Year 2004 : Turning vegan in the year of the Tsunami .. !

I had 2 choices in the January of 2004...!

One : Stay back in Pune and take up a job with Tata Technologies, which was a result of my Dad's influence being associated with the Tata Group.

Two : Ride high on the fact that I had cleared an Open House, to get employed with one of the top 5 IT companies in India -  all on my own merit ! My Father of course, made that choice a lot easier for me, by allowing me to get out of my Home Town and experience life on my own terms .. !

So here I was in Hyderabad, staying as a PG in the Cosmopolitan area of Begum Peth in Secunderabad with make-up loving & extremely pure-hearted girls of Mumbai ! :) I was now going to earn almost double the amount compared to what I started out with, in Pune.

However, funding expenses as a result of staying away from home, made me feel the salary was still quite meagre. This time, I ensured that my purchases were reflective of my earnings, in line with my monthly budget, and yet very tasteful. I bought a modest pure silk saree for my Mum from Nalli Silks.  I even remember returning my Dad's cheque of INR 5000 which he had handed over to me as contingency funds - I did make him so proud for a change ;) …!

It was also the very 1st time I owned a cell phone and shopped for 'only' branded clothes. One day when I stepped out shopping with a bunch of friends and picked up this Pendant and Earrings set made of white sparkly stones, Santosh instantly commented "You can't fake these for Diamonds !!". Now, ME, being the rebel I am/was, went ahead and bought it! But that statement had a profound impact on me and would shape my purchase of jewellery going forward ! N oh.. It's also worth mentioning that on our very 1st official outbound event with fellow Entry Level Trainees, both Santosh and Myself were voted to be the best dressed - so surely, the comment had been made from the Male best dressed to another female who was perceived to be best dressed and ought to have been taken seriously !

So what does that have to do with Finances you wonder ? Well it's this...  

When you cannot afford what you love or aspire to own, you must settle for an affordable classic - and I settled for the 'Timeless Pearl Studs' !

(somewhere in the September of 2013, anchoring the Vodafone India IT Townhall, I had a chance to sport this astoundingly beautiful set of pearls gifted by Abhi in 2011 when I returned to work from a sabbatical of 3 years & the ring of course is what I robbed from my Mother ! ;)  ) 

Year 2003: Crash of the space shuttle or the Year of the cease-fire ?

The Americans were recuperating post the dot-com bust that followed the Y2K scare. To make things worse, the 9/11 attacks had intensified the 2001 recession.

As an aftermath, the days of 100% placements at PICT had sunset. I was coming to terms with the fact that I had not landed a placement through college. I graduated with a distinction, and my maternal uncle helped me take up my 1st job. For contracting as a programmer with the National Informatics Center (NIC), INR 7000 was what I earned as my 1st salary! 

My 1st purchase was 3 months into working ! 14K blown off in less than 45 minutes, on "couple watches" for my Parents. Later that week, my parents take me to the Titan showroom to return the watches and buy gold instead, from Tanishq (thankfully, both being TATA enterprises made the exchange possible).

I had learnt my first lessons in managing money - A penny invested, is wealth multiplied ! The price of 10 gms of 24 carat gold was Rs.5,600 in 2003 - Today it is Rs. 42,430 ! A whooping 657% return on investment ! 

As I look back today, the seeds on living minimally, by refusing to buy more of what you already have and making wiser financial decisions were sown by my parents almost 2 decades ago. It has in a lot of ways, paved the way for a Minimalist Lifestyle, which I have repeatedly struggled to adapt, but have been proud of the fact that I've never let go off my attempts !

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In a hope to do more of what I love, more of what gives meaning to my life, more of dedicating time to what I do for a living vs. what I do for Joy, more of trying to influence people positively through my experiences, more of hoping to help people live better... a series of posts on the "Financial Timeline of My Life " so far.. this was the first of those series and I hope if you dint find something you already knew, you at least found a way to teach it to your children ! :) 

Stay Tuned, Stay Safe & Stay @Home ! :)
-Sayli
(sending you love n hugs from the 'Corona Virus' Lockdown of April 2020)

When you have the courage to say Goodbyes.. Life will greet you with new “Hello’s”!!

When you have the courage to say Goodbyes.. Life will greet you with new “Hello’s”!!

I was greeted with a very warm Hello, 8.7 yrs back on June 2^nd 2011. Since then, it has taken a battalion of extremely able people, to make my journey with Vodafone Idea a truly memorable one !

Brij : You truly lived up to being a “Friend indeed”. Thank you for recommending Ashutosh to consider interviewing me at least once… had it not been for that small push, I’d probably never be writing this email..

Ashutosh : The world needs more Men like You..! It does take a lot of courage to employ a lady who has been on a sabbatical of 3 long years to come back and start handling operations - You showed that grit ! I wish all men were alike in that sense… to bestow trust in women wanting to re-start their careers after a break ! You set the foundation for my years ahead with Vodafone, and it sure was a very strong one. I respect the sense of detailing you demanded from me and how patiently you had to put up with my ignorance of technical detail. It was these very qualities that we both strived to develop in myself, which helped me in my future roles. Thank You so much for being my best college senior

ever! J

Mr. Khatri : “You give a man some Fish and you feed him for a day. You teach a man ‘how’ to fish and you feed him for a lifetime !!“ I was only an ‘IBM middleware technologies / EAI’ resource before I fell into your hands - You taught me Telecom !! I would’ve never dreamt of understanding areas as varied as Dedupe to Interconnect, had it not been for your urge to ‘Coach’ me. When I stood up there in London as a Global Hero receiving the honour from Vittorio, the one person I missed was You – that was truly your award ! I was only receiving it on Your Behalf ! I owe every bit of the name, fame and honour to You – I always will. There will never be anyone I’d meet even in future, who would be as invested in my progress as You are ! Thank You Sir for being my best Coach !

Naresh Sir : Our’s may have been the shortest Boss-Subordinate association, but the smiles and laughs we’v shared while handling elephant sized issues with <<-->>, made the journey enjoyable. I salute you for your willingness to be open to your team member’s suggestions. However grave / trivial they may sound, you always had a patient ear and an open mind ! I still haven’t found an answer to your question : why would a global hero award winner want an AO hero award .. ? J

Vimit : It’s probably easier to hire talent for a job. It’s difficult to get a emotionally disturbed resource, to focus on delivering outcomes to the extent of the organization believing that You’ve hired the best man for the job ! When my entire family went through our most emotionally draining period, You uplifted my morale and helped me focus on my deliverables! You kept me away from the thoughts of taking yet another break in my career.  I’ve always said this because I firmly believe it – if there is just 1 person who is the best fit to lead the BA team, it is You. The human touch to you add to your interactions, makes you the best people manager we BAs ever had ! Thank You so much for being ‘You’ !

Mayuri : The sense of admiration I have, for your ability to handle the expanse, complexity and variation of architectural implementations is beyond express-able. Your ability to break humongous problems into chewable pieces and simplify solutions is what I am still trying to practice repeatedly, to the extent of making it a habit. In the barely 1.5 yrs we’ve spent together, there is a lot I have learned by watching you conduct white boarding sessions, evaluating options and presenting them in a convincing fashion to the extent of getting the results you desired ! A quality no ordinary being can master ! There will be opportunities galore when in future, I will recall your line of thinking.. after-all, whatever little I know of Solution / Integration architectures, I’ve learned from You ! Thank You so much for mentoring me and always guiding me with the much needed perspectives, which, only someone with Your experience could bring in…

Nirupmay Sir : The growth and development of People is probably, the highest calling of Leadership and if there is one leader who knows the pulse of his people, it will always be You Sir ! You’ve put me in the right places at the right times, even before I could ask for it. I would have been on a lost track, on a long winding road, feeling unhappy about having to carry on doing operations – a role I never planned to pursue as long term, but accepted for the lack of better prospects. For me, you will always be that God sent angel who had the magical abilities to put my career back on the right path – a path I planned to pursue when I started out as a Middleware consultant with Satyam, way back in 2004 ! I have seen myself transform under your Leadership. To change from an aggressive, loud personality, to an assertive, amicable one was easier when I was under your influence. I am always conscious of the one statement you made “Your brand is what people say about You when you are not around – what is your brand ? ”. As I set foot onto a completely unknown turf, I will surely try to create a brand, inspired by your candor, cause that is how I believe, I will rightly flourish as a professional ! Thank you sir and I will truly miss having You as “My Leader” !

A little bit of me - I will leave behind, a little bit of you - I will carry along. With every step I take forward, I will surely learn to move on… but I don’t think I will ever be able to leave…

I will miss you all dearly..

Wishing you the best that life has to offer…

-          Sayli

P.S: I never intended for this email to be this long.. hoping the name highlights reduced your reading time..

Regards,

Sayli A. Yadav

Solution Manager - Integration & ESS

Demand & Solution Management