MTech G22 for Rs. 847

Ashlesha colleague grabbed the white G22, and said, i want to throw this on the ground and stomp it.

Bharani colleague said, you should have asked me, we could have got a smart phone with another 500.

My poorvashada sis queried, why are you so like this. What will you gain with this miserliness?.

A Krittika remarked, this is like buying toys for my sons. You can surely spend 6k for a mobile. Next day, he remarked, though it serves your purpose, how many will have the courage to buy this unknown brand.

My swAti bro quipped, you have got the most expensive phone on this earth ka. Trust you have insured it.

Have my sister's digital camera, so don't need a camera on my phone. Don't want to browse net, check emails, spoiling my eyes with tiny screen. Nor do i want a big screen, making it inconvenient to hold it in hands or put it inside pockets.

Mom had gifted my previous basic samsung mobile in 2009 and it became a 3 piece mobile, constantly breaking into 3 pieces - the front part with keypad, battery, the back flap which was held together by a black nylon rubber band. In between 0 key didn't work for a while, which i got repaired for 70 bucks. But didn't want to carry my heavy latitude laptop every morning for just listening to my yoga teacher's mp3. So finally changed my mobile which could play mp3. After my first gifted android was stolen, put 5k to buy a phone with at least 5MP camera, big screen, google maps, but didn't like checking fb over smartphone when compared to laptop.

To be honest, just attend official calls, personally answering calls is anathema to me. Need silence, to study without interruption and the constant ringing of phones, is too much to bear. Even if it is my best friend who is calling, would take all the world's efforts to answer a phone, during my personal time.

Was without mobile till 2005. My Jan 28th US returned manager said, you are leading a team and without a phone, how can i reach you for anything. My manager, was the only reason, i bought my first phone, 1.5 years after joining Cognizant. Would go to a PCO and talk to dad or friend for hours in the absence of phone, never bought a mobile those first few years without mobile phones. If you don't attend calls for a while, the ire you have to face from your loved ones is unspeakable.

My guruji has the most latest apple iPhones and runs windows on it, extremely tech savvy with a program that would populate the current chart every 10 minutes for prashna. For me technology should assist, not consume my life. Would rather have the map of the place in my mind before venturing out, rather than googling it out.

If one reads vibhuti pAda of patanjali yoga sutras, to communicate in person (not just audio, video, actual teleporting), no matter where the other person is, is very much possible. Now mobile phones have become necessary evil to communicate.

Always remember my BGS (Business Govt and Society) professor's words. When it is your money and you spend it on yourself, you are responsible. When it is your money and you spend it on others you are miserly. When it is others money and you spend it on yourself, you are lavish. When it is others money you spend it for others, there is no accountability. Kind of Machiavelli.

As a child, i was a spendthrift, I, still am, when it comes to spending on others. 11L in 12H. Give me Bill Gates fortunes, i can reduce it to zero $ in no time. I have plans for the whole world. But after listening to  yoga sutras discourses, i would constantly recollect his words - can I not live without this, can i not live without that. Why accumulate ephemeral stuff? Minimalist way of live is the best in the long run.

Chai Pe with Ms. Uma Mohan - Personal Branding

There was so much to do and was creating the communique for last Friday's event and a rohini colleague with a dulcet voice, full of warmth, called some 2-3 times to state, she will be delayed by 10-20 mins.Was mighty glad with the delay, could finally finish the communiqué and send it for tweaking. We drove from Domlur to Whitefield. It was an exquisitely palatial retreat, lined with royal palms, frangipanis, full of compact villas; but what is the point of villas, if there is no hari sannidhi, or RAghavendra Swamy temple nearby; what is the point of man made lawns and few ubiquitous garden flowers, if nature can't have her way, if cows can't roam and rest freely there (universal pointer for a place filled with spiritual vibrations). What is the point of huge swimming pools in club house, if there is no privacy for women.

Few takeaways from Uma Mohan's Personal Branding:
Trustworthy, reliable...

"At the most what is going to happen, i will lose my face. So what? The key is being shameless, being persistent and rising up again, no matter what.

Anecdote 1: In Chennai, she was team leading a project where the technology was new, programmers were new. Product development was delayed inordinately, client came and since Uma was just a week new, she got an extension for a year. Even after a year, the product was not ready and the client blew his top in front of CEO and manager. Uma was fighting a lone battle and her CEO and manager too joined the client on the deliverable delay.

Uma went back to her seat, keyed in a resignation mail to her CEO and was packing her things. And as expected, EA called her and CEO said, excellent English. She was surprised. He said, you disappointed me; i had hired you for your leadership and you are into blaming circumstances and others. She learnt her first lesson - leadership is about accountability, on giving, all it takes to get it done, and not finding excuses.

Anecdote 2: In GE, she was in succession plan for CIO. For two years, she was nominated for all awards and positions. There were only two candidates and she had started believing that she was there. However, her global CIO called her and told her how this was the most difficult day of his life. Her very strength (constantly challenging status quo) in the previous role was a weakness in the next role. What worked at a sub group level, didn't work at an organizational level. At an organizational level, there was a core dna, which required operating under accepted paradigms. It was about synergizing, being integrative and inclusive.

 You will not start questioning, India team does not get the best roles, you will rather start the conversation with, these are Cincinnati team's strength, these are India's strength, now how do we leverage both teams strengths for organization's benefit.

She was shattered, took her 6 months to come back, she worked on global CIO's words. After 2-3 years, the same global CIO called her and offered her CIO role. Her husband had supported her during her tough times, asking how long will you sulk like this. You have two options, take it personally and sulk or work on it.

Few other things: She always nominated herself for everything. She constantly rose up to the challenge. She would deliver her best, but her CEO would also complain about something or the other. Then she realized, she was branded as someone who raised up to challenges on being thrown into a difficult situation and hence this behaviour from boss.

She said, i am best in this, am best in that, am best in everything, showing clear confidence. She spoke about fire brand. She said, she was lucky to have the best of parents,education, colleagues, mentors at work.

Personal front: She said her biggest support was her MIL. Her MIL would say, you have toiled and travelled the whole week, so you do what you really like over the weekends. I could not have such a life, at least you should have the best life. Because of her loving MIL, she could paint, travel all over the world. She is married for 28 years and has a 24 year old daughter who is working.

On asking, how did she manage her career, after her maternity; she said, she made a conscious decision - not to work till her daughter was 2 years old and to take no stressful jobs till her daughter was 7 years old. That is the way it is and you have to accept it.

Over chai, she said her MIL was very possessive on whom Uma could love, because of which, when others came home, her MIL could get really nasty. She could either become a victim or get out of it and understand why a person was behaving this way. She learnt the reason, why her MIL was behaving this way and consciously sent her positive love vibrations and it worked for her. Any other daughter in law, would have nursed the grudge till grave, but the way Uma inured it and made it positive was an eyeopener for me.

She talked about air and water vibrations and sending positive vibrations to people. Living your fire brand kept on coming again and again in her talks. She was learning elements and their associations from an American healer.

She said, women carry lots of past baggage, victim mentality. One needs to get rid of it and start afresh, rise up no matter, whats the worst that can happen? so what!