ASIAN CASE RESEARCH JOURNAL, VOL.
9, ISSUE 2, 283–297 (2005)
ACRJ
This case was prepared by
Doctoral scholar C. Vijayal-
akshmi, Prof. Satish K. Kalra
and Prof. Rajen K. Gupta as a
basis for classroom dis-
cussion rather than to illu-
strate effective or ineffective
handling of an administra-
tion or business situation.
Please address all cor-
respondence to: Dr Vi-
jayalakshmi C., Doctoral
scholar (OB), Manage-
ment Development Institute,
Mehrauli Road, Sukhrali,
Gurgaon – 122001, Inda.
E-mail: fpm01viji@gmail.com
© 2005 by World Scientific Publishing Co.
Autobiography of a Manager
I am Raja, a 31-year old alumnus of IIM (Ahmedabad),
with nine years of experience in the corporate sector. I am
currently employed as a Product Manager in a software
MNC. Mr. Raman, my erstwhile boss from ICG, called me
up yesterday. He has been appointed as the head of the
consultancy firm which I was working for and made me
an offer that if I go back, the firm would take me back in a
senior position and with a decent salary hike. He wants me
to inform him of my decision within a week.
Almost simultaneously, I got a SOS mail from Vivek,
my boss, asking me to rush immediately to New Delhi as the
implementation partners of an important client are having
trouble with the product and were not able to handle it. The
other consultants, Ajay and Yash have refused to go. I have
my performance appraisal meeting scheduled next week
with Vivek. I am being shuttled from one crisis to another,
fire fighting all the time. I am feeling DRAINED. This was
not how life was supposed to be.
MY FAMILY
I was born on 12th November 19XX in Chennai. My earliest
memories are of happy childhood days in my grandparents’
house in Chennai. As the baby of the family then, the entire
family cherished and pampered me.
My grandmother, besides having an MA honors
in mathematics, was also an accomplished singer in
284 ACRJ

Hindustani1 genre and had released several albums. She

was partly responsible for our family’s musical inclination.
She was not only an achiever in her own right, but was also
beautiful, and extremely religious. My grandmother had
come to stay with us when I was in class two. Soon after,
she passed away after a brief illness. It is still a traumatic
incident to recall. I was her favorite grandson. I still travel
with her photo everywhere. It is the first and the last thing
I see everyday. I feel that my grandmother is watching over
me and will continue to take care of me.
My grandfather died when I was three. I do not
remember him much, though I recall his room and his
vast collection of books. I grew up hearing numerous
inspirational stories about him. He had come penniless to
Chennai (Madras as it was called then) from Mangalore
and studied under street lamps. He topped his class
throughout his studies and ended up in the IA&AS2 and
had all the luxuries that came with British administrative
service. He forced all his sons, (except my Dad) and several
of his nephews into the Indian Administrative Services. He
ensured that my dad and my uncles thought that it was the
pinnacle of achievement. I would have been different, maybe
an engineer, but for his philosophy.
My mom lost both her parents before she was ten.
Her brother brought her up, along with her twin brother.
Her childhood days were very unpleasant. She was married
at the age of 19 and I was born a year later. She speaks
and reads English, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi.
She has learnt French too. She is tremendously patient
with people and she has tried to inculcate the same in me
though unsuccessfully. An extremely forgiving person,
she feels sad that I am not so. She got on very well with
my late grandmother, who became the mother she did not
have. My mom has taken my grandmother’s place as the
mainstay of the entire family: the pivot around which all my
uncles, aunts and cousins revolve. I continue to tease her
about the control she has on the family and how much she
1
North Indian classical music.
2
IA&AS: Indian Audit and Accounts Service is a part of Indian Administrative
Services.
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A MANAGER 285

seems to like it. I am very close to my Mom. Some relatives

felt that was it was one of the reasons why my marriage
broke down. I do not quite agree to that. On a number of
occasions, I would think of something and she would say it,
and vice versa. It is true of my dad as well. We have a good
laugh over it.
Though his family perceives him as a tough man,
my Dad is a very soft person and adores me. He would
do anything for me. Everybody is scared of his temper.
He was a strict disciplinarian when I was young. He was
my mathematics guru and I got walloped with rolled-up
newspapers, magazines, electrical cord of the iron, clothes
hangers, his palm, etc. I appear to have inherited his temper
from him much to the despair of my mom. He was absorbed
in his work and his cricket. He used to play the game very
well but could not pursue it as he was tied down to his job.
It was also the reason why he could not pursue his IAS
dream. Later I took up a lot of his spare time and attention.
He found time to play cricket with me, drop me in school,
pick me up at lunchtime, and takes me to quizzes, to the
library whenever I needed to go. I was a member of every
library that I could get into.
He is attached to his brothers and is the first person
they call when they need help. He has very few friends
but they are very close to him. He is not the gregarious,
socializing type, but he likes me to be so. My Dad is very
frugal and he does not believe in wasting money on himself.
He will spend it on me but does not allow me to do the
same to him.
His frugality got us through a tough time, when his
salary was our only source of income. He had to pay the
EMI3 for our flat, I was studying at Ahmedabad and my fees
had to be paid. The impact it had on me was that I never had
any desire for anything expensive. I am never bothered about
appearances. I still do not care about how I dress. My dad
is worse.
My dad had high expectations of me, a lot of which I
belied. I never took up cricket with the enthusiasm that he

3
EMI: Equated Monthly Installments payable towards loan taken.
286 ACRJ

had. When I decided not to join the civil service, which he

and my uncles expected me to, he tried to persuade me a
couple of times but I was firm. With my temper and disdain
for ‘managing’ my superiors, I was sure; I would not fit in as
an IAS officer. He has never expressed any regret, however,
after that. He adores little kids and is sad that he does not
have (and may never have) grandchildren of his own.
I am the only child of the family. When I was in class
four, my mom was pregnant. When my parents spoke to
me about it, I told them I did not want to share them with
anybody else. I do not have any siblings at all. I think my
parents chose not to have the baby.

EDUCATION

I completed my primary school education in Mysore where

my father was posted. School was a happy place for me.
I was the top ranker throughout the first four years. My
father was then transferred to Chennai, when I moved to
class five. I joined PSBB, a reputed school close to home. I
had a brief period of difficulty in adjusting. I soon overcame
it and started doing well. It was in Class VI that Shyam
joined our school. He was the only one I had to compete
with throughout the next five years until class ten. I topped
the class half the time and he, the other half. In class twelve,
he opted to study Computer Science while I opted for
Commerce.
I did well in most of the subjects except geography.
I still cannot mark New Delhi or any other city for that
matter, on the India map. I still cannot decipher whether I
like a subject because I am good at it or because I am good
at a subject that I like. This has been true of me even at IIM
(Ahmedabad). I was good at finance and I liked it. I did not
like Operations management and did badly.
I chose the Commerce stream over science in Class XI,
because it was drilled into my head that I should become an
IAS officer like my grandfather and my uncles. It was also
my dream then to become an IAS officer. I had no friends
in the commerce group because I thought they had taken up
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A MANAGER 287

commerce because they did not get into the science group.
I did not think it was worth my time making friends with
them. I made it clear that I thought they were below me in
intellectual capacities for me to bother about them. The rest
of the class complained to the teacher, who asked me to
explain. I told her that it was true. It did not help matters.
I did not like commerce. I did badly in it. I loved
mathematics and accountancy. I had set my mind to attain
an all-India rank in accountancy. I wanted to see my face
in the newspaper. When the 12th results came out I was in
for a shock. A classmate of mine had obtained an all-India
rank in Commerce while I got none. Though I topped the
school overall, I still did not get an all-India rank, while
a girl I treated with absolute disdain managed to do so. I
was shattered. My classmates did not lose the opportunity
to rub it in.
I finally managed to join B.Com4 in a local college near
home. I also got admission into B.Com (evening shift) in a
well-known college. As it was infradig to study in evening
college, I chose to study in the one close to home. The course
work was relaxed. I thoroughly enjoyed my classes. I hung
around the Sanskrit department, learning the scriptures and
having fun. I topped my college effortlessly.
I started preparing for CAT5 exam during the
third year. It was the time the girl I was infatuated with
got married to an immensely rich person. I was very
disappointed and wanted to prove to myself my worth.
I started preparing with a vengeance. I slogged everyday
for six months. Should I blow my own trumpet? I cleared
all-IIM A, B, C, L and XLRI6. I was keen to join IIM-C as it
was reputed to be best in finance. However, my father and
uncles convinced me to join IIM (A). However, just before

4
B.Com: Bachelor of Commerce.
5
CAT : The Common Admission Test to the Indian Institutes of Management and is
also the entrance test for other premier Business Schools of India.
6
IIM A, B, C, L and XLRI: Top Business schools of India.
IIM A : Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
IIM B : Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
IIM C : Indian Institute of Management , Calcutta.
IIM L : Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow.
XLRI : Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur.
288 ACRJ

I left to do IIM (A) I fell seriously ill. It was later diagnosed

that I had stones in the kidney, which required surgery.
However, by then, I had a call from IIM (A) saying that I
had to join; otherwise, I would forfeit my seat. As I had
no intention whatsoever of taking CAT again, off I was to
IIM (A).
Everything about IIM (A) was traumatic initially. The
courses were tough, the food did not suit me, my pain was
worsening, and my health was deteriorating. After being
used to effortlessly come in tops in my school and college,
here I was working my butt off and still doing badly. In
a class of 150, I was easily in the last 10 percentile. I felt
miserable and I wanted to go back. The economic situation
at home was not too rosy either. I think I came through the
nightmare mainly due to the blessings of my grandmother,
who was watching over me. However, by the end of the first
year, I got the hang of the system. I started enjoying it. My
health also improved after the surgery. Academically I was
doing well, my overall rank improved and I started enjoying
IIM (A) thoroughly. I made a few good friends with fellow
south Indian Brahmins, who shared the same values and
budgetary constraints. I really do not think I missed not
having enough money. Money was never an issue that
bothered me.
When I was growing up I was expected to be an
achiever and a good boy. Academic excellence was part
of being a good boy. Obeying parents was another part.
I had to obey my parents implicitly since I was the only
source of joy to them and could not let them down. I had
to be number one at everything that I did. There was no
question of being no. 2. My granddad, my uncles and my
grandmother were cited as achievers. If someone could score
higher than I could in a test, why can’t I? If they attended a
quiz, why can’t I?
If I did badly in my studies, I would not get admission
to any college due to the reservation policy of the state7.

7
The policy of reservation for Backward Classes has been under implementation
in Tamil Nadu for quite a few decades. Tamil Nadu pioneered the movement for
reservation in Government jobs and seats in educational institutions and introduced
the policy of reservation in the year 1921. The extent of reservation has been growing
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A MANAGER 289

This fact was drummed into me from a very young age. I

needed to study well to get a scholarship to help fund my
education. If I had to get admission to a good college, I
had to do so, on my own merit. We could not afford to pay
heavy capitation fee and there was no way we were going
to borrow money. We never did, thank God. Moreover, if I
had to come up in life, I had to study, for there was nothing
other than that which my parents could give me.
I had to compare myself with the best in everyone
and live up to that. It was not too much pressure doing
that. Perhaps that helped me realize part of my potential. I
also grew to love excelling as it fuelled my ego. There was
nothing that I could not do, if I put my mind to it. That was
how I could get into the limelight. I felt good if I came first,
I also enjoyed studying and taking exams. I enjoyed pitting
myself against the exam and the other students. When others
asked me for help, it gave me an ego boost that I could help
them out.
It also had its negative side. “Come home straight from
school. No fooling around with friends. No loafing around” were
the constant refrain of my parents. Therefore, I missed a lot
of fun at school. It had its effect on me. I might have been
different if I had spent time playing with my classmates
instead of sticking to my books. I would not have become
the voracious reader that I am. Books have replaced most
other activities in life. I remember an occasion when I was
in class VI or VII, when the entire school had gone to watch
a movie (Gandhi) and I was not permitted to do so. I spent
the entire afternoon in the library when my entire class was
watching the movie. It never occurred to me to rebel against
the strictures.

upward from time to time, consistent with the needs of the majority of the people and
it has now reached the level of 69%. The present policy stipulates 18% reservation
for Scheduled Caste, 1% for Scheduled Tribe, 30% for Backward Classes and 20%
for Most Backward Classes and Denotified Communities. (Tamil Nadu Government
Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes And Minorities Welfare Department,
POLICY NOTE 2003–2004) and Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Schedule Castes
and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of
appointment or posts in the Services under the State) Act, 1993 as Act No. 45 of 1994).
Brahmins being upper caste are adversely affected by the Reservation policy.
290 ACRJ

My interest outside studies was quizzing. I was an

enthusiastic quizzer and continue to be so. I was a member
of the Quizzing Foundation of India since school days. As I
was never permitted to go out on my own, my dad would
drop and pick me up from the venues of competitions. My
other passion is music. I learnt music for nearly a year when
I was in school. My regret is that I did not pursue music
seriously.

FRIENDS

I have a few friends. Ramesh was my classmate from XI

class. Initially I had nothing whatsoever to do with him.
However, as I got to know him better, I realized he was a
good person. I helped him with most lessons throughout
the years, until we completed our graduation. We are good
friends until today. Raghu is my friend from college days.
He has a slight stutter and does not speak clearly. While
others usually ignored him, I took interest in him and spent
time helping him with his studies. He was very interested in
Sanskrit and Hindu scriptures. Krishnan is a friend from IIM
(A). He joined ICG at my instance and he continues to work
there. Raghu and Krishnan are yet to marry. I make efforts
to meet my friends whenever I am at Chennai. Of late, it is
becoming increasingly difficult, as everybody is busy with
his own work and family.

MARRIAGE

My parents were keen in getting me married as soon as I

took up a job. I have lost track of the number of girls I saw
and rejected. My parents were getting tired of it and they
served me an ultimatum that I should get married before I
turn thirty. A girl, Bharathi, particularly enamored my mom.
Bharathi had also lost her mother when she was an infant
and her father brought her up. When I met her briefly before
marriage, I neither liked nor disliked her. We got married a
few months later. My marriage was a disaster from the start.
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A MANAGER 291

It only deteriorated and I had to divorce her within a year

of our marriage. It has left me shaken, angry and very sad.
There is a deep void in my life, a wound that refuses to heal.
My parents feel guilty that they drove me to an unsuccessful
marriage, which has left the entire family wounded and
shattered. I feel guilty because my failed marriage has made
my parents very unhappy.

WORK AND CAREER

I had two job offers during campus placements at IIM (A)

— one from Levers as a management trainee in Corporate
Finance and another from ICG for their Consulting division.
Levers office was based in Bangalore and ICG’s based
in Chennai. I joined ICG Consultancy as an Assistant
Consultant in June 19XY. ICG was one of India’s oldest
audit and consultancy firm with global operations. It paid
less than what I would have got at Levers. I still chose to
join them as it gave me the chance to come back home. I
was still cherishing the dream of clearing civil services.
The first few months were very tough. I was very
apprehensive of my abilities and I was not too happy with
my job either. I started with some assignments, which were
not high profile finance assignments, as I would have done
at Levers. I still decided to give myself three years on this
job. It helped get over my initial apprehension with my job
profile. I learnt a lot from my boss, Mr. Raman. He was an
auditor and not a MBA .He was the one who taught me
how to read a balance sheet, how to analyze it and how to
come to the crux of an issue.
ICG was actually a home away from home. Employees
from the Partner to the typist share similar background —
middle class south Indian Brahmin values of hard work and
honesty. The Consultancy division, though several decades
old, was surprisingly free of politics. There were, however,
more than a few bickering as to who contributed how much
towards an assignment and there were others who could
not handle the high pressure of consultancy assignments. I
thoroughly enjoyed my job at ICG.
292 ACRJ

The assignment I still recall with pride was for a

reputed Finance company to redesign their systems with
an objective to improve their efficiencies. That particular
corporate group was known for their world class systems,
but we could still provide suggestions for improvement,
which were well received and implemented. By the end of
first year, I was well settled in ICG. At the end of the second
year, I was promoted to a consultant on a regular salary
(Assistant Consultants receive stipends and not salary). By
now, I had moved to Compensation Surveys.
Due to severe food poisoning, I could not attend
preliminary exams for IAS. I was too sick to attempt it. After
that episode, I gave up my ambition of becoming a civil
servant. I do have a tinge of regret when I see the trappings
that go with the post. Moreover, I do not think I would be
able to handle the politics that go with the post.
The third year was a disaster. My work was slumping,
boredom was setting in and I was not as excited with my
job as earlier. I have only myself to blame that I goofed up a
major assignment. I had assumed what worked for Finance
company mentioned earlier would work for the others as
well. I did not factor in the context specificity and people
issues, which differ with organizations. The client did not
take it too well either. It was a loss of face for me and for
ICG. My performance appraisal was, therefore, disastrous. I
was told that ICG had greater expectations from me and so,
I had better shape up. It was definitely hard to take, but it
was my own making. However, no one else was promoted
that year.
The following year was better. I was promoted to
Senior Consultant. I was doing well in compensation surveys
and actually enjoying them. I had a good relationship going
with my immediate boss and his superior. I did have several
arguments with them in the course of the consultancy
assignments but usually they were forgotten by the end of
it all. We were on more friendly terms than the usual boss-
subordinate relationship.
My relationship with my subordinates was also good.
I could never accept any shoddy work. I enjoyed doing good
work and expected my subordinates to keep up with me. I
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A MANAGER 293

have had several arguments, and taken several consultants

to task when I found them slacking in work due to their
personal problems. I do not care whom they go around
with and what they do with their lives as long as the work
does not suffer. There are several instances when I ended
up doing my subordinates’ work as well when I found that
it did not match up to my levels of expectations. Hence, I
ended up working long hours and late into the nights.
Nevertheless, I was thoroughly enjoying it.
After a few a years, my job at ICG was losing its
charm. It was the same monotonous compensation surveys
year in and year out. The salary levels were a pittance
when compared to what my other batch mates were
getting. In addition, my own deadline of three years that
I had promised to give myself had long gone past. (In
fact, I extended it to five years somewhere down the line.)
During these five years, I have had several offers from MNC
consultancy firms and I had turned them down. Now, I
think I was ready for a move. It was also the time when my
marriage was on the rocks and I had no hopes of salvaging
it. My marriage had lasted exactly six months and Bharathi
had gone back to her father’s home. The social stigma of a
failed marriage was hanging heavily on my parents and on
me. I wanted to leave Chennai and get away from it all.
The break came when MARS, a software MNC, for
whom I was doing a project on behalf of ICG, offered
me a job. After several rounds of interviews including a
videoconferencing session across the world, MARS selected
me and offered a posting at Bangalore as their Product
Manager. I joined them three months later. My role as a
Product Manger was to be an interface between Developers
and Project Consultants and finally, the clients of my
product. I had no authority over Product Developers but
had the responsibility of getting the product out as early
as possible. The Project Consultants were my colleagues
responsible for implementation of projects but did not
report to me. I was reporting to the Consulting Director,
Mr. Subroto Banerjee based in Mumbai. Project consultants
also reported to him.
294 ACRJ

Yash had joined a year before me as a Project

consultant. Ajay was shifted from corporate HR of MARS
to project consulting for their HR product, six months after
I joined. He has been with MARS ever since the inception of
their operations in India.
I was given a brief training on the product. However,
since I had worked on the customization of the product
while I was ICG, I was already familiar with it. Still, I spent
long hours trying to master the product and assist the
developers in customization. I had to prove myself. I could
not afford to goof up. I was on my toes all the time to learn
the product. That proved to be my undoing. Whenever,
there was a crisis at the client’s end, I was asked to go and
assist the consultants solve the crisis. When I did succeed in
handling the situation, it was made out that I was merely
doing my duty and that the crisis would not have occurred
in the first place, if I were doing my job well. I was hardly
given any credit for the work I was doing, while the
consultants took credit for what went right.
The first year at MARS was exceptionally difficult. I
was not happy with my role as a Product Manager or with
the organization. My health was taking a beating as I was
living away from home in a bachelor pad and traveling
for more than 25 days in a month. Frequent travel and
Bangalore’s climate was worsening my asthmatic attacks. I
was gaining weight rapidly as I was eating junk food all the
time. I was also going through messy divorce proceedings.
MARS was a cultural shock to me. As I had earlier
mentioned, ICG was a home away from home. MARS was
radically different. For an organization which was just a
few years old, it was much politicized. At ICG, when one
asked for information, one would get it. Otherwise, one
knew that nobody had it. Better still one knew information
given was reliable. Information at MARS was hoarded. And
if one actually had access to information, its reliability is
questionable.
Everybody was at everybody else’s back trying to
pull him down. The seniors already knew the channels
of information and how to pass information to the right
people subtly to suit their ends. I was literally the “little lost
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A MANAGER 295

kid”. At the end of the year, the situation worsened. I was

hoping to become the Consultant Manager to whom other
project consultants will report. However, Vivek, a senior
person who was earlier handling sales of another product
was appointed as the Consultant Manager. To add insult to
injury, I had to report to him. Vivek, in turn, was reporting
to Mr. Banerjee. Vivek’s product knowledge was nothing to
write home about. He is, however, a good manager. He also
had good rapport with the boss, consultants and developers.
The other consultants Ajay and Yash also report to Vivek.
I am at the end of the second year. I am not too
happy with my career. I do not have a client/project to call
my own. I am required only when there is a crisis, the ones
other consultants will not handle, as they claim they are too
busy with their own projects. The truth of the matter is that
they know that they do not have sufficient wherewithal to
do so and refuse to learn. More importantly, they do not
want to be handling a lost cause and do not want to come
out with muck on their faces.
Today’s mail from Vivek requesting me to go to
New Delhi is a typical example. I am a FOOL to fall for
this trap repeatedly. But do I have a choice? If I refuse, it
was made out that Raja did not pitch in times of crisis; as
the product expert, he should be handling it. However, the
only consolation is that I have handled all the ‘lost causes’
successfully so far. The prime example so far is that of XIL,
a large integrated petroleum conglomerate. They are finicky
clients, demand the best and ensure they get it. They were
also very important to MARS, as they are the first ones to
go live on my product. I slogged for over six months and
finally saw the product implementation through. However,
the credit went to Ajay, whose project it was. I could
cite several other instances, where I went in when the
implementation team, internal or external, have goofed it up
and I have salvaged the situation and have managed to keep
the clients happy.
MARS announced that there are not going to be
any increments or bonuses this year. I have never given
importance to money so far. I think I should do my job
well and the company should take care of my interests.
296 ACRJ

I was, however, taken for a much lesser start up salary as

compared to other consultants. The fault was mine as I had
undersold myself. I cannot bring myself to ask for a pay
hike, though I know I deserve it more that others. However,
rumors are that who ever demanded salary hikes during
their performance appraisal meetings have got them. The
performance appraisal meeting with Vivek is scheduled as
soon as I return from Delhi.

MY LIFE AS ON TODAY

My father has retired and hence, my parents can spend more

time with me in Bangalore than before. They are also very
dependent on me now. They get very restless often. They
prefer to go back to Chennai where they have their social
circle of friends and family to support them in my absence.
Today, I think I have sadly disappointed them,
thanks to my failed marriage and my staunch refusal to
consider remarriage. They are unhappy that I snap at elders
especially when they talk about my marriage and that I am
too fat. This is another fact that worries me tremendously.
I do not save money but spend it. My mom is unhappy
that I did not turn out to be a good cricketer like my dad.
Both my parents are disappointed that they shall not have
grandchildren of their own especially when they adore kids
and have brought up nephews and nieces and nieces’ kids
and not their own son’s kids. They are happy with me in
some respects: that I can still be a nice guy, that I am not
selfish, that I am religious, that I am well read, that I have a
decent job, that I still am doing well and finally that I do not
have any bad habits.
The only silver lining in my life is that my divorce
proceedings are through and now I am officially divorced.
However, I have to pay hefty alimony every month. I am
coming to terms with my divorced status. It has given
me a lot of freedom to be on clients’ site for months on
end without feeling remorseful about obligations the way
my married friends feel. I could be my ‘selfish’ self, do as
I please, eat, sleep and read as and when I please without
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A MANAGER 297

having to worry about spending time with family. However,

there are several depressing periods of loneliness. These
moments, of late, are becoming increasingly frequent and
more painful to handle. I am having recurrent morbid
thoughts of ending my life when my parents are no more.
I do not have any one to live for. I have nothing to look
forward to. There is no purpose in my life.
I am feeling a wee bit physically unwell. Work at
Delhi is a bit scary and tough. My parents left for Chennai
last night. They will be very happy if I accept Mr. Raman’s
offer and join ICG back at Chennai. The fact that I shall be
drawing a slightly lower salary than that I am currently
drawing at MARS is irrelevant to them because overall
savings will be higher as I would be at home in Chennai.
However, ICG can never match the scope of growth and
exposure at MARS, nor their pay scales. On the other hand,
I shall be happier at ICG than I ever hope to be at MARS.
Should I resign from MARS and join ICG again? I am feeling
really lonely and want to talk to someone and cry on his or
her shoulders. I think I should get my head examined!