Reena Bengeri shares her Success Secret !
Hello Ms. Reena , thank you for your time. It would be great if you could tell us a little about yourself.
Hello
all, I'm Reena Bengeri. I was born and brought up in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
I’m a Software Professional currently into Management.
I do
Delivery Management and now I am transitioning my role into GDPR compliance.
I'm a certified Data Protection Officer from PECB.
My
husband Mr.Mohan was into Software consulting and now is an active Agriculturist
and President of VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) at Sarjapur, been with RSS for
many years.
I
have 2 children.
My son,
Rahul, is an Electronics Engineer and working with a Canadian company. He is
into Product Testing. He is married to Soniya, who is working in a Software
Product Company. My daughter Ananya is
in her 10th Standard now.
My hobby is writing English poetry.
Tell us something about your Schooling, College phase and your Siblings.
I did
my schooling in St.Joseph’s Convent, Jabalpur. I did my Post-graduation – M.Sc
Physics in the University Teaching Department. My Father (Late) Mr. Prabhulal
Amina was a civil engineer by profession. He retired as the Chief Engineer
from Jabalpur Development Authority. My Mother, Mrs.Shobha, is a housewife and
has been actively engaged in bringing us all up and making us independent in
life with high moral values.
My father
passed away in 2015 and my Mother is in Mumbai with my sister.
We
are 5 sisters. I'm the 3rd daughter. All of us are very independent, broad
minded and successfully well settled in life.
You want to name them?
My
eldest sister is Neeta; is a Bank Officer.
My
second sister, Seema, is a Veterinary Doctor in Bangalore
My
fourth sister, Chetna, is a High school
Teacher in Mumbai
My
fifth sister, Sonal is also a High School Teacher in Nagpur and has done post
graduation in Home Science/Nutrition.
Very unique. So you are a Physics Postgraduate!! How did Physics attract you?
You
are right. Very few girls opted for Physics then (in the ‘80’s). It was a very
different experience, having studied in an all-girls’ school and college during
graduation, then studied in co-ed group during my post graduation. My parents
agreed to what I wanted to study. Electronics and Circuitry interested me very
much. This interest kindled me to explore Computers as profession.
Tell us about your 'Computers' entry?
I
learnt Computer basics in 1987 summer. It was a one year course. I
completed the course in 9 months. Then, I started looking out for a job. I
came across an Advertisement in the local Newspaper for the requirement of
"Training Programmer" in Apple Industries now called Aptech. I went
to Delhi for Interview with my mother. Prior to this, I had attended some exams
for bank jobs but was not successful.
That was your first job isn’t it? Do you remember any sweet memories and how much did you get as your first pay? If you don’t mind, would you like to share it with us?
Yes, that
was my first job in Feb 1988. I was given 2 locations to choose:
Hyderabad or Bombay? I opted for Hyderabad. I could not forget that job because
that is where I met my spouse. (She blushes)
I
remember getting paid Rs.5,600 a month that time (since I was a trainee). I
learnt Dbase III, Foxplus and Foxpro, Cobol in those days.
From
1988-1989 September I worked for Apple Industries.
I had
to go back to Jabalpur because marriage had been arranged.
Let us know about your love marriage. How you convinced your parents.
We
met in Hyderabad at the Apple training center. It was in Feb 1990 that we got
married. My dad & even myself were very particular about Horoscope
matching. Luckily, our horoscopes matched. There was not much opposition as my
parents were pleased with my husband’s qualification and job.
On
his side, there was a very strong opposition as we are from different
communities. But still we went ahead and got married in a “Arya Samaj” ceremony.
My husband’s uncle attended our marriage and no one else from his family
attended. That was a sad moment for my family.
How do you deal with situations when things don't go down well?
When
certain things don’t work out, I don't put my energy into that. I just let go. I
pray to God to give everyone “Sadbuddhi” – good wits.
So, Back to your work phase..
Yes.
After marriage in 1990, I came back to Hyderabad. I was always determined to
work in my life.
Which company did you join after your marriage ?
I
started looking for job and I got into ITC Agri Business as Programmer. I
worked in Unify, Sybase, but I was more interested in Database. I did software
development since it was a”MIS” setup that time. This phase continued for 8 years.
I was
involved in implementing the software which I developed. I travelled to Ports
of Agribusiness where Oil import was done and Oil Refining was at one of its
factories. ITC had factories in Manthralayam then. I visited Vizag, Kakinada
and Mantralayam and implemented our software. It was an excellent learning
for me. I made my Programming base strong in my first 8 years of career.
That's really interesting! Tell us more.
In
Aug 1998, I joined Wipro Technologies, Hyderabad. I got an onsite opportunity
for United States in 1999. We decided that I and my spouse would move to US and
that my mother-in-law would take care of my son (who was about 8 yrs then).
That was a tough decision.
We flew
down to Boston, As my husband was also a
Software Consultant, it was easy for us to move to US. From 1999-2006 we were in US. We were hopping from city to city in
the US visited Nashville, TN, San Francisco, Toronto, Denver and other places.
How was your overall experience in the US?
Overall,
it was an awesome experience. Work wise it was very satisfying since
I grew in my career and experience with the varied technology and people
interactions I had in my stint with Wipro. One of my largest project was about
'Migration of DB as well as legacy application. It was Btrieve to Oracle for
the DB; Application Migration was from Pro-Cobol to Microfocus Cobol. Project
duration was 1.5years. A very fulfilling experience for me.
My daughter
was born in 2003 in the US during this project tenure (she smiles).
How did you communicate with your son in India in those days when you were in US?
I
have paid bills of 1200 USD for my phone to talk to my son. It used to be
difficult but my husband and I managed
We chatted through Yahoo Messenger those times.
Why did you not settle in US?
We
did not want to settle there because of cultural differences. For bringing up
children in the US, it is a pressure (that’s my belief since they need to
imbibe Indian values at home and also catch up with US culture with peers and
society.)
So, Back to India ?
Yes;
in 2006 we came back to Wipro-Gurgaon Development Center to establish an
offshore center for a Telecom Customer. In Wipro, I had spent total of
10.5yrs. I took a transfer to Wipro, Pune after staying in Gurgaon for
about a year. In Pune, I was heading PMO for a large Telecom Customer. I was
also managing Delivery and Organization KPIs.
Where next?
I
moved to TechM in 2006 and moved out in less than a year.
Later
I joined Ness Technologies, Bangalore in 2010.
It
was a very good experience.
After Ness, where next?
Both
my in-laws passed away in 2015, within a gap of 3 months. I could not
manage both home and work, so I took a break of 8 months.
After
8 months, I joined ITC in 2016 as Program Manager.
How difficult was it to get a job after the break?
After
a break, it was easy because of my updated skillset and experience. I kept
updating myself on the latest technologies throughout my career.
I was reading about GDPR that time. Due to my passion, I
took a
certification in that. Recently a new role has been
identified for me, thanks
to my organization
I don't want to get too much in detail. What is GDPR--- can you brief our readers.
GDPR
is General Data Protection Regulatory; it is applicable for European Residents,
Organizations that are set up in European countries to manage the personal data
of residents; if any company deals with these, they need to have compliance to
the Data Protection Regulation.
It’s
an interesting area. For the next 10years this is my focus.
Is there any particular reason for you to work as long as you can?
You
can say it is because of the sense of independence that was inculcated from
childhood. I always feel we have to be self-sufficient and have a broad outlook
to life and be kind and helpful to others.
How did you manage those
times without Work From Home?
My
husband and my mother-in-law supported me in bringing up the kids. Without
their support,I would’nt have progressed to where I am today. I am grateful to
them.
Usually mothers-in-law cannot accept their son helping out at home? How did this happen in your case?
My
MIL was very broad minded herself, having worked at a bank for sometime. I was
the first daughter in law to be working.
My MIL was always proud of me and my
achievements.
We can see that your MIL has gone an extra mile to take care of your son while you went to onsite? How did you make this happen?
I
always think myself as no.2 and she is no.1 ! I always made sure that she felt
respected and privileged all the time and was always expressing my gratitude to
her, I also followed all the customs and rituals at home religiously.
How are you as MIL?
I'm a bit
reserved and also very formal. I'm okay as MIL. (She laughs).
How do you feel about your work experience so far?
I
feel very confident with what I have done so far. I can also guide people in
right direction.
I
guided my nephew in Cyber security profession and he is in US now doing
his PG from Washington State University.
What makes you go all the time?
Inner
urge to continue as a professional. I always like to learn more. Basically I
want to stay in touch with technology. I always want to do things
which are in demand in the industry.
In this 30 years of experience, I can see you have just shifted 4 companies only. Why is that?
I gave
myself and the Organizations I worked, time to get the best out of me and this
has helped me stay on – also looking for role change within the organization
rather than company change.
People are crazily shifting companies nowadays; almost every 1.5 years. What is your view on that?
People
change more now because of salary. People are not strong in basics. If you
don't spend enough time in your skill set in those initial years, fundamentals
will be lacking.
Get
stabilized in your skill set and then aggressively search. If you
have technical knowhow and capability, you deserve the best and will get it.
Work-Life Balance tips for our readers?
Support
system must be there and it should be established at the initial phase of
marriage. This will help you to grow in your career and sustain a working life
and satisfying career. Aim to grow and become big in life.
For some, Support system doesn't happen
You
need to make it work! Face the challenges and bring your family members around.
Do not compromise your personal aspirations. For every challenge, there is
always a solution.
Nowadays Parents are not ready to come and stay with their sons/daughters to help them. They want freedom?
It varies
between situations and families. Flexible hour working can be maintained;
hiring a trusted relative or person to take care of kids is also a way out. The
initial 10years of kids are important for their good future.
Finally
it all depends on how you make things work for yourself
Where
there is a will, there is a WAY!
How do you prepare your Kids when you go to work? Have they not asked you to be with them?
Yeah,
they have told sometimes especially when they need you or when they are not
well etc..
At such
trying times, I try to work from home or take an off. Recently for my
daughter's 10th exam, I took off when she had exams.
How to get rid of working women's guilt?
Kids are
kids. As they grow, they mature. They don't regret about the past
situations after they have grown up. All these phases are temporary.
Get over it personally. Devote exclusive time for kids. Go on vacation. Spend
Quality time with kids, go for movies. We have
to see that our children are not negatively impacted. Grandparents at home
will help us to achieve that.
How are you as a Manager?
Are freshers going in right path?
People go
after money. Passion is missing.
What are all the emerging technologies that ladies after break can consider to up skill themselves?
Cybersecurity-
Government of India is promoting lot of courses in this. Freshers can take that
training in
Artificial
Intelligence, Automation.
We in IT industry work for foreign countries and make them superpowers. Why not do the same for India? Why and where is this growth lacking?
Our
evolution is slow. Lots of governance issues. As a country because of
population, leadership, nation mindset, we are in the current
situation. Political system has not
changed much.
In the past
4-5yrs, we have evolved better than before and we have been received
well by other countries.
We don't have good Quality of life here how much ever we earn?
What is
Quality of life - according to me it is growing up in your culture; having your
own support system; able to raise kids well.
My
priority is that kids should be brought up in a vibrant culture.
How are you so spiritually inclined? Where did this originate from?
In my childhood,
I used to go to Balvikas and learn slokas. I used to teach small kids slokas
when I was 14. I had studied ‘Gita’, good values and attended Bajagovindham
classes.
How is this spiritual nature possible even in this stressful life?
I
always believe in & seek "Divine Blessing" and that has helped me
reach so far! I constantly thank God for giving me this birth, the family and
the people I have interacted with in my life so far
Bloggers
Note:
Reena is
one of my best friends and my well-wisher too. She is very calm, composed and
never perturbed by small things.
She is
really an inspiration and role model to many ladies. We have learnt a lot from
this interview.
Very beautiful n inspiring
ReplyDeleteVery nice. I felt like reading a novel.
ReplyDeleteWell done Reena Didi
ReplyDeleteGreat going
ReplyDeleteHi Reena, thank you for sharing and inspiring.
ReplyDeleteReally inspiring. That's the same old Reena whom I knew since school days.
ReplyDelete