Rush Hour

It was just like another day here in Essen, Germany, where I am based out of currently for a short period of time. Along with a colleague of mine I was walking towards the Metro train station. On the way to the platform we experienced huge crowds trying to make way to the same train that we were supposed to get into. Deepu who had been here for more than a month now remarked to me that he had never seen such a huge crowd during his time here. As the train arrived understandably not everyone could get into the train but I managed to get in somehow. As the train started off I looked around for my colleague but couldn’t find him. he had missed the train.

I realised that involuntarily I had moved my backpack with my laptop to my front while jostling my way into the train. This was deja vu, reminding me of the Rush hour in Mumbai which I had called home for the last 8 years. The train that I was travelling right now resembled the Virar Fast, one of the busiest trains in the Mumbai suburban rail system of Mumbai.A word about the Virar Local Train,this train is packed with people almost double of its capacity. It is also notorious for the fact that its passengers will never allow you to enter or exit the train on any of the intermediate stations other than its source or destination. So much so that the first advice that I got when I came to Mumbai many Monsoons back was to never board a Virar Fast unless your life depended on it. 

To my amusement I realised that as soon as I had seen such a huge crowd in the station I had gone into autopilot. Reminiscent of the countless times back home where I had jostled my way into a crowded Mumbai Local train I ended up adopting the same tactics to board a train 6000 kms away. That was precisely why even without my realisation I was inside the crowded train and my colleague was left behind. Thanks to the Mumbai Local trains I have learned the valuable life skill of getting into a crowded train anywhere in the world. Not to mention you would also have a tough time when you are going to get off at a station as well. A couple of times I couldn’t deboard a train at the designated station because of the crowd. I had to get down at the next station and catch another train back. Thankfully I didn’t have to use the skill right now because my co-passengers were considerate enough to make way for me to deboard the train.

Later it turned out that the huge crowds were making their way to a place called Messe/Gruga which was the venue of SPIEL 19, the biggest board game festival in the world. The point I am trying to make here is that regardless of the Geographical Location the rush hour remains the same.Next time when you are not able to enter a Virar Local train just console yourself by saying “It is the same goddamn story across the world” On an ending note, I would like to share a well known phrase which turned out to be a prophecy in my case “If you survive Mumbai you survive the world ” . Auf Wiedersehen

P.S : A couple of videos to understand the huge crowds in the Mumbai Local Train system that I am talking about here

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Video Courtesy: To the respective owners of the video only shared here for reference

https://www.facebook.com/drivetribe/videos/592412614472214/

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2277461955627293

  

007

The iconic number is self explanatory most people will relate to the umpteen number of movies and the iconic tune associated with the much loved movie series. Right now the latest Bond Movie is up for release which is tipped to be the swansong for the lead actor Daniel Craig. 

Watching Skyfall,a few years back brought  joy to the traditional 007 fans like me. I am a person who started reading James Bond books before watching any of his movies. Thanks to my Dad's book collection I have read a good number of books before watching my first movie of the series in celluloid viz 'Tomorrow never dies'. And that too many years after its release in Star Movies. Being a teenager I still remember that my request for seeing that movie was turned down rather vehemently. Later I realised that the reason for it was that the movie was given an Adult Rating at that time. I was surprised to see how Pierce Brosnan portrayed the action hero. It was nothing like its creator Ian Fleming had envisaged. After watching a few of his films I went back in time and watched the earlier ones featuring Sean Connery and Roger Moore. I realised that when the 007 franchise started off to a certain extent it was true to its book version somewhere down the line they lost the plot. And James Bond came to be associated with insane gadgets and hot chicks.

Back in 2005 when it was announced that Pierce Brosnan would no more be portraying the iconic spy. There was much anticipation as to who will be replacing him. Daniel Craig won the race piping some of the most popular actors of that time. The list included Ralph Fiennes who eventually became a part of the Bond Series as 007’s boss M. Casino Royale was a breath of fresh air with a new actor stepping into the character. It started the trend of going back to the roots of a Bond that Ian had written. It was more of brawn and good old action rather than brainless gadgets and a parade of eye candies. The opening chase of Casino Royale bears testimony to this fact. I was spellbound while watching that in a theater back home in Thiruvananthapuram .For me the soul of Bond lies in the fact that he is a man with a lot of vulnerabilities and of self doubt who goes the extra mile to be what he is, everyone can relate to that. A man who would keep himself alive by the grit of his teeth and his physical strength rather than relying on some stupid gadget to get out of trouble. I am talking from the point of view of a fan of James Bond books.I could see the same in Skyfall as well. There is a scene in the movie where Bond ditches his modern car and chooses a vintage Aston Martin to go on a wild goose chase  with his boss M.The reason was more amusing which is that all the modern cars have tracking devices.

Spectre again was more on the same lines which went on to pay tribute to the character from the books. Here, Bond was shown as aging and trying hard to keep up with the pace of his job. At many levels it reminded me of the fact that I was also ageing, so it had a personal connect as well.The opening sequence of the movie culminating with Bond eventually getting shot was also quite exhilarating  . Here M was replaced by a male character Judi Dench had portrayed the role of Bond's boss with aplomb since 1996 which was seen as going back to its roots of the book version.

Q(Quartermaster) another recurring character was replaced by Ben Whishaw starting from Skyfall. There is a scene where the young Q hands over a special purpose pen to Bond and tells him that they stopped making gadgets anymore.In another scene young Q tries to belittle Bond over his advancing age to which Bond replies with aplomb in the field experience is much more important than being a computer geek.

Money Penny the secretary of Bond's boss had been written and portrayed as a desk agent from time immemorial. The character got a 360 degree makeover and was made a field agent assisting Bond in his missions. This was totally different from the character that was written by Ian Fleming and also portrayed in the movies so far. Naomi Harris has taken this once dormant character to new heights of bravado within the few movies that she has acted in.

On an ending note a word about Daniel Craig, for me he is only second best to Sir Sean Connery when it comes to portraying the secret agent on screen. Back in 2005 when he was announced as the replacement for Pierce Brosnan there were lot of apprehensions as to weather he could essay the iconic spy. But he has put all those naysayers to sleep with his fine performance since then .

Life has come a full circle

It is the year 2007 in the month of July I guess I was in my final year of College, among many hats that I donned at that time there was one of the Lead Placement Coordinator.Our College is gearing up for the first placement drive to take place in our premises. My Engineering College was nestled in the midst of the Kerala University Campus at Kariyavattom. Needless to say the Campus was a hotbed of Student Politics and our college was no different. On the morning of the drive while doing a routine round of the College along with the Principal he points me to a Poster of a leading Student Political Organisation which is in news currently for all the wrong reasons. Within an hour one of the MNC’s, a leading Software Services company is visiting this very place. The last thing I want is to see this poster and believe that we don’t want employees in our organisation who are too much of an activist.it had the potential of leaving a bad taste in the minds of the executives of the Company and I didn’t want that to happen at any cost.

Till this day I am not able to explain what followed next. I tore off the Poster without Second thoughts because that had the potential of spoiling that day. My Principal was appalled because such an act of defiance was definitely going to attract the wrath of the Strongest Student Political body of all times in Kerala and would definitely have put me into the Hit-list(not kill list ) of the Organisation. Now for the uninitiated, the people who know me personally would vouch for the fact that I was never a person who was known for his bravado. Even today when I think of that particular incident years back, I can’t explain the guts I displayed at that time. 

Now moving on, I had arranged for a friend of mine to be stationed at the University Campus gate to guide the visiting delegation to our College as a Pilot Vehicle.With great pains I had charted out a longer route and specifically instructed him to follow it so as to avoid all signs of Political Activity in the Campus. Now for those who know the campus you would know that there is a huge banner kept in the campus which says “Welcome to the Red Fort of SSS(party)". That was the first obstacle to avoid among many other banners and flags of the said Student Political Party.

The Poster tearing episode was definitely going to have repercussions and it was just a rush of adrenaline which prompted me to take such a rash step. The organisation was up in arms against me and it was only a matter of time before I got bashed up. Luckily for me, the Chairman, Vice Chairperson and Secretary of the College Union were my classmates who ensured that no such harm befell me during my final year and I continued to live happily ever after. 

Back to the day of the Campus Placement drive, you have to understand that there was a hell lot of preparations being done in the past few days for its success. Right from deciding the classrooms for the initial test to the rooms for the Interviews to the Lunch for the visiting delegation everything had to be factored in. To add to that we had also invited other Engineering Colleges as well for the drive, making arrangements for them was another overhead. I had roped in a good number of my fellow batch mates to volunteer for the day. 

I remember an incident on the day vividly, even though it was more than a decade back.  At the time when the lunch was being served a visiting Executive made a sarcastic comment on me and a friend of mine who was serving them lunch.  He was off the impression that both of us who had not appeared for their test were no-gooders. I gave him a piece of my mind at the end of the day by informing him that both of us were already having offers in our hand from the Leading Software Companies of the country and we were there only to help our friends

12 years later, my Company was getting ready for a walk in drive on a Saturday and I was one of the interviewers for the day. Though I had performed this role with aplomb many times I had never been a part of any such event in the past. Seeing the HR Team run around on the day to get the multitude of things done was reminiscent of that particular day many years back.I felt surreal to be on the other side of the table and it seems that life had come a full circle after all.My comeback to my native state of Kerala after a decade couldn't have gotten to a better start .

P.S :-For the record this was not my first act of defiance against the Student Political Organisation.Earlier in my first year of College I remember my Seniors coming to my class and asking everyone to join their protest at the Police Station nearby protesting against the 'Lathi charge' on a demonstration at the Government Secretariat the Previous day.In a bid to boost their numbers they were forcing all the first years to join the said demonstration.Being the son of an Indian Police Service (I.P.S) Officer as a matter of principle I categorically put my foot down and stated to them that I will have to excuse myself .They were rather pushy at first but later yielded in front of my resolve.

Check out a similar post of mine College Diaries #1, College Diaries #2, College Diaries #3,

College Diaries #4,

Farewell Mail

Epilogue

Below is my farewell mail that I had written on my last day in my previous organisation where I have spent 8 years of my prime. I am sharing the same here.

Hi All,

After a fantastic 8 years of my life in BT it is finally time to hang up my boots and move on. Come to think of it I have spent a quarter of my life in this Organization which increases the magnitude of the time I spent here and that too the best years of my life. I can’t help but jog up my memory to a rainy day, 8 monsoons ago when I landed up in the hallowed BT Office of Mumbai to become a part of the India Helpdesk Team. Right from day one it has been a wonderful ride all along across roles and across accounts. I had learnt the tricks of the trade here especially from the India Customers whom I was dealing as part of the India helpdesk. The time I spent here chiselled my rough edges and laid a solid foundation for the times to come.

My time as a Service Manager in AIA Shared Services Hong Kong would go down as one of the most fruitful assignments of my career. 2 months into the new role fresh out of the Helpdesk landing up in the AIA Headquarters at Stubbs Road Hong Kong in a crisp Business suit waiting in the lobby for my Senior Service Manager is one of my fondest memories which I will never forget. My time in Unilever was equally rewarding. I was fortunate enough to work with a great Team and a Wonderful Leader. This stint was again a great learning experience for me. I was given opportunities to work on areas and Technologies hitherto I had no exposure to.

All along I have met some great people, Mentors and Leaders who have given me some great insights both personally as well as professionally. I will forever remember these folks with gratitude for the person that I am today .I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my present and past managers among many others. Last but not the least I would like to thank all of my colleagues who I had the privilege of working with. I have made some great friends across the World from Brazil to Hong Kong during my time here.

Today morning as I was getting ready to come to office it felt surreal. I made sure that I felt each and every action rather than going through the motions. This had been my routine for the past so many years and I am going to miss BT ,the wonderful people I have worked with and even the City. I would like to sign off by borrowing a line from a placard seen in the gallery during the farewell Test of Sachin Tendulkar here at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. “Thanks for the Memories”.

Regards,

Angelo

‘Mitochondria’

I just asked my wife “What is a Mitochondria?” with a puzzled expression she asked me “Is something wrong with you?”. I asked the same question in my school watsapp group literally everyone in the group associated this to our Biology teacher. I wracked my brains further to try to recollect what a mitochondria is. I can recollect that it is something very important or a brain in an animal cell. Give me a break, this post is not about mitochondria if you want to know more please google it out.

What makes teachers good or great?

I was just replaying the question that I heard 22 years ago as a 12 year old in a Biology lecture in Loyola School, Kerala from the legendary Thomaskutty Sir. The fact that most of us still remember ‘Mitochondria’ after so many years is testimony of his greatness as a teacher. I am guilty of being a front bencher in school that could be the reason why I went one step ahead and recollected the definition of ‘Mitochondria’. I don’t know if it is even remotely correct but that doesn’t stop me from bragging. I rectified my mistake in school by being a back bencher in my Engineering College. In my MBA classes though since we were in a theatre kind of a setting where there was no last bench but rather 3 rows in a semicircle. Even there I made sure that I don't sit in the front row once bitten twice shy . I am thinking if I should correct that statement lest my son years later is going to  use that as an excuse in School. No, its fine I guess I am too lazy to delete what I typed.

Coming back to the topic Sir was an excellent footballer we could say that from the curving free kicks he used to take from just outside the penalty box during our Staff vs Students matches. A friendly football match which used to be played during every teachers day. Come to think of it Sir would have only been a few years older to me right now during that time. I guess he was trying to send us a message that you need to also be good in sports in addition to studies. Unfortunately for a lot number of his students including myself this message did not come across and we are paying the price.

In the last few years I have known a number of my friends from school to have sport related injuries because of the sole reason that they are not physically active and one fine day they start playing and get injured. Case in point about 5 years back we had a back to school event. Reminiscent of our School days both the divisions were having a 1 hour classroom lecture. After so many years true to our name it was my class that broke for games first before our adjacent class. One of my classmates Unni tried to taking a swing at the football lost his balance and fell.It so happened that none of my classmates who were doctors had turned up for the event. I remember running to the classroom where our other division from the batch was in session. The irony of the fact was that the Doctor whom I had gone to fetch was another ace footballer from our batch, Rakesh CA who was doing his PG at that time in Hyderabad. This guy is still very much in shape and still continues to play excellent football a true disciple of the Master. The point that I am trying to convey here is that it is very much important for us to drive into our next generation to spare them the way we are discovering this fact in a painful manner. It is another story that the friend with torn ligament turned up for the after day party in crutches.

To all the teachers of my generation including my wife I would like to ask you this question. How many of your students are going to remember what you taught today 22 years from now. I have stated this in the past as well that teaching is one of the most underrated professions. Ideally the cream of the society should be engaged in this noble profession but unfortunately we have got our priorities wrong . Do you know that teachers today and in the past have been severely underpaid,  it has to be kept in mind that if we invest on our Teachers today you are investing on the future. 

I wish and pray that my son gets to learn valuable life lessons like these from great Teachers. Thomaskutty Sir, take a bow! I would like to sign off by quoting Nikos Kazantzakis “Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own”. If any of you having reading this piece have a face coming up in your mind consider yourself blessed because you have been taught well. Take a pause pick up the phone and call the teacher right away if you can drop in person and give them a bouquet of flowers even better. Let us start giving the Profession of Teaching its due remember we would not have been what we are today if not for the selfless service of our teachers.

P.S: In case you like my writing  please check out few of my other posts with a similar topic.

An Inspiring Teacher, English lessons, We are the underdogs