Vivek Pradhan wasn't a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the First
Class air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi Express couldn't
cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and entitled to air
travel. It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to reason with
the admin guy, it was the savings in time. A PM had so many things to
do!

He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time
to some good use.

"Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was
staring appreciatively at the laptop.

Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop
now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive
car.

"You people have brought so much advancement to the country sir. Today
everything is getting computerized."

'Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a detailed
look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man
was young and

stocky like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place
in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep
school. He probably was a Railway sportsman making the most of his
free traveling pass.

"You people always amaze me," the man continued, "You sit in an office
and write something on a computer and it does so many big things
outside."

Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naivety demanded reasoning not anger. "It
is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of
writing a few

lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it." For a moment he
was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but
restrained himself to a single statement. "It is complex, very
complex."

"It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid," came the
reply.

This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence
came into his so far affable, persuasive tone.

"Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we
have to put in." "Hard work!" "Indians have such a narrow concept of
hard work.

Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office doesn't mean our
brows

don't sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe
me that is no less taxing."

He had the man where he wanted him and it was time to drive home the
point.

"Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway
reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket
between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized
booking centers across the country.

Thousands of transactions accessing a single database at a given time;
concurrency, data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand
the complexity in designing and coding such a system?"

The man was stuck with amazement, like a child at a planetarium. This
was something big and beyond his imagination.

"You design and code such things."

"I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "But now I am the project
manager,"

"Oh!" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, "so your life
is easy now."

It was like being told the fire was better than the frying pan. The
man had to be given a feel of the heat.

"Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder.
Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding! That is the
easier part. Now I don't do it, but I am responsible for it and
believe me, that is far more stressful. My job is to get the work done
in time and with the highest quality. And to tell you about the
pressures! There is the customer at one end always changing his
requirements, the user wanting something else and your boss always
expecting you to have finished it yesterday."

Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with
self-realisation.

What he had said was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was
the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth.

"My friend," he concluded triumphantly, "you don't know what it is to
be in the line of fire."

The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization.
When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that
surprised Vivek.

"I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire," He was
staring blankly as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast
expanse of time.

"There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the
cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no
knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In
the morning when we finally hoisted the tricolor at the top only 4 of
us were alive."

"You are a..."

"I am Subedar Sushant Singh from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak
4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for
a land assignment. But tell me sir, can one give up duty just because
it makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture one of my colleagues
lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding
behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to
safety. But my captain refused me permission and went ahead
himself. He said that the first pledge he had taken as a

Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation
foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he
commanded. His own personal safety came last, always and every
time. He was killed as he shielded that soldier into the bunker. Every
morning now as I stand guard I can see him taking all those bullets,
which were actually meant for me. I know sir,


I know what it is to be in the line of fire."

Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of his reply. Abruptly he
switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a
word document in the presence of a man for whom valor and duty was a
daily part of life; a valor and sense of duty which he had so far
attributed only to epical heroes.

The train slowed down as it pulled into the station and Subedar
Sushant

Singh picked up his bags to alight.

"It was nice meeting you sir."

Vivek fumbled with the handshake. This was the hand that had climbed
mountains, pressed the trigger and hoisted the tricolor. Suddenly as
if by impulse he stood at attention, and his right hand went up in an
impromptu salute.

It was the least he felt he could do for the country.

This incident during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true life incident
during the Kargil war. Major Vikram Batra sacrificed his life while
trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within
sight. For this and his various other acts of bravery he was
posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra - the nation's highest
military award

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sanjeev Manocha, MBA
Real Estate Sales Representative
Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR)

Re/Max West Realty Inc, Brokerage
96, Rexdale Blvd., Toronto

Mobile: 416-843-7600
Office: 416-745-2300
http://www.manocharealty.com" rel="nofollow">LINK

Sanjeev,

Thanks for the excellent post. JAI HIND!!



Ayaskant.

Quote:

---

Orginally posted by sanjeevm

Vivek Pradhan wasn't a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the First
Class air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi Express couldn't
cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and entitled to air
travel. It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to reason with
the admin guy, it was the savings in time. A PM had so many things to
do!

He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time
to some good use.

\"Are you from the software industry sir,\" the man beside him was
staring appreciatively at the laptop.

Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop
now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive
car.

\"You people have brought so much advancement to the country sir. Today
everything is getting computerized.\"

'Thanks,\" smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a detailed
look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man
was young and

stocky like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place
in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep
school. He probably was a Railway sportsman making the most of his
free traveling pass.

\"You people always amaze me,\" the man continued, \"You sit in an office
and write something on a computer and it does so many big things
outside.\"

Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naivety demanded reasoning not anger. \"It
is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of
writing a few

lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it.\" For a moment he
was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but
restrained himself to a single statement. \"It is complex, very
complex.\"

\"It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid,\" came the
reply.

This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence
came into his so far affable, persuasive tone.

\"Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we
have to put in.\" \"Hard work!\" \"Indians have such a narrow concept of
hard work.

Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office doesn't mean our
brows

don't sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe
me that is no less taxing.\"

He had the man where he wanted him and it was time to drive home the
point.

\"Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway
reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket
between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized
booking centers across the country.

Thousands of transactions accessing a single database at a given time;
concurrency, data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand
the complexity in designing and coding such a system?\"

The man was stuck with amazement, like a child at a planetarium. This
was something big and beyond his imagination.

\"You design and code such things.\"

\"I used to,\" Vivek paused for effect, \"But now I am the project
manager,\"

\"Oh!\" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, \"so your life
is easy now.\"

It was like being told the fire was better than the frying pan. The
man had to be given a feel of the heat.

\"Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder.
Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding! That is the
easier part. Now I don't do it, but I am responsible for it and
believe me, that is far more stressful. My job is to get the work done
in time and with the highest quality. And to tell you about the
pressures! There is the customer at one end always changing his
requirements, the user wanting something else and your boss always
expecting you to have finished it yesterday.\"

Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with
self-realisation.

What he had said was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was
the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth.

\"My friend,\" he concluded triumphantly, \"you don't know what it is to
be in the line of fire.\"

The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization.
When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that
surprised Vivek.

\"I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire,\" He was
staring blankly as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast
expanse of time.

\"There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the
cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no
knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In
the morning when we finally hoisted the tricolor at the top only 4 of
us were alive.\"

\"You are a...\"

\"I am Subedar Sushant Singh from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak
4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for
a land assignment. But tell me sir, can one give up duty just because
it makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture one of my colleagues
lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding
behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to
safety. But my captain refused me permission and went ahead
himself. He said that the first pledge he had taken as a

Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation
foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he
commanded. His own personal safety came last, always and every
time. He was killed as he shielded that soldier into the bunker. Every
morning now as I stand guard I can see him taking all those bullets,
which were actually meant for me. I know sir,


I know what it is to be in the line of fire.\"

Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of his reply. Abruptly he
switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a
word document in the presence of a man for whom valor and duty was a
daily part of life; a valor and sense of duty which he had so far
attributed only to epical heroes.

The train slowed down as it pulled into the station and Subedar
Sushant

Singh picked up his bags to alight.

\"It was nice meeting you sir.\"

Vivek fumbled with the handshake. This was the hand that had climbed
mountains, pressed the trigger and hoisted the tricolor. Suddenly as
if by impulse he stood at attention, and his right hand went up in an
impromptu salute.

It was the least he felt he could do for the country.

This incident during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true life incident
during the Kargil war. Major Vikram Batra sacrificed his life while
trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within
sight. For this and his various other acts of bravery he was
posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra - the nation's highest
military award

---

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Success

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded. Bessie Stanley

Brilliantly esayed the fact that "every1 has his own job which is no less important "

Manasvi .

Quote:

---

Orginally posted by Manasvi

Brilliantly esayed the fact that "every1 has his own job which is no less important "

Manasvi .

---

-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Aur Vaise Bhi, Sharafat ki jab kapde utarti hai, sabse zyaada mazaa shareefon ko hi aati hai"....(From The Dirty Picture)

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This is a Useful Health related Tip
http://www.canadiandesi.ca/read.php?TID=3865
Please visit
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