Dammam Chronicles

"Warning - Death to Drug traffickers" stares at you grimly from the immigration form in Dammam. That's enough to make you swallow and gawp at your bags suspiciously. 

It's 2012. I have been to the Gulf before, but this is my first trip to Saudi Arabia. In the airport it's apparent there is no tourist traffic here, mostly folks returning to work. Once we step outside, the next thing that strikes one is the traditional Arab attire worn by men - the tope. It brings a smile to my face as I remember my Tintin comics. 

In Saudi Arabia, The landscape is typically desert - barren, stark, endless and hypnotic. The sun is brighter, the glare is more blinding here, the scorching heat makes it impossible to venture out in the daytime. One salutes the resilience of the ancient desert tribes who survived the inhospitable conditions to build a civilization. In the distance one can see shaggy black camels in the desert. That's quite a sight and brings back childhood memories of the Arabian nights.  

Outside, a dust storm is brewing, much to my delight. If the days are a furnace, the nights freeze up - typical desert climate that. 

I brush up my fact file on Saudi Arabia. A population of 27 million and 8 million expatriates inhabit this oil rich kingdom. With it's wealth, its little wonder the kingdom is one of the most influential countries in this part of the world.

There is no dearth of space in this region and one revels in the feeling of expansiveness. The infrastructure is impressive - very much like the west : wide roads and high speed highways - in the city and in the middle of the desert. The city is very well maintained with beautiful villas and manicured greenery and  a feel of the desert is always in the air. 

The hotel is situated in a compound and this particular one is for men only. The compounds are highly secure and well fortified.  It has everything - swimming pools, tennis courts, gymnasium, roads, the works. Laundry and 3 meals a day  is included in the tariff. The  dining room has an incredibly lavish spread. Very thoughtfully, the hotel packs in lunch for guests who go to work. There are no movie theaters in this country, but cable TV carries everything under the sun. Public transport does not seem to exist where we are, but the network of private taxis is very efficient and makes commuting very comfortable.

A visit to this part of the world always comes with stern do's and dont's from seasoned travelers. The list is long. And terrifying - Don't carry religious symbols, Don't venture out alone or carry too much cash with you, Don't wear gold - it's not allowed, No shorts or revealing clothes in public, avoid being out during prayer hours, Be careful of photography in public places, carry your passport all the time, Don't stare at women, even if all you get to see is the whites of the eyes. As detailed a travel advisory as you can hope to find. I honestly don't know how many of the above are true and I am not about to push my luck. The Muttawa (Religious police) monitors the strict standards in dress and behavior in this ultraconservative country and violations can land one behind bars.  

The roads are deserted, one wonders where the citizens are. I get my answers during a visit to a mall during the weekend. The place is packed. There are thousands of people milling around, possibly millions. it looks like Inorbit mall meets Churchgate station at 6 pm on a Monday evening. A rising shriek in the crowd makes us look up in alarm. what looks like a riot turns out to be a makeshift parade of sorts with the mob jabbering away excitedly. The sheer numbers, the cacaphony and the colorful robes on display makes the sight quite scary. We inch back cautiously towards the wall. This is unlike any mall I've ever seen in my life.

As I wrap up my 2 weeks here, I can't help but wonder how different the world is from one corner of the globe to another. Will the east and west ever really meet?

A Date with the Grand Canyon

  

A lone tree stands tall in the Mojave Desert

The summer of 2009 was among my most memorable ever. A trip to the US, night outs of bone jarring raw hard work and a spectacular adventure called the Grand Canyon. Stationed out of Santa Ana, California, after 6 weeks of continuous work and doggone weary and sleep deprived, I finally get a weekend off. Given a choice between Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, I easily opt for the latter. There is something about the wilds that gives peace to the soul. From Santa Ana to the Grand Canyon's south rim in Arizona is somewhere near about 400 miles and almost 9 hours of drive. Most of the ride is through the Mojave Desert. The roads are smooth and the desert ride is delightful. Nowhere in the world can one feel the taste of freedom as you do in the USA. You can just take off in a rented car and traverse for hundreds of miles, living in lonely motels in middle of nowhere and stuff yourself on a healthy diet of French fries, burgers and coke. You also get to spend quality time with yourself...To me, that is living a dream. 

The Mystique of the Canyon

I read up on the Grand Canyon. The canyon has been carved by the Colorado River a lot many years back. Maybe a million. And boy what a carving. 10 miles wide and a couple of miles deep in the ground and a few hundred miles in length. Its late afternoon by the time we check in at a hotel a few miles away from the Canyon. There is an awesome I-MAX theater that plays a 30 minute clip on the history of the Grand Canyon. It's a story of the early pioneers who dared to explore the canyon. The movie is wistful and very lifelike on the gigantic I-Max screens.

The trip to the rim of the canyon is filled with woods. We park the car and take off in a bus to various points overlooking the canyon. The view across the Grand Canyon is staggering. The sheer vastness and scale is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Miles and miles of jagged mountain peaks and valleys. The sun hits the Canyon Mountains and sends showers of dazzling rays of red, brown and gold. I am mesmerized. We go from one point to another soaking in the sight. Late in the evening, we watch the sun setting in the canyon. As the sun sinks beyond the peaks, the skies are washed with gold and smoke. I close my eyes and utter a prayer. This is the closest I've come to seeing god. I sit alone with my thoughts for a long time.

The Hiking Trail in the Canyon

Next day, we set off for a 5 km trek into the Grand Canyon. The trail is well laid out and the walk down the canyon is a song. If the view from the top was spectacular, hiking inside the canyon is something else. The air is still, it's warm and the views close up of the ridges and valleys in the canyon is awesome. It's spread miles and miles. A lone eagle glides in low and silently from the sky. It's evident we are in middle of a once in a lifetime experience. Immersed in the magic, we walk on at least a mile and a half beyond the original plan. Soon, there is not a soul in sight. We are in the wilds. No phone signals. No shade. No emergency services. No Nothing. One can glimpse the Colorado River far below. We decide not to push our luck further and turn back. Within 5 minutes, I realize we are in trouble. Walking down is one thing. Climbing back is entirely something else. The air is thin and one runs out of breath in less than 5 minutes. The climb back is an endurance test and full of pit stops. We have run out of water long back. Finally 5 hours after we started, we are back up where we started. As I double over gasping for air, a sign stares at me - Do not underestimate the Grand Canyon!!  Sigh, I’ve never learned to read signs in time.

The trip back to Santa Ana is nice and uneventful. I am tired, happy and completely tanned brick red from the Arizona sun. With the fresh memory that brings a smile on the face and a song on the lips, I am ready for yet another day...

A Glimpse of the Colorado River

A hike to Cedar Ridge

Mules !!!

Quite a distance from South Rim

The Magic of the sunset at the Canyon

An Autumn in Tokyo

August 2011. My weary destiny takes me to Tokyo. Japan and Far East has never really  been on my radar and yet, here I am. After stepping out of the Haneda Airport, we board the airport bus to the city. The bus handlers bow reverently every time the bus leaves the terminus. That's my first impression of the famed Japanese work ethic. The trip to the city gives us a feel of the country. The countryside is lush and beautiful. There is a light rain as we enter the high speed freeway. The ride is as smooth as silk. The hotel in Kudanshita is cub-sized. There are no cupboards and clothes are hung on the wall. It's very neat and comfortable though.

Flyover over water

In the night, I quickly Google up the history of Japan. Japan was a developed nation as early as the 18th Century. This is one country which has never been subjugated in its hundreds of years of history (except in World War II). It's a proud race who clearly sees and conducts itself as second to none. The history is filled with warlords and shogunate and the stories of the samurai makes fascinating reading. For a couple of hundred years, the Japanese quarantined themselves from the rest of the world till the Americans forced them to open up to the world with a naval blockade.

Tokyo is a lovely city. Space is a premium here and one does not see the normally sprawling campuses of corporations. Parking space is very expensive and most citizens prefer travelling by public transport. The city has superb infrastructure. There is a network of flyovers which just go and on over the city. These seamlessly melt into individual roads below. I am suitably impressed. There is also a maze of underground metro. The space is so well optimized that one can easily miss a metro station. This is also one of the safest cities in the world and crime is virtually non existent. Moreover, the people on the streets are polite and quiet and one feels comfortable strolling around at all hours. This is also probably one of the cleanest places on the planet.

Looks real :)

The number of food joints in Tokyo are unbelievable. The menu along with an exact plastic replica of all dishes are displayed outside on the street. Language is problem here and we can't understand either the menu card or the waitress. We finally figure out by dragging the waitress outside and pointing to the plastic replicas outside. As for the local populace, I don't recall seeing so many pretty girls in a single city anywhere. The skin is flawless and the dress sense exquisite. The guys are tall and everyone seems to wear white shirts and black trousers. The weather is too warm for suits. It's amazing how slim the Japanese are. It must be a combination of genes and noodles I guess.

While the average Japanese on the street is very polite, working with them is a different ballgame altogether. The velvet gloves come off revealing an iron fist. The focus on planning is extraordinary. The Japanese go into the minutest of details. No wonder these guys come up with the most reliable products the world has seen. There is also a clear work place hierarchy here. Decision making is group activity and never an instant process. The culture also appears to force people into long hours. A Japanese I met remarks wryly "It doesn't seem to matter what you deliver, but how long hours you keep". It's a culture of conformation. A homogeneous race and work ethics entrenched from the womb is what helps Japan work as a team and maintain supreme levels of efficiency.

Outside the Imperial Palace

Our hotel is quite close to the Imperial Palace, which must be at least 1000 years old. The palace is a picture of serenity and surrounded by a lake. There is a paved track along the periphery which must be at least 5 kilometers in diameter. The walkway is paved with lush green trees which makes it one of the most beautiful walking tracks I have ever seen. There are scores of joggers pounding away. Whatever little time we get, we go for long walks.

Two weeks later we are on our way back home bidding Sayonara to Tokyo and with a brand new set of memories. This was one helluva trip. Another city traversed...A thousand still remain.

My tryst with my first batch of CRM SETs

2005. The year unfurled with 3 new babies making a cautious entry into the SAP world (There were 4 actually, but we shall stick to 3). It was the time when we formally started the SAP CRM practice with induction of these SETS (software Engineer trainees). Being a new technology at the time and no experience within the organization, the goal was to build the technology competency. There we were,

three complete rookies in their first job and me closeted in classroom mode trying to figure out SAP CRM for the next 6 months.

My first CRM SETs was a curious study of contrasting personalities. The oldest of the lot, Sarabjeet Gulati (Sabby) from Punjab, stern, hardworking and focussed was whole of 25 at the time, Julius Pereira, a stylish dude from Goa with a great sense of fun and gloom was 24. The baby of the batch was Sharif Inamdar, from Nagpur and a born charmer was all of 23. The first few days saw sabby quietly dozing off after lunch (till a firing on valentine's day saw him go wide awake for the rest of the days).

The next few months turned out to be amongst the most eventful and delightful time one can ever hope for. Spending 8 hours a day in the classroom, we would touch on every topic under the sun (apart from SAP, that is) - so the discussions went on touching life, marriage, friendships and the like. Between the fun, songs, stories, philosophy, scores of photoshoots, dinners, movies, birthday celebrations (and lots of scoldings) we also learnt SAP CRM at a breakneck speed. The defining moment came on July 26th 2005, the day mumbai went under torrential rains. While the whole company was trapped in the deluge and panicking , the CRM team was busy training at 8 pm till the lights went out :)

All good things eventually come to an end, and from training my SETs moved on to projects steadily honing their skills with time. In the next couple of years, all my three SETS became experts and one by one said goodbye to pursue their destinies in life. Today, Sabby and Julius are in the USA and Sharif left and has since joined back my team. As the years went by, the teams changed and grew, flourished and changed in profile.  But, through time and distance my first SETs will always be my favorites and remembered with a lot of love and warmth for just being themselves and for creating that magic in 2005.



Sarabjeet Singh

Sharif Inamdar and Julius Pereira


 

Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth

Every analyzed how most of us seem to spend the day ? The typical IT geek comes to work at 8.30 am and without further ado gets into the outlook, followed by quick bursts of catching up with yahoo, rediff, Indiatimes whatever. Then it’s a nice little wait till chai time and breakfast and catching up with people. Before any constructive work begins, an hour has already gone by. You are busy settling down on the system and before you realize it, hey, its coffee time and time to catch up with friends on the phone. In between high quality stuff on the computer, mail refreshes are mandatory every few minutes, an art honed to perfection. And no days complete without forwarding nice stuff to about 20 friends. Sound’s familiar? So what, says the geek. “I finish my work on time and do it well too. My boss doesn’t mind either and man, wake up, we are in the 21st Century in a booming market and my skills are worth more than you pay me”.

Oh really ?

Cut back to the year 2000. The dotnet dream had crashed and amidst swanky wheels and heavy EMIs, a typical day at work for many IT professionals was spent looking out anxiously for HR people lurking around with the dreaded pink slip. You can bet forwarding emails and having a nice time was the last

thing on anyone’s minds. Cut back to an earlier generation, when there used to be scarcity of jobs and a flurry of applications for a single opening.

So is there a lesson out here ? Obsoletion and being downgraded comes faster here than probably most industries. What’s hot and happening today can go forever tomorrow. We have had so many ERP consultants in other technologies who’s market values have virtually gone today. Being at the right time at the right place turned into being in the wrong time in a disaster.

In this scenario, the only thing that remains constant and will never let one down is a dedication towards work and a enhanced appetite for knowledge upgradation. No matter what the extraneous factors are, and that includes your boss, your peers, your pay package, your project, the perceived unfairness of the system, one has to be internally driven. In world class organizations, viability of an employee means getting at least 5 times the return on investment on the resource. If you aren’t, better start getting worried. A 12-hour workday wouldn’t probably be enough to meet this benchmark. So, better start thinking twice before wasting your time on trivialities. The ones who are going to last are the ones who continuously set personal benchmarks and strive to deliver value to the organization and oneself, instead of waiting for the organizational diktat’s or checking out whether the boss is watching. Just remember, at the end of the day, one chooses to work in an organization on pre-agreed terms and no matter where you work, the trick is treating your job as the greatest in the world at the moment and treating imperfections that come with it as part of the package. And that is the secret to high creativity and world class deliveries.

Maybe once in way, we all need to learn to thank our stars for the opportunities given and take it on from there.