The Little Sudanese Restaurant

The word Sudan, if ever, comes up in our day to day conversations, most people think of Darfur, the South Sudan crisis or some new sanction that the United States has imposed on the country. Sudan unlike its more famous neighbour on East doesn’t really get a lot of attention from people I know except for those who work in the UN. I for one was very curious about this country. And what better way to learn about country that to try out some of their national food!

Living in Addis Ababa gives me the chance to try out cuisines from several parts of the world. Being the political and cultural capital of Africa, Addis gets its fair share of foreign visitors and has a sizeable expatriate population. At any point in time, you have the option of eating at least 12 different cuisines. One on my favourite quotations on Addis is, “You’ll never eat alone”. So I put on my adventure hat and off I went to try out some Sudanese food in a local restaurant a few hundred meters from my hotel.

The entrance to the restaurant was quite interesting looking. There was a lady wearing, I am guessing, the traditional Sudanese woman’s dress and was making Sudanese tea. The restaurant was fairly simple looking. Comfortable and spacious but no real art, décor or interior design to talk about. I found myself a table in front of the TV, sat down and asked for the menu.

The waitress handed me the menu. I had no idea what was written in it. Even though it was in English, there was no description of the food in the menu and I was just expected to know what I am to order. So I asked for help. Called the waitress and asked her what each of the items in the menu meant. I realised a few moments later that she did not speak any English!! Using references to words like meat, bread and a lot of hand gestures I finally ordered an Arabic salad and a Sudanese meat dish called Goraso with Sudanese bread called weaka.

As I customary is many restaurants here in Addis, the customers get served some complementary appetizers. So my snack was snack version of Sudanese bread. It looked like a small thick pizza base but was nice and fluffy and tasted more or less like regular bread. As I waited for my dinner, I watched the show that was on TV. It was an Indian soap opera dubbed in Arabic. And all the waiters and waitresses seem to be glued to the TV set. It was hilarious! Some random boy and a random girl were doing the Indian version of courting and couple that with the Arabic dubbing made for some really good laughs.

Soon enough, my food arrived. So the Goraso dish looked something like boneless rogan josh. The weaka bread was like the Sudanese version of naan but slightly thicker. One is supposed to bread a piece of the weaka and scoop the goraso to truly enjoy the meal. The waiters gestured the right hand movement and man did I enjoy my first bite! It was the perfect meat gravy. Not too spicy and just meaty enough. The right amount of oil and with the right consistency. The bread tasted something similar to the Indian Kulcha and was just soft enough to absorb the gravy but yet tough enough so as not to break. The Arabic salad was a lot of vegetables cut and served on a bed of olive oil and a generous dashing of lemon juice. The combination of just spicy enough meat and the tangy salad suited my palate perfectly! On the next table, I couldn’t help but notice some gentlemen drinking a very delicious smelling tea. I am not a regular tea drinker but the aroma was so good that I ordered a cup.

By this time on TV, the girl managed to make a complete ass out of the boy and the boy as expected started to fall for her. The channel was changed to another Indian channel where there was a song sequence going on from an Arabic dubbed Aftab Shivdasani and Amrita Arora movie. So the dance sequence was something like Aftab was singing a lovely romantic song to Amrita full of passion, love and intensity with an US Aircraft Carrier in the background. I think the music director was under the impression nothing says “I Love You” like stealth fighter planes flying at mach 2 capable of carrying a nuclear warhead taking off and landing on a 65,000 tonne aircraft carrier. But who am I to judge. The waiters seemed to really enjoy it J

So my tea finally arrived. It was black tea with a leaf of mint next to it. It was recommended to me that I dip the mint leaf in the tea to get a full flavour. And it was delicious! Quite possibly, the best cup of tea I have had in my life. The warm tea and the cold mint leaf mixed perfectly well and gave a lovely aroma as I sipped the delicious black tea. I asked for the bill and this whole meal that stuffed me to the brink and in the process sent my new year’s resolution down the drain cost all of 7 dollars! Now that is what I call a steal!

So there you have it. My first Sudanese meal was a big hit. For those of you who do manage to get to Addis Ababa, do go to this Little Sudanese Restaurant that is just a stone’s throw away from the European Commission in Bole. Your tummy, your taste buds and your wallet will be pleasantly surprised J

Reviewed. Phew!

And done! Six very long months of systems, processes, roles, documentation, risks and reviews. For every young manager coming from b-school campus to Olam, completing the final review is a major milestone in his/her life. You have been "initiated" they say. Indeed. Feels more like a crash course in brain surgery but heck, what ever you say. "Now you know how Olam works". Well, i also know what does not work in Olam. "Now you are ready for responsibility". Ah! Now that makes a lot of sense.

I woke up yesterday and for the first time in many many weeks without currency risk, credit risk and roles of a BC running laps around my head. Without the constant anxiety of reviews taking up a lot of my mind space and without thinking about the boredom of redoing all that studying. I just woke up with a  feeling of being free and with a mother of all hangovers ;)

The last few months has been quite transformational for me. I am still the same guy in many ways. Still have the same enthusiasm for trying out new things, learning, meeting new people and exploring new places. But at the same time, feel decently mature and responsible. A bit more cynical about people and situations but it seems that in management, it is a good quality. I feel quite proud and humble. Proud of braving everything  thrown at me, staying in difficult places, the reviews and living with the sword of rejection dangling over my neck. "30% of you will not make it to the next round they say is how our induction began" (confused). But humble because now i know that there is so much that i do not know and need to learn. There is really so much that there is to know in terms on concrete and in softer skills of working. The Analog Communication and Digital Communication exams back in engineering were hard as shit and compared to them, these management concepts seem really simple. But the soft skills that one needs to implement them is what really makes one be successful or not.

I have also learnt to remove the word failure from my vocabulary. The last few months has shown me that any person, no matter how talented or smart does not meet success all the time. And it is when he is not successful that he learns and grows the most. Never thought that i would make friends with my work colleagues. Back at Applied Materials, i always maintained an arm's length distance with my colleagues. But that has definitely changed off late and the camaraderie i share with many of my colleagues is simply wonderful. I think the biggest learning for me in this training phase has been that in any situation or problem that one faces, go in with an open mind. Things change at a furious pace in our line of work and the more rigid one is, the harder it is to keep pace with them. Trust but verify, the famous three words that President Reagan used to talk about the USAs diplomatic principle is quite relevant here in Olam. Trust the information your colleagues give but verify it before using it in your work. And follow up. The onus is always on you!

The results are yet to be announced. A little anxious for sure but feel optimistic as well. Hoping that I get a week off towards the end of the month so as to go back home to India. Need to recharge my batteries and then hopefully begin the next phase of my life. In the mean time, i think i'll just enjoy the afterglow of the final review getting over :)

The Day That Metallica Happened

From pretty much the first time i heard them, I have wanted to see them live in concert. Metallica has been one of the biggest musical influences in my life and it was a personal goal to watch them live where ever they may be. Just before I left from my exchange trimester, i checked all the locations where Metallica was playing during that time hoping they would have a European leg. But sadly, that was not to be. The wait continued. 

And then something wonderful happened. They were coming to India! Not only to India, but to Gurgaon, right next freaking door! Two shows were scheduled in the country. October 28th 2011 in Gurgaon and October 30th  2011 in Bangalore. As soon as the window for booking tickets was opened, i booked my tickets for the Guragaon leg. I was so damn happy that finally i could see my idols live in concert! This was going to be the fulfilment of a life long dream!

Let me tell you exactly how much Metallica means to me. From the day i heard James Hetfield scream "Exit Light, Enter Night" in the downtown pub of Manipal, I felt their energy. James has been a big inspiration for me. His stage presence, his riffs, his leadership and the sheer magnitude of his personality just left me staring in awe every time i saw him in a video. Kirk Hammett's musicianship and aggressive stage presence just shows what an awesome entertainer he is. Lars with that thumping of the drums and over the top antics on stage shows how much fun playing music can be. I have grown in several ways with their music. In times of depression or happiness, there was always a Metallica song to relate to. My thoughts at that moment were somehow always captured accurately by their music and left me with a sense of satisfaction and peace. I found peace in their Thrash Metal!

So the day finally came. October 28th. Oojwal, Tatia and I left in Oojwal's car to head towards the concert location in Gurgaon. And naturally, we stopped on route to get drunk ;) When we finally got into the venue, i there was a sense of giddiness in my stomach. A hint of nervousness as well. Feeling of weakness in the knees and extreme excitement at the same time. I was aching for them to begin!

But something was off. The cover band should have begun playing by now but there was no sign of them. The lights were barely on and there seemed to be some sort of confusion on stage. At around 7 in the evening, a American guy finally made an announcement. Due to security reasons, they could not perform today! My world just fell apart!!

What the fuck man!! I felt so cheated at the moment. There were plans to reschedule it to the next day but we knew that would not happen. Some of the fans climbed up on stage and broke equipment. I wanted to be one of them. It was like a childhood dream that came so close to being fulfilled but at the very last moment, was snatched right out of my hands. Never in my life have i feel so disappointed. 

We drove back to Delhi. Went straight to Turquoise Cottage and i drowned my sorrows in three bottles of beer. Came back to the room and cried myself to sleep. The next day, i woke up and dint feel like getting out of bed. Saw no purpose to living now. Stayed in bed for another 4 hours before i said to myself , "Enough is Enough". This is my dream and something that i have cherished a lot. This is not just about watch your favourite band on stage. It was all the emotions, the good times, the bad times and the growing that i had with them in my journey of life. I had to watch them play before it gets too late, for them and for me. I had a ray of hope. The concert was scheduled for the next day in Bangalore. I had to make it happen.

I got out of bed, washed up and called up Anki. The tone of her voice and encouragement gave me a lot of hope. I told her, "Anki, get me a Metallica ticket". She said yes and off she went to Planet M. I went online to check for flight fares. 12 freaking thousand. I don't fucking care. I have to get to Bangalore. Within two hours Anki said she has the ticket and also made arrangements for me to stay at our cousin Aniket's place. I owe Anki big time for this. And an additional bonus. Akshay was also coming down for the concert. I jumped onto my laptop. Fares at 14 thousand now. No problem. Book book book. During booking, the fares went to 15.5 thousand. No problem. Book book book. After almost 25 very anxious minutes my confirmed tickets. The flight leaves in 2 hours! I had to rush to the airport. 

Ran to the room, threw some clothes in a bag, told Tatia what i am doing. He said i was freaking nuts. Called up mom and dad who were holidaying in the North East that time and told them. Dad was very encouraging. With all things in place, i rushed to the airport. The flight was on time, i got in and then finally take off. Reached Bangalore and was picked up at Mekhri circle by Aniket. Got to his place and spend the night having some good quality cousin time. 

The next day started badly. It was pouring! There were fears that the concert may be cancelled. If that were to happen, i would be crushed! I swear, i have never prayed so hard before in my life, but that morning i remember the way i prayed. So honest, so much in awe of the almighty and so sincerely. We got to the venue. Man what a rush! There was not one line but like a mass of people trying to get in. We stood there and waited. And waited and waited and waited. For almost three hours. And then another hour's wait before we finally got inside the stage area. And then it began pouring!! Like mad! Oh how my heart sank! The cover band came on stage and played in the rain. I was bloody impressed. The finished by 7 pm and then the wait began again. 

My body was wrecked with pain. Lack of sleep, endless hours of waiting and hunger made me feel sick. I tried sitting in the little space i had. All the people around me were suffering the same fate. Bodies battered and hunger making them go crazy. But our spirits were undampened. Like me there were thousands who have been waiting for this day for a very long time. This was going to happen. I could finally feel it.

At 8 pm, the sound i was looking for for almost 8 years came out like a soft melody. The Ecstasy of Gold never sounded more sweet and good. My eyes went moist. My mouth was open and i could not feel my body anymore. And then it began.. CREEPING DEATH!!!! 

There are times in life when you get something that you have wanted for a very very long time. You think you wont be able to control your excitement but more often than not, you are just with your mouth wide open and completely silent. Extreme happiness leaves you feeling so numb that you could just cry. And boy did i cry! Oh my god, all those years, all the disappointment and all that patience. Over in a moment of James riffing that six string like a madman. That moment was sheer bliss and I will always treasure it. I felt a close personal connection with Metallica that night. Never before has James looked so good, never before did Kirk's guitar sound so awesome and never before did Lars go crazy on stage like that. There was nothing that could go wrong from that moment on. I finally screamed my lungs out and head banged like a lunatic. A major element in my bucket list of life has been ticked. Not trying to sound cheesy but now, I can live my life a lot more carefree. METALLICA FOREVER!

Akwaaba

All right Singapore was great fun. Made a lot of new friends during the induction process and hopefully we will be in touch for years to come. The brief stop over in Mumbai was really special in many ways. Details on that later ;) But right now, it is time for Africa!

Nestled in the western part of this beautiful continent, is the exquisite country Ghana, my home for the next few months. A lot of hard work, perseverance and patience was put in to get here. The job at Olam International was something that i wanted pretty much from the first time i figured that i want to major in International Trade. Getting it was a big step towards a exciting career and I was all geared up for it. 

Getting to Ghana was quite fun. An early morning flight to Dubai and then a quick dash to catch the connecting flight to Accra. We traversed pretty much the whole of the Sahara desert to get to Accra. While in the air, I could not help but be awed by the shear magnitude of this desolate land. The yellow sands looked so endless that one cant help but wonder how people lived down there. The sahel belt is one of the most hostile places to live on this planet and there was a hint of nervousness in my mind when we were flying over it. Once it was replaced by the lush green of the tropical forests, i breathed a sigh of relief. Another hour or so later and touchdown! My African adventure began with a loud thud of the Emirates plane at Kotoka International Airport.

The very first thing that caught my attention was how similar this place looked to Visakhapatnam! Hills, lush green trees, beaches, overcast weather and a tiny airport to welcome us in. I think this was the first time in my life where in I actually had some trouble figuring out which exact time zone we were in. The terminal building was reminiscent of an archaic airport probably built by the British to serve both as a military and a civilian airport. At the arrivals terminal, was our driver, Ben was holding out an Olam International's sign board. He led us towards the car. On the way to the parking lot, we attracted a lot of attention from some of the "security forces". They tried to help us with our luggage and I repeatedly denied them politely. Anubhav tried to get them off our case by bribing them with a 100 Indian rupee note. He he. They were not impressed. I dug into my wallet and offered them 10 Singaporean dollars. Dint help. Finally they just got exasperated with the number of currencies we tried to bribe them with and they just let us go. If you cant convince them, confuse them aye :)

We drove through Accra and headed straight to the guest house. We dropped our stuff and headed for the office. Fighting severe jet lag and hunger, we still managed to meet the senior colleagues at Olam Ghana and get our first brief induction of the country. I was still a little dazed. I still could not believe that I am actually in Africa, leaving behind family, love, friends and my whole support system. I just took my first step towards a really huge change in my life. These few months are going to play a big part of what kind of person I will become, both professionally and personally. Everyday from today is going to be a challenge and I need to face them with a lot of strength. But at the same time, i want to be like a sponge and absorb all that this magnificent continent has to offer. Learn, fall, get excited, miss family, feel challenged, meet new people, eat different food and grow more mature and wise. At this point in time all i can tell myself is "Akwaaba Karun Prabhath!!", you will not be the same.

My New Friend

Today i made a new friend. His name is Ali and he is from Pakistan. Hyderabad city :). I ran across him a few times on the hostel floor and thought he looked familiar. I mean seriously, how many of us can tell an Indian and Pakistani apart? But so similar to us Indians, that took me a little by surprise! A real warm hearted person. Kinda missed that genuine affection that is part of our culture in France. I mean there are several advantages of being in the developed world but I guess deep down, there is still that matter of culture that has programmed our brains a little differently and leaves us appreciating human emotions a lot better. He invited my friends and me to his room and made us some delicious tea, the kind of tea that we get in back at Babloo's outside IIFT's back gate. He also invited us to play cricket with his friends tomorrow at a nearby ground. Now that is something that I hadn't imagined doing in France! And aptly, the background music during our conversation was some popular numbers from the Indian and Pakistani film industry. After a lot of chatting and culture sharing, my mind could not help but wander into that age old question. Why? Why do our two countries fight? There is so much we can learn from each other. India could definitely learn a thing or two from the textile industries of Pakistan and the Pakistanis could definitely learn about the IT industry from us. Ali wanted to come to India to learn at the IIT because the IITs are at the forefront of the technology that Ali is studying. Now that is a win-win situation for both parties. Ali gets the platform to turn his ideas into reality and the IITs can benefit from some top quality research. But alas political boundaries has put huge barriers to the pursuit of mutually beneficial good. What can be solved over 60 minutes of talking has taken over 60 years of fighting and still yielded no results. I think it is upto people like Ali and us to take the relationship between the two countries to newer heights. We have so much to gain from each other and cant let airheaded politicians spoil the relationships between the two nations. To all you Indians out there. I strongly suggest that when you travel abroad, you make efforts to make friends with Pakistanis. There would be a sea of change in your attitudes. You cant help but feel connected to them and love them for being like us. There has been enough damage done by the prevous generations. It time now to change all that and treat each other with the respect that we rightfully deserve.

Invictus

What happens when one man believes? What happens when one man inspires 43 million to be better than what they could ever be? How does this man who has not seen the outside of a prison for more that 27 years be more considerate and caring than all? What is this man made of? There are several questions that run through my mind about Mandela and I just dont seem to comprehend what he is all about. How does one man, one frail human being break the norms of everything that seems to be evil to him and become some thing that no one could ever imagine. The 1995 rugby world cup was more than just a tournament. It came at a time that a nation was beginning to define itself. It was the time for nation building. There was no motive for a person to inspire people to go beyond their limits for something as unimportant as sports. But would a victory make the bond that made the country stronger? A country, torn by apartheid, over run by crime and filled with animosity needed some kind of inspiration to help is come together. Mandela and only mandela saw this as an opportunity. He reognised the power of sports and saw the potential it had of nation building. He wanted to use it as a platform to launch a new confidence into his people. In his own words, it was not a political calcualtion. It was a human calculation. What he did for his country was more than just help them win a world cup. He taught them to believe. He taught them to come together and love one another. His words were more than just speeches. They were the kind of things that made history. The '95 world cup certainly did. He did it for them. Once again. What drives this man? How does one who has seen so much pain for so long be able to forgive his most hated enemies? He is more than just a leader. He is a believer and he is a belief creater.

Day Zero

Time 0600 hours. Date, the 19th of October. And in no time, it begins. Crunch time! All that we have done in our lives to be judged in a matter of minutes. "Butterflies in the stomach" may be a understatement this time around. The "godly" figures enter into the auditorium and give us all their instructions in DO NOTS. Do not make the GD a fish market. Do Not disclose the names of the companies that have come. Do Not leave the auditorium under any circumstances. This goes on for several minutes and finally you are just thinking how dumb do these people think we actually are?

The godly figures can be discussed another day on another post, but now getting back to the topic. The process soon begins and there is a lot to live up to. To look forward to even. This may be the start of a brand new career for me and this is the first big step in that direction. You dont get too many chances once you are 24 you know. So you try to make the best of what you get and convince yourself of it. And then it begins. Consulting, Marketing and Trade. These are the options in front of me. I think a few times but that may not be enough to give me clarity on what I want to do at that point in time. Nevertheless, here we go!

The manner in which the short listing hits you is brutal. You are not good enough! The one page write up we saw about you is not good enough to even meet you in person. Feels like your guts have been split open. Your friends definitely get through. Age, experience or some god damn science experiment they have done in kindergarten seems to do the trick. There seems to be no discriminable pattern to the whole thing but that of randomness. May be they just tossed up our CVs in the air and picked up the ones that fell closest to them. Now thats is good damn logic. Heck thats how life works i guess. So pick up what comes your way. Feel fortunate that you are where you are and make the most of the opportunity. Now comes to the point of limitations. There are never enough jobs now are there? Seems like we have just got accustomed to fighting for something that we dont see the win for all approach. But lets leave philosophy out of the scope of this discussion and talk about day 0 now. So rejections seem to be order of the day. You get some, lose them and lose the ones that never got you. Seems a lot to take in one go. But thats the way things work even in one of the most prestigious business schools in the country. So what is the growth story in the country all about? If the top 1% struggle to get a job of their liking, what about the less fortunate ones? Is there some element of the growth story that I am missing or am I being to narrow minded about it. It absolutely sucks that you got to go back to a place where all of your flatmates are placed and rejoicing. You tell yourself, study but deep down you cant help feeling, what's the damn use? Its hard to keep focus in such situtations. When they announce the results of certain processes, and your name is not one of them called out, its like getting a hard kick between your legs. But you persevere. Cause thats all you know how to do, that is all you can do. Good luck!