The protestor - what does she want

When the anger of the protestor is totally justified, some of the demands are extremist and maybe not practical. This is an attempt to see what is the middle path, which is where the truth and practicality always lie .

One just wonders what is the need for so many people to flow on the streets of the capital and demand justice. This is not the first time, maybe many forgot the same happened the day after the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai demanding action. Has anything been done?

What were the demands of the protestors then? Our then Home Minister PC had said in a debate "please try to understand, we cannot have one policeman for every citizen"

What are the demands now of the protestor?
1. Speedy Justice - This is a very valid point for in India justice is always served cold after the victim goes runs from pillar to post for 10 to 20 years and sometimes the culprit even dies. However does it solve all problems?

2. Death penalty - Well this is a joke as our beloved ex-president had pardoned 5 such cases and in one such case the guy had died 5 years ago of AIDS and he was pardoned posthumously. So the law is already there, so what is the demand?

3. Safety - Yes this is a valid point and someone has to ensure that this point is taken note of and steps taken but who is going to do it. What was lacking on the fatal night? I guess there were already enough laws against tinted glasses and policeman available. What stopped them? laziness? Who is accountable? Long term decisions are the need of the hour.

4. Convene parliamentary session - Now here comes the ego of the politician. If the session is convened it means they have bowed down to the protestor and is never going to happen

Questions to the protestor
1. Mumbai had the same out pour after terrorist attacks. What did happen? Are you safe from another terror attack?
2. How long will this last. The government has all the time in the world to wait out. It is a matter of who blinks first. The aam aadmi is going to provide food for his family soon and sit on his TV for welcoming the new year. Who is going to change his mindset?
A bigger and long lasting platform is needed and is the need of the hour too.


My view: Extreme views are always welcome and must exist but the truth lies somewhere in-between, the sooner this point is achieved the better

Generation Gap - What Lacks Indian Politics

The Media houses are blazing and shouting where is my India, what are the politicians doing, call for an urgent parliament session,  each news channel is suggesting many ideas to the government on what needs to be done and calls for discussion with 8 panelists who suggests 80 things to be done.

There is one thing that lacks here - ACTION

One can clearly see the face of the protestor is a  young woman and sometimes is accompanied by a young or older brother, rarely the parents do accompany. The age of an average protestor is between 20 and 25.

In stark contrast when one does a caricature of a typical politician, his hair is either grey or he is bald, he has a large tummy and saggy eyes.

There is a stark contrast staring naked at us - There is atleast one generation gap between them if not more than one. The aam Indian politician is not in touch with this aam Indian citizen whom he boasts of representing.

No wonder insensitive comments like 'painted and dented' and 'no skirts', 'wear pardhas' come from a typical politician who later realizes that he is suffering from foot in mouth disease. In fact he suffers from what is called generation gap.

The laws which his forefathers wrote were even older and have developed cob-webs much like his principles on which he stood.

The youth Icon of congress is 42 years old, the youth wing leader of DMK is 60+ and has grand kids. No wonder both the politician and the protestor talk but neither listens.

Its time the youth step up to the plate and hit a home run, bridge the gap and change the face of Indian politics.

Human Life and India

It is quite surprising that my post on lack of importance to human life in India (human-life-cheapest-thing-in-india) brings most of my search engine traffic. I initially thought that all traffic maybe from Pakistan, as it is natural for them to search what they want to read about :)

However it seems many people want to know about this. Especially with recent brutal rape in the capital, one can confirm that human life is not much valued in India. There has been lots of examples in the past, be it the 1992 roits or the Godhra Carnage or Sikh riots of 1984, neighbor killing neighbor, grown men killing kids have occurred in the past and no Govt can guarentee it wont happen again.

For India is a land of diversity, every one can easily find other diverse from hi sown ideas be it language, caste, creed something or the other is different. So when one point is taken it is a matter of showing strength to the other. It is easily said and done, flaming of communal tension is an easy matter.

Having said all this, all hope is  not lost. The main reason one can see is because of increasing population and lack of resources. When TN asks for water, what does Karnatake do - deny it, why? because it is a resource they need for themselves, it is not for sharing, mind you is the reply.

Population, population, population, with the advances in medical field only God knows where this is going to end. With this huge population statistics does not lie but as Commentator Sidhu says it reveals more but hides the vital parts. The vital part is the percentage. Every country has its problems and issues, it may not be seen big because the population is less.

Assuming the same problem exist for 1% of population in Sweden and India. One can imagine the magnitude in India (1% of 2 billion!) is huge.  To cut the story short, all countries have issues be it the afro american development in US or the SC/ST development in India, it is the same level playing field. Even if our percentages are same, our numbers are high.

Population control is needed but I am not going Sanjay Gandhi way .. well that is for another day.

So folks looking for human rights violation in India - look in to your own backyard. We do wash our dirty linen in public but you do yours first.

Chennai 19B AC - 2 The art of seat grabbing

One reads in the news of politicians fighting for a seat in the assembly or parliament, getting a seat in 19B is no less effort. One has to devise a strategy, follow it , adapt it as the situation demands, ward of opposition and finally enjoy the spoils.

First of all it is a joke when someone does inquire when the next 19B bus is expected. For even the almighty might stutter to provide a clear answer .  On any city planned or unplanned, one can expect traffic, if not for the platform is reserved for two-wheelers type of Bangalore traffic, there is still some traffic on the roads, free-flowing mostly and jammed occasionally. Hence it is necessary that one has a good eye for catching the arrival of the bus, for there is always a deceiving AC bus (576) arriving to throw you off the plan.

There are other ways to spot that your bus is arriving, just watch the fellow software engineer he/she is bound to be like a deer spotting an attacking tiger, when the bus arrives. Not sure where to run when to run and more importantly when the door will open and which one will open.Once it opens one can see a huge rush from all directions pushing through the door.

The IT folks with their gym toned body, which they frequent once a month in their offices, or the huge tummy they built by sitting on their seats forever would be in full use. The poor ladies try to squeeze in between only to be pushed. Whether the front door alone opens or the back door also opens is a mystery even Sherlock Holmes would find difficult to tell.

All this applies if one stands outside the main bus stand and waits for the bus to drop currently traveling passengers. One wonders how this has become the norm of catching a seat for there is no clear rule on where a bus should stop to take its passengers.

The above rule applies to the active seat seekers. The passive seat seekers stand in the shade behind the bus stand, probably this is the original stipulated bus stop. These people probably do not mind standing inside the bus, some wait for the next empty bus which sometimes comes right behind.

Given the fact that it is sunny and hot even on a December Morning, one wonders the determination to grab a seat, one can only empathize the long travel time if someone travels to places like Siruseri, Navalur and beyond. They wait with their coloured umbrellas and red caps to brave the sun to grab a seat to start the long day at work as fresh as possible.

Chennai 19B AC - A Journey - 1

In Chennai most of the Software crowd go to one road that was called OMR (Old Mahabalipuram Road), now called as Rajiv Gandhi Salai. Many buses ply on this route but the software engineers prefer AC bus since it is more comfortable, it is a volvo bus. It plies from T.Nagar to Kelambakkam.
This is a series I am planning to write on my experiences the various people, rather characters I see, the talkative man (reminding me of Malgudi Days), the women with a burned hand, the ever sad girl , the girl that boards the bus only when there is a seat and so many more.

Getting the seat in the bus is itself an art . The bus I feel is very different from other normal buses is the fact that the crowd is very different here, when one takes other normal (non AC) buses one can feel the different quite easily.

All these for later posts, this is just an intro of things to come.
Now if you accidentally stumbled here to know the route timings I am not going to disappoint





The author takes absolutely no responsibility for delays in above timings as according to law of public transport in  Chennai "only when autos in Chennai run on meter, buses will run on time"

"Love Maya": My entry for the Get Published contest

It was quite unbelievable that he recognized me, it has been 10 years since we saw each other after college, I had added good amount of fat to my tummy and rest of the body; To him I might have looked like an inflated balloon that took 10 long years to inflate day by day, bit by bit, fat by fat, cell by cell.  

Eventhough I had totally forgotten him in the mundane life, the words immediately flashed on my mind

“Every atom in my blood

Says your name

Maya Maya”

It was not great poetry, whether it can be called poetry at all is debatable, but I remember it vividly as sun rays through a glass window in Chennai during May, was due to the fact that it was the first time that I saw something written in blood!  

Movies maybe have shown such nonsense but to see it in real life was a no nonsense experience.  The smell had climbed on to my nose and somewhere as the fat grew bit by bit it had rented a cell and rested comfortably on my brain like an old retired man sitting on his verandah in an easy chair bare chested, watching the traffic pass by having nothing to do but wonder about the son who is away in a foreign country.

Raghu looked the same, short and lean making anyone think of asking when was the last time he ate; the thick moustache looking like a black worm was there between his nose and lips. Lips were as dark as the stark reality of night, tarnished day by day by the smoking he did right from college days. As though smoke had settled, his hair had shades of grey. The only difference was the rim-less glass he was wearing now, this made him looked smarter than what he liked to pretend he was, rightfully so.

Neither I nor Raghu were the easy mingling types but seeing someone from college must have refreshed his memories and the smell inside me suddenly woke up clinging to his love story. The smell suddenly spread like milk spilled from the dropped open feeding bottle of a child, spreading as much as it can, as far as it can, raking the curiosity of the child with every move it made. Like the child splashing and playing the spilled milk, I began playing with it, the division of the class, sudden silence of Eashwar, the cries of people and irritatingly my lack of the full picture woke me up. 

I cared very little to know how he was doing and how he coped up with life after. The smell was only interested in knowing what really happened with him, Maya and Selvam. Sure this was a triangular story of love, betrayal, and hatred but was there more… death?  Why would Eashwar not talk about it? Now that I had the heart in front of me, it was time to dissect it and see what’s inside.  I sharpened my knives, blades, foreceps and clips, put on my mask.

Do you want to enter the operation theatre with me?

This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs from Yashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

Click here to vote if you want to read the rest
Love Maya 

Mouring - Freedom of Speech

Please join me in mouring the death of following and maintain 1 minute silence

Name: Right To Freedom of Speech and expression
Birth Place: India
Date: 15 Aug 1947
Attained Maturity : 26 Jan 1950
Brothers/Sisters: Right to equality, right  to religion etc

Reason for death:
Girl arrested for FB post

May the departed soul rest in peace

I Ve Shed My Tears - D F Karaka - Review

Recently got the privilege of reading the book
"I Ve shed My Tears" - A candid view of resurgant India by D F Karaka

The book was published in the year 1947 and obviously has been written before India got her independence.  However the book touches all aspects of the freedom struggle, criticizing its leaders, praising the common man. Yes this book is a celebration of the rise of the common man and his freedom.

The best part about this book is that there are and will be numerous books on Indian independence and its freedom struggle. However I have never come across a book that looks things from a common Indian's perspective. The view of the middle class and the numerous events that are not known to today's Indian are covered in this book.

The book starts like an autobiography and has touches of the author's private life occasionally but the authors maturity seems to grow with the maturity of Indian struggle for independence. The book covers a wide range of topics from women's liberation, inter caste marriage, caste issues and prejudices and it also covers how in course of the freedom struggle people changed.

The achievements of Indian Army in the WW-II and especially in Italy has been well portrayed making every Indian proud while reading.

If one wants to know how the common man approached the freedom struggle this is a good start. The author is like a spectator and commentator watching things as they unfold on a stadium.  He does provide his opinion but more importantly provides the right picture.

It is amazing to see that the author has identified the root causes of some evils much earlier before even India got independence. He is very critical of one party exposing corruption and hypocrasy in its ranks - Is there a need to name the party :) In this aspect he has clearly foreseen what is going to happen to this country.

The only drawback, if one has to say is that there is a sudden jump from topics and sometimes it seems one is reading a collection of essays.

Nevertheless it is a must read for every Indian. The book may not be easily available but worth every second in trying to find it.  If you are tech savvy then online versions are easily available :)

About the author:  http://www8.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/dosabhai-framji-karaka

Dear IT Fresher :Chapter7: Do's and Dont's in Training

For previous chapters refer to
Previous Chapters

Internet Access:
  All Software It companies do have internet access. All companies have their own internet policy. Companies may restrict internet access based on grades and project needs. During the training days need for internet would be minimal as you would be busy in training and assignments. However to clear some doubts you may use the internet. Some companies do restrict internet access times and especially for trainees this need is not seen.
Use internet diligently, do not let your facebook and twitter access to overshadow the work at hand. Some people may get carried away with full unlimited internet access and leave the focus from training which could prove disastrous.
We would see internet access and policies in detail in a separate chapter later.

E-mail :
 Everyone will have an unique e-mail id created with <company>.com domain. The intention of this id is only for official purposes and the company has every right to inspect and review the mail box. Yes most companies do not mind using this for personal mail but one has to be aware that there is nothing personal in this mailbox. Any admin who has access to the server can read your mails and it is legally allowed.
Given this fact, unless and until something suspicious is happening no one will really sneak in to your inbox. However it is better to keep personal things private and official things official.

Intranet Forum Usage:
Most companies have common public forums within the company similar to many internet public forums. The forums could vary from totally junk items to very specific technical forums. The technical forums usually do not pose problems, even as a fresher you maybe welcome to post very basic queries and some nice techie guy would reply to you.  However it is not advisable to post your assignment here and ask for an answer.
The junk and general discussion forums usually needs some care in what you post. One is certainly not expected to post items favoring a political party or questioning a corporate policy.  However each company will have a policy to draw the lines and these forums are more actively monitored to identify trouble makers. There have been cases where people have been asked from posting apology letters to leaving the company.

Vandaloor zoo review/ Arignar anna zoological park review

Vandaloor zoo or more officially called the arignar anna zoological park is located on the outskirts of Chennai. It is around 6 Kms from Tambaram. This is my attempt to review this place as I hapenned to visit it recently.

Getting there:
Getting there is very easy, though on the outskirts it has very good connectivity.
By Rail, one can catch the local train and get down at Vandalur station. The station is 1 Km from the zoo and can be reached by walk or auto. Though I would not recommend walking as there is lot of walking to be done inside and one should not get tired even before starting. Auto charges around 50 rupees which is high considering the short distance. One can also cross the road from the railway station and catch any bus that goes and get down at the next stop. This would work out cheap.

Best time to get there:
It is always better to go early. 9;30 to 5:30 is the timings. If you plan to go to the zoo on a holiday, it is most likely that there are many people like you. Irrespective of the amount of time you plan to stay, unless you plan to walk 10kms, it is good to be there before 10.

How to see around:
There are multiple ways. walk would be best if you want to see everything but one needs lot of energy and packed food for doing that. It also depends on time you have to go around.
2 hrs: Go early and book the battery car ticket. It goes around for 1 hour or so covering major areas and stopping for main attractions (white tiger, tiger, snakes, hippo). Then one can go around attractions near the gate (varieties of monkeys/baboons etc, aquarium)
4 hrs: Do the battery car and also book the lion safari or hire a cycle and go around
full day: do all of the above maybe walk too

Food:
Better to take own food but plastics are not allowed, they pack them outside in paper and give it to you.  Have not heard good about canteens there but near entrance some food is available

Latest update  (5-Jun-13) : Outside food is not allowed as a deer died after eating a plastic bag. Not sure if this will change in future.

cost:
Not much entrance, bus, safari all cost 30 rupees each.

 cons:
1. Its great to see animals roaming in free area but not in a cage. However they seem far away and need zoom lens for good photos. Small Kids may not be so excited as they are far away.

Otherwise the best and cheapest way to spend ur day with kids

Dear IT Fresher : Chapters

This is a collection of all chapters of "Dear IT Fresher" series. I will update this post as and when a new chapter is written

Preface
Introduction
The Agonizing Wait Time
Joining Day and Formalities
The Training Period -1
The Training Period -2
The Training Period - 3 

Dear IT Fresher: Chapter 6: The Training Period -3 - Do's and Don'ts

Well the training period is your first chance in to the corporate world. You are still not there yet, this is a first step in to it. However please remember that you already are a professional.
Well Congratulations but do remember to behave like one :)

The corporates are pretty much aware that they are taking a bunch of old teenagers in to their campus and hence would have their rule book ready. Most of which would be told or shown or incorporated in to you during orientation.

The first Do would be to follow the rules told clearly.

One very frequently broken rule would be Gaming. Well some companies are smart enough to prevent any form of media from entering their campuses and do not provide a chance to enter their PCs. Well I know some big companies feel it is a perk they give employees and care less.  They may feel as a big corporate it is responsible to allow people to relax and play a bit. You are lucky if you are in one of them but mostly it would be a strict No during training. It would be best advised to keep the Road Rash and Age of Empires away from the training period.  If you want to relax, take a walk, have  a nice cup of tea. Take a stroll to see if really those big pictures you see in media about the company are real.

Second Do would be make friends

This is probably easy for most people but for those who have more friends in facebook than in real life, maybe its time to find new ones. One can say that it depends on the person and one cannot be forced to make friends.
It has multiple benefits. First it helps to build the habit of making friends, since in a big company one would be changing projects frequently, on the average maybe once in a year or two. Hence it is very important to have a friends circle to know the knitty gritties of a project and the company as a whole.
Next, once you are a professional you spend most of your time awake at office. Hence it is important to enjoy and have a life at office apart from work. Besides it is these co-workers who would help you out on a rough day.
The most important benefit especially during training time is the benefit of exchanging notes/ code/ assignments. the concept of copying your friends notes from college may also extend to your training period as well.  For some assignments, it maybe needed that you just copy paste someone's code , rename the variables and submit :) Well it is not ethical, maybe your first unethical corporate act but it happens and it works.

PS: What I thought would be small topic is extending. Some more to come.

Traffic lights in India

One can see traffic signal at many intersections in major cities and in tier-2/3 cities as well .
I was just wondering to what use are these traffic lights when no one cares for it.

On thinking further I realised the following uses

1) For vendors and beggars, traffic lights are the major source of income. When vehicles from all corners come and merge at a junction with no one paying heed to the lights above, the signal becomes a market place. When the traffic becomes lengthy and time taken is more there is a good opportunity to increase the rate or even double it. Hence traffic signals are useful in developing the economy of the nation.

2) For teaching children colours, mainly green and red. However one has to be careful not to teach them that red means stop and green means go as any amount of such assumption reduces ones life expectancy.

3) Checking for cops - this is a very useful benefit of traffic lights. It provides an opportunity for a semi-stop/slow down to ensure no cops are there to catch.

4) For continuing vehicular fights, someone might have brushed you half a kilometer ago and now he might be stuck in the jam. This provides an opportunity for you to give him a piece of your mind or hand.

Some foreigner once asked
"In India do you drive right or left"
The reply was
"Neither"
!!!
"Well right in the middle and when any vehicle comes from opposite side just move to any side you wish"

Dear IT Fresher: Chapter 5: The Training Period - 2

Preface
Introduction
The Agonizing Wait Time
Joining Day and Formalities
The Training Period -1


Every company spends lakhs of rupees to get you trained. Hence it is ensured that you get trained and get trained well. If you do not fit you are shown the door. This is also a period where companies try to test how you perform under pressure. It is very important to perform under pressure and not loose all hope. This is an essential character that one needs to display in the software industry.

The training period would vary from company to company but the content taught would be squeezed.
What content is taught during the training depends on the focus of the company and your background. The course for a computer science student would be different from that of a civil/Mechanical background person.

It may start from 'this is a keyboard, this is a mouse, MOUSE stands for ...' and it will end up in you designing/coding and delivering  a web page for a big company using flash, HTML and all latest languages and technologies - all in a span of 3 to 6 months.

Hence it is important to focus , the tests would be online and mostly multiple choice questions or programs to be written online. It is mostly not possible to copy, it is not possible if you remember the entire content of the material provided. It may not be enough if you manage to get previous questions from previous batches.

One has to understand the underlying concepts and apply them. One also has to be clear on the question, as in programming a small mistake would change the results (using = Vs ==) dramatically.

The training is neither a school nor a college nor a free for all. It takes the worst of all and combines them. Some companies take attendance 4 times a day during training period. If you do not believe read the first statement of this chapter again.

It is not difficult to clear the training , at the same time it is much much easier to fail. For some, this maybe the first time that someone encounters a failure in exams but one has to be bold enough as well to re write the test and clear it.

When you join a project later, your project manager may have full access to your score and this may affect the first impression he/she gets about you and it may stay for long.

Hence it is important to treat the training with importance. Yes there may be times when you can copy paste the answer or copy a program/project from earlier batches but ensure you get across the line.

The training period is the time where you would find the least support in a company and if you are lucky maybe the most difficult time of your career. Hence give it the due diligence and just get it over. Better days are waiting where things would be more in your control.

However if you do not clear please be assured that this is not the end of life.

Dear IT Fresher: Chapter 4: The Training Period-1

Preface
Introduction
The Agonizing Wait Time
Joining Day and Formalities


Nasscom says most of engineers coming out of colleges are not employable.  For this very reason most or all of IT companies train employees from 1 to 3 months or even more and then only deploy freshers on project. Again once inside the project there would be a training on specifics that we would see in later chapters.

If you feel that your studying is over and you have done a good job and have landed in a plush job and achieved life's goal and can relax and enjoy the money and freedom. THINK AGAIN.
Indian cricket team reached No1 ranking in tests in 2011 after a lot of hard work but came a cropper against England and Australia and were unable to maintain the ranking. This is exactly what could happen to you if you are complacent .

Personally I know people who have been kicked out of companies when they do not do well in the training period. As someone rightly said "DON'T LOVE YOUR COMPANY, YOUR COMPANY DOES NOT LOVE YOU". For the company it is business and if they find that you do not fit to professional environment then you don't fit here.

Every company has its own style of training program, which has evolved over the years based on feedback from various quarters (projects, engineers etc). You will receive your training plan and schedule as soon as you join probably on the first day itself. If you carefully observe the plan it maybe scheduled for 8 hours tightly but be prepared to spend extra 2 to 3 hours to complete your assignments. You will be given time to finish the assignments but be prepared to put extra effort if you could not finish on time.

A simple approach could be to switch off the fact that you are working and think you are in a High school/ Junior college. The treatment would be same. Ofcourse no one would question you for not doing an assignment or punish you but everything would reflect in the final marks scored per subject. The pass marks are usually very strict and if you fail you would be given a second chance but beyond a second chance, depends on companies policies.

Some companies conduct another interview or a viva, Some prefer to wait till you finish all courses and see if you are weak in only one subject or so . However in every training batch it is possible that 1 to 3% of people are sent back home/ asked to resign/ Terminated for non-performance. It must be your aim not to fall in this percentage.  It is very easy to fall in to this percentage if you treat this like a college and do not have prior knowledge on subjects.

Most big and medium companies have dedicated training centers with world class facilities and probably have hostels as well attached. There would be a library which would be well equipped with books for reference and with internet facilities. You would be allocated a system or need to share with someone a system. It may or may not have internet but would be well equipped with what you need to work.

It would be better to follow the KISS principle.(Keep It Simple Stupid).

You have crossed 14years of school, 4 years of engineering, it is not very difficult to cross 3 or 6 months of company training. All you need to do is do the basics right. It would be a bit difficult if you are from a  course that is not related to computers (civil, mech, chemical metallury etc). However the company that recruited you knows this well so the courses are designed in such a way that anyone with logical sense could understand an clear it.

It is not that difficult to get past this phase and then it is a different world altogether.
There are a few more things to note during training in the next chapter...

Dear IT Fresher: Chapter 3 - Joining Day and Formalities

Preface
Introduction
The Agonizing Wait Time

Once the joining date is finalized and you are ready to start your working career it is important to check a few things before starting your next phase in life.

1. Documentation :
Verify you have all documents the company needs on joining date. Any good company usually shares the list of things they would require you to bring on joining day (like marksheet, passport etc).
If you do not have any of it then it is better to intimate and check with your contact person in HR. Most likely it should not be a problem, remember you are entering corporate world and not a school so do not expect strict rules, however try to be professional in explaining your situation. For example if you don't have  a passport yet then it might be ok to show proof that you have applied for one.
Side Note: The jump to becoming a true professional is a journey and not an easy one. It varies from people to people, the aim of this book is to help everyone succeed this journey quickly.

2. Understand the dress Code:  
Some companies do not care and do not have a dress code. If you are joining one then you don't need to bother much but still at least in the initial days it would be good to dress in formals (unless it is frowned upon) to show you are trying to be professional. Especially when you are yet to make an impression with your work, it is better to have personal appearance good so that people don't make any negative impressions straight away.
If there is a dress code, it is better to follow it. Be it wearing a tie on a sunny hot day or wearing a belt even if the pant is so tight just do it. It is childish that some companies do have security check and impose a fine but it is better not to find yourself on wrong side than just adjust .

3. Other policies
If there are any other policies are guidelines any company is entitled to inform you of the same and it would be part of your documentation either before joining or at least with the joining set of documents the company would provide you. This may include anything from using public e-mail forums to sexual harassment. It is better to go through them with due diligence lest find yourself facing eviction. Yes companies are very strict with respect to ethics ( Internally they might be violating many) and would not think to show the door to someone found violating them. As a fresher one stands absolutely no chance when it comes violation of ethics.

4. Travel & Accommodation
If your home town and the city of work are different, usually the company arranges a week or two for your stay until you find your way in the city and rent an accommodation. If you are not sure check with HR and ensure you have necessary documents when you checkin to the hotel. Also make plans to reach the office if the company does not provide transport as well. Remember to be on time the first  day, plan well.  Start the habit of planning the night for the next day, this would take you places as you grow your career.

The training is an important part of a freshers entry to the IT world, this we would see in the next chapter.

Human Life - Cheapest thing in India

Just as I was about to write on the 2/3 day old baby being killed for 200rupees in a Hospital, I see the news that 40+ people have been killed in a train accident. This is just few days after there is severe riots in Assam where around 50 people died and lakhs displaced.

Is the situation today any different from 1947 partition, where Hindus and Muslims killed each other with utter disregard for life or again at Godhra in 2000?

Well the saddest thing is Human Life is the most easily available thing in India.

The boon and the bane of India is its population.

In a big ocean if one takes a cup of water and throw it out, does it make any difference? This is the attitude we live everyday. We read in the news of so many deaths everyday, maybe provide our heartfelt condolences until we read till the end of the line and move on.

Well life teaches us to move on, I am not saying that one should sit and brood over someones death, but contemplate what we would do when if it were our near and dear ones. Won't we fight the system.

What is the bloody government doing? Give 1 lakh rupees for the dead as compensation. Well even my road side beggar would earn more than 1 lakh in a life-time. Does that mean if I pay 1 lakh to the Government I can take a life?

This is not one Government 2 goverments doing this, It has been the same all of India's independant history. Why?


Because there are just too many of us.


What if 100 people die, no one will notice in a Billion. Look at foreign countries, they have so many safety systems, why? because they do not have so many people, they need to care and nourish people. Even in few countries they give incentive if you give birth to more than 2 kids. Still the streets have a very deserted look even on a busy day, with Indians filling these countries.


yes we are just too many, so we don't really care if we loose a few, we can also give birth to more. Who cares what happens next door.

Short story - This will also pass

Note: This is not my story. I heard it from somewhere (in Tamil ). Felt it is necessary for people to know and is an attempt to translate. If someone knows the author, would love to acknowledge.

Once upon a time there was a King who ruled his kingdom happily. People were happy about his style of ruling, taxes were less and everyone was happy.
Suddenly things changed, his close friend betrayed him and joined the enemy and soon the King lost his kingdom, his family and everything dear and close to him.  On request of his old friend turned foe, his life was spared.
Having lost everything near and dear to him, he did not find any motivation to live and after being humiliated he did not find any right to live. Thinking so he was sitting on top of a cliff, thinking of jumping, when a saint in his saffron wardrobe passed by. The saint very well knew about the king and he quickly realized the state of mind of the King. He wrote something on a leaf and gave it to the King.
The king read and read the leaf again and again, confidence grew in him. Just as he was sitting his old ministers came there with a bunch of soldiers, they took care of the King. The King and his men went in to hiding for some time to regroup . Since the King had many well wishers in the kingdom , it was not difficult to find support.
The King launched an attack soon on the enemy and regained his kingdom. The poeple in his kingdom were so happy and they decided to have a big fair and function to welcome their King.
On his return procession, the streets were fully decorated with flowers and garlands, people were dancing and laughing and the King in their midst was slowly riding his chariot.
Suddenly there was a hush in the crowd and the old sage was running towards the King. The King's soldiers tried to stop him but the King prevented them from doing so. The sage again gave him a leaf, the King in all humbleness took the leaf.
The King thought that the sage gave him confidence that time and now probably he is giving him some advice to rule. The King to his suprise realized that it was the same old leaf that he had been given in which it was written
"This phase will also pass on"
The King realized that being happy or sad is only a phase and it will soon pass on, that is the meaning of life. Ups and Downs are part of life and being extremely happy or extremely sad does not help and one has to realize this to lice peacefully.

Media and Molestation

Well this is on the Guwahati molestation case that has gone viral on the media. I just have a few questions to the media

1) The girl was molested once three days ago, how long are you going to show the video and clippings again and again and again. Is this not outraging the modesty of a women?

2) Your questions on police inaction are very valid. However what was your reporter doing there watching and calling the cameraman to film it. Will he be doing the same if the girl were his sister?

3) Is this media ethics and social responsibility to watch everything from sidelines, make it a breaking news and complain inaction from politicians and police. Dammit you were at an arms hand and did nothing.

Does media know only to sensationalize and not act. Is TRP more important than ethics?

Dear IT Fresher: Chapter 2 : The agonizing wait time

Preface
Introduction

Usually companies do some research on market conditions and then only recruit freshers but as people who run companies are also humans, they make mistakes and postpone the joining date.
Sometimes some companies have clear plans and sometimes it is just vague. However usually companies do honor the commitment, I am not going to go in companies that do not.

First it is foremost to understand why this happens. As in said in earlier chapter you have to be aware of market conditions and economic situation of the world. In 2000-2001, there was a recession especially after 9/11 attacks, dot com burst etc. In 2008 again there was a recession from which we have not yet recovered and people talk about a double dip recession etc.

Well leaving the economic jargons, let us see what is the issue. One has to understand first what is bench and why it is a necessary evil. A person in bench is someone who has undergone training and is ready to be deployed to any realtime project, however there are no such real time project for which this guy can be billed to the customer. Hence this person has to wait his turn for the company to get a project in which he could be deployed.

One can logically ask, then why don't the company recruit as and when there is a need. Well the problem is any fresher needs to be trained to be project ready which takes 3 to 6 months, based on company policy etc and also no customer would be ready for his project to start 3 or 6 months down the line. You see in this world anything could change in a matter of 3 to 6 months. In fact in a matter of few hours 9/11 attack happened and the world changed.

Hence all companies have bench to show the customers they have so many people ready to be deployed in their project. Hence it is necessary to recruit people. However 10% is a good number for bench is what some experts say, if this number goes higher and higher it is a problem for the company. They cannot pay you for nothing, hence they stop new people from joining this pool of benched people.

This is why even you have an offer from the company, your joining dates are not certain. This is mostly true only in troubled times where customers are cautious and do not want to over spend or start new projects.

As a fresher you can ask what can I do if my joining date is deferred, other than pinging the HR.
Well there are a few things one can do as it may help you say when you lookout for next job or even to sell yourself to a customer.

I can think of following items
1) Still look for a job, maybe you can work on another company till you join this company, or maybe you may find this job better and continue. Who knows. It is good not to have gaps in your resume, whoever sees your resume would question.

2) Join some course that would help you improve your skills or take a certification. It will give you an edge over others.

3) Basically do anything that would make you more employable

It may sound that I am talking of a rat race and one has to be first.Well the fact is IT IS.
Thousands of freshers join the industry every year, thousands could be joining along with you, the question is how are you going to stand out in the crowd. This must be the question that you have to think and act when you are waiting for that joining day

26/11 Attacks: India's Dossier and Pak's denail

Year: 2112
Headline News: India send dossier to Pakistan on 26/11 Attacks. Pakistan denies role asks for more proof

Don't be surprised if your grandson reads the above news.
I mean what the hell, how many more dossiers are to be sent to Pakistan, knowing the obvious answers. There is a saying "You can wake up someone who is asleep, not one who pretends to be asleep".
It is clear Pakistan was involved, this is a well known secret. It is clear that the whole world knows it. it is clear they will not admit in public then why go on.
Either have the guts like Mossad or FBI to get in kill and get out or just shut up.
One can understand that this is not the time to wage a war and put the country and world's already volatile economic situation to a turmoil but at least one can stop making a fool of themselves in front of the whole world and media.
One has to really appreciate the patience and persistence of India, at least in this aspect the country is following Gandhian principles. Maybe as a goodwill we should release Kasab and give him Bharat Ratna, then maybe Pakistan Government would admit they had a role in 26/11.

2012 olympics - when , where, schedule, dates, logo, mascot, results

It is surprising to see many people are not aware of the details of the 2012 Olympics.
I am trying to summarize a few facts as ready reckoner

It is being held in London, England, UK.
Opening ceremony is on 27th July (Football starts on 25th though)
Closing ceremony is on 12th August

Logo : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:All_London_2012_logos.svg

Mascot:Wenlock and Mandeville

Official Website:
www.london2012.com

Loads of information available at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Summer_Olympics

Schedule and results at
 www.london2012.com/schedule-and-results/

Tirumala Tirupathi - corruption to the core

Well if you plan to visit Tirumala Tirupathi anytime, only two things are certain

1) Money is omnipresent and omnipotent
2) The Lord in all his magnanimity will not extend his hand for money, rest will do

Well the legend has it that the Lord Venkatesa wanted to marry Goddess Padmavathy and needed money so he borrowed lots of money from Kuberan (Lord of Money) . As a devotee we are trying to pay back the money Lord got so that he can repay Kuberan.

It is true that lots of money flows in to the hundi and the authorities are doing a lot to make the pilgrims feel at home. I am not sure about the exact status of Lord's debt and the interest incurred, if it were like EMI then no matter how much money is paid it won't fulfill the debt after so many long years.

The fact is the people in and around the Lord right in front of his nose are snatching money, cutting all corners and demanding money. Everywhere you go money is demanded as a birth right.  I felt total foolishness in Anna Hazare's campaign after a visit to Tirupathi, there is corruption in every Indian, every soul and he is trying to cleanse the society. Annaji please visit Tirupathi and realize India is not what Gandhi dreamt of .

When someone demands money in front of his own God illegally, what sort of ethical sense does the place make. I mean the sense of spirituality is totally lost.

For head tonsure sitting right below the board stating "Do not pay anything extra for the barber" the barber demands 500 rupees. Only comfort factor is that he completes the shave and asks not in the middle. What sort of guts a person has sitting just below the board and demanding money, which is against the boards orders. The same is repeated at ear piercing/boring place - 500 rupees demanded.

One goes to temple, someone or the other plucks few Tulsi leaves and says it is from some puja and asks for money.  Stories of cutting the queue for money is well known. Give 1000/2000 rupees I will join you right in front of the gate, many touts can be seen bargaining.

End of the day, the view of the Lord ranges only from Microsecond to minisecond, if you manage to keep your head straight despite all pushing and shoving. Well here too if you manage to give 10 rupees in a manner hidden from the camera, you can view for few seconds. Money pays.

All this for a pilgrimage of spirituality!

I will be the least surprised if anti-social elements use this to full effect. It is a clear disaster waiting to happen.
Corruption is so rampant that unless one day Lord comes alive from the statue and slaps somebody on the face things are going downhill.

Dear IT Fresher: Chapter - 1 : Introduction

Congratulations on making it to the IT industry. Well not everyone makes it atleast that's what any company you join would make you believe. Your first day might be same as the scene in "3 Idiots" movie where the principal shows hundreds of applications rejected. The only difference would be you would be in a cozy auditorium with some middle or senior management HR guy telling you that you are one in a million to have made it to the company.

Well the reality always lies somewhere between the truth and false. Any case you can give yourself a pat in the back for making it to the IT industry. It may be you dream industry or your dream salary or dream company but hold on do some reality checks before you build castles in air.

It is not that difficult to get in to an IT company especially with large companies recruiting 20 to 30 thousand an year. Companies have become so desperate that they have reduced the strictness on joining criteria. I know of a company that once recruited freshers without even interviewing them, just based on a written test people were recruited. Companies that said only engineers would be recruited lowered their guard and started taking some science students. I sometimes felt some companies would hang board saying "Trespassers would be Recruited".

However the point is not to demean your achievement but to say that there are lots and lots of crowd at the same level as you are and joining companies as you are. Hence you have to think what makes you special.

NASSCOM says only 25% of IT graduates are employable. The question you have to ask yourself is am I within this 25% or not. This book is not to make you enter the 25% or an attempt to increase this to more than 25% . This book is only a reality check irrespective of where you belong.

All IT companies have trainings for freshers be it a large company or small be it a formal training or not. So one does not need to worry if he/she is employable but how soon one can become employable. The question one has to ask is how soon can I contribute to my own development as well as my company's.

The first thing to do is "Be Aware".

Being aware of many things would help you in making the right contributions at the right time and having right expectations in reaping rewards for your work.

The things will change as time progresses and hence one must always be aware of the following things

First thing to be aware is the size of your company.

Large Companies: The ones that have lakhs of employees world wide. Have multiple development centres(DC) world wide.

Medium Companies: Have Maximum around Ten thousand employees and have few development centres
Small companies: Have very few hundreds of employees and have only one or two DCs

It is easy to find this information from internet.
The size of your DC also matters.
There is a simple technique to identify this. Just think of your visibility to senior management. If your boss's boss doesn't know you even after working in the project for a few months. Chances are it is a large company. If there is decent visibility it is a medium company and high visibility like center head knowing you by name it is small company.


The growth of the company and your own growth also matters but it is necessary to be aware of this information.



Next is industry and market condition.

There are two things here, one is what the media says and other is what situation the company is in. If there is a recession, slowdown etc the chances are you will know it well before the media does. Just look for signs such as salary hike, promotions, new projects won, recruiting pattern of the company etc . These would indicate to you what situation the market and company are in.
As a fresher you may not have access to all this information but keep your eyes and ears open and there is nothing wrong in having a chit chat with some senior folks on understanding the situation.

Third is project situation . This we will deal in later chapters in detail.

Summary:
Start your ground work on knowing your working conditions and environment and as you grow in the organization, keep your eyes and ears open. Be aware so you can be prepared.