The University of Hong Kong.. Zerooin in

Many people asked me in past one year about how and why I selected "University of Hong Kong"as my next destination.
During my tenure at TCS (Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.) the work had become somewhat monotonous after 3 long years in the same project. And what better than a Master degree would be a perfect remedy for that? :) So, one fine day I just thought ..OK Boss!!! thats done for me. I have done the best what I could with the job. May be no more challenges left for me in that particular project (and then changed personnel at project did not go well with my style of working.. Read my previous blogposts to get more inside on that). You can say the feeling of saturation was mainly forced me to just check on other options available.
Then I started researching on Internet. US was never an option because I never wanted to get a 2-Year degree because 2-Years is a too lengthy break in the career. May be if I was going for Masters directly after my Undergrad then I would have given a thought about it. And then fact of the matter is getting into Big Names like Harvard, Standford, MIT with the profile and background that I have is very difficult if not impossible. I am quite practical about that and know where I stand with my CV and academics. But the 2 years duration was the major turn off.
Then Next options were either UK, Australia, Singapore or Hong Kong. UK Universities were not offering any financial aid due to global turmoil and then without an aid UK is quite a costly proposition. So among Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. I had applied to 2 Australian Universities and then HKU (Because it was ranked no.1 Asian University and also world rank was No.25 by THS-QS rankings in 2009). I got an admit from Australian Universities but then situation in Australia was not quite good for Indian Students that year (With attacks on Indian Students making headlines and breaking news almost every day). So more than me, my family was too reluctant to let me go for Australian University (UNSW, Melbourne Univ). So I decided to go for HKU (University of Hong Kong). Anyways I had already confirmed it as it was the highest ranked university from which I got an admit.

# On Ranking: I read on the internet during the time I was preparing a list of probable universities. And even now you can read at many places that Ranking is not that important in the selection process. But I think Ranking certainly playes a big role in selection. As Humans we select even a smallest thing by looking at its merit and brand value then why universities should be exception to that.
Though I agree that Ranking should not be the only criteria but it should be one of the criteria for sure. You dont want to land up in some Tier 3 or Tier 2 US University just for the sake of saving some money or say a compromise. If you don't select a reputed one it may actually spoil your CV.
And if you dont think Ranking is that important to you then you are free to do it in any shady deemed university in India. Why to waste so much of money and then go to US for post-grad with some unheard university which boasts that it has ranked in top 10 university of that particular state ? Obviously any university wants to put up a good image in front of prospective students and no one will say that we are worst so please dont come to us. So you need some benchmarking to filter out those shady ones.


Over the past one year or so, My experience with HKU has been nothing less the spectacular !!Truely a world class university. Good infrastructure and nice faculty. Also given me value for money I spent. Perfect blend of University that I was looking for, Economizing my adventure yet retaining the value associated with it!
The care, the quality of education what I got here was truely amazing (And much above my expectation). I would like to say only one thing about the whole experience "If you do not have a pre-occupied mindset about something you can always get more out of the opportunity, Just try to grab it with both hands without any second thoughts."

Before I came here people told me various things about Hong Kong and life at HK.
Some positives and almost 80% Negative. But now after 1 year I dont have any negative thing to share with you about Hong Kong. Splendid atmosphere, Friendly people and well managed city .. thats my impression of Hong Kong. The people around me at the university always took care of me and made me realize time and again that I am a part of big HKU family.
Actually for Negative talks I would just like to point it simple thing " You get what you deserve". So if you are kind, polite and respectful most of the time you get the same treatment from the other side and it applies anywhere in planet earth.

Now after some days, when I will return back to India.. I have a whole lot of Nice Memories about HKU and Hong Kong to share with my friends and family.

# About Course Cost: Most Important part.. All of you must be waiting fot this part..
Monney is honey :) If you try to control your budget well within the limit. and if you are not a late night party buff and have no addiction of Sutta n Bottle..
You can wind it up nicely with pretty good living standards for about 800,000 - 900,000 INR per year. That includes some small recreational activities like roaming around, visiting disney and ocean park etc., some parties.. But then it depends totally upon the person how he controls his budget..

# About counsellors : I have a very little experience with them. Basically if you have ample of money and lack of brain you can certainly hire one. I dont know if student going to some top universities cannot take their decisions on their own then whats the use of their wisdom ? Even the counsellors never visit the university they list in front of you. They just are smart enough to take out all related data from Internet and put it in a very polished format to impress their client. So be smart , search yourself, Ask your seniors who are already there.. that is the way to go.. No need of splashing out money on Middlemen !!!

So if you planning to look for HKU.. You can certainly look forward to have a nice , exciting experience for next one year.
(P.S: I am not endorsing any one here nor I have been paid to write this. Just sharing my honest view point with you. So the people who are willing to join HKU may get some Idea about the environment and education @ HKU)

## New Addition ##
About University Health Services... University provide very well maintained and efficient health services which are covered under your student insurance. And for some more expensive treatments very minimal amount is charges ( Around 10-20% of the standard rate in private clinic in the city). Doctors and medical staff is friendly and really took care of me when I had some dental and allergy issues last time :)

Take care.. Love you all..
I found many of you visit the blog for information about HKU. If you have any querries or want some more information, please leave me a comment. I will be more than happy to help you out.

Proof Reading and Editing Posts..

Hmm.. Nothing but just a random thought.. I was just going through my posts and I always find some mistakes or you can say not properly structured sentences in my posts.
That always happens with me because I cant put on the paper my thoughts with the same speed as they come to my mind. Too Many thoughts and then I simply become eager to put them onto blog at once.
The other reason mainly lies in my background. I do not come from Native English country. And I try to think in English but I guess I lack that cutting edge..

I hate proof reading somehow. I always think that let me post it first and then I will correct the post sometime later. (Hmm.. Soundin a bit lazy! )
Anyways now its not possible to correct all the posts.. Some of them I tried to correct. But then I am not so keen on checking out old stuff and making corrections in it.My Mind always wants to do something new..

Anyways I don't even know whether I should post this one or not..
May be you can treat it ...Just a Random thought in Mind :)

José Mourinho : My Inspiration

Not a bad topic to start blogging this year !! Jose Mourinho, many of you always ask me about this guy and why I always praise him so much (Mainly those of you not quite interested in football or soccer). But anybody who knows about football, must know the MAN and his heroics on and off the field. For some time now he is hailed as one of the best managers in the game of his generation. Actually He is the BEST which the game has seen over some time :)



Full name: José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho
Date of birth: 26 January 1963 (1963-01-26) (age 47)
Place of birth: Setúbal, Portugal

I could always draw some parallels from his life to my life, through all the years I am following his success story. (From the Birthday to his thoughts, his way of going about the things)

Jose, was never a great football player during his 20s. May be pressure was too much for him in his early days to prove himself, that was mainly because his father was great goalkeeper who played for the Portugal National Team and he came from a respectable setubal family to step into his father's foot steps. But it was never meant for him. Struggling career as a player halted by several injury problems.
But then he never lost his hope and went to university of coimbra to polish his academics in the field of sports management and fitness. After that he joined Barcelona as a Translator to Sir Bobby Robson and then stayed there for some time.
But still he did not get the break he always wanted to !! (Or may be at that time he never dreamt of)

Then came some small but impressive stincts in Portugal. And one fine day, he was chosen as the Manager of Porto (The most famous Portuguese club in recent years).
He started winning everything that came in his path. I still remember watching that match on TV from Old Trafford, Manchester. Final Minute equalizer from Jorge Costinha.. What an upset!!! Jose was on the planet nine :)

From that moment, he never looked back. Joined Chelsea to win first premiership title with them after 50 long years of unsuccessful run in his first year as a Manager. Some of the folks attribute this to the money of Roman Abrahamovic. But money can't buy you success , this is quite evident how Manchester City fared despite sheikh pouring down his oil riches in the club !!
For me it was simply Jose's Masterclass that prevailed in the end.. His tactics were out of this world. No one have seen such technical prowess till that moment of time.
Sir Alex team's were full of flair but they can be very unpredictable at times. Especially they were too much depended on Flair and Individual brilliances of the likes of Cantona,Beckham,C.Ronaldo and now Rooney.. You don't relate them with team spirit and controlled performances!! Sir Alex is one of the best in the game but even his teams are not as well coached as Jose's bunch. They say that Players are willing to run into brickwalls if Jose's set them to do so !! Such is the greatness of the man and his players always rely on him for that spark of inspiration..
He also has fan support behind him wherever he goes. He is a Master of Man Management.

Now he is at Inter and again basking in glory of success. This year he will be gunning for an unprecedented Treble for Inter !! Wish him all the good luck.
He has already won a double while I am preparing this blog..

He is the MAN in the game. Its all about winning. If you are playing within the rules set by FIFA and geting the results , no one should complain about the style.
His teams go their to WIN the prize and not to play some Idiotic attacking football when there is no need. The great Barca was made padestrian many times by an outfit coached by Jose. Even their demi GOD Messi could not found the way out of Jose's Maze.. That speaks a million words about the man he is..

Jose is never afraid of speaking , whats on his mind. Sometimes people like it and sometimes people don't. But it is not always easy as it looks. If you fail to achieve success , speaking your mind out can have disasterous effects. But then People who dream big can only achieve big. If you always live in cagey world you will never know what is freedom, isn't it? Higher the Risk, Bigger is the reward..
Thats the principle of life !! Take your life by the scruff of the neck and don't let the life and situation dictate it.. You put your foot forward before someone else does that. Jose is all about controlled aggression and positiveness.
His famous quote which I love so much "Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm champion and I think I'm the special one !!"
Jose always inspires me.. It is not at all wrong calling yourself "The Best" when you can see the mediocracy around you. There is nothing shameful about it. It increases the stakes against you but then when you are confident of achieving success then why bother fools barking around!! The taste of such success is always better and ever satisfying. (Its like while playing cricket saying the bowler that I can hit you 6 fours in the over and then executing your plan with finesse). Some of you might call it over confidence but I call it calculated risk. After a thoughtful assessment of the situation you can make certain comments and with confidence in your abilities and knowing your limitations you can achieve success. So whats the point in holding back yourself !! Its not about arrogance, its about asserting yourself :)

Jose Mourinho Is God !! You cant beat Barcelona 3-1 at San Siro by playing so called "Anti-Football". It is called strategy and tactics. Barcelona should hide their face having riches of Messi and youngsters at their disposal and still could not break ageing defence of Inter.. Salute the Coach !! And if there are people who dont want to see the "Brand of football" they had seen at Nou Camp, there are people like me who simply love that kind of football.. It all in the mind n you need master tactician for it.It was wonderful to see the dedication and application of 10-man Inter at Nou Camp to pull the awesome victory over Barca in two legs. What a perfect implimentation of boardroom plans.

One more thing that I can relate with Jose is our Mercurial Nature and Big Mouth attitude. But its a part of mind game. I know we increase the stakes when we comment on something.But the success is even bigger when you achieve what you have said.
"Higher the risk ,higher the benefits !! "

People who follow him love him to the core.. People who hate him do that to the core.
But he will always remain "THE SPECIAL ONE".

THE SPECIAL ONE's Achievements:


Managerial honours

Portugal Porto (2002-2004)

* Portuguese Liga (2): 2002/03, 2003/04
* Portuguese Cup (1): 2002/03
* Portuguese SuperCup (1): 2003
* UEFA Cup (1): 2002/03
* UEFA Champions League (1): 2003/04


England Chelsea (2004-2007)

* FA Premier League (2): 2004/05, 2005/06
* FA Cup (1): 2006/07
* League Cup (2): 2004/05, 2006/07
* FA Community Shield (1): 2005


Italy Internazionale (2008-)

* Serie A (2): 2008/09, 2009/10
* Coppa Italia (1): 2009/10
* Supercoppa Italiana (1): 2008

Individual honours

* UEFA Manager of the Year (1): 2003

* UEFA Champions League Manager of the Year (2): 2002–03, 2003–04

* UEFA Team of the Year Coach of the Year (3): 2003, 2004, 2005

* Onze d'Or European Coach (1): 2005

* IFFHS World Manager of the Year (2): 2004, 2005

* World Soccer Magazine Coach of the Year (2): 2004, 2005

* BBC Sports Personality of Year Coach Award (1): 2005

* Premier League Manager of the Year (2): 2004–05, 2005–06

* Premier League Manager of the Month (3): November 2004, January 2005,
March 2007

* Serie A Manager of the Year (1): 2009

* International Sports Press Association Best Manager in the World (1): 2010

Special Awards

* honoris causa - degree by the Technical University of Lisbon for his
accomplishments in football

Courtsey: Wikipedia.org

Salute to THE SPECIAL ONE !!
( P.S : Hire him as a coach of Indian Cricket Team..Bet he can do Magic!!)

Hiee Again..

Hi to all. I am back as I promised to everyone after a somewhat splash and dash finish in my last semester at HKU. Offcourse waiting eagerly for the results now :) Hoping for the best.
During past 6 months (Oh I have just realised that it is a first blog from in the year 2010) I thought about various topics, too many thoughts as always came to mind. But then I did not have enough time to put those into a nice blogpost. (You can always point out the time I wasted playing Mafia wars on facebook :) ) Okiez.. But then I had my laptop crashing down out of no where in leaving me helpless and then studies and other activities always kept me somewhat away from blogging..
Anyways now I am back. So you all can expect some good topics in coming days at this space.
During these 5 Months (January to May 2010) I learnt lot of new things. Learning to code on MATLAB was one of the major achievement. As an engineer I was always aware of MATLAB codes but never used it as such a powerful tool during my B.E. days. It was all about copying from some well maintained programs from the lab and doing it. Oh you cant blame me for that! There were only 5 PCs with MATLAB in my college and even my professors from Undergrad program were not that well versed with MATLAB.
But here at HKU, I learnt MATLAB from a whole new perspective. Again I realised the importance of "SELF-LEARNING". Learning should always be done by yourself and teachers, friends or seniors should only guide you and not spoon feed you. Because when you learn from self experimentation on a particular software or tool or for that matter any subject, you always learn it with all tricks and trades. You get to know the things quite well and be at ease with that at your own comfort.
Other than that nothing much. Lifes pretty cool out here. I changed my hairstyle (or should I say I was forced to ) lot of times during the year. Naah. Dont worry I know its not "Saurabh's Fashion Saloon" blog and I am not putting up all those pics here (like Before and After)..
I guess thats all for now. Keep visiting my blog !! I will come up with some new and nice posts :) in coming days :) Love you all.. take care

Shameful Act By Mr. Pravesh Rana !!

I was really shocked and astonished by the fact that on National Television people are throwing food items and grains in the swimming pool; that too in a country like India, where thousands of people die out of hunger and many of them cannot get a clear water to drink leave aside the food.
This should be considered as a hidious crime. And what a contrast!! This man was doing this for gaining justice (may be sympathy?) of common man !!! He calls himself a common man,what a great irony....

Check out the below mentioned link on You Tube...



The reality shows like Bigg Boss were always under scanner for obscene words and foul language. But showing a content like this on National television should not be taken lightly!!
This shows that sensor board only acts to cut the sensual scenes, but what about act like this...
Do they only nominate Voyeurs on Sensor Boards, who can only sexual content and not a serious offence like this !!
The situation in India on par with the world scenario is not that good! Many people have lost their job due to recession. And food and grain prices are sky high. India have long history of deaths due to Hunger and Mal-nutrition issues. There are many people still who eat only one time and daily sleep with hunger. And many of them do not get food sometimes.
Such is the scenario and this man ( self-proclaimed common man) wastes the whole lot of food that can be enough for 4 families for atleast 2 weeks. I consider this as a Biggest Crime !! That too done on national television. He should be punished for this... and should not be taken lightly for the incident.
The offender is Mr. Pravesh Rana, Mr. India 2008. His title should be scrapped as he is not deserving to hold Mr. India !! For the people who don't know, the title is about fashion and galmour and not related to any government award or social service... This guy always potrayed himself as a common man and be at morally high positions always. He always talked about high principles and moral values.But how fake was that !! This is what his real face is.. No culture no No value..
I think a strict action is required against him !!
He comes from a Police Background. No wonder that shows a typical arrogance of Haryanvi policeman in him.. As we all know reputation of policemen is not good in India. Many have faced corruption charges and it goes on (Rape, Bribes etc.).. So for whatever Mr. Rana says, we know that he doesnt come from family of saints and priests.
It was just shocking for me to see this on you tube today !! How can they allow the person to be still on the show after this? India is certainly going ahead with such young brats are being idolized by the youth.
And on you tube entire world watches this idiotic acts !! He is defaming India and Indian people on the world stage !! Such a fool .... I am sorry to waste my precious blog space for an idiot like him but I just strongly condemn this act !!

New Generation Blues!!

IT (Information Technology) is the hottest field in India. Everyone want to be part of the IT success and join the bandwagon of already saturated yet exciting industry. Almost every other graduate, no matter comes from which backgroud wants to get injected in it.

For new entrant the industry shows lot of dreams. And as India has lot of big IT giants with their success stories (Not only companies but their managers and founders), its quite obvious that young generation is attracted to this industry. There are many more reasons other than the one mentioned above. IT has no specific requirements, if you are good computer operator along with an engineering or a science graduate degree you are the one ready for it. After working in it for almost 3 years I seldom wonder that why they require so many engineers. For me even a 12th graduate with a proper knowledge of english and computers can work easily on the most basic job provided by the so called IT giants.

Many of us come from a simple middle class families where getting a job is almost paramount in shaping your future. And in many cases it becomes compulary rather than a choice. And IT is the ideal field for the lazy indian generation who spend most of the time growing with either social networking sites or playing PC games or for that matter their XBOXs n Playstations. And it is supposed to be more respected than slavery job in call centres. We celebrate our freedom on 15th August but do we really enjoy it? Almost half of our young generation does this slavery job for western world spending their time working in call centres. We are really proud of our education and how good we speak english but what is the use? Do you learn english to practise it in the call centre and telling people that you either want to borrow their product or service ?

When IT and call centres were launched in India. It was welcomed by everyone with big hands. Everyone was astonished by the money involved in the business. Call centres have now spoilt our social and intellecutal health as a nation. When young boys and girls studying in college see the amount of money they are getting by working in Call Centres, why would they want to study then? Sometimes due to financial problem they start working in call centres. But I still doubt that once getting money in the kitty how many people would actually leave the job. The rest of the demons that comes with call centre culture are very known and I don't want to generalize any of them. So half of the generation is just ruined by working in so called call centres. Where after 35 or 40 as per the policies you are not allowed to entry level work. And obviously its not big enough to absorb all the ageing resources. But government also never had any say on this angle of the business, called "Middle age Unemployment scenario"

On the other hand call centres' big brother called IT is supposed to be lot stable and prestigious business. Almost all the cream of good Indian universities gets sucked in as soon as they graduate or sometimes even before they graduate through campus recruitments. A student always has a dream of getting a job in a reputed big firm with good salary. And IT giants have that glamour and glitter associated with them. When they come to campus you can feel the buzz with their audiovisual preplacement talks and fascinating stories about the industry and the variety of opportunities they have for students...

Everything goes well till the student actually steps in as a trainee. Its totally different world. You are forcefully allocated to a place irrespective of your choice and the reason given is the global logistics arrangements. They dont even consider your preference of technology. As for your boss and managers you are just another fresher, who they want to shape in a so called "Usefull and Productive Resource" for their project. Till this point of time I never understood the policy of allocating people to different places like a lottery system. (oh and its done only to freshers and not to senior resources who join from other firms). The reason the companier give is an utter rubbish and just cant be explained. So after you are done with this high suspense drama. You are allocated to a project, where only if you are lucky you will get a good mentor. I have personally seen some people having no sense and calibre working in. There are only 2 types of people who survive in this. Those who are really great and those who are really dumb. The middle ones either switch due to frustration or just leave the job. The great ones learn good things and achieve success in the firm and they are always appriciated. The dumb ones, as they are dumb n shameless they dont get affected till the time they receive their monthly dog food. The middle ones either get frustrated with themselves and keep in search of good options. But on an average almost 90% people end up with lose-lose situation. As they work for about 8-10 years in IT that makes them ineligible to switch the industry and the work becomes stagnant.

I feel because of the IT and Call Centre wave, the amount of people choosing core science fields are negligible. India is losing its brain power. And due to the quota system and dirty politics the brain drain is even more. People go outside india because there are no premier research institutes available. And those which are there are so premier that hardly 5% of students can get into it that too after studying for tough entrace exams which already reduces their enthusiasm before entering the schools. Promoting IT and Call Centre can be ok for a short term rise in economy but in long term its like a cancer, which has already spoilt one generation.

Exams Over !! Blogging Start !!

Just finished with my first exam ever on the foreign land. I must say it was far more difficult then what I was anticipating..Thats why they say, There is No Free Lunch !!!
Lets hope for the best. It happens with me almost everytime, after the exam is finished instead of enjoying I always go through exam papers in my mind and tend to recount my marks with differnt perspectives. Like if this goes wrong how much I should get for what I have done. Let me see it from the professors or paper evaluators point of view. Hmm.. I know kind of childish thing to do!! But now it has become a habit and somehow I cant (or may be don't want) to get over it.. And this time the tension is quite a bit more because of the marking and correction pattern of the university is quite unfamiliar to me as it's my first exam here in HKU. Anyways lets not get into that.
So holidays for almost a month!! And I really don't know what to do.. May be I will go to some nice restaurant and have some good Indian Food. I am just missing my BUTTER CHICKEN AND BUTTER NAAN too much in Hong Kong. Gosh.. Those were the days, when I used to sit in a restaurant (sometimes even alone) and order one full butter chicken and have almost 6-7 butter naans with it. mmmm... mouth watering experience.
Anyways Life here in Hong Kong is quite different ! I am just a student here. No additional luxaries of having a healthy salary and spending it with quite a free hand. So just need to be in check all the time. No regrets offcourse. But just comparing with my lifestyle back in India quite a lot constrained one. I just finished all my pending work today. So now just relaxing and waiting for the grand grand result, which is due in first week of January. Its a grade based system so quite ok with that but still I need to pass all the modules...lol. Because they do Curve fitting after the result. Being in IT industry for 3 years, I very well know advantages and disadvantages of curve fittings. So keeping my fingers crossed !!
Hope this free time will kick my rebelious mind to write some masterpiece...
Miss you all my dear friendz..

I Love My Life.. I, Me and Myself...

Hmm.. I dont know from where should I start..
When I was in school the outside world seemed to be a very bad place. I was very much comfortable with my parents, home environment and all the comforts that come along with it.
I was one of the fortunate kids whos mother used to drop him at the school and then pick up again when school ends. In a way my childhood went in a very much like a celebrity, as a student my teachers used to like me, as a son I always gave my parents proud moments with some good marks and achievements, as a kid everyone in family loved me so much as well as my close friends. My parents always give me the things that I ever wanted. But I think I never ask for anything fancy for my age that they could deny.. But I am so lucky to have such parents and more than my parents it was my aunty (I call her Aai) who took care of me like no one does.
So in all , I was a child brought up in very secured environment.
While I was growing up, may people including some of my teachers and our family well wishers told my parents, my aunty that you are making him very dependant. He wont be able to survive when he goes to the outside world and wont be able to compete as he does not know what the hardship of life is. I always listened to these comments made about me but never said anything, mostly because I never realised what they are talking about. But Whenever I heard something like that I always thought that I wont let down my family when I grow up and prove these critics wrong.
And years went very fast, and soo I was out of my school and started going to college. I had two major challenges to face at that time. First, It was about travelling alone in BEST bus (Local Transport system in Mumbai) and the second and the biggest one is about learning and writing exams in English. As I was taught in Marathi (My Mother tounge) for all my life, it was very uncomfortable learning the stuff in English. Many time It happened like, I knew the concept but could not able to recognize how to present it in English. And I used to try may be 400% to learn the terms used in English to be able to present the concept I already know in Marathi. My close friends always helped me during those days. They never let me feel lonely in the class and always answered my all questions. We all are still great friends and I am proud of them all.
Rushikest,Akshay, Makrands, Abhijit, Swapnil and Saurabh we all were very close to each other and still are. I must say that they played a very vital role in providing the support I needed that time. And about the travelling, I never had a doubt in myself but it was just that I had never tried it. So I managed to pass my first hurdle, though not in a very satisfying way but atleast it gave me confidence to go on...
Oh I missed something in beetween. The classes I had joined for my HSC boards locked out in mid-way due to some management issues. And I did all the studies on my own in the last and crucial stage. One thing I learnt from my 10th exam is no matter how skillful and recognized teachers you have but you should always study in your own comfortable way. Just dont go on and follow the trusted way to success because it may not be the right way for you. I learnt this from my 10th SSC boards. I had joined very prestigious classes in our locality who produced toppers year after years and may be now also. And to their credit they took a lot of effort in organising my studies. But somehow it was not my way of studiying. I was very young to understand it that time. After that I always studied as I wanted to and guess I never did that bad. I dont like to bind myself in time tables and study according to that. I am not slave of the clock. If I am OK I can study for 24 hours non-stop and if I dont feel like I cant even sit with a book for 10 mins. Now many people have arguments over this patteren but its my way!!!!
Actually many people including my parents were panic about the situation as my class closed mid-way. And everyone thought that may be I wont be able to cope up with the English ( As this is a common problem with vernacular medium students!!) and some of them already told me that if you can get 80 I will try for your admission... I never said anything to anyone that time.
So I did whatever I could manage to score 93 in boards ( It was just a mere 75 in January school exams). So I was very much satisfied with my performance, and again I proved everyone wrong who lost all faith in me. Sometimes I even surprise myself that how could I managed to do!!
Its all about family and support of the loved ones!!
These two months always gave me the confidence I needed to go on. Whenever I used to study and something is not getting right for me, I always thought of these two months. If I could do that time why not this time... I always asked this question to me. Hopefully I managed to pass all my engineering courses without a repeat. The difference beetween this time and the time I gave my SSC exam was I knew my limits and I knew what is to be done exactly to get through. Hmm.. it comes from experience I guess. You should never curb your natural instincts and follow the routine path because your natural style may be best suited only to you and others are unaware of it.
Then I did more than 3 years of service at TCS, it was a nice learning experience. But I always followed my instincts and chose what I felt was comfortable for me. Development projects are very interesting and attractive for freshers but I chose to be in operations and maintenance project. Many people laughed at me that time as I chose O&M. But guess my life is about proving people wrong and creating a new way..my way.. After 3 successful years in the project I dont think there is someone who can say my decision was wrong. I did more development and in depth analysis of system then any development guy could have...So it really matters what you are comfortable with..
Now again I took a wierd decision ( As people say !!) to come to Hong Kong for my Masters...
For me its a well calulated and well analysed decision... Lets see what happens this time...

Ha Ha Ha..Do I talk sensible sometimes? People who are usually around me dont think so...
I dont think I am that serious... But sometimes you have to be..he he he (As said by Miss XXXXXX) lol..

See I wrote two blogs in two days!! Actually todays China's national day 60th....
So I am having off... Bye bye for now..
Next post ..I really dont know when..

Life at HKU... Getting settled!!!

Hong Kong.. Now I spent more than a month in this city. Took me some time to get settled here. But as many of you might be knowing, it won't took me more than 15 mins to make my first friend in Hong Kong. It was Allen who took me all the way from airport to my hostel ( About an hour's journey.) He was the only taxi driver with whom I could communicate in English.. :)

So he just dropped me near the Hostel where I was supposed get a room. And you know it took me atleast 10 Mins to figure out the entrance. In Hong Kong almost all buildings are interconnected with some other building and there are separate blocks inside the same premises. So its a bit confusing if you are new to the place.

First day at University was excellent. I attended a high table dinner on the first evening itself. Amazing Experience it was!! I mean in India I only knew one way to eat..Like Bhukkad!!!
It was something more polished and polite way with nice ambiance.. Take look at this..

So it was a very nice and exciting first week. Got some new local friends. Get to know better my room mates. My room mates are from HongKong, Mainland China and Korea. So it is nice sharing the room with these people. Get to know many things and nice to share the experience

No.. I never bored them up with my TCS stories..!!!

Now its over a month.. And I almost ate every possible creature available on Hong Kong land ( except Humans .. I only eat Human Brains!!! ) So I tried with duck, octopus, beef ( Mumma ko mat batana!!), Pork, Dry Fish, Saloman, Tuna (Fish is Veg in HK), Squid, Shark and sometimes something that even I dont know.. And they can only tell me the chinese names..

Gosh..But I had some skin allergy eating local sea food... So now I don't go to local ones..

But I like the food here... its sweet but you can eat it!!

And what else.... Hmm. enjoying my days at school.. Nice to take bag and attend the classes Monday to Friday.. After 3 years of total non-sense.. its nice to do some sensible things..

I feel like I have De-educated myself in last 3 years.. Lots of good things happened in the world when Saurabh Jadhav was doing the donkey work.. Really nice to be back in the world of knowledge. Its like redefining my life and rediscovering myself.

I miss my all friends back home. Especially the closest ones with whom I used to spent almost all the time in office.. Sajid, Shivani,Ashish,Vanik,Rajesh, Karthik,Gokul... And also my close friends from OSCA..he he. It was nice that Tariq... My friend was here and we enjoyed a lot in HK. Hugging and Kissing almost every female..LoL..That was fun!!

I clicked lots of pics of tall buildings in Hong Kong in first few days. But now I dont feel like as I see it almost daily. Now I think why people used to look at me in that way when I used to stop and take snap of every tall building..he he...
I am enjoying my time here... With New friendz.. Bye for now..
I know I am not blogging regularly these days but I guess I never did that..ha ha ha!!!
Miss you all..Take care..Here is a look at Hong Kong..

This pic is 20 days old. Now I have reduced a lot!! So Please.....No Comments!!!

Hong Kong...

It's my first trip out of the country and indeed a complete unique experience for me. I was travelling all alone from India To Hong Kong. Many people gave me different advices about what to do and what not. Though I had a complete set of instructions from my father to experience it on your own its totally different.
As I entered Ch.Shivaji International Airport, I knew that this is the last time I am able to see my family atleast for a year. For a boy like me who never lived alone and away from his family it was a bit sad feeling from inside. But at the same time I was happy that I am going for my Masters Degree and to see a new world on my own.
Then I went to Immigration counter where the guy asked me that how come you got your VISA without a stamp on it. It took me almost 20 mins to explain that this VISA is secured for me by my university and the sticker was sent to India and not that I sent my passport there via courier. But finally I managed to convince him.. (I am So Pyaara You See..) he he..
Then I sat down after security check in front of the gate I was supposed to get in to. Called up almost everyone whom I remembered. Felt very nice about it all. And was ready for the journey.
The time when I arrived in Hong Kong was about 9:30 AM. And I met a Taxi driver outside the airport. From any angle he was not looking a taxi driver. He was looking like karate kid..
So Ako (My First Chinese Friend - the driver) told me that he will take me to the Hostel in 350HK$ and I agreed for it as it was quite reasonable including my luggage.
So Mr. Ako comforted me with some nice music and information about Hong Kong. And he told me that HKU is no.1 university in Hong Kong and it is very difficult to get into that. So together we finally found that place where my hostel room was booked.
Then I was standing outside the hostel building wondering where the enterance is... Then a nice chinese female came to my rescue. And she showed me the way to the hostel. The caretaker there was very nice to me. he came forward and tried to life luggage ( Tried because it was abt 30 KGs to heavy for a 50 year fellow). Then he gave the room keys and showed me the hostel.
It was very nice of him.
After that I met my new room mates. All are from Main land China. So I roamed around a bit with them and had my first lunch in hong Kong. it was pork with Red Chilli,Tomato Sauce.
It was good to have the food they have daily. Then I visited the university confirming my registration and other formalities.
Oh and in my university the crowd is too cool. Everyone was roaming wearing shorts. Very understandable as its very hot in here and humid too. One more thing which was new for me is I waited for the signal to get green for pedestrians before crossing the roads. And people here cross the road at signal only and not in between like we do in india. Pretty organized crowd..
I am just settling down. Its very nice in here.. But still I miss family and friends. May be once the classes begin on 1st September I wont get a time to think about other things.
Overall it was a Nice First day in Hong Kong.. Lets see how it goes from now on...
Miss you all really very much!!

Most Frustrating Days in My IT Career!!!

Hmm.. It sounds interesting isn't it? Well.. Yes its going to be interesting!!
So as fas as last blog was concerned I have painted a very rosy picture about IT job and people must have thought that it was just a perfect job!!
The blog post was taken from my Good Bye Mail written to all my fellow collegues on the last day of the assignment.It was more like a Thank you mail and it was not appropriate to disclose my frustration in the same mail. But if you have noticed carefully it is written in the past tense.

This story is not based on true story!! But those who know the story would really find it true..
So any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental...

As the previous blog goes I really enjoyed my project and my company for say till a period of 2 years. I was just enjoying the work culture and people were really good. I mean the way they managed the way we all were groomed and motivated. It was like a dream job.
But nothing is permanant and every thing has an end. So my story goes like this...
I used to do all my job with all the dedication and all my efforts that I can put into. And I never said anyone 'No' for any kind of work ( I guess now also I find it very difficult to say 'No'). I used to coplete my prescribed work well before the time and everyone was happy. All the work I and My batch mates used to do efficiently. We would directly get work assigned from either user or head of the project.
But then came this shit in IT.. Its called project restructuring and hierarchy management. I really dont know how it helps and increases the performance. You all must have played a game in your early days that a person says something in the next person's ear and you need to pass on that sentence/word in the human chain. Most of the time the word spoken by the first person and the word spoken by the last person never matches. This game shows that the more direct you go ,there is less chance of miscommunication. And the above bullshit of hierarchy management works entirely opposite of that. It involves the people who do know a shit about the system to get involved in between the technical communication which does No Good to the solutionist as well as the person who seeks the solution. Sometime the comments which ame through this hierarchy were so irrelevant that It used to made me think twice about the purpose of the original mail. Let it be....
So due to this bullshit the work which used to come from a single person now used to come from not 1 not 2 but 3 Jugheads.. Now till date I am wondering that why they did this. One take on that was to make the project more stuctured and follow the normal format that the company usually follows. It may look good from outside but from inside it was total mess. And many people will say that they liked the new structured approach but I certainly dont like the change.

We all can talk , we have quite in depth knowledge of the system then why you need jokers to explain this all to client. And that too with incomplete knowledge and weird logic of theirs.
It was really miserable working with those jokers ( Yes thats the perfect name...) and same time I have to be professional. Because I never wanted the system and the person who had always motivated us to suffer because of these new clowns in the town. So it was really dificult for me to keep myself focussed from year or so. Actually there are some other reasons too to make it worse but that I will tell you as we go on...

So the jokers start functioning in the manner they say pretty efficiently... The mail which I and my mates used to process in a day now used to filter down from these jokers. And Now it was taking 2-3 days to resolve a simple issue and we were not allowed to take the desicions. I mean if We could have taken the decisions then what these jokers would have done. I dont believe in stealing someones bread and butter :) With their Experience (??), Knowledge (phew!! Please No Comments), and Logic ( Not from the planet earth) we used to get added comments in the mail. And it used to go in long loop. I must say that though above all things they did, the really came with some nice solutions once in a six month. So lets appriciate that experiece has no substitute.. So what if the intelligence surfaces once in the six month.. It proves that even they have brains!!

It was just a background information to show how my frustration built. The first trigger goes like this.. I was committed to work for this project only for the period of 2 years. And I was really appriciate the frankness of the person who committed to me this tenure. But when I completed my 2 years I was not supposed to discuss that with the same person but the jokers who have just landed up. Firstly I mailed one of the joker to get me confirmation on my release date. Now I suppose we all have calenders and very well aware of monts and counting we learn from standard 1st. So I guess I am not supposed to print special promotional posters and stick them in office saying that I have copleted to 2 years and I need a release. ( This is what I thought.. I never thought that people would be so dumb..) Initially I did not get reply then I got one reply which said that Jokers wanted to discuss some things with me. ( By the way I had completed 26 months by that time ..Guess 26 Months = 2 Years and 2 Months) I have clearly written in the mail that I have worked with all my dedication during this period and I need a respectful exit.
and also let me know the release plan which you have. But first thing joker said is .. "Oh ..You have completed 2 years.. We know that". Then I repeatedly asked them about my release plan but seems the jokers as they usually do have not made any. And they keep on telling me blah..blah which I was not at all interested. If I am not worng this release plan thing comes under project management... then one of the joker said .. ( the funniest of them all) What you are going to do after the release?.. Such a nice question buddy... You dont do your planning properly and then you ask me for my future plans.. What the hell on the earth he has to do with that?? ( You wont believe but I had written in the mail that I dont want to have discussion as it always goes in wrong loop and I request you to just reply with the release dates) And as usual the joker took in the wrong loop and told me how the company assigns the projects after release.. ( This we already know.. Plus that was totally uncalled for that time!! ) But the funny joker is like that only.. If you ask him his name he will tell you complete address (Not once may be 10 times n 1 revision too..lolz) but never tell you what you have asked for i.e. Name...
Then I got so frustrated with these jokers.. That one point of time I thought of handing over my resignation later. But then I thought It would be a cowardly decision and Why my company and system should suffer because of these . I can tell you from that day I only worked for the person who always motivated me and always let my anger take a back seat just because I never wanted to hurt him in any ways. As he has done almost everything possible for all of us. And moreover I never wanted to be unprofessional any time. Just keeping that in my mind I was doing the work.
All my intelligence and mind was there in the work but heart was not there... And somehow I felt I was humilated and frustrated just because of some personal egos... And sometimes neglected too.. I should say that all my team members were always behind me like a family but the fun and joy of freedom what I had enjoyed earlier in my career was totally gone!! Thanks to Jokers..

The other major problem I faced is the immense intellectual ability of the jokers. To understand the things which are not there and building sand castles in the air with their limited knowledge and undoubted imagination power.. Once If I am not wrong one joker had committed the client a thing which is not at all possible in our system. Now tell me is it possible to grow apples on Mango tree? But after all Jokers are Jokers!! and thats why I call them Jokers..

Then come another nice occassion.. And this time it was discussion for my performance appraisal.. As I have mentioned.. That I have always tried to give more than 100% and I never let my work get affected due to tantrums of these jokers. oh and I forgot to tell you one thing ..these jokers also follow hierrarchy.. One is supreme boss and other is down him and the third one thinks that he has the same authority of the second one.. ( I dont know why people Live in the dreamland... ) The third one actually does nothing but to do leftovers of the second one and also he coonducts Adult education classes. I dont know somehow he feels like people are weak with the numbers and he has to read out numbers to each and everyone in the team.
So the third joker who thinks that he has authority of second joker called me up for the discussion. I was very amused and the same time so much frustrated. ( Why a person with same designation as me should judge my capabilities ? If you want him to judge then let him give the position from which he can do it with dignity) But no jokers work like that only... They love to get cursed and humiliated from people. Then the 3rd grade jokers started and asked me how much I expected (The Rating)? I supposed we were not seating there to play mataka and guess my rating and it was supposed to be a serious discussion... But still with all my patientance and respect to his age (not his brainz) I answerd politely.. Then he told that he wants to share with me something.. And here opens the door of the sewage pipe....
He told had found out 2 negative feedbacks about me.. (oh thats cool.. but bloddy who gave you right to give any kind of feedback on my work .. Guess we were sharing the same designation at that time) Sorry.. I will cut my crap.. let it flow from sewage pipe itself.. I said Ok.
Then He Started.. The First one was I dont pick their calls after I go home..
Do u think I am supposed to comment on this.. Neither I have married any one of the jokers nor I shared any such kind of Special relationship with them. ( Oh and the cell is my personal one and not given by the company) then why I am supposed to pick these jokers' calls after leaving the office? Usually I used to be available in the office from 8:30 to 6:30.. And Jokers are supposed to get all work done in this period ( Hmm.. 10 Hours is quite a long time.. even if you remove 2 hours for food upload and download!! he he ). So this was a negative feedback about me... oh gosh!! I am scared.. This only shows inefficiency of jokers that they could not take out some work from me in office hours.. and the point which was mentioned was against the privacy of the person. Cant I have some private time after working whole day in the office? By the way office pays me only for work hours and not after that..
And one more thing.. Every other person in the project is able to reach me.. when there is a problem and called by a proper person I always respond back. I had came on many saturadays and sundays even in emargency situatuions and everyone knows that!! It must be the case that as all these 3 jokers talk utter bullshit I may not have picked their calls.. Now they want me to say this on their face!! But How could I do that.. I am so professional u know!! he he
The most surprising fact was the joker who just dont know anything about it was telling me and over that he gave me some Milk and Curd example.. That really made me go crazy..
oh you think this is enough. No the next point is more frustrating!!
The Second Point he told was about unplanned leaves... Oh Holly God!!! Just leave these jokers alone... I have done Unplanned office for so many days and weeks and no one kept record of that and when I had to stay back due to health problems these jokers are telling me that it is not done!! I still have an excel on my desktop which says that I have 43 more unplanned office days ( saturday, sundays ,31st dec, Diwali, Indepance Day etc) than my unplanned leaves.. I worked day in and day out for this project and always felt it as my own system. And I never told anyone that I want comp off for all those days.. Now If you cant appriciate this then atleast dont humiliate me!! and Appriciation was not even expected from Jokers.. I should say they dont have the level to do that!! Then I asked third joker to check my records for leaves now.. And we will decide whether unplanned office is more or unplanned leaves were more.. But he told that I have to discuss it with middle joker.. (Then Sir if you dont have rights and the decision making power why are you doing the work which you are not authorised to do? ) then suddenly the biggest joker came and he told me lets go out and discuss ( As he is the most useless and coward of all jokers). So first he took me near toilet then we stood at different positions in the corridor. I said boss this is not the place to discuss ( atleast be professional some time!!) lets go inside and chat. Then he also continued with the same crap.. And after this bull shit he told that he has given me highest possible rating.. Great Jokers!! Where were you GOD when these pieces were made? See I with highest rating was not happy at all leave alone those with lower rating. This spreads disharmony in the project...But Jokers oh Jokers you are great..

All the three jokers should made to give the hourly record of their work as every team member does!! Within 1 month you will come to know that they are useless.. I mean No need to have the trplet of Jokers .. One Joker is sufficient to do all this bullshit!!

Then frustration went on increasing in beetween with more filthy incidents than this!! And I decided to go for further studies rather than being called a Joker one day by someone!!

There are Many Good Technical People around.. Please Find them and Remove the Jokers.. Cause life without Jokers is so nice.. Right Now I am Enjoying..

Many More Incidents involving Jokers will be documented in coming weeks.. So Just check out for the same space!!

Time to say Bye!!!

Time to say Byee…It’s a bit longer text but I had no choice... Even I have spent a long time (Almost 3 years in VSNL) in TCS … And I need to thank you all for making it a wonderful experience.
So finally the day has come when I have to say “Good Bye” to all of you. As a matter of fact it’s going to be a small break from professional life and journey back to the student life. I am going for higher education (MS) at The University of Hong Kong and I will be on Leave without Pay during that period. No doubt I am going to be back to TCS after a year or 2 years depending upon the courses offered at university, but the point is I wontget a chance to working with you all again in the same team, as most of thepeople whom I know are either due for release or already left the project.So when I will come back its like a fresh journey again.
When I joined TCS ILP it was a fun experience. We used to a lot of extracurricular activities. And I really enjoyed my time there.I still remember the days when we had come from Trivandrum to Yantra Park,Thane. It was like a dream come true for me. I was just amazed seeing the huge facility and the crowd in formal attire with professional attitude. It actually raised questions in my mind about whether I belong to this placeor not.
I joined VSNL project after coming back from ILP and with me all my 36 friends who had come from Trivandrum. It was really getting nervous when I entered the ODC with my mind filled up of tension and curiousness at thesame time. But people were extremely good to me and it started my journey into the world of IT.All my seniors were very talented. My team mates always shared there knowledge with me. Kiran, Bipul, Karuna, Sahil Bhai, Swati, Monica, Anil toname a few. Ram, Vineet and Shridhar always helped and supported mewhenever I need. They were always there when I looked up to them. Anant,Amit and Amol always helped me in understanding the system better. I really don’t remember how many times I approached them with all the silly doubts of mine. And credit to them that they answered each time with same patience. Thank you all, without of you all I don’t know whether I could have survived in the demanding world of IT.
Vinayak Sir always inspired me and my fellow batch mates who joined this project as a fresher. We used to see him working day in and day out with the same dedication and passion. His professional attitude and systematic approach always showed us the right path. And I am glad to mention that because of his persuasiveness we all could come out with flying colours.It’s very important to have such a strong support at the early age of the career and I, Karthik, Sunil, Atul, Bipul, and Gokul always had that. He always showed confidence in our ability and gave us the space to grow up. We all are thankful to you sir for spending your precious time with us when we needed the support. He is still a mentor and guide for all of us.
And how can I go without mentioning my peers in the project. Karthik,Sunil, Mr.Metri (Big Time), Hussain, Atul, Bipul, Shivani, Nilesh. We all enjoyed our time in VSNL project. And we shared all our problems, sorrows and achievements together. The team was like a small family. I mean we used to spend more time at office then at home, thanks to the unstable system.Till now we are very close to each other. I am going to miss you all most when I go from here.
After few days an important event took place in my professional life, I were given the responsibility of taking care of the billing. The process wasvery irregular at the time I started doing that. It used to take almost 2days to complete that. I learnt every possible thing that I could from Monica and Kiran. But still the process was very difficult to carry out.Then Mr. Ashish Makde joined me as part of billing sub module. And we started gelling very well with each other. Now the same process gets overin 6 hours, thanks to the efforts of Ashish. He gave me such a confidence that we went on changing the flows and making it better day by day. I still remember those days when rating engine was slow and we used to stay inoffice for 3-4 days, sometimes even without having bath!! He He…Then we used to come in alternate night shifts but we always enjoyed that.The motivation was enough from Vinayak sir and all my seniors to drive it through.It was an awesome team with Great Spirit and everyone worked for each other. I remember during some issues entire team staying back with vinayak sir till 2-3 AM till the problem gets under control. Really I miss those days!!!
I never knew how the years flew by. Suddenly, I was sharing my knowledge with juniors one day. It was a really a nice experience to share theknowledge you have with the juniors. I could actually point out the areaswhere I did the mistake and tell them to avoid those. Srini was the first to whom I have given a knowledge sharing session and I was very much happy the way it went on. I hope even he shares the similar feeling… Then it wasthe entire new team members who joined in and even some from EBU. Latest ones are Jinse and Sushil. (Hope you people understood what I taught. hehe) It was really a nice experience to know you all and to share my knowledge with you all. You all were very nice and thanks for hearing me patiently. If you need any help at any time please feel free to contact me.(If you think I can help you !!)
I am very close to Sajid, Shivani, Ashish, Vanik and Bipul as we used to share our meals daily. Meals toh ek bahana tha… But thank them all to hear all my useless talks all these years.. Especially Shivani and Ashish... The two souls I troubled the most.Oh and not to forget Kamal… Nice to work with you buddy.. Had great time Boss!!!‘Pranay’ aka Mr. Jain... You are doing very well with the postpaid billing…Keep it up!!Mr. Jain it’s great to have a bhai like you !
My ILP mates were always very close to me. Alpa, Metri, Namrata, Atul,Pranav, Sheetal, Jaykin, Sunil, Siddharth, PC, Siva, Nilesh, Ashish Kabraand the list goes on…Some of them were very far but still we are very much attached to each other like Mr.Saurabh Singh, Sandhya, Jaspal, Avijit ,Shovik to name a few. Thanks to TCS for giving me opportunity to know all these gem of a people and to spend some quality time with them. It was a wonderful experience to know you all…. Keep in touch buddies.
Oh and about my mates from TCS football team… They are doing great things this season (May be because I am not there to do the lazy defense !)… But really I enjoyed each and every moment with them. I was really close to all my mates. This year we should win the league… Thanks to Amit Sir, Allen,Nagi, Jiggi, Monty, Avi and all my mates. I won’t ever forget you guys!!TCS Football rocks !!
My friends from VSNL (now TCISL) deserve a place in my ‘good bye’ note…To start with I and Ashish had a very close relation with Akshay and Alex.Together we had done lots of efforts to reduce irregularities in thesystem. And they were always a positive critic for us. And we all shared a common target of improving the system. I am glad that same work is being carried forward by Saurabh sir… It was really nice working with you all. I mean you have to be lucky to have an expertise at client side like you.It’s no shame to admit that I have learnt a lot from you all. It was always a pleasure working with Rupak, Romik, Amit, Rachana and Nishant to mention a few.
It is almost 3 years now. And I am completely changed person. TCS has transformed me from ‘Flamboyant Rookie’ to ‘Matured Professional’ (Oh Iknow that still that flamboyance comes up every now and then, But you know even I cant help it!!). But this work experience in a firm like TCS has certainly made a difference to my life. Now I can go out with much more confidence and right attitude.
And last but not least, thanks Rohith for making it a smooth transition!!
It’s really sad to part with the team as I know each and every person inthe team and all are very close to me. Babu, Sendhil, Parag, Ganesh, AyaazBhai, Pratik, Gauri, Shan, Saumya, Rahul, Amit, Anunay, Gokul, Shaktibhai ,Somu, Sumit, Sujit Bhai you all people make a great team!! You allrock….I need the wishes from you all for my future Endeavour…Hope I can meet youall very soon after coming back.. Till the time it’s a BIG GOOD BYE…

My Contact Details:Mail: animalbatista@gmail.com

Contact No.: I will update You Once I get a New Number.

The Indian IT Crisis Theory: The End of the Golden Age..20 Years to go..

During such a bad time, both for Global Economy and also for Indian Market, hardly a positive thought comes into my mind. This recession period has certainly shaken the world badly. And over that in India we are having this ongoing “Satyam Saga” which makes my mind go into more and more into a negative loop. The situation is going to be really bad over next year as the after effects of US sub prime problem will actually be hitting and spreading all over the world and India no exception for that.
I am neither an astrologer nor a person who gets visions about the future but today I was just thinking about the current IT situation in India. And I developed this theory just by thinking with some common sense and simple calculations. And what I could foresee was really picture no one wants to see. It goes this way…
Now almost every Indian IT company will be celebrating or already had celebrated its Silver Jubilee (In their Youth) in coming or past 5-10 years period. Those people who were really instrumental in forming or developing such IT firms are lying in the highest level of management or just retired for a well deserved break. If you consider in almost every major IT firm there would be a bunch of 100-200 people who really started and have seen the company grow during all those years. You can say every company has such a core group. Some are part of think tank, some are into Management committee, and some are even into board of directors. This group has reached elite positions after a long period of hard work and dedication. And almost every major IT giant has such people who drive their company forward.
The new generation has certainly taken advantage of IT boom and contributed their part in the success. But the people which are of the age group 20 to 30 are almost 75% of the human resources the IT firms have. This generation is also hard working and earned the respect of their seniors by performing very well. And they are the actual work force behind the IT success.
Now let us go say 20-25 years in future…
The top management of every IT firm that we see today must have changed by now and we will certainly see new faces heading IT. That will be a very obvious change considering the period. But now comes the tricky question…
The generation which was about 75% of the human resources 25 years back will be matured by that time. They all would have worked very dedicatedly and passionately to reach the heights they once saw their seniors reach. But every firm will have only 200 to 300 such elite positions to fill up (Considering the 50% hike in available top brass positions) and as we know almost everyone from our generation is working in IT and after maturity all of us want to go up the ladder both financially and designation wise.
But there won’t be those many positions available even after considering 50% hike in availability of such positions. So where this people will go? Its very obvious that any IT company cannot afford such large number of managers or senior employees on their payroll as it takes its own toll on annual budget. And people will go into depression if their salary won’t be increased as per the seniority criteria. And everywhere in Indian IT market you will find the same situation. As our generation had already committed to IT now it’s very difficult to reverse the flow and later it would even become more difficult to take any corrective action.
After the current round of recession companies will take time to rise again and even if they grow as rapidly to double their growth still such high number of elite jobs won’t be available. So everyone won’t be happy certainly few years down the line and some of us will be still craving for salary increase. And it would be so difficult to satisfy the needs of current generation. There would be disharmony creeping all over the IT market in India.
A large chunk of people will be disheartened due to lack of good opportunities and at their age they won’t be able to shift the field also. It would become the question of survival of the fittest.
I was just analyzing this theory again and again and could find any solutions on it.
I guess Everything comes to an end so will be the Indian IT dream in a way that IT companies may grow or may not grow, it would eventually leave a large bunch of people sad and unsatisfied.
Whatever I thought I noted down on this blog… Your comments and suggestions are welcome!! I know it might be one of you have an answer for this or have another path which leads to some positive conclusion. Because suddenly it has started to look all gloomy, isn’t it?

AMACHI MUMBAI !!!

Mumbai means everything for me. I have spent almost 98% of my lifespan in this city. And as it does with everyone, it has never disappointed me in any respect. Mumbai is the place where I born and brought up, so I have a special attachment with this city.
I am a proud Mumbaikar and with no fear I can say this is my city. This city has given something to everyone who had come here with the dreams. Very Lively and joyful city indeed! In this city different types of people lived in harmony and peace until a month back when there was a heavy protest against the people who came UP and Bihar. I have many friends and collogues from that part of country and they all are very nice to me and to everyone. I have learnt a lot from people from different part of India and that is what it makes this city special as it has representatives from almost all parts of India. There were several similar attacks against the South Indians too in the past. And everyone was voicing their opinion on the issue raised during this protest. But somehow I feel points made by both the sides were not elaborated and discussed extensively to find the root of whole problem
We should all be agreeing to the fact that India is a free nation and everyone has the right to stay and earn his living wherever he wants to earn. It’s written in our constitution and we should respect it. But that does not mean people keep on flooding the Mumbai till its all resources are utilized and the city’s condition become out of control.
There is absolutely no problem with people coming from different parts of country coming to Mumbai and search for their living. After all that is the thing which makes Mumbai the cosmopolitan city of 21st century. But we should all realize that there are only limited resources available in the city and it can’t take burden of thousands of people flooding the city everyday. The most of the people which come from UP and Bihar or for that matter other part of India are poor farmers turned workers who come to city in search of living. There is a strong landlord mafia lobby in city which provides the place for them to stay and there are some political leaders who are behind increasing their vote bank who support such kind of illegal slum development activity for their own benefit. Such people in turn become burden on city resources as they don’t pay taxes and utilize the resources as well. Due to which there is serious problem of electricity and water cuts people have to face in the city who pretty regularly pay their taxes. Such kind of people are very poor and mostly have their living hand to mouth so they cannot be blamed for that as everyone is looking for own survival in this giant city. The corrupt people who help them to migrate are to be held responsible for and targeted too rather than targeting the poor people who are helpless in any case.
Other issue raised was local people not getting enough opportunities in all the fields. I personally feel that opportunity should be given on merit and not on any other criteria. If you have it in you come and take it or else you don’t have right to complain about it. Local people should make themselves more compatible and eligible for the jobs. But our constitution has a clause in it which gives some percent reservation to locals of that state. And some states have already implemented it, so why it can’t be done in Maharashtra? Though I strongly feel that Jobs should be given on merit only if it is a law in other states what’s wrong in having it in Maharashtra.
The Major issue was of the use of Marathi everywhere as it is our first language. If you go to any southern state you will scarcely find any board written in English for that matter Hindi is almost nowhere there. So why cant locals here press for the use of Marathi? I have stayed in Kerala and Karnataka and there is strong local lobby there. Even in college matters they do not want outsiders to overpower the local rest aside other affairs. So why the Marathi people are accused if they want to do the same? After all we are the local people and if we try to protect our heritage why should we be charged with factionalism? If you go and say something objectionable against Tamils in Chennai or about kannadigas in Karnataka or Jaats in Haryana, the locals there will make your life miserable and will certainly show you to whom the land belongs too. Then why can’t the Marathi demand the same respect for his mother tongue. For many years we are living in harmony with people of different states and for that matter different country in Mumbai city. And No one has complained any time about anything. But this does not mean that locals are cowards and don’t have any self esteem. As you people love your native Marathis also love their native and be proud about that. I know there are very few Marathis who have risen to good positions today and that’s why we can’t dictate the terms as in any other states locals do. But thing you should understand is to get respect it should be given in the same manner too. No wonder local feel their moral is going down when we just say that we want sign boards in Marathi all other non Marathi people make an issue out of it. It’s Maharashtra and there is nothing wrong if we say we want all sign boards in Marathi. If you go to Japan or Russia you find everything written in language that locals can understand and even in southern part of India you will find all the directions and milestones are written in local language. And there is nothing wrong in that. Local language should be given first preference in all government and judicial matters.
Other thing which I want to divert the attention about is why anyone is not finding the cause of people migrating from UP and Bihar. They don’t have any major factory or for that matter IT hubs in there. So educated as well as labor class have to migrate in search of living. The well know fact is no one is happy to leave his homeland and family and go for the job elsewhere but due to lack of opportunity there people come here in search of jobs. So why cant our government and corrupt Politicians do some thing to develop those states rather than giving crowd pulling speeches in Mumbai.
In my entire life I have never seen a common man handling a gun in Mumbai, it was only available to cops, gangsters etc. But now we have seen that also in a BEST bus. How someone can is innocent if carries the gun in public and damages the harmony of this great city? We never had such a culture in the city before and it has certainly migrated with people who have it at their natives. Mumbai is still considered safe city for ladies, even in capital Delhi you are not safe after dark. Along with Migration Crime rate has also gone up and so as poverty. It’s the local people who have maintained this dignity along with other people who have stayed here for long time. When we say Mumbaikar it includes all the people who have adopted Mumbai as their homeland, people who care for the city. All are welcome to Mumbai as I everyday say in pledge that all Indians are my brothers and sisters but we should realize that this city also has limitations. And everyone should respect it.
Let us Plan to make this city beautiful and joyful place to live in. The city is so great that it was never owned by someone nor anyone can own in future. And we all have made this city with our contributions in different areas. So just keep the spirit of Mumbai alive. And we need to unite and fight to make our city safe and beautiful. I Love Mumbai!!

Weight Loss: My story...

In today’s world, appearance and external beauty matters to all the people but only few are open to except it while others tend to hide it under the moral grounds saying what matters most for them is internal beauty. Every youngster when comes to his youth first priority for him is to look good and not to be embarrassed in front of his peers. And now a days people do splurge hell lot of money just to look good and sophisticated. No wonder beauty parlors and gym are overcrowded everywhere. This is applicable to men and women to the same extent.
There was a time when I used to be about 100Kgs or almost there and there about. And with huge belly to show for the comforts I enjoyed all my childhood. My friends used to call me “Jadya” (which means a Fatso in my native language) when I was in school. And that time even I used to be proud of my healthy lifestyle. There were many reasons to enjoy such a nice health along with my obsession towards almost any kind of food. (Oh and that obsession still exists!!!) . But the main reason was lack of exercise. And you will wonder that I used to sit and watch other guys playing rather than going out myself and join them. I did this for the major part of my childhood.
There is a very thin line between being healthy and what we call as obesity. And gradually I started to become really fat and before I could know anything my weight was touching almost 100Kgs. I weighed exactly 104Kgs, the next day after my 12th board exam had finished. Now everyone was telling me to join gym and reduce the weight. Dad even went out to take pamphlets of some nearby gym and health clubs. But I was not ready to join gym that time. It was like I have become used to it.
One fine day, one of my friends told me to just go with him to see a nearby gym and now I am so glad that I went with him. He was already a member there and even I liked the atmosphere there as majority of people there was from our locality and I somehow felt very nice and comfortable (Thanks Monu for that initial motivation!!)
So I started my long journey to become fit and fine. Gym was totally a new concept for me. I joined gym with a sole purpose to lose extra pounds that I have accumulated all my childhood. The first month was a painful experience for me. I was not allowed to touch any weights and used to do only free hand stretching exercises for a month.
I used to see fit and slim people doing weights around me. Rather than getting motivated by watching them I used to feel bad about myself. I used to feel that I have done injustice with my body and now it would be very hard to fix it. But my instructor told me that I will surely lose weight if I will be regular to gym and I trusted him. Anyways I didn’t have any other option rather than trusting him and just dreaming about great physic. So I started the long struggle that went far more ahead than what I expected at the beginning.
As it was my holidays after board exams, I used to work out sincerely and put in lots of efforts day in and day out. Controlled my diet to the extent I could and used to put in long hours in gym.
Every young man wants to look strong, fit and sexy and I was no exception. Because these days only come once in your life and to be on front foot you need to have something noticeable. Guys certainly know what I mean!! Almost all guys start doing exercise either to impress their girl or to get a girl by becoming lean and fit. (Though girls always deny the fact and say we always look for nice human being rather than just height and body. And matter of the fact is No one will notice you if you are ugly and fat in the crowd. Yes I agree that if you have special qualities you will get an attention later but certainly you cant make first impression that matters the most. And even I wanted to have nice body like Arnold, whose poster I used to see in Gym everyday.
I reduced a considerable amount of weight in six moths till my college started. Again I met good instructors whose experience was always a always a plus point for me. Now I was in quite good shape and size as compared to earlier. And I was damn regular in gym for this period and followed my work out schedule very strictly.
You should be regular in gym and should follow the work out schedule given to you by instructor to be successful no matter you are losing weight or doing weights. You should actually feel from the heart and develop interest in work out. If you are not interested in reducing the weight yourself, no matter how sophisticated instruments you are using or how good instructor you have, you will never get the desired result. You should motivate yourself and dedication should come from within. And this applies to everything in life not only losing weight.
After a year or so, I was in quite good shape (Lost almost 20 Kgs) and I could feel the positive energy that comes with a great body and personality. I used to feel very nice when people used to tell me that I am looking fitter than earlier. I could feel the sharpness in my movements and freshness about everything. I had discovered new confident myself within me.
Then I took body building seriously and I used to do about 2-3 hours exercise with my partner and instructor Vinay. And with him I learned how to deal with heavy weights and we used to follow a really intensive schedule.
Now my condition is that I start feeling something wrong if I miss my work out at gym even for a day. From the day I was reluctant to enter the gym to the day I can’t live without it, I have made a really wonderful journey. Initially I have to fight myself and to convince myself and after a lot of sweat and pain I just feel great today.
If you try something with dedication, passion and put in all your efforts you can achieve anything and everything. Just believe in your own abilities and you can do wonders.

Telecom Billing : My Bread and Butter and CHICKEN too!!

It was just about 2-3 months after I joined VSNL project team at yantra park Thane.I was being called up by the boss and was told to join Billing team which required new resources.The time was such that I had just settled a bit into my first ever real life project and trying really hard to sustain and cement my place in the team.Like any other fresher I used to put 10-12 hours day-in day-out to make some positive impact and also in the hope to gain some practical knowledge.As even I had the will and grit to read more and more about the tool I was using and become expert in every aspect like my seniors around, I did not let go even smallest opportunity to learn something new.I guess this phase occurs in every freshers' life where he tries to prove himself and I just went a mile extra in doing that.Now I smile at myself remembering that I read product documentation completely that time which was about 1500 pages.Yes no doubt that it helped me a lot but more than that it shows a fresher's sincerity and dedication.
So I was just finding my place in India's biggest software company for that matter Asia's No.1.
And I was offered a place in telecom billing team by the Boss.I was in No Position to say"NO"to him.And without thinking what would it be I said Yes to the Boss hoping to learn something new in the process and increase my knowledge.Anyways freshers don't have choices,do they? So I accpeted gladly what came to my way.
I heard from some of my seniors that now life will be hell for me. As the billing process used to take around 2-3 days that time as system was unstable and even the process itself.Some of them advised me to say No to the Boss.But as I told before, I decided to go forward with challenge. My training was caried out by two of the senior people in team and I learnt many new things during that.
After some time Mr.Ashish joined me in the team as the senior most person was given some other responsibility.I learnt a lot from Ashish not only technical knowledge but also about professional things.We started working together and it was a wonderful experience.I had only practical knowledge about the system and tool and he brought his vast technical knowledge and we made a really nice time after Monica one more member was separated from the team.Now we used to solve our own problems with the complete freedom given by the Boss.We streamlined and enhanced the process together which takes only 6-8 hours now.One of the biggest achievements of my professional life.Thanks to ashish and also to the boss for the freedom we got in making some changes and providing required resources when we needed.I still remember those days when we used to be in office for 2-3 days together.
I never knew when Billing became an integral part of my life.Gradually all my appointments and dates were adjusted convenient to the billing date.And after hearing any plan or program the first thought that comes to my mind is whether I have billing on that date. Actually for past two years my vacations ,my programs,my plans all depends on the billing.So smoothly I have adopted with my new life style.I still remember 31st December 2007 ,when I went with my friend had a blast for new year for about 2 hours and again came back to office to do the billing.
Now it has really become part and parcel of my life.Dont know what people say but I actually love doing that.
Telecom Billing has given a additional dimesion to my skill set.People say everything happens for Good and I am a firm believer of that after all this.It made me a strong man personally as well as professionally.Though now there is nothing to learn new and everything is optimized to maximum but taught me a lot during the course. I learnt how to work patiently and dedicatedly to achieve your objective and how to meet deadlines without losing the hope even if things are not going your way.I still remember three of us (Myself ,Monica and Ashish) slogging for 2-3 days continuously like anything just to meet the deadline.
But now everthing is changed and the process has become much simpler.Thanks to the efforts of all who contributed time and again.But now billing has become part of my lifestyle and I actually enjoy doing it.There are lot many things I learnt and lot many things happened to me during these 2 years of billing not only professionally but on personal and emotional level.And everytime I learnt something new and thoght over my life when I am alone at night at office doing billing. I came to many important conclusions which helped me took many important decisions in my life during the thought process at night.Again thanks to billing otherwise how would I had got such free time with myself.
I growed a lot with the billing and matured professionally as the process itself got matured.
Nice Journey it was and many people helped on that way.Thanks to my excellent initial traing from Monica and Kiran.And then some important inputs from Ashish.I made friends and lost a few during these two years,but billing will always have a special place in my mind....

The Story of The Special One !!!

This is my own story... And I call my self the special one because if you dont then no one will.
And you will come to know why i call myself that as we go along.This is kinda brief intro of the Animal's life!!
I spent all my life till now at a very beautiful and small town called Vashi, Navi Mumbai.Its adjecent to Mumbai city,only crossing the creek bridge will land you up inside Mumbai.My birth date 26th January.So lucky I am as I always have national holiday on my birthday(India celebrated republic day on 26th January).But I was very sad because of this as all my friends used to distribute sweets on their birthday and I never had an opportunity to do it on the same day.But later I realised that it was God's Gift for me.As I said earlier in the post, Vashi was a very small but emerging township during my school days.And you will come across familiar faces whenever you go to market or to any fun fare or to a movie. So though one may be not be knowing everyone by name but certainly knew each other by face.Still remember those days when the roads used to be full of mud during rainy season,everyone would rush in for a new movie in Vashi's only theatre,the two lifeline buses for Mumbai 501 and 502 and ever chocked Vashi creek bridge!!
My childhood went very smoothly under the care and watchful eyes of mom and dad.Growing along with my cousins,learnign new things and how to adjust and everything that is useful for the life.As I was a single child going to my uncle's house at Sion was a really nice experience for me.I learnt sharing and many good things abt life with all the love n care of my cousins,uncle(Baba) and aunty(Aai).Really it was a dream childhood. The God had planned the perfect start for me.
I was a bright student during my school days and secured 1st rank till 10th standard. I came out of school with flying colours being awarded as "Ideal Student".I scored good 88 percent in SSC board exams but those who know me were expecting much more.But I never gave importance to the end reasult in my life ,If the efforts that I had put in are satisfactory its always more than enough for me.
I did all my education till 10th in vernacular medium and now in college I have to deal with English.But it was not the real problem.The real problem came when I was admitted in one of the mumbai's best Junior college and I have to compete with 100 students who were certainly cream of batch and many were topper of their schools and I had to improve my English skills at the same time.Thank God again!! There were some good friends who helped me all along and even my hard work paid off.I was well settled in the new environment though still facing the difficult situation.But I am the special one and I came out of it with good marks in 12th.Not Great score but enough to secure a seat in a nearby engineering college in the central admission process.
Then I did my engineering in Electronics and Telecommunications.There also God always give me the feeling that he is always with me and nothing can go wrong!! Two times in two semesters I did not know what to write in computer programming practical exams and guess what electricity went off before the exam finished and I got saved.There were many instances as such which made me believe that someone is guarding me from above.
One more time The super power helped me... I was initially not selected in TCS palcements but later I got selected in Tata Infotech Ltd.But somehow I was unhappy that my friends wont be with me and guess what!! TIL merged with TCS and I got offer later frm TCS.I just love you the one above!! He solves all the problem for me before I could realise...
After my ILP programme at TCS I got an offer to come and join at mumbai my hometown.And that too at office merely 50 mins away from my place.And not only that the magical spell continues... I got into a support project where computer programming skills were not required. And I ended up showing great interest in work and surpassing my own expectations too.Oh certainly large share of credit goes to my team mates and seniors who groomed a freaky Kid into a reasonable resource(as they say in IT)! I learnt a lot from my collegues and they certainly have large contribution in my life.Thank You all (Ram,Karuna,Sahil,Amit,Anant,Bipul,Swati,Kiran,Monica to list a few..sorry if anyones name is missing.. But here I felt like giving the names as they made my entry into professional world really smooth!!) Again thanks to Super Power above to give me such a nice team who all cared and nurtured me.
Oh you might think that I am a very religious person..But No,I am not.The fact of the matter is I hardly visit mandirs or say any religious place ( Not visited since last 8 months).The Great One above and The Special one (thats me) have a very special relation.I just thank him from bottom of my heart when I want to and he too accepets it galdly.( Just by closing my eyes).No flowers ,No gifts Just a special friedship I have with him.I never disappoint him with my actions neither do him..Kinda mutual understanding beetween us.But I know whenever I want him he is always there for me.
This Journey till now certainly makes me feel that I am the special one indeed..And someone is taking care of me from above.I need your blessings to flow like this always!! As I feel from inside there is certain work I destined to do.Lets see how it goes on...
Thank You for makin my journey of life special....Love You All for your valuable contributions in making this journey a funfilled experience.Need your blessings too in taking it to new heights!!