Niche experience

Our Hero

2010-01-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

Every year, our family waits very fondly for December 11. The reason is very special and close our hearts. This is the day when we get together and visit BSF unit based at Mamdhot, Ferozpur to salute our great Hero, who sacrificed his living abode for this great nation. This was way back in the year of 1971, Indo-Pak war, when my great uncle, R.K. Wadhwa, sacrificed his life whilst fighting against Pakistan to capture BOP Rajamohtam. For this commendable and extreme courage, he was awarded with the highest gallantry award of Mahavir Chakra.

http://pb.bsf.gov.in/News/bsfdaypr07.htm
http://pb.bsf.gov.in/honor_award.htm

It was more special to us as Vedanshi, the third generation, also visited the border noticing the incomparable courage of our great soldiers. She was excited and watched the flag ceremony at the Hussaniwala border in Ferozpur.

My Article on STC

2008-10-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

I am elated to see my article published on STC India Chapter,

http://stc-india.org/indus/index.htm

Thanks to STC members and non-members to read through my article. I would really appreciate if you can send across your suggestions/comments/apprehensions of my article at vwadhu@gmail.com.

Jugaad chalege kya

2008-08-20T04:21:00.000-07:00

I think each one of us in our lives would have heard of this word, Jugaad, especially in India. It is an overwhelming experience to know the aftereffects of Jugaad. Sometime back, an Indian born NRI remarked something about India--"Nothing works here, except Jugaad! The Jugaad is an inherent quality of an Indian."
From here, my quest for this word begins!

I will leave it to your judgment. Officially speaking, I don't believe in this crap preconceived notion of being a Jugaadu. I myself have at times have taken steps against the system and have avoided it, by choice.

Jugaad is a word that revolves around people. So, the basic question that comes to my mind is what is this Jugaad all about! Everybody thinks out of the box; always looks for a simple alternative to a problem. The easier way to waive off big queues at temples, skip easily from traffic policewalas after jumping off a signal, engineering seat, voting at cities, and what not. Everything is a pious crime if you have a jugaad....contradictory, isn't it, mind it!

Let us now define this term:

"To be specific, Jugaad, is a way to protect yourself by means of people or resources all around."

It acts like a shield that can protect you from the outwardly world. It could be expensive at times, I mean it. But it can work anywhere, I bet.

How does it work?

- Understand the psychology of the person whom you met at a weired situation
- Instead of challenging him on whatever he is demanding, see what do you have to offer him. E.g, mithai bacho ke liye, offer and bla bla.

Caution: Analyze a bit and introspect what would happen if it gets duplicated in the entire nation. Will it be of great help? Duplicate is the word...don't you think it will be a chaotic society and eventually chaotic nation.

Now, you have easily escaped the challenge. Let's try it out now.

But the question is what is the need not to change afterall? If we continue to live the way we are living, the day is not too far when we will be lagging behind in all domains. There is a high demand to change, change forever.

So, I request all of you--Better, change your attitude. Be a trend setter!

The world is round

2008-08-08T03:48:00.000-07:00

It all started off a year with the buzz about me joining Etisalat, UAE a year back. Everybody at my home were against my decision. Going to UAE...no, not at all! But I just wanted to move out of India like many other Indians with the sole intention of making a big fortune there.

My profile got shortlisted and I got a call from a consultant that I need to come down for an interview. I flew all the way from Hyderabad to attend the interview. Both Sheikh and Firang (dunt remember their names now) interviewed me and it happened at Bangalore. It was understood that my expenses will be reimbursed by the big giant. It was an informal interview and they offered me with a good pay package. I started counting the figures in rupees and it was close to 2 lacs per month.

Immediately, I surrendered my passport and other vital papers to their HR personnels. After lots of discussions, they convinced me it was part of process to surrender your passport. I was little skeptical but I did not have any go then.

Now, a year has gone by...I am still in India with no reason and feelings to go abroad.:) I love my India. But few things have changed--I have changed my marital status to Married from Bachelor.

I got to know that Etisalat opened an organization here in India, Bangalore. They are looking for writers in their organization. Incidentally, my wifey got a call for this company for the same position I had an offer a year back. She applied for the post and got a call for the interview. I went along with her for interview with nostalgic feelings of not finalizing the offer then. No regrets man! She has just given the interview and she is not so optimistic about the result.

Let's see whether Etisalat is lucky for her !

Moving from Journalism to IT

2008-08-08T03:31:00.000-07:00

Olympics is going to kick start today in China, Beijing. Everybody is waiting for this mega opening ceremony. Today's date is 08/08/08...looks like an auspicious date for Chinese and that's the reason this date was opted. There is also an important event happening in my family.

My sister has put up her papers in her organization today. She is looking forward to new challenges. Moving from the field of Journalism to Information Technology (IT) industry was not at all an easy task for her. She is passionate about Journalism and she would always recall something or the other about Journalists appearing on various channels(nostalgic) while watching TV. She misses the world of hoopla, aggressive behavior, and clear visibility. Moving to a new world of Information Technology was little difficult initially. However, she worked really hard to get through it. She finds the IT world to be a relaxed one for the following reasons:

1. We work for 5 days a week. Her favorite pet line is: 'You guys work for 5 days a week; even then you crib a lot!'
2. Working for normal hours wherein you have the flexibility to be in touch with your friends (Thansk to Gmail chat :))
3. Work hour is well defined; plus you have the flexibility to Work from home (WFH).
4. Job responsibility is well defined.

For her, the new assignment would be a contractual position with Cognizant (CTS) and she will be on payrolls with another partner company. The exciting news is she will learn something new with one of the best companies of the world.

She is looking forward to joining this organization and so do we. Let's see how thing s go for her from now on...

Quality Mantra

2008-06-26T03:46:00.000-07:00

What is a Quality norm for you? Quality and Quantity can't go together. Quality is a fundamental and irresistible norm that drives organizations in the global competitive market.

In my opinion, Quality is best defined as follows:
"Quality is conformance to explicit and implicit requirements."

Explicit requirements are easy to understand and implement in the software application. However, the implicit requirement in actual screw up things badly. The best way is to give enough pointers to the client to fetch information related to implicit requirements as well.

- How do you track Quality norms for documentation?
- Is Task Analysis and Audience Analysis mandatory aspects?
- How can you contribute towards improving the quality of documentation?

My Brother

2008-06-19T04:47:00.001-07:00

He is a hunk, believe me. He is dashing and always rocking and doing his tasks in an efficient manner. For the simple reason, he believes in the following saying:

"What else can you expect seeing my background in life!"

He is the epitome of positive attitude and he always look around for things to improvement in his life and others life. He is an engineer by educational background.

What interests him the most:

He loves interacting with people
He speaks what he wants in life
He walks the talk
He is very positive in life
He is loving and always ready to spread love
He is caring and sensitive in nature but strong enough to handle tough situations

He is my boy! He is here to win the race of Life.

God bless him.

The HUMAN Mind

2008-06-19T04:38:00.001-07:00

Human being is the most special and beautiful creature of God. Human beings are characterized by superior intelligence, articulate speech, and erect carriage. The reason why we are 'special' is because we possess brain that distinguishes us from rest of the animal kingdom. We can think (read it, loud)! We think about loads of stuff--thinking about our future, consequences about a task, lifestyle of our family, oneness with God, accessibility, relationship, and the list is endless. We are thinking all the way, all the while, isn't it? Even if we are mum, we are still thinking about something or the other. Why do we think a lot? What drives us so much?

There could be many reasons attributed to it. Fairly speaking, I think there are two major inputs to our thinking lines--Fear OR Desire. Every other emotion or thought process revolves around it.

See I made you think now!

Intangible value of tangible Documentation

2008-06-19T04:14:00.000-07:00

I am writing this on behalf of people who look at documentation as a "freebie assistance" entity that usually gets packaged with the product. Interestingly, we as a consumer, wish for the complete support of the product and manual is just a piece of cake.

I think it breaks all the barrier in getting familiarized and troubleshooting the products. It gives a calm solution to the product. You just have to refer it, man, before you jump up over your toes and make a conclusive statement about the quality of the product.

Documentation not only speaks about the true insights of the application but also acts as a "face value" of it. It has got technically accurate information supplemented with the easy-to-search and other usability features. Do we keep in mind all the parameters that any customer will be concerned about:

* Easy availability of Information at the mouse click
* Technically accurate information
* Structured documentation
* Searchability
* Intuitive Searchability feature
* Indexing

*

2008-03-07T09:59:00.000-08:00

Seeing the new Forbes list of richest men on the phase of this earth makes me feel great about those smart Indians. INHO, By seeing someone's success, what you can achieve is nothing but you can get the real inspiration.

These people put in their best to their dreams. Means, they put in their
100 percentage to whatever they achieved. They would have gone through lots of hardships but they tackled them with determination and conviction.

If we get this point of determination and conviction and apply in our lives, success is not far then. Everything is life looks doable and achievable. Isn't it?

We get to live our lives once. To have the maximum taste, we need to give our true potential in whatever you do. Do we really get a chance to do so? If yes, do we really have the passion to do it in whatever we strive for?

I don't think so. "The true potential of a person is exposed only when he has true passion for whatever he is involved with."

I want to give my best before i go to death bed! For that matter, what drives us in life is meaningful. Explore and go for it. Just do it!

GOD...

US Recession is on

2008-03-04T03:48:00.000-08:00

USA is undergoing a drastic change in her economy. The effect of US economy is making a drastic affect to the world economies and Indian economy is no exception.

The Indian budget introduced by FM last week could have averted and brought a relief to the people here in India. However, it has brought a big relief to the common man (middle man ) and farmer to the most. But that's a different story altogether. The bullish market will lead to increase in the prices of consumer durables.

According to Warren Buffet, the US economy is under recession:

http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/us-recession-not-as-bad-as-70s-buffett/17/15/328945

The economy would come back once the new government comes into power and change the policy of "Being a consumer" to "fetch a consumer" and other factors as well. Wait and watch...things might change and also change our economy as well.

The Most Afforable Car

2008-01-14T05:33:00.000-08:00

Tata launched the most affordable car, Nano, in India.

If you look at the car, it is considered to be the most affordable in India. The mileage and looks are just awesome. Hats off to Tatas for launching this wonderful Car!
For more information, you can look at:

http://www.tatamotors.com/

Complete Family Car!

Lovely Day Today

2008-01-05T06:45:00.000-08:00

Today is a special day for me. Two beautiful women, my beloved and my little sister, of my life got recruited as 'Writers' with a reputed IT organization in Bangalore. Isn't it exciting!

Wow!!! After a struggle period of few months, they acquired this job offer. They literally attended a lot of interviews; they prepared themselves with all basics. At last, they got through this interview.

This is just the beginning! Lot more to come in this space. Their actual challenging phase has come now. They need to apply their knowledge.

May God bless them. All the Best!

Happy New Year 2008

2007-12-31T21:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 2008!

May this year bring joy, success and prosperity in your lives.

God bless.

Soaring Heights--Real Property in Bangalore

2007-12-30T00:21:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not! The real estate rates in Bangalore are sky rocketing new heights due to inclusion of Information Technology (IT) in the city. The IT sector is the prima facia for all these undue soaring prices. Of course, there are other factors also that have contributed to these high prices.

Things would change in near future in Bangalore. Bangalore is surrounded by huge underdeveloped agricultural or barren lands. The Government is shifting its focus to such other areas of Bangalore keeping in view the increasing population and congestion in the city. This would be a real good idea to move some of its population to other new proposed areas of the city. The ex-government in Bangalore in the month of October 2007 had passed a tender to DLF in favor of the proposed "Knowledge City". The concept of “Walk-to-Work” is a big theme behind this city. The proposed city is planning to come up in Bidadi area, which is around 35 kms away from the city. This area comes under Ramanagar district and comes under ex-Chief Minister’s constituency. The other good move by the government was to come up with the new International Airport at Devanhalli. The lease at HAL land for the existing airport is about to lapse. Like Hyderabad, people are buying land in these two areas like anything seeing the growth trend in Hyderabad.

These two ventures in Bangalore would change the face of the Bangalore in near future. Keep watching this space for more details about the progress here in Bangalore.:-)

Whom to Contact?

2007-12-30T00:18:00.001-08:00

Are the power cuts in your area more frequent? Is the water timings in your area is not as promised? Is the drainage system in your area is not in shape? Are the roads really bad to your home? Whatever may be the problem in your area or city, just make sure that you communicate your problem to the concerned department. You might be wondering if it is really easy to catch hold of those folks. Hold on…here is a simple solution.

Lodge your complaint at http://darpg-grievance.nic.in/ whatever the probable reason for your problem is. Believe me or not, those government officials are hearing your voice. You can also monitor the progress of your complain. You will definitely get a reply and people from respective departments will address your issues for sure. Just spread across this site to others and see India changing with every move of yours!

Moving to Bangalore

2007-12-27T22:19:00.000-08:00

Moving to Bangalore was the last resort. I tried couple of openings in Hyderabad before coming to Bangalore. But nothing worked out. Eventually, I moved to Bangalore. Bangalore is a beautiful place with mind blowing weather, lovely people, and terrific traffic. I am not kidding or am I.:-)

Bangalore is considered to be "Silicon Valley" of Indian IT industry. I don't know why such city is famous despite the innumerable problems, be it infrastructure, traffic, roads on potholes, and fast moving life.;-) We can not lament charges against the Government as there is no government in existence. Thanks to the
ex-chief minister love for power. Hopefully, we get the efficient Government in Bangalore that not only improves the prevailing problems but also gives us the feeling of being Bangalorean.

I am Back

2007-12-27T22:10:00.000-08:00

Comeback after two years!

I am back to this dynamic and ever changing World of words. I was a silent seeker for quite a long 2 years; searching and seeking for something really worthful that would judge my identity. To put in other words, I was keeping busy in other ventures of my life. Now, I have decided to devote sometime to my blog on daily basis.

Let's see how I commit to my said promise. But I will try my level best to keep my blog live and fresh. :-)

Pics

2005-09-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

My Pics

2005-09-14T23:31:00.000-07:00

Encounter

2005-07-13T01:40:00.000-07:00

Today morning as part of my schedule, I went to the swimming class. I was doing the back and forth rounds in the pool, conveniently at my own pace. When you are the comfortable stage, you are at ease. I was watching others in the pool and enjoying their companionship. As all of them were the beginners and trying new strokes of swimming, it was a real good moment to see their enthusiasm. Some of them were trying to learn the practice of Diving and I was closely watching their actions.

Suddenly got a call from one of the instructors and he told me to come over to the next big pool. And I was sure; today it is going to be a big drama and people would make good fun of me. I did not want myself to be the part of their amusement talks. Let us see, my inner conscience peaks out and I got encouraged to be there. Most of the times in our lives, we tend to superimpose our fear factor over everything else. Though the fear is a negative feeling, it is the fatal one. Why one should hook around the negative feeling, when you have the positive factors imbibed in you? Then I remember something, “Never ever let your fear emotion to override you.”

I was quite confident in my approach and thought of all the associated risks. The moment I reached the next big pool, my instructor insisted me to jump inside the pool and continued in an explanatory mood to move my hands and legs in well-synchronized manner. Remember, loose your body and you will not drown, believe me. I nodded my head in an affirmative manner after seeing the rescue material besides him. This rescue material was a long bamboo stick which assists the swimmers to come over the surface of water, when they are on the verge of loosing their control. I cumulated the confidence in me and with a positive sense of mind; I jumped into the water without loosing a second. The Instructor assured me that he is there to help me out, if something goes wrong.

And just to check the authenticity of his statement, I just thought of pretending the act of drowning. But I did not realize that this could be dangerous to me as well. The act of pretence in pragmatic sense was so dreadful that I lost my control and actually started drowning. For that very moment, I lost my control and my FEAR became powerful than my DESIRE to learn swimming. I was sinking badly with the hope deep down inside my heart that something auspicious will happen. This reminds me of the true story about Success. The definition of success defined by Socrates, the great philosopher, in a truly manner to a young person. Let me narrate that short tale as well.

One day a young person, David, approached Socrates, and asked him,
“What is Success and how one can achieve it?”

Socrates smiled for a while. He said that to understand the real success, you need to follow him. And he took David to the nearby river. He reached the river and kept moving until the level of water was up to his neck. And the person followed him too. When he reached there, he was in a suspicious mood and anxious at the same time. Then David could not resist himself and asked him, “What are you trying to explain, Socrates!”

In response to his question, Socrates got hold of David’s head tightly and put his head inside the water. Indeed David was completely in a shocking situation and gulping water in and out. Then Socrates pulled him back and again pushed him back in the water. He kept doing this for 2-3 times. Finally he pushed him over the surface of water and explained the meaning of success in a very beautiful manner. He said as you were desperate enough, only, and only for the gush of air when I drowned you completely, that is the state of success. When you look out for something desperate enough and work hard for it, without thinking anything else, it is almost certain that you will succeed in that field. You are the master of your destiny and you are here, on the phase of Earth, to mark a difference. The young David was more than delighted and got the answer to his question.

The incident of mine actually exhales out the fear towards water. I know I can swim well and as far as my learning continues, there is no far away when I shall be able to swim in the deeper pool or may be the flowing river. What actually matters for the completion of any work, is the dedication and bend of mind. Be positive in your attitude whatever you takes up, and there is no reason of failure. Just imbibe your mind completely into whatever you take up and it is almost certain that you can move mountains as well.

“Life is short, so take on the plunge in you and do whatever you like, as you get to live once.”

That was a narrow escape indeed!

Human Behavior

2005-05-31T05:42:00.000-07:00

The behavior of a human being shows his personality traits. The personality traits are the ones that distinguish him from others. The behavior of a human being is dynamic and always on the verge of change. Why is there so much of versatility? The answer is that the supreme soul, Human being, can ‘Think.’ He possesses the five senses that give him the channel to look and interact to the outside environment. These senses evoke emotions, desires, and fears to the extreme.

The behavior is always on the verge of change. Now, look at the normal life cycle of a human being. The life cycle follows as:
Child to Youth followed by Old age and then end up to Death.

The process is natural and cyclic in nature. Every human being is born with an ultimate purpose in life. The purpose is to ascertain whatever is he doing is satisfactory enough, and ever lasting. So the focus that imbibes his life is actually, what is important for a human being. He spends his entire life for the bread-and-butter, chasing day after day with the hope of freedom. Other determined and important necessities in life are Luxury and lifestyle; Freedom; Communion with God; Passion for money; Social service et al. The purposes are different, obviously, with different intentions. The person, in general, tend to mature with due course of time and then take on the world as such with or without compromises. The role of the negative world also makes an impact on his activities. His dependants and lovable become his weakness as he is in deep love with them and does not keep the balance between the internal and external world. Everyone in the family works with the intention to fill the gap of their dreams and reality. But there is no end to the desires, so he starts compromising with the situations. The factor, which is most vital in such situation, is the Focus. He tends to loose the focus in his life because of the fear associated with the things.

Come on, things are difficult but not impossible. Be the trendsetter and take the world in your own stride. If you start walking on the path carved by you, it is almost certain that success is yours. The consistent and persistent efforts will result in sure shot success. So, be aware of what is happening in and around you and take the plunge of efforts to get what you want. That is the real way of doing things. If things are strived with full passion and clean heart, there is nothing like impossible? Always remember the great Lord and leave rest to him. Things will happen, because,

“God blesses right things you do in Life.”

Be the Trendsetter!

2005-05-23T04:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a good phrase, “Living By Choice, Not By Chance.”

In an organization, the processes drive people. Processes are meant to ease the lives of people. In fact the concept of Quality was never taken wholeheartedly. Later on, the utility of quality was well understood. Similarly, there is a process set in place for anything and everything, and, one is supposed to adhere to them.

Let’s talk about the process followed by me for the opening of my bank account. In my honest opinion, one must check out the process first and then follow them heartedly. I took the opinion of my room partner, Anurag, and hassled up all things, which was not required at all. Rather, I applied my own process for the opening of the bank account with HDFC.

Last week on 14 February, Valentine’s Day, I was busy in getting things done for the processing of my bank account. Anurag was little desperate to get his account number and so, I accompanied him. We went to the HDFC Bank, Cyber Towers branch. He was desperate to know about the status of his bank account because he had already applied for the same a long time back. Unfortunately, his account was not activated so far. On the other hand, he was required to deposit a huge amount in the bank. As he applied his own process, he was in a complete mess.

We requested the Branch Manager to activate the account number at the earliest. The best thing was they had already issued him the pre-activated card. The Manager told us that you could deposit the amount in cash and your account will be activated in a short while, let’s say, half an hour. He deposited the amount in the bank and his card was functional as committed. I was a bit convinced that things do work fast when you apply “extra” efforts, doing things out of the way. I make up my mind to opt for the corporate account then and there.

Then what, I got in touch with the Personal Banker, Arun Upadhyay, of HDFC. The guy welcomed me with a big smile. Moreover, he reminded me of an old friend of mine. I even asked him that do you have a twin brother in Mumbai.
Keeping in view my account, I asked him that I wanted to opt for the CA corporate account. He was more than ready to assist me. Prior to the procedures, I asked him that how much time it would take to complete the process. He told me that within 3 days of time, your account will be activated (I completely ignored the story of Anurag there unconsciously, I guess) and after 7 days from then, you will receive the “Welcome Kit” of the HDFC bank. The “Welcome Kit” would consist of the Account number, Personal identification number (PIN), telephone personal identification number (TPIN), online account number, and, the cheque booklet.

I was more than delighted to hear that. I filled up the application form and submitted my photograph along with the required identity proof of my employment with CA, that’s my identity card. I got things set in place with the hope that I shall get my account number within a stipulated time. The next day, I even communicated this to my HR personnel, Anil, that I had already applied for the corporate account. Instead of going with the company’s set procedure for the bank account procedures, I went directly to the Bank and filled up my credentials. He told me it is completely alright and do revert back with the account details.

While in accordance with the set procedure of CA, the bank’s agent usually comes to our office twice a week to assist the new employees. They provide you with the pre-activated account number and the welcome kit instantly.

“Ignorance is bliss.” I have a strong feeling that Ignorance could never be bliss to anyone.

Another week passed away and I was busy in understanding the procedures, training sessions relevant to the Technical Writer. On 21 February, the HR Personnel, Anil, sent a mail to all the new employees stating that everyone is required to open their bank accounts by 22 February and the HDFC employee would be coming down to Orion office on 22 February 2005 at 2.30 pm. Otherwise the consequence would be even worst, as the salaries won’t get credited.

Then I realized that I have made a real blunder by going out of the way to set up a new procedure. Moreover, I have given my fair advice to another new chap here, Ashish Tripathi, to follow the same. And he must be in a mess.

Without wasting much time, I called up Arun Upadhyay of HDFC to know the status of my account number. To my surprise, he gave me a wonderful excuse. He told me that your application form is on hold as it lacked certain credentials. Then I got furious and told him that you should have intimated me well in advance. Then, I hanged up the phone.

The last resort available to me was to opt for the instant pre-activated card and cancel my previous application. There is a regular chap, Mr. Ramesh Reddy that comes twice a week to the office. I told him everything and asked for his advice. He told me to cancel the previous application and go for the fresh one. And, then I shall be in a position to hand over to you the pre-activated card and welcome kit at the same instant. I nodded my head in complete submission and got my ATM card there and then.
My learning through out the scenario is to follow the procedures set in place. Also, there are 3 independent entities that maintain the integrity of the organization. The available entities vital to the organization are: People, Process and Technology. Being an employee of the organization, one is ought to follow the set processes. The processes are meant to help the employees. Things take their own time when they are well defined under a process. And we are expected not to reinvent the wheel, but to proceed further with the set procedures.

So you be the one, who knows, understands, and, implements an action plan to follow the trend or set a new trend. Be the trendsetter, man!

MY FIRST PROPERTY AGENT IN HYDERABAD

2005-04-22T02:03:00.000-07:00

My First property agent in Hyderabad

The property agent in general, is not a new term anymore. The property agent is the one who possesses the property or knows the whereabouts of the property for the purpose of rent, purchase, or sell-off trade in and around the local area.

As I am new to Hyderabad, the organization with which I am associated has provided me with a temporary accommodation facility, but that would last for only another week.
I have been looking for permanent housing since the first day I stepped in Hyderabad. The challenge is to look out for a house nearby to my office and convenient in terms of the ”added facility” as well.

We (I mean, a friend, Anurag, who is willing to be my room partner and I) met a property agent here, and what an experience it was! We got the referral of the agent through an advertisement in the Hyderabad premier newspaper, The Hyderabad Times. We met him at his office. Before showing any flats, he asked for the registration fee. And I got furious and was not willing to accept that. Later on, we came to the conclusion to go ahead with the trend of paying the registration charge of Rupees 200 only.

He was the typical South Indian guy. He instructed his guy in Telugu to show us some flats. We left his office in besotted mood. The young child, Krishna, seems to be his sub-agent, and was in his hero cycle. We were riding through the way in Anurag’s bike. We reached the first place safely and it was the furnished house—one of our top priorities. We went upstairs along with Krishna, and then discovered that the room had already been booked. We were disappointed because that could have been our best option. Everything was there: TV, fridge, chairs, beds, cupboards, and, of course, air cooler.

Then we moved on to another property with the hope of getting a better option. Krishna took us to the fourth floor in some lavish apartments. He tried the door keys he had gotten from the security guard. Believe me, it was pure fun to watch. He tried all of them, but in vain. Then he got another bunch of keys, and again the master key could not be identified.

We desperately moved on to the third flat. It was in the locality called Kishna Nagar towards the city. There were some MBA girls staying at that location. They warned us of a water problem there. So we also turned down that option. Kishna traversed his entire journey in grease-painted cycle and the cycle chain got derailed a number of times all the way along. Unfortunately, this flat also did not materialize.

Then we moved to our next venture. We went to the core of the city as instructed by the dude, Krishna. We reached the landmark point well in advance of him. We reached our last hide-out place and that was better than the rest of the seen places. But the only factor that intrigued me was the obsequious behavior of the security guard out there. Moreover, there were some police officers questioning some of the men there. So, we decided not to have that flat as well.

We were very particular about our choice and I was reluctant not to look at any place other than the places nearby to the core city. We felt tired and wanted to come back to the Guest House. We came back and had our lunch. I was ready for another venture but Anurag turned down the offer. Moreover, since the bike is his, I can’t make a strong demand. Hence, we rested at the guest house for the rest of the day.

I have a firm belief in the saying, “Whatever happens, happens for the good.” I believe that God had some different plans for us.

In the next week, I came across the washer man (locally, called a dhobi) in our guest house, who does property dealing in his spare time. He showed us a flat—well-furnished, ventilated, marble floor, wooden cupboards, huge kitchen storage, and, of course, a good location. These factors fall under our liking of “added facility” that we were looking for. So we called up the builder, Mr. Reddy. He was very clear about his approach not to negotiate for the rent. We got his point straightway and were okay with it. We added some more features to our “added facility” list, like geyser, water supply, and all that. And he agreed to those. We finalized the deal then and there and came back to the guest house with big smiles on our faces.

Frankly speaking, the place is not in the hub of the city and so doesn’t fall under my preference in terms of location. Apart from that, everything is fantabulous and hence things seem to be rolling on in our lives as well. Happy to see things happening here, now all set!

First con call

2005-04-22T01:45:00.000-07:00

My First Conference Call

My first conference call was superb, I must say. However, I was a little intimidated before the start. There was a dramatic beginning to my day. I came to the office at 9.00 a.m., a half an hour before the scheduled time of my conference, with the impression that Shradha would be there to assist me. Now, you must be wondering who she is. She is my team mate in the Hyderabad portion of our group. Unfortunately, she got delayed because of the terrible traffic. Moreover, the time was running fast and so was I.

I approached her cubicle and saw a guy sitting there, engrossed in his work. He was none other than Vamsi, a ray of hope for me. He told me that he had just received a call from Shradha asking me to make the call. I was thinking, “This is not an acceptable situation and why do things like this happen to me .” Anyway, without wasting much time, I asked him about how to make a con call. “Could you please assist me, please?” That was my wording. And he was more than ready to help me after seeing me unnerved.

He accompanied me and we went to the nearby conference room. There he tried something on the VOIP phone (I guess, that’s the name he called it) but the phone line seemed to be busy. Then we moved to the next conference room as he gave some logic why that the first one was not working. And I was dumb throughout the scene.

Wooh! The phone in the other conference room worked and he explained to me the way to make a conference call. Things were set in place and he left me alone. I was enjoying the music that usually is played before the leader joins the con call. Suddenly, there was a lady standing in the doorway asking me to vacate the room. Poor chap, Vikas! I thought for a while and was answerless. Then I got my senses back to normal and thought about what I would have to do if I move to next room. I pleaded with her to my best; but all in vain, as she had some urgent work to be reviewed. And I said to myself, “No, please not now.” I should have planned better well before.

I was in a pathetic condition. And the time was running fast, faster than in the usual manner. I approached Vamsi again with the “S.O.S. plank” on my face. We then rushed to another conference room. It was vacant. We cross checked it and it was vacant for sure.

All right, I said as I pushed up my sleeves to get to work, and things were again set in place. Vamsi left me all alone to face the strange phone. I was prepared by that time, and I said “Hello” with a shaking voice. There was a mature and pleasant voice from the other side. It was none other than my manager, Michael, and I was relieved.

The whole scenario took place in about 10 to 15 minutes. But, believe me, the preparation on my part was nothing more than the printout of the email containing the International conference number and pass code.