Metamorphosis in Japan - 2 - Weekend Trip to Tokyo

Dear friends,

It gives immense joy in meeting someone from your own country when you are abroad.

After two quiet days at work, I planned a weekend trip to Tokyo. Multipurpose – to meet Narsimham and Gangadhar and to get a prepaid mobile phone if possible.

Gangadhar is working for a project in Japan for which he visits frequently. This was his 9^th visit. He stays in a hotel in Tokyo and travels to Shibuya or Shiki. Narasimham is working for the same project as I am now and he stays in Tokyo too. He travels to Shibuya and Shiki as per the requirement. Mine is a stable location in Higashimatsuyama, so I stay here and the plant is 5 minutes walk from my apartment.

Higashi is a quiet, small town some 50 km north of Tokyo. One can easily travel to Tokyo by taking a train in Tobu-Tojo line and buying a ticket for Ikebukuro(heart of Tokyo). Train is available every ten minutes from morning 7 till evening 11. It takes 40 minutes to reach Ikebukuro. As I have mentioned earlier, ticketing in Japan is mostly automatic through vending machines. I had learnt to buy the ticket (the hard way as you may recall). So I boarded the train at around 8.45 am from Higashi station. Train journey in Japan is itself a case study. Mobiles are very strictly prohibited for talking as it may inconvenience your fellow passenger. Trains are never late and the journey as quiet as a cave in the Himalayas. People either fiddle with their mobiles/ipods, read a book or the most common thing to do is sleep. It is so freaking silent; I could hear my body cells multiplying !

I just told you trains are never late. Well well, Sanjay factor comes into picture. This train passes from Kawagoye, Shiki to Ikebukuro. Just before Shiki there was a small earthquake. Earthquakes in Japan are as common as strikes in India. The train stopped, no one panics, all are in their positions. After a 2 second quake, everything is still. But the train starts after 25 minutes after making sure everything and everyone is ok. The travel is resumed.

I reached Tokyo at about 10.20 am. Then I walked to Gangadhar’s hotel. You just walk in Japan. Taxis can drain you wallet in no time. Gangadhar and Narasimham were eagerly waiting for me in the hotel lobby. Gangadhar had a plane to catch at 3.00 pm and had an airport bus at 11.00 am. So after seeing him off, Narasimham and I walked to his apartment in Ikebukuro. It's a good 25 minutes walk. On the way, he showed me a Pakistani grocery shop. I talked with Shehzad(the shop owner) in a typical north Indian slang and he was ecstatic. In his typical ‘Pathani’ accent, he offered us free Maaza(that was my main aim, beer would have been better) and helped me pick up some Indian spice.

Narsimham’s hospitality was awesome. He cooked lunch for us and meanwhile I called my family for the first time after reaching Japan from his smartphone. After a scrumptious meal, we rested for a while. He had all the information about Japan. His research was deep and facts correct. He had all the idea as how to get a prepaid connection in Japan without a hassle. So we took off to the shopping center near Ikebukuro station.

Tokyo is a very crowded city. Shopping streets on weekends are more crowded than ‘chor bazaar’ in Mohammed Ali road – Mumbai. Only difference being, its 100% safe.

Executives in street shouting their mobile plans, launch of Iphone 5 and other stuff.

It was a no brainer for us. As per Narasimham’s research, only one service provider issued prepaid connection to foreigners on availability of their residence card and passport – Softbank Mobile Company. We went to the counter, it took us a while as we had to fill form in English and everything was in Japanese. But I did get my connection.

Then we dispersed. I took my return train to Higashi. The train experience – the same without earthquake though.

Metamorphosis in Japan - 1 - first day in RBJP

Dear friends,

In continuance to the ‘inspiring tales’ here is an addition, a new experience, just a day to day update in a poetic perspective.

Each region/land will definitely have advantages and disadvantages. So while I am compiling my observation of this foreign land, don't mistake if I heavily weigh on the positives than the negatives. I am trying to be as unbiased as possible.

The first visit to the Bosch plant here was routine. Unlike India, the ID is used here only for getting the door open, not punching time-in, time-out. I have observed this in my earlier Japanese acquaintances that they like it this way. They believe that work is religion and are always honest to it. I was greeted at the gate by my German boss who is an aggressive lady, short and sharp. Beating the formalities to a pulp she immediately took me around, that's the canteen, that's the HR, and that's the building where you will work. Any questions?

Yes, the same question was there in my head “ What is the procedure to change the room”.

It was as if I was seeing the telecast of Shahrukh Khan’s TV serial Fauji whereby his superior/trainer always asked the question – Any questions? And if someone dared ask anything the reply will be, I do not like soldiers who ask many questions….

Now I was in the office and looked like an elephant amongst rabbits. I am not referring to size or cute quotient, just that like India, RBJP also believes in casual attire!! This will be surprising and shocking to those who know the Japanese culture. They are very very formal in attire and behavior in the office premises. I was clad up in suit and tie and was definitely looked upon as an alien.

My working place, other amenities were intact. Once again unlike Japanese office furniture arrangement of serial benches with no divisions, Bosch Japan is an exception. We have parallel bench arrangement with soft board dividing benches. This really isolates associates and is a surprising arrangement.

After settling down, I had an orientation meeting with HR. Sase-san is a person full of life and humour. He had some small presentation for me followed by the necessary things I need to do before I start working. My Japan ID was given at the gate itself, they had already informed other associates about my travel and I was just ready to start. This discipline has to come to India. The lesser we talk about our HR, the better.

Ok, the uncomfortable situation. You do NOT leave your seat often. You just sit and stare at the system even if you don't have work. You just cannot talk in mobile. For all practical reasons, this is a serious let down. No vending machines for tea, coffee or water. If you feel like having anything you BUY from the vending machine. You heard me!! So much so, you BUY food in canteen. Guys there’s a small reason to rejoice back home J.

The day was over in a flash. It was uneasy to make the first move. Yes the first move to get out of office. Unlike India where associates used to adjust their watches – hey Sanjay is leaving, it is 4.00 pm, here you just dont leave office. The first one to leave will apologize to others in Japanese – I am so sorry that I have to leave before all of you, it's a yell, everyone has to listen to it. Then comes a unanimous reply, oh, nonono, you had a hard day, you deserve to go early. Many of you may have raised their eyebrows, but yes, this is how they work. Thankful to me German Bosch who again cut down the formality shit and announced, Sanjay you leave, I wont be here for a couple of days – see you on Tuesday.

Next – Weekend trip to Tokyo

Journey to Japan

Dearest friends,

I finally reached Japan. I should say I finally reached Higashimatsuyama in Japan where I am commencing my work today.

It was a dragging process if you ask me. My avergence to leave my beloved team(this is a joke, do not take seriously). Then again my lack of interest to travel for a project which has been running for a long time. This short visit for two months is for some project which is going live in mid-Nov. Then finally when I got in terms with the impossibility of avoiding travel, the deputation team tried their level best-not in getting things done, but in getting things delayed. I finally got the VISA in the evening of the night of my travel.

My journey was spectacular. No hiccups. Well that's a joke again. Sanjay goes synonymous with blunders. All was well till I reached Hongkong. I was taking a transit through Hongkong to Tokyo. My baggage weighed lesser than the limit(19 kg only). Immigration was a breeze(I was surprised). Then when I landed in Hongkong I took a transfer to the new gate for my flight. After security check, I forgot my handbag, just took my laptop bag and went to next level. Now we are in a situation here guys. How difficult it is for an Asian to ask information in an Asian country. First of all, no one had been through this situation. So no one could understand what I was saying. In the meantime they were announcing – IN CHINESE – that there was one ‘unattended’ bag in security in level 4 and looked ‘suspicious’. Anyway, I never knew or understood anything and was just making some hasty inquiries. There was one security personnel who saw that I had checked two bags for security and left with one. This guy went to the security office and complained about my ‘looks’. Within 5 minutes there were several officers looking for a  guy with short hair, about 5’ 10”tall, on the heavier side, wearing a grey blazer, black t-shirt and carrying an HP laptop bag. No wonder they could find me in 10 minutes. Thank God they didn't handcuff me and take me to interrogation team. They just asked me to write a letter as to why I left the bag there. Secondly they wanted to totally empty the bag and search. When they were convinced, I was relieved.

After a boring and dull wait in the airport I boarded the flight to Tokyo. I reached Tokyo late and reached hotel in Ikebukuro(part of Tokyo) even later. So I could not meet any RBEI associates staying in the same hotel. Next day morning I resumed and took a train from Ikebukuro to Higashimatsuyama. It was a big task as all information was in Japanese. Ticket booking in most of Tokyo stations is ONLY through automatic machines. After buying tickets 2 times, I had to cancel and get it refunded as I had done some error. The 3^rd time I got lucky and went to 4^th level in the station and boarded the right train. The rest of the journey was really pleasant. Train reached on time. My apartment owner came and picked me up in his car, showed me around my fully furnished apartment, then took me around the city to show me the major super markets. Mind you, Higashimatsuyama is smaller than EC phase 1. So it took us exactly 2 minutes and 14 seconds to complete one big round of the city.

Anybody traveling to Japan, please contact me. It will be useful for you.

One main disadvantage in Japan is our phones don't work here. Getting a local phone is not so easy. Making personal calls from office is not at all entertained. So I have still not informed my family in person about my arrival here. Of course, Nisha has conveyed my message and thanks to her.

I am spreading my virus faster than I had though. My neighbour here is Moshimoto-san, a lady  who seems to be handling some tasks for production. She had no idea she could access yahoo news from office. HA HA HA. I have so convinced her that she has opened the site at least 10 times in last 2 hours. I have a bigger task. I have a whole country to reform. J

Ok, happy reading, will send more.

Project Team in Bosch

I had a lot of apprehensions in making a career shift and that was obvious because I was well settled in one field for 8 long years. After such a long duration, business knowledge starts coming to you naturally. This is when I took a very critical decision in doing certification and entering a new industry, in a new field, in a new role.

My first project in my new role was really demanding in Bosch. This sentence will bring smiles and laughs to most of the faces. But yes, there was a phase for me in Bosch when was at my wit’s end as to how to complete work. This was not because of the actual workload but real faulty planning. Night shifts, incident management, no one to help and I were a freaking beginner in SAP.

Eventually I managed to move out of this project. I had the smallest stint in BSR with Athul for one week. Yes that can be Bosch record. Due to my excellent personal planning I lost an absolutely marvelous chance of getting into Rollouts.

But whatever happens is for best. I was assigned SSCR with Sivarajesh, Nagabhushan, V Naresh and Suresh as experienced SD consultants. Awesome foursome right. But the joy was short lived. The day I joined SSCR, the onsite approvals for Nag, Naresh and Suresh came. They left the very next day. But of course they gave me all the KT, in half hour.

I was still lost and Ramesh was not in country. For everything I was only talking to Sivarajesh and Natesh. So much so, I didn’t even know Ramesh was my manager.

The only earlier acquaintance was Saraswathi, who also was in the same project as mine under Athul. The only difference being she didn’t mess up with her passport. I remember my SSCR stint started with some output change which was developed by Saraswathi. She was a frantic listener but would come up with solutions eventually. For the first instance I felt I was finally in the right project.

It was BMH and we were all sharing seats. I took up Nagabhushan’s seat and PC between Sivarajesh and Geetha. It took me almost a week to talk to Geetha. I used to feel then that she was a genius and will talk to you only if you know SAP. But how first impressions can be wrong. Once the barrier was broken we started talking more and she did help me a lot in getting the authorizations and stuff. Yes, I think I was in the right project.

Sivarajesh is an unimaginable personality. Getting information from him is like chewing iron nails. He was never gentle and quite crude when it came to SAP. He definitely had a decent knowledge. But the drawback was he never saw beginners as beginners. And boy was he short tempered. All of you may not agree but during my early days in SSCR, I was actually scared of him. But patience is a virtue. I understood him well. Pretty much like me, he was frank on your face and very true about his work. He is the one who taught me finish your job in less than given time and enjoy the remainder time. He has been an excellent mentor and one of my best friend’s now. Yes, I was in the right project.

I was not a part of Smile CR directly. So my interaction with Bhavya was solely restricted to smiles and probably greetings. All of these developers worked so furiously on their systems, it was difficult to break the ice for some unofficial conversation. We started talking more only after we moved to EC. But it was never difficult to not miss her for her bright and pleasant attires. Thinking back, now I know that there was hardly any instance when we have worked together on any CR except for small bug fixing here and there. And then she also left for her maternity leave. The first instance when we really talked was after Athul sir’s party in Koramangala restaurant. I dropped her later that night at MG Road. I was in the right project.

Saravanan introduced me to Sarvani. We had to commonly work on CR11-021, FOC for C budget. I remember the cat and mouse game which started then which went on for almost a week. Sarvani was getting ready for her maternity leave and was transferring data to her laptop. It was difficult to get her time. I even remember I used to call her madam and thought it was impossible to get her appointment. But once we started working, I came to know she was not that unapproachable. It was one God forbidden – son of a crazy – CR for which we created a trillion test cases but could not be solved till the time she left for her leave. I think I was definitely in the right project.

“Ramesh has come, let us get some chocolates” said Geetha. And I thought he was some celebrity. Mind you, I still didn’t know he was my manager. I vaguely recall to have talked to him for some authorization in DCD after 3 days of his arrival in BMH. Now I knew who he was. He was sugar sweet in helping me get the necessary stuff. I thought of it as a dream. Only SSCR, hardly 2 hours of work a day and a cool manager. Oh boy, I was in the right project.

Yes, the much talked about rumor turned reality, we were moving to EC. We were all packing away stuff and being one of the first batches to move, were anxious and skeptical. How can you expect something smooth where Sanjay is involved. Not to my surprise, Saraswathi’s and my assets were not listed in the ‘Hit List’. I was just trying to get happy that I will get some more time to stay in BMH when I saw Saraswathi. As usual we were n top of our pranks- Siva and me. But it looked like she will cry any moment. Then came the messiah. Mr.Kothandaraman caught hold of the secretary, the packers and somehow convinced them to move our assets. Problem solved.

EC became famous like IPL. You either hate it or like it, but can never live without it. When we moved to EC, it was practically empty. 90% BMH had not yet shifted and we felt cheated!!! Why !! No canteen !! But really guys, this was the instance when I got close with my team. This is because we used to share lunch. I got a chance to flaunt my cooking skills too. Unlike my SAP skills my cooking skills were much appreciated. There was unrest, because EC was farther and because the canteen was missing, but frankly the other infrastructure was better than BMH for me. Your own dedicated cubicle and lot of parking space!!

Around this time Ramesh entrusted me with Smile tasks. Siva was  surely retiring from Smile and I was taking up. I saw a similar face, a face that I had seen in BMH but was not aware of him. Sudhakar was a live wire. He had the nag of pulling some best jokes straight face. He was somewhat of an inspiration in SAP as I have seen many developers approaching him for assistance. I will learn a lot from him. Okay, I think I am in the right project.

Some personalities are undoubtedly subtle yet dominating. I had seen a different version of Vishalakshi when we were in BMH. We never talked but I always use to adore her flamboyance. She was a great buddy with Siva. So we started talking more and more. We both came to know we are not half as cute as the other had perceived. The long scoring session of insults and leg pulling has started. I was enjoying and thought I was in the right project.

A quiet, nonexistent, non-interfering person was sitting with us! I didn’t know if this guy even knew this was not his project. But as usual, I was wrong with my official guesses. Ramakrishna was now a part of Smile team. When it happened, how it happened probably even Ramesh doesn’t know. It took a hundred years for him to open up fully when we met for Kalyan’s farewell. And then a new version Rama came to office. Smooth as silk but hilarious, he was spontaneous and wicked good with his jokes. And suddenly I came to know he is also my manager, I was definitely in the right project.

Shital was already in her notice period when we moved to EC. All the dialogues she shared with the rest of the team was either about her previous experience or her next venture. We always had a common topic – Pune City. I started my career in Pune and have stayed there for 3 years. She had quit Bosch and was joining ‘some’ company in Pune. Gosh, I could talk about my sweet experiences about Pune with someone, I think I was in the right project.

The most dangerous eyes are not the most dangerous minds. She sees through your soul and does a character mapping when you meet her first itself. Ramesh introduced Balambigai as a replacement for Shital. Initially quiet, now we feel when she will be quiet!! The best part of Bala is that she takes jokes on her like no one else. I have a scapegoat, I think I am in the right project.

Then of course I met Jayashree, Deepa, Usha, Vinod. Too early to write about them. But friends just a matter of time.

New members joined the team(some even left like Kalyan). Lidhya, Srinivasu, Honey Goyal, Rajkumar, Antony and the latest addition being Dhanamjay. I have known them less but has been fun working with them nevertheless.

There are two important characters in this story still not introduced. Special appearance Natesh and the upcoming prankster Sumanth. Till the time I came to know about Ramesh, I thought Natesh was my manager. He has this loud and clear way of dialogues which can be sometimes confusing. One marked out observation was that he was always on a call with either Geetha or Saraswathi when they were still supporting Smile. My conversation with him was about updates on status. So I was definitely in the right project.

Sumanth has all qualities of a businessman. He will make all the seniors work for him and they wont even know about it. Well, pretty much what I used to do when I started in this project. We hit on this uncanny but very effective partners in crime for pranks. He is my undoubted successor in pranks. He may pretty well surpass me.

Aspirations are either ambition born or circumstances born. No one wants to leave a perfect world. But a perfect world never exists and neither does a perfect project. With want of the hour one may need more learning or earning which your current work may not give you. Either of these factors will compel you to take uncomfortable decisions. For me leaving this project was one such decision. It’s a dream team no doubt and will remain my favourite.

Thank you all for being my teammates and more importantly my friends.

Keep Smiling 

Be the change

In a world where all around, people want something out of you, it is very necessary to know what you want. And for this it is inevitable to have a self assessment.

It is quite amazing how most books teach you excellent theories on motivation, learning, leadership and all those mind boggling attributes a successful person always has, but, it is very ironical that they always mention how these theories vary from premises to employees.

Ultimately it comes to this, that all these books reflect the virtual stories of all such successful people in form of theories which act just as a benchmark for us to compare our ratings with.

But then to what extent should we aspire to become more like a successful person, so that we become the same!

Sachin Tendulkar was then eleven years when his brother took him to watch his first live cricket match. The maestro now was then commenting on how the batsman was making flaws to his brother. After a while, Big B was so annoyed, he asked the little fellow, “Ok Mr. Perfect. Who do you think is perfect? Whom would you want to be if you happen to be a cricketer?” Sachin replied ice cool, “No one. Wait till I get to the pitch some day. People will imitate me”.

Hence it is entirely learning from others and setting ones own benchmarks. ‘Never compete with others, COMPETE WITH YOURSELF’.

Look at the whole perspective by this angle. If you aspire to become like someone or want to beat someone, then the game is over once you do it. But when you keep competing with yourself, you just need not stop at anytime. You just keep getting better.

IF YOU FEEL YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN WHAT YOU ARE DOING, DO IT, AND YOU ARE BOUND TO HAVE AN EXPONENTIAL GROWTH IN LIFE.

Every year thousands of technical and professional graduates join the job stream. Because of the easy availability of such literates, people often comment that the value of technocrats or professional degree holders is decreasing. But it is so annoying to hear this. With such immense talent in a country like India it is only more beneficial. Competition has always proved to be the best eye opener. People following such principles can be put in a very ‘common’ category. They keep running in a “rat race” in life. But they forget that ‘the problem with rat race is that even if you win, you are still a rat’. So I have started believing that I am not just another Management Graduate, I want to make difference in whichever firm I serve or whichever field I choose.

It is the simplest way to abuse or criticize any system. But it is the exact opposite if you want to improve or maintain a good system. Any person in this world will definitely have some awesome talent which is unique. It is very inevitable to identify this talent, nourish it, and materialize it for better productivity. It is definitely very encouraging when someone else (especially a senior) praises this virtue you have. But I have found that one can achieve great heights if one does self assessment for such crucial attributes.

It is never easy to be an optimist all the time. But who is asking to look at the brighter side perpetually. Just take care that you polish the dull side instead.

This is no great motivation theory nor am I a philosopher or a great thinker. All I wanted to do was share what I always felt was keeping any individual from achieving newer heights.