A Helping Hand

We were a compact gang. Each of us was different – some rich, some poor, some staying nearby and some not so near. We fought each other but had the magnanimity to honour the gang motives. We stuck with each other through thick and thin. And we taught ourselves the art of sharing and of helping each other.

One of the gang members was anxious. In fact, he was absolutely devastated. The examinations would start in a few months and he knew he cannot get through. English always terrorized him. He somehow managed to pass the rest of the subjects. English was the only one subject between being called uneducated and ‘SSLC pass’. This would be his final attempt – he knew he cannot pass and he wanted to pass it desperately so that he can muster some job or the other. His father cannot support him any longer because of family circumstances. He was keen to ensure that he did not add to the family burden but wanted to reduce it by being productive.

The gang got into collective thinking. All of us knew that he can never manage to pass if all of us made him study twenty four hours a day till the exams start.

I offered a dangerous proposition. I said, “I can write for you provided you get my photo in your hall ticket”.

Another friend offered his unique services. He said, “I can get my father to allot an exam centre far away from our place. It means that I can also manage to get the wrong photo to the right hall ticket”.

And so our friend is immediately overjoyed with the simple solution. Everybody go home happy that day. The samaritan’s father reluctantly agreed to do the gang’s beckoning.

And so one day the gang turns up at my house.

One said, “Okay, its time to start”.

I said, “For what?”.

He said, “Have you forgotten? You promised to write for me and tomorrow is the exam day”.

My head reeled. I had not studied and the centre was 200 km away. There was no time to lose. So we took a bike and all of us travelled the entire distance and reached the exam centre the next day morning.

I gingerly entered the examination hall. They found nothing out of ordinary. But exam supervisors sure were curious because I started writing and never stopped. Fast, furious and trying to cram as much as possible. The exam was over in half the time and I came out with my fingers crossed but totally relieved. More so was my gang.

The results were out. He scored 63% in English – the highest of all the exams. He was elated and so was I.

After 25 years, he remains a good friend. He still drives the auto that he started after becoming a qualified ‘SSLC Pass’.

(As narrated by my friend, Jayant Pande – 30^th of March, 2010)

The Manager

I saw this woman in a flight to Mumbai. One look at her and anyone can make out that she is on a mission. Set jaws, eyes straight ahead and a powerful projection of persona. She is out to prove to the world and the flight’s destination is what she is looking forward to right now.

Sure enough, no sooner did the aircraft’s tires hit the ground, she hit the ground running by switching on her mobile. She called someone – perhaps, her junior one of the hundreds of people working for her. Immediately she started shooting her bullets.

“Ok. Give me the status update’. She said already calculating the number of problems she needs to resolve.

The other person must have told something like, “Let me first get the update so that I can give you.”

“I need to know now. I do not wish to be kept waiting for problems to be resolved on their own. It doesn’t matter if they are bad. Please give me straight”. She said expecting the worst.

This could have been the response from the other end, “Well, the work is going on and nothing to report at this juncture. I shall report once we achieve a milestone" – or something to that effect.

She was actually irritated now. She said, “No. This will not do. I exactly need to know what is happening. It is straight in the line of your duty.” I got even more curious with the tone of the conversation. She must be handling something really grave – perhaps very sensitive and of national significance.

Perhaps, the other guy was a smart Alec. He must have given a vague reply like, “I am under control and you do not have to be bothered with such mundane stuff.”

She must be a very powerful person – she would not give up so easily. I wonder if she is a top governmental official who gets her work done or someone who has been a boss all her life. She said, “Please do not give me such pedantic replies. I know that you know and I need to know what you know”.

The guy is caught – I sensed that he had no choice now and must have given some facts. She retorted immediately, “This is not what I was looking for. There are responsibilities clearly drawn up – who will do what and when. I am not looking for daily reporting – I need hourly updates; clear and unambiguous. You are the person who shall ensure that each hour the progress is monitored, measured and updates given to me. I want the activities tracked against the plan. I need them now. I already missed two hours this morning.” She seemed extremely impatient with that seemingly inefficient manager.

I am not sure what the next piece of conversation was but sure she did fly off the handle. Her eyes dilated and she kept shouting in a muffled tone, hardly being able to control herself. The way she seemed excited, I was sure the nation is going to endure the worst of this failure of her manager. The plane still had not come to a stop now - ignoring all announcements to keep the mobiles switched off until the aircraft comes to a complete halt, she retorted, “What do you mean – he hasn’t reported yet. It is ten in the morning. You just cannot say, if he has not come, he has not come. This is grave injustice. I need the work done now. And there are dependencies. What about the risks involved. Who is going to bear the cost?” She seemed to think miles ahead – I felt she is planning for the future generations’ prosperity with such zeal.

When the full import of the message sunk into her – she moved away from the panic mode and switched into her solution mode. You can expect these only from the real mature visionaries. Those who have been in the line day in and day out of their lives solving complex issues of the society and the country at large. I was amazed at her tenacity and judgment.

"Ok. Let me quickly think. Please take notes even as I talk to you. Once this call is over, I will give you his number. His name is Selvam. He is from Tamil Nadu and you need to find someone who can talk to him in Tamil. Tell him that the work is waiting for him. He has exactly two days to complete the job. You need to talk to the architect who can specify what the problem is.” No wonder, I thought she is a person of great repute – who else but an enterprise architect would have such insight into explaining what the problem is. And she must be even greater to have an enterprise architect working for her.

Even as I was admiring her immense aspirations she has for her country – the next sentence she uttered felt like cold water thrown on my face.

She said,”Selvam is the plumber. He can know what the problem is from our architect. On my instruction, you have taken leave just to take care of this plumber and you tell me he has not shown up. I do not care what you do – get the plumber resolve the issue and let me know. Call him. Take your car to wherever he is and bring him. Give me a call half an hour later. Now I need to rush to office work.” That must have been her husband. God save him, at least from the plumbers of India.

I felt relieved. For a moment I thought IT people have really started showing concern for their work. Of course they do - for all their personal work. But this one took the cake. The language sounded so familiar even I was fooled by her.

This was not the first time where I came across people using their project management tactics in real like - it works very rarely. And even rarely still in IT.

I just smiled, switched on the mobile, took the incoming call from my boss and said. “I am still stuck in the plane. I will give you an update when I check out of the airport.”