I have FELT GOD around Me ……….. !!!!

Me and my wife Shazia were busy scrolling through the names of the babies on a Saturday evening, it was the 9^th of April 2011, and all of a sudden she just held my hand and placed it on her stomach. My wife was expecting sometime soon, and she kept my hand to make me feel the kicks of our baby, it was a wonderful feeling, I promptly asked her ‘If I feel so delighted feeling the kicks from above the stomach, then how do you feel?’ , she just smiled back and said ‘Feels Good’ J . We both went back to scroll through the names , still not contented with all the unique names that we had sorted. We had some time in our hands , we thought. Since the due date according to the doctor was sometime in May 1^st week and it was still the 2^nd week of April. So we thought we will scroll the remaining names the next day………. But we never got a chance to do that , because the very next day Shazia had to be rushed to the hospital at 8 in the morning and at exactly 11:07 a.m. Alishba a.k.a Pariza came into this world.

Me and my darling mom were sitting out of the Operation Theatre (OT), just chitchatting anything, both were trying to show that we were cool n calm, but actually we weren’t , we were a bit nervous about what’s going on inside the  OT. Just then the doctor came out with his mask on, and asked, are you guys with Shazia? I said yes, “Congratulations, you have been blessed with a BABY GIRL” . My mom hugged me and started crying out of joy and my vision got blurred, the tears of joy had filled up my eyes. I , rather we always wanted a baby girl and GOD had blessed us with one ! But the very next moment what I heard was shocking enough for me, the doctor said ‘ This is a rare reaction for us when we inform about a baby girl, and I am proud that you are happy about a baby girl’. He revealed that many educated people from well-to-do families also do not accept this piece of news as happily as we did. Anyways I was happy to have a girl child and to contribute towards the sex ratio of India J . 

Amongst all this, my wife was still in a state of Anaesthesia, when she was brought out of the OT, she just smiled and held my hand and cried. An emotional moment for all of us it was. I then asked her, how did you feel during the operation, she said it was damn painful despite the anesthesia, but as soon as the baby came out and started crying loudly, she forgot all the pain and just started admiring her, the doctor then showed the baby to her and the sight of our baby just soothed out all her pain. I thought, I had wished for a baby girl, I got one, and GOD gave us one. For a moment I thought the whole feeling, the whole aura around us was such that the presence of GOD was being felt, maybe for a moment inside Shazia to answer our prayers of the baby girl and maybe for a moment to make her forget the pain of the operation.

There is a saying in Hindi “Maa ke Pairo Tale Jannat Hoti Hai” which means “There is Heaven underneath a Mother’s Feet”. I don’t know where this saying has come from, but after looking at my wife, the way she gets all the energy and all the power to take care of our baby, I do feel that once someone becomes mother, she definitely has ‘The Almighty’ around her helping in all her efforts. Just imagine, staying awake for about a week with just 2-3 hours of sleep on an average with an un-bearing pain of a Caesarian operation and despite that smiling and doing all to make the baby comfortable in this new world …………… well in a normal circumstance, it won’t be possible. Only a mother has this power. And then that’s GOD who is always with her to give this power.

Being a parent has also made me realise what efforts my parents have taken to grow me up. Its never easy, with just the beginning of my parenting experience the respect for my parents has grown even more than what I had before and especially for my Mother who has given so many sacrifices and took so much pain to make sure that her child grew up in the best possible way. Thanks Mom and Thanks Dad !!!

And Thanks GOD for being with the Mothers always, I have felt you around her, keep giving her the power!   

The End or The Beginning .............. Well depends on how you see it !!!!!!!

When the news/rumor about Apple chief Steve Jobs' degrading health broke out , it was a shocker for most of us. The whole internet is abuzz to know the truth. Interestingly there was an article published in Times of India (Sunday Supplement) dated 27th February 2011 which mentions Steve Jobs stating that "Knowing that soon I am going to Die makes things easy for me, I can prioritise things and take important decisions in my life, it acts as a very useful tool for me".

I was taken aback by his words, but then I thought for a while and it really struck my mind that what he said was so very true. When you are certain that somethings are going to happen soon and its inevitable, then you are in a better position to take calls, make some important decisions so as to minimise the impact/loss. People may well argue that someday everyone has to die , so whats the big deal about it? True, even I agree that Death is the Final Degree that all of us are going to get once we graduate out of the institution called Life, but we never know how long we are going to be in this institution, thus if you know that you are soon going to graduate out of it, it will propel us to speed up things , be close to your near and dear ones and do whatever you ever wanted to do in your life, but otherwise if you do not know (most of us don't ), then you may miss upon a lots of things you wished.

The end isnt always as bad as it looks, its just that we humans dont really let go things easily, with our emotions attached to anything and everything that ends, be it life or a relation or even a for that sake your favorite cricket bat which might break.  Except for life, rest everything that comes to an end can be or rather IS always a beginning of something new and good, just depends on how an individual transitions through this phase (Well if I have to beleive in mythology, even end of a life is a beginning of it elsewhere). I very much believe in the saying "When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." 

Its really sad and depressing if we keep looking back at what happened, so now the onus lies with us that do we keep staring back at what ended or we start looking at what has begun?

 

Kaam Kar Phal ki Apeksha Mat Kar……

I always remember or recall this phrase at least once in a year , I recite it so many times in my mind that eventually I start believing in it and once done , I open my increment letter………… trust me this is the best shock absorber you can ever have. I always wonder how do my superiors (designation as well as salary wise :D ) manage to avoid these shocks, I mean do they ever get such shocks is my first question, looking at them or infact everyone else around me I don’t feel that they ever get such shocks , exceptions include some of my friends who too have started following my way of absorbing shocks.

I have seldom come across specie which looks happy after reading their increment/appraisal letters. I have known a few who were satisfied……………… oops, not few, just one, saying few would exaggerate it.  It is a well known fact that in-house increments are as good as peanuts or maybe rotten peanuts would suit better , isn't it? i.e. if you are in the same company for a period of time, then expecting a hike of 20% …… OK lets say even 15% is a pure SIN !!!!!!! 

Some of you must be smiling by the time you have read this much, and some of you must be thinking, what the crap is he blogging, so those who are smiling may continue reading further, and for those of you who feel this is crap .............. well then I cant help because there goes a famous saying , "What you think is what you are" , so the choice is yours :P :P :P 

So let me get back to the subject again ............. till now you must have got an idea that I am representing those few 'unhappy' who just look happy or rather try to manage a smile on their faces despite so many woes behind them . Now there can be several reasons why an employee just like one of us is unhappy, I am not bothered of all the reasons at the moment, the only reason I look at right now is Money, because money is the primary reason in most cases.

When I say money, I mean increments, annual increments. The day annual increment letters are out, that day is the saddest day of the year, for obvious reasons and then you start thinking everything except loyalty towards the organization. I am no exception, but I have been lucky just once because someone above my hierarchy literally fought with the management for the work I had done all year through, but such things don't happen every now and then.

I have failed to understand why any organization can commit a blunder of not keeping their faithful employees happy. Why does it always happen that the new joiners are most of the times paid way higher than the loyal ones who have been helping you grow over the years? I am not jealous by looking at the offer letters of the new joiners (freshers spared) , but who knows how long is he/she going to stay in the organization, chances are that they will use the ‘fat salary package’  to show it to the other company and hop on to its payroll for a better package than what  we offered. This acts as a double blow, you lose the new recruit and since you haven’t looked at the existing employee, the employee will surely become upset and dissatisfied by this treatment and thus will start looking out.  

Some might say that I am looking only at the negative side of it, but I am trying to hint something else out here. Hiring a new recruit with a super salary might do wonders for you, but it might even hit you where it hurts the most. On the other hand, if you increase the salaries of existing ‘loyal employees’ then you will definitely reap benefits out of it. Now again someone might disagree on what I said, but the chances of getting hurt is less in this case. It’s a two way relation, if you think about the existing employees, they too feel a sense of security and belonging to the organization, they feel settled and they won’t look outside for their needs (profession related ofcourse) . But having said this, an employee should also not make unnecessary demands.

"I strongly opine that a successful organization will be the one which has more employees with a higher tenure at that particular organization". ………….. ummmmmmmmm did I miss something in my opinion above???……..  Yes I did miss a very important word, so here is the correct one -  “I strongly opine that a successful organization will be the one which has more SATISFIED employees with a higher tenure at that particular organization” , So now you know that I missed on the word SATISFACTION, which is a very important ingredient in a company's growth rate and success. 

I hope a CEO/Manager/Entrepreneur/Top Management Guy reads this blog post , and give it atleast half a thought if not one. I know Business is all about money, think on these lines and I am actually selling you a very good idea of making good money , but making it in the long run. 

I conclude by reconstructing the phrase ‘ Kaam Kar Phal ki Apeksha Mat Kar’  to  ‘ Pehle Kaam Kar ……….. Phir Phal ki Apeksha Kar ………..  Aur fir bhi phal na mile to Alvida Kar’.  And that is the motto of this current generation of IT people these days, and I find nothing wrong in that, Loyalty doesn't really pay you, it pays to the organization :) !!!