HeyMath! Scholar: Neha Gupta
I spent the month of June 2006, working with 'HeyMath', in Chennai. Having spent all my life living and studying in Delhi, I did not quite know what to expect. I thus went with just my enthusiasm, my bag of clothes and very little expectations. Little did I know what was in store- the surprise of a lifetime and a very pleasant one at that. I learnt so much in that one month from everything around me. The company itself with its incredible work culture left me spellbound. At HeyMath they have have faith in your commitment to your work. They thus don't have 'office timings' or 'leave sanctions'. The employees in turn value and honour this trust shown in them. They work because they want to and not because they need to. It is almost an ideal sort of a scenario for it is only when one willing works rather than forcefully that one produces the best results. Thus you find people working wonderfully hard on the job assigned to them and at the same time smiling because they enjoy every bit of it. Everyone was amazingly helpful and if I might add, extremely patient! I recall a countless number of times when Divya (my roommate in the apartment provided by the company) and I hankered after our co-workers asking for advice ranging from issues with Microsoft flash to tips on getting our chapattis just right! Needless to say they were all forever willing to help.
My work involved creating lessons. It was a source of immense joy. It was wonderful to be able to conceptualize something entirely within the walls on my head and then to virtually see it take shape in front of me on a computer screen. It is here that I render my kudos to the animators ( the people working with Flash). They have the tough job of first understanding what the mathematicians have in mind and then creating it. There were hours spent on debating the magnification on one graph and the movement of one solitary arrow, issues which most people viewing the lesson would never notice but still were important enough for the people working on the lesson. That was truly remarkable. I guess the dedication and the hard work comes from the fact that the people working there chose to work there. Nimi and Harsh, the founders, know every employee by name. In fact, they choose to go beyond just the names. Clichéd though it may sound, at HeyMath, they actually are one big happy family. It was wonderful to work hard and to enjoy it. The sheer warmth of people around me was touching. That one month gave me much more than I had bargained for. I do hope to someday repay at least some of it. As I said before, I went with my enthusiasm, my bag of clothes and very little expectations. I returned a changed person, a better person and of course, much to the delight of my mother, a better cook!
