Happy Anniversary !!

5 long years in a company is reeeaaally reeeeaaallly looooonnnngggg time. The Place where my career as a software engineer started. Should I say ‘Sigh’?
It feels like I just came to Bangalore to join Intel few months back. Its been 5 years since then, time just flew away so fast. Looking back, this is one of the best that I ll always feel proud about. There is a lot that has happened over these years. Many different learning experiences, interesting people, wide variety of work, funny email exchanges, so many releases, team outings, quarterlies. It seems like I have conquered the unconquerable, it took me so many hours, months and years to taste this. There were moments when I felt like getting out of the politics at work and late night work schedule, moments when I felt I need to put an end to my technical career and find something else interesting, moments when I wanted to just sit at home and do nothing. Those first few years remind me of many bitter-sweet moments. Unpleasant words, nasty emails, unnecessary escalations, unrecognized work were the only ones during those times. Believe me; each experience helped me come out stronger and wiser. Now, nothing is impossible. Its all about solving problems and resolving difficulties and not letting ur professional life affect ur personal life. I got the hang of all of these after few years. Amidst the variety of work that kept me engaged over these years and task focused working lives, there are many interesting personalities who made this a great place to work, things that can never get off my memory. The interpersonal relationship prospered out of positive and supportive attitude from such people. The personal and professional success was so much interwoven that the quality of these relationship was something that showed how we enjoyed being in each others’ company. I enjoyed my time here in these last 5 years, loved the people around and have always been thrilled to get to work each day to experience something new and interesting, more so because of the emotional bonds between people driven by passion and inspiration.
When good things touch our life, we hardly recognize their presence, we only enjoy the rewards. Yes, Intel is once such thing that touched my life, the rewards of which im enjoying for the past 5 years and I hope I can continue to live in this enjoyment for long. Although I have never worked for any other company, I can still say Intel is the best place to work. Im happy to have been in this comfort zone for really long time.

Wishing Rajeev, Bala, Pradeep & Vidya a very happy anniversary as well !!

The birthday cake ..

It was my mom’s birthday today. Every year I remember it a week later. Surprisingly this time I was reminded of it a week before. To celebrate the sharpness of my memory and to celebrate her day in a different way, I was thinking on what kind of surprises I can give her on her b’day. But the fact that its me and I cant plan any surprises for anything was still something to think about. That apart, I was wondering what I should do for her for the special day. And it struck me that I can surprise her by baking a cake for her. I was sure its going to be unforgettable for her if not disastrous, considering I hardly know to bake cakes. I don’t know how in the world did I think of this, but I was totally excited. Now comes the bigger problem. How do I get the recipe for the cake from her? How abt this “Amma, im planning a surprise for ur b’day. Can u please tell me the recipe for baking a cake so that I can surprise you ?”. Going by my nature, Im pretty capable of doing it. For once I decided I ll act little smart. I did ask her the recipe for the cake but then added a disclaimer “Note: VJ wants to know how to bake a cake”. As if she is so dumb to accept that VJ did want the recipe. So sweet she was that she did not question me on anything and just gave me the recipe. Ok, problem #1 solved. And now the next major problem. I need to make this cake in my home without her knowing that Im doing it. Ha ha ! What a joke. She is a home maker and I cant get any time alone at home to make it without her knowledge. So, I need to do some more extra planning for this. The t20 WC match was a blessing in disguise. I told her I was planning to watch the complete match that night while at the back of my mind I had planned to make the cake over that time. I bought the needed ingredients and hid it so that she doesn’t spot those and guess what im upto. So all set. Clock stuck 10. Time for her to get to bed. And yes she did get to bed. I gave abt 5 mins time for me to complete what ever I was doing and then start the “making of the cake…”. 5 mins later she walks out of the room and says “Im not feeling sleepy”. Of all days why is it that she isn’t feeling sleepy now. I gave her ideas on how to sleep even when u r not sleepy. She listens to all those and goes to bed again. In the next 5 mins, she is again out of the room and now with a different dialogue “Who was that guy who played for Deccan chargers in IPL and is now in that Netherlands team?”. At 10.30pm what sort of important question was this. I knew she was talking abt Dirk Nannes. In the next 15 mins, she wants to know if I booked the ticket to travel home over the weekend. For a moment, I thought I ll give her Avil and put her to sleep ;-) After about half an hour, I saw she was having a sound sleep. Finally the time came. I got off to a splendid start and by the time I finished the process it was 2 am. I was too lazy to clean the containers used. So I hid it under the table and put the cake in another safe place. I just sat on the bed after all this and I suddenly heard her talking “Innumma thoongalai” (haven’t u slept yet?) . I thanked god for the timing.
I got up the next morning at 8am and I saw her already busy in her cooking activities. Wished her, presented her the gift that I had got and showed her the cake finally ! Phew !! She was totally taken aback. She had lot of questions in mind on how and when. And I narrated the entire “making of the cake.. “ process. Im sure she enjoyed it. And the cake did turn out to be good – looked good and tasted good as well. After all it was made out of so much of love and care ..

Mom, my love

I stole your breath
You gave me a life
I became a part of you,
Our life together began

I wailed when I saw the new world,
You embraced me with open arms and open heart,
With enduring patience and inner strength,
Our life together began

You showed me what love is
You taught me how to enjoy the pain
You taught me the art of forgiving
You healed my hurts
You calmed my fears
You wrapped me with your love
You gave more than just a hot cooked meal
You gave me an identity and pride
You loved me in a very special way
You have given me so much

I feel proud to have been a part of you as a little one
I feel proud to have been a descendant of such a strong woman
I feel proud to be called your typical daughter

I have never embraced you, I have never kissed you
Yet my heart always goes out for you, now and every moment of my life.
I have lost my temper; I have not been well behaved always,
Yet my endless love is only for you, now and ever.

Yes, my life started with you,
And now my heart beats just for you
I carry you within my heart now.
You are an angel of god in disguise.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY AMMA !!

What was I thinking ?

Its easier said than done. How very true!! Every deliberate attempt to forget it more so bring memories of it – pleasant, unforgettable, that brings a smile on my face. People, music, things, events, expressions, photographs... are all memories, a story from the past expressed without words. Every time someone says “Im not worth it, u deserve much more…” my head turns restlessly in all possible directions to see who that gentle(wo)man is. The only thing that is observed while walking on the roadside is big cars to see if anything is a ML. Lonely stranger, Have u ever loved a woman, It hurts me too… , amazing lyrics, which I have listened umpteen number of times in the past, enjoying every word of it. A movie that was watched, about which I could recollect nothing - the cast and character or the title or the story. Only thing that remained in my mind was two people riding in the horse all thru the movie. The only best profile picture that was always put to sleep in my absence and with all patience, I put it back it in the right way, every time. Heaps of papers, cartons, books left unarranged in a room, which I desperately wanted to set it right everytime I passed by the room. I still remember the days when I struggled hard to complete Ayn Rand’s Fountain Head and Atlas shrugged, just b cos someone told me it’s a nice read. The first sensitive moment and the last one too !! The Park, the temple, the performing arts school, green nest, ibp, red bull, metro dryers, .. Small things yet not so small .. It isn’t about how much pain it brings to me, its just about how it impacted me in many different ways, made me think , ‘How I wish I was there … ‘ It isn’t about what I have lost, its about the moments when I look up to the sky and ask ‘Why am I here’ .. .

God will never leave you empty.
He will replace everything you lost.
If he asks you to put down something,
He wants you to pick up something greater!

-100

The after-lunch walk on that day was very humorous with the folks from my previous team, after a long time. As always, PP remained the ‘scapegoat’ that day too. If at all these is any consolation for PP, it must be that A and J were added to the list for the day. The thing that’s common between PP, A and J is that they are the most eligible bachelors, atleast that’s how they call themselves, right now. The topic of the day was the “Most beautiful woman” they have met so far. PPs list was a public list, more so bcos of his grand b’day celebration just the day before. All eyes (men’s eyes) on him .. jealousy .. who else other than PP can have a b’day celebrated by all girls from the group .. Im sure the other bachelor boys are envious of him. After targeting PP for a while, all eyes shifted to A. A was too shy to name his list. He tried to pass the ball to J. J was acting clever in telling that he doesn’t know the name, he has only seen them, and that he considers the lady with a beautiful smile, the woman with the long hair as the toppers in the ‘Most beautiful woman’ (women) he has met. When asked to explain more on where those ladies sit, he said he doesn’t know where they sit, but has only seen her (them ??) passing by his cube !! (Gone with the wind ??) The team was very enthusiastic to know the ‘Passer by girl’ and so gave an AR to J. The next time the girl walks past aisle, he is supposed to get up and shout the position the girl holds in his ranking so that everyone can immediately stop their work and get up to see who the ‘beautiful’ girl is. Someone in the group suddenly turned to me and said, “Please make sure u don’t walk by his aisle ok. He might shout -100 when u pass by”. I had a hearty laugh at this comment .. as if I don’t know that Im not a drop dead gorgeous kind of a girl

Call center experience ...

Every page that u open on the net will have something in common that appears on the top right corner of the page. “CONTACT US”. Contact for what ? Hear to unrelated stupid talking ? I cant think of any customer care having a knowledgeable smart person who understands what u ask and gives u a right solution, leave alone the solution, if they can talk something related to what u ask, then u r really lucky.
I once had to call one of my wireless card customer care to check on whats happening with my bill for the month infact whats happening with all my bills . I hadn’t received a single bill in the past 2 yrs since I took the connection, but I kept getting reminders every month that I need to pay in order to avoid disconnection. So this time I thought I ll call the customer care and find out whats happening with my bills.
Dial 1111 1111
Voice : If u want to continue in English, please press 1
Me : Press 1
Voice : For new connection, please press 1. For account balance, please press 2. For billing related queries, please press 3
Me : Press 3
Voice : Please wait while we transfer ur call to our customer care executive (??).
……
Voice : All our executives are currently busy ( busy talking crap ?? ). Kindly hold the line … Finally there is someone at the other end,
Good evening, this is Suresh Kutty, how may I helb you ..
It took me few mins to explain to him (dint know if he understood what I told!) that I never received my bill for the month and so I wanted a duplicate bill to be sent again to me. And that I have never been receiving my monthly bills and need to check if my billing address is correct. And Mr.Suresh Kutty says, We are zory for the ingonvenience gaused madam. I ll gonnect u to our billing zection who can helb answer ur question.
I did press 3 for billing related queries and why in the world was I connected to Mr. Kutty from some other dept... After a few mins of hold, echoing a very sad music (why the hell is the sad music played for hold !!), I hear a voice
Good evening, this is Rohit, how may I help you ..
Omg, I had to narrate the entire story to him. Gathering lot of patience (im generally very famous for my impatience), I did narrate the entire story to him. Mr. Rohit cudnt wait for more than a second once I finished talking, he was very spontaneous in telling. Kindly hold on madam, I ll transfer u to our technical support department. Before even I cud ask him why the hell is he connecting me to the technical department for my ‘billing’ related query, he had already put me on hold.
After few mins, Good evening, this is Anudeep, how may I help you.
Alrite, now I need to repeat the story. I knew its of no use telling this Anudeep, but thought I ll give it a try. And I did. Anudeep patiently heard to what I said, then asked me,
Madam, is the card inserted in ur laptop rite now ..
What the hell kind of question is this ? B******t ! How does it matter if the card is inserted or on ? Will the bill get generated only if the card is inserted in the laptop ?
I told him “YES”. I dint want to tell a NO and hear his answer “Sorry madam, u dint insert ur card and that’s y the bill wasn’t generated.
Madam, can u please chk if the antenna is lifted up and is in the standing position
I would have screamed, Stop it right there man, I don’t care if the antenna is standing or sleeping or flirting. Will I get my bill?
But I said, Mr.Anudeep, how long have u been with this customer call center.
And he said, 5 yrs madam ..
Not able to control my laughter, I put the phone down .. … *smile .. smile *
From where do these call centers recruit such ppl ?

Abhiyum Naanum ...

Amidst the illogical mindless love stories of these days portrayed in movies, ‘Abhiyum Naanum’ is indeed a different one close to lives of all fathers and daughters. This movie starring Prakashraj as father, Aishwarya as the mother and Trisha as their daughter is surely worth watching , what when a director, who knows the art of narrating human emotions in an exemplary manner, a skilled actor, who can do any role with ease and a talented actress, who combines performance and great looks, come together? A quality entertainer. The movie is all about the journey of a father , who showers boundless love on his daughter finds it tough to accept the realities of life initially, but then comes to term with it and accepts it. The message “Children grow up .. Sometimes parents must too..” is the key to the movie. I couldn’t agree more with the message.
The reason why I thought I ll write about the movie is because it is close to my life as well. I see my dad in Prakashraj(The coincidence here is that Prakashraj is Raghu in the movie, and my dad is also Raghu ). I have heard that my dad had taken off from his work for 3 days when he first admitted me in a school for my kindergarten. He was waiting at the entrance of my school for the entire 3 days. He anticipated I might cry missing my parents and he wanted to be readily available to console me. While I tease my dad now and then on this, I do realize his emotions and his love for his little girl. Emotions are a part of every relationship that gets deeper and stronger by each passing day. So true with the father-daughter relationship. Like Prakashraj, every father is protective and possessive about their daughters. The daughters always remain a child to the dad. Its very hard for them to see their daughter grow, move away from them and choose her own life. Most often the fathers are forced to acknowledge that the daughter, far from being a defenseless child, is an adult capable of making her own decisions when she grows up.
And now talking about the movie, right from the day the girl is born, his life is filled with fresh joy; his day starts and ends with his young daughter. He takes care of everything and ensures his daughter leads a happy life devoid of any worries. The life of the father revolves around his daughter. As she grows up, the father dotes all his love on his daughter, gives her all she asks and more. For all his life, the little girl remains a little girl. But as the daughter grows up, she finds her dad being very impractical. She tries explaining to her dad, but then it shows up as if she doesn’t understand her father’s love and is being very selfish. The fact that she is trying to make her father realize the practicalities of life goes behind the scenes. When the daughter finds a life partner for herself, the love for his daughter makes him appear as a villain in his daughters’ life. He just cannot accept that his daughter will leave his home some day. The daughter truly understands him and says to him that she is ready to leave her lover if her father does not approve of him to which the father disagrees. Its probably not the feeling that she chose someone on her own worries him, but just that he can not withstand his daughter’s absence in his life after her marriage is more in him that he shows his unwillingness towards the marriage intitially. But yes, he doesn’t stay with this feeling for long. He does come to terms with it, accepting the reality of life.
All said and done, one has to agree that woman are the most sensitive ones. When the daughter leaves her parents after marriage, the mother and the daughter cry while the father understands that’s the part of life and accepts it. When he sends off his priced possession, he tells his son-in-law “Take care of my little girl”. His girl always remains his ‘little’ girl. His emotions completely expressed in just one line. Every daughter would want to express this message to her father that “Some day I ll meet my Prince Charming, but daddy, u ll always remain my King”.