Change!

Too many things have occured over the last few months. I quit my job recently, finally made it to a B-school and trekked the Garhwal region of the Himalaya. A year back, I was perhaps leading what I call as a "clichéd life"...no real fun..no adventure..no learning. Guess all that has changed now and as I prepare for my next phase as a student I feel nostalgic over my life in Infy. It has been "some thing".

Quitting Infy
I love Infy. It has been a wonderful period in my career where I worked with some amazing people, made a lot of friends and I did learn so much. More than anything, Infy has been about several unforgettable memories.

In no particular order....
a) Filter coffee gal - Meeting this lovely (of coz crazy) lady at Infy courier desk. We met under crazy circumstances, conversed as if we were bosom childhood pals, shared our interests, and shared our childhood. Oh yeah, we hit real good. And just like it happens in some movie - a twist in the tale, I moved to a different country, she moved to Uncle Sammy's place and as He wud have it.....things changed. "U finish second!", was the verdict from the lady. Oh! How I hate everything about the US of A :-). I definitely miss those good old days....yeah I don’t deny missing her :-) but I guess we move on. As they say....if it has to happen…It will.

So here I am, left with memories of a small girl barely able to reach the kitchen stove..standing on a chair and making filter coffee for her dad and uncle (as told by her). For some reason, it always makes me smile!

b) Partners in Crime - My partners in crime in Infy - Ganesh (My 1st manager), Harsh, Kodappa, Adi, Subbu, Guru and Sri. We cribbed together...ogled at girls...helped each other at EVERYTHING....shared every joy and sorrow. Incidentally every one of this small gang is in a different location now. But as they as say, Distance doesn’t matter....I must thank these people for helping me and for being there.
c) My Team - Most of my Infy life has been spent working for 1 project and luckily for me I was involved in building it from a very small unit to quite a huge unit for my company as well as my client. I guess we were the best team on the floor. ...the noisiest bunch...and we had a lot of fun. Oh yes, I learnt how to handle a team, sort out real bad fights between team-mates and handle loads of pressure. My receding hairline wud vouch that fact :-)
d) Meeting NRN - While in college, I had read an article about Mr. Narayana Murthy.. NRN as fondly call him describing his life's journey. I guess since then I wanted to be a part of Infy. One day, I was leaving to Chandigarh for a vacation and was waiting to board my flight. After a while, I realized that I was standing the wrong queue and just as I turned back, I saw NRN standing just a few feet behind. I got so excited and wanted to somehow speak to him. So I stood beside the queue, waiting. NRN was animatedly conversing with an old gentleman. I waited for a chance and said, "Excuse me Sir, I am Abhishek and I work for Infy. I am so happy to meet u here" (or something of that sort). He turned towards me and keeps his hand over my shoulder. We got talking for a few minutes and then he wished me luck before he left. My joy knew no bounds and it remains one of my treasured moments.
e) Meeting Rex - Rex Harrison though my client was more of a close friend. He to me is the only jovial Brit in the land of tight upper-lipped Englishmen. I remember the first day he came to meet me in Edinburgh. Just as any other English workplace, ours always wore a quiet & serious look. But then, walks in a fat, bald man with a booming voice, shouting my name at the top of his voice "Where is that young man, Abby". Everybody on the floor turns to look at this guy..shocked!...but thats Rex. I had a great time working with him...excahnging views of our culture and our views on life. He was always fair towards my team and never tried blaming people. He told me how he scaled high walls to meet his gf with whom he is now married for nearly 30 years. He adores Lady Diana(Lady Di as he prefers calling her). And I do get tempted to conveniently ignore the fact that this giant of man who started his career much before I was even born.....loves chocolates coated with nuts and computer games...which turn him into a kid :-). I always tease him that his wife definitely has a tough time handling 2 kids at home (Rex and his son Ryan). For that matter even he never shies taking a dig at me. One fine day I had to skip a meeting since I wasn't feeling alrite and went to the dormitory. As my team mate conveyed this to him, he said, "u better go and check if Abby is really sleeping alone or with someone else"?

f) My Infy campus - The campus wherein I have spent the last 3 years has been a witness to my journey. I have spent so many lovely moments here..be it reading for my exams in the library late into the night or be it sipping hot chocolate in the night sitting in the middle of St. Andrews square (pic above)or be it spending time with my pals....the campus wud preserve these memories for eternity....Evergreen!