Gangtok Part 2

One of my favorite travel websites is cleartrip.com. That is ‘coz, they give the rankings of all the hotels in a place, along with the pros and cons. One added advantage is that they publish the unedited comments of the travelers as well, who have actually stayed there. Sometimes, you also see, the hotel owners responding back to some of the adverse comments posted by unhappy tr

avelers. One such comment posted by the owner caught my eye. One of the travelers had posted a comment about a chipped mirror in the hotel room. And surprisingly, the hotel manager, Krish had responded back saying, “Chipped mirror has been replaced and the inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.” I was bemused. This was truly exemplary. Then I started reading all the comments, posted for that particular hotel. Came to know that, it had the best view of Kanchenjunga in the town. The USP of the hotel being, the terrace rooms. In the 2nd floor, all the rooms opened to a huge terrace, with had the uninterrupted view of the valley below, dotted by the settlements and the magnificent Kanchenjunga mountains. One had the option to have breakfast/lunch out in the terrace as well. One of the travelers was even kind enough to mention the room nos. to go for. There and then, I decided this is going to be my abode, for the stay in Gangtok. And true enough, I was not disappointed. In fact, I was delighted with the beautiful rooms and artistic décor and the night view of the hills, so much so that we decided to have dinner in the terrace, the evening we arrived at Gangtok. It was surreal experience, truly memorable. The clouds had descended below on the valley and had borrowed the bluish, pinkish hues of the night. And above them stood the majestic peak of KJ, glistening in the moonlight. As if saying, “I am there to protect you.” No wonder most of the pahaadis (Mountain-dwellers) worship the mountain. I was transported to another world, far far away from the maddening crowd. The cab ride from Siliguri to Gangtok was the most beautiful drive ever. For the entire stretch of the route, the mighty Tapti river was cruising along with us, though hundreds of feet below. And the roads on the mountain were so narrow, when another vehicle came from the front, we were almost hanging from the edge! Had I thrown a stone, it would have vanished in the crushing waves of the river. The din created by the river and the mountains made us feel so small…in the overall equation of things created by the almighty. …to be continued

Wanderlust

Wanderlust… I have an OCD for meticulous planning and organizing of things. Every little activity has to be minutely planned in advance so that things move with clock-work precision. My friends point out that I am missing out the fun in life, the fun in letting myself go, the fun in enjoying the disorganized chaos of life. Maybe they are right…may be they are just tired of hearing me say, “I told you so!” every time…maybe they just want me to be humane...make some errors and enjoy the roller-coaster ride of life. That was the premise or the background, with which I planned my trip to Gangtok. Hence, only the first day and final day were planned. With the aim of “Letting go”/go with the flow, for the intermediate days. The first thought that struck me, as soon as I landed in Bagdogara, was “OMG, how clean is this place!” Absolutely no litter, anywhere in sight! The hills and valleys were just like picture postcards, and the air….so fresh! No smoke and no pollution of any kind. The cab-ride from Bagdogara airport to the sleepy Siliguri town was filled with picturesque views of tea-gardens and hills. As my cab was zipping past the views, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, when I caught a signage. “City centre”-KFC. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Such a small town on top of a hill, where accessibility itself is a major hurdle, boasts of a KFC!!! And my city, the so-called aspiring IT hub, BBSR has been yearning for a KFC ever since I passed out of college! And still continues to be an elusive dream. Anyways, I thought to myself, now that I am in Siliguri, let me not miss this golden opportunity to dig my fingers into a creamy bucket of fried chicken….yummmm. But I had to save the KFC trip for the later part of the trip, as we were in a hurry to reach Gangtok before sunset. Because the hillside roads were too risky for night drive. …To be continued

Bangalore trip, circa 2010.

“Some trips give you memories, and some…give you friends for life.”

My tryst with the city of Bangalore started when I was seven years old, thanks to my parent's love for traveling. We visited the golden triangle of Blore, Mysore and Nagoresharif. (A famous piligrimage destination for Muslims). Though I don’t have very vivid memories of the trip, but the termite infested sepia colored photographs do take me down the memory lane sometimes. In Bangalore, I remember visiting a famous garden with a huge clock. I am smiling at the camera with a silly toothy grin in most of the pics. J

The second tryst started when I was posted in Mysore. Every long weekend took me to Bangalore, where my school/college friends resided. And the 2-3 days were packed with mindless shopping, gossiping and binging. Bangalore is the second best place in India to shop for ladies western formals. The only annoying thing about the city is the mind-numbing traffic. It kills the joy of commuting.  From a pensioner’s paradise, it has metamorphosed into a pensioner’s nightmare.

Nowadays, my Blore trips are restricted to trainings only. Whenever we have training, we visit Blore. Full day training sessions in campus and as dusk falls, its one destination! Forum Kormangala! Oh! I have such fond memories of that place. I remember, once I went there with two of my besties, Srikanth Golime and Sunita Soloman. And we had the best time of our lives there. Shopping, eating followed by some crazy action movie! That’s when we bonded, and these two people became a part of my life forever. Its almost 2.5 years to that day, and our friendship is still as fresh as a daisy. I have coined a saying, “Some trips give you memories….and some give you friends for life.” That was one such trip. Lot of things have changed since then. To be precise, 2 weddings and a baby. Sunita was the first one to get married, and Srikanth followed soon after. Couple of months back, Srikanth had a cute lil baby. At that point of time, 3 of us were with HRD Employee Relations and now…we have transitioned to BP HR role. But one thing that remains unchanged is our friendship. We talk nineteen to the dozen almost every other day and we make plans every time to have a re-union. Hoping that day, comes soon…

That’s it for now!

Cheers!

Issued in public interest, customers beware! (For Cuttack residents)

I have been planning to write on this particular subject since a long time, but it was slipping from my mind, every time. There is an infamous petrol pump in the famous city of Cuttack, Odisha. (Near Sati Choura Chowk, in CDA). Infamous ‘coz, they have this unique habit of stopping the meter at Rs.198 or 197 (If you are taking petrol worth Rs.200). And every time, you highlight the issue, they would just shrug saying, “The meter is faulty”. I used to give them a piece of my mind, each time I visited the petrol pump. But to no avail. Finally I got tired, and switched over to another petrol pump, which is bit farther from my home, near Kanika Chowk. I would rather traverse the extra kms, than fatten the pockets of such cheats and scoundrels.

Incidentally, Cuttack is a place, which is known for its non-tolerance for such absurdities. You see, any errant drivers or such cheaters, immediate justice is rendered to them. (In the form of a quick beating by the crowd).  Not sure though, why this particular petrol pump has been spared so far. Maybe the owner is not aware of this, or may be the workers are doing this for their own cute profit. Who knows!

Etiquette

Etiquette.

Such a small and harmless word.  But hides a plethora of meaning in it.

You cannot judge a person based on his clothes, but you definitely can, seeing his etiquette. Basic things. Like being punctual, informing beforehand if you are running late for a meeting or don’t intend to attend the meeting, maintaining the queue, etc is what maketh a man. But the more I meet youngsters these days, the more I get disillusioned. Not only are they devoid of basic etiquette, but they think it adds to their “Cool” quotient, not adhering to basic norms of a civilized society.

Another strange trait that people these days have, is not returning calls and sms. If you are unable to answer a call, the most decent thing to do would be to return the call afterwards. Or reply to the sms when you are free. But people fail to that also, which is really sad. By doing this, you are eroding your own credibility. And not answering mails! I had written an article on the art of “Hatching” mails long back. Browse that, if you have time in your hands ;)

I have not been very regular in blogging lately. And I am feeling really guilty about that. But the weekends have been really hectic. Sometimes, my car breaks down, at other times, I have to take it for servicing or I have other social obligations. At times, I feel like cloning myself!

An untrained painter...

When I was six years old, I used to copy the paintings from colorful calendars at home into any piece of paper available at home. The earliest memory of my artistic bent of mind, is that of a Mario Miranda calendar. I used to copy it to the minutest of details. Thats when my family realised my artistic talent.

Years rolled passed, kinder garden to school and school to college. Always surrounded by books, never got a chance to draw or paint for pleasure again. I used to sketch only when it was prescribed part of syllabus. In +2, I opted for Biology, hence got plenty of opportunities to sketch diagrams of plants, animals etc. But strictly restricted to curriculum again. Sometimes I was appreciated.

Couple of months back, when I joined a new role in my corporate life, I decided to have a painting workshop for all the aspiring artistes in our campus. We have a brilliant painter in our Unit, and he kindly agreed to anchor the workshop. I participated too. Since then, I promised myself each day, that now that I am settled in life, I will definitly take out some time for myself and indulge my creativity.

And today happened to be that day. On an impulse purchase mood, I went ahead and bought some water colors, paint brushes, and a drawing book.

The pic below is the result of my midnight creativity. Not a great one, but I am immensely satisfied. Hope this would be the beginning of many more. Amen...

Goodnight!

7^th March 2013 will forever remain etched in my memory. This was the day, when writer Nazia was actually recognized formally. Yes, the below article of mine, got published in NHRDN BBSR Chapter’s First quarterly E-newsletter, DHRISTI, means Vision. And it was released today, on the occasion of W-Power Workshop organized by NHRDN BBSR at New Marrion. The Icing on the cake was the wonderful introduction written by my Mentor for me.

In my mentor’s words…

Nazia is based at Bhubaneswar, and she is a goal-oriented go-getter.  She is very clearly focussed on her objectives, and will walk any extra miles to achieve them.  Articulate in both oral and written communication, her repository of competencies also includes the ability to work hard and play hard.

Intelligent, inspired and invigorating, thats Nazia in a nutshell!

Can’t just stop grinning! ;)

Here goes the famed article J

Glass Ceiling, Myth or Reality?

During the initial few meetings of NHRDN BBSR Chapter, when the idea of having a workshop for women germinated, we used to have hearty debates on the probable theme of the workshop. Then one fine day, we decided, why not take the bull by its horns and face the challenge head-on! Why is the percentage of women at senior levels in organizations across industries so low? Why is the gender diversity at the top so skewed?

The statistics are baffling. Only 6% of the Fortune 500’s top executives are female. And just 2% of those firms have women
CEOs. Less than one in ten businesses has a female CEO, with women largely employed in finance and Human Resources role.

Women are ahead of men in most of the spheres of life. Be it the percentage of folks, passing out of schools or colleges, or be it the competitive exams for getting admission into Engineering and medical colleges. At entry level also, the percentage of women is higher in organizations. But as they rise up the ladder, the percentage of women steadily declines. So where do all of them vanish? It is analogous to the disappearance of mammoths or dinosaurs. Sudden and inexplicable. Superficially, it may appear that the reason for women’s disappearance from the top in organizations is mainly because of two reasons, Marriage & Motherhood and the complications arising thereafter. But it is just the tip of the ice-berg. The actual reason lies hidden deep within.

Glass Ceiling.

Yes, ladies & gentlemen! The proverbial glass ceiling does actually exist.

Women have to work doubly hard to prove people that they are as good as men. They have to manage work as well as family. As if that was not enough, now they have to face the invisible barrier called glass ceiling to reach the top. They have to fight the popular perception of “Softy” & “Abala naari” and prove their competency. Apart of juggling office & home, one major challenge that women face in the corporate world today is the lack of social networking opportunities.(Not virtual). Since most of the women do not smoke or drink, they lose out on this opportunity to network and move ahead in the social ladder. As we all know, most of the deals are clinched in informal platforms like smoking zone and office parties, rather than mails or calls, women stand at a disadvantage here. Now who wants to be passive smokers and destroy the future embryo within, at the cost of moving ahead in career. Very few I suppose.

Safety is also one major concern for women today. Women cannot spend long hours at office and have to be at home at a decent hour (To avoid social stigma), thus compromising on the manager’s so called notion of “Reliability” & “Dependability”. Superiors feel, why not give the brownie point to a guy who spends extra-long hours in office, ignoring the fact that, he might be coming late to office or spending 3 hours on an average in smoking zone/Food court/Gym! Is efficiency or effectiveness synonymous with long hours?

It is an established fact that women are better multi-taskers than men. And it is this very fact, that goes against women when it comes to getting over-burdened with work. We are expected to be the perfectionists/divas in all walks of life. From cooking to cleaning, everything is dependent on us. The pressure is huge, to live up to the expectations of all the stakeholders, superiors in office, family at home. One of my married colleagues was narrating her recent experience…

Husband to Wife : Hey, Did you check out that article on XYZ topic in ET today?

Wife : Nopes, I have to put the baby to sleep now…

Husband : You should keep yourself abreast with the global happenings at least! (Free-fund ka gyan)

Wife : In thinking mode…(Sure! Why not! Why can’t you volunteer to take care of the baby, for a change. After all, I am also working in office, just like you. Why does the onus lie with me, when it comes to managing this household?

The above incident is just one of the many, that women have to face today.

Research and numerous Gallup surveys have proved that women in leadership roles have been hugely successful, ‘coz that’s the role they have been playing since birth. It all begins at home, after all. But fighting against the perception of the male-dominated society, is what makes the life of a woman difficult. And when the going gets too tough, they are not left with any other option but to simply give up, all their childhood ambitions and career aspirations melt away in the hope of giving a comfortable life to their families.

Now coming to the way out, how to break this glass ceiling? One can solve a problem, only if you accept the existence of it. Once we acknowledge the issue, the solution become very clear. There are many solutions actually, not just one. Some are within our zone of influence and some beyond it. Raising one’s voice in appropriate communication forums in organizations to create or change policies, that affect women can be a beginning in this direction. Be it the Work from home policy or crèche at office, even a single step can be a manna from heaven! Educating one’s superiors and peers regarding gender biasness and how it can poison the atmosphere in a workplace. Third, working hard and ignoring all kinds of negativity around you.

I have always believed in a simple mantra, “There is no substitute to hard work”. Smart male workers can fool managers sometimes by taking short-cuts, but in the long term, this erodes the credibility. Honesty & genuineness always make a difference. Hard work wins the hearts of even the harshest of critics.

To conclude, I will borrow a line from a very famous quote, “When you truly desire something in life, the entire universe will conspire to make it happen for you.” (Provided you have worked hard enough, for itJ )

So, all you pretty ladies out there, throw caution to the wind, and march ahead relentlessly in pursuit of excellence!

Fire in the belly

One of my HR professors in MBA often took refuge in this adage. “Unless you have FIB, you can’t succeed in life”. In every class, he used to mention this FIB thing at least 8-10 times. Towards the later part of our curriculum, we had almost memorized this FIB mantra, and it never failed to make us laugh!

So what exactly is this FIB?

Basically it means, the eagerness to deliver and the passion to excel. Obviously, I am no expert on this subject, nor do I have the required experience to talk about his, but since this is my personal blog, let me take the liberty of jotting down my thoughts on the subject.

Apart from the proverbial KSA (Knowledge, skill and attitude) needed to succeed in any job, we need to have the fire in our bellies too. The hunger to excel, the desire to succeed, the thirst to know more and more, be it about anything under the sun. One important thing that I have learned in life is : Knowledge is always power, in any form. (Relevant or irrelevant). When I see people sleep-walking through their jobs, day in and day out, it really saddens me to no end. Another important trait that we really need to cultivate in ourselves is the art of accepting feedback positively in the right spirit and not getting defensive or argumentative about it. Unfortunately, this too is getting rare these days. It might take some time, but these traits are definitely learnable.

Ok, this was the nugget of wisdom for the weekend. Have a good, productive week!

Cheers!

A Republic Day with a Difference

On a bright sunny morning of 26^th January, 8 MFGites started from campus towards Madhurmayee Ashram, a home for 55 destitute kids, consisting majorly kids of prisoners.

With a single minded goal of educating the kids about health and hygiene, we marched forward, beating the overwhelming Saturday laziness that afflicts all of us.

Despite some logistics barriers, we retained our energetic spirit. The Projector was too big to fit into our cab, so instead we came up with the novel plan of taking a white bed sheet instead into which we projected the image. We reached the ashram at around 10 in the morning. After getting a warm welcome from the kids, we started our work. Tied the white bed sheet from a window, and connected the laptop to the LCD projector. The excitement of the kids was palpable.

We showed a ppt on health and hygiene, followed by some very interesting educational videos on the same topic, which also included a National award winning short animation video on sanitation. We also gave a First-aid kit to them. This was followed by snacks distribution. After the session, we moved to see the new upcoming shelter for the kids, being constructed near Jharpada Jail. It has the capacity to house around 200 kids and is almost 90% complete. The kids would be moving there in March.

The whole experience was extremely heartening and this was by far one of the best Republic Days we all ever had.

I Would like to thank my team of good Samaritans from MFG Reach and MFG Akanksha, who came forward with brilliant ideas and executed this initiative with such finesse. Saswat, Roshni, Saurav, Ritwik, Rakesh, Sweta & Amrita. You all are wonderful people, and I really appreciate this special effort of going that extra mile, and doing your bit towards the society. God bless!

JLT

A majority of people I run into these days, probe me with a very sweet question, “Nazia, why have you stopped blogging?” Although I feel flattered, it makes me feel guilty that my weekend blogs has been unintentionally transformed into monthly now.

Its not that I have stopped writing completely, just that I have delved into official writing these days. And it gives me as much delight if not more. But will definitely try to be more regular henceforth.

So winter has descended on BBSR like a warm embrace, and believe me it’s the best season to be here. Now that Inox has opened up, week nights have become livelier. With a steaming hot coffee cup nestled in my hands, watching a late-nite movie in the awe-inspiring Inox with a blood-red embellished decor, after a back-breaking hard day of work. That’s heaven for me. I just need one more thing in life. KFC at BBSR. And I would be all ready to settle down here! J

I had such a gala time in Mumbai during the Christmas eve. Apart from gorging on heavenly delights and my ultimate fav, McD & KFC, I shopped like a maniac. People are extremely fit and health conscious there. May be they work out in gym like crazy, ‘coz they don’t restrain themselves when it comes to food. Didn’t get to see a single obese person!

Books…

”The Troubled Man” by Henning Mankell is keeping me busy these days. After finishing all the books by Alex Rutherford, I needed to read something contemporary. Now that William Dalrymple is going to release his next book on the Afganistan War, I am sure, I would have plenty of good stuff to read. If you are a voracious reader, its good to have like-minded friends in your circle. And I am really blessed in this department. As most of my loved ones, are big time into books. We buy latest releases, share and discuss the storyline threadbare, argue and criticize each other’s favorite authors and finally laugh it out! Nothing more invigorating than that!

My fetish for watches continues…Recently I got a beautiful one with baby pink mother of pearl undulating dial and tiny sparkling Swarovski crystals all around it. Total yum!

Ok this much for now…

Cheers!

Nazia