Its Sunday....Again

Sunday I woke up late. (Okay “as usual. I agree”….Dear reader let me complete the story. Please don’t interrupt. Store your comments for “The End”. Shall we start again?)

Sunday I woke up late. Made a coffee and took the newspaper. Then heard some weak noise and turned back. Its my toddler son. He has already woke up and shining. I gave a kiss and asked,

” Good Morning….. woke up so early? Did you have milk?”

He smiled and jumped towards me from his Mom’s hands. I took him and gave one more kiss. Then he started making some noise “Brrr…………brrr……” His mom translated it. “He wants to go to road and see vehicles”.

 “Arrey Wah!! Morning itself you want to go out”. I took him in hand and went for a small walk. He enjoyed the walk and was smiling and making noises. After coming back I tried to drink the left over coffee….shucks, its cold. Okay let me read the newspaper and get some hot news. No sooner did I open the paper, my son came from nowhere and started to tear the paper.

“He likes to read paper” my wife said with a grin.

“Very nice”. I folded the paper and kept it away from his reach. Will read it later.

Switched on the Television. Let me surf through news channels. In every regional news channel they were discussing about the political murder which had happened one month back,

“What is the big deal in this? In India every other day a political murder happens.” I said irritated.

“It seems some election is going to happen after 2 weeks. So till then they will play the same subject. Or they should get some other scandals…..” Wife replied back from Kitchen.

Okay then let me try national news channels. Oh! My God there in every channel they are discussing about illegitimate child of a septuagenarian political leader.

“Now what is this?” I was getting really mad.

“They will be playing this till Babuji comes out with Season 3 of anti corruption movement.” Wife replied with a smile.

Now tell me something, how the channels decide which news item to be shown or which to be omitted? Surely there is something to do with TRP ratings. Enough with the political dramas. Let me watch some movie. I changed the channel to a regional channel. They were playing some murder mystery. After 3 commercial breaks,my wife joined me.

She asked “ Hey. Isn’t this the movie in which the music teacher does all the murders?”

 I turned to my wife. Stared at her with full fury. “Thanks a lot. I haven’t seen this movie. Anyway you have revealed the suspense. Now I don’t have to sit till the end of the movie.”

“Oh you have not seen this movie? Its OK. Its not that good a movie.”

I nodded in agreement and changed the channel. In another channel they were playing a movie, which I have not seen.  I had missed when it was released in theatres. Due to some or other reason couldn’t watch it when it was shown in television. Anyway today am totally free. Let me watch it. I took some snacks. Gave some toys to my son to play with and sat relaxed in the sofa. Suddenly my mobile rang.

Oh! Its my boss.” Good morning boss. What happened? Anything urgent?”

“Hey am sorry to disturb you on Sunday. What’s your plan for the day?” He seems to be in hurry.

“Nothing much. A bit of TV. Lunch with family. That’s all”. I tried to sound normal.

“If you don’t mind, could you come to the restaurant near our office? I want to discuss something with you regarding our new project. We will have lunch together. You come, only if you are absolutely free. I felt if its Monday, we will be busy with the normal official chores. We cannot discuss it in a relaxed mode. If you want to spend time with your family, then its ok. We will meet on Monday”. He was bit hesitant in calling me on a Sunday.

“Its okay, am game.” I disconnected the phone.

I turned around and saw wife looking at me.

I told her” Boss called. Need to go to office”

“WHAT? But you promised to have lunch with us. Also that you will spend whole day with us”. She might have felt betrayed. I tried to pacify her, but it was no use. Gave my son a kiss and started off to office.

It is almost 10 miles drive from home. I thought I will put fuel in the car. At the fuel station a long queue of vehicles. It was a looonngg wait. Finally filled fuel and as soon as I got out of the station my mobile rang again. Its Boss, again.

“ Sir I am on the way. Another 10minutes I will be there.”

“Oh!! You have started? Sorry man. I got some other unavoidable appointment.  Can we postpone it to Monday? Really sorry man.” Boss is Boss, I said” No issue. I have just started that’s it . Will meet on Monday. See you.” I disconnected the phone and turned back to home. Anyway its good. I can have food with family. Wife will also be happy. I started feeling hungry. Tried to imagine what special dish she might have cooked. Can’t wait to reach home.

Reached home and when wife opened the door I said,” Surprise…..Am back.”

Wife seems to be bit upset.” You came back soon? What happened?”

“Meeting got cancelled.” I said with a grin.

“Oh!!! But why didn’t call me and inform that?” Wife is not going to leave me.

“ I thought I will see the smile on your face when you see me unexpected.”.

 She smiled” Very nice of you. But sorry there is no lunch for you”

Now what? ” What happened?” I asked.

“I had lunch after you left. Then while servant lady was about to leave I gave the left over to her. Thought we will have dinner outside.”

I stood there, not able to speak anything. Then suddenly my phone started to ring again.

It was my friend” Hey are you at home? Can we meet over dinner? I want to discuss something with you.”

I stood there holding my phone not knowing what to answer.

Sales Promotion

George seems to be desperate when I met him. He seems to be under tremendous pressure.

I asked “What happened Yaar? You seem to be under pressure”

He shook his head in agreement. “Yes man. You know the new product we had introduced in the market recently.  Sales are not happening as we expected. So I thought, I will meet you and do some brain storming on what to be done.”

“So what exactly you expect from my side?” I leaned forward in a listening position.

“Well, you just advice on what all sales promotion activities I should do?”

“Okay, Okay. Now tell me , do you know what all methods are there for sales promotion?” I enquired.

“Yes Yes. Coupons,  Price offer,  Exchange Offers, Loyalty Program,  Buy one get one free Free Samples I think these are some of the sales promotion activities.”  George said all these in one breath. Then took a sigh.

“Bingo!! They are. Now do you know where to and when to use each of these activities?” I threw a question.

“Not exactly.”

“Hmmm.  Coupons are used to attract new clients or developing customer loyalty. Its for a short term.” I said.

“Yes like the pizza coupons coming along with the newspapers”

“Exactly. Like that, the Price offer is for immediately boosting the sales volume and driving customer attention away from the competitor’s products. This has to be handled carefully. It should be for a short period and should not be repeated in immediate future”

“Like the Grand Diwali sale?”

I nodded” Yes.  You might be familiar with the exchange offer. In home appliances market they are using it very successfully. They take the old fridge or Television for an exchange price and give you new equipment at a lower price. The idea is to kill the competition even if the customer is using a competitor’s product. This way you create an artificial requirement in customer’s mind to get rid of the old product easily and buy a new one with new technology, in discounted rate. Even in telecom market or software market you can successfully implement this idea. Consider this example. The customer is using a competitor’s mobile or internet connection or a competitor’s software product and paid for the product for, say, one year. Give them an offer that they buy your package and get extra hours free. These free hours will be  equivalent to the time remaining with the competitor’s package.  Here both the customer and you will be in a win-win situation. For the customer, he need not wait till the package gets expire to go for your product. He won’t loss the money he had paid to the competitor. For you it’s a new customer. Another method is loyalty program. This can be used for increasing sales volume among the existing customers.”

“That I understand. I have seen the buy one get one free sale in textile showrooms.” George interrupted.

“Even you can use this scheme in any segment. Buy one expensive product and get a smaller one free. Like buy a TV and get the remote free. Or take one year internet connection from our company and get anti-virus free.”

“I have one more method to add in the list.” George said. I stared at him.” Money back offer”. He said dramatically.

“Of course. That’s the best way to bring in doubting Thomas in. Last one is free samples. You might have received free samples of shampoo, washing powder, coffee powder, etc. while purchasing various items from the market. Sometimes these free samples are also distributed by the shopkeeper even without purchasing any item from his shop. These are distributed to attract consumers to try out a new product and thereby create new customers. Some businessmen distribute samples among selected persons in order to popularize the product. For example, in the case of medicine free samples are distributed

among physicians”

“Thanks man.  Thanks for the detailing. We will have another sitting for deciding which the best promotion method is to start with for my product.”

“The pleasure is mine. Walk in whenever you want”. I went till the door to see off George.

NO…. the most beautiful word !!

For many of us NO means rejection, opportunity lost or even end of the world. Well, but not for everyone. Take example of Arun, the star sales man of the company. When someone says no, he sees an opportunity. For any sales call, on firsthand the customer says YES he feels there is something missing .Most of the times he will right. If the customer accepts the product or service from the first presentation itself, it means he has not understood the product well. Or, in rare cases very much aware and was just looking for someone t come and ask him to buy. In the first case once the sales closure is done, the client will start realizing the limitation of the product or service which he had just bought or he will start developing a feeling that for the particular product, the price he had given was a bit high. This will start developing as an irritation and slowly even minute mistakes will be seen as major flaws. On the other hand, if he was well versed with the product and aware of the average price, then there won’t be much problem to the sales man or support team.

Now take another instant where Arun had approached a client and he said NO on first place, Arun would have gone back and done homework on why the customer said NO. Is that the product is not good? Or whether the client needs more features? Is that the client is not confident about the company? May be he is in touch with another vendor and for a bargain he had said NO? Or worst case, doesn’t he actually needs the product? This homework will help Arun to pitch the product in a different way. By adding more features or addressing his queries in a satisfactory way Arun might be able to close the deal in a win-win situation. Every potential buyer will have lots of concerns before he places the order. Some, they raise directly, some other, indirectly. So its sales man’s duty to find out why he had said NO and address it, rather than getting dejected by a NO. When a sales man gets a NO from the customer, he can be sure, if the deal happens, it will be a genuine one and the prospect will be a strong point of reference for your services, in future. So take the NO in a positive way and start working around.

The Don

Like Billions of people around the world, The Godfather was, is, one of my favorite novels.

Reading and re-reading it, had left some strong messages in my life. There are lots of business lessons in this small book.

  1.    Its not personal, its business (Tom Hagen to Sunny)

It’s a real big lesson. Nobody is above business or company. No one is indispensable. If your attitude, your ego or long term association makes you feel that without you nothing happens, the system will chuck you off. While taking hard decisions for business, don’t feel weak. “Because it is not personal, its business”.

2.     Never tell anyone outside the family what you are thinking (Don Colreone to Sunny)

Lately I was having a discussion with one of my friends, who run a company. He was emphasizing the importance of wearing a mask. A mask which covers your feelings, emotions, thoughts and plans. He was right in a way. As a businessman/ business woman you should not let your competitor have a faint idea of what you are going to do next. For Don it is his or his men’s life at stake and for you, your business.

3.     Offer that cannot be refused (Micheal to Kay Adams)

 Don makes an offer that cannot be refused. Even though it’s a threat, in real life if you are able to make an offer that cannot be refused, you will be the king. For that, Like Don, you need to study your prospect to the core. Find out what is his/her weak point or pain area. Hit it hard. The deal will be yours.

4.     Never hate your enemies, it will affect your judgment (Don Corleone)

This is the most common mistake marketing and sales people often make. If a competitor offers a product/ service at a lesser price, it is common for a sales person to shrug it off as “Nobody can offer it at this rate. If someone offers, it means there is something fishy in it.”  He/she won’t study the proposal carefully or try to understand how the competitor is able to afford it in a lower price. Try to adapt the system if you find it money saving and pass on the benefit to the customer.

5.     Never get angry, never make a threat, reason with people (Don)

When you deal with vendors, customer or employees make sure you never get angry. Rather you should start persuading people to carry out the plan.

6.     Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”– Michael to Pentangeli

Constant update on market is the key of business success. You should constantly watch what your competitors are doing and think how to improve your services so that you can beat competition. If you are not aware about your competitive products, you are sure to bump in the market.

Angels and Demons

This is one mystery-thriller from Dan Brown. Published by Pocket Books. In this book Dan Brown introduces Harward symbologist Robert Langdon. He is the central character in the two other following novels by Dan Brown.

The plot revovles around the legendery secret society Illuminati. A murder happens at CERN and its director calls up Robert to solve the ambigram seen on the dead body. It turns out to be the ambigram by Illuminati. From there the story begins. It describes the things happening in next 24 hours. Dan had tried really hard in narrating the story in very fast pace, suiting the present generation without making it boring. Langdon further goes to Rome where Pope is recently dead and Preferiti is assembled there to elect the next Pope. One side papal election is going on and on other side Langdon’s investigation is getting intense. To add spice to the dish there is a nuke bomb which is set to explode in next 24 hours. Langdon has to find out the Illuminati, find the location of the bomb and destroy it. Sounds like a computer game?

Dan Brown has said the story convincingly. The pace at which the sotry goes is terrific. To add masala he has included the inside story of Papal election and internal politics in Vatican. As a trend he would follow in the following books to come, he has mention some old digniteries, artists and sculpturers from past in the list of the members of the secret society. Finaly with the help of a lady scientist who happened to be the step daughter of the murdered scientist at CERN, Langdon finds out the culprit.

The book was made into a major movie with Tom Hanks in the lead role. It surely has got some hard criticism from the church. But we should treat a thriller as thriller. Not as a document on history.

Get Prepared for a Presentation

There is an old saying “A good start is half done.” It is very much true about presentations, whether sales or internal. It is equally important the preparation for a good start. Ever felt your heart beat going up before a presentation? Felt nervous? Well even the world famous presenters had admitted feeling same. The key is to be prepared for the event. Dressing up formally boost your confidence. Be sure that you are present at the presentation hall well before the proposed time of the event. Set the projector or other equipments ready at least 10 minutes before the decided time. Make sure everything is working properly and make ready the ppt .


Now it is show time. Take a deep breath, look into the eyes of audience, smile, hold head high and shoot. May be you can start a long presentation with a light incident or a story. Idea is to grab attention in the first 30secs. If you are not able to raise audience curiosity within 30 secs you are lost. Greet the audience, introduce yourself (if your presentation is outside your office) and give a brief idea of points you are going to speak or purpose of it. Then the crowd is clear about what you are going to speak in next few minutes. Everyone will be anticipating some benefit for themselves from what you are going to say. Everyone’s time is precious. So risk factor is that if you don’t have anything to arouse your curiosity you will lose the game in first “OVER” itself.
Voice modulation is the key to success of any presentation. You should know when to raise the voice, when to lower etc. The voice has to be very clear.


Not too loud either. Even you won’t appreciate someone shouting at you. If possible prepare for the first 2 minutes of the presentation and it is advisable that you learn by heart the first 2 minutes. Use of jesters is very effective in bringing back audience attention .It avoids monotony also. Make sure that you mention in the beginning itself you will give time after the presentation for any doubts. Once you are through the first few minutes you will be confident to carry it forward. Remember practice makes you perfect. Go ahead hit the target.

Agastyarkoodam-God's seat

The first thing you notice in the forest is the deafening silence.





When I got a chance to apply for pass from forest department for trekking to Agasthyarkoodam I was excited. It was like a dream come true. Long time wish, now accomplishing. We planned for the trip. Five of us. Praveen, Manu , Sareesh, Subhag and yours sincerely. The forest dept. officials had advised us to start as early as possible. The reason, you have to start trekking before sun tires you out with his hot blessings.


The journey:
We started from Thiruvananthapuram by 5-45am. Once we reached Bonnacaud we asked for Forest entry point. There was virtually no road. A county road with full of rocks and no tarring leads to the forest. If you travel by small cars, you need to be careful while driving. Throughout the 2kms stretch the base of the car will be hitting the ground.
There was a warm welcome at the forest entry point from forest dept officials. There was a crowd over there waiting to start their trekking. Officials were calling out their names from the passes they had submitted and verifying the id card. Some were getting signatures from tourists and pilgrims(there is a small temple on the top of the peak) .They asked us to wait since the crowd was big (100 passes will be issued for one day and that too in advance). We decided to have breakfast meanwhile and get the lunch packed from the small canteen there. The food was simple . We checked our supplies once again. Went through the customary requirements. The forest officials checked our bags for weapons, liquor etc. Then allowed us to start trekking from the base camp by 10am. The distance to be covered was 22kms to reach the Adimala (Pongala para) camp.

We trekked almost 2kms when we saw a small shelter made of hay and tarpaulin. There was a trench almost 5 feet deep and one foot wide. Subhag asked the guide “ Why you dig this big trench?” The guard said there was a menace of wild elephants. As a precaution they had made it. Everyone started looking at each other. Man, we need to keep going, was the message. The trekking was tiresome but exciting. The forest took us to some other world. We were actually breathing fresh air. Drinking pure water from streams, cold and tasty. It was like being in union with the nature. A wonderful experience.



There were totally four notable water falls on the way. You have to walk through the falls to continue your journey. There were people taking bath at the last falls was are bigger than other three falls.


It was 1-30pm and we decided to have lunch there and enjoy the falls for a while. Even the guide reminded us the next 4.5kms stretch was steep hills. We needed to regain our strength before climbing. Upon your luck you can see wild hogs, elephant, monkeys, birds etc. The entire area is a heaven of medicinal herbs. The air there itself is believed to have medicinal effect. The falls is called Attayar meaning “the leach river”. Sure you will find lots of leaches there. You can get rid of them if you sprinkle common salt on them.

Started from there by 2-30pm. The last 4kms walk was really grueling experience. Man, I literally panted. Praveen feeling sorry about me stayed back with me keeping to my pace. Others moved on with their speed. It was deep forest. Only colour you will see is Green. But as time goes on it will get darker.

Inside forest it will get dark very fast. So before 5pm you have to reach your destination. For concrete jungle animals like us in broad daylight itself it was very difficult to find the way. Can’t imagine what will happen once it is dark. Above all there was a threat of rain.

There were lots of butterflies on the way. The scenery was something you won’t see even in movies. Exquisite.









We reached the Adimala camp by 4-30pm. Dead tired.Once we reached there first thing we did was having a black tea. The hot man made drink after a long trek through dense forest. We felt like in heaven










Route:
Thiruvananthapuram to Nedumangadu through Perurkkada and Karakulam. From there take the straight road towards Thullimanoor. From Thullimanoor take a right towards Vithura. Once you reach Vithura you will see a road going to right side which takes you to Thayiodu . Bonnacaud road is towards right from Thayiodu. Once you reach Bonnacaud ask for forest entry point. Its only 2kms away.
Distance:-
Thiruvananthapuram =>Thullimanoor - 18kms
Thullimanoor=> Vithura - 12kms
Vithura => Bonnacaud – 20kms
Bonnacaud => Forest Entry 2kms
Things to be remembered:-
• Plan for 3 days trip
• Last 6kms stretch to Agasthyarkoodam will be really tiring
• While trekking you should only sip water in small quantity. Don’t drink too much.
• Eat light food
• Avoid sweet, sour and hot tasted food
• Take glucose in very small quantity to avoid muscular cramps
• No liquor or cigarettes allowed
• Order food in advance at the base camp and at Adimala camp.
• Avoid travelling by late evening
• Always keep a guide with you. he can suggest alternate paths if some animals are on the way
• Don’t use perfumes or flashy coloured dress
• Don’t shout or talk in high voice
• Don’t drink juice or Cola while trekking. Only plain water
• Last petrol pump ,puncture shop and hospital at Vithura
• Keep only minimum fuel while you go for trekking
• Keep a steppini tyre
• Water
• Snacks
• glucose
• Bedsheet
• towel
• 1 pair of clothes for changing
• trekking boots
• essential medicines, plasters or band aid .remember a hospital is the last thing you can find in deep jungle
• camera with battery back-up
• id card

First Day @ Cadmium

When I got the offer letter from Cadmium Technologies& Solutions Pvt Ltd I recalled I have heard this name before. Some where else. Some other context. Even some of my friends and family members who are working with different industries also felt the same.But quite uncanny for a growing organization.
I decided to ask St.Google for answers. Wikipeadia gave one answer: >“Cadmium ( /ˈkædmiəm/ KAD-mee-əm) is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. The soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other metals in group 12, zinc and mercury”. It also said:
” The most dangerous form of occupational exposure to cadmium is inhalation of fine dust and fumes, or ingestion of highly soluble cadmium compounds.[4] Inhalation of cadmium-containing fumes can result initially in metal fume fever but may progress to chemical pneumonitis, pulmonary edema, and death.[33]
Cadmium is also a potential environmental hazard. Human exposures to environmental cadmium are primarily the result of fossil fuel combustion, phosphate fertilizers, natural sources, iron and steel production, cement production and related activities, nonferrous metals production, and municipal solid waste incineration.”em>My wife came behind me looking at my laptop asked what I am searching.
I told “ The new company am going to join.”
“Okay !!” She started reading about Cadmium.
With a horrified face she asked “ Are you really going to join these people” .
“Yeah! I met coupla guys there. I think they are cool.” I tried to pacify her. But same time something was going in my mind also. “ Kind of name”. I said with a sigh. I decied to give it call. Lets see how it turns out to be.
First day it was fun. My train reached station by 7-15. It was 20mts late. My reporting time was 7-30. I literally ran to my office from station. I reached the office full sweating and panting. Everyone stared at me with a face who the heck is thi,s looking so terrible in the morning. I ignored stares and exchanged pleasantries with Praveen. Then the morning ritual called “The 7-30 Meeting” started. I watched curiously. People came towards a big white board and told what they are going to do that day. Then they wrote it on the board. Interesting..hmm…. After that the customary introduction began. Well, the guys seemed to be okay. They started reciting their names. Arun, Subin, Sujith,Das…..
Then Praveen told “ You will be briefed about the product by Ria”.
“Okay. Cool”
Ria came. She seemed to be a little hurry” The presentation went in superfast mode. With full zeal and zest. I finally told. “Let’s stop it for the time being. Once I start interacting with the clients we will sit again. That time with more doubts”
She said” Okay” and she vanished.
Later I came to know that we got another room at the level (-1). Ria, Mausumi, Arun, Manu , KP etc sat there. Its 9am and I was feeling the fire in my stomach. People were disappearing for a while and they appeared back. Later Anusha came and asked.
“You had your breakfast?”
I said, “No’.
“Okay. You can have it outside” and she suggested a nearby restaurant.
I came out of the office and found this lovely place called Café Planet. It gives a beautiful view through the open space. Beautifully designed restaurant. Nice service. I came back for lunch also from the same place. Costly, but good.
Then Nishanth came in. With his full hearted smile. He also tried to make me at ease. Post lunch there was a session with Praveen and then one with Anusha. By 4pm the cab came. They offered a ride to the station.

Slowly I started to jell in with the team. They also accepted me. Now almost 4 months down the lane sitting at my cubicle as one among them. Wondering how time has flown.

Better your work Habits

Have you ever felt that you are a wrong guy on a wrong boat? It is high time you give a call on it. The basic necessity for making a job interesting is to love your work. Check out these factors:
Everyone has his/her own skill set. Some will be good in coding some will be good in documentation. There will people with a passion for testing. Recognize your skill set. Go for it.
It very important to know what special knowledge you have. Improvising oneself is the key to success. Whether a programmer, an actor, a businessman whoever it is without improvisation and improving your knowledge you cannot survive in these Corporate Jungles. Personality development and better technical knowhow will be the key decisive factors deciding your career when you apply for a better post. Whether its inside the organization or outside.
Next thing you have to take a look is what kind of people you want to work with. The kind of work culture a company is promoting is as important as the domain they are working. For example someone is happy with a relaxed environment where responsibilities are given not targets. Some other will be a better performer with a rigid work target. So while you choose your company, choose it wisely.
Now tell me whether you prefer a company with a compassionate emotional approach or a practical corporate approach. Both has its own merits and demerits. The key factor is how you use the time inside your office. What is the output you will be giving?
No pain no gain. Always ask yourself how much additional responsibilities you are willing to accept. There won’t be a career growth until unless you start taking more and more responsibilities. Taking more responsibilities doesn’t means taking lot of dishes into your plate and not able to eat it. More responsibility calls for more time and justification of all the duties entrusted on you.
In a job always see how you can balance your professional life and personal life. A good balance between both will make you life Happy. Injustice to any one of them will make your life miserable. See to it you are investing “Quality” time for both. Doing office work at home and engaging in personal activities during office hours are both unadvisable.
Enjoy your work. Start building better work habits. Enjoy life

The Show

Backstage
It was a cold and drowsy morning. Rain Gods were at their most furious mood. As usual bugsy came late to the office. “Hi dear. Good Morning” he gave me a bear hug. My vision blurred. I started sweating. Stars seem to circle me. I started counting 1, 2,3,…. “ Goo..dd.. Morn..ing, Goo..d Mo..rning” I shouted back.
Opened my laptop once I regained myself. “Today’s meetings.” The name of the MNC appeared on the screen . For quite a long time I was trying to get an appointment with MNC Nair. 16 times had been to his office to meet his PA regarding the appointment .Despite all the visits and numerous phone calls made nothing fruitful came. Every time she gave an excuse for postponing the appointment. Once she said he had been to Kathmandu and will be back in one week time. But in real he was at Kattakkada , a local place.
Anyway today am not going to leave him. Took the land phone from next cubicle, kept it in front of me and started dialing. As soon as I started dialing I heard a loud cry “Ayyooo”. My colleague had tripped over the phone cable. I said my apologies and started calling again. Luckily this time I got him and he asked to come and meet by 11am.
Rehersal
Opened the latest presentation I had made. Made some corrections. Yeah, now its perfect. “Great!” I told myself.
“You said something?” It’s the team lead from other department.
“Yes. The first over you bowled in the last cricket match was, Great!” I told with a smile. He smiled back and thanked me.
Went to the wash room checked my attire, polished my shoes once more.
“Good. Now you are ready for the show” told myself. Came back to the cubicle studied the presentation once again.
Act 1
The girl at the reception welcomed me with a smile.
“I got an appointment with Mr.MNC Nair” I told her.
“Please wait.” She tried some phone and told “Sir, MD’s no: is engaged. “
I said, “O.K. I’ll wait”
It’s a good office with expensive furniture. Pulled out a magazine and started reading. After finishing 2 articles I realized its more than 10 minutes. I asked the receptionist to try again. She told some internal meeting is going on. So it will take 10minutes more.
“OK fine I will wait” I had no other go.
Meanwhile I started calling other clients and colleagues. It should have been half an hour when I asked her, “ What happened? Sir is still busy?” She started dialing the number.” If its getting too late I’ll take my leave. Will come back again once he’s free” I told her as she was making the call.
“Sir told to wait just 10 minutes more”. She told apologetically. My other schedules are getting affected. Even though I came by 10-50 am he has not called me in. Started dialing other clients for rescheduling the meetings. Some told no we are going out so we’ll meet tomorrow. Means I have to go through all the custom of calling that client and his/her office for appointment. I start becoming impatient. It is almost 12. I stood up.
“I think sir is busy today. I’ll call him and come back tomorrow. Now am late for another meeting.” This time receptionist asked me to wait 1 minute and called him again. Mumbled something over the phone. She raised her head and told “Sir you can go inside now.”
Act 2
“Good Morning sir. ” I said with a grin. He seemed to be too busy with some work in the computer. I
Sat down as he shown the chair. It’s a nice office, well maintained. I slowly opened my laptop and started to give presentation. It went well and as it progressed he started showing more and more interest. I concluded the presentation and looked at him.
“See boss your product is good. But am not sure how my people will use it. They are not technically sound and won’t appreciate anything new. “ He started talking as he leaned back to the chair.
“ What you can do is send a commercial proposal for this and we’ll meet again. “ He started staring at me as he explained. I looked him with utmost interest. He is the customer. Customer is king.
“I had been to Malaysia last week. There they were using something like this. 2 months ago I was at China. There I had asked them to design something like this. Am happy that someone from India has made this.
“ Sir if you were that keen. Why can’t we implement it tomorrow itself.”
“No, no, no… What I meant to say is I want this product. But my budget for next one year has been fixed. I can’t change that. My Accounts Head won’t allow that.” I had met his accounts head earlier. One old gun with no enthusiasm. His main job was to say Yes boss. In my farthest dream I won’t believe he will make any suggestions on anything. Above that his boss won’t listen to him on any advice. Kept persuading him on different points. But he’s not agreeing for a closure.
“ Ok sir. I will send proposal. You please discuss with your Accounts head.” I started winding up the meeting .Its almost 1 hour. “Once you see that we’ll sit for negotiation and finalize”.
After bidding good bye I came out. Receptionist was there with a smile.
“ How did it go Sir?” she asked.
“ It was good. He is interested”. I said hiding my disappointment.
“ As you went inside itself I knew he won’t agree. He had told that to me. Today it was his grandmothers death anniversary. He won’t sign any new deal this week. Its bad omen for him. First I thought I will tell you this. Then on second thought I didn’t want to discourage you.” I started feeling a shiver as she finished the last sentence. I felt like lifting the monitor before he and hitting on her head.” Then why the heck you didn’t tell me early. I would have saved my 3 hours and done some other useful calls.” I felt like shouting at her.
Instead I composed myself and told her.” Oh! Really? My bad luck. Let me try to meet him next week. Thank you”. Saying this came out and relaxed. Took the phone. Dialed the next number

A Business deal

It was quite a tiresome journey to that coastal village near border. The company has asked me to personally visit the client and close the deal. The team down there was trying to get him in. But because of one or other reason it has been lingering for a long time. Finally we decided I will go for the kill. The guy is worth a fortune. It can be the best region for the company, businesswise, if we can wrap him in.

He greeted me with a warm smile. It was 3 hour long discussions after that. Finally we signed the Memorandum of Understanding. It was a bigger deal than what we had been planning for. I congratulated myself. After all, in my eyes, am the best. He invited me for a drink after formalities. He said” Sir it is customary here that we will have a drink together whenever we get into a new relation.” Ok let me not break the custom, Customer’s wish is a command.

“Sir everyone has seen me as a rich and successful businessman. But nobody knows the hard path I came through”. He said filling the glass for the fourth time. I was carefully listening to him with my drink in my hand for a long time. Its good to be a good listener. It pays.

“At the age of 15 Ieft home. My dad used to drink heavily and beat my mother and me severely. One day I decided enough. Now I won’t take this. Wandered a lot and finally reached this place. Here I got a job as assisstant to the driver of a truck. I had to wash the truck, get food and liquor for the driver, and do whatever job the driver asks me to do. In return on free time he will teach me driving.”
His servant boy came with a bowl full of dry fruits. He gave a half smile to me and left.

“By one year I became an expert driver.” Oh! God! He’s not finished yet with his story. I adjusted my sitting posture and made a feel in my face that am keenly listening to what he was saying. The sun has sunk in the horizon giving a great look. Smooth warm sea breeze added a majestic feel to the evening.

“Great sir. Still you drive vehicles?”

“Not that much. After a By-pass surgery I stopped driving.” He said and summoned his boy to get some more ice cubes.” Then I started smuggling spirit across the border. One day I was coming in a car, crossing the border. There were several cans of pure spirit in that car. I was fully tight with one full bottle of local rum. You know without spirit inside you, you cannot do these things. Suddenly I saw couple of Police vehicles behind me. They after me.” Now I was listening carefully.

“It was cat and mouse game for a long time. Finally when they reached too close I slammed the vehicle against a compound wall and started running. Running for my life, because I knew if they catch me it will by my end . At last I ran into a small house. Only one elderly lady was there. I fell on her feet requesting her don’t show me to the police. ” He stopped narration and sat looking into the distant sea for some time. His face became more tensed may be by the emotional hic up that the memories of old frightening days brought.

I sat there just looking at him carefully , watching different emotions passing by his face.

“ The police came to that house also , but the lady didn’t cheat me. In this game without an informer Police will never come to know about the smuggling vehicles. The informer invariantly will be an insider. For money or for revenge they turn against you. Sitting in the old lady’s attic I took 2 oaths.1) I’ll stop this business and go to some other state. 2) I’ll kill whoever has cheated me. Following days I fulfilled both the oaths.”

“You mean you killed the traitor?” I couldn’t stop asking.

He just nodded.” Then I went to other state. I did so many jobs. Finally ended up as a porn actor. There I made so much money. But that money didn’t stay with me. I tell you one thing, what ever money you make in that field at the end that money won’t be with you. I got jailed for the illegal porn business. There the biggest torture was they won’t give you food. You will go mad without food. If you can bribe an officer heavily he will arrange some food. But that was not at all suffient any time. Then I decided to take all my earnings and come back home . Here I started my current business and now as they say rest is history.”
Hmm..quite an interesting story. I was thinking of its potential to make into a bollywood movie.

“ You know something. They say behind every successful man there will be a woman. But I believe behind every successful businessman there will be a crime or many crimes."

I nodded in agreement and just swallowed those words with the remaining drink thinking why he was telling me all these things, may be he is feeling guilty of his past life and he wants to confess to someone to ease his mind. Eveyone's closet will have dirty linen like this. It is how fast you excrete those from your mind and move ahead determines the success of your life. Excretions, mental or physical has to be done regularly or it will make you sick. Now time to move ahead to new location for a new story. Let me say goodbye to this chap and start my journey.

Live Your Lives

Lately two Hindi movies have caught my attention; Rock On!! and 3Idiots(Inspired from five point someone).The reason behind is that both the movies had characters who wanted to do something in life and ended up doing something else which their family wanted them to do. But they finds out their actual goal of life and starts pursuing their goals. That was something new to me someone who grew up in an orthodox society at Kerala in the Southern tip of India. There society or family tells you what you should do. Options are limited. There is no go back. Doctor, Nurse, Engineer or Govt. Service. Exceptional case is jobs at “Gelf” ( what they call middle east countries) .These jobs have acceptance and respect. For others, society watches them either with sympathy or ridicule. So many times I had faced a question “O.K. Your brother in law is a cartoonist. What he does for a living?”. Means they don't consider cartoning as a serious profession. I myself had envied my cousin who does Salsa dancing and Theater along with her studies with full heart. In my academic days doing anything other than the studies of course material is a Taboo. You are allowed till high school to dance or paint or play cricket. After that it is strictly No No.
The immediate trigger for writing this article is the meeting with my close friend .We used to be best buddies during our college days. In our Engineering College he had lots of fans, especially the ones from other gender, because of his talent in dancing. Once he gets on the floor he would be like a wooden house on fire. Every moment he enjoyed. But as the time passed on he kept aside his passion and now leading life with a water treatment company. I doubt if he can dance for even five minutes now.In my immediate friends circle itself there is only a few people who actually chased their dreams; an MCA graduate who took career in singing, an Architect who started a new career as a film actor……

What happened to others including yours sincerely? We listened to our wicked mind rather than our innerself. The mind along with Intellect shooed us away from doing what we liked to do. Had we listened to our innerself and acted accordingly lots of souls would have been leading better lives. Very often I had heard the answer” am doing this job good and am happy with this” followed by a sad sigh.Meaning they are actually not happy with their career, life...

I had asked some of them “Well you are doing something that you doesn’t like from inside. Would you allow your sons , daughters follow their dreams?” They will think for a while and say

“No. We don’t want our sons or daughters go after their dreams”.

“Why?”

“Its risky. Even though we are not happy with our lives at least we are taking home fat salaries. Similarly if they take the PRACTICAL way and do some Professional course they can also lead richer lives, monetarily.”

So again am confused. What is the goal of our lives? Making money? doing what we feel good to do? or making money doing what we feel to do?

My Xanthippe has a dream, she wants to make lots of money first and dedicate live for doing charity. “Why you want to make money first?”

“It will ensure our future.”

“But by the time we make enough money if we two become old and is not able to actively do what we wanted to do?” I looked at her curiously posing this question. She had no answer.

Life is short and uncertain. Nobody knows what will happen the next moment. You might die, you might get imprisoned, you might get paralyzed also. What is point in thinking I should have lead my life meaningfully and to the fullest when you are about to die or you are lying in your bed paralysed. Do what ever you wants do NOW. Because there is no tomorrow. You dedicate every minute, every second to your passion. Let you be in any job draw a parallel line and give atleast half of your time for what you love to do. Life is not for one who regret and keeps sighing. If you regret or remorse for the days lost even a single time in your life, you are the biggest loser . Live happily, even if you have to die next moment die happy. Make everyone around you happy. That’s how you can make your life meaningful.

Guys

It was a long overnight journey from kollam to palakkad by train. I was traveling to Pondicherry. From Palakkad I boarded an early morning bus to Thiruppur. The conductor asked me to get down at middway at Coimbatore and board another bus to avoid time delay. They will be having a halt for 15 minutes there. I was confused; should I get down and get another bus or wait in the same bus. Anyway let the bus reach Coimbatore. Then I will decide.

The guy in the front seat turned back and asked help to open the bus window. I helped him and he thanked me.

He asked “where you are going?”

“Thirupur”. I answered casually. Was trying to study that guy. He’s a young chap with a baby’s innocent face. A chikna amul baby.He told that he completed Ayurveda medicine course and now doing internship at their med school at Thirupur. There was a feminine trace in his voice and body language which I was observing curiosly.

“Whats your name?” He asked

“Krishna.” I replied in a stren voice.

“Hmmm Krishna. Are you like Lord Krishna. Do you have so many girl friends?” He started giggling.

“What? No.I don't have anyone am married .” He again giggled at my answer.

“You look very smart”. He told. Yes defenitly this guy have got some problem.

“Where do you belongs to?” Just for conversation sake I asked him.

“Calicut”. Again a chuckle. I smiled and shook my head as I understood everything. Calicut has got a bad name that there are lot of gays overt here. Is he a…..? No it must be my bad judgment. We cannot generalize people. If there are some incidents like that happened to my friends in my college days doesn’t mean that this guy’s sexual orientation is wrong. e Those days even my close friend Tiger had a bad experience. He was the macho man in the college. He was coming back from Calicutby bus and one person approached him and tried to seduce him. The way Tiger handled him was famous story among our friends. The guy had got trashing in such a way that he was not able to walk properly for another week.

“So how many girl friends do you have?” I asked with a smile.

“I don’t have any girl friend. All my friends are boys only”. He giggled again. This was irritating me for a while. I tried to close my eyes and pretend sleeping. But suddenly the bus stopped with a big sound. OK the driver had put sudden break, nothing to fear.

“ Why can’t you come to my seat.? We can talk and enjoy the journey.” He’s not going to leave me. Man this guy is going to be a pain in my neck.”Or else I will come to your seat.”

“No.” My answer was a bit loud. Nearby by passengers just turned their heads towards me.” I mean I want to get some sleep. Couldn’t sleep properly at night.” . I said in a lower voice trying to be calm.

“OK. Are you going to stay at Thirupur tonight. If you want you can stay at my hostel. Guests are permitted there.”

What the hell? I just looked at him for a while.

“Look boss I don’t want to stay there. And further I always try to keep a distance with strangers.” My answer made him a little sad.

“I didn’t mean anything. I was just trying to help you. You told you are going there for official meeting. Thought I will help you in a new city. That’s it.”

“Ok thanks for being so kind . But I fear I must refuse your offer.”
By that time the bus reached Coimbatore bus stand. I got off the bus without him noticing me and took another bus. I just sat relaxed. What all kind of people we have to meet in daily life. Some time it is too difficult to avoid these people. However you try to avoid them that much they try to make a contact with you.

The bus started moving. A dark middle aged man came and sat next to me. He smiled at me and I smiled back.

“Whats your name?” He asked putting his land on my lap.” You look smart.”