This story was sent to me by one of my Indian Army Friends and it quite caught me !! Here it goes as it is...
A real story ...A conversation between a passenger and Software Engineer in
Shatabdi Train in India...........An interesting and a must read!
Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man.. Even the plush comfort of the
air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi express could not cool his
frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air
travel. It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to reason with the
admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he 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 look. He always
found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young
and stockily built 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. Naiveness 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 crept
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. Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we
sit in an air-conditioned office, does not mean our brows do not sweat. You
exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less
taxing.'
He could see, he had the man where he wanted, 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 time concurrently; data integrity, locking, data security.
Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?'
The man was awestruck; quite 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.'
This was like the last straw for Vivek. He retorted, '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 do not 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. To tell you
about the pressures, there is the customer at one end, always changing his
requirements, the user at the other, wanting something else, and your boss,
always expecting you to h ave finished it yesterday.'
Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with
self-realization. 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 tri-colour at the top only
4 of us were alive.'
'You are a...?'
'I am Subedar Sushant 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 soft
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 sahib
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 and brought that injured soldier into the
bunker.. Every morning thereafter, as we stood guard, I could 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 how to respond. Abruptly, he
switched off the laptop.
It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a Word document in the presence
of a man for whom valour and duty was a daily part of life;
valour 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
picked up his bags to alight.
'It was nice meeting you sir.'
Vivek fumbled with the handshake.
This hand... had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted the
tri-colour. Suddenly, as if by impulse, he stood up at attention
and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute....
It was the least he felt he could do for the country.
PS: The incident he narrated during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life
incident during the Kargil war. Capt. Batra sacrificed his
life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was
within sight. For this and various other acts of bravery, he was
awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the nation's highest military award.
Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn!
Shatabdi Train in India...........An interesting and a must read!
Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man.. Even the plush comfort of the
air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi express could not cool his
frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air
travel. It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to reason with the
admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he 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 look. He always
found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young
and stockily built 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. Naiveness 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 crept
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. Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we
sit in an air-conditioned office, does not mean our brows do not sweat. You
exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less
taxing.'
He could see, he had the man where he wanted, 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 time concurrently; data integrity, locking, data security.
Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?'
The man was awestruck; quite 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.'
This was like the last straw for Vivek. He retorted, '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 do not 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. To tell you
about the pressures, there is the customer at one end, always changing his
requirements, the user at the other, wanting something else, and your boss,
always expecting you to h ave finished it yesterday.'
Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with
self-realization. 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 tri-colour at the top only
4 of us were alive.'
'You are a...?'
'I am Subedar Sushant 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 soft
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 sahib
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 and brought that injured soldier into the
bunker.. Every morning thereafter, as we stood guard, I could 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 how to respond. Abruptly, he
switched off the laptop.
It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a Word document in the presence
of a man for whom valour and duty was a daily part of life;
valour 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
picked up his bags to alight.
'It was nice meeting you sir.'
Vivek fumbled with the handshake.
This hand... had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted the
tri-colour. Suddenly, as if by impulse, he stood up at attention
and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute....
It was the least he felt he could do for the country.
PS: The incident he narrated during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life
incident during the Kargil war. Capt. Batra sacrificed his
life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was
within sight. For this and various other acts of bravery, he was
awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the nation's highest military award.
Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn!
I do try to see everyday in everyone's face what they might be going through.. and I salute the human spirit of fighting their own unique battle everyday !!
Not to forget the mention of one of my friend's thought.. as we walked together she told me about her grandfather's illness which was completely unknown to me even though I lived with her for so much time. I was so surprised with myself that in my own little world and my own thoughts I never thought about why she never talked about her grandfather ? And today I was so full of respect for her , for she lives all the tough thoughts and never even complains !! never even lets it effect what lives around her !!! How does she do that ? But indeed she inspired me .. she showed me how important it is to take care of things which we are blessed with !!!
Thanks to this friend for making me realise once again that all of us have our own unique battles and we should indeed be respectful and humble to each other's life...
"Live, love .. laugh and inspire.. you never know how many lives you touch !!! "
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