And Finally ..... The Twin Towers...

The two people who have earned the love and respect of everybody in the project are Koushik-da and Sanjay-da. For me, they are the ones that made this project a lifetime experience and a very very special one to work in.

Koushik-da, our beloved 'mama', or 'Kushik' in the Maersk project - was the 'grand patriarch' of our project. He was our very own 'Jyoti Basu' (I know he will surely hatttttte this comparison!) - for the people, of the people, by the people. He is the most gifted person that I have known and a true all-rounder. A connoisseur of everything from wine, music, food, art and all the other finer things in life. Someone with a elephantine memory, his knowledge of everything around him amazed us all. A few of his casually delivered advices made a significant impresssion on me and have changed the way I used to approach life. A man capable of turning winter to summer and summer to winter - the canvas he has in his drawing room bears testimony to this. His looks changed from time to time - from the 'bangali bhadrolok' look (sporting only a moustache) to the 'global consultant' look (with a beard - the look that I would personally recommend to him) to the 'teeny-bopper' look (clean shaven). All in all, simply a 'complete man' in my heart ( though some might argue that his dark skin and short stature would rob him of a perfect 10 :-) )

S for Sugar, A for Apple, N for Norway, J for Joy, A for Apple, Y for Yellow - that is our beloved Sanjay-da. He was more in the Subhas Chakraborty mould - a 'trinamool' person with a mass following. There is not a single person in the development team who has not received his help and support. A cruel slayer of functional consultants and in general all those who dared to defy our development team :-) He is the person with whom I spent the the maximum time in this project. The endless hours that I spent with him is the most treasured memory I have from the project. A value-driven person who believes in some simple principles in life - he is someone from whom I have learnt a lot. He is a true 'Ajatashatru' because he is one person who is not capable of hurting anyone. Very sporting - he was always at the receiving end of leg-pulling (and a few hard thrown punches) from everyone. He took it all with a smile - it is his quality of having the ability to laugh at himself that makes him stand out. A very well connected man - there is no hotel in Europe that his 'friend' has not stayed in. I hope someday I get the chance of working with him again - but till then I will just keep 'Waiting for Godot'.....

Both Sanjay-da and Koushik-da both had very different styles and approaches but both had one trait in common. It was their ability to keep aside their age and seniority and mingle with us as equals that made them so endearing and extra special ...and made this project a very very special one to have worked in.

Thats all that i had to say.....Even though all the above are strictly my own personal experience, observations and views - I hope that you might have enjoyed reading this blog.