Unfurl it!

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I am currently working at Patni Computer Systems Ltd as part of my Summer Project for my MBA course. One of the things that Patni is known for, apart from being one of the leading global providers of Information Technology services and business solutions (this from their website :P), is the awesome transportation service they provide their employees with. The transportation consists of a fleet of buses on contract which follow particular routes every single day. And when I say fleet of buses, I mean a fleet which can rival that of a small city’s (say my home city Thane) Municipal Transport (TMT) service! OK I might be exaggerating a little bit, OK quite a bit, but you get the drift.

Once the day is over, it is fun to see two dozen buses, in the white and brown livery, leave all at the same and make their way out of SEEPZ one after another. I know what you are thinking, I was just ranting about their huge fleet of buses and now I am talking about only two dozen buses! Actually, they have close to 30 buses at their office in SEEPZ and similarly they have offices in two other locations in the city. So that works out to quite a lot of buses traversing quite a lot of routes.

The route I take from SEEPZ comes to Thane via Powai. This route passes through the flyover which goes right over the Larsen & Toubro (L&T) campus. I like this flyover a lot just for the way it has been made in between some of the buildings in the L&T campus. At this point, to my left comes the glass covered building of L&T Infotech; and finally I come to the core point I want to make.

Atop this building, every single day, in the evening twilight, I see two men getting down a hoisted Indian Flag, the Tricolor, the Orange-White-Green, fluttering in the wind! And it is one of the most awesome sights I witness. And before I know, a smile comes to my face. I wish more companies would hoist a flag. It is not just about having the Flag atop your building, it is about the emotion behind it. It is about telling everyone, that we are an Indian company and we are proud of it. If it were upto me, I would not only put up the flag and tell the guards to hoist it and get it down every day (which L&T does), I would give this PRIVILEGE to a different person every day. Imagine the precedent one would be setting by doing this. I understand that things like you having the building for yourself and other such issues come up, but they are too trivial.

Taking this a little broader, I don’t think there are enough Flags around anyways. Flags to us have become a symbol of the Independence and the Republic days only. I have bought myself a small cloth Indian Flag that I am really proud of. I know there are many issues attached to this, the fact that by law, you cannot hoist a Flag unless you have permission. But I remember a few years back when someone was arrested for hoisting the Flag at his residence and he defended himself and won at the Supreme Court! There some absolutely valid reasons for this law, but there has to be some leeway given in this regard.

For now however, I guess atleast the corporates should Unfurl it!

IT is my desitny?

I have never been a person who believed in destiny. I never wanted to believe that certain things in my life have already been decided. It somehow makes me feel uncomfortable. However, I am being made to rethink.

As quite a few of my imaginary readers would know, after finishing my Junior College, I started doing my graduation degree in Engineering (IT). Yes, I thought I want to be a Software Engineer. But almost all of you know that I am not one! Halfway through my graduation, I realised I *don’t* want to be an engineer. I dropped out and finished my graduation in Management (BMS). I have always been a tech freak and staying updated with technology is one of my passions (This was the logic behind becoming a Software Engineer).

I graduated in Management and specialised in Finance in my final year. Although I was certain that I wanted to make a career in Marketing. Taking Finance was my way to show myself what I would have to do rest of my life if I did opt for a career in Finance. It worked out for me. I sat for placements, I did get a good job in Marketing and I did do very well at the job. The job in question here though, was (yes, you guessed it) at an IT company! But I really didn’t mind it, I really like this field remember? The company was Directi, which is a great company to work for. I was working for their business unit called Logicboxes and had absolutely brilliant, young, like-minded people working around me. All in all, an awesome learning experience.

Having worked there for a year, I knew I had to study more and secured admission at K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research (SIMSR) for an MBA, specialising in Marketing. I am having a great time doing my MBA and through my first year. MBA demands you to do a summer project at any organisation, in the two months between the first and the seond year. Again I sat for placements, I did get a job in Marketing and hopefully will do very well again at this job. The job in question here again, (yes, you guessed it) is at an IT firm! This time however, it is at a bigger company called Patni Computer Systems Ltd. and this one usually competes with the Infosys’, the TCS’ and the Wipros of the world. So a bigger company and hopefully better too, but still in IT!

So inspite of avoiding being a Software Engineer, am I destined to work for IT?