Getting back to life

Not always do we have the best of time, do we? I had a rough phase and I believe it has gradually come to an end and this phase has taught me a few lessons in life!

First, the big update- I’m planning to leave TCS.
Anyone who knows me, knows Aji Issac Mathew and Techshu. I’ve been offered a role in their product management team and to be honest, I am overwhelmed..
I’m not leaving TCS on a high note. However, the reasons for my decided resignation is more than Techshu’s offer and is strictly TCS internal.

 

 

These four months, I concentrated on a few constructive aspects as well:
Introspection: I have spent the better part of the four months to understand what exactly I want! Yes.

No, I might not want to become a Travel-Writer right now. Abhay had sent me all Business Analytics e-books. Instead I chose to search and read more about Digital Marketing strategies and Product management. A regular desk job is not for me. An MBA degree might take me to the same corporate set-up I’m trying to run away from. And I do not want to take another loan. Loans scare me now, however small the amount is.

I fear failure and precisely why I am bad in approaching people asking for help. I am pathetic in expressing emotions and when ever I do it, I simply over do it.

My life would have been very different had I not met Rimbik, Surya, Rakshit in 2012. I owe a lot to them and my newer set of friends – Soupayan, Saimantick, Souranil, Arya, Asmita, Agniprava, Arjyak, Nabhoneel, Susmita and many. While Susmita and Soupayan has this extremely respectful and larger-than-required feeling for “Dada”, the rest treat me like a friend. We have fierce disagreements, debates and we often fight. We hug. (Not Arjyak, he is too tall). Then hangout . Over the last 3 years, this is how we’ve bonded. If the rest of the world asks me to choose a path and Surya thinks otherwise, I would give a lot of consideration to Surya’s ideas.

I’m overtly emotional and the feeling of attachment is way more than necessary. May be that is why, all the people I’ve worked with since 2009 are still connected with me with some work or the other. In fact, the company I am going to, is the first company I’d interned in. Almost all the friends I previously had are still there. While many laugh at my wallet which is torn, I just can not let it go because it is gifted by Harshit and Sayon. It was for the first time someone thought of organising a birthday treat for me. The watch I wear is gifted by all the kids I’ve mentioned in the previous paragraph. The card holder I use was gifted to me by Pratt Memorial School and the headphone I use was chosen by Saimantick. Phew, that’s too much of information.

Kolkata Bloggers:

From February till May, Kolkata Bloggers worked with Kolkata Literature Festival, Publishers and Book Sellers Guild, The Government of West Bengal, The Times of India, Magnum and had a few other engagements.

We had launched an initiative “Tales to Tell”, where we asked people to submit short stories written by them. The best 20 would get compiled to a book, to be published by BEE Books this August.

We’re planning to formally register “Kolkata Bloggers” as an organisation. The aim for the next year would be to organise small meetups, workshops to raise digital awareness. The month of August is going to be a big one for us. We have 5 big events lined up, the execution of which would be a good test for my team.

There is this group of school kids trying to organise meetups where they’d discuss poetry and literature. If they can organise the first two, Kolkata Bloggers can get into it offering full support after August.

Very recently we were also invited by the US Consul General and if the initial round of talks materialise, we might be working with the American Center some time soon, organising Blogger workshops with a few schools. It is too early to even mention it.

Kolkata Bloggers was invited to The Edutainment Show 2015. The panel that we decided upon was Poorna Banerjee, Abhishek Chamaria and me. The discussion was moderated by Aninda Das. It was exciting to see Kolkata Bloggers’ logo although very small, but yes it was there. Not the first time that it got on the newspapers, but every time it feels special. Arjyak and Asmita weren’t a part of this. They were taking examinations. However for the first time in my life, a cousin showed interest and came over! You can check the review post here.

PS: We have changed the look and feel of the entire website of “Kolkata Bloggers“. All thanks to Nitesh Luharuka, Nabhoneel. A very special note of gratitude for Rajatabha for having shared his photograph for our use.

 

 

Bangkok: I visited Bangkok two times, spanning a one and a half month visit in the four month span and no, I will not tell you why I went there. Keep guessing. But yes, the next 2 or 3 weeks, you’d see all the remaining Bangkok photographs.

Travel in West Bengal: And here is something I am really thrilled to speak about. West Bengal is perhaps the only state which has mountains as tall as the Himalayas and long sea beaches. Couple that with the culture and architecture, Bengal tourism can be very very exciting. We, from Kolkata Bloggers, are planning this site – www.travelinwestbengal.com. And we are looking for some travelling experiences and photographs. If you want to join in, let us know.

Planning next posts from Personal Blog: 

This July I’m planning to publish 4 posts from 4 different guest bloggers. I’m looking forward to some articles about Kolkata/Bengal/Social Issues/Blogging targeted for the age bracket 18-25. If you want to be a guest writer on this website, just drop me a message. All contact details are given to the right hand side of this site.

This August is special for my personal blog as well. If everything goes well, I’ll publish 4 stories of 4 different persons from Kolkata and trust me, their lives would inspire many. I’ve connected to young movie makers for help. I’m trying to raise funds for this. If you could help, let me know!

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A few remarks before I end this post:

Right after college, we all would get some job to make our ends meet. We might be happy with the job role we get or we might not. With the set of existing “processes” put in place, how easy is it to switch between technologies if you aspiration demands? How easy is it to approach a better opportunity?
Answer: Not easy. To make it easy you need to network and grow your own little personal brand. Nothing else might help.

Leadership is not only about achieving targeted objectives making the best use of the human resources we have. Leadership is about enriching the experiences of people who are working with you.
Not always is it possible to take everyone along. If you are the leader, make sure that the person who leaves, leaves without complaint.
Leadership is about creating future leaders who can run the initiative in the absence of the present leader.

My life has always been a smooth ride and touch wood, I’ve always been loved by almost everyone I’ve worked with or have met. Apparently I’ve been trusting quite a few not-very-right people very recently. Not that I’m complaining. It is a learning curve. But yes, would be trusting people slightly less now.

Money is not everything in life. My thought process is slightly complex. I might not want a singular person or organisation define for me, my own self. For me, my dignity and the quality of work I do, is slightly more than the pay cheque.

One’s inclusion is someone’s life might not only not add value, but create problems in it. One should understand and learn to draw the line.

 

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Perhaps the new phase in life will bring with itself, newer challenges, newer opportunities, newer learnings to share with my friends. A big thank you to people I’ve met during this phase, for being such a patient listener to my rants. Do leave me an honest feedback of the blog post.

God bess.