Life of P(EM)I………..

The characters in this blog are fictitious and written just for fun after getting the inspiration by watching the movie “Life of PI”

Life of P(EM)I………..

When I was a small baby even my mom used to sing lullaby.

We had a big compound with a pond in it.  We had tulasi in front of our house, a big one.  We had parrots, Sparrows coming to our house as guests.

It was me and my siblings playing around in the house without any tension in life.  Life was fun.

Once one of my siblings wanted to go to circus but he was scared to ask dad the money.  So he borrowed money from his friend because he was very desperate to somehow go to the circus.  Yeah I understand the feeling of desperateness while as a kid.  (I don’t think it is changed much, even now before finalising the car I used to think of cars only day & night).  When he returned after having a great fun of watching the circus with borrowed money, he had to forget the entire fun after returning home.  His friend who gave money to him got caught and his dad spoke to my dad and that’s it…………..(you may fill up the gap).

Yes as the days passed by, we grew.  We had to earn.  So we came to the City Of Opportunities – The Bruhat Bengalooru (Bangalore in shortJ).

Weather was amazing; city is huge (compared to my native – mysore).  Lot of option to eat with great number of food chains.  Lot of attractions. 

When my family was busy settling in the new city, I went in search of a job.  (My job searching is an awesome story to tell.  That would be in my next blog).

Finally got a job also, it was all fun.  I worked hard because of the principals put in my mind by my family that there is no alternate to hard work.

As I said, Bangalore is a city of great opportunities & LOT OF ATTRACTIONS TOO.  I started to feel greedy.  I too wanted to have my own house to start with………..

INTERVAL………………………………………………………………………………………

A house in Bangalore – is a dream and possibility of lots.  It is dream if you cant afford, it is possible if you can afford(afford here means the relevant documents to get loan approval J)………..

Found a house, furnished the document, did house warming ceremony, etc, etc. 

Yes I also own a house.  Yes I also own a house.  Yes I also own a house.  Yes I also own a house.    Yes I also own a house.  YES I ALSO HAVE AN EMI TO PAY.  Yes I also own a house.  Yes I also own a house.  Yes I also own a house. Yes I also own a house. ………………………………

My EMI days started.  Guys your relationship with EMI or your stability factor with EMI is more than your stability factor with your company or sometimes life partner ;-).  You will end up having atleast 3 years long term relationship with the EMI.  I think banks should also honour its customers (so funny these banks are.  I took money (loan) from them and still I am their customerJ).  Like companies do for its employees, honouring them when they complete 3 years in the system, 5 years, 10 years, etc………..

Life started with ME & my EMI together in the same boat (I mean same salaried account from where I take money and my banker takes money for EMI).  My EMI started eating all my luxuries one by one.  It ate my one weekends visit to mall (earlier it was 4 visits not it is 3 visits).  It ate my plan of buying a new upgraded version of mobile.  It ate my 2 new dresses from either “W” or “U”.  It ate my 1/4^th portion of my food (instead of ordering pizzas 4 times a month, I had to restrict to 3 times).  I used to have some money for spending lavishly with my friends & it started taking share from that money too.  There came a day it threw me out of my luxury house to a small house to sustain the extra burden of rent & EMI together.

We common people also compromise a lot to become a valuable customer of Banks.

There came a big tide (RECESSION).  I had to survive somehow, because I am scared of EMI.  Because EMI is there - I had to earn money, I stayed back in the company, I worked even more hard to retain my job, however bad my manager was I learned to handle him, I never thought of taking sabbatical. I would not have achieved whatever I am today if EMI was not there.

One day in my sail with EMI, I encountered with a great company which was so good for employee related policies.  It looked very good (grass in their campus was too green compared to grass in my campus).  I was so happy.  I just jumped to that company.  DAY-ONE in that company was great.  Got lot of luxuries.  Felt it can easily take care of ME & my EMI.  After my onboarding formalities, I was introduced to the team where I would be working.  I found some friends to understand my feelings.  Later on after completing few months I realised that the employees of the company have lot of bank balance not only because they are paid heavy but mainly because they never got the opportunity to have weekends, work life balance.  I encountered with lot of employees either becoming skinny for not having proper lunch or heavy because of irregular lunch or lot of issues like BP, Diabetes, etc at the early age because of over stress.  Overnight (I am exaggerating here only to resemble to the movie) sorry not overnight but over thinking of lots of nights, changed or moved back to my old company. 

So my journey with my EMI on the same boat continued.  I started accepting this only as LIFE.  I started to have my own kinds of fun by investing time in things which I CAN DO than which I WISHED TO DO.  I started finding happiness in small things.  I started settling in my company than moving out. 

One day I realised that I can still look at stars in the sky / hope of paying some amount to my EMI to get rid of.  I started chasing closing of PF account from my earlier company.  The procedure all looked so colourful, so promising & easy.  I started looking my same happy family living in big house with all the luxury out of this idea of PF amount which I was about to get.  I waited 1 year, I waited 2 years then one day I got a good news that the PF closure cheque is sent to my earlier bank.  I thought “Bhagavan jo bhi detha hai, chappar paad ke detha hai” (like lots of fishes rushing towards the tiger).  When I went to the bank to collect the cheque there I realised the check-mate to me.  The account number mentioned in the mail is wrong against my actual account number.  So I will not get the money.  The entire fun of seeing great starts in the night changed overnight to heavy cloud that I can’t even see the moon.

I gave up, continued with same spirit of no spirit with ME & my EMI in the boat. 

But after all these struggles, I am happy that I am still sailing even when I encountered lot of tides in the journey.  I am able to still sail because I had the fear of EMI.  If EMI was not there then I would have taken some drastic steps long back.  If I were lucky I would have survived else collapsed.  So I had to truly thank EMI atleast during this journey. 

I am now again a confident individual that you put me into any sea I can survive.  Because I am skilled mariner.  I can survive any kind of TIDE until and unless it is a Tsunami J……….

Situations......(Janaki Shantharam)

Situations

What do you mean by situation?  Who can handle the situation best?  Is there any SME in handling situation?  Is there a consultancy to handle situation?  Is situation restricted to age? Location? Caste? Education? Company? Etc.

I travel by bus to office.  I am really blessed to have this mode of transportation (“At times ;-)”).  This is where my mind travels J.  Either I will be blessed with a  good sleep or a good day-dream. 

There are many things to appreciate, to be happy to.  So to start with my first trial on writing a blog (though my intention is to write a book and that too a book which will in the first release only win a booker prize;-) – uff too much janaki – but nothing wrong in thinking or dreaming big – isn’t it???

Situation varies from time to time, from age to age, etc.  If…………………………(conclusion to this sentence is at the end)

Situation 1:

Today we had a situation at office.  One of my colleague / peer and my manager discussing or arguing (whatever you want to call it as) on a process issue in the morning.  I reached office, was about to go for a good coffee break but I am called in.  My situation handling skill (sorry if I use such words called skill or attitude – habit of using this language for 10+ years by being in recruitment) was put under test. 

My colleague is asking me if he is correct in what he/she has done.  Other side of the table my manager is asking if he (manager) is correct.  What to do?  How to handle?  If you support one person, other will get offended and vice-versa.  Also I had just 5 minutes to answer to them.  What will I do?  I have to answer in such a way that the process followed by my colleague is correct but doing it by not informing my manager was wrong.  I have to be extremely diplomatic here.  I cannot let go my colleague or take risk of going against manager.  Living and appraisal issue J.  At the same time, I have to be correct in what I say.  Uff, that 5 minutes took my breadth away.  However I came out clean.

Situation2:

If this is my situation of breadth taking, then what do you say for poor husbands who has to manage colleague and manager or manager and colleague at home.  Fortunately or unfortunately both are strong and always this employee – husband is always week in being diplomat.  Ofcourse exceptional employees are also there.  As you know the bell curve in the appraisal – will always have 30% below performance level, 50% Met Expectation level & only 20% beyond expectation or out standing level.  So my reference of husbands here is only for the 80% population than the lucky wives of 20% J.

Once I and my husband in the initial days of marriage; went out.  So I was tempted to eat out, so forced him to accompany me.  We both had and came home around 9pm.  In my house we usually have dinner by 8pm or 8.30pm.  When we reached home after crossing thru this roller-coaster traffic, it was already 9pm.  So my in-laws were done having their dinner.  But still there were lot of Pongal left in the kitchen kept in hot box.  So I asked my MIL(Mother-in-law) if she has prepared extra.  She immediately said it is for us i.e. me and my husband’s share.  Uff that is when we realized that we did not inform at home that we will not have dinner at home.  OMG(not akshay kumar but real god I am referring here), what to do.  I easily escaped saying, I am not feeling hungry(isn’t it a familiar dialogue by most of the wives).  I  don’t want to eat dinner.  But my husband cannot think so fast, his RAM (random access memory) works little slow or doesn’t work as fast as mine.  So ended up eating the pongal also for his mom’s sake.  Poor think, I only felt like vomiting looking at it.  Imagine after having a heavy dinner outside, how can you accommodate additional pongal at home.  Isnt this a situation in life.  How best we could have handled it.  Simple call to home saying we want to have dinner outside would have saved the whole situation or truth, upfront tell MIL that you had outside but will surely eat the same tomorrow(if you can) or say extremely sorry and throw the food.  I think this is the situation which only situation can handle it better isn’t it?

Situation 3:

It is my humble request to all my friends to spend 1 or 2 hours with kids.  Wonderful stress buster.  Don’t get panicky or stressed by running around them.  Just enjoy every moment, see what they do, see how they do, cherish the way they do.  I don’t know about others but I do enjoy and enjoy a lot. 

Yesterday I stayed at my sister’s place.  So I was all dressed to take my niece(1.3 year old) out to park for her to play.  Poor thing was bored staying at home all day.  So she was all excited to come out with me to the play area.  When I opened the door having her in my hand is when my sister i.e. her mother came back home from office.  She is now in a situation whether to be with her mother(whom she missed the whole day) or come out with me to the park.  She has to choose one and the best for her at that time.  She looked at her and looked at me for close to 2 minutes continuously.  Then decided to come out with me to the park only because my sister went inside, changed her dress to show her that she is not going out but staying at home.  So she was sure that her mother is at home, she can go out and come back to spend time with her later.  She prioritized what is needed at this time.  Even the small mind thinks a lot in handling a situation.

Situation 4:

When I went to my sister’s apartment, I spent valuable 2 hours by talking to few kids in the age group of 2 to 6 years.  Totally amazed by their English language, amazed by their knowledge, amazed by their confidence.  Remembered when my mother used to say something, I was underplaying her.  But 2 years down the line if I don’t pick up on my communication, these kids will underplay me for sure.

One 1^st standard kid(6 years old) asked my nephew of 5 year old as how many teeth his sister is having.  He said “she has 2 teeths”.  Immediately 6 year old says “Its not teeths, its teeth”.  I asked her what is wrong in it (teeths) – just wanted to test(situation I am handling here;-)).  She said “tooth is singular, teeth is plural” that too very confidently.  My immediate reaction to safe guard my image infront of her is that – “very good, I appreciate your knowledge, keep it up”.  This is just one situation, but as I told you earlier that 2 hours are one of the best hours in my fun time.

At the same time, all kids were telling what their father is and what their mother is.  One kid aged 2.5 years didn’t know what to tell for her mother so she said “my mother is nothing” (by the way nothing here means “Housewife”).  Handle the situation by saying “nothing” for something – isn’t it a funny thing…..(just rhyming mood)

Situation 5:

I wanted to go to my mother’s house.  Now I am married for 7 years.  Situation is totally different.  I can now tell my mother-in-law directly that I am going to my mother’s house.  She also understands and is used to such requests by daughter-in-laws.  She is also trained over years of such situations.  So am I.  So situation is different J.

Situation 6:

I was busy with some work at office and work at home as well.  That is when one vendor (recruitment consultant) was chasing me for feedback on some profiles whose requirement was going slow.  I cannot say reject neither select as I myself don’t know what to is the feedback.  But this vendor was behind my life to get the feedback (I understand their situation as they are also under pressure from their manager to close the transactions).  I was cutting the calls, I was not responding on mails, I was not picking the calls coming on landline(by the way – my manager, you please don’t read this;-)).  To avoid such rigorous follow up from this vendor, I typed a message saying I am out of town and will respond after coming back to office.  End of this message I myself typed saying “Sent from black……ry” and sent the mail.  Till date my husband bought a blackberry and is using it but never is able to have this message – “sent from blackberry” for his mails ;-)….

Situation 7:

While giving this interview for the XLRI course, I was asked a question – “who is the author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People?”.  I could not think of his name at that moment, I had to answer.  So I told it is “Mr.Covey”.  Promise you that for the whole of my life I will not forget Mr.Steven Covey J

So situation is situation across age, group, location, etc.  Situation handling improves with age.  Even while interviewing situation handling questions varies with experience.  If you are interviewing a fresher, situations given to handle are different than when you are interviewing a manager.  The difficulty in question increases with experience.  Rather increases with experience ;-)

Situations are many to explain but just to refresh haven’t you faced with any of these situations in your life once………

1. Where you want to make some contributions for your presence sake in a hot discussions in the office

2. You are introduced to a new manager or super manager(can be head of some function) as how to impress first time.

3. You joined a company first time in your life and gone for natures call and see that your super boss is also there in the rest room.  You are ashamed to go for rest room infront of her / him (as though they don’t go).  You still go and just flush and come out without finishing your actual purpose.  Is it?

4. You tend to lie though your intention is not lie – like you go out with your husband or boyfriend or girlfriend for a movie.  But cant tell that at home for some or other reason, so you say that you had gone out on some work.  Also there was no network so your mobile was also not reachable ;-)

5. Married woman specially, want to go to mothers house (this strong feeling of going to parents house is there in the 1^st year, later it will come down slowly).  So don’t know what to tell.  First time you can be frank or 2^nd time you can be frank or 3^rd time.  But 4^th time for sure, you cannot be straight; you have to think of some reason why you want to go to mothers house.  Is it?  This searching for reasons is not just to tell your in-laws but at times your husband also…..

6. You have lot of change in your purse but don’t want to spend, you say no change upfront to auto guy or bus conductor.  When he also shows no change, you will end up paying from your changes though you would have said no change upfront in the beginning………………

7. Many situations you have to handle if you are a manager and leading a team.  Like you have some emergency at home and have to take leave.  But you would have not approved all the leave for your team mate the previous day.  Reason for leave can be same from the team mate.  How to handle?  How to handle this where you should not have the guilty feeling?  Sometimes this guilty feeling will become too expressive that it shows on your face too? Isnt it?

8. List goes on and on and on……………..(you can add yours)

Situation varies from time to time, from age to age, etc.  If handled well then best situation handled in life, else the worst (choice is yours)

Yours Truly
Janaki Shantharam