Chakraan;551338Are you guys working in India ? (FFTI)
Rest assured, I won't ignore a question if it is reasonable enough :). I have taken an extended break from my career until I become comfortable with DD's transition.
The Trivandrum Chronicles: Stories and Musings from Down Under
The Trivandrum Chronicles: Stories and Musings from Down Under
Rest assured, I won't ignore a question if it is reasonable enough :). I have taken an extended break from my career until I become comfortable with DD's transition.
The Trivandrum Chronicles: Stories and Musings from Down Under
Anu_Global;551959Lively,
That post #26 was very beautiful and touching.....how is your daughter doing now? key factor is friends. Once they develop friendship, everything else becomes easy-esp at this age. You have not mentioned anything about your job in India, are you planning to work or still in settling phase?
Your post about solar power plant is really informative and helpful. We also once thought about it for our home and late abandon the idea...may be its time to look again :)
Thanks.
Thank you for goading me to write, Anu. You are right - new friendships will assuage frayed spirits. DD is still settling in, busy catching up with missed academics and finding her groove. I have taken a break from my career until her final exams are over. Will start looking again soon.
Best wishes for your solar project. I too think it would be worth your while to look at it again. It certainly doesn't have quick appeal - the idea has to grow on you :)
The Trivandrum Chronicles: Stories and Musings from Down Under
I had resumed my career a few months ago after a year’s break. Initially, I wasn’t sure about the work culture and whether I would be able to adapt successfully here. I was apprehensive and didn’t want to bite more than I could chew. So I gravitated towards a job that would be easy for me to transition in. Pay wasn’t a major consideration as long as I made enough to pay for the monthly grocery bill.
The owner of the company that I joined understood my apprehension and was very accommodating. He was flexible about my timings and time off. But the downside was that I was idling in top gear. The job had nothing to be enthused about. For some one used to high-octane action at the workplace, this came as a damper. I would rather sit idle at home rather than be idle at the office. After a month of intense non-activity, I was seriously considering quitting when one fine morning my cell phone rang.
It was a recruiter from a different city. He had stumbled upon my resume on a national job portal and wanted to know if I would be interested in an executive management position in Technopark. I vaguely remembered that I had posted my resume on the website a few months ago, but given my prior interview experiences, I was very confident that I would be rejected summarily. With nothing to lose, I nodded halfheartedly.
Surprisingly, I got a call from the company the very next day. They wanted to interview me right away. Could I make it the following Monday, the HR Manager enquired very politely.
It is said that truth is stranger than fiction and I’m compelled to agree. After two rounds of interviews, I got a call from the CEO. Would I be able to join the following week, it was his turn to enquire politely.
‘Retired at forty’ does have a nice ring to it, but the offer was one I simply couldn't refuse.
It’s about two months since I joined and life is now in overdrive, with barely a moment of respite in a high-voltage environment. I work more than 12 hours a day logging additional hours during the weekends. But I can hardly complain though. I have been fortunate enough to be able to utilize the opportunity that presented itself and jump-start my career. The rest, as they say, is destiny.
The owner of the company that I joined understood my apprehension and was very accommodating. He was flexible about my timings and time off. But the downside was that I was idling in top gear. The job had nothing to be enthused about. For some one used to high-octane action at the workplace, this came as a damper. I would rather sit idle at home rather than be idle at the office. After a month of intense non-activity, I was seriously considering quitting when one fine morning my cell phone rang.
It was a recruiter from a different city. He had stumbled upon my resume on a national job portal and wanted to know if I would be interested in an executive management position in Technopark. I vaguely remembered that I had posted my resume on the website a few months ago, but given my prior interview experiences, I was very confident that I would be rejected summarily. With nothing to lose, I nodded halfheartedly.
Surprisingly, I got a call from the company the very next day. They wanted to interview me right away. Could I make it the following Monday, the HR Manager enquired very politely.
It is said that truth is stranger than fiction and I’m compelled to agree. After two rounds of interviews, I got a call from the CEO. Would I be able to join the following week, it was his turn to enquire politely.
‘Retired at forty’ does have a nice ring to it, but the offer was one I simply couldn't refuse.
It’s about two months since I joined and life is now in overdrive, with barely a moment of respite in a high-voltage environment. I work more than 12 hours a day logging additional hours during the weekends. But I can hardly complain though. I have been fortunate enough to be able to utilize the opportunity that presented itself and jump-start my career. The rest, as they say, is destiny.
-
Memento Vivere
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 11:59 am
The Trivandrum Chronicles: Stories and Musings from Down Under
Lively;586641I have been fortunate enough to be able to utilize the opportunity that presented itself and jump-start my career. The rest, as they say, is destiny.
Fortune favors the Lively. :)
Very nice. Consider your reduced presence in thread as leave sanctioned. :)
The Trivandrum Chronicles: Stories and Musings from Down Under
Memento Vivere;586642Fortune favors the Lively. :)
Very nice. Consider your reduced presence in thread as leave sanctioned. :)
LOL MV. Thanks for sanctioning the leave. I was afraid that it might be LOP*!!! j/k
It had been a few days since I last logged into the forum. Yesterday, while I was getting ready to post, I couldn't find my thread. I scrolled 2/3 pages wondering where it could have disappeared. I hadn't realized that it had been a sticky thread. There, the leave of absence has come with a promotion!!!
*Getting used to Indian lingo at office. LOP = Loss of pay.
-
sumachechi
- Posts: 1339
- Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 3:00 am
The Trivandrum Chronicles: Stories and Musings from Down Under
Lively
Will be in Trivandrum this weekend- will send u a pm and lets see if some sort of catching up can be achieved.
Will be in Trivandrum this weekend- will send u a pm and lets see if some sort of catching up can be achieved.
The Trivandrum Chronicles: Stories and Musings from Down Under
It’s been two months since I started working in Technopark. I drive 15 kms to and fro to work every day. I leave home early and leave late from the office to beat the traffic. It helps that I drive an automatic transmission car in negotiating Trivandrum’s narrow edavazhis. A few scratches, nicks and dents later, I’m a thorough professional now, able to swerve at will and honk for no reason. Horns are taken seriously on the road and the respect that one garners behind the wheels is proportionate to the increasing decibel level of the horn.
Driving on Trivandrum roads is a complete Chandrayan package. Without spending a penny on road repairs, the Kerala government has enabled all of its citizens to experience Chandrayan right here on earth, proving that it is truly forward looking as promised during election time. Driving on the crater-ridden roads is an experience of a life time and one can’t but be amazed by the wisdom, foresight and thriftiness of Kerala Sarkar.
And when I’m not diving deep into the craters, I drive in style like a queen in the inching traffic. My tiny car transforms into a royal cavalcade, with bumper to bumper cars in front of me and behind me, and a convoy of motorcycles flanking me on either side. Where else can one get such Z category security cover for free??!!
Technopark campus is a different universe altogether. It is spread over 300 acres of lush greenery and houses over 290 IT and ITES companies employing 40,000 professionals. The campus is cosmopolitan with people from across the country and the globe calling it home. Here business enterprises flourish in the absence of the stranglehold of trade unionism. Clocks are set to multiple time zones and it’s a beehive of activity round the clock. A novel initiative of Technopark is the T-TBI – Technopark-Technology Business Incubator that provides infrastructure support to budding entrepreneurs.
The roads inside the campus are smooth and the landscaping is immaculate. The panoramic view from my office is spectacular; the canopy of green extending as far as the eye can reach with a faint glimpse of the Arabian Sea yonder.
A number of ancillary services have sprung up inside the campus, bearing testimony to human enterprise. Restaurants, a mall and a recreation club are all available within. There is even a car wash service with women armed with pails and wash cloths doing their rounds in the parking lots to give your car a new sheen while you are at work.
The other sector that thrives is security services. Every company operating in Technopark employs security personnel to man/woman its doors. Uniformed women are as common a sight as uniformed men along the corridors whose floors and walls are shined and polished by another battalion of housekeeping workers.
But like any other place, Technopark also has a soft underbelly. The workers can be seen having their meals during shift breaks seated on the stairs for lack of better facilities. The security forces sweat it out on the corridors in the heat while the rest of the workforce is ensconced in air-conditioned comfort. The disparity strikes a discordant note.
Working in the Indian setup is a complete departure from the work culture of the USA. My first impression is that there are fewer women in executive management in India than in the West, really a long way to go. I’m getting used to being addressed as Madam at work and greeted by the security personnel as they hold the door open for me in the morning. It's hilarious when people inadvertently address me as Sir by sheer force of habit and then quickly bite back their tongues and correct themselves :-) I hear Malayalam all around me and tend to switch to Malayalam easily during conversations. I swing my head in the Indian tradition from left to right like a pendulum when I nod in affirmation. With that, I can now assert that I have indeed assimilated into the Indian culture!!!
Edavazhi - By-lane
Sarkar - Government
Driving on Trivandrum roads is a complete Chandrayan package. Without spending a penny on road repairs, the Kerala government has enabled all of its citizens to experience Chandrayan right here on earth, proving that it is truly forward looking as promised during election time. Driving on the crater-ridden roads is an experience of a life time and one can’t but be amazed by the wisdom, foresight and thriftiness of Kerala Sarkar.
And when I’m not diving deep into the craters, I drive in style like a queen in the inching traffic. My tiny car transforms into a royal cavalcade, with bumper to bumper cars in front of me and behind me, and a convoy of motorcycles flanking me on either side. Where else can one get such Z category security cover for free??!!
Technopark campus is a different universe altogether. It is spread over 300 acres of lush greenery and houses over 290 IT and ITES companies employing 40,000 professionals. The campus is cosmopolitan with people from across the country and the globe calling it home. Here business enterprises flourish in the absence of the stranglehold of trade unionism. Clocks are set to multiple time zones and it’s a beehive of activity round the clock. A novel initiative of Technopark is the T-TBI – Technopark-Technology Business Incubator that provides infrastructure support to budding entrepreneurs.
The roads inside the campus are smooth and the landscaping is immaculate. The panoramic view from my office is spectacular; the canopy of green extending as far as the eye can reach with a faint glimpse of the Arabian Sea yonder.
A number of ancillary services have sprung up inside the campus, bearing testimony to human enterprise. Restaurants, a mall and a recreation club are all available within. There is even a car wash service with women armed with pails and wash cloths doing their rounds in the parking lots to give your car a new sheen while you are at work.
The other sector that thrives is security services. Every company operating in Technopark employs security personnel to man/woman its doors. Uniformed women are as common a sight as uniformed men along the corridors whose floors and walls are shined and polished by another battalion of housekeeping workers.
But like any other place, Technopark also has a soft underbelly. The workers can be seen having their meals during shift breaks seated on the stairs for lack of better facilities. The security forces sweat it out on the corridors in the heat while the rest of the workforce is ensconced in air-conditioned comfort. The disparity strikes a discordant note.
Working in the Indian setup is a complete departure from the work culture of the USA. My first impression is that there are fewer women in executive management in India than in the West, really a long way to go. I’m getting used to being addressed as Madam at work and greeted by the security personnel as they hold the door open for me in the morning. It's hilarious when people inadvertently address me as Sir by sheer force of habit and then quickly bite back their tongues and correct themselves :-) I hear Malayalam all around me and tend to switch to Malayalam easily during conversations. I swing my head in the Indian tradition from left to right like a pendulum when I nod in affirmation. With that, I can now assert that I have indeed assimilated into the Indian culture!!!
Edavazhi - By-lane
Sarkar - Government
The Trivandrum Chronicles: Stories and Musings from Down Under
Beautifully written Lively. We are planning a Kochi r2i for next year and after reading your description I'm just yearning for that Chandrayan trip. :)
-
poofygoogle
- Posts: 554
- Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:23 pm
The Trivandrum Chronicles: Stories and Musings from Down Under
Very well written with the right tinge of humor
-
sumachechi
- Posts: 1339
- Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 3:00 am
The Trivandrum Chronicles: Stories and Musings from Down Under
Plan2010;588156Beautifully written Lively. We are planning a Kochi r2i for next year and after reading your description I'm just yearning for that Chandrayan trip. :)
And Kochi beats Trivandrum hands down in that respect. We have a stretch of ditches with some tar between them that we call roads here. The Kerala GOvt truly has much to be ashamed of!