all are invited

Freinds......

All of you are cordially invited to my marriage reception in Bangalore- on 10th December- being held in Taj Residency [ vijayanagar hall]- evening 6 pm onwards.Guys who want to join the marriage party itself [ the actual marriage is on 17th November- Varanasi]; please let me know- so that I can instruct you properly.

Chnage of contact details

Sambit SenGupta

Avnet [India]
2nd floor - "The Estate";121 Dickenson Road
Bangalore - 560042
Phone: + 91-80-5323420 extn. 233
Cell: 9880682436
Fax: + 91-80-5588146

I changed my job place not the job.I have become a key account manager [ guess have to work harder......].

Funny logo creation......

http://www.logogle.com/

I enjoyed this......

see-http://www.logogle.com/ggl.php?hl=ja&lo=Sambit+Sengupta

Free speech

I am cool.. I am transmitting to outer space....

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What Bangalore means to me?

I plan to write a series of short notes on different cities which has been kind enough to host me. I am indebted to various cities- where I have grown up,studied, worked etc. etc. this is my

way to salute the spirit of some of the best of humanity that i have come across.
First in the series is- Bangalore- My current city of residence.

Bangalore means to me 'gold rush'. Like the 19th century Gold rush in America- I represent all the dreamy guys who went on that pioneering trail. History of mankind respects that

adventurism and still counts it as one of its blessings.I am very sure in near future Bangalore and it's present day knowledge workers will be regarded in same note. One good analogy [

courtesy Mr.Modesto Casas, world wide vp-sales TransEDA] In the gold rush of America, The ultimate profit earners were people who sold shovels and other tools and hence I am in right

track- I sell EDA tools.
Bangalore means to me growth. Growth from a small town boy to a dreamy youth [ still lots to learn- but getting there!!!!]
Bangalore means to me money. Specially for a boy who came to understand the value of money quite early, had to become a man quite early....
Bangalore means opportunity. To excel, to do better, to know.
Bangalore means knowledge.For the chance to do Evening MBA[ it was tough, but worth it], thanks for getting to know numerous guys- who mattered.
Bangalore means joy of doing great things.
Bangalore means films with freinds. so many new freinds and each one of them great human beings.
Bangalore gave me confidence by giving my first big orders and each day brought new learnings in nuances of sales.
Bangalore means new life, fresh life- despite of dirty roads and bad infrastructure [ come onn. there will be negative along with positives]
A personal thanks to Mr. Rakesh Mehta for giving me a chance to prove myself- and sending me to Bangalore from Pune HQs. to start everything from scratch. Thanks to Nagavenkatesh,

for so many small and big helps- Naga Sir, heart felt thanks to you for teaching me courage, to explore- you have been a very good mentor to me. Bangalore gave me opportunity to become

freinds with high and mighty of EDA- made many freinds in the dream profile. Thanks - John sir, sujay, Aravind, Neeraj sir- you people have been a constant source of encouragement- and

so much to learn from you all- that one life time seems a small bleep.
Bangalore means my team- Anwar, Vani madam, Umaira, all the AEs- i learnt to have pride in team from you. Bangalore means freinds- manish [ both of them]and all my freinds of airforce.
Bangalore means all my customers--- DRDO labs, Space labs, BEL- thanks for teaching me so much.
Bangalore means failures- numerous ones of them- so many SSB interview failures [ while coming back from Mysore airforce ssb- you required to go through Bangalore] and it taught me to be firm and wipe the tears. Bangalore means-emotions and walking from door to door for jobs[ remember!!! Philips, Praveen, Rahul, Subodh, Amit,manoj-- those worrisome days- those dark days]

Bangalore- thanks for that tree lined beautiful road- New BEL road- so romantic - even when i go to customer , it compels me to stop for a minute and take deep breath.

So Bangalore- thanks for being there

We are lucky people of a great India

http://glutter.typepad.com/glutter/2005/06/beijing_june_4t.html?

Well, great China kills it's own citizens. Atleast here we can stop them.Wishing for a greater future - where all people will be free.

word lovers--- visit this

http://crickler.com/

zooming through rains

Nowadays Bangalore rain is very unpredicatable. Take for example day before yesterday, while returing from ADE I got completely drenched. The roads were resembling lakes.. But i enjoyed getting drenched...

A comment from field & the after effect

After many days- [ well after 8 days to be exact] I went to LRDE , one of my major customer. As usual I went in rounds visiting various groups of RADAR divisions.I have been working with this guys for past 4 years- have a great relationship with all or most of them. Has done lots of business with them and am regarded as a sales consultant in anything related to FPGA. When I was in RAD L - i met Deval. He is the delight for me as always. He never minces his words when criticizing as well as gives his objections in well articulated form.After I presented him with a new methodology for testing chip he started talking. This momnets are very precisous to me- customers giving me feedback- i learn so much from them. He gave me rude jolt and that was what i kept ruminating over till now. He told- that I am a misfit for sales- as i am straightforward. He also added that he likes me specially for this but he wonders- how i survive in the competitive field of sharks.I somehow was flumoxed- it was a comment which has always made me think- somewhere deep in my heart i knew this is true but always avoided seeing it or pointing it to self. Today when he brought it up- i was kind of dazed-- thinking- oh God is it so obvious???
So many incidents came rushing back- situations where I could have won - if I was bit more evasive, less straightforward. Maybe my thinking needs to be tweaked a bit. But can personal ethos be changed like we make change in algorithms? I doubt....I think I try to be honest and upright in my work and in my interactions. Is that the thing which will cause my downfall someday? This feeling of selfdoubt... disgusting..

A fantastic blog--- need to visit again and again

http://www.sankaran99999.blogspot.com/

Sometimes some new things come across me- that puts a faith in myself-- we have hope and a bright future to look forward to.

Dr. Sankaran is my professor and he teaches Strategy.
I will like my freinds to see this blog regularly....

Announcement

It is my privilege to announce my engagement to Ms. Amrita Dasgupta.
Amrita hails from Benares, U.P and is a post graduate from BHU. Our marriage date is fixed on 17th November 2005.

new ways- new thoughts

Does innovation means doing new things or doing things better?
I am constantly innovating in my day to day work. I am in sales , but i like implementing new ideas. So many ways to do a particular thing to do. does it qualifies to be called innovation?

Life in terms of quarters

Quarter means- divide into 4 parts. We use it as a block of 3 months of a year. Ever since I am in a professional life [ i.e.. nearly 5 years]I have been guided by this term. Quarter 1 or Q1[ jan to March] Q2-- hence forth. So much so that life planning revolves around that.

Sometimes i find it conveinent- sometimes quite boring-- can it be changed. i sat thinking and then found out i am thinking that i will do it from next quarter.

Ode to a sales man

Anjan died on saturday in a freak mishap. That too, some thousands of mile away from home in bankok. I remember meeting him out of TAPMI some days back- same cheerful self. same smiling and tied attire- always proper--- a propah sales man. He went to Bangkok with a new proposal. as he was standing out of airport , some drunkards in Mercedes hit him and 3 others. Anjan died on the spot. His body was flown back on Sunday. He leaves behind a 1 yr old daughter and his grieving wife.

I knew him for past 2 years. We had numerous debates on sales technologies and methods. Myself from tehnical sales , he from cut throat insurance and banking sector. We were not that close- likewith most of my aquaintances- all can claim to my freindship.

I wish i knew you better. I knew , that you were a great sales man, best as they come.

anyways--- good luck till we meet.

Two different days

Usually my life is full of surprises. and I have become habituated with so many of them. 11th Feb and 12th Feb were two of these days.
11th- it started normal. I had the usual rounds of reprots to be made(week end) my own updates and round of customers- went to meet BEL had a very detailed meeting and i and my application engineer prem got late.It wa 830 pm. Prem opted to go home. I stayed back for 'few minutes'to check mails. Then suddenly roit broke out of office. It appears- some 6 police men were killed by naxals in morning near tumkur and our office being opposite to police lines- we were locked out between police who were demonstrating and police who were taking no actions.Police people started burning buses , looting shops [ hence lost whatever compassion they were demanding] I somehow braved the stones and managed to put my bike in new office building basement parking. Then they started throwing stones- our secuirty people tried stopping then thought better of it. We had to stay till 12in night and returned after the violence stopped.

Next day i went for aero show- 2005. It wa great- i travelled over 23 kms to see it in yehalanka airstrip. but time spent was worth it.

Two different days- but enjoyable and exciting in it's own right.

when do you say it is done?

When we start a work we feel it is having a starting time and a ending date. That is the time we never ask ourselves- when wewill define that end moment?

During the progress of work we never know when it is going to end and feel deadocked.

So we need to learn- how to say- when do you say it is done?

on eve of martyr's day

30th January and 23rd January are two days - which i observe. Former the date when a bullet of assasin found it's mark - Mahatma's heart; and the latter is the date when our lost hero- Netaji was born.

I have taken lots of inspiration from both of this 'maha purush'. Symbolic it may be- but whatever happens- i say a little prayer to myself when it is 5 15 pm on 30th January. on 23rd jan - everyyear- i write a piece on netaji and post it somewhere to someone- so that it inspires people.

30th is birthday of my elder cousin brother Buju dada- a fallen hero of mine. He was idiolised by me- still i do- but he did got wraped up in some mysterious circumstances and is lost to us. Buju dada- i miss you. I will like to meet you and will like to know- what went wrong .

New age beast

I was having some time back a lively discussion with some of my friends. They all have varied experience, and mentality -- so a right mix of minds- i dare say.
We were very disturbed with the recent incident of Jawns pushing out women and children out of a moving train- newspaper reports were not adequate and we were thinking that how it would have happened.

The ususal postmortem of all kinds of W and H happened?Then we all came to a startling conclusion--- (mind it we all were guys there)

We the men are kind of beast. We are new age beast- always out to harm who are weaker than us and always worship those-who are stronger than us.

Long live our republic---- Mother India- long live

Some thoughts before the tanks roll out on our rajpath; school kids start dancing on the streets and our right honourable president takes the salutes of people in uniforms and some out of them..

So what we have got? what we have done?[ reference year 1950]

We have increased- manyfolds over in population; gone down many rungs down in world corruption index; gone up quite a few rungs in being world's best IT coolies[ strong and sturdy ones]; have become more filthy in our language; and etc etc...

and what we could have done??

Ohh so much... have each of us done our mite- i for one has not.

So freinds...let us do better... need to do it.


Happy republic day.... long live the republic.

Pledge of honor--- another of my favourite

On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty to God.

On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty to my country.

I reaffirm my allegiance to the promises/ethics of an engineer and an Indian.

I thoughtfully recognize and take upon myselfthe obligations

and responsibilities of a citizen of India.
On my honor, I will do my best to make my training an example,and make my rank and influence strongly countfor better citizenship,

in my workplace, in my community, and in my contact with other people,

regardless of race, color, or creed.

To this, I pledge my sacred honor.
-Adapted from Eagle-Scout’s pledge

Customer- i agree with Mahatma Gandhi

“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us; we are dependent on him.
He is not an interruption in our work; he is the purpose of it.
He is not an outsider in our business; he is part of it.
We are not doing him a favor by serving him; he is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.”
-Mahatma Gandhi

IF--- one of my all time favourite poem

If you can keep your head when all about youAre losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt youBut make allowance for their doubting too,

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,

If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and DisasterAnd treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spokenTwisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winningsAnd risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginningsAnd never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinewTo serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in youExcept the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much,

If you can fill the unforgiving minuteWith sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Negotiation - an art

I always feel negotiation is an art- which you have got to do - whatever you are or whoever you are. My profession has given me lots of chance to do that and i always feel my performance is below par everytime- but better than the last time. Due to my profesion and job profile- i do negotiate with- scientists, science adminstrators, various indian business luminaries. I cannot tell names and all over here- but here is the sample of one that was a small deal and happened recently [ When i put it on writing- it appears- so silly]

I have already sold the customer- some products and services worth nearly $390 K; but I am trying to sell him an addon service whose proposed value is nearly Rs 5,00,000 ( small change!!!). there is a tax component of 10.8% added to that.
Customer (C)- Sambit, this is unfair, and unrealistic....
Myself-(S)- You are right C, so many things in this weird world are..
C- (laughs....heartily).. comee onnn boy give me a break this component service should come free to me.
s- No C, cannot do that. I need 5 + taxes.
C- no discounts.
s- ummmm... sorry no.... cannot -- you know- it is as bad as loosing my face and job.
C- it is always ur job which is under fire... i need to save mine too.
s- I understand........ sighh... (deep sighhh follows)
C- give some discounts..
s- ok what you want (resigned to fate kind of voice)
c- what is your offer.
s- it is useless to tell you- you tell me what you want
c- I donot know---- can you absorb the taxes..
s- If i say yes- when i can expect this to materialise.
c- by 8 am tommorow.
S- done...but i want it by 8pm tonight. can you do it.
C- done- will do that..

I feel he went home happy... and i am always happy...

rush of old memories!!!

sambit saar!! a private letter.....

Thus spake the house keeping staff in morning..handing over an odd looking white envelope.I never get personal letter in office (that's separate issue neither at home adress-- goes on showing what cut off from world u become when u are immersed in technology ). As yesterday, i was busy throughout in field work- i did not receive it yesterday..

It was marriage invitation of one old freind.Though I was knowing , it was on cards-- suddenly i felt something strange--- so many things came rushing to mind. The marriage will be in Delhi and it is on 1st Feb.
As usual , trying to convince myself- must go, must attend[ have attended only 3 marriage functions till date-- kind of hate relationship with that function and it is against my communist ethos] ... then thought -- NO cannot go-too much work to do- and going and coming back- will eat up money.
Rush of memories- those days of college-- how will he feel- my freind after getting the same letter. Will he go through the same emotions- that i went through on that October night. It was kind of same right- the envelope may have been bigger and better though.
I remember that day and the actual day- when i became much more than a man.I walked over that garware bridge- over mutha river in Pune. Feeling pain- unexplained..... then i remmebr those tear drops i shed on that wintery night of november- feeling of lost.... Actually i remmeber losing a deal- those hard words of manager. That feeling of failure which gnaws in ur stomach and so much frustration.

Then that sudden steely resolve--- Will do more hard work- will show the world- that i can do better and that I AM THE BEST.... and may be time heals everything. after 4 yrs... yes i see the path- i am reaching there- it may still be far when i am the best--- but i am already a better person..

A technical sales person's crib

I am a sales man..... A proud one at that... I like sales- I love selling solutions. I love telling people- why my solutions are best- why they are valuable. I sell EDA tools- Electronics design tools- the softwares which help people in designing Chips (i made it simple- so that all can understand---- i could have put lots of nerdy terms and that would have been bonkers!!!)

But now the problem- I sell it to Government agencies. Over past 4 years- i have been credited with numerous orders from govt./psu/ organisations for solutions. And man!!! do i enjoy it.... i do.....You got to fight it out at every step. A 13 K indian ruppes order is as difficult to materialise as- 13 crore project order....And you have to be sane even after that.

In a typical day-
My work starts at 8 am-- as my customers are there at the palce by 830. need to visit them then find out the painpoints. and adress them or talk to them.. sounds easy ehhhh???? but not so...
When will our defence organisations and PSU will be more efficient?? i wonder