Partisanship Unwelcome!

“Aristotle's axiom: The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” 

― Laurence J. Peter, Peter's People and Their Marvelous Ideas

And this is so much true. I have encountered quite a few, such instances in the last few years, that too quite frequently. As I always say, getting a degree in itself does not make you educated, if you possess a bloated chauvinism and just can't sound rational. This is not about a specific gender, male or female.

Although, most of my experiences encircle an unempathetic attitude demonstrated by the male counterparts, that does not in itself claim the generalization of the postulate at all. I have come across and have known more of those who are thoughtful, mindful  and reasonable.

This one is specifically about what happened just today, once again, only a different face. After waiting for over an hour or so ( reasons: heavy rain, bad roads, and mad traffic), I boarded the office shuttle. Most of the rows were occupied, with each colleague holding the respective window seats and their bags, on the seats next to them. I requested one of them to let me grab the seat next to him. From his gesture, it felt as if I asked for a piece of land from his highly regarded kingdom. He had no go but to take his bag away from the seat next to him. But he himself was still occupying one fifth to quarter of my seat, just because he wanted to sit down in a rather, more relaxed way and maybe because the only thing he cared about was his own comfort. 

I waited for a few minutes, to give him time to realize that I need space to sit comfortably as well. The seats in the bus are designed in a way that if you do not assume the right posture, there is no doubt you will get a backache. After a short interval, I requested him to shift back to his own seat for the same reason. He murmured: "One or the other person has this problem everyday. I will rather move to another seat(in a very rude tone and rather rough way). 

To me this behavior of that guy was rather a prejudiced support for one's own comfort. So, I ended up saying "As you wish!". He got really offended and briskly moved to another seat. 

This is not a permanent solution to this problem at all, for someone else would face the same situation again, the next time (s)he happens to sit next to this guy in the bus, for he has no regard to comfort of others. He has not been the only person I have had a difficult conversation like this, with. But I am comfortable doing that because 'It's not OK'.

I have talked to a lot many people and realized that many of those who suffer just don't speak up , because they either do not want to come across as a rude person or have already given up after several attempts. But this not only approves of their behavior but also makes them believe that they have been doing the right thing and eventually a license to be even more ruthless the next time.

“In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.” 

― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956

Consider Changing Yourself Before Changing the World!

It's funny that almost every other individual wants to change the world and world is still the same!

Well..Let's Talk Talking Simple..!! ;-)

-> World = 7.125 billion individuals (2013).

-> Almost everyone wants to either Change the World or See some Sort of Change in the World.

-> Quite high momentum, then why almost all problems still persist? Why such a slow and/or negligible change that we see or come across. I think Kirchhoff's First Law can explain this pretty well, considering world as the point.

   k = 1 to n Σ I_k   ; n =7.125 bn,  I_{k = Force that each individual employs :-)}

-> Consider changing ourselves? With enough self control and/or self awareness we can at least change ourselves.

-> If each one of us changes oneself, world automatically changes.

This reminds me of an incident that happened a few months ago. I was in conversation with somebody over tea in a self-service cafeteria . (S)he was really annoyed of the way people leave paper cups on the table instead of throwing them down in the dustbin. What happened a few minutes later, was a real eye opener for me(not that this was the first time I experienced something like this). We were about to leave the place. The person slowly and craftily left his/her cup on the table and started moving away. I was quite amazed, may be it slipped off his/her mind, benefit of doubt, you know. But I could not resist my astonished, prolonged, look alternating between the person and the cup. What I did notice was the body language indicating a wily, wilful tactic. May be I am wrong but that's not the point. 

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ― Rumi

Death Race!

How many of us in the room(blog visitors in this case) have watched “3 Idiots”? Quite a few..huh! Then, I guess you remember the gist of Dean’s commencement speech at the onset of the new student batch, every year:

Life is a race ... if you don't run fast ... you will be like a broken undaa..

which means

Life is a race ... and if you don't run fast ... you will get trampled. Someone will walk over you.

Quite a many parents that I know, take quotations like these really seriously. Most of them want their kids to excel academically in their school and college journeys, score highest marks, not because they want them to be better human beings, learn life lessons, to be able to weigh risks, absorb failures and make better decisions, but because it’s among one of the most gratifying socially accepted trump cards, they may use to flaunt, as and when they desire. Well, I have not attended one or been the subject in any, but I hear(d) of the kitty part chit-chats(from my friends) where moms say something like this "Oh, your son/daughter scored only x in the Maths, my daughter/son has got y(>x). or something similar."

Now, I will put this car in reverse gear to let you all have a sneek-peek in the flashback.

Last period, we were handed over the report card of half yearly exams of second grade. It resulted in the outburst of a tumult in the classroom. Five of us who were very really good friends, were also the highest scorers(from time immemorial..;-) ). Then rang the bell ”ting ting ting..” at sharp 2:00 pm, and it was time to go home. I was packing up my stuff, thinking of the party at home. End of exams and results(not just school exam results) were always celebrated at home for the hard work, irrespective of performance. 3 of my friends signed off and rushed to their buses.

I was all set to leave the classroom. That's when I noticed that a friend of ours, was quietly sitting down there, on the first bench. She stood third and had done really well compared to previous exams in second grade. She looked dull, sad and depressed, completely lost in her own world. I cheerfully asked her if she had plans to go home. She did not reply.

I walked up to her and repeated my question. She behaved like a person, deaf and dumb. I could sense that she was upset, so I sat next to her and whispered “Ghar nahi jaana hai kya..Don’t you wanna go home? We will miss the bus!” She replied back in a shaky voice “ I don’t want to”. I was dumbfounded. I could never imagine myself or anybody else saying that. I inquired if she was unwell. I checked but she did not have fever. She paused for a while and after a brief gaze, looked away from me. I can still remember that face of hers. She was looking down at her shoes, eyes red as if a boiling hot water spring, volcanoes of tears at the verge of eruption and she was shivering like hell. Next moment, I could see tears rolling down her face. I sat down there, quietly. Sometimes, silence is golden, you know(in fact, all the time ;-) ).

After a minute or two, she strangled the air of hush “You have no idea. You don’t know my mom." I said “Let me remind you, I met your mom on your last birthday. And of course, I do remember the chocolate cake, with wonderful topping.”

She continued ”I scored lesser than you. She won’t give me lunch and dinner.” I tried to appease her “Hey, it’s just 12 marks. It doesn’t matter. Go home and relax”. She muffled “She will scold me. Last time she beat me with a steel rod”. I could never imagine getting beaten up for a few marks. I thought she was exaggerating. So, somehow convinced her to board the bus.

I noticed her bruised hands and swollen face, the next day. It had a deep, everlasting impact on me. 

My brother once scored some percentage of marks in a subject(lower than anybody else in my family). Nobody was angry with him. My parents instead would talk patiently, try to understand the impediments and then encourage, lighting up the candle of self-confidence and intrinsic motivation to perform better next time. If we were ill, they would not let us study(compulsion to study is totally out of question in any case). They never compared us with our peers. I was never and will ever be scared to go home.

We hear of the spike in the student suicides every other day, which just leaves me pondering :

If only those parents could be like mine, a bit more supportive, a bit more understanding and offer a helping hand, we would not see so many students switching off their power supply to bid goodbye to this wonderful, colorful, amazingly exciting and unexplored world of opportunities. If only it was a race to betterment, not a race to death, death of a child’s spark, his/her aspirations and eventually his/her demise in the moments passing by. 

If only it was a race to betterment and not a race to death!

PS: This was the content of my fourth speech in today's meeting, Toastmasters club @ SAP. Feedback is welcome. Have a pleasant day! :-)

What you don’t know about ‘Nerds’!

How many of us in the room(blog visitor's vicinity in this context ;-) ), have ever been proclaimed or referred to as a nerd? C’mon guys, we can be honest, and hopefully nobody else is around, raise your hands(to yourself). Don’t worry, it’s ok to be a nerd! In fact, it’s fabulous to be one.  Why?..

Because: Nerds are nerds <virtuoso learners/assimilators>, not nerds <lull, dull, unattractive and boringly studious>.

Wikipedia says 'Nerd' is a pejorative term used to describe a person who is overly intellectual, socially impaired or obsessive about technology, fiction or fantasy, with almost no regard to mainstream activities like sports, movies etc.

And in the average non-nerdy terms: Big, thick spectacles, shy & socially awkward introvert, lost in his/her own world, with bare min or no maneuver of striking up attention grabbing, interesting conversations.

I don't fit in that frame of reference, just described? Do I ? Not really, right? Don't give me that look... I am not crazy, my mom had me tested. Bazinga! :-)

Being a nerd for the most of my life and having known so many others, as friends and family, I have a very different take on nerds. I would summarize that in 3 key points. It’s not an exhaustive list but self-sufficient. Firstly,

1. Nerds have a life, beyond books: Many of us like reading blogs, articles, novels, fiction/non–fiction, and some love newspapers. Sadly, while common people are called avid readers, know the term for nerds? 

"Bookworms!"

My college junior looked really puzzled the first time we had a conversation about music, movies, LAN games etc. I invited her to my room to explore my collection. She paused for a while and said “But, we have heard stories of how dangerous it is to step inside your room”. I was like, what, "dangerous?". Then she says(mockingly), "Yes, your batch mates say that it rains books in your room all the time, chances are that I will be drowned or hurt.”

When she discovered my library of 37 GB songs, 50 GB movies etc., she realized that nerds are not maniacs, and being submerged in books is not the sheer source of pleasure.

Likewise, most of my nerdy friends, take great interest in movies, drama, music, sports etc.

Secondly,

2. Nerds aren't a closed community: Nerds befriend 'nerds' and only 'nerds', but that’s not true. While you may say that birds of a feather flock together, for the kinship connection they share. I would remind you of the old saying that opposites attract, like protons attract electrons.

Nerds are not at all a closed fraternity. Not all of my friends are nerds. Some of the most jovial, fun, entertaining, terrifying, rebellious and violent(of course, no terrorists) people have me in their circles. It’s not that way from day 1, many of them dreaded the idea of talking to me initially because of the same misconception. But after collaborating on some of the most memorable pranks and mischiefs, building strategies for things, from troubling staff to class bunks to strikes, the line of me being nerdy and they not, almost blurred.

And last but not the least,

3. Nerds aren’t teachers’ pets: Remember the mean, unfair terminologies, commonly used for nerds:

a. Helping teachers/lecturers carry books & answer sheets is 'Bootlicking',

b. Appreciating them for genuine reason makes you 'Moron'

c. Agree to them for just once and you become a 'Loser' 

In fact most others would keep an eye on how many times did you visit the staff room, or received favors due to your past good performance etc. In fact, for many, a nerdy + a teacher = a dog + its owner.

I remember, during one of the lectures, I was a little unwell and  so, was sitting down quietly amongst clamor. The faculty inquired if it was the noisy/talkative batch-mates or him (in a funny tone) that’s bothering me. I ignored the question, for obvious reasons. While everyone else was busy talking, almost everyone knew of the question just raised. 

He repeated his question a few more times, indicating that he expects an answer, that too in his favor. Ultimately, I said, you know, the classmates are great, I love their company. That's why I am here in spite of being ill. I did not bother about the take away for him, but I wasn't lying. It did result in a burst of giggles in the room. He was offended for sure. I thought "Bazinga! I don't care, you forced me say the truth!". I cared only later when I almost flunked in his subject(got only passing mark). Reason?, that goes without saying.

Next time you see a nerd, take him/her aside. And say, I know you have a life beyond books, nerds do befriend normal people, not just nerds and you aren’t even a teacher’s pet. I know all of that, now tell me who you are and what makes you, ‘YOU’. 

I outlined just 3 points but I believe there are many more mind-blowing facts yet to be revealed. So, just pay a bit more attention and wipe out all your misconceptions to discover the implicit and unnoticed explicit awesomeness of the beautiful creatures called nerds. And who knows, you might run into next Marissa Mayer, Cristiano Ronaldo and may be even Russell Peters.

Disclaimer: This was the content of my third speech at toastmasters club at SAP. This is certainly not the exact replica(some examples have been omitted).

Random Act of Kindness - 1

Lot many discussions of late made me think and rethink about the intensity with which cynicism is scaling up. Media is busy selling negativity, which by and large emphasizes that humanity is dying. I have hardly ever seen any news in the recent past with kindliness propaganda.

Anyways..

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” 

― Desmond Tutu

Having had a conversation on this topic some time ago, I decided to post one accidental act of kindness I witness(ed), at least once a week. I am sure altruistic ripples are in abundance too, if only we start paying attention.

I was walking down my way to home. There were two poor little boys slightly ahead of me. In a fraction of seconds, I noticed a girl trying to catch up with them. She managed to overtake and then asked them to stop. I was amazed, so were those two. I cut down my speed because I wondered what she was up to.

She looked for something in her bag. And the very next moment, she handed over a chocolate bar to two of them. I could see how their eyes lit up with awe. They stared at her in stupefaction. She smiled and walked away!

Life's Not Fair..!!

When ported to this world, did we know the difference between being born in a hospital with 5 star facilities and being born at a government hospital, with no doctor, and maybe 50 miles from your home. But now that we know, do we ever spend time celebrating the event, a luxurious birth or cry over a rather modest one? I doubt! ..

Who said Life was/is fair, or it will ever be? 

My belief is, no matter what the problem is, there are always ways to deal with it!

Many of my friends and acquaintances are software professionals. Every single time we talk, they would ask this: why have I been working for the same company for 4 long years?(that's not the trend right? :-) ). I had and have always countered them, politely of course, saying, ‘Why don’t you suggest me one where employees are fully satisfied, have no complaints about system being partial and unfair.  Next reaction: “Oh yeah, you work with SAP, a great company, why would you even consider switching. It's a product company, nobody is on bench, great work culture, flexible work timings, you don't have an inhumane manager”. I almost always smile at this and think "My dear friends, nothing in the world is perfect. It’s all about perception. And we need to crush that. That's point no. 1. Accept your situation, accept that life is biased/partial. Accept that the circumstances for you and I are not same and they will never be. And that we don't have the same start and finish lines." 

Not that I am saying, SAP is not great, it is, but there are always pros and cons, and you need to prioritize & choose among options, with things you really need and things, you may ignore/put on halt, those you can manage to live without. So, that brings me down to point no. 2: Prioritize & Choose. For me it's important to have something that drags me away from any comfort zone, much before it gets built, have my time for experimentation/exploration, challenge me, with enormous opportunities to connect/collaborate with and have smart people around etc.

Instead of weeping over your luck conspiring against you, look the difficulty straight into its eyes and give it a hard time. This takes me back to college days. It was the advent of 5^th semester exams, I felt unwell. Well, who doesn’t ;-)? I thought it’s just viral and managed to get done with 2 exams. A day before the 3rd one, I felt really weak, so decided to see a doctor. Typhoid was diagnosed. He prescribed some medication and asked me to take rest and not study hard enough (since I did sound like a broken record with "it’s exam, it's exam, it's exam the next day). It started taking a toll on me that night, at around 10:00 pm, high fever, fluctuating between 105-106 degrees. That was it, it numbed me. My friends called up the doc. He suggested further medication. I took those pills (my friends managed to get them from somewhere at 2:00 am), but temperature didn’t come down, only added to weakness and caused drowsiness. Friends called the doc again. Poor guy, got frustrated and said "forget exams, if life continues, she would be able to face lots of them". That was deafening, not appearing for more than 50% exams meaning, repeating an entire semester, and in engineering terms, an entire year.  That’s unfair, while everyone else was studying hard to score more or pass, and I was stuck with “If I would be able to make it.” Next morning, I was unable to stand on my own till 7:45 am(all thanks to my doc, who gave tranquilizers to pacify me, without letting us know), 8:30 was exam, at a place 15 mins away.  That was the tripping point. I decided to go for it, what did I have to lose further. I managed to scribble something on the answer sheet, god only knew what and almost fainted as soon as the bell rang. Not to say, I topped that semester. So here comes the next point. “It's hard to fight when the fight ain't fair and easy/tempting to give up. Choose to Fight. Fight Back through the darkness because there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

A wise man once said(tweaked by me a little bit ;-) ), when life gives you lemons, you may either curse yourself for being unfortunate or life as it picked you or envy people who got “sweet lemons”, else you can make some lemonade, sit back, relax & enjoy it with your favorite movie. And if it gives you way too many lemons, then I would suggest you to consider a lemonade stand business and of course make some money.

Life isn’t fair, unfortunately it's a knock-out game. It does not matter whether you're up or down, feeling high or low, what matters is how you play the game of life. So embellish it and relish it but don’t give up. To ease the journey you may use this 3 point mantra: 

1. Accept your situation

2. Prioritize & Choose among your options 

3. And of course, Fight Back!

PS: This was the content of my second speech at Toastmasters club at SAP. I like to discuss philosophical topics, so it is one from that bouquet. I never could get enough words to thank all of you, my friends(you all know who you're), who made every effort possible for my ship to sail through difficult yet critical times. Thanks is too small/less a word, so I rather choose not to say that. Cheers! :-)

Feedback(about content) would be a great help!

Fast Forward : Passport Application

The last station for the quest which started with the loss of passport was the application for a new one which was the most fierce part. "Why?". You would never ask that question if you have even the slightest idea of how things work in India. 

I asked a number of questions to the officials at Indian Consulate, Sydney, when they issued an emergency certificate to me. He accepted that he was not 100% sure of the process in India after a while. One thing he did tell me, time and again, was to not forget to submit back the EC, which looks identical to a normal passport. I had to submit an affidavit and self declaration regarding the same. 

I have been seeing this since childhood that my father would take a copy of every letter/document he signs, every form he fills/submits etc. for future reference. Having seen this for so many years inculcated the same habit in me. The person at the consulate initially said that they do not normally provide this to anybody. But I asked him a few times. So, he agreed to help me provide that all to pacify me. So, do I have a copy of all the documents I did submit/fill/sign. This one thing surely did help me a lot during the whole process. 

I had no idea of where to start with the complex process of passport issue(in lieu of loss) application(once I reached India). It's much easier when you're a student and if it's a fresh passport application. I remember my first application which hardly required a 10 minutes visit to passport office, Jaipur. 

Apparently, nobody knows the actual process. People(passport agents, concierge service desk & Passport Seva Kendra guys etc.) give you advice based on assumptions, not facts. I reached out to the national call center for assistance a couple of times for information but in vain. A passport agent demanded INR 15,000 to get a new one in 15 days. That was inquisitive and challenging for me. If he could, why can't I.  A well-wisher suggested me to take a week's off to figure out the process and navigate through it. So, did I do. 

I try to be well prepared for anything I take up. So, I looked for information on the web and read almost every single web pade which contains any useful information. I started doing this during my extended stay at Sydney. The information they had put up was contradictory. I decided to not get swayed away with that and only trust the information on the website of Ministry of External Affairs. A few things to keep in mind are:

1. There is no way you may expedite your application processing in case of re-issue in lieu of loss/damage. Only printing and dispatch of the passport can be speeded up. This means only application under normal category is allowed.

2. There is a provision for out-of-turn walk-in for educational, medical, job purposes etc. For this, you need a letter of urgency from employer, doctor etc. 

3. Once you submit your documents at PSK(Passport Seva Kendra), your application would be put "On Hold". This is because application in case of loss/damage, followed by travel on EC falls under complex case category. You would just get a receipt which indicates the need to visit Regional Passport Office. Nobody would ever tell you the reason and you might get worried about the cause.

4. At this time police verification will be triggered but even if it's done your application will stay 'On Hold'. While the online status would say that your passport is being processed, it would not until you visit the Regional Passport Office.

5. Be prepared for dealing with a long & tiring queue there. But it was an enriching experience for me. My experience with the police station had been really good, really nice/helpful people, who did not even expect/ask for any bribe, completed the verification process in less than 2 days. I met a few people who were frustrated about the process. A girl for whom, an adverse police verification report was submitted. A professor from Bangalore University who applied for reissue of passport. He had made an application in 80's about which he did not mention. The RPO guys found this out after webification of all the information. Another person who just submitted an application in 70's but did not remember receiving one ever but his application was stuck too because he missed to put this information in his application form. And many others, with variety of reasons.

6. You would have to run across the multistorey building to fetch the files, get papers uploaded/signed, pay the fees etc. and above all to find the room where each of these things are done.

7. Address proof was a big trouble for every single person I met. I had been fortunate enough in this case. I had applied for electoral's card for my current residence long back, submitted the documents, looked for status a couple of times, lost hope and never checked back. But, it's a matter of sheer luck that I checked back again (since that was the only hope), status was 'Granted' this time. So, I received my  voter's ID card as soon as I reached back home(India).

Moral of the Story: Don't trust assumptions, people will give you many, lots of reason to support them, based on their gut (underline the word gut again, because they are still assumptions, not facts). More than often, they will be proved false on the face of truth. And above all, keep trying, that has helped me every single time, believe it or not.

One Day..!!

One day,

will despair usher comfort

One day,

will pain usher hope

One day,

will silent usher words

One day,

will dumb usher wisdom

One day,

will steady usher motion

One day,

will waves usher shores

One day,

will islet usher clique

One day,

will dusk usher dawn

One day...

Spent it grazing sand,

One day,

Lull was made your brand

One day,

The day you have in hand,

One day,

Again passes by fantasyland

One day,

Hope to make it grand

One day,

Just passes by your stand

One day,

Unviable remand for secondhand

One day,

Meld all bids as moment blends

One day,

Before you lose it bare hand

What Makes You So Courageous/Bold?

Out of all the people, I crossed paths with, quite many ask(ed) me this question? What made me so bold and outspoken? I don't know what made me daring, because I have been this way ever since I can remember. The only thing I can think of, that makes an impact on you as a person is, your family and upbringing. Honest opinion and outspokenness have always been respected and valued at home. My father would tell me to not give up to anything irrational or unjust and to always be upfront, and anything really meant anything. I guess that support system hailed in me this trait. End of the day, you learn what you see!

My mom once told me this story from my childhood. Most kids fight with each other, so did we(me, my brother and cousins) when we were kids. On being spotted, I would outrageously admit that I had beaten somebody(XYZ) up. My cousin(elder to me) used to get slapped further just because he would be so afraid to speak up :-) . Now that I know this, I feel bad for him.

I do remember an instance from school as well. I think I was a second or third grader then, and was a good student, who would religiously complete homework and study hard. But for some reason, I could not complete an assignment once. I even remember the name of the subject :-). On being asked about that in school the next day, I raised my hand saying that I could not do that ( I knew he was not going to check my notebook anyway but I could not help saying the truth). I was punished that very moment, I think for the first time ever during school days. The same teacher handed over a chocolate bar to me 5 mins later. 

So was I in college. This instance popped up in my mind while thinking about it, even when there are so many. As we all know, seniors like to boss around and bully first year students in engineering colleges in India. We had one who cherished the idea of picking up a bunch of us(wherever he would find some) and then giving away free life & career advice, like " You guys should be serious about how you spend your time here and so on..". I got picked the second or the third time. I knew he would repeat same words with utmost confidence and with joy to intimidate us. I could see a bunch of students roaming around the other side of the campus and was curious about what they were up to. I am used to be in "always on" inquisitive mode about most things. I was gazing hard to understand what they were doing. Suddenly this senior year guy stopped saying whatever he was.., and was looking at me with anger. I found this out a few minutes later when I turned around. He furiously asked me if I was not interested. I repeated everything he did say at one go from beginning to end in the exact same words. He was fuming but had nothing to say and just walked away. :-)

I just carried forward that characteristic from childhood, to school, to college, to workplace and all the other facets of life. Only thing that changes with time, from childhood to adulthood is the level of emotional intelligence, the maneuver to put across the same truth in the least painful way.

The Mouse or the Loud Mouth?

While listening to Margaret Heffernan's "Dare to Disagree" TEDTalk a couple of weeks ago, I highly appreciated the example she shared to highlight how people with complementary skills make the best and potentially the most successful duos.

This reminded me of an old school lesson. I neither remember the book nor the author, and no way the year of school. But, I remember the zest of it, golden identifiable traits of a real leader. A good one:

1. Encourages the Mouse : We all know those people, many a times with really cool ideas, with squeaky low voice, who hardly ever manage to build up their confidence and raise their voice. 

2. Keeps a check on the Loud mouth: And then comes another lot, who relish the idea of talking so much that mouses hardly ever would take the pain to put their point across, when they are around.  At times, they prove to have the skills to embellish utter non-sense ideas/vision and even succeed selling them.

There is a third and probably easier(inexpensive) way to solve this problem in certain cases. Team up  a mouse with a loud mouth(now that may not work always, and we may always argue about who gets the attention or the credit, but that's not the point). At least this ensures, that all the ideas are always out there on the table to have a word on. Eventually, they may understand the worth of each other's positive qualities, may be even tips, tricks and techniques for working over the grey areas . 

As they say, one should rather try to play on strengths than fixing up weaknesses. It's good enough to be aware of and manage them, and manage them well!

At Indian Consulate, Sydney!

After the end of a very very Lousy Weekend, it was Monday morning. After all that research, I felt a little prepared for the visit to the consulate. The consulate working hours were 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, and I was ready to go at 8:30 am. I had a feeling that I should handle it all by myself and was not sure if it would offend my colleague if I just informed him and went alone. While I was pondering, at around 8:37 am, I received his call and we agreed upon starting then. 

As soon as we got into the cab, he asked me if I knew where we needed to go, saying that he only remembered it was some 'XYZ'(don't remember the name now, but that was not it) street. I almost already did by heart the name of the street and directions to that place, so could guide the cab driver. 

As soon as we entered the premises, I could see some people waiting for their turn. I went and sat behind one of them. Very soon, it was my turn. I went and explained my situation to the officer. He asked if I had filled the form online. I had done that last night and brought along copies of that, my old passport and annexure 'L'- affidavit for loss of passport . He then told me of the other documents which would be required like photographs(2.5" * 2.5"), police report, plus notary by JP(Justice of Peace) etc. I had a couple of passport size photos of different specifications which I showed to him and it seemed that those might work. I asked him of the expected time it would take to complete the process. He mentioned that consul general takes the call on case to case basis. I could totally understand his standpoint but asked him to give me a ballpark number based on all of his previous experiences. 

He said that it might take anywhere between 7-10 days or less but it's hard to comment then. Suddenly, my colleague said something like, why would it take so much time for a small thing like this. I was surprised by the way he put it across, so I requested him to let me talk. The officer suggested to get the notary done first by a JP(Justice of Peace). Finding a JP itself was a challenge, provided that I had no idea what it meant. We went downstairs and asked the guy in the medical shop, who then gave us a list of places where we could find one. 

After scanning through the list, I thought the best option would be to go to the Supreme Court. My colleague said that we should try some other place since people at Supreme Court(SC) would not be free to do such a small thing. But, I felt it would be easy to find people with that sort of authority in SC. After a brief debate, I agreed to try the other place. As soon as we reached the one of the two JPs at that place, he indicated that they had no authority to sign on a document issued by any other govt. except that of Australia. I inquired if we can find somebody at SC and he confirmed that we would. 

Finally, we reached SC and an extremely helpful lady did it in a couple of mins after having a look at a few of my docs like company ID card, old passport copy etc. We then reached back the consulate and the guy suggested us to handover the police report and the photographs. So, I gave him the events card.  He said that they need a little detailed report than that. I asked him, how much time would it take to get that. He said it might take anywhere between 7-10 days, the reports dept. sends it via courier. I asked him of  the details they look for. He did tell me. I once again asked him of the time it would take once we had that all. He mentioned that usually depends, anywhere around a week or may be less.

Then we went to the police station. The officer I talked to last night was not there. I waited for a few seconds when another officer came in to check the reason of my visit. I told her about the case and she said that they don't have access to the report, Only the reports dept in Parramatta could issue it and they usually send it by post in 7-10 days. She handed over a few phone numbers to check with before visiting the place. We tried all of them a number of times but could not reach anybody. While I was sitting over there, I remembered the lemon story from 'Getting to Yes'. I went back to the counter and same officer came again to speak with me.

I told her of my situation and she could understand the trouble I was in. I asked her if she can issue a letter stating that I lodged a complaint last night about the loss of my passport with details of the complaint, my passport and my personal details like name, date of birth etc. She agreed. She was so kind that she typed the letter right then and got a copy. I was reading it and my passport number was not included in that. I told her about my concern. She was so sensitive and smart that she realized that information would be required. She asked me for the number again and simply inserted it, took another copy, signed it and handed that over to me.

Then started the hunt for a photo studio. We did find one, but the photographer could not get the photos cropped to the required specifications. I remembered seeing one near QVB the previous week during one of the brisk evening walks. We then looked for that one and finally could get it done in another 30-45 mins. We reached the consulate back by around 11:50 am or so. The guy who helped us with the procedure so far was on a call and another person who was discussing something with him a few seconds earlier was waiting. He did look like an officer. So, I showed him all my documents, told him of my situation etc. and asked if there was a way I could go back home asap. He had a look at everything and said "Come back tomorrow morning and collect the EC(emergency certificate)". With amaze, I asked him that the other officer said it may take anywhere around a week to process the application. He said that's fine, I could collect the EC the following day. He then went inside. A few seconds later, the officer put the phone down and I told him about the conversation I just had. He reassured saying that the person who asked me to come back the next day was the consulate general. With his agreement it could be done by tomorrow. I was happy and we then headed back to the hotel, after handing over all the required docs.

A Lousy Weekend!

This is in continuation to Reporting the Encounter..!! So you might want to turn the pages over, to get a hint of what this post is all about. For everyone else who managed to follow through, without getting bored and/or discontinuing, thanks a lot for your patience.

It was 1:00 am in the morning and I was surfing through internet to get a hang on the process I was supposed to follow from Monday onwards. I probably read the content of every single page listed in the first 10-15 results' pages on Google for all possible search strings for the situation in hand. Everyone from my manager, to his manager to the VP extended help and colleagues there in Australia or back in India searched for information and sent it too.

I wish I could say it for this one

I completely read through the website of ministry of external affairs, India and the Indian Consulate at Sydney. They require you to fill up a form for each case whether it was one like that of me or for a new passport application for an Indian resident staying in Sydney and so on. What confused me was that most of these links take you to the same page, having link to only one web based form. I was not sure if I should because the description indicated that it was meant for a fresh passport application, but I filled up the form and saved a copy of that on the notebook. It generated a random number saying AUSSI******* which is an identifier of your file. After doing all this, I suppose I fell asleep some where close to 3:40-3:50 am in the morning. 

Early morning at around 5:45 am, I went out to see if I could find some sweepers or  anyone from caretaker groups of that area. I  retraced the whole path once more but could not find anybody, I guess it was too early. I went back to the room and tried to catch a short nap, woke up again at around 7:00-7:30 and went on for the same journey. Luckily, this time I managed to find somebody from that group, I told him about what happened. He then talked to few more of those in his group but nobody had found anything. 

He then told me about a Chinese lady who had forgotten her bag, wallet, passport and other belongings in the same area a few days ago. They found all that stuff, which was then returned to the lady as it is. His assumption was that there is no reason that something lost in that area would not be found except for cases when somebody throws it in the dustbin or when it might have fallen in a water body. I then went on to find the office of the rangers who oversee that area. I did not have any luck this time as well. They told me the same thing as did that guy I talked to a while ago. I then talked to the folks in the all the remaining (open)restaurants/bars/bistros and souvenir shops in the locality.

I was then walking back to the hotel, when the tram guy who helped last night, asked me if I could get my passport back. I was amazed to see that he remembered. I told him that I could not find it and thanked him for being kind to ask that. 

My colleague called me up at around 9:47 am in the morning to inquire if had checked with the sweepers and other guys and if I had my breakfast. He told me that he would go out to check once. Later, he came to my room at some time around 11:30-11:45 am when he informed me that his wife and child are ill. At around 1:33 pm in the afternoon, he sent a detailed email to all the stakeholders with the summary of the workshop and next steps to be followed once we reach India. 

He invited me to his room at around 2:00 pm or so to be able to divert attention from the topic. I was still looking for more information on the internet, so I refused. He insisted, so I went to his room with my laptop. I did not know what to discuss, so I sat there for a few minutes and then continued my search while he was enjoying an animated movie. Since it was not helping, I went back to my room after 5-10 mins. 

In the evening, he suggested that we should catch up for dinner. While we were going towards harbor on the same lane, I asked him of the bistro he went to, so that I can ask the folks if they found something. He said that he did not think that it was lost there. Since there was no harm in trying, I asked him a few more times. When we reached near the same spot as the previous day, and I pointed out to one of the bistros asking if that was the one, he said he did not think so. I thought may be he does not remember, so I suggested that I would go and ask in each one of them. He did not like the idea and said that he did not think it would help. I insisted and then he finally told me the place he went to. I went in and asked the lady at the bar. While she went on to check inside, he said that he did not think that he put his hand in his pockets while he was there. The lady came back with no good news.

After going back to the hotel, it was just a few more calls, texts etc.

I called up the police and rangers a couple of times asking for my passport over the course of that day. Those people are really nice, they remembered me by the time I called them up the second time and tried reassuring each time that they will reach out to me as soon as they find something.

to be continued..

Reporting the Encounter..!!

This post is next in line with First Ever Visit to a Police Station..!!

As soon as we stepped in the police station, I noticed the difference with those we see/have in India, or at least in movies.

Anyways, coming back to the point, I saw two cops indulged in their work. As soon as they noticed us, one of them came to the counter to attend to us. I started speaking and hence informed him about the loss of my passport. He started asking me questions like:

"Was it an Indian passport?": Yes, it was, so did I say to him.

"How and Where did you lose it?": I informed him of the walk from our hotel to "The Star" and that as soon as we reached the destination, my colleague acknowledged that it could not be found. 

He then inquired "your colleague acknowledged": I informed him that the passport was with my colleague along with reason. He then looked at my colleague and so did I, saying that the passport was in my colleague's pocket. My colleague then nodded in approval too and said that it was with him.

So to conclude, I said, it should have been lost somewhere on the way from Holiday Inn, near Sydney Entertainment Center to The Star. My colleague interrupted and said that as per him it should have been lost only somewhere near the harbor because he remembered that's the only time when he put his hand in the pocket. 

I was quite surprised to hear that and said "You did not even remember that I had given my passport to you when we reached "The Star" and now you remember when did you put your hands in your pockets?" The police guy was writing it down in the report when he repeated that it was lost between the Holiday Inn and the Star. My colleague tried repeating that he is sure that it should have been lost somewhere near the harbor. I told the cop that we can't be 100% sure, it could be any place between the two points.

The constable then asked my colleague if he has checked his pockets well. My colleague said yes, trying to check it once again in front of him.

He asked us of our purpose of visit to Sydney, for which I told him that it was a business trip.

I asked him about the procedure thereon and if he knew how can I get back to India. I must admit that the constable was extremely helpful. He immediately searched for and gave me as many numbers as he could find, of the Indian Embassy on the internet. He did tell me that it would be closed any way since it was weekend and that I would have to wait till Monday. I was worried and he could sense that well. He said that I should not worry for the consulate should be able to issue a fresh passport to me in 48 hours or so. He keyed in the information and gave me a card with the event number indicating that report was lodged.

I tried all of those phone numbers but none of them worked. He looked for another number and passed it on to me. I tried that number as well and luckily that one took me to a voice mail box. I dropped a message, stating my name, nationality, current location & time, reason for travel and that my passport was lost, and that the same has been informed to the NSW police at Day Street Police Station. 

The constable then called rangers(these people take care of things, lost and found near the Darling Quarter) to see if they had got it. But they hadn't. He passed on that number to me as well so that I could check with them the next morning. He then suggested us to retrace the path back to see if we could find it.  I informed him that I had already done that almost twice. He did suggest to talk to people at all the nearby restaurants.


After listening to what police officer said, I decided to retrace the path from the harbor to "The Star" back. So when we reached the bifurcation to our hotel and the harbor, I did let my colleague know about it. He said that we should grab something to eat first. I said that I would rather go and check there first. He repeated that but I took the road to "The Star", conveying my intention to try once again to him and he followed. When we reached the entrance of casino again, I asked the representative who was managing the crowd if they found any Indian passport there. He suggested me to check with hotel reception, at the rear side. I asked him the way to it. He hurriedly said something.

So, I just started walking into that direction. My colleague continued to say that he does not think that it had fallen over there but I was not convinced. I had nothing further to lose, so I wanted to give it a last shot. When we reached downstairs, I signaled him that we need to take the right to reach the reception. His feeling was that there could no way be a path to the reception within the building and we should go out, walk around the building to enter it from the other side. I did not think so, my feeling was that it was a huge mall, should have been well connected and there should be a way to get in there through the mall. So, I followed my gut. He replicated his wordings, that we should go out and try find a way to the rear entrance. Within a few minutes, we could reach the reception, cutting through the crowded food court, and then the lobby. I asked the lady if they found an Indian Passport but they had not. I gave my contact details & business card to her so that she could inform me just in case they find it.

I was talking of visiting the restaurants on our way back to hotel  but my colleague did not like the idea. I said I would go and talk to them and I visited around 2-3 of them, that's when he joined me. I talked to another 6-7 of them and handed over my business card to the folks at the restaurant.  I tried to find the people who clean that area but could not. Staff at a restaurant suggested us to try early morning next day. My colleague then suggested that we should grab something to eat first for we have not had anything yet. I could not think of food at that time and thought of making a few calls to the folks back in here(India) to inform about it. I went back to my room and called up my manager, parents etc., posted about being stuck in Sydney on the Facebook wall. Many friends, colleagues & well-wishers reached out to talk, share ideas, offer help, and whatsoever and I am really thankful to each one of them.

My colleague managed to get the return tickets cancelled by that time. He came to my room while I was still on a phone call. As soon as it was all done, he reminded me that we have not had dinner. I was in no mood to eat anything and conveyed this to him. He insisted, so I told him that "I can give him company but I am not hungry." We went to Mc Donald's, nearby, he ordered a meal and insisted me to get something as well. I wanted to get back to the hotel quickly, so I agreed. The only veg thing available was the pack of potato fries. He suggested that we may try another place, but I was not in mood to do that. I simply asked him if we can get back to the hotel.

As soon as I returned to my room, I wrote an email to Indian Consulate at Sydney enclosing a copy of my lost passport, details like how/when, the event number, police station and name of the police officer in charge who lodged the complaint.

to be continued..

Edited: I had forgotten to include this part when I wrote it yesterday, an amendment to make a note of each & every thing that happened.

First Ever Visit to a Police Station..!!

This post comes next in the sequence of my earlier post Unforgettable Discovery of Loss.!!

After experiencing a peculiar reaction from my colleague about the loss of passport, the only thing I did say was that "We need to go to the police station". My colleague was baffled and inquired, why would we need to go to the police station. I said, now since the passport is lost, we don't have any option but to go the police station. He insisted that we should first trace back the path to see if we can find it ourselves. I was skeptical about the idea and once again mentioned that " The path we navigated through, to reach "The Star" was pretty crowded. I did not feel that we would get it back retracing it, so I mentioned, instead we should directly go and lodge a complaint with the police first. 

My colleague asked for trying ourselves one more time. Ultimately, I agreed and started to follow the same path, with utmost attention, provided that I am good at and like observing things, in spite of being stressful this was a cakewalk for me. I quickly retraced the path back to the hotel and till the tram station at the other end but all in vain. While I was walking back towards the harbor, covering more than halfway, I saw my colleague coming back from "The Star"(I was so deeply indulged in finding the document back that I had lost track of where he was and the speed with which he was heading back towards the hotel), this is when I also noticed a tram heading in the same direction as I was. I waived at the driver. He stopped and then I asked him the address of the nearest police station.

My colleague managed to come nearby and asked what am I trying to do. At that time, this tram guy was telling me of the directions and the name of the police station. My colleague asked once again "Police station?" I informed him that I have already traced back the path 1.5 - 2 times and could not find anything. He suggested to try one more time. I was in no mood to pay heed to him this time. I simply asked him to continue searching while I go and lodge a complaint with the local police.

My colleague suggested that probably I should continue searching while he would go to the police station. It was strangely astonishing and hardly made any sense to me. I asked him of what would he do going to the police station without me. I was the one whose passport was lost and hence, I should be the one to go & lodge an FIR while he could continue looking for it if he wants. He was then interested to come along with me to the police station. I was ok with it. So, I continued asking the tram guy who then offered that he would drop us to a place very close to the police station. Very soon did we reach the drop point and the police station was just a couple of blocks away from there.

We reached the police station by 9:50 pm. 

to be continued..