Prashant Ivaturi

Gastu's first Sankranti in India

2012-01-15T17:37:00.001+05:30

As most of India celebrates the harvest season, we too celebrate Sankranti in a big way. Bhogi is the first of the three day festive celebrations.

Bhogi Manta

It was Gastu's first Sankranti in India since returning from the US. My mother in law made a lovely colorful rangoli in front of the house. Girija brought mango leaves to tie them to the door. We made some sweets for the festival and invited a few of our neighbours from the building for the Bhogi Pallu festival for Gastu. It is a ritual in our household to celebrate Bhogi Pallu till the kids reach an age of 5 years. All elders come home home and bless the kid(s).

While I am not an expert on the festival, here's a write up on that. Those who are interested may read more on http://www.srimeru.org/balavihar/sankranthi.html

Kite Flying

Happy Sankranti to all of you! May the year be good to you.

Birds at ISB

2012-01-09T00:08:00.001+05:30

Recently we found out that ISB is host to nearly 100 different species of birds. Retd. Prof. Raghoo Sinha, the father of our current faculty Prof. Ruchi Sinha penned down a book with nearly 68 different species of birds captured in it.

He volunteered to organize bird watching tours for the ISB community and today I took the tour along with my mother in law. We went to the '08 Lounge by 7.20 AM and started the tour by 7.30 AM. We saw close to 15-20 different birds - some rare species too. Of the names that I could remember (and/ or comprehend) were Bulbul, Cormorant, Dip chicks, Kingfisher, Heron, Sunbird, Egret, House swift, Painted Stork, Dove, Pigeon and Peacock. I learnt a little about birds, how they eat, how they act, and what they do. For a man who thought that a dip chick was a duck, this was invaluable!

The tour lasted all of 2 hrs, but the memories will last longer and will leave a deep impact. An experience not worth missing!

Thirty or more

2012-01-04T00:54:00.001+05:30

A nice little birthday. A visit to Charminar, buying of bangles and some dresses. A good dinner, lots of happiness, and a little introspection at the end of it. Thirty years gone by. Three decades of life. Each a different shade. The first decade went by in observing and learning. The second decade went in observing and learning some more. And the third decade went by, in trying to apply that learning. A marriage, a visit to a few countries, and a kid - all as per plan. Or was it?

Thirty years, in percentage terms, it is even more than that. With an average life expectancy of 70 years, it is above 40% of life gone by. And given a retirement age of 60, it is 50% of our life behind us now. Reality hits hard. But when it hits, the urge to accomplish something increases even more. What can I do to make the most of the next 30 years of my life?

I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and have my own firm. It is time to take that plunge and start turning that dream in to reality. It is now or never.

1000 years of history

2011-12-30T00:24:00.000+05:30

Ramappa Temple

Two weeks ago, we decided to take a road trip from Hyderabad to Warangal - the place where I spent four of my unforgettable years of under-graduation. I really wanted to go visit the place during my one year stay at ISB Hyderabad and also wanted to show it to my wife and kid. It materialized as a sudden idea one fine day and things fell in place immediately after.

Thousand Pillared Temple, Warangal

While we went to the school late in the evening, during the day we visited the thousand pillared temple and Ramappa temple. We were treated to lovely sights at both places . Both these temples have such great architecture that you wonder how they managed to erect them in those days when technology was not as advanced as it is today. It is a shame that people in the country still don't value them enough and vandalise them in many ways. But, I am glad that the government is restoring them, so that people can see them in full grandeur.

I guess, we all need to realize that we inherit the culture from history and historic marvels like these are testimonials to what can be achieved with talent, skill and determination. We have a great potential that we can unleash and help write history of our own.

An applicant guide to Indian School of Business Hyderabad

2011-12-15T02:31:00.003+05:30

Just yesterday, I gave an interview to GyanCentral who published the story. Here it is...

An applicant guide to Indian School of Business Hyderabad

ISB Leadership Summit 2011, AACSB and ISB@10

2011-12-12T18:36:00.000+05:30

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are my own and not of the school's.

Long before I had joined ISB, I had not thought about contesting elections to be on the Graduate Student Board, leave alone how to organize the flagship event of the school. Even when I came to ISB, I only wanted to join the Music Club as that is my hobby. However, when I spoke to a few friends of mine, they gave me the confidence and the rest, as they say is history.

While winning the elections was a big achievement in itself, I was entrusted upon the job of organizing the school's flagship event - the ISB Leadership Summit (ILS). It boasted of some sterling speakers in the past, but this time it had to be different. It was the 10th year of the school and we wanted to differentiate ourselves. With that in mind, and with the objective of involving as many people as possible, I started on a journey.

From thinking of the event's design to recruiting a bunch of people who could make or break the difference, it was an arduous task. We played with the event format, we played with the speaker sessions, we spaced out the club panel discussions and did whatever we could to ensure everyone got a chance to attend all sessions.

It was a fun ride all the way through! Kaumudi, the lead coordinator for ILS did excellently in garnering the troops and helping with the entire event. It was a triple happy occasion for ISB as it was the 10th year anniversary of the school, and also that very morning we got to know that our school was AACSB accredited.

I was very glad to know that our efforts to get the school accredited put paid and that set the happy tone for the rest of the event! This will remain a defining moment in my life and I will cherish the memories for a long time to come.

Goa 2011

2011-10-09T15:42:00.001+05:30

Nostalgia, fun, euphoria ... and much much more! That's what Goa is all about.

The first time I went to Goa was with my college buddies - about a decade ago. Then again, when I was in Pune in 2006-07, I went there with colleagues and had equal amount of fun. This time, I went there with my wife on a vacation after a hectic 4 terms of MBA at ISB. After having seen some really good beaches in the USA, our expectations were not that high. But Goa never stops to amaze me. It was as good fun as it was in any other part of the world. Beach beds, massages, lovely beaches, lots of shopping... wow!

Should we really be scared of the economic turmoil?

2011-09-22T10:26:00.001+05:30

Countries and corporations credit ratings are being downgraded.
Economies are shrinking.
Companies are downsizing.
Dollar, the ever so stable currency, seems to be deteriorating. Yuan is being talked about as an alternative.

Are these signs of an economic downturn? While infrastructure industry seems to be doing well and sees the brighter side, banks and IT companies are being extremely cautious. It is a direct impact of the recent happenings in the global markets. How long will it last is a question that not even the best of our leaders can answer. Nobel prize winners, market predictors, PhDs have no clue.

The common man is as confused as the people who run large organizations and national policy makers. Its scary to think of such lack of control. What kind of education is then required? There are only questions and no concrete answers yet!

Happy Teacher's Day!

2011-09-05T16:34:00.001+05:30

Happy Teacher's Day!

A day when we recognize the efforts of all our teachers - our mother, our school, college and any other teacher who taught us something in life. To a job, that is really thankless in this society, here's really wishing a Happy Teacher's Day!

my travel map

2011-09-01T17:59:00.002+05:30

View my profile
Create your own travel map or travel blog
Flights comparison at TripAdvisor

Excitement of a new year

2011-01-27T12:44:00.001+05:30

tap to edit

The Jelly Beans story

2011-01-22T04:06:00.001+05:30

The year was 2006. I had just started on the new project (Margin Management) in Chicago and was catching up. It was our first meeting with Dan. Subodh, Emmanuel, Kavitha and I were there in the room with Dan. We had a lot of questions about the application. Dan brought in a cup full of colorful jelly beans and announced that we would get one or more jelly beans depending on how good our questions were.

As we went ahead asking questions, he went on passing some jelly beans to the person who raised the questions. As it was a client meeting, we did not eat any of the jelly beans, but then Dan interrupted and asked us to go ahead and eat some. As soon as we put them in our mouth, we realized that we did not like those and they tasted real bad. We did not want to upset Dan and tried to put on a brave face (I am sure he would have made out that we did not like them). Kavitha just kept her mouth closed and did not chew on them.

Dan asks each one of us “Did you like them”?

Emmanuel, Subodh and I say differing answers, but each one of us just try to down play it by saying they are “OK”, “not bad” or just “hmmm”.

He then looks at Kavitha and asks her the same.

Kavitha’s mouth is still closed, and with a pitiful face she shakes her head to convey “No, I did not quite like them”.

Dan says, “Spit it out if you don’t like them. Oh, by the way, that was beef flavored. There are variety of flavors in these –chicken, beef, earwax, bacon and vomit!” and gives a wry smile.

We were dumb struck, thinking which flavor we just ate. And hearing those names did not sound quite attractive. We were tempted to run to the rest room and spit out everything. But here we were, in our very first meeting with the client – one that could make or break the relationship. One that could create a negative/ positive image. So, we quietly swallowed it and cleansed our mouth afterwards. It became a hot topic for discussion for us after the meeting.

And just before we were about to leave for the day, Dan came up to us and apologized for the prank that he played on us. Little did he realize then that some of us were vegetarians and may not have taken the episode in the right spirit. He was appreciative of the fact that we were polite and did not take the joke rudely. His son had seen those jelly beans on TV and Dan bought it for him. But he too, just like us, did not like them. That was why Dan brought them to work and wanted to play a prank on someone. We were the unfortunate ones to become ‘bakras’, but looking back, it was in good jest.

He has not played a prank on us since, but that one incident gave him an idea of how polite we can be. He recently brought another cup to work to mark our 5^th anniversary, but this time the flavours were not as bad. I am attaching a picture of that. So, that my friends is the story of the Jelly Beans.

2010-07-18T02:40:00.003+05:30

My first experiments with my Canon Rebel XSI DSLR camera

2010-07-18T02:16:00.001+05:30

Are politicians using the parliament's time well?

2010-05-07T02:26:00.003+05:30

Politician's give long speeches about their vision for the country. They talk about how time at hand should be used for addressing the basic issues. However, when it comes to discussions on issues in the parliament, are they using the parliament's time in the right way? Oppositions stage walk outs over petty issues; parliament is adjourned due to uncontrollable arguments; answers don’t arrive for some of the most important of internal issues. It does not matter which party is in the opposition. They all have done it in the past. With the constant bickering about which issues should be given priority, the main theme of addressing the very issues is lost somewhere.

Take for example yesterday's debate in the parliament over caste based census and infiltration. Aren't both issues of priority to the nation? What is more important - deciding their priority or to address each one of them one after the other and use time in a fruitful way? At the end, the parliament was adjourned without a solution. Has it helped anybody?

Our so called 'leaders' take a lot of things personally, than objectively and end up wasting precious time and tax payer’s money. There is a strong need for better governance and understanding of the importance of usage of time. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's "samay ka sadupayog" – is a lesson about good use of time that is taught in almost every school in

India

. And yet, the basic lesson is forgotten by our visionary leaders. It’s a pity that this is what we elect them for.

A surprise baby shower day!

2010-04-12T09:39:00.003+05:30

Everybody in this world loves a surprise once in a while, and what better when your most loved ones give that surprise to you when you least expect them to. The unexpected joy compounded with the knowledge that so many people wish well for you is such a great feeling.

The plan: Couple of weeks ago, Madhavi Angara garu and Annu Ganti garu (close family friends to Girija and me) called me and asked me about plans for a baby shower for Girija. As we had not planned anything, I was not sure about it. We had been thinking that we would wait for Girija's mom to come and then have a traditional baby shower in the ninth month of her pregnancy. But, deep down somewhere I knew that she was feeling lonely and was missing out on the celebrations associated with a pregnant lady in the seventh month. I therefore went ahead with their idea of organizing a surprise baby shower for her.

We went ahead full steam, I spoke to them on the phone from office, sent them mails from my office address, and kept things as discrete as possible. I called up all common friends (who became the invitees) and then planned to have the baby shower on Saturday April 10th 2010. I was excited and terrified at the same time because I did not know how Girija would react if she got to know that we were planning this event. It got to my head so much that I could not sleep properly on Friday night.

Sai and Neelima (Girija's cousins who stay close to our place in Chicago), were accomplices in this mischief surprise event too. They jumped up on the idea of this surprise and were awesome in hiding it. They played along nicely and kept the secret till the end. It helps so much to have close family members who really care for you and we can only thank our stars for sending such angels around us.

The trick: I had to think too hard to convince Girija with a genuine sounding plan - one that she could not say 'no' to, and one that she would not doubt. After a lot of thought and discussion with Madhavi garu, I told Girija that we were being invited to a friend's house for a lunch party as they had recently finished the construction and decoration of their house's basement. I also made up the story that Sai & Neelu would give us a ride to Aurora as they were going to the temple the same day. To add a little more weight around it, I told her that it would be a nice occasion to meet up the Angara family, who would then go away on a vacation to India and wont be around during the birth of our baby. She agreed to it initially, but was hesitant to come on Saturday as she did not sleep well on Friday night. I somehow persuaded her to come along and she half-heartedly got dressed. I held on to my nerves till we reached Annu garu's house.

The execution: As we reached Annu garu's house, I saw Suneel Muppana's car following behind our car and was scared that Girija might find out earlier than I thought. However, she was perplexed and did not know what was happening around her. And as we rang the bell to their house and the door opened, there was a chorus "S U R P R I S E ! ! !" from the people inside. For a minute, Girija could not comprehend what was going on and then it struck her that we were all gathered there for her baby shower party. The look on her face at that moment was more than enough to tell the tale and I sighed a huge sigh of relief on a successful surprise.

The arrangements were as elaborate as one would expect at a great party and I was overwhelmed by the caring touches given to it. I loved the fact that everything was thought out and planned so well. Madhavi and Annu garu prepared for the event till 3 am the previous night and spent the time in cooking (yummy to the tummy pulihora, perugu vadas, vankaya kura, carrot beans kura with grated coconut, payasam, chalividi, mavidikaya pappu, sambar, chutney, ooru mirapakaayalu), making goody bags, decorations, cleaning and organizing all other stuff! So much effort, and a lot more care and affection. Having organized events various events myself, I know how much hard work goes in to it. Sometimes, even parents don't do that much for their own kids.

The surprise will remain one of the best that I would have ever pulled off on anyone and it was even more special because it was on Girija. While I am totally thankful to Madhavi garu, Annu garu for being so nice and affectionate and caring to make the day so memorable for both of us, I cannot really weigh down the contribution of all our other good friends who helped make this day so sweet. The entire party was so enjoyable and we never felt for a moment that we were this distant from home.

We were exhausted, more from the celebrations and the overwhelming emotions than anything else, and when we headed out from the party in the evening, we were still lost in the thoughts of the party and the way it was organized. I could see that little smile in the corner of Girija's face still in tact, despite her physical exhaustion too. To say that she loved it would have been an understatement. I could see that despite her shyness at all the attention, she was enjoying her moment of celebration.

Photos of the baby shower

Scene 2: Girija thought that we were done for the day with surprises. But little did she know that there was another surprise waiting for her. Rama - one of her closest friends in town (even literally), had invited us over for a small get together of friends that included a game night as well. It was just an occasion to meet up with a new bunch of friends (Gayatri and Pradeep Sadhu) and have some fun together. Sai and Neelima were invited as well, but Girija did not know.

Tired, exhausted and late from the first party, we headed straight to Rama's house. Girija requested Sai/ Neelima to drop us off at their place and they obliged without hesitation. Sai and I had a quiet chuckle at that and gave a condescending smile. When we got off the car, I asked Sai and Neelu to come upstairs to get introduced to Rama and Ramesh and then leave. Girija was perplexed again as she could not understand why I did that. It was only when she entered the house that she got to know that we were celebrating the coming of a new one. She was filled with joy once more and despite the physical exhaustion, she continued to be in a land of surprises the rest of the evening.

Rama and Ramesh brought a beautiful cake for her and had decorated the wall of their living room. It was so sweet of them to think of such things that bring so much joy. Rama and Ramesh are so adorable that they have become more of an elder brother and sister to us than friends and it was evident in the way they thought about these things. It was therefore understandable that Girija expected them to be there in the morning party too, but had that happened, she would not have had a surprise in the evening.We had sumptuous food (again yummy to the tummy cauliflower manchurian, cabbage kura, vankaya kura, pappu pulusu and appadams)! We were so exhausted by then that we gave the gaming a skip. We decided that we would come back again another day.While the evening get together was not as big as the one in the morning, the hearts behind the event were equally as big, no doubt.

Photos of the second baby shower

Sai, Neelima and Inesh, over the last couple of years have become so close to us that people naturally ask Sai and me if we are brothers. They accompanied us all day long and helped to keep this a tight suspense! It must have been a tiring day for them too, but not at one moment did they express it. I owe it to them too for seeing us through a lovely day.

It is so good to see how people can make your day when you least expect them to. And 'o boy', they did in splendid fashion that it will remain etched in our memories for eternity!

The Indian Student Pledge

2010-02-22T18:37:00.003+05:30

Long time ago, back in school, we used to recite this every single morning. It became a habit, a routine. But this morning, out of nowhere, I recollected it and Girija and I could not remember the full text. Immediately, we looked up on the internet and found this fond pledge, which I never want to forget.

India is my country and all Indians are my brothers and sisters.

I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage.

I shall always strive to be worthy of it.

I shall give my parents, teachers and all elders, respect, and treat everyone with courtesy.

To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion.

In their well being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness.

JAI HIND
Written by the great Swami Vivekananda, I never thought I will be staying in the same city where he made the biggest international speech of his lifetime.

Complain, we do!

2009-11-18T12:25:00.003+05:30

I am busy - I complain.
I don't have work - I complain.

Hmmm... interesting, isn't it? Interesting, my foot! I say "disgusting". Life can never be just right! We find ways to complain and make our life stressful that we forget to enjoy how involved we are with an activity or how much time we have on hands to do something which means a lot to us. Complain, we do!

So much so that it becomes a cliche. So much so that the other person is bored to listen to us. So much so that we procrastinate things. So much so that we create our own mental blocks to under perform.

I say let's get a move on and go finish those unfinished tasks, those things which matter to us. Those things of which we are scared in life. Those things that we wanted to save for another day. Life is limited, make the most of it. If you are busy, then how did we get the time to complain? If we have all the time in the world, why do we complain? We don't count our blessings. But yes, complain, we do!

Grit and Determination

2009-11-17T08:01:00.001+05:30

Yesterday, I saw a football game between Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots. Two great teams and two great quarterbacks. Both have a great record this year in the NFL and going into this game, I could not have guessed who would win. Looking at the colts record I thought that they might win the match. But two quarters into the game and I felt that the colts were slightly underprepared for this match. But as with many great teams and great players, these guys never gave up. They were trailing by 14 points in the last quarter and went on to win the game 35-34 in the dying moments of the game! Such was their determination to win and their never give up attitude that they continued to grind and eat away at the Patriot's lead.

Only if there were more people who could learn from it!

Telugu Associations

2009-11-17T07:42:00.000+05:30

When I had not stepped out of India, if someone had told me that America was a land full of Indians, I would have laughed at them. I had always thought that it was a country with a few hundred thousand Indians spread across the country. That was my impression until I came to Chicago, my first point of entry in the US. I could see that this country had a very high mix of people from all continents, races and religions. And Indians were all over! There were so many Telugu people in the school to which Girija went that I felt as if I had come to Hyderabad or any other city in Andhra. They were all nice and caring people, but this was not how I had pictured America to be. As I took my time to adjust, I realized that these people were necessary to hang out with because they were the only link to what we spoke back home and what we did. We went out to parties together, watched movies, went on long drives and even shared the same tastes. We had pretty much formed a group of our own that we did not want anyone else's company.

Then slowly, as time passed, we got introduced to more and more Indians, many of whom were Telugu. Some were long lost friends and people whom we met on chance. Some were new acquaintances. But it was all good. Then one fine day, we were introduced to a family who were deep into cultural activities. That was when we got to know about some Telugu Associations like TANA, TTA, TAGC, CTA, ATA, TANTEX, BATA that catered to Telugu people within America. We had heard of some of them, but never did we know about them in detail. And once we got to know about them, we did not want to hear anymore.

One would believe that politics and lobbying would happen only in India. But we could not digest that there was not much of a difference in the way some of the things were run here. Infighting, bickering, politics - I was surprised that all the dirt from Indian politics was carried over here too. Event slots are debatable most of the time as it defies logic. Good programmes and artistes get raw deal, people tend to become arrogant and thick skinned. So much so that, people like me would be happy to just participate and turn a blind eye to what is happening with respect to the association. Recently a new association was formed as well due to a fall out with the existing associations.

If such things happen, the very purpose of why these associations came in to existence is defeated. Every family, neighborhood and region will come up with their own association and the oneness of the community will be lost.

The Train

2009-11-17T07:40:00.001+05:30

While I wrote the below when I was on the train, I got time to upload it only today

Train journeys are one of the best that I can think of any day. Better than the bus, the car or even the flight. Time does not matter when travelling. Place does not matter too, although it does to a little extent. I am on a train to Naperville (Route 59) right now where I will be getting down to go to a Telugu drama practice. I am playing the role of Indra, a mythological God who ruled Swargalokam. It will be the first time that I will be acting in a pauranika naatakam (mythological drama). While the experience is rich, it requires a lot of preparation and hardwork.

It takes about an hour on the train from Union Station Chicago to Route 59 on a weekend. Adding the time it takes to reach Union Station and from Route 59 to the venue, the total journey is about 2 hrs. Yet, Girija and I have made several trips this year to participate in various events or just to pay friends a visit. It can be quite painful sometimes because it takes away your entire day from you. But then such experiences dont come knocking everyday at your doorstep. And the travel itself becomes quite beautiful with vibrant people all around.

Yesterday, there was a girl seated in front of me who had gotten onto the train just in time, but could not buy her ticket at the counter. So she paid an extra 2 dollars to buy it on the train. It reminded me of myself - the last minute man. I would usually catch the train running mostly just as the doors would close. Sometimes it is fun to watch game goers climb on to the train and make a lot of noise. Every time you get onto a train, you find different stories, meet different people and pretty much see a reflection of yourself in more than one person. That is the kind of atmosphere that the train has.

Then, compare that to a bus or a flight where every person either sleeps as soon as they board or at the max speak to the person next to them. The degree of freedom to move around is just not there. Moreover, if you get stuck in traffic, it is even more painful waiting there in the bus. Indian train travels, especially those in the second class (3-tier sleeper), are the best that I can think of. They cannot be compared with any other kind of travel on this world. That's better than a facebook, orkut, a flight, a bus or any other socializing place. To me, that provides the most vibrant way to travel from one city to another. People make friends in a very short period of time and you never know what surprises are in store. Second class travel is so famous and fondly remembered for the guys selling pallis (peanuts), samosas, Idlis, omelettes, dosas,ummm...just yummm! Thinking back of even the beggars and eunuchs evokes a faint smile. I could go on with stories of my travels on the train while I was in India, but it would need to be split like a TV serial. So, for this time I will not go in to that detail.

I would be getting down in a few mins and therefore I have to close my laptop now. Bye for now!

Beer Vs Biryani

2009-05-24T23:23:00.002+05:30

What-a-tension-filled-match!

The first two editions of the IPL have brought an Australian captain and an Indian captain face to face. While it was Warne and Dhoni last year, it is Gili and Jumbo.

My heart is racing as I witnesss an absolute thriller. Two teams who were down in the dust had something to prove this year and how they have done! There is absolutely no regrets for the losing team for both the teams have played as champions. The intensity never dipped, the shoulders never drooped and the enthusiasm has been ecstatic!

Kudos to Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore!

Tied Up at work

2009-04-17T07:01:00.001+05:30

Like a prisoner looking at the outer world, thinking deeply about the day of his release, there lay my ties in the closet. More than two dozen of them! Yes, my fondness of ties does not die down and I keep collecting them. Of course, in the last couple of years I have not added considerably many more to my wardrobe, but every time I pass by a rack of ties, my mind invariably does the math and finally the brain wins over the heart. As most of my other IT colleagues in the US, I have not had many occasions to bring these valued possessions into broad daylight. They remain locked up in some corner of the closet, taken out only when I need to rearrange my wardrobe. My wife's graduation and a night time boat cruise were the only two times when I could tie that piece of cloth around my neck, and it felt so good - like IV fluids being given to a sick man. :-)

And so, when day before yesterday, Suneel (colleague at work) said to me that he had several ties at home and that he was raring to wear them, I happily looked at him and readily agreed to start wearing a tie to office. So, finally I had company to show off my prized ties at work place! So casual is the dress culture that even the EDs wear jeans Monday through Friday. It was once my dream to come to work in jeans every single day of the week, but then when you do it continuously over prolonged periods of time, you get an overdose. And I decided that it was time to go back to wearing tie to work.

I knew that people in the office would stare at us, but I didnt know that they would stare the whole day. Every single person came up and asked if there was something special. Back in Infosys India, it was so common place to wear a tie to office and here I felt so conscious wearing one. I could not stop thinking about it even after I came home. Even Girija was smiling looking at a different me. But despite all this, there was some extra confidence in me. It was as if, someone said to me that wearing a tie would make me less vulnerable at office. One stylish piece of cloth can make so much difference to your overall look.

The next thing? Wearing a tie to office everyday from Mon-Thu. Let's leave Fridays as dress down days ;-)

In the line of fire

2009-02-17T00:38:00.001+05:30

The below is not my composition. I received it in mail. Nice one to read :-)

A real story ...A conversation between a Soldier and Software Project Manager in Shatabdi Train ....
.....An interesting and a must read!

Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi
express could not cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel.
It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to reason with the admin person, it was the savings in time.
As PM, he had so many things to do!!

He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use.

'Are you from the software industry sir,' the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop.
Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care
and importance as if it were an expensive car.

'You people have brought so much advancement to the country, Sir. Today everything is getting computerized.'

'Thanks,' smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation.
The man was young and stockily built like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that
little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school. He probably was a railway sportsman making the
most of his free traveling pass.

'You people always amaze me,' the man continued, 'You sit in an office and write something on a computer
and it does so many big things outside.'

Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naiveness demanded reasoning not anger. 'It is not as simple as that my friend.
It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it.'

For a moment, he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but restrained himself
to a single statement. 'It is complex, very complex.'

'It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid,' came the reply.

This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence crept into his so far affable, persuasive tone. ' Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in. Indians have such a
narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office, does not mean our brows do
not sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing.'
He could see, he had the man where he wanted, and it was time to drive home the point.

'Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation system is computerized.
You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking
centres across the country.
Thousands of transactions accessing a single database, at a time concurrently; data integrity, locking, data security.
Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?'
The man was awestuck; quite like a child at a planetarium. This was something big and beyond his imagination.
'You design and code such things.'

'I used to,' Vivek paused for effect, 'but now I am the Project Manager.'

'Oh!' sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over,
'so your life is easy now.'

This was like the last straw for Vivek. He retorted, 'Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder.
Responsibility only brings more work.
Design and coding! That is the easier part. Now I do not do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me,
that is far more stressful. My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest quality.
To tell you about the pressures, there is the customer at one end, always changing his requirements,
the user at the other, wanting something else, and your boss, always expecting you to have finished it yesterday.'

Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self-realisation. What he had said, was not merely
the outburst of a wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth.
'My friend,' he concluded triumphantly, 'you don't know what it is to be in the Line of Fire'.
The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with
a calm certainty that surprised Vivek.

'I know sir,...... I know what it is to be in the Line of Fire.......'
He was staring blankly, as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time.
'There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night.
The enemy was firing from the top.
There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom.
In the morning when we finally hoisted the tricolour at the top only 4 of us were alive.'
'You are a...?'
'I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed
my term and can opt for a soft assignment.
But, tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier.
On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while
we were hiding behind a bunker.
It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety.
But my captain sahib refused me permission and went ahead himself.
He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of
the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded...
....his own personal safety came last, always and every time.'

'He was killed as he shielded and brought that injured soldier into the bunker. Every morning thereafter,
as we stood guard, I could see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me .
I know sir....I know, what it is to be in the Line of Fire.'

Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of how to respond. Abruptly, he switched off the laptop.
It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a Word document in the presence of a man for whom
valour and duty was a daily part of life; valour and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes. The train slowed down as it pulled into the station, and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight.

'It was nice meeting you sir.'

Vivek fumbled with the handshake.
This hand... had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted the tricolour.
Suddenly, as if by impulse, he stood up at attention and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute.
It was the least he felt he could do for the country.

PS: The incident he narrated during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life incident during the Kargil war.
Capt. Batra sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight.
For this and various other acts of bravery, he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra,
the nation's highest military award.

Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn!
Winners are .....
too busy to be sad,
too positive to be doubtful,
too optimistic to be fearful
and too determined to be defeated...

Dafatan

2009-01-25T08:05:00.002+05:30

I felt like blogging dafatan...

Dafatan - a new word I caught while listening to songs of Delhi-6 and when I searched the web for the meaning, I learnt that it means "all of a sudden" ... just like many of our cravings, wants...

Some of the songs of Delhi-6 were so soothing you want them to go on forever. Its one of those must hear albums. Seems like Rahman has been quite busy the entire last year.