Asian Paints

It was my first interview on 18th June 2012 and I got placed in the 70 years old World of Colours: Asian Paints. I vividly remember Day One @ Asian Paints; an entry to the corporate life. Its been eight years now in the Systems Family and I have made loads of memories here. Have a glance at a few of these:

The Systems Family:

Lets start with the introduction of our family members. In September 2016, I wrote on the hierarchical structure of our family. There have been many transitions since then, but still you can get an idea of our unITy in diversITy through Har Floor Kuch Kehta Hai (my first published work in the Parichay Diary)

Home, Systems Home:

We got our independent home on 1st August 2012 on the fifth floor of Kalpataru Synergy (KTS5). Prior to this abode, we were a part of the joint Asian Paints Family and were scattered across different floors of the Asian Paints House. We left KTS5 home after four years and four months and shifted back to Asian Paints House as a temporary abode. We were again split into three floors and were eagerly waiting for our new home to get ready. Finally on 13th Feb 2017, we moved into our new innovative home on the first floor of Kalpataru Inspire. 

Like our home, our desks also reflect our personalities because Har Desk Kuch Kehta Hai! We got to choose our desks by picking chits; I landed up having my desk at the entrance; becoming a People Finder App for visitors. On 29th Oct, 2018, Gurukul library was started by the system readers, for the system readers. In Jan 2023, paint a wall challenge was conducted to decorate the music room (which was golf and poos ball area before). We just don't code in Asian Paints, we do know to Paint!

Celebrations of the Systems Family:

We celebrate the festival of lights: Diwali, decorating the entire floor with lanterns and diyas and rangoli at the entrance. All are dressed in traditional attire. There is a family photo shoot and games to play and awards at the end of day. We celebrated Navratri for a year as well. We also celebrate the New Year's Eve with equal enthusiasm. Christmas theme is applied to the floor and we are dressed in party-wears. Secret Santa gifts and Thank You cards are distributed to all. There is cake cutting and finally we welcome the New Year. 

Not just these, there are monthly cake-cutting celebrations managed by the CommunIT team. It includes welcoming new joiners, birthday celebrities of the month, promotions, happy moments in personal lives like newly married and stepping into parenthood. We are gifted a photo frame on our special day. We were also grouped into teams for monthly celebrations for Year 2022. My team was Super Six, Super Team!

Systems Conference:

There are skits prepared by Fun Groups for the evening. Here are two of those rollicking fun experiences: System k Sholay and 3Idiots Virus Mobile Charger. The best conference stay was in Radisson blu, Karjat where we got to stay in a villa. Inspired by IPL, there was also a box cricket event this year. So we had our own Systems Cricket League.

Outings:

It is a must to follow ritual of the family. Individual teams go on either lunch or dinner (preferred) along with some Movie or Games. Here the team members get to connect over casual talks on hobbies and many more things. One such event of year 2015 was SMAAASH! and another was BOUNCE! Our outings are not just confined to star rated restaurants and game hubs. Since 2017, we have started our official trek. The first trek was to Visapur Fort, second to Naneghat, third to Sondai fort and fourth to Irshalgad.

Workshops & Development Programs:

The best part of ECA program was the visits. We got to visit the Colour Academy at Chakala, Signature Store at Bandra, Sleek Store at Powai, Research & Technology Centre at Turbhe, Data Centre and Khandala Plant. There was also a MDP certification at Nagpur. The perks of attending the workshops not only enhanced our knowledge levels but also let us enjoy the hospitality of star rated hotels with buffet lunch and high tea. It also made us ride the Mumbai Metro for reaching the venues. Being in a location called Santacruz where planes fly more than birds, we always had a desire to take off in the sky. The wishes of many (including me) were fulfilled due to the workshops conducted by SAP at Bengaluru. So here I got a chance to travel through the clouds for Cloud Training. 

Working as Programmer:

Working in the Systems Family was like attending a new college campus wherein we got trained on latest technologies and received payment for our assignments. When I received my first salary cheque (amount was a five digit number starting from one); it gave a feeling of independence and also a feeling of responsibility. Its been six years now driving on the HR highways: starting with an international Employee Life Cycle journey, working with Business HRs and Corporate HRs on improving employee experience and productivity, managing the most confidential Performance Focus Management System at its crucial stage, extending the applications to Joint Ventures, generating Compensation Letters (burning the midnight oil), maintaining Payroll Source Document for around 150 depot employees per month, and developing a simple system called MeraPortal for the blue collared; thus virtually interacting with every employee from top of the organization to the operators. I also worked on Marketing, Sales and Customer Centricity applications. In the span of six years, I made many new friends and worked in different teams. Some of these AP friends have left for bigger opportunities. It was always difficult to say goodbye. Here's a farewell letter describing how friendship evolved while working in a team.