Thanks for everything .....YOU are the BEST MANAGER (after SIR :))

Dear Siraj,
This letter is sent to the little void where i send my thots in form of “prayers” and gratitude. I want you to read this and know that by sending my thots to the universe I have expressed my ultimate gratitude for what I was blessed with and I am sure that the thots will come back to you in the form of blessings ...
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So i have a job in hand after a sabbatical of one year

Am i happy? Am i excited?

When I started going through my letters, documents, payment slips to be submitted to my new employer, I wept. I was flooded with the memory of burnt coffee, smelling of honesty and workholism....it happened without my conscious knowledge.....

instead of feeling the excitement of new phase of my life...i felt depressed and homeless...

Each CDA certificate and letter made me feel more miserable. I missed my team, my floor, my cubicle, my journey to the campus, my fights, my laughter, my sharing ………..and so many more things……….

My three wholesome years.

Did I ever tell you –

You were not only my manager but my mentor, my best friend, my well-wisher, a big brother who towered over me to protect me from all my mistakes! (in my mind of course!)

I remember the day when the meeting on appraisal was cancelled in front of the whole management team and I was reduced to tears. I was confused with anger, frustration and embarrassment all flooding my mind and psyche together. I wanted to shout and simply walk away from room - away from PAS.
You waited patiently and kindly for me till the conference - room was empty. You went and talked to the concerned person and made sure my side of the story was heard…I still see you walking towards his cabin, sitting on the table near my chair and trying to placate my shaken self…

I was about to resign that day – but I stopped – for you.

I made mistakes. And you forgave. Always. Patiently.

Till I met you, I never knew a mathematical mind could be so spiritual, so brute honest and yet so very much humane. A financial wizard, a 33 year old CEO, the man who carried his bag on his back, who travelled in auto (when required) without embarrassment, who stood in line during lunch hours…..man who could talk to numbers and see the pattern we average mind could not .. the man you could call at 3 am and know that if there is anybody who can rush to your help – it is him …(I have heard some stories I don’t want to write here..) …the man who wanted to dole-out good bonus to his team so that they could buy a house and a car .....the man who believed in SEMCO style of working ....the man who was temperamental and yet so patient!!

You were the monk who sold his Ferrari, the Howard Roark, the man I admire so much – MY HERO and a hero to lot of analytic-brains on the floor


Did you know?

- I was almost certain that you will throw me out when I announced my pregnancy only after 4 months of joining PAS , but I was surprised that you were “genuinely” happy for me
- I was immensely touched by the fact that you had asked people not to smoke around me because I was pregnant!!
- Manjunath P made sure I did not get down the bus during our off (on)-site trip to Kerala because I was pregnant – Vaidehi, Vani and Manjunath would make sure I had fruits and disposed my plates with their own hands!
- I had a godh-bharai rasam in office , obviously in south – Indian fashion. Vaidehi and Vani did all the rituals to make sure I did not miss my parents and family in the seventh month of my pregnancy (offered me clothes, bangles, etc..)
- Dr. Shan fed me with home-made biryani (cooked by his mother) when I was in the initial phase of pregnancy and could not eat anything
- On my farewell day Harish (senior) held my hand and said he loved me for the person I was. that was one of the best compliments I have ever had from a colleague
- I loved the fact that Kumar had asked the ISO auditor to give me a slot for audit in the schedule timeline that suited my need since I had a baby to take care of and I could not be in office for so long……. I was touched…
- That, there are innumerable instances when I have felt a sense of gratitude towards you for not judging me and giving me my space to perform the way I wanted to ….
- That, I always prepared thoroughly for out meetings on Friday and would have a panic attack 30 mts prior to the meeting – I would pray fervently to GOD for the cancellation of the meeting!!!!

………..That when I left PAS
I left a part of me there

Will I ever be passionate about any other place the way I was for SAVILLS and PAS…will I be again blessed with a manager like SIR and YOU…. Will my belief, that in the cut-throat corporate world, you can survive with honesty and passion, stand me in good stead… I don’t know …time will tell…

As of now, I am missing the coffee smell ….and the fact, that out there, within the glassed walls and working cubicles it is possible to find happiness and satisfaction not only professionally but also personally ....that managers like YOU exist !

PS: :)
Since you cannot, by any means, appraise me, revise my salary or promote me now, i am free to express what i felt so deeply but could not express in so many words for fear of being taken otherwise :)