Things back Home in Kota

Recently I visited my hometown, kota. Though I found things to be the same around my home and the adjoining area, things had changed a lot across the city.

All the coaching institutes have opened their prime centers near dakania talab and that area is attracting huge student population. New shopping malls have opened in close vicinity of coaching centers. Many Hotels and residential complexes are also prominent in the same area.

Apart from that, shopping malls are coming up in Gumanpura and Aerodram Circle. 5 years back having a shopping mall in kota was beyond imagination, today they have become part of life.

Again, Flat based residential societies were unheard of in Kota. Today, they have gained acceptance in the city. However, most of the flat based residential societies have grown in the periphery of the city primarily due to space constraints within the city.

Baran Road or NH 76 highway is one of the places that’s growing very well in an organized manner. Many Schools and colleges have sprung up in that area. Also many residential societies are coming up in Baran Road.Bondi Road is another area that offers huge growth potential.

Due to my short stay, I could not do much but in my next trip, I am going to roam around and explore new places in kota.

Trip again to New York

Two months after I reached India, I was called again by my client. The trip this time was very pleasent as the climate was not as harsh as it was during December – January.

This time the work was more interesting and challenging than last time. So I had to think a lot , which means I have to use my brain which I hardly use.

However, my life was limited from home to office and back from office to home. I had minimal social network in the new place however, as my home was in the area dominated by indians , I hardly found myself away from India.

The enviornment at client’s location was cool and people were interested in getting the work done rather than looking at how much time I spend in office or how many hours I am putting in work. Things went smooth and I got smooth work enviornment after a long time. Last 2-3 years had been prety messy to the extent that I had started hating corporate life.

This assignment helped me in finding new friends and learning new things. I realised how important it is to get a good company in both professional and personal life.

During my initial days, my flatmate used to cook for me tinking that I am new and need some handholding. Well, that was really cool! ! And then another flatmate used to talk a lot at home. So, I enjoyed my stay.

However, I was always counting days to go back home. Somehow, the feeling of being on alien land still persisted and I was missing India.

One of  my colleage wanted to visit Niagara Falls and I thought its  good to go with him rather than going alone. Niagara Falls is located at the border of US and Canada. Standing at Niagara falls, one can see the city of Monteral in Canada. In fact view of Niagara Falls is better from Canada than from US. 

Although Niagara falls was good but not as good as Agumbe waterfalls which falls in Karnataka, India. However,  Niagara trip was organized very well by gotobus.com . The trip was very smooth and memorable.

One of my friends back in India asked me if I can bring an electronic item for him. I booked the item otem online and waited for the delivery.  Two days later when I returned home, I found a slip on main gate shwoing that courior delivery has come but as they couldn’t find me, they went back.

I called the courior guys to find out that they deliver only from Monday to Friday, when I am in office. I had no way to collect the parcel. As I was not sure what to do, finally I went to their godown to collect the shipment.

Well, I think it’s enough of  coming to US alone.  Good exposure but I won’t like to come again alone.

Lets see what I do next.

Memories of Bhopal

Yesterday when I was thinking of my days spent in bhopal, I realized that I could not remember much. I thought it will be a good idea to write about time spent in bhopal to keep my memories fresh.

My year long stay in bhopal was a pleasant and memorable on personal front although it was a tough time professionally.

Termed as city of lakes, Bhopal can be called pensioners paradise. Though it is capital Madhya Pradesh, its not the commercial capital of state. As it is not commercially exploited, it has minimal pollution or traffic problems. Surrounded by lakes and ample of green gardens, the city is a tourist destination.

My initial stay was near New Market (in Hotel Sarthak) for a month. New market is “new” only by it’s  name. Actually its a typical old market with many small shops selling variety of items at nominal rates. Its a place to find good bargain and suitable for those who do not believe in branded items (like me).

One can expect quality food in two restaurants nearby  New Market – Bapu ki Kutia and other….. I forgot the name. See, as I said …My bhopal memory is fading.

Fortunately after a month of my stay in Hotel Sarthak, I was able to find good home . I had visited many houses and eventually settled for this one. It was loacated in front of Danapani Restaurent (a very famous landmark in Arera Colony) and quite near to 12 number bus stop. The only issue was that my home was at commercially undeveloped area. Which means that I had to travel at least 2 kms to buy anything.  The nearest shopping area was Siwae Complex that I used to visit once in a while to buy groceries.

I used to travel to MP Nagar for official work. The name MP Nagar was after the king Maharana Pratap (MP), who ruled the state for many years.   This place is a commercial hub of bhopal crowded with offices , showrooms and variety of shops. Although my office was a shabby place, tourism department located a bit away from MP Nagar was a official destination of choice. It was one of the most cleaned and decorated government offices I had ever seen.

3 Kms to MP Nagar is the politicians wrestling station ...Vidhan Sabha of Madhya Pradesh . Also know as Vallabh Bhawan, its the place where all the ministers and beurocrats sit and enjoy life  (Hindi main jise kahte hain….KURSI TORNA). Near by this place is Vindhyachal Bhavan, another office of Beurocrats where I used to visit often.

Near my home was a area with temporary houses constructed by underprivileged strata of society. Sometimes, I used to pass by that road and I could feel a completely different world. Small houses with ladies cooking with wood gave it a village like feeling. The area was known as Aam Nagar. Few months after I shifted in my new home, Aam Nagar was demolished by government authorities.

I was told that a big residential project was under construction ahead of Aam Nagar. The builder was not finding right price of flats because of proximity to Aam Nagar. He had colluded with government authorities and with reasons like expansion of road , Aam Nagar was demolished. I felt bad but that’s how it works , the stronger always crushes the weaker.

There was another place near Aam Nagar, Ishwar Nagar where poor families used to stay. I thought this would be the next place to be demolished, but fortunately, it didn’t happened.

After few months of moving to my new home my wife shifted from puneto bhopal . I purchased a  bike and we started exploring Bhopal. We started going to Bittan Market for dinner and purchasing vegetables and groceries. Shahpura lake is anothercool places to chill in bhopal.  We also explored avenues like Mansarovar Complex, a shopping paradise in bhopal .

Bara Talab and Van Vihar are other attractive tourist destinations in bhopal.  BaraTalab is a boating destination of choice. Van Vihar is a open Zoo, kind of natural habitat for wild life animals.

“10 number market” was our favourite hangout place. Every now and then we used to eat, shop and enjoy at 10 number market.  Cycle Soup Wala was very famous shop for fast food. Most of the times it was crowded with customers and I had to fight hard to get our orders.Top and Town (Ice Cram Parlour) was also our favorite destinations. It was most famous ice cream parlours in bhopal. In the evening we used to roam around our home and started interacting with other families in the society.

During long weekends we visited places of interest around bhopal like Panchmarthi (Hill Station), Sanchi Sthoop  (Buddha’s Place) , Bhimbetka (beautiful and unpredictable caves) and Bhojpur (famous for largest Shivling in India).

My house owner was staying near Barkathulla University. He was a cool guy but used to brag a lot about his properties. Being in the proximity of university, his flats were in huge demand by student community.

I had a idea once of leaving my home and joining my colleagues staying in Paras Hermitage (company guest house) on hoshangabad road. With  amenities like Swimming Pool, Sona Bath and Club house, it was one of the best societies I had seen in Bhopal.

Fortunately, I found a short cut through railway line connecting my home with the guest house. This gave me room to shuttle to guest house for entertainment, whenever required.

I used to shuttle a lot from Bhopal to Pune. Habibganj station being closer to my home was preferred place to board the train. It was one of the cleanest railway stations I have ever seen in India.

During my last days in bhopal, Dainik Bhaskar inaugurated the much awaited DB Mall. It was first shopping mall in bhopal. It was huge, with 100′s of shops.  No had anticipated that anyone will build this kind of shopping paradigm in bhopal. Personally, I felt that consumerism is not prevalent in bhopal as anticipated by DB Mall.

Overall, I would like to get a opportunity to settle in bhopal forever.

My trip to New York

Exploring new places have always attracted me except when I am forced to go somewhere.

When I got the opportunity to visit New York, I was not sure. I had travelled a lot in the recent past and didn’t wanted to travel again. But than financial markets had always excited me and New York was one of the world’s biggest financial centers.

Nevertheless, I liked or I didn’t, I had to travel. It was a business requirement!!

But I had to get a visa before traveling which I didn’t know would be a torturous process. Getting Visa processed takes a long time and everyone around me wanted an update everyday.  My manager used to ask about the progress of visa to which I had no answer. 

Every time I called Visa Desk I got the same reply…“Your application is under process”. And my manager will ask “What does it mean?” It’s in progress means its in progress, what else will it mean.

I was pressurized inspite of being fully aware that getting visa  was not in my hands. People sometimes behave abnormally to release their tensions, it starts from the top and ends at the bottom, i.e. at my level. Anyways, I had to run everywhere like a football to understand the system of Visa Issuance. Finally after lot of hiccups and uncertainty I got a visa.

Infact, I was well trained by now to become a Visa professional.

When my manager knew I had a visa, the next question I heard was “Why don’t you travel tomorrow?” 

It was not easy to travel suddenly outside the country. There were many many formalities to be completed before traveling …..Getting Insurance, Forex and Laptop were not a easy espically when things move slow in your organization. And to follow up for other things like getting remote connectivity, signing off travel documents, booking travel tickets, booking hotel were other time consuming activities.

But these things were not visible to those who wanted me to travel ASAP (as soon as possible). So I slogged to meet their expectations and started my visit to unexplored territory.

And finally, I arrived to New York. It was winter time; the temperature varying from +1 to -5 degree centigrade’s. As I took my first step out of airport, I felt that I can’t survive the weather. It was damn chilling andd eadly. The temperature was -1 degree centigrade that day, horrible for someone who has never experienced that kind of climate.

First things first. I bought  all winter stuff – gloves, cap, thermal, woolen socks and so on. And then , when I walked on road wearing winter attire, I had a changed opinion. …Yes, this climate is not too bad!

But still…staying at a place where you can’t come out of your house without stuffing yourself with warm attire was a painful thing. And most of the times when you come out, you are greeted by chilling wind. But people get used to the surrounding enviornment. If someone from New York comes to my hometown in summer (44 degree centigrade’s) he will be in similar situation like me.

Anyways, starting days were difficult. I couldn’t sleep for couple of days due to Jetlag. Finding indian food was difficult. And lastly understanding local accent was another tough task ….accept Indians I almost always asked people to repeat….. “Sorry, I didn’t get you”.

Fortunately I found a good apartment quite close to my office. It helped a lot as I had to walk hardly 10 minutes to reach my office. Had it been far it would have added to the list of my difficulties.

I liked excellent public infrastructure . Most of the things were followed as documented….No surprises. Kind of Wonderland… Everything works in a right way.

I bought electronic items (Electronic items here are cheaper than in India). Being Christmas, it was important to find avenues where I can have a decent time. I went to tourist attractions (Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge etc) and prepared food many times at home. I purchased a novel and watched online movies.

It was good but one question was still in my mind. Why New York is center of attraction for many people? May be because this city shines a lot, like Mumbai in India. But once you reach mumbai you realize that everything is same except people run a lot there.

But undoubtably, New York is a city of dreams. With its skyrocketing buildings, the view here is mesmerizing. People make fortunes and loose fortunes here.

It’s my observation that in society only those professions that are highly lucrative are respected and are followed after by majority. But once monetary part is removed, every profession comes to parity. Think of a situation where every one is paid same irrespective of the work they do. Suddenly, every profession will become equally respectable and people work what they want to rather than what pays them best…………………………An Ideal World!!

A glimpse of Government Consulting

My views on Government Consulting -  I worked in this environment for a year.

First of all, too much of bureaucracy in Government makes the life of outsider (a consultant) very difficult.

It takes a new comer (a consultant) few months to realize that every government employee is self made king . Sir, Sahab are the most important words one should be saying irrespective of hierarchy to a government employee, if one wants the work to be done.

If one doesn’t accept this reality, it will create very uncomfortable situation for him.

Second, all top officials in government talk with an attitude, with air of superiority. Most of the times their demands are quite irrational, however, being a consultant one has to be diplomatic.

Most of the times its not quality or performance but relations with government officials that wins you accolades.

As the officials in Government are clueless what they wants to do, they hire consultant to guide exactly what they are looking for. However, it’s very difficult to handle an arrogant and confused person.

The consultants though try hard to persuade government officials for a concrete solution, it’s always difficult to adhere to unrealistic timelines and irrational expectations set for government projects.

Also the solution proposed by consultants takes months if not years to get final approval from the stakeholders. The approval file moves from one official to other numerous times. Each official sit on the file for weeks before approving it.

Also, it’s very difficult for government officials to understand what solution is being proposed. They have no interest in the project. They know their month end salary is surely going to come no matter what happens to the project or to the world. .

I think because of this attitude in government, most of the projects fail. However, Consultants are made the scapegoats most of the time for the failed projects.

 

Tender Process

Whenever Government wants to give any contract, it does so by tender process open to all to ensure impartiality. However, there are no governing procedures in place from the start of floating the tender in the market till the award of contract to the vendor. All the guidelines that are there in place are theoretical and none of them holds well on ground.

But let me explain - how the theoritical process works. First the government releases a RFP (Request For Proposal) in the market by publishing NIT (Notice inviting Tender) in all the leading newspapers. Then, a pre-bid conference is organized for all the prospective bidders. Clarifications are sent to all the bidders related to the doubts in RFP.

All bidders interested in the bid submit proposals. The proposals are evaluated based on Pre – Qualification and Technical Evaluation criteria. The bidders pass the technical evaluation criteria are invited for opening of commercial proposal. The lowest cost vendor (most of the times) is awarded the contract.

A Project Management consultant is hired to monitor the progress of the project and the project continues forever.

 

Getting Business from Government

 

For getting business one should be in touch with all the influential people in government like Ministers, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, Collectors etc because they take decision about awarding contract to one of the perspective bidder.

Performance is a very subjective parameter in government and most of the time, it is completely on discretion of a single officer in charge. If the vendor keeps him happy, there will never be any questions on performance.

 

Lastly, a single file takes months to get approved because it moves from bottom to the top in hierarchy indicating that nobody wants to take accountability of any decision.

Sometimes, it becomes so painful working with government that one may start cursing his life. But pain is perennial from start till end of life. And hope is something that keeps our life running.