The Corporate Gossip!

It has been quite some time that I wrote something, then all of sudden I realized how come I missed writing about the things that I put myself through at workplace. And, ergo gossiping about the gossip!

6 months into this alien (corporate) land, I have witnessed people from being a modest, subtle, chaste to being contentious, selfish, boot lickerish. It’s like working with a bunch of chameleons, and sooner or later you are bound to become one. The first day of my office I still remember my mom said” Never utter a damn word, be all ears all the time”. (Mothers I thought) as it turns out she was right to every bit of it.

 

What would all the dog do when 10 dogs bark in front of him, sure as hell he will bark for all he knows he doesn’t want himself to be left out, call it social outcast perhaps. And, the next thing he knows he has just hammered the last nail in his coffin. One shall elevate the very intentions of you to the senior and the next thing you know you are in your manager’s cross-hair and by the time you realize- You are triggered, not fair but square!

Every story has 2 sides is what they say, but in corporate genre you have myriad stories all liberated from a single one and none of those; not even one stays remotely close to the raw one, it is like "Creativity @ Peaks!"

Most of what one utters, falls on deaf ears, had they been functioning then the real story would have made buzz not the one that’s fabricated like- 100 times?! One doesn’t quite mind his own business, for all we know- we humans are gifted with a nose.

You grab a cup of coffee with a colleague of ours your ears are blessed with his version of the story you go for lunch you hear a whole different story from another colleague and go for dinner- hell breaks loose!  It is so hard to cajole ones heart, portraying others are bad for all you know you don’t know a damn thing about what the reality is. Reality lies way below and is piled upon by the creativity!

Being dialectical, sorting out the melange of emotions that people pour out seems a conundrum that is hard to crack.  No matter how hard one tries to evade the scene, they get to you hard and quick. The gossip is so contagious that one can’t keep away from it; and everyone wants a piece of the crap!

Sooner or later one slogs his ass only to save it from being kicked (harder). It so happens at times that you get to pay the bet that you have not even agreed to, things spread like a wild inferno setting ablaze all the reality and truth. 

One need not have to put himself through the tough task of eavesdropping, wait for the moment, it shall come and your ears shall be blessed  by the gossip and crave for help!

Adios! *Elated*

Arrivederci 2012, Aloha 2013!

Here I am scripting the very first post of 2013, and that implies “Suck it Mayans”! 2012 has been a year in which life has taught me one too many lessons and each lesson was new and different from one another. I have seen life take steep twists and turns and yet offering something to rejoice at the end of the day.

It was the year that saw the end of my wait for 4 excruciatingly long years to call myself a “graduate”. That was one hell of a ride, I miss the college days at times but, I have learnt to let go of things and move on. 

It was the year that exposed me to the corporate world, working for the largest gaming company is the best thing that happened to me last year! Moreover, I have always heard about the fact that “there is no better feeling in spending what you earn” from my Dad, but this year bought reality to it. And, all the myths I have heard about the perils of corporate world bust one after the other.

It was the year I grew more stronger mentally and why fake it physically too! People have made me realize about the various facts about me that for these many years I was blind to see. Now, that I know them I feel proud about myself.

It was the year I saw my Facebook profile picture rake likes and comments in double digits, it was like a social dream come true. I gave up on this but, a new hope is now kindled in me. *Tears of Joy*

I have had the most abysmal record as far as adhering to resolutions is concerned but, it is fun to make some and sooner or later forfeit them. So, here they are:

*Drum roll*

• Write more often don’t let the blog go in to a dry spell. 
• Read all the books in my shelf, and also all the books (apart from the ones already read) written by John Grisham till date.
• Try to gain more likes and comments for my Facebook profile picture, and this time triple digits! *semi-colon parenthesis*

Well, that’s about it, these don’t seem hard enough to adhere to! I also thought about sticking to a fitness regime and ergo lose weight. But then there is no point in dwelling about a helpless cause when you know you can do nothing about it. J

Though I snatch away many memories from the year 2K12, I’m glad it is over, for all I know 2K13 has something better in store for me. Dwelling in the past only makes one realize that though it seems familiar, it has nothing to offer. 

Adios!

 

Pen Is Mightier Than Sword! Or is it?

Well, I have been on a non-intentional hiatus from writing for quite some time, for the fact that I have been in the afterglow of the corporate life, where you sleep, eat, party, go shopping and then sleep again....and to be honest it feels great! J

 

I have been pondering on this very thought for quite some time, recently a colleague of mine happened to ask me “if I could lend him a pen”, and I with utmost pride said “who carries a pen these days!”  Well, as it turns out I was right- who carries a pen these days? People have so evolved with the technology that one can literally make a note of anything in his mobile phone, and save it forever. People tend to carry everything with them which is remotely of use, but are indolent to carry a mere pen!

Long gone are the days when one picked up a pen and wrote something for a real purpose, I sometimes wonder how could one evolve so much? We (as most of us are) as graduates hardly consider writing something during their graduation except during the exams, when we script something sensational, something out of the box!

Where are those days when people wrote letters, when pen was considered the most influential weapon that could liberate any human’s wildest feelings when the nib of it touched the very layer of a paper? Long gone or those days when people considered a pen to be mightier than a sword, that it could silence the mighty mouths of people with utmost poignancy. I don’t quite remember when was the last time I held a pen, except fondling my hair with it, let alone writing something with it.

It sometimes is so hard to believe that we have out grown ourselves in myriad ways, the first thing we learn to do after we are born is to write, and we learn this even before we learn to realize the fact that we pooped in the same diaper twice! And, look at us now, the former is completely forgotten!

Imagine a world without pens, people would probably scribble everything in the air and just pretend that they have made a note of it. No more signatures, they might as well carry a digital sign in their mobile phones! Exams would be taken orally, and yeah “doctors you no longer have to be ashamed of your handwriting and you no longer have to be terrified of the mocking that would follow after a patient reads your ‘you-can’t-understand’ prescription.” 

I so miss those days when my dad wrote letters to me when he was transferred somewhere else. Going through those letters makes me realize that our generation has been missing something very beautiful. Now, we have emails, texting, facebook, and what not thanks to the technology again. Everything that has to be noted these days is noted in the most technological way possible, and corporate life hampers usage of pen and paper in the most decisive manner, thanks to mobile phones, tablets, and laptops.

Pen these days is held to scribble crap, scribble our signature over hundred times all over a book, and if it happens to be held for writing something- then what has been written is not worth the pen. 

I so believe that the day is not so far when people would probably kill each other with pens! In that context, ironically, pen is mightier than sword!

P.S: The current article is scripted on a laptop; despite there was no serious intention in doing so!

The Show Must Go On!

He woke up to daily dose of his father’s anger.  He knew there was no way he could get off the bed, before his father lost his cool every day.  Angry, and frustrated by his father for depriving him of the “15 minutes” before he could complete 12 hours of sleep, he slowly and reluctantly mustered the courage to let the blankets go off his body.

Alok always knew neither he could never live up to his father’s high expectations as far as his academics were concerned nor could he ever accomplish what his father has accomplished against all odds. Alok never really had the courage to look up to his father and ask for what he wanted; his mom came to his rescue all the time!

“Don’t you have any studying to do apart from watching movies all the time?” asked Alok’s father.

“I was about to start studying”, replied Alok with a tone of guilt.

“Well, you don’t always have to study the college books, that will fetch you nothing but a degree. Read literature, fiction, drama, the ones that have always made people come alive and have literally drenched people in insurmountable pleasure.”

“Books are the most loyal friends a person can ever have, read books that make you feel your life is worth living not which makes you worthy of a degree”, having said that he left the door slamming the door shut behind him.

Alok never really bothered what his father has told him that day. But, he soon realized that he had made a mistake.

It was Alok’s birthday, and, he looked forward to the prospect of taking pride in everything he did from now on- as he was a teenager now!

But, today he woke up to something different. He saw what-he-thought was a gift from his brother wrapped in colorful sheet of paper. To his dismay it was from his father, he ripped the gift of its cover and found a fiction novel by John Grisham. He with a frowning face started reading it, and, he was hooked to it for a strong 4 hours. He couldn’t let go off the book without reading it one go.

“That was a great read dad”, said Alok.

“I know, feel the difference now?” that is what a real book does. It sucks you in to it and shows a world so surreal, which in every way seems realistic.

“Yeah, suggest me some books from your Book-Shelf and I will read them”. Alok’s father was beaming beatifically now, which was uncanny.

“Sure, I will and on every birthday of yours, I will gift you one book from my favourites of all time”

No sooner did Alok realised that books were his best company; one learns to be alone when he is with books. His father has always told him that, feeling lonely? Grab a book.

Exchanging the knowledge about the new novels Alok read and his father read was the only talk Alok had with his father in a father-son manner, rest were between an angry father and a frustrated teenager.

Every Birthday from then on, Alok woke up to a new book by his side and he looked forward reading it with utmost enthusiasm for it was his father’s all time favorites!

His father has always told him, “no matter what, no matter how grave the times may be, never stop reading books; they offer you a lot of new things and change your life in many ways, do remember I have managed to keep away from the gloomy days of my life by clinging on to a book. The show must go on regardless of what one is going through, because the audience applaud at the end of the show, not in the middle of it.

The prospect of earning on his own and gifting his father a book, always lighted him. A glow of pride passed on from one end of his face to another. And, then decided he would buy book with the pocket money he has been stashing under the bed for almost a year now and gift it to his father on his birthday.

“Get up Alok, shouted his mother, it is your birthday today!”

“He woke up and felt void, the time froze and everything around him seemed motionless, there was nothing on the bed, no book wrapped in colorful wrapped sheet, he felt sick to his stomach.”

He went to his drawing table a pulled out a sheet of folded paper and put it in his pocket; he freshened up and put on the new clothes he bought the other day along with his friends. He went to the nearby book store and went straight to the lectern that read “fiction”, and pulled the sheet of paper from his pocket. He started crossing the sheet of paper several times and then stopped and looked for a book in on the shelf.

“I will take this one” he said to the shop keeper, paid him and left the shop.

“Hey dad, sorry I am late, I woke up a little late today, was up all night reading The Godfather.” Well, guess what I have been planning to gift you a book on my birthday today, here you go, he pulled out the book colorfully wrapped in a sheet of paper and placed it on the ground beside his father’s grave.

Alok’s father died of a cardiac arrest a month before his birthday 3 years ago. Alok never really was bereaved; he knew there was no need for anyone to take care of him, for he had “books” with him. Tears never really stirred emotions in him nor did the loneliness.

Alok always has learnt that, "One has to be attuned to everything that life throws in one's way." 

Alok slowly tore up the layers of wrapping around the book, sat on the ground, and started reading. A drop of tear rolled down his cheek but, he felt nothing because deep down inside he knew, no matter what, no matter how grave the situation may be, “The Show Has to Go On”.

Adios!

Transition- From College Benches to Corporate Cubicles!

It has been a little over a month that I am in to the corporate world and I couldn’t be any happier. Moreover working for the largest game publishing company- Electronic Arts is what that serves as the icing on the cake!

  

Well, life at Electronic Arts is something that one would want to savor at least once in a lifetime. Walking down the corridors with game posters all over the walls, working on games all day, discussing the games in the plush air-conditioned conference rooms with the managers, getting yourself photographed right in front of the legendary Battlefield poster (with the protagonist with the rifle and the left upper body up in flames and he, marching down with the pride oozing) and more importantly getting paid for all the above!

The word ‘Manager’ has a scary and mean ring to it in the corporate worlds’ glossary. And, I have heard people talking about their manager ripping their ass all the time. But, my Manager and the Team Leads are the coolest people I’ve ever met, mingling with the rest of the team and leading it (team) with sheer aplomb is what that makes them just one of us despite their seniority. With colleagues and the managers responding to our plethora of small yet preposterous queries at all times makes my work place even better.

 Walking down the corridors with a hot Cappuccino filled cup in hand and chatting up with colleagues, checking out pretty chicks in the cafeteria, planning what movies to watch the coming Friday and Saturday and Sunday! (Semi-Colon Parenthesis) – I told myself Welcome to the Corporate Arena.

I have heard people talk about their first salary and boasting about it, well I have got mine now and I couldn’t be any happier. The moment the mail pops up “Your Salary has been Credited” one starts beaming beatifically and, I have been beaming ever since I got mine! It is hard earned after all. :P

I have seen people having many myths about the way life twirls in a corporate world but, the way I see it, the myths seem to be busting. “You’ll be glued to the computer all the time, and you’ll be drained all out by the end of the day”, is what one of my not-so-happy friends advised me. People in India have the propensity to adhere to the myths laid down by their predecessors, and also take them to their grave- while doing so they realize that they have been in the wrong place the whole time; by the time they come to their senses their life seems to be taking an abysmal leap!

The moment you savor what you doing regardless of the outcome is the moment you start loving your job, not when you keep dreading about the consequences.

It has been only a month and I have made many a conclusions, and I believe I have drawn many of them accurately. Looking forward to the delightful future at EA!!


Adios!

Corporate Junior Colleges- Basking In “Students Glory”!!

Originally written for "Metropolis" A youth magazine for Hyderabad.

Have a look at the site, go click it!

Education in India has taken a leap so big that it has left the significance of the term behind, while taking the commercial glory forward. Numerous junior colleges are being deployed in every part of the country making the “vital” stage of education a mere parody. With the Ivy-League colleges like the IIT’s, NIT’s and other top private colleges setting the standard high students, not colleges, are the ones who face the music. Every year 2-3 lakh students get in pursuit to clinch that one “coveted” seat at the top colleges, and, the stakes are too high, the pressure insurmountable, and expectations weakening the shoulders, the students compete for just a few thousand seats.

While the Top colleges are busy in setting the bar high, the corporate junior colleges are grinding the students to perfection so that, their getting past the bar will lure more students to join the college in the next academic year. The vendetta between the different junior colleges is no less than a war! No college leaves no stone unturned as they rigorously train students to the extent where the student tends to remember the question number along with the page number along with the solution of course. 

The junior colleges tend to forget that they are training humans not machines, the students servility is very much appreciated as they make themselves vulnerable in order to clinch that one seat. The vulnerability is something that comes from within, with the peer pressure, the parental pressure and not to mention the college managements’ pressure.

The corporate colleges from the very beginning of the first year of the two year course start lashing out at students- giving them numerous amount of material that one could not possibly imagine of, examining them every week twice or thrice and in order to this, exhibit the results that builds more pressure on students as there are students who are ahead of them. I completely agree to the fact of displaying results, but the scenario and consequences that are staged later is what that concerns me. 

Students tend to believe that they are way far behind in this cat and mouse race and face the brunt. Every parent wants their kids to get into IIT’s and the NIT’s and also other private colleges, but the fact is there is no place for all of them; it is not circus to get in to those colleges. What’s perplexing and astonishing is all want to get in to the top colleges, if that’s the case, who are to join the colleges that are ranked after?

Corporate colleges are the demigods of intermediate education. They rule this phase of education and tend to do the same for the coming years. Now, the scenario depicted outside is way different from the one that is staged inside, students are the pawns that are staged in a fight with the kings (Top colleges in this game), where in the recent times “death” comes into play, Why? Assumed by many people that’s the most viable option when one’s game ends in a “stalemate”

The corporate colleges slap huge amount of fee on students as they know the students have nowhere to go, the levied fee sometimes amounts to more than 1-2 lacs for all they know that getting into the ivy-league colleges is not certain yet. The education is not worth the money people pay, no proper facilities are provided, and students are grinded to hell. The curriculum includes studies and studies only right from the morning 8 a.m to 8 in the evening. With no proper food and physical exercise the students suffer lack of concentration at all times. 

The tryst with exams, books, study and exams goes on for two miserable years, at the end of which only few bask in glory. Corporate colleges have been beguiling people for years now, they join 500-600 students and how many get in to the top colleges is a hand few, who are failing when it comes to going through the course at the IIT’s and NIT’s. 

The education here in the corporate colleges is spoon fed to students and they tend to mug up all the formulae and numerical because they have doing the same models for the past 2 years day and night incessantly. Now, when they face the D-day all the numerical seem similar to the ones they have been mugging up (which they think they have solved) for 2 years. The etchings deepen once they get into the top graduation colleges, where they are left to design their own future let alone education and notes.

The corporate junior colleges luring mechanisms are no less than a commercials ad and a captivating one at that. With a filthy yet catchy catch phrases imbibed in a video depicting the various statistics of the results ranging from the ranks to marks and segregating different sections as Top 10, Top 50, Top 100 and relentlessly displaying the commercial again and again, thanks to the media channels as they run and show everything for money despite its worth being abysmal. The scholarships to the backward economy classes are promised by the junior colleges, but just like our politicians their promises are void. The economically backward sections of the society face the music and are being forced to follow suit with the middle class and high class when it comes to paying the exorbitant fees. At the end of the day as we speak lacs of students end up perturbed, vulnerable, and emotionally weak.

The money is literally squandered under the pretext of education in India, with Engineering and Medicine being the buzz words all over and the prospect of their child being an Engineer and a Doctor makes their parents even more vulnerable and helpless. With the corporate colleges basking in students’ success year after year, there is no blaming the anxious parents who want their lads to bask in glory. 

But, with a student perspective, if seen, this entire rigmarole seems an immense and intense task where nothing is certain yet.

Adios!