Oh Ushacomm!!!

“Time it was, and what a time it was, it was
A time of innocence, a time of confidences
Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories; they're all that's left of you”

- Simon and Garfunkel - Bookends


A recent spate of emails from old colleagues in Ushacomm (where I spent 3 glorious years of my life) brought a heavy bout of nostalgia. It’s been 3 years since I have left the company and the city, but the bonds are as strong as it was back then. We have all moved on in our lives, people have become husbands, fathers, students, alcoholics, managers, directors…but within everybody’s hearts, there still exists a place that’s reserved exclusively for those days that we had, and that place will be there forever. Among other things it was cricket that brought us all together, and now our memories are inextricably entwined with our memories of our endeavors on and off the field. Who can forget those planning sessions? We had the audacity to book meeting rooms in the office and have day long meetings discussing budgets, schedules, logistics, team selection, cheer girls….Who can forget those matches? And the team meetings in China town or Starlit? And boy we were good!! I seriously regret the missed opportunities – because of people resigning or going on assignments we were never able to build a stable team. Were we a non software PSU kind of firm, we would have won quite a lot of things. And for you cynical non-believers out there, here is proof..

www.photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/thecooldoods/lst

Apart from that also life was great. Work (whenever we managed to get time from our busy schedules to do work) was actually meaningful. Ushacomm was (is) one of the very few Indian companies who have actually developed a software product and have successfully sold it globally. That’s something I am proud of (forget how we screwed up, thats besides the point). Work atmosphere was fantastic (PE bastards may differ with me on this one, but for me personally it was great). Business lunches in silver grill and starlit were another of the perks, as were the evening discussions in The Other Room. The ‘mamonis’ were meager enough to keep everyone interested, and each new mamoni joinee was discussed in the minutest detail over old monk and coke. Salaries were frequently late, but that never mattered. There were always better endowed friends to ask for loans, and loans were paid back in kind (the aforementioned old monk and coke).

At this shitty juncture of my life, where everything in general looks quite meaningless and futile (the other posts will give you a general picture), I am glad I have these memories.

Here’s to you Ushacomm.