Rani has finally got her visa for higher studies in the US. Since moving to Hyderabad after college, she got kind of jaded about just about everything. Her sole aim was to pursue a career in Physiotherapy in the US. I was keen that she appeared for the CAT and do a MBA at the IIM.
But she was reluctant. She felt disgraced at doing something other than treating patients. And the belief that India is not a good place to make money out of this profession made her all the more determined to make it to the US. And I've got to admit that she is one of those truly deserving people who overcome steep odds to make their dreams come true.
It seems like the end of something for her. A finish line. The tough part of the fight with life is over. No more crying, no more depression. Maybe it is the end of the long hard climb of childhood, the freedom, the independence, the sheer desperation of wanting to stand confidently on her own feet. The last two years have been a nightmare. With just no escaping from the 'what if' questions nagging her. There were times when the dreams seemed shattered and time was moving very slowly. But she climbed her way, never felt helpless or objectified.
It also is the beginning of something new, something fresh, the feeling of something good that's happened in a long long time, something exciting to look forward to. Atleast 'something' to look forward to. Hope this good time continues for the rest of her life. May she have the most amazing time of her life and live her beautiful dream.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Waiting
I am waiting as usual for my sister Vidhya. I have realised that I have spent half my life doing this. But it also gives me time to reflect upon myself, collate the days learnings, collect thoughts and put them on paper. Of course, I have now started to use this time blogging.
My first job...the transition..continued
There was a big difference between the volumes of textbook and teachings at IIM and the way businesses and organisations function practically. What I noticed was the discreet way things were done and attitudes that I did not quite understand. And even when I did understand them, I did not feel I had a part of them. In fact, I ignored them. Although I was a little fearful of people, of things and the pace at which they moved, I started working with no emotions. Absolutely none.
But I still wanted to be happy, but whether I would or not was still a huge question mark, and even while confronting that question mark, I was beginning to sense that to experience or be in a situation like this was not such a bad thing. To be afraid is a priceless experience, it educates you. Once I have been scared, I know more about myself and I think it helps. Time now forced me to ask more of myself as a person than I ever had before. I decided I am going to be a changed man and seek out a different path.
Boss would yell at me at the slightest error and I would most likely turn off. I had the familiar sinking feeling. Philip was different. His thinking was subordinates should be taught and trained and that the lessons should sink slowly. There are some things that we learn better through experience and Philip let me figure those out on my own. For example, I never evaluated my work. I would think that I am doing it because I have been told to do so but he insisted that I think and figure out why its being done, what the purpose is and is that the best way to do it. Slowly but steadily he passed along his knowledge of various business, more precisely his way of handling various work situations and to evolve a solution or a course of action tactically. I learnt that there are moments when we can use our time and effort to our benefit and there are moments when we use it to no avail. We need to focus our time and effort towards maximising it to our benefit. He not only controlled, he educated me.
I had never really examined the psychology of work or of doing things. The reasons were not too clear to me and a lot of what I did made no sense to me while doing it. But now, I knew exactly why I was doing something. I became more optimistic than ever and refused to let any fear blot out my optimism. Something told me that fear, although can be sometimes helpful, should never completely rule the heart, and I decided not to be afraid.
I now began to realise, very strongly, that I had plenty of learning to do and I structured in my head that the next 1 year would be a process of experimenting, refinement and learning. Life from now on would be a process of incremental improvements, of seeking the tiniest knowledge that would make me a better individual.
I really began noticing and following Philip. There were ways things were done and things ought to be done. He taught me to be patient and to work strategically. It took me some time to reconcile myself to the notion that being patient was different from being weak or slow and that working strategically did not mean giving less than your best effort. I became more polished.
But I still wanted to be happy, but whether I would or not was still a huge question mark, and even while confronting that question mark, I was beginning to sense that to experience or be in a situation like this was not such a bad thing. To be afraid is a priceless experience, it educates you. Once I have been scared, I know more about myself and I think it helps. Time now forced me to ask more of myself as a person than I ever had before. I decided I am going to be a changed man and seek out a different path.
Boss would yell at me at the slightest error and I would most likely turn off. I had the familiar sinking feeling. Philip was different. His thinking was subordinates should be taught and trained and that the lessons should sink slowly. There are some things that we learn better through experience and Philip let me figure those out on my own. For example, I never evaluated my work. I would think that I am doing it because I have been told to do so but he insisted that I think and figure out why its being done, what the purpose is and is that the best way to do it. Slowly but steadily he passed along his knowledge of various business, more precisely his way of handling various work situations and to evolve a solution or a course of action tactically. I learnt that there are moments when we can use our time and effort to our benefit and there are moments when we use it to no avail. We need to focus our time and effort towards maximising it to our benefit. He not only controlled, he educated me.
I had never really examined the psychology of work or of doing things. The reasons were not too clear to me and a lot of what I did made no sense to me while doing it. But now, I knew exactly why I was doing something. I became more optimistic than ever and refused to let any fear blot out my optimism. Something told me that fear, although can be sometimes helpful, should never completely rule the heart, and I decided not to be afraid.
I now began to realise, very strongly, that I had plenty of learning to do and I structured in my head that the next 1 year would be a process of experimenting, refinement and learning. Life from now on would be a process of incremental improvements, of seeking the tiniest knowledge that would make me a better individual.
I really began noticing and following Philip. There were ways things were done and things ought to be done. He taught me to be patient and to work strategically. It took me some time to reconcile myself to the notion that being patient was different from being weak or slow and that working strategically did not mean giving less than your best effort. I became more polished.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
First job
I am waiting for Vibha to pick her up from her hospital. Am also missing the people and the fun at GMR.
hmm...let me write something about my first job.
Life at GMR started at the dark, dingy begumpet office with 4 people in the business development team. That was my first job, straight out of college and a blank head. I had absolutely no idea of the aviation or the real estate industry or of any industry for that matter. The role assigned to me was that of an executive assistant to the COO. The first activity was to prepare a board note on the PTB and ALS contracts. I had no clue to what these were, no clue to even what the abbreviations stood for. A hell of a time followed. Also boss was stressed with the work and the pressure and me being his so called executive assistant had to take in everything like a cushion. Every evening at 8 was the wrenting and I usually went home thinking about life, work, its purpose, meaning etc. Home was about 6 km from office and I used to walk back. I stopped eating regularly, the appetite went down, stopped talking, went into a kind of depression.
But I used to smile whenever I could. Ambrish once remarked that I bring in the sunshine into the office whenever I enter and he feels good and cheerful seeing me. The others never spoke, they were busy in their work and they were generally not too conversant. I was the youngest and that made me the default clown. After the remark by Ambrish, I made up my mind to smile, talk and cheer people up. That was the only way I could overcome my depression.
Meanwhile, Philip joined and we also shifted to the new office building in banjara hills. The first few days were the same. Boss asked me to leave, saying I was not fit to work for him and that I was slow at understanding things and was not interested in work. I asked him to give me one last chance and that I would want to work under Philip on a single project. He agreed.
Philip had been working for GMR for the last 7 years and was much more patient and level headed than boss. He was willing to guide me and open to my thoughts, stupid doubts and would take all effort to clarify them. Things started looking bright and the new big, clean, spacious and bright office made me feel good.
A month later, a new batch of 8 Management Trainees joined.....
Have just checked with Vibha and she can come now. So will continue the story.
hmm...let me write something about my first job.
Life at GMR started at the dark, dingy begumpet office with 4 people in the business development team. That was my first job, straight out of college and a blank head. I had absolutely no idea of the aviation or the real estate industry or of any industry for that matter. The role assigned to me was that of an executive assistant to the COO. The first activity was to prepare a board note on the PTB and ALS contracts. I had no clue to what these were, no clue to even what the abbreviations stood for. A hell of a time followed. Also boss was stressed with the work and the pressure and me being his so called executive assistant had to take in everything like a cushion. Every evening at 8 was the wrenting and I usually went home thinking about life, work, its purpose, meaning etc. Home was about 6 km from office and I used to walk back. I stopped eating regularly, the appetite went down, stopped talking, went into a kind of depression.
But I used to smile whenever I could. Ambrish once remarked that I bring in the sunshine into the office whenever I enter and he feels good and cheerful seeing me. The others never spoke, they were busy in their work and they were generally not too conversant. I was the youngest and that made me the default clown. After the remark by Ambrish, I made up my mind to smile, talk and cheer people up. That was the only way I could overcome my depression.
Meanwhile, Philip joined and we also shifted to the new office building in banjara hills. The first few days were the same. Boss asked me to leave, saying I was not fit to work for him and that I was slow at understanding things and was not interested in work. I asked him to give me one last chance and that I would want to work under Philip on a single project. He agreed.
Philip had been working for GMR for the last 7 years and was much more patient and level headed than boss. He was willing to guide me and open to my thoughts, stupid doubts and would take all effort to clarify them. Things started looking bright and the new big, clean, spacious and bright office made me feel good.
A month later, a new batch of 8 Management Trainees joined.....
Have just checked with Vibha and she can come now. So will continue the story.
home..career..dream
Today both PV and Philip are not in Hyderabad. PV is on a mission to convince the funders in Mumbai to fund us while Philip is busy trying to rope in a tenant for his new house. Even I should start planning to buy a good house to live in Hyderabad. After yesterdays visit to the site of the upcoming villas in Hyderabad, my mind is just not letting go. Those are the most beautiful house models and concepts I have ever seen. The biggest villa is over 14000 sft on a land area of 1.1 acre with 6 servant houses, 6 car parks, 2 gardens, a swimming pool and sit-out and 7 bedrooms priced at rupees 12 crore. Lavish is a small word. The concept is Spanish and the architecture is by an architect from Jaipur.
Coming back to work...today has been a not so hectic day...prepared a simple model for the Golf course residential township on the lines of the Spanish villa. PV is of the view that we should have many smaller plots / houses and fewer large villas. In my opinion this would affect the quality of life, increase the population in the township and hence the maintenance cost would be huge. Its basically a trade off between quality and price. However, all this is subjective and basically depends on the positioning.
Work on the Vijayawada mall is progressing slowly. Had a meeting with JLL on understanding the retail business, the tenant mix, process of selecting tenants, what do the tenants look for and the average rent that JLL could guarantee us. They didn't do their homework, didn't even study the Vijayawada market thinking PVP Ventures is a small firm tha would not be of much help to them. I had to tell them about PV and our long-term plans and that set them on their toes.
Then updated PV on these 2 projects.
And then I had nothing to do. Ramakrisha and I watched funny videos on google for a while and then both Ramakrishna and Krishna left for the day.
Also had lunch at Angeethi with Ramakrishna and Krishna. Good place. The owner has managed to have a dhaba concept in the middle of congested Hyderabad on the 7th floor of a cramped building. And the place is buzz with people at lunch time. Food service Industry is on a high at the moment in India.
Just before going out for lunch, an old classmate praveen chaitanya called. Wanted to meet me but I don't want to. Asked him to call me after lunch. He didn't. end of the story.
On the way to lunch, Krishna started an interesting conversation on career. People worry too much about their careers. They worry about money. They worry about recognition. I told him not to worry much about money and recognition. They are by-products. The true product is the learning and the value we add to our work. Work should be purposeful and meanigful. Also told him not to focus on real estate or any single industry as a long term career. Working for too long in a particular field or industry restricts the learning. We need to change industries, learn more, experience more. Also our core competency should not be industry specific. I gave him the example of PV whose core competency is outsourcing services. very industry neutral and he has been changing to industries as and when they are high. Even I plan to do the same thing. Thats my goal.
And my dream remains to join the Foreign Service.
Coming back to work...today has been a not so hectic day...prepared a simple model for the Golf course residential township on the lines of the Spanish villa. PV is of the view that we should have many smaller plots / houses and fewer large villas. In my opinion this would affect the quality of life, increase the population in the township and hence the maintenance cost would be huge. Its basically a trade off between quality and price. However, all this is subjective and basically depends on the positioning.
Work on the Vijayawada mall is progressing slowly. Had a meeting with JLL on understanding the retail business, the tenant mix, process of selecting tenants, what do the tenants look for and the average rent that JLL could guarantee us. They didn't do their homework, didn't even study the Vijayawada market thinking PVP Ventures is a small firm tha would not be of much help to them. I had to tell them about PV and our long-term plans and that set them on their toes.
Then updated PV on these 2 projects.
And then I had nothing to do. Ramakrisha and I watched funny videos on google for a while and then both Ramakrishna and Krishna left for the day.
Also had lunch at Angeethi with Ramakrishna and Krishna. Good place. The owner has managed to have a dhaba concept in the middle of congested Hyderabad on the 7th floor of a cramped building. And the place is buzz with people at lunch time. Food service Industry is on a high at the moment in India.
Just before going out for lunch, an old classmate praveen chaitanya called. Wanted to meet me but I don't want to. Asked him to call me after lunch. He didn't. end of the story.
On the way to lunch, Krishna started an interesting conversation on career. People worry too much about their careers. They worry about money. They worry about recognition. I told him not to worry much about money and recognition. They are by-products. The true product is the learning and the value we add to our work. Work should be purposeful and meanigful. Also told him not to focus on real estate or any single industry as a long term career. Working for too long in a particular field or industry restricts the learning. We need to change industries, learn more, experience more. Also our core competency should not be industry specific. I gave him the example of PV whose core competency is outsourcing services. very industry neutral and he has been changing to industries as and when they are high. Even I plan to do the same thing. Thats my goal.
And my dream remains to join the Foreign Service.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Thursday, October 12, 2006
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