OBSERVATION DAY
How many of u would like to go back to school for one whole day, without the burden of being a student and having to study…
Presiding Officer, TM of the day, Fellow TMs and distinguished guests… good evening to all….
Observation day is the day when we get the wonderful opportunity of seeing our children at school and observe all their activities…. Doesn’t it sound wonderful? Believe me, it is…
Rahul…. Rahul… wake up…. It is time for school… Is the normal routine everyday… but on observation day, it will be Mom, Mom … wake up … get ready fast…. U have to come to school today!!!
My attire and makeup… my posture and conversation is decided in advance by my son… Mom… u should not speak to Aakash mother… I don’t like him… so u cannot be friends with his mother… varun is my best friend… u must speak to his mother…. Don’t wear too much makeup… other children would tease me later on… no saris… I want u to wear a salwar and look like Ashwin’s mother…. Young and beautiful….
And Rahul is in his third standard!!!
School starts at 8.30 and we are given permission to go in by 9 a.m.
Entering the classroom… the morning prayer is complete and the children are ready with their books…
Enter the Hindi teacher… Sree gurubyonamha … sukkeee bava…. Hayagreev wat r u doing under the table? Mam.. mam…. My hindi book pages are flying below the desk maam… OH… is that so… quickly pick them up…. Children, help Hayagreev…And the whole class is down under Hayagreev’s desk for another 10 mins…
Children, children… please… oh my god… u know how difficult it is to control these children… this section is the worst section of the lot… CHILDREN
Let us start our lesson… where did I stop the last time? 1st page third line… no yea u were sleeping we completed the first page… no no miss did not take that lesson at all…and on goes the argument… and the teacher is so harassed that she swears… What a disobedient class… I don’t want to teach such children…. And walks out… expecting someone to stop her…
Parents look baffled and children are busy discussing the latest episode of Dragon BallZ or the power rangers on their cartoon show… zooooooooom… out of the chair, on the desk… and ready to jump….
The bell went off…. TRRRRRiiinnnngggggggggggggggggggg!!!! And the noise decibels in the classroom went much higher and higher!!!
As I was debating the standard of education and the children’s discipline… a side line discussion about dresses and accessories was going on between the other parents, who seemed oblivious to their surroundings…
CHILDREN…. GOOD AFTERNOON…. This booming voice brought pin drop silence into the classroom… even the parents stood up in respect when the math teacher entered the class room…
The naughtiest of children were in their place, books open and ready for the class… the teacher did not raise her voice, but went ahead with her coaching in a well disciplined and systematic manner…
40 mins of peace and quiet… I wondered if this was the same class I came into…
When the math teacher came to the parents section and wanted to know whose parents we were, and one mother beside me jumped up in her enthusiasm and started complaining about her son’s breakfast habits, lunch habits, and all other irrelevant things other than his education and how he is doing in class…. By the time I got a chance to enquire the teacher about my son’s progress academically…, the bell rang, the teacher excused herself and left the classroom… and hell broke loose…
The next period was Social Studies… and the children were as relaxed discussing their own histories and Geographies of the cartoon characters, the parents were chatting about the latest trends… and I…
I abruptly got up, excused myself and came rushing home… My god!!! What has education come to…
I was bemused, bewildered, and befuddled … do I feel sorry for the teachers, the students, or the parents…. How can I pity one of them when all three did not have their objectives clear… parents discussing fashion… does not mean all parents do it… or students under the desk and discussing cartoon… they are children… a disciplined teacher is able to control them… or the teachers who are not able to control the class… I don’t think I can control the class myself, so who am I to judge…
If u thought observation day was fun… it was. But it also made me rethink my options on better parenting. If u all get an opportunity to be at your wards school on Observation day… DON’T MISS IT…
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
JOB HOPS - IMPACT ON YOUR CAREER
The topic I have chosen for this evening is Job STABILITY… that is our tenure in an organization and the reasons we keep hopping from one job to another in search of betterment in career and emoluments.
From the employer perspective it is called Attrition. To define Attrition,
Attrition: "A reduction in the number of employees through retirement, resignation or death"Attrition rate: "the rate of shrinkage in size or number"
Attrition due to resignations is the biggest challenge faced by the IT, ITES and the BPO sector – and any other manpower oriented industry today.
It is the nightmare of every HR department, and one which they have to face day after day is the fact that how many resignations are we going to face at the end of each month.
The reasons for these resignations in the IT/ITES business are the gap between the employable individuals and the unemployed individuals…
This has led to an imbalance between the demand and supply of human resources needed for this sector…
Reasons for resignation can be grouped under the following heads:
1. Better salary package
2. Better work environment
3. Relocation issues
4. Others
Now how does this affect the work force… we may all think, this is after all an employer issue and why should we think at all about attrition…
For those of you who are in the HR functions, it is a never-ending vicious cycle of having to continuously recruit, select, train, and by the time the employee settles down… a resignation!!! Organizations are taking up many initiatives to ensure that employees have a sense of belonging and are motivated to continue in the same organization.
For most of the IT/ITES professionals… u may feel that hopping from one job to another is your prerogative and you need not worry about the repercussions as it is going to involve a better and more lucrative salary package for you.
This perception about job hops is very much wrong and becomes suicidal in the case of many a qualified professional.
Why?
Most of the top tier and Fortune 500 companies look for job stability and integrity as the crucial factor for employability in their organizations…
As we are in the first few rungs of our career ladder, we do not realize the importance of job stability in our profile. When we have completed five or six years working in four to five or sometimes six companies, that is the time we want to settle down in life. So we look for a good organization which will give us stable growth and a career… but does that organization want us?
No… they are looking for candidates who have been stable in an organization for a period of more than two years and have contributed in quantitative terms in the growth of the organization.
When u r ready to settle down, companies are not willing to accept you!!! Do u want to be in such a situation?
Remember a job becomes a career as you gain confidence and expertise in the same and ultimately it becomes your profession when you become an expert in the field that you are in.
In the current scenario, freshers want to settle down fast into any job and do not sit back to think if that is want they want to do for the rest of their lives… so they accept any job that pays!!! After a few months, they are aware of the market and its potential, and decide the path they have chosen is not to be their career… in this process of picking, choosing, experimenting and deciding, we jump from one job to another… and ultimately end up having an erratic career graph.
The net result of all this is that we do not have the confidence to have a career and are ultimately not equipped to become a professional in any chosen field.
From the employer perspective it is called Attrition. To define Attrition,
Attrition: "A reduction in the number of employees through retirement, resignation or death"Attrition rate: "the rate of shrinkage in size or number"
Attrition due to resignations is the biggest challenge faced by the IT, ITES and the BPO sector – and any other manpower oriented industry today.
It is the nightmare of every HR department, and one which they have to face day after day is the fact that how many resignations are we going to face at the end of each month.
The reasons for these resignations in the IT/ITES business are the gap between the employable individuals and the unemployed individuals…
This has led to an imbalance between the demand and supply of human resources needed for this sector…
Reasons for resignation can be grouped under the following heads:
1. Better salary package
2. Better work environment
3. Relocation issues
4. Others
Now how does this affect the work force… we may all think, this is after all an employer issue and why should we think at all about attrition…
For those of you who are in the HR functions, it is a never-ending vicious cycle of having to continuously recruit, select, train, and by the time the employee settles down… a resignation!!! Organizations are taking up many initiatives to ensure that employees have a sense of belonging and are motivated to continue in the same organization.
For most of the IT/ITES professionals… u may feel that hopping from one job to another is your prerogative and you need not worry about the repercussions as it is going to involve a better and more lucrative salary package for you.
This perception about job hops is very much wrong and becomes suicidal in the case of many a qualified professional.
Why?
Most of the top tier and Fortune 500 companies look for job stability and integrity as the crucial factor for employability in their organizations…
As we are in the first few rungs of our career ladder, we do not realize the importance of job stability in our profile. When we have completed five or six years working in four to five or sometimes six companies, that is the time we want to settle down in life. So we look for a good organization which will give us stable growth and a career… but does that organization want us?
No… they are looking for candidates who have been stable in an organization for a period of more than two years and have contributed in quantitative terms in the growth of the organization.
When u r ready to settle down, companies are not willing to accept you!!! Do u want to be in such a situation?
Remember a job becomes a career as you gain confidence and expertise in the same and ultimately it becomes your profession when you become an expert in the field that you are in.
In the current scenario, freshers want to settle down fast into any job and do not sit back to think if that is want they want to do for the rest of their lives… so they accept any job that pays!!! After a few months, they are aware of the market and its potential, and decide the path they have chosen is not to be their career… in this process of picking, choosing, experimenting and deciding, we jump from one job to another… and ultimately end up having an erratic career graph.
The net result of all this is that we do not have the confidence to have a career and are ultimately not equipped to become a professional in any chosen field.
JOB HOPS - IMPACT ON YOUR CAREER
The topic I have chosen for this evening is Job STABILITY… that is our tenure in an organization and the reasons we keep hopping from one job to another in search of betterment in career and emoluments.
From the employer perspective it is called Attrition. To define Attrition,
Attrition: "A reduction in the number of employees through retirement, resignation or death"Attrition rate: "the rate of shrinkage in size or number"
Attrition due to resignations is the biggest challenge faced by the IT, ITES and the BPO sector – and any other manpower oriented industry today.
It is the nightmare of every HR department, and one which they have to face day after day is the fact that how many resignations are we going to face at the end of each month.
The reasons for these resignations in the IT/ITES business are the gap between the employable individuals and the unemployed individuals…
This has led to an imbalance between the demand and supply of human resources needed for this sector…
Reasons for resignation can be grouped under the following heads:
1. Better salary package
2. Better work environment
3. Relocation issues
4. Others
Now how does this affect the work force… we may all think, this is after all an employer issue and why should we think at all about attrition…
For those of you who are in the HR functions, it is a never-ending vicious cycle of having to continuously recruit, select, train, and by the time the employee settles down… a resignation!!! Organizations are taking up many initiatives to ensure that employees have a sense of belonging and are motivated to continue in the same organization.
For most of the IT/ITES professionals… u may feel that hopping from one job to another is your prerogative and you need not worry about the repercussions as it is going to involve a better and more lucrative salary package for you.
This perception about job hops is very much wrong and becomes suicidal in the case of many a qualified professional.
Why?
Most of the top tier and Fortune 500 companies look for job stability and integrity as the crucial factor for employability in their organizations…
As we are in the first few rungs of our career ladder, we do not realize the importance of job stability in our profile. When we have completed five or six years working in four to five or sometimes six companies, that is the time we want to settle down in life. So we look for a good organization which will give us stable growth and a career… but does that organization want us?
No… they are looking for candidates who have been stable in an organization for a period of more than two years and have contributed in quantitative terms in the growth of the organization.
When u r ready to settle down, companies are not willing to accept you!!! Do u want to be in such a situation?
Remember a job becomes a career as you gain confidence and expertise in the same and ultimately it becomes your profession when you become an expert in the field that you are in.
In the current scenario, freshers want to settle down fast into any job and do not sit back to think if that is want they want to do for the rest of their lives… so they accept any job that pays!!! After a few months, they are aware of the market and its potential, and decide the path they have chosen is not to be their career… in this process of picking, choosing, experimenting and deciding, we jump from one job to another… and ultimately end up having an erratic career graph.
The net result of all this is that we do not have the confidence to have a career and are ultimately not equipped to become a professional in any chosen field.
From the employer perspective it is called Attrition. To define Attrition,
Attrition: "A reduction in the number of employees through retirement, resignation or death"Attrition rate: "the rate of shrinkage in size or number"
Attrition due to resignations is the biggest challenge faced by the IT, ITES and the BPO sector – and any other manpower oriented industry today.
It is the nightmare of every HR department, and one which they have to face day after day is the fact that how many resignations are we going to face at the end of each month.
The reasons for these resignations in the IT/ITES business are the gap between the employable individuals and the unemployed individuals…
This has led to an imbalance between the demand and supply of human resources needed for this sector…
Reasons for resignation can be grouped under the following heads:
1. Better salary package
2. Better work environment
3. Relocation issues
4. Others
Now how does this affect the work force… we may all think, this is after all an employer issue and why should we think at all about attrition…
For those of you who are in the HR functions, it is a never-ending vicious cycle of having to continuously recruit, select, train, and by the time the employee settles down… a resignation!!! Organizations are taking up many initiatives to ensure that employees have a sense of belonging and are motivated to continue in the same organization.
For most of the IT/ITES professionals… u may feel that hopping from one job to another is your prerogative and you need not worry about the repercussions as it is going to involve a better and more lucrative salary package for you.
This perception about job hops is very much wrong and becomes suicidal in the case of many a qualified professional.
Why?
Most of the top tier and Fortune 500 companies look for job stability and integrity as the crucial factor for employability in their organizations…
As we are in the first few rungs of our career ladder, we do not realize the importance of job stability in our profile. When we have completed five or six years working in four to five or sometimes six companies, that is the time we want to settle down in life. So we look for a good organization which will give us stable growth and a career… but does that organization want us?
No… they are looking for candidates who have been stable in an organization for a period of more than two years and have contributed in quantitative terms in the growth of the organization.
When u r ready to settle down, companies are not willing to accept you!!! Do u want to be in such a situation?
Remember a job becomes a career as you gain confidence and expertise in the same and ultimately it becomes your profession when you become an expert in the field that you are in.
In the current scenario, freshers want to settle down fast into any job and do not sit back to think if that is want they want to do for the rest of their lives… so they accept any job that pays!!! After a few months, they are aware of the market and its potential, and decide the path they have chosen is not to be their career… in this process of picking, choosing, experimenting and deciding, we jump from one job to another… and ultimately end up having an erratic career graph.
The net result of all this is that we do not have the confidence to have a career and are ultimately not equipped to become a professional in any chosen field.
LEARNING DRIVING
Each one of us in our life has a dream to achieve the impossible; and I too had a dream…
What was my dream? My dream was to be my own master… not to be dependent on anyone for anything… and I have always had the feeling that I could be so if I wished to be so… so I started preparing a checklist of the factors in my life wherein I was dependent on others… and the most glaring inadequacy that struck me like a lightning was that I was entirely dependent on my caring and considerate husband or the insufferable and intolerable auto driver for my transportation…
I decided to change that with immediate effect and decided to learn to drive a car. I was so caught up with the idea that I often used to fantasize sitting proudly behind the wheel, driving down the ECR, with the stereo blaring.
Did I succeed Learning Driving …?
One fine morning, I set out to the local driving school, and enrolled myself in a 21-day driving course. My instructor turned out to be a short, plump middle-aged woman. She was quite talkative, and we both seemed to get along fine. But little did she know what was in store for her. I was fully ready, and ‘geared-up’. We went down to the driving school’s car and she asked me to get in, and sit behind the wheel. As I got in, I felt a rush of adrenaline – at last, I was one step closer to my dream! My instructor gave me the key, and told me to put it in.
And that was when it all started. The moment I turned the key, the car made a snickering noise, but refused to start. I tried again, but with no avail. And again. And again. And again. – I was about to comment on the condition of the car, when with an exasperated look on her face, my instructor leaned over, and turned the key. The car started instantly.
My instructor went on to show me the accelerator, the brake, and the clutch, and how the gears worked. I was thoroughly fascinated, though, I must agree that I was quite nervous. I couldn’t quite understand how to go about keeping an eye on the road, changing the gears, with one foot on the clutch, one on the brake, and one on the accelerator, all at the same time, especially when I had only two feet! She then asked me to slowly ease off on the clutch, and press down lightly on the accelerator. I don’t know what I did wrong, but the car gave an enormous lurch, and rushed forward with a terrifying roar. Before I’d realized it, I was screaming at the top of my voice, and pulling back on the steering wheel, and rattling the sticks (the wiper and headlamp controls) wildly. I didn’t turn to look at my instructor – I was too scared for my own life. In a few seconds, my instructor had pulled down on the handbrake, and the car came to a screeching halt. End of day one. I’d successfully given myself and my instructor a heart attack, given all my neighbors a reason to come running out of their houses, and something for them to talk about for the next few days.
At the end of day 1, a less brave heart would have decided that being dependent on others was a safer alternative… but not me!!! If I learn my lessons that fast, I would have had a list of degrees behind my name by now…
Day after day, the fiasco continued, but slow and steady progress was definitely achieved… the only other mishap that occurred was that the instructor – the lovely plump lady – suffered a mild heart attack and the doctors advised her to take up a less adventurous occupation…
Day 21 arrived… and after six instructors learning how to teach driving to the most disciplined and devoted student who never gave up after repeated failures, it was decided that I qualified to take up the driving test at the RTO office… maybe the Driving Institute had a score to settle with the RTO office and might have decided that I would be the most aptly suited “Human bomb” to take their revenge… I do not know!!!
The day of my test arrived and it was a bright day… I was doing my best to chase the butterflies from my stomach, but they were simply not interested in going away elsewhere…
I reached the RTO office well in advance and completed the paperwork without any hitch…
Then, to my rude shock, I was asked to drive an old ambassador car that had hand gears instead of the usual floor gears… when I asked god to help me with some means to cope with the gears, brake, accelerator and clutch, little did I realize that he would give me the option of a car with a hand gear!!!
The inspector sat with me in the car and asked me to start the car… I gave him a dazzling smile and did so… lo and behold, the car started immediately… first hurdle crossed… and slowly released the clutch. The car moved forward like smooth as silver on the road… second hurdle crossed… the inspector asked me to take a U-Turn and I remembered to do so, again without a hitch. The trouble started when he asked me to stop the car on one side. I did, and then he asked me to move again. By this time, my confidence levels had soared sky-high and I promptly forgot the correct gear… and instead of moving forward, the vehicle started moving backwards!!!!
A buffalo, an Onyx garbage can, and some two wheelers did the unforgivable by being on my way. Adding fuel to the fire, the shock of going backwards was so high that I pressed the accelerator instead of the brake to stop the vehicle…. And, the inspector was clutching tight to the door of the vehicle for his life… and I don’t know what I did till date, but the vehicle stopped…..
And I was magnanimous enough to tell the inspector that I will take a retest after some time… but maybe those exact words made him decide that he could not go thru the experience once again, and I GOT MY DRIVING LICENCE.
That day, I knew that I had the license to kill, and being the considerate person that I am, I decided that I will not be so egotistic as to be my own master, and felt that the factor of being dependent was in public interest…live and let live… has become my policy… I have not been in the driver seat of any automobile since then…
Do I hear a collected sigh of relief???? Thank you.
What was my dream? My dream was to be my own master… not to be dependent on anyone for anything… and I have always had the feeling that I could be so if I wished to be so… so I started preparing a checklist of the factors in my life wherein I was dependent on others… and the most glaring inadequacy that struck me like a lightning was that I was entirely dependent on my caring and considerate husband or the insufferable and intolerable auto driver for my transportation…
I decided to change that with immediate effect and decided to learn to drive a car. I was so caught up with the idea that I often used to fantasize sitting proudly behind the wheel, driving down the ECR, with the stereo blaring.
Did I succeed Learning Driving …?
One fine morning, I set out to the local driving school, and enrolled myself in a 21-day driving course. My instructor turned out to be a short, plump middle-aged woman. She was quite talkative, and we both seemed to get along fine. But little did she know what was in store for her. I was fully ready, and ‘geared-up’. We went down to the driving school’s car and she asked me to get in, and sit behind the wheel. As I got in, I felt a rush of adrenaline – at last, I was one step closer to my dream! My instructor gave me the key, and told me to put it in.
And that was when it all started. The moment I turned the key, the car made a snickering noise, but refused to start. I tried again, but with no avail. And again. And again. And again. – I was about to comment on the condition of the car, when with an exasperated look on her face, my instructor leaned over, and turned the key. The car started instantly.
My instructor went on to show me the accelerator, the brake, and the clutch, and how the gears worked. I was thoroughly fascinated, though, I must agree that I was quite nervous. I couldn’t quite understand how to go about keeping an eye on the road, changing the gears, with one foot on the clutch, one on the brake, and one on the accelerator, all at the same time, especially when I had only two feet! She then asked me to slowly ease off on the clutch, and press down lightly on the accelerator. I don’t know what I did wrong, but the car gave an enormous lurch, and rushed forward with a terrifying roar. Before I’d realized it, I was screaming at the top of my voice, and pulling back on the steering wheel, and rattling the sticks (the wiper and headlamp controls) wildly. I didn’t turn to look at my instructor – I was too scared for my own life. In a few seconds, my instructor had pulled down on the handbrake, and the car came to a screeching halt. End of day one. I’d successfully given myself and my instructor a heart attack, given all my neighbors a reason to come running out of their houses, and something for them to talk about for the next few days.
At the end of day 1, a less brave heart would have decided that being dependent on others was a safer alternative… but not me!!! If I learn my lessons that fast, I would have had a list of degrees behind my name by now…
Day after day, the fiasco continued, but slow and steady progress was definitely achieved… the only other mishap that occurred was that the instructor – the lovely plump lady – suffered a mild heart attack and the doctors advised her to take up a less adventurous occupation…
Day 21 arrived… and after six instructors learning how to teach driving to the most disciplined and devoted student who never gave up after repeated failures, it was decided that I qualified to take up the driving test at the RTO office… maybe the Driving Institute had a score to settle with the RTO office and might have decided that I would be the most aptly suited “Human bomb” to take their revenge… I do not know!!!
The day of my test arrived and it was a bright day… I was doing my best to chase the butterflies from my stomach, but they were simply not interested in going away elsewhere…
I reached the RTO office well in advance and completed the paperwork without any hitch…
Then, to my rude shock, I was asked to drive an old ambassador car that had hand gears instead of the usual floor gears… when I asked god to help me with some means to cope with the gears, brake, accelerator and clutch, little did I realize that he would give me the option of a car with a hand gear!!!
The inspector sat with me in the car and asked me to start the car… I gave him a dazzling smile and did so… lo and behold, the car started immediately… first hurdle crossed… and slowly released the clutch. The car moved forward like smooth as silver on the road… second hurdle crossed… the inspector asked me to take a U-Turn and I remembered to do so, again without a hitch. The trouble started when he asked me to stop the car on one side. I did, and then he asked me to move again. By this time, my confidence levels had soared sky-high and I promptly forgot the correct gear… and instead of moving forward, the vehicle started moving backwards!!!!
A buffalo, an Onyx garbage can, and some two wheelers did the unforgivable by being on my way. Adding fuel to the fire, the shock of going backwards was so high that I pressed the accelerator instead of the brake to stop the vehicle…. And, the inspector was clutching tight to the door of the vehicle for his life… and I don’t know what I did till date, but the vehicle stopped…..
And I was magnanimous enough to tell the inspector that I will take a retest after some time… but maybe those exact words made him decide that he could not go thru the experience once again, and I GOT MY DRIVING LICENCE.
That day, I knew that I had the license to kill, and being the considerate person that I am, I decided that I will not be so egotistic as to be my own master, and felt that the factor of being dependent was in public interest…live and let live… has become my policy… I have not been in the driver seat of any automobile since then…
Do I hear a collected sigh of relief???? Thank you.
FIRST FLIGHT
There are many things in our life which we would like to experience, at least once…
One of my unfulfilled dreams since my childhood has been to fly in an airplane… at least for a short distance… this dream did not materialize due to various reasons ranging from financial to lack of opportunities…
I felt excited, elated and exhilarated when I got the first chance to travel from Chennai to Trivandrum as part of the interview panel of Infosys…
It was my first assignment and I did not have any friends as such in the panel…in fact I knew no one from the panel.
In the normal course, when one has to embark on such a risky adventure as flying for the first time, they would prefer to be in the comfort of seasoned friends, but not me… The opportunity to fly was so tempting that I would not have cared if I were flying with one of the most wanted notorious terrorist.
The day of my first flight dawned bright and sunny. I jumped out of the bed and got thru my morning chores at lightning speed. The flight was at 10:30 a.m., but I was all set and ready for the airport by 7:30 a.m.
People at home told me to wait till it was time to leave… but I would jus not listen…
I had purchased a new bag for my travel and was absolutely geared up… I landed at the airport by 8:30 a.m. It then struck me that I did not have the ticket… the tickets were with one of my colleagues, Lakshmi who is a seasoned traveler. I called Lakshmi, who answered in a very sleepy voice… she had jus got up and will come to the airport on time… she asked me where I was and I told her sheepishly that I was at the airport…
At that point I did not know what she thought of me, but till date she has that event as the biggest joke of the century.
Anyways… going back to my first flight… Lakshmi arrived by 10:10 and by that time I had worked myself into frenzy, and was absolutely sure that I had lost the precious chance of traveling by air…
Lakshmi very coolly guided me thru the procedure and I rushed behind her trying to act as though this was not my first flight…
When she turned around and told the whole panel in a loud voice, “u know something, this is Lalitha’s first time in an airplane”… and everyone within 20 meters radius was looking at me with various emotions ranging from a cheerful smiles, to sympathetic looks, to downright contempt and smirks for not doing so in advance.
I tried my best to hide behind some pillar… but it was just not possible… and u know why…
Lakshmi took me under her wing and led me into the flight. She was also magnanimous enough to give me the window seat… I was absolutely excited and looked around, trying to absorb everything at once. Lakshmi asked me to keep cool and act professional… but I was not able to…
It was 10:30 even before I realized the same, we had the airhostesses coming in and giving instructions on how to secure the seat belts and what to do in case of emergency, etc…
The flight soared into the sky and so did my adrenalin… I just cannot describe in words my mind frame at that particular point in time…
Everything was bright and rosy for the next 15 minutes… lakshmi then advised me to open the window if I wanted more air… I turned to look at her with an air of shock… had I not read someplace that we cannot open the windows in a flight…
The whole team started laughing aloud, and just then the flight started shaking terribly… later on I would know that we were in turbulence… but at that point the explanation lakshmi gave was that the loud laughter of rounded persons caused the turbulence… I leaned out with my nose on the window to check out what was causing the commotion when lakshmi grabbed my hand and asked me not to do so, as I was causing the flight to tilt to one side…
I moved back in a hurry even before common sense took over… the time for humor came to an abrupt end, when the flight started making groaning noises and started shaking even more… Lakshmi and others became nauseated and I did not know what to do, so I kept blinking at every body… in a hope that she would laugh and tell me it was all normal….
When the oxygen masks came down from above our seats, I came to the conclusion that my first flight was going to be my last one too, and closed my eyes tight. After a few seconds, I half-opened my eyes to check out on others… and could see that all those who had smirks on their faces when they learnt that it was my first flight – were looking pale, red-faced, white, grey and every other shade other than the normal ones.
I encouraged them to keep cool, and everything was going to be ok, and surprisingly no one contradicted or put me down by saying… what do u know? They looked reassured with my kind words…
Then, we heard the announcement on the public system asking us to fasten our seat belts as we had reached Trivandrum… I looked out of the window to look at the beautiful Arabian Sea on one side… plenty of coconut trees and other greenery in the middle, and back waters leading to the sea on the other… that sight made me change my mind instantly and decide it was worth taking the risk of flying again.
I have travelled constantly by air after that, but the thrill and exhilaration of my first flight will remain with me forever…
One of my unfulfilled dreams since my childhood has been to fly in an airplane… at least for a short distance… this dream did not materialize due to various reasons ranging from financial to lack of opportunities…
I felt excited, elated and exhilarated when I got the first chance to travel from Chennai to Trivandrum as part of the interview panel of Infosys…
It was my first assignment and I did not have any friends as such in the panel…in fact I knew no one from the panel.
In the normal course, when one has to embark on such a risky adventure as flying for the first time, they would prefer to be in the comfort of seasoned friends, but not me… The opportunity to fly was so tempting that I would not have cared if I were flying with one of the most wanted notorious terrorist.
The day of my first flight dawned bright and sunny. I jumped out of the bed and got thru my morning chores at lightning speed. The flight was at 10:30 a.m., but I was all set and ready for the airport by 7:30 a.m.
People at home told me to wait till it was time to leave… but I would jus not listen…
I had purchased a new bag for my travel and was absolutely geared up… I landed at the airport by 8:30 a.m. It then struck me that I did not have the ticket… the tickets were with one of my colleagues, Lakshmi who is a seasoned traveler. I called Lakshmi, who answered in a very sleepy voice… she had jus got up and will come to the airport on time… she asked me where I was and I told her sheepishly that I was at the airport…
At that point I did not know what she thought of me, but till date she has that event as the biggest joke of the century.
Anyways… going back to my first flight… Lakshmi arrived by 10:10 and by that time I had worked myself into frenzy, and was absolutely sure that I had lost the precious chance of traveling by air…
Lakshmi very coolly guided me thru the procedure and I rushed behind her trying to act as though this was not my first flight…
When she turned around and told the whole panel in a loud voice, “u know something, this is Lalitha’s first time in an airplane”… and everyone within 20 meters radius was looking at me with various emotions ranging from a cheerful smiles, to sympathetic looks, to downright contempt and smirks for not doing so in advance.
I tried my best to hide behind some pillar… but it was just not possible… and u know why…
Lakshmi took me under her wing and led me into the flight. She was also magnanimous enough to give me the window seat… I was absolutely excited and looked around, trying to absorb everything at once. Lakshmi asked me to keep cool and act professional… but I was not able to…
It was 10:30 even before I realized the same, we had the airhostesses coming in and giving instructions on how to secure the seat belts and what to do in case of emergency, etc…
The flight soared into the sky and so did my adrenalin… I just cannot describe in words my mind frame at that particular point in time…
Everything was bright and rosy for the next 15 minutes… lakshmi then advised me to open the window if I wanted more air… I turned to look at her with an air of shock… had I not read someplace that we cannot open the windows in a flight…
The whole team started laughing aloud, and just then the flight started shaking terribly… later on I would know that we were in turbulence… but at that point the explanation lakshmi gave was that the loud laughter of rounded persons caused the turbulence… I leaned out with my nose on the window to check out what was causing the commotion when lakshmi grabbed my hand and asked me not to do so, as I was causing the flight to tilt to one side…
I moved back in a hurry even before common sense took over… the time for humor came to an abrupt end, when the flight started making groaning noises and started shaking even more… Lakshmi and others became nauseated and I did not know what to do, so I kept blinking at every body… in a hope that she would laugh and tell me it was all normal….
When the oxygen masks came down from above our seats, I came to the conclusion that my first flight was going to be my last one too, and closed my eyes tight. After a few seconds, I half-opened my eyes to check out on others… and could see that all those who had smirks on their faces when they learnt that it was my first flight – were looking pale, red-faced, white, grey and every other shade other than the normal ones.
I encouraged them to keep cool, and everything was going to be ok, and surprisingly no one contradicted or put me down by saying… what do u know? They looked reassured with my kind words…
Then, we heard the announcement on the public system asking us to fasten our seat belts as we had reached Trivandrum… I looked out of the window to look at the beautiful Arabian Sea on one side… plenty of coconut trees and other greenery in the middle, and back waters leading to the sea on the other… that sight made me change my mind instantly and decide it was worth taking the risk of flying again.
I have travelled constantly by air after that, but the thrill and exhilaration of my first flight will remain with me forever…
WORK LIFE BALANCE
Work Life Balance – Importance of maintaining the same and some tips to do so…
The other day I had to go to my son’s school to collect the report card, and there was this very important client meet… it was very important that I need to be in both these places. The amount of adjustment and the mental agony I went thru before managing to successfully accomplish both these tasks is hard to describe. That is when I realized the importance of maintaining work life balance.
So what is this Work Life Balance?
Our lives are divided into various quadrants – self, workplace, family, friends and Community. Each one of these quadrants demands 100% from us…
Are we able to satisfy all and lead a fulfilling life…?
Here is a small input to find out if we have been able to do so?
Have you ever had the sensation of feeling of being in a boat, completely out of control, and being tossed from one corner to another without any control?
Do u feel you have had enough of everything and just want to throw all that u worked for away and take a long, long break
The reason for this sensation that most of us have is due to lack of maintaining a work life balance.
We all strive so hard sacrificing the self, family, friends and community and concentrate only on the workplace…
Two simple concepts determine the answer: the sense of achievement and the resultant joy.
We worked hard at our studies and then at our workplace to fashion a career for ourselves.
Remember, if a person works too much, sacrificing quality family time, he might
reach the top of the corporate ladder quickly, but the achievement and material gain will not commensurate the price he's forced to pay in the long run.
On the other hand, being in this competitive world, one has to prioritize one's
business or professional career to financially support one's family, as well as maintain a steady growth curve.
While more and more employees are attempting to strike a balance between work and family, there are still myriad ways for technology to intrude on personal time.
E-mail, voicemail, mobile phones and laptops allow employees to take their work
home. Many do this on a regular basis, which means they may be away from the
office but are connected by the umbilical cord of technology to the server.
I do agree that sometimes one can't help but take one's work home. But one
shouldn't make it a habit.
It is up to you to strike the balance.
There is a very simple proverb, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…
In this competitive world of rat race to reach the top, it is very true. Each one of us work towards an invisible goal which is never reachable and work towards achieving that… at each and every stage… we want to go higher. And in this herculean task of moving higher and higher, we miss out on so many personal pleasures and commitments, and the realization of what we lose dawns in only when it is too late.
Simple steps to maintain WLB
1) Simplify – Learn to say no. Remember u cannot please everyone, and it is ok to back out of certain commitments at the earlier stage rather than later…
2) De-stress – Nothing glorifying or complicated… a simple walk, yoga, a small nap…
3) Be a child – enjoy the small things in life which gives you immense joy and pleasure - I still enjoy looking upwards at the sky at the sound of the airplane.
I love to eat a cone ice-cream sold outside Naidu Hall – Pondy Bazaar.
4) Share the load – Trust your family and colleagues… they can also complete the assigned tasks as well as u do and help you reach great heights
5) Slow-down – Take a deep breath, and take stock of the happenings around you. One step at a time rather than giant leaps will help you achieve more.
6) Take care of your health – Eat well and sleep well… remember without good health, even a small chore is going to be very stressful.
7) Don't postpone -
8) Have a positive approach
9) Finally, take charge
The other day I had to go to my son’s school to collect the report card, and there was this very important client meet… it was very important that I need to be in both these places. The amount of adjustment and the mental agony I went thru before managing to successfully accomplish both these tasks is hard to describe. That is when I realized the importance of maintaining work life balance.
So what is this Work Life Balance?
Our lives are divided into various quadrants – self, workplace, family, friends and Community. Each one of these quadrants demands 100% from us…
Are we able to satisfy all and lead a fulfilling life…?
Here is a small input to find out if we have been able to do so?
Have you ever had the sensation of feeling of being in a boat, completely out of control, and being tossed from one corner to another without any control?
Do u feel you have had enough of everything and just want to throw all that u worked for away and take a long, long break
The reason for this sensation that most of us have is due to lack of maintaining a work life balance.
We all strive so hard sacrificing the self, family, friends and community and concentrate only on the workplace…
Two simple concepts determine the answer: the sense of achievement and the resultant joy.
We worked hard at our studies and then at our workplace to fashion a career for ourselves.
Remember, if a person works too much, sacrificing quality family time, he might
reach the top of the corporate ladder quickly, but the achievement and material gain will not commensurate the price he's forced to pay in the long run.
On the other hand, being in this competitive world, one has to prioritize one's
business or professional career to financially support one's family, as well as maintain a steady growth curve.
While more and more employees are attempting to strike a balance between work and family, there are still myriad ways for technology to intrude on personal time.
E-mail, voicemail, mobile phones and laptops allow employees to take their work
home. Many do this on a regular basis, which means they may be away from the
office but are connected by the umbilical cord of technology to the server.
I do agree that sometimes one can't help but take one's work home. But one
shouldn't make it a habit.
It is up to you to strike the balance.
There is a very simple proverb, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…
In this competitive world of rat race to reach the top, it is very true. Each one of us work towards an invisible goal which is never reachable and work towards achieving that… at each and every stage… we want to go higher. And in this herculean task of moving higher and higher, we miss out on so many personal pleasures and commitments, and the realization of what we lose dawns in only when it is too late.
Simple steps to maintain WLB
1) Simplify – Learn to say no. Remember u cannot please everyone, and it is ok to back out of certain commitments at the earlier stage rather than later…
2) De-stress – Nothing glorifying or complicated… a simple walk, yoga, a small nap…
3) Be a child – enjoy the small things in life which gives you immense joy and pleasure - I still enjoy looking upwards at the sky at the sound of the airplane.
I love to eat a cone ice-cream sold outside Naidu Hall – Pondy Bazaar.
4) Share the load – Trust your family and colleagues… they can also complete the assigned tasks as well as u do and help you reach great heights
5) Slow-down – Take a deep breath, and take stock of the happenings around you. One step at a time rather than giant leaps will help you achieve more.
6) Take care of your health – Eat well and sleep well… remember without good health, even a small chore is going to be very stressful.
7) Don't postpone -
8) Have a positive approach
9) Finally, take charge
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