Journeys!

There is no justification for not writing or updating your blog.  Especially, when the initial few entries were well received by friends, families and colleagues (both current and former). To be truthful, when asked, I hate to talk about my laziness and end up coming with some excuse or the other, including stupid ones like lack of time. With an honest intention of being more regular in writing, here go my thoughts!

Today, as I post this piece, team Adhrit is on the verge of completing three years of its operations. It has been an amazing journey. And of course, in the last three years, along with this experience I have been part of some very beautiful journeys. I clearly remember drawing up business plans and getting a hang of how to professionally approach issues like marketing, invoicing, etc while overlooking the grand lake in Bhopal at a close friend’s house (or should I call it a manor) on the lakeside. The pristine beauty and the sweet tinge of fresh air while making some very important decisions in the early days is something I shall remember for a long time.

When we started off, many warned us about a long ‘gestation period’.  But as long it has been, I feel that the bigger challenge was adjusting. I can safely correlate this experience with landing in London bang in the middle of celebrated English summers and getting used to bright sunshine, as we went for dinner at 10 PM. Despite all the readings of Enid Blytons (of course there were others too), all those friends who lovingly told us about their summers in London, all that web research on things to do in UK, the long days came as a surprise. We quickly learnt how to make most of the days, were lovingly introduced to the English way of life by wonderful friends and family, and just went with the flow. So, coming back to Adhrit experience over the last three years, I feel that what helped us out was quickly developing the ability to go with the flow. We faced some very pertinent challenges. More often than not, we were facing situations which were new for us. What rocked the cradle for us were people, who helped us to maintain our thinking, kept us on the edge and played an instrumental role in maintaining our sanity.

But, as you go with the flow, it is also important to keep your eyes open. While rafting down the Ganges, I realized that I was missing out on the fun because I ended up closing my eyes when the water became rough. I was merely sitting as a silent spectator depending on someone else if I was thrown overboard by the rapids. As I learnt to keep my eyes open in rough waters, not only was I more confident, but rather, was trying to convince the guide to let me jump from the boat in the next rapid. Of course, I did not get that privilege, but learnt that eyes wide open can change the entire experience. A classic example of the difference between going with the flow and going through the motions.  

I often take a lot of pride in the efficiency by which a small team like ours is able to deliver quick turn-arounds and handle projects, which would ordinarily require more hands than what we have. I have been after my colleagues to agree to a roadmap for team expansion, a plea that has landed in deaf ears. Every time I talk about recruiting more people, I am reminded by Surbhi of how most places that we stayed in during our journey across Europe, whether it be Paris, Colmar or places in Switzerland, reasonably huge establishments hosting 150-200 people were being run and managed by not more than 2-3 people. Back home in India, an establishment that big would have at least 2-3 managers aided by 3-4 assistants aided by 5-6 peons. Inspite of all that, the actual cost of living would be a fraction of what it would cost you in Europe. This brings me to a question, which I am sure a lot of firms in similar capacity would be grappling with. We have an option to follow the well established industrial practice by making the most of the inexpensive resources available in our industry, a process which we all have been part of as freshers in this profession. This allows us to be aggressive on the hiring front and project a team which shall be a good reflection of capabilities. On the other hand, thinking about those establishments in Europe, I feel that we still can deliver a lot more individually and pamper ourselves with the additional benefits of success (I really envied the Jaguars which the receptionist/cum cleaning lady/ cum project manager cum marketing executive cum accounts person drove home after her shift).  Anyways, we have shelved all these issues for the time being and will take this issue up in a couple of months as we move to our new location.          

‘Small is beautiful’ is a term that every entrepreneur has gone through and remembers for times to come. I have to admit, I love the fact of us being a small outfit. It allows us to bring in innovative changes in our work methodology. A few months back, we were faced with an enormous exercise, for execution of which the bare minimum requirement would be a team at least twice our size and consisting of people from other practice areas which we lacked.  We had a simple solution to counter the problem. We relocated to the project location for almost a month. We got the resources available on site and modeled the assignment in a manner that turned out to be efficient and cost effective for client. During that month, every day, we followed same discipline which we would follow in our office (maybe more). This gave us the freedom to chart our time in a manner that other ongoing assignments were not affected in any manner. If you think of it, the time spent in project location was same as anyone would spend in a project of this manner. The difference was in perception, where we told ourselves that the project site was our office for a month. The experience reminded me of the long trek which I took to Annapurna Base Camp last year with a buddy. When tired of climbing the steep paths, I would try to forget that I am on an adventure journey and tell myself that I am going home after work. See, how perceptions make a difference.   

A recently aired ad (I think it was emirates) talked about a person being as rich as much he has travelled. Now, I can’t boast of being rich or for that matter being well travelled. I know a lot of people who travel more than they sleep. One of my cousins recently tweeted about his tendency to loosen his seat-belt after watching a movie. Despite my recent professional travels to other metros, I really can’t say that I have seen those cities, so can’t say that those travels have made me richer.  Having seen almost the whole of India, I can say with some amount of conviction that not too many things will surprise me too much (exception being the long days in Europe) and every new travel shall surely make me richer (if not wealthier).

Cheers till next time.

The Bengali Heart!

As we await the arrival of one of my closest friends to join us for what should turn out to be one of the most interesting and 'off beat' project handled by A-L, I cannot help but reminisce about the beginning of this month when my first vacation in the last one year of A-L took me around one of the most interesting journeys I have taken of late. I spent 10 days travelling, exploring and appetizing Kolkata and around. Now, I have an admission to make. I was prejudiced about the experience much before it started. As I came out of Netaji Subhash Airport, I was wondering as to what made me use up a precious vacation to travel around what is termed as a messy, future less, aimless 'City of Joy'! A probable reason was to go and see how my sister is coping up with her relocation to Nadia, but the quintessential 'dil' wanted 'more'. But still, who leaves a messy city (sorry delhi) to go on a vacation in another messy City (no offences, Kolkata)?

Having read a lot about Kolkata as I grew up and having a substantial number of Bengali friends, it remained the only part of the country, which I had not been to and here I was, roaming around the city and exploring it in a manner like a typical firang. Now, as much against my temptations, I will not treat this blog as a travel memoir about my beautiful experiences in the length and breadth of Kolkatta, Nadia, Shantiniketan, Sunderbans. I could go on an on about my innumerable experiences in the local from Sealdah(Kolkatta) to Kachrapada (Nadia), the ferry ride across Hooghly and spending three days on the ferry in and around Sunderban reserves! But, what remains is love with the Bengali heart!

What a majestic view it was! No, it was not honest and it definitely was not incorruptible or lacked crookedness that prevails in any other place in India (or maybe world), but it had a loving touch to it. It was a heart that would bend to your will, not on showering it with some Gandhis, but by merely imposing your assertiveness to it.

Every communication with any entity had to start with a strong usage of 'Dada' and see how the solution unfolded itself. It stood true at several junctures. A rude usage could be used to wake up a sleeping cabbie at 330 in the morning! A polite usage could get the waiter to serve extra curries with 'Ilsa' and 'Bhetki' or to get his expertise on how a crab is devoured to help enjoy the meal. A loving usage could get a rikshaw puller to act as a guide (and mind you, without any extra charge) to take you around in Shantiniketan to places that 'Lonely planet' definitely missed out on. A use in a manner that reflected unfamiliarisation with the local language could get half the bogey in a local to advise you as to which station is nearest to your destination . An affectionate usage could get people sharing their entire life's problems and a complimentary usage could nearly land you in a local meeting of a hot headed political party(depending which side you are on). Usage as a plea could get you pearls of wisdom that you would remember forever!

Travelling around Bengal, I met a heart that grossly underestimates its powers and its reach. It will not be fair to judge Bengal on the sight of a failed university or the fact that almost nothing happens without its share of bandhs or protests. You have to see the full 'josh type' university that is growing up amidst the ruins of the old agricultural university. You have to go in and around the salt lake city to see the growth potential. You have to see the thoroughness of their counsels who we regularly deal with and learn from. You have to see their utilised resources to understand what was the bedrock of Indian industry until half a century back.

wishing my new (and old) friends a happy future. And on the professional experience front, we have a lot to share! till next time ...

Well wishers, good citizens or Ambulance Chasers?

Last couple of weeks were a revelation. A few sunday evenings back, we all went out together to the workshop to get some pending nagging problems rectified (tyre change and wheel balancing for negi's car & change of tube for surbhi's car & me giving company for an abject lack of social life). As we were cruising and debating the performance of a CNG engine , we , in a matter of seconds became witnesses to a hit and run case. A white indica swirled past us and in an attempt to repeat the grand performance with another car, brazenly knocked down a poor bike rider, who ended up losing his balance and colliding head on with the railings on the road side. We were around 50 Metres behind the bike. The car driver obviously, realising that he could be in trouble, sped away at a speed which could give race drivers some goosebumps.



As we stopped the car and rushed towards the victim, a crowd had already started assembling. Now this guy was lying in a pool of blood and obviously, being in a state of shock, was in a bad shape. The image of flesh of both the shoulders being partially ripped apart and blood oozling out will not leave me for a long time to come. But on a different note, we knew exactly what needed to be done. Negi 's first reaction was to read the number of the indica as it sped away. I rushed to the victim to check on him. Now, he wasn't exactly in a condition for first aid but his panic was evident. I started speaking to him to try to ensure that he doesnt fall unconscious. He asked for my help to get him to sit down as the road was burning hot, which i nervously did. In the meanwhile, we called 100 to report accident and asking for backup. However, knowing the state of affairs of police backup in NOIDA, Negi and surbhi without wasting time rushed to the nearest hospital to get the ambulance. The hospital staff were reluctant to release an ambulance without 'procedures'. Of course, hearing surbhi's legal credentials (yes, she does that part very well) and threats (that too!!!) they agreed to release the ambulance. In the meanwhile, seeing that a few more people had assembled, I sprinted to the police check post (hardly 100 Mt. away) requesting them to issue alert over wireless (which I doubt they did). I returned with an indifferent police patrol who just added themselves to the crowd assembling there! The constable was 'kind' enough to note the number of the car on a schoolboy notepad. After some ranting, they offered to put the 'body' in car, which I refused (to their relief) since Negi and surbhi were on their way back with the ambulance. Leave alone the victim, the police were even indifferent to manage the traffic. Looking at them standing in their unbuttoned shirts and khakhi watching helplessly was pathetic! Finally, as the ambulance arrived, they started moving and getting the crowd to disperse. Hospital was a different state of affairs. Now here was a kid lying in absolute pain and nearly in a state of unconsciousness and some chap with white coat, in eagerness to prepare his MLC was asking him his address and exact location as to where the accident took place(By then the kid had already given his fathers name, phone number, etc). Anyways, the good news was that the kid was out of danger. I contacted his father, and gave him the location of the hospital. In the meanwhile, negi took care of the pre deposit and we asked the docs to start whatever they felt was necessary and asked the kid's father not to panic. After the arrival of substantial number of his family members, including his dad , we took leave, gave our numbers and left the hospital. That was not the end of it. I got a call from his dad that the police was reluctant to register an FIR. When i personally visited the checkpost, the excuse for not registering the FIR was that there was a visit of some IG and hence all the personnel were busy and the police did not have resources to investigate. Now, tell me, doesnt such attitude in itself generate anger to propel people to pick up arms? Anyways, we got the FIR filed (vakiil babu effect part II) and it has been a month since any headway. In fact, yesterday , the cop called us to ask if we had located the car!!!!

Now, with this experience, I really felt proud of our team. Organisations spend zillions to get their constitutes to react the way, the team did to the accident. We all knew our roles right away and by god's grace, the kid survived. But what really brought me to a guilt trip and showered a burst of extinguisher on our enthusiasm to help the kid get some justice was a phone call. Frustrated with the delayed process, the kid's dad called me. I told him that a way out could be to approach the court and blah blah blah. Now, at this point, the entire attitude changed. Till a few days back, we were getting thank you calls. Suddenly the tenor changed and maybe the kid's dad thought that our effort was centered on getting a brief. He didn't say so, but started talking about how he had a 'fair idea' about the 'commissions' that lawyers take against the claims . (BTW, last heard, Motor vehicle cases are quite rewarding, and hence the term 'Ambulance Chasers'). Now that was an eye opener. I did clarify to the chappie that being witnesses, we could not take up the matter and he would have to locate someone else for the assignment. Somehow, the enthusiasm drowned and a feeling crept in that we did whatever we could do. Of course, my (over)enthusiasm has become a bit of a joke because my colleagues think that the drip in enthusiasm is on account of our decision of not pursuing it as a case as counsels. Last heard, the kid was o.k. and treatment underway. No breakthrough in the case yet, but I hope that the kid recovers and lives a normal life ahead. But, without meaning to turn one, we face the possibility of being termed as 'ambulance chasers'. I just hope that the kid and his family remember us as those who got the ambulance for him and not otherwise.

Cheers !!

Of the system and the ways of tackling it

Last few months at A_L has made us witness diverse transactions, situations and the mindset behind those actions. Being the “socially recluse” person that I am (and someone whose childhood dream was to become a psychologist), it’s delightful to observe people’s reactions to a situation and the thought process by which they function. The existence of the system and the ways of tackling it is an area which has affected almost everybody’s lives. Numerous books have been written on such experiences, numerous discussions have ensued, but the topic still remains a debator’s delight.

What propelled me to share my thoughts on the subject was a candid discussion with one of our clients on his style of running an organization. The way an organization functions becomes an unfettered rule of law known as “the System”. What follows is the league of men trying to emulate the existing system as the basis of their existence. From within this league of ordinary men, a few extraordinary beings emerge who decide to challenge the system either for their own good or for general society’s advantage. For doing so, they can either fight the system head on, take up the lone battle and emerge a contended victorious aka Jerry Maguire or manipulate the system in a manner that the system itself does not know that it is being taken for a ride aka Lalit Modi.

I am not writing here on the relative merits/demerits of the respective methods and am definitely not defending Lalit Modi’s manipulations, but on the question that has been crossing my mind since the eventful discussion, has fighting the system become passé? I’ll leave it on you to decide.

Battlefields and tweets!!

A couple of weeks back, I went club hopping with some of my buddies. More often than not I find myself a misfit in such situations and would rather prefer a rooftop bon-fire party on a chilly winter night (or a summer night at a high altitutde). But this was something i will remember for some time to come. Though nothing spectacular took place, I saw myself getting quite a few inquisitive stares from people around. One good lad actually raised a mug of beer in my direction as a toast. Now, all this was a little awry 'cause i am definitely not used to be treated as a celebrity. On introspection, i realised it was the shirt tht i was was wearing, which, in very visible figures had "Siachen: I was there" written. To supplement it, another nice logo of Indian Army and a caption of "World's highest battlefield". Now , I have managed to reach the Brigade Headquarters at Pattapur and as far as the Advanced Landing Ground, but definitely have not been to siachen. This T shirt was gifted by a close buddy who relishes the time he spends in the battlefields of Siachen. Having an expanse of an area covering a few mountains and a substantial part of the glacier under his command gives him a 'high' of its own kind and he seems to enjoy every bit of it. It is interesting to see him and my father exchanging their views on the status of the area whenever he is here. The last time i had a chat with him, he was fuming on the attention that I got on the shirt. Maybe, a fair bit of jealousy on my getting the attention drawn from his "sweat". Though, when I told him that I could not vouch for a single pretty girl (the 'admirers'/onlookers being a bunch of kids), he felt better and promised to get me another. On another weekend, I went and saw "Hurt Locker" with another friend who has just completed his probation with the Para regiment, and now is a proud member of the elite Special Forces of Indian Army. Got some pretty interesting updates on Counter Terrorism strategies for which they are trained in. Its good to see my friends finding themselves amidst their own versions of Battlefields, and to add to it, they seem to be having a rocking time. Though, admittedly, it is a different ball game altogether if bullets are being showered on to you.



In retrospect, for the breed of people that surround me, battlefields are not necessarily something thrown at them. Rather, they see it as a situation they have been longing for and get their respective "highs" from the uncertainity that surrounds them. When they have negative opinions on their jobs, which they occassionally share with me, I struggle to graple with the difference in variations of our midset. Considering, till a few years back, we went to the same school/college and had a similar routine and mindset, the difference in our perceptions amaze me and am sure that the gap will get better with age. But somewhere down the line, we all will realise the dimensions of the battlefields that we are a part of and will be amazed at the sheer magnitude of decisions that we take in our day to day lives that have an impact tomorrow.

We ourselves have been facing some mini-battles. Plannning to move into a plush new office (albeit after a year and a half), we have been busy closing the deal for the new place. Every aspect involves enrmous rounds of negotiations and clarifications and we find ourselves taking very very important decisions which would have an impact for a forseable future. And to add to it all, seeing your bank balance run dry (again) and a liquidity does not entail a feel good factor.

On another note, this week the media has actively taken up the issue of Modi v. Tharoor and the associated heads that are going to roll with it. Well, I was personally dissappointed with the treatment meted out to Mr. Tharoor . I personally have a lot of admiration for his eloquence and his mastery over his subject matter , though the poor chap is a bit of a misfit in politics. He should have read the writing on the wall when he failed to make it to the Secretary General's post. He is the quintissential 'Keeda' (a term of respect in our circle to describe a person who always is prone to land into trouble). While he is happy tweeting away to glory, another technocrat, who was appoined along with him is busy entrenching himself in the complex world of finding yet another unique ID for the indian citizen. In conferences and seminars, he is seen with his ex-colleagues and I refuse to believe that he is not being informed of major projects at Infy. To me (strictly my personal opinion), Lalit Modi, Shahi Tharoor and Nandan Nilekani represent the coloqial concoction of bringing technocrats to manage projects of national importance (yes, I would definitely give that importance to IPL). Mr. Modi was assigned the task of making IPL into a global brand, Mr. Nilekani was to use his expertise in IT to make UID a functioning reality and Mr. Tharoor was to use his networking to push india's case for permanent seat on UN Security Council. It is, but human, that each of the three, essentially never being public servants, would try to derive some personal benefit through their offices. Would you expect Mr. Nilekani to close his eyes when infosys, a company that he has founded and nurtured, presents its bid in the project? Or wouldnt it be natural for Mr. Nilekani to create regulations/systems that may favour infosys? But, as long as the deed is done well, I guess the Indian public would never mind. But, Nilekani gets away only because he is smart enough not to tweet ...

I wonder why do we find ourselves amidst these battles? Is is ambition, lust for success or mere means to survival? We do not have the answer to this question and hope we never will, caus' looking for the answer itself drives us forward to the next level.

chalte raho, ladte raho.....till next time

Here I am

My maiden post on A_L's blog has been long overdue and I have been wanting to write it since the time I finally decided to quit waffling about how my life should be and actually did set it into motion. The reasons for not having been able to do were myriad (though i would want to believe it to be"in the burdensome life of your own setup, who has the time for blogging"!!!), but a recent soul-searching trip gave me the final impetus to move my *** and make it a reality. And that precisely was the reason behind the creation of the idea called A-L.

As i resolve not to sink back into the "comfortable" feeling of "cribbing", I am excited about the challenging possibilities that lay ahead of us. Life, as it is said, is not about destination, but about the experiences of the journey leading to the destination.

Till the next post, keep walking!!!!

Nostalgic!!!

Last 24 hours have been a small speck of the phenomenon that is life. The close of our day yesterday brought the sad news of demise of our beloved Anjana Ma'am, the Principal of the Law college most of our members went to! Demise, especially of the ones you care about or who care about you brings a rush of nostalgia, thereby creating a feeling that a part of who you are has gone amiss. I really cannot find words to describe the respect we had for her or her motherly touch in any and every interaction I have ever had with her and the AIL alumni in our team would agree to it. The last time I met her, I was still a greenhorn in this profession and I told her that I want to create a setup on my own one day. She was very happy to hear of my intent and had nothing but confidence in my aims. (though, I forced her to promise me a position in the college if it did not work out). I so wish that we could have been able to meet her again and tell her about our plunge in the mean bad world, from which she had done her bit to protect us. I could walk into her office anytime and come out with a constructive result (more often than not after enjoying a cuppa), a relation I have not shared with anyone before or after those days. She rued the fact that for all the bright ideas and initiatives, I did not apply my mind to get some papers published! For a wonderful person and a good administrator, this student of hers has nothing, but gratitude!

After an early start to the day, a hearing and marathon meetings, we found ourselves amidst an annual day celebration for which we were invited as guests by one of our clients. The whole event, passed on another bout of nostalgic feeling of the days when I was a part of the performers or the organizers!! I did mention to our host, the top boss of that institution, that the final performance is the relatively easier part..It is the preparation that is scary when every mistake is pointed out. I remember the instance when I had to play the part of a fallen soldier. I simply could not do it and it came to the notice of our Principal, who decided to take the matter in his own hands. So, one day, a couple of days before the performance, he caught me in a dead tired condition after a gruesome basketball practice session and asked me to enact my part..So tired was I sounding, that he told me that this was exactly how he wanted me to sound for the final performance!!! Then there was another time, when I was playing the part of Nehru and had to read out the tryst with destiny speech. Had to mug the whole speech up only to later see on television that Chacha Nehru had himself read out the thing!!! Now that was cruel... ;)

To add to it all, a major major difference of opinion with my Partner, which did its bit to raise the temperatures of Delhi, albeit marginally (may be we can offer our services to GMR now, albeit for the role of clearing the weather in winters). The impact of these events has left a tired mind, which is all set to hit the hay and letting the thoughts to rest till another day!!!

Cheers and drive carefully...Its crazy out there..

The Idiot and the Rocket!!

Though movie reviews is definitely not our area, but 3 idiots and Rocket Singh struck a chord somewhere and have been an object of immense discussion and ripping apart (yes, that's what lawyers do in their free time, though only the subject matter is different in what they do in their 'fee time'). All the bonhomie did prompt me to add to our blog.

Nearly everyone I know has given the highest possible review to '3 idiots' which , as Sagarika Ghosh rightly puts in her blog is a tad of a sacred ritual (check out http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/sagarikaghose/223/54036/from-three-idiots-to-a-nation-of-idiots.html ) . The multi starrer flick, without any doubts has generated brilliant reviews from all ends and we end up ga-gaing over movies like this because somewhere, we all draw similarities. Hereinafter I speak solely for myself. Born in a Bihari family I know what pre-determined profession means (i.e. at birth, it is decided whether you are charted to be doctor or engineer). I can recall the days when we would use fire extinguisher for showers in hostel, I definitely know at least a couple of guys who would fit the role of Rancho and yes, have definitely heard of students going suicidal because of the pressure and expectations. But, partially agreeing to what sagarika comments in her blog, we really cannot afford to take actual lessons in real life. I have come across a fair share of 'rattu totaas', and I for one, have nothing but utmost respect for them since I could never be one myself . The sheer application of mind that goes behind in mugging up theorems , case laws, citations, definitions and latin dictums (as the case may be) in itself is a herculean task and a unique type of brilliance is associated with it. Sometimes, it does not matter that you cannot comprehend what application the dictum that you are mugging up has in your daily life but the sheer ability to apply your mind for hours and days and weeks at stretch to mug it up, is a step in character building . I fail to understand that while we go about denouncing 'rattu totaas' in college and school, we will shell out huge premiums for marketing/finance 'whizkids' who come up with umpteen quantum of BS just to sell their products without even knowing for themselves what is written between the lines. These are the 'bad products' of the education system. If anyone from academic circle is reading this piece, he/she may recall a bunch of students who would pre-empt what the lecturer is about to speak just to show off to rest of the class that the brains in the classroom rest exclusive with him. He will graduate with above average marks, pick up a marketing oriented or job that promises you the moon and sell you house loans at steep rates or get you to invest your hard earned money in finance products that are going to crash sooner or later. Find and sort this rot out.

Life after school is a different story altogether. We work with loads of small businesses and startups and get a first hand view of what entrepreneurship today is all about. Will give you a briefer. Entrepreneurship of the 80s constituted people fighting restrictive government policies to establish their businesses. Entrepreneurship of the 90s was a bunch of guys making it big after getting free from the maze of rules and regulations and the last decade was the decade of the latter making it really big on the world stage and being counted on a bunch of who's who magazines. But, somewhere something went horribly wrong, especially for those of our generation. In the name of organised working and bigger margins, departmentalisation came along and companies went about creating assembly lines in the name of specialization. Call centre/BPO culture picked up and was strictly implemented cauz' thats how money was to be made. Seeing the quantum of output generated from the employees by these BPOs, other industries followed suit to adopt such cultures. If a part of the assembly line wanted to reach out and create its own way of working , it was crushed in the name of the bigger cause. Every boss went around with the punchline, there is no such thing as 'I' and you better remove it from your dictionary, cause there is only one word, and that is 'we' (what he meant was there is only one word 'me'). Individualism was again treated as a misnomer and these companies went about with an sole intent of increasing their margins while sorely losing out on the values on which they were set up. The Google way of thinking was not encouraged, rather Google would have never survived if it operated with its base in India. I have friends working for some of the biggest brands in the industry and they are all frustrated due to limitation of horizon. The only thing that holds them back is the fat paycheck at the beginning of the month. Truckloads of paper is wasted on theories on attrition. Narayan Murthis and premjis, etc, have become legends for our generation but the fact of the matter is , can a fresher joining Infy have the hope of becoming the next Narayan Murti?? Taj staff on 26/11 showed what brand loyalty is. Can HCL/Wipro even dream of cultures where their employees can risk their lives for the customers??? As a matter of fact, most HR people admit that when they hire 20o guys, they expect just 20 to stay on. The next decade will be the decade of entrepreneurs like us breaking away from these cultures and trying to set up their own identities or companies, being hit by reality, bringing radical shift in their internal structures to accommodate innovation. India is a country of young people and the 00's need to understand that the new India will NOT acquiesce to such rent seeking. 'Live and Let Live' shall be replaced by 'Grow and let grow', and Rocket Singh showed just that!!

Cheers and a happy new year

Atten' Hun''! General on the deck..

So, finally the co creator of the idea that is A-L has taken a plunge and joined us full time. Well, to celebrate we went for a late evening show of 'Rocket Singh' and both agreed that we could relate to the movie! Apart from the innumerable similarities, the movie has its description of the egoist boss and both of us dread and hope that we do not turn into the neanderthal devil shown in the movie (and experienced by us in real life)..


Surbhi's professional profile can be viewed in any of the different profiles that are in circulation (would be glad to send u a copy) but there are some interesting facts which I should share with our friends. The first time I worked with her was as her starry eyed researcher (student version of junior) in a moot court competition down south nearly seven years ago. I remember that while getting on the train, my father asked me to obey her, since she was the senior (then and now, I do beg to differ)!!! As time has flied since that experience, we do agree that we could have never imagined going about starting our little venture and sharing a common ideal. Her decision to take the plunge was in the offing since quite a while, but as she says, what attracted her to this setup was pure jealousy in seeing me have all the fun.

We hope that we take this setup and the A-L idea to great hieghts.

Watching the moon rise!!

It has become rare for me to take out time to indulge in no-destination travel by road i.e. a travel experience in which you know where u r headed only when the car starts. At least had not done so since college days when me and my buddies did some very interesting journeys. But, as time moved on, stuff happened, we got stuck in heavy schedules and we started running out of time! Last weekend, a concoction of a need for a break and a desire to get out of delhi took me back to mountains of Uttarakhand, where I really do feel @ home..Of course, to give me company were two strangers (till then) and a buddy from initial years of college, who i hadn't quite met since a long time. To add to the experience was the fact that at the start of my journey, I did not seem to have much in common with my new found travel compatriots except the journey and the destination and the umpteen desire to chill out. Even our professions were not remotely connected, they being from the shipping industry, and I cannot anticipate if I would ever deal professionally with any of these guys. As our journey consumed enormous quantities of highway, which i admit was very difficult to digest, I realised that they were not strangers but, reflections of some of my closest friends. The fact of them being from different industries or following completely different music, different sports and different treatment of journey time just brought in a new dimension to my experiences. For most part of my education, I have been in company of people from similar backgrounds or pursuing similar objectives. In the profession of my choosing, I met more and more people from diverse backgrounds, but more on a professional front. I have made acquaintances in my journeys, but this was different from all my earlier experiences.

As I sat with my travel compatriots, watching in amazement how beautiful the moon looks when it is rising in the horizon early in the evening, I realized that life has a lot more surprises to throw. Some in the form of experiences and some in the form of challenges. But, the day one closes his mind to experiment new things, is the day he ceases to be a student of life and becomes a sceptic. When we first spotted the bright orange glow of the full moon across the mountains, we first thought that it was a forest fire. At its outset, not in the wildest of our dreams could we have foreseen that it would be so spectacular.

To wake up early in morning to capture the sunrise was indeed chilling , but except the will power that it needed to wake up so early in the morning in sub zero temperature, the joy of watching the valleys of Jageshwar covered with cloud from a mountain top at the dawn of the day, was second only to what we saw last evening. My second driving experience in the mountains is getting me to be more confident and may I am ready for the journey to leh by road. What I take back from this journey is a desire to study more and this time, amidst people from varying backgrounds. Maybe, I will go to a B school. Maybe, we at A-L will create academic programmes during ther experiences with us. How and when this happens, is an answer only time can tell.

Charity begins @ home

At A-L, we have been hard selling our climate change practice area and project ourself in a niche position to handle projects on carbon mitigation advisory and documentations. It is not just that we are quite passionate about it. Our environment friendly practices encouraging transactions (example: avoiding printouts of emails and first drafts), use double sided prints, where possible, raising digitally signed memos (i think we are unique in that aspect), to use and encourage our clients to use and avoid cheques where convenient and use online banking solutions (including recommending banks offering strong online solutions, using public transport (NOIDA's new Metro) for single transaction field work, whenever possible and some sporadic activism oriented streaks to save the environment. Of course, apart from the latter, these actions also translate into low overheads enabling us to provide low cost solutions. (please note that accepting practice of vegetarianism is still beyond our abilities especially in lieu of the quantity we gulped down @ karim's)

But, occasionally we get ourselves involved in sporadic activism, and encounter interesting views, reactions and uncalled for publicity. One event that has transpired recently is my taking of cudgels against senseless cutting of trees in neighbourhood, all in the name of pruning. Now, in this instance, I did leave my cloak and coat behaviour and got involved in what can be termed as a streetfight, all in noble cause of saving a tree, which had been handed capital punishment by a fellow neighbour for the offence of blocking sunlight from his kitchen garden. Now being witness to such ghastly activity, I, as per procedure, ought to go back, file a written complaint and await for a committee decision to bar the gentleman from cutting the trees. But, seeing the ghastly action in front of my eyes, took the short-cut and gave the worker and his 'employer' a piece of my mind coupled with what can, at best be termed as a 'push that resulted in a shove'. Of course a complaint was made to local committee heads, followed by what can be termed as humorous exchange of words in writing and a due acknowledgement of me being a lawyer (my partner calls it free publicity).

Well, the lack of understanding on basic community issues of joint ownership and rights over common property , including trees does not sadden me as much as the thought of viewing trees as a hindrance to good living. Yesterday, we were roaming around in the streets of Jama Masjid's mini market and amidst the messy traffic and bakr-id preparations (we were surrounded by goats for a mile), I was amazed by the sight of a huge banyan tree bang in middle of the chandni chowk mess. The tree was supporting a 'shrine' near its roots, a barbershop at its front, a pan shop, several boards (including those of musclemen), yet stood on its own encumbering these aberrations in its ambit. This tree was indeed an institution. Trust me, it would have blocked sunlight for several houses, yet was untouched because somewhere, someone did what it takes to allow it to just grow old and become a landmark in middle of goat mess. Though, I hope that the tree which we managed to save does not grow to entertain shops as mentioned above. Now, food for thought is not what we can do to change the attitude of viewing trees as enemy. I just hope I do not have to adopt vegetarianism. But if thats what it takes, thats what it will get.

Cheated!!

Honest Abe once made a comment on legal profession that probably every law student has heard at the beginning of his (extraordinarily) long student life. It has something to do with it being the route to highest office in the land! Well, in my brief career, I have experienced instances that support this view. You will not believe how far the black coat and white shirt can take y0u without security verification! And more often than not, there is an inherent change in mannerisms.

But Friday was different. I had to bribe a peon, a receptionist and a senior bureaucrat! All for a procedural compliance which was rightfully mine. At the end of the whole thing, such was the level of my frustration that when the parking attendant of the department told me that I needed to park my car at the adjacent parking lot or else he would be fined 200 bucks, I nearly offered him a couple of gandhis!My partner told me that this gross ineptitude should be indulged only if I am sitting in a merc and not from my poor li'l small car! During the whole process, I had a 100 rupee note in my front pocket, a 500 rupee note in my inner pocket, a couple of 500 rupee notes in my side pocket and so on....all, as part of my preparation to face the devil's department. Its not that I have bribed a lowly clerk for the first time, but in this instance, I found myself in a government department where almost everyone was nice to you for a price.People wanted their own 'fees', they wanted fees for others! I would not have been surprised if they had not charged me for my services as well.

Now, government processes are something like tatkal services. You always have the option of going by the regular process! But to cut short time, you always have the option of oiling the system to get the desired result in good time. I personally do not like that, but, can't wash away my guilt! You will be surprised to know that my experience of bribing the whole department came in an office where everything is timebound! I plead guilty of playing a part in going along with the system of corruption, when I feel so strongly against it! My former boss taught me that when entering your office, one should throw morality out of window, and I did exactly that! And I have that sinking feeling.

Yesterday was Indira gandhi's 25th death anniversary. I am told that I was born when the country was burning due to riots after her death. The elders often recount how those were troubled times and it was only with a lot of difficulty that some of my family members could pay me a visit. Now, I really have no opinion on Indira, but live through this legacy of extreme corruption at all ranks, which I have reasons to believe, are a result of her legacy. This might be uncalled for, but i wonder what will it take to get out of this mess. Another Indira or for us to change??

Patna hille la!!!

Visiting my home state has never failed to amaze me. Having spent time in the whole of this country, I can safely say that Bihar is indeed the most politically conscious state in India. Everybody is blessed with an opinion on what is wrong with the state and and its polity and no one fears to express it. Using the visit to take care of some family and professional obligations, as usual, this visit entailed meeting some really interesting people, and of course hearing what they had to say. In fact, in Bihar, all you need to survive and get familiarised is having a political opinion. It doesn't matter what opinion you have, i.e. no one will love you or hate you for being a a leftist, rightist, anarchist or secularist(i hope that is a recognised term). All you need to be accepted en masse is the ability to make public your opinion. And you will definitely get a stage. In a family get together, any greetings have to be followed by a conversation on what was the newspaper headlines. No even is spared to discuss politics, whether they be marriages, post funeral rituals (occasionally funerals too) or any event in which members of the joint family are meeting. There is a new found pride in Patna's new roads, improved law and order and of course, attribution of lack of the same to the poster boy of bihar politics. Everyone seems to be in anticipation of the next congress government in the centre with Rahul Gandhi at its helm. I came across theories pertaining to Rahul Gandhi's mistress in sweden and the factum of his having two kids. I came across theories which state hotels as the most powerful institutions having impact on policies because they have sleaze videos on every politician!!! Journalists are considered the new power brokers and any deal involving state machinery has to involve journalists. Some of them are so hilarious that you would need a crash course in controlling laughter lest you offend someone or his views. If time is not of the essence, these discussions find their way into professional meetings.

What amazes me further is that all this consciousness does not translate into development. Somehow, there is a dire need to change the attitude of arm chair philosophy and pseudo-intellectualism. Anyways, A-L's new Bihar venture hopes to play some positive and constructive role! Wish us luck!

Mc Mohan line, patrols and growing up in Arunanchal!!

McMohan line a.k.a. Line of actual control is the alignment of the Himalayan foothills constituting effective boundary between China and India (although its legal status is disputed). It owes its origin and definiton to the Simla Accord of 1914, which is rejected by the Chinese regime, and as wikepedia tells us, even by the current British government, which released a statement to that effect in 2008 practically negating the essence of the agreement.

The official maps and surveys released and adopted by Indian government, which we read and mugged up in our schooldays reflect the Mc Mohan line as the international border. Of course, across the border, our chinese compatriots have grown up believing the same to be illegal and recognise our Arunachal Pradesh as southern tibet and i respect the fact that their views on the same would be as strong as anyone else this side of the border. Anyways, my purpose of writing this blog is not to carry out a thesis, but to reproduce an anecdote which I heard from a veteran who has served extensively on that 'border'. It is surprising that despite our chauvinism, most of the areas adjoining Mc Mohan line on the Indian side are mostly inaccessible. The foward posts of Assam Rifles, are also 25-30 KM away from the LAC. This gentleman served a tenure of 3 yrs there around 20 years after the 62' war. On one routine patrol, one of his initial ones, he came across remains of Indian soldiers who had perished in that battle. What surprised him was that his troops, who knew the area better, were aware of these remains and were content to relegate the existence of the same as folklore. He organised a burial of these remains(cremation would have required reseources, which his regiment may not have been keen to spare). He recounted another instance where they recovered a chinese military equipment, which was proudly brought back to the regiment as a trophy! It was a PLA marked volleyball, which the patrol found floating on a stream, which poor chinese fellas must have lost courtesy a bad shot. Of course, the volleyball provided the patrol with a welcome break and a quick game!

In all the noise that media has been making in the recent past about chinese incursions, maybe, it would not be out of place for some of them to actually go to those areas, a.k.a. Barkha dutt in kargil war, and try to figure out as to how exactly can we detect whether the chinese have been undertaking incursions or not. Instead of making comparisons on number of jets and tanks, we ought to study if the connectitivity has improved since 62'. They did capture Tawang in 1962 war and drove out the Indian administrative machinery from Assam, a fact which, is used by ULFA elements as a propoganda tool balming India and Indians to be deserters. Of course, since their sole intention was to teach indians a lesson, the Chinese withdrew. I have had the priviledge to have spent a considerable partof my childhood there and can remember the emotions, a mix of fear and hatred, which the name "China" evoked! I did some of my schooling in an area, which during 62' war, had been taken over by the Chinese. In fact, our games used to be called 'India-China' where China was the eternal enemy, which I recognised much before knowing about what pakistan was.

Despite the humiliation, most of the disputed territories remain inaccessible. Till date, most of the bridges are temporary constructions and can hardly transport heavy equipment. I remember having to get off the vehicles because the bridge could not support a maruti with people inside. We can go on and on on military ill-preparedness to fight a battle, but the enimity has created its own share of hawks this side of border, which does include me. I rememeber a relative telling me about the collection drive during the 62'war, when people in my maternal village in Bihar gave away their entire jewelleries and assets to the govt to raise funds for the army. I dont doubt that when needed, the country will rise up again, but I do doubt the credibility and vision of the political and babu class, which grossly underestimates the china factor, till date and forever, thereby really creating a doubt as to on whose payroll they actually are.

Human will!!

There is this movie which i must have seen at least 5 times!! It goes by the name of "Forrest Gump. I dont like it for the acting, but for the idea that if a man puts his mind to it, he can achieve anynthing! Now, after a working weekend and some deadlines met and waiting for yet another working weekend, today was one of the lighter business days at A-L! For me, it started with getting a regular update from rediff. They were running a feature on the real heoes and had a write up on Flight Lt. MP Anil Kumar. Now, here was a name whose name I could instantly recognise because he writes regulary on strategic and defence affairs and I have always liked his style of writing for the simple reason that he knows how to keep it simple, unlike most other writers of his cadre. The article carried a mini biography and started with the fact that he has been paralysed below his neck since the age of 24 due to an accident. Now, that was an aspect which I never knew. I read and re-read the article and was simply overawed! Its not just the aspect of him working with a disability (i hate this word, but my limited vocab didnt give me alternative), but the idea of completely re-orienting himself at the age of 24. Now, I may not be able to relate to him, but I can try to imagine the passion in him of flying a jet and a realisation that he could not do it anymore! Re-orienting himself to have such a good command over his subject matter is something thats truly inspirational. The article does not tell us much on that front, but it sure had its impact. Any ways, i decided to send him a mail ! I got a prompt reply which I will reproduce

" My dear Kaustubh,



Many, many thanks for your mail and the generous words. Please convey my regards to your folks. I hope life at your end is cruising on an even keel.
Cheers ............... MP"


Now, at A-L, we sure have our fair share of problems! But, at the root of the problems is the difficulty we face in re-adjusting or rather re-orienting from finely tuned life in earlier assignments ("processes")! But, it ain't impossible is it?? Thanks MP, you are truly our hero! And yes sir, now life definitely seems to be cruising on even keel!

till nxt time!

Office Infrastructure

When A-L was being conceptualized, we knew one thing!! we needed office and we needed infrastructure....now, a question which is second only to 'what is it that a girl really wants???' ! what all do we need to make make a room into a functional office.... i will not venture into the issue of room cauz' that is a tricky question which has consumed my life savings :) so, here it goes...tables , boss chair , other chairs, lappy, printer, racks, ac, file storage, stationary , stationary backup, BOOKS (and a lot of them) and yet it does not feel enough!! need something to hide the seepage creeping into wall (damn the 2nd floor waala)!! I wonder what is amiss..

yeah...have recieved suggestions for better table, a full time clerk..maybe we also need full time accountant!!! have been trained to live without a paralegal, so, that is a distant need!! and if i employ one of the latter, then will have to forgo my own income! so, we outsource the admin support!! But, i would luv to offer my clients a cuppa tea...and considering that I would be charging a time rated fee for the conference, they may not appreciate it if i leave them in office to go and brew a cuppa...my dad had a suggestion! he said i should emply one of the washermen's kids!! now i dont want to indulge in child labour, do I?? and considering this is NOIDA, really dont want to emply someone who i do not know (am still to recover from the shock of a stolen camera 10 yrs bak)!! Anyways, leaving tht aside, i need a better database! though a lot of stuff is available on net, but one has to pay through nose fr it!

U know what, i really need a 'Jinny'! what an idea, i should just rub the lamp, and whatever i need can be here. Now thats what is really called wishful thinking (or maybe the base of an entrpreneur idea, if anyone is listenin!) As far as tea is concerned, if u r visintin my office, dont be surprised if the tea is already ready! and Plz dont criticise it!

project report!!!!

Note: names of clients or details of projects are not being disclosed for confidentiality reasons!


These days, A-L is busy acting as project consultant to some dev. sec organisations bidding for international grants!! Of course, A-L is involved right from conceptualising the project after getting the broad framwork from the client and creating and collating the documentations. These projects are distant cousins of large, capital intensive infrastructure/other projects where project finance divisions of law firms take care of the documentation aspects! Largely, big NGOs have being doing this on their own but, it is a niche market that A-L wants to break into. The biggest problem which I am facing rt. now is evolving a constant/fixed fee structure for such projects! Now, I cannot say that fee will be chargeable as a commission on succesful reciept of grants (or approval) because that would risk voilating my Bar Council rules. Alternatively, placing a time rated fee schedule to the client will not be suitable as my targfet segment are unlikely to have the capacity to commit funds on projects that they do not have! So, trying to figure out a mutually convenient solution...So, as of rt now, A-L is taking it forward project by project! but hopefully, a stable structure will be put in place soon. Of course, that is subject to ideas!!!

Anyways, the woods are dark and deep, and A-L has deadlines to meet, and I got tonnes to write before I sleep ..........

My li'l project, processes and more

Disclaimer: This is not an attempt to advertise my setup. For that, you should visit http://www.adhritlegal.in/. Of course, as of now, you will be greeted by what seems to be my eternal status : 'Page Under construction'.

I have always wanted to mantain a blog. Primarily, its because I end up having an opinion on almost everything! During my student days, my buddies bore the brunt (earning me my nickname 'poruu'! During the initial years in professional life, my office colleagues got their share of piece of my mind (even my boss, who did seem to have some patience). Now, as I spend hours of solitude in my small cabin, with inteaction with outside world strictly on professional matters, I thought that this is the right place to vent out my views.. I want to speak about a lot of things. About the problems I face in day to day operations of my setup, about dealing with munshis and babus, about the nautanki that is the austerity drive, about how I feel that we will fight a war with china sooner or later, about INS arihant, about sources of professional gossips and infos, about the books that I want to buy for my setup, about my eternal need to get out of Delhi, etc, etc. So, friends, romans and countrymen, lend me your ears.

I realise that I am not bound by a process any more. Job, or committed association with any firm, is being part of a process that someone has worked very hard to create! It is a process tuned for generating max revenue for what is invested on you! Of course, as u rise, u shape the process as per your requirement or the requirements of your organisation. A 930-730 commitment is a major component of that process and efficiency and success of the process is dependent on your availability for the same. But, the question that I asked myself repeatedly is whether is it possible to create a process where the stakeholders (clients, associates, admin) have the flexibility of creating their own sub-processes which you direct? And all this without losing control or direction of process.. Is it possible to have worktimings of your convenience without missing the deadlines? Is it possible to work as a team, while enjoying an occassional break from the team? What does it take to create a new process and can a succeful process be replicated? I have read about these things, but now, will find the answers by creating my own process. Of course, will try to update you with my new discoveries and realisations and will hope that if you are reading this, you would like to place a comment............

till nxt tme!