A new collaboration - Manor of the Ardent

The last week has been an eventful week for Satyam and it's associates. First came the declaration of VPP and the knowledge that many of our friends were part of those who were going on sabbatical. By the end of the week Satyam got a new logo and management changes (with many more in the pipeline) and the news that around 400 associates have been called back from VPP within a week. Talk about a committed management.

In between all this, the Satyam blog site somehow went down. Now, as you all know, we have a group of dedicated bloggers in Satyam, and as happens - many of us have become great friends. The first day was spent discussing about why the blog site is down and how much we all are missing it.

By the end of day two, the discussions shifted to what we can do to find a work around - since blogger is blocked in Satyam network :(. Deepak did some quick RnD and found that wordpress is accessible from the Satyam intranet and we unanimously decided to start a collaborative blog. And so, the Manor of the Ardent was born.

Imagine a space with 14 different writers, each with his or her unique style of writing, with a different persepective of live and happenings around us, and different point of views - and you get the Manor - OUR Manor. It is the perfect melting pot of people who have only one thing in common - that they work for or worked for Satyam and know each other by their blogs. All we share is a mutual respect for each other as a person and as a blogger - and our different view points ensure that the space is never monotonous and always has a discussion going on. Welcome dear friends to the Manor.

The page has proven to be a hit - with 1280 page visits, 37 posts, and 396 comments - all in a weeks span :D.

I, being a proud Ardent, invite you all to visit the space, go through the different posts, and leave your comments. Hope to see you there.

This is Hashir, signing off

Over and out

Some good and some bad news

Well, the best news first - My friend's mom is out of danger and on the path of total recovery. Although she has a lot of stitches on her face and a dislocated jaw, but hopefully the worst is behind us all.

And the second good news is - I have (finally) cleared the third semester of MSSE with an overall CGPA of 6.24. "What's great about this", you say. Well, for starters, my overall CGPA after 2nd semester was 5.19, and with 5.5 as minimum pass and only one semester to make amends (because in 4th semester we are awarded just a letter grade which does not count in CGPA calculation) meant that I needed minimum 6.19 in this semester to clear the course. (I actually got around 8.1 in this semester) - which goes on to prove that if I just study for some time before the exams, I can pass. (Well, who cares now. This was the last exam I am gonna write in a long long time, now that I have a PG degree from BITS to my name).

Also, after more than one and a half year in the same project, I am finally getting work that I enjoy doing and which is challenging (Hopefully this phase continues). Now if only we were shifted to NCR - and I would be a very happy man.

On the flip side, there are a lot of rumours floating around about Satyam and its surplus employees - again giving jitters to parents and friends alike. Thankfully I have nothing to worry about, and so am planning to stay here unless and until I get an offer from an organization based in NCR. So, lets see what comes of all this. All I can say right now is, don't worry guys. Keep smiling, like Reveda here is doing :).

BTW, keep praying for the speedy recovery af my friend's Mom. I know it helped.

This is Hashir, signing off

Over and out

Financial (Un)stability

Well, seems like I am neck deep in financial trouble. Being a 20 something techie with little or no financial obligations, I fell into this mess of EMIs, credit cards, and personal loans [:(]. All was under control till the Satyam fiasco did not happen, but now for the last two months am in an economic crunch.

The reason is that though we are getting our salary on time, the payments of other components like the variable pay and the shift allowance is still on hole. And, for me, this means that every month I am getting Rs around 7500 less than what I was expecting.

This surely has affected me a lot, and no matter how much I stop myself from spending lavishly, I still have to meet the payments of the various EMIs and rent etc.

So, right now, am facing the heat, and am trying to find a way out. Lets see where this leads me to. Meanwhile,

This is Hashir, signing off

Over and out

Shame on the insensitive media

Here I am, sitting in front of my laptop screen and trying to analysing the happenings of the last few days and how they are going to affect the lives of people working in Satyam in particular and in the Indian IT outsourcing industry in particular.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the past few days is the insensitive and unprofessional manner in which Indian media has handled the scam done by founder of Satyam computer service limited. By now, you must have guessed that I too am a Software engineer working in Satyam.

Maybe the scam was big, and the media needed to get sound bytes and to get the mind of Indians from the Mumbai terror attacks. But this does not mean that they have the right to spread baseless rumours without thinking about the affect they might have on the families of those who are staying away from home. Me and my colleagues were hounded with calls from concerned friends and relatives trying to confirm news about “No salary for two months”, “Satyam being locked”, and “Satyam fires 15000 associates on bench”. We had a hard time explaining them that all these are baseless rumours and nothing else, and all we want at this critical juncture of our professional life is to be left alone so that we can concentrate on the bigger task on hand, which is to do our job to the best of our abilities.

Apart from these calls from friends and family who had no way of knowing what is happening inside, what irritated me most was some of my fellow associates pinging me and asking me about my future plans. Well, let me answer all their queries in the only way I know – which is point blank and 100% truth – that I am sticking here. I am not being emotional or loyal, I too am concerned and worried about the financial mess I may land up in if I have no job (which actually is inshallah not going to happen), but I really believe that now is the time to work for the company not just in monitory terms by earning moolah from the client, but by being useful in our own small ways…. And for all those who are running away or are planning to run away – all I can say is that my organization does not need cowards like them. It is in times of difficulty that the true character of a man emerges – and I am really sorry to note that many of those whom I held in high regard have fallen from my esteem. I can do nothing, but atleast I am warned!

I am touched by the support that most of my friends and family has shown towards me. They have told me not to worry about anything – and are only concerned that I do not get tense because of what has happened.

Having said all this, I really believe that it is time that Media is taught about ethics and morals. How would they feel if their job was in the firing line, and their parents and family were far away with nothing but the idiot box to tell them what is happening? I think they should stop for a moment and think on these lines. I am really impressed by The Times of India, which atleast has the guts and the thoughtfulness to retract any wrong info they published, and to mention the rumours that are being spread by some insensitive channels and papers looking for a scoop. For the rest of the media, I just have one sentence to say – SHAME ON YOU GUYS!

I will keep updating this space with the latest happenings in Satyam and my thoughts on their affects on our lives.

This is a proud Satyamite, signing off…..

Over and out