Our office space is close to various modes of public transit and is easy to find on Google Maps. The entrance to the parking lot provides access to the main road which is a bonus.

Our office space is vibrant, painted in bright colours with unique meeting spaces & workstations, includes a large cafeteria and various indoor games like a ping pong table, a pool table and a carrom board.

Lot of colleagues are interested in what an office location has to offer besides business amenities, people are interested in what they can do after hours and over weekends.

Our office location offers a lively restaurant and music scene. As ever, the perfect office is often a balancing act between too large and too small, too busy and not busy enough.

There’s a large supermarket in the same building as the office, allowing our colleagues to shop for their groceries and other supplies during their breaks, saving time which they would spend in their free time otherwise.

Office location matters and we’ve got one of the best address in Mumbai as ours!

We often read of random acts of charity, these stories inspire and motivate us to lead a simple life and to be grateful for all that we have. This is one such story that I’d like to share with you.

I grew up in the 80s and 90s which some describe as the generation that saw the winds of change in India and the world as far as technology is concerned. Before the internet came to our fingertips in terms of the smart phone, everything involved a lot of paperwork. Considering most of the paperwork was forged and you had to pay a bribe to get that piece of paper; life was extremely difficult for the uneducated, because they wouldn’t understand anything that was written and hence be at the mercy of the “babu” at the counter who in turn would cheat the guy shamelessly and run away with all the money, leaving him helpless and in a state of destitution.

There was one such guy who had been denied education as he had to support a large family at a young age (like thousands others like him all over the country). He was a fruit vendor in a residential area in the suburbs of Mumbai. He was extremely hard working and would work for over 16 hours a day to earn enough money for his family back home. He wanted his siblings and kids to have a better life than him and for that, he needed more and more money. The challenge was keeping it safe. He stayed in a small place with close to ten people, sharing a room to cut costs. It was impossible to trust anyone there as far as money was concerned.

The area where he’d set up shop had over 10,000 apartments which means close to 50,000 residents. Even if he catered to a third of the population there, he would interact with thousands of customers in a week.

The fruit vendor was particularly fond of one customer. Not a big spender, but there was something special about this customer. He decided to handover the cash received by selling mangoes to this customer. As, in the months of May, June and July fruit vendors make a brisk business because of the mango season. Indians crave the king of fruits and spend heavily on it. In this season they can make money to see them through the year. He handed over the money thinking it would be safe with this customer rather than himself. The reason for this trust was the way the customer made him feel. Yes, he bargained (who doesn’t want to save money). Yes, there was the odd complaint about a rotten fruit. But the interaction with this customer made him feel special and that’s the reason the money earned by toiling for hours was handed over to him without any paperwork. He put his faith in this customer, despite knowing that if the money did not come back, his family would be in deep trouble. Needless to say the money was returned to a teary eyed fruit vendor and he thanked the customer for his help and his selflessness.

The faith was because of the interaction the fruit vendor had with his customer; who as a person, commands respect wherever he goes. The manner in which the exchange of words took place every time they spoke made him feel special and led to the decision of handing over the hard earned money without any proof. In today’s day and age it’s difficult to come across such people.

For me, being humble has a different meaning. It’s something I’ve observed while growing up. Something that will stay with me forever. Something that taught me “it’s not about how you feel you treat people but, it’s about how they feel you treat them”, which makes all the difference.

For me, this is the definition of being Humble.

It’s been 38 years and I’m trying very hard to walk in that customers’ shoes. Impossible to achieve, but definitely worth trying for a lifetime.

The customer mentioned above is “MY DAD”.

Everyone I know who mirrors this sentiment, say they don’t need a reason to express why they #lovetobeTechMBS. My take on it is simple, if you want the world to know that you #lovetobeTechMBS then you need to say it once in a while.

Here’s my attempt.

I have spent the last 11 years of my life here. My first salary, my first bike, my first car, my first camera and lot of other firsts have come in my life after I joined this place.

From carefree to careful, that’s what I’ve become in the 11 years of working with TechMBS.

In my journey of the last 11 years and counting, I’ve learnt tremendously from the leadership here and our customers. The exposure to working in different teams also added a lot of value to my growth.

So let’s talk about some of the highlights.

People – They are at the heart of everything we do and are the most important & interesting part of my workplace. Some of my closest friends are at my workplace. We have people who are over 50 years of age and have seen life closely from all corners, to people who are just coming out of their teens to start their career and take on the challenges of the real world. We have 7000 different stories to hear and it’ll take a lifetime to hear each one of them. Which is why one can spend a lifetime here and still have something left.

Policies – The policies are simple but extremely powerful and designed with focus on the people.

Yes,we are emotional; we gift leave to our colleagues in need.

Yes, we are passionate about everything we do – sports, photography, music, reading – we do it all; with our colleagues. We meet here and become friends for life through the passion we share.

Yes, we are practical; we have employee benefits, working hours policies, leave policies, compliance standards, governance mechanisms. You name it, we have it.

Every individual working at TechMBS knows that when it comes to you as an employee, TechMBS has always kept YouFirst. This is the most important aspect of our decision making. It’s this aspect which results in everything else falling in place automatically. It’s the driving force of our success.

Culture – We live by the statement “Love your work and you will never have to work a day in your life”. This is what drives everyone who works at TechMBS. Each individual contributes to the best of their ability with a sense of belonging and this is what make TechMBS what it is. A great place to work.

It’s a little like math. It’s orderly. I know what I’m doing when I’m here. The work environment at TechMBS is vibrant, with a culture that allows you to contribute without any boundaries.

You can check-out anytime you want, but the experience this place gives you never leaves you.

Proud to be a TechMIGHTY!

The 1980s was a very good time to be living or starting your life in Mumbai.

It was a growing city, where a normal 9–5 job could get you enough salary to pay EMIs for a house in the suburbs, annual holiday and your kids education.

As was the norm in those days, the first kid was a honeymoon baby, born just under a year after the parents got married. The second kid was born within 24 months and completed the ideal family size at that time. (Hum DO hamare DO being at its peak in the 80s)

People were coming to Mumbai from all parts of India, the migrants were majorly from Gujarat and Rajasthan.

A normal middle class family in Mumbai, would have the Father as the breadwinner, Mother as the homemaker (She quit after she found out that she was pregnant , which was again a norm), 2 kids and grandparents.

It was amazing that a family of 6 with 2 couples, could live under the same roof in a one bedroom, hall and kitchen setup. 35 years down the line, a 3 bedroom, hall and kitchen setup with 4 rest rooms in the house still leaves a feeling of suffocation and wanting more space.6 people in a one bedroom setup with one restroom never had trouble where someone wanted to use the facilities. We have 4 restrooms in the house now with 4 people staying in the house, however if the preferred one is occupied it leads to irritation, leading to a fight. Unbelievable but true.

In the suburbs in Mumbai, the family used to go down with an empty gallon every night to get drinking water for the next day. The father came home after a long day at work, had dinner and then the 4 (Father, Mother and the kids) would go for a so called walk to get drinking water for the next day. This was a way of life and no one really thought that there was anything wrong with it. 24 hours water supply was a luxury only the rich mumbaikars could afford.

What I also recall is how strict the parents were at that time. A small mistake like being 5 minutes late from the playground could mean that you get whacked for the same. And GOD save you from the physical punishment and emotional saga that follows if you perform poorly in the exams. Imagine doing that today and the response of the kids. In the 80s “I’ll tell your dad” meant just shut up and get on with it. Now the response from the kids to the same statement is “I Dare You”

Another interesting thing was the permission to buy that piece of candy or going out for an evening with family over the weekend. It required the Head of the family (usually the breadwinner) to approve the same in advance and put a condition that everything has to be in order else the same stands cancelled. For Eg: if you misbehave (and misbehave means you’re 5 minutes late from the playground) then you won’t get that candy or the outing stands cancelled.

When it came to money matters, it was understood that the breadwinner had to be approached as they were ones who had the money. So, right from a 25paise candy to 100₹ for a pair of clothes, there was no one but the breadwinner who could say yes or no. Some of the things which would influence the decision in your favour were, your behaviour for the last few days, your grades in school and their mood. Whether you needed it or not was not important here. It’s the things mentioned above which would decide wether you get it or not.

Then came the most important of all for all middle class families – Kids’ education. This was where everyone’s thought was exactly the same and each family would give maximum attention to education whether or not the kid was inclined to study. Some would save all their lives for it, some took loans, some cut down on personal expense and luxuries just to make sure that there is no short fall of money when it came to school or higher education for their children. The concept of educational loans was unheard of, and it was a sin to ask the kids to pay for their own education post them starting to earn. This was the 80s.

Now, once the kids start earning, they move out in to a bigger house away from their parents stating that they need space for themselves. It’s now impossible to survive in a house where they lived happily on their parents’ money.

Another interesting part of growing up in the 80s in Mumbai was that everyone had grandparents staying with them. This is now considered a luxury as we need more and more space for all members of the family. The old saying “it takes a village to raise a child” was brought to life in Mumbai in the 80s. The grandparents were the saviours for the children in the house from wrath of their parents and were so much cooler than their parents, that the maximum time was spent with them.I remember running towards my grandparents when they came home from their evening and morning walks, open the little cotton bags they would carry with them for the walk, as I knew that there was something in it for me. Now that I think about it, they went for a walk only because they wanted that scene to come alive every day. All this sounds colourful enough to be in some fictional book, however this was a daily affair in every house. This was the 80s.

The neighbours’ boundaries were extremely informal and people would walk in and out of each other’s houses without a worry or thought. These days the neighbours meet each other only in the elevators and its more of a compulsion to smile at each other rather than willingness. Intercom in those days was only meant for the higher strata of society and the landline phones were a luxury and expensive to use. So, the women in the building complex used to speak to each other from their windows or balconies screaming their lungs out for hours and sometimes discussing issues considered personal, in that fashion. It was acceptable and no one really saw anything wrong with that. Try doing that today and they might call the cops.

Another interesting thing was the parent’s involvement in the kids’ lives. All their free time was reserved for the kids. All they could think of was the kids. A vacation which involved leaving the kids behind was not even considered. The kids school timing decided everything around the house and the kids’ well being was the number one priority. It was more than a responsibility, it was their whole life. This was the 80s.

Getting a bicycle of your own was the one moment every kid in the colony would wait for and then cherish it for the rest of their lives. Of course this had to be earned by getting good marks in class or for some, coming first in class. It was a reward and not a gift without any reason. It had its own charm of getting the reward and then showing it off to friends and family. This is something money cannot buy.

Then ofcourse, there were the activities besides school and studies. There were no video games, no cell phones and no social media. Playing with friends outside the house was supposed to be cool. Playing in the hot sun all day without worrying about getting a tan, sweating it out with friends and then going to the neighbours who stayed on the lower floors of the building complex to get some water was something everyone expected and accepted. There were games lined up from morning till late evening during the vacation time in school. Once it was late evening it was time for the girls and the boys to play a common game like hide and seek or kho kho. But come the next morning they become unknown to each other and the boys are engaged in cricket and the girls play their own chip and jump games. No one felt offended with this and the moment the sun went down, it was one team again and the common games found a way by themselves.

This is a preview of the life in the 80s. What I share in my coming updates will be an experience through the years in the stages of 0–12 years, the teenage years, the Adolescence, the 20s and the style at that time, getting a job and the struggles that come with it post completing the studies and ofcourse, the married life.

I hope you liked reading this and will read the next update which will have details around the first stage of life in the 80s, in a suburb in Mumbai!