Quadhar

“I quiT” – Episode @35

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 3 Comments

(12:22 PM)

Ishwarya took a deep breath when she heard those lines from Meher. After few seconds, “Look Meher, here, you should not be sticking to one single technology or process. You should be ready to work on any technology and process.”

Before Meher replied to that question, “Then, why each one of us were trained in specific technology Ishwarya?” asked Indu very aggressively.

For just one moment, Ishwarya had no answer. After few seconds, “That is to gain specialization in that particular area or technology. It doesn’t mean that you have to stick with that.You have to keep learning other technologies and should explore things as well” replied Ishwarya.

She noticed that Meher and Indu are silent when she said those lines. “See Indu and Meher, you are still juniors; you don’t know the bigger picture. Things are changing day by day rapidly. Technology keeps changing and the market requirement keeps changing. We have to mould ourselves and adapt those changes. Or else you cannot survive in this highly competitive world. That is why you have to keep learning other technologies and processes also. Hope you understand what I am trying to explain.” said Ishwarya trying to make them understand the need to adapt to things and keep ourselves ready in this rapidly changing world.

These particular lines injected little thought in both of them. They started thinking on those lines and also set about understanding the need to change and accept things.

“Thank you Ishwarya for making us understand the need of multi-tasking.” Indu replied raising her head above and showing her confidence.

“Yes Ishwarya, Indu is right. What you said is true. We will start putting more efforts in this and will bring out the best of us” said Meher.

“Good. Try to learn as many techniques as you can. It can be technology or process or domain. Whatever it may be, learn and improve your knowledge. There is nothing wrong in gaining knowledge on cross domains and process. Got it?”

“Yes Ishwarya. Sure, we will do that” replied Indu and Meher with a great confidence in their articulation.

Three of them discussed about the next steps and various other things.In between, Ishwarya gave them little tips and motivated them to bring out better productivity and to encourage their performance.

Indu and Meher became close with each other and used to collectively complete all the tasks assigned by Ishwarya. Indu now became part of Ishanth and Meher gang. Slowly she started taking Uthrani’s place in the pack.As Indu and Meher used to work combine at office, the same thing carried out of office. She used to be very friendly with both Ishanth and Meher. But, with Meher, she used to be little closer and more friendly. Sometimes, Ishanth used to tease Meher with her name.

As days went on, work performance of Indu and Meher raised above the level. It also created a few of competitiveness between them. But, they never took it personally. They used to serve each other whenever someone gets struck in their workplace.

Whenever Ishwarya used to notice that they are getting de-motivated or their performance is going down, she used to motivate them through her talks.

(02:18 PM – 3 weeks later)

One day, Ishwarya called Indu and Meher to her cabin.

“Hey guys, I feel so proud to tell you that you guys are doing extremely well. In the last two weeks, there is no single process which failed the QA phase. Keep it going!Keep up your spirit and motivation levels. If at all you need anything, just come to me and I will be ready to help you out.Okay” said Ishwarya appreciating both of them for the splendid work they were doing for the last two weeks.

Indu and Meher felt extremely happy for that and they decided to celebrate that little success during the coming weekend. They communicated this to each other by simply exchanging their looks.

“One more thing guys, you can improve your project completion period by setting up targets at hourly level and putting your complete efforts to achieve that.This way, you can easily separate your tasks and also you can know what time of the day your efficiency is more.”

“Sure Ishwarya” said both of them.

“Indu and Meher, I want to say you one thing, this is a highly competitive world, if you relax for just one day, then you will go back ages old. Be alert, be confident and adapt changes.”

Indu and Meher nodded their head saying “Yes.”

“Okay guys; get back to your work. I have a meeting scheduled at 02:30.I will get back to you sometime next week. Thank you” said Ishwarya.

“Okay Ishwarya. Thank you” said Indu and Meher and left the cabin.

(02:30 PM)

Ishwarya and Quadhar got assembled in a video conference room and are waiting for Mr. Thyagarajan to get connected through video.

After a few minutes, Thyagarajan got connected and wished both of them “Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon Thyagarajan” said Ishwarya and then Quadhar followed her.

When the welcoming greetings are over, “Thanks for joining Ishwarya and Quadhar. I called you both to discuss about the changes that we are trying to incorporate in the structure and process. I already gave you an insight on these two weeks back. I hope you remember.”

“Yes Thyagarajan” replied Ishwarya and Quadhar.

“Good. As I told you, our Senior Vice President Mr. Andrew asked us to form a team who will work on process and productivity improvement. He is mainly concentrating on productivity. During our last quarterly meet, he raised concerns on the productivity of each individual employee which will jointly determine the productivity of the team and so on.He decided to organize a team called the Productivity Indexing (PI) team.This exceptional team will examine and interpret the works done by each single employee for a period of 4 weeks and will submit a report. Andrew and other leadership team will drill down through that report to come up with a higher level doc.When that is done, we may get a bunch of changes in the structure and process.”Said Mr. Thyagarajan. He gave a complete picture of what the PI team will be doing.

He took approximately 15 minutes to explain in detail about the program and how they will be enforcing it. After all that is done, “Ishwarya, from our team you will be part of this PI team. In 2 to 3 days we will get further updates on the plan.”

“Sure Thyagarajan” replied Ishwarya.

Even though Quadhar sat in the discussion, he dint open out much. It was more like a discussion between Thyagarajan and Ishwarya.

(03:10 PM)

When that discussion was over, “Quadhar.Did you complete all the procedures?”

“Yes Thyagarajan, I completed all these formalities.”

“Good” said Thyagarajan and then “Ishwarya, please schedule a meeting sometime next week with the whole squad.”

@Send-Off

Guess the story: What may be those changes?

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“I quiT” – Episode @33

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 6 Comments

(12:22 PM)

Quadhar paused for a few seconds, he want to tell the truth to Ishanth which is the main reason he invited him to lunch. But, he is confused whether or not to explain him and also how to explain him. He then took a deep breath and said “Ishanth, I have to tell you one thing.”

“What is that Quadhar?”

“Ishanth, sit down. I will explain you.”

Ishanth and Quadhar sat on a bench under a tree shade at the garden park which is located in the boundary of Quadhar’s apartments.

After relaxing for few seconds, “Quadhar, please tell me Quadhar. I could not understand anything” asked Ishanth to Quadhar. He is very eager to know in detail about what Quadhar is trying to impart to him.

“Ishanth, I am moving out of the company.”

“What?”

“Yes Ishanth. I have submitted my resignation 10 days back and in another 3to4 weeks I will be moving out.”

Ishanth got completely shocked when he heard that from Quadhar.He immediately rose from the bench and stood on his legs.“Quadhar, is it true?”asked Ishanth. Even after seeing the luggage packed in Quadhar’s flat, Ishanth is still not able to believe in what Quadhar told him.

“Ishanth, sit down and listen. I know it’s hard to believe.”

Ishanth sat on the bench. For two minutes, he dint speak out anything.After that, “Quadhar, why did you decide to move out? What happened?” asked Ishanth.

“Ishanth.I received an offer in Hyderabad and so I have submitted my resignation.”

“Why you dint tell me all these days Quadhar?”

“Thyagarajan told me to not to tell anyone until the last day as he doesn’t want to disturb the team. Uthrani moved out recently, and now I am also moving out.This may create a little panic situation in the team and then he told me to not to tell anyone until the last day. But, you and Uthrani are my first team members and then Meher joined after that. And also I dint invite you to my house in the last two years. That’s why I decided to invite you and Meher. As the academic year started, my wife and daughter will go first. After filling out my notice period and other formalities, I will leave.”

Ishanth is not able to understand how to react to what Quadhar said. “Okay Quadhar. It is your home town. One or the other day you have to go back and that time came today. That’s all I can say.”

“Yes Ishanth. My mom and dad are staying alone there. They are becoming old day by day. I cannot leave them and stick around here anymore. That’s why I decided to move back.”

“Where did you work before moving to this company?”

“I worked in a media company at Hyderabad.”

“Then, why did you come here Quadhar?”

“Ishanth, that’s a big story. I will explain you, listen. I worked in Hyderabad for a media company. Considering the expenditure and other matters, I decided to seek a job in a large organization so that I can earn more. Two years back when I got this offer, I was told that they will transfer me to the Hyderabad locationafter a year. But, they dint do that. I waited for one more year and still there is no action taken. That’s why I looked for a job in Hyderabad and now moving back to my home town so that I can stay with my mom and dad.”

“Why they dint transfer you Quadhar?”

“They said they will prepare a team in Hyderabad and that I will lead them.But, recently I came to recognize that those plans are dropped out and so I took this decision Ishanth.”

Ishanth just replied “Okay Quadhar.”

As they both were discussing about Quadhar’s resignation and other things, Quadhar received a call to his mobile. He took it out from the pocket and answered the call.

“Hello.”

“Hello Quadhar, this is Meher. I reached main gate – A.”

“Okay. Just wait there Meher. I and Ishanth are just nearby. We will come to that entrance main gate – A.”

“Okay Quadhar. I will wait here” said Meher and disconnected the call.

(12:52 PM)

Quadhar and Ishanth walked till the gate to receive Meher. After reaching there, Quadhar welcomed Meher and then three of them walked to Quadhar’s flat. Ishanth and Meher had lunch along with Quadhar’s family.

After the lunch, Ishanth spent some time with Parveen. Quadhar, Ishanth, Meher and Shamina spent the time knowing about each other.

(11:00 AM – Monday)

Meher is working at his desk on the maintenance project assigned to him. He got a ping from Quadhar asking him to go and meet Ishwarya in the next 5 minutes.

Meher, who is basically tensed for everything, started getting tensed when Quadhar said that Ishwarya is calling him. He got up from the seat and walked slowly towards Ishwarya’s cabin.

After arriving at the cabin, “May I come in?” asked Meher to Ishwarya.

“Yes Meher, come in” replied Ishwarya.

Ishwarya is in a discussion with a young lady who is sitting in her cabin.After Meher stepped inside, she called for him to take a seat and be seated.

“So Meher, how is your work going on?” asked Ishwarya.

“Ya fine Ishwarya.”

“Meher, you know Indu right. She is presently working on the AIO project and now she will also work on the maintenance project along with you.Is that ok for you?” asked Ishwarya typing something on her laptop.

Meher thought for a few moments and then replied saying “Yes Ishwarya.”

“Ok. Good. Now listen both of you.There are many changes that we are bringing in the team and the projects. As part of those changes, as a first thing, in a very short period we will extend this support 24/5 which means 24 hours, 5 days. So, you may need to work in shifts. I will also on-board one more resource so that three of you can share the time working in three different shifts. Remember, this is a support program and we should not fail at any cost. If we fail to support for one minute, that may lead to a heavy loss. So, I want you to take this process efficiently so that the support will run smooth. Okay.”

Both Meher and Indu remained silent. They do not know how to react to what Ishwarya said.

@Lunch

Guess the story: Is Meher the next guy to resign?

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“I quiT” – Episode @32

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 4 Comments

“Yes Quadhar. I am waiting down.”

“Okay. Just come up taking the elevator. Flat no is 14F. If the security guard asks you, tell him the flat number.”

“Okay Quadhar. I am coming up. Meet you there” said Ishanth. He then parked the bike and took the elevator to reach Quadhar’s flat.

(12:17 PM)

By the time Ishanth reached 14th floor, Quadhar is standing at the doorway to welcome Ishanth. The moment Quadhar saw Ishanth, “Hello Ishanth. Welcome” said Quadhar shaking his hands with Ishanth and maintaining a welcoming grin on his face.

“Hi Quadhar” replied Ishanth. Ishanth looked a little tired as he had to travel long to reach Quadhar’s flat.

“What Ishanth, looking very tired?”

“It’s a long 90 minutes travel Quadhar. And, I don’t need to explain you about Bengaluru traffic.”

“Yeah. I know Ishanth. Come inside” said Quadhar and took Ishanth inside the house. He showed him the rest room to fresh up.

As Ishanth is very run down, while he stepped into the house, he dint observe anything.After freshening up, he came out of the rest room. He took the towel placed next to the door and wiped his face. Wiping his face, he walked a few steps forward towards the front room.As he is walking, he remarked that the house is virtually empty with not a lot of things around.

Before Ishanth asked about that to Quadhar, Quadhar asked him “What about Meher?”

“I phoned him while I was starting; he stated that he will reach by 12:30.”

“All right.Shall we make a call to him and confirm? I don’t have his mobile number. Can you please give me his number” Asked Quadhar and then made Ishanth sit on the couch.

“Sure Quadhar” said Ishanth and took out his mobile.

While Ishanth is searching Meher’s number, “Angel” shouted Quadhar. He is calling his daughter Parveen who is with her mom in the kitchen room playing with the mobile.

“Hey, dad is calling, go” said Shamina to Parveentelling her to go to her dad.

Parveen came running from the kitchen. Ishanth is looking at her, his face turned much brighter seeing her.

“Hey Ishanth, she is my daughter. Parveen.” Quadhar introduced his angel to Ishanth and asked her daughter to “Say HI…”

Parveen went near to Ishanth and said “Hello” giving her hand to Ishanth. Ishanth also stretched his hands and they both shook hands with each other.

“Hello, what is your name?” asked Ishanth.

“My name is Parveen” replied Parveen with her sweet little voice. Ishanth took Parveen near to him and started talking with her.

“Hey Parveen, where is my mobile?” asked Quadhar to Parveen.

As soon as he asked that, Parveenran from Ishanth to the kitchen room to bring Quadhar’s mobile. After bringing it out, she gave it to Quadhar. Quadhar took Meher’s phone number from Ishanth and called him.

“Hello.”

“Hello Meher. This is Quadhar.”

“Yes Quadhar.”

“Where are you Meher?”

“Quadhar. I am on the way. I will reach in another 30 to 45 minutes.”

“Okay Meher. You know the exact address right?”

“Yes Quadhar. I know, I will reach that area and will call you on this number.”

“Okay Meher” said Quadhar and disconnected the call.

Ishanth is talking to Parveen and asking her some questions. Parveen, who is an active girl, is replying to Ishanth’s questions very promptly.Ishanth is having a good time with her.

“Hey Ishanth. It will take another 20 to 30 minutes for him to reach” said Quadhar.

“Okay.”

After that, Quadhar said Parveen to call somebody. Parveen again went running into the kitchen room. Shamina came out of the kitchen room by lowering the stove flame.

“Ishanth, she is my wife Shamina” said Quadhar introducing his wife to Ishanth. “And Shamina, this is Ishanth, my teammate.”

Ishanth and Shamina greeted each other joining their hands in the traditional Indian style and then Shamina went inside to continue her cooking.

“Shamina, we will go out for a walk just outside. We will be back in 15 minutes.”

“Okay Quadhar” replied Shamina.

Quadhar and Ishanth walked out through the door. When they both left, Shamina locked the door from inside.

They both took the lift to the down stairs and reached the ground floor. After reaching there, Quadhar is walking in the east direction. As Ishanth is new, he just followed Quadhar.

“Ishanth, so how is your work at office going on?”

“Fine Quadhar, your daughter is so active, but looking very silent.”

“Yes Ishanth. She is very active, but not at all silent. She is very naughty.”

“Oh, is it.”

They both took up the discussion with their daughter. Quadhar is explaining about her daughter and how naughty she is. He also told him about a few incidents. Slowly the discussion came to a topic about what Parveen is studying now.

“Quadhar, which class she is in now?”

“She completed her U.K.G in the month of March Ishanth. Now, she has to join in her Ist standard. But, she is not going to school now.”

“Why Quadhar?”

“We will put them in a school in Hyderabad.”

“Hyderabad? Where she will be when you and your wife are here?”

“My wife will also go there Ishanth. Tomorrow morning they both are leaving to Hyderabad” replied Quadhar. He is giving dry answers to the questions asked by Ishanth. Quadhar is trying to say something to Ishanth. But, he is hesitating to begin over the discussion.

“So, you will be alone here?” asked Ishanth with a very big question mark and confusion on his face. He does not understand completely what Quadhar is saying. Also the luggage which is packed in the living room is splashing before his eyes leaving him some clues.

“No Ishanth.”

“What Quadhar? I could not understand anything.Are you sending your wife and daughter to your home town?” asked Ishanth who completely lost in that discussion.

“First they both will go Ishanth. After few weeks I will leave.”

This particular answer from Quadhar shocked Ishanth. He is now completely confused and lost. Ishanth stopped there without moving forward.

When Quadhar noticed that Ishanth is still back, he turned back towards him. After seeing his face expressions, Quadhar asked “What happened Ishanth?”

“I do not understand anything Quadhar. You will leave? Where?”

Quadhar paused for a few seconds, he want to tell the truth to Ishanth which is the main reason he invited him to lunch. But, he is getting confused whether or not to explain him and also how to explain him. He then took a deep breath and said “Ishanth, I have to tell you one thing.”

“What is that Quadhar?”

@Drive

Guess the story: Will Quadhar share the truth with Ishanth?

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“I quiT” – Episode @31

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 4 Comments

(01:07 PM)

“May be because she is manager right and so he wants her to take decisions and give directions.”

“Not just that Meher. He is not being interactive as like before. He is just coming and going. Half of the day he will be in meeting with Ishwarya or Thyagarajan. He is not even asking the status of the tasks.”

“Yes even I am noticing it from few days. I dint speak to him from last few days. Let me talk to him.”

“Okay Ishanth.”

After that discussion, they both discussed for few minutes regarding some other things and then left for lunch.

(04:30 PM)

That day evening, Ishanth pinged Quadhar and said that he want to talk to him.Quadhar replied him saying that he can come to his cabin after 05:00 PM.

(05:02 PM)

Ishanth saw that the time crossed 05:00 PM, he walked towards Quadhar’s cabin. After reaching there, he noticed that Quadhar is not in his cabin. He waited for him at his cabin.

After few minutes, Quadhar and Ishwarya stepped out of the meeting room. Ishwarya walked away to her cabin and Quadhar slowly moved towards his cabin. As he is walking, he got a phone call from Thyagarajan.

“Hi Thyagarajan. Good evening.”

“Good evening Quadhar. How did the meeting go on?”

“It went on fine Thyagarajan. I officially transferred everything to Ishwarya. May be we can start the reverse transfer process from Monday.”

“That’s very good. So, Quadhar..” said Thyagarajan who is trying to ask Quadhar something.

“Yes Thyagarajan.”

“There is no change in your decision?”

“No Thyagarajan. Sorry for that. I cannot be here anymore.”

“Okay thanks for the time Quadhar.” said Thyagarajan and disconnected the call.

After disconnecting the call, Quadhar stepped in to his cabin. As he is stepping in, he saw Ishanth sitting in the chair. He just stopped for few seconds as he is afraid whether Ishanth heard the conversation happened between Quadhar and Thyagarajan.

“Hello Ishanth. I am sorry for keeping you waiting. Meeting got extended by a few minutes.”

“That’s okay Quadhar.Is it Thyagarajan on the call?”

“Yes, it’s Thyagarajan.”

“You were telling something like you will not change your decision. What is that Quadhar?”

The moment Ishanth asked that question, Quadhar’s face expressions turned different.“That is regarding the new project Ishanth. He actually asked me to take over that. But, I said I cannot handle so many projects and so rejected that”replied Quadhar to make sure that he doesn’t leave any clue to Ishanth.

“Okay” said Ishanth and then immediately “Quadhar. Can I ask you something?”

“Yes Ishanth.”

“From last week onwards, there are regular meetings happening between you and Ishwarya. And also you are directing everyone to go and talk to Ishwarya if they need any information or if they have any kind of concerns.”

“She is new to our company and team right. That’s why Thyagarajan gave me the responsibility to help her during the initial days until she gets tuned completely. That’s it Ishanth.”

Ishanth is actually not convinced with Quadhar’s answer. “You are also not assigning tasks to us and also not asking us updates on any of the project” asked Ishanth.

“Hey Ishanth, it’s now Ishwarya’s responsibility to take care of all those things and so I am not involving much.”

“I don’t know Quadhar. I somehow feel that something is going wrong. After Uthrani resigned, it all became silent. There is no one who talks well in the team. And now even you are not involving much with us.”

“Ishanth.Don’t worry, you are missing Uthrani and so you are feeling like that. Once the new project starts, you will become very busy with that and then everything will be fine.”

Ishanth is still not convinced. He still feels that there is something going unusual in the project. When Quadhar noticed that Ishanth is still in confused state, he thought of doing something to make him come out of that.

“Hey Ishanth, what are your plans this weekend?”

“No plans as of now Quadhar. When Uthrani was there, me, Uthrani and Meher used to hangout for a lunch or a movie. After she left, I dint go out anywhere.”

“Meher is still here right. Why can’t you both go out?”

“Who?Meher? If we call him for lunch, he will come by dinner time. When Uthrani is there, he used to listen to her and come on time.”

Quadhar smiled when Ishanth said like that. “Okay. Then why don’t you come to my home this weekend?”

“Your home?” asked Ishanth with a question mark on his face.

“Yes Ishanth. My home.This Sunday, you and Meher, for lunch.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We are working in this team from almost 14 months and I never invited you to my home. So, please do come along with Meher.”

Ishanth slowly came out that confused mood and gave a little smile on his face. “Okay Quadhar. Sure, thank you so much” replied Ishanth.

“You know my house right?”

“I know the address. But, I don’t know the flat number.”

“It is 14F, second block. I will talk to Meher and will invite him officially.”

“Quadhar. Invite him for breakfast. Then he will come by lunch time.” Said Ishanth, with a smile.

When Quadhar heard that, even he started laughing out loud.

(12:11 PM – Quadhar’s Flat)

Quadhar and Shamina were busy in the kitchen making preparations for the lunch. Meanwhile, Quadhar’s phone started ringing in the living room. Parveen is busy playing games in that mobile. When she saw the call, she immediately swiped the green button and answered the call.

“Hello”

“Hello Quadhar” said Ishanth without even listening to the person who answered the call. When he noticed that a small girl is talking, he gave a look at the mobile screen to make sure whether he dialed the correct number. After getting confirmed that it is Quadhar’s number, “Can I speak to Quadhar?” asked Ishanth.

“What is your name?” asked Parveen with her cute little voice.

“My name is Ishanth.”

Parveen went running into the kitchen room and handed over the phone to Quadhar saying “Dad, your phone.”

Quadhar took the phone from her and saw the screen. When he noticed that it is Ishanth, “Hey Ishanth. Where are you? Did you reach the place?”

“Yes Quadhar. I am waiting down.”

“Okay. Just come up taking the lift. Flat no is 14F. If the security guard asks you, tell him the flat number.”

@Flat

Guess the story: Why did Quadhar invite Ishanth and Meher for lunch?

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“I quiT” – Episode @30

/ Mr. Venky Bond / Leave a comment

“Oh. Welcome. I am Quadhar. We all are waiting for you.”

“Oh. I am so sorry to keep you all waiting. Good evening to all of you here. I am Ishwarya. I will be your new manager for this location.”

“Welcome Ishwarya.” Said Quadhar clapping his hands. Everyone else joined him, welcoming Ishawarya into the squad.

Ishwarya moved a few steps forward making sure that she is visible by everyone and then started talking to the team.

“Hi team. I thank you so much for your warm welcome.I look forward for a great experience working with all of you. I hope for the same from you.Before I take over the complete responsibility, let me formally introduce myself. I am Ishwarya, I am married and having a 4-year-old kid. I am basically from Mumbai and recently moved to Bengaluru. I have nearly 9 years of experience in the field of IT. This is my third company. I worked under various verticals like banking, retail and now working on mobile projects from last 3 years. Now, I am pulled in to take care of the mobile projects wing, especially the new project that was said OK by the clients. I should thank Quadhar and the team for working on the demo, presenting it to the clients and finally winning the pot.We will be working on this for the next 8 to 12 months.That’s all about myself. Now, each one of you can you introduce yourself, please.”Asked Ishwarya to the team.

When she asked everyone to introduce, each one of them started introducing themselves to Ishwarya one by one detailing their name, home town and the project in which they are operating.It took about 17 minutes for all of them to introduce them to her. When everybody completed, Quadhar reminded Ishwarya that Thyagarajan asked them to call to his mobile once Ishwarya steps into the meeting room.

Quadhar immediately took the phone and dialed to Thyagarajan.

“Hello.”

“Hi Thyagarajan. This is Quadhar.”

“Hi Quadhar. Good evening. Did you guys assemble?”

“Yes Thyagarajan. We have the entire team along with Ishwarya.”

“Oh. That’s great. Hi Ishwarya. Welcome to the team.”Said Thyagarajan.

“Hi Thyagarajan. Good evening. Thank you so much.”

“Team, Ishwarya is your new manager. She will be taking care of the entire Bengaluru team and also the new project that is coming up.I guess she finished her introduction.”

“Yes Thyagarajan. Just now we all introduced ourselves to one another.”

“Oh. That’s great. So, team.She will be your primary point of contact for everything you need. She is not even a technical manager; she also worked as people manager for 2 years.So, hope that will be an added advantage.”Said Thyagarajan welcoming Ishwarya into the team and detailing her role with the team.After that, he said “Quadhar.”

“Yes Thyagarajan.”

“Please help her in detailing the process and also the team structure.”

“Sure Thyagarajan.”

“For few days, you have to support her in understanding everything.”

“Okay Thyagarajan. I will definitely do that.”

“Thanks.”

Meeting went on with the detailing of her roles and responsibilities.

After Thyagarajan disconnected, some of them started asking Ishwarya some questions regarding technical and non-technical. When Ishanth’s turn came, he asked her a question related to management.

“Ishwarya. Can I ask you a question.”

“Sure. Ish..” Ishwarya is trying to remember his name and when she confirmed herself that she cannot recollect, she asked “Sorry, what’s your name?”

“I am Ishanth.”

“Sorry, this is the first day right. After a few days, I will start getting used with the names and people.”

“That’s okay Ishwarya.”

“Yeah. Continue. You want to ask something.”

“What is your management strategy?”

“Management strategy? What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, you are 9 years experienced right. What is the strategy that you have learned that will best suit thissector.”

“That’s a very beautiful question Ishanth. But, I don’t think strategy is something that can be defined in words. It is how we work or react upon situations. May be you can know based on how I deal with people and things as the days move forward.”

“Okay.” Said Ishanth. He is basically attempting to understand her management and so posted such a question. But, she gave a dynamic answer to his question.

After the meeting, Ishanth and Meher were walking out of the meeting room. Meher asked Ishanth “Hey Ishanth. Why did you ask that to Ishwarya?”

“I just asked it very randomly Meher. Frankly speaking I want to know whether she is like Thyagarajan or not. That’s it.”

“Okay.” Said Meher and they both went back to their desks. Quadhar and Ishwarya walked towards Quadhar’s cabin.

For the next two weeks, Quadhar got busy with Ishwarya detailing her about the team and the process. And also explaining her about the projects the team is working and the roles and responsibilities of each individual member in the team.

Slowly Ishwarya started taking over responsibilities from Quadhar. When someone used to approach Quadhar for any information, he used to divert them to Ishwarya. After a few days, it turned out like people started going to Ishwarya directly. Quadhar’s work at office used to come down day by day. Ishwarya is very quick at understanding the process and so used to handle things quickly and efficiently.

As this is going this way, one day Meher came to Ishanth’s desk for some information.

“Hey Ishanth. What are you doing?”

“I am just going through the QA report Meher.”

“I need a small info Ishanth.”

“Yes, tell me Meher. Regarding what?”

“This is regarding the maintenance project Ishanth.”

“I am not aware of anything in that project Meher. Why don’t you talk to Quadhar?”

“I don’t know Ishanth, from last few days, he is directing to Ishwarya whenever I go and ask something. Not just me, whoever is approaching him for anything, he is asking them to go and talk to Ishwarya.”

“May be because she is manager right and so he wants her to take decisions and give directions.”

“Not just that Meher. He is not being interactive as like before. He is just coming and going. Half of the day he will be in meeting with Ishwarya or Thyagarajan. He is not even asking the status of the tasks.”

@Strategy

Guess the story: How will Ishwarya manage the team?

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“I quiT” – Episode @29

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 6 Comments

I would have stayed for some more days if I am happy at my work. But, I don’t think a day like that will ever come. These people will never see people as people. And they don’t even have a little concern even though we are women’s.

(07:17 PM, Bangalore City Rly Station)

After hearing the reason from Uthrani, both Ramya and Ishanth turned silent. Even though it is a rush railway platform, the entire environment appeared silent for three of them. For a moment, Ishanth and Ramya started thinking about their own personal life’s and the job they are doing.

When Uthrani noticed that they both are running deep into their own thoughts, she started speaking out to break the silence.

“Hey Ishanth and Ramya, please don’t think much about this. I am now happy with my decision. I can support mom being at home and my dad also need not worry much about me as I will be right before them at home. I am also happy that I came till her. I never imagined I could even finish my graduation. I did that and also I was able to run for 2 years. Even though there is a slight annoyance that I am not able to continue, I am happy with my journey till now. The other thing that makes me so happy is that I don’t need to run late nights from office, I don’t need to wake up early morning. I don’t need to wait for weekends to unwind. And especially I don’t need to get scolding’s from those idiots.” said Uthrani and started smiling a little.

Even though she is not getting smile, she tried hard to put a little smile on her face so that Ishanth and Ramya will come back to normal.

When they saw Uthrani smiling, Ramya also started smiling saying “Yeah. Yes Uthrani. You are a free bird. Be happy and keep smiling.”

“Sure Ramya, you also take care of your health and eat on time. Now I will not be there to wake you up and remember you every time to eat. Ishanth, you also go for lunch on time and also don’t become serious about people. Take care of Meher. Now, Quadhar and Thyagarajan’s focus will be shifted on Meher.” Uthrani gave them all the instructions and spoke about all the memories she had with Ramya and Ishanth.

(07:28 PM)

Even Ramya and Ishanth started smiling and laughing remembering the moments they spent with her. As they were talking happily, Ishanth heard the train sound and then immediately looked at his watch.

“Hey Uthrani, get inside. It’s time for the train to start. “ Said Ishanth and made her get in the train. Even he got inside and accompanied her till her seat. When Uthrani heard the train horn for the second time, she forced Ishanth to get down.

After he got off, the train started moving slowly. Uthrani started waving her hands at Ishanth and Ramya. And they both did the same thing. As the train started moving, the smile on Uthrani’s face started fading away and slowly tears started rolling down from her eyes. And the same thing happened with Ramya. She stopped waving her hands and staring at Uthrani, even she started weeping like a baby.

Ishanth observed Ramya and when the train left the platform, he said “Hey Ramya. She is just crossing two states that’s it. Don’t cry like a little child. See how everyone is looking at you. Come, wipe your tears. Let’s go. I will drop you at your flat. Okay.”

(11:00 AM, Monday)

By the time Ishanth reached office, Meher got himself busy with his work. Meher used to have a little tougher time in office without Uthrani. When Uthrani was there, she used to help him a lot clearing all his doubts. And so when she is not there, he started depending on Ishanth and other team mates whenever he got stuck with anything in his oeuvre.

Even though Ishanth and Uthrani don’t talk much in the office during work hours, they both regularly go for the evening tea break. During the initial days, he used to take Meher and go for the tea break in the evenings. As Meher got busy, sometimes he used to say NO when Ishanth asked him to come out for breaks and so slowly Ishanth stopped going for breaks in the evenings.

As Quadhar also got busy with his new project docs preparation and also his job hunt, he also stopped interacting much with Ishanth and Meher. If there is anything to inform them, he used to just send them a mail detailing the information.

The office environment turned little silent after Uthrani resigned and also everyone got busy with their own projects.

(11:00 AM, After 1 week)

As it was going that way, a new resource is on-boarded into the project. Quadhar setup a small meeting and called the entire team to introduce her to the team mates. Everyone gathered in the meeting room.

Quadhar started the meeting with his words. “Hi all, Good Evening.”

“Good evening Quadhar. why did you call us all of a sudden.” Asked Meher very eagerly. That was the first official meeting after 2 weeks. The last time the entire team met on the last day of Thyagarajan’s Bengaluru official trip.

“A new manager will be joining our team. This meeting is to introduce her to the entire team.”

“What? New Manager? Thyagarajan is our manager right?” one of them questioned Quadhar.

“Thyagarajan will remain as our Senior Manager. As he is working out of Pune, he appointed a new manager who will work from Bengaluru location. We worked on a demo project last month right. Clients accepted that officially and very shortly we will be receiving the first phase requirements.”

“Quadhar, why all of a sudden a new manager for us?” asked Ishanth.

“I don’t know all that Ishanth. Thyagarajan informed me that she will be taking the entire responsibility of Bengaluru location and also the project which got approved by the clients.”

“She? You mean a lady manager?”

As they were discussing about the new manager, one lady started knocking the meeting room door. When Quadhar heard that, he turned back and opened the door.

“Hi, I was invited to this meeting room. I am the new manager who will work for Thyagarajan’s Bengaluru team.”

“Oh. Welcome. I am Quadhar. We all are waiting for you.”

“Oh. I am so sorry for keeping you all waiting. Good evening all of you. I am Ishwarya. I will be your new manager for this location.”

@Manager

Guess the story: Is she the next person in the story who is going to resign?

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“I quiT” – Episode @25

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 10 Comments

“What is that Prem? Tell me.” Asked Quadhar getting tensed a little bit.

“Quadhar. You are working as Team Leader in your current organization right. Here, you will be getting almost similar pay but then there is no TL role opportunity. You will be considered as a team member and then maybe after a year you will be given the TL role.” Replied Prem in a very modest tone. He is worried that Quadhar may feel bad and so hesitated to tell this straight to Quadhar.

Quadhar remained silent for a few seconds. As soon as he heard that from Prem, he started considering how to react and what to reply to Prem. After that little break in the conversation, “I do not know how to react Prem. But I am glad that there is an opportunity available for me to come back there. I am very thankful for that Prem. I am ready to grab this. I really wanted to leave this and come back to Hyderabad Prem.”

“Wow. Then it’s fine Quadhar. I was worried how you will get this. You were playing the role of TL for almost 3 years and now suddenly when I read this I was worried how you will be responding to this. I am so happy that you accepted. I will speak to my HR tomorrow morning and will schedule an interview very soon.”

“I cannot thank you enough for this Prem. I am so grateful to you for all the help you are doing to me.”

“Hey, that’s fine Quadhar. I am also so glad that you are coming back.” Replied Prem with happiness filled in his bosom. Prem and Quadhar are best buddies for about 7 years. Even though Prem and Quadhar were class mates during their engineering, Quadhar was placed in job immediately after stepping out from college where as Prem had to wait for 18 months to fetch a job. During his job hunt, Quadhar was the one who served him and held him in those hard times. And so now when Quadhar asked for a help, Prem took it as high priority and started discussions with their company HR team. He felt very happy that he got an opportunity to pay back to Quadhar.

After the call, Quadhar called his wife and discussed about the opportunity which Prem looked out for him. Even she felt glad that they can go back to their home town.

(10:00 AM Next day, Pune Office)

The next day, Quadhar met Thyagarajan at Pune office and then they both made all the preparations for the demo with the clients. They also discussed on the flow and also who will take over what portion of the demo.

Clients arrived at around 10:00 AM in the morning. Thyagarajan received them and directed them to the conference room. Thyagarajan opened up with these welcome talks and also about the project overview. Quadhar took over from him and then went into every detail of the project. He impressed them with his demo and made them to almost say OK about the deal.

After all the technical details are over, Natan Broman who leads the Strategy & the marketing wing of TNX, expressed his thoughts on the demo. He said that they (clients) are very much impressed with the demo and that they are ready to turn over the whole undertaking.

Both Thyagarajan and Quadhar felt very happy when they heard that from Broman. They are exceedingly happy that clients agreed to sign a full deal. When the discussion came up on timelines, Mr. Broman said that they are planning to publish the first version of their mobile system in next 3 to 6 months.

“Sure. That is definitely possible” replied Thyagarajan without even thinking about what will be the requirements and scope of the project.

Quadhar remained silent as he doesn’t want to run into troubles by giving a word without running the real estimates based on the requirements.

Meeting stretched for about 3 hours and ended at approximately 01:00 PM. And then it was followed by lunch at a star rated restaurant which is little far from the office location. It became 04:00 PM by the time Thyagarajan and Quadhar returned back to the office after dropping the clients at the Pune international airport.

This culture is followed in almost all the IT companies. Whenever clients visit the office, that whole day will be allocated to them and they are treated with utmost respect. And then you can definitely see a lunch/dinner with the clients at a top-class restaurant of the city.

(04:17 PM)

After returning back to the office, Quadhar and Thyagarajan ran into a private discussion about the timelines of the project. Quadhar stopped cross questioning Thyagarajan and just kept on nodding his head for whatever Thyagarajan said. He doesn’t want to argue with him as he understood very well that Thyagarajan is anyway not going to consider his judgment and will reply with some stories to force Quadhar to agree to him.

Thyagarajan said Quadhar that he will be running the project from the Bengaluru location with the same team and also by adding some new resources if needed. Quadhar politely rejected that saying that he is already occupied with heavy load of project and so he cannot take this anymore.

Thyagarajan started pressurizing him to accept this as he is the one who led the team during the demo development phase. Quadhar, who understood that Thyagarajan will not leave him until he gets a proper answer on why Quadhar rejected the offer, decided to tell him about the resignation plans.

“Thyagarajan. I have something to speak.”

“Yes Quadhar. What is that?”

“I may move out within the next 1 or 2 months.”

“What? Come again. I dint get you.”

“I mean. I may submit my resignation and move out from the company.”

“Why? What happened Quadhar? What’s wrong with you?”

“I am moving back to my home town Thyagarajan.”

“You have some opportunity there? Why are you leaving such a big company?”

@Clients

Guess the story: Will Quadhar explain Thyagarajan the actual reason?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

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“I quiT” – Episode @24

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 10 Comments

(10:37 PM)

“Yes Shami. I started searching for some job in Hyderabad. In next one or two months, we will go back to our home town.”

“Wow. Wonderful news Quadhar. I am so happy for you and your decision. I am really missing those beautiful days and especially your mom and dad.”

Right from that day, Quadhar touched every connection he had in Hyderabad and told them about his plans to move back to Hyderabad. Initially, most of them dint agree to his plans to leave job at such a large organization and coming back to a small or medium ones who offer little less package. Some of them pressed so hard that made Quadhar to think back.

Every time he had a call with his friends, some questions used to arise in his mind like “First of all, will I get an offer at Hyderabad? Even though if I get, Is it really a good idea for me to go back? Will the money be sufficient for the needs in the future? What will be my growth when I jump back to a small or medium organization leaving such a great organization?” Questions like these use to create a lot of commotion. But then he never used to discuss with Shamina as he doesn’t want to disturb her with these thoughts.

He kept searching for an offer at Hyderabad through all means without stepping back.He is trying to hold firm on his decision as he doesn’t want to work under Thyagarajan anymore and also to not to leave his parents alone in Hyderabad.

(11:37 AM – Next week Monday)

As the days were just going on, one day Quadhar received a call from Thyagarajan.

“Hello Quadhar.”

“Hi Thyagarajan.”

“Hey Quadhar. I have a new update on the demo scheduled with the clients.”

“What is it Thyagarajan?”

“Demo is scheduled on Thursday. I will send you the invite. Attach it to the Domestic travel request and raise request for the travel tickets.”

“Okay. Sure Thyagarajan.” Said Quadhar. After that, both of them had a discussion about the other projects and then hanged up the call.

(12:15 PM)

At approximately 30 minutes later, he received a mail from Thyagarajan consisting of the invitation for the demo scheduled at Pune.It is scheduled for just 1 day.

Once he got that mail, Quadhar started the process by putting forward a request for domestic travel tickets to visit Pune for the demo.He filled out all the details and was about to click SUBMIT button and then his intercom started buzzing. When he looked at the screen, it is from Mr. Thyagarajan. He paused the submission and answered the call.

“Hi Thyagarajan.”

“Hey Quadhar. Did you raise the request for travel?”

“I simply filled in the info and about to click on submit Thyagarajan.”

“Oh. Okay. Please book for flight on one side and train for the other side.”

“But Thyagarajan, here it is specified like you can book Economy class flight tickets for both to and fro. And also this Friday is Uthrani’s last day and so we are planning to bid farewell to her.”

“Yes Quadhar. I understand that. But, we don’t have enough budget available in the project.There are other people in the squad who can do that. You please book for a train while returning.”

“Okay Thyagarajan. I will modify the request and then will submit.”

“Thanks Quadhar” said Thyagarajan and hanged up the call immediately.

Quadhar is very disappointed.After the call, he talked to himself. “I don’t understand why these managers do things this way. When he can travel in business class to and fro, why not the other employees. From last two years I observed him and every time he comes and goes by flight. But then when it comes to employees who are working under him, he either takes them to travel by train both sides or one side flight and the other side train. I never understand why the budgets suddenly go down.”

Quadhar is trying to understand the reason behind this kind of in-balanced treatment for the employees who work for the same organization and the same project.

He then modified the travel request accordingly and presented it to the transport admin team.

After that, he called Ishanthto his cabin.

“Hi Quadhar.”

“Hey Ishanth.Come on, sit down. I called you to talk regarding farewell arrangements for Uthrani.”

“I was actually intending to talk to you regarding the same Quadhar. Thanks that you thought about it. What shall we do Quadhar?”

“You have to take care of it Ishanth. I will not be available on Thursday and Friday.”

“Why so Quadhar? It is her last day at our office.”

“I understand Ishanth. But then the project which we are working on should be presented to the clients and so I am travelling to Pune on Wednesday night.”

“Oh okay. Thyagarajan told about this last week right.”

“Yes. Exactly.That one.”

“Okay Quadhar.”

“I am really sorry Ishanth. I hope you will take care of it well.”

“Sure Quadhar. Don’t worry about that. I will take care.”

“Thanks Ishanth.”

After the discussion, Ishanth went back to his seat and Quadhar resumed his work.

Quadhar is doing his best to oversee both the project works and also to look for an opportunity at his home town so that he can leave this and go back to Hyderabad.

On the other side, Uthrani started explaining about all the projects she is handing to the new resource who just joined the team that day morning. Uthrani got a confirmed release date and so she planned to meet all her friends and colleagues for the one last time before she flees back to her home town leaving Bengaluru.

(09:30 PM Wednesday)

Quadhar travelled to Pune and reached the hotel room.After checking in, he got freshened up and got hold of the steps down to the dining hall to have his dinner.When he is about to open the door of the restaurant, he got a call to his mobile number.

“Hello Quadhar.”

“Hi Prem.”

“How are Quadhar?”

“Yeah fine Prem. How about you?”

“I am also fine Quadhar. I have important news for you.”

“What is it Prem?”

“I talked to my HR and forwarded your resume. Today they called and me and said that there is a readily available opening.”

“Wow. That’s really wonderful news.”

“Yes Quadhar. But then there is a little…”

“What is that Prem? Tell me.”

@Travel

Guess the story: Why is Prem hesitating to share the news with Quadhar?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

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“I quiT” – Episode @22

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 8 Comments

As Thyagarajan is explaining, Quadhar interrupted him. “Thyagarajan.”

“Yes Quadhar” replied Thyagarajan starring at him why did he stop him in the middle.

“I want to talk to you regarding one more important thing.”

“What is that Quadhar?”

“I don’t know how you will react. But I want to have this discussion one more time and close this. And so I am bringing up the issue again.”

“Speak out Quadhar.”

“As of today there is not even 1% chance that I will be transferred to Hyderabad?” asked Quadhar to Thyagarajan in a very humble and polite voice. He wanted to raise the topic for one more time before he gets some serious decision in his life history. After the discussion he had the previous day where Quadhar was completely down by the kind of answer Thyagarajan gave, the discussion almost gave a confirmation that he cannot move to Hyderabad in the coming months. Even though he knew that Thyagarajan’s reply would be NO, he tried to open the discussion as he doesn’t want to take a risk by presenting his resignation.

Quadhar is a married guy with a daughter who is ready to step into her schooling phase of life. He very well understands how costly the education has become these days. And also that he is the one who is looking after his aged parents, all those expenses add-on him. Now if he goes back, he is afraid that he may not do justice to all the responsibilities he is having on him then gave a second thought in his resignation.

As soon as he heard that question from Quadhar, Thyagarajan turned out his face into an act of serious mood and replied, “Quadhar. We just had this discussion yesterday. I guess not even 24 hrs got completed. I gave a direct update during the Quarterly meet right in front of Mr. Andrew that we dropped the plans of setting up a team in Hyderabad. And now you are again asking the same question.”

Quadhar knows very well that this is what he had to hear from Thyagarajan and so there is no much reaction on his face. “Thyagarajan, I understand that very well. I am sorry and I ask for your forgiveness. I just wanted to confirm that and so asked. I hope you don’t mind.” Said Quadhar to calm down Thyagarajan before it comes out into another hot discussion as like the before day.

At that time, Thyagarajan had no idea that Quadhar asked that question to get a confirmation before he starts looking out for jobs in Hyderabad.

Quadhar was actually really upset with the news he heard regarding dropping of plan to set up a team in Hyderabad. And the other main thing is the kind of explanation Thyagarajan gave him when he inquired why he was not informed earlier on that.

After that question, Quadhar and Thyagarajan continued their discussion for some more time on some very important things and also about the plan and next actions. Thyagarajan took some extra time off Quadhar as he wants to put everything before he fly back to Pune the next day morning.

After the discussion, Quadhar went back to his desk and resumed his works. Thyagarajan kept himself looking at the plan drafted by Quadhar.

(04:11 PM)

After about an hour, Quadhar received a call from Thyagarajan. He picked up the call and “Hello Thyagarajan.”

“Quadhar, can you ask the team to set up in the meeting room no 2 now, immediately in the next 10 minutes.” Said Thyagarajan with a very strong voice.

“Okay Thyagarajan” replied Quadhar without even asking the reason for this emergency meeting. After hanging up the call, he sent a meeting request to all the team members asking them to get together in the meeting room by 04:20 PM.

(04:19 PM)

Thyagarajan had been already in the meeting room before a minute. All others started getting in one by one and it took 10 minutes for the meeting room to be filled with the people who belong to Thyagarajan’s team.

When he discovered that everyone is in, Thyagarajan wished every one “Good evening”.

“Good evening” replied some of them.

“First of all thanks for assembling up so quickly on such a short notice despite your busy tasks. I appreciate that” said Mr. Thyagarajan trying to bring in people into the meeting mood from their project moods.

“Guys, I hope most of you are aware that Uthrani will move out of the project and the company. Even though she submitted her resignation yesterday night, she will be getting released by next Friday. I barely talked to the HR team and told them that this is an emergency and that she needs to move out in less than two weeks. It is very shocking that she will be out. But, I am glad that she is getting married and going to step into the next stage of life. I am also wishing her all the best and congratulations for the marriage getting fixed. All of you please join your hands with me.” Said Thyagarajan during his last encounter with the Bengaluru team in this two-week stay here.

“Thank you so much. I am still not able to believe that I am moving out of this team. Very special thanks to Mr. Thyagarajan for making this happen. It is not even 24 hours that I submitted my resignation. But, you have helped me a lot by pushing things so quick. May be I am favorable that you are here and so things went on apace. I am also very thankful to Quadhar” replied Uthrani thanking her manager, lead and also all other team mates who supported her during tough times. Even though it is the first day of her notice period, Thyagarajan converted this into a send off meeting by calling everyone and raising this topic.

Uthrani made sure that she dint drag it as she wants to keep all the words reserved for the final day where she will be bidding adieu to her team and the company when she will be moving out.

@Adieu

Guess the story: Did Quadhar submit his resignation?

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