Tempostand

Chirping of birds, rustling of dry leaves, splashing of water, waves,breezes,volcanoes are sounds and are expressions of their own form. Music as said has evolved from these natural sounds and beings. A form of expression, entertainment, energy and many more, music has evolved in various genres and forms to enrich its existence. Culture, traditions, geographies, time period even technologies played their role to give shape to various genres of music. Lyrics, instruments and language combined to give memorable compositions. Great musicians, artists have contributed to this wealth. We in the 21st century posses this vast music domain spanning in various regions, traditions, instruments etc. Infact the span of music is so large that today every individual can find music/artists/compositions of his/her choice. Gone are the days when people looked up to a particular artist or composer to endow them with the music of his/her skills. The practices of finding artists and "music of my choice" have begun. Talented regional artists lacking proper platform to reach out their crowd have been in great demand lately. People in today's world have grown their understanding of music. They are now mature enough to evaluate a composer by his particular musical composition. In this changing scenario, many technologies have evolved to take artist to their crowd. One such effort is by Tempostand.com. It is bringing composers, artists, musicians who are talented and working hard to enrich the diversity of music to its real appreciator. People who love music and who appreciate the genuineness of its composition have praised the team of tempostand.com time and again on their efforts. This article is only a treatise to reflect on "what music is" and "what the team of tempostand is doing to evolve its concept ".

A Walk to Remember

A brief intorduction of the characters
Danish: 6 foot 4 inches tall....often mistaken as being a foreigner due to his skin and hair colour....many people of our batch still believe that he is DASA entry and not a JEE qualifier from Udaipur, Rajisthan...infact this general perception has led him to belive that India is not meant for him...you see it is quite difficult to breathe the oxygen of the upper layers of the atmosphere and look at people from so high above....
Sumit and Pushkal : 5 foot 5-6 inches..these dwarf had a constant habbit of exploiting the rare species of Danish's breed...they are found to be testing his patience, distracting and irritating him through there verbal comments and long walks...

7 pm evening time; three people at 18/1-Kalabagan Lane, Tollygunj, Kolkata
Danish: Chalna Movie dekhne chalte hai
Pushkal : Kya karega jakar, aram se ghar par rehte hai
Sumit : Arrey chalte hai pass mein to hai
Pushkal: Chalo
Danish was already ready. Sumit and Pushkal slipped into something that was more presentable to go outstide. The trio walked through the Kalabagan Lane to reach Prince Anwar Shah road. About 40-50 m walk and they reached the Naveena hall. Shit, they had already seen the movie. What now ? A quick discussion. They were targeting the tickets of 9 pm show. Closest halls were Menuka and Malancha. However, both were in opposite directions from Naveena. We were not considering a hall displaying Bengali and Bojpuri movies somewhere in between. The bright beautiful minds of Pushkal and Sumit concluded that as we had a lot of time we would go by walking. Danish was new to this walking and exploring agenda. So the three missionaries set off. However, Sumit was even smarter. Why go to main road, travel along it and then travel back in the same direction where we are. Pushkal aptly chose the lane to walk into. They took a lane going in the direction of Menuka. Why not, Pushkal and Sumit had been exploring places like that only. Taking unknown lanes and reaching the destination. It’s another story that they once reached a place at midnight in a water filled road where someone warned them not to go right otherwise there was a possibility of their being robbed of their belongings. Anyway, they set out to reach Menuka through a non-conventional way and to find a shorter way compared to the conventional one. They had time in their hand. Pushkal led the way. They went left and right, from one lane to another. However, with every turn things looked more puzzled than before. Half an hour walk and Danish was boiling. He wanted to get some of these two dwarfs. Nature has its own way dealing with things. As Danish was gearing up to scold Pushkal and Sumit, a group of boys from the basti they were crossing said “Is he a foreigner”. This seemed to calm down Danish a bit. Pushkal replied, “He is from Rajasthan”. Anyways the three gems of TMILL were following the leads provided by people they met at regular distance. An hour passed and they were still nowhere. They found themselves crossing a railway siding. Confused, the logical adaptations to their walk given by Pushkal were making things worse. Nevertheless, there were people who were somehow consoling them that Menuka was not far away. After one and a half hour of walk, they finally reached the main road leading to Menuka. The three warriors were tired. These three musketeers had walked from all kind of road and even crossed bridges, railway siding, kacha, pakka roads, seen from the best of houses to slumps and finally they were near their destination. They reached Menuka hall. Danish had taken out some money from a nearby ATM for the purpose. Well this was a hard journey to see a movie. To their disappointment, it was not the same movie mentioned in the site. It was now showing “Aaja Nachle”. Who is going to see a dance program of Madhuri Dixit for 2 hrs or more. Probably now the they took the most judgemental decision “Take a taxi and back home”

Johnny

My first pet dog Johnny. I was in class ninth. The month was January 1998. My uncle had come to our home. He had earlier shown indication of giving up his dog to us. My mother had never denied but she was also never ready to have it as a pet. I was fascinated by the idea though I had not seen the dog. I just knew it was a cross bread dog of Doberman and Indian desi dogs (donot know the name). Anyways even though my mother looked boiled up at my suggestion to bring it, I went with my uncle to bring the dog. There it was tied with rope to a tree. Jumping and standing on its two legs raising the other two, trying to reach me. “Yeh kateta hai kya” (Does it bite)..”Nahi Nahi..bhokta hai..ussi se kafi log darr jaate hai”(No…it just barks..enough to scare outsiders..….”Thik hai mein isse le lunga” (I will take it)….then it was in my home..my pet…my new buddy…thin bony…untidy…as it had not been washed long time back…6 months old…with the colors of a Doberman and figure of a Desi dog……extremely agile and quick….My mother’s new headache… initially she never accepted the dog…for her it was a new trouble brought in by her younger son….. though she was the one taking care of its food….and ordering me to feed it and take it out for stroll….whoever came to our house (relative, friends) had an odd remark about it….initially we kept it tied, for the fear of it trying to run back to our uncle’s home…which was in 5km range of our house…..We had no dog chains..so we tied it with a rope..it use to cry and cry the whole the day, till either my brother or me use to return from school and untie him….(kept it tied to prevent it from digging the gardens)…..One afternoon when I came back a….from my neighborhood..from Mr Colonels home a bhaiya came to talk to me….he said your dog is crying all day..he had a german shepherd bitch ‘Cindy’ and had trained it…he came and asked me to untie it as the rope was hurting it…..I said it will run away..he said it wont, just keep some biscuit or something it likes in your hand….I let him untie it….and then like a free bird..Johnny started dashing here and there…like exalted and energized to full strength…after some dashing it came back to the home….then started Johnny’s journey in our family….during the first few months..My brother and I use to play with it…just to keep it active as told to me by our neighbor…go out and run with it…even while driving a scooter I use make it run along….it had some stamina and speed….would even momentarily run with the scooter running at 30-40 km/hr…And as my mother had not come completely on terms with the dog…I was to take care of its bathing, ticks and medical visits…I use to take advice from my neighborhood bhaiya about feeding and training of my dog…and use to implement these things without any ROI to my parents…anyways….the dog became smarter in looks and gained health…became one of the most dreaded dogs in the neighborhood…and even our known and unknown people who use to come visit our house complimented the dog….My mother had also started liking the dog...though the dog kept nagging our family when it use to run away for hours and come back after midnight…dirty and making us wash it….if it was not a winter night..otherwise we had to arrange special clothing for the king…..Anyways I did enjoy a lot with it…taking it to walk….handling its fights…enjoy he much the people around were scared of it…neighborhood kids telling me how threatening it looks…even beat it when it made mistakes..though later I realized less severe tricks to teach it so called discipline….the dog kept it cool when my mother brought a Pomeranian…..actually it maintained its cool throughout while this younger dog use to bother it…climbing on it and bugging it as I would say a elated and curious child goes on to approach someone…..After joining my college though I never spend much time with it….And it was the starting of my fifth year….2006….my mother had been telling me that the dog had lost a lot of weight and that it was under constant medical treatment…it had left eating food…my mother had to forcefully open it mouth to feed it…for 2 months it was like this….I came home on my summer break…it was the same..not moving…still and calm..it did open had its eye to show indication of life..but never responded..the agility and speed was gone..it was lying at one place waiting…After I had come..the next to next night it passed away….In the morning we found it was dead…not moving..still and calm..no hearbeat…no flow of blood..body stiffening…….I had carried it many times…sometimes to prevent it to get involved in a fight..some times out of love….sometimes to take it to bath….but this time I carried it to bury it…this was its last time….it was dead..maybe it was waiting for me to come back to meet me one last time….may be not….but it did left me with a lot of memories to cherish…My first pet dog Johnny….

My first Numerical Ability test

I was in class 4th as I remember...the class teacher came in and told us about some test being conducted..in which we could win prizes...she read out something and also told how the answer were to be marked...what I got from my partially distracted observation was that if we mark a wrong answer and want to correct it we should completely darken the worng answer and mark a tick right in the option we think is right..and that we have to do working on question paper....At home I informed my parents about the test and was given a clearance to undertake the test...form was bought and everything was set....i did not felt it necessary to read the instruction in the form as I felt the teacher had explained everything clearly..working on the question paper..if I mark a wrong answer I had to completely darken the box and tick mark in the answer I thought was correct...I had to go to MKP college and give the test...I had reached my seat without delay or problem and was ready to take the test....everything was set and right....I did give the test..the question paper was distributed..they also gave me an sheet with boxes..probably for marking if I go wrong....the whole time I did mark the right answers in the question paper...but there were only two to three answers that I marked wrongly in the question paper..so I darken those options in the sheet provided and marked the right answer...the time up...the teacher started collecting...what the hell..she was collecting only the sheet..not the question paper...a sudden realisation struck...it was the answer sheet.....panic ran into me..I begged the teacher to allow me to mark in the answer sheet...the invigilator teacher did not realise the problem...and thought I was asking for more time to mark more answer not even looking at the two answer marked sheet that she took from me....snatch and she was gone....I was thunderstruck...failing was a threat when I was a kid...blood ran out of me....When I was coming out to the MKP college gate and saw my mother coming...tears started to flow down...I cried and cried like a baby...telling my mother what had happened...at first she was not amused...but then she asked me not think about it...she did not wanted me to say that it was just a test..probably for the fear of my taking my exams easily and she also did not wanted to scold me...her dilemma was to decide whether to let me get away with this and later on take all the exams I faced for granted or not....so she just told me that I should have read the instructions and listen when Papa was trying to explain or when the teacher in the school told me....anyways the results came...My class teacher also my maths teacher was struck by a lightning bolt as she was distributing and saw my result..she hesitated to call out the marks...and as I was in the front seat she handed it over to me...well till then she considered me good in mathmatics.....anyways I had got a zero or 4 marks in that Numerical Ability test....

Run by Collective Soul

Are these times contagious
I have never been this bored before
Is this the prize I have waited for
Now with the hours passing
There’s nothing left here to insure
I long to find a messenger

Have I got a long way to run
Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run

Is there a cure among us
From this processed sanity
I weaken with each voice that sings
Now, in this world of purchase
I am going to buy back memories
To awaken some old qualities

Have I got a long way to run
Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run
Yeah, I run

Have I got a long way
Have I got a long way
Have I got a long way to run
Have I got a long way to run

Yeah, I run (have I got a long way to run)
Yeah, I run (have I got a long way to run)
Yeah, I run (have I got a long way to run)
Yeah, I run (have I got a long way to run)

the brute of tegbahadur road...

I have a pet dog; pomeranian...white coloured...well this is not about the dog nor is it about its licking and butter as Frosty a friend of mine will put it..this is not about my intimate moments with my dogs as Navjot another friend of mine will put it...this is also not about my mother feeding me in my dogs bowl as my friend Rahul will put it....I went home in December...it was a cold winter noon..there was a cold breeze blowing...there was no sign of any other human being...I was taking my dog for a walk...walk/stroll is quite a relevant word, usually used for the business that my dog goes on to do outside...anyways we have a 50m lane in which my house is on one side..this lane starts with two “leechi ke bagh” on either side...I took my dog to this part of the lane..so that it gets done with its business in the bagh...from the turn to our lane a girl was coming....she was holding some book or something....my dog was moving about carelessly in the bagh near the edge of the road....as she came closer she stopped...holding her book tighter and closer to herself.... she was holding on to her book in way as if someone was taking off her dupata....she looked to me and said...”App isse pakad lo” gesturing towards my dog....I said “Chale jayo, kuch nahi karega”.....the girl as if someone was draining her out said..”nahi aap use pakad lo”.....being a good citizen I approached my dog to get hold of it...my dog turned around to look at the girl...and took a position....the position is the one that dog’s take to let out their excreta...and then it began...the procedure...while the girl held on to her book and dupata...I looked on as a silent observer..not intending ot interfere with the nature's call..not once disturbing my dog....for the thought of having to bring it back again outside for a stroll...when my dog was done..it was like it was saying to the girl “Take this.....”.... we went back into our house and hopefully the girl reached her destination.....I do not think anyone else would have felt more victorious then my dog...being a pomeranian...it scared the shit out of a miserable girl....and I being its master stood there watching dumbfound helplessly....

Forest Gump...

The other day I was watching the movie “Forest Gump”. And I was thinking what this movie is about? Is it about an individual with low IQ and how he faces his life? Is it about his journey to marry the girl he loved all life long and ultimately become a responsible father? I believe there are many schools of thought in it. I have not read its reviews so I cannot tell, what the experts thing was the purpose of the movie. Just that it touched my heart and it does touch many people’s heart. I first came to know about it through a very close school friend of mine, Vijay. I remember we were in Mussouri (A group of school going boys, hanging out for a day in a distant place from home). I also remember that while walking the entire time Vijay kept talking about it to me and I was just registering the facts of the movie (not reflecting on the incidents he told me). He is a fan of Tom Hanks. He told me about the movie in such minute details, I felt like I have seen the movie. I never saw the movie on television or computer or anyone’s room just because of that feeling until now. I do not really appreciate a lot of things is quite reflective of this. There was lingering feeling or assumption in my mind that the movie is made to show the struggles of a person. I saw the movie and I said to myself they are not showing that. They are not interested in empathizing how this person who is not very smart leads his life. And what did I infer? From the movie the hero does what he wants to and everything with sincerity and hard work. He believes in something and follows it blindly putting everything to it. And the onlookers are puzzled. He runs because he wants to. He knows what is right and wrong to him and has no doubt about it. So what is the movie about? Well to me it is about knowing what you want to do, believing in it and knowing why you are doing it. That is the objective of one’s life. You may not materially gain from it but you will have the satisfaction that you did it. Everything else will follow. I would conclude that the movie was not about a successful person rather it was about a successful life.

IIM I Interview Form

Interview Form
for
Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP)
(2008-10 Batch)
Commencing July 2008

IIM INDORE

Ø Scholastic Achievements
i. Attained All India Rank of 1388 at IIT-JEE in 2002
ii. School Topper in Mathematics in Class 10th ICSE Board Exams
iii. School Topper in Mathematics in Class 12th ISC Board Exams
iv. Attained 2nd Position in Intra School Level and Participant at the District Level in National Geo Map Quiz in 1998


Ø Please describe your strengths and weaknesses that you have identified in yourself as a student.
Strengths
i. Good at defining and achieving goals that I set
ii. Excel in areas of Interest
iii. Feel easy to work in a group/team
Weaknesses
i. Getting upset when my role in some organisation/event is not up to my expectations
ii. Tendency to do work at last moment


Ø In your present/ last job, briefly describe your job profile responsibilities, achievements and failures.
i. Presently doing a study on “Privatisation of container rails in India” as a member of Strategy department
ii. Taken initiative to revamp the company’s website and upgrade the email services
iii. As a member of break bulk chartering team of TMILL, I managed the operations of a vessel’s voyage. This included voyage analysis, bunker planning, maintaining cash flow and SOA and coordinating with various agents to ensure that the vessel’s voyage make profit.
My achievements
i. Got promoted from a management trainee to Assistant Manager within 6 months of joining.
ii. Played key role in supporting the senior managers, colleagues and juniors to get more out of the present software applications used in the company
Failures
i. Did not attend TBEM classes and 7 habits programme organised by the company


Ø If the work experience and academic/ professional qualification do not account for the entire period from the time you completed the 10th standard till date, please specify the time gaps, with full explanation.
June 2001- June 2002: I had just completed my schooling and wanted to give more time to learn the subjects required to qualify in the best engineering colleges of the country

Ø Why do you wish to go in for a management career?As a student during my graduation, I had set my focus to go for a management career. I believe a management career will add value to me over a period of time and will also give me exposure to the business management at a substantial level. A management career will broaden my perspective and hone my skills to become a business leader in the future.

Ø Besides management education, which area/field would interest you most for a career and/or for further education?
I would like to continue in my current job at TMILL, as it gives me wide exposure to various types of work in the business. My learning in the company is giving me more opportunity to grow within the company as well as an individual. Though later on in my life I would like to become a team leader and undertake a prospective project.

Ø Indicate your extracurricular interests
I. I enjoy playing hockey and football
II. I like to play strategy games like Age of Empires, Capitalism plus and Railroad Tycoon
III. I also like to sketch

Ø Please give details about your accomplishments, awards received and position held (a) in sports, games, and hobbies, (b) in associations and voluntary organisations (please show original certificates to the interview panel members.)
I. Captain of Nehru Hall Hockey team in 2005-06
II. Secretary, Cricket and Badminton, Nehru Hall, 2003-04
III. Awarded Honourable mention for outstanding performance in the game of Hockey by IIT Kharagpur
IV. Awarded Hall blue in Football and Hockey for outstanding contribution by Nehru hall\
V. Won gold and bronze in Hockey at Inter IIT level
VI. Won Silver and Bronze in Football at Inter hall level


Ø Identify a significant incident or situation from your own life. Briefly explain its nature, its importance to you and the manner you handled it.
I was the captain of Nehru Hall of residence Hockey team in IIT Kharagpur for the session 2005-06. I had two major challenges. Firstly from the previous year team 6 senior players of the starting line up had graduated. None of the new players in the team had played hockey before. Secondly 5 of the present team players were of my batch. As they were equal to me in seniority it usually made it difficult to bring them to practice. They also had academic/ placement related priorities being in fourth/final year.
To improve the standard of my team and make it competitive, I brought innovation in practices. I started position specific practice sessions for the players after identifying players for various position through their physical strength, weaknesses and skill as well as aptitude in the game. I did rolling substitution of all the prospective 10 players during the open IIT six a side tournament to give exposure to all the players. Using my contacts I also fixed regular practice matches with various hall teams. I also took all junior players to Inter IIT team selection practice to let them understand the game better. The team performed and and made it to the last four.
This situation was important to me as I wanted to ensure that I had put in the best effort to try and win. It was important to me as a captain, as a player and as a person. From this I learnt that hard work, positive outlook and faith in oneself and one’s team with strong bonding in players are essential for a team’s success.

IIM I Group Discussion and Interview...9 am...27th Feb 2008....

GD

Mr. Suman and his friend X use to do combined study. They use to prepare for the exams together. X suffers from a disease and resorts to using unfair means in the 6th semester in his MBA College. He uses calculators to write complex formula in it. Mr. Suman is caught in a dilemma. Should he report to the authorities as his friend X was breaching the honour code of the college or should he respect the trust his friend holds in him. The problem worsens as many more students resort to the same means. After the examination results come in and Mr. Suman gets A grade and all the students who used calculator get a bad grade. What should he do now? If he informs the authorities there is a possibility of re examination. There is also a possibility of punishment against these guys. A re exam would mean that Mr. Suman may not get the same grade and which may affect his institute rank. What should Suman do?


People start with identifying the problem then identifying what is the root cause. They discuss his dilemma and also possible outcomes of his reporting. There are suggestions that he should inform the authorities to check the problem on a long term scope. There are questions raised on the selfish nature of Suman. May be he is self focused that is why he is not doing anything about the problem. I suggested that he should talk to his friend and fellow students and tell them that because of their unethical practices their performance is going down as well as the honour code of the college is being breached. There was a lengthy discussion again with people suggesting that medical help should be given to X and a long term solution to the problem should be reached.
I just spoke 3-4 times in the GD. Spoke very little. I did a blunder in the end when we were asked to write the summary of the discussion. One of the persons said “Stop writing”. I was in the middle of a sentence and continued to write. He said to me “I said stop writing. Why are you writing? “. I said “Sir I was in the middle of a sentence”. “But I said stop writing”. “Sorry Sir”

PI
I was the last one to be called for the PI.
Out of the two interviewers only one asked the questions.
Me: Sir Please may I come in
1st Interviewer: Yes you may
2nd Interviewer: You may take the seat
Me: Thank you sir
2nd Interviewer: Pushkal, I see you have a very good rank in IIT JEE, (Going through the pages) 1388. You also had a good department Mechanical Engineering. But your performance in the academics is not that good. Can you tell me why?
Me: Sir I was involved in a lot of extracurricular activities
2nd Interviewer: I do not see any extracurricular activity here (again looking at the page)
Me: Sir it’s on the other side of the page
2nd Interviewer: hmm, Hockey
Me: Football also
2nd Interviewer: Ok Pushkal. I am giving you a metal strip of this*this * this dimension. Tell me the chronology of test you will carry out on this strip to deduce the properties of this material.
Me: Aa...Sir Strength test, then Hardness then Corrosives test on the surface
2nd Interviewer: Hardness followed by strength followed by corrosiveness. Are you sure this is the right chronology?
Me: No sir Strength followed by Hardness.
2nd Interviewer: How?
Me: Sir we will perform the strength test. In this we apply pressure on the ends to determine the breaking stress and the material will divide into two.
2nd Interviewer: This is a destructive test. This should be performed at last. Why do you want to perform it in the beginning?
Me: Sir to conduct a test we do not need the entire material. We just need a sample of the material. We will still have them after this test.
2nd Interviewer: You have a car component. You have to develop a suitable component that can take up the required pressure and strain. How will you do?
Me: Aa...a...
2nd Interviewer: You have three types of methods. Casting, Forging and machining to make the suitable part. Which method will you use to make any car component?
Me: Sir I can use casting followed by machining to make Gears in a car.
2nd Interviewer: No...Then he said something...Something...and came to forging....can you use forging to make a component?
Me: Yes sir.....
2nd Interviewer: What type of method you will use to make a component with specific properties?
Me: I can use Machining to give specific surface property to the material. I can also use casting using property specific material followed by forging.
2nd Interviewer: Can you use Forging after Casting?
Me: Sir I do not know
2nd Interviewer: Do you want to change your answer?
Me: No sir
2nd Interviewer: Give me an example
Me: Sir I am not sure about it
2nd Interviewer: You cannot use forging followed by casting.
Me: noded
2nd Interviewer: Tell me Pushkal, you have tolerances in materials..plus minus... How do you determine tolerance?
Me: We use tolerances when we have to fix one part to another. Company’s when they order a part they give dimensional tolerance to the part they order someone. Plus minus according to their requirement
2nd Interviewer: No tell me in mechanical engineering terms how do you determine tolerance?
Me: Sir I give certain plus minus dimensional limit to the particular part.
2nd Interviewer: Leave the part. Do not join any part. You know thermal coefficient. Coefficient of thermal expansion.... I am looking something related to that
Me: Sir certain materials may be used at high temperature. There dimension can change. Keeping that in mind and the temperature range in which they have to work I calculate the tolerance for the part.
The 1st Interviewer was going through my file during the first 5 minutes of the interview. And had kept it back closed after going through it.
2nd Interviewer: Looks at the other interviewer...in a way to ask him if he wanted to ask any question...the 1st interviewer makes a gesture using his head in a way to suggest nothing...
2nd Interviewer: You may go.
Me: Thank you

the chicken story

A chicken is born..fed well and brought up....then it dies...that is the usual story of a chicken..and then there was its post life story..cooked in tandoori...reaching our stomach for salvation...until the villain came in..BIRD FLU....this dreaded virus is not only killing the poor bird but also taking it away from us....it has affected everyone...I would say the least affected is chicken, itself..."idiot living carelessly not watching out for the flu"...and why not....it knows ultimately it has to die....so why would it be affected......but who are the real victims...us...we use to enjoy every piece of it...huh...gone are the days when we use to raise leg pieces... to show off to the hapless vegetarian what they were missing....Think what does life have for a guy like me - money, girls and chicken....I do not have money..I do not have girls (as in girl friends)...the only thing I had was chicken...and this..this cursed Bird flu!!.. took it away.......What do I have(as in Deewar movie dialogue)??...my mother’s phone calls....”Do not eat chicken”...then there are tonnes of reason why not.....not once mentioning the ultimate reason for not having chicken....”see what is the use of getting sick when you can prevent it”...”chicken is only a type of food...aisa to nahi hai na ki chicken ke bina aur kuch khaane ko nahi hai”..... even if I do not think about myself....I would say that today bird flu is the root cause of all the problems arising in India....take for example Sensex....mid Jan bird flu started to pick up...and Sensex started to fall..and it is still volatile...then there are Maoists attacking in Orissa... sons of the soil movement in Maharashtra ....why!!..because they are not getting chicken to eat..so they are upset...they cannot stay home..and enjoy chicken........they are restless......had chicken been there...there mind would have not thought about attacking or soil....cant these Ambani brothers or Tata think of an innovative end to end solution to this problem....I’ll help them out in defining the ends..one end is the birth of the chicken...the other end is our starved stomach...do research..take out IPOs to raise funds...whatever...this should be the foremost thing in Union Budget...the people of the country are calling out to the government...”you give us chicken and we will give you vote”.....what a misery...the old saying of beauty and the beast does not hold any more...where the chicken piece was the beauty and we were the beast..... can’t the Americans do anything...they have a nag to interfere in other countries....what is the use of 123 nuclear deal when we will not have chicken to cook and use this energy thus generated...even Mayawati is given protection...cant they give protection to chicken....this argument is unending...there can be numerous effects that have been cascading from this loss of chicken to flu....we can only look in the sky and pray...”Save Chicken from bird flu and give it back to our plates”

TMILL’s Sunshine

The following are the ladies I usually see working in TMILL...they all are hard working...and they all have their unique way of saying “We are” ....let me tell you that all are always holding on to phone (be it landline/mobile)...this busy lot of TMILL has been doing a lot in the TMILL and I happen to capture it...

Riya Gupta: the godmother... “ Kyu..yeh jab aise hai, to woh waise kyu”...the biscuit queen...she is probably the mother to malnourished kids like me, kunj, shreesh...giving us biscuits, toffee, chocolates, sweets, samosa...from time to time..when we go to her..during office hours when we are hungry..”Riya biscuit de na”......her daddy (as we call her boss) is always giving funda....”you should buy good leather shoes”..”giving me a pen and paper I’ll show you the road map to the leather shoe shop”...”you people should have etiquettes...always offer chair to girls to sit”...and we follow these advice...”Riya take this chair and sit”...”chal hat....tu baith..mujhe kaam hai”...

Avantika: titir.com: the kid....The newlywed HR department girl.... Mentally she is still a school girl. “Arrey hum to pareshan hi ho gaye hai...sir ne google search karno ko diya hai...humse din bhar se kar kar ke pareshan ho gaye hai”....she is only one month old in the organisation...so do not have much to tell about her....

Swatilekha Ghosh: The troubled girl...”Hum itna try kar rahe hai excel par..yeh ho hi nahi rha hai...tum isme dekho na kya karna hai”....She is one hell of a talkative girl..nonstop.....and will run away/hide/freeze if her or your boss is around......she is usually seen roaming around from one desk to another...which is the inherent characteristics of all shipping and clearing people...and her boss has trouble letting out words...”and there there there there there there there there there... is something we need to to to to to to to to to.... do”.....

Sulochna Ghosh: The bandit queen/Jhansi ki rani....another shipping and clearing brand....on phone yelling: ”How come the shipment has landed...we were not told about the shipment landing...Kyle did you know the shipment was landing”....may be the most professional of the girls...she is probably the most vociferous girl of TMILL....and she can scold anyone...thanks to her aide Mr Kyle...they both are seen smacking (vocally) out the people coming to visit them....overall a very athletic girl....until she managed to heat the water and spill it over her legs...

Shweta: The Intellect....have very less interaction with her...as she is not coming to office...she had a baby recently....it has been observed.... she does not shout (which is an achievement being in Shipping and Clearing)....she is sweet...and she is one of the most level headed person in her department as sources have informed me...

Then there was Anindita Palit who recently got married and left the organisation...she was very helpful and devoted person...there are two more ladies in our organisation...Dinaz mam and Deepanita mam....as we have not interacted much with them..I am not writing about them.....though these are the two ladies as we see are first to be present in the office and also first to leave the office at scheduled time...they are punctual and they do their job very well as I am told...and come in the senior lot....About other ladies in the organisation...there are TKM girls...which again I have not had much interaction...they come to our office sometimes...there is Sudeshna...who joined as management trainee with us..another talkative person as informed...there is Gudiya....that is the nick name Kunj and I have given her...the name symbolises why....then there is another girl....the point is that these ladies have been giving their best to the organisation..may be running it....it’s difficult to hope the survival of TMILL without them....Guys like Shreesh are feeling the tremors...while Kunj is on the verge of something new.....at last I am gaining weight....anyways these ladies are the pride of TMILL....

Sources: Sumit, Shreesh, Kunj, Danish, Vineet...and of course the ladies themselves...

I am an Assistant Manager...

1st June 2007..my first step in professionalism..this was my first day in office in TM INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS LIMITED....they call me management trainee...I am the new addition to the present system of hard working people...people who work hard and earn good money..people who have degrees from premiere institutes and are reputed in the society...people proficient enough to deliver in any type of job....I started my journey thus...as a trainee I was given a brief introduction to the company and all types of work being done by the company....we were allotted different departments...I was in chartering break bulk...after 2 months we were sent to a month long training in Haldia and Paradip ports...who cares.....PORTS..probably the most primitive infrastructure of the commercial world...who cares...big machines....big vessels...people sweating out...coal, iron ore...strong breeze...everything adding to the hard work done..who cares...welcome back to Kolkata....your department chartering break bulk...time charter is the new challenge..responsiblity ...bunker planning..voyage calculation..cash flow...soa...all simple analysis and arithmetic...mastered...now what..on the job...fix bunker stems for the vessel...follow ups....take care of the operations....vessels books profit...boss is happy...colleagues are happy...october November..another vessel..another profit booking...rupee appreciation...crude oil prizes going crazy...exports going down...no work in December...followed by training presentation in front of the company’s MD....congrats Assistant Manager...your recommendations on website revamp accepted..you are on the job...new work..change of job..from time charter to administration..site up gradation work...look for qualified people to do it...and they call me an Assistant manager...quotation taken..project allotted...change of job...you are in a new department...corporate strategy...and make presentations on the possible projects...analyse them...and they call me assistant manager....I am an assistant manager...Who cares what I am doing...I was not born to change the world...I am doing what society respects and hails as my criteria work...this is corporate life big packages..strenuous work...managing everything...and this is how we contribute to the society...was this my dream...is this liability for money....or can I be some one else...wait my friend there is a change of job in the company