25th June 2009 : Two Years In Wipro!!!!

What a journey it has been :-) !!!!

Two years back…………after we just wrote our engineering exams , I got my joining date at Wipro. Training at Bangalore and Posting at Hyderabad. And I am the only person from my entire batch to have my training at Bangalore. All the others got their training location too, at Hyderabad.


Phew!!!……Bangalore…..an unknown un-easiness entered my body and mind. Unknown City………new environment………..new people…first time out of my house in my entire life…..and CHANGE , the thing I dread the mostttttt……….Hesitation and restlessness filled my mind and soul for the rest of the day. But there was no option , I had to go. June 25th , 2007 was the joining date at the Electronic City.
Technology : SAP……………Now what is this??……I spelt it together “sap”. Haven’t heard of it before. I knew C , C++ , Java , Unix……but what is this “sap” ?? I typed it in Google and waited to see the results. ERP Software I came to know…………software product integrating the best business practices………


Hmmm….I thought…..Hope I will be able to do well!! :-)


My mother came along with me to find a paying guest accommodation and settle me at Bangalore where my cousin sister stays. Koramangala , National Games Village is the place where we saw the first PG and I said yes instantly………….I somehow liked the place immediately… :-). There were two temples nearby , one Panchamukha Aanjaneya and another Prasanna Ganapathi. The temples looked like heaven and I thought of visiting them every Saturday early morning at 6:00 . The early morning chillness and the flower decorated moorti with illuminating oil diyas!! What a sight – Heaven !!


And then the first day at Office with my new “Id Card”………..an entirely different feeling….But I was alone…….completely alone………There were soo many people in our “sap” batch who knew each other already………were from the same college and some of them , best friends too. The place looked alien to me and it scared the hell out of me. I felt as if I am the only person for whom , all the others were complete strangers. What a challenge!! I have to get along with this entire set of people alone and who knows….. with whom I might end up being friends by the end of these three months… :-) ( Touchwood I made some wonderful friends, for a lifetime !!)


And on the first day of training , all of us got to know that it is not “sap” but “S.A.P” ( Systems Applications and Products). And we were told that , now as we are gonna be SAP professionals , we should never say “sap” and educate people who say so…..not to say so..


I didn’t have the opportunity to interact with many people or rather got lost in the number of min-groups present……….and hence I became a silent observer for the rest of my training. The only work I had or used to do were , concentrate on the training classes and observe the people around me. During the first month , I used to have my lunch alone most of the times and I hated this part. I sweared to myself that I will never allow this to happen to anybody else for the rest of my life! I will never let anybody feel “lonely” or “alone”.


The three months were a roller coaster ride……….and I still find it hard to recognize the roads of Bangalore. Every weekend , I used to go to one of my family friend’s place( same place)….and every time , I used to get lost somewhere or the other. Roaming around the un-known streets of Bangalore, alone, and interacting with the 11 other new people in my PG were the challenging tasks that I used to perform ;-) heheheheheh . Every girl in my PG had a new story to tell everyday and I kept becoming more and more a listener , which is actually against my nature. I learnt about many things in those few months and I also realized how important my past was and my family is, whom I generally tend to take as very very obvious. Indeed , how lucky was I to have such a strong family structure and people to take care of me.


If the first three months at Bangalore was one kind of learning , the rest of the 1 year 9 months at Hyderabad in my first and only project till now is another huge kind of learning. These 21 months at my project were again a mixed bag of experiences and huge learning. I was amongst very nice and knowledgeable people , from whom I learnt all the nuances of work. I learnt how to talk , how to behave , and even how to draft a simple mail. And I will be grateful to my gurus here who taught me all these. It has been a superb experience and I regret that I will have to leave it :-(.


Well , my husband keeps advising me not to get emotionally attached to the people around me. He says , “get attached to the work and not the people. Otherwise , you will only find it difficult” . But, emotion and people are my strength and motivation and will remain so. May be, I might face difficulties because of this , but this IS my way of life!! :D


Oh yeah , I almost forgot :-) . At the completion of two years at Wipro , I have two major achievements in my kitty. One , my professional work getting appreciated and getting an opportunity to lead a team. And the second , an achievement at my personal front. I married a Wiproite recently……….…nope , its not a love marriage !!


I always believe that things happen with a purpose and a reason. I strongly believe in “Destiny”. And this co-incidence makes my belief even more stronger!!


When I was recruited into Wipro at my campus , I and my best buddy got into different companies and we were very unhappy about this as this would have to separate us geographically and ultimately lose touch with each other. I felt even more stupid as I was alone at Bangalore.


But now I get it ;-). My soul mate was hiding here and I had to find him…..hehehehehe
What say Raviiii ?? ;-))))
With all these wonderful and tough experiences , I am gearing up for another BIG CHANGE, professionally and personally. But this time , I am not alone!! :-)

Rice Plate Phenomenon!!!

We rarely understand the other person’s point of view!!

Some days back , I was just changing the channels jet speed in order to find some interesting stuff to watch at a very late hour of the day. It was a Saturday and as usual I was completely bored and sleep said a no-no…

Something caught my attention…..it said “Das kahaaniyaan” and atlast I was curious…
It was a movie…..a collection of short stories………each story conveyed a point….some basic “gyaan” of life I thought…..
In this collection was a short story called “Rice Plate” acted by Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah!! Shabana Azmi was an orthodox Brahmin Lady and was traveling from her town to her cousin’s place I guess. In the railway station , he goes to the canteen and buys herself a rice plate.She puts at one of the benchces provided and goes to get herself some water. When she comes back , she finds Naseeruddin Shah , a muslim old man eating the rice plate. She gets furious on seeing him and sits opposite to him. The guy though startled at her behaviour continues eating. She gets really furious and starts eating from the same plate that he is eating. Finally the guy gives up and surrenders the plate to her and leaves. She finishes eating triumphantly and when she is about to leave , she sees another un-touched rice plate in just the adjacent bench. Then she realizes her mistake.


This is what happens to most of us. We tend to look at things from only our perspective.
I don’t blame anybody for this. It is perfectly human :-)
From our eyes , it might look like a square. But the same thing might look like a rectangle to some others!!
But I guess , the only people who stand out , are the ones who understand the other person’s point of view. To be able to put ourselves in the shoes of others and understand their reactions , is what that makes life challenging and meaningful!!

Now………….this, is not as easy as I just wroteeeeeee!!! Heheheheh

Yee Rishtaa Kyaa kehlaata hai!!

April 4th , 2009 : It is exactly one month since we got married!!

The red sindhoor at the tip of my hair , the bangles and especially the long mangalasutra (which comes out and grabs my attention whenever I bend down)…………all of them remind me every now and then that there is another person in my life , who is as important as myself to me.

The last one month has been the most mind blowing experience of my life!

Right from the settling of the marriage till Ravi going back to Jo’Burg…..everything was just like some fairy tale…………some movie clipping………

We kept reminding each other of the fact that we are married now , for almost 15 days after the D-day………..Pataa nahin yaar……..digest karnaa bahut mushkil thaaa…..hehehehe………..

Two of the many incidents which confirmed that I am a married girl now, mentally, are:

Incident no 1:

This happened on March 17^th……the day Ravi went back to Jo’Burg……

Ravi went for some shopping and left his phone at home. One of his colleague from Jo’Burg called up…..

The conversation went on this way….

Other person : I am X calling from Jo’Burg….can I speak to Ravi?

Me: Ravi forgot his cellphone at the house. He has gone for some shopping…. Do you want to leave a message for him…

Other person : May I know who is speaking?

Me : I am his wife speaking (Without even thinking for a second. As if it was very very usual and I am saying it for the infineth time.)

Other person : Oh ok…Congratulations!!

Can you believe this…………..

I am sure the person who spoke to me would have gone crazy as to how this girl, who just married Ravi , seemed so usual already?

I am still wondering as to how that sentence just came out of my mouth so spontaneously………….

The paradox was……we were still struggling to get used to the fact that we are married……and suddenly this sentence comes out of my mouth so spontaneously, without even giving a pause…….Strange!!

Does this mean………..I have accepted the fact sub-consciously? ;-) Heheheh

Incident no 2:

I have always felt that my mother’s role is a very enjoyable one, as she has her husband and kids whom she can depend on. Incase of an argument , she cleverly switches sides…..sometimes towards the children, blaming her husband……and sometimes towards her husband, blaming her children………….

I used to be very envious of this thing that she enjoyed.............

Two weeks back , a similar kind of thing happened. We had an argument at home and suddenly my mother changed the side , and started complaining to my father that I am not responsible etc etc…….

My instant reaction to that:

“ Not only you , even I have a person to complain now!!”

( Did I really say this?? Did I?? Did I?? )

That’s it !! My mother was shocked and my father could not stop laughing……

He said to my mother…….”Yeah she is right. If you have your husband to complain about her, now she has her husband to complain about you. Simple!!”

I kept thinking the whole day , again , as to how did this sentence come out of my mouth without my notice.

The same question again…….. “Have I already accepted the fact sub-consciously?”

Obviously , the answer is “Yes”(true to my innerself). Ofcourse my outer ego will never agree to this ;-)

Today we celebrate the completion of one month of our married life , in which we have been together for two weeks and we have been very far away from each other for the next two weeks( Doesn’t it seem too small for the build-up that I have given above…..hehehehe…..anyways…..leave it)

I carry a mixed bag of experiences regarding the last one month……….happiness , excitement , disappointment , sadness , neutralness etc etc etc………...everything………

But yeah one thing……….

Yee Rishtaa Kyaa Kehlaata Hai??

Dheeree Dheeree Samajh Mein Aa Rahaa Hai!! :-)

BLACK – The Colours Of Life!!

It has been exactly one year since my visit to Sphoorti for the first time.
And today is my brother’s birthday too !!
Again , we planned to go to Sphoorti , and excitedly bought many things to give to the children. But things did not happen as decided. I spoke to Srivyal in the morning and was very disappointed to hear that the children went to school and will not be back before 1 PM in the afternoon.

So , I called up Kranthi and she told me another place to visit.
DevNar Blind School , Begumpet !!

Really really glad that we could get an opportunity to go there today. It was again a very very different feeling which can be just experienced and probably cant be expressed in words.

By the time I, my brother and my cousin bother went there , they were preparing for a flag hoisting. The children had just finished their breakfast and were getting ready for the assembly. It was a different kind of an experience meeting those children.

In sphoorti , we saw children who were abandoned by their parents or couldnot be fed by their poor families. But , today , here , we saw , physically challenged children. Even these children stay together in a hostel and study, away from their parents. But the only difference is, they donot not know any other colour except, BLACK !!

Still , there was so much enthusiasm in them. Even though , they were really unfortunate and in pain , they did not complain. They were soo happy together yaar !!

Today , I realized the power of TOUCH !! I was just roaming around talking to all the children to get acquainted to them. I was really touched. I met a small child , who was just passing by me. I just bent down, touched his hand and said “Hello , how are you?? “.
Suddenly, the grip tightened . And he answered enthusiastically , “ Hiiiiii , I am fine “.
And we had a lovely 10 min conversation. By the end of the conversation , he almost embraced me completely and was not ready to go for the assembly.

Mere bahut samjhaanee see , he went back . But he kept coming back again and again to get a feel of me. That I am still there !!

I really don’t have more words to explain further. We HAVE to do something for the abandoned. There is every need to make the depressed feel WANTED.

Next time , if anyone of you happen to visit a children’s home , just give a child a tight hug , and then tell me your after thoughts !!

It would be a pleasure to listen to your experiences!! :-)

Arranged Marriages…….

I have always believed in love after marriage rather than marriage after love!!
I have always belived that , to build a relationship , we need to invest good amount of time and effort !! And things will happen gradually !!

May be that’s one of the reasons why….I chose to go for an arranged marriage……though I would have really liked to marry a person who is one of my good friends. Or rather I would say…..I would have loved to marry a person whom I am comfortable with. But , I did not find a person so close to my heart that I would marry him.. :-)
So , the real reason is , I don’t think I was left with any other option… ;-) Ha Ha

A cute Ad (Tea Ad) comes to my mind when I think of arranged marriages:
A lovely definition and description of an arranged marriage!!

A Daughter-in-law keeps talking to her mother-in-law and father-in-law, while having tea.
Daughetr-in-law: Mummyji , was yours a love marriage or an arranged marriage??
Mother-in-law : Bahuuuuuu , ofcourse Love Marriage !!
Daughter-in-law : Kyaa?? Sacchii??
Mother-in-law: Jub uskii baraat hamaare ghar ke saamne khadi thi , ham logon ne ek doorsee ko dekhaaa…. Aur pehlii nazar mein pyaar hogayaa…..huyee na love marriage !!

And everybody end up laughing!!

Very true!! In all senses , this is what happens in an arranged marriage. The person is a stranger to you , till you get married. And after you are married, he/she becomes your LIFE :-) !! Hain naa interesting?? ;-))

But , on a serious note , arranged marriages are a real gamble yaar!! You will remain completely clueless about the person whom you are going to get married to and the life that is going to exist between the both of them.
From a girls’s perspective , the things that come to our mind , when we opt for an arranged marriage are:
-- How would it feel to marry a person whom we hardly know?
-- How would it feel to realize that rest of our life depends a person whom our parents are gonna get us married to?

The questions seem a little serious eh?? Well they are!!……. But my mother says…that this is a natural feeling that every girl goes through , when she is about to get married…………