Moving out

It was my first stint outside of India. The whole proposition was initially scary as I was always comfortable staying in a safe cocoon of my home with parents and wife. Moving out would mean that I would be sequestered from this womb. However, life is also about taking chances, gaining new experiences, meeting new people and travelling to faraway lands makes you realize many new things which you never even have thought about in your life.

Vidya and I stayed with our parents and had a comfortable and decent life. Our dream was to buy a 3 bedroom apartment for ourselves, an investment for the future, also as a tax saving option. But whenever, we tried to finalize on a property, we always noted that the cash required for down payment far exceeded the cash in hand or the savings. The property prices at that time were zooming skywards on a monthly basis. And we were surprised to note that despite the enormous increase in property prices, whenever a new proposal came up it was lapped up by buyers or hoarders or black marketers in no time. And genuine buyers were left in the lurch.

We were in absolute quandary over this situation and not sure what to do. To top it, though I was doing very well in my professional career with year after year promotions, the office tension was increasing by leaps and bounds. It had been almost 3 years since our marriage and we wanted to have a child. Adding to our woes, whatever we did nothing happened and it created additional pressure on both of us though our parents were not picky about this. Fortunately for us, both our parents were so supportive and understanding, whenever we had an issue, even without our speaking, they would intimately understand our feelings and guide us through it in a seamless manner.

That’s why we need parents to be there, as they have seen all these things in their lives and serve as beacon whenever we need them to guide us out of rough waters to the shores safe and sound.

It was a difficult decision to be made, that of leaving Cognizant, a top notch IT services company where professionally I was doing extremely well. Secondly that of leaving parents all alone in India and going abroad. They were aged and along with the age come the ailments and other issues. I was skeptical to leave them behind to fend for them. But they made sure that I made my decision to move forward as they clearly mentioned that I had to settle down in life comfortably. Though money is not the only thing in life, it is quite important as it gives you a sense of security, well being and courage to face life even in times of adversity with poise and clarity.

When I told my boss Vinod Ramakrishnan, of my decision to leave CTS, he could not believe it for a moment. He was indeed shell shocked. To be honest, I shared an excellent relationship with him; he was more than a boss to me. He was a both a friend and mentor guiding me capably through my career graph marshalling his resources ably and getting the best out of everyone. He is a diehard workaholic and I was always amazed by his energy and enthusiasm. He was always ready to take up challenges as he was quite focused on his work, career growth, development not only of the self but that of his team as well. I truly cherished working with him as we were able to drive many changes in the system and processes during that time.

So I had to explain to him that it was more of a personal decision to move out as I wanted to give more time for the family, build a family for myself and secure a stable future. I was even given the option to work in the US office of CTS, but I decided against it as I knew the pressure there would not be any different. It’s just that the organization was growing at a gripping pace and there was not time for slackness from any quarter. Time after time, day after day, you had to combat new challenges in this company that kept you riveted on the job. Sometimes, inspiring and at times tiring as well. So if you had it in you, to beat the heat and survive in such a culture, you could thrive and be a winner but at the cost of your personal life.

After many long discussions with great mentors like Sundar, Mani, Kalyan and Balaji I decided to take the plunge to go to Kuwait no matter what. Even RR had some private moments for me to listen to my outpourings and I literally broke down in his office. I poured my heart out as I realized how much I had began to love this company that gave me a new lease of life, self confidence to realize that I can also be a good finance professional.

I was given a wonderful Farwell and my boss told me not to cry in front of my staff lest they would breakdown as well. I was quite an emotional creature at that time you see and would express my feelings just the way it is. Though Vinod told me to keep a tab on it, I realized it the hardest way when I left Alghanim. But on that day I cried as I drove my scooter back home, realizing that I would not be stepping into this magnificent company again as an employee. I did write a long “Ode to Cognizant” which brought many tears to many wonderful souls that worked with me. Blessed I was, moving to a fairy tale land of the riches to seek the riches of life. What has it in store for me, only time would tell?

#Relocation