It happened! This is what I was afraid of. Before I could apply for the leave, I got the automated message saying I was “almost absconding”. It did not matter that I had taken permission from my boss, it did not matter that I had informed all my colleagues, it did not matter that I was checking most of my mail every day, it did not matter that I was on calls almost every day of my leave. Damn computers! They aren’t smart enough yet. Not yet in the self learning mode. They just executed the policy!
(Btw, it’s all about how you put together and analyze all the available data to draw conclusions. For example, two of the 9/11 suicide “bombers” had their names in the terrorist watch list, were staying in the US under their own names, had their phone numbers listed and had bought the 9/11 tickets on their own names. All the data was available… just that no-one including NSA could put it all together… not in time at least. The future lies in collecting and making sense of data from varied sources. Not only in case of terrorism but also in case of retail (sounds familiar?) and jobs. It’s all about maths. The future lies in maths. A recommended read on this topic is “The Numerati” by Stephen Baker. The first 2 chapters are a must read. A copy is available in my library.)
Coming back to the main topic, it was very uncharacteristic of me to go on an unplanned/unscheduled leave of a week. Not that I never take unplanned leave but never for a week. In my case, any leave more than a day or two is planned at least 3 months in advance due to real life constraints. So this sudden leave took everyone by surprise. I conveniently ducked the question of “where I was” by saying somewhere in India – which was very true. This got the tongues wagging.
A colleague of mine told me that I or rather my leave had become a topic of discussion at lunch table – how flattering! Another one guessed that I was enjoying the nice weather of Nagpur (I had originally gone to Nagpur for the long weekend – Apr 30, May 1-3 – and had extended the leave) – how lame is that? Nagpur is the hottest city in the country with temperatures going up to 48-degrees. That’s HOT - trust me.
Another guy guessed that I was in Bangalore and a good friend of mine said I was in Pune. How stupid is that! Why would I stay in one of these 2 cities and take leave? Why sleep at home when I can do so in an AC office :)
The best one was – I was in some Ashram in Haridwar. Well, I am not as old as I look and I am not there yet – to be going to an Ashram for 5 days.
Btw, by now, I wonder why people have been so curious about my whereabouts. Why can't i go missing for 5 days?
Now, the Sherlock Holmes of worlds, here are some clues for you to figure out where I was –
1. I was somewhere in India – already mentioned
2. Already mentioned some of the places where I wasn’t
3. On my trip I visited one of the ancient universities (The clue!)
4. On my way back to the Pune, the last flight took 50 minutes
5. I was back on a Friday (i.e. in Pune ver the weekend)
Those who already know where I was, please, please, don’t spill the beans and spoil the fun. Others, all the best! Let’s see if you have it in you!!
Want to know of the writer in me? Buy my book - "Of A 'n' B"
Saturday, May 9, 2009
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ancient university - at a flying distance of 50 minutes? Not possible. Unless you went somewhere and then came back to catch a flight. Ancient university in India are limited - either Bihar or Pakistan. well, there might be few in South...have not heard about others.
ReplyDeleteAbhi bhi tumhari aadat gayi nahin. Good to see your trademark blog.
ReplyDeleteWhy not Banaras Hindu University?
ReplyDeleteHappy to see that no one gave you bhav...while you were trying to khaho it as always
ReplyDeleteThank god for small mercies!
ReplyDeletehey Uday, I just read your posting and I think I have the right answer and believe me it was really easy one - you went to your brother's place at Kahalgaon - ancient site of Vikramshila University. Yes, it was a prestigious institution. I hope you got a chance to do some research there. BTW, how is life outside Infosys.
ReplyDeletehamanae to bataa diyaa ... ab tum bolo hum kaun hain ... there is an ward if you can guess who I am. the clue is, you know me very well. we have worked together and none of us are with infosys now. please write me to: boojhotojaanein@gmail.com
Amazing! You got it right mate... I wonder who you are though... can't guess!!
ReplyDeletewell - it is really easy to guess. In order to fight the hot weather of Pune and the smoke in the smoking zone, I used to apply deodorant lavishly and it used to spill further down. After reading the first chapter of "Of A 'n' B", I felt glad that I erred on the side of being lavish. BTW, the characters of "Of A 'n' B" seem very familiar - directly taken from the smoking zone of Phase II. I know it is writer's imagination and the imaginations are usually inspired from the real life. Well, this is all from now - will soon catch up with you my recent trip to Wall Street and the length of the tie there - they said it usually grows as they rise in the corporate ladder.
ReplyDeleteGot you mate... Ashutosh Kumar Lal Das :)... where are you these days?
ReplyDeletehmmm ... Bull's eye.
ReplyDelete"where are you these days?" is sometimes a difficult question, particularly in the current virtual world. Recently, I had a touching / touchy experience. We called customer support to troubleshoot problems with Linksys (now part of cisco) router and the call was picked up by a damsel at vCustomer in VadagaonSheri. At Lenovo support, it is interesting - they say that your call is being transferred to the customer care center in Atlanta, Georgia.
Sometimes, people are physically with their officially prescribed life partner, but mentally with someone else - a phenomena that has recently become a subject of spiritual research too - swamiji's talk about this a lot.
But to answer your question, physically, we are currently near Pittsburgh amidst Allegheny Mountains. Many a times I feel lost / found with the nature. Rising everyday and hitting the sack is a new experience.
It was nice getting connected again. I dont have your gmail-ID - will be great if you could please add me ashut.das@gmail.com
cheers!