'Work is worship' practitioners still exist.

For them who are wondering what am I  going to write about, under such a weird title, I am writing about DABBAWALA. Dabbawalas , a group of people who are employed only to deliver the dabbas in  one of the most busiest cities of India, MUMBAI .They were in the news all time but I came to know more about them,only when I had an interaction with Dabbawalas, at the first session of Jagriti Yatra, 2012.

In a TED talk I have been to, the Dabbawala started his talk with the line saying, we are a group of committed people who practice and preach that 'Work is worship'. Most companies today say that. Hardly, we can find anybody practicing it.May be that is the reason we find so many switching their jobs too often. The most surprising fact is, till date, none of the Dabbawalas had ever left the job due to any reason like, in sufficient paychecks, work pressure etc. There is no retirement for them, no age bar.They could work till their body can co ordinate properly.

Dabbawala collects the Dabba or the box,in the morning from the residence of the employee, hands it over to him before the lunch time, in any case. By hook or by crook, the box reaches the employee before lunch. In Mumbai, people cannot carry their own boxes, as they have to travel by the local trains which are heavily crowded.Pragmatically, they cannot carry their own boxes.That is the reason Dabbawalas come into picture.

Started in and around 1880, Dabbawalas served the Britons also.Every year, we see hundreds of companies applying for being certified by Six Sigma.Dabbawalas is the only concept which has been certified by Six Sigma without applying for it ,with an error rate of 1 in 16 Million deliveries.Most of the Dabbawalas are not well educated. They are probably done with 10th grade.

My previous article, which says technology is our best friend does not imply here.They have achieved everything without integrating technology into their system. They follow the traditional old way of marking scheme.They have found a unique marking method, using which they coordinate the entire process of picking the dabba, delivering it to the office, picking it again and delivering it home.

Our dear Indian government does not recognize anything indigenous.As a result, Dabbawalas were recognized in India, only after Prince Charles personally came and waited to meet them at Church Gate, Mumbai.They were in news, all over after that.

This day where every department including software engineers strike for their demands to get approved, Dabbawalas is one of the few organizations where there is no strike record till date.Only once, they did not work, as they went to support the Anna Hazare Movement.Also, there is no legal department for the organization, and they claim that they do not want to have one.

Dabbawalas follow ethical values in business, unlike the corporate world which preaches but never practices.There are so many unending facts about their work culture, sincerity, management principles.

Technology is your best friend !

I was texting this Kannada friend of mine who does not have a smart phone in my mother tongue Telugu.He asked me what does the text mean. Simplest and the most redundant answer of mine was use the GOOGLE TRANSLATE app. Only,then I remembered he does not own a smart phone. Something which I want to point out here is technology has crept so much into our blood that we know nothing with it. Gone are those days when we used to refer The Oxford or The Webster to look up for words not known to us. We carry a portable dictionary on our phones everywhere.

In the same way ,we can see children handling the most expensive gadgets ever.In fact ,they even know how to make the best use of them, compared to us. Street vendors also use mobile phones to calculate the amount to be received.These are just some instances to show how the entire human race is dependent on an external artificial mind to get their work done. Technology, a boon or a bane is one of the hottest GD topics everywhere. I am not going to put up the old argument saying that it is making us lazy and all that.Let us just cut the crap and make it our best friend.

I remember my father often used to gift Swami Vivekananda's books, and tell me that books are your best friends.Because, there was nothing better to do. I want to rephrase it today , making it 'Technology is your best friend'. Master it , you could make your life, work, times easier.

Well, sometimes I think this is done, we have everything in the world. Yet, something better comes up.The innovation and the creation of technology is just awesome. And indeed for the future generations it is their best friend.

My obsession for IIT/IIMs !

Right after finishing my grade 8, I decided I would go ahead and take up the coaching for IIT .I always aspired to be an engineer from one of those premier institutes.Alas , I had not taken my work very seriously .I flunked the IIT-JEE exam and could not make it into any of those grand institutes.I have joined a local university.Took up IT as a major and graduated with a good GPA.

But all through these years, my obsession for being a part of those flamboyant institutes did not decrease rather started increasing.Upto that extent ,at a certain point of time I almost decided I would marry an IIT or an IIM alumnus.Its like I have done a research in which I think I can differentiate IIT/IIM grads from the normal population.The way they think,the shrewdness they expect and the less amount of time they want to invest on trivial issues.Well, I think they are trained that way ,which is something I really like.And, I think this must be the reason that MNC's offer them such huge packages.

And , if I have to comment about them turning entrepreneurs,they work too hard for their baby i.e their venture.Especially, after working under an IIT turned entrepreneur I realize that the committed attitude they have towards their baby is pretty impressive.They just do not take anything for granted.This includes employees also.May be this is why people advise us to work with smaller firms to gain experience in the beginning.

People keep asking me why am I working for such a start up ,when I can have a great vacation and then join the MNC which has given me an offer letter.Some random relatives keep boasting about their kids working in redundant firms.And I just simply smile.As,I am well aware of the fact that an average package would not give me the experience of working with a group of IIT's and exchange  my ideas.This constant process of upgrading myself  through observation would definitely go missing.I keep admiring my boss while the other employees talk about how strict he is.They get pissed off when I say he is absolutely correct on his part because he is a businessman and not our relative to keep cajoling.

Tomorrow I may or may not end up being an entrepreneur or a student from premier B-school but this obsession for the top institutes will always be on.

Random Thoughts

I am ready.Pretty much ready to face the world. To break the protective shell , which my parents, family created and protected me for the last 21 years. I am moving to Bangalore for work.I do not think I am going to return any soon.

I belong to this city of destiny where most of my mornings are calm and pleasant.My day starts without any hurry.The calm and cool attitude is carried. I was born ,studied, pursued under graduation here.I relate to it so much.But, today is just not like every other day.From tomorrow everything is going to change.I have to take care of myself .Run for food.Work for money.

Today for the first time ever, I thought why should I ever work.My dad earns good enough that he can satisfy all my needs for life.If I do not work today also nothing will change in my life.My luxuries and comforts will be there.Then , why work? Right from my childhood , I was taught to that every human is born to achieve . To achieve something or the other.Trained in a way that cannot make them sit idle.We are taught to experiment on stuff.

Its been a month I finished my graduation.Not a single day passed without thinking what I would do next.I have every option .I got a job offer, pretty good GRE and TOEFL scores.A decent CAT score which motivates me to take it again so that I can crack it. But the point is, I am unable to decide.I am unable to decide what I want in life.I want money,degree but I do not know will these give me happiness ten years down the lane.What is that I want ,to just say that THIS IS IT,I DO NOT want ANYMORE.I do not know.

This is eating me up from inside.When I was in my pre-final year of UG,I remember one of my senior friends often telling my the age of 21-22 is the most difficult phase.Every day you have so much to think about .One wrong decision would turn our lives up-side down.

In this busy world of entrepreneurs,engineers,doctors, artists and most successful people I feel lost somewhere.

I hope I would feel better from tomorrow,since I would start working,stop sitting idle with random thoughts flickering in my mind.