Fascinating Infosys Days, best wishes for Infy@40

I made an accidental entry to Infosys, while I was looking for options to relocate to my home state (Kerala). It was a too fascinating experience for me than I ever expected. A vibrant environment, filled with actions, a golden mix of long-timers and freshers, a place where the service industry and product industry was contributing to each other, a playground of collective learning and mentoring, etc., etc.

I am extreamly thankful to my close friend and classmate, Satheesh Chandran, for forwarding my resume to Infosys, the tenure at Infosys was really resourceful.

Though I lead people in past, on the technical front, Infosys, helped me to understand that management is a field of art and science. Through well-thought tools like PRIDE, IPM+, and SPC matrices, they equipped middle managers to have their roles fulfilled. 

I left Infosys on misconceptions and dilemmas, which I regret quite often. 

I was much thrilled when iRACE was first introduced without relative ratings. Later, I understood that my reservation about tagging people with relative ratings was the real issue I was facing at Infosys. I was not convinced by the "Bell" curve and the notion of "the ability" of people. I was of the opinion that opportunities and attitude are what make a person jell well and produce magnificent results. Though I could not effectively articulate my reservations well during my Infosys days, now I realize that it was essential to have effective filters and goals to keep a large organization running. On top of this dilemma, a wrong fancy on agility and an unwanted fear of losing my technical skills, fueled me to look for options. Infosys was a very good place to work and still dream that one day I may be able to rejoin the family, which gave me a lot of dignity and reverence.

I got opportunity to work with some of the good leaders, I admire most. Arunima, Suresh NR, Gayas, Poonam, Sudhindra (CG), Subbu... etc.

Apart from my professional gains, I was blessed with a lot many good Infy colleagues, and they continue as my best friends now as well - to name someone - Shino, Vipin, Bhagya, Saritha, Peyush, Saritha, Vidya, Rakesh, Deepu, Tamil, Arun, Sajosh, Sree Devi, Surya, Kiru, Jyothi, Sheethal, Vijay, Mathew, Palani, the Lion batch, and so on.

Wishing you Infosys Family, all the very best, on the occasion of your 40th land-marking year. May the collective wisdom and courage create more success stories and patterns for the world in general and India in particular. 

May Infosys continue as the inspiration for the coming generations and may it be an icon of success with values.

India, belongs to Nehru

Happy Independence Day, all my brothers and sisters of India, May god bless us to be independent, in our thoughts and deeds.

In fact, India, belongs to Nehru, as he represents the very idea of India, every struggle that formed India, and so on...

We live in an India, discovered by Nehru. We love the idea of India discovered by Nehru, that connects past with future, that unites many to one, that represents peace above all. 

If thoughts represented by Nehru was not there, instead of Indian Union, we would have been a collection of independent nations, just like middle east or Europe. Nehru could pave the basic skeleton of unity not only by his writings, but also by his actions. 

Nehru lived in a time when capital based systems and commune based systems were emerging and establishing. He could weigh the highs and lows of both and carefully took a middle path. We could see that he picked only one jargon "socialism" from the spectrum, in his drive for a welfare state. He carefully, nurtured a non-alignment stand that was a ray of hope among furious camps.

He might have realized the pain of exploitation, the capital based system brings in, he might have realized the trauma it introduces via false hopes and alienation. On the other hand he, as well thought by Gandhiji, recognized the commune based proposals are reactive in nature. Time had proven him, all the communist evangelist states were exposed as either ultra nation states or autocratic regimes. As a scholar of all times and statesman of every nature, he thoughtfully placed us in a safe path. 

Let us remember, some of his quotes:

• Without peace, all other dreams vanish and are reduced to ashes
• You don't change the course of history by turning the faces of portraits to the wall
• It is the habit of every aggressor nation to claim that it is acting on the defensive.

Bhagat Sing recognized him as the "revolutionary", as he was quoted saying when Nehru returned after visiting him in jail. Gandhiji said that Nehru will speak his words after independence. Nehru was a leader of devine choice, bestowed upon us for nation building, in every angle.

.. but, how far we are successful in upholding his idea, our India ? Every one of us have to review and retrospect.

Lessons to be learned.. over nationalism may backfire... ?