“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high…Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my

country awake.” by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore

The 69th Independence Day Celebrations at Hyderabad TMIC and TMTC locations were a real salute to our nation. The national flag was hoisted at both locations with full honours. Celebrated with joy and fervour by all associates and their families, the Independence Day celebrations marked a truly wonderful occasion to salute the spirit of freedom. The Chief Guest for the event was Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, IT Secretary to Government of Telangana, and he spoke about TechM and how its values go a long way in positively influencing the larger community.

The children from Siddique Nagar Government School, adopted by TechM foundation, were part of

this event. The cultural performances by them and the TechM band were the highlights of the event. Housekeeping and support teams demonstrated the Green Initiatives implemented at TechM Hy-

derabad. The celebration ended with giving away awards to the security teams for their commend-able jobs and the children for their performances in cultural shows.

Celebrating Freedom

Associates & Families of Tech Mahindra pose for a picture on the eve of 69th Independence Day Celebrations at Tech Mahindra Infocity

A Hyderabad Location Council Initiative

(For Internal Circulation Only)

Editor's ScribblesIt is always a delight starting something new and this is the same feeling that I had when I started

to create this beautiful newsletter for the location council. As I look out of the window, mind full of ideas, the strains of Vande Mataram ring out clearly…..Independence Day celebrations in full swing. Truly, a day to celebrate and rejoice.But are we really free as people? Free from caste and community differences? Free from social problems, abuse and patriarchy? Free from the fear within ourselves? It is these aspects that our

writers explore through their articles and ideas on Freedom, in this issue. Our humourists give the idea of freedom a really wacky twist!

Dance binds and harmonizes; lends beauty and grace to the expression of freedom. See these myriad expressions in our updates on the Monsoon Dance and our beautiful pho-to features for the issue. Our corporate chefs dished up a fantastic, easy to try recipe, exclusively for this issue! To burn out the calories, look out for the fitness tips. Finally, read all about the various initiatives that our wonderful location council has been or-

ganizing for all of us through this month. Welcome to a whole new world of ideas, thoughts, expressions and discussions, and the best updates from your location council, all encapsulated within these pages! Welcome to HLC Times!!!

- Vyjayanthi Veeraraghavan, MCBFM

Dear Colleagues,We are extremely delighted by your over-whelming wishes and whole hearted en-couragement. This really means a lot to us! We are quite motivated by your generous com-pliments and assurance of your unconditional support. We would like to convey our sincere thanks to our Leaders and Loca-tion Council Members for bestowing on us the responsibility of leading the Hyderabad Location Council.

I am a big fan and follower of the Late Dr. APJ Kalam. During his last visit to our TMTC campus, he responded to a query on what we can do for our coun-try, with “Whatever you do, be it a job or studies, do your best, excel in it”. I have internalized this motivating response as my commitment to take Hyderabad Location Council to the next level!

We have recently celebrated 69th Independence Day with great fervor and pride at both Infocity & TMTC Locations. I take the opportunity to request the associates to attend all the events being organized including training sessions which are held on campus, in large numbers. I would also like to stress upon the importance of sharing your grievances with us through Free voice/Tele Chats/Open Houses/Food Committees etc., rather than posting on external social networks.

One of our first initiatives is to come-up with this newspaper, as a medium of connectedness between us. We are your voice, Please feel free to reach out to us to share your inputs/suggestions for this newsletter (HLCTimes@techmahindra.com) and write to us @ HLC@TechMahindra.com to address any of your concerns at our Locations. Hyderabad Location Council has sub-councils, namely, Green Initiative, CSR, Samanvay, Talent Management, Diversity & Inclusivity, Tech Connect, Campus Connect, WOW, Josh and Sports connect. With these initiatives, my council members and myself will strive hard to achieve the set standards of excellence to positively influence the lives of our associates and Society to create a vibrant environment all around.

We are quite pleased over the fact that some of you have already volunteered to be a part of the HLC activities, which we heartily welcome. Let us together make our Hyderabad offices great Loca-tions to work from and thereby help make Tech Mahindra a great place to work!

CVN Speaks...C. V. N. Varma, Chairperson, HLC

Dear colleagues,

Today is yet another momentous occasion for us at Tech Mahindra, Hyderabad. We have officially launched HLC Times, a young and vibrant newsletter, aimed at reaching out to all the 17000+ as-sociates at the Hyderabad Location.

This issue explores the theme of Freedom and to me the concept of freedom is incomplete without understanding the responsibilities that come with using the freedom in a correct manner. While we are free to pursue our daily lives, we also need to think beyond: What are we doing for others – the workplace teams we belong to, the society that we live in, the country that we so love dearly.

It also got me thinking on what it was that brought each one of us to work daily. To me it was the excitement of a new possibility, the enthusiasm of my teams around me and the incredible energy that I gain from each one my interactions at work. I value team work and collaboration and its amazing power to deliver outcomes beyond what we can imagine. This is especially true of the Hyderabad Associates, who have delivered consistently, even under challenging circumstances.My personal congratulations to the editorial team and to all the contributors who have shared their thoughts and ideas in the newsletter and my best wishes for the forthcoming issues.

Cheers!CP...

From The CEO's Desk

Issue 1, August 2015

C. P. Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra Limited

A.S. Murthy, Chief Technology Officer,Tech Mahindra Ltd.

All of us at some point in time must have vigorously concurred with the adage “Health is (the REAL) Wealth!” We just can’t afford to ignore this time-tested one liner. I also agree with another well written one-liner: “A Sound MIND (only) in sound body!” All of us also must have heard “If WEALTH is lost, nothing is lost! If HEALTH is lost, something is lost! And, if CHARACTER is lost, everything is lost!”

Are we sincerely making efforts towards a healthier body? Think and answer honestly. There is a lot to be done! Just hav-ing awareness alone won’t bring the positive results. We MUST and SHOULD put the concepts learnt into practice.

In this world, nothing comes free! We should (first) invest. In this case, that investment is our TIME! We should it make it a practice to get up early. This in itself makes anyone better (and more successful)! All of us need sound sleep (about 7 hours) and also should drink at least 3.5 – 4 liters of water (ONLY when the stomach is empty).

Praanaayaam does wonders! Let’s make it a habit (at least for 5 minutes a day). Mental health is equally important. Yoga is the best possible exercise routine (for all seasons).Learn to give decent exercises to your lower-back, neck and eyes as well. Let’s live long; Happily and in a HEALTHY manner; helping others around all the time.

Wish you all a very pleasant, peaceful, exciting and healthy years ahead!

Health is Wealth

Leaders Speak

Sucharita PalepuHead, People Practices

Ensuring Associate Delight is one of our strategic priorities at Tech Mahindra and we have been persistently working on cre-ating an inspirational workplace that Con-nects, Co-creates and Celebrates together. Post the TechM CARES survey conducted

in May this year, we had instituted action planning councils consisting of a cross section of Associates from different units and functions to identify definite, relevant and actionable ideas and interventions for improvement. A few of the programs/pol-icies practices that have been implemented in the recent past,

basis the feedback and subsequent action planning include:

Launch of Managerial Effectiveness Tool Kit:

The Manager Tool kit is available for all managers at Tech Ma-hindra as a guide to prepare, engage, manage and build teams. This easy tool is a great guide for new managers and is available in our LMS. The tool Kit is also available in eLearning mode

with an assessment.

Launch of Revised Car Lease Policy

As part of the revised Car Lease Policy, the mandate to buy the car at the fixed residual value has been removed. Associates have the option to either buy back the car at the fixed residual value or return the car to the leasing company. Insurance & Ac-cident Management with depreciation cover and 24/7 Roadside

Assistance has been provided for.

ASSURE - Program supporting Deceased Associates’ Families

To reinforce our Connect with families of our associates, we have introduced the ASSURE program aimed at providing sup-port to families of our deceased Associates. As part of this pro-gram, the following services are provided to the family mem-

bers of the deceased Associates:

• Grief Bereavement Counselling - A specific psychological intervention by Let’s Talk team of professional counsellors

• Financial Counselling - By Kotak Bank consultants to provide insights into existing assets, answer queries and advise

on options to manage existing finances• Insurance Facilitation - Health Insurance coverage extended to the family members ,if enrolled, till end of the planned year and support provided in speeding up the Life In-

surance Settlement Process• Variable Pay Payment - Variable Pay is paid out at 100% for the entire month/quarter irrespective of the criteria (e.g. Rat-

ing, Billing, Unit Performance etc.)

While these are just a few of the polices/practices and programs towards Associate delight, we are committed to implementing and institutionalizing the best and next people practices to cre-ate a caring and enabling environment for our Associates. In the near future, you can look forward to the launch of FAIR (Forum for Associate Issue Redressal) - a mechanism for Asso-ciates to raise their individual grievances. And while the voting for STAR Awards has just been concluded, the actual Awards

event will be conducted soon. Stay Tuned!

HR Updates

Sanjana Soni, Co-Chairperson, TMTC

It feels great to be a part of Hyderabad Location council and specially represent the TMTC location which is famous for its greenery, nature around and probably the most attractive campus of Tech Mahindra.

One of the initiatives of “Swach Bharat” was kicked off in this campus first and we had hundreds of associates participating in it. We are putting relentless efforts on getting more facilities and making this campus more associate-friendly . Some of them are getting in more heath campaigns, regular visit of physiotherapist, weekly yoga session and conducting more Tech Connect sessions as well.

Laxmi Narayana, Chairperson, TMTC

“Happy and delighted to see OUR Hyder-abad Location Council Newspaper finally seeing the daylight. This Newspaper is a plat-form for sharing various happenings at both

Infocity and TMTC Locations.Our Sub-councils are actively pursuing various activities to make our Locations more employee-friendly and one such important effort is the availability of crèche Facility at TMTC location. We are happy to announce that Crèche facility will be available at TMTC very soon.

Indira Suresh, Co - Chairperson, HLC

Tech Mahindra’s Hyderabad location is a vibrant centre with about 17,000 associates and world class facilities. The Hyderabad location council endeavours to work closely with the associates to bring out the best in them, in terms of ‘Contribution to the workplace’, ‘Personal development’, ‘Health & Wellness’, as well as ‘Contribution to the so-ciety’. We provide multiple channels for associates to excel and request more participation from the associates, in our effort to make the Hyderabad location, the best workplace!! In Dalai Lama’s words “With realization of one’s

own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world”.

Rakesh SoniChief Operating Officer, Tech Mahindra Ltd.

Dear Readers,

It gives me immense pleasure to connect with you through HLC times - a young, vibrant newsletter, bringing information and awareness to all of us working in Hyderabad. What makes it even more special is that the entire newsletter has been put together by an energetic team of young people from different divisions, working in addition to their regular portfolios. It is a fantastic example of what a team can achieve through collaboration. I am also delighted that this issue is themed around an oft-quoted but misused word: Freedom. While Freedom is great, it brings with it a certain level of responsibility : of utilizing it for the common good and not misusing it. Freedom lends power and can create excellent individuals and exceptional outcomes. However the right use of freedom is what will determine how we eventually RISE. My message to all associates is to use this power of individual and professional freedom well.And you will find yourself naturally succeeding in life.

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JOSH is a team of enthusiastic associ-ates of Tech Mahindra who take up the responsibility of making a difference through various events involving aspects of fun, talent and social welfare.

Guiding Principles : for the Tech-Mighties, by the TechMighties • Enhancing employee bonding.• Showcasing talents of TechMighties in various extra-

curricular activities like sports, art, music, dance, etc.

• Encouraging the family of the TechMighties to participate and showcase their talents.

• Supporting various social welfare organizations and causes also to spread awareness on various social issues.

• Helping in the conduct of organizational events and ensuring employee participation

Spirit of Tech Mahindra Hyderabad - Joshiley

Josh-On

Performance by the Warsi Brothers at Danube, TMLW during Jashn e Eid

JOSH reaches out to more than 2.5 lakh associates and their family members across the globe through various events round the year. It also comprises of many active volunteers

who help in spreading smiles!

To connect with Joshwrite to

Ashwin.Persad@techmahindra.com or

JoshHyderabad@techmahindra.com

The Madness that was Monsoon DJ party

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It’s been more than six decades since we got out freedom from the British, but the word freedom still conflicts with what

I see in my country today. Is this the result of what we were left with when the Brit-

ish went away from the country leav-ing behind hatred, poverty and mak-ing the rich powerful enough to bend laws in their interest? Does freedom in this country allow a thief to steal whatever he wants or allow the

rich to run down the poor under their wheels or does it allow a fearless man to loot the soul of a woman or worst of all, allow a traitor whose involve-ment killed thousands of innocent

people to be given a heroic funeral? As I see many such incidents today, I believe it is not the freedom that all Indians expected when the English left and it is defi-nitely not what all the criminals and law breakers enjoy at the cost of loop holes in our constitution, but it is all because of the slavery that my fellow Indians are still gripped into. The worst thing people do is not to raise our voices, when we see the slightest wrong thing hap-pening in our society. If we dream of a society where we can breathe in a corrupt free land then we need to stop encouraging people who are morally wrong. We need to hold hand of every individual and help him/ her rise on his/ her feet and become independent and not a slave to our hostile democracy. But to do all that we have to make choices between the conflicting freedom, so that there are limitations on freedom as well. We either awake by making the choices in the interest of our future or we sleep and get dragged towards a future of slavery. It is high time we made a choice between the con-flicting concepts of freedom.

Conflicting Freedom

- Shahnaz Shaik, ITLI

“One India, the one the world knows and another, the India

which resides within India”

“ I’m a small girl going to school for the first time todayOh my teachers, Mom said that teachers are also parents

Give me freedom to play and learn, do not rape and throw me into plight

I’m a small boy, polishing shoes; trying hard to earn my livelihood

Oh leaders, every day I struggle to get food and with left-overs somehow I get to class

Give me freedom to study as the law promises and make my life good

I’m a young girl going to office to earn though it is darkOh street walkers, don’t stare so badly as if you gonna rape

me with your eyesGive me freedom to walk freely on roads even in dusk

I’m an enthusiastic boy, going to college on bikeOh rash drivers, or the people of fame, request you not to

drink and driveGive me freedom to reach safely, please follow the traffic

rules and let me live a full life

I’m a widow going out to earn and fulfill my children’s needs

Oh neighbors , I dress well to suit work culture and not to impress anybody

Give me freedom to carry on with my life please do not defame me

I’m a middle class educated citizen waiting for an interview Oh management, please hire me on my merit and virtueGive me freedom to live at a place where hard work pays

and not who’s who

I’m a pregnant woman carrying a female childOh my in-laws, its your son who has seeded in me this

embryoGive me freedom to give birth so that this cruelty will not

take away her smile

I’m a poor illiterate patient, suffering from physical illnessOh doctors, please don’t lie if it’s not a serious one

Give me freedom to trust you as saviours and not as those

who make life a mess ”

Freedom is just Freedom from Aliens?

Vinaykrishnan Menon, IBU ENU & PS________We are an old and ancient civilization. I use the term “civilization”, to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the countries of the world, because I truly believe that we have endured the test of time. India is not just a country with a mix of many peoples, but a civilization thriving since the oldest of times recorded by man. Many people across the world think of India as an underdeveloped country on the path of progress and development. But given our historical grandeur and the opulence of India before the British Raaj, I would say that we are a developed nation, thrust into de-cay as a result of the British rule, and now resurfacing as a super power in the world.

This precisely is why we should value our Independence that our forefathers struggled for and attained at such great costs. 200 years of oppression and colonial rule crippled us, leaving us to feed on poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, disease, and above all, despondency. But our freedom brought us out of the darkness into the light of not only a better life, but a better society, able to make our own de-cisions, and learn from our own failures. The astounding diversity of our nation and its populace itself should have hampered our growth, as has been learnt from the histories of so many other nations in the world. But our diversity was the very thing that we built our path to develop upon. Freedom became the mortar that bound together the

bricks of the variety of people in our country — and it is also the open window embedded in those bricks, through which we can all see the world.

Freedom to me, at a personal level, is the free will to do as I deem fit for myself, my family and friends, and my coun-try at large, but at the same time act in accordance with the laws that have been set by the Constitution of India to govern our people, businesses and societies. The famous phrase from the American Declaration of Independence - “unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” – hold true not only to them, but even to us.

If I were to paraphrase my thoughts on freedom, I would say that freedom is the single most important asset by which a man/ woman can channel his/her energies in the pursuit of the highest perfection of his/her intellectual na-ture.

Santhi Punugu, Knowledge Management Team______India was set free by British on the midnight of 15th Aug 1947. The date is of primary importance to us all Indians.

About Freedom... and what it means to me

Creative Crust

“You were fearless and in a charming state ready to accept what may come” by Jyoti Kumar, Knowledge Management Team

Do you remember the time when that space within your mind did not know what to do? You were fearless and in a charming state ready to accept what may come, and you will face it. This beginners’ mind was open for every moment of your life. The mind was free from any precon-ceived idea, was eager to explore and had an open heart when approaching anything. This time was our childhood days. No fear, no hassles, it was only freedom of thought and challenging the mind or moment.

Look back and you will see that this child in most of us is overlapped by fear, chasing expectations and in a mad rush of something or other. It needs an arousal today, a path that can elevate us from chasers to achievers, from followers to leaders, from aping a concept to building an idea. Yes, we all need this path breaking effort to open up the child in all of us and indulge ourselves with beginners’ mind to learn and grow.

Let us stand at the threshold of innovation, ideas and evo-lution of mind in all our endeavors. You can be a melodi-

ous singer, brilliant actor or anything that you aspire. Stimulate that child within you and you will drive all hassles and fear away.

Lead your life. Put freedom before fear.

Freedom before Fear...

`“Does freedom in this country allow a thief to steal?” by Jay R. Vaishnav, QWAY

“Freedom @ office for me is the ability to create new stuff, new process improvements, new products, new ways of

keeping the client delighted, keeping my team motivated. Freedom is a responsibility that I cherish” - PAVAN CHAMARTY

A Truly Free Soul...

It was a long struggle of over 200 years to achieve this free-dom.

While this is one part of it, in today’s context the meaningis different to us from what it was to our earlier genera-tions. In current life situations, freedom is the ability to act independently, take decisions without being influenced by external forces, not being prejudiced about anything that we come across. Freedom is feeling free. It is the ability to talk about what you want, to do what you want to and live the way you want and not infringe into another’s freedom. We can say we are free only when we can accept ourselves the way we are and not try to be someone else. When we can hold our individual view point, stay focussed and come to a conclusion in complete conscience, taking into cogni-sance all the facts and viewpoints around us, it is that point where we are truly free and we have achieved true freedom.

This comes naturally to few but to many it has to be nurtured right from childhood. So, we as parents need to help our children to find this freedom through their own struggle. They may have a few ac-cidents, a few loses, a few misses and a few failures. Let them find their way to their destiny called a free soul.

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WOW - Wealth of Wellness

The true wealth one can possess is health and it goes without saying that wellness and productivity are linked to each oth-er. Although there are tonnes of ways out there to secure your wellness, we are

stuck in a 9-hours-5-days schedule to accumulate wealth but not take care of our health.

Wealth of wellness originated to provide the employees at Tech Mahindra Hyderabad, a feasible solution to this problem. Lots of WOW programmes revolve around the concept of “Less is more” viz. less time spent to reap healthy results. With each of its programmes, an employee can find him/her self become healthier. Read on to famil-iarize with some of the WOW initiatives popular among TechMighties.

KIMS privilege card:Tech Mahindra joined hands with KIMS (Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences) to issue privilege health cards to em-ployees at Tech Mahindra Hyderabad. These health cards make it possible for associates to afford health care in case they do not have any regular medical insurance.

Unlike health cards issued by KIMS, the privilege card offers special discounts to the members, such as:

• Free Registrations• 30% discount on all out patient investigations to

employees/ dependants• 20% discount on all preventive health checks • One step upgrade on the accommodation• Free casualty Medical Officer’s Consultation at all our

hospitals in twin cities

On Campus Yoga Sessions:WOW has also conducted several on campus yoga sessions for employees to participate during their working hours. These sessions were held at both TMTC and TMIC offer-ing separate sessions for women professionals.

Health Talk- Child Eye Care:Another prominent initiative by WOW sub council to ex-tend its services to not just the employees but also their family members is the Health Talk. Dr. Jitendra a leading paediatric ophthalmologist with Dr. Agarwal’s eye hospital organized this health talk which en-lightened the employees on child eye care in addition to the free eye check up for Tech Mahindra employees and family members on 18th July at their mentioned centres.

Gynaecologist at Infocity:This initiative was centred around the Female associates at Tech Mahindra. Dr Anuradha Panda, Senior Consultant, Gynaecologist Apollo Hospitals was available at Tech Mahindra Campus.

Health Tips

Remember• One minute of vigorous activity provides the same health benefits as two minutes of moderate activity.

• One way to do your recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity is to do 30 minutes, 5 days a week.

Society’s 1/2 Share-Holders - Women

A Women Safety workshop was conducted on 30th July in Yamuna TMLW, Hyderabad as an initiative of Leadership Learning Services and Diversity and Inclusivity. Over 60 women associates participated.

Faculty from Mahindra Special Services interacted with participants and spoke on the women safety issues and shared safety tips while conducting the workshop.

Mr. Harshvardhan Rawat, Ms. Osheen Joseph, and Ms. Niyati Khanna engaged the audience throughout the ses-sion while demonstrating self defense techniques with handy tools in different situations.

Diversity and Inclusivity

SWABHIMAN Diversity and Inclusivity team in collaboration with So-ciety for Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC) has orga-nized a session for women safety called “SWABHIMAN” at TMTC, Hyderabad. SCSC is a joint partnership of the IT industry of Cyberabad and the Govt., of Telangana with a mandate to provide safety and security for the IT cor-ridor. The Women’s Forum at SCSC led by Senior HR Leaders and Police officers, presented awareness ses-sion on Women’s Safety in the current Physical and Social Media environments. The event was attended by Ms Rama Rajeshwari, DCP & Leader, SHE Team Cyberabad, Mr Ramesh Gopigiri, I Labs Group & Aruna Preetam, HR team. The session covered Cyberabad interventions, practical safety tips, basic intro-duction to important legal aspects, good insights about safety measures for women while travelling alone etc. The session was very informative and interactive and created significant awareness on how to react in suspicious cir-cumstances and panic situations. About 100+ women as-sociates attended the session and interacted with the SCSC team to get clarifications on the many questions they had about their security. Overall, the session was very helpful in identifying daily habits that can compromise personal safety and how to take appropriate measures for personal security, to further champion the cause of women’s vigi-lance and security.

“Power of Silence” by BrahmakumarisDiversity and Inclusivity team organized a sesasion by Brahmakumaris to experience the Power of Silence drawn

from the ancient wisdom of Rajyoga meditation at TMIC, Hyderabad on 18th June, 2015, as part of the celebra-tion of International Day of Yoga. The event was attended by

B.K. Radhika, B.K. Deepa from Mumbai, Dr. Renu Khan-na, Suresh Samudrala, and Rajnish. The session has put light on the importance of rebuilding our inner positive energy and would help provide the tools to relax, refresh and recharge so that we are able to bring back more zeal and spirit into work and life. It gives insight into practical meditation, so that one can meditate anywhere, anytime and by doing a little everyday, it soon becomes a natural and easy habit working as an antidote for stress. About 70+ associates attended the session, interacted with the Sisters and got clarifications to many questions they had about Yoga.

Please reach out to KrishnaKumari.Palle@

TechMahindra.com to know more

Campus Life

To stay healthy and fit you need to be physically active. To stay healthy or to improve health, you need to do two types of physical activity each week: aerobic and strength exercises. What to do? • 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as

walking or cycling every week and strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).

Or • 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, such as

running or a game of singles tennis every week and strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdo-men, chest, shoulders and arms).

Or • A mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity every week. For example, two 30-minute runs and 30 minutes of

fast walking equals about 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, and strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).

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The Talent Management council focuses on enhancing the talent of 17000+ associates in Hyderabad through Learning. Our driving force is : “No associate to be left behind”. Various cross-skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling oppor-tunities on Domain, Leadership, Behavioral Skills, Delivery Man-

agement and technology are continuously made available to associates.

Key initiatives, such as Mahindra & Mahindra Connect session, Domain Awareness drives, Bench and Leadership connect sessions, International Coaching Conference, I am the Brand+, BW Engagement sessions have been well received by associates.

Talent Management

Corporate Social Responsibility

Ajay Kommagalla, Leader, CSR Sub Council

As one of the sub councils under the Hyderabad Location Council, CSR’s primary motive is to con-tribute to the betterment of the society regardless of the signifi-cance or magnitude.As a measure to fulfil its pur-

pose, CSR organized an exclusive drive to Donate books. Conducted in Siddiqui Nagar Government school , Hyder-abad- this drive called out for volunteers from TechMahin-dra to participate/contribute to the noble cause which in-cludes donating notebooks and/ or curriculum text books to the students. As a result of the efforts from the team and volunteers, CSR team has been able to donate more than 2000 book kits to the school and its students ensuring a respectable endow-ment towards their education. Their happy faces encour-age us to increase the frequency of such initiatives. We look forward to more ideas and participation from all TechMighties.

Samanvay

Samanvay in collaboration with Josh and Location Coun-cil conducted 5 days of sum-mer camp in June 2015 .This was the best Summer Camp we had so far with al-most double the participation and ten folds the energy. There were about 150 kids of all ages from 5-18 The children were

divided into 2 age groups ( 5-10 and 11-18). Age group 5-10 indulged in activities like Painting, Art and Craft, clay moulding, dance and aerobics, poster making and

magic tricks. Age group 11 to 18 had activities like Fun-n-Science, robotics, public speaking, dance and aerobics and magic learning.

Dr. Renu Khanna____A positive candidate experience can do wonders for an em-ployer brand. On the other hand, a negative experience can really do some damage.

With social media, globalization and business becoming increasingly transparent, word gets around quickly and

broadly. Each aspect of the hiring process should consist of thoughtful interactions that project the brand and cul-ture of the organization. Employer branding is about how potential employees view your company, and is a vital fac-tor when it comes to the kind of candidates you want to attract.

According to Richardson, the most successful organisa-tions are those where the true talent magnets do not just have a compelling story to share but they also deliver an experience that matches the promise: “On-boarding talent in the right way is just as important as recruiting the right talent. If you get it right, high expectations will fast forward into high engagement and high performance. Likewise a negative candidate experience will be widely shared. Re-search suggests that the majority of people who’ve had a bad experience during the application and selection pro-cess will tell at least three of their friends, and a significant number will tell considerably more.”

Good employer-branding helps companies hire quality people and high performers, which in turn reduces turnover and improves profitability.

Impact of Positive Employer Branding

WOWPlease reach out to

Gouriprasad.Markondapatnaikuni@TechMahindra.com to know more

Tech ConnectPlease reach out to

Noopoor.Rabi@TechMahindra.com to know more

Tarika Kanugula, CDU CRMContributor, HLC Times

Do You want to bond with the organisation?

Do want your Families bond to the organization?

If Yes, Samanvay is the place …

To Contribute or Volunteer for Samanvay (Family Learning) Please feel free to reach out to

Kavita.Lal@techmahindra.com

Do connect with devi.huligeshwari@techmahindra.com

to contribute or to know more about the sub-council.

Do connect with Ajay.Kommagalla@TechMahindra.com to contribute

or to know more about the sub-council.

Campus ConnectPlease reach out to

Gouriprasad.Markondapatnaikuni@TechMahindra.com to know more

Swati Bandari, IGEIContributor, HLC TimesTech Connect

Campus Life6

Sudoku

Srikanth Srinivasan, RCG - Practice

________If you are thinking, “Well, what is the alternative?”- let me stop you right there. I am not talking about being stuck to the cell phone like being stuck in a horrid place be-cause your car broke down, NO - not that kind of “stuck”.I am talking about being physically stuck to cell phones. We are stuck badly with cell phones and that’s a fact. Nature is even contemplating changing our anatomy to make us more “cell phone friendly”, con-sidering how the Apple’s and Sam-sung’s of the world won’t budge from making the rectangular brick that we have come to call a cell phone.

Latest news from the department of human evolution is terrifying to say the least. Mother Nature has shortlisted a few often repeated human acts with cell phones, and is se-riously considering some radical changes to our anatomy.Let us discuss some of the common acts involving cell phones that are becoming more and more ubiquitous nowadays. 1. Talking while relieving. This is a male form of the cell phone act where the cell phone (GOD bless its good luck!) is sandwiched between the shoulder and the ear while the head is twisted abnormally to hold the cell phone in place and preventing it from falling into the water busi-ness happening a few inches below. Proposed anatomical changes include introducing a recycling system inside the body that would convert the waste to expendable energy. Major environmental engineering companies are already excited with the value proposition – one less thing to worry about, you see!

2. Talking while driving a two-wheeler. This act is mostly performed by males with an occasional female da-ta-point. This act has many variants. It could resemble the “talking while relieving” posture (in this case the hands are driving the bike) or lodging the cell phone inside your hel-met (thanks for wearing one) to talk or using one hand to

hold the cell phone while the other hand tries to manoeu-vre the bike. Proposed anatomical changes include – grow-ing a third hand called the “cell phone hand” which would spring into action every time the situation presents itself, or growing an extra hook like bone near the ear to lodge the phone and receive calls. This proposal has caused some disturbance in the tailoring community. They are demand-ing “reservations” in guaranteeing business opportunities for current scenario until they upgrade their equipment and skill to accommodate the new changes.

3. Talking while crossing roads. This act is mostly performed by females but many males are offering stiff competition in this category. This act involves being com-pletely ignorant of the traffic situation and concentrating on your cell phone conversation. With the cell phone on one ear, you tend to somehow become oblivious of the nu-merous honks, traffic noises and abuses from guys from point 2 (above) for not watching the traffic while crossing the road. Proposed anatomical changes include a new set of eyes, ears and an alternate brain that only springs into action while crossing roads. However, whether the new set of organs need a separate head or can be accommodated in the existing head is being debated right now. The helmet lobby is pushing hard for the new “alternate head” idea. Discussions are on and the major stakeholders are trying to wrap their head around this idea.

The message is simple - don’t risk your life for a phone call. Nothing is more important than reaching home safely and spending quality time with family and friends. Adios Ami-gos!

...and now we are stuck with cell phones.

Creative Crust

@Just A Few Lines

AcknowledgementsWe would like to thank everyone who worked on the newspaper, whether in a big or small role. We would like to acknowledge the contribution of all our senior leaders, who took time out to write for this newsletter and were supportive of our efforts.Our sincere thanks go out to the Location Council and the sub councils and their respective team members for contributing their inputs. Thanks also to the Chairperson, Mr. CVN Varma and Co-Chair, Ms. Indira Suresh and all members of the Corporate Services

Team for helping us with this issue.

Acknowledgements are due to the Corporate Chefs at Infocity, Mr. Shayak Ray and all other team members who contributed to the making of this

newsletter.And finally, a big thanks to each and every one of our readers! Thanks for going through this issue and

making it a worthwhile effort for each one of us.

Cheers,Editorial Committee

Chief Editor – Ms. Vyjayanthi VeeraraghavanCommittee Members – Mr. Jay Ramdas Vaishnav, Mr. Srikanth Srinivasan, Mr. Vinay Krishnan Vish-wanath Menon, Mr. Ravishanker Majeti, Mr. Jyoti Kumar, Ms. Santhi Punugu, Ms. Shahnaz Shaik, Ms.

Tarika Kanugula and Ms. Swati Bhandari

Photography – Kanna UppalapatiDesign – Sudarshan Subramanian

Special Thanks to:

Guest Editor - Mr. Bhujang Rao Achutuni

Ninad Dhanorkar, IBU - CVEU

Kanna Uppalapati (Right)Editorial Committee (Below)

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In Picture : Anda Kejriwal (above), Chef Santosh, Venky and Chef Prasad (F & B Support Team)

The new addition to the corporate kitchen menu in Infocity Campus

This recipe for Eggs Kejriwal is a cheese, egg and chilli sandwich invented by the Willingdon Club in Mumbai. It is spicy and delicious.

INGREDIENTSFor the fried salsa1 teaspoon oil

• ½ onion, finely chopped• ½ tomato, finely chopped • 1 green chilli, finely chopped• few sprigs coriander leaves• ¼ teaspoon salt• ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper powderFor the fried eggs• ¼ teaspoon oil• Onions cut into half inch rings• 2 eggs• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper powderAssembly• 2 buns toasted• 2 Cheddar Cheese slices

METHOD1. Heat oil in a pan. Add in the finely chopped onions

and fry for a minute. Add in the tomatoes, chopped chillies, pepper powder and salt. Fry for 15-20 sec-onds and switch off the flame. Add in the chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Set aside.

2. Cut an onion ring about half inch high. Place it in a pan that’s been heating on low flame. Break the eggs into the ring. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and cover it with a lid. Cook on low flame for 2 minutes. Set aside.

3. When the eggs are cooking, gently toast the buns with some butter. Set aside.

4. If you want your cheese on the bun to be melted, then add a slice of cheese to the bun when toast-ing and cover the pan with a lid for 30 seconds. The steam inside will melt the cheese.

5. For assembling - Add some salsa on top of the cheese melted bun. Top it with a fried egg., Serve immedi-ately.

Anda Kejriwal

“The new Tex Mex restaurant at HITEC City”

Next time when your taste buds call you for some Mexi-can delight, then Habanero is the place to be. Located in the heart of Hitech City, opp. to Trident Hotel, this restaurant is designed keep-ing a modern Mexican ambi-ence in mind where it is not a large space but it can com-fortably fit in a lot of people inside and it also has a large table for the bigger groups.

We got a warm welcome by the Manager Badri, who likes to be called as Buddy on the floor, and he introduced us to many mouth-watering dishes. We started out right away with Jalapeno Poppers and Chipotle Chicken Skewers for starters, which were served within no time and we loved the way the cheese popped out of the poppers and skewers tasted amazing with Macho Nachos following the queue, with a brilliant mix of variety of veggies and cream on top of it.

Our main course comprised of Veg Sampler and Grilled Seabass, and I would like to stress more on the Seabass, as there are very few places which actually cook a mouth-watering delicious fish and Habanero’s Grilled Seabass is a must try for sure.

The restaurant does have a bar but as we dropped in for lunch, we de-cided to have a crumble cake with ice cream for the finale. Overall, Habanero has lived up to my expecta-tions and I am sure you would love it too.

Review by Jay R. Vaishnav, QWAY

Habanero... Satiate your Taste Buds!!!

Grilled Seabass (Above) & Macho Nachos (below) - Photo: Kanna Uppalapati

FOOD FIESTA

Tips on Dining Etiquettes

Tips by Uday Sahu, Corporate Services

1. Be as polite and humble to the waiting staff by the table and use words such as “Excuse Me” and “Thank You” often as you are being served.

2. Do not flip your fingers, clap or whistle to call serv-ing staff. Instead slightly raise your hand to establish eye contact for desired services – address waiting staff by their name as much as possible.

3. It is discourteous to use (Talk/Text) your mobile phone while dining.

4. Place the opened Serviette on your lap only – Do not tuck it to your collar.

5. Dab your napkin lightly on your lips. Never scrub your mouth with your napkin with your hands. Do not speak with food in the mouth.

6. Do not make annoying gestures (picking of nose, touching your hair, burping, etc...) in public places/restaurants.

7. Glance at the Buffet spread before taking food. Fol-low a queue and don’t eat while being in the queue. Use a fresh plate every time to fetch food from the buffet (If it is a Buffet Restaurant)

8. Never blow into your cup while having Tea / Coffee - Don’t offer Sugar /Tooth Picks to your Guests.

9. Use appropriate Cutlery silently – if un-familiar with the use of any – avoid using them (chopsticks, knives. etc).

10. Allow your guests the required time for their meal, Do not rush. Follow with their pace.

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All the navarasas of life are echoed in the myriad dance forms around us. These rasas encapsulate every mood and every flavour of life…thereby allowing for freedom of expression. Dance brings about delight to both the performer(s) and the viewer(s). It allows a performer to express undiluted emotions freely without holding back and engrosses the viewer in

a free flow of thoughts and visual imagery. In Photos : Jayanthi (Kuchipudi), Ananya and Vyjayanthi (Bharatanatyam)

Photos Courtesy : Kanna Uppalapati, RCG - Practice and Sudarshan Subramanian, BFSI - IBUS

Dance of Life

Know Your Campus

Yes!!!! It is to be seen to be believed though! Built over a stretch of 2 acres land occupying an area of 1.1 lac sft with huge parking area of 50k sft, this royal splendour stands majestically, beside TMLW building in Infocity campus. This executive Guesthouse was conceptualised and ex-ecuted to perfection by Infra wing of Corporate Services to take its present shape. It has 2 basements, ground and 4 upper floors catering to a total of 71 rooms out of which 55 are twin sharing and 15 are single rooms besides one Suite to accommodate special guests. This has come in for praise and special accolades by the Senior Manage-ment and other dignitaries who have had the privilege of experiencing the comfort and hospitality of a stay in this beautiful place. Though this has been officially christened as SARAYU, in the higher Circles of the Organization, it has come to be fondly referred to as TechMarriott Hy-derabad!!

The whole facility resonates with sheer class every inch. Here are a few glimpses which testify this fact and beckon you to avail of its services when necessary.

The Engineering Maintenance Wing of Corporate Services, as part of Corporate Sustainability Initiative, has installed solar power plants in Infocity campus. The capacities of these plants for SEZ building- Tower1, SEZ building-Tow-er 2, TMLW building-Block 1 and TMLW building Block 2 are 128KW, 133 KW, 95KW and 104KW respectively total-ling to an overall capacity of 460 Kilowatts. Put briefly, the underlying principle on which it works is that the photo-voltaic cells absorb the radiation from the Sun through the semiconductors which emit electrons that are ultimately

harnessed as electricity. Besides resulting in a 3% saving in power costs, this step can also be viewed as our positive response to the clarion call recently given by our Prime Minister, from the ram-parts of the Red Fort, during his Inde-pendence Day speech to the nation, to resort to the usage of Solar Power as an alternative source of energy.

Our way, the Solar Way

Got to know where TechMarriott Hyderabad is?? It is right here, within our Infocity campus.

Campus Life

V. N. CharyLead, Green Initiatives Sub Council, HLC

The New SEZ building at TMTC, Bahadurpally

Shivananad Raja, Senior VP, CS & Commercial

I am delighted to know that our Hyderabad Location Council is launching a newspaper. I am sure that this will be a powerful medium of communication and connectedness amongst our associates. HLC has continuously been doing a great job for the past few years and ensuring that “Connect – Celebrate – Contribute” is LIVE in the location. On this note, I wish the new Location Council Leadership, best of luck and am confident that they will excel in this new avatar.

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Spo(r)tlight

The sports sub council represents TechMahindra’s participation in many inter corporate championships. Sports council in collaboration with Josh has time and again captivated many employees to participate in indoor and outdoor games. With its acheivements and dedication, sports council has been a source of HLC’s strength.

Sport-o-glitz was conducted at TMTC on 24th July’15. As promised, this event was a perfect blend of masti and entertainment, art and sports, Josh and sports councils.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 2 Winning trophies (Women’s Singles and Mixed Doubles) in Table tennis corporate tournament conducted by Aanand Services on 27th June.

• Winners of volleyball championship conducted by Rosepetals on 27th June.

• Winners of Challengers Cup in Women’s throwball con-ducted by rosepetals on 27th June.

• Semi-finalist in Sportaholic Football League on 27th June

• Winner at the Badminton Championship held on 22nd August

Sahana B. K., Lead, Sports Sub Council, Hyderabad

Sporting Spirit

(From Right to Left) - Pavan Kumar (Badminton Champion), Football Team, Table Tennis Team, Vollyball Team and Throw Ball Team

Express. Impress. Appreciate. Plan. Talk. Visualize. Design.

Put on those thinking caps, fine tune your skills and let us know what your ideas and feedback are! If you want to contribute to this newsletter, write in to us with your stories, articles, photos and illustrations

and we will be happy to take a look at them.

Please send us a mail at hlctimes@techmahindra.com with your original writing, photos and other feedback.The editorial team will get back to you!

Please send us your original work. (While we know a Google Search is tempting, please exercise restraint!)

DISCLAIMER : The views expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors named only and not necessarily those of the editorial team and Tech Mahindra Limited. While we have tried to ensure that the information we have published is correct to the best of our knowledge, if you find any inaccuracy, please do bring to our notice by writing to hlctimes@techmahindra.com

As part of the Green Initiatives at Tech Mahindra, this newsletter has been printed on Recycled Paper.

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