I am the public!

I dont know if I am a 'socialist' by birth :)) but I always had great regard for big public institutions, especially in India. Banks, Railways, Post Office, Police, Sanitary workers etc (no, not the army). I did not have anti- feelings towards private companies but at the same time, I didnt drool over them either. I think maybe in earlier years, most people were envious of private companies because of high pay. I feel Tamils are of 'one in hand is worth two in bush' mindset and eager to plump in for Government jobs. Stability is the main reason why people liked government jobs. It could be another reason why Tamil Government is probably 'bigger' than any other state Government in India.

Public services: a positive experience was an article that reaffirmed my opinion on public organizations. It was nicer to read reader's editor elaborate further with people's comments. More than the railways, I thought that the postal department is doing a fantastic job. I was a frequent letter writer (may not be a good one :(), but nowadays I type and dont write. I remember that my handwriting had improved especially during my graduate days. My classmate had a brilliant handwriting which he said was 'SBOA handwriting'. Maybe I got inspired by him and my handwriting improved. I knew that my writing was always neat and organized - some of my classmates still remember that I used to draw lines in my class notes. With this improved handwriting, it made things better. I am sure that out of 4/5 100s that I scored in Mathematics papers in my graduation, atleast 2/3 didnt deserve it if not for my handwriting. I think that I was the first ever MCA ever to be recruited by Texas Instruments because the interviewer was impressed with me. Infact I think he was impressed with me because of how I wrote the programs that he asked for - Apart from the handwriting, I also embellished the presentation with comments - you dont expect students in interviews to display 'commenting' skills.

Since I started working with Texas Instruments, money was never a driving force. Infact, in all companies that I worked, I never asked for a higher pay in any company :o That may sound ridiculous especially as an Indian, but I felt that even my first ever salary in Texas Instruments was too high. I am sure no 'engineer' from a decent college would even look at that pay. My 'ideal' company was IBM or Intel or HP; I liked GE - maybe because of Welch to begin with and later Immelt - but didnt see how I could end up in GE but GE was the 'dream' for me. Big companies enamoured me. My reasoning was that big companies have become big not by chance but by sustained their dominance. To put in கௌரவம் dialogue, not enough if you stand, but stay. My sister used to talk about 'quotes' in campus interviews at her college, BITS, Pilani (I always thought those were one of those 'legends' developed in different places). One 'winning' quote from one student in an interview was - I want to be a big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in a big pond. My opinion was always - I want to be a big fish in a big pond. Big companies like GE are the ones that come closest to PUBLIC organizations.