Quotes

#p1 #h7

Who you are speaks so loudly I can not hear what you are saying. – Galileo Galilei

I am not sincere, even when I say I am not. – Jules Renard

Though I am not naturally honest, I am so sometimes by chance. – William Shakespeare

Life is Pleasant. Death is peaceful. It is the transition that is troublesome. – Isaac Asimov

It is always the best policy to speak the truth – unless, of course, you are an exceptionally liar. – Jerome K Jerome

Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans – John Lennon

Pyar ke side effects?

A casual action after a lazy weekend evening, I was left smiling and staring at the screen for a couple of minutes, to see this dialog box.

Perhaps a lot of us would wish life had a button like that :)

Here's to all those, smitten in love, who fell once and now struggling with the side effects!

It's quite a ride, all the way, and most who've been through, would say it's worth every bit of it.

Wonder what all would qualify as an undesirable side effect of love? I'm sure guys and girls both can make a huge list of these, without many overlapping items. And would it be surprising for the partners to see the list? I doubt! Anything beyond cliched complaints??

People have been complaining of the same issues for ages now, still they fall, still they slip.. still......

God save the world!

Wanderer

The rise of Orkut!

While some would put voyeurism opportunities and need to express oneself or keeping in touch via scraps as the reasons for the growth of Orkut, I always felt there was an underlying force pushing it forward - the competition for a higher number of freinds, of fans, of scraps.....

Someone's cashing in on that fad!

Validates my hypothesis!

Wanderer

A Unique Performance

Quite an awe inspiring thing to see to start the day with... found it on some forward going on in the campus..

Touched me, moved me.. and warmed my heart!

wanderer

Are Ruk Ja re Bande!

"So many people are in so much hurry . That guy in a silver Swift behind my car who is honking is in a hurry to get to his office. Students are in a hurry to read their chapters before they face the exams . My boss is in a hurry to get that report .That waiter at McDonalds is in a hurry to serve table number 4. People sitting at table number 4 are in a hurry to eat what comes to the table. People at the boarding gate are in a hurry to get onto the plane . When it lands , they are in a hurry to get out of it. Everybody is in a hurry to get somewhere . Few people want to stay in the moment they are in."

(picked up from 'My Dayz with Myself')

Do you do that to yourself? Stop by for a moment and see, life's beautiful!

wanderer

Dancing with Three Left Feet

Had just mentioned in a mail to a friend that I'd returned from a attending a couple of weddings, in non-urban places, more like small towns.. her response,

"attending weddings seems a fun thing to do... u wud get to see all sorts of customs sply in places other dan the metropolitan cities.... u'll meet alot of funny ppl who wud look hilarious while dancing to the tunes by some local dj wid a glass of whisky... ;-)

Call it blushing or embarrassment, I was imagining myself dancing, albeit without the whiskey. Though a self proclaimed person with 'three left feet' (ones with two still have hope), I ended up being drawn into the situation, thanks partly to my age and general enthu levels! There must be someone, either on the dance floor, or lurking somewhere else, who'd be counting me as one of the 'funny people who look hilarious while dancing' !

And so I thought, rather than feeling like a dork, let me learn a thing or two. Salsa is the popular buzzword, with an empty pocket and no partner, I resorted to the internet for a tutorial... and here's what came up!




While it still remains that good guy dancers are likely to get the better of the girl partners, needless to say, after watching this one, the momentary enthu took a backseat!


wanderer

Entry and exit..

"Why get into something that'll be difficult to get out of, and you know it won't go anywhere?"

It was the end of a long day at a wedding, a friend was standing, looking worn out and tired, while I was slumping in one of the many sofas at the reception garden. I asked her to take a seat, she refused, saying she'll get too sleepy if she lied on the sofa for once and then it would be difficult to get up.

I gave a puzzled look and she made this statement!

Both of us instantly smiled! Gyan of the world in a sleepy tired state.

I don't know if I'd refuse to enter something that doesn't have an easy exit? Would I bother about the exit at the time of the entry? I don't know. Does it have to get somewhere? Can't I just wander around?


Wanderer

Game Over!

Quite literally, the Management Game in my life is over! Call it the last exam of the course called Management Game' or the end of the entire MBA, that was nothing less (or more?) than a game.

Was an adventurous snake and ladder, where some ladders took me sky high, and some snakes bit me to below the ground. Got all the digits from 1 to 6 (grades c+ to a+) and perhaps with a swollen body with some last moment snakebites, I've managed to reach the 100!

Or was it a Ludo, with an competition, homing into Day Zero? I was a bystander then.. the kid who's told to hold the pieces or throw dices for elders, to amuse him, while he doesn't really play the game.

Or was it the board game of 'Business' where everyone was trying to capture as many stations, building fortes and hoping to be able to seek rents? Not the most suitable description..

Chess? who versus whom? System versus Me? My Destiny versus Me? Nah..

Scrabble? You've got something that you're trying to make use of, trying to fit it onto the board that lies in front of you. Frustrating at times, delighting at some others. There's so much that's 'given', with limited variables in your hand, to play with. You gotta make the most of what you have!

Or was it minesweeper? Lose concentration for a minute, one wrong click and you've blown it!

I don't play the AOEs and Ceasers, else would've been able to draw some analogy there..

One game is over, and the even more dangerous one is about to begin! This was perhaps a trainer, or a incubation period for competing in the big bad world out there!

Can I take a quick refreshing nap? NO. Time to GO!

Wish me luck guys, though I'm sure I'll play with life more than life toys around with me.


Cheers!

Wanderer

Bloggers' Guilt?

Having read so much about bloggers and their guilt arising from a long period of not blogging.. and then the missing inspiration.. sometimes the laziness.. the lack of mood to write..

Wonder if micro-blogging, writing a simple thought at a time.. not feeling obliged to write a well edited, publishable quality material would be helpful..

The NDTV show on bloggers said that 400,000 people in India started writing blogs, but only 40,000 are active!

I don't know where I stand. Not even sure where I want to stand!

The era of Information!

A Tale..

It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was getting warm and gulmohars were blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only girl in my

postgraduate department and was staying at the ladies' hostel. Other girls were pursuing research in different departments of Science.

I was looking forward to going abroad to complete a doctorate in computer science. I had been offered scholarships from Universities in

the US... I had not thought of taking up a job in India.


One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex, I saw an advertisement on the notice board. It was a standard

job-requirement notice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors)... It stated that the company required young, bright

engineers, hardworking and with an excellent academic background, etc.


At the bottom was a small line: "Lady Candidates need not apply."

I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up against gender discrimination.


Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I had done extremely well in academics, better than most of my male

peers...


Little did I know then that in real life academic excellence is not enough to be successful?


After reading the notice I went fuming to my room. I decided to inform the topmost person in Telco's management about the injustice the company was perpetrating. I got a postcard and started to write, but there was a problem: I did not know who headed Telco


I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of the Tata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers (actually, Sumant Moolgaokar was the company's chairman then) I took the card, addressed

it to JRD and started writing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote.

"The great Tatas have always been pioneers. They are the people who started the basic infrastructure industries in India, such as iron and
steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives they have cared for higher education in India since 1900 and they were responsible for the
establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprised how a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis of gender."

I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days later, I received a telegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at
Telco's Pune facility at the company's expense. I was taken aback by the telegram. My hostel mate told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs30 each from everyone who wanted a sari when I look back, I feel like laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip.

It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city.

To this day it remains dear to me. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do in Hubli, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways. As directed, I went to Telco's Pimpri office for the interview. There were six people on the panel and I realised then that this was
serious business.


"This is the girl who wrote to JRD," I heard somebody whisper as soon as I entered the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job. The realisation abolished all fear from my mind, so I was rather cool while the interview was being conducted.

Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so I told them, rather impolitely, "I hope this is only a technical
interview."

They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about my attitude.

The panel asked me technical questions and I answered all of them.

Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, "Do you know why we said lady candidates need not apply? The reason is that we have never employed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed college; this is a factory. When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories.

I was a young girl from small-town Hubli. My world had been a limited place. I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their
difficulties, so I answered, "But you must start somewhere, otherwise no woman will ever be able to work in your factories."


Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So this was what the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I
would take up a job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka there, we became good friends and we got married.

It was only after joining Telco that I realized who JRD was: the uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get
to meet him till I was transferred to Bombay. One day I had to show some reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our chairman, who we all knew as SM. I was in his office on the first floor of Bombay House (the Tata headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in. That was the first time I saw "appro JRD". Appro means "our" in Gujarati. This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay House called him.


I was feeling very nervous, remembering my postcard episode. SM introduced me nicely, "Jeh (that's what his close associates called
him), this young woman is an engineer and that too a postgraduate.

She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor." JRD looked at me. I was praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview (or the postcard that preceded it).

Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, he remarked. "It is nice that girls are getting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?"

"When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir," I replied. "Now I am Sudha Murthy." He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As for me, I almost ran out of the room.


After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman and I was merely an engineer. There was nothing that we had in common. I was in awe of him.

One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after office hours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how to react. Yet again I started worrying about that postcard. Looking back, I realise JRD had forgotten about it. It must have been a small incident for him, but not so for me.

"Young lady, why are you here?" he asked. "Office time is over." I said,

"Sir, I'm waiting for my husband to come and pick me up." JRD said, "It is getting dark and there's no one in the corridor.

I'll wait with you till your husband comes."

I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongside made me extremely uncomfortable.

I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a simple white pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing. There wasn't any air of superiority about him. I was thinking, "Look at this person. He is a chairman, a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sake of an ordinary employee."

Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, "Young lady, tell your husband never to make his wife wait again." In 1982 I had to resign from my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have a choice. I was coming down the steps of Bombay House after wrapping up my final settlement when I saw JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused.

Gently, he said, "So what are you doing, Mrs Kulkarni?" (That was the way he always addressed me.) "Sir, I am leaving Telco."

"Where are you going?" he asked. "Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company called Infosys and I'm shifting to Pune."

"Oh! And what will you do when you are successful."

"Sir, I don't know whether we will be successful." "Never start with diffidence," he advised me "Always start with confidence. When you are successful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate. I wish you all the best."

Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed like a millennium. That was the last time I saw him alive.

Many years later I met Ratan Tata in the same Bombay House, occupying the chair JRD once did. I told him of my many sweet memories of working with Telco. Later, he wrote to me, "It was nice hearing about Jeh from you. The sad part is that he's not alive to see you today."

I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an extremely busy person, he valued one postcard written by a young girl seeking justice. He must have received thousands of letters everyday. He could have thrown mine away, but he didn't do that. He respected the intentions of that unknown girl, who had neither influence nor money, and gave her an opportunity in his company. He did not merely give her a job; he changed her life and mindset forever.

Close to 50 per cent of the students in today's engineering colleges are girls. And there are women on the shop floor in many industry segments. I see these changes and I think of JRD. If at all time stops and asks me what I want from life, I would say I wish JRD were alive today to see how the company we started has grown. He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly.

My love and respect for the House of Tata remains undiminished by the passage of time. I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model for his simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of his employees. Those blue eyes always reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and magnificence.

(Sudha Murthy is a widely published writer and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation involved in a number of social development

initiatives. Infosys chairman Narayana Murthy is her husband.)



Article sourced from: Lasting Legacies (Tata Review- Special

Commemorative Issue 2004), brought out by the house of Tatas to

commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of JRD Tata on July 29, 2004.

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They actually expect me to buy this!

 

wanderer

 

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