Good Bye Mangalore

The Ones I Need

After the day’s work I go to bed. Think of all that has happened, all that is yet to happen, of all the people I know so far, of all the people who are today far off, of all the things that belong to me, of all the moments I enjoyed and wish if they could come back again, of all the dreams I behold in my eyes, of all the things that happened I never dreamt of and of all the things that really matter when I am alone. It is late in the night and its time I need to revive myself to face the challenges that are awaiting me tomorrow. Just as mysterious as the darkness prevailing in my room. I have lots of things to see, lot many of battles to be won. I see the moon behind the palm tree outside my window and slowly start closing my eyes. But the moonlight falls directly on my face. I then open my eyes and start staring at the moon. He seems so royal, so beautiful, and so happy.

“I feel so lonely here, Neeraj!” he talks to me. I give him a smile. Never expecting such a beautiful thing to say this. Now I start looking at him fondly.

“Why do you think so, buddy?” I ask him “You are the ruler of the sky at night. The sky is yours, the stars are yours. You can’t be lonely!”

I get up from my bed now. And go to the balcony. From there I could get a majestic view of the night. A faint fragrance of the moist soil enchants me. Every thing is so still. No leaf has even a slightest move. Seems like time has paused for this conversation.

“No!” the moon speaks in a soft voice. “It’s very lonely here at the top. The sky is so big and I am very far off from my stars. There are so many strangers around me but the ones I love, the ones I need are really far off. I am unhappy, I am so lonely!”

I come back to my bed. Unhappier than before. I start seeing the moon again. But this time he seems so unhappy, so paltry! I close my eyes and start thinking. Now I think of me. Only me! How lonely I am on this planet. There are lots of people around me. Strangers! Or the so called friends. But the ones I love, the ones I need are so far off.

I Love You Mumbai!

Whats wrong in IT?

India’s sunshine industries or more specific the IT sector doubtlessly has a vast scope to grow for the years to come. With the ever increasing fame of the Information Technology and the service industries pertaining to it, every fresh graduate today dreams to occupy a respectable position in the industry. IT giants like TCS, Infosys and Wipro have already started hiring people from all education backgrounds. So it doesn’t really matter if you do not get admission to Computer Science or related streams. The basic idea is that these companies search for the real talent irrespective of their educational domain, hire them, train them and build them into professionals who can give the industry great returns. In turn the employee is rewarded with a much deserved respect and a fat salary the amount of which was not even thought of by his father when he was of his age.

Everything here looks fine, sounds great. But it’s not that easy owning a dignity and a handsome remuneration. There is a lot more to be analyzed that is hidden behind the scene. I have one of my roomies whom I meet only at the weekends. Just because he comes beyond 2 am and leaves at 7 am. We sleep in the same room but never see each other. Sometimes I meet him in the food-court or in the elevator. A weary body, a sleepless face with ungraceful eyes is what he seems to me. But he looks to be so contented by his work. He thinks this is his ladder to fulfill his dream, the dream to go onsite. Probably the difference in the IST and EST working hours force software engineers to wait and work for more than 14 hours a day. But that is not the only reason for long stretched working hours that I could think of. Employees are many times forced to work just to keep promises made to the customers. After all it is not only the customer satisfaction which the industry expects but it’s the ‘customer delight’ what it want for which it can make its employees walk an extra mile. In most of the cases this extra mile implies long working hours.

One of the persons hosting the technical excellence awards ceremony, while presenting the best employee award remarked, “He is the most excellent, diligent and hardworking persons in the company. When ever you come to office you will find him toiling on his laptop. He is the most deserving nominee for the award.”

Words like these encourage the practice of working till late hours and weaken the morale of other employees. Here I do not state that rewarding excellence is not a good practice but it does not necessarily mean that working beyond usual office hours means more work is done. Thus an excellent job done by an employee who works only for normal 8 hours a day becomes dim. I admit the fact that not all men are equal. Different men have different understanding and grasp over things. An employee who is not good in documentation might be a very good coder or vice versa. It’s not for how long you work but how good you work in your usual official time slot. If the company encounters an improper time estimation or lack of sufficient time for the promises being made to the customer, it should not make its employees force work beyond normal working hours. Here, the art of saying “No” would solve great problems and the current project statistics can be very well used to reframe the man hours required to quote estimates for future projects of similar nature.

The sector is rapidly growing with its diversified roots all over India or rather the world. It is quite natural that you will not get a job in Software Company in the same city where your family resides. A huge population working in this sector prefers to leave their homes and live in houses which are quite far from their dear ones. It is a matter of great prestige for their parents for their child being working in this respectable white-collared field. So much so that they don’t know what they are really missing in this course. Most people or rather colleagues I come across everyday seem so lost in their work that hardly could they realize that there is a world beyond their cubicle and projects. You ask them how a particular issue was resolved. They know it but never would they be able to answer questions that are irrelevant to their domain. The stress levels are so high that they seem lost in their own cave all the time. Neither could they enjoy their favorite sport nor a movie. Several stress management sessions and workshop prove futile over this. Most of the software engineers are normally below 25 and they could tolerate any kind of mental stress and physical stress caused to them. But the effects are not immediate. Senior officials have reportedly found suffering from physical disorders, back ailments and mental fatigue. A bulging stomach is not at all a new thing in them. It is simply because not even 10 percent of them ever think of things like exercising and physical fitness. Asked to most of them the excuse they give is that of heavy work load and busy time schedules.

No matter whatever you gain here, it is for sure that you loose more than you gain. After all we work for our betterment and a healthy future. We all are professionals, but just ask the human within you. How much time you devote for your family, to your hobbies, to your friends, to your girlfriend? You are someone’s son, someone’s brother may be someone else lifetime asset. Work, but do not loose your identity. I am happy that company has started analyzing employees who are in on time and who are out on time but still I wonder the foolproof ness of this initiative. It is not only the customers’ satisfaction but also employees’ welfare that a Software Company should be concentrating at. These are some serious issues and need to be handled in its initial phase before they could develop deep roots in our lives and make it a hell.

Just give a thought!

Yet another attempt!

After so many futile attempts of mine to understand a woman's mind I am currently exploring the New York Times best seller by Dr. John Gray - Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. The book concentrates on the key aspects where the thoughts between men and women differ. The behaviour of both the sexes and the way they react to situations is as if they belong to two different planets. If men could understand the women's mind and vice versa then both could enjoy better life consisting of an everlasting love.

Sounds quite logical but I really don't know how far this could be practical. With all the females I have came across, I have experienced a huge differences in their opinions and the way of thinking. There is hardly any similarity I could relate among them. Nevertheless, many of the things here relate to the general features a woman most of which I have come across in my life. So it's not necessary that the things mentioned by Dr. Gray would exactly be that of your special one. You can give it a go but I am still adamant on the fact that women are impossible.

The war between emotions and responsibilities

The following lines hit my inbox a few days back. The author is still unknown but I think this expresses the mindset of every Software Engineer living away from home. Moreover it also expresses the situation through which am personally going through now-a-days and thats a reason it finds a space in my blog.

It was raining heavily outside. Dark clouds gathered in the sky and nature was in its ominous best. I took a break from my work and went to the pantry to grab a cup of coffee. I had a sip and went near the window to see the rain pouring down heavily outside the glass structure. I was inside our huge office building, unruffled by even the fierceness of the nature. Through the heavy transparent glass, I could see a small girl trying to hold on to her umbrella which the wind was snatching away from her. I felt sorry for the girl, and was happy that I was not in a similar pathetic situation. Yes. I take pride for the fact that I am a software engineer. . I have everything which a common man would envy; money, status, respect, you name it I have it. I always wanted to be software professional and here I am, working for one of the best firms in the world. But then, am I really happy? Now, I could see an imprint of my palm on the other glass window, through which I reminisced my past, basked in the warmth of the sun shine.

My childhood was so much of fun. I vividly remember those rainy days, when I hugged my mother tightly during sleeping listening to all the stories told by her. Now, I have a big house here, but then it is just a house, not a home. My parents are pretty far away from me now. I have a cell phone to talk to them everyday, but then I really miss those dinners which I had with my family everyday. I could easily afford to taste all the different cuisines these days, but the best of food there, lack the love and affection which is present in the food prepared by my mother.

I threw a lavish party for my colleagues for my birthday, but then they would never replace the birthdays when my friends secretly brought a cake and at the end, half of the cake would have ended up on my face. The couple of hundred bucks that u save for a long period just to give a treat to your friends in the road side chat shop can never give the pleasure even after spending a few thousand bucks these days.

The scene of me crying and refusing to have dinner on the day when I fought with my best friend came to my mind. Today, she has gone far away from me, taking away my love and with it my life, but I am sitting and coding here with a false smile on my face. Everyday I meet new people, but then I long ceased to make a new friend.

It’s true that I have a lot of things now. I have a nice bed, but no time to sleep. Lots of money, but no friends to spend it with. The latest designer clothes, but a worn out body. Quite a few to flirt, but no one to love. Awards for technical excellence, but no reward for the crave for peaceful ambience. A confident demeanor, but a reluctant and apathetic mind. Full of rain, but no sunshine even in the farthest distance.

Now, I could see the small girl on the road enjoying in the rain with her umbrella firmly in her grip. She might not have all the comforts which I have, but then she has the innocence and fun which I lost a long time back. I have decided to come out of this false fantasy, even if it is at the expense of losing the tap of the software engineer. I am going to again enjoy my life. I am going to go out in the rain and play with the small kid now. I removed my tie, and went near my computer to shut it down. Just then, I saw a new mail alert in my mail box. I slowly opened outlook and I found a message from my manager with an attachment saying that there was a critical defect in the code and I have to fix it soon. I convinced myself that I am not going to get bogged down again by these pressures and stick to my decision. I ignored the mail and went to the rest room. After a couple of minutes, the software engineer in me came out, his shirt tucked in with the perfect tie knot, sat before the computer, and started typing,

XYZ,

I am looking into the defect and will send the patch files before EOD.

Regards,
Me.

This is a war! The war between emotions and responsibilites. Each one of us needs to tackle such situations oftenly. But choosing among the two - emotions and career, give preference to career. By this I do not mean to say that you have to be a professional all the time. Each one of us has a child within and there has to be. But never restrict yourself to just one aspect of life.
Do love your work but at the same time do remember yourself, your family, your friends and your feelings. They are always with you. After all these things denote your identity. Life goes on and so do your work. Keep enjoying every moment as it comes across. That’s life!

Out on a dream Island

preparing for Mangalore

Surprised! yeah even i was surprised when I was told about
my relocation being changed from Bangalore to Mangalore.
Anyways, its my last day here at Hyderabad. I have secured
77%(B+) grade in the comprehensive test. I am supposed
to report to Mangalore on Monday where I would be told about
my new project in Oracle Applications.

I would miss the life of Hyderabad..the people here..have
become so integral part of my life...difficult to forget these
moments...the moment of joys, hard work and pain. Everything was so
good. Its been over two and a half months I am here but every
moment seems so fresh even today. People like Chetan Anand
have created an everlasting print in my memory. The batch-mates,
the people in the food court, my gym-mates, all the people I know and
even the people I don't know were a bliss! All this has made Hyderabad
a better place. All in all the Infy Hyderabad DC has a very healthy
working atmosphere. I would miss it a lot!

Its raining heavily since morning as if the entire city is weeping.
Everything seems so sad..sad cos' we are leaving. But still
we have to keep smiling. Sometimes,
I feel its the toughest job to keep smiling with a frown on your
forehead! And thats what I am experiencing at this moment.
But we have to go on... go on smiling...spreading the cheer...
keep on rocking...thats life!

Some moments difficult to forget...

COMPRE - Working hard!

Its 2 am, a cool and clumsy saturday dawn and I'm still toiling in my cubicle trying to break my head on the Oracle forms and the reports and the interfaces and the workflow and the list goes on and on. All for the sake of the comprehensive test scheduled next week tuesday! Thanks to Naoki Seki and Shyam Suryavanshi who are giving me a company in my next cubicles.

Then what am I doing here in my blog? Well one of my friends and my regular reader Subodh complained me that I am blogged out. I accept his comment cos' I admit that I have become more busy now-a-days. The Infy training is so tough, so long yet so good. The schedule is getting more and more compact day by day. But blogging remains my best passtime and I always have time for it.

Wish to write more stuff but I have started feeling the weight on my eyelids. Sleep has started surrounding me. Its the right time to move to the dormitary.... Uhhh$$ aa

See you later dudes!

Auto Fantasies at Hyderabad

Everyday I stand at the same place and wait for it! And sometimes with my roomies. Wondering to what I am refering to? Yeah its the auto-rickshaw but I don't like to refer it by that name. For me it is more than the ferarri or any other F1 car of its class. The three wheeler comes and waits for us and then starts the negotiations.

"Panch rupayee mein chaloge toh hi baithenge!"
we ask the driver that means we would board only if you charge 5 bucks! The auto fares are very flexible here at Hyderabad and you need to bargain each time you board.

"Naai bhaiyaa"
the driver answers in a typical hyderabadi hindi style or more like the Ranjnikanth style (fans no offence please). After a few more negotiations finally he agrees when he realizes that the party is not new to Hyderabad. And here we squeeze ourselves in the vehicle that already contains 4 to 5 passengers who immediately start giving weird looks! As such in hyderabad, there are practically no restrictions to the number of people travelling in the auto. I would like to mention here that I was one of the 9 persons travelling in the auto - 5 in the front and 4 at the back!
But who cares! Within seconds, the auto reaches to its optimum speed and we see huge trucks and APSRTC buses left behind by this mighty little three wheeler. One can feel the adrenaline pumping right from his stomach to the brain when he sees his vehicle overtaking without restrictions or norms. Especially when there is a zig-zag overtaking or when the driver struggles so hard to squeeze himself through a truck on the right and an overcrowded bus on the left neither bothered about the number of people he is carrying along nor concerned about how many people are hangling out of the auto. And the case is even worse when the auto is overcrowded with enumerous tiny schools going lads with their bags hanging all around the vehicle.

I remember an instance, it was 10:30 at night when I boarded an auto and amazingly I was all alone in it. Absolutely no one except the driver who was my only concern then. It was pitch dark and I could hardly see his face. But one thing I could make out of him was that he was driving with his one hand! No clues about where his other hand was! The worst part was that there were no headlights! Yet he continued raising the accelerator steeply from 30-35-45-60 and then I really couldn't make it out. All I could sense was the bumps of the slopy street. If this poor auto driver would have been a phycho-maniac then it would be my end then. Second thoughts started haunting my mind whether to continue or to tell him to stop! It would be more of intellegence rather than cowardice to tell him to stop but I left it to my fate. Only when I safely reached my destination I left a sigh of relief!

No matter such instances keep on occuring but I would not blame anybody here. I would only suggest for some measures to be taken to avoid mishaps.

Scenes like three people travelling on a single motor-bike with the middle one dragging a bicycle with his right hand, driving a motor-bike with both hands engaged in curling hairs, auto drivers carrying a overloaded vehicle speaking on a mobilephone are all the indistinguishable part of the life here.

Apart from such deadly experiences, I had some really remarkable experiences too. Being a health freak, I generally prefer to walk the distance from the Infosys Campus till the highway every night. I was walking as usual when I noticed an auto driver asking me to board. The auto was all empty. Initially I ignored but later was shocked with amazement when I heard him saying that he would not take money from me. I was pleased but still I refused. But he insisted! And I boarded the auto. That was really very good experience of the localites here.
Life is an amulgam of the good and the bad. Whereever you go you experience the jist of it. But the good things prevail.

I want to break free...

Ever felt the lightness of heart after a days hardwork, the enthusiasm of mind after you have finished your mission, the peace after a stressful job, the relaxation after you finish your examination or the happiness you get after you achieve the thing you were always longing for!

Life is a good yet complex amalgum of stress and relaxation! You realize the sweetness of relaxing after you overcome a long phase of stress! You would never know the serenity of peace and silence if you are unaware of noise. The value of any thing can be very well judged only if you missed it in its abscence.

Though a continued happiness does not make any sense to me if not prefixed by pain. But it is the only thing that makes me enjoy the happiness and gain.
Its then when I really want to break free...

The Golkonda fort

Yesterday I visited the historic Golkonda fort. It is a strategically built fort with strong architecture, an amazing example of high engineering skills 800 years ago. No sooner did we enter one of the 7 fort gates than we came across this fort map.

THE GOLKONDA FORT

The Golkonda fort map

The fort is located at a very high location of the city and visible from various parts of the city. The apex of the fort is where the king used to stay.

The fort apex

Such are the fort complexities

On top of the fort

The Taramati masjid

In the evening, the A.P. tourism department arranges a light show which was immensely informative. The show narrated the story of the fort, the people that stayed there who have now became nothing but a part of history. The narration took our minds several years behind the time wheel. I felt as if I was one of the inseparable part of those times. The cries, those voices, those beautiful lights enhanted me. Above all the Bose-speakers added charm in the special effects of the entire show.

THE QUTUB SHAHI TOMBS

We also visited the famous Qutub Shahi tombs just 1 km away from the Golkonda.

Jiten, Me and Manoj at one of the tombs

At the Aurangzeb's mosque

So calm, so soothing!

The information - Qutub Shahi tombs

And here comes the masterpiece...

It was a weary day and I was really exausted but contented. The visit gave me one of the most valuable information about the city and its people.

Birla Mandir and Eat Street Visit, Hyderabad

It was janmashtami(the birth day of Lord Krishna) holiday yesterday and we - a few infosyions planned to move out to the famous birla mandir near Secandarabad. The temple is built up at one of the highest peaks of the city from where we all enjoyed a majestic view of the hyderabad city.

For the first time I realized how complex was this city. But the major landmark is undoubtly the Husain Sagar lake with a serene statue of the Lord Buddha in the middle which is surrounded by the spell-bounding beauty of the necklace road (that seems very much similar to the queens's necklace at the marine drive in mumbai).

The calm and holy music of the religious songs at the temple were soothing my ears. It was a real peace of mind that I experienced.




(From Left) Ajit, Anuroop, Jaideep, Ashwin, Me and Atishay at the Birla Mandir

It was a sizzling saturday night and we all wanted to chill out. As a matter of fact Hyderabad is really devoid of good hangouts except the I-max or the Prasad's multiplex theatre that we could think of spontaneously. But the Eat Street was really too good to miss. Eat Street lies on the necklace road.

At night, the dim lights added charm in its beauty. The food was expensive but no one would care of money at such a chill out zone. Awesome awesome awesome all it was! It was more than 11 o' clock at night and we were still discontented. The Husain Sagar lake at the background was looking so frightening still so romantic.

Eat-Street with Husain Sagar lake at the background

At the open-air restaurant - Eat Street

And the party is still on...

The SMART policy

Have you ever bothered about each and every task you do? No matter most of the times we do things that we cannot explain about. Now do not ask me for any of such instances cos' each one of us know very well about it. It was during one of my training sessions I heard about a concept called the SMART policy and believe me it works very well for me. It has helped me a lot in keeping the pace of my work and performing it in a more efficient manner.

As a software person I would explain it my way. Project Managers and Team Leaders often keep telling their sub-ordinates about different ways to keep a track of their work. Many of these ways include some automated systems and tools. These do assist them all throught their project development life cycle. But there is a smart way to manage things using the SMART policy. It is an acronym for :

S : Sensible ----> See that everything you do is sensible to the context
M: Measurable-> See to it that the work can be measured
A: Attainable --> Ensure that the work can be accomplished
R: Relevent ---> Check whether the work is relevent to the context
T: Timebound--> Have a track to time

The SMART policy can be generalized to any of your daily activities. I regard it as a powerful tool to manage and control things.

So Blue, so green - Infosys

The Infosys Hyderabad campus is a bliss. Its a real treasure of beauty and nature. Would like to share some of my moments with you.