An integral segment of IT highways and IT parks

If you are an IT professional and your office is in one of those IT parks, you wont deny the fact that one of the happiest business man in that part of your town is a Pan shop owner... Every compound/fence of IT company/IT park has all these : A driveway with Entry/Exit Boards, the gate guards who look at you like you are the next person whom they expect to bomb the building down, the security folks who are ever so sweet to let you know that you can't walk on the driveway as per the sign board , the gardens and fresh flowers, spic-span walkways, the rear gate which is always busy with some traffic of trucks, trolleys, buses, that you never have the time to spend to understand....and then there are these cabs or buses neatly parked.. they have to be taken out of the building on time when the employees get out... (or is it the other way??... the employees get out of office on time because the buses leave at a definite time... ) and then there are these Pan shops situated at a Strategic business point just outside the huge building... They form the integral segment of the IT facility I would say.... :-)

Pan shop owners don't spend a lot in putting on interior decor make up to their shops.. It is typically a shed of sorts with an asbestos if an old timer or a canvas/kakhi shamiano( the kind that is used for tents) if the guy is testing waters in business in this particular IT park/company. Then there are a lot of things neatly arranged on the small counter..I have no idea what are the things but from the known IT traffic to the shops I can say Pan, cigarettes and chewing gums, are sure items on sale. Some of these are in sachets and they are hung in such a beautiful pattern that they give quite a decorative ambience to the shop. Since the shop is frequented only by IT folks who are supposedly posh , care for cleanliness and just the idea of looking neatly dressed and are well mannered, there are no loud talks and no bargains... there is no need to tell people to use the dustbin and no need to appoint someone to clean the place after a high-tea is done... By the way, in more organized Pan shops by the IT bay, you will also get to see a small table and few chairs, giving the setting a truly high-tea friendly spacious look.....

In my few job hops, I have always seen that this Pan shop owner is a happy man catering only to the software guys.... there is always one shop.. at the most you will see two shops in the vicinity of an IT giant.....

I have always wondered why the IT parks and company authorities never complain about a not-so-posh shop dotting their posh office..
And why IT folks complain so much if the AC is off for a few seconds in office, while they don't mind taking walks outside office to the Pan shop in sweltering summer heat.....
And how is it that the Pan shop owner always smiles and our folks always have a " This is too much to handle" look on their faces....
And why the IT guys don't read what is documented on cigarette boxes "Smoking is injurious to health".. but coming to think of it, most of them don't read emails and official documents properly as well... So lets just leave it at that :-)

Make a difference......

Andhra mess..... Once quiet, but now a noisy little food joint close to my office caters to the IT folks who crowd in during Noon for lunch.

We are a group of friends who frequent this place once or twice a month for sure. We all have different preferences in meal usually. One friend of mine loves peanut powder, another does not have curd, I don't usually take rice, instead ask for extra Rotis, another friend likes to have sugar soon after the usually spicy meal.

Usually we place orders for "All Veg meals" and when the waiter comes over to serve, we give out our preferences.

I never knew that he knew our tastes by heart... He ensured that sugar was kept on the table, extra rotis were brought in, and peanut powder took a place in our table. We are all still amazed about the memory power that this person who serves close to hundred people a day has and how much of an impact it has on us, his valuable customers.

Later when we were talking about it, we realized that a lot of us meet a lot of people in shops who knew our tastes exactly and would give us what we want. These people do not get any rewards or benefits, but just the satisfaction of having done their jobs, rather mastered their jobs...

I cant help thinking about people in high-end jobs who do not really master this art of remembering to think about the other person's interest... still they get paid much more... appreciated much more... cared for much more...

It is the same set of people who fail to recognize the small niceties extended to them by people who have not been fortunate enough in life to be their peers in terms of money and work style.

I think we all should start appreciating the niceties extended by a shop keeper, baker, fruit seller, grocery storekeeper, launderer and other people without whose services our own work life would majorly get affected.

I have seen people complaining about cost for all these services sky-rocketing... Think about it... We all wont mind a reasonable big number as salary hike every year .... :-)

So lets pay due respect and appreciate all those who make our life easy, although be it in a very small way. This will probably make someone's day.....

They say , "Small things make a huge difference most of the times"..

IT Highway

This morning, when I was commuting to office in the company-provided deluxe bus ( High platform, Cushioned Chairs, Comfortable leg-space, Air conditioned, the local FM radio channel ) I was curious to see how much longer my bus has to wait in the heavy traffic. So I stood up and gave a quick glance to see that the road was completely packed with buses like the one I was travelling in. There were a few cars, quite a number of city cabs, a very few bikes and a few maxi cabs. No cycles or pedestrians in this part of the city at this particular time of the day, as you just cannot expect to wade your way by a bike or walk, through the very heavy, heavy-vehicle traffic.

I was glad that I don't drive a car - as in this city's traffic, you would be one among the rare herd of people who love to drive to work in an office that is out of the city - and certainly am not the kind.

I also noticed that people in most of the cabs, cars and buses dozed off... I wont blame them for it as they probably wake up very early to take the bus to office at 6:45A.M and catch up on the lost sleep in the bus. But coming to think of it, where is the morning freshness, where is the morning briskness, where is the morning speed and efficiency that we have all been taught so much in school?

While I was still wondering about the missing early morning enthusiasm in most of us, - thanks to IT life - my bus reached my office and it was time to get down the bus and get into the wonderful office space that I have. I get down the bus and didn't fail to notice the slow walk and dull faces and extremely slow paced ID swipes... I try not to question.. but can't help at times...

Why is the speed so low?
Is it traffic? Is it work? Is it life style? Is it practice? Is it home life? Is it chilling out? Is it relaxed mind state? Is it weather? Is it the I-don't-care attitude? Is it I-don't-have-life-outside-work nature? Is it plain boredom?

As a contrast, if you look at people working in other sectors, there seems to be a better briskness expressed, among the very fewer luxuries that their work life has to offer them. There is no plush office space, there is no transport, if at all there is, there is definitely no AC transport, there is no flexible working hours, there is no Friday evening excuse, there is no.. let's just say, a lot of other things..

I have no clue what fits into the description of a very slow IT professional with all the luxuries.. But I surely know that IT highway today got me thinking...and that this kind of pace is not good for the supposed-to-be young and energetic crowd.

Gulab Jamoon in Bangalore

I know you picked up this topic because you love Gulab jamoon or are curious to know what this post is all about....

Last Saturday, I was in a shopping mall in Bangalore. After a two-hour long roam, my friend and I decided to eat at the food court. We chose the juice and dessert corner and placed orders.
While I was still waiting for the sugar cane juice that I ordered, I was scanning the display shelves. It is a nice past time if you are the kind who will appreciate decor.

Wall papers with fruits and cake pictures, glass shelves with fruits made out of wax, a display shelf with lots of freshly baked cakes and some sweets....I stopped right there... it was not just another sweet.... it was my favorite Gulab Jamoon.... :-)

For people who do not know about Gulab Jamoon, it is an Indian sweet which at its best, is brownish red in color, soaked in Sugar Syrup, very soft to bite into, and tastes very sweet usually. It takes about an hour to make 30 pieces of this sweet and costs INR 6:00 to INR 10:00 in any restaurant or a shop that sells sweets. Google can help you better on this reference..

I love Gulab Jamoons... There is no limit to the number I eat at a time and there is no definite time of the day or night when it comes to tasting Jamoons.

For a minute, I was tempted to buy, though I knew it for a fact that among the other things that I have ordered that evening, this sweet would add too many calories and it may not go well with the rest of the items... While I was still thinking, I happened to glance at the price of the sweet. It was Rs.49( seven times!!!!!!! more than the usual price)...

I picked up my sugar cane juice, sat down at a fair distance from the shelf and pondered about the cost and the fact that many of the customers were willing to pay that high a price for a sweet that can cost upto 20 rupees at the maximum.

May be this is how the calculation was done:
Pro-rated cost of Air-Condition in the mall + Pro-rated cost of the glazed glass name plate stating "Gulab Jamoon"+ Pro-rated cost of refrigerator display shelf + Pro-rated cost of maintenance of the sweet corner+ Pro-rated making charges + Pro-rated cost of the bright lamp in the display shelf that made the Jamoon look truly attractive + Cost of the actual Jamoon = Rs. 49!!!!!

May be, just may be this is how the cost Math was done, otherwise, I don't see any other work- around to arrive at this huge number for my favorite Gulab Jamoon.

Bouquet making

Bouquet of Roses : One of my favorite ways of wishing people. I always thought that Roses brought the best of wishes and expressed all the love in the world... And I know am not the only person who thinks the same.

This rose bouquet was part of a farewell wish. I had asked for a bunch of roses with a few ferns interspersed. The vendor smiled and asked me to choose a color.. I picked Red, as it is the usual routine... pick a color, choose wrapping ( bunch or bouquet), choose fillers ( ferns and other unscented flowers) , select a 'Best wishes' card and then write your name and wish in the little blank space that is available in the card.

The guy set on to work.... Not that I am noticing for the first time, the way bouquets are made, but this time, it was early morning and I was kind of focused on what he was doing, unlike other times, when I would mostly run late for the function that I was attending... So on this day, when I had lots of time before the work day began , I pulled a chair and sat there watching him work on the bunch of roses.

Till date, I had thought that it was just the sender, the bouquet maker's experience and the flowers you choose ( or get ) makes the bouquet look good.... Not really..... I just saw another aspect that made a huge difference... The kind of involvement that the bouquet maker has on the specific bouquet also adds a few points to a perfect bouquet....

If you are not able to see the point.. let me make it clearer... See, for you it is your friend and your dear one.. For the bouquet maker, it is just another customer's job entry. He would have made hundreds of such bouquets and this one may just be one more on the job tray....

This bouquet maker put in the best of efforts .....the extra special care on the satin, the wrap, the dews and the newspaper cover in the end made all the difference....every other bouquet maker might probably do the same... but there is always a difference you see when things are done whole-hearted and as part of a chore....

As I walked back with a beautiful bunch of roses neatly wrapped in a newspaper cover ( not forgetting the appreciation that he owes along with the money) and with a wonderful feeling that you know, if you have ever held a bouquet to gift someone........, I realised, routine jobs need not be boring at all... its the way you see work... :)

This vendor saw my friend's joy when he made the bouquet...he probably saw every customer's friend and the occassion and whatever else his profession involves before he started work.....

Later that day, when my friend's face lit up as she took the bouquet, I said a silent "Thanks" to the bouquet maker, the second "Thanks" for his Job... I was so glad that I had not forgotten to say "Thanks" to him in the morning when he gave me the bouquet.

Never ever fail to appreciate or thank a job well done, however trivial it might be :) is what I learnt that day. It could be a routine job that "Cannot" go wrong, still it is important to acknowledge it, because in effect you are contributing to a better performance in the next to next stereo-typed jobs of the guy, on the same day....

My Hand Bag

I didn't know that my handbag was my major support when I am all by myself, till I faced a bomb threat at work and I walked out without carrying my bag....

All the time, all books and magazines have quotes and proverbs that state:You would not know the worth of things till you lose them... True, I never realised what all my hand bag meant to me, till I had to part with it for more than two days....

It had my tickets, the cash, the desk keys, my cupboard keys, my address book among many other things that made my hand bag more of a sack instead of the mere brown, unassuming, leather finished resin hand bag.

I didn't have much to do that evening when I was wading my way, wait a minute.. when the auto I boarded to reach the bus station that evening.... was wading its way through the oceanic traffic. Am so used to hugging my hand bag wherever I go, for the last few years. It was the first time when i am travelling alone, I did not have my hand bag... The bag i borrowed served the purpose of holding my freshly printed e-ticket and the generously lent out money.. still it was never the same....I realised for the umpteenth time that i have nothing called "Presence of Mind" to carry my hand bag with me.

I missed my bag...

If my bag were to speak, I wonder if it will cry out loud : Don't over stuff me with things!!!!

I loaded it with keys some of which are just old key chains now, bills that recorded my expenses, my address book that is my appointed record keeper of phone numbers and addresses, books that will either be a gift to me or my gift to someone, note pads that had a lot of scribbles that meant so much only to me, post-it notes that remind me of my to-do list when my memory wants to take a vacation,my cash that keeps me company when I am in an auto mostly, my travel tickets that are my prized possessions every time I go home, my health care easy reach essentials that helps one and all around me, my cell phone that defines me among my folks, and to add to all these, there are always one or two of the "once-in-a-while" residents in my hand bag : Water bottle, eatables, some courier that I had to post, some greeting card that I have to hunt a postal stamp for since the last week, some gift that I had to give someone, a passport size photo or two that I had taken year before last and forgot to paste on some form or other, my phone bills that are never "light" and some papers that I stuff in my bag for later reading on subject, writing, fashion and new phone service provider's advertisement( in my attempt to reduce phone bills :)

I had wanted to be methodical about my hand bag load.. but it just doesn't work well between us.. me and my hand bag.. we are fine this way :) I travelled light the other day when I had left my bag behind, but was a little too bothered about my bag more than any thing else that evening.. may be because, no one else would offer to carry all my possessions just like my brown resin hand bag :)

M.K Retail, Indra Nagar, Bangalore

This retail outlet is always full of people... This is just another 'One-stop-shop' in this part of the city with branches all over the city...

Over the last six months, I have been a regular customer to this store , though NOT 'most-valuable' customer... Well, that's just a jargon which means, ' a customer who shops for a lot of money with, a 'lot' ranging from minimum one thousand rupees to zero-balance in your Salary account..'. :)

Yesterday, I had been to M.K, for getting some of my usual shopping done. I've always noticed that people here, shop for a lot of things without thinking whether or not they need it... May be it's the same everywhere, but here I get to see it very clearly, as I wade my way through the crowded aisles of the shopping zone here.

I had picked up whatever I needed and some of what I want ( which I could have done without) and headed to the billing counter. I was beginning to think that my shopping cart was a little too heavy than I had expected.

While I was doing the mental math of my load, and deciding between cash and card at the counter, I saw the counter clerk packing the billed items for the previous customer... It had all 'Ready-to-eat' items. From my mental math I could see that the bill was surely more than five hundred for items that would serve as two meals or maximum three meals for the guy. Brushing aside my thoughts, I handed out my debit card and waited for the bill generation. There was some connection problem and my billing took longer... 'Leaves me with a little more time to gaze around this place with people a little more crazy than I am.. :)' - I thought.

This is what I recall:

A bright five year old walks in and picks up a small shopping cart.. fixes the plate on it properly enough to seat her teddy bear... Her father says " We'll take the bigger cart..". and she says" The bigger cart doesn't have a seat for the Teddy and the teddy would feel left out".. So the father took a cart for himself and the daughter wheeled away another with her teddy seated on it... mostly she was focusing on the teddy.. or so I want to think... :)

While I take my eyes off this scene, I see a beautiful young woman with a very cute child, walking in. There are two others with her, one - a very well dressed old lady who seems more of an elder version of the young woman and two - a middle-aged man who doesn't seem to belong in the family and is more of an assistant to these shoppers. The women start picking up the new arrivals and the most expensive things in the shop while the middle-aged man wheels the shopping cart. He would have got used to the idea that he can never buy these things for himself or his folks given the soaring prices of each of them...

Couldn't help thinking ' how much thought did these people give to the emotions of the assistant ? Can't they handle the shopping cart themselves?'

From the delivery counter, I saw a huge cornflakes box walking towards the billing counter... All I could see was a cornflakes box till the man reached the billing counter and dropped the box on the billing table. Wonder if he ever eats 'desi' food.... :)

In all the three cases I saw 'money' and the fact that the value for it has never been thought about. I hope people in this city get to spend as much always... If there is a crisis in the IT field in future, then unsure about the world, but this city will come to a halt.. an abrupt halt.... people cant live a simple life here and they will miss their luxury so much that their lives will come to a stand-still....

God save IT in Bangalore.......

On Birthday

:)

I just turned sixteen :) Well that is what I want to think always... :) Actually getting older and wanting to get better each day!!!! :)

According to some people, Birthday is just another day, with just about the same or similar happenings and experiences.... but coming to think of it....

Isn't birthday a day to

- say thanks for a dawn of another new year,
- respect parents and friends for what they are and have been till date,
- say thanks for what you are,
- appreciate yourself,
- feel good about yourself,
- put some real thought into the wishes you receive,
- be glad to have people around,
- say thanks for all the good wishes,
- reflect on your inner self,
- redefine rules,
- just 'Be yourself'?

You know what? When I read it again, I see that we can be this way, every day... :) It's just that it will take time to get this kind of thought into our daily lives, so till then, I think we should count these thoughts in , at least on our birthdays... :)

Thought of the moment...........

This is about writing all that comes to my mind just this minute..

The Gulmohar flowers which I saw in the morning on the road-side trees....
The Maroon Salwar Kameez I am wearing....
The work at my desktop...
My sister....
The movie I watched with a friend....
The person who sends comments on my blog often....
A friend of mine who usually writes back to my mail...
My friend who is expecting a baby...
My Mother who is travelling...
My Dad at work....
My tickets to home town next week...

Just wondering about this mind of ours.... How much can it think in a matter of minutes.... Does this mean it has multi-tasking ability or does it mean it is out of focus? On a second thought, I think multi tasking is correct....

I am sure most of our minds are lost in so many thoughts every minute... When one of the thoughts require immediate attention, that's when we call it 'Focus' and we concentrate on it.... All else, remains in the background and become 'Active' when each of it gets the chance....

People say meditation is important only to put this forever busy mind to rest....and it is said, the efficiency of mind and thereby 'way of life' becomes easier. Planning to try sometime.. :)

Right now, my work is in my mind's queue, so going ahead with it....

Horlicks.....

I rarely tune in to T.V channels... This particular day when I was in one of those 'feel-like-doing-nothing' moods, I chose to switch-on the T.V.

Four kids were praying in a temple, each asking for different things... One kid interestingly thought out aloud "Dear God, I know you are the Almighty and have great strength... then, may be you do not need this much of milk for yourself " and rushes out of the temple with the can of milk that was kept in front of the deity as an offering...

The scene ends with the kids making Horlicks Shake and enjoying themselves.. :)

This advertisement has a major thought which is controversial to even discuss here.. There is this practice of 'Abhishekha' in Indian temples where people offer 'milk' to God. It is a mark of devotion to the good God for all that he has given and been and ' is-to-be' to people.

Wonder why no one ever thought of this basic question.. God is the Almighty and so he may not need so much milk after all??

The point is 'Some questions that kids ask, do not have correct answers. All answers given are to manage the show for the moment.'...

Curious to know what God thinks of the Horlicks Advt, at this moment as I write this post... :)

Sunshine..........

This is about the verse I remembered this morning.. Dates back to about sixteen years ago in school...


Good Morning merry sunshine...
How did u wake so soon...
You've scared the little stars away and shined away the moon...

I saw you go to sleep last night..
Before i ceased my playing..
How did you get way over here and where have you been staying?..


I never go to sleep dear..
I just go around to see...
My little children of the east..
Who rise and watch for me...

:)

T-shirt thoughts

Some T-shirts make u smile, no matter what mood your mind is in.This afternoon, I came across one such shirt with this saying:

Girl Friends are like medicines, they come with expiry date...

Not sure how many people saw a quick smile on my face, but I couldnt help thinking:

Probably the designer never thought of Ayurveda medicine and never believed that there are Girl friends who do graduate to 'Wives' and can still be 'Girl friends'. :)

For folks who are wondering about the reference to Ayurveda, it is a form of medication that is practiced mostly in South India. Most medicines in it, as far as I have known, do not have expiry date.

Wisdom

Just remembered this one liner:

Dear God,

Give me the strength to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I cannot accept and the wisdom to know the difference...

:)

How true..

Bengalooru

:)
It was a cold Sunday morning when I reached this "Cool" city. I was shivering literally while I waited at the bus stop for a friend who had promised to be at the bus stop to receive me. According to her, I am new to the city and there is every chance of me getting lost. :)

Quick snaps from the city over the last three days of my stay here...

Cool city - It is a great change for me from the Tropic climate in Chennai to the pleasant climate in Bangalore....

Lazy city - People take their own sweet time to start and gear up for the day ahead....

Friendly people - Everyone I met was willing to help me with anything I needed to locate in the city... I am not that used to this 'over-friendliness' that a caution alarm started ringing in my mind and it has still not stopped.

Crowded buses - Not to beat Chennai Local transport, still it is new to me as all along I have stayed away from the crowded city buses in Chennai.

Jammed traffic - For a five minute running time, you need to cross five red lights at five signals, and ten speed breakers and spend twenty minutes in any vehicle you commute. ( This statistics is extrapolated from the data I collected from my own experience .. :)

Fair North Indian Food - The eateries here serve fairly good North Indian dishes. Need to take care about the butter and paneer that gets added to your plate unexpectedly.

Complex language - Kannada seems complex to me.. Should learn, else it is going to be tough to manage the shopping and autos. Thankfully a lot of the localites here manage to understand Hindi and Tamil fairly well. I even spotted an auto with the Word 'Rajini' written in tamil wrongly spelt as 'Ra - ii - Ni' for the letters in tamil.

That 's what i am able to manage for now, as the clock is ticking and the climate outside is getting cold.. :) Need to leave , Until the next post,
:) smile and have fun.