Saturday, September 8, 2012

One Final Time - My Last Words to Infy


It's been more than a month since I parted ways with Infosys Ltd after a near 3-yr journey and totally unexpectedly, I'm still receiving compliments for the last day mail that I dropped to let the concerned people know about it. Although I planned to dedicate an entire blog post to that topic, elaborating upon the exact reasons behind my decision (which will eventually be published), I would like to share the mail with my almost non existent reader base. So, here it goes : 

For every dream that’s born, There’s a dream that dies
For every Hello you say, there’s a sad goodbye

After having seen the past 2 years and 10 months zoom by in the rearview mirror, here I make an impossible, last-gasp attempt to sum up my journey from e-joining to e-separation, which started on 14th September 2009 and is all set to end today, as I go out seeking a Nitrous boost for my career and “running a marathon” doesn’t exactly feature in my priority list. I’ve got enough material to publish a book and I’m trying my best to keep it short but then, if you have got this mail there would be something you would be interested in reading, so please bear with me, one last time J

Mysore time, as most of you would agree (I know a few who won’t), rates right at the top and its incredibility defies narration. It was the perfect passage from college corridors to the cubicles. Trying to convert the waywardness of a fresh engineering graduate into the mannerisms of a professional in that environment was an experience to be cherished for a lifetime.

Hyderabad was my destination after training and this is where I got to know the inside picture. The words here are too precious to be wasted on the names behind the following incidents so I’d restrict myself to a couple of incidents. When you approach your SPM for a genuine query and he “ misses your mail” once and then promises to “get back to you” after being reminded repeatedly and finally turns a deaf ear for more than 4 months, you do lose trust and respect. The foundation for separation had been laid at that time itself and then when I saw myself at the wrong end of a couple of more logic-defying, random verdicts, the difficult decision of leaving your first company after a good 3 years got easier. At the same time, it gave me inspiration, that when people like THOSE can reach the positions they have now, a lot of us have bright futures. However, glad to have worked under people like Calvin (MS Account) and Mani (BMW account), who were understanding and accommodating enough.

I have always been a sports buff and prior to joining Infosys, I had made the best of friends either on a cricket field or across a chess board and I’m really proud to say that joining Infosys Hyderabad didn’t change that one bit, so here are separate sections dedicated to both the groups:

Infosys Hyderabad Cricket Team: You are the bunch of people who have been my family away from home. The best thing about sportsmen is that they always have mutual respect for each other and gel well with their teammates, irrespective of the talent they have. You guys are true testimony to that. I could completely be myself in your company. The cricket ground is the place where I could shout at someone one day and then forget everything and team up with the same person the next day, as there was a game of cricket to be won! The best thing about this group is that in the past 2.5 years, the entire crop has been replaced and yet the new guys who come in are equally passionate about the game and meet the high standards that had been set previously. I started out as an unknown entity on 4th June, 2010 in iHCL and I ended up as a player for the Organizers’ team for P3L2 on 5th July, 2012. Thanks to you guys that today, whenever I walk to the cricket ground in the evenings, I always find company, be it over a cup of tea, analyzing someone’s game, doing the rounds around the ground or just sitting idle!

Infosys Hyderabad Chess Team: Your unending passion for the game ignited the almost-dead interest in Chess in me and I’m thankful to you for that. I still rem the first day when San.Two (commonly Santosh J) replied to my post on sports BB, where I was trying to find out Chess enthusiasts here. I never knew the association would lead me to the best player award in the Corporate Tournament in 2 years’ time! We started out 2 years ago, when all but 1 of us were unmarried and we used to tease him when he refused to stay back past 7 or 8. Now, I’m glad to say that I’m the only bachelor who survived the tough test of times over the past two years and pull your legs on the same topic. On a serious note, you guys have done a great job for the game here and the ITsAP Title is down to your hard work. Please note that I would be waiting for the trophy post the award function and I’m burdening you with the responsibility of sending it to me J.

A big thanks to Amiteshwar Sir, Jit Sir, Amitabha Sir and Shobana for promoting sports in Hyd DC. It is the most active DC and it was a pleasure and honour to be a part of the sports community here. Not to forget the facilities, security and the housekeeping people. You are the unsung heroes of this campus and your commitment to work, despite it going unnoticed most of the time, is something to look up to.

There are a lot of you who don’t fall under either of these groups but are no less important. Thanks a lot for your time (on and off Infy Communicator J ) and friendship, which, I’m sure, will last forever. And of course, how can I forget the Public Folders? Be it the repeated, heated and (sometimes) pointless debates, the faster-than-google responses to my queries, the super quick response in buying/selling things and the SWOT analysis of a particular vendor’s menu, you guys always keep it going and ensure we don’t have to venture out of our cubicles to have fun.  There’s nothing good about this goodbye but then, a goodbye isn’t painful until you’re never going to say Hello again, and I’m looking forward to the time when our paths cross again. These addresses (Jasmine – 97, L&T Serene County;  G-01, Sri Sai Rithvik Enclave, Whitefields; 201, Shilpa Nest, Shilpa Park and 303, Sai Priya Residency, Whitefields) as well as their occupants would be very special and the time spent there is priceless. I dare you guys to release any of the videos that were shot!!!

Jayant Shekhar
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