Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Safety of our Roads

I am writing this to bring to your notice that Road Transport for Bikers and Cycling has become Unsafe with growing traffic and growth of our nation.
Everyday I commute to office on a bike. And everyday I see people breaking traffic signals, rules and also getting away with paying bribe to the traffic Cops.
Near my office I have a four road junction  where people have to take a circle to the other side of the road whoever is coming from Gachibowli Flyover side taking the ORR and getting down near the exit to come to Nanakramguda. But everyday hundreds and hundreds of Highly Educated IT professionals just dont bother to go and take the full circle. They just see if there is no vehicle coming they take the diognal and U-Turn. Here the point is about self policing. How do you think mind set of these people can be changed. Here Qualified professionals who drive Merc's, Civi's and Top end cars and bikes are setting wrong Examples.
1. I would suggest the transport authorities to put a camera at every place where there is no traffic cop standing and start sending Challans directly to their permanent address and in case they dont change after certain number of Challan bar the driver from Driving by blocking his Licence.
 
2. Create seperate lanes for 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers. Again the same policy anyone voilating challans needs to be sent. I would also suggest to make it mandatory for everyone to follow the lane system. Government can also create Fast/Express lane where people have to pay for using them if they have to drive fast. But these lanes need not be flyovers. Make 3 lanes in a Road, 1 for Bikers, 1 for Normal Speed and other for Express Speed where the amount paid can be used for maintenance of Roads.
 
3. One request is to make the vehicle registration for across the nation Standard. I know its under state rule and regulation. But everytime if someone get transferred from one city to another city out of a state it become a huge burden on part of the owner to pay road tax everytime. Some solution has to be given with respect to this case.

Everyone of us dreams to go to US/UK/Western Country and we strictly follow their rules. Once we are back we just ignore our own rules.

Why cant we set an example?

How will we be able to make a change if we dont want to be the element to bring that change?

I feel we dont have a right to demand for change if we dont want to be part of that change?
 
Hope to have Safe Roads in Future.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Sahadeva-The Lesser Know Hero of Mahabharata





All of you at some point must have read or heard about Mahabharata. The greatest War epic story ever told according to Hindu Mythology. The story is about the two waring brothers Kauravas & Pandavas. This blog is all the lesser know brother of Pandavas. Before i continue furhter with the blog i must clarify myself that, the whole content of my blog is taken from Internet websites like Wiki & articles i read in The Hindu.


I was never curious about the role of Nakula & Sahadeva in the Mahabharata War. The below artile which i read few years back in The Hindu newpaper was an eye opener for me. Today, again i got reminded about the article and reading it again i felt like sharing it with you all. Before sharing the article let me tell about Sahadeva taken from Wiki.


Who is Sahadeva?


He is the twin son of Madri invoked by Ashvinis. He was great astrologer ans was supposed to have know the events of Mahabharata beforehand but was cursed that if he disclosed than his head would crack into pieces. He was a great devote of Lord Krishna and is believed to be the first one to recoginse Krishna as a diety to worship.
This below pieces is from The Hindu article. Its completely in First Person as if Sahadeva narrating the his role in Mahabharata himself. Its lengthy but gripping and enjoyable story I hope you will like it. The below story is set during the period when the Pandavas were to being their 1 year Agyatvas(Unknow Hiding), if they get caught during this time than they have to begin the Vanvas again. What was the role of Sahadeva before beginning of the Agyatvas?









My Game is an excerpt from a novel in progress. The novel is yet another interpretation of the Mahabharatha. It deals with the events and personalities depicted in the epic in a rational way, in an attempt at another look at the age-old story. The narrator is Sahadeva, the youngest and perhaps the most insignificant of the Pandavas. Although Sahadeva is relatively obscure, we know from the epic that he has intimate knowledge of the people whose actions, triumphs, and defeats live on in the legends. In a sense, Sahadeva's perspective is that of a political reporter. No such profession is known to have existed those many centuries ago. That being so, the novel is essentially one in which a political reporter of today re-examines the epic in a search for new insights.
This excerpt relates to the period when the Pandavas have completed their 12-year exile in the forest after losing the game of dice. They are about to enter the phase when they have to live in disguise. While the epic, for the most part, does not credit Sahadeva with a great deal of importance, he is assigned a special role in the novel. He is depicted as the Pandavas' chief of intelligence. In this role, he is seen as running an espionage network whenever they are a political force. The Pandavas are, of course, not a political force in the period covered in this excerpt and Sahadeva's role changes accordingly. He is the spy-catcher; the man who must track down and eliminate Duryodhana's spies before they can expose the Pandavas. Read on:
"THIS fellow can make himself invisible."




Since the days of our childhood my brother Arjuna had made that statement many times. So many times in fact that the tones accompanying it had, turn by turn, covered the full range from exasperation to admiration.
It was my special gift. This ability to so blend into my background that no one noticed my presence. It had helped me survive in the corridors of a Hastinapura broiling with intrigue. To survive and to help my brothers. Our cousins would be cooking up one of their endless malicious little plots or working out ways by which we could be deprived of some pleasure and there I would be. Just one among the grubby little horde, poking and giggling away on the fringes as if I were another of Duryodhana's horde of followers.
At first I had the desire but not the skill. Discovery was often swift and usually very painful. But then I had a strong streak of stubbornness and I persevered. I learnt to watch the individual and then whole groups, to gauge the flow of moods, to imbibe the sense of the crowd. I copied and practised a hundred different gestures and mannerisms. The trick was to keep oneself just on the edge of their peripheral vision. Sufficiently a part of the group so as to be non-threatening but not so much into it as to be noticed. To do too much was to invite disaster. Stillness was just as dangerous. The key lay in striking the right balance.
Of course I never discovered all their plots. Duryodhana was always too clever to trust too many with the really special ones he thought up. Yet I cursed myself every time we were caught unawares. This was my self-assumed contribution to the brotherhood and though my brothers were not aware of how seriously I took this responsibility, every failure was painful. Varnavrata was the first major disaster we faced collectively. Perhaps it was Yudhishtira who should have seen through that nasty little intrigue because he had been specially trained in statecraft. I was, however, of an age when it is difficult to forgive oneself and had engaged in this vocation with a vengeance from then on.
Over the years of wandering among forest dwellers and hermits and the months of living as Brahmins, I had kept up my practice. Adding to my repertoire, honing my skills. And then in the days of our glory, when we were carving out our own realm, I understood the greater value of my special skill and began to appreciate its benefits. As we strove to build a harmonious and prosperous community, I was the eyes and ears of the brotherhood.
And so I remained when our stars waned as well. In our wanderings through the great forests and wastelands that ringed Aryavarta, there was always a need for one of us to snoop outside. My skill was of little use in the forest and while I had learnt to survive in the jungle, my brothers did not need my help. There was no greater master of woodcraft than Bhima and he could take on all the dangers of the jungle. It was more important that I venture outside, sit by village fires, go to the markets to test the wind of the times. It was my job to find out whether Duryodhana was hunting us with the same intensity or had turned his attention to some other enemies. We had to know whether new alliances were being forged by the nations of Aryavarta and whether our friends remained true. Messages had to be exchanged with Krishna and Drupada.
This then was my role and if I could make myself invisible to Arjuna, the keen-eyed archer, then I could make myself invisible to anyone.
Now we were entering a new phase. We had to slip out of the forest and fit ourselves into the community of Matsya. At least four of our group of six, perhaps even the Eldest, would stand out in any crowd even as individuals. For us to go out collectively was unthinkable. Despite our poor clothing, untamed hair, and the bug-bites on our torsos, we would be instantly recognised. Five brothers and a woman. We might as well step out with conches blowing and elephants parading before us.
My first task was to check out the Matsyan country. To find the slots each of us could fit into and help Draupadi and my brothers slip into their roles without arousing suspicion. Matsya was spread over a semi-arid terrain but was still a good breeding ground for horses and cattle. There were no great rivers in these parts, only man-made lakes, wells, and fields of gritty grass and scrub. It was basically a pastoral community with the towns and villages, such as they were, as somnolent as the smoke from a dung-fire. Once we settled in to the community, we might escape notice. But people eyed strangers with caution. My skills would be fully tested as I helped the others get past this initial hurdle and I was delighted.
I had to make my brothers understand that there was no way of allaying suspicion altogether. People would always be curious. We had to accept that fact and turn it to our advantage. Each of us would appear on the scene as a drifter and the Matsyans would not be satisfied with the straightforward explanations that anyone gave. In such a situation it would be stupid to provide an over-elaborate explanation. Instead, each would have to give a sparse account of his or her past and convince the listener that there was nothing very interesting in it. In short, we had to pander to the general belief that drifters were losers who were ashamed of their personal histories. Each would have to behave in such a fashion as to hint at some basic flaw. If we were careful and lucky, observers would believe that this shame was the cause for the drifting.
Bhima, for instance. Anyone would wonder why a person with his physique had not taken a position as someone's personal guard or favourite wrestler. Fortunately, my brother had two redeeming faults. He could keep silent for days together and go about his job like a buffalo tied to a waterwheel that cannot deviate either from its path or its pace. He was also not very good at following instructions that he was not in a mind to. In time, observers would probably conclude that Bhima was too set in his ways and too simple to be disciplined for some other occupation.
Each of the others would likewise have to depend on their particular flaws. Nakula as someone who was too flippant and amorous to have any higher ambition; Draupadi too confident and beautiful for any jealous mistress to keep her around; Yudhishtira so often lost in his own thoughts as to be an undependable counsellor. Arjuna's disguise was the most elaborate of all but he had the talent to pull it off.
Our splitting up was itself a most effective disguise. We remained in Aryavarta's collective memory as a group of six. Once we broke up that picture and ensured that our connections to one another remained hidden, it would be difficult for any but the most astute or the most interested to discover that we were parts of the same puzzle.
Actually I, and Draupadi, had already entered the new phase. I had been working as an overseer of cattle for a few weeks and had spent the last few days initiating Draupadi into her new role. This was only a short excursion into the forest to report to my brothers. As I finished, Nakula had asked whether my new masters would not miss me. With great patience, I had to explain that in my job I needed to move about a lot. So, if I were missed in one place, they would assume that I was in another.
"But why a Magadhan cattleman?" Bhima was intrigued. "What do those rice growers know about rearing cattle?"
Magadha was only the place of origin of my new persona I explained. The person I had become was born in that eastern region but had been stranded in Yadava country since early youth. That was how he had learned the finer points of cattle rearing from the Yadavas, the best cattlemen in Aryavarta.
"But why Magadha?" Bhima persisted.
"That was the best way to throw anyone of the scent," I answered blandly. What need was there for me to explain that the Magadhan persona was the one I could most effortlessly slip into. I had totally imbibed the accents and mannerisms peculiar to Magadha. Once I slipped into the persona, I could be woken from the deepest sleep and I would react like a Magadhan. It might have been less circuitous to adopt a Yadava personality and their accents were close to our own, but some of their mannerisms were so peculiar to themselves that more effort would be needed to retain the right inflexion. These were however my secrets, the unperfected features of my craft. Why should I allow anyone, even my favourite brother, to think that I had not mastered my craft?
"And no one has suspected you in the least?" Arjuna slipped in the question when he saw that Bhima, though not entirely satisfied, was not going to press on.
"No," I replied and then thought that a demonstration would be in order. So I showed them how I walked with the bent-kneed stride of the cattle herder, how I leaned on my staff while talking with my gaze far away as if in search of a straying cow. How I had glanced directly at my questioner only occasionally and how I had mixed humility with traces of the herdsman's independence of spirit. I finished and squatted down like a man who was resigned to his lot. While I thus squatted before my brothers, I did what I could to dull the spark in my eyes.
That was when, to my gratification, Arjuna snorted his words of admiration:
"This fellow can make himself invisible."
I HAPPILY sat back to await further questions. The Eldest was in deep thought, so Bhima it was who asked:

"Draupadi you say has found work in the house of an old Kshatriya widow who mixes herbs and perfumes. Perhaps she should stay there. Palaces have their dangers."

One of our uneasy, though unspoken, thoughts was beginning to creep out.

"Krishna told us that the King of Matsya does not sleep with his wife's servant maids," Arjuna moved swiftly to put us at ease.

"He also said that the wife, Sudheshna isn't she, is likely to cut off his thing and feed it to the hounds if she ever caught him trying it," Nakula chortled in continuation. He choked off and the smiles faded on the faces of Arjuna and Bhima as they saw the frown on Yudhishtira's brow. The Eldest did not approve of our simpler pleasures.

"I think it might be a good idea to let her stay in that village." The image of Sudheshna and her knife had obviously not stayed in Bhima's mind for very long.

"No! We should be somewhere close to each other. We can't ensure each other's safety if we are apart." Arjuna stressed the tactical principle and I butted in to remind Bhima that the Kshatriya widow lived in an outlying village quite far from the central town of Matsya.

"So how are you going to move her from this village and into the palace?"

This required a bit of elaboration.

The widow was half-senile about everything other than her herbs and concoctions, her accounts, and the work she got out of her servants. I had taken Draupadi to the widow's house claiming she was my brother's wife and we wanted her to stay there while we moved our herds to new pastures. I had already ascertained that the widow needed a new maid and she did not ask many questions. To what she had asked I had slipped in some passing remarks about Panchala and the Yadava lands and herbs and spices and sundry wanderings. I would let this brew cook in the cauldron of her senility for three or four weeks. By then she would have got everything mixed up and the villagers, sympathetic to the toil the widow extracted out of Draupadi, would be under the impression that she had worked there for much longer than she had.

"I'll try to visit that village as much as I can. Nakula could also look after the horse herds near that village for a while," I suggested.

They were not too happy.

"There is no other way this thing can be done," I reasoned. "We can only drift into Virata's town over intervals of time and we have to enter from different directions. There is no help for it. We have to be separated for a short while so that we can each merge into the scene. In a short while we will all be in place and then we can set up our links with each other."

They reluctantly accepted my argument. The situation was clear enough. While Matsya lay athwart the route from the northern lands to the ports on the western coast, it was not a place of great enterprise. Some of those who drifted along this route would stay in Virata's town for a few years, sometimes more. We would need to create the impression that we were itinerants of this sort. Itinerants who apparently had nothing in common did not turn up in one place at the same time.

Everyone lapsed into his own thoughts. Bhima went to the fire and turned the spit. Fat sizzled as the chunks of meat turned over. The smell of roasting boar meat quickened my hunger. After days without respite from the coarse gruel and dairy produce that was the usual fare of a herdsman, I was more than ready for some good meat. But the cooking was not done and to stop myself from thinking too much on it, I turned and scanned the area. We were safe on this grassy, rock-strewn hilltop. There was a good view all around, good cover close by, and Bhima had masked the fire so that the smoke trickled away slowly through the rocks.

"Didn't they ask you about cattle?" Nakula's question came floating on a current of innocence.

"Of course they did. But what do these desert people know about cattle? Why I could... "

I almost walked into the trap. Bhima turned from the fire and he, like the rest, had an anticipatory gleam in his eyes. For my other passion is cattle. Ask me a question about cattle and I could be off for hours. They could never get enough of teasing me by asking silly questions about cattle.

I threw a piece of wood at Nakula's head.

Yudhishtira called us to order although he too did not seem averse to a spell of jesting. In a way we were all feeling a little buoyant. Understandable. We were re-entering a civilised community after 12 years and this was, after all, a new adventure.

"Bhima's cooking is good enough for people not to ask too many questions about his origins and Nakula has a way with horses though he does not talk as much about it as some people do about cattle." Yudhishtira's smile took the edge off his words.

"And it would be good if they went in together. With Nakula standing besides him, Bhima's height will not be so noticeable except at close quarters. It is also not unusual for cooks and grooms to travel together."

"How about you Arjuna?" Bhima asked. "Think you can make it work?"

Arjuna tossed his hair he had grown long and, striking the grotesquely coquettish air of a eunuch, archly affirmed he could. His was a beautifully proportioned lithe figure. With some padding in the right places, in the manner of all eunuchs, he would be able to pull it off. His ambidextrous skills and his devotion to the bow from as far as anyone could remember were also helpful to his disguise. His body did not carry the telltale signs of the great bowman. Both forearms were equally developed and unmarred by the marks of the bowstring. All of us had worn sheaths of kid-leather on the arm that held the bow when we began to learn archery in our childhood; otherwise, the string would have horribly chafed our delicate skins. Most of us discarded the sheaths to show our toughness as our bodies hardened. Arjuna could not afford this vanity. The man practised with his bow so arduously that his arms would have been a raw mess if he had left them uncovered. He had never discarded the sheaths and so the greatest archer in Aryavarta did not bear marks that showed him for what he was.

If any other than Bhima had asked the question, there would have been an edge of frost in Arjuna's reply. His pride could be a little prickly if there was even a hint of a suggestion that he would do something less than perfectly. But not when the question came from Bhima. These two were among the greatest warriors of the age, perhaps of all ages, but they had squelched any sense of rivalry long ago. Instead, each had learnt to complement the other's strengths like the two escorting bulls of a herd that stand with their haunches touching and their tusks out-thrust in a menacing crescent.

"Well," Bhima advised, "don't shake your hips too much when you are around Virata. His wife might not have that sort of objection to his fooling around with his house-boys."

To my surprise even Yudhishtira joined in the laughter.

"It would be best if you and Arjuna went for that mela in Virata's town," I suggested to the Eldest. "Not together of course but if this scheme collapses at least Arjuna would be nearby to give you protection. Learned people are usually found in towns and where else would a eunuch look for employment?"

The others agreed. Yudhishtira's air of dignity and his look of intelligence would not be misplaced in the role of scholar and courtier that he was to assume. I was a little uneasy because, unlike the rest of us, the character he had decided to assume was very close to what he actually was. But Yudhishtira had little talent for subterfuge and I could only advise him to wrap a cloak around his head and shoulders and show himself in public as little as possible.

"It is also not unknown for scholars to keep peculiar company." I let that one slide through Yudhishtira's guard unnoticed by any other than Arjuna. He gave me a wicked grin

"All right. It's all settled then. The meat's ready. Let's eat."

The others rose but Yudhishtira stopped me with a gesture.

"Spies?" he asked.

"They are here. I don't know how many, or who they are or even where they are."

Yudhishtira's look was hard. He might have gambled away a kingdom in an addicted frenzy, but he had been raised to be a king. My answer had to be very straight and very responsible.

"I will find them before they find us."

As the words slipped out of me, I was overcome by an unaccustomed feeling. I was not unused to the sense of responsibility, but now the determination not to let down my brothers was over-layered by new awareness. I realised that for the first and possibly only time in my life I had the most important role to play. My brothers would be dependant on me. I felt not trepidation but a surge of power.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

my kempf

Acknowledgement

I started this blog nearly a year back when i came back from a horrifying plant audit experience after 3 months of torture. After a few days the zeal died in me and i didn't complete it. But few days back my ex-colleague Nimesh inspired me to complete the unfinished work, who also refers me as Mr US (read till the end to know why he calls me so). There ends my dedication pages.


Chapter 1

Now let me come to my Kemp (my struggle). I am an MBA from a Christ College but got placed in an audit firm for doing Internal Audits. During the interview they asked if i had a passport and if i had any travel constraints for travelling abroad. My answer was a "NO" for both the questions. So before joining got my passport done. When i told my friends about this they all told people get to visit nice places who work in Audit firms. From that day waited to travelling abroad. The D-day of joining came and it was awesome experience. Within few days I realised I belonged to the group of duckling among the flock of Geese. Here I am referring to the qualified CA's as geese who are cut for the job of Auditing. I didn't know what I had to do in auditing leave about what I have to do; i didn't know the fundamentals of audit. After 3 months sitting on bench came the day when my manager called and told I will be travelling, and she told she will confirm in a few days where i will be going. The bells were ringing in my head and i was fully excited that I will be travelling international. Next day morning at 10:00 AM, manager told I will be travelling Chennai for a real estate company audit. I was happy that if not international atleast I am travelling somewhere. After that my next assignment was in Bangalore had and no issues.


Chapter 2

Immediately after that started my story of Discovery of India. I was off to a location called Sitapuram (Nalgonda Dist.). It’s located near Vijaywada. It was exciting for me because I am an Adhraite and worked for in Vijaywada for few months, thought will get a nice opportunity to go around Vijayawada atleast in the weekends. The travel plan was we will be flying from Bangalore to Vijaywada and from there company vehicle will come to pick up. I realised during the initial few days of joining the job that the name of auditor scares many process owners and they do everything to keep them happy. So, I was expecting awesome Andhra food, 24/7 vehicles at our disposal to pick/drop wherever we want and nice leisure time after work. It was the month of April and we reached Vijayawada airport and landed at 12:30 PM. If anyone been to AP in the months of Jan to Dec than will end up saying it has only one season and i.e. Summer Season. By now you must have understood how the weather was when we reached. It was extremely hot temperature touching 40 plus and hot winds blowing. My senior working on the assignment told me vehicle must be waiting and called the Finance Head of the plant which we were going to audit to get the driver details. We searched for the vehicle and didn't find him, then called up the driver to find where he was and he told he will take approximately 2 hours to reach the airport as he was starting at that moment. There comes the first experience of royal treatment and reality check that i was expecting. We waited the next 2 hours in the Vijayawada heat outside the airport waiting for the vehicle. At last the vehicle came and it was an Indica sent to pick 3 people and their luggages. We were planned to stay for 5 weeks so even our luggage was big. Adding to that the car looked suitable to carry cement bags than people it was fully filled with cement dust truly looked like we were going for a Cement plant audit. What to do we had no option but to pack ourselves into the car with the bags. Somehow reached the plant guest house at around 5 PM. Luckily the rooms were nice and clean and the first day food was nice and tasty. Even the audit was slow and nice and we were coming back around 7 PM in evening. Then came the shock, were asked to vacate one of the room of the two that we were staying in as some Firang will be staying in, that was second reality check, slowly I was getting used to all these shock. Now the food also got pathetic, it was the same old curry lunch and dinner. One weekend I wanted to go Viajayawada and requested for a vehicle and it never got arranged. After 2nd week even the work pressure increased we started working nearly 18 to 20 hours a day. Used to start work at morning 8 AM and to ended up working till 7:30 PM in office and then from after dinner didn’t keep track till what time we slogged. After couple of weeks even the pick-up and drop was being stopped. I hot summer had to walk back to guesthouse which was nearly 1 km to have lunch or after lunch. We had horrible time for getting a vehicle to travel. Let me also add the great network that we had over there. Only two networks used to work Airtel and BSNL. For signal of other networks we had to go inside the plant. Thats the great service coverage of our service providers. All my expectations were shattered into cold water. Only solace were the IPL matches which were going on during that time. Me and my colleague were having a great time betting who will end up winning each day while working after dinner. We slogged days and nights and a somehow winded up the audit after 5 weeks.


Chapter 3

After the Sitapuram Audit, I worked on the only audit which I enjoyed the most. It was a IT audit. The best part was I had to only execute the work in other words I had to only do the field work, no preparation of report was involved. I was happy. I was happy for one more reason i.e. I won’t be travelling to another Cement plant audit which was scheduled after Sitapuram. After working in Sitapuram I was prepared for everything. I didn’t expect anything and guess that’s it was the best. I was again sent to Andhra this time it was Hyderabad. I just loved it. It was Ganesh Puja & Dushara season. It was a 10 weeks audit. We were a team of 6 people covering 5 locations across India. I was responsible for Hyderabad. After many year got a chance to be with my family, cousins and friends during the festival season. On this assignment I worked closely with Nimesh who was based in Guragon working with us overview the daily operations and execution. Our first call with Smitha (one of the process owner) was horrifying and everyone expected it will be called off. But then we came back from behind. I used the audit skills that I learnt during the Cement plant audit. I probed each client during the engagement like sniffer dog. Some of the process owners named me Machar (mosquito) because I was getting new issues and was sucking the blood out of them, they were irritated. I just loved it. Also the guest house was a pleasure and food was delight, each day different items. The best part was I had my weekends for myself to catch up with my family and friends. I visited new few places around Hyderabad like Vikarabad Forest and Gandipet to name a few. I had the best of my audit experience. After 10 weeks my honeymoon ended as we know all good things in life have to come to an end. I was back to Bangalore.

Chapter 4

After 3 days being back to Bangalore my manager told me to get in touch with a manager based out of Gurgaon. I was very excited, because everyone told me that he is responsible for International assignment. I also had one more reason to feel that because one of my colleague who worked on the IT audit along with me got a same call from him and she was travelling Switzerland. So I felt I will get my first opportunity to travel international. I called him and told he asked me to get in touch with a Senior who works under him. I was just nervous and senior’s number was busy. He called back and broke the news that I will be travelling to one more Sitapur based in UP this time for a Sugar plant audit. So my dream of travelling abroad had to still wait for some time. I was told I will be spending 3 to 4 weeks on this audit. I felt atleast I didn’t travel North India so this will be opportunity. I wanted to go Agra and see the Taj, hoped it will be possible. Myself and another colleague who flew from Mumbai and we joined Guragon team. We boarded train bound to Lucknow, and around 3 AM morning got down at a station called Hardoi. Winter was setting in and the weather was chilly. We got into a Bolero and from there started out journey to reach the Sitapur hotel. Our lodging name was “Hotel Ranjit-Decent Place”. The hotel looked shady and felt at the first look that it was definitely a place where any moment a police raid will be happening to catch people doing mischievous activities. The hotel used to run on DG set for nearly 15 hours a day. At mid-night the DG used to stop and for nearly 3 hours at night used to sleep without power. Luckily the cold was setting so didn’t require to run the fan. There was no hot water so had to take bath with cold water. Now coming to the food it was pathetic, we had order food nearly an hour before we wanted to eat so that they will fetch it from some hotel and wait till we pay him a hefty tip. The milk tasted as goat milk. I started skipping breakfast. The lunch had to come from Sitapur town, and there were many days where the plant Finance head never used to order food. Sometimes around 3 PM, these guys used to say “oh you food has not come should we order it?”. I always felt it was intentional. They were pissed off with the pervious audit report submitted by the pervious teams and it was their way for revenge on us. We somehow managed to find a place where we could get tasty food and less than Rs.120 for 2 people. The place from its looks was not posh. But once you are in the food was awesome and right next to we found a Pan shop were we used to eat Pan more than the food we ate. It was only Rs.4. Now coming to the travel part it was most the tiring part of the job. I had to travel nearly 45 mins each day, on the bumpy roads which used to be back breaking. Now I got used not to expect a decent pick-up and drop. Every night, I had to follow up continuously for getting dropped back to the hotel. After a week we were shifted to a guesthouse in the town Rampur. And from there I had to travel from 1.5 hours a day to the plant. Only good thing was the colleague who was staying with me. So, mostly 3 hours a day used to go in travel. Only good part of the audit was the nice North Indian food. During the same audit I have to visit my home town, and got my train tickets booked and requested the process owner to book a vehicle to drop me in Lucknow to catch train. I guess I will be only the guy who missed trains and flights during audits. So the driver managed to give the first experience of missing the train. So, I had to take a bus from Lucknow and reach Delhi to catch a flight. On my return journey from my home town took a flight to Delhi and a train from Old Delhi station. Old Delhi station was more a garbage yard than a railway platform. I don’t know how people can keep the Capital of the nation in such shitty conditions. I had to sit and wait for the train in the stinking smell. Again got down at the Hardoi station and got luckily the vehicle was there in time waiting for me to pick up. To my surprise there was a Gunman, to protect us. The driver told that at night dacoits attack vehicles. So, he took me to his home and gave me tea made out of Jaggery and fresh raw ground nuts burned in fire in front of me. He was a farmer with his house in the middle of the farm land. My first experience of rural India. After that we went back to guesthouse. During the one weekend we went to the city of Nawabs Lucknow. It a beautiful city with lot of history. But the city had more elephants and Mayati statues than the Nawab palaces. After 4 weeks of audit field work we were asked to come back to Gurgaon office to prepare the report. What a fate I have, we didn’t get any train tickets so, we caught a normal UP State bus to reach Delhi. I was put in a hotel where the bathroom door had knob could be opened only from outside i.e. before entering into the bathroom. There was no knob from inside, and if anyone closes it from inside than it can’t be opened. My manager in-charge of the assignment decided to review the work one day. And I was taking bath and co-incidentally I locked the door. I was stuck. There was a small window which managed to opened, and saw there was wall around 3 feet away. If I could jump on it I could come out and if I fail I will fall down from a 3 storey building. I had to do it because of the terror of the manager & his review. I managed to do it and still alive and writing this today. After the report was prepared I was asked to stay back for final discussion, and again had to go back to the plants. We went back. This was the last stretch of the audit. I was planning to come back Bangalore to after the discussions to attend my roommates weeding. We closed the discussions, and got my flight ticket booked. My only mistake was I had not informed the Finance head who will be arranging the vehicle to drop me at the airport. We next day morning I informed him he behaved like ass-**** waiting for a chance to make my life miserable. He was didn’t arrange a vehicle till 12 PM. My flight was at 3:30 PM. After that at 1 PM, I got a vehicle with a sleepy driver. I reached the airport after the boarding was closed, and no one obliged to requests to allow me to board the flight. I saw the flight door being closed in front of my eyes. I had no option but to catch a train as the next flight was only after 2 days direct to Bangalore. I decided to go to Delhi and grab a flight to Bangalore. I went to station and to good news is due to foggy weather all trains were running late or were cancelled. I got a chance to look at the beauty of the Lucknow station, and the station building was a beauty to watch but, people doesn’t care to maintain. It was again filled with trash, people were peeing at the entrance itself, and the tracks had more rat holes than a food warehouse. I took a general ticket and was waiting for the first train bound to travel Delhi. At last at around 8 PM a train was leaving old Delhi. I begged one of the TT to allow me a board the train in second class. The train was jam packed was first train in the day that was heading Delhi. It was extremely cold temperature’s almost touching zeros. I sat near the toilet with my luggage. I fellow passenger was a thief released from Rae Bareli jail, which I came to know when the TT came to check the ticket. I was carrying a huge luggage with a winter blanket & lots of winter clothes which I bought in Delhi and few statues which I bought to gift my family members. After checking the thief, TT called up police to check and then his eyes fell on me and my bag. RPF constables checked my bags 3 times on that night. I was terrorist for them. They kept asking me why I was carrying so much of luggage, they wanted a bill for the statues I was carrying. At last I told them I was an auditor, and they never heard of the word auditor that was the great news. I showed my ID card and Visting cards. Somehow one of the TT seems to have knowledge of who is a auditor, so took pity on me and asked not to harass me and told to shift my luggage to the A/C cabin where he was sitting. He shifted me from there to the compartment next to the 3 A/C cabin. Even after that the constables were after me, I paid them Rs.20 bucks, and cheap bastards we happy. I don’t understand how bribe pleases. I reached the New Delhi domestic airport, at 6 PM spent the first sleepless night . I rate this audit as the worst experience of my working Life. People laugh at me whenever I share this incident. I always have a sad story to say. But what to my experiences were Sad and depressing. But for me it’s the most hated episode. It was the beginning of many things that I lost in the following few months. I missed my best friend’s wedding also it was the beginning of the phase when I lost something very dear to me. I will rate this Audit as the worst audit experience of the field audit experience. I never got to see the Taj at the end of the whole trip. Nothing got fulfilled during this audit. It was a mental, emotional, and economical drain out for me. My company found faults in me and never reimbursed me the money e of the missing flight.


Chapter 5

After this I came back to Bangalore, the very next day I was asked by my manager to contact manager based out of Mumbai and made it clear this time that it was one more plant audit. So, I was sure I won’t be travelling international even this time. The plant audit was a place located between Pune & Lonawala called Khane. My stay was arranged in a guesthouse right next to the plant. The guest house used to be empty as everyone used to leave the guest house at around 7:30 PM. I used to be all alone till next day morning 7 AM. It was a big bungalow, and no other building around for nearly half a kilometre. Even here getting a vehicle was a pain to be dropped back. I many times had to work late night and getting a drop after 9 PM was impossible. This plant used to have their weekly off on Thursday as the power used to go off. I used to got to Mumbai or a place called Khopoli every Wednesday night and come back on Thursday day back to guesthouse. In that way was working 7 days a week nearly 12 hours a day. It continued for 3 months. Once in a while used to go to Lonawala to catch up a movie. I used to take the train from Khane to Lonawala. It was nice time during the train rides. I got so familiar with the routes & short cuts between Khane & Khopoli that people used to depend on me even at mid-night to travel back and from Khane. I stayed there for 3 months at the end, became one among them. I didn’t have people to speak with, so the Finance process owner itself became a close friend. In evenings I started playing Volleyball and Cricket with them. I would rate this audit as the second worst experience because of working non-stop for 7 days during the 3 months and the reviews which I went through. And people don’t know what they want and expect the things to happen as they want. At the same time I had the Statutory Audit team coming, and saw the difference in treatment.


Chapter 6


After this the next audit was one more IT audit in Hyderabad. It was courtesy of my previous good work I did on similar engagement. It was nice time of 3 weeks I spent. I was happy to be doing something I enjoyed when I did. I again had time to catch up with my friends and family. It fulfilling after having the rough time plant audits. During the same time I came to know I will be travelling back to Sitapuram of AP.


Chapter 7

It was like home coming for me when I went back to Sitapuram. This time the vehicle was waiting for us. It was a Bolero. We stopped in DVManor the only nice 5 star in Vijayawada, had a hearty meal as I already knew what I should be expecting. This time the audit was 6 weeks, will major part of the work being assigned to me. I knew what the work was and how I should be planning to execute it. I picked the things what is learnt from my previous experiences audits. I was enjoying the SAP application exploring it how it works and how it can be used as an Audit tool. During my last audit, I landed in Bangalore back from a audit and directly left from the airport to another Plant Audit. At last i managed to live Life out of suitcase he he....


Finally, I also realised that working and slogging 15 hours in a days including your weekends was part and parcel of the plant audits. And expecting good food or good treat or pick up & drop are the last things to happen. People don’t respect internal auditors. For all the companies Internal Auditor is the most unwanted and hated person as i felt seeing many organisation as they associate the individuals’ performance to the Internal Audit Report. To conclude, I woke up from my dream and realised I will never get an International audit experience in this organisation, so quit the company than have expectations or hopes of going for International Assignment one day. People who joined before, along and after me have travelled internation but not me. I was ending up being domestic plant audit specialist. Nimesh is the only person who kept telling me I will go to US one day, and kept calling me Mr US, even though I never went to US. Ha ha.. Finally, I will end by saying people end up having zero time for personal life and end up signing up for life time for the company.


Wait is Still on for my first International Travel....

Monday, March 7, 2011

How economic Depression becomes a reality check for the society?


I feel that some of the great movie work's are based on the period of the great depression as If I can quote the example of Charlie Chaplin movies. All his movies depict lives of people during the depression time. I want to stress more on the lives of people during depression. As I don’t know what life would have been like during depression, but I know how life is when there is economic boom. The economic boom brings along with plenty of money for all, “there is enough money for everyone”. Boom creates the difference in life style. On the other side during depression, it hits everyone and makes everyone equal. Here equality means equal in economic levels. I feel depression leads people to stand on the same ground and understand the problems of each other better because all the persons will be in same state of poverty. This leads people to be able to connect better to the works done than the works done during the boom. Due to this reason some of the greatest work of modern time are based of lives of the depression and depression times brings out the best in people. We can take the modern day examples of movies like “Cinderella Man, Schindler’s List, Life is Beautiful” are few of the movies made based on life during depression which have become greatest works today. In all these movies people get to know more about the reality of life. It show everyone is touched by the when it show the reality. In depression everyone see the reality which touches the cord of pain in everyone. Sometime, depression is good for the society as it acts a scale balancing the rich & poor and as an eye opener to even people who act they are sleeping like our corrupt politician’s.

I.e. it right when everyone says success a many fathers failure has none. When economy is booming even the Information Minister or Public Welfares or Labour Minister boosts about how they were instrumental in the success of the economy. In depression everyone points their fingers to the Finance Minister & PMO.

I know I have gone completely off the track from what is started.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Beware Traffic Police is around the corner..

In our country the biggest problem which is eating the economy and spoiling minds of people is CORRUPTION.

Why & How people get Corrupt?

That's what i am trying to understand in my own way. I know about myself as one among the 1.2 billion who are living in the country named India.

Lets me start the analysis and root causing the reasons as far as i can interpret. I am also trying to understand why the Traffic Police happy with a quick money?

This thought about traffic police started bugging me since i was caught for the first time when i bought my new bike. It was in 2005 i was going to get my number plate painted and just before the shop the traffic constable stopped me for not having my number plate painted. I tried to convince him, already he was keen to make few quick bucks so i had to shell out Rs.100 without. He never gave me a challan for that. That was the first encounter with great Indian corrupt traffic constable. After this there were few encounters where i had to shell out bucks either for parking in no-parking area or because i didn't carry my pollution certificate. I reminded the traffic police about the rule (see the below new article) he never bothered to hear.


I gave a thought into all this about why traffic constables are happy taking monies,

1. They get job only after paying heavy bribes at the time of recruitment/selection.
2. They are one of the highly underpaid government employees. It is said their normal salary is about Rs.7,000 to 10,000.
3. They too have children and family whom they have to feed at the end of day. On one side the inflation rates are going up but the salaries are not increasing with the same proportion.
They too want their children to have a better education and knowing the condition of government schools no sane person will be have any intentions to send them there.
4. Leading to all these reasons we also need to understand how we as a society are also reason giving opportunities for them to continue to thrive on this corrupt act.
  • Why dont we carry all the documents like driving licence, insurance and pollution documents?
  • We try to explore new heights like driving after getting drunk.
  • We dont obey traffic rule/ nor many times we have the patience to wait at a signal when we dont see a traffic constable around the corner.
  • We knowingly park our vehicles in no parking zones.
  • When our vehicles are picked by police we dont want to run around the station so we pay the little bribe of 50 or 100 to get rid of the cop.
If we can mend our ways keeping these few things in mind than i am sure this will be our first step to towards fighting corruption. Few suggestions, if you want to get drunk than go to pub on a cycle, park it anywhere and dont worry about being caught for drunkard driving ha ha.

Next if the process of selection of traffic police is simpler with less number of bureaucratic involved than it will help reduce the amount of bribe to be paid. And to a large extent lot of bad blood flows with fresh new blood. So all the existing cops should be given VRS at one shot and a fresh new set of cops who are young energetic and haven't got the taste of corruption must be appointed. Also the option of service for stipulated time frame like a short service commission in Army must be explored. In that case many people will volunteer if the government supports these people in getting better opportunities after retirement. I am able to think as of now with these options.Left upto guys...

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Tuglaq's Kingdom

I am sure all of you must have heard/read about the ruler called Mohammad-bin-Tuglaq also known as Picchi(mad) Tuglaq. Let me say few things about him. He was one of the most interesting rulers who shifted the capital of Tuglaq Dynasty to Daulatabad. The intention was to have a better control over the Southern part of the country. At one point it believed that he wanted all the farmers to till the soil at night, and only night life was acceptable during his rein. This lead to his downfall and he lost the kingdom because of his interesting cranky decision.

Now coming to me, why i am talking about Tuglaq is because now a days even my day-to-day life is becoming like Tuglaq's kingdom. Since, 1 month my days are beginning at 10 PM. It first starts with an hour of cycling which is my early morning jogging and than a nice breakfast or in other words dinner for a normal person. After that catch up with updates of the world, and sometime around 3 AM go to sleep. Than comes most important part. I wake up have a quick bath and rush to job at around 11 AM. Finally, the life has totally changed to Tuglaq's Kingdom after joining shift job ha ha...