Friends
Still at Pune. It is testing time for my patience and I don't know when this test would end. Today Shashi went to Amarnath directly from here after no result in last 4 days. Me and Hitu also went to Mumbai to change the mood and also for some meetings. It was good change for me too. Amongst some meetings, I had an opportunity to meet one Mr. Vijay Jain. The face was slightly known but could not recollect when and where I had met him earlier. Finally we both came to know that the meeting took place in 1992 when he was heading Finance & Accts. deptt. of a leading pharma company. I was meeting this man after 19 years. It was the time in 1992 when I was sent to this company to serve in accounts deptt. I could not get that job but the experience was most insulting and tortuous. On one side I was out of job since last 7 days and on this 8th day I was told that now you can join this firm. I came to the office of this company with full fire in belly as if I am the most lucky person. As soon I entered in the office, receptionist stopped and told to wait as she was not informed about my job. After half an hour and no response from any body, my fire just vaporised and after next two hours of waiting at the reception the depression could be seen easily by any body. Finally this person called me inside after 3 hours waiting and disapproved in 60 seconds. Then after another one hour the owner of the company came and told me his inability to keep in job. It was 2.00 pm and with tiffin in bag, I was without job again. Finally the person who sent me to this office, sent to another small firm who was kind enough to give me job. Not only this, the new employer first asked me to have lunch before doing anything in office. It was 4pm and the day had taught me lot. World is too small and any such incidences even if reminded after many decades shakes you. I returned back to pune after finishing the meetings.
CP
Pune

Friends
Came to Pune on Saturday i.e. 26Th June, 2010 to settle my younger daughter Hitisha. Wish she soon settles down and take the challenge to shape the career. To wait for some thing is like passing through a tunnel beneath the earth or inside the hills. Every thing uncertain and suspicious. In such situation neither you are convinced not you convince others. No solution except to pray the god.
Such situations are more tense if the uncertainties or wait is for the career of kids. You feel help less and sorry for the situation. I know once we re out of the tunnel, every thing gets over and the past becomes happy moment. Till it is present, really very painful.

CP

Friends
Yesterday again I was in Mumbai. It was the day when mumbaites had to live without yellow-Black taxis. Taxis were observing strike and hence lot of travelling challenges. Somehow I reached to Nariman Point where we have also started operating since about a week. I entered in the new office and got tremendous positive vibrations. The cabin was opposite to some other buildings. I m writing this to share with you certain memories of past. Just backside to my office building is a building where I had started my second inning of the career. It was May 1992 when I was totally burdened with debt and the practice in jaipur was total failure. It was full of challenges from all the sides and I was forced to restart the job in Mumbai. The CFO of this company which offered me job was very shrewed and fixed the salary @Rs. 7500/- per month. When I landed to Mumbai after closing down office in jaipur he said the salary would be Rs. 4500/- p.m. for next 3 months and would be reviewed only after reviewing my performance. There was no option for me so I joined that in the hope of getting better salary after 3 months. Later when the month end came and I was given salary for part of the month i.e. about 10 days, the calculation of salary slip were shocking. It was based on Rs. 2500/- p.m. I requested to clarify and then told that Rs.1000/- is deducted as deposit fearing that I may leave the job in between and another Rs. 1000/- is kept aside to be paid after one year as bonus etc. Remember in those days salary for a CA of my experience of 7 years,the prevailing rate was Rs. 15000/- p.m. What a great experience that was. During the same time, I remember another incidence. In the nearby building, there was a PCO in the basement which was only option available to talk to family in jaipur. In those days mobiles were not at all heard.Due to some urgency, I had to call back home at Jaipur and the bill of PCO was Rs. 22/-, unfortunately I did not have that much money in the pocket and top of that the challenges were tremendous from job side. I pledged my wrist watch to the PCO with the promise that I would pay his outstanding by tomorrow and take back my watch. He was kind enough to keep the watch and gave credit for a day. Certain memories in life never wash away and always hit your mind. Today I was in the cabin of my own office looking to other buildings and offices. It does not matter from where we are coming but what matters is where we are going now. With this area I have lot of memories attached to my struggling period. God has been kind enough to bless with this opportunity to me. After some meetings came back to Ahmedabad.

Friends
Yesterday I had been to Mumbai. A day full of event and couple of meetings. Due to heavy rain in the evening,it was total chaos at the Airport. People were sitting on the floor, long ques at food outlets, watching TVs and display boards with curiousity. A rare view at this airport which proves the failure of planning of Airport Authorities. I noticed people were more irritating and impatient in such situation which makes the situation worst and uncontrollable. The week ahead would witness lot of travelling in the family and new challenges & issues would be faced.
These days me reading a wonderful management book "Blue Ocean Strategy" by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. It opens up the vision and provide lot of insight about business strategy and planning. I would write in detail about this once I finish it. But one thing I wish to share is that while working out the business strategy one should always look beyond the market to make the competition irrelevant. By focusing on big canvas and looking beyond the market, one can build a successful organisation.
CP

Friends
Pain and Gain go hand in hand and we have to face that boldly. This is the observation of elderly people and always quoted. We have opened new office in Mumbai which would start operating in next couple of days. In business/Profession the plans and actions never go together. We propose and god disposes in his own way. But if the efforts are done persistently and consistently, the God would always fulfil the dreams. No one knows what is in store for the future but at least we can guess to some extent. The competition would always be there but with proper strategy and planning the goals can be achieved in right time.
Parents put their every thing in developing us but we dont reciprocate properly and that is where the attitude and sanskars play crucial role. We believe that our kids would always do better for us irrespective of whatever we did for the parents. But in my view the life is mirror where we get whatever we give. We reap whatever we plant, if we give something, we are going to get more, give respect get respect, give suspicion get the same, give love & affection get the same in much more volume, be humble the response would be humble too.
CP

Frequency of posts has reduced substantially.One of the main reason may be fear of self. Fear of repeating the same topics, fear of posting bore topics and fear of creating impression of hypocrisy. But the fact is that I am blank these days about the topic on blog. some times many topics crop up in mind but immediately thereafter I feel these are of no interest to my friends. Most of the time I am lost in imagination, planning and thinking. Consultancy is more of planning and thinking. The services are invisible and so the product is. The advice, efforts, planning nothing is visible only the result in some other form is visible. and hence it happens often that when ever I start writing on the blog a phone call is sufficient to kill the writing process on blog. Travelling is another factor which though gives opportunity to read but not to write. Travelling also adversely affects the daily routine of exercises and walking. But this is life which needs balancing and should not be of complaints. There is no gain without pain but some times gain is negligible as compared to the pain. Pain is mental factor which can not be shown but felt only. In present socio culture system where the families are broken into 2X2 segments, this is going to increase further. The education has forced the kids to move away from the parents and better education further takes them to lucrative jobs which are mostly away from the parental locations. Once they settle there, the marriage, family every thing also settles there it self and it all takes away from the parents. I agree it is essential for better career and growth in life but one can not deny the pain it creates in life. Human beings mostly have to move always otherwise they would deteriorate in one location. This may not be true in case of business families but in case of middle class families it is very common. The process of getting away from the parents also affects the mind set and the marriage takes it further away. The locational and cultural differences occur in relationship and it becomes very tough task to keep balance. Thus the pain of studying hard, leaving the parents for higher study and doing job away from the parents give lot of gains in term of career, money and good life but this gain further generates the pain of balancing, pain of aloofness in life and loss of social identity. The cycle moves on and would continue to move for next unknown generations.

Meanwhile Nikita has moved back to Bangalore after completion of summer vacation and Hitisha is still waiting for her new academic session in media and communication in Pune.
CP