Goodbye mails... the last few words...

I keep hearing... IT market is doing good... and that economy is picking up again... and soon it would be booming...!! :) :) Thank God!! This is definitely a breather... and a much awaited break from the bleak and gloomy global ‘recession’.... that we faced over last one year and a half...!! (October 2008 to the first quarter of 2010)!!

Even the stock exchange and the market indicators confirm the recovery and promise growth of the economy...!! But there is another... more prominent... and more visible indicator of the health of IT sector...  and it is the "ATTRITION"!! ... :):)

As things are now looking up... and future appears bright... so the job market is upbeat ...and we say that this is the best time to switch jobs...!! :):) The fact is... the industry is in a state of flux... with lot of people moving out... and lot of new people moving in...!!

Initially, I thought... that this is the story of my organization only... but then realized ... this is the same everywhere... across locations... and across companies...!! All of a sudden ... people are looking out for job change... primarily for money...  possibly for designation... or location... may be for quality of work... even for the work-life balance...!! There can be varied reasons... but one thing that is common and consistent... is the ‘Goodbye’ mail. :) !!!

Nearly everyone who leaves... sends in one last email from the (soon-to-be discontinued) official email id... to say the last few words...!! Some mails are short and sweet, some are longer. Some mails are professional and to the point, some are emotional and tear-inducing. But in any case, these mails are pretty interesting. :)..

Even without us realizing it or giving it any serious thought.... sending ‘Goodbye’ mail has become a tradition... though untold and unacknowledged...!!

In the recent past.... I have received quite a few goodbye mails... and each of these mails is distinct ... in its style... its content... its way of expression....!! These mails speak a lot about the person.... his or her emotional quotient...  attachment with the organization... the quality of the time spent...  and also of the memories created...!!

PS- I am not biased for any specific industry or sector... just that I am limited by my own exposure... I have only worked with the IT industry...!!

Jo ... Don't go... :)

That day... our first job location was announced... and then she left Chennai....!! That was the last time... when we were together... Me and Jo...!!

It was in the last week of September... 2004...!! We had completed our two months freshers' training (at Cognizant, Chennai) ...  and we were ready to embark upon our professional journey... and so we were eagerly waiting for our first posting...!! It was after lunch... that our training coordinator came to the classroom... with a sheet that had the location listed for each of us... in the batch CS001.

All the freshers' were grouped under various batches based on different technologies... and ours was batch-1 for 'Client Server' technology :)

He first announced the names of the people who were to join at the Kolkata center...  and our names were not there.... and it was just fine...!! And then the names for Pune location followed...  and after a few... he announced Jo’s name...!! I was standing just next to her... and she was happy... (Why not... after all in IT....Pune is one of the coolest locations to be at...!) ... And I crossed my fingers... hoping to hear my name next... but it was not to be....!!  Coordinator finished the names for Pune....  and my name was not announced yet... !! Then he looked up from the sheet...!!

I was getting tense... a bit restless and just then he told... that the people whose names were not called as  yet.... would be based out of Chennai..!! And my heart missed a beat...!! I was shocked...  and... I was sad...  inconsolable....!!  It took a while, at least 5 minutes or so, for me to accept that ... one of my fears had come true.... and that Jo was to MOVE to Pune and I was to STAY BACK in Chennai...!! My eye filled with tears... and then tears started rolling down my face...... I could not hold any longer...!! I broke down and I cried... and I did cry a lot...!! :)

It was not that I had any issues whatsoever with Chennai... or that I wanted Pune or any another specific location...!! I was not even bothered with the hot (or very hot weather) of Chennai...!!Sure... I was not thinking about the language problem that I would soon realize (to be continued in one of the next episodes of the Chennai Series :))!! 

That day... at that place.... the only thing that mattered to me was... that Jo was leaving...!!... I was least bothered that everyone else was making fun of me... and that they were singing in unison and teasing me.... "Jo.... Don’t go..."!!

It’s now almost 6 years that we have not met in person... though we mail at times... and talk over phone sometimes...!! But not distance or time could change the place that she holds in my life...!! She has been a great friend... and a mentor...!! I could confide anything in her... because I know she would understand and that she would not judge...!!

We are two completely different people... from hugely different backgrounds...  upbringings ... faiths... and even mother tongue :)...!! But these differences could only strengthen the bond I share with her...!!

I am blessed to have her in my life...!!

And miles to go before I sleep...

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

                                  - Robert Frost

I don't remember when I read these lines ... for the first time... but for long... these have been my favorites. Just four lines... and they define life perfectly... :) So beautiful... and so simple yet so meaningful... and so complete!!

Life is a journey... and each of us is a lonely traveler... and we have to continually walk ahead... and when we stop...we seize to exist anymore...!!

Yes... It's a journey... of gradually growing up...of continuously evolving.... and of attaining the wisdom...!! It's unique because... there are no destinations...to this!! It's a journey... through and through :) ... And the beauty is... that everyone is journeying... inherently, even without realizing it… and that we do not have any choices or options... it’s compulsory... and the very essence of our being!!

In life... everyone is for himself or herself... we are always alone...!! We live with people... we live among people... but still each of us has a different and a unique path to tread...!! No two people can ever be together in the same space... time and context...!! It’s weird... right?? I know...!! But I have thought over it... again and again... and this belief has only grown stronger...!! Even when we are together.... like... celebrating a festival... or watching a movie... or simply talking.... each of us still has a distinct identity... either in space or time or context....!!

It’s a continuous travel... and there are no stops... :) ....Every second of every minute of every hour of every day... and even when we are apparently not doing anything... we are still walking.... it’s a travel through time... and we are always traveling ahead... there are no looking back :)

The day... we reach our destination... our journey comes to an end and so does the life... because this journey is nothing but the LIFE itself!!