Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Piled Higher and Deeper

Long time since last post. My apologies.

The news not-so-new: I have joined the Indian Institute of Science for a PhD in aerospace engineering. It has been more than three months since I became a student again, and in this post, I would like to summarize the events in my life since I started working.

Two years of corporate life was good. In fact, I enjoyed it thoroughly, along with all the shocks and shakes it offered. Right from formally dressed business consulting at one of the big four to casual campus like life as a technical consultant, I liked it all. 'Like' not in the literal sense of it, but for the lessons learned at those places.

I took up my first job as if it was another team project at college. It did not take me long to realize that corporate world was nothing like college. Team mates and seniors were not like the ones I saw at IC engines lab at IITM. Every one had his own interests and did not care to hurt others feelings and even trample others careers to advance their own. Of course it was painful, but taught me a good lesson when it came to dealing with people. I learned to start with no expectations when it comes to professional dealings.

But there were good things as well, that my first job gave me. I learned the importance of networking and how important it was to stay connected with people. The best thing was the financial freedom it brought along. Not that I lived in dire poverty till then, but I have this feeling of independence and the belief that if I want to drive a bike, I should be able to earn for petrol myself. Once I joined office, not only did I buy a bike and went around Hyderabad, but was also able to pursue reading which I liked most. My weekend pilgrimages ranged from Himalaya Book Depot in Punjagutta, Hyderabad to Visaalandhra in Arundalpet, Guntur.

Six months into job, I realized that what ever I was learning was like the icing on cake. However, the cake was missing. There was no field or area of business in which I could claim experience nor any useful tool that I could master. I started feeling suffocated. Lucky that the tipping point, the event which made me decide to move out came early. And so, after eight months of business analysis, I moved back to a core job in Chennai and started to bake the cake.

I approached my second job with all the pessimism acquired from the first one. It did not take me long to realize that I was wrong. The people here were angels, in the literal sense. Every one, including the managers were very friendly and good, that I started feeling as if it was college again. Till then, I could never imagine an office that had such a good work culture and people that were excellent human beings. And there was a clear demarcation between work and personal life. Getting back to Chennai was another big advantage. Firstly, it had Insti, the place where I studied for four years. Secondly, it was the kind of place that suited me best – temples, vegetarian hotels, Moore market for books and beyond all, hot sun that never let me catch cold. I got time to read all the books I bought in Hyderabad and to visit juniors and friends in Insti.

This job gave me all that I could ask for. It gave me a good feel of automobile technology which I like so much, great friends to play badminton in the evenings, money to spend, and more importantly, time to pursue my hobbies, time to go home once a month and attend friends' marriages. But sometimes, good times come to an end too soon. Recession made things hard and I had to start thinking again of what to do next. So, I came back to do what I like the most, studying.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Shoe Polish

I first saw him as I was walking to office after breakfast. He was smiling at the school kid who was walking ten paces ahead of me. Seeing him smile at the kid, I smiled too. As he passed the kid, I saw the shoe brush in his hand, and he looked at my shoes. In a while, as we got closer, he said “Anna, brush anna”. I wear sport shoes that don’t need a shoe brush to clean. So I dismissed his request and walked past, saying “Venda thambi, pongo.” {No need, please go}

He kept walking behind me, insisting to brush my shoes. I could not see his face, and failed to notice the emotion with which he pleaded. As he kept pleading, walking behind me, I thought “Who would spend money so simply in these hard times?”

I walked into my office, wishing the security guard a good morning. I knew that the he stopped outside, and would probably go back. I got in to the office and watched him from the first floor of my office. He was pleading with some one on the street. It was then that I understood the urge with which he was pleading.

As I walked into my floor and switched on my computer, many thoughts raced my mind. “He might be very hungry and needed money to eat. How many people would he have pleaded with, to polish their shoes? What would happen to him if no one buys his service today? Would he go hungry or will he resort to stealing/begging? Was he not a very dignified guy, asking money in return for his work, instead of simply begging like most other people do? If he resorts to stealing, would it not be due to people like me, some one who can not appreciate his sincerity?”

And I saw all this in the light of my recently-improved understanding of life and hunger. Until last month, five hundred rupees meant a movie at Satyam and lunch at Saravana Bhavan, that’s all. But things change, don’t they? Recession had its effect on me too, and since then I was thinking of nothing but cost cutting. Reducing phone calls, eating at decent hotels compared to good hotels, banning movies altogether. It was then that I began seeing more value in a hundred rupee note.

Coming back to the present, I could not even sit down. Something in me was not letting me put aside the matter. The security guard looked at me in surprise, as I walked out of office. I was searching for him, and walked in the direction I saw him go. He wouldn’t have gone far I thought, reassuring myself. I was looking into the side lanes and walking fast, trying to locate that hand and the brush. I found him after ten minutes of search, pleading with some one at a stationary store. I called him out aloud “Thambi, inge vaa.” {Brother, come here} As he came to me, I asked “Pattu roopa pogumaa?” {Will you polish my shoes for ten rupees?} I sat down on the steps of a store, removed my shoes and gave them to him. As he was brushing I asked him, “When did you eat?” He replied, “Last evening” and carried on with the brushing. I could see a smile spread on his face, or may be I just imagined. I was already feeling much better. As he finished, I put on my shoes, handing him a ten rupee note. And I walked back to office with a slightly light purse, but a much lighter heart!