100 days of Bangalore: the stay

Around the first week of February, I was asked if I was willing to go to Bangalore for a new project, working with a new client.
I may not exactly have jumped at the idea but the prospect of working in a new city and the possibility of learning something new was quite exciting. I said an emphatic 'yes' to the idea and started looking forward to this stint in Bangalore.
When I was packing, I didn't know  where I would stay and when I would find a place for myself. I booked myself into a hotel for the first week hoping to find something by the end of it.
When I saw Bangalore flats and flatmates groups on facebook, I thought that all I needed to do was post in the group and I would find a place. Foolish me! The search wasn't going to be that easy. The office being in Kumara Park West, there weren't many places for renting. Kumara Park West is close to Malleshwaram and both these places are known to be conventional, residential areas. You have many more options in the Marthahalli, Whitefield, Electronic City side of the city.
Renting an independent room in these areas seemed next to impossible as, of the few available options, no one was willing to give a room for 100 days. The minimum expected stay was six months...with a one month deposit to boot (and no guarantee of getting it back).
Finally, I found something that looked custom-made for me. A newly constructed room with an attached bathroom on the terrace of a PG. The whole terrace was mine.There was a TV and a WiFi connection exclusive for my use.
I reveled in the comfort of exclusivity and privacy but at the same time, I didn't realize how tough it was going to be to access the kitchen on a floor below.What separated the terrace from the kitchen was a steep, open staircase. So, if one were to use the kitchen, one would have to carry all ingredients/groceries from the room to the kitchen below. Not having vessels to cook in also added to the woes. I managed to cook bread, Magi and tea at times. Having a fridge and a microwave helped to an extent but then there was a jostle for space to use these assets. And because of this arrangement, I had to have all the three meals outside home. But at least I had some semblance of a home.
The office, headquartered at Belgium, was definitely a great place to work where the employee comfort was well taken care of. The product I documented was vast and challenging. But what fun if you don't get a challenging project?! The work was invigorating but also pretty demanding
My working time was from 11 am to 8 pm. I would need to complete my morning chores, get ready and decide on a place to eat before I could step out. There were very few options around the place I stayed.
The time till 11 was ruled out and coming home at around 9 ish also ruled out any possibility of venturing out, watch movies or even explore places.
It was on weekends only that I could clean, wash clothes, attend mails/bills, visit friends and relatives and search for decent lunch places for that weekend.
The commute was the best part of staying in Bangalore. Having a permanent address in Hyderabad may not allow me to stay close to office, but that was not so in Bangalore. I could rent a place, less than a kilometer from my office. The commute time, on foot, was just about fifteen minutes...a bliss for every office-goer. To top it, walking under a canopy of trees helped ward off the hot sun till I reached office.
Trees all around my residence also meant waking up to chirping birds...instead of wakening to the rude hoots and rumbles of passing vehicles...something that I have not experienced since my childhood days.
Well, back to home sweet home now.

Showing respect: the Indian way?

From an article in TOI
1. The 49-year-old, Gurgaon-based CEO of a software product company was in for a rude shock some months ago when one of his young employees peeped into his spacious cabin with a beaming smile and said: "Hey, your cabin's goddamn big... What fun man!" The irritated chief executive instantly summoned a senior hand, a 52-year-old, to check on what could be done about the cheeky geek. The senior executive told the CEO, "We have an army of such guys, how many can you reprimand? It's their style."

Another instant: 
2. A guy wrote an extremely anguished mail on a forum seeking suggestions when he found "an extremely junior and subordinate staff" address his boss by first name in her mail. He feels she should not have addressed someone very senior  (age and position) by first name. He wanted to know how he should advise or warn her to follow proper etiquette while addressing seniors?
(This was written in such atrocious grammar that had I reproduced it as it is, it would have been incomprehensible)

Another instant:  
3.  A well-known food blog says that unless you show respect by addressing as ji/garu/shri/shrimati/Mr./Mrs./Ms., your comments will be ignored...

What do you think of these instances?
If I was in the place of the CEO in the first instant, far from getting irritated, I would have smilingly waved him in and  invited him to explore the cabin as he seemed to have liked it so much. Why and for what he should be reprimanded is beyond me. He hasn't shown any disrespect towards me with those innocuous remarks. On the other hand, he has openly expressed that he liked the place. He might be considered disrespectful if there was an important meeting going on and he had intruded.
If only the seniors more experienced know how to harness this abundant energy of the youth without impeding their thought process, without ridiculing their ideas however implausible they seem, without denting  their self-esteem through discouragement, but work in unison by giving a positive direction to the yet-uncontaminated minds, they can achieve wonders.

In the second instance, I was quite befuddled by the query. What is the meaning of "an extremely junior and subordinate staff"?
A dictionary search threw this meaning for Junior: of lower rank or standing and this meaning for subordinate:  belonging to a lower order or rank/subservient or inferior. Do I infer then that being in a lower rank permits one to consider the person as being subservient or inferior? 
If the criterion for showing respect is age, then should I respect Osama who is older to me? And if the criterion is position, there is the once President of Uganda, Idi Amin. Again, I do not understand what did this person want to "warn" the subordinate about? Mind you, the content of the mail wasn't mentioned anywhere. So my assumption is that there was no issue there.

In the third instance, I do not understand how tagging the blogger with ji, or garu or Ms. or any other title portrays respect to the person.To be able to give a detailed and simple step-by-step guidance to cooking and to have so many clicks on the You-tube, is truly an amazing accomplishment and inspires respect for the work. But to demand ( "I expect and insist") respect through such tags takes away something.
I have read blogs by many senior citizens of India...people in their 60s and 70s who have hundreds commenting on their blogs and addressing them by their first name. (Zephyr and Gappa to name just two). I respect these really senior people, not because of their age but that despite their not-so-robust health and advancing years, their yearning to keep blogging and be able to keep up with the times (as evidenced in their writing on contemporary topics...topics which people of all ages can relate to).

On the personal side of relationships, in India, the touching of feet is considered the ultimate sign of obeisance. But then whose feet does one touch? Any person who is older to you or the one who inspires in you that reverence towards him/her? And looking at the way these Pairi Paunas (feet-touching) happen, I wonder whether they are paying their respect or playing out a farce. A quick 30 degrees bend forward and sometimes side-ways, your hand brushing against the legs just beneath the knees is Pairi Pauna? Personally, I don't allow anyone to touch my feet. I am not God I say, and am as imperfect as everyone else is.

'Respect' is 'to show regard or consideration for.' Every person's being, his space, feelings and thoughts deserve to be respected irrespective of his age, position or status.
Respect is a two-way street. Authoritarian ways never beget respect. One of my favorite authors in Telugu, Chalam, said that in a society that believed in the children being indebted to their parents, he proclaimed caring for and bringing up of children as the fundamental duty as parents. To all those parents who demand respect through unquestioned obedience, I ask:
If Ji/Garu are signs of respect then why Pithaji, aap but Ma, thum ( in Hindi) Nannagaru, meeru but Amma, nuvvu (in Telugu)?

Chennai Diary II

Day 5: Uneventful so far except that the team happened to go out for lunch to a restaurant called Delhi Dhaba on ECR road. I had been eyeing a Delhi Dhaba on the Thuraipakkam Road and wanted to try it out and today I did…though the one at ECR. The food itself isn’t great as such. For the first time, I found that I am not in the minority. Of the 15 people in the group, 10 were vegetarians. We veggies stuck to one half of the table and the non vegetarians to the other half. The vegetable shorba for the soup was quite decent…a thick translucent liquid with a few chopped vegetables thrown in. We ordered for a vegetable kebab platter for starters which was a nice assortment of about seven kinds of starters. Except for the mushrooms, the rest of them vanished in no time. That platter was quite a decent one too. After this excellent beginning, the main course did let us down a bit. All curry gravies were quite bland and tasted the same. Sarson ka saag was an exception though.
Verdict is one can go here…no regrets and definitely for someone from outstation who is starved for good food, this can be recommended but not for a discerning diner. (although it looks like 3 days of having good dinner has made me go back to my picky ways.)
As of now, the plans are to try the Express Avenue tomorrow. I resist malls in any city as they only clone each other but EA has been highly recommended. I have also been told it could contain some handicrafts etc. let me try. If not anything, I guess my time will pass well in that huge mall. With also a multiplex in it, I might throw in a movie. People who know Hyderabad say it is like the Inorbit. My verdict tomorrow, once I have been there.
I want to carry back a bit of Chennai flavor with me whether they be clothes/ handicrafts/ food/ snacks/ footwear…whatever.I am only a bit skeptical about buying snacks as I may end up finishing them off before I reach Hyderabad and not have anything left for the family.I have been recommended Grand Snacks. Let me see. Being in city outskirts at Shollanganallur, I need to travel quite a bit for getting anything. But yes, I am glad to get this opportunity to go out and explore. I do not look forward to sitting cooped at the guest house for the weekend…that’s sure

Chennai Diary

Almost out of blue, with a very short notice of 2 days, an office trip to Chennai was planned. The trip is supposed to last for 3 weeks. First, I was told it was a training for a week…which I thought was ok but then that was extended to three weeks saying that we needed that on-job experience as well. That set me thinking. On one hand, at a personal level, I felt that it is going to be a good break from my daily grind. Second, was the opportunity to learn something new and this has always excited me.
As I was packing, I decided to pack the best of office wear. I was excited and looked forward to looking good, feeling good and giving this trip the best shot.

As I got down from the train and stepped on to the Chennai soil, I looked around to see, observe and absorb. I wanted to see how the city is different or similar to Hyderabad. What I noticed were the black and yellow Ambassador taxis which are not to be seen in Hyderabad. We have all those accident prone Indica cab drivers with their dented and scratched cabs. Another mini shock was being charged 430 bucks for a distance of 22 kms to my guest house! And this is the official price set by the police stationed there.

The service apartment provided was below par and I had to quickly shift to the company guest house. On the plus side is that the guest house is 2 kms from the office. This was my dream since we came down to settle in Hyderabad. Commuting to the office in less than ten minutes…that’s cool. The travel is taken care of but I lose heavily on quality food. Complementary breakfast is just that…something that’s an obligatory part of the deal. A semi-conscious and drooping dosa, rock solid idlis, and a watery fruit juice complete the deal. Lunch at office cafeteria is a well-known story…everything stinks of dal/sambar. All that I can do is get adventurous while in pursuit of dinner.

There shouldn’t…rather cannot be any comparison between the restaurant-rich Hyderabad and any other Indian city. If Hyderabad had a similar long IT corridor, we Hyderabadi foodies would be spoilt for choice! My friend and I went to Nallas right opposite my office once in the last three days (has it just been three days?). This place comes with high recommendation from many of my Chennai colleagues. Our meal for two consisted of three rotis, a soup, a curry and a can of soft drink each which totaled Rs 430! An ordinary restaurant, though air-conditioned, with ordinary ambience in Hyderabad will not charge as much. If they do, they will be out of business in no time. Out here, there aren’t really any other decent restaurants around.

Yesterday, we got a little more adventurous and headed towards a food court beside Asecendas. No one without a company ID was allowed inside. I surrendered my ID and got another tag in exchange. Well, with this new set of tags, we stepped into the food court and wow! Like a young girl getting attracted to glittering trinkets, all these junk food outlets had us stunned for all the choice they offered…all of which I might not even care for in Hyderabad . I almost ran towards Mc Donald for their burger, chomped on it washing it down with a much-caloried 7 UP.

Unsatiated, I looked around for more. It warmed my heart to find a bit of Hyderabad in a sign in a corner proclaiming ‘Hyderabadi.’ Well, I can have that once I am back in Hyderabad. I gave my favorite chaat corner a miss, so also the Chinese Wang’s, KFC etc and went seeking stuff from the famous Sarvanan Bhavan. Sarvanan Bhavan, which I thought specializes in South Indian, had a variety of North Indian stuff as well. I narrowed my choice to the never before tasted Idiappam. This was offered with coconut milk. I watched with fascination as I saw a tablespoon full of batter being spread thin in a deep vessel, covered and cooked. A hollow thin hemisphere-like layer was gently coaxed out once cooked. It looked very similar to the regular Dosa we have but I knew the batter was different. I was very tempted to lapse into my comfort zone and ask for chutney to be served with it. But I stoically stuck to the white, sweetened, cold, milk like accompaniment. The dosa was unique as it had a paper like consistency towards its rims and expectedly a slight thickness at the bottom At least, I got to try something from Sarvanan Bhavan and the Idiappam for the first time too.

By the way, how did I forget the filter coffee?! Being at Chennai and dining at Sarvanan Bhavan, I did order for filter coffee. It smelled amazing and tasted good too but really not worth the 23 rupees that I paid for it. I might need to try the same at some road side restaurant to have the real ‘kapi’

Today is the fourth day here. Need to see where else I can go for eating something different. I don’t know whether I will lose weight or gain some at the end of this stay. There are times, I get nothing but a plate of rice with curd and times like yesterday when I binge. More Chennal news in the next few posts till I come back…soon I hope!

I am blessed

While returning from office, I got to sit in the seat behind the driver’s partition in the office bus. The bus rapidly filled up. A young boy then jumped up from the back row and came to sit beside the driver’s seat and started chatting with him. I looked at the guy thinking how come the company had started hiring such people…flashy dress, unkempt and long hair…cheap sandals on feet. It was when he started talking, did I realize that he was working as an errand boy in the company. He was happy at being allowed to travel ‘Zara soch’, he was saying, ‘teen hazaar ke salary se 500 nikala gaya tho kitna bacehga? Tho woh 500 tho bacha letha hun’ …with a happy grin. I thought the guy has just started so maybe the salary will increase once his probation/training period is over. Driver: “Tumko teen hazaar hi miltha hain kya?” Boy: “Haan, itnaich… lekin tu soch pehle mujhe 1500 ka salary miltha tha…ab tho teen hazaar ho gaya hain”...again with a happy grin. Driver: “ Kab se kaam kar raha hain?” Boy: “Abhi nau saal ho gaya." This stunned me …salary from Rs.1500 to Rs.3000 working for 9 years ...i.e. 50% hike in 9 years! Keeping longer hours than most of us do, no luxury of working from home— an option that most of the employees of IT companies have, getting a dressing down if caught taking a break in between work unlike our frequent smoke/tea breaks where people gather in groups to gossip for prolonged periods. And here I was feeling so miserable at a growth which I think isn’t commensurate with my experience and keep getting frustrated. Somewhere in the mind the frustration becomes that little less meaningful now.

My training touches people across geographies

http://antalgabor.freeblog.hu/archives/2005/08/26/802770/

I happened to browse Google with my name and it threw the above as one of the search results.
I was pleasantly surprised to see this. I had trained the new inductees from different parts of the world at Hyderabad and through virtual training in their part of the globe but this happened 3 years ago and I had almost forgotten about it. As far as I recall this is a trainee from Holland.
Trying to translate word by word to see what it means.

At Home.....finally!

Hmmm...
The project closed on the 11th of Feb'09 and I was looking forward to spending time at home after the very hectic schedules while in the project.
The travel of nearly 3 hours to Gachibowli used to sap most of my energy...what was invigorating was the work…under a decent Pr. manager...that kept me wanting to come back to do and learn more...
But with this great act of Raju, all my ambitions are quashed...the variable pay is gone…things seem so uncertain…
Anyway let me not think of future but of NOW!
Now, I want to enjoy this sudden leisure that I have found...feels good to be home after a long time...
I had to still go to office as there was some billing to be done and then again to hand over things and close the ODC yesterday...
Need to allow this feeling of leisure to sink in. Let me make the most of it till I get into another project/organization...
Working in the just-closed project has spoiled me and I wander if I will find the same kind of amicable work environment...but here I go worrying again of what’s going to happen…let me enjoy this moment and catch up on LOTS of pending work & movies..

The team ends its tenure

What Satyam has done is leave me with lots of leisure...
The latest development is that most of the team has got offer letters from xxxxx. Not only that, they say that they have got hikes from 15 to 30 % !
I had initially turned down that offer but now I see myself getting jealous of people who got such offers. Even under normal circumstances Satyam would not have given those kind of offers...
And now I don't even know whether there will be appraisals or even if Satyam is going to be around next month or whether I will still have a job once it is going to be taken over. Every day we get to hear new names being floated around...Spice, L& T, Fidelity, iGate...ever heard of Fidelity? God knows what the company is going to be converted into and who will stay and who not...
The thoughts are mostly turning depressing tho I do try and put up a brave front.
Probably I will be going to office for this week only as the team will be reporting from the next week to Wipro.
My only option now is to wait till the next project comes or an offer from a new company. Hope the later happens as soon as possible.

Satyam Projects-the inside story

Life drags its feet heavily.
What turmoil with the Satyam ship sinking heavily!
Change throws me off guard and such quick changes in the last few days!
7th January was when the disastrous news broke and it was like all hell had broken loose.
I was aghast...but hadn't realized then that that was only the beginning of a roller coaster ride of emotions.
What followed was utter chaos...what happened then is largely splashed in papers for all to see but what’s happening inside is another story...
The competing corporates claim not to be poaching but that's on...albeit surreptiously.
Our project was unique as the client himself proposed that the project along with the entire team be moved to a competitor! This was supposed to be their BCP!
We were given very few days to choose and making the choice was so difficult.
I opted to stay back and then the psychological games begun!
People asking why I had chosen to sail with a company that will drown any moment!
I was yo-yoing wildly unable to know whether I had made the right choice...
But what I am unprepared for is the depression that’s followed this whole chaos...
When my mind was so made up that I am gong to lose the entire team and had developed a sense of detachment, what I get to hear is that Satyam is now again trying to woo the client back!
For the last month or so I wasn’t feeling too comfortable about my role in my current project and wanted to ask for an enhancement of role when all this happened.
I was relieved thinking that I can take a break and then look for working in a new project when it comes... hoping that a new project would bring a change in responsibilities.
Something has changed and I am sure that if and when we continue working on the project, nothing is going to remain the same ever...those who opted to leave may be looked upon as pariahs...something has definitely broken and will not join again!

The Satyam Saga

On the 7th of January there seemed a major earthquake in life what with the Satyam MD confessing to a huge fraud! The head spun at the magnitude of the scam! It gave an almost orgasmic feeling…a kind of feeling one gets at viewing accidents …the gore that holds one captive…I was struck to the TV the entire day…unable to move; work forgotten at home…
And then, it started... all the skeletons tumbling out from the closet….as they dug deeper.
Rumors, speculations ruled the TV…people calling me seemingly sympathizing but obviously gloating over the possibility of a damned job.
Inside Satyam, there was desolation, a sense of anger aimed against Raju…but very very surprisingly, lot of support for Raju as well…some deep sense of dedication..to try and shield Raju from lot of allegations leveled at him…though most of them were right.
From senior leadership, there were mails and calls of assurances everyday, posting and updating on what was happening and at the same time asking us to keep our chin up. I could see the fear in people's eyes at the prospect of not getting the next month's salary ...people who have splurged money on luxuries who are upto their eyes in mortgages. One of my youngest team members who had just splurged on a Swift(5.5 laks) was worried about how to pay back.
Meanwhile the temptation of the client wooing us with a job…I have seen everything that could possibly happen in the corporate world…
The Directors were thrown out to be replaced by the Govt. appointed ones. These directors seem to have unearthed more dirt! The Satyam Social service (108 Service) too didn’t remain untouched. Aspersions are cast as they dug more dirt. Apart from that, the facts known to people are presented on the TV as though just discovered just to enhance the enormity of the offense.
We as employees aren’t sure of what’s happening, especially as each day unravels a new story. I will keep posting about each day's development esp. from an insider's perspective.

My summer vacation

A long time since I took the time to write here.
Lots of things happening in my life right now…
I have changed my profile in my professional life. From being a faculty for 16 long years, I have entered the technical world in the form of a Tech Writer. I wouldn’t call this profile exactly fascinating but this has given me a definite advantage in understanding the IT world better.
This role has brought certain uncertainties with it…like gaps between projects…seems entirely new to be without work… some rest after 6 long years of working continuously. It’s a whole new world and I look forward to experimenting with newer roles and responsibilities. I am thankful for this chance of trying a profile that’s so divergent from my earlier one.
Let’s see what the new project brings in terms of role and responsibilities! The new project is likely to be available from the 1st of June.
I worked for 10 months in a Life-Sciences project and am now released from the project.
Meanwhile, let me enjoy this vacation…getting paid without working is enjoyable for sure!

Rudeness- the weak man's imitation of strength

I spoke to a male colleague in the office, aged around 37-38. I was trying to make some polite conversation. This guy replies very sarcastically. I tried speaking about a more neutral topic like, “How was the travel from the new airport?” Even this innocuous question elicited a sarcastic reply. The tone in his conversation was very condescending throughout.
I wondered what made him talk like that. Has power come too soon to him? Had he come from a very insecure/ impoverished background? Is that why he wasn’t able to handle power?
This illness pervades the entire corporate world. Rightly said, “It’s not adversity that’s the true test of a person. Give him power and see.” Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely! I have interacted with very senior people in my organization and seen them being so down-to- earth, so kind and hard working. It is this quality that has endeared them to others and therefore they are where they are today. This sadly doesn’t percolate down and the ones in the middle try to implement an authoritarian leadership. These people are probably proud of the little war of words…these small victories but forgetting that they are actually losing out on the bigger battle of life. I would personally consider myself victorious in life when people swarm to my funeral. How does anything else matter?
I had a small spat with the person who is the parking-in-charge at the railway station from where I board the train. He was being careless about his duties and I chided him for not doing it well. But my words haunted me throughout the day and I made my truce on my return home. He has now become very friendly with me, takes extra care of my vehicle and charges me only the minimum parking charges however long I choose to keep my vehicle.
What admonishment and punishment cannot accomplish, empathy, a little smile and kindness can surely do it. And for all those in power, if we could combine that power with kindness, what a lethal weapon we have!

A prize- albeit a third one

I have been working in my current organization for the last 3 years but heavy schedules kept me from doing anything beyond my work... (training schedules day in and day out). After all this time, I got time to participate in an Essay Writing competition organized in my organization. Following is the essay for which I got a third prize. I shared this article with my friends in my yahoo group and everyone has said that they liked the article a lot! The constraint here was a 200- word limit for the writing. This was tough as trying to express clearly what you have to say in 200 words is not easy! I also got to see the other two prize winning articles but found mine superior to both of them. My friends confirmed it too. Never ever got a third prize for my writing.
What was heartening, though, were the congratulatory messages which started pouring in immediately after this message was put in the common mailer…never knew that people from my previous department valued me so much. There was only a piddling of messages from my current department…mostly enforced…enforced because I had to point out the common mailer to them to see the announcement. One very callous comment was, “Good to see you learn writing after you joined our unit.” I was stunned to listen to this. This is, in fact, my 47th/ 48th prize in my life!

Leaving this aside, I was happy that my current reporting manager acknowledged it first and sent a message. Well, here’s the article:


WHO IS YOUR INSPIRATION & HOW DOES THIS PERSON GIVE YOU A BETTER PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE AND LIVING

Well, this topic set me thinking...who motivates me…or should I say what motivates me?
The ability to find joy and beauty in everything is perhaps the biggest motivator.
A baby’s smile motivates me. The innocence in that smile drives me to be good to everyone I see.
I look at young children playing together, I feel motivated to let go of my ego and harbor no antagonism towards my colleagues.
When I look at the older people I feel that, no matter how old they get, they never lose their beauty - they merely move it from their faces into their hearts. This teaches me the value of kindness.
When my little son gives me a hug on my birthday, I become a more lovable person to the world.
I learn the value of humility when I see the rose plant in my garden open up its rose bud. Its beauty makes me marvel at God’s work of art.
During a downpour, when I see a mother trying to cover and protect her baby first this makes me learn how to be selfless.
I see God’s handwriting in everything beautiful. At every moment of life, I feel inspired by some person, incident or thing that instills in me a better perspective of life and living and beckons me to give back the same to life.

A hectic week

Well, the last week just whirred by!
On Sunday last, I locked the house and went to spend sometime at my mom's place. I couldn't take the deafening silence at home anymore.
I commuted to and fro to office from there.
The presence of people around gives a comforting feeling.
The house being closer to the office, I missed out on my regular train journeys for the entire week.
I returned on Thursday and was immediately caught up in an MDP training program on "Planning for Effectiveness and Efficiency". This was on Friday and Saturday. I have got so used to getting up at 10 am that getting up at 8 am was definitely a pain! The program itself can be rated a 7 on 10.
While returning from the training program, I was thinking that its been so long since I have actually worked from 9am to 6 pm--the regular office hours.
The week was quite hectic, yet seems so empty because I return to the same empty house and the same meaningless work at office.
I know that fulfillment comes from within and one cannot seek it outside oneself. Yet...
There was an upside to this too..had food at a 4-star restaurant the last two days.
There were exquisite 7-8 starters to begin our meal with. And 11-12 varieties of desserts at the end. I enjoyed both ends of the meal more than the middle (the main course)! And also met with people from different industries...from an NGO, from edible-oil manufacturing industry, from health care, banking and an MBA student too. Very interesting mix of different professions!