Farewell Mail by Manoj

It's an emotional day today as one of our Gang member, Manoj, is leaving today.
Manoj, also referred as Mamachan aka Devil aka Over aka Mr Philosopher aka Mr Defence and list will go on. He has been one of the most prominent character of our GANG and will be missed deeply.

Below is the farewell mail sent out by him to all.

Subject : Last of my memorable days in HSBC

Hello Everyone,

Today is last of my memorable days in HSBC and like the old English proverb says -All good things must come to an end. It's been a pleasure meeting you all and I thank god for such an wonderful opportunity. For the past few days, I have been doing some retrospection to understand the gravity of my decision and which I would like to share with you all.

10 Reasons why I still don't want to go.

1 ) Magnanimous Managers : I know a simple thank you would never be suffice for nurturing and mentoring me into the person I am today. You inspired me to never give up and stood beside me whenever I committed blunders, while at the same time appreciating and celebrating with me my success. I got to learn a lot, especially how a good manager should be, and I am pretty sure that if destiny permits me a opportunity to work again for you, I don't have to think twice before accepting it. But alas I don't have anything to give back except my simple and humble Thank you.

2) Ingenious and amiable Colleagues : You guys have been simply awesome. In the past 3 years that I have been here, I know that if it were not for you guys I would not have accomplished so much. Every time when I have approached you with a knotty problem, you have put in all your effort to find a solution though sometimes you yourself would be neck deep in work. I appreciate the favors that you have bestowed upon me all through this period and I sincerely hope that in future I get colleagues at least 10% good as you guys.

3) Understanding Client : There is a general saying in IT consulting that it's impossible to get a good client and a good manager together, but I guess I was among the lucky few to get both. Thanks a lot for appreciating my work, for keeping realistic expectations and for the infinitude amount of help in my work. Also, I am sorry for any shortcomings in my work and for sending you bulky emails.

4) Courteous acquaintance's in GLT: Though most of the time we have interacted only with a hello and a smile or may be sometimes a small discussions at the tea stall or lift, but even these small interactions gave me immense pleasure. I hope I catch up with you again sometime in the journey called LIFE.

5) My Cubicle mates: I know I am a very noisy person and it can be quite disturbing sometimes, but you guys never complained and took it silently. Thanks a lot for putting up with me and for the "Good mornings" every morning, and I am pretty sure going to miss them.

6) Extra curricular activities : These events were certainly the mood boosters and I am proud to have been part of such initiatives whether it may be sports, in which we won the first RBS cricket tournament and conducted the inter team volley ball tournament, or the mega CSR event, in which we won the 1st and the 2nd prize for collecting lot's of money for CSR activities. Thanks a lot for including me and for the memorable moments.

7) Table Tennis Arena and Friends: Thanks a lot guys for the wonderful time and for advising me on my TT skills. It was a jolly good ride and the best place in HSBC GLT to relax after work and to meet new and interesting people.

8) Lavish Parties and trips : The first thing that comes to my mind when I recollect the memories of my past office parties and trips is "Wow was it real or fantasy". One more luck I have is that most of my team members are party freaks and so every one makes sure we have a hell of a time. So more than the food, the drinks and the DJ, I guess it was my team that made these events special.

9)My First Company: No one can forget anything that he gets for the first time in life, whether it may be his first bike, first girl friend or first job. And so I am pretty emotional about this , but you are already acquaint with that feeling right!

10) Immediate Friends : I know you guys are going to hit me hard for putting you at the bottom of the list, but irrespective of where I put you, you all are going to remain closest to my heart now and forever. During my tenure in HSBC, I have spent more time with you guys than with myself. I am going to treasure all the very moments I spent with you guys especially all the Friday night parties, team and dinner time discussions and ofcourse the jokes that we cracked on eachother.What more should I say, I guess Emily Dickinson's quote " Saying nothing...sometimes says the most." says it all.


Why am I going ?

Life has given me a small window of opportunity to realize my dream and, if I don't take it now may be someday I will turn 80 and will have to ask myself the question - What If ? .

I will be pursuing my Masters in Business administration at Great Lakes Institute of Management in Mahabalipuram (Chennai), India for the next 1 year.If possible, I would like to add you all to my Orkut or Facebook friends or acquintance list or alternatively you could use my personal email address - manojmakkatt@gmail.com.



Last but not the least......

Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night! - The Truman Show


À bientôt (See you soon),
Manoj MAMACHAN


P.S : I won't say goodbye my friend. For you and I shall meet again.

-Anup

Love, A Rather Bad Idea...All It Gives A Lousy Hangover

Yes, even I was wondering the same, have I read it correctly and is this the title of the book. Seemed different and that is how I ended up buying up this one. The book is written by Anirban Mukherjee, an IITian, who is narrating an incident, happened at the time when IITians do all NON-IITian things.
This is when he introduces our main character, Samar and his bunch of friends Pranav and Skimpy. Life was all time high for Samar, as he had a good looking girl, Jiya, by his side and he was also heading the race to become the head of the student body (General Secretary) in IIT.

The book tells the story is three parts, first with the introduction of the characters and the collage life, especially that time of the year which all ITians wait for.
Then followed by the part where Samar tries hard to win the G-Sec. The feeling of getting to the top makes him blind, self centered and selfish. This is when things start to fall at wrong places for him, and life takes a drastic turn where he ends up loosing all his close friends.
Final part, when he realizes what he has lost in the horse race and his efforts to patch up things with all his friends, but at a price.

This book is fun to read, a light hearted one with a bit of fiction added here and there. The only problem is I couldn't get why this name was chosen for the book. The book also comes with a tag line saying "He could've had everything. If only he had said 'Thank You'.". But I feel, "He could've had everything, if only he had said 'Sorry'.". The start of the book is a bit draggy, but then goes on till the end with a steady pace.

My verdict for this one will be 3 stars, worth reading especially when it comes at just 100 bucks.

-Anup

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

This is first time I am reading Mohsin Hamid, so really wasn't sure of what to expect.

The book is about an encounter between an American ('you') and a bearded Pakistani ('Changez') in a restaurant on the streets of Old Anarkali road in Lahore. This is a story of just one evening where Changez narrates his experience of America. He talks about his graduation, his first job, his high flying career and his love life and how things change since the attack on the World Trade Centre.

The book stands by his name 'Reluctant Fundamentalist'. Changez is an unwilling fellow, he has been hesitating to take decisions throughout, and if he takes any, he still has doubt about those. And post 9/11 shows his fundamentalist character. He leaves his high flying career and decides to settle in his hometown, Lahore.

The story telling in the book was really good, this is the first time I have seen such a story telling. The pace of the book is really slow and it never grips you because, while reading you are sure of what is in store next. If the author wanted to display the trauma of post 9/11, he could have it by taking some other real life characters, who have actually gone through the suffering. The character in the book haven't gone through anything, he is a person earning a healthy salary and just decides to quit America because of his religious thoughts.

I would say one can happily avoid it, if one wants to unless you love non-fictional a lot.
My Verdict would be just 2 stars. One for the story telling and other for the character which I liked the most, 'Erica'.