Diwali Celebration At Espire

Today (24th October, 2008) we had a nice party in the evening at our Espire Infolabs office, to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Diwali.

Though the celebrations began only after 4 pm, the office was in a festive mood from the morning itself. Most of the Espirians were dressed in ethnic wear (I was one of the ones who were not), and most (not all) of us were busy in decorating the cubicles of our respective departments with flowers, ribbons, candles, etc., apart from embellishing the floor with nice “Rangoli”.

Then in the afternoon there was a gala party in the office cafeteria. First we wished all those fellow Espirians who had their birthdays in the last month (i.e. September), and presented them with nice gifts . It was followed by lots of fun games, which woke up the little children hidden inside all of us. Oh yes, have I forgotten to mention about the mouthwatering dishes that were there?

Over all a great experience.

PS - Forgot to mention the main news. The “Rangoli” designed by our department (the Marketing department) has been judged the best in the entire office. Hearty congratulations to all the members of my team (including myself).

Shame On Raj Thackeray!

No! The heading is wrong. Actually it should have been “Shame On Us!" Why? Because politicians like Raj Thackeray have not emerged from nowhere. It is we, the common people of India who have made them leaders.

It is a common habit of the Indian mass to criticize their political leaders, while we tend to forget that it is we ourselves who bring these so called leaders into the corridors of power. India is not a military dictatorship where the people are forced to accept the leadership of the dictator who has usurped the power. Rather, India is a democracy where we have the full freedom to choose our leaders. And therefore we must accept the responsibility of all the nuisance (corruption, malpractice, misgovernance, etc) created by a leader who has been elected by us.

So instead of criticizing all these leaders whom we accuse of making our life hell, it is time we woke up and took our democratic rights seriously, so that we are able to elect people who worth our confidence. India is a matured democracy, buddies. And we must learn how to behave like the citizens of a matured democracy.

What has happened in Mumbai is actually a boon in disguise, as it has given us another opportunity to wake up from our slumber. Hope we will now start learning how to behave like a matured electorate.

Photo courtesy : www.ndtv.com

Hearty Congrats To Sachin and Sourav! And Kumble, Do Not Lose Heart

Dear Sachin and Sourav, please accept hearty congratulations for your respective successes. India’s cricket enthusiasts are really so lucky to have cricketing giants like you.

By the way, Kumble, please do not lose heart. I know that now your performance - both as a bowler as well as Captain – is under scanner, with the media in a constant look out for any mistake or failure that comes in your way. But believe me, the genuine cricket lovers of India are always with you. I am very much confident that you will spring back with a bang, exactly in the manner Sachin and Sourav did. I am now eagerly awaiting that auspicious occasion.

The Helpful Colleagues That I am Lucky To Have

Different people have different experiences with their colleagues. Some people are blessed with good and helpful colleagues, while some fail to find a single colleague who can be called supportive and dependable. And then there are some, who have had the experience of having both these types of colleagues. It is this third group that I belong to.

In my around 8 years of processional career I have had various types of colleagues (as it happens in everyone’s case). I will not hide this fact that my experience with some of them was not very pleasant (in fact I will dare say that a couple of them were just intolerable). However, at the same time I have been blessed with some genuinely nice and helpful colleagues, who have always extended their helping hands every time I have approached them.

My present company Espire Infolabs is a really lucky organization for me in this regard. Here I find myself surrounded by some so nice, helpful and co-operative colleagues. And they help to reduce the tension and stress of the work to such a significant level.

While I have the names of at least a dozen of people in my mind, today I will like to focus on a few of them.

To begin with there are Amit Bharti (Administration) and Debesh (HR). These two gentlemen are neighbours, with both having their own cars. However, they come to office in a single car, using each of the cars on every alternate day. And they give me a lift everyday while coming to office. Actually they come to office in the same route that I follow, and pick me up from a particular spot near my home where I wait for them. Thus I enjoy a happy car ride to office, instead of having a lengthy and painful bus journey and ultimately reaching office with almost all energy lost.


Exactly this same favour I enjoy from Kumarshivam and Neerav (both software professionals at our office), while going back home. Both have their bikes, and stay close to my home (in fact Kumarshivam is virtually my neighbour). Everyday one of them gives me a lift, and I again enjoy the pleasure of reaching home with a fresh body and mind, instead of a strenuous bus journey sucking out all of the remaining energy that I manage to retain after the entire day’s work.

Then there is this lady colleague in my department, who is always there to help me whenever I have some problem with Excel. I am not that strong at Excel, and find myself in deep soup whenever I have to do some work on it. And she is my only refuge on such occasions, as she always comes forward to solve my problem. So far twice or thrice I have approached her for help, and every time she has come to my rescue, saving me from unpleasant consequences that I otherwise would have faced for failing to do the work properly.

Another person who always helps me in handling computer applications that I am not strong at is Mr Yogesh Gupta, another bright software professional of our organization. He is another person whom I have approached for help for a couple of times, and he has never disappointed me. What has touched me a lot is that he has often come to my desk and helped me by putting aside his own urgent work, something least expected in the “ultra professional” environment of the modern corporate scenario.

Every person has his share of problems and challenges in his work, and so do I. It is quite natural. But all my work related tension and stress get evaporated, courtesy the support that I enjoy from these people. My sincere thanks to them!

Kudos To Ms Gowri Mohanakrishnan For Her Blog - SEVENTH CHORDS

There are several bloggers whose blogs I like, and regularly follow. But one blogger whose blog I not only regularly follow but also love like anything is Ms. Gowri Mohanakrishnan. And the blog that I am referring to is “Seventh Chords – The Journal of an Indian Tea Planter's Wife” (link http://seventhchords.blogspot.com/).

Some background

So what exactly do I love about the blog? Actually Ms Gowri is settled in the Dooars area of West Bengal. It is that area which is blessed with exotic natural beauty in the forms of lush green forests, hill stations (one of which is the famous Darjeeling) and tea gardens. In fact, Ms Gowri’s husband himself is associated with tea plantation (as evident from her blog).

Now, I have a very special link with this part of West Bengal. No, not merely because West Bengal is my home state (though now I am settled in Delhi). But because my ancestral place lies in Jalpaiguri in the northern part of West Bengal, where Dooars and Terai are located. And like most of the “North Bengal families”, our family also has had a close link with the jungles, mountains, tea estates, etc. of this area. My grandfather was a regular hunter with the credit of various game huntings (from clouded leopard to deer and sambars) in the jungles of this area. My uncle (husband of my eldest paternal aunt) was in the Indian Forest Service of the West Bengal cadre, and eventually rose to the topmost position. Thanks to his job, since my childhood I have had so many opportunities to explore these areas, apart from other jungles located in the other parts of West Bengal. And I also had a good exposure to tea gardens, as one of my father’s close friends was a tea garden manager.

So this explains my close link with this area, affectionately called “North Bengal” by the people of West Bengal. Though my father had settled down in Calcutta even before I was born, and I eventually grew up in this city, I always enjoyed a close relationship with North Bengal. As since my childhood I used to regularly visit Jalpaiguri and other beautiful places in this region. This continued till 2001, when I shifted to Delhi for career reasons. Since then I have managed to visit North Bengal just once, in the December of 2002.

So precisely why is Ms Gowri’s blog so appealing to me?

While I always enjoyed the beauty of Dooars and adjacent areas, I was not merely content with it. I always had this wish to promote this exotic place beyond the boundary of West Bengal (and also beyond the boundary of India). Once I had tried to satisfy this dream by sending a write up to a West Bengal-based magazine. We were just back from an exciting trip to North Bengal, covering all the major jungles, hill stations, etc. I prepared a huge write up, and sent the same (with lots of photos) to the magazine's office. Unfortunately it was not published. Probably the quality of the write up was not at par with the standard of the magazine. Anyways, that marked the end of my effort to promote my dear North Bengal.

After that I have continuously tried to promote this area, but that has been mainly verbal promotion (i.e. talking about the area while having a chat with somebody). But the wish to make that promotion through media (magazines, travel web sites, etc) has remained unfulfilled. I in fact had nurtured the dream of having a blog on North Bengal. But I could not go ahead, as such a blog can be run by a person who either stays there or visits the area regularly (and as I said, now I hardly get the chance to visit the area).

And this unfulfilled dream of mine has been fulfilled by Ms Gowri. Through her blog she is sharing with the world the various interesting incidents, stories, developments, etc, in Dooars area, coupled with excellent photos. And so many people across the country are today getting the opportunity to know about this place. And hats off to her writing style. It is so attractive and juicy that it can turn even an insipid topic into a highly interesting one. Naturally, that makes her descriptions more interesting.

There are many who stay in exotic places. But most (not all) of them prefer to enjoy the beauty of the place themselves, rather than sharing the joy with others. Ms Gowri could have easily led a relaxed life, centered around her family and the social life confined within the tea garden executives and their families. But being a creative person, she preferred to share the joy of living in this beautiful place through an equally beautiful blog.

Madam, you are doing exactly what I had wanted to do. I had a long pain for not being able to do anything to promote my beautiful ancestral place, and you have given me a relief from that pain. I am so grateful to you.

Keep enjoying the beauty of North Bengal, and keep sharing the joy with the world. All the best!

Booker Prize For Adiga - The Latest International Recognition For India's Literary Prowess

Making his motherland and fellow Indians proud, debutante Indian novelist Aravind Adiga won the prestigious Man Booker Prize for Fiction for 2008, for his novel The White Tiger. 33 years old Adiga won the 50,000 pound ($47,000) prize by beating other prominent authors in the fray, who included established Indian author Amitav Ghosh.

Adiga is the fifth person in the list of Indian/Indian origin writers awarded with this coveted prize, with the first four being V S Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai. He has also become the second youngest Booker winner and only the third debut novelist to take the award.

The White Tiger – which is the ninth winning novel to take its inspiration from India or Indian identity – explores the darker side of India's rise to prosperity through its narrator, the son of a rickshaw puller who escapes crushing poverty.

CONGRATULATIONS, ADIGA! The nation is proud of you.


Source:

http://specials.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/15slde1.htm

http://www.newser.com/story/39961/indian-author-adiga-wins-booker-prize-for-white-tiger.html

Indian Origin Entrusted With The Responsibility of “Bailing Out” The US Economy

It is nothing new to find Indian origins holding key positions in foreign governments. And one of the latest additions to that long list of our countrymen calling the shots abroad is that of Neel Kashkari.

So who is Neel Kashkari? Well, he is the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (International Affairs), US Government, a position more or less (if not fully) equivalent to that of a junior Finance minister in India. This former Goldman Sachs VP has been selected by the Bush administration as the Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability. In this capacity, Mr. Kashkari will oversee the Office of Financial Stability including the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Apart from holding his new responsibilities, Neel also continues to hold the position of Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Economics and Development. However, his International Affairs responsibilities have been delegated – for the time being – to Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Clay Lowery.




Source: http://www.treas.gov/organization/bios/kashkari-e.html


http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/10/06/meet-neel-kashkari-the-man-with-the-700-billion-wallet/

http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/10/10/neel-kashkari-a-portrait-of-the-700-billion-man-as-a-young-banker/

Photo courtesy : abcnews.go.com