Goodness me - its been more than a month since I edited da blog - happened to notice it just today and tot i wasnt givin it enough justice... Of course there are lotsa reasons for the same - the work schedule is tight and demanding in these days - the project I am working on has turned 'fixed-price' (if u dont understand it - den fget it ;) )... sometimes when i look back and see at the bygone year, just working like dogs for the clients doesnt pay off - a person gotto be smarter in this new gen-IT industry - and make some smart moves to climb up the ladder - but such changes in the project progress - and mainly - getting stuck in a long term project is kind of a hindrance to one's career path...
In these turbulent days of work and god knows wat-wat - i feel its a relief to go home - yeah - its been 2 months since i went, so probably its time i took a break - although the decision still remains till the very last minute, in case the project takes a monstrous shape at the eleventh hour... :D - what prompted me to edit da blog today is the occasion for the trip back home - Diwali...
Some time back I read a short note on the significance of the same - 'Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya'... meaning 'Lead me away from the darkness and towards light' - the darkness signifying the negative aspect of life - sorrows, pains, jealousy, hatred etc - the light depicting purity, freedom, happiness, joy! - Gave me the thought that Diwali is indeed multi-faceted in terms of how it defines life... indeed if one gives a thought, the light can signify something different for each person in life... and so can the darkness... probably the effort to get away from the darkness is fulfilled only at the this bright festival - the darkness is also different for different entities in life - it may be different for a poor orphan, a farmer, a businessman, a salaried professional, a student, an organization, and even a country. One can very well deduce what is the height/variations of darkness in each of these cases - but the feeling of the darkness is unique pertaining to each of these, and can be best felt only individually.
The best part is that there is a continuous effort on the part of each of these entities to get ahead in life - not just to grope about in the darkness, but to dig out the tunnel to light, and dance with joy once its found - the light too forms a major part of life - probably Diwali - or Deepavali - the festival of lights signifies just that - to leave behind the darkness - and that its time to go ahead and witness whats in store for each one in the light of tomorrow...
A special one to all my friends who are working away from home... - Go ahead enjoy the holidays!!! :) :)
HAPPY DEEPAWALI !!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Friday, September 08, 2006
A fresher - once out of the shell...
Thought I shud share my views on an entirely different topic today...
A fresher - or a fachha (MBA jargon) is someone who is naive, unaware of the buri duniya, the 'taur-tarikey' of the people present in it - well thats how he/she gets da input in da final semester of the college - at least in Goa thats the story... plz enlighten me in the comments if ur story is somethin else...
This topic shud interest those who are emerging out of college this year, and will be doing so next year, and the year after tat.. and so on.. :D... Well lets categorise the students who emerge as so-called graduates from ne engineering college:
1: The bright stud - the hero of all - the guy who can solve any problem, who eats binary numbers for lunch, sleeps with ten problems in mind, but drinks only - well even his drink is 'contaminated' with theory stuff...
Its a rare chance that such a person will not shine in life - howeva anyone mite say that he is a bookish guy, no 'practical' knowledge etc etc. To the guys who are sayin this - well, how good are u? At least he has gained a lot by being that much...
Believe me, bookish knowledge helps too, as there is a certain point when massive bookish knowledge, and havin gone thru the same stuff repeatedly, the person acquires a certain practical sense... (even though he mite not be dat good)... and if he is sound in logical thinking - u dont need more... :)
2: The guy who neva reads a single book, who hardly refers any stuff, and still is a storehouse of 'practical' knowledge... whose problem solvin skills are faster than the guy above, and he amazes evryone by being an all-rounder in several things - though he may not shine that much in studies as our hero above does...
Such a guy will have varied interests in life - as he is multi-faceted, and can do well in anythin he takes up... he/she is so confident about him/herself that there is nothin to stop that, and in fact it is impossible that he doesnt rise in life as he has tried evry other stuff in college, school etc etc... If there isnt stuff like family responsibilities, other duties etc pullin him down...
Probably the above 2 can be generally derived from esteemed institutions like the IIT's, BITS, IIIT and so on. The possibility of such people being in ordinary engineering institutes is less, but of course there is a chance for that too - there were a number of such people in my college - and hence I am able to write in detail about them...
3: The average guy/gal - Now this is a big range... this is where all the engineering 'fachhas' get cluttered in terms of their positions - and are fighting neck to neck for marks/status/superiority and even things like well... 'I am da funkiest person in college', and 'I can study da entire syllabus even one nite before the paper'... Now where 'havent' we heard such stuff :)...
Now such guys/gals know what they want in life...are good, but lack certain stuff like resources, a good name in college, confidence, laziness etc etc. With these factors, they can remain sincere and dedicated to life... even out of college, but it takes them time to mature/realize the same...Until then its 'paaardi taaymmmm!!!' in college :)...
4: The labelled 'loser' - now this wud be a very bad word to use - i use it normally for people who smoke... its coz they dont have anythin else in life to do, hence they let go of a few puffs... Well, so these guys are those who got into engineering without a motive - probably coz they cud just make it with the percentages or coz their parents thought ki 'mera beta engineer banega'... ... of course its not they are good - they have varied interests too, and are sometimes really popular in the college... but this doesnt normally get them anywer in life later... probably these guys need to buck up a lot in life after engineering...
Lets come to the main point now - what I wish to impart by writin about such stuff. I wanted to primarily target the job one acquires after engineering - now well, i know the lines down will normally pertain to software and mostly IT-sided jobs - but this is wat the job-sector is bubbling about these days - IT is evrywhere... and engineers from all streams find solace in a developer's/tester's/call-center executive's/etc etc's job... :D... a very important point to mention here will be the recession in the IT industry, which had happened 5 years back in 2001 when i was supposed to join for my engineering - the job scenario sucked in IT, and people had driven me mad as I had chosen engineering in Computers...well what do these guys have to say now... four years with wires and circuits/noise-makin machines/desigining the ceiling of a building and now they sit with their heads buried in their desktop/laptop screens.... Does that ring a bell...? Well the job scenario is hot presently in IT... and I knew it wud always be, as the its somethin which will come out with more and more innovation - not to say electronics is bad... but the companies in India are lesser/ have more stringent requirements pertaining to percentages at graduation/have tougher entrance tests and so on...
Back to our main discussion... why stress on the fresher part? Well, when a fresher is out of college, he is unaware of wats happening in the industry, how are the different processes in the company he will be joining, and most important - what will HE be doin... Lets put some emphasis on this point... If I look back at the bygone year, I have gained expertise in the task i began with, have gained programming skills, have become logically better... but heh - see the words 'began with'... rite - for a long time, a fresher remains with the kind of job he begins with, unless he is some whimsical idiot and likes to switch companies every 3 months or so... A sensible person will of course at first think of gettin some experience, say of around 2-3 years and then make a move. But well, even in these 2-3 years, or say, even later, the person tends to normally stick to the area he began with... lets say he begins with core application programming in Java - product development for a company... now this person works for a year or more in Java, and keeps devouring skills...in fact begins a master Java programmer in 2-3 years... what happens later... lets say he isnt interested in further studies, and wants some different exposure in life - a new technology or so - mind u - this becomes real tough... the person finds he is unable to adjust fast... as he could do before - and if he has to seek help, he would normally go back to da love of his life - Java itself... :)... This scenario can arise even if he tries to switch companies, and in this case normally, he wud target a company working in a similar technology, of course with better prospects for him, or else he would feel his work-ex goes waste...
Now there isnt ANYTHIN wrong in this - its a choice he makes, but what do I want to point at with this example? The lesson to learn for freshers from this - there is something called a 'comfort zone' which develops when a person starts workin with one kind of technology or area - in fact even if he hates it in the beginning, gradually he/she gets adjusted to it, and then, moving out of it later becomes difficult for him/her... so moral of the story - CHOOSE UR JOB WISELY... I guess its the toughest for a fresher who is placed at campus as he/she is hardly aware of the job profile, despite innumerous presentations which the campus guys bring with them :)... But he/she has to get a hold of his life sooner or later... even in the company where he/she is placed... its important that he moves into his/her area of interest soon enough, hence stayin away from the comfort zone :)... I guess I dont need to explain any more...
I guess hence the position of a fresher, and the first job he chooses is of prime importance, and may even decide the next ten years of his/her life - hence the decision must be taken appropriately. With all due respect, this applies to all 4 categories I have described above... this doesnt apply to only one of them or so... so all 'fresher' readers - get a hold of ur life !! Its now... wont say neva, u mite get one or two chances, but not more than that in life...
Cheers!
A fresher - or a fachha (MBA jargon) is someone who is naive, unaware of the buri duniya, the 'taur-tarikey' of the people present in it - well thats how he/she gets da input in da final semester of the college - at least in Goa thats the story... plz enlighten me in the comments if ur story is somethin else...
This topic shud interest those who are emerging out of college this year, and will be doing so next year, and the year after tat.. and so on.. :D... Well lets categorise the students who emerge as so-called graduates from ne engineering college:
1: The bright stud - the hero of all - the guy who can solve any problem, who eats binary numbers for lunch, sleeps with ten problems in mind, but drinks only - well even his drink is 'contaminated' with theory stuff...
Its a rare chance that such a person will not shine in life - howeva anyone mite say that he is a bookish guy, no 'practical' knowledge etc etc. To the guys who are sayin this - well, how good are u? At least he has gained a lot by being that much...
Believe me, bookish knowledge helps too, as there is a certain point when massive bookish knowledge, and havin gone thru the same stuff repeatedly, the person acquires a certain practical sense... (even though he mite not be dat good)... and if he is sound in logical thinking - u dont need more... :)
2: The guy who neva reads a single book, who hardly refers any stuff, and still is a storehouse of 'practical' knowledge... whose problem solvin skills are faster than the guy above, and he amazes evryone by being an all-rounder in several things - though he may not shine that much in studies as our hero above does...
Such a guy will have varied interests in life - as he is multi-faceted, and can do well in anythin he takes up... he/she is so confident about him/herself that there is nothin to stop that, and in fact it is impossible that he doesnt rise in life as he has tried evry other stuff in college, school etc etc... If there isnt stuff like family responsibilities, other duties etc pullin him down...
Probably the above 2 can be generally derived from esteemed institutions like the IIT's, BITS, IIIT and so on. The possibility of such people being in ordinary engineering institutes is less, but of course there is a chance for that too - there were a number of such people in my college - and hence I am able to write in detail about them...
3: The average guy/gal - Now this is a big range... this is where all the engineering 'fachhas' get cluttered in terms of their positions - and are fighting neck to neck for marks/status/superiority and even things like well... 'I am da funkiest person in college', and 'I can study da entire syllabus even one nite before the paper'... Now where 'havent' we heard such stuff :)...
Now such guys/gals know what they want in life...are good, but lack certain stuff like resources, a good name in college, confidence, laziness etc etc. With these factors, they can remain sincere and dedicated to life... even out of college, but it takes them time to mature/realize the same...Until then its 'paaardi taaymmmm!!!' in college :)...
4: The labelled 'loser' - now this wud be a very bad word to use - i use it normally for people who smoke... its coz they dont have anythin else in life to do, hence they let go of a few puffs... Well, so these guys are those who got into engineering without a motive - probably coz they cud just make it with the percentages or coz their parents thought ki 'mera beta engineer banega'... ... of course its not they are good - they have varied interests too, and are sometimes really popular in the college... but this doesnt normally get them anywer in life later... probably these guys need to buck up a lot in life after engineering...
Lets come to the main point now - what I wish to impart by writin about such stuff. I wanted to primarily target the job one acquires after engineering - now well, i know the lines down will normally pertain to software and mostly IT-sided jobs - but this is wat the job-sector is bubbling about these days - IT is evrywhere... and engineers from all streams find solace in a developer's/tester's/call-center executive's/etc etc's job... :D... a very important point to mention here will be the recession in the IT industry, which had happened 5 years back in 2001 when i was supposed to join for my engineering - the job scenario sucked in IT, and people had driven me mad as I had chosen engineering in Computers...well what do these guys have to say now... four years with wires and circuits/noise-makin machines/desigining the ceiling of a building and now they sit with their heads buried in their desktop/laptop screens.... Does that ring a bell...? Well the job scenario is hot presently in IT... and I knew it wud always be, as the its somethin which will come out with more and more innovation - not to say electronics is bad... but the companies in India are lesser/ have more stringent requirements pertaining to percentages at graduation/have tougher entrance tests and so on...
Back to our main discussion... why stress on the fresher part? Well, when a fresher is out of college, he is unaware of wats happening in the industry, how are the different processes in the company he will be joining, and most important - what will HE be doin... Lets put some emphasis on this point... If I look back at the bygone year, I have gained expertise in the task i began with, have gained programming skills, have become logically better... but heh - see the words 'began with'... rite - for a long time, a fresher remains with the kind of job he begins with, unless he is some whimsical idiot and likes to switch companies every 3 months or so... A sensible person will of course at first think of gettin some experience, say of around 2-3 years and then make a move. But well, even in these 2-3 years, or say, even later, the person tends to normally stick to the area he began with... lets say he begins with core application programming in Java - product development for a company... now this person works for a year or more in Java, and keeps devouring skills...in fact begins a master Java programmer in 2-3 years... what happens later... lets say he isnt interested in further studies, and wants some different exposure in life - a new technology or so - mind u - this becomes real tough... the person finds he is unable to adjust fast... as he could do before - and if he has to seek help, he would normally go back to da love of his life - Java itself... :)... This scenario can arise even if he tries to switch companies, and in this case normally, he wud target a company working in a similar technology, of course with better prospects for him, or else he would feel his work-ex goes waste...
Now there isnt ANYTHIN wrong in this - its a choice he makes, but what do I want to point at with this example? The lesson to learn for freshers from this - there is something called a 'comfort zone' which develops when a person starts workin with one kind of technology or area - in fact even if he hates it in the beginning, gradually he/she gets adjusted to it, and then, moving out of it later becomes difficult for him/her... so moral of the story - CHOOSE UR JOB WISELY... I guess its the toughest for a fresher who is placed at campus as he/she is hardly aware of the job profile, despite innumerous presentations which the campus guys bring with them :)... But he/she has to get a hold of his life sooner or later... even in the company where he/she is placed... its important that he moves into his/her area of interest soon enough, hence stayin away from the comfort zone :)... I guess I dont need to explain any more...
I guess hence the position of a fresher, and the first job he chooses is of prime importance, and may even decide the next ten years of his/her life - hence the decision must be taken appropriately. With all due respect, this applies to all 4 categories I have described above... this doesnt apply to only one of them or so... so all 'fresher' readers - get a hold of ur life !! Its now... wont say neva, u mite get one or two chances, but not more than that in life...
Cheers!
Friday, September 01, 2006
Ganesh celabrations in Goa...
Posting again after long - tot I shud begin this month with my blog itself... :)
Had gone to Goa last weekend for Ganesh - and well - the work for the preparations for Ganesh festival was really a lot this time - reasons being it was our family's turn to put in all the effort for the preparations at my ancestral house in Panaji... some days back when I had left for Goa in mid-August we had already begun decoratingthe huge makar or in other words the place to keep the idol of Lord Ganesha and the topi for it. After we were done, we had a couple of other professionals to do the work for the ghumti or the seating of Lord Ganesha behind the makar. Once done, it was really looking good.
I got busy the moment I reached on Saturday. Of course in the evening, as it is every year, there was a lot of help to tie the matoli or the hanging of fruits and vegetables of all sorts (offerings to God) above the makar, and also to lift and place the makar, topi etc on a high level, after other formalities. Ganesha himself arrived at around 6 :) - well yeah, brought him in the car, with some crackers being burst here and there :). The next 2 days promised to be more hectic than ever!!
And well - yes they were... The main task I undertook was to perform the puja at the time of the aartis - all 4 times they were done - for 2 afternoons and the subsequent 2 nights. It was a long task, but it was a real nice experience. Uptil now, I had only been in the crowd singing the aartis with my sonorous voice (ahem!), or outside on the road with loads of crackers and a mission at hand to have fire around me ;)...
But this was something altogether different. It was something like what I felt when doing the abhishek at Marcel (where the temples of our kula-devta are situated. There were a lot of people to help me now and then, hence it was no problem at all. All the rituals went just as planned, though my dad was as tense as ever :), probably as he had a major responsibility on his shoulders.
The tasks did tend to make all 3 of us tired - especially my mom, who was involved in each and everything from the start till the very end. Thankfully we had called a cook who helped in the cooking ( and well, spoilt the tastes of the food made on the first day itself :( )... did miss da food made by mom for those 2 days, but none of us really wanted to put more pressure on her regading the cooking as well...
The nite of day 2 was the visarjan, when we bid farewell to Ganesha and proceed to leave the Ganesha idols in a nearby river or lake. Dats when Ganesh festival officially comes to an end for all of us - relatives etc who come from near and far to our ancestral house - whom I hardly see anytime in the year except at the time of Ganesh, plus some whom I cant even name the relation between them and me ;)... The visarjan took place in style - we started the aartis at 10 pm ( as announced - we wanted to make it as late as possible :) ).. and then we proceeded with the Ganesh idol for the actual visarjan by around 11 pm. My dad was in the car with the Ganesha idol, and I led the way with my cousins blasting crackers, fireworks etc etc and shouting 'Morya' all the way... this is certainly the most exciting part, though it brings about the end of the festival. The Ganesh idol was left in the Mandovi river atop from Pato bridge in Panaji, as usual... and then well, it was over...
Had a late sleep that nite ( wanted to wake up late too, as the next evening I was leaving for Bangalore, and wanted to have a relaxed day )... Normally this is the festival which brings all Goans closer, a festival celebrated with more pomp and show than any other in Goa. One line says it all -
'Ganapati bappa morya... pudhlya varshi lawkar ya'
PS - Visit Goa for the translation if you dont already know about it :)
Had gone to Goa last weekend for Ganesh - and well - the work for the preparations for Ganesh festival was really a lot this time - reasons being it was our family's turn to put in all the effort for the preparations at my ancestral house in Panaji... some days back when I had left for Goa in mid-August we had already begun decoratingthe huge makar or in other words the place to keep the idol of Lord Ganesha and the topi for it. After we were done, we had a couple of other professionals to do the work for the ghumti or the seating of Lord Ganesha behind the makar. Once done, it was really looking good.
I got busy the moment I reached on Saturday. Of course in the evening, as it is every year, there was a lot of help to tie the matoli or the hanging of fruits and vegetables of all sorts (offerings to God) above the makar, and also to lift and place the makar, topi etc on a high level, after other formalities. Ganesha himself arrived at around 6 :) - well yeah, brought him in the car, with some crackers being burst here and there :). The next 2 days promised to be more hectic than ever!!
And well - yes they were... The main task I undertook was to perform the puja at the time of the aartis - all 4 times they were done - for 2 afternoons and the subsequent 2 nights. It was a long task, but it was a real nice experience. Uptil now, I had only been in the crowd singing the aartis with my sonorous voice (ahem!), or outside on the road with loads of crackers and a mission at hand to have fire around me ;)...
But this was something altogether different. It was something like what I felt when doing the abhishek at Marcel (where the temples of our kula-devta are situated. There were a lot of people to help me now and then, hence it was no problem at all. All the rituals went just as planned, though my dad was as tense as ever :), probably as he had a major responsibility on his shoulders.
The tasks did tend to make all 3 of us tired - especially my mom, who was involved in each and everything from the start till the very end. Thankfully we had called a cook who helped in the cooking ( and well, spoilt the tastes of the food made on the first day itself :( )... did miss da food made by mom for those 2 days, but none of us really wanted to put more pressure on her regading the cooking as well...
The nite of day 2 was the visarjan, when we bid farewell to Ganesha and proceed to leave the Ganesha idols in a nearby river or lake. Dats when Ganesh festival officially comes to an end for all of us - relatives etc who come from near and far to our ancestral house - whom I hardly see anytime in the year except at the time of Ganesh, plus some whom I cant even name the relation between them and me ;)... The visarjan took place in style - we started the aartis at 10 pm ( as announced - we wanted to make it as late as possible :) ).. and then we proceeded with the Ganesh idol for the actual visarjan by around 11 pm. My dad was in the car with the Ganesha idol, and I led the way with my cousins blasting crackers, fireworks etc etc and shouting 'Morya' all the way... this is certainly the most exciting part, though it brings about the end of the festival. The Ganesh idol was left in the Mandovi river atop from Pato bridge in Panaji, as usual... and then well, it was over...
Had a late sleep that nite ( wanted to wake up late too, as the next evening I was leaving for Bangalore, and wanted to have a relaxed day )... Normally this is the festival which brings all Goans closer, a festival celebrated with more pomp and show than any other in Goa. One line says it all -
'Ganapati bappa morya... pudhlya varshi lawkar ya'
PS - Visit Goa for the translation if you dont already know about it :)
Friday, August 11, 2006
Madikeri - njoy maadi :)
Gosh I cant believe I havent blogged at all for July - :) was i so busy or was it that there was no time and da patience for blogging... probably its my near and dear friends who can answer the same again... in fact the schedule i am planning is getting even more stringent in the comin days now...
Tot just before leavin for Goa today - (yippeee...) for a nice break... would share da stuff bout last week's trip with u guys... well it was an office trip, and 'supposedly' we were supposed to visit placed like Talkaad, Shivana-samudram etc... and all the office gang (da 23 of us who had joined last year on 12th September) were intimated by mail ( of course i was in the initial planning committee :D)... this was followed by a series of yes's and no's and no time re's etc etc... i had decided i would at least take a day from the full schedule and spend it with this group which had hardly received any attention from my side since I had joined Oracle SSI (no offence meant from my dearest office friends :D)...
Trip day dawned on Saturday 5th August, and a big surprise - 17 of us turned up... problem again coz the tempo-trax we had called for was a 13 sitter :D hence well... some stood, some made place for the rest, took turns etc etc... but i guess da travel was the most enjoyable part... the reason being there was more of travel and nuthin else... ;) Well... half way thru I learned that the major guy involved in plannin out had changed the destination at his own convenience and that too a place which was around 6 hrs from Bangalore - Coorg/Madikeri - had been there more than a year ago with my college friends and had had great fun with them - the place isnt all that great as much as it is hyped - but well there are some locations which are worth mentioning...
There was one we missed in the initial trip - Harangi Dam - u can see it and deduce how much we enjoyed for ureself... ;)
And there's Abbey falls - well.. it wasnt all that great the last time we had been there, but this time it was seriously overflowing...
Too bad when we reached the Tibetan monastery, it had been closed for the day...the people who hadnt seen it earlier missed somethin really good... for u guys out there - if u need some time to spend with ureself... please go to this lovely place and put aside some time for meditation... a sincere advice...
Nuthin more to tell bout the trip, except that it was another 5 hour journey back... and well - reached at 3 in the morning da next day... friendship day... what an occasion to have a nice trip and also another nice time i had with close friends da next day... would have shared that too - but some other time...
Gotto leave now as i gotto catch da bus soon...
Tot just before leavin for Goa today - (yippeee...) for a nice break... would share da stuff bout last week's trip with u guys... well it was an office trip, and 'supposedly' we were supposed to visit placed like Talkaad, Shivana-samudram etc... and all the office gang (da 23 of us who had joined last year on 12th September) were intimated by mail ( of course i was in the initial planning committee :D)... this was followed by a series of yes's and no's and no time re's etc etc... i had decided i would at least take a day from the full schedule and spend it with this group which had hardly received any attention from my side since I had joined Oracle SSI (no offence meant from my dearest office friends :D)...
Trip day dawned on Saturday 5th August, and a big surprise - 17 of us turned up... problem again coz the tempo-trax we had called for was a 13 sitter :D hence well... some stood, some made place for the rest, took turns etc etc... but i guess da travel was the most enjoyable part... the reason being there was more of travel and nuthin else... ;) Well... half way thru I learned that the major guy involved in plannin out had changed the destination at his own convenience and that too a place which was around 6 hrs from Bangalore - Coorg/Madikeri - had been there more than a year ago with my college friends and had had great fun with them - the place isnt all that great as much as it is hyped - but well there are some locations which are worth mentioning...
There was one we missed in the initial trip - Harangi Dam - u can see it and deduce how much we enjoyed for ureself... ;)
And there's Abbey falls - well.. it wasnt all that great the last time we had been there, but this time it was seriously overflowing...
Too bad when we reached the Tibetan monastery, it had been closed for the day...the people who hadnt seen it earlier missed somethin really good... for u guys out there - if u need some time to spend with ureself... please go to this lovely place and put aside some time for meditation... a sincere advice...
Nuthin more to tell bout the trip, except that it was another 5 hour journey back... and well - reached at 3 in the morning da next day... friendship day... what an occasion to have a nice trip and also another nice time i had with close friends da next day... would have shared that too - but some other time...
Gotto leave now as i gotto catch da bus soon...
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