Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Waiting???


Hello,

This post is all about those few minutes of waiting which we all experience in our life...


waiting for reserving a ticket at bus/train or waiting for your Aircraft to take off..

waiting for your turn at the ATM or waiting at the Billing counter of a store...

waiting for a friend to pick up or waiting to join friend at a party...

waiting for your love at a cafe or waiting outside their college/home/hostel...

waiting for the movie to start or waiting for the show to resume after a break on TV...

waiting for a photo upload on FB or waiting for comments by your friends on them...

Well, the list is endless and so are the memories with all the instances...and I am going to narrate one of them which occurred recently with me while I was waiting for my turn at railway reservation center...

I was issued a token for the reservation form (Thank God they started this... nahi to line center k bahar tak jati thi)...the token number was 150 and the currently running token number at that time was 100... while I was waiting for my turn I was roaming all over the center reading notice boards, reservation and cancellation rules, concession rules, advertising hoardings etc... but while reading all that what I notice was, hardly 5 minutes passed and token moved to 110... having done so much at the center...!!! So I sat at the newly put chairs (The center felt so different since I had started visiting for my ticket bookings)... A lady came and asked my neighbour, waiting for his turn too, for help to fill the form but that person told her to go to another person who was already filling his own form... (I wonder how much time filling a form like that would have taken? also he was not busy doing something else)

These little things show our personality and attitude. They say "No Act of Generosity is Small". What matters is the will to act and the action taken thereafter. In the above scene, it would not have costed the man more than a few seconds which in any case he was wasting... The little act would have relieved that lady from the sorry face she put up when he directed her to another person...!!!

We may ignore this small incident as just another event...what I wish to convey is about the larger picture... a small act of generosity can make a difference in somebody's life... It can release him/her from unnecessary stress... I know some of my readers might think I am becoming philosophical but I am hoping someday someone might just remember this post and not refuse to help... !!!

Help to be helped... !!!

JAM


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Go Goa ... 365days on a Holiday !!!


Be it an employer or an employee, an entrepreneur or a professional, everyone knows what it means when 31st March comes... The nightmares of not achieving targets are like aww and the satisfaction of exceeding them is just wow !!! After a yearlong of turmoil, "break toh banta hai" and a New Financial Year starting with a weekend and a holiday on monday is just like icing on the cake with a cherry on the top.

We grabbed this opportunity and tickets were booked in tatkal.Thanks to IRCTC it worked for us that day. My friends were leaving on Friday evening. As I didnt have saturday off, I planned to join them on sunday. But they booked the tickets and I had to take a leave... !!! The train was at 10:40pm from Thane starting at 10:00pm from CST... but the train came only at 11:45pm at Thane and reached Panvel at 12:30am from where Janab and Rakesh had to get in. We were to reach at 7:00am but Indian Railways proved itself again....and we reached at 12:00pm... !!!

With India beating Pakistan in the semi-finals of ICC World Cup 2011, India were to play Sri Lanka on Saturday for the cup. 28 years of wait was to get over and we didnt want to miss the moment... We got passes to a place that displayed match live on a big screen...before reaching there I thought it would be a nice club/pub (as you would expect in Goa) but it was a mandap built in the premises of a temple... the mandap would have fallen if the winds were a bit heavy... we left the place only to come back in India's innings... Meanwhile had some relaxing time at the Calangute Beach.... When we reached back, the place was packed with people... everyone shouting and clapping... At times I wondered, if those appreciation reached the players playing in Mumbai !!! With different kinds of people experiencing those majestic moments, undoubtedly, the Josh & Junoon of cricket unites the country. After every boundary / six, everyone would shout and applaud but there was this one person who would stand up once everyone stopped and shout,"Jeetega bhai jeetega, Indiawala jeetega..." Till MSD hit the winning six in his own renowned way of ending a match, Hardik, Prashant Bayeti & me, didnt even move from our seats (lucky charm...) Superstitions are a part of Indian culture and we were no exceptions... !!!

The next day we hired bikes and went to the Aguada Fort and Baga Beach. Though beaches are my favorite spots to relax, water always terrified me with its power... I always liked to be at the beach and not in the middle of the ocean...!!! but looking everyone enjoying the water sports, I somehow managed to gathered courage and was ready for watersports. 1st Jetski... the speed with which the ski moved was just amazing... I did it with ease... no probs... "Bring it on" I told to myself... Next was a Banana Ride... a Banana shaped tube is attached to a motor boat and they take u on a ride and in the middle of the ocean, they turn it upside down... !!! Ok ok... I can do it... !!! We tried climbing on it and failed for the first two attempts because the waves turn upsidedown the tube, but when the third time it came down.... gone... the tube was on me and I was in the water... felt like drowning...even the life jacket not working... ghosh that terrified me to the core...and I said I quit... whatever one may say... but for me, it was doing it for my pleasure and not to show-off anyone...still two more rides to go... I went out of the water for sometime took some breathe... saw people doing the third ride... seemed simpler and "safer" than the banana, it was round tube this time and two people would go on a ride in that with a motorboat... but without turning the tube upside down... So I made my mind to go for that... and it was indeed a fun ride... And the last one was Parasailing... a parachute ride in the middle of the ocean !!! I always liked to see the view of the earth from top (I always take a window seat in an aeroplane, liked the spot on Chamundi from where the whole Mysore city is seen, even the view from terrace of my building and the 16th floor of my office) The view of the beach and the ocean below when you are in middle of the air hanging on rope and a parachute is both thrilling and enchanting... !!!

Once these were done, everyone was dead tired and we hadnt had proper lunch/dinner since we had landed in Goa due to some or the other reason... !!! So we went back to our room and on the way Hardik & Prashant ordered for Dominos... 1 Large and 2 Double Burst Medium Pizzas and a couple of garlic breads... !!! yum yum yum.... !!! Took some rest and went back to Calangute Beach...(walking distance from our rooms)... Sitting idly watching the sun setting and the beautiful ocean and waves... We made sand home (which didnt look like one though)... Prashant made one and Rakesh Agarwal & I made one... we joined both of them via tunnels and then called it Roller Coaster Ride cos of the criss-crossed tunnels...!!!

Come late night, we moved for dinner and then went to couple of beaches in search for some parties for Rastogi... ;) but to his bad luck...nothing... It was 2:00am in the night and I had never seen any street as buzzing as the Baga Beach road... there's the famous Tito's bar and disc and so many pubs all around packed with people... !!!

The next day we had planned to go to Palolem Beach 70 odd kms from our place... We booked a self-driven cab for that... the owner of the car told us to not to go so far as it was jst a beach like others in Goa and would be tired of driving also because of the ghat section on the way. As he suggested we went to Colva Beach in Margoa 25kms from Panjim. We went there with all hopes of seeing something different... but there also was a beach and watersports... but like the other beaches, the water there was crystal clear... !!! Bought some clothes for my nephew...(had received a threat call from home to bring something for him and his bhua, my sister ;) ) but couldnot find anything for Rakhi though... !!! From there we decided to go to Old Goa to see some churches... St. Anthony's church and Our Lady Cathedral are well known places... the cab didnt have a music system, but who cared, we all started singing and one after another classics came... Hardik, Janab, Rastogi and me too... :D :D :D

We spent some time in Old Goa and went to see the Miramar beach in Panjim...then to the Our Lady church in Panjim... went to Kamat for some tea and snacks and then bought the very famous Cashew Nuts from the local market...

We reached the bus station as this time IRCTC didnt work in our favour... Handed our the cab to the owner... but what we see is a dent on the side of the car... All of us wondered when and how it would have happened... and the owner started asking for damages... Rs.1500/- :O ... Per day rent for Cab was Rs.700/- and this dent cost us Rs.1200/- which we bargained for... !!! and we were sure these 1200 would go in his kitty and not for the damages... but what to do... we had to catch our bus !!!

In Bus:

I have intentionally separated this section...

Our bus was scheduled to start at 7pm which started at 7:30pm and reach Mumbai (Sion) at 7:00am which reached 9:15am at Chembur... !!! This is not the reason though for separating..... There was this group of people coming from a part of country (let's call it Part A)and among them was another person from different part (say Part B).... Most of them were drunk and seemed to be out of senses... They started talking about each other’s states and the growth and good things happened to their states and also the bad things about the other states.... It went on... and at times it became a heated discussion making other passengers worried... Then suddenly one of them told the reason of other state's growth and that touched me... He told the other state has progressed more because they valued their parents and respected them...while his state didnt... !!! This was unexpected from a gang of drunk people... !!! A sentence like that wouldnt be easily heard from people in best of their senses and here these people drunk and lost said such a huge thing... !!! Just give it a thought... !!! Parents are the key to success... !!! Their blessings, their well-wishes, their sacrifices etc...etc...etc... countless .... Everything is for their children... and today what their children are giving them... !!!

JAM

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Of Wrong Tickets... Lost Luggages & of course Pratigam !!!


Helloss ... Its been long since I have had an opportunity to write anything for my blog... At Pratigam one of my readers asked me about new blog and I told i wld like to write if I get one good topic... Here I have it now... !!!

Its not just about Pratigam... But rather its about Post-Pratigam !!!

Pratigam was a fun-filled event for me atleast... getting a chance to be at Campus and meeting SDM Family... Yes the SDM Family... right from the Security gate person till the mess staff and hostel boy... of course batchmates, juniors and seniors go without saying...!!! The cricket match...the culturals... the DJ night... !!! All of these are the part of SDM Family... !!!

It was the Sunday morning when it all started... Leaving campus was yet again the most painful thing... and with Kabir crying, it became even more ....!!! However, we had to leave for Bangalore to catch flight on time... We reached Bangalore by 3.30pm ... surprisingly the Bus didnt stop anywhere in between Mysore & Bengaluru... So we didnot have lunch.... !!!

We waited for our friend Ankita at the Majestic Bus Stand of Bengaluru... while the Airport bus was there all set to go... had she been 5 minutes late, we would have had to wait for another 1hour...!!! We had reached airport really early... 5.00pm... Ankush's flight at 7.40pm and mine at 10.00pm !!!

We had some snacks at CCD outside the airport... and yes we were waiting for Karen to reach airport as her flight was at 7.00pm. Well, at 6.00pm received a call and came to know she had already checked-in... !!! So went to the departure lounge and talked to her with glass in between... Action spoke more than words for us !!! In the next half an hour, Kabir also went for check in and now only me and Ankita were left...!!! So now we sat waiting for my turn to get inside the terminal... by 8.00pm, i asked her to leave as she had to travel alone back to her home and I went into the terminal...

Went to Check in counter at Go Air... Confidently gave my ticket printout and my PAN card for ID... and the executive at the counter started to search for my name... she tried 2-3 times couldnot find.... then she asked other to find... he also tried but failed... !!! TENSION... !!! He took me to the main ticketing counter of Go Air, checked his system and asked me to contact my travel portal....!!! I called them and found that the ticket PNR no. showed the ticket for 21st nov.2010 but the Go Air system showed it for 19th Nov. So I called again and he confirmed me that it was 19th... !!!!!!! Goneeeee !!! what to do noww???? needed to board the flight by any which way as I had already lost my 2 days at office (UNPAID LEAVE) ... and didnt want to miss another... I told them to book any flight available and I started roaming from counter to counter asking for flights to Mumbai... JET Airways: No Sir, Indian Air: No, Spice Jet: tomorrow evening sir, Kingfisher: Only Business class...GO Air: all flights booked...NO ROOM... !!!

Now I didnt know what to do... It was already 10.30pm and my flight was already on its way to depart...!!! So I called Hardik and asked hm about his flight... He was leaving next day morning... and told him the story... I checked with the agent for availablity on that... but with no result...!!! Hardik told me to try for KSRTC Buses to Mumbai... Called Niting Rastogi at Mumbai to check online for the buses and Saurav Chakladhar at Delhi to check for connecting flights via Chennai to Mumbai... !!! The result from every where was a NOOOOOO !!! So Finally I called the agent and told him I need a ticket any how... he told me a ticket available for tomorrow at 9.30pm... matlab the day is gone... !!! I kept pressing on him to book me a business class as it was their fault... but Jitendra, the travel portal executive, told me they didnt have power to book a ticket of more than Rs.5000... now that's ridiculous... !!! I told him to book whatever was available... Hence finally booked ticket on Jet for the next day at 9.30pm ... I told him thank u for booking the ticket and ask ur boss, CEO, CFO & The Legal Team to be ready to answer the Consumer Forum's investigation as I was going to file a complaint about them... !!!

Hardik & Shruti were coming by a cab to the airport, so I waited outside the airport for them to come... !!! Meanwhile, I realised one of my bag was missing... !!! OMG.... Nw that was the last thing I would think of ... !!! I ran here and there at the waiting lounge, couldnot find... Told Sudhir Kumar, GoAir Executive to search inside but he also couldnot find... !!! Gone.... !!! My Bag... tough it just had a couple of books and my Bank ID Card... but ... a loss is a loss !!! Then Sudhir asked me to talk to the Lost & Found desk.... (Meanwhile Hardik & Shruti had arrived, I handed them my other bag and told abt the lost one... Hardik started running from counter to counter with me...) With Sudhir's help, we asked the help of Airport Police staff to find the bag for us and they knew it was there... !!! He showed me a bag is lying there... It faintly looked like mine but was not yet sure till the Sudhir brought it to me...!!! The Security person asked for any identification, thank God my Bank ID was in the bag and hence proved my identity... !!! Got my bag... !!! Relief !!! (It was while running from one counter to another, searching for bag, I thought Yes I got the topic to write about... Now that was crazyyyy !!! )

Now that all seemed to be settled, a ticket booked for tomorrow, I left from Airport to Vinay Pujari's home in Hardik's cab...!!! It took an hour to reach his home even after midnight... Didnot have any food in all this chaos... Thanks to Hardik and Shruti, they packed a couple of McD Burgers for me... !!! Had them on my way... totally unaware of what I was going to do at Pujari's place the whole day while all my Bengaluru friends would be busy attending their office... !!! However reached Pujari's place, he had gone to Railway Station to see off his friend... !!! Waited for him to come and finally I was home... !!!

Next day started with a tea at the bakery and then the Newspaper and TV !!! India Vs. New Zealand Test Match... !!! good time pass ... !!! But then, it also became boring... I had asked Pujari abt any place to hang out nearby and for lunch... !!! He told abt a couple of places bt the place for food what he told, I couldnt find and thought of going to a nearby mall and decided to have somethng there... !!! It was Hypermarket and I peeped inside and saw racks of goods.... I thought its jst a departmental store and hence asked the security there regarding some multiplex there... (Guzaarish realed 4 days back)... Went to The Forum Value Mall, searched for Box Office and booked a ticket for 1.30pm show... Then went to see the mall and finding some nice place to eat... !!! but could see only McD.... !!! and I had a combo meal !!! ( Now I realise why I am becoming fat day by day.... reached the figure of 70kgs...!!!) Watched Guzaarish... nice emotional movie... Hritik Roshan as always showed great talent and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan looked as gorgeous as ever... !!! Watch it if you can take some very emotional content... !!!

After the movie, went back to Pujari's home. He came home by 5.30pm and I started preparing to leave... This time I checked with Jet Airways about my ticket before leaving for Airport and only after it was confirmed, I left... (Experience teaches !!!)... Flight delayed by an hour but the point was... I had a boarding pass and had cleared the security check-in... that meant I would be able to board the plane though an hour late but I will be able to reach Mumbai by midnight... !!! Had a Turbulent flight to Mumbai... took God's name and everything settled... !!! Landed safely !!! Waise Jet Airways conduct in cabin auction of various products and I also made a bid... I had bid for a Blackberry Curve 8320 for 10,100/- and surprisingly... I won !!! :) :) :) .... Now that is what I call sheer co-incidence... !!! I had to win that smartphone and hence was not flying last night but was flying today !!! Now that's sweet end to my not so sweet journey !!! (Waise I have thought of gifting this one to my Sister's t0-be-husband... yesss My Chotu is getting married... its on 13th feb 2011 at Jodhpur !!! )

Finally reached home at 1.30am... !!!

Well, not done yet... !!! Now today as I thought of writing my experience, I thought of transferring the pics to my laptop and also charging the battery of my Digi Cam... Now I could not believe this... I had forgotten the battery charger at Gaurav Rathi's room (our junior in whose room me and Kabir stayed for Pratigam... He had to sleep in his neighbour's room... Must say... he gave us the best Hospitality we could imagine... and we celebrated his final placement at INFY)... !!!

Now I am here... with a lost battery charger and a case to be filed in a couple of days against the travel portal (travelchacha.com) ... Writing my experience... Hope my reader reads this... It seems you were really missing my writings and now you have this one to read for yourself !!!


JAM

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Life In a Metro !!!


Its been more than 1 month now since I am in Mumbai and life in this metro is quiet different... This metro is a universe in itself... At every moment its new, its different and yes it surprises you with its Faces....

Life in a Metro is about People... People... and more People... jahan jao log bhaag rahe hai... !!!

Life in a Metro is about Auto, Bus and Train... sometimes waiting for 30mins to get an auto/bus and sometimes running after them just to be sure you don’t miss them...

Life in a Metro is about Carefree life... Kaun kya kar raha hai...kisi ko nahi padi... bas sab apni dhun mein chale jaa rahe hai...rather daude jaa rahe hai !!!

Life in a Metro is about bunch of helpful people who can guide you for catching trains, buses and understanding directions... helpful people...!!!

Life in a Metro is about travelling 4 hours (to and fro) to work in office for 8 hours.

Life in a Metro is about compromising so that you can share your travel fare... share auto and share taxi !!!

Life in a Metro is about staying with SDM friends and pulling each others’ legs...!!!

Life in a Metro is about beautiful places to go... Gateway of India, Taj hotel, Marine Drive...!!!

Life in a Metro is about malls and movies for Saturdays and Sundays... window shopping yahin se shuru hui hogi... !!!

Life in a Metro is about coming to home and log-in the internet and chat with friends and trying to keep in touch...!!!

Life in a Metro is about calling my 3 Id!ot$ almost every day and talking about each others’ new “just friends”... !!!

Life in a Metro is about calling home everyday just to make sure that my parents can listen to my voice once a day... SDM mein bhi itna call nahi kia hoga kabhi... !!!

Life in a Metro is about being happy to be able to catch that early train/bus/auto so that I can reach home earlier...!!!

Life in a Metro is about exploring places... every Saturday-Sunday kahin to ghumne jaane ka plan banta hai !!!

Life in a Metro is about waiting to go home every month...!!!

Life in a Metro is about earning the first salary but no time to spend to buy anything for my family...!!!

Life in a Metro is about waiting for all the room-mates to come so that we can have dinner together (Hardik is exceptional... saale ka koi thikana nahi.. 11-12 baje bhi aata hai...!!!)

Life in a Metro is about listening to music on radio while travelling and also trying to protect the earphones from getting damaged in middle of the pushing crowd...!!!

Life in a Metro is about seeing luxurious cars and flats and bungalows and dreaming when I will have one of these...!!!

Life in a Metro is about never ending road constructions and continual rainsss...!!!

Life in a Metro is about sitting at marine drive every Saturday enjoying the sea and feeling the cool breeze...!!!

Life in a Metro is about waiting for those holidays when we can sleep for longer hours !!!

Life in a Metro is about living with all these.... !!!

As Prof. Mihir Mahapatra used to tell... “life is tough out in the world”... well in this Metro it is Surprising and Shocking at the same time... !!!

LIFE IN A METRO.... LIFE IN MUMBAI.... LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL !!!

JAM !!!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

BONGGG !!! Samay Samapti Ki Ghoshna !!!

I know this is the famous line used by MR. AMITABH BACHCHAN in KBC... But Dont worry.... I wont be talking about KBC or the 4th season shortly coming on-air... I am here to pay gratitude to all... !!!

With just 15 more days to go.... Finally... The time has come when I wind up my bags and start preparing to leave for Mumbai and then Pune... IDBI Bank has finally called me and with that now I know... my previous blog dnameisjam.blogspot.com/2010/05/3-months-and-still-counting.html becomes past and I know how many days... Starting from 17th February 2010 to 24th July 2010.... a 158 day long Vacation will soon come to an end... A Record-Breaking Summer Vacation in my life time... Guess... this was my last summer vacation and God gave me the longest one... so that I dont complain in future??? Hope God has not planned a cut on my future vacations by giving this looooong vacation...

My main purpose of writing this one is not Timepass this time like the previous one... But this one is dedicated to all my friends and family members... who helped me in one or the other way to pass this Vacation smoothly and kept me engaged... !!! I know if I name them... the list will become so long... that you will just scroll it down... so I wont name them all... however, there are a few of them who need to be named...

1. My Laptop for Movies, Games and Music I played and enjoyed...

2. My Internet Connection for Facebook, Gmail, Gtalk, Tweeter, MoneyControl.com & Indiabulls

3. My Cable Operator for broadcasting SAB, SONY, Colors, Star Plus, Zee TV, ESPN-Star Sports and yes... Cartoon Network... !!!

4. The Great Indian Railways for allowing me to book/cancel tickets, receive and drop guests and sometimes myself almost every week !!!

5. My Mobile Phone and Network Provider for Music and Connecting me with my friends [though my network provider has different plans ;) ]

I know these things wont say "U are Welcome"/"My Pleaure" but I know they have proved to be my best friends in this time of 5 months and 7 days.... I think if I thank all of these... I have included all my friends... because the above include the modes of connecting me to you !!!

I cannot even imagine my single day without any of these... and I am sure it would have not be sooooo easy and smooth like this... though at times got bored.... but all I had to do is to open my contacts and call any of you/ open laptop and chat with someone Online/ simply plugg in earphones and play music/ FM radio on my mobile.../ Just browse through the various channels on TV !!!

After next two weeks I will enter a new phase of my life... I will start working... I will start earning myself and I am desperately waiting to earn that First Pay Cheque of mine which I can give to my parents and tell them... "This one is for you... !!!"

After Mysore... its time to explore PUNE now.... have never been there... Hope its as pleasant a surprise as Mysore...!!!

Thanks All.... and ya... Miss You All... See ya Soon !!!

GOD BLESS !!!

Regards,

JAM

Saturday, May 29, 2010

3 Months and still counting !!!

Hello All,

AHIMSA PARMO DHARMA (Non-violence is the biggest religion)... but these last 3 ... umm... i think 3 and a half months rather... I have been the biggest killer..... I have killed TIME ... 3 and a half months' time... that's roughly about 151200 hours.... !!! Just Can't Believe numbers could be so dangerous...

but then what I did in the last few months is just TimePass... and this is the blog of my timepass...

The exams ended on 17th Feb for me and on 19th Feb I was on board to Ahmedabad. Had tickets for 28th feb but circumstances made me leave ASAP.

the first month passed like a whisker, my uncle was unwell and had to attend the shop... 11am to 9pm duty... and at night all my SDMites were OL for chatting.... (got a new datacard the very next week I reached here... cant stay without internet now)..... and also, the reason was 19th March 2010, the day of our convocation. We were going to meet again... and yes I was going to be at the Paradise yet again for a day. Convocation was just a bahana.... from there to Chennai for a couple of days and back to ahmedabad.... Mysore is gone and gone for dont knw how much time...

Back home in March and the summer began to show its true HEAT... Come April and the temperature had already reached 42-43 degrees Celsius. But the Shop duty still continued... though not for long... My cousin came back from Mumbai and he took over the business and now I was again at home... :( but my father's office came to my rescue... though nothing much to do here.... Just sit in the A.C. cabin and watch TV.... Got so badly addicted to my mom's serials that some times even watched the repeat telecasts... however, If any of my readers want any updates on serials like: Balika Vadhu, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlta Hai, Utran, Bidai, etc... feel free to contact.... Also I think CID (though only old cases repeated whole day on Sony TV), Tarak Mehta ka Ultah Chashmah, Lapataganj, Sajan Re Jhooth Mat Bolo are a few watchable if you dont like the daily soap dramas.... (all are on SAB TV except for CID)

Come April and I was back on my regular schedule of SIP... Chatting and going to railway stations and airport to pick someone or drop someone or just to buy tickets. this time even went to Bus station. The unfortunate events made me feel m growing responsible now but gives me a smile when i say that this is what MBA has taught me....April bhi nikal gaya IDBI walon k intejaar mein... aur kuch nahi hua... only the mercury was rising high and high and touching at 44.7 highest in past 5 years... Already in April... May to come baby... !!!

May came and got lucky. went to Rajasthan for a week and meet grandmother. so good to see her after a long time... almost a year now. last time was SIP. went to my ancestors village and the farm land.. everything seemed to be the same... so standstill... but how long in Rajasthan ... a week's stint and back to ground zero... wahi purana schedule... but hte office hours changed... anytime between 11am & 2pm to 4pm & 5pm... Gosh the sun was so very angry and had to raom about places doing some or the other work in the afternoon... the mercury still rising ... 47 degress celsius... 40 years record broken... (some records are not meant to be broken... but then who can explain it to the blazing hot Sun???... )

Now when the months ending and so is my patience, got to know that finally the Bank people have started the activities of sending letters to newly recruited MBAs... but 2 weeks gone and mera number abhi tak nahi laga... the one week induction sessions and the slots till 18th July for Mumbai have already been booked... seems its gonna be 2 more months rather one more... but they started giving Delhi... A small ray of hope... As my dear friend & a colleague now... Subbarao a.k.a. Suresh S says.... " GOK " ..... GOD ONLY KNOWS.... !!!

Many of them have joined and many wil be joining this June... but humara to koi thikana nahi... !!!

Well, this is also one of my past times to write blogs... but lately unable to find a proper topic... !!!

However, I request my readers to suggest some better way of passing the remaining 2 odd months...

and yes 3 Months and I am still Counting... !!!

Enjoy Maadiiii....


Sunday, April 4, 2010

Every Festival Teaches Something

12 Moths, 12 Festivals & 12 Management Lessons


You might be wondering what topics this Idiot writes on.... I know you might feel this Post weird but its a small piece of my observations!!!

India is known for its wide variety of festivals that it celebrates all round the year. From January to December, every month has some significance in the life of every Indian both socially and economically. Every month comes some festival or celebration and with each festival comes a message. We all know that each festival teaches us something however the messages are either rarely followed or are increasingly vanishing away. Today, Corporate Governance is a hyped word and so is Corporate Social Responsibility but if every manager tries to implement the simple yet powerful learning that each festival gives, I bet he/ she can do much better. The following post tries to bring home the point of how each festival and its message can transform an organisation and help it in achieving its goals.

Uttarayan/Pongal: The festival of Kites. This festival is celebrated on 14th January every year. The festival is celebrated all over the country in different names and ways. If I take the example of Gujarat, the people celebrate it as a two day festival by flying kites and eating undhiyu and jalebi. The kite flyers celebrate their victory by cutting each others’ kites. The point here is not about the winner but about the loser. He comes back with more passion and courage to win over his opponent. This gives us a very important management lesson. Management should understand that there will be opposition and there will be instances of losses but the management that stands up against opposition and does not lose hope will get the much deserved success. The management should be able to build such employees who believe in themselves and their ability to come out of any downside.

Parsi New Year Day: Festival of Simplicity. Parsi New Year is generally celebrated on 21st March. Parsi community is known all over the world for its simplicity. They celebrate their festivals with utter simplicity. They do not indulge in huge processions or music and dance in public in celebration of the festival. They are a closely knit community with restrictions of entry of other communities in their religious celebrations. The management gets the message of simplicity in their actions. The pomp and hoopla that is created today may sometime distract people from the main aim of the company. Also, company needs such people who can confine companies’ sensitive information with themselves so as to protect the company from competitors.

Holi/Dhuleti: The festival of colours. The festival generally comes in March of every year. The festival marks the presence of God everywhere. People celebrate the festival by applying different colours on each other. The colours mix with each other and bring out the happiness and joy of winning. The Management should also understand the importance of people getting comfortable with one another, mixing with each other and cross the barriers like regionalism, caste, etc. Management should imbibe such qualities in its people so as to create harmony among all the departments of the organisation.

Baisakhi: The festival of Harvest. The Festival usually falls on 13 April of every year. The day is celebrated all over the country in different contexts and ways. The northern part of India especially the Punjab province celebrates it with much enthusiasm and gaiety. The day not only marks the birth of the Khalsa but is celebrated as a harvest festival. The farmers prepare for harvest of their lush green farms with grains, pulses and vegetables. The harvest is the result of the hard work and perseverance that the farmers undertake. The management should learn the importance of hard work which they harvest in the form of profits for the organisation. The management should be fair to provide the share to employees as it was their hard work which resulted in the profits.

Rakshabandhan: Indians are typically known for the festivals of relationships. Rakshabandhan is a festival celebrated by one and all irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Sisters tie rakhis to their brothers for their long and prosperous life who in turn promises to protect them from any danger. Honest employees are like sisters for the organisation. Their hard work and dedication will instil growth in the organisation and it’s the duty of the organisation to see that the employees are socially and financially protected. Safe and secure employee will lead to better efficiency and productivity in work.

Onam: Festival of Kindness. Usually celebrated during August and September, Onam is a typical festival to Kerala. The mythology describes it as the event in celebration of return of the King Mahabali of Kerala. Mahabali was known for his justice, peace and truthfulness. It is believed that he donated all that he had, even himself, to Lord Vishnu’s Vaman avatar just to keep his words. This gives an important message to the management. It describes the importance of sticking to promises. No matter what it takes, management should honour its commitment with 100% faith and truthfulness. Today, many companies are known in the world for their commitment and many have made it a point in their mission & vision statements.

Samvatsari: Festival of introspection. Jains all over the world celebrate this day by fasting and praying. The evening is marked with the prayer of introspection where-in each individual tries to find what misdeeds he did in the past one year and apologises with each person whom he might have caused any damage knowingly or even unknowingly. Management should also learn to introspect within itself to find the misdeeds it did the whole year and try to make them good. You may call it a corporate personality coming who realised that now he cannot escape and hence he accepted his deeds and apologised. However just an apology is not enough, one has to face consequences of the wrong deeds he has done at some point or other in life.

Dushera/ VijayaDashmi: Festival of Victory over Evil. Dushera or the Vijaya Dashmi is said to be celebrated in the praises of Hindu Goddess Durga. Durga is also known as the form of Shakti (Power). It is the celebration of Goddess Durga’s victory over demon Mahisasur after a continuous battle for nine days. The management of the organisation should learn the importance of power and enthusiasm to fight and reach the ultimate goal. The employees should be ever motivated to go out and put their best foot forward and hence achieve the organisational goals.

Gandhi Jayanti: Festival of Admiration. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known as Mahatma Gandhi, needs no introduction. India celebrates the birthday of her most admired son on 2nd October every year. The festival reminds of the values of Gandhiji. The virtues of truth, non violence and being satiated are the most desired virtues in person’s life. However, what could be learnt is the determination and will power that Gandhiji showed during the freedom fight against Britishers. The determination to achieve its goals is very important for the organisation to succeed.

Ramzan: Festival of Fasting & Thanksgiving. Ramadan or Ramzan is the ninth month in the Muslim Hijri calendar. Generally celebrated in the month of October, the month is celebrated by month long fasting and the last day is Id-Ul-Fitr the day of breaking fast. Muslims all over the world celebrate this festival by giving alms to the needy. The management should learn the message of parting excess for the betterment of the society as a whole. The concept of CSR again comes into picture. Today, many companies are following this but still there is more that can be done.

Diwali: Festival of Lights. Diwali is generally celebrated at the end of October or beginning of November. According to Hindu mythology, the Hindu lord Rama returned after 14 years of exile. Rama is considered as an idle person in any form be it a son, a student, a father, a king or a husband. His character preaches the importance of being in limits and ethical. The management today needs to be transparent, consistent and free from bias. If the people are treated with equal justice, there would be less cases of discontent among all its stakeholders may it be shareholders, employees or government.

Good Friday: Festival of Sorrow. Unlike most other festivals, Good Friday is celebrated as a day of mourning and sadness remembering the pains and sufferings, Jesus Christ underwent to preach the good. It is believed that he was crucified as a result of a conspiracy against him. However, he, by his forgiveness, gave the message that world cannot run by the philosophy of “an eye for an eye”. Today this principle has very much relevance, with cut throat competition, the management may get carried away with the competitors’ strategies and a price war is an example of the same. But this hampers both the companies’ development process and also their reputation.

The above are few examples of what could be learnt from the various festivals celebrated all around the year across India and over the world. However, implementing the messages may be difficult in present day context, but the management should always have these teachings in any of its decision. These messages will not only bring prosperity for the organisation but also for all of its stakeholders.

I know I am too young to advice anyone but then good things can be told by anyone what is more important is how we take them!!!


Happy Festivals!!!


Regards,

JAM