2025 Report : Brihannala becomes Arjun again.

 January 2025

After a 2-week vacation, I was looking forward to starting work, but fell sick with a bad laryngitis. Lost my voice for over a week.

As a new technical lead (TL), and working with a new Senior Technical Lead (STL)/Value Stream lead (VSL), I began enjoying my work more. Handling 2-3 projects at time, content-switching between them, managing stakeholders, clearing off my table of all pending work, all of this began giving me a new high.

Invited talk at Danfoss, "Noise and Vibration in Pumps". Met Dr. Thangasivam Gandhi and his team. It was a 3-hour talk. I got good reception and feedback. 

February 2025

Started making to-do lists every morning at work. It was more exciting : to be on the top of work now. I saw more stakeholders aligning with me and counting on me directly. 

Little did I know it was the calm before the storm.

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Just when I was reaching this equilibrium, my manager said he is 'not happy' with me, esp. with my "developmental activities", e.g. "corporate behavior"! The yearly appraisal was politically manipulated and intentionally screwed, with the sinister motive to drive me out of the organization. 

Shelving of Offshore Wind Turbine projects and cancelling of Projects in USA (due to policies of Trump) made the situation bad. The company was not doing well. Layoffs were looming large on mid-career people (who were too expensive).

I could see who back-stabbed me. I realized everyone is everyone's enemy in corporate. It was painful but I had to cut off ties with them for good.

March 2025 

After a one-week vacation at Kolkata, I pulled up my socks and started working harder (wrong decision). But I started feeling burnt out. This was neither sustainable nor required : it was already over for me. My meetings with my boss had gotten increasingly difficult for me in the last one year. He was nitpicking on trivial issues, not related to work at all. It was only about people management (read politics). People were stealing credit for my work. The boss has innumerable blind spots : he just could not see anything unless it was showcased and reminded of him on a daily basis. I could see how people were doing that quite smoothly, and the boss was getting swept off his feet. It was all about show-off. 

 This was just not a place for me. I polished my CV and started looking for a new job.

April 2025

I had a frank discussion with my manager. It was simply not working between us. I was not able to cater to his corporate expectations, and I felt grossly under-utilized as a resource. I did not come here to do clerical work! I did not come here to get belittled by people half of my age/ qualification/ knowledge/ experience technical acumen. I did not want to work in a place where your competence counts only 10%, and the rest 90% goes for "people skills" (politics, faking, diplomacy, smooth-talking, showcasing, shallowness, back-biting, stealing credit, etc.). That is supposedly called "Corporate behaviour". This was so not me! I have gotten used to high technical standards for decades. What is saw here was abysmal. The work standards were appalling. The technical expertise of the team was almost non-existent. It made my head reel. Everyone was simply running tools and processes like clerks. A single undergraduate level technical sentence from me scared off people. I was epic-level bored by Sept 2024 itself. I understood nothing would improve. Technical communication, presentation, and writing skills were zilch. A few hardworking sincere people were getting overlooked and sidelined, while those who buttered the boss got out-of-turn promotions. All my innovative ideas was brushed under the carpet in the last one year : I was asked only to run tools and processes. I felt ignored all the time. My brain was seemingly rotting here. From Day 01, I never connected with this job. Every task was almost an irritating activity for me. The messy process was actually hurting my brain. I kept doing it extremely reluctantly. Sitting before the screen all day long, using the keyboard, headset, and mouse non-stop, having low-substance long meetings (with no one taking responsibility), flowery managerial jargon flying past in emails and calls, it all appeared extremely shallow. I was exasperated and unhappy. The meetings and discussions were so boring that my mind used to wander away. I had to put in excruciating effort to keep myself focused on any discussion. Nothing was worth my effort here. The job was repetitive and there were no milestones for me. I cannot recall a single feeling of achievement at anytime during the 2 years. Everything was pretty mundane. I was (ridiculously) called out for skill-gaps in Microsoft Office! Was that the reason I was hired here?! The boss gave random developmental activities over the year. Raising issues always backfired : the boss was too retaliatory. His micromanagement was exasperating to most team members. He always asked personal questions and poked his nose into personal/family decisions of people. 5 out of 15 people quit in the last 6 months of 2024. 

I cannot play this game. It is not my nature. I have been a solid person since childhood. I cannot fake and showcase things and usurp undue credit. I cannot suck up to higher management. Perhaps this low-IQ job was never for me. I realized how much I missed research : my comfort zone, where I could work passionately and was in my best professional self. Actually, talent needs freedom. It needs space to give great outputs. Excellence does not come with a sword hanging over your head. Industry turned out to be a place of mediocrity (or inferiority?). I was sitting among the wrong species. This was so not my tribe. It was time to return to my heights again.

But I shall remain thankful for the knowledge, the experience, and the brand value.

Truthfully, I had not 'joined' this company. I was only wanting to move to a big city after 12 years in a small town. But I had had enough. This was only a sojourn. It was actually me who was faking all alone, without the meta-cognition. I was trying to convince myself that this was going to be the future. But all connections don't work. This was one such failed attempt. I could not pretend anymore. I just cannot do this low-IQ activity. That is why I have been disinterested all along. It was time to respectfully exit. I needed to abrase my brain of all the low-IQ rust it had accumulated. I had almost forgotten who I am. I had forgotten the sound of my own voice, which had not addressed a full room for 2 years. Ties to a laptop for a full day, having routine clerical tasks (in the name of engineering to be done), sitting at yawn meetings, do boring repetitive work : this was just not me.

It was time to part ways. It was a professional mutual divorce. The two-year association was over. 

I took about a week to process this huge change again coming in my life. Emotions (frustration and anxiety) ran high. Future became uncertain once again. Thankfully, lots of friends supported me through this, especially Deepak Jha (Specialist at Nordex). He put it really well for me : "I was a  warhorse, being asked to dance in the wedding!" Another friend said, "Even Hanuman had forgotten his powers, and Jaambavant had to remind him, and then Hanuman came into his full form to fly across the ocean". A third friend said, "It is unfair I lose sleep over this in spite of having an accomplished CV". A professional contact was shocked, and so were several friends. Some kept sending me links to various suitable openings, very thoughtfully.  

Began feeling better after 15 days. I had moved on. I was back in the market : for the first time in real! Was ready for the thrill!

It was time for Brihannala to shed the incognito mode and become Arjun again. 

May 2025

Started contacting my network far and wide. Contacted various top universities of India. Found lots of support. Academia applications started. 

Applied to Mahindra University (MU), Hyderabad, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace engineering. Travelled to Hyderabad to present my research seminar and interact with the faculty. Interacted with the Head of the Dept. Prof. Debasis Chakraborty, and several other faculty. Gave my first research seminar in two years! Felt so good! My muscle memory was still there. I felt alive again! Talking in front of an audience in a seminar room, explaining technical depth of my research, showcasing my IIT KGP wind turbine project, detailing my future R&D and teaching plans : it was just the first return to the magic!

June 2025

Academia applications continued. Applied to BITS (all three campuses in one go), IITB, IITM.

Had a second round of (online) interview at MU with the external panel. Met Prof. Sriram (IITM, AE) and Prof. D.K. Maiti (IITKGP, AE), along with the Dean of MU (Dr. Bishnu Pal) and the VC (Dr. Yajulu Medury).

Negotiations began the next week, and was finalized with a good hike from my CTC at Vestas. 

Resigned from Vestas. It was a 3-month notice period. Started reducing the workload. Worked from home.

Contacted NIOT and NIWE.

July 2025

August 2025

September 2025

Wrapping up from Chennai.

October 2025

Welcome Hyderabad.

November 2025

December 2025

Your mother is your father's employee

Yes, deal with this truth. And Please Do NOT be shocked. 

Women are employed by men in their houses. The process of employment is called "marriage". It is the lifetime job contract of a woman. In patriarchy, where men control money and power, they employ the following people : 

(i) other men and the few qualified women in their workplaces (fields / workshops / companies / offices / agencies / start-ups), 

(ii) women in their houses (wives, cooks, maids). 

That is why when a girl is not able to find a job, she knows she has the fallback option of marriage (an exploited position) to ensure survival. 

Before you trash this fact, observe carefully. Does any relationship in this world survive without an economic angle? N.O. NO. Please make peace with this, and don't bring in your emotions (start mouthing dialogues like 'love' and all that crap).

Only and only the mother-child bond does not involve any money, which still comes with high expectations of widowhood support.

How come you did not realize it until now? Watch and ask yourself: 

• Why are housewives on their toes all the time? (How often do you see women relaxing/ chilling at home?) 
• Why do women shift to their husband's house upon marriage? (because the venue of a person's service cannot be separate from the person)
• Why is your father ordering your mother all the time? (Does he watch his tone?)
• Why don't men want to do household chores? (Because they have already employed women to do that and 'woh sab auraton ka kaam hain').
• When you mother goes to her Maayka, why is the maid instructed to cook also? (Mother is actually replaceable by a salaried cook!)
• When your mother/wife is out of station, why does the house look and sound and feel 'different', and why is the normal decorum of the house absent? 
• Why is your mother clearing the mess all the time? 
• Why is marital rape not a crime in India?
• If the chance of ovum-fertilization is only 1/28, i.e. one day in 28 days of a menstrual cycle, then why is India so highly populated? (Men are banging their wives daily, almost as a physiological need; and Marital Rape is not a crime.).

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How does this industry work? Let us check all the steps, one by one.

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1) Making the girl employable.

Put into the little head of the 5-year-old girl that "one day she has to go away". Teach her to be quiet and congenial. She should be slow and soft and demure all the time. Tell her never to speak her mind. Teach her to smile through anger. Give her a convent education, where all this is drilled into her impressionable mind for a decade. Do not let her do anything that scares the fragile ego of the Company (Sasural).

2) Eligibility Criteria.

Every woman-employing Company (Sasural) demands the following:

(a) Age. You should be young enough to have lots of fresh eggs in your ovaries for fertilization. Also you should be young enough not to have opinions / confidence / worldly experience / self-esteem / success / money / fame / power.

(b) Virginity. Hymen tissue is compulsory. No penis should have entered your vagina before. We don't want a dirty uterus. We want a 'fresh' female reproductive system to marinate and cook our heir. (We are ignorant about the biological fact that your menstrual period cleans your uterus and vagina every 4 weeks.)

(c) Domestic Competence. You should be able to look after the house fully. The husband is busy earning money outside the home. When he comes back, he should feel he is entering a hotel with a restaurant. You have to look after the housekeeping requirements on a daily basis. 

(d) Cooking skills. You need to be able to cook anything and everything according to the tastes of the Company's bosses. 

(e) Education. Do not be too educated : we do not require a 'brain' in our employee. Women who are knowledgeable (and hence tend to ask too many questions) need not apply. School education is required, such that you are able to supervise your children's homework. 

(f) Looks. Good looks are paramount because :

• We need to show you off as the daughter-in-law, and
• Your husband should find you attractive enough to impregnate you.
• We also need fair skin, because we need a fair off-spring from you. 
• you should have a good figure to indicate your fertility.

(g) Salary. If employed elsewhere, your salary cannot be more than your husband's, and night shift is not preferred.

3) Sending your application.

(a) Photo : Dress traditionally and modestly, with light make-up and jewelry, and get half-length and full-length colored photos clicked.

(b) Mention your height and complexion, along with education and family background.

Tips for a successful application : Use Photoshop for lightening your complexion and highlighting your figure. Hide difficult and irrelevant data (like qualifications and salary).

4) Audition / Interview process.

The boy and his parents (a few more relatives), will visit your house. You have to dress up and serve tea/snacks on a tray to all the Company members. The boy's family will watch your gait and manners. Then you will have to quietly sit in front of them to be scrutinized. Domestic questions follow and you are supposed to give the expected answers softly, without eye contact. The prospective mother-in-law will ask if you can cook, clean, stitch, sew, sing, etc. You may be asked to stand, smile, walk around, sing, etc. as a part of the interview process.

You yourself are not allowed to ask any questions. If the Company finds you suitable, the deal will be closed with your parents. 

5) Job Contract.

(a) Domestic Slavery. You need to cook (according to other's needs), clean, do laundry, make the bed, arrange the cupboard, clean the shoes, supervise the maid, do grocery, store leftovers, keep the kitchen stocks, do dusting, do flower arrangement, decorate the house, welcome guests, clean up the dining table, do pest-control.

(b) Sex Slavery. Your body is not your own. You husband can pounce upon you anytime. You have to lie next to him on the double bed every night, waiting to be grabbed and bulldozed. You have to dress well and wear make-up to entice your husband as much as possible, until a son is born.

(c) Reproductive Slavery. You need to give birth to your husband's children. The children born will be considered belonging to the Company and will bear the Company's name/surname. The narrative will be set that "these children have only the Company's genes", even though your ovum (with 23 chromosomes) will be used to create them. You will be expected to relinquish your genetic right over the children born from your own uterus, accompanied with terrible hormonal issues, calcium depletion, blood loss, energy depletion. You will be taken care of during the pregnancy, because you are bearing the Company's heir. 

(d) Place of stay : You will need to stay in the premises of the Company 24/7/365. 

(e) Son-production. You need to give birth to a son as soon as possible to run the Company further. If no son is born, the Company will shut down after 20-25 years. 

(f) External employment. You are discouraged from seeking external employment for "pocket money", because it will interfere with your duty-hours in this Company. If you insist, you will be 'allowed' in part-time external employment. If you seek full-time employment out of this Company, you have to complete your Company duties sacrificing your sleep / hobbies / relaxation time. You are not permitted to talk about the trials and tribulations of your outside employment, inside the Company. 

(g) Daily reporting time : 6 AM  - 11 PM. Optional Break : 1-2 hours post lunch. Daily attendance is compulsory. 

(i) Morning Shift: Be the first to wake up. Wake everyone up with bed tea. Pack children's school bag. Layout children's school uniforms/shoes and husband's office wear. Get their bathing water ready. Take breakfast orders from everyone and prepare it before they leave for work/school. Feed children. Pack lunch-boxes for husband / children. Hand over the office-bag / wallet / pen / hanky to the husband and see him off at the main door. Do laundry. Do grocery. Instruct the maid in dusting / brooming / mopping / doing the dishes. Check utility supplies and re-order as and when needed using the Company credit card. Make the beds of all bedrooms. Arrange study tables of husband and children. Hang out washed clothes on the clothesline. Give food and medicines to in-laws. Do dusting. Quickly take bath. Do Puja and distribute Prasad to the in-laws. Cook lunch. Clear the kitchen counter. Arrange the dining table. Serve lunch to in-laws. Wait upon them until they finish. Quickly have your own lunch. Clear the dining table. Store away leftovers in the fridge. Clear the trash. Call and supervise electrician, plumber, AC maintenance, driver, gardener.

(ii) Evening Shift : Fetch dried laundry from the clothesline, fold them, iron them, and distribute them in each one's closet. Feed children when they return from school. Unpack their bags and put their clothes for laundry. Supervise children's homework. Serve tea to in-laws. You may have tea if you want. Light incense and do the evening Puja. Dress up well before your husband returns from work. Once he returns, carry his bag to his desk, bring him a glass of water, place his shoes on the rack, pick up his socks for laundry. Hand him the towel for him to freshen up. When he is in the bathroom, layout his evening clothes out from the closet, and put his office clothes for laundry. Handle the kids so that they do not disturb him. Plan dinner menu. Cook dinner. Clear the kitchen counter. Arrange the dining table. Serve dinner to the whole family. Wait upon them until they finish. Quickly have your own dinner. Clear the dining table. Store away leftovers in the fridge. Put children to bed. Freshen up and enter the bedroom in a nice nighty. Lie on the bed (like a piece of flesh) and cooperate with you husband from his erection to his orgasm. Put the alarm for the next day, and take some rest.

(iii) Festival overtime. You need to cook traditional dishes and delicacies during festivals. You also need to decorate the house appropriately and dress up for the occasion. Relatives and guests will be visiting during the festivals : you need to entertain them and cook according to their tastes. Because the maid will be on leave during festivals, you need to do all her tasks during this time. 

(iv) Visitors overtime. When visitors come, you need to arrange for coffee/snacks/dinner. You need to do small talk with them even if you are not interested. Clean up after the leave.

(h) Dress code. Dress modestly and preferably, traditionally. Dress tastefully with jewelry/accessories such that the Company can show you off to visitors. Do not wear western attire before your in-laws. You need to wear anklets such that we can hear your movements all the time. If your husband passes away, they widow-dress-code will be applicable. 

(i) Behavior. You have to smile and be congenial all the time. You have to be quiet when your bosses are talking. If you don't like something, adjust. You are not allowed to show your feelings / frustrations or reveal your problems. If you show anger, the Company will notify you parents about your 'questionable' mental health. 

6) Company Management Structure.

(a) Main Boss : Mother-in-law. You will take direct bosses from her on a daily basis. All the tasks assigned to you by her need to be completed in the allotted time-frame or before. 

(b) Bedroom Boss : Husband. You have to provide sexual entertainment, preferably every night, to him. Your choice and consent are immaterial. (Marital rape is not a crime in India). He will address you as "Tum", but you have to address him as "Aap".

(c) Drawing room Boss : Father-in law. You should not make eye contact with him. He will never make eye contact with you. Be quiet and only listen when he gives instructions to meet his demands. Leave everything and attend to him whenever his calls out "Bahu.....".

(d) Regular Inspection team :  Sisters-in-law, company's neighbors, and company's relatives. They are empowered to give feedback to the Bosses for seasonal/annual appraisals.

7) Salary Structure and CTC.

(a) Food. You will get to eat the leftovers after everyone has finished eating and left. Your nutrition and health are not the company's lookout. Please make your own tea in the morning/evening. Do not eat before your husband has eaten. If your husband passes away, the widow-diet will be applicable. 

(b) Electricity. You get to use the electricity for running appliances to serve the company, and your own needs.

(c) Clothes. You will get clothes during festivals. Company groceries / shopping will include your sanitary pads, and toilet items (toothbrush, soap, shampoo, safety pins, etc.). For make-up, accessories (shoe, bag, etc.), and other small merchandise, you will get some pocket money. 

(d) Internet. You may use the Company Wi-Fi.

(e) Bedroom. You will get an unfurnished bedroom which you will share with your husband. It may or may not have an attached bathroom. Your parents will need to provide the bed, mattresses, pillows, bedsheets, pillow-covers, blankets, almirah, dressing table, closet, initial set of clothes/ accessories/ toiletries, etc. in dowry. 

8) Leave, benefits, superannuation benefits.

(a) Vacation. You can visit your parent's house (Maayka) when you are seriously ill or pregnant, or if they are seriously ill. Visits during festivals have to be approved prior to taking the leave from your Main Boss. Visits have to be limited to the daytime only. 

(b) TV. You get some entertainment in the afternoons.

(c) Shopping and dining out. Your husband will treat you with a day out depending on his mood.

(d) You will be entitled to your husband's wealth and property upon his death.

(e) Medical. Do not complain of illnesses to escape from your daily duties. It does not matter if you are sick or have any ailment. Medical leaves will require you to go to your parents' house. Your periods are never to be mentioned. Do not have medicines unless extremely urgent : you should be a strong woman to endure body-aches / headaches / etc.

(f) Leaves. There are no casual leaves, weekends leaves, or festival leaves. An annual leave may be planned by your husband, but you still need to be 'on-duty' during the vacation : packing bags, arranging paraphernalia, handling kids, etc.

(g) Sex. Your sexual satisfaction is not your husband's lookout. As a good woman, you should not think about sex. Your husband will perform it on you : you simply need to comply and convince yourself that you are "receiving love". He will sleep off and you need to wash the linen.

(h) Guardianship of Children. Your children will be the legal heirs of your husband and carry his surname.

9) Onboarding Plan and Joining Bonus.

Week-long pre-wedding, wedding, and post-wedding rituals will orient (hypnotize) you into a the Compnay culture and mold you into a compliant employee. Before you know it, you will be sleepwalking through this daily rigmarole, and yet proudly announce your marital status in social media. 

You will be treated with a fully funded honeymoon with your husband, where you will get enough sex-practice, and also learn to tolerate your husband's inferior hygiene, bad manners, laziness, and tantrums. 

10) Promotion Policy. If you bear a son, you will be promoted to a Mother-in-law after 2.5-3 decades. Otherwise, you will have to continue your job till you die.

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Now that the contract details, terms, and conditions are fully laid out to you, you may sign this contract at your own risk. Do not fight later about the Company's demands and expectations.

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Disclaimer : This blog does not include other marriage complications like caste-system, horoscopes, domestic violence, and adultery.