BOLLYWOOD OUTSIDE INDIA

1. My first job outside India was in Muscat, Oman (May 1993). At that time, the spread of TV channels was not as prolific as today. In fact, there were no Indian channels available. Also, being my first visit, it did not strike to carry music cassettes. For several months, after being deprived of Indian music, we started getting some channels & I heard Lata’s old song. And what an experience it was! It was then that I realized that my heart had solidified & was getting thawed like Indian white butter brought out of the freezer as Lata’s eternal voice flowe
   
2. In Muscat, we had a duplex house, in which our landlord was our neighbour. When his daughter’s school bus arrived to drop her, often the Omani school girls were playing Antakshari & there would be Bollywood songs in between! 
3. In the malls, it was not uncommon to hear Hindi songs being played. The same I found in Bahrain where I worked later & in UAE where I used to visit often for official work 
4. In all these places, there was atleast 1 theatre playing Hindi movies (many places more) all around the year. Movies of other Indian languages were also being played. In the theatres, one could find many nationalities – mostly Asians – as spectators. 
5. Later I moved to Milan, Italy. Here on many Saturday evenings, Hindi movie is played on the national TV channel with dialogues dubbed in Italian. 
6. As part of my work in Milan, I visited Cairo. At the Cairo airport, the driver who had come to pick us had a Hindi movie song as his ring tone. 
7. I was in Cairo for 4/5 days. Often in public places, Egyptians would ask whether I am an Indian & then tell me their love about Indian movies. Especially, they are fans of Amitabh Bacchan
8. In Italy, at the time of third renewal of our Visa, it was necessary that I acquire Italian language skills up to at least A2 level. There were classes held for us for teaching Italian, which were mandatory. I attended these classes. There were around 25 students. On the first day itself, when we introduced ourselves, the students came to know that I was from India and they cheered me - India, India, Bollywood. After the class, they all surrounded me and started asking me questions about Bollywood songs, actors, films, etc. 

What the big screen of Indian cinema is doing to spread awareness about India, soon the small screen will take over as availability of channels improves across the world. Indian Entertainment Industry has a great future. And thankfully, it is a labour intensive industry.

All days Sundays

How about having all days as Sundays for 3 weeks in a month? That’s what I had a feeling going to office in August.

Working in Italy, I thought it would be worth sharing the system of availing earned leave practiced here. August is considered as a month when employees are ‘expected’ to avail their earned leave. So, all employees proceed on leave for 2 to 3 weeks during this month.

What are the takeaways –
1. During the month of August, Italy does not work to its full capacity.
2. No holiday planning is required at the workplaces as it does not matter if the boss & subordinate take leave at the same time (barring essential services) – less work for HR Departments!
3. In the normal system of availing leave, when the boss proceeds on leave, the successor gets developed – firstly, by getting identified & secondly, gets hands on training.
4. Crowded tourist places (in India, though Italian system of availing leave does not exist, we experience ‘house full’ transport & tourist facilities as soon as the school/college holidays are announced!)
5. Availing leave is almost compulsory (not legally, but socially & morally) – hence increased family bonding
6. Peaceful holidays – almost a guarantee that you are not likely to receive a call from your boss!

So in August, the Sun shines the brightest & all days are Sundays in Italy!

An eventful Birthday

My 56th birthday turned out to be quite eventful.

Firstly, the birthday coincided with Mahashivratri. Next, my date of travel to Jeddah for a visit to one of our company’s sites got postponed several times & coincidentally got fixed on my birthday. I managed to remain vegetarian despite the travel & disruptions.

On the day of travel there were no signs of snow in Milan. It was in fact a bit sunny when we (I & a colleague from office) went to the airport. At the airport, to our surprise, we were told that the flight (Milan-Frankfurt-Jeddah) is late by 20 mins. – the reason being heavy snow at Frankfurt. After considerable consultations amongst us, including calling our company’s travel office, we decided to go to Frankfurt hoping that the Jeddah flight also would be delayed. On reaching Frankfurt, the Jeddah flight had departed & there wasn’t any other flight on that day. Having managed to book the flight for next day, we decided to have lunch at a restaurant at the airport. When we were half way through, police came in the restaurant and told us to vacate the place due to bomb scare. Fortunately, I could carry my stuff and found place outside the restaurant to somehow finish lunch.

Next day, in the flight, a beautiful young girl (maybe 30 years old) happened to be my co passenger. When the flight landed, all the crew members came to her and asked her for an autograph! They all had brought with them her postcard size photo for the same. It was then that we came to know that she was an anchor of a popular German TV program!

There were still events to follow. We started our journey from the Jeddah airport to the site after having a sandwich. After 15 minutes of our journey, we were caught in a sand storm. Having stayed in the Middle East for so many years, I have not seen anything like this. The visibility was about a meter only. Actually, it is a highway where cars run @ 150 + kms per hour speed. We were forced to almost stop. Though the traffic clogged up, we could barely see the car ahead & its hazard lights. This went on for 30 minutes & after that it was all clear as if nothing had happened. The driver told us that this is a regular phenomenon.

Earlier, in Milan itself, I had mentioned to my colleague that the weather forecast was showing heavy rain, which he never believed. He said that he has travelled to Saudi 25 times and never was there a drop of rain. After we reached the site and were about to go to sleep, it started pouring. Almost for 3 hours, till morning, it rained!!

At the site, our accommodation was arranged in a small colony of cottages. Next day morning I went for breakfast to the canteen in the cottage nearby, getting fully ready to immediately proceed for work. While having breakfast, I realized that I had not properly worn the socks in one of my feet as I was getting a feeling of lump. After finishing breakfast, I went to my cottage, removed my shoe & found a big insect of around 3 cms with a long moustache half dead!

The return journey from Jeddah was absolutely fine.

Now I know why they wish ‘MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY’ for birthdays!

Daffodils 2

Gazing at golden Daffodils
I hear a whisper
A divine voice poses
Can one find words to picture?

Bright rays of Sun
Shine on charming daffodils
River water flowing near
Leaps for a glimpse

Cool breeze seeks chance
Taking care does not harm
Soft moves Daffodils dance
Cajoling them in caring arm

Loving pairs passing by
Stare at shying Daffodils
Here’s a thing he loves more
She smilingly envies

Thinking Daffodils can hear
Birds celebrate with cheer
Presenting a best song
Are wary not to throng

Gazing at golden Daffodils
I hear a whisper
If you can craft flowers
Can you find their lover?

REPLY TO SHOBA DE ON HER SYMPATHIZING WITH MF HUSSAIN

अगर तुम कहो
की हुसैन है सही
कर दिखाना वही
जो किया उसने

उठाओ अपना कलम
और खोलो अपना दिल
लिखो किसी धर्म के खिलाफ
जगा कर कलाकार

रहेकर यंह नब्बे साल
नहीं सिखा भारत का मान
काफी नहीं कलाकारी
शोभा डे गी सिर्फ कटारी

नहीं करना उपदेश
ये है भारत देश
नहीं करता किसकी छेड़
रहते यहाँ बिना भेद

Open Letter to Mr. Azim Premji, Chairman, WIPRO

WHERE WERE AUDITORS? WE PROS WONDER!

(Open letter to Mr. Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro)

Dear Sir,

One can imagine the thought process running into the minds of the Wipro management in general & you in particular regarding the misappropriation issue unearthed in the company. This once more, brings into focus the role of Auditors – External as well as Internal.
The current recession started with the collapse of the financial system in USA, one of the most advance countries which one looks forward to emulate. And it happens in the financial sector where the auditee has the cream of financial acumen at its disposal by way of employees that one would be jealous of. As the intention here is to deliberate on the role of Auditors, though size & materiality wise it is not comparable the Wipro case is referred to, being recent (the Satyam episode is not comparable as the Management itself is under clout). The deliberations in this article are, therefore, more of a generic nature.

The external environment especially with regard to the regulatory framework, as well as internal systems & capabilities within a company like Wipro are not second to anyone. This further enhances the need for this analysis.

Is the argument that External Audit does not cover system issues and that the same is the responsibility of Internal Auditors agreeable to Managements? Could this be the reason for noticing glaring loopholes existing in systems of companies running businesses for many years? This argument is time & again put forward inspite of the fact that Arthur Anderson paid the price in Enron case, PW has been pulled up in GTB case & again PW in Satyam case.

That Internal Audit is a different ball game as compared to External Audit is implicitly accepted by the External Auditors by shifting the responsibility of such misappropriations on Internal Audit. But carrying forward this thought process, the methodology advocated for Internal Audit by External Auditors is similar to the manner in which they carry out audit. For example, preparation of an annual audit plan is a mere guideline in the case of Internal Audit. Preparing it & further trying to monitor it, would adversely affect the functioning of the Internal Audit Department. To elaborate, when the internal auditor starts auditing a process, he/she is unsure as to whether it will take 1 day or 1 week. Because, whilst auditing, if he/she stumbles on a clue requiring checking in depth or the clue may lead to probable weakness in other department, it has to be cleared before concluding the audit. A good Auditor would be one who stumbles upon such clues and does a complete job as compared to the one who merely completes the job in allotted time. External or Organizational events such as starting or stopping an activity, joining or leaving of key employees in the company are important trigger events for Internal Audit which may require considerable departmental resources. These cannot be encompassed in an annual Internal Audit plan. Expecting adherence to the plan, will affect quality.

The reason why it has been mentioned that the difference in methodologies is implicitly accepted but not advocated accordingly is that firstly, external auditors are required to comment upon the adequacy of internal controls of which internal audit is an important part. Whilst commenting, the External Auditors, sticking to the Annual Plan example for the sake of brevity, invariably look at the Audit Plan and adherence to the same. Secondly, now it is required by the Institute of Internal Auditors, USA that once in 5 years the Internal Audit Departments should the pass the test of adequacy wherein similar requirements like the Audit Plan are primary criteria to give marks to the Internal Audit Departments. Thirdly, whenever, the External Audit firms carry out Internal Audit as part of outsourcing the function, the same is carried out in a ‘planned’ manner sticking to pre decided time table.
Due to the peculiar characteristics of the internal audit function, it is not advisable to outsource it. To give a radical example in an attempt to drive home the point, it is like a country outsourcing its Home Ministry function.

Wipro is known for its high standards in executing systems & procedures. It was only for this reason that it was felt that writing this letter could serve some purpose.

With Regards,

Vivek Mathker

My Cabin

When I worked in Ion Exchange (India) Ltd in Mumbai, my office cabin overlooked the

Mahalaxmi Race course

When I worked for YK Almoayyed & Sons in Bahrain, my office cabin overlooked the

World Trade Centre

Now I work for Sofinter (Ansaldo Caldaie) in Milan Italy & my office cabin overlooks the

Monte Rosa, the 2nd highest point of Alps in Europe