Monday, March 23, 2009

Photo Blog

I came across this photo blog very recently. All pictures are taken in and around Bengaluru.
Brilliant work ...
Kudos to the photographer !!!

Link

Friday, March 13, 2009

Cruel experience

I came to office at usual time 9:10am. I recognized the SUV in the parking lot .. it belonged to my manager. I made notes of the things I wanted to discuss with him today. We usually discussed about pending issues first thing in the morning since we got caught up in meetings almost all day long.
My manager sat in the cubicle next to mine. As I entered my cubicle, I saw my manager's manager by his cubicle. She stood there waiting for something.... perhaps a print out she wanted from him I thought and quietly entered my cubicle. As I settled, I heard some noises of desk/chair being pulled, wires untangled, coins being emptied from lockers etc ... "He must be really searching hard for those print outs" I thought. Someone from the neighboring cubicle even joked "Hey, you seem to have a lot of money" and he said "Yes, I have".
Within 5 minutes or so, everyone seemed settled ... no more voices heard, noises disappeared ... "Back to work" I said to myself and continued to read through the mails in my inbox.
As I was reading through the mails, my manager's manager stopped by my desk and said "Can I see you in my office for a few minutes?" I was surprised at first but nonetheless followed her to her office. We settled into the chairs around the small round table in her office. She started "There has been some changes in our team which might have an impact on you. Today is the last day of your manager in this company". I froze ... didn't I discuss a million things over the past few days with my manager and in none of those discussions was there a hint of his quitting ... didn't he mention even last evening about the slides we needed to include in design sessions to be played early April? Didn't he schedule a meeting only last evening? Was this something he knew about ? Why didn't we have any Knowledge Transfer sessions arranged considering he alone was handling some important stuff? - Many other questions buzzed in my head within a fraction of a second.
My manager's manager continued "I would like you to take on all his responsibilities until we find a suitable replacement". I nodded ... language/words chose to abandon me ... I couldn't speak ... "I'll set aside 1 on 1 time with you on monday to discuss specifics" I mumbled and walked out of her office.
I HAD to talk to my manager to understand what had transpired between last evening and this morning. I went straight to his cube ... but he had left. I hoped to talk to him during the day ... but he never showed up again in office.

Today was my first hand experience of seeing someone being laid off. What's more, he was my reporting manager. The experience was quite chilling to say the least.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Best Batsman Ever

I read this article in Times of India about Virender Sehwag being the best batsman ever.
This set me off thinking if its really true ...

For one, I must admit I haven't seen / followed enough cricket lately to comment authoritatively on this matter. But I do remember seeing Sehwag as a new member of cricket team ... I have seen him in his best form when the runs come so easily that every now and then you look and re-look at the overs and the runs scored and wonder, if this is really happening. I have also seen him fail ... throwing away his wicket so easily ... making me wonder how can someone so consistently fail and yet retain his position in Indian cricket team especially in a country where this sport is only next to God to many.

Haven't we heard the phrase "The Best Batsman" ever so frequently these days ? A couple of good innings and lo behold the batsman is considered the best.

Which brings me to the question who is actually the Best Batsman ... what parameters do you consider important to rate a batsman the best.
Is it technique OR is it strike rate OR is it entertainment OR is it class OR is it high spirit on field OR consistent performance ... what is it ?? Do let me know ...

As for me I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Viv Richards, Azhar and Jadeja's games :)) (did you say they were not the greatest ... well I heard that)

Friday, March 06, 2009

Relax ...take it easy

What do you do when your senior in the company comes to you and says ... "You need to slow down ... take it easy. You are progressing way ahead of the rest of the team!"