Experience Uncertainty

It was yet another mundane day in the life of a typical software engineer like me! Oops I almost forgot I am no longer a mere software engineer aka coder, I have managed to scale up a level or two thanks to the one year heavily paid vacation that I took in Dubai and Singapore metaphorically packaged as a global MBA! Jokes apart, being honest the one year term wasn’t that bad… it sure did teach me a thing or two about management as well as handling people ;) thanks to the revered PLACOM Flashback ends – moving on… Where was I? Oh yeah, mundane day in the life of an associate consultant aka business analyst. I somehow managed to drag myself out of the house just in time to catch the bus. I was munching away the bread toast prepared by mom for breakfast and hoping in vain no one catches me eating on the road! But privacy is next to infinity in a place like Chennai. Most chennai’tes consider it their unsaid birth right to stare at others until they eyeballs pop out of sheer exhaustion! Oh well I must admit I have got used to it by now! Anyway, coming back to the point… I was munching the bread toast and waiting for my office bus to come. It was then that I saw a Tata Consultancy Services bus zoom past me and it managed to catch my eye for two reasons – one it was surprisingly new to be a software company bus! Most buses that ply on the road for software engineers are nothing but a square metal box with four wheels and a branding logo which aims to inspire people walking on the road to become a part of their vibrant organization! Frankly I am of the opinion that it does more harm than good. I mean, who would think to themselves that I want to be a part of this company because it has a rattling, good for nothing bus – How cool! Oh lord, once again getting back to the point – Well I am almost there – so hold on to your horses! The first reason as I mentioned before is the brand new bus. The second reason happens to be their new corporate branding slogan which is “Experience Certainty” I have seen their new advert in you tube and it’s a well made presentation with people and places fitting into their Experience Certainty branding. While the slogan is indeed catchy with just two well defined words – it did send me on a retrospective mode! My thought process did take me to various events and people I see every day during my hour and a half ride to work. I belong to the legion of few blessed souls on mother earth who experiences certainty in my day to day life. How taken for granted is my life… everything that I do on a day to day routine is taken for granted. It is taken for granted that I have breakfast at home, it is taken for granted that I have a couple of new clothes every month, I am one of those who have several things that are taken for granted. In other word I experience certainty every passing moment! My bus ride to work takes me not just through the different localities of Chennai metropolitan, it also helps me see the lucid life of so many people who live in the same city as mine – yet do not experience certainty as I do! Last evening, I was on my way back from work and my bus was moving at snail’s pace owing to heavy traffic and water logged roads. Thanks to the Chennai Municipal council. I was bored of listening to songs from my iPod – taken for granted because I was a B school student and life without an apple product in the B school is blasphemous! One more by product of Experiencing Certainty! The bus was stuck at a traffic signal for over 10 minutes and I was aimlessly looking out of my window. My eyes settled on a young thing of 18 or 19 years of age. Dressed in clothes patched at innumerable places, she was laughing to her heart’s content with 2 kids who much to my surprise and shock called her ‘Amma’. She must have got married quite early to have 2 kids at the age of 19! I could be wrong about her age but the fact remains that she was a very young girl. Way too young to be the mother of 2. Her settlement was on the side of the road, patched at innumerable number of places just like her clothes. But I was genuinely surprised to see a broken plastic flower hanging dangling at her doorway. Well, what really impressed me was the cooking that was being done at the entrance with meager utensils and I am guessing ingredients as well. If it rains heavily, the cooking set up will have to be moved! Oh boy how much of Uncertainty she gets to experience. She played around with the kids and kept cooking at the same time. Her kids were clothed in bare minimum and displayed great acrobatics for as a fish takes to water, these young urchins take to rough life from a very young and tender age… now that experiencing uncertainty! The bus got the signal that it was waiting for and I left behind the young lady and her kids who would have probably enjoyed their minimal dinner! Will they get one the next day…? Experience Uncertainty