Rupam
Rupam
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a nice read.
«on:
09/17/04 at 13:59:10 » |
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sorry for starting a new thread...I dont expect people to reply, but read this and you would not complain...this is from a message posted in the general folder of the company I work for...this must have come to many through emails...but even reading it twice is just enrichin yourself...and a forceful punch right in our faces...the veil of vanity and conceit taking a shudder...this is long...but this is amazing...
We say that we are hardworking . working 16 Hrs a day, stressing our
brains and minds, we deserve a high pay package etc.. sitting in
the AC , typing abcd, complaining about the canteen food
RUBBISH!!!!!!!!!!! ...
b school grads, engineers, marketeers, scientists, high flying trechnocrats- changing the world...building a nation...phew...any person worth her/ his salt can not afford to not read this...and not wonder if she/ he has achieved anything, absolutely anything in life...worthwhile...
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Vivek Pradhan wasn't a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the First
Class air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi Express couldn't
cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and entitled to air
travel. It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to reason with
the admin guy, it was the savings in time. A PM had so many things to
do! He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the
time to some good use.
"Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was
staring appreciatively at the laptop.
Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop
now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive
car. "You people have brought so much advancement to the country sir.
Today everything is getting computerized."
'Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a detailed
look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was
young and stocky like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out
of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep
school. He probably was a Railway sportsman making the most of his
free traveling pass. "You people always amaze me," the man continued,
"You sit in an office and write something on a computer and it does so
many big things outside."
Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naivety demanded reasoning not anger. "It
is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of
writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it."
For a moment he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development
Lifecycle but restrained himself to a single statement. "It is
complex, very complex."
"It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid," came the
reply. This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of
belligerence came into his so far affable, persuasive tone. "Everyone
just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to
put in." "Hard work!" "Indians have such a narrow concept of hard
work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office doesn't mean
our brows don't sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind
and believe me that is no less taxing."
He had the man where he wanted him and it was time to drive home the
point. "Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire
railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train
ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of
computerized booking centers across the country. Thousands of
transactions accessing a single database at a given time; concurrency,
data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the
complexity in designing and coding such a system?" The man was stuck
with amazement, like a child at a planetarium. This was something big
and beyond his imagination. "You design and code such things."
"I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "But now I am the project
manager," "Oh!" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, "so
your life is easy now." It was like being told the fire was better
than the frying pan. The man had to be given a feel of the heat. "Oh
come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder.
Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding! That is the
easier part. Now I don't do it, but I am responsible for it and
believe me, that is far more stressful. My job is to get the work done
in time and with the highest quality. And to tell you about the
pressures! There is the customer at one
end always changing his requirements, the user wanting something else
and your boss always expecting you to have finished it yesterday."
Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with
self-realisation. What he had said was not merely the outburst of a
wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while
defending the truth. "My friend," he concluded triumphantly, "you
don't know what it is to be in the line of fire."
The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization.
When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that
surprised Vivek. "I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of
fire," He was staring blankly as if no passenger, no train existed,
just a vast expanse of time. "There were 30 of us when we were ordered
to capture Point 4875 in the co ver of the night. The enemy was firing
from the top. There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to
come from and for whom. In the morning when we
finally hoisted the tricolor at the top only 4 of us were alive."
"You are a..."
"I am Subedar Sushant Singh from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak
4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for
a land assignment. But tell me sir, can one give up duty just because
it makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture one of my colleagues
lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding
behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety.
But my captain refused me permission and went ahead himself. He said
that the first pledge he had taken as a
Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation
foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded.
His own personal safety came las t, always and every time. He was
killed as he shielded that soldier into the bunker. Every morning now
as I stand guard I can see him
taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me. I know
sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire."
Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of his reply. Abruptly he
switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a
word document in the presence of a man for whom valor and duty was a
daily part of life; a valor and sense of duty which he had so far
attributed only to epical heroes.
The train slowed down as it pulled into the station and Subedar
Sushant Singh picked up his bags to alight.
"It was nice meeting you sir." Vivek fumbled with the handshake. This
was the hand that had climbed
mountains, pressed the trigger and hoisted the tricolor. Suddenly as
if by impulse he stood at attention, and his right hand went up in an
impromptu salute. It was the least he felt he could do for the
country.
PS: The incident he narrates during the capture of Peak 4875 is a
true life incident during the
Kargil war. Major Vikram Batra sacrificed his life while trying to
save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For
this and his various other acts of bravery he was posthumously awarded
the Param Vir Chakra - the nation's highest military award.
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asiti
asiti
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Re: a nice read.
«on:
09/17/04 at 15:51:22 » |
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Thank you very much Rupam. It is so nice. |
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silcharor_maiya
silcharor_maiya
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Re: a nice read.
«on:
09/17/04 at 16:24:50 » |
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very very emotional..reminded Captain Vikram Batra on star news after conquering the peak saying "yeh dil maange more"..hats off to our ARMY |
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Shankar_Chakravarti
Shankar_Chakravart
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Re: a nice read.
«on:
09/17/04 at 16:33:16 » |
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Dear Rupam,
Very touching….. I have no words to describe. Salute to Major Vikram Batra and hats off to Indian Army.
Thank you for sharing, Rupam.
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arua
arua
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Re: a nice read.
«on:
09/17/04 at 18:10:41 » |
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rupam da, fatai diso........ha hakar lagai diso..........post koriya jao..... |
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mrinmoyb
mrinb
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Re: a nice read.
«on:
09/20/04 at 12:54:50 » |
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Thats a real good piece of read....thanx for sharing with us all. |
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i_am_amnesiac
i_am_amnesiac
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Re: a nice read.
«on:
09/20/04 at 21:54:38 » |
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i_am_amnesiac
i_am_amnesiac
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Re: a nice read.
«on:
09/20/04 at 21:55:53 » |
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i dont have words for this. so the earlier blank message. |
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shaan
shaan
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Re: a nice read.
«on:
09/24/04 at 03:22:53 » |
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Rupam bhai....tumar story ta aga gura porlam....sotti kotha koitey kita gayer lom hokkol ti khara hoi gese portey portey......amazing are those army jawans jara desh pahara dey.....sotti...khub bhala laglo......genuine nice read..... |
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Stud
Guest
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Re: a nice read.
«on:
09/24/04 at 19:12:24 » |
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Porar time nai... mono hoi bhala hoibo ;D ;D ;D ;D |
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