about two to three who can make more than 8,000 RMB a month. I am one of those two or three. Furthermore, it is very stable without too much fluctuation."
Great! By this point, I admired this taxi driver more and more.
"I often say that I am a happy driver. Some people say, 'That's because you earn a lot of money. Of course, you must be happy.' I tell them, 'You are wrong. This is because I have a happy and active mind, and that is why I make a lot of money.'"
What a wonderful way to put it!
"You have to appreciate the beauty that your work brings. Stuck in a traffic jam at People's Plaza, many drivers complain, 'Oh, there's a traffic jam again! What rotten luck!' You must not be like that. You should try to experience the beauty of the city. There are many pretty girls passing by. There are many tall modern buildings; although you cannot afford them, you can still enjoy them with an appreciative look. While driving to the airport, you can look at the greenery on both sides. In the winter, it is white. How beautiful! Look at the meter -- it is more than 100 RMB. That is even more beautiful! Each job has its own beauty. We need to learn how to experience that beauty in our work."
"Ten years ago, I was a general instructor at Johnson's. Eight years ago, I had been the department manager for three different departments. I quit because there was no point in making three or five thousand a month. I decided to become a taxi driver. I want to be a happy driver. Ha ha ha ..."
When we arrived at the airport, I gave him my business card and said, "Are you interested in coming this Friday to my office and explain to the Microsoft workers about how you operate your taxi? You can treat it as if your meter is running at 60 kilometers per hour. I will pay you for the time that you talk to us. Give me a call."
Then I began to write down his lively MBA lecture on the airplane.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Mail from Mrs.Sudha Murthy
I personally find this article very inspiring. Small sentences can give so much help to how life should be handled. Please read it.
It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was getting warm and gulmohars were blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only girl in my postgraduate department and was staying at the ladies' hostel. Other girls were pursuing research in different departments of Science.
I was looking forward to going abroad to complete a doctorate in computer science. I had been offered scholarships from Universities in the US. I had not thought of taking up a job in India.
One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex, I saw an advertisement on the notice board. It was a standard job-requirement notice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors). It stated that the company required young, bright engineers, hardworking and with an excellent academic background, etc.
At the bottom was a small line: "Lady candidates need not apply."
I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up
against gender discrimination.
Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I had done extremely well in academics, better than most of my male peers. Little did I know then that in real life academic excellence is not enough to be successful.
After reading the notice I went fuming to my room. I decided to inform the topmost person in Telco's management about the injustice the company was perpetrating. I got a postcard and started to write, but there was a problem: I did not know who headed Telco.
I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of the Tata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers (actually, Sumant Moolgaokar was the company's chairman then). I took the card, addressed it to JRD and started writing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote.
"The great Tatas have always been pioneers. They are the people who started the basic infrastructure industries in India, such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives. They have cared for higher education in India since 1900 and they were responsible for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprised how a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis of gender."
I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days later, I received a telegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at Telco's Pune facility at the company's expense. I was taken aback by the telegram. My hostel mate told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs 30 each from everyone who wanted a sari. When I look back, I feel like
laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip.
It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city. To this day it remains dear to me. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do in Hubli, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways. As directed, I went to Telco's Pimpri office for the interview.
There were six people on the panel and I realised then that this was serious business.
"This is the girl who wrote to JRD," I heard somebody whisper as soon as I entered the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job. The realisation abolished all fear from my mind, so I was rather cool while the interview was being conducted.
Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so I told them, rather impolitely, "I hope this is only a technical interview."
They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about my attitude. The panel asked me technical questions and I answered all of them.
Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, "Do you know why we said lady candidates need not apply? The reason is that we have never employed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed college; this is a factory. When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories."
I was a young girl from small-town Hubli. My world had been a limited place.
I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their difficulties, so I answered, "But you must start somewhere, otherwise no woman will ever be able to work in your factories."
Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So this was what the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I would take up a job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka there, we became good friends and we got married.
It was only after joining Telco that I realized who JRD was: the uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get to meet him till I was transferred to Bombay. One day I had to show some reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our chairman, who we all knew as SM. I was in his office on the first floor of Bombay House (the Tata headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in. That was the first time I saw "appro JRD". Appro means "our" in Gujarati. This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay House called him.
I was feeling very nervous, remembering my postcard episode. SM introduced me nicely, "Jeh (that's what his close associates called him), this young woman is an engineer and that too a postgraduate.
She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor." JRD looked at me. I was praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview (or the postcard that preceded it).
Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, he remarked. "It is nice that girls are getting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?"
"When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir," I replied. "Now I am Sudha Murthy." He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As for me, I almost ran out of the room.
After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman and I was merely an engineer. There was nothing that we had in common. I was in awe of him.
One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after office hours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how to react. Yet again I started worrying about that postcard. Looking back, I realise JRD had forgotten about it. It must have been a small incident for him, but not so for me.
"Young lady, why are you here?" he asked. "Office time is over." I said,
"Sir, I'm waiting for my husband to come and pick me up." JRD said, "It is getting dark and there's no one in the corridor.
I'll wait with you till your husband comes."
I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongside made me extremely uncomfortable.
I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a simple white pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing. There wasn't any air of superiority about him. I was thinking, "Look at this person. He is a chairman, a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sake of an ordinary employee."
Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, "Young lady, tell your husband never to make his wife wait again." In 1982 I had to resign from my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have a choice. I was coming down the steps of Bombay House after wrapping up my final settlement when I saw JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused.
Gently, he said, "So what are you doing, Mrs Kulkarni?" (That was the way he always addressed me.) "Sir, I am leaving Telco."
"Where are you going?" he asked. "Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company called Infosys and I'm shifting to Pune."
"Oh! And what will you do when you are successful."
"Sir, I don't know whether we will be successful." "Never start with diffidence," he advised me. "Always start with confidence. When you are successful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate. I wish you all the best."
Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed like a millennium. That was the last time I saw him alive. Many years later I met Ratan Tata in the same Bombay House, occupying the chair JRD once did. I told him of my many sweet memories of working with Telco. Later, he wrote to me, "It was nice hearing about Jeh from you. The sad part is that he's not alive to see you today."
I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an extremely busy person, he valued one postcard written by a young girl seeking justice. He must have received thousands of letters everyday. He could have thrown mine away, but he didn't do that. He respected the intentions of that unknown girl, who had neither influence nor money, and gave her an opportunity in his company. He did not merely give her a job; he changed her life and
mindset forever.
Close to 50 per cent of the students in today's engineering colleges are girls. And there are women on the shop floor in many industry segments. I see these changes and I think of JRD. If at all time stops and asks me what I want from life, I would say I wish JRD were alive today to see how the company we started has grown. He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly.
My love and respect for the House of Tata remains undiminished by the passage of time. I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model for his simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of his employees. Those blue eyes always reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and magnificence.
(Sudha Murthy is a widely published writer and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation involved in a number of social development initiatives. Infosys chairman Narayana Murthy is her husband.)
Article sourced from: Lasting Legacies (Tata Review- Special Commemorative Issue 2004), brought out by the house of Tatas to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of JRD Tata on July 29, 2004
It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was getting warm and gulmohars were blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only girl in my postgraduate department and was staying at the ladies' hostel. Other girls were pursuing research in different departments of Science.
I was looking forward to going abroad to complete a doctorate in computer science. I had been offered scholarships from Universities in the US. I had not thought of taking up a job in India.
One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex, I saw an advertisement on the notice board. It was a standard job-requirement notice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors). It stated that the company required young, bright engineers, hardworking and with an excellent academic background, etc.
At the bottom was a small line: "Lady candidates need not apply."
I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up
against gender discrimination.
Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I had done extremely well in academics, better than most of my male peers. Little did I know then that in real life academic excellence is not enough to be successful.
After reading the notice I went fuming to my room. I decided to inform the topmost person in Telco's management about the injustice the company was perpetrating. I got a postcard and started to write, but there was a problem: I did not know who headed Telco.
I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of the Tata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers (actually, Sumant Moolgaokar was the company's chairman then). I took the card, addressed it to JRD and started writing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote.
"The great Tatas have always been pioneers. They are the people who started the basic infrastructure industries in India, such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives. They have cared for higher education in India since 1900 and they were responsible for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprised how a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis of gender."
I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days later, I received a telegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at Telco's Pune facility at the company's expense. I was taken aback by the telegram. My hostel mate told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs 30 each from everyone who wanted a sari. When I look back, I feel like
laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip.
It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city. To this day it remains dear to me. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do in Hubli, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways. As directed, I went to Telco's Pimpri office for the interview.
There were six people on the panel and I realised then that this was serious business.
"This is the girl who wrote to JRD," I heard somebody whisper as soon as I entered the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job. The realisation abolished all fear from my mind, so I was rather cool while the interview was being conducted.
Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so I told them, rather impolitely, "I hope this is only a technical interview."
They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about my attitude. The panel asked me technical questions and I answered all of them.
Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, "Do you know why we said lady candidates need not apply? The reason is that we have never employed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed college; this is a factory. When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories."
I was a young girl from small-town Hubli. My world had been a limited place.
I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their difficulties, so I answered, "But you must start somewhere, otherwise no woman will ever be able to work in your factories."
Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So this was what the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I would take up a job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka there, we became good friends and we got married.
It was only after joining Telco that I realized who JRD was: the uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get to meet him till I was transferred to Bombay. One day I had to show some reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our chairman, who we all knew as SM. I was in his office on the first floor of Bombay House (the Tata headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in. That was the first time I saw "appro JRD". Appro means "our" in Gujarati. This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay House called him.
I was feeling very nervous, remembering my postcard episode. SM introduced me nicely, "Jeh (that's what his close associates called him), this young woman is an engineer and that too a postgraduate.
She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor." JRD looked at me. I was praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview (or the postcard that preceded it).
Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, he remarked. "It is nice that girls are getting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?"
"When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir," I replied. "Now I am Sudha Murthy." He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As for me, I almost ran out of the room.
After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman and I was merely an engineer. There was nothing that we had in common. I was in awe of him.
One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after office hours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how to react. Yet again I started worrying about that postcard. Looking back, I realise JRD had forgotten about it. It must have been a small incident for him, but not so for me.
"Young lady, why are you here?" he asked. "Office time is over." I said,
"Sir, I'm waiting for my husband to come and pick me up." JRD said, "It is getting dark and there's no one in the corridor.
I'll wait with you till your husband comes."
I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongside made me extremely uncomfortable.
I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a simple white pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing. There wasn't any air of superiority about him. I was thinking, "Look at this person. He is a chairman, a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sake of an ordinary employee."
Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, "Young lady, tell your husband never to make his wife wait again." In 1982 I had to resign from my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have a choice. I was coming down the steps of Bombay House after wrapping up my final settlement when I saw JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused.
Gently, he said, "So what are you doing, Mrs Kulkarni?" (That was the way he always addressed me.) "Sir, I am leaving Telco."
"Where are you going?" he asked. "Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company called Infosys and I'm shifting to Pune."
"Oh! And what will you do when you are successful."
"Sir, I don't know whether we will be successful." "Never start with diffidence," he advised me. "Always start with confidence. When you are successful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate. I wish you all the best."
Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed like a millennium. That was the last time I saw him alive. Many years later I met Ratan Tata in the same Bombay House, occupying the chair JRD once did. I told him of my many sweet memories of working with Telco. Later, he wrote to me, "It was nice hearing about Jeh from you. The sad part is that he's not alive to see you today."
I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an extremely busy person, he valued one postcard written by a young girl seeking justice. He must have received thousands of letters everyday. He could have thrown mine away, but he didn't do that. He respected the intentions of that unknown girl, who had neither influence nor money, and gave her an opportunity in his company. He did not merely give her a job; he changed her life and
mindset forever.
Close to 50 per cent of the students in today's engineering colleges are girls. And there are women on the shop floor in many industry segments. I see these changes and I think of JRD. If at all time stops and asks me what I want from life, I would say I wish JRD were alive today to see how the company we started has grown. He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly.
My love and respect for the House of Tata remains undiminished by the passage of time. I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model for his simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of his employees. Those blue eyes always reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and magnificence.
(Sudha Murthy is a widely published writer and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation involved in a number of social development initiatives. Infosys chairman Narayana Murthy is her husband.)
Article sourced from: Lasting Legacies (Tata Review- Special Commemorative Issue 2004), brought out by the house of Tatas to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of JRD Tata on July 29, 2004
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)