I landed in Bombay at 9.00 pm on the 30th of August 2003 and was in the office at 9.30. I was told by the HR person to be there in the morning so I thought I should go there when the office opens. Sitting there at the reception I saw people trickling in. It was a Saturday and I assumed that is why people are coming in late. I was told to wait for some time because the person going to interview me was not there and would reach office only by 11.00. I was led to a small cubicle at reception the site of the company was opened on a machine for me. I went through the site but usually you are a little anxious at times like these and don't really read but just keep clicking. I waited till eleven for the interview.

A little more than a month later I joined and was a little late in the morning as I was coming straight from the railway station. The next morning I reached there at 9 in the morning and was a little puzzled to see myself alone in the office. The only person there to give me company was the guy vacuuming the floor. Finally people started coming in by 10.30 and most of them were in by 11.00 some still coming even as late as lunchtime.

This happened for a few days and I was there at 9 and would watch people come in much later than that. I tried to slow myself a little in the morning by waking up late, taking time to have some breakfast, having tea twice and so on but never managed to reach office later than 9.45.

Initially it was okay as I was alone and had nothing to do, I would go in at morning and come back in the night. After Diwali Mira joined me and it became a little difficult for me to manage my time. I was used to reaching office latest by 9.30 (had spend an year reaching office at 8.30 in Australia as well) felt very uncomfortable going later than that even if it was completely acceptable to be in as late as 11.00. This drove Mira crazy “If you are going early every day, why can't you come back early...why do you have to sit there and give company to people who come in after lunch”.

She was right but it is a little difficult to break a habit and I kept going on time...at least for a while. Slowly I started going to the office late. It was not a sudden change but a gradual shift that happened overtime, driven by the circumstances. From 9.30 to 10 to 10.30 to 11.00, in almost two years time my life and the life of people around me adjusted gradually to the demands of time.

Coming back to present, I have got into a routine that dictates that I be in the office at 11.00. Mira and me are trying to raise a kid on our own. Our mornings are a little hectic. I wake go for a walk and Mira get into the kitchen till Manu wakes up because when he wakes up, he needs someone with him fulltime. When I get back from a walk, we have a cup of tea after which I take Manu for a walk. He enjoys going out in the morning and this gives Mira time to resume her cooking. Manu and I are out usually for 30 to 45 minutes giving Mira enough time to cook.

When Manu and I come back up, we give Manu a bath; it takes two people to give him a bath, as he is simple impossible to handle for one person. After his bath, when Mira is feeding him, I pack my lunch and go for a bath. After having his milk Manu sleeps and that gives us 15 to 20 minutes when both of us can do something. Mira goes for a bath and I have my breakfast before Manu wakes up.

We do try to get things done early but just like it was not possible to reach office later than 9.45, it is not possible to reach before 11.00 now. When we feel that yes we are ahead of time something happens to delay us, a phone call, Manu answering nature's call, traffic jams that ensure that I am standing right outside by office building for 10 minutes and so on.

Mira and I are subtly and not so subtly reminding each other about the timings, me about going office early and she about coming home early. “I have met a girl who works for TCS. She's home by 6.30 every day ” Mira would say or “You know the couple where the woman works for L&T, they are both home before 7.” and I'd tell her “I met Sheikh when I took Manu for a walk, he usually go to office before 8 in the morning.”

Now the timings of the office have changed and we are expected to be here at 9.30 every morning. We have a window of one hour to be in the office and if we fail to reach by 10.30, a half-day's leave is to be deducted for it.

Just like I managed to align myself with the timings of the company earlier by changing my time from 9 in the morning to 11.00, I will once again align it to 9.30 (I am not aiming for 10.30 because a. the chances of reaching on time will be higher with a target of 9.30 and b. it's more than likely that the timings of my next job will be from 9.30 and not later so better to make this effort now than later.) I guess just like it took me a lot of time to be here late, it will take me some time to get into a routine that allows me to be here on time but the million dollar question is will I have enough leaves for this transition process?