In addition to:

• PMI - Project Management Professional

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt 

• ISO27001 Lead Auditor

• Others (like HTML, CSS, JAVA, SQL, etc.)

I have worked with Fortune 500 Companies (IBM, Hutchinson 3 Global Services - now part of Tech Mahindra, Vodafone, OnProcess Technology - not part of Accenture,  Amazon, Univeristy of St Andrews and Univeristy of Abertay Dundee. Half of my career is with IBM and Amazon. They have shaped the person and professional that I am today. 

In the course of my career, I have delivered over $3Bn in sales and savings. As a solepreneur/entrepreneur, I have helped clients generate over $300 Mn in recurring revenue, including but not limited to, enabling orgnizations for successful Series B and C funding. 

I jumped in. registered for the competition and started rehearsing Rabindranath Tagore's poem "Where the mind is without fear". As the competition day drew closer, I became obsessed with winning. Someone happened to give me some advice: 

Unknown: “Why don’t you practice in front of an audience?”
Me: “I can do that?”
Unknown: “Of course! Get your friends to help you out!”

The only audience even barely willing to listen to me recite the poem every five minutes was my mom. Finally, she was too “busy” to be my audience. So, I went back for more advice.

Unknown: “Seems like you need more practice than I anticipated.”
Me: “Do you think I’m not good enough? I just won the school elocution competition!”

I was distraught to no end. 

Unknown: “Gitanjali is for the best of the best. It’s not meant for everyone.”

Me: “I can be the best. What do I do?”

Unknown: “Simple. Keep practicing.”

Me: “I am. But how do I know if I’m getting any better?”

Unknown: “Ask your friends for help.”

Me: “It’s the summer holidays. No one is around.”

Unknown: “You know, you can buy a blank cassette, record yourself, and then play it back to check your progress.”

Me: “Those are very expensive.”

Unknown: “I’m sure your parents can afford it!” 

I wasn't sure my parents would be willing to pay for it. My mother proved me right the next day. 

I wasn’t sure my parents would be willing to pay for it. My mother proved me right the next day.

Me: “What do I need to do to buy a cassette?”

Mom: “Get some money and buy it.”

Me: “How do I get money?”

Mom: “You work for it.”

Me: “Do you have any work I can do to earn some?”

Mom: “No, I don’t.”

Me: “What do I do then?”

Mom: “Ask your dad!”

Me: “Why can’t you give it to me?”

Mom: “Because your father has all the money in the family.” 

I had to wait the whole day for my father to come home. As he was taking off his shoes, I cornered him.

Me: “Dad, do you have jobs that I can do?”
Dad: “No.”
Me: “Dad, I need to earn money.”
Dad: “Why?”
Me: “I need to buy a blank cassette to practice for Gitanjali. I won’t be able to win otherwise.”
Dad: “Go and ask your mom.”
Me: “Mom said to ask you.”
Dad: “I don't have any. She has all the money in the family.”
Me: “But she said you have it all.”
Dad: “She’s lying. Go and ask her for the money.”

After a few rounds of this, I kept pestering my dad until he finally relented. Intense negotiations followed:

Me: "I can clean your car."
Dad: "I like doing it myself."
Me: "I can make greeting cards for you."
Dad: "But you only draw Donald Duck."
Me: "I can learn to draw something else."
Dad: "I don’t want to buy your cards."
Me: "I can mow the lawn for you."
Dad: "You’re smaller than the lawnmower."
Me: "I can cook for you."
Dad: "Your mom does that."
Me: "I can wash clothes for you."
Dad: "You don’t know how to do laundry."
Me: "I can learn."
Dad: "I can’t wear dirty clothes for that long."

And on and on it went. Finally we agreed on:

• Pluck his white hair strands, paid at the rate of ₹1.00/100 stands. Since he was young, he hardly had any.

• Clean his shoes when he returned from work. He wore mining boots—nothing to polish or shine. The best I could do was wipe them clean when he needed it. In summer, the boots were rarely muddy. The going rate was ₹1.00 for each cleaning.

• Iron his clothes to his standards. My dad has impossible rules for ironing his clothes: ₹3.00 for a shirt and ₹5.00 for a pair of trousers. He was never happy with my work, I never got paid.

Between my new employment, low wages, and the elocution practice, I barely had time to enjoy that summer. Finally, my dad took pity and gave me an old cassette that I could record over and use as a blank one.

Needless to say, I did not win the competition. Didn't even make it to the top 3. 

I vowed to never speak of this experience ever again!