‎"Working overtime doesn't increase your output. It makes you stupid."

well... this post is not about not working overtime and becoming smart! ... more than that... i am feeling like working overtime right now because my brain & mind have decided to act unlike Lord Krisn & Arjun in Mahabharata ... and because of that all my brain waves are getting mixed up... which means that this is the perfect opportunity for me to write a blog post! ... now... i know that there are some very intelligent people who like to spend some time on this blog and i have met some of them... and then i have a personal reputation of some kind... my point is that i can't simply let this mental mayhem get the better of me and write some piece of holy crap!

... but then, you don't just pull-out a decent blog post out of thin air or keyboard for that matter! you need some key ingredients like an author (could very well be a typist! who knows?), an idea (original will be a bonus!) and a plot (story wala plot... though buying a plot of land is another thing on my To-Do list... but then To-do lists don't work!! damn it!)... so coming back to pulling-out a decent blog post from...

... Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. i've been watching this series since past week... after all these years i turned my contempt towards this "children's movie" into a curiosity... and thus started a journey of another kind... and i was not disappointed... initially... the vivid imagination of the author is impressive and translating that into visuals was done commendably... but all this was put aside by my mind... while my brain was still happy with the movie!... and it was entangled in the sub-plots... and then i started paying attention to my mind... you really can't sell a movie on the magic factor alone! there was a love story in there! and may i say more than one??...

... and you can't have love stories without a boy and a girl ... (okay! yes! you can have love stories of the other kind but that is out of the scope of this post!) ... and for some one who grew-up on a staple diet of Hollywood (thanks to Cable TV!) and verry typical Hindi movies... i found completely at ease enjoying and spotting the teasing and tension brewing between the characters... and various other emotions that usually accompany when you have love with cross-connections... or triangles as they say in the common language...

... triangles are pretty important shapes when it comes to building things! ever noticed bridges and ever rising skyscrapers? ... so how can a shape that is so important in building things be associated with the negative connotation when it comes to an emotion like love? maybe (just maybe!) we need a little more introspection on this aspect... i mean the love thing...

(to be continued)

"The future has not happened yet. So there's absolutely no reason to be negative about it."

"...if you fill garbage in, garbage will come out..." she said, holding that mic in her hands... she is audible in any case but she has some fixation with the mic thing... i was still in sorta trance... her shrilling voice was not helping my frayed nerves... my body wanted some rest and my mind was reminding me this on a continuous basis... skipping classes was the last thing i could do... especially after taking a laung vacation... laung as in Nissan Sunny Caaaar... so i tried my best to keep my eyes open and ear shut in the lecture... though i was not much successful doing both the things at the same time...

... and then i realized it was not her! it was the lack of air conditioning that was making me feel uncomfortable... so i asked her to switch the AC... my batch mates gave me *that* look! ... thanks to the guy from Symantec my request got some more weightage... but she obliged... and we all had a sigh of relief... reminded me of the advert being shown on the TVs... i guess of 'Tata Sky'... we need to shed our inhibitions and gather some courage to 'speak' out... this courage should not be confused with 'shouting' out... which is very often the case...

... i know this is not making sense but then who said it was supposed to?

"When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on."

well... the Gallup Q12 is here again... i've done my part, just like i did last time and before that and... ummm... anyways...

... what i am interested in is writing about this 'eureka' moment, while chatting with a friend (yes! i DO have friends at work!)... i was joining-in after a long vacation (by my peer's standard) of ten days... and thought of touching some base...
... "arre! tu kahan tha itte din?" is the common question with *that* look on their faces and i can't help but smile and let my gift of gab take over from there...

... but this 'moment' i am talking about was in reference to the 'first impression' that comes from new-joinees about working in Tata Motors... and this is more common (and often) from people i interact with outside the company! ...
... "Tata mein join karo to life ban jaati hai", "Tata offers ALOT of benefits", and some more on the similar lines... my personal favorite is "you generate alot of equity while working with Tata" (Radhey's quote!)... and i never heard the word 'career' or any synonym of it in this 'first impression'...

... that sent me in some serious introspection (on a continuing basis): does Tata Motors represents a company which allows you to grow organically in your career? or it's a place where u join and stay (willingly or otherwise) with a 'happily ever after' ring on it!...

... don't get me wrong on this ... i am aware of the existence of FTSS, TAS, LEAD and many more ways to identify and appraise the talent that we have and allow them to face the business challenges, which by any standard is no indication of an easy life; my humble concern is:

why do working in Tata Motors carry an impression of 'relaxed and settled life'?...

... but then, like the other side of the coin ... i have personally seen some very talented 'fire-in-the-belly' type colleagues going tame after their first year appraisal (am i suggesting something?)...and this is not in one specific role in one specific department... some gold medalists from the fabled IITs left after brief stint of their rotation... some joined us from our formidable competitors and then left again with bad taste in mouth... while others who are capable of 'leaving' are always looked down upon... "ye yahan tikega nahi!" ... "ye to kabhi bhi jaa sakta hai!"... there's an underlying distrust and resentment (and may i also say fear?) in the middle management and when you add the sense of frustration and strangulation dominating the minds of the 'young turks', you get a snapshot of what it is like working in the current environment... and this is leading to erosion of the 'talent' or the 'human capital' from Tata Motors... which brings me to my second big question:

what are we doing (or going to do) to check this exodus?

... this introspection came haunting again when i had to answer a question in Q12: "if i would recommend this company to my friends for a great career?"

...the answer is a bit more complicated than it seems! and i must confess that this is not a right forum to answer this question!

... meanwhile, the battle continues...

"I'm a kind of paranoiac in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy." ~ J. D. Salinger

in any case, it was planned to visit AMG for luncheon, and i was on my way for that light breakfast and then...  i got this phone call... now the thing is that my phone screen has gone kaput (thanks to brawn power of a local manoos!) and there is no way i can make out who's calling... so... i had to take that call... and then... i heard one of the most cheerful voice on my phone after a laung laung time!!... and i *knew* it was NikkiZ... BUT... this lady was startled when i addressed in my usual manner (of addressing NikkiZ) and i sensed some awkward murmur on the other side... it wasn't NikkiZ ... and now my mind was running zillion Google searches simultaneously matching that voice and names and faces of people i could think of who can call with such exuberance... it took me close to one complete second in apologizing and confessing my predicament and inability to identify the caller... i was so embarrassed... i have a reputation of correctly identifying people in such circumstances...

it was JyoZ, and this was one pleasant surprise... she later told me that she was calling from RadZ's phone simply to (sort of) ambush the friends...  i decided to pull-over and catch up with her and of course her hubby as well... talking with them made me realized (once again) why har-ek-friend-zaroori-hota-hai!!

and even though there are (like) million things coming in my mind that i want to put here... i must succumb to one of the most important activity we mortals have to perform... sleep!!