First Anniversary in "Bangalore - Phase 2"

On 25th day of last month, I completed one year in "Bangalore - Phase 2".

I had to live some of toughest days in the my life during  "Bangalore - Phase 1". Those were the years 2002-03, when I was badly looking for a good job for my profile. I remember talking to myself - rehearsing what to talk to the HRs at a semi-conductor co. - to put my case forward so that they can consider respecting the Campus Offer I got from them... I hardly got a chance to talk to them in the end. Finally I had to take up a job half-heartedly just to keep myself occupied and gain "experience". I had been on the Bangalore roads amidst dust and smoke, carrying DSL modems and looking for addresses for installation. I had burnt mid-night oil in different Telephone exchanges across Bangalore for migrating low-density to high-density DSLAMS - to minimize the service downtime for the end customers. Very useful "Network Service Provider" experience. In mid 2004, I moved to Chennai for a job that finally matched my profile.

Compared to Phase 1, the Phase 2 in Bangalore has definitely been more rewarding.. the year has gone very fast... Staying closer to office, I was able to put more time on work and go beyond the expectations of the Mgmnt... My son too got old enough to attend a interview for Nursery admission. :-).  My money management has been bit poor in the last one year - took too many risks by investing Small cap companies and lost good amount of money. Hopefully I don't repeat the mistakes again.

I need to be more sensitive about the Health aspects and loosing money in Stock market.
Looking forward for the happier years ahead...


Signing off....

Online Parenting Community in Bangalore

 I came across this site http://www.parentree.in/ that has school reviews and many articles related to Parenting.
 I became a member soon. Like any other site, some reviews do make you wonder if they are genuine. Nevertheless they give you some idea on different schools in your locality and what to expect from them.

Time to look for a Play school

Looking back, am taken by surprise when I realize that I have completed 3 years of marriage.
Our Son has grown so fast and its time to look for a Play school. The fact that I moved to Bangalore less than a year back makes things bit complicated. Not many friends out here to suggest good schools nearby. I came across this parentree.com, a community of parents exchanging info mostly on schools and admissions. Yet the long list of schools makes it very tough to decide.


Inline with today's trend, my son needs a play school experience to pass the interview for either nursery or LKG admission. Some mainstream schools do start admissions for Nursery and later have minimal seats for LKG onwards. Mostly our son will be eligible for 2012-13 Nursery admission. Most well known schools seem to have started the process in Sep'11.

Our son is too young - 2 yr 1 month and hardly talking few words coherently in mother tongue. Forget about  spoken english. Expecting him to talk / respond to questions in English now is bit too much. Given that, probably I need to opt for Play school + Nursery in a nearby pre-school until 2013.  And look for 2013-14 LKG admission in next year. I just hope this decision will not turn out to be costlier in loosing good schools.

vidyarambh, little elly, vibgyor, prakriya, gear are some of the recommended schools around my area. I should start visiting these schools to get a better idea on the way forward.

Random Thoughts ... Series 1

Its been almost a year since I posted a blog.... Whatever little spare time I got was taken away by the Orkut, Facebook and Moneycontrol.com...


As time passes, I am being pulled more and more in to virtual circle around the family and limited friends.. I could feel the circle shrinking day by day... Definitely not a healthy sign..

After moving to Bangalore last October, work  load has almost doubled over a period of time... I hardly get a chance for chats, making new friends at workplace.. Becoming more Professional these days ?.. For couple of months, I checked my gmail only in the week ends..

For last one month, finally getting some breathing space.. feel more relaxed these days. At the work place, fortunes do not look very bright with lay-off news spreading all over.. Hope there are no surprises.. Still need to keep the fingers crossed.. We never know what perception Mgmt has on your performance and worthiness..

With Global Economy slowing down, US in deep Debt Crisis,  future prospects look bleak for core Technology companies.. Sales may come down due to budget cuts by Service providers and Enterprises. Tough competition will force you take a hit on the Margins.. Having entered the 30s with quite a few white hairs, these days I have started thinking about my future plans... When I turn 40, will I still be a worthy software Engineer ?.. In the past 7 years, I have been very much in to reading / writing C code, debugging, testing, generating reports, driving meetings - How long I can continue to do the same .. 40 ? 45 ? 50 ?.
Dunno really.. Definitely I need to get a "plan B" for my 40s..  Right now am evaluating my current skills and qualifications...  thinking abt the areas I need to improve !!!.. Need to finalize soon and start working on the goal...

And life goes on...

Two months since I joined the new Company. I am slowly adapting myself to the Work Culture which is definitely not up to my expectations.

Normally people think that work culture + Managers in MNCs will be very different on the positive side compared to that of Services Cos. This is not the case everywhere.

I feel Managers should have few more ears - even if they get, I doubt they will really use them to listen to the people around. There are many folks who reach management positions without really having the basic people management skills. Just their years of experience simply elevate them to such levels. More often than not, the team working with such managers will not be happy and start looking for opportunities outside. Co has to live with high attrition.

Most managers (especially Indian) think that Management is simply tracking the team activities, getting more projects, creating "Visibility", setting deadlines, showing mere aggression (lack of patience), threatening people who drags on issues without really caring to understand the reasons.

Well.. not something new. I am sure everyone in their Career will have a chance to complain abt the managers atleast once. :-)

And life goes on...

A new beginning

A new beginning. Starting all over again. Tomorrow I am going to join the new company. Six years with no hops between companies is itself significant "achievement" these days. :-)

Loads of documents for me to fill and sign. My new employer sent me the soft copy of all the docs - 12 of them and asked to take print out of my own - wise move to save costs for the company ?!.

It took one full day to read, fill and print all of them. Found a funny one in the NDA document. It says that during my employment with the Company and for a period of thirty six (36) consecutive calendar months following the cessation or termination of my employment with the Company, I shall not:
a) Engage in, have or acquire an interest or become associated with any business, firm or entity, which is engaged in the design or development of products and deliverables competitive with those of the Company;

Quite strange and not a practical one.. Any employee who leaves a Company with good domain experience can only join another company that will be a Direct / Indirect Competitor to the Original company. I don't understand the rational behind having such clause in the document.

Yet for the sake of a formality, I am gonna sign the document tomorrow.

Just wondering if there can be measures taken to reduce the processing and documents overhead involved at the time of joining a company.

The 10 days break !!!

Got relieved from my previous company almost 10 days back. Took a break and spent time in Trichy, my native place. Managed to complete personal commitments of visiting temples that were due for quite some time. I just survived the long power cuts and scorching summer heat around Trichy. Atleast on two occasions, I felt like collapsing on the floor, completely dehydrated. One of the worst summers I have experienced recently. Alarming signals of Global warming ??!!. :-(

Finally the moment has come... Its time to move on.

Finally its happening.. I wanted to do it almost 2 years back.. Circumstances, Economy slow down, Frozen Job Market delayed it... Hmm.. Enough excuses.. I should accept that something inside did not allow me to come out of the Comfort zone. A zone I built over a period of last Six years.. Having mastered the techniques and processes at work place in the initial few years, I was kind of relaxed rather lost direction, lacked focus and drive in adding True value to me in last couple of years.

The Recognitions earned, "Outstanding" Performance ratings appear to be of little value to me now.. I believe they helped a lot to build that lethal comfort zone.

If I start my retrospection, I am sure I will have a long list of things for which I have to blame myself. I can't go to the past and make corrections.

After informing my decision to the current Employer, the kind of proposals my mangers came up with were really amazing. I should admit that I was caught by surprise. I am wondering if those proposals would have come to me had I not chosen to resign from the services of the company. I doubt if I would have ever thought of moving out if my concerns were addressed in time. But managements are mostly "reactive" when it comes to handling People.

Though the rewards proposed by Current employer are better than the offer I have in hand, I still decided to move out sticking to my original decision. I simply do not want to let go the opportunity to come out of my comfort zone.

I feel I need to be tested for whatever I claim. Unless I prove my abilities with suitable challenges, there will always be a sense of shallowness and a intriguing Question about my self worthiness. After all I don't believe that money/rewards I earn is always a true reflection of my abilities.

In case I accept their proposals and withdraw my resignation, in future, even if least of the their commitments (my expectations) was not met, I may look like a fool. I could not blame anyone but me. I did not want to repeat my past mistakes again.

I am proud of what I had done. And I often read the following lines (in Tamil) just to reassure myself that my decision was right. :-)

எண்ணித் துணிக கருமம் துணிந்தபின்
எண்ணுவ மென்பது இழுக்கு.

Just hoping to see greener pastures on the other side.

And its time to move on.

I got married and .......

Its been months since I posted some crap on this blog.. No body (including me) cared though.

I got married last year, then stock markets crashed, my personal finance turned worse, my project got changed at my work place..... And eventually I lost all my free time.

Too busy to blog... Hmm... Wondering when I will be back to my old (d/w)ays.

Blog Re-opened !

Few months back, I willfully suspended my blog as I did not get much to write here..
Much to my surprise, my friends asked for access to it. So here it is..

I have re-opened the blog for those loving souls..

Status Change

Finally the time has come for me to change the "relationship status" in my ORKUT profile.. Yes. I am "committed". :-)

Anand Kumar B.E (ECE), MS (SS)

So it says,
====================================================

This is to certify that

V. ANAND KUMAR

has ful-filled the requirements of graduation and has become eligible for the award of the degree

M.S (Software Systems)

at the end of FIRST SEMESTER 2007-08.

====================================================

Yep :-)))))

Finally done with MS programme !!!... a long sigh of relief !!!.
What I took up few years back to make use of my free time turned in to a burden soon and I am more than happy that I did not give up mid-way.. Though I took breaks in couple of semesters, still made sure that I complete the course.

Thought of sharing with you all who constantly encouraged me.

Cheers,
Anand.

Billa 2007 - Ajith is making a come back ?!

Got to watch Billa 2007 twice - once at Bangalore - Fun Movies and the second time at Sathyam Cinemas, Chennai..

I have never watched Rajni's Billa. First time, I was not impressed much..
After watching the movie for the second time, I found the movie to be good (the Sathyam effect ?)..

Anyways the Billa 2007 lives up to the expectations especially Ajith with his stylish walks. BGM and Cinematography score well..

Hope Ajith will continue with such good performances in the coming days.

All the best Ajith !!!

கல்லூரி - a Good Movie to watch !

கல்லூரி - ஓரு அழகான கவிதை, இறுதி வரி மட்டும் இரத்தக் கறையுடன்...

நிலைக்காத நினைவுகள் வேண்டும் !!!

கிறுக்கல் - 1 !!!

ஒரு மனிதரின் நிரந்தரமான அடையாளம் தான் என்ன ?..

கண்ணுக்கு தெரியும் முக அழகு நிரந்தரமாக நீடிப்பதுமில்லை.. பலர் மார்க்கெட்டில் கிடைக்கும் Cream களை பயன்படுத்தி கெடுத்துக் கொள்கிறார்கள்.. இன்னும் சிலர் Plastic Surgery செய்து மாற்றி விடுகிறார்கள்..

என்னைப் பொறுத்த வரை மனிதரின் குணாதிசயங்கள், அவரைப் பற்றிய நினைவுகள் தான் என்பேன்.. ஒருவர் தன்னை எவ்வாறு நடத்திக் கொள்கிறார்.. சக மனிதர்களிடம் எவ்வாறு பழகுகிறார், பேசுகிறார் போன்ற விசயங்கள் நம் மனதில் நினைவுகளாக ஆழ்ந்து பதிந்து விடுகின்றன..

பல வருடங்கள் இடைவெளிக்கு பிறகு, தெரிந்த ஒரு மனிதரின் பெயரை பிறர் சொல்லக் கேட்டாலோ, எங்கேனும் படித்தாலோ அவரைப் பற்றி பதிந்த நினைவுகள் மட்டுமே நம் முகத்தில் ஒரு புன்னகையையோ இல்லை சுழிவையோ தோற்றுவிக்கின்றன..

இந்த நினைவுகள் நம்மை சில சமயம் பாடாய் படுத்தி விடுவதும் உண்டு.. ஒருவர் செய்யும் தவறுகளை அவ்வளவு எளிதாக மன்னிக்க முடிவதுமில்லை.. நமது மூளை அந்த நினைவுகளை, கேட்ட சொற்களை recursive முறையில் process தொடர்ந்து வாதங்களை முன் வைத்த வண்ணமே இருக்கும்.. இந்த வலையில் இருந்து நம்மை நாமே மீட்டுக் கொள்ள மிகவும் சிரமப்பட வேண்டி இருக்கிறது..

கணிணியைப் போல் மனிதரின் மூளையில் பதிந்த சில நினைவுகளை நிரந்தமாக அழிக்கவும் , சிலவற்றை மறுபதிவு செய்வதும் சாத்தியம் என்றாகிப் போனால் இவ்வுலகம் எப்படி இருக்கும்..

ஹும்.. சிந்தித்துக் கொண்டே தூங்க போகிறேன்.

மனதின் கூப்பாடு...

கொள்கைகளை இறுகப் பற்றி,
ஒழுக்கத்தின் மேன்மையை
ஓங்கி உரக்கப் பேசி
இவரைப் போல் பண்பாளன்
எவருண்டென்ற புகழாரம் கேட்டு
நெஞ்சை நிமிர்த்தி நடந்து
மற்றவர் எடுத்துக்காட்டுவதற்காகவே
வாழ்ந்து.. ஹும்.. மகிழ்ச்சியில்லை.
போதும் மூளையின்
கட்டளைக்கு அடிபணிந்திருந்தது.
எஞ்சிய சில நாட்களேனும்
மனதின் கூப்பாட்டிற்கு
செவி கொடுப்பேனோ !!!

The Pilgrimage to BITS, Pilani !!!

Couple of years ago in June 2004, I enrolled to MS Software Systems Course offered by DLPD Division in BITS, Pilani. The idea was to make use of the free time and do something usefull that would help in career growth. Some of my friends got enrolled in to the course and they were in their second semesters.. With all the enthu, I joined the course.. it only got dampened in the subsequent sems.. some how managed to complete the three sems with theory exams without taking breaks.. then came the time I need to register for the project sem.. what project to do.. whatever I came across were interesting theory papers and I did not get much clue on what I should do for implementing the same. If I choose few work related topics, more chances that I run in to trouble due to strong infosec guidelines.. The next one year (two sems) just went away with me "actively" searching for suitable project title. basically I took breaks on these sems without registering.

Finally in June 2007, I decided to ahead with some idea on the software engineering topic which appeared to be a very generic.. I hardly had 4 months to complete the project as the final report submission must happen by Sep 2007 end.. Inspite of the Six weeks long onsite acitivity at US, managed to do decent work with respect to the original project objective and submitted my report on time.

And I chose the day I had to travel to BITS, Pilani for my project VIVA / Presentation.. Booked my Air Tickets with makemytrip.com - Airdeccan as the prefered Airlines whose timings suited me the best.

As against all the odds, I left Chennai with Airdeccan flight on time.. this was my firstever Domestic Air travel.. And my experience was not so bad when compared to woeful stories I had heard.. Landed in Delhi - Indira Gandhi Intl airport, came out of the Aiport, took a Auto to ISBT - Interstate Bus Terminus, Kashmere gate - 20 Kms away from Airport. Got a deal to share the auto with another passenger and I paid Rs 120 to the Auto.

At ISBT, went to Counter No.23, that sells Haryana State Tranport Bus tickets to Pilani.. One of my friends joined there..
The Bus route was: Delhi - Rohtak - Bhiwani - Loharu - Pilani.. It was a tiresome 6.5 hours journey.. the road was so poor with many traffic diversions due to construction work.. Pilani is typically a village without much facilities. you do not find ATMs of the common banks in India.. Got down at Pilani, went to VFAST - Visiting Faculties and Students Hostel at BITS Pilani - walkable distance (~ 100m) from Pilani Bus stand..

The campus reminded me of the REC (NIT), Trichy campus where I did my BE full time course.. The VFAST Hostel facilities and food were really good and far above the standards given the kind of place Pilani is.. Got to share the room with another student from Delhi who came for the project VIVA.. Had some long walks with him in the night after we are done with the dinner..

On the day of project VIVA, I went and reported in DLPD Building.. participated in a orientation session.. The Deans got to talk in length about the history of BITS as a Institution, the programmes offered - both Full-time and Distance learning options, evaluation methods, major tourist attractions inside the campus.

As per the schedule, I went and met the Prof, gave a brief about the work I had done and a demo for the same.. It got over in just 20 mins time - the "dharshan" time of the "BITS Pilgrimage" as quoted by one of the Deans repeatedly. :-)

I spent some time in new Library building - made of Pink sand stone, constructed 3 years back.. Its well planned, so spacious, more organised and huge collection of books and related materials.. Took few snaps and came out. I did not have the time to sit there and go through the books.

I visited the Birla Museum later - an ultimate collection of "functioning" work models for different Power / Energy related projects, Ports, Evolution of transportation system and more.. A perfect place for the school kids to spend time at.

Towards the end, I went to Saraswathi temple built tall with marbles. On the side walls, you can find the sculptures of the major scientists, well known people in different fields including literature, science, engineering etc.. something that is unique about this temple.. Ofcourse it has got Goddess Sarawathi statue placed right at the center facing the east..
Its so neat and well maintained place that attracts many tourists.

I took quite a good number of snaps that should help retaining my BITS memories.. Left Pilani in the evening.. joined my friend and returned to Delhi in a Car.. It was hired by him while coming to Pilani from Delhi.. The car travel (a Indica) was much better.. It still took 5 hrs time as we had to take breaks couple of times since the Driver wanted some rest in between..

Now I am at the Delhi Domestic Airport (known as Palam, Indiragandhi Intnl Airport).. Got in to the Airport by 2 am early morning.. was wondering how to pass the time.. by typing this blog managed to kill an hour nearly..:-) still left with 4 more hours before I board the Airdeccan flight to return to Chennai. I hope it departs on time without making me stay here any longer..

Hopefully I had completed the last and final requirement for me to graduate as a M.S (Software systems) from BITS, Pilani.

Congrats Anand.. You have done it finally !!!.
:-)

சுழல்கள்

நம் எல்லோருக்கும் பிடித்தவை பிடிக்காதவை என்று சில விசயங்கள் நிச்சயமாக இருக்கும்.. அவை எப்படி தீர்மானிக்கப்படுகின்றன என்பதை ஆராய்ந்து பார்த்தால் பல சமயம் பதில் சுலபமாக கிடைக்காது. நாம் வளர்ந்த , வளர்க்கப் பட்ட முறை மற்றும் சூழ்நிலையின் பதிப்பாக நம்மையே அறியாமல் சில வாழ்க்கை இலக்கணங்களை வகுத்துக் கொள்கிறோம்.. அதன் காரணமாக நம்மை சுற்றி நடக்கும் சிலவற்றை சகித்துக் கொள்ள முடிவதேயில்லை.. கோபிக்கிறோம்.. குற்றம் சாட்டுகிறோம்.. மனிதர்களிடத்து நாம் பழகும் விதமும் இதற்கு விதிவிலக்கல்ல.. சக மனிதர்களில் ஒரு சிலரை மிகவும் பிடிக்கிறது.. சிலரை அறவே பிடிப்பதில்லை..

ஒரு சிலரின் மீது நமக்கு அபரிமிதமான பிடிப்பு ஏற்பட்டு விடுகிறது.. அவர்களது பேச்சு, நடவடிக்கைகள், பழக்கங்கள் நமது "இலக்கணங்களுக்கு" அப்பாற்பட்டோ, முரணாகவோ அல்லது எதிர்மறையாகவோ கூட இருக்கலாம்.. ஆனாலும் விவரிக்க முடியாத காரணங்களால் எற்படும் பிடிப்பு மற்ற அனைத்தையும் சகித்துக் கொள்ள தூண்டுகிறது.. இப்படி "சகித்து"க் கொண்டு செல்லும் தருணங்கள் அதிகரிக்க அதிகரிக்க ஒரு விதமான மன அழுத்தமும் அதிகரிக்கிறது..

இந்த மன அழுத்தம் ஒரு அளவை மீறிச் செல்லும் போது, அது முதலில் மனநிலையையும் பிறகு உடல்நிலையையும் பாதிக்கிறது.. அதை உணர்ந்து விலகி நிற்க முடிவெடுக்கும் தருணம் "வலி"கள் மிகுந்ததாகவே இருக்கும்.. ஒருவர் மீது கொண்ட அன்பை மறைத்து, கடினமாக நடந்து கொள்வது என்பது அவ்வளவு சுலபமான விசயமல்ல.. கண்கள் தவிர்த்து, முகத்தை இறுக்கி, புன்னகையை ஒழித்து, வார்த்தைகளை அளந்து.. ஹும்.. "வலி" பொருக்காது மீண்டும் மீண்டும் "சுழலுக்குள்" விரும்பியே சென்று மாட்டிக் கொள்வது எளிதானதாகவே இருக்கிறது..

இயற்கையாகவே அண்டங்கள் அனைத்தும் "சுழற்சி" யின் அடிப்படையிலேயே அமைந்திருப்பதாலோ என்னவோ நம் மனங்களும் சுழல்களையே அதிகம் விரும்புகின்றன.

சுழற்சிகள் தொடரட்டும் !!!

Am back at Chennai !

The Six weeks long trip to US - California finally came to an end in the last weekend Sep15,07.. Came back to Chennai last Monday Noon time.

I had a good time visiting places and meeting friends around. Ofcourse I did visit my client's office in the week days to do some work. :-)

Santa Cruz Beach, Thirupathi Beema's Hotel in Great Mall area, Half Moon Bay Beach, Stanford University, Solvang - a Danish town on way to LA from San Jose, Los Angeles - Disney World, Universal Studios, San Francisco - Golden Bridge, Crooked Steet, Girardelli Sweets and Mystery Spot are the highlights I managed to visit during my stay there.

It turned out to be a eventful trip.. I got to meet few people, some of the old friends whom I lost touch ten years back.. With this being my first trip, the memories are expected to last for longer period of time. Roughly I had taken 600 Odd Photos capturing the memories.. :-).

It took few days for me to overcome the jet lag and get accustomed to our Chennai climate and the roads especially.. Am feeling a lot better after taking an off yesterday for office !!!.