OUTSOURCING MENANCE

The other day, I was returning from Copenhagen Airport after receiving my family from India. The taxi driver is from Northern part of Iraq and in is living in Sweden since 20 years. I found the driver very talkative. And it recollected my days in Cab, wherein certain drivers were so talkative that invoke irritation some times. But this driver was different. He was discussing with me international outsourcing issues. He told me that European companies pay $ 2 per day at Bangladesh to worker for stitching of the clothes and does not provide any social security or facility. Whereas, for the same kind of work, the local cost is $ 100 plus other Government obligated social security and compulsory holidays.
I tried to co-relate the same situation with myself. I am a employee of well known company and working on almost similar pattern. My job is based on project, which always has a deadline. It does not matter if we have holidays or festivity around those deadlines. These projects are outsourced to us by MNCs with their HQ in developed western countries. I have been working in this environment since many years. What I have found, that these companies can not force their employees not to take vacation or work during weekend in order to meet the deadlines. However, these companies enforce the outsourced contractors to meet the dead lines, come what may.

Their employees enjoy the holidays and festivities to fullest, whereas we are required to work during those days. Even if we take a leave, our manager would call to know the status of the work, spoiling the mood of bunking work. We are required to work in major festivals as US is open, but we will not get Christmas holidays, as we don't observe that festival. So we are screwed. Since project has to be completed, we need to stretched ourselves , a bit, but outsourcing company's employees does not stretched. They even mind calling them during their leisure time. You need to say sorry first for the call and than put your problems. If the gentleman is in good beer mood, he will listen else yell at you for disturbing him.

Most of the time, our managers also agree to these MNCs and force their team to work during holidays, else they have right not to recommend performance linked bonus. Thus outsourced team neither enjoy work nor holidays or personal moments. They are always under pressure of performance. The worst situation is we are required to work during their office time, so most the team work half day / night or during night. This leads to serious health problem and impact circadian rhythm.
My one of the colleague is asking for a transfer from one city to another and her request is not granted, only because these big MNCs does not want her to relocate and our Managers also waggle like a dog's tail.
I feel that these western countries are treating us like a resource and our political leaders don't do anything to create jobs locally.

Price less ..Human Emotions

Last week, I was at Copenhagen airport to receive my family. I was very much excited to receive them and I had reached there couple of hours before. I checked the expected time of arrival of flight and it was reaching little earlier than the scheduled time. Since I had to wait for about two hours, I took a bench in a waiting lounge and started to see people.
People were anxiously waiting for their nears and dears one. This comprised all the age groups from seniors to tiny toddlers. Some of the teen aged were carrying banners with greetings slogan for their friends/ family members. While one group of people were wearing funny things to make their guests laugh. As I had come earlier, I noticed people were standing since long to see their friends. Employees of the tour operators and taxi drivers were also part of the waiting crowd.
Arriving People are greeted with same warmness and fondness all over the world. There is no difference in emotions with the color of skin or religion. Blacks / Browns/ Whites were sharing the same emotions. Heart and feelings are same across all over the world and go hand in hand. Onlookers also enjoy the moments when someone hugs someone. They start hugging to expected guests in their mind at that moment. Their heart also cries when they see people greeting with tears. It is difficult to control your emotions at that moment. Surrounding crowd participates in that moment, unknowingly. This crowd steels and share your personal feelings. Employees of tour operators and drivers feel relieved when their expected guests reaches to them and say I am the one, you are waiting for. They also show gratitude towards the guest and try their best to act and show the hospitality.
Alas, my own taxi driver did not wait, and left without taking us to our home. There are such people also among the crowd, who do not have patience or are suffering from their own biases.
It is interesting to see emotional expressions. I believe these expressions cannot be captured in writings or camera. Old people, young people and toddlers..all enjoy these precious moments.... Price less...

My Colleagues

It has been one & half month since I am living in Sweden. I am working with Swedish as well as Indian colleagues. I have found some of the Indian colleagues are working with Swedish people since 5 years. But Swedish people doesn't know our culture. It was strange.

When I was in USA, we used to tell our American counterparts about our culture and festivity. And they were very curious to know about this. That's how we respect each others culture and know each other better.

I started sharing about our festivity with Swedish colleagues and they appreciated and informed that they were not aware of it. My managers also appreciated this informal move and termed it as a wheel for better relationship.

Coming back to my Indian colleagues, we belong to different geographies in India. Most of them are from South, 2-3 people are from North, 1-2 from West and rest are from Eastern part of India. So we all are from different cultural and educational background. What I find common about all, they provide all free unwanted advises to new person like me in this country as well in project. I am tired of such advises. I just could not figure out, how to get rid of such advises. To me there are two option either not to talk anything or just don't discuss anything with them. I do not know which one is feasible.

My internet installation delay is also owe to advise of my one the colleague, who informed that I can have it very cheap and he can help me. Though he took me to one of the shop, but he could not get one cheap. Ultimately I decided myself to go for one with the help of my manager, who is an exception.
one day, I was telling my colleague about trouble I got in finding a bank, due to one wrong turn. Oh..God I did a big mistake. I just received number of advises, which was not required at all. I just got fed up and decided not to talk any more.

The other day, an issue was raised by client...it was a critical system issue...at that point of time, we forget that we belong to different cultures or geography and all tried to resolve the issue ASAP.  At that time, only single thing was in mind ... resolution.... That's the way I like it....we were helping each other and worrying about escalations... But thank God...We were successful....it was Just In Time :)

I have volunteered to give training on a topic which is not applicable in our project. However, it would be new knowledge for the team. I have already learned that in my previous project. I asked my colleagues of previous project if they can provide necessary information so that I could prepare the training material. But my request was not  granted due to one or the other reason. These colleagues used to spent most the leisure time with me in past. However, one of my colleague understood my needs and provided me information which I needed for training. That is what I classify as exemplary help.. I think God always create one human among the crowd who crosses the line and help you out from the deep trouble.

We The Indians

In Swedish TV channel, a program is broadcasted on Australian Border Security. This program highlights about the tough job of immigration department at airport, arrival visa interviews, raid on illegal immigrants and prevent smuggling . The program shows the passengers who are caught submitting false declaration about the goods they are carrying in their baggage from their own country to Australia.

I usually watch this program, not as a choice, but as compulsion as no other program is aired in English at that time. The security personals catch many passengers and interview them. Large number of passengers are caught carrying food items. The commentator of the program, exaggerate the food items in such a way that it looks like that somebody is caught carrying a bomb with intentions to bombard Sydney.

A British woman was caught carrying one banana and three apples. The narrator of the program described those food items as very dangerous items as banana and apple can spoil the soil of beautiful Australia. The woman accepted her mistake for not declaring the food items and paid the penalty of AUD 220. However, she didn't like the way security officer behaved with her.

There are other instances where other foreign nationals were caught and ordered to pay penalties for various non declared items like food items, seeds, weapons, cigarettes etc.

Similarly an Indian couple was caught for non declaration of food items. Their baggage was full of pickles, spices, sweets , namkeen etc and the couple did not mention that in declaration form. The man started arguing with the security officer that he did not take the declaration seriously. In his arguments he also said we 'Indians' are habitual of taking such things lightly. We 'Indians' do not read the legal things carefully. While doing meaning less argument with the security team, he was saying all the bad things about Indians and Indianization. When security team did not consider his pleas, than the man declared that he is a heart surgeon in India and should be taken leniently. His wife who was standing silently, all of sudden started coughing and said she was not well and had fever. Thus security should show mercy on her. This also did not impress security officer and they confiscated all food items and imposed the penalty of AUD 220. Watch this video here ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJHbbAQmpJQ

The incident looks small, but in this process the couple has insulted the entire Indian society. Since Indians take all things casually, they are not civilized and do not observe law, that security force will see all Indians with suspicion. That couple does not know how much damage they have done to us. Such persons have no right to speak on behalf of the entire race. The couple also tried to show that they are respectable citizens in India by disclosing the professions. Do respectable citizens behave in this manner?

While watching that program, nationals from other countries did not speak any thing about their race or society or habits in general. Though they were annoyed but always admitted that it was their own mistake and not of Britishers, Chinese or Indonesian.

When will we learn to admit our mistakes and not blame our Indianization? We need to respect our own race and culture, else how the others will respect India and Indianization.

Chaos in Early Morning

My life starts early in the morning at 5:30 AM when I wake up with the Korean beats of my most disciplined smart phone, which never tires, always punctual and regular. In turn  I wake up my wife. Sometimes she does not want to get up, but alas....morning sleep is not in the fate of a school teacher. She has to wake up and reach the school by 7:30.

She calls children to wake up and get ready for the school. Usually kids wake up with oooh ..ha hmmm... and get late for the school sometimes. And from here, struggle starts to reach school in time.

Van walahs real struggle to pick the children, who are late or do not reach to the picking point. They start blowing horn outside the society gate for calling a kid from a apartment far away inside the society. So for calling one kid, they blow such a loud horn and cause associated noise pollution, it creates irritation to those who love to sleep at that early hour or love peace like me. The van drivers patience losses when one of the mother shouts from her balcony, again far away, ...he is coming...wait for him and don't go away...hearing this driver reacts from tomorrow onwards he should be at this place..else I will leave... This conversation happens loudly over a distance and almost daily.

Since van is getting late due to one kid, he has to pick other kids as well from the door step, he starts violating traffic rules, to reach school on time. Many a time I have seen, they drive on the wrong direction with maximum possible speed. They violate each and every traffic signal come in between. Nobody thinks about the dangers of such rash and erratic driving.

Similarly I have seen school teachers jump the traffic signals so that their attendance register do not bear the red mark. Same example is set by the parents, who visit the school to drop their kids. If they are getting late, they also violate all traffic rules.

During the entire process of reaching school, most of the time we forget that kids are watching us. Kids are keen observers and follow, what they see. Since we, as driver, teacher or parent set the wrong examples of bad driving and thus responsible for producing bad driving habits in our young generation.

Move Forward the Country

On 26th Jan, our RWA celebrates the Republic day. On this day one of the senior citizen of the society unfurl the Flag and then office bearer of the RWA gives speeches. Children do cultural program and celebration ends with luncheon.

Unfortunately I could not participate in the celebration due to some other commitments. However, I have listened to one of the speeches delivered by Secretary of the RWA. Though the speech was in Hindi, I try to translate it. " We should live with honesty and do the hard work. We have to move forward the country by our hard work......." After end of the speech everyone clapped and anchorperson repeated the sentence.."Yes yes sahib, we will move forward the country...."

My watch stopped here. I was thinking how a common man like me can move forward the country? Is it something like a broken truck, to which, we need to give a hard push so that It can move forward? I look around in my neighbourhood. Fist thing I noticed, illegal extensions of the apartments, for which every resident has greased the palm of every stakeholders. Our Hon'ble speaker was among the firsts to get his apartment extended. So no Honesty here...It was merely a speech, which he intended to deliver like any other politician. There was clearly a difference in his sayings and deeds.

Our great leaders and religious gurus have set the expectations from the common man to contribute his share in moving forward the country by:-
remain satisfied,
obeying the complex laws,
paying heavy taxes,
not paying bribe to settle your traffic rules violation or reduction in electricity bill etc etc
The list is endless.....

But does it really matter for a country, which is run with corrupt practises by corrupt people. Riches are becoming more rich...they race to come in to Forbes most influential/ wealthy list...We are proud that Indians are finding place in that list. India is moving forward.
How a common man can contribute in it? I am still trying to get a definitive answer..

Ghar ka Khana by Cook

The other day, my friend invited me over a dinner along with family. My friend is a well settled in his career. He has two kids, who are about to settle in their life.

They have big 4 bedroom apartment, each family member owns one room. It was surprise for me that they have engaged a part time cook, who cooks for them in the morning and evening. I didn't mind it coz lady of the house is also working and is a career oriented woman. Thus she does not get time for cooking and all.

In old days, my Maa used to cook for the entire family. The simple food was poured with Love. We, brother and sisters used to eat together surrounding the angeethi or chulah. During that moment, we used to share lot of things and there was a connect between the siblings. The same culture is passed on to my wife and my kids. Now we also eat together as a family and ensures that we will have one meal altogether, although, instead of talking all the time, sometimes we watch TV. Still I feel we are connected and enjoying simple food poured with Love.

Coming back to dinner, what I discovered, that every member of my friend's family is busy in personal life.  I realised that they do not eat together. Children do not get the food cooked by the mother, thus I see missing important ingredient Love in the food. Yes mother do cook during weekend, by helping the cook. They were not talking over the diner table, no laughs no jokes... ( bad habits perhaps..???).

I find that there was a disconnect between the family members as everybody loves to enjoy in their own privacy. Kids do not know whether their mother is in pain or need something. Similarly husband doesn't know the needs of the children or wife. I feel the family is living as paying  guest under one roof.

What kind of society we are building.... In the race of metro life, we are forgetting to inculcate the family values in our children, which is the heritage of Indian culture.

Animal Lovers

During my morning walk, I meet many animal owners, who, bring their pets to accompany them for a walk. Though it might give them a sense of security and pride, they fail to prevent the pets excreting on garden grass, walkways, pavements, roads and other common passages. Thus the whole place becomes dirty and stinky. Stray animals also contribute their share.
Most of the time we abuse the human beings, who use every nook and corner as public toilets. What to say about these proud animal lovers. They are equally culprit to make the public places filthy.
It's time for regulators to make it compulsory for every pet owner to get their pets trained for civic habits and also make it compulsory to clean the mess spread by their animal.