SHIJIL, A friend, a brother.

SHIJIL, another name dearer to my heart.

A smiling and mischievous face and when that face speaks, we have the best one-liners falling out the lips. One-liners that will send you in throes of laughter and asking for more.

That is that class, I associated with Shijil.

I met him when he came to Millennium as one of the candidates for a testing related interview. I interviewed him and realized he is much similar to me in our approach to problem solving, and I realized that he should be an able subordinate to me at Millennium. He made the grade and there began a friendship, a brotherhood that will last as long we are alive.

My own Anish Bhai

ANISH Bhai. The man who makes us laugh with his one-liners, his jokes will no longer be with us. He has made up his mind to leave us and seek better pastures. He wants a new audience.

I know it has been 5 years for him in Cordiant and he is eager to move out and make his mark.

I had the privilege to know him when I had come to Cordiant for the interview on 23 September, 2004. Since I was a person who was new to Kochi, I had reached Cordiant a good 2 hours earlier. I had this buffer set since I was not sure if I could find the place. I had never ever come to the Kadavanthara side alone.

Kannur or Kaneer

Kerala, T’is called “Gods own country”
Is today, mired in controversy and in a quandry,
Everyday, news and views abound
Of law ‘n’ justice, gone overboard ‘n’ aground.

A beautiful place with beautiful people, “Kannur”
Got a new name, “Kaneer”,
For its deadly killings of poor lives
To better ‘n’ progress the politicians vibes.

People in blind faith, are pitted against each other
For in the hands of politicians, they care not, for others
To gamble their valuable lives away
and leave their families from hope, farther away.

For the politicians, to be in this land, a king
‘Em, fuel hatred ‘n’ malice, within kith and kin
It’s time the poor souls, realize
That, to ’em and their families, with their murderous intent, the politicians will pulverize.

Mean Street in Kochi

Jan 28, 20089:47 am.
Hey Guyz, Galz, Another experience to share with you. The day was Friday, 25th Jan., 2008 at around 5:28 pm. I saw a clutter around Soumya and the unusual hush and whispers. I sensed something was amiss. I glanced to my right and found Suma, Sinitha seated around Soumya, their face contorted and tensed. Soumya’s lips dry and chapped, lopsided slightly to the right. Now I was sure, it was something really serious. I put my hands to the handrest, gave an urgent push to my chair and lifted up to my feet. I cautiously approached the three to see if I was invited in the silent discussion that was on. They did not even glance at me approaching them. I asked Suma “What happened?”. Suma had lost the color on her face and her face was white.

Cordiant Utsav,

Date : 15 November, 2007Time : 10:53 am.
Cordiant Utsav 2007
http://www.cordiant.com

UTSAV. The word casts a magic spell on the art connoiseurs. A time when they can reminiscence about the past, the beautiful and the golden era. A time to indulge in all that is beautiful and is worth being a part of.
We are looking forward to this Utsav as a means to get to know our people and most important, to de-stress. I guess meeting other people and getting to know them better, their preferences, their strengths and weaknesses will go a long way to ensure a harmonious co-existence.
Another aspect of this day is the unearthing of talent on a mass scale. Talent exists in some form or other, Isn’t it? Everybody is talented, but is not evident at the User Interface level.

Ceejo, A mentor, a friend.

Dated : 21 September, 2007Time : 3:40 pm.
The month : September. Another red letter day in the history of Cordiant. Another personnel released from the services of Cordiant. Not just a personnel, but a VIP; who has spend a long time (according to him) with Cordiant evolving the business to the stage what it is today.
CEEJO, Thy name will be remembered among Cordianteers. As a senior person in Office, most of us looked upto him for advices and suggestions. For me, you have been someone whom I will considered among my inner circle for being one of us folks and being very simple to approach for anything.
Your exit from the organization is gonna have a deep impact on some of your colleagues. I can guess the events that led to your exit from the organization.

Chacko, My friend.

Date : 2nd May, 2007Day : Wednesday.
CHACKO, A very popular, down to earth person in our office. Always there to reassure you with that alluring smile of his.
Well, I don’t think we will be able to see that smile for long.
We had the previlege of having him amongst us 2.5 years back. When he had joined us, he was sort of withdrawn and would only talk to Rekha Ma’am and Anish Bhai; for they were the only people whom he knew. After an introduction to him through Rekha Ma’am, I was honored to be in his list of contact persons.
Every morning, he would walk in, sit down on his seat, and begin his work in earnest without any disturbance whatsoever.

Fire Drill

Tuesday, March 27, 2007.
A day when we had the fire drill in our organization. It began with the customary lecture on fire, fire types, types of extinguishers, and the selection of the floor leaders. The training this time was much better than it was last year. They have come up with good presentation slides containing the gist of information.
During the seminar we did freak out, with imagination running wild to come up with innovative ideas. Though not official, these ideas were generated at the back benches, as usually found in any lecture.
By late afternoon, it was time for the mock drill and to the surprise of the presenter and auditor, all of us performed really well in evacuating from the scene of fire. Immediately on hearing the hooter, all of us were scrambling towards the exit, and

My trip to Sabarimala

It was a normal day, the 10th of Jan., 2007. I had left home without any inking what was in store for me. I had expected it to be a routine day, with no unexpected surprises coming my way; but it was not to be.
Anish send me an IP message at around 10:40 am, asking me if I was ready to come to Sabarimala. I was surprised, since he knew it requires the 41 days of penance and abstinance from worldly pleasures to be able to go to Sabarimala. I therefore enquired with Anish if it was possible for me to come. He told me “Dekh bhai, You can start the fast and come; but don’t count this visit.

Kids will be KIDS!!!

On 7th December, 2006, I had the repeated privilege of attending the parent teachers meeting for my son who is in the LKG section. With schools making it compulsory for parents to be present for these meetings, I think most parents are aware of how their wards are faring in their initial days at school.
It would come as a surprise to most of us, that our wards exhibit a completely different outlook in school and at home. We did be amazed at how they change their behavior to suit their needs depending on the situation. Compared to the first PTA meeting, I had gone this time expecting a better review from his teacher.