An IT Woman

I never believed in the term IT Woman. I thought there is only an IT professional. This was the lesson I learnt in the initial days of my engineering. During lab sessions, my teacher said, in a professional environment there is no man or woman in a professional environment.

There may be a lot of biological and psychological differences between a man and a woman. But, in an environment like IT these differences do not have any relevance. Here only your smartness and logic is valued, which is equal for a man and a woman. Even then there are a lot of social conditions in India which will make an Indian woman work harder to be in par with her male colleague. But, these are never considered in the design of the whole system.

In most of the MNCs there are a lot of forums for various groups like Women, Gays, Lesbians; etc. Most of these forums are made to show that corporates care for these groups. I always have thought that why we need to have separate forums. We just need to consider everyone equal, because at the end of the day each and every one is delivering the same amount of work. Each of us is billing the client at the same rate. But, recently I started realizing that there is a need for more support for Women. This support has to come from everyone. There is no need to have a formal forum, but for that everybody’s thought process has to be changed.

When I was a teenager, I had heard many people saying that it is a Man’s world. I always wanted to break that concept; I had most of my friends as boys. In college I was a single girl in an otherwise all boys committee. When selected to an MNC, I was the single girl in a group of 10. I always had a hidden pleasure for all these, since I wanted to break the men’s world. I found that I am one of the very few ladies in my office. I found myself as the single woman in my project team. I always made others’ in my group understand that I need not to be over cared or over supported as I am the only lady in the group.

When I got married my colleagues expected me to behave like an ideal Indian wife, preparing all the three meals for my husband, to become shyer, to avoid project parties, detach from my male friends, to wear sari to work place; etc. I surprised them by maintaining my previous image.

I always knew that when compared to my unmarried male colleague, with whom I will be compared for my promotions and recognitions, I will have to work harder. I may have to sacrifice my quality time with my family. I will have to rush to office to support a production migration on a week end, even when my husband is still sleeping.
I may not be able to rest and relax after a day’s work. I may have to put artificial smile on my face on a night out party. I may have to agree with the tight project schedules, even when I know in my mind that my work life balance is going to be screwed up.

Very little did I realize that all my efforts are going to be just reduced into some numbers when Senior Management reviews my work. I never knew that I will be addressed by some employee number along with the number of hours billed to the client. My competitors always had more client service hours, owing to their single status and 24X7 work attitudes. I wondered why no body is appreciating a woman’s ability in delivering equally qualified work in less number of hours while maintaining a healthy work life balance. This realization shocked me. That was when one of my colleagues asked me a question, whom would you select as the best performer when a male and female has equal number of credits, equal client service hours. I had an answer in my mind, but I asked him answer the question. He answered, “I will select the male professional”. I didn’t give my answer. I was completely taken aback with his answer.

His answer made me think why women professionals are not given more opportunities like their male counterparts. This is because they assume many things, they think that when a woman joins the company, she will leave it to join her husband, when she gets married she will behave unprofessionally, when she bears a child she will lose concentration on work and will take more number of holidays, when given an onsite opportunity she will start cribbing to return back in a few months. I challenge all IT bigwigs to stop assuming and give women the same opportunities. Then you will see more women in the top of career ladder, even for the sake of showing some numbers.

Evaluating some one’s performance based on some number logic can be done by any kid. It doesn’t require any management gurus. But, they are required if we can evaluate each and everyone based on their given opportunities and how they reciprocated to them. It is time to change the systems. Now, let me give my answer to the question which my colleague had asked me. My answer is that I will appreciate both of them as best performers. No rule or evaluation system is bigger than the efforts spent by the professionals. I may change my evaluation system but, I will never disappoint my colleague and will never disrespect his / her efforts.

And, to my dear readers let me convey a good message to you that I got promoted this year. Let me move forward in my career and help my colleagues change their thought process. Let’s change the old systems. Let us bring in equality.

Wings are up!

Oh! I hate to alight down
Evening rays are just coming down
Sky is meekly showering upon
And,asking me to alight down?

It's the pair of novice wings
Waving in the air for liberty
Happy in the state of puberty
And, asking me to alight down ?

Just I began to kiss my mate
Lest I will lose fellow itself
Dare not to listen to me crooning ever?
And, asking me to alight down!

It's my eyes that are watching the land
It's my legs that are daring to land
It's my wings that are doing the deed
Now, tell me how to alight down?

Rhythm of Rain

There is only one thing in this world, which imitates your feelings. That is rain!!! Also, it brings back all your memories when rain had formed a significant background. I think it is the mere presence of rain which helps you in getting back your memory.

Rain is described by many poets and authors of our country. I feel rain is the best drama queen I have ever seen. It comes with thunder, lightning and many forms of wind and creates your mood or it rains as per your mood.

When I see the rain from my flat’s balcony I remember the times when I used to watch rain from the sit out with my father. The slopping road in front our house always used to take a lot of sand and small and colorful stones along with its flow.
The stones used to shine in the rays of sun which used to show its face among the darker rain clouds. Altogether it used to give me the feeling of some color water flowing down the road!

We used to have a lot of discussions while watching rain. I usually tend to get distracted towards the ripples forming in the water around the coconut trees or how water is dripping down from the first to the bottom leaf of my rose plant. Movement of water from one place to another, leaves wavering in the gentle breeze, comfort of the cool wind, warmth of my father’s hug, tea served while having my small doubts cleared forms my childhood rain memoirs.

And it was on one rainy night I realized that how much dear is my family to me. It was raining cats and dogs with thunders. Every time I hear the sound of the thunder I will see if my family is safe and sitting away from window, switchboards and seated only on any wooden platforms. I used to even keep a big bamboo stick for myself so that I can use it in case of an emergency!!! Thanks to all the alerts coming on TV. My parents were surprised on seeing my super care attitude. But, I was so tensed at that time and was in search of the safest place in the house to be ready for a thunderous monsoon.

In college, there were many days I had yearned for a heavy, thunderous rain. I wanted to seek my friend’s extra care and comfort for those days. Those were days when I wanted to enjoy the maximum freedom. But, my mind was never ready to come out of my traditional upbringing. I wanted to run out and get drenched in the rain. But, I always ended up in enjoying it under the darker shades of my old umbrella. I still remember that day when it was raining cats and dogs and everybody got stuck in the college. No umbrellas were able to save you in that evening. I stood in the verandah of my college, watching the rain, chatting with my friend. I felt my feelings for him were raining there. We decided to take our umbrellas and came out of the college. We took the longest route to come outside, walked very slowly and sang old film songs and had the happiest time together.

My next memory about rain is in Mumbai. I was very happy with my first job and new friends and my life in the commercial capital of my country. One day afternoon a holiday was declared for my office and the reason was rain!!! All of us came out and found thousands of people outside waiting to get into their buses in an otherwise quiet yet busy Powai. Few of my friends went outside and started dancing, I thought Oh! Haven’t they seen rain?? But, I was yet to see the power of Mumbai rains. I missed my first bus and managed to get into the last bus from the office.

We opened up our laptops and started listening to songs as our vehicle was moving in snail speed. Thousands of people were seen on the road, stranded without vehicle, helpless as their telephone networks were down. We were very confident as we were in the office bus. We could easily hear people on the streets discussing about the destructions caused by rain. Our vehicle almost stopped moving. There was no way out!!! We couldn’t go back or forward. It was then we 6 friends decided to walk to our guest house. We decided on the longest and safest route instead of the shortest and risky route. That risky route which we opted out had the highest death rate in the city. Electricity had gone, vehicles were seen immobile, people walking but it seemed that the rain will never end.

We decided to walk through the middle of the road. As we walked hand in hand a group of 4 girls and 2 boys who were new to the city, we found floating carcasses, people asking for Rs.10/- for giving a single helping hand. Still rain continued as it was trying to play with our limits. After walking for about half an hour we found a huge pit hole right in the center of the road. This made us to use the city buses as our new path. We got into buses through back door then got down from front door J

Finally after 9 hours of walk we all reached our guest house with lost shoes, laptop with damaged display and 2 friends less!!! Though we found our friends who lost their way on next day morning, rain left a scary feeling in my mind. This was there in my mind till I left that city.

Now, I have started enjoying the rain again. It gives me back the fresh memories of my childhood when I started discovering everything, of my teenage days when rain gave me chances to make me feel as a grown up, of my college days when I started yearning for love and rain together.

Rain is getting over now. It will come again to wash out my busy mind and bring back the memories afresh.
Let me go back to my balcony and wait for the rain. Let me play to its rhythm.

Daughter of a Super Mom

Traveling by auto to and fro my office is giving me a lot of time to think on subjects other than my work and what food to be made at home. Thanks to the Traffic jams at all the junctions and all the flyovers in this city. It gives me around 2 hours on every day to catch up with the new models of car, to play number games, think about my golden child hood days, etc;


Recently I realized that in all my childhood memories I am thinking of the food my mom had prepared. May be it is because of my fate of eating food prepared by myself, recent visit of my brother at home or my husband’s frequent cribbing on the food quality or my mom-in-law’s instructions over phone on how to prepare good food for your husband. But, frankly speaking I don’t like the food that I prepare at times. I am thinking that my food preparing skills are diminishing over a long term listening of other’s cribbing!!!

Sometimes I think that I am a woman of 21st century. I work for 12 hours at office. Prepare tea in the morning and dinner. Prepare all three meals on week ends. Also, very rarely prepares food for family friends. But, I fail on everyday in front of my mother’s capability of managing a home, who was a woman of 20th century.

My mom got into her job immediately after her graduation very similar to my campus placement at the age of 21. Went to the state capital and stayed away from the family to kick start her career. This was very similar to me going out of the state and started staying in a flat with roomies. But, her story took place in 1970s and mine after 2005. She never had a boy friend in her college, any big shopping malls to spend the week end, no big restaurants to hang out with friends like me. She used to read books, write small stories and do small house hold chores to spend time.

She got married, an arranged one and in 3 years became mother of 2. She used to work for 8 hours a day, managed two kids, balanced the joint family and her husband. But, used to prepare very tasty food for the whole family. She never used to complain that her body is paining or head is aching. Her food was never a subject of discussion in the family, because all used to take her granted in that matter.

On the other hand, I discuss with my family members, colleagues about balancing work and life, about having no time in preparing food. I also make it a big thing about cooking dinner after reaching home late.

My mom used to manage her work pressure, which was very high when I reached my teen age. She used to handle the political pressure as well as job pressure very well. She soon got a name as the best officer and even started resolving issues in my neighbor hood along with my father. She always used to keep us away from my father’s very active social life, his resignation from the communist party, etc;
In the mean time cared us, helped us in studies, arranged small parties for us and our friends, etc;

But, me having all facilities at home, managing a family of just two people can’t even spend some time in learning and cooking good food for my family?
I get confused even when I have to prepare tea + coffee + soft drink at the same time for 15 people?
I think my mind set has to be changed. I still can manage my time. My chemistry teacher used to tell me that you always have 24 hours at hand. I think I can easily cook yummy break fast, spend 2 hours at gym, 12 hours at office, cook tasty and healthy dinner for my family.
But, even then I will think of my mom’s tasty food, sweated forehead, vigilant eyes, busy hands, sweet sound, and her strong attitude while supporting my father. These will be the snapshots in my memory which will fuel my wish to be a perfect woman of 21st century.