The Bard Signs Off

Foreword:
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The Article:
11th August 2004 is still etched clearly in my memory. It was the dayI walked into the maze called ‘Sharda Center’ without knowing whereexactly I was going.
Coming from a string of small names, working with a brand ‘MBT’ wassomething I hadn’t realized would happen so soon. Little did I realizethat it was the beginning of a rather wonderful, intriguing, mindboggling journey that ends today. Today marks an end to one of themost enriching phases of my life in terms of both professional andpersonal growth
Starting as a subcontractor (C2995) the journey began with the i-MBTteam, easily one of the best teams and one of the most wonderful setof people I’ve worked with.The ever smiling Santosh Gokhale (I still haven’t figured out why hewas smiling all the way thru my interview) who taught me to navigate thru Sharda Center. The wise man Dinesh Velhal, Hrishikesh Das (DasBabu), Abhi, Nishit, GaG, Sunil, Spanati, Amey, Anoop (Guptajee),Niladri (Tan), Snigdha, Poonam, Nivedita and not to forget VarshaMehendale (the best manager I’ve worked with).
Somewhere in the middle of all this on 5th May 2005 I came on payrollof MBT (10978).
We were infact the first team to be moved to what we called Kalapaniduring that time, what is now known as Panchsheel. A couple ofarticles written by a couple of us during that time will give you afair idea of what it was during that time. Yet we survived ... theroads, the arduous bus journeys from Sharda to Panchsheel, the 5 floortreks (there was no lift in the Panchsheel building when we moved).Gradually each one of moved out of the project to go our separateways. Komodo, AHAK, Antya, GaG were born during that time, and sowere thinshark and fiteklub , the blog wars, the incessant banter issomething none of us will ever forget.
I still remember the time when I got married. Tan, Amey and Abhijitused to draw on my whiteboard on my desk. A man hanging from a noosewith a caption ‘x days to go’ with x being the number of days as acountdown to my marriage. And when I came back from leave all I saywas a man hanging from the noose. Guys, that was pretty prophetic.
The last of my assignments on i-MBT was the rechristening of i-MBT towhat you now call ‘Spectrum’.
Then came the shift from .NET to Siebel, frustrating at first andthen interesting and intriguing and pretty enriching finally.Work pressure, and more work pressure, a new horizon , new challengesand roles were a hallmark of this stint, a stint that ends today.
Was lucky to have met some really interesting people as well during this time.The ever so humble, Sanjay Tajne and Ravi Natekar ... immensestorehouses of knowledge, the people who helped me grind my teeth inSiebel.Jaisith, Achal, Rajitha, Raveendra, Pramod Patil, Pritam, ManojPatil, Avinash Burgula, Dhaval, Vishal, Lokpal, Anindo, SudhanshuAgashe, Ambrish Raval, Priyadarshani Jadhav, from Pune ... all uniquein their own way. Many forgettable ones as well, hence forgotten. Manyother interesting persons from each of whom I gained a unique outlookabout life. Each a gem, it was really a pleasure to have known themall.
Then the move to Bangalore for reasons now known to a select few.
More pressure and more interesting people. A totally new mindset, atotally new life. The entire T2R team, again one of the mosteffervescent teams I have worked with. Specially people like Bimal,Vinod Nair, Vinod Bagi, Vikranth (Wishing him a happy married life),Anil and his entire test team, Duttsaab, the 3 Rajesh’s (Naik, Mysoreand N) who are great friends. Bhagwan , Bharat (never seen him getangry). From all these people I’ve learnt something or the other.
Then a short stint with Huawei and a special thank you to Vinod Vermaand Ravi Charan without whose support I could not have survived one ofthe toughest phases in my personal life. A special thank you to bothof you.
I have had the opportunity of working under the best managers andworking for the best people in this organization, this note willdefinitely not be complete without mentioning the contribution ofVarsha Mehendale, Vivek Takawale, Vaijayanthi Rangarajan, HrishikeshDas and Sushil Kurian without whose guidance and mentoring thisjourney would not have been so enriching and easy.
Also the Techmate editorial group , the journey from a 2 membereditorial board to what it is know. These are the people who made lifebearable in times of crisis and pressure. Hawkeye, TP, Mav, Mystique,Nirvana, Ramlal , Omshafu, Saricaustic you guys rock.
As I look back on the last 5 years, I realize that I have gained a lotof experience, am enriched. There’s a fond wish that this journeycould have continued further but there comes a time in life where youhave to make a choice. This is the choice I made, and as I now set tostart life afresh (sometimes life leads you and you do not end uphaving a choice at all ;)), I would like to thank all those who havemade this journey worthwhile. Without you all this journey never wouldhave been possible.
29th October 2009, As I look around, I realize that from tomorrowonwards I will not walk these corridors again, something I felt that Imoved to Bangalore, but then this is what it is with Tech M. It growson you. It has become a part of me, something that will be confined tomemories from tomorrow. Something that will be a cherished memory fortimes to come. A part of me feels bad to leave behind something I’vealways held close to my heart while another part of me is ready totake flight towards a new horizon.
To all those who were a part of me in this journey I wish you ‘All theBest’ in life. Be true to yourself and you will achieve what you want.
To all the rest of my friends (Juri , Reuben, Kanchan, Amar , Ranji,Dr Manish … the list is mighty big it might take a further page but Iguess they got the message),a big thank you for tolerating myidiosyncrasies, all of you will be sorely missed.
I carry fond memories from this place, and the time spent and friendsearned during my tenure here will always be special… veddy veddyspecial…J
And to the select few who managed to decipher me in these 5 years… ‘S’long and thanks for all the fish’ :)

-Antya