Just SUM IT

 On my exit after long stint at an IT Firm

A. The Last Exit

So this week culminated my 24 year stint at Capgemini – a journey where I traversed through various companies and concomitant email alias – Hughes Software Systems where it all started, followed by the progeny of various corporate actions including Flextronics, Aricent, Altran and eventually Capgemini.

As I traversed through the exit door, I reflected on my journey of 24 years of corporate life and some thoughts stayed with me. I thought it was apt to share these with an interested reader.

B. It always starts with client (and possibly ends with them!)

Many years back at an All Hands Meet, when I was much more naïve than today, we were having this debate of “customer first” vs “employee first”. I wondered what would customers get if employees were not motivated or not energized. But as I kept losing my hairs and as the promotions became more and more lethargic, I unequivocally realized that companies exist only and only to serve its customers. Obviously corporate compulsions, priorities and constraints leads us astray – and we become busy in solving internal matters of urgency - but what one should never forget is the raison d'être of a corporate life – to serve its customers.

C. TRUST matters

Possibly the biggest message I could share with the reader is that TRUST MATTERS – that TRUST IS MAGICAL and that you can do wonders by building and maintaining trust. In the course of my journey in more than two decades, there were innumerable instances where Trust helped me solve most complex problems which otherwise seemed impossible to solve. I was audience of some heated debates between multiple parties that went on for hours and hours – the issue was not that one of them did not make sense - the core issue was that neither party trusted other one.

I also realized that Trust was not just external (for customers) – it was all-pervasive and extended everywhere - with your team members, with your leader and with your colleagues. Trust allowed one to be taken at face value. Trust laid the foundation to our relationships and allows us to collaborate better.

D. Outside-In vs Inside-out

I also observed that it is common for one to get mired in the corporate maze, the internal constraints shrouding our view and starting to dictate our limits. So, instead of saying – “This is the client problem and I shall find all possible means to solve it”, we say, “there are so many constraints on my table, I can do only so much”. Inside-out view means taking our challenges to our customers who are least interested in them. Outside-in means seeing us and our organization through the lens of the client – and that is what matters. So, one must always start with client’s needs and navigate internally.

E. Context & the COMMON SENSE

I also realized that each problem had a unique context – the set of environmental variables that made it unique and peculiar. So, before we jumped on to solving a problem, it was imperative that we developed a deep and clear understanding of the Context – as an example, if client has requested something, then why was that request made? What was client business vision? What was client’s client take on this – and so on. CONTEXT defined the boundary conditions, the actors and their interactions.

Once context clarity was obtained, the other very important element was to apply “common sense” and come to solutions that were practical, easy to implement and with reduced risk profile. I strongly felt that among the various tool kits I possessed, one of the most potent one was my ability to apply common sense in a wide variety of context.. and come up with elegant solutions.

F.Respect matters

Just like the book “How To Win Friends And Influence People” by Dale Carnegie told us, I saw that one could easily become friends by becoming interested in other person rather than trying to get other person interested in me. A fundamental need of every human being was to be recognized, appreciated and “identified”. And once the basics of physiological needs (Air, water, food, shelter) and security needs (personal and financial security, well-being and environmental needs) were addressed, we landed upon “Esteem” and “Relationships”. Corporate life was no different – being good to others was a pre-condition to expecting good. Everyone sought respect, appreciation and recognition – obviously in an honest and transparent fashion. Respect carried considerable weight vis-à-vis pecuniary benefits while dealing with professional aspirations.

G. Learn a Lot but Unlearn More

Between 2000 and 2008, I went on to write 5 technology books, published domestically and internationally, where few of them domestic best-sellers. As time passed, the euphoria progressively evaporated and it even reached a point where I almost forgot about this achievement.

So not so long back, when one of my juniors met me in the escalator telling his junior, “you know this is the guy who has wrote many books”, I turned around to figure out who was being referred – only to soon realize it was “me”. Obviously, I had almost let go of all that achievement – unlearning all that was learnt in a decade. The unlearning process was creating space for the next cycle of learning and unlearning. So unlearn and let many things go… be free…

H. Break barriers of Communication

One of my team members had this uncanny habit of messaging me very late at night – some times even after mid-night. And many times I thought of asking him not to do this – but I never told him to stop. I realized that by messaging any time he wanted, he was assuming that there were no barriers to open and free communication. Another team member too called for good news, bad news and no news. And when I was about to leave, he wondered who would be his ears for all the news he had to share – some of them for no reason at all..

I. Carry your head on your shoulder

Maverick is what I like calling myself – unique, capable and idiosyncratic. I see the world through my lens and worlds sees through its.. And it was common for my persona to be challenged – the very core of my being. While we continue to evolve, adapt and improve, our core remains largely unaltered. And so it was important for us to carry our head on our shoulder – to be what we are and to make it better… to accept ourselves – and to ensure we are not being overwhelmed by the lens of the world.

J. Almost death-like – Almost

As an aside, in the last few days, as I kept delegating the truckloads of un-replied emails and many unfinished work items, many more kept coming in - unfettered. While all attempts were made to find right owners for current and future emails and actions, I paused for a moment and suddenly felt this was almost akin to death. And as you wait for your clock (read heartbeat) to stop ticking, there would be a pending great grandson school event invitation, and a friend’s card party and a sick relative in hospital seeking your attention and the taxman asking you nth time to file your returns on time. And suddenly when the unfinished agenda would remain “unfinished”, it would be time for us to pack and leave. I momentarily felt no different! Almost death-like – Almost!

Sumit Kasera

aka The Raconteur

aka Chachu

30th Jun, 2025

Tripadvisor Post by Chachu: Brilliant Temple in the City of Sikhs

Brilliant Temple in the City of Sikhs

Review of Golden Temple

First Posted in Tripadvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g303884-d12687575-r736083779-Golden_Temple-Amritsar_Amritsar_District_Punjab.html

Let us get straight to the point – your religious affiliations kept completely aside, Golden Temple is brilliant & mesmerizing – and a must visit place. If I try to remember the iconic tourist places in India, then obviously the Taj Mahal is clearly #1. My place of birth – Kolkata – and its Victoria Mahal would also be in the list. Delhi with its plethora of monuments including India Gate, Lotus Temple, Red Fort, Akshardham Temple – as a tourist destination would be there (this is different issue that being a resident of NCR, my review contributions of Delhi is pitiful – may be a 2020 resolution). Also, it would be quite fair to put the Golden temple in the league of brilliant places one must visit in India.

The brilliance of the place is due to myriad and complex factors at play – not limited to the religious under currents that one associates with a temple. For starters, the wide pedestrian-only access leading to the temple allows one to soak in the cultural heritage of the place. On both sides of the pedestrian zone, one can see numerous shops selling local stuff that range from Amritsari jooti (sandals), to ear rings, and numerous other knick-knacks. The façade of the place is consistent with homogenous design – to such an extent that the Mcdonalds signage gets camouflaged in the background.

One reaches the entrance of Golden temple – after about 8-10 minutes of walk from Ranjit Singh chowk where the car parks are located. Remarkably, one common problem that tourists face in any famous temple is that of quacks and thugs trying to fleece you – however, in the couple of times we went to this temple, we faced no such problems whatsoever.

In fact, one incident warrants particular mention. There were number of hawkers selling ear rings – and there was this gentlemen with a small suitcase with very limited collection of stuff waiting for his turn. Warmed to his (mis) fortunes, especially when our family was buying ear rings in truck loads, I approached the man and asked him if he was not upset with state of affairs – to which he politely said – God shall take care of me. No wonder this was Golden Temple in Amritsar – a place where a Langar (community kitchen) runs 24 hours – and we are told about 75,000 people have free food there DAILY – possibly the biggest such community food service in the world. With limited staff manning the kitchen, there are number of voluntary sevaks (care givers who donate their work free for community welfare).

After leaving our footwear and collecting a token (again no fees are involved here), we entered the Temple – after stepping through a small pool of water to wash our feet. The temple inside was brilliant, mesmerizing and paradoxical.
“Brilliant” because of its sheer expanse and its architecture. In fact, some of the views from high above made the temple look even more fascinating.

“Mesmerizing” because of the exquisite Golden Glow of the temple seated at the center of Amrit Sarovar (Lake of Nectar or Lake of Holy water), also from where the name of city was possibly derived. The lake was presumed to carry holy water and even in December chill, we saw pilgrims taking a dip.
“Paradoxical” because walking across the whole periphery I found numerous occasions where ordinary pilgrims were picking trash from the ground and throwing in dustbins – and this was same city where just outside you could find number of places where waste was not managed properly. The vast expanse of the temple was spotlessly clean – and again we are told that the carpets that lay across the periphery for pilgrims are washed regularly. Keeping such huge compound spotlessly clean was almost a miracle in itself.

After traversing the periphery of the lake clockwise, we entered the bridge which led to the Sanctum Sanctorum. It was pretty busy place where crowd movement was very slow. It took us about 1 hour to reach the main temple right in middle of the lake – while it was very busy, there was not too much of push. Then there were separate queues for females – though few females were part of common queue.

Inside the main temple, we made our prayers and came back. Some though were sitting around the central temple and making extended prayers. Almost everywhere one could see thick carpets for sitting of pilgrims. After collecting our prasad, we came out. Apart from the beauty and views, there was an envelope of serenity and calm that had descended the whole place.

Late in the evening, we went back only to see the brilliant temple glowing in tremendous glory. Again we are told that temple is open almost from early dawn till 10 in the night – so you can schedule your visit accordingly.
To sum it, the place should be in your must watch list – and if possible, try to visit twice, once in day and another time at night. Go there not just for the beauty but for the elusive peace with the bhajans (religious songs) playing in the background.

PS: Some small areas of Improvement at this brilliant place:
• Separate queues for people over 65 years or wheelchair bound people should be created on the bridge – like the one made for women pilgrims for their safety.
• Movement of vehicles, pickup/drop near Ranjit Chowk needs to be streamlined
• Pockets of litter near parking lots needs to be cleaned up & Street vendors should be regulated.

Chachu's Column #45: Demons of the Mind

Chance encounter at the hospital

 “He” met her for the first time at the radiology department of the hospital. “He” was waiting for “his” turn while she for hers. Her face was badly bruised and smashed. She had met with an accident while on her way back from college hostel to her home. The car had hit a stationary truck and her face got smashed by the windshield. While her rest of the body was unaffected, there were many broken bones in her face that needed to be mended – possibly a jaw replacement, and multiple plastic surgery. For past many weeks, she was not allowed to see her face. Her mother and her sister were standing alongside – calm, composed and exuding tremendous charm and poise. It was difficult for “him” to comprehend how the mother-sister duo had maintained their demeanor at the grotesque condition of the girl. But that was what it was!

May be the questions did not matter –

“Why (with her)?”

“What if (she had not travelled that day)?”

All that mattered was that the girl needed attention and the mother and the sister had a role to play – their personal griefs, sorrows, and pain notwithstanding!

“His” sorrow too paled in front of the sufferings of the girl. He wished good luck to the mother and moved forward for his test!

And in his next visit within few days, “he” saw the mother and sister again at the hospital entrance.

And within few days, “he” saw them again.

In a hospital teeming with thousands of patients, were these chance encounters with the two ladies some sort of message from the almighty! If yes, what was the message and why “he” met them again and again and again?

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Enter the Demon

The first set of demons – the corporal demons – attacked “his” body – slowly devouring “him” cell by cell. The entry of these demons was largely inconspicuous – or so “he” thought. There were small hints and innuendoes of the entry – like loss of few kilograms at the weighing scale at the upscale Gym over “his” long term average – but these largely went unnoticed. Rather they were taken as windfall fat loss without much fuss.

Then there were demons of the mind – the psychical demon that made the entry much later – when the corporal demons had already made a stronghold in the body. But as time traversed, these psychic demons become completely overpowering and overbearing.

The first visible sign of demons appeared with a very sharp pain. Pain that lasted for few seconds and then disappeared. And then On and Off. On and Off. And then doctor visits started – tests, medicines, and more medicines. And diagnosis – and possibly poor diagnosis like hyper-metabolism. One mid night, when “he” woke up, it felt as if many bones of the body had been broken – but possibly there were none - SoS calls to the doctor did not provide much relief - only medicines. When enough medicines had been had, and the realization dawned upon “him” that “his” treatment was going nowhere, a comprehensive health check was conducted. And another visit to a decrepit hospital with a quirky old doc revealed it all. The demons – the corporal demons had been found – it was time to fight these. But little did “he” know that the actual fight was to be fought much later with the demons of the mind.

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A real death and a presumed death

It is believed that if one persisted with a given thought, then that thought would become true. And “he” started thinking that he was suffering from cancer. It was a recurring thought in an infinite loop:

there is a thought,

and that is a dominant thought

and since it is omni-present,

it ought to be true.

So “he” thought he was having cancer and he would possibly die soon.

But “he” neither had cancer nor was he going to die anytime soon. It was Randy Pausch!

Randy said in The Last Lecture, “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.

And who was Randy Pausch? He was an American professor of computer science, human–computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Pausch learned that he had pancreatic cancer in September 2006, and in August 2007 he was given a terminal diagnosis: "3 to 6 months of good health left". He gave an upbeat lecture titled "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" on September 18, 2007, at Carnegie Mellon, which became a popular YouTube video and led to other media appearances. He then co-authored a book called The Last Lecture on the same theme, which became a New York Times best-seller. Pausch died of complications from pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008.

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Sleep

Sleep is an innocuous process – but only as long as it exists in our lives. But if it gets offended, then it can be the simplest path to hell. May be it is like other simple things in life including Air and Water. The very existence of these are taken for granted – but the importance is unraveled only when they are deprived.

The corporal demons took away half of “his” sleep – and the psychical demons took away the other half. And what was left was a man who would not sleep whole night, get up being drowsy and comatose, try unsuccessfully during the day to get some sleep, wait for night to fall so that he could sleep, only to find another night gone miserably in search of sleep.

There were times when he used to try to sleep – and try to remember what sleep was like – trying to sense it through his five senses. But it was elusive.

They say that one could sleep peacefully only if the worries are taken out of our minds and kept aside our pillows. May be that is why children sleep so easily, quickly, and peacefully. Their minds are devoid of thoughts that bother sleep. But adults are not so lucky!

When natural process of sleep had failed, “induced” sleep was attempted. The first one could only give “him” 3-4 hours of sleep.

And on one night, one “dark” night, “his” mind mocked “him” that he would not sleep the whole night because his mind had thought so. And when the sleep was induced and the night traversed, there was no sign of any sleep. The demons of mind had been victorious and his regular dose of 3-4 hours of sleep – or for that matter, even a minute of sleep – was completely deprived.

And then more medicines were tried. It was assumed that an agitated mind was root cause of sleep disorder – so psychic activity was curbed. But that gave only sporadic and inconsistent results. And yet more medicines were found – some for schizophrenics (given in small doses for sleep) – some for anxiety – and so on…. with varied outcomes!

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Yoga Nidra

It is believed that when Gods give us a problem, it also keeps a solution hidden somewhere close by. And it is up to us to find solutions to the problems we face. One may always argue that why we face problems in our lives at the very first place. But that is a topic that may require an eternity to answer.

Restricting to the solution, again Randy writes beautifully, “The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough.”

Possibly, the difference between winners and losers, success and failures, problems and solutions, is the brick wall – one who can climb over it can get the answer. For those facing the wall, it remains an unsurmountable problem.

So when “he” realized that there had to be a solution to “his” sleep issue apart from meds administered to schizophrenics, he found an answer in Yoga Nidra.

Now Yoga Nidra or yogic sleep is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping, like the "going-to-sleep" stage. It is a state in which the body is completely relaxed, and the practitioner becomes systematically and increasingly aware of the inner world by following a set of verbal instructions.

While the Yoga Nidra technique was not the instant Maggi solution for the sleep issues, over a period of time, along with few other baby steps, the issue was slowly but surely addressed.

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Anxiety and Fear

A tragic or a disturbing event in our lives is generally associated with grief, sorrow, sadness or frustration.

But what about “anxiety”? Possibly, it is based on some hypothesis that is not proven to be true. It is an assumption – possibly erroneous – about conceivable course of events. There may or may not be a “basis” – it may be completely a figment of one’s imagination – or may be based on events that are biased towards certain outcomes.

Whatever the case, they are either true – in which case, they don’t leave persons anxious any more (just sad) – or they are untrue – in which case, they are mere fears!

It may be conjectured that people adopt more easily to pain & grief vis-à-vis anxiety and fears. It is easier to analyse and explain what had happened or what is surely going to happen, than some unknown and inexplicable “fear”.

But the pertinent question was “fear from what”? If it was death, then it was an inevitable outcome. As Death was guaranteed in our life. Or was it fear from a slow, agonizing and painful death?

Whatever the root cause, it was clear “he” was “fearful and anxious”. There were demons whose presence were medically explained but not 100% guaranteed. So he could easily and wrongly assume that he had cancer and his death was quite near. And there were demons whose progeny was in the fears that freely caressed his mind.

When a bone is broken, there is plaster to keep it immobile. But when a human psyche is overpowered, how do we tame it and make it docile? There are medicines of the body – but what about the mind? How do we tame a never-ending deluge of thoughts flooding the mind that seem to burst the cranium that holds it?

As Great Buddha had told, “Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.”

How could our thoughts be bounded?

How could we ensure positivity in life? How could we develop optimism in difficult conditions?

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About Books and More Books

While “his” mind wavered from one wave to another, in search for an island where “he” could rest and relax, he found his solace in the books – books that had been acquired in the past and those that were acquired afresh.

There were all sorts of books at “his” disposal.

Books that suggested that pain and suffering were inevitable parts of our life – and the anxiety or fear was mere inability to accept this fact.

Or books that suggested that solutions to our biggest dreams lay very close to us but it could take an eternity to find it.

Or books that talked about a girl with failed suicide attempt transforming into someone with deep passion for love and life.

Or books that hinted how a certain death due to critical illness could provide an opportunity of life condensed into months.

Or books that glorified the power of thinking and thoughts!

And there were books and books and books!

And he read and he read and he read!

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Dreams, Goals and Charms

During the darkest hours of “his” life, there was a firm belief that after the night ends, there shall be bright sun-shine that shall kill all the demons that were making hay during the previous night. But during the long and seemingly eternal night, the end was nowhere near – and the pain and suffering was inexorable to bear.

And then there were days when his investments soared and he felt more miserable as the additional money could provide him no succor from his pain and fear. During the worst days, he could have easily traded all or most of his wealth for health. But such trade was not feasible. And when “he” slowly regained his health, the offer was promptly expired and the craving for wealth was promptly restored.

Just before the demons had entered his body, he had started feeling that his life was a mere routine – going to work, coming back – doing house hold work – serving his family and satisfying their expectations - spending on corporal and material desires – raising huge credit card bills – wait for salary to pay the bills and EMI. And this loop continued.

The entry of the demons allowed “him” to get out of the rat race – race for money, power or glory. He had no choice. He was now out of the race, witnessing others of his brethren. Witnessing “his” journey of life in slow motion – what went right – what went wrong – and needed fine tuning.

As the demons attacked him, he had to create his own defense. There were various line of support – there was “his” family, bearing his idiosyncrasies – his yogic exercise and the books to soothe “his” mind.

And then there were his dreams – dreams that were buried in mind that needed bit of dusting.

It was not exaggeration to say that dreams had magical properties. They can kill any fear or anxiety. They can kill the nastiest of the psychical demons. And they can subdue the most horrendous corporal demon.

And as new dreams, charms and muses entered “his” life, the demons made slow exit. Clock had turned and a new horizon beckoned him. And he was ready for new challenges, new goals, new joys, and some new failures, pains and sorrows – and some new DEMONS too!!

Chachu,

8^th Jan, 2017

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Edited Comments on Chachu's Column #44: Of Cash, Less-cash and Cash-less Society

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Few comments received from Whatsapp.

Web Resources

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Pausch

[2] http://homeinsteaders.org/authors/buddha

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_nidra

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