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[molosmojo]

The Masoor Pulao

For the uninitiated, Masoor is Red Lentils!

While Maa would always cook at home, as a kid, I was surprised when Paa too would cook - although he could cook limited stuff and knew what he was good at and where he struggled.

I would always just wonder as to how difficult it would be to cook - the entire process, the proportions, the combinations and the patience; I never thought I could cook too, it was almost impossible for me.

I had started slow observing Maa and Paa - with tea, then eggs, then vegetables, then meat, then rice, then flour - I have taken years to reach where I am today with my cooking but now when I look back, cooking is so much fun, I get a high each time I am cooking, I get so much SUKOON (peace) each time I am cooking.

From Biryanis to any gravy - I am fairly confident now. When I learnt how to make chapatis (Indian flat bread), I was so happy.

Today, I made Masoor Pulao - I never thought I could cook this but when I got started, it just happened and the Masoor Pulao turned out to be awesome with the kids giving it a 10/10.

So why am I boasting about my cooking skills here?

Compare this with anything you see first and think to your self - oh, this would be difficult, I for sure cannot do this or learn this.

BUT, only if you get started - take that first step and perhaps you can learn so many things. None of us came learning anything from our mother's womb - that AI specialist or that Data Visualizer or that coder, everyone took that first step of learning, trying, being vulnerable, open to fail.

Just like cooking, there are so many things out there, waiting for you to explore!

[molosmojo]

Maa knows it

We are three siblings and while growing up, of course, each one of us had our own personalities, strengths, challenges, expectations, et al. The one common thread was perhaps Maa, who knew each one of us, in and out - when were we happy, when were we sad, when were we angry, when were we disappointed; she knew almost all our emotions and feelings. I am not naming Paa here because he was usually the stricter one with only straight conversations - we never had heart-to-heart conversations with Paa. With the recent unfortunate news of the passing away of young Anna Sebastian Perayil, while yes the Chairman of EY is being questioned about the culture and how he can improve, I would also question the HR team and the managers and even the colleagues of Anna who let this culture build-up until it reached a point of no return for someone like an Anna. What role Maa played at home, it's perhaps quite similar to what the HR team also plays for an organisation - and no, I am not referring to the motherly treatment here; it's more about listening, knowing the pulse, being fair, taking actions, setting clear expectations, and above all, showing empathy. Yes, Maa would scold us when we did something wrong but she knew how to create the balance and when to blow hot and when to blow cold. There were times when my siblings would tell Maa about some challenges that I would be facing - on similar lines, if something's not working well or something's not right, us as individuals, need to SPEAK UP for our own selves and even for our own colleagues. I had written about this in the past too about "don't take anyone's s***". I read the letter that Anna's mother has written and how they were telling her to quit the job but she continued - when you think it's not working out, just move on, there's no point sacrificing when no one cares for you. For anyone out there who is suffering at their workplace, remember, you are only an employee for them - the moment you are gone, they would get someone else and forget what you did for them. I was unable to structure this story as there are so many thoughts that were triggered by the Anna incident and how it's a collective failure for an organisation. Can I get Maa back? For anything, she knows it!

[molosmojo]

Why does it have to be escalated?

I switched to #JioAirFibre late last year and have had good connectivity over the last 8 to 9 months. Around mid-July, after I came back from my native place, I noticed that the internet connection was down. Given that I was on mobile data, it did not occur to me for a couple of days that the internet connection was not restored. I called up the customer service desk and they said "there is a technical issue in your area because of which there is an outage". I asked them about the TAT but they didn't have any TAT from the system. I asked them to register a complaint and give me a complaint ID. They kept declining the request saying "we cannot take a complaint for this because there is a glitch which our teams are currently working to resolve." A week went by and I again called up the customer service desk and the same reply - we are working on this but don't have a TAT and we cannot register your complaint. I would have made at least 5 such calls over a period of nearly a month and they kept giving the same response. My kids who have their school assignments, had to face the brunt, the most of this outage for over a month. In one of the calls, I remember asking the customer service executive about my validity period given that the connection was lost for nearly a month and they said "don't worry, our team would take care of this." Finally, around end of August, I was given a date that by 24-Aug-24, the connection would be restored. And yes, the connection was restored. Now, I called-up the customer service desk again to check on the validity extension and to my shock they said "your connection is working perfectly fine and we do not have any records of any outage and neither is there any complaint from your end." The next day, I again called up the customer service desk and they gave me the same sh** and I lost it. I sat down to see what is it that I could do something about this complete dismissal and unprofessional treatment. I found about the appellate tribunal for Mumbai for Jio and dropped them an email highlighting my concerns. I also copied Mr. #MukeshAmbani on the email. The same evening, I received a call from Lalit Pednekar who was from the escalation team and he heard me out and assured that he would get this sorted and would call me back in a couple of days. He did call back to inform that the my concern was a valid one and they would do the needful in terms of the validity period and the adjustment of the charges, accordingly. While I was not willing to give-up on this and take the fight to the company, I am sure there would be many in my area, who would still be making phone calls to the customer service desk and getting a deaf ear. Why does it have to be escalated for someone to look into it and harass the customer - why cannot the customer service teams be kind enough to resolve it before it gets escalated?

[molosmojo]

In the midst of chaos, still appreciate the effort(s)...

Maa underwent treatment for breast cancer over a period of 4 years – during this period, multiple doctors treated her. Right from the time of her first round of chemotherapy, to the surgery, to the post operative chemotherapy, to the radiation, to the relapse and the subsequent rounds of chemotherapy – there were so many doctors, nurses who had taken care of Maa and worked their best to help treat her. She finally won the battle against the disease and did not let it affect her anymore – she left us forever to be in a much better place, with God. Having passed away in my arms, I was broken in that moment, 7 years back, when she left us. It took me days to get over the fact that she was no more with us, while still being present in my heart and my soul. While I was recovering from that state, it suddenly struck me that the people who treated her all these years and helped us keep her alive and kicking, need to be told that she is no more and also need to be thanked for their efforts which helped Maa fight the disease for 4 years. A week or so after her demise, I sat down on one of the days and sent out my note to each of the doctors and the hospitals – letting them know that Maa had left us and thanking them and their respective teams who treated Maa all these years. Many of those people replied with their condolences and all, but what mattered to me was how I made them feel – made them feel valued and appreciated despite being in the midst of chaos in life. It is Raksha Bandhan today for all our Indian families and for everyone who supports us and takes care of us, a very happy Raksha Bandhan to all!

[molosmojo]

Be a sport

During my college days, I was a regular at the Carrom table – I have spent many a day just playing carrom rather than attending lectures!

Post college, there have been only a few opportunities that I have indulged to play carrom.

Yesterday, after ages, when I got to know we have a carrom competition, I was quick to give my name – but, I didn’t have a partner for the doubles game. I saw Bala on the floor and called him inside the room to check with him.

Bala was like “I have huge fingers, I cannot play carrom”, “I have never played carrom” – we somehow convinced him to play and also be my partner! The games started…

In our first match itself, Bala again repeated “I have huge fingers, I cannot play with them” – but he kept going – we won the first match and entered round 2.

In round 2, Bala phir se shuru ho gaya about his fingers! – we won round 2 too and entered the Semi Finals. We lost the semis convincingly by seemingly 2 of the reigning champions but we still played well to reach here.

What I learnt from Bala yesterday was that even if you don’t know something OR are not ready for it, still give it a try, don’t say no – be a sport and participate!

And it was great to be back at the carrom board, after ages!

[molosmojo]

Life happens outside our comfort zone

In a couple of weeks’ time, it would be the month of Muharrum – for the followers of a certain sect, it is a mourning period for the grandson of Prophet Muhammed – Imam Hussain (AS), who was martyred on the 10th day of Muharrum (Ashara).

Millions gather around the world to listen to sermons and mourn what had happened ~1400 years back. This year, my family has been blessed to lead the Muharrum proceedings at our native place in Rajasthan. Some of the elders in the family have been planning for months now.

One of the tasks here is to send invitation cards to all the members of our native place for them to come there and be part of this mourning with everyone. There are over 300 cards that had to be distributed and I played my part in distributing the cards for South Bombay (okay, Mumbai for the ones who feel offended!), couple of weeks back. Over the last one week, there has been back-n-forth on WhatsApp about few families being missed out and no one was taking ownership.

When I woke up on Saturday – I was like, I should go and give these pending ones too but my laziness kicked-in and I did nothing. As the day progressed, the noise on the WhatsApp group kept going up and I was already feeling bad!

On Sunday, I decided to finally get over my laziness and step-out of my comfort zone to give out the remaining cards – there were some houses that I had ever been to and I had call multiple people to get the correct address, house number, et al. One of the houses I visited was on the 23rd floor of this building which gave uninterrupted views of Haji Ali dargah on one side and the Eastern Freeway on the other – I felt my morning was successful on two counts – one, for finishing the pending tasks and taking that lead AND, for sure, getting those views of the city!

Sometimes, we know we have to do that task or activity but just don’t do it – only to realize, that life truly happens, outside our comfort zone!

[molosmojo]

How a city wakes up!

Growing up in Mumbai, I would go on these exploration trips to various areas/bylanes of Mumbai – sometimes on the foot and sometimes on my bike (I used to have Hero Honda Splendor those days).

I got to know many new places, places that later turned out to be iconic ones and having been to many of them, I have always been passionate to take people around the city for tours that show them the real Bombay!

I have always loved exploring places by walking the streets – given that I have been in Kolkata for a few days now, I have been asking for suggestions and then doing a combination of walking and Uber to reach some these places.

Last night, I went to Mayer Ghat (Bagbazaar) and enjoyed the views of the Ganges sitting on the Ghat and then enjoyed Puchkas later on – It’s after 13+ years that I have had Puchkas on the banks of the Ganges!

This morning, I went to this viral Club Kachori place in Bara Bazaar – I left the hotel at 7AM and got dropped at the main road. Given that I didn’t get to see the Howrah bridge last evening, I got down on one of the main roads and walked for 20 minutes or so to the see the howrah bridge – those bylanes, oh my god, had such old world charm which I love about Kolkata – they say you should always see how a city wakes up and this morning trip, certainly helped me understand as to how does Kolkata wake up!

I finally walked back from howrah bridge to the Club Kachori place and was greeted by a long queue – after waiting in the queue for 30 minutes or so, I got the Kachori’s and also a first-hand experience of why people have been calling him the “angry kachori wala”. Ended the breakfast with a Chai in a Kulhad across the street.

Time for some Chanar Daal thali now – come join me!

[molosmojo]

Oh Pasta!

My daughter has recently taken admission in one of the culinary schools and given that she’s passionate about this form, she’s been putting in crazy hours to learn. She leaves home early morning and comes back late in the evening from the institute.

Last Friday, she didn’t have anything for lunch – perhaps just grabbed a bite of a sandwich that one of her classmates had got. She had called later that afternoon about how hungry she was feeling.

I was home and felt I should make her something when she comes back. I went to the market and bought Pasta (macaroni) and some cheese. While returning, I called her up to check what time she would be back – she said “by 7PM”. I was happy because that would give me time to prepare the pasta and keep it ready for her.

I opened the door, and this lady was right there at home! Papa! I was like….thank you for this prank! I told her I am making pasta for her and that smile on her face….aha! I went into the kitchen and started prepping-up and I was done with my white sauce pasta in 45 minutes or so. I had added some roasted chicken too because she likes it.

We both sat in my window while the Sun was going down and enjoyed the pasta – she gave me a 8/10 and said that the pasta should have had more white sauce!

I keep cooking quite often, but this one for my daughter gave me a different level of satisfaction – to be able to feed her when she was hungry and wanted something of her liking.

While we are so busy with our day-to-day life that sometimes, perhaps, we miss these moments of doing something for our loved ones

[molosmojo]

Be a people person, first!

No, I don’t mean you have to be a people pleaser.

Over the years, I am sure I have gained some valuable experience through all the work, all the projects, all the challenges that have been delivered/solved – and I am no exception, we all gain experience through the exposures we get.

In the last couple of weeks, there have been so many people who have reached out to me either on LinkedIn or on phone or on WhatsApp, seeking opportunities or in general reaching out to congratulate on my new role.

The one thing I have realised is that most of these people who have worked with me, are reaching out because they have that comfort level – it doesn’t matter if they are at the lowest rung or the highest one – what they remember is perhaps, how they were treated with respect and how they were made to feel at ease, almost always.

We all have our successes and our failures, but people don’t remember your success; they remember how you treated them – and I am not saying always having those mollycoddling discussions, even when you have tough conversations, treat everyone with respect – don’t let your success get into your head.

When you can be anything, be a people person too – it doesn’t cost much!

[molosmojo]

Be who you are!

When I decided to put down my papers few months back, I did not have any offers or job in hand. The ones who got to know about this were like "how can you resign without having anything in your hand(s)", "you should have been patient", "you are an idiot" - I heard all of them and my only response to them was "my mental peace is more important than having a job."

How we have become so scared/feared that sometimes we overlook our mental health for our financial needs/dependencies. It doesn't matter if it is impacting your peace.

Here are some of my learnings in this period:

1) Never take anyone's s***: if you think it is not worth it, move on!

2) Be responsible: while I decided to move on, I had also ensured that I am covered financially at least for good 6 to 9 months, even if I don't end up getting any other job/assignment.

3) Leverage your network: I would speak with at least 3 to 4 people in my network every single day, trying to see if they have something for me. I never felt awkward or weird trying to leverage my network built over the last 20+ years.

4) Follow-up: there were so many times where I have kept my ego aside and just followed-up with people multiple times - while I was not desperate, this was perhaps my "never give-up attitude". The final offer I received was only because I kept following on.

5) Be YOU: no matter what people tell you about yourself - none of them know you better that your own self. Listen to everyone BUT do what you feel is right for you, no one can or should decide for you.

I have always been a believer of "what is meant to happen, will happen" and this belief has instilled a lot of patience in me - so my last learning is/was "be patient" - everything that is happening is already written, just be patient and go with the flow.

Alright, one more last learning - "trust your own self" - haters would tell you that you are no good, but trust me, you are far better than what your haters will tell you who you are.

Enjoy your Sunday evening and keep being yourself - there is no one else, like YOU!

[molosmojo]

It feels like home!

They say you should always draw a line between your personal life and professional life, however, when you are always at home even in your professional career, these lines seem to be blurred, at least for me. I quit Ugam couple of weeks back after my 2nd stint there and earlier this week, I have re-joined Netscribes - it just feels like someone out there wants me to be home, all the time! I was a Manager-HR with Netscribes between 2007 and 2011 and I have re-joined as their HR Head overseeing all aspects of HR, while focusing initially on putting together a Talent Acquisition strategy. Given my experience over the last 21 years, I am looking forward to leverage my problem solving abilities, art of relationship building and my storytelling skills to help deliver a great employee experience partnering across stakeholders. A big thank you to Sourav for giving me this opportunity and trusting me to lead the HR team. Thank you to Rima and Nisarga for their warmth during the onboarding period. I am thrilled to be collaborating with you and working closely with Gayatri, Manjima, Shrestha, Sampurna, Arpita, Mehdi, Lalatendu, Gaurav. It is so good to see that some of the people that I had hired in my first stint here are part of the leadership team now - it truly feels like home! New stories to write a new chapter!

[molosmojo]

My love affair with Ugam!

After 14 years, across two stints, I bid farewell to #Ugam. While I grew here as a professional, from a Sr. Associate to Vice President; I have also grown personally – my first kid was born on the day of my induction, financial stability, buying my first car, and most importantly, giving me the identity as MoLo....and many more! While there are numerous people across functions and teams who have played a key role in my journey, it is important that I call out some of the people who have been with me through all the ups and downs. Given the constraints around word count, I would only call out the names and not what/how they have contributed in my journey. Sunil, Madhav, Mihir, Naeem, Irfan, Vishal, GIRISH, Dharmesh, Raj, Tabassum, Nandita, Gayatri, Harshil, Shriti, Arun, Ishrat, Rucha, Manju, Vishal, Shivani, Gaurav, Hiren, Hitesh, Joel, Mahesh, Shrikant, Sonia, Unnikrishnan, Anupriya, Deepen, Meenakshi, Narayan, Ricky, Riddhi, Rodney, Yogita, Vinod, Sashant. A team which I had started with loads of love, the #XperienceChampions - Abhay, Ashish, Chetan, Deeba, Faheem, Gauri, Payal, Piyusha, PURVI, Rajith, Rahul, Rohan, Rohit, and Shivani! As I move on to the next chapter in my professional life, here's a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who have played a role in shaping my career and helping me being myself, over the years - I for sure, would not have been able to reach here, without you! While I am signing off, my love affair with Ugam, continues!

[molosmojo]

Rocking as always!

When I left my previous company, I would use the phrase “jai ho” as an expression of elation, confirmation, sometimes even submission or frustration. I had picked it up from the CEO and it was quite a culture of saying “jai ho!”

When I re-joined Ugam back in 2011 and started streamlining the lateral hiring for the Market Research team, while achieving the results and delivering success, I was lowly moving on from “jai ho”. It was when I had moved into the HRBP role that I was fully onto a new phrase “rocking as always” – something that I would say every time someone would ask me “how is life” or “how are you”. Sometimes, I would get a “so, what are you rocking?” too as a response.

Over the years, across all my roles here – from Talent Acquisition to HRBP to Qualtrics Implementation Consultant to Resource Management, that phrase of “Rocking as always” has always remained a constant. Few months back, when I got the opportunity to customise a tee for myself, I used the same phrase to print it on the tee too (the tee in the below picture has “rocking as always” printed on it).

Having that “jai ho” or “rocking as always” phrases made me look at things in a positive light, irrespective of what was going on in my head and heart at that point in time – whenever I would get stuck or lost, I would remind myself, “you are rocking, as always”.

What have been some of the phrases that have been a constant for you?

As I bid farewell to this organisation tomorrow (26-Apr-24), it is also time to move on from “rocking as always” to perhaps something new – what would it be, still unclear but there would be something, for sure.

[molosmojo]

The Sheer Khurma

Over the years, I have learnt the basics of cooking and I enjoy that whole process of getting all ingredients in place, adding the right masalas and the whole coming together of the dish.

While I started making chai (tea) at an early age, I slowly learnt how to make an omelette and gradually moving on to cook vegetables too. In the last few years, I have also learnt to cook meat and chicken and have loved cooking them as and when the opportunity has come.

It was Eid couple of weeks back and family was out of town – I was meeting a few friends on Sunday and thought it would be great if I could prepare the traditional Sheer Khurma for them. I had prepped up on Saturday evening itself with all the dry fruits, vermicelli, and dates needed for this one.

It was around sunset time on Saturday that I took a vessel and started roasting all the ingredients in ghee (clarified butter) and after a good stir for 10 minutes or so, I added the milk and saffron and kept it on a simmer for an hour or so. As the milk started to reduce, the colour started to change from white to cream/brown with a tinge of the ghee floating on top – it looked (and smelled) perfect!

I turned off the flames and let it cool down before refrigerating it overnight – I was leaving in the morning and packed it in a container for the friends I was meeting a few hours later. They all relished the Eid special delicacy, and I was happy.

I had taken pictures of the Sheer Khurma and shared with the family – as soon as they returned on Monday, they too demanded for the Sheer Khurma, and I grabbed the opportunity to hone my Sheer Khurma making skills!

While I have missed the ritual of getting the Sheer Khurma to office this year, but happy that at least few friends and family got to taste my handmade Sheer Khurma for the first time this year!

[molosmojo]

It is okay to accept that you made a mistake!

Many years back, in one of the companies that I worked for, we had a vacancy for a senior position in the HR team and after a series of discussions, the leadership team had hired someone to fill the position.

We were introduced to this new hire, and we were looking forward to our journey together. However, in the first meeting itself, we were like “okay, is this really the new senior person?”. We weren’t left impressed basis our first interaction, at least.

We started interacting on a daily basis, trying to understand each other and our work – each of those conversations left me wondering “really, how did this person even get hired!?”. Gradually, as time went by, many stakeholders too started to realise that perhaps this one was not the right cultural fit, and it potentially was a hiring mistake.

Many of us shared open and direct feedback on a regular basis with the leadership team over a few months and finally one day, after seeing/hearing all sides of the story, it was decided that we will need to part ways with this individual. They called the person to the office and informed the news with appropriate rationale.

That same day, when this senior person was asked to move out, the leadership team called most of the HR team members for a in-person meeting (and remote for those who weren’t in the city) and they stood there with a placard  which read “I am sorry, I scr**** up!”. That one act just helped all of us forget the frustration of the past several months and we were at peace.

We all make mistakes – what matters is accepting that “yes, I made a mistake” and then work towards course correcting it – it takes humility and self-awareness to be able to do our basics right!

To all leaders who put their hand up and are never shy of saying “I scr**** up”, a big thank you for showing us the light!

[molosmojo]

Let me get back to you

Being in different roles at different times and situation, we often have people reach out for assistance or clarification and many times we don’t have an answer for them. In most of these cases, we would resort to a “let me get back to you” or a “I’ll get back to you on this”, and then never get back to them!

When I started my journey as a recruiter, I too would use these phrases to somehow get out of any unpleasant conversation(s) or the fear of “how do I deliver the bad news” syndrome.

However, when I got into the HRBP role, I realised that each time I said “let me get back to you” and I did not get come back, I was losing trust with my stakeholders and hence, one of the first principles I instilled as a HRBP was if I have said “I’ll get back to you”, I for sure will get back to you even if the answer was NO. Yes, it might be difficult in that moment, but it for sure helped me gain trust of the receiver. They knew that if Mohammed has said he will come back, he for sure will come back (unless Mohammed gets old, and he starts forgetting things).

Over the last few months I have been connecting with my network for some assistance and more often than not, what I have got is “let me get back to you” – while in most cases, I have tried following-up BUT… In any case, I am continuing with my principle of closing the loop, irrespective!

What is your take on “I’ll get back to you” or “let me get back to you” and never hearing from the person again?

[molosmojo]

Shedding the excess

I have always been someone who would be on the heavier side in terms of my physical appearance – I was born as an 8.5-pound kid in my native and was this kid with massive cheeks which got pulled all the time.

Over the years, I continued to be this round kid with lots and lots of fat 😊. Even during my adulthood, I continued being this chubby boy.

My grandfather had this thing that “one day, everyone has to go, so why not eat everything and then go”! Being from his lineage, I too lived with the same philosophy – EAT, until I started to look completely out of shape.

It was during the CV-19 period that a lot of us (including me) had put on excess weight due to limited movement and continuous eating – I was clearly consuming more calories than what I was burning! My weight had touched 86 kilos.

One fine day, couple of years back, I signed-up for a nearby gym and started following a diet plan too. It initially helped me lose some fat but I continued going to the gym only for 4 to 5 months – by that time, I had lost ~6 kilos and was at 79 or 80.

Once I quit the gym last year, I only focused on maintaining my diet and through a period of 12 months or so, now, I have finally come down to ~72 kilos – down 14 kilos from where I started 18 months back. It keeps fluctuating 1 o 2 kilos here and there, but essentially, I can maintain it.

There are so many of you who have seen me in the earlier version would look at me in disbelief now – but yeah, I made a choice to cut down the excess and be fit for myself, I don’t think there is any magic but it is sheer commitment, consistency, discipline – I am not someone who would want to have a chiselled body but being fit is what is more important!

What’s your story of cutting down the excess!?