MANISH CHOUDHARY VP & MD, PITNEY BOWES SOFTWARE INDIA

Taking head-on the challenge of setting up Pitney Bowes base in India, Mr. Manish Choudhary, in 2007, moved to his native place as an expat, armed with over 10 years of cross-global experience at the PBBI headquarters at Troy, New York. Mr. Choudhary’s efforts to try to walk before he could run made him a leader who understands business at the grass-roots level. The India centre has grown to become a top employer within 5 years.

Q. Architecture and business management; you make an amazing combination. What led to it?
A. After a degree in architecture, I went to the U.S. for my postgraduation from the University of Akron, Ohio. Later, I did executive MBA from Anderson School of Management followed by a management course at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

However, I think I am more like an architect who is into sketching and painting. I believe if you make your passion your profession, it becomes difficult to maintain the passion you have. I like photography, but if I make it my career I will eventually lose interest in it.

Q. What career idea would interest you the most when you were growing up?
A. As a child I thought I would be an engineer. I always believe that things change rapidly; and I have the ability to adapt and change quickly with time. As a child, I would try different things and wait till something strikes. If things would not happen, they were never meant to happen.

Q. Share your experience of setting up Pitney Bowes in India?
A. The experience has been rewarding and I have grown on both professional and personal fronts. The experience has made me wiser and faster. I remember when I hired the first person in India, I spoke for three hours and the interviewee spoke for three minutes. The only thing he asked was ‘do you have an office’. To my no, he said he would come back once we have an office. We chose a creative way to hire, even picked up visiting cards from a restaurant bowl! click here to read full inverview...

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Paras Ajmera (Director – Operations & HR, Financial Technologies Group)

Q. What is your signature leadership style?
A. I believe in employee empowerment. I am quick in decision making and execution, and expect the same from others.

Q. Any mentors you admire?
A. My mentor is none other than Mr. Jignesh Shah, our Chairman and Group CEO. I truly admire his vision, passion, and the ability to shape ideas into world-class institutions.

Q. How do you balance your work-life and your family-life?
A. I will be honest here; balancing work and family life is indeed difficult. I believe that utmost commitment is required when you are at work. In fact, when I am at work, I work to the exclusion of all else. However, I do try to ensure that all my Sundays and holidays are spent exclusively with my family. I take an annual holiday with my entire family, which includes my parents, brothers, and their respective families. I also try to take as many short trips as I can manage. As a family, we enjoy trekking and all our family trips are a mix of adventure and scenic locales across the world. Doing things with the family works extremely well for me to maintain a connect. Click here to continue...

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Continued...On producing talent in India, he says one problem area calling attention is the mindset that children should study seriouslyonly till plus 2 and it is all fun in college. “It is just the opposite elsewhere. This ideology of the society needs to be changed. Institutes can do up to an extent but it is the internal motivation that needs to be brought in,” underlines Mr. Mittal. Also, it is essential for a student to understand that the examination system is to benchmark something to which industry can take a decision. However, during campus placements every student should know what he or she is capable of and what the job demands. If a student has done this exercise, he stands out, says Mr. Mittal. Besides, there are hosts of things required to groom a student. At LPU, skill development is an ongoing process that starts from day one. Elaborates Mr. Mittal, “LPU has set up a student centre which is more like a mall. It is one lakh sq ft area of shopping and is run by students. This gives student a testing ground to test his business ideas.”

LPU has faculty from various parts of India and abroad. Those from outside India need extra support so they are given a contact point for all their needs, he says and adds that faculty from outside is made to attend lectures of star faculty members on how to handle a class. LPU also has an HR and training department which is unique in itself, says he. If there is a requirement of a particular skill set, the department gets it arranged. There is also a quality assurance department which ensures students are satisfied. On how to promote faculty research, he says initially research needs a lot of money and resources, so industries should come forward to support it. Read More...

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She Writes Story Contest winner: Chitralekha

Chitralekha is one of twelve winners of the MSN-Random House She Writes a Story Contest', as chosen by our judges. Her story 'Conundrum' features in the 'She Writes: A collection of Short Stories' published by Random House India and available at all leading bookstores.

Chitralekha was born and raised in South Mumbai. She has lived in Jamshedpur, Hong Kong, Singapore, Los Angeles, 

Chicago, and New York and wandered the rest of the globe observing cultures. She is presently parked in New Delhi, trying to crystallize the lessons of a nomadic life.

read an extract from chitralekha's story 'conundrum'

Shanta Kamble and Pramila Dhoifude had been friends for years. They were both widows, nearly the same age, and neighbours in Harish Chandra Chawl, near Dadar, in Mumbai.

The chawl had been built in the 1950s in an area adjoining the National Textile Mill. Most of the tenants had worked in the mill before it shut down in the early '80s, following an unsuccessful strike by a prominent trade union leader. Some residents had purchased their rooms against 'pagdi' from the original allottees, and had nothing to do with the mill. The two women belonged to the second category, which gave them something in common.

Shanta Kamble was fifty-five-years-old. Her late husband had worked in the Port Trust and left her with a small pension after his demise. She lived with her unmarried son, daughter, and nephew. The nephew, Vishwas, had lived with them since he was twelve. Shanta's son worked as an assistant in a computer firm which provided technical support for home computer owners.

She had just arranged his marriage to a girl who worked as a telephone operator in an export company.

Shantabai's daughter Madhuri taught in a coaching class. She was dark skinned, with acne scars all over her face; a fact reflected in her mother's oft-stated inability in arranging her marriage.

The nephew was economically the weakest, and worked as a peon in the nearby municipal school. He had not studied beyond the 8th standard. He was a handsome fellow, with a jaunty air; the only son of Shanta's sister who was married to an unemployed drunkard. The aunt was frequently praised for her selflessness in taking him in since the sister could not fend for her son. It was acknowledged within the family that all efforts must be made to prevent the nephew from taking after his father. On occasion, when the family visited Vishwas' mother in their village, they left a spare key with Pramila Dhoifude. She would clean the house for them while they were away and bring a plastic pouch of milk on the day of their arrival.

in her own words: chitralekha

Have you always been a writer? What made you start writing?

This is my first attempt at fiction.

What inspired you to enter She Writes?

The categories were so intriguing. I was spurred to put in my two bits' worth.

Why did you choose the category you did?

I have been a Woman in the City all my life. There are many experiences women can have in a city, some common to all cities, some unique to a particular city, all worth telling. I'm glad MSN/Random House added the condition of including a quote, it added a bit of discipline to the project. Otherwise I would have gone into orbit!

Do you have a writing routine - e.g. do you have favourite places to write/favourite times of day/do you write longhand or on a computer?

This is the first time I have written fiction for publication. I wrote it on my laptop in my favourite chair...I hope this process works in future!

Who is your favourite author?

I have a long list of them. The world is full of exceptional writers, living and dead. It is a pleasure to think a new "favourite" could be around the next page.

Which book has inspired you the most?

"Ramakrishna - A Phenomenon" by Christopher Isherwood. Bengalis are steeped in the traditions of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda. It was fascinating to explore a western viewpoint, especially by someone like Isherwood, who is not associated with religiosity. It was like a mirror held up to the self you think you know but don't. Which key piece of advice would you give to any other budding writer? Writing is like giving birth, it is in the hands of a higher power. Let the process take you over.