Blogger's Park

Hindi hai Hum -- Pardon me?!

2009-11-19T20:25:00.011+05:30

A couple of days back I came across this post about ... yes, 'Language Terrorism' as the name of the post says. That post refreshed some of my thoughts and feelings that coursed through the mind a week or so back watching the absolutely abhorrent scenes that played out in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. But before I dive into sharing my thoughts, let me first clarify a few things.

This post is not to disagree with what Bharat says in his post. I agree to quite a few things he says, and at the same time I have different views on a couple of things. When I say '... not to disagree with Bharat' it holds for the views expressed by him, which I am sure are shared by quite a few.
This post is not about Hindi (or any language) chauvinism. So please hold off your spears and bows-and-arrows.
Obviously, a lot of readers may not agree to the views expressed. They are entitled to their own views, as much as I am to mine. While I'll not be surprised at any passionate comments, I expect you to be civil while putting words to thoughts. I expect. I will understand, though, if that is not the case.

First, on the issue of the events in the Maharashtra assembly. They were totally abhorrent. Period. Even if (mind you, if) the MNS was right about the point it was making, it was wrong to express it in the way they did. In his post, Bharat (twitter.com/BharathGanesh) presents the view of ad-man Bharat Dabholkar on the issue of Abu-Azmi taking oath, which I reproduce here.

Dabolkar went on to say, what big thunder would have stuck had Mr Azmi uttered those couple of sentences in Marathi, since he knew what was coming. I am sure he could have easily managed to speak that. But he did not and will not – sheer reason being - he believes that Hindi is our national language. Legally he is allowed to take the oath in Hindi, but the legislator was quoted as saying that Hindi is our National language (Which itself is completely lame) and no one can insult it. In what way is asking him to take the oath in the state’s official language an insult to Hindi? When Mr Azmi is a member of the legislative assembly of Maharashtra, he can definitely make an effort to speak out two sentences in the state’s official language. MNS is not against outsiders. Mr Yadav rallying in Sivaji Park talking about “Tamaam Muddhey” and the rights of outsiders in Mumbai is what triggers anger in the MNS. Then they choose the wrong path to settle it out.

I remember feeling slightly ashamed at being a Marathi Manoos reading about those events and seeing the images on television. They are doing more harm than good to the Marathi Manoos - especially for those living outside Maharashtra.

The next part of Bharat's post is about the existence (or not) of a national language for the Indian Republic. He argues that officially India does not have a national language; instead there are twenty two official languages (that is, business of the State can be conducted in these official languages). In my opinion the question of whether India does (or does not) have an official national language is a moot point. The question that begs to be asked is, 'Should it have a national language?' Now, before you train your guns or bows-and-arrows or spears at me for being a 'nationalist', let me assure you that it is not my intention to be any such thing. I am simply asking this in the context of whether a national language can be a factor in national integration. Again, let me emphasize that it's not a single-point agenda for integration. It may again, be debated whether language (any language) can be a tool in uniting a country. But let me put forth a couple of views.

I have spent almost all my life in Bombay (yes, I like to call the city by it's good 'ol name). And the city is in some ways a mini-India. Growing up, I had all sorts of classmates in school - Maharashtrians, Gujaratis, Tamilians, Keralites, Christians, Muslims, Kannadigas, Marwaris, folks who traced their roots to the Hindi heartland, and yes, even a couple of folks from the North-East. The same was true for many of my friends in the locality. I grew up playing cricket with my friends, and many of them were Tams, Mallus, Gujjus as they're called in city slang. And never, once did I feel that they were from another part of the country or that they were ... well, different. As kids, I guess, we don't worry about all these things that adults bother themselves with. But one thing was for certain. We all talked - and fought, and argued, and shared jokes - in Hindi. Mind you, the point is not that it was Hindi, as much as the existence of a common language understood by everyone.

Now, to be fair, language need not be a barrier in getting to know someone. These past three years I've been in Bangalore, and I've made countless friends, Kannadigas, Tamilians, Keralites. Some of my best Tamilian friends do not know Hindi, while I often speak in English with many Kannadigas. Language is not - cannot be - a barrier in building relationships. I am just trying to make the point that while it's not a barrier, it is definitely a great boost in reaching out to the other person. I remember watching a show by stand-up comedian Russell Peters. When two Americans meet, they chat up with each other, and go out for a beer. When two Indians meet ... the first feeling is often of distrust. Well, he was exaggerating, may be. But not having a common language to start a conversation with can be a major deal-breaker! I am talking about strangers, mind you.

Here's a quick question for all those living outside their, well ... native state: so Tamilians outside TN, Gujuratis outside Gujarat, and so on. How many times have you come across a stranger in your local super-market or in the train compartment opposite your seat and overheard someone talking in your native tongue? And on how many of those occasions have you not reached out to them and said Hello and gone on to make, at least a passing acquaintance? A common language is a huge ice-breaker. I guess those of you reading this who have stayed outside India may relate more to this. In India, we are Mallus, Gujjus, Tams, Ghatis (slang for Maharashtrians, like yours truly). Outside, we are Indians. And I've heard from a lot of friends staying outside, that Hindi is often the language used to communicate with other Indians. Again, let me reiterate the point is not about Hindi, but about a common language.

So coming back to the root of it all, did we err in not having a national language? Bharat says in his post,

India is culturally so diverse, there are so many languages spoken that there cannot be any one such language that defines the culture and history.

I don't quite agree. Yes, India is diverse in terms of languages, customs, traditions. But it is not diverse culturally, or in terms of traditions. Diwali is celebrated everywhere across the country. Harvest festivals are celebrated across the country - they may, of course, be known by different names, and of course celebrated at slightly different times, according to the harvest seasons in the particular geographical area. The traditions are common throughout the country. Now, before you cry, "Nationalist!" or "Hindu Fundamentalist!" (that term is in itself a contradiction, but I won't get into that), let me say that I am not being any of those (supposed or real) things. I am only opining that we are not as diverse as we might seem, at first glance (or may be to a foreigner on the first visit to India). I also don't agree that there cannot (mind you, cannot as opposed to should not) be a national language, simply because there are so many regional languages. Just as people say, 'I am Indian first and Mallu/Gujju/Marathi or Hindu/Muslim/Christian later', so also why can't we have a national language first, and our own native tongue later? Does the existence of a national language dilute the 'importance' (for lack of a better word) of your native tongue so much?!

Bharat also quotes the Constitution:

Article 343 of the constitution specifies that the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.
But it was decided that till 1965, the proceedings of the courts, the services, and the all-India bureaucracy would be conducted in English.
In 1965, attempts were made to introduce Hindi by force, sparking widespread protests in Tamil Nadu. Then the Union Government extended the use of English in inter-State communication.

Of course, a language should not be forced upon a people. But then, 'attempts were made to ... sparking protests' ... Think about it for a moment: the annexation of the princely states in the Indian Union was also done by force (overt or covert) by then Home Minister Patel. If the amalgamation into the union wasn't forced upon them, then what would have been the state today? And why did Tamil Nadu object to any language (one suspects that it would've been any language other than Tamil: no disrespect meant to Tamilians; I credit this opposition to Tamil politicians and their misplaced chauvinism). Why can't you have Tamil (or the regional State language in other states) as the first/second language and teach a common language?

Which brings me to the third point: What is wrong with having English as the common language. On the face of it, nothing at all. With the passage of time, English has in a way ceased to be a 'foreign' language. Hence, all objections (of nationalists - real or supposed) are invalid. But has it? As much as the goal of teaching English in all government (or private, of course) schools is noble, is it actually happening? If it's not happening with English, then the purpose of having a common language is not being served. The second aspect - and here, I may be called a 'nationalist', and I shall gladly accept that - is that we ought to have an identity as a nation. A national language is part of that identity. It is not the complete identity, but a part of it, for certain. And that identity should be homegrown. A Frenchman has the French language as - again, a part of - his national identity. An Irishman has Irish as part of his identity. Why not have an Indian language as part of our identity - as a people, as a nation? The choice of which language is secondary, in principle, at least. Remember, not everyone is comfortable with English. It is one thing to use it for official purposes - correspondence at work, etc. - and another to use it informally. Some of my friends are not very fluent in English (nothing against them, it's no big deal, honestly!) and yet are fluent in their native tongues and Hindi (and they are not from the 'Hindi belt').

This is not to undermine the importance of the local, regional language. It is very important to know that and I'll be honest enough to admit I'm not very good when it comes to Kannada. I understand and can speak rudimentary Kannada, but not very fluent (fluent would be an over-statement, really). But coming from Bombay, I can say one thing: you can get away with not knowing Marathi in Bombay. Can you say the same thing about Madras (Chennai) or Bangalore? And what do you do if your friends are from different states (as mine). Believe me, when we're all together at the lunch table, we all talk in Hindi - whether we are Marwaris, Gujjus, Marathis, or Kannadigas. Even though all of us are very comfortable with English. And we all enjoy Hindi movies. Oh well, may be that's just me/us.

Going Geeky ... and Going Google!

2009-10-13T21:53:00.001+05:30

This post is a little different from all others. I just made a few slides showcasing some of the work that I’ve done in the past, and felt it would be a nice idea to share with all the readers. The deck was created in Google docs; this was the first time I tried out Google Docs for creating a presentation, and was absolutely wowed by the simplicity of it. Adding content, changing the slide design, and best of all, adding images – just drag images from another URL into your slide and you’re good to go! Try out Google Docs if you haven’t done it yet!

As for the slide deck, I’m very much looking forward to comments, suggestions, and feedback. I’d also be glad to answer any questions you might have about the content on the slides! Just a note: I won’t be able to be *too* specific about the algorithms used. But I’ll try and answer any questions as best as possible.

Help!!!

2009-08-10T18:51:00.006+05:30

Update: Here's a post that shares some similar thoughts.
I'm sure almost all of you must have, sometime or the other, had to step into the confines of a public-sector enterprise office, and I'm equally sure that most of you guys have tales of torrid times to tell! So, what I'm going to post is nothing new. However, I'd like to touch upon something that such a recent experience left me thinking about. First, something about the events that transpired. I'd gone to a nearby branch of a public-sector bank to inquire about opening an account for my brother who's just been transferred to this city. Now, the gentleman sitting at the counter, first threw a volley of questions at us - ranging from where I stay, to if I have all the documents for the house, where I work. That is perfectly fine. But when I told him, that I had to open an account for my brother, who'd just been transferred, and hence, obviously did not have any documents in his name, he shook his head vigorously and informed us that he cannot have an account. I asked him about opening a joint account with me as the primary account holder. No sir! You may not! We then went to talk to the Branch Manager, expecting that he would be more helpful. Of course, this was being very, very optimistic. The Manager listened to us, and asked us to go to the counter where forms are available. I patiently told him that I'd already been there, and that I hoped that he'd be able to help with the situation that we have. The Bank, spake He, is not a place to provide documents, and you must acquire them yourselves! 'We cannot help you!', said the Manager. Now, I was patiently trying to explain to him, that perhaps he can help us figure out a way through this. How does a person who's been just transferred open an account, I asked. After a lot of rambling, I finally asked him if a letter from his (my brother's) organization stating the address as per their records would do. 'Aah,' spake the Supreme Lord, 'but, of course! That would do!' I further told him, that we can furnish the Ration Card that has our names (to establish the relation), as an additional supporting document. Now the manager was positively happy! Said He, 'Yes, yes... Please go ahead. You'll find the form with Mr. XYZ over there.' I'll be honest about one thing. At the start of this post, I did talk about a PSU office, but I've had similar experiences even in private sector enterprises. Heck, even in my previous job, we had to battle through a lot (and I mean a LOT) of crap, red-tape to get things done. So in a sense, it's not only about PSU offices. But what really left me wondering was why don't these people want to help their customers (or prospective customers) get things done? The first thing that they think is how things cannot be done, rather than how they can be! In the incident at the bank, all the gentleman at the counter (or the manager) could have asked was if my brother could submit a letter from his employer stating his address as per their records! As simple as that! Instead of that, they launched into a tirade, haranguing us for asking too many questions! I simply fail to see how this attitude is going to win them any customers. But then again, they needn't worry about that. If they lose this one, they can get may be ten others. No problem. The problem with that is that this one customer can probably wean away ten others who would have approached them. Sadly, this attitude (towards customers/prospective customers) persists even in a competitive arena. India, with it's huge (and growing) population presents an almost endless sea of people who'd approach them. How does it matter if we lose a few?! But there's another thing that goes beyond just business practices. Why don't these people (the gentleman at the counter, the Branch Manager) feel like helping out people that approach them? Just as people, just as human beings - not even as customers! Why can't they think about such treatment being meted out to them (or their immediate relatives/loved ones)? Would they like to be treated in the same way? Why can't they just help out the people who approach them, and bask in the smile that radiates from the person upon being helped out? Are we, as a people, becoming so narrow-minded? As my friend Dev would wonder, 'Why is there lack of goodness in this world?' Why can't we help people, in small ways, in whatever way we can? Even if we help someone is a tiny, wee-bit way, I think this world will be a much better place to live in... What do you all say?

A thought experiment

2009-08-06T22:04:00.001+05:30

Just started a new blog (http://thoughtlabs.wordpress.com/). You can read more about it in my first post on the blog. Watch out for more soon!

The iPhone killer and other stories

2009-07-26T20:21:00.008+05:30

The subject of this post has been mulling around in my mind for days now, if not weeks. And it took the form of random thoughts flitting in and out of the mind, discussions with colleagues and friends, and finally, I got to penning them down. Now, I must say much has been written about this topic, so my thoughts are but a drop in the ocean. But nonetheless, here goes!
A top exec in the mobile phones division of a consumer electronics giant was apparently given six months by his boss 'to come up with a phone that equals the iPhone'. Now, these are not the exact words, but the meaning was pretty much the same. The immediate thought that came to mind when I heard about this was that if you're going to target something that just equals the iPhone, then you've already lost the battle even before it's begun! You've lost it even before you've gotten your device to the market! Because, if it only equals the iPhone, that doesn't give the consumer any reason to switch. (Well, unless you're in the US, you might want to switch if this device is introduced on something other than AT&T. See this and this.) That, of course, was a knee-jerk reaction, if you will. Because, if that's the first thought to cross my mind, obviously it would've crossed the mind of the exec (and his boss) who are in charge of actually doing it (unlike yours' truly, who's indulging in armchair thoughtfulness).
So we'll just leave it at that (for now). But later while I thought about it, I found that the question to be asked is really, 'What makes the iPhone the device it is right now?' Apple was never in the mobile phone market. But with a single iPhone (well, the revisions of iPhone, the iPhone 3G and now the iPhone 3GS over the years, to be precise) it not only entered the market, but captured the imagination of the public in such a way that would definitely have led to Nokia put their thinking caps on. The iPhone is a combination of great hardware (the huge screen, the capacitive touch interface), fine software (the iPhone OS), and great user interface (the multi-touch gestures). But is that the reason it's a winner? The recently launched Palm Pre, while definitely not even in the same ballpark with regard to popularity, does have a great OS (Palm's Web OS), which may even be better than the iPhone OS. The Android as a platform, while not a serious competition (yet), is definitely interesting enough for some major handset makers to be a part of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA). In fact, it is technically better, not in the least because it allows apps to run in the background, unleashing the potential of (especially) location-based services. Nokia is renowned for great hardware - rugged, reliable and very user-friendly. Blackberry is the go-to phone for business users. So you see, the iPhone, while a nice device, is not extra-ordinary compared to it's peers. So what sets it apart? Well, most of you have the answer by now - the Apple app store. By opening up the iPhone 3G SDK to the developer community, Apple hit the jackpot early on in the game. And now, it's an uphill game for any new player in the market. I don't know if it was Jobs' idea to do it, but whoever it was, has to be a genius. Release the iPhone SDK to the thousands - if not tens of thousands - of developers out there, and it's like having a thousand brilliant minds working for you, and your product. No one, not even Apple - or Microsoft, or Google, or Intel for that matter - can compete with the power of the bright and crazy minds lurking out there! The app store is, in fact, the propeller of the iPhone sales! So it's a win-win situation for Apple - not only does it push the iPhone sales, it also fills in its cash registers via the 30 percent cut that it takes from the app sales. One only has to see the apps available for other mobile phones to see the wide chasm that separates the iPhone and all other smart-phones/feature-phones - Windows Mobile, Nokia, Android, you name it. While Android does have the Android Marketplace, it's nowhere close to the App store - both in terms of the variety of apps and the volume of downloads. After the success of the app store, the others are rushing in to create their own app store, but again, that is playing catch-up. And then they're not doing a good job of it!
Coming back to the point of the consumer phone giant exec who's been given the brief of launching an iPhone-equaling phone (they're not even calling it the iPhone-killer), I wondered if the guys have got it right? Does a better hardware and/or software mean a better phone (in terms of sales numbers)? And will this consumer giant be open to the idea of an 'open' development environment? Will it open it's SDK to the developer community? And what will be the ingredients for this iPhone-killer? Apple revolutionized the smart-phone market by thinking differently, not by playing catch-up to Nokia (which is still, and will be for years to come, the undisputed leader in the mobile-phone space). And having come up with a device that gives a great new user-experience, it went one up and came out with the app store. In a different context, some one at Twitter apparently asked, "Can we do to Google what Google did to others?" I think that that's one hell of a question to ask. Can some one do to Apple what Apple did to the (rest of) the mobile phone market? I don't know if some one can, but I sure do wish that some one does. Finally, a competitive market is the surest hotbed of innovation. Apple has rushed ahead of the pack, and it is surely difficult to revolutionize the market with a 'iPhone-killer'.
What I'll try and do next is relate some of my own experiences as a researcher. I cannot of course disclose what our team is working on, but I'll try and make the point. Our team is working on coming up with cutting edge algorithms to build a product in the mobile phone/multi-media space. In the early stages, when we were doing a literature survey of the state-of-the-art in the field, we found ourselves looking for lacunae in the existing technology. Well, sure enough that is one way to go about it. But I later realized, that that approach would only result in incremental benefits. Instead, why not look at the problem and think of a completely different approach? By a 'completely different approach' I mean look at it from the point of view of - What would I want in this if I were using this technology/product? Of course, as a researcher, you have to answer two questions - first, what do you want to do, and second, how do you go about doing it? The first deals with ideas, and the second with execution. (Here is another excellent post about ideas vs. execution. And another one.) To paraphrase the words in the first post - the most brilliant idea takes great execution to be worth $20,000,000. So well, both are, of course, important. But I think that the first step in the process is the idea. What would I want in this technology, as a user? What would make me choose technology X over Y? And I found myself asking the same question in my own quest to come up with a solution for the problem we're working on. As long as you're looking at your competitor and asking, "What can I give my user that s/he can't?", you'll always (unwittingly, may be) be playing catch-up. Instead, the question that begs asking is, "What would my user like in this product/technology?" Of course, having answered that question, the real-challenge is to actually give it to the user! But I guess that the engineers/researchers/technologists are capable enough of doing that. The problem is not about answering the question, it is about the right question to be asked. Apple did that by revolutionizing the way people think about mobile phones. It did that by coming up with the idea of giving the user a computing device that accesses the Web on the go, and which, as a bonus, is able to receive/make calls, and send text messages! It figured out the execution of that plan (it has patents in resizing web pages for a mobile device), and bingo! A great idea and great execution, and you have a (literally) $20 million business. It did that by thinking about giving the user the power to select what sort of features s/he would want on their device. And it did that by launching the app store as a marketplace for applications that the user can download to their iPhones. Most recently (with the launch of the iPhone 3GS), it did that by giving the user the power to share multimedia content (video) directly from their mobile phone. Heck, the idea and the execution. Sounds utterly simple when you get it right, doesn't it?

The Line of Control

2009-06-27T10:40:00.006+05:30

This...

separates this...
and this!

This particular line that I'm talking about is not between India and Pakistan, or between India and China, nor between Israel and Palestine. This one is far more interesting. This is the line between two wards in the Bangalore Municipal Corporation (BBMP). The effects of the Line of Control (LoC)? See for yourself!

So the guys responsible for tarring of the road have abruptly stopped their work at the LoC, because the stretch beyond the LoC apparently falls under a different ward - or some such similar bureaucratic reason! Can we move beyond the red-tape, please?!

Social or Anti-social?!

2009-06-20T16:37:00.004+05:30

One of the criticisms of the explosion of the Internet in general, and social networking sites in particular, is that it has actually made people less social. Critics see the rise of social networking as an antithesis to actually going out and meeting people. They say that this is true, especially among the younger lot - teens, and pre-teens. Well, I don't know if that's true, but then that is what they said during the boom time of television as well! Critics of the so-called 'idiot-box' said that kids are glued to television instead of being up-and-about in the playgrounds. Perhaps some of the criticsm may be justified, but one thing that struck me about social media is that it is gradually evolving into something much bigger (and better) than just social 'networking'. A case in point is the ongoing dispute about the elections in Iran. A lot of people are using Twitter to get their point across. They're blogging about their opinions, experiences. They're using Facebook to 'connect and share with people' from across the world. Google Translate recently added Persian (Farsi) to English translation support so that there could be a better interaction between Iranians and the rest of the world. But perhaps the greatest proof - if ever one was needed - of the effectiveness - and power - of the social media is the fact that Friendfeed was banned by the Iranian government (Iran is actually amongst the highest activity regions on the social network). When we read about the Indian freedom struggle, we read about how the Imperial British government banned newspapers, and magazines started by the stalwarts of the freedom struggle to rouse people against foreign rule. Well, here is history repeating itself! Just that the newspapers have been replaced with social media - and networking. But the important difference is that back then (the days of the Raj in India), a few intellectuals started the newspapers to rouse the masses. Today it is the masses who are stirring protests, shaping public opinion, and being infinite citizen journalists. Twitter (and Facebook, and blogosphere) has put the power of the 'Pen' in the hands of the common man in a true sense. And who says that 'viral campaigns' are only for marketing?! The power of the 'viral' was felt even during the American Presidential campaign, where (then) Democratic Presidential nominee Obama used Twitter, Facebook, and the blogosphere to get in touch with a younger America. So is Twitter the Times (or the CNN, according to TechCrunch) of the Internet age? Well, in this age of 'crowdsourcing' everything, that's not a bad idea, is it?

Marketing!!!

2009-03-27T23:07:00.004+05:30

Just came across this video. I'll refrain from saying anything more, and let you watch it. Leave behind your thoughts in the comments!

Kal, aaj aur Kal

2009-03-17T21:37:00.003+05:30

The idea for this post started out from a discussion with our VP today at work. Our team was presenting stuff we've worked on in the current quarter. At the end of the discussion, our VP asked a question, "How do you know if this stuff is going to be relevant three years from now?" What he meant was that given the current technology, of course what we were working on was useful, that it would add value for the consumer. But, what we're working on today might be rendered irrelevant by the rapid strides in technology! And he had a point. Today, the mobile phone is morphing into a computing platform. It's a device that enables a convergence in technology probably few would have visualized even five years ago. It's a device that's with you, whether you're working, or playing or socializing. You can use it to check e-mails on the go (even though it's still a nascent technology), click snaps on your lunch meeting, or capture a nifty video at your friend's wedding. Not only can you do all this, you can share what you're doing with your friends!!

If we project this tremendous growth in the future, it's easy to see where our VP's question came from. And more importantly, what it points to. Today, it is no longer enough to innovate and come up with a bright idea. It's as important to make sure that people would still want that idea when it actually appears in a product! As technologists, it is no longer enough to be at the cutting edge today, it is imperative to be able to visualize what tomorrow's cutting edge technology would be. Else the millions of rupees that are spent in the R&D budgets would amount to nothing, apart from a smart prototype. Of course, this - visualizing the future - is not easy. Not everyone can be a visionary like Steve Jobs, and come up with the concept of an iPhone - and do it all over again with the iPhone 3G. I read this post on Techcrunch a couple of weeks back, and that came to mind when I was thinking about this. Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn CEO) appearing on Charlie Rose commented that 'every individual is now an entrepreneur'. And it's true if you think about it in this context. You're an entrepreneur because you have to think about the technology trends, be in touch with the market directions. Of course, you could just forget about all that and just bury your head in the gory stuff - the equations, and the code and all that. But if you think about the relevance of your labors, well, you have to think about all of the above!

Now this post would have probably concluded here, had it not been for a discussion with a friend, which I was lucky to have. While talking about an earlier post, and my discussion today, we realized that this issue of relevance is not just limited to technology practitioners. It is, in some sense, far more relevant to the technology practitioners of tomorrow! The engineering graduates of today. Yes, they face a much, much stiffer challenge to keep abreast of the latest technology. By the time they graduate, much of the stuff they learned in their junior years would already be outdated! Of course, the fundamental concepts stay the same. But their application is advancing by leaps and bounds. Is our system geared to handle this challenge? Obviously, this goes beyond the classrooms, and the labs. It goes into all those TechFests, and competitions and all the fun things that you do outside the classroom! But of course, the seeds of it have to be sown in our universities. And there lies the challenge. To the educators, as well as the students. Can they take up the gauntlet and make sure that what the universities produce is not just an 'assembly line' of engineering graduates, but guys who can actually innovate and think about tomorrow? This is especially true in a country like India, which severly needs innovators and innovation, if it is to retain the competitive advantage.

I for Innovation, I for India

2009-02-28T21:20:00.005+05:30

A few days ago, while chatting with a friend, she told me about an article that she read in a magazine. Till the time that a kid goes to school, s/he is always asking lots of questions about the world. Innocent questions, questions that often force adults to think for an answer. Questions about the world which amazes and stuns the little, curious kid. And then suddenly, the kid goes to school and stops asking the questions. For it is now the teacher who's doing all the asking! And the kid is expected to know the answers, rather than ask questions. And so s/he stops 'bothering' the adults with the questions. Does s/he stop having questions? Does the kid stop observing the amazing world around him? Most definitely not. But somewhere the kid learns - or is made to learn - that his questions are not really appreciated. And gradually, the kid stops having questions altogether!

A few days ago read this article on Rediff, and that got me thinking. Why does India fall behind on innovation? Why does this nation of one billion plus (and growing!) fall short on ideas? And then while listening to my friend talk about this other article on kids and school, a thought came to my mind. It all starts very early, doesn't it? Very early on in life, at a stage where the child's imagination should develop wings and take off. Instead it is imprisoned in a cage with it's wings clipped. How else do you explain the fact that inspite of the leaps in information technology that India has made, there is little real innovation coming from us? Innovation is like a jigsaw puzzle. You have to figure out where - or what - are the missing pieces before you can put together the puzzle. And that requires constant questioning. What do I see here? How does this work? Why does it work the way it does? And kids often ask the most exciting questions! To their little minds, unbiased by any 'teaching', the world is one fascinating place, to be discovered, and explored and prodded. I remember reading the book The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, by Richard Feynman. There, Feynman talks about how, as a kid, his father used to take him to outdoor trips and ask him to observe nature. And learn by observing. And on the other hand, how the books in school teach by just stating things, and expecting that kids accept it without questioning!

Well, let me make it clear, that I'm not writing this to rant about the education system, or teachers. But yes, some things definitely need to be looked at in a new light, if we are to move ahead in this Innovation Age. Indians definitely had the upper hand when it came to the Information Age. But that in itself will not suffice to move ahead. We will need to embrace the Innovation Age, if we are to propel ourselves in the big league, in the New Economy.

'Tweet'ing News!

2009-02-23T18:56:00.004+05:30

After following all the Twitter-related stuff on Techcrunch, I finally took the plunge and signed up for the hugely popular microblogging service. Actually, to call it a 'service' would be a bit wrong! For it's not a service that you'd use, it's actually your life in small, byte-sized chunks! Be it sharing what you're doing right now - dining out at that Italian restaurant, or watching Slumdog bag eight Oscars - or sharing your opinions on the latest music, or just 'tweeting' about nothing in particular, people use Twitter to broadcast to anyone who'd care to follow what's going on in their lives at any given instant of time. I used to wonder why would anyone be interested in what I'm eating, or doing, or watching, but having used the service for just a day or two, I'm hooked! Yes, the service is very addictive, and questions like 'who'd be interested' can only cross the mind of someone who's not 'been-there-done-that' so to say. Within the first few hours of using Twitter, I found myself using the service as a virtual diary of sorts. Yes, a diary to record snippets of your day, week in small chunks. The best part is that I can do it unobtrusively, and the 140-character limitation actually is a blessing in disguise. Often when I sit down to write a post, the so-called 'Writer's Block' takes over, and I don't know what to write and how to write. There're so many thoughts swirling through the mind. No such thing with Twitter. Just a few words, and you're done! Well, I'll stop rambling on about Twitter and what I feel about it. Be sure to check out the site if you haven't yet done so. For those who're active 'Twitter'ers, feel free to write on what you feel about the site in the comments.

Taking the Bull by the horn(s)

2009-02-20T09:35:00.004+05:30

The 'Bull' in question here is the hundreds (if not thousands) that we come across each day on the streets of just about any major city in India - Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi or even Pune or Nagpur. The 'Bull' in question is among the hundreds who charge at whoever - or whatever - in its way as if that 'it' is a matador to be gored with its horn(s). Well, just in case you haven't guessed, I'm talking about one of the hundreds of two/four wheelers, or more appropriately the beast (yes, you read that right - beast) driving them. And the 'horn(s) of the bull are well - the horns. And these bulls just love to use their horns. Even that would be an under-statement. I guess if the government made it mandatory to strip off all horns from all the vehicles on the road, then some of these bulls would even be depressed enough to commit suicide! That is how much they love the horns. Horn OK Please.

But seriously, I have the vague feeling that many people on the streets of Bangalore (or Mumbai or ...) drive as if they are playing a video-game. That is by honking their horns at whoever is in their way, the person in front of them is just going to vanish into thin air! Poof! Gone... Honnnnkk!! And poof! Another gone! That's how they use the horn, even if they can see that the guy in front of them is blocked by another in front him/her... And he in turn by another... But our video-game character can just make them vanish by blowing his horn! Then there are the people who would be apt to be gunners in the Services. They use their horns in the same way a gunner uses his automatic rifle. Pee-Pee-Pee-Poh-Pee-Pee-Poh... Off they go firing their 60-rounds-a-minute guns - oh, horns. Then there are the ones who sound their horn as if they are a ship navigating through dense fog. The fog-horn is meant to dispel the cars/bikes/people in the vehicle's way, and warn them of the approaching behemoth. And then there are the bulls who use their horns to just show, well, that they have horns! And fancy ones at that!

The question then is how to take the bull by it's horn(s). The road-traffic is bad enough without having people honking all around. That too when they can see that honking is not going to make things any better. Quite the converse, actually. It just increases road-rage. And then the honking, like a contagious disease spreads to all in the vicinity. And you have one big jamboree going on. Sometimes, I seriously wish the government would just remove all the horn(s) from these bulls on the road. We'd definitely have a quieter life. Or may be not. People would then yell at the top of their lungs the choicest obscenities.

The Browser is your canvas

2009-01-23T13:36:00.003+05:30

After this post about my switching loyalties to Chrome, now for some serious stuff. Irrespective of which browser you use for your online activities, one thing looks pretty certain, going by the sign of the times. The browser is going to rule our online lives for a long time to come. The hype about Windows 7 (and OSX and the gazillion of Linux distros out there) not withstanding, it looks like the next wars will be about browsers. Microsoft's Internet Explorer though still the most widely used browser (seriously, does anyone use IE?!), is losing market share consistently, and while Chrome is yet to make a sizeable dent in the browser market, it is catching up - and fast. The browser is quickly becoming synomous with just about anything we do with our desktop or notebook. Besides the usual e-mail and web-surfing, an increasing number of apps and services are moving from a desktop-based mode to a web-top based mode. Google mail introduced integrated chat a long time ago, and Yahoo followed suit. So you no longer need to have a separate chat client to IM with your friends and colleagues. Moving on to document creation as well, Google docs allows you to create documents online, using your browser. You can also share the documents you create with your friends online. As cloud-computing gains ground, we have ever-increasing data, residing not on our desktops, but 'in the cloud', free to be accessed from any place that has a WiFi connection. Some of these services - like the Windows Live Mesh - do require you to install a dedicated software, but others just let you access them through your browser. Just open your browser, and you're good to go!

Some of the recently - well, not that recently - announced services take this one level further. Now I do not even have to use Adobe Reader to view my pdf files on my desktop. Google mail now supports this feature from right within Gmail. There are quite a few document sharing services - like Scribd, and Docstoc - which allow you to upload pdf (and other filetypes, of course) documents and then view them right in your browser window. You can also create, view and share presentations online, right from the (safe?) confines of your browser - thanks to Google presentations and Slideshare. Coming to multimedia, Flickr, Google Photos are long the de-facto standard in photo viewing and sharing. A site called resizeImage.org even offers basic online photo-editing tools like image resizing and cropping. So you no longer have to download that college re-union photo to crop that pretty face from it! Another very recent launched service allows you to

create, edit, and save Microsoft Office Documents on the server - without downloading the file or any plugins. -- source: TechCrunch.

With Flash becoming ubiquitous, and media streaming getting bigger and bigger with sites like YouTube, Hulu, Joost, we are now watching more videos online - again, in our browser - rather than on our desktop. YouTube is already serving 100 million videos every day, and this number will only grow bigger.

So where does all this lead to? Will we see the browser becoming the next OS - in a manner of speaking? Will everything that we do on our desktops or notebooks be in a browser window? Techcrunch is already building a Tablet prototype, where the browser takes centerstage. The signs are definitely there. Win the browser market and win the world, anyone?

The Break-Up

2009-01-22T19:56:00.003+05:30

Yes, it's true. I finally broke up with her. I never ever thought that this day would come, but it has. (I really wanted to write the cliched '... sadly it has', but come to think of it, I'm not really sad either.) But the signs were there for the last couple of months, especially the last few weeks. We would see less and less of each other. If we did, it was just the cursory glance. A few minutes with each other, and then a courteous good-bye. I never thought that one day I would part with her. After all, we had stuck together through thick and thin for almost four years now. My first acquaintance with her was when I was a grad student in the Institute of Insane Technologists (which other less geeky people know as the haloed IIT-Bombay). I flirted with others during those heady days, but she was head-and-shoulders above them all, quite literally and figuratively. She was pretty, and she was nimble. She evolved over time, else I'd have got bored of her. After a long courtship, she moved in with me. (What, this is the age of live-in relationships! Did you think we would've got married or anything?!) Then through all those years, she got better and better. I once thought that she is someone who's really, really on par with the other thing (oops, sorry, it's too bad to call that great pleasure - wine - a 'thing'). Both get better and better with time, adding flavours as they age. And both are to be tasted to be experienced. A second-hand experience will not do. No, Sir. Well, the years together were like a honeymoon. I scarcely glanced at others. Well, OK, I did steal a glance at one other (that goes by the name... hmm, no.. no names here!). But that was just a flirtatious glance, nothing more, I assure you. Yes, we did have a few times, when she would clam up, and then I'd have no option but to retreat. But otherwise, it was heaven.

And then there waltzed into my life, 'The Other'. She was BEAUTIFUL, right from the word go. I still remember how I stayed up late in the night to catch a glimpse of her, sometime back in September. The geek that I am, I'd relied on technology to be up to date with when she'd be unveiled. And then, it was love at first site (oops, sorry... sight. I'm getting way too geekish, me thinks). But we (the one I just broke up with) were still a couple. It would certainly take more than a young ballerina for me to switch loyalty. But she definitely had the G-factor (or the X-factor, take your pic). And so I discreetly found out more about her, and then, gradually started dating her. The dating phase quickly turned into a courtship, and courtship into a romance. And all this while, I was paying less and less attention to my long-time partner. Heck, I was supposed to feel guilty about ignoring her, but the fact of the matter is that I didn't. My new companion offered me almost all that my partner had offered. And she was pretty and fast. Really, really fast. You just had to drop a hint, and she'd know what it was. And get it done. Pronto. Quickly. It was awesome. And then the young ballerina flowered from a dainty girl, a teenager, into a woman. She added flavours, learnt all the tricks that my old companion could do. Well, there are still a few things she can't manage. But I can live with that. It happened so fast, I did not realize how time had flown in the past few months. That was when the germ of a thought came to my mind. But I wanted to delay the inevitable. More because it was still going to be painful. But finally, today, I mustered the courage and went ahead with it. "Is it the other woman?" my long-time partner asked. "Yes, it is. I do not know what to say," I managed. "It's OK," she said. "You do not have to say anything. I know you'll come back to me. And I'll wait." she said, rather matter-of-factly. Well, I thought about that for a while.

Well, it may be true. It may be not. One thing is for sure. In politics, and in browsers, there are no permanent friends or enemies. But Firefox was definitely the longest in the race. And I just uninstalled Firefox, and switched to Google Chrome as my default browser. Change is the name of the game. Not just in the White House, mate!

The sound of Music

2009-01-11T17:55:00.005+05:30

First, wish you all a Very Happy New Year. Well, I'm a bit late off the block, but well, this is my first post of 2009! Here's wishing you all a great 2009, one filled with peace - both within and without - and joy and happiness. Here's to the good times in 2009.

Speaking of good times, I had a great time this morning. The morning was melodious, immersed in tunes and music at once uplifting and calming. I'd been to the Town Hall, here in Bangalore, to a programme "Majhe Jagne Hote Gaane" (The song of my Life, loosely translated), presented by Dr. Salil Kulkarni. And talking to him about his journey in the musical world was Sunil Barve, a well known Marathi stage and television actor.

Music knows no boundaries, no barriers, and certainly none on the linguistic front. And yet, there is a different pleasure to listen to a musical performance in your mother tongue. It had been a long time since I'd been to a live performance of any sort - let alone Marathi music. And today was a treat, not only to the ears, but something deep within the heart as well. It's difficult to describe it. But the compositions played by Salil were at once uplifting, and yet calming. Some tugged at the heart strings and brought a lump in the throat - his rendition of the track from his album "Ago bai ... Dhago bai" about a kid who's alone at home because his parents are at work was one such - while others made your heart soar with joy. Some renditions touched the lover in you, reminding you of that touch, of the look in the eyes, and of the sweet sorrow of parting with your loved one. Some reached out to the little child and the child-like innocence that we all have within, albeit somewhere deep down where we're no longer aware of it. There were others which were devotional hymns - abhangs as they are called, and some may balk at listening to such music, but the atmosphere that they create is something totally, totally different. Salil's comment in the middle of rendering one such composition was telling. The people who go to discs and party and drink away into the night for a 'kick' would do well to listen to some such compositions once in a while, he said. Well, nothing against discs or partying or drinking, but indeed, some of the bhajans and abhangs really touch a different note somewhere within you, suddenly lifting you above the mundane. Well, that is a 'kick', isn't it?

Then there was some cool fusion music, which really left one wondering about the skill of the composer. There was a raagmala - a sequence of raags - on the backdrop of western jazz! That was really something. And listening to that you really felt that yes, music is beyond all barriers. It is all pervading, all-encompassing. There were a couple of numbers for which Salil did an encore, on popular demand. Listening to the music, made me feel detached from the world outside. The routine - and not so routine - pressures of our life often make us lose touch with reality, with ourselves once in a while. Listening to music is just the kind of therapy that you need at such times. Of course, we all unwind with music to suit our moods after a tough day at work, or a particularly stressful, harried week. But live music. Aah, that is something different. Where you can really soak in the music. Smell it. Let it envelope you with all its richness. And finally you lose yourself in the melody... That was what it was like today. The Sound of Music...

Carving a niche

2008-12-30T20:05:00.004+05:30

There is a rash of social networks out there, each one focusing on some niche. Just came across this site called Tipsbase, which is about sharing tips and tricks on a wide variety of topics. Another site, going by the nicely coined Telonu (Tel-on-u) is a site that basically helps you to 'rave, rant and rate' your workplace. The theme is centered around generating reviews for prospective applicants and a place for co-workers to gossip annonymously. And then there are other apps building around existing social networks, like the recent Twitority and Twithority , which are solutions around the micro-blogging site Twitter. It really is wonderful to have so many social networking sites and apps around, each focused on a small niche. After all, that is what entrepreneurship is about, isn't it? Identify a space, focus on it, and come up with a usable solution. Now that seems rather obvious. Nothing new about it. What got me thinking was that it is now that we are witnessing an almost exponential growth in these kind of apps. Orkut started the trend with social networking. Then came along the hugely popular Facebook - which started as social networking for college grads, and there is MySpace to add to the party as well. In video sharing, too, it was started by YouTube, and now there are Hulu, Seesmic and Vimeo (the list is not exhaustive, by any means) that allow you to share videos. When I think about these sites, it all seems so simple. So dead simple. So obvious. And yet, only a few bright minds could actually see the voids, the holes in the wall, so to say, and get the proper brick-masons together. It's all about identifying the niche, however small. And siezing the opportunity. Another thing that struck me was that social networks are spawning to fill in a need. That is different from forming a group or community within an existing social network. What's the difference? Well, a dedicated site you can go to, a one-stop-shop, if you will. In some way, this Web2.0 revolution is similar to the dotcom boom of the 90s. So will there be a bust as well? Most definitely. Sites can be hugely popular, but that does not necessarily translate into revenue. Sites like Facebook, YouTube are grappling precisely this issue. Ditto with Twitter. Of course, advertising constitutes a big part of the revenue model, but especially in times like these, advertising budgets of companies would dip as well. Well, but one thing is sure. Make hay while the sun shines, as they say. When the rains come, dive for cover. And that's where the real test lies.

As I was mulling over these thoughts in the shower, a few others were also going through my mind. About a niche, and seeing the opportunity. Mind you, these are only thoughts, I'd not call them any ingenious ideas - or even ideas. How about a social network for bachelors? Being in Bangalore, there are a lot of bachelors. Every year thousands of fresh graduates land in the IT city to begin their professional careers - in the IT/BPO and tech sectors. Most of them are graduates. How about a social network to help them? Most basic needs - accomodation and food. There are a lot of PGs and rental houses in Bangalore. But if you've been through a house-hunt, you'll know that it's a harrowing time. Especially hunting for PGs. And then there's the question of sharing your apartment. A question on the minds of a lot of guys who come alone to the city is about finding a room-mate, and of course a room. And there're a lot of guys who at any point of time are looking for a room-mate to share an apartment with. You know, someone's getting married, someone's shifting to new place to be closer to the place of work (or their girlfriend!). I've myself faced this issue, when my roommate got married. And if you are like me, you'd prefer to have someone you know - or someone your friend knows really well - as a roommate rather than a totally unknown person. (As an aside, though, I did not know Kaustubh when we shifted in together along with Parin - whom I knew from my undergrad days - but that's another thing.) So how about a site that pairs people? And creates an easily browsable, and most importantly, reviewed by people you know - or people your people know - database of houses. You want to look for a house, your colleague's cousin may be looking for someone to share his apartment with. Bingo! I know that sites like Sulekha.com do exist. But they are a general classified site. Not specific to this particular issue.

Another good thing for bachelors would be about messes, lunch homes, tiffin services. Now there are message boards for that. But a person who's totally new to the city does not have much chance of being on those message boards. He could, however, join the network before he comes to the city, and get some pretty handy tips. Speaking of tips, he could even get tips on where he could search for accomodation. Browsable by rent, locality, and proximity to the main work-hubs (Electronic City, Bagmane Tech Park, or ITPL). Well, as I said, it's just a thought. May be some one has already thought about it, and done it. But if not, any takers for this one?

A forgettable Saturday morning…

2008-12-27T18:46:00.002+05:30

When I came out of the multiplex I wished I had a variant of short term memory loss which would make me forget the last three hours. Those three hours, three excruciating hours, would rank as the worst three hours I’ve ever spent in a cinema hall. This was pure torture, and to add insult to injury, I paid to go through it! Damn! Couldn’t have been a worse Saturday afternoon. Well, in case you haven’t got the drift, I’m talking about the latest release Ghajini, which I along with eight other friends watched today afternoon. I’m now wondering what made me – us – watch this movie in the first place! Was it because it was an Aamir Khan movie? Well, none of us is a diehard Aamir fan. I guess it was just curiosity which made us go for it. We wanted to see exactly how inspired it was by Memento. But curiosity killed the cat, and we managed to escape by hair’s breadth. But only just.

I have good news and bad news about this movie – or rather the traumatic experience we just had – and I’ll begin with the good news. Because it’d only take a line. The rest of the post can be about the bad. Aamir has done a decent job as Sanjay Singhania. Well, he’s done as well as much as the script – or what passes for it – would’ve allowed him. He portrays the angst and the vengeance nicely. But that’s about it. Asin, the female lead in the Tamil original looks nice, but she has nothing other to do than look nice, and be chirpy. Now, that’s where the good part ends. The other female lead, Jiah Khan’s character Sunita is a medical student who comes across Sanjay Singhania’s medical case file. Now the shot in which Sunita is introduced is a medical college laboratory scene, where some professor is pontificating on the importance of the human brain. “The human brain is the most important organ of the human body!” Aah, that was enlightening. And we have the students – of whom Sunita is one – huddled around him listening with rapt attention. Sunita is wearing make up and a garish pink lipstick. Gosh!! If that is how doctors attend medical college laboratory… Sunita’s character is shown to be so dumb that I guess if there is a Hollywood remake of Ghajini her character would definitely be a blond! I can go on about such ‘minor’ things the whole post. But I’m not giving to ranting about things in general, so I’ll skip the part.

The plot – a person having anterograde amnesia seeking revenge – has so much promise. The original Christopher Nolan movie Memento was an excellent piece of work dealing with this central theme. But what Murugadoss has done is just pick up the central theme and weave a traditional Tollywood Masala script around it and presented it to us. There is way too much blood and gore, right from the first reel to the last. Now I’m not amongst the weak hearted to complain about this, but the problem is that it’s senseless blood and gore. You can understand about it in an out-and-out action movie. Hello, this is about one person’s vendetta where he’s battling himself as much as the persons he’s seeking for his lady-love’s murder. And so you have to sit through much head-smashing, backstabbing (the literal kind) and people being hurled around. It would have done the director some good – and heck, the audience as well! – to put some thought into portrayal of the characters instead of so much needless violence. For instance, there’s a cop who finds out about Singhania’s true story. But he’s just a filler, with no significance to the plot whatsoever. He might as well have not been there! And then there’s Sunita. The dumbest, stupidest character I’ve seen on celluloid in a long long while. Considering the standard far coming out of mainstream Bollywood, this is a BIG compliment! She becomes interested in Singhania’s case, then finds out about him, then manipulates him, then goes and tells about him to the bad guy and finally turns around and decides to help him. You and me – and anyone with an IQ higher than 10, I guess – can make out by the goons standing behind the supposed business tycoon that he’s a bad guy in the whole story. But our Sunita – the final year Medical student – just summarily walks up to his door and tells him all about Sanjay Singhania. Why? Oh well, she just wants to help. God help us if all med graduates have a brain like Sunita’s.

The climax is just too contrived to believe it. Heck, it is laughable! And we were in splits watching the last half hour of the movie. Even going by Bollywood’s standards, the hero single-handedly running over a dozen or more of the baddies is a bit too much to digest. We’d expected more from an Aamir Khan movie, at the least. The final scene actually leaves you chuckling, looking at the heroics of our injured hero. And to think that Bollywood had graduated pass such clichés.

Verdict: Avoid at all costs! And if you do happen to watch the movie, I sincerely hope the trauma of watching it induces a temporary short-term memory loss that makes you forget the last three hours.

School 2.0

2008-12-23T17:13:00.002+05:30

I've just started School 2.0. Its' been a few years since School 1.0 was complete, after four years of undergrad studies and another two years at the Electrical Engineering Department at IIT Bombay. And no matter how hard you might have mugged up all the texts for that Numerical Methods course in your grad studies, you do get rusty if you haven't been in touch for a while. And so I decided to use some of the spare time at work to go back to School. Well, the spare time is courtesy the end-of-year project closure formalities, which means that we do not have much concrete work to do right now. I felt this would be a good opportunity to get back in touch with the basics. So I'm currently studying applied probability theory and stochastic processes. And helping me out with it is the excellent course material from the Masachussets Institute of Technology! MIT has an excellent initiative called the Open Courseware (OCW), where lecture notes, assignments and exams and solutions are uploaded for the courses offered in MIT. The material is real good, and I would encourage everyone who hasn't already checked out their site to do so.

Dance your blues away

2008-12-20T16:58:00.002+05:30

Came across this video on you-tube, and something about the video just kind of struck a chord in the heart. I cannot describe what it was about this video - may be it's the music, may be it's the ridiculous - but endearing - dance. Check out the video, and leave your feelings in the comments.

The 'Annual Story-telling competition'

2008-12-20T15:40:00.006+05:30

Yesterday, we had at work, what a friend jokingly put as the 'annual story-telling competition'. In other words, filling up our annual performance appraisal workflow. Yes, it's *that* time of the year again! Amongst other things employees are required to fill out their key achievement during the year, the targets achieved by them, their strengths and key development needs (a euphemism for weaknesses, I guess ;) ), and their career interests and development goals. Employees also had to fill out a section where they had to fill out specific events which showcase their creativity, initiative, and a host of other 'skills'. Now filling out your achievements is something like drafting a patent application, if you ask me. You have one idea and you dress it up until it sounds like it's the next big thing of the century! Similarly, you might have only a couple of 'achievements'; But now putting down only two of them can't be good, can it?! You've been planning to buy that new car with the increment you're supposed to get! (Of course, in these times, it's good enough if you keep your job, and do not take a pay-cut, forget about an increment.) So you fill in the details of the 'story'. So for instance, if you implemented a research paper, you might put it as:

Designed and implemented a new method to significantly improve the accuracy of phoneme recognition.

Heck! Did you, now?! Now, your boss might have a different take on that. He might consider the fact that you got any work done at all, as a fair and just 'achievement'.

Well, but wait! There's more to come. You might have been the fifth author in a research paper that your group published (OK, there were six contributors - here's a nice link about author's list in papers), where you were responsible for drawing diagrams and proof-reading, but you definitely

Co-authored a publication submitted to some of the most well-known conferences and journal.

Note, that you delicately avoid mentioning whether it was accepted or not! You can't be blamed entirely, the date for announcing acceptance falls *after* submit the appraisal! Touche.

The next section deals with your strengths - and weaknesses. Now, here's where you get to blow your own trumpet - or saxophone, or bugle, or any of those instruments in the opera - officially. So suddenly new strengths sprout overnight like the bean-stalk that grew overnight in the Jack-and-the-bean-stalk tale. And you mention both technical and soft-skills. So, you suddenly develop excellent presentation and communication skills, effective leadership qualities (if you're coveting that corner cubicle) besides strong analytical skills and being a technology wiz-kid, generally. And then comes the most important part - your career goals. Here's where you say that your boss deserves a promotion. Hell, NO, you aren't batting for him. But if your boss doesn't get that promotion, you wouldn't get his cubicle, will you?! So you put in your short-term and long-term goals. Of course, over a period of five years, you'd want to be managing a team of five people (who, just like you do now, will be cursing their boss and finding faults with just about everything he does). So you write:

Long-term goal: To lead a team of competent engineers with a strong focus on developing new products for the company.

Ah, competent engineers. Tch-tch. A good friend of mine wanted to 'work with a strong and encouraging technical mentor to develop my technical skills', as part of short-term career goal. Ahem. The mentor has to be strong technically, and encouraging to boot! Of course, this was edited subsequently. About your key development needs - weaknesses - you need to put in how the company should spend big bucks so that *you* get that big promotion the next time around! Hehehe ;) Now isn't that exciting?!

That was just a tongue-in-cheek look at 'the annual story-telling competition'. We all do exaggerate a little bit when it comes to this part. So a little 'story-telling' is fine, I guess. But 'weaving a fairy-tale' is not! I think this is just capping whatever you've done over the year. After all, your boss isn't blind to what effort you've put in - or not- during the year. Of course, just putting in long hours, and effort is not going to be enough. Somewhere, you also have to be a nice person. No one wants a high-performing jerk around. Well, they might put up with them, but that's just about it.

Update: Here's another excellent post on the same topic.

Service with a smile? Er, not exactly

2008-12-16T17:48:00.004+05:30

Just read this article on Rediff.com which left me with a feeling of deja vu. Now I'm not the one to rant about something that happens in my life on the web. But I could really identify with what the writer of the article said, and so I thought I'd begin my post with an incident that occured last week. I'd been to my bank (one of the leading private sector banks in the country) to get a copy of the monthly account statement signed by the bank and to have the bank seal attested on it. I was required to submit this as proof of holding the account to my stock broker (who incidentally, insists on having the signed statement after being given one cancelled cheque and one cheque -of the same bank account - which the firm duly encashed!). The first thing that the person manning the counter tells me is that NO, that isn't possible. It isn't the policy of the bank to provide a seal and signature on print-outs of account statements! Now this is something that really puts me off. I've seen people at counters and when you approach them, the first thing that they tell you is often how it (your work) cannot be done! They will not tell you about the alternative to go about it. They will just tell you that whatever you want to do cannot be done! And I've had this experience everywhere - in public and private enterprises. I've had this experience at nationalized banks, at private sector banks (like the one I just described), in my previous organization - with the system admin department - which is an MNC. So obviously you cannot just blame the callousness and lethargy attributed to government institutions in India. The problem is more with the mindset. I do not understand why, instead of helping the person out by saying, "Sir/Ma'am, I can definitely help you with this, and this is how you can go about getting your work done", the first thing you are greeted with is a NO-It-can't-be-done smile by the 'executive' - yeah, everyone is an executive now - at the desk. Getting back to the smiling executive who greeted me at the bank, I asked him that the copy that I have is the same statement which the bank e-mails me every month, and why should the bank have a problem with not signing something that is provided by it?! He again went back into denial mode. Finally, when he did help me out, he asked me to fill a form (well, the ubiquitous form-filling) to request for a statement, and he said that the bank would provide me with a statement that is signed by an officer, and... hold your breath, charge me Rs. 112 for the same! This, I should say amounts to extortion at best, and robbery at worst! Hello, why should I cough up a hundred rupees for something that I am clearly entitled to?! But he would have nothing of that.
I have noticed that the problem lies not with the organization - both private and public sector enterprises have this problem - but with the people and their mindset (of course, it's the same people whether it's a public sector bank or a private one, isn't it?). I'm currently reading Gurcharan Das's 'India Unbound', a marvellous look at the economic journey of the Indian State, and he has an interesting look at this issue. When I go to the Saree shop, he says, the shop-owner gladly unrolls a dozen sarees before me, quite willingly, and after I leave does the thankless job of rolling back each one, and neatly stacking them back. Same is the story when I go to the local bania (grocer) - he will willingly take down my order and have it delivered at my home. Ditto with the family jeweller. But the moment I go to the telephone exchange, says Das, the picture is in stark contrast. I have to put up with the most shoddy service and pay for it. Same with the clerk at the railways ticket counter. The customer here, is regarded as a nuisance, and dealt with accordingly. Das analyzes this situation saying that the saree shopkeeper, the grocer gave excellent service because there existence depends on the customer.

If he was courteous and offered quality products at a competitive price, his customer would reward him. If not, his customers deserted him for the shop next door. There was no competition in the railways, telephones, or banks, and their employees could never place the customer in the center.

Well, that was about competition, and before the economic liberalization, that was certainly true. But it is surprising that the situation is somewhat the same today - well, it has definitely improved, yet it leaves a lot to be desired - in this era of globalization, where there is competition everwhere. Is there more to this than just competition? As the writer of the article above says :

While the nationalized banks have learnt to bill virtually for every 'service' provided by these new generation banks... the latter have learnt the art of proividing abysmal service and getting away with it.

I think it has more to do than just competition. And competition certainly matters when an organization is growing - and wants to get as many customers as quickly as possible - but once you are a blue-chip company, I guess complacency sets in. And it no longer matters if a few customers are turned off - and turned away - by the service you offer. There are always hundreds others to be lured by smart advertising. But they are missing the point. They say that in business, the biggest profit you can earn is the goodwill of the customer. The viral advertising by the customer is the greatest - not to say the cheapest, it's virtually free! - advertising that you or your business can have.

Musings of an armchair security expert

2008-12-04T11:43:00.008+05:30

Shaken and stirred. That is how I would describe the people of India. The terrorist attacks in Mumbai have shaken the people. The impunity with which the terrorists struck was unnerving. But they have also stirred them out of their complacency, and stupor. They have also been stirred to pour out in the streets as could be seen yesterday (December 3), when they assembled not only at Mumbai, but across cities - at Cubbon Park in Bangalore, Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, and of course the Gateway of India in Mumbai. The outrage, the anger and the pain of the people was clearly visible. They were as pissed off (possibly more!) at our politicians - spineless, soul-less lot that they are - as they were at the terrorists. They want action. Many of the placard carrying people wanted an attack on Pakistan. And this sentiment is echoed even at the workplace - at lunch table discussions and coffee-time chit-chat. Enough is enough, is the common refrain. We have to make a statement. That we won't take it lying down any further. Well, attacking Pakistan is easier said than done. Here, I contribute my tuppence about what I feel should be done now.

First, we need to put our own house in order. That is the toughest thing of them all. Revamp the security, policing, and intelligence gathering infrastructure. Of course, Rome was not, and cannot, be built in a day. But we have to make a start. It's a sad joke that while the terrorists are equipped with the latest arms and ammunition, and are imparted training on par with our commandos, the police force that deals with them is armed with .303 rifles, sub-standard and unhygenic bullet-proff vests and outdated training procedures. One report I read on the Internet said that most policemen in Mumbai haven't fired their weapons in ten years!! The reason - the absence of a firing range for the cops.
Intelligence gathering should be spruced up big time. Every time we have an attack like this, the intelligence agencies say that states and the police had been warned of such an attack. Well, the general public has no way of knowing how true this is - is this an attempt by the intelligence agencies to cover up for their failures? Or did the police and security agencies fail to act? Is the role of intelligence agencies only limited to providing intelligence? Is there any system to check on follow-ups and the action taken on the intelligence?
Make the security forces - the police, the Rapid-Action-Force, and the Armed Forces, a lucrative career option. It is sad that the widespread protests by Officers - serving and retired - on the Recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission are summarily ignored by the political establishment.
Training procedures for the police and commando forces need a desperate revamp. The police cadre have the most important role to play in countering terrorism. It is they who are, so to say, the first line of defence. And is they who play a very important role in preventing and thwarting terrorist attacks. Just like we professionals need training to enhance our skill-sets, the same is true of the police!
With a billion-plus people, policing in India is both a unique challenge and a nightmare. But we can use technology to assist us here. The London Metro train stations are as much of a surveillance nightmare as the CST train station in Mumbai and some of our busiest bus terminals. But what assists policemen in London is technology. A hundred eyes are capturing every inch of the place, and computers analysing the video feed. Of course, there is no substitute for human intelligence, but technology can, and should, be employed to make the task easier.
Is a politicians life more important or valuable than the life of the citizens? A report yesterday revealed the shocking fact that as much as 60 percent of the NSG commando force is used for providing security to the politicians. And these are supposedly the best of the best in the country! Shouldn't they be kept in a state of readiness - through trainings, and battle-exercises - to repond to any incident anywhere across the country? It is shocking that they took over 14 hours to reach the site of the Mumbai terror siege!
Everyone seems to be clamouring for a strong anti-terror law. Well, yes, that is required. But what is more important is the enforcement of such a law - a fair, and just enforcement - to act as a deterrent for terrorists. For that the security agencies have to be trained in gathering and recording intelligence, and in investigative methods. Why don't cases against even known criminals hold up in court? Because of shoddy investigation practices, primarily. The police need to be trained on how to build up a watertight case. They need to be as technically savvy as the terrorists that they are confronting. Again, it is about upgrading your skills. The latest skills in forensic science, in analysing evidence, in intercepting communication, in retrieving data from laptops recovered from terror suspects, even in psychological profiling to understand what would be next on the terrorists' minds! We need to build watertight cases that will hold up in court. Technology can be a huge added advantage, but first, we need good, sound policing. But most of all, in guaranteeing safety to a witness testifying against a criminal. We need something similar to the witness protection programme that they have in the US. How do we expect a witness who stands the risk of being eliminated by the terror-bigwigs or underworld bosses to expect to testify?!
Depoliticize important postings. The Home and Defence Ministries should be headed by the most able person for the Post, and not necessarily from the ruling Party. I feel we need to take a leaf out of the book of the US, on this one. It is possible for a Republican to be given a post in a Democratic presidency, and vice versa. Why not have the same system in India? The Defence Minister and Home Minister will be executive, paid posts - and only the Best of the Best shall head them.

But for all this to happen, who should take the initiative? The answer is loud and clear. It is We, The People of India. The Mumbai terror attack was a ghastly event, but the silver lining to it, to use a phrase, could be that it has roused us all. That it has the potential to unite us, as Indians. And forget our ethnic, linguistic, religious, social differences. Yesterday, everyone who came out on the streets was an Indian - and only an Indian. The anger against the politicans was clear. But then, aren't we the ones who elected them in the first place? Or aren't we the ones who did not vote, thus leading to these people being elected? One way or the other, we cannot ignore our own responsibility. The anger against the self-serving, corrupt politicians is justified. But that anger has to translate into something bigger. And larger. Than just holding rallies, and carrying placards denouncing politicians. In a democracy, the buck stops at us, I guess. I've made a decision. That I will make sure that I vote in every election. If I do not find a candidate suitable of my vote, I'll still go out and invalidate my vote. That way, at least I will ruin the game of the booth-capturers and bogus voters.

Darna Mana Hai!

2008-12-02T12:19:00.003+05:30

After the anger, the helplessness, and myriad other emotions, comes the most debilitating of them all - fear. The terror siege in Mumbai may have ended, but its grip over the people is as strong. In fact, it is perhaps growing stronger by the moment. People are afraid to venture out in public places - a friend told me how she noticed that malls were noticeably less crowded over the last weekend. People are putting off travel plans, those who cannot are living under the constant shadow of fear. Even at the workplace, coffee-room conversations revolve around the uncertainties that plague us: about how it's no longer certain if you can walk the streets without fear that a bomb may go off nearby; about how the very place where I work is a prime terror target (it's a technology park, surrounded by DRDO installations, staff quarters, offices all around). People are glued to their television sets following the latest news. And in fact, that makes them even more paranoid. Viewing the images of death, destruction, and tragedy adds to this macabre setting.
One wonders why the media is adding to all this by mindless and insensitive reporting of every tragedy? Why is it making a tamasha of sorts about the funerals of the lives of the brave officers who laid down their lives? Why does it have to stick in a microphone and a camera in the face of the grieving mothers, sisters, and fathers, in the expectation of a sound-byte? Can it not allow them to grieve privately? Why does it make a spectacle of the tragedy? I cannot forget, how, in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist strike at CST train-station, the media was broadcasting 'live' images of the dead-bodies strewn about, blood-stained floors, and people weeping. I guess much has been written about terrorists, the politicians, the people's anger, candle-light vigils, et al. But what about the media that is adding to this melting-pot of emotions? In my view, it is creating (and using for it's own good) something like mass hysteria! Why do we need to know if more terror strikes are being planned? Why do we need to know that 'specific intelligence inputs have warned of strikes on XYZ installation'?! Can we do something about it? Well, we can all debate about it at lunch tables, coffee rooms, and over IMs, and in the blogs. But honestly, I feel that all this just adds to the 'fear psychosis' that is slowly, but surely, gripping some of us. And unless we make a deliberate, conscious effort to come out of this, we will play right into the hands of the terrorists. They will die, but the seeds of terror and fear that they've sown will live on. So let us not fall prey to their designs. Let us be alert, but not hysterical. Let us be sensitive, but not paranoid. Do the CNN IBNs, the Aaj Taks, the Star News have their microphones out now? Are they listening (or reading)?

United we stand

2008-11-28T14:29:00.008+05:30

There's an Airtel advert airing currently on television. This ad shows the significant contributions made by Indians to various fields - it shows Aryabhatta, Sushrut, J.C. Bose, and many others who left behind an indelible mark in their respective domains. The ad concludes with the tagline, "Just image what a billion people can do together...". Well, the possibilities are boundless. But then the question arises, will the billion odd people of India rise as one? Will they keep aside petty differences of language, of dressing, of the cuisines? Will they consider another Indian as an Indian first - and as a Sindhi, a Marwari, a Bihari, a Gujrati, or a Madrasi later? Can an Indian in Tamil Nadu empathize with another in Kashmir, and vice versa? Yesterday, when news of the terror attacks broke, colleagues and friends came over to ask if everyone in the family was fine. They did that as courtesy, as well-wishers. But not everyone had the same experience. As I was talking to one of my friends, she said that not even a single person asked her if her family was fine. So much so that her colleagues who sit right across her, were too busy in their own activities to ask her. How can they be so distant, she asked. How can they be so casual about the whole incident, was her refrain. Well, that has been the trouble with us Indians through out history. That we couldn't stand as one, especially when it mattered the most. That we couldn't empathize with our countrymen in other parts of the country. These views may seem cynical. I'm not saying that there is no goodness left in our people, that the milk of human kindness has dried up. No. That is not the point. The point is that we've become way too selfish to think about anyone else. About our neighbor. About the guy who sits across our desk. About the colleague who is going through some family crisis. And these people, these are white-collared, educated people. So it makes me wonder. Does education really teach us to care for each other? Does it teach us empathy? Do it teach us unity? Well, I doubt if it does. It just gives us with an opportunity to feed ourselves and our family.
I'm not saying, not even implying, that education is useless. That it does not make a good individual. It does help in creating awareness, in spreading the knowledge and ideas to all. It does help in creating equal opporutnities. It does provide even the person in the lowest strata of society the chance to excel. But is that itself enough? Is it the solution to the narrow-minded and selfish attitudes that have taken us over today? Does education have the solution to the divided state that the nation finds itself in. A friend of mine works for the non-profit organization Akanksha. This is a non-profit organization working for under-privileged children. But it does not just focus on educating them, in the sense of formal education. Inculcating values and a sense of belief, in themselves, in their brothers and sisters is a big part of the kids' 'education' in Akanksha. When we were in school, we had a half-hour activity called value-education. This was intended at inculcating good values in us kids. But is it possible to inculcate values by having a class of value education in the curriculum? If it were so, then would we find ourselves at this juncture today? How can we forge the social fabric that binds us? How can we rise as one? We can, if we put aside selfishness. If we think about our neighbor, as much as we think about our own family. If we show a little empathy. But how do we do this? Well, there are no easy answers...

We, The People...

2008-11-27T14:05:00.007+05:30

There could not have been a worse start to the day. The only thing that I can say about is that it was a lot better than what some others would have had to endure. Like the people trapped in the Taj. Or the families of the police officers who would come home draped in the Tricolor. I called up my fiancee at around 7 AM and she asked me to switch on the television. And what I saw just numbed my senses. No, that is no overstatement. The impunity with which the terrorists stuck is mind-numbing. It was almost like they were mocking the entire security and intelligence set-up of the country. The latest terror attack dwarfed all the previous ones, and revived the memories of all the past ones - Mumbai train bombings, the blasts in Jaipur, the bombings in Bangalore, in Ahmedabad. How many more such bombings do we have to endure, I thought? All the people I know were safe, but yet the heart felt heavy. It felt as if those who died were in some way connected. That I knew them in some way. Do we have to wait, before, God Forbid, someone we 'know' is taken away from us? The heart just felt helpless, and yet there was a seething anger within. The anger was as much as the bastards who did not even spare a hospital as much as at the politicians and the government who just chooses to wait and watch. Watch as countless innocents die. Watch as the terrorists continue to mock them. Watch as the terrorists mock us collectively, as a nation. The US was subject to one of the worst terror bombings. But how many such incidents have occured since 9/11? Here, in India, on the other hand, wave after wave of terror attacks is launched, and the government does nothing. Well, perhaps I'm losing rationality and reason as a result of what just happened. It is easy to blame everything on the government. But it does seem like it is falling short on prevention. The intelligence agencies are utilized more for political espionage rather than actual intelligence gathering. Top postings are awarded on political clout rather than merit and suitability for the post. In this environment, how will the fight against terror be effective?
I cannot put my finger on it, but the latest terror attacks have something that have me shaken. Many of my friends I spoke to echoed this opinion. There is no guarantee that a person who steps out of his home will come back, they said. Well, that pretty much sums up the sentiment. But besides the anger and the resentment at the perpetrators of such heinous acts and the government, was helplessness at our own situation. All we can do is discuss about these incidents when they happen, and blow hot and cold about the terrorists, the government and just about anyone. But can we do anything concrete about it? Will we? Do we have the courage to rise from our stupor - yes, it is a stupor when such incidents barely make a mark on us if we do not lose a loved one? What can we do? And it was this feeling that made me, us, feel helpless. That there is little that we can do to thwart the terrorists in their goal. But if we think again, is there truly nothing that can be done? Well, how about creating awareness? About the politicians and the dirty games that they are playing. About the cancer that they are breeding through out the country? It is said that we get the leaders that we deserve. After all, the leaders are elected by the electorate. And so, the least that we can do is to generate awareness and create public opinion. Not against or for a particular community, but against those who exploit the weak amongst these communities for their selfish gains. Against those whose sole purpose is destruction - of life and property.
If we do not do something about this now, it may be too late. I'm reminded of something that was said in reference to the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. That all it takes for evil to spread is for the Good to stand there and do nothing. It is time for us to take a stand, not just stand there and do nothing. In whatever way we can - big or small. There are not any easy answers, but then for a problem like this, do we expect there will be?! Not many people read this blog, but for all that do, and for all who will read this post, please spare a moment to think about the situation before us today. The terrorists are reaching out and striking at will. The objective is clear - to strike fear in our hearts and create doubts and divisions in our mind. If we do not foil them now, it may be too late...

Update: After I wrote this post, I talked to some of my friends, and I thought about writing about some of what they had to say. One said that what will this (blogging) do, there are countless such blogs written about this, people rave and rant about it. Does it change anything? Another lunch table topic that revolved around this was about the blame game that plays itself out after every such incident. Blame is put not only on the government, the police, the intelligence agencies, but also on certain communities. This brings to light yet another observation - that even so-called cultured, rational, reasonable people with a broad-minded view have today become polarized. More than a few friends I talked with were of the view that these guys should just be eliminated. Blow up these guys they said. Well, is that going to be the solution? Really, that is besides the point. The point is, that whatever is happening - and the government's 'response' - has unnerved people enough to think this way! And these are all people who are educated, some of the brightest minds, some of the people who've had exposure to multi-cultural societies. My fiancee had a totally different view. Why don't these guys (the terrorists) realize that they are ultimately spoiling their own community? She said that these guys took to arms because they were a deprived lot, because they were brainwashed, because they were exploited. But they do not seem to realize that their actions are in fact going to make it even more difficult for others of their ilk. It is they who would have to bear the brunt of the backlash - and there's no denying that there will be one. And so, she said, these people will stop these activities when they realize the consequences of what they are doing. "You are so naive, my dear", was my reaction to that. Yes, she is right about the cause. But I honestly do not believe that the terrorists would ever see that they are ultimately making it difficult for themselves. They are way too indoctrinated to see that.

After a tough day at work...

2008-11-20T17:50:00.006+05:30

After a tough day at work, the evening yesterday could not have been more fun! The whole day was spent in some demos and meetings with the big bosses, and after a non-too-impressive showing, I was in just the mood to have a nice break and just forget everything. And just as I was wondering how to unwind, a friend calls to ask if I'm game for watching the movie 'Dostana'. Well, I jumped at the opportunity, and promptly said yes. I hadn't watched the promos of the movie and didn't know anything apart from the bits appearing in the media that told me that this laugh-riotwas somehow connected with homosexuality!

Well, so we started out to catch the 7 PM show at Fame Cinemas in Lido Mall. The opening sequence itself in which the two protagonists, Sam (aka Sameer) and Kunal come face to face leaves you in splits. They happen to run into each other a couple of times and as luck would have it, both Sam and Kunal are looking for a place to stay. The landlady of the apartment they find refuses to rent out the place to guys, saying it's open only for girls. So Sam comes up with an idea to make the landlady relent. But convincing Kunal is not going to be easy. Well, the idea is that they tell the landlady that they are a gay couple, and she needn't be worried about renting out the apartment to two guys. Just when they've convinced the landlady, the lady's gorgeous niece, Neha (Priyanka Chopra) makes an entrance. Kunal wants to back out of the plan seeing Neha, but Sam convinces him to play along. The rest of the film is about the hilarious consequences of the lie that Sam and Kunal have told.
The filmmaker succeeds in giving the audience a lot to watch about. That he does so without employing oft-repeated cliches, or over-the-top, raunchy humor, or double-entendre (which seems to be the standard fare dished out by Bollywood filmmakers of late) is definitely an accomplishment. But the entire movie rides on the shoulders of the two lead actors - Abhishek Bachhan and John Abraham. They are just superb in their roles. The subtle nuances like the body language, expressions and looks that convey so much more and are so important in a comedy (well, any genre, but making people laugh is serious business!) are captured by both Abhi and John perfectly. I have to admit that John's performance especially came as a pleasant surprise. I'd thus far equated leaden acting with John (barring the exception of Taxi No. 9211, I should say), thinking that his physique and his oomph quotient with the female audiences were the only reasons he merited a role. Well, after watching John as Kunal, I must say I've changed my opinion. Here his performance is superlative, the comic timing just right. Abhi impresses as well, and there are scenes which make you laugh just because of the way Abhi carries them off. The scene where he decides to 'think like a woman, but act like a man' tickles the funny bone quite a bit. Priyanka is the female lead, but all the other actors (including here) seem to be the supporting cast.
Well, the funny part aside, the movie captures the warm camaraderie between Sam, Kunal and Neha quite well. The three grow into very close friends, with Neha confiding everything to the duo and becoming slightly possessive about them. The trouble is, both start loving Nheah, and want to tell her the truth. How their attempts fall flat is the subject of further humour. Neha flips for her boss, Abhimanyu Singh (Bobby Deol_ and the duo tries every trick in the book to get her to ditch Abhimanyu. Do they succeed, and who of the three gets the lady? Well, I'm not playing spoilsport!
But all in all, the movie is definitely worth a watch once. I came out the theater refreshed and the tough day at work was a distant memory. Hope to see more such movies from Bollywood!

Obamania - Lessons for India?

2008-11-05T21:54:00.007+05:30

And so Barack Obama has become the first African-American to be elected as President of the United States. The television channels are going ga-ga over this historic election, the internet is agog with activity (according to this post, CNN.com had 27 million unique visitors on their site and 276 million page views - these numbers are pretty staggering, one should admit) and Obamania will doubtless grip the print media and tomorrow's edition of every newspaper will have Obama plastered all over it. The Illinois senator, whom not many gave a chance to win the Democratic nomination an year ago, let alone the winning the Presidential race, is now laughing all the way to the White House. This campaign was one of the most widely covered - not only in the US but outside it as well - and also one of the most expensive. It often got acrimonious and even ugly, especially with John McCain's campaign not letting go any opportunity to smear their opponent. Anyways, countless reams have already been written about this, and this post is not my tuppence to what has already been written. I would rather like to collect some of my thoughts - some which flitted in and out of my mind over the course of the campaign (while reading about it on the Internet or the newspapers) and some of the more recent ones.
The first is a line McCain said in his concession speech.

...But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

As I was listening to this little bit, I couldn't help but ask myself, "Can we say the same thing about our politics?" Can we say that the hundreds of crores of ordinary Indians believe that they can make a difference through their vote. Well, apparently not, if we look at voter turnouts in all elections - from the elections to the City Corporations, to the State Assembly elections to, of course, the National elections. Do we have the leaders (or can we even think of a single leader) who can stir this feeling within us?
The second is about the issues being discussed. Well, having never lived in the US, I can only form my opinion on the basis of what I read on the internet and newspapers. But the Presidential debates, or even the appearances of the Presidential (and Veep) hopefuls on television are something to take notice of. They are about specific issues and the candidates are quizzed about specific solutions to the issues. Whether or not the candidates reply is political rhetoric is another question. But the elections are fought on issues - healthcare, economy, taxes, jobs. I do not recollect any election in India fought on specific issues. Parties do release a manifesto, but that is at the Party level. Individual candidates are never quizzed about their commitment to the manifesto, or about their particular solutions, their suggestions. Agreed that democracy in America is much more evolved than here in India. Agreed that the social dynamics are hugely different. But we never have a candidate who has specific visions on improving primary education, on affordable health-care, on the state of the roads (or the lack of them). All we have is jingoism and un-abashed display of political might and election speeches which hardly have any substance.
The third is the transparency with which funds used by the campaign are tracked. Well, I'll not be niave enough to say that all is fair in the US presidential elections and shady deals do not take place. But I was indeed amazed this morning to read an account of the break-up of the funds utilized by either campaign. Do we have the same accountability? Do we even come close? Do we have a impartial watch-dog that does the book-keeping? If we do, then I'm not aware of it. The Election Commission does look into all the issues. But why isn't the data made public, if it does collect all this data?! The taxpayer has a right to know where his money is going!
But perhaps the most important of all things is the fact that this is the first time an African-American has been elected to the highest office in the United States. And in this context some startling (or surprising, to say the least) facts came to light. Barack Obama is only the third African-American to be elected to the Senate. This is rather surprising for a country which prides itself for providing every person the opportunity to pursue his/her dream. I would think that India does pretty well in this aspect. No, I'm not going to be beating my chest like a nationalist about how well we've done! But I honestly feel that India does have a very commendable record. Of people from all walks of life, from religious and ethnic minorities being elected to high office, of being elected to Government bodies - and serving with distinction, one might add. Whether it is the Government, or Defence Services, or Corporate organizations, India has provided opportunity to people from diverse backgrounds. I would not like to trivialize the issue by looking at people's caste or religion. But here in India, in spite of many short-comings, we do have a multi-cultural representation in most walks of life. And that is where lies our strength. Not long before, an African-American (or a black, to use the politically incorrect words) would not be seen as having a chance to occupy the 'White' House (no pun intended). In India, we accept without raising an eyebrow a Muslim being the Commander-in-Chief of our Defence Forces. A Christian being the country Defence Minsiter does not raise hackles. Well, their religion is not important, but the point I want to make is that these events are considered routine in a Hindu-majority country. Today, Barack Obama has created history. But before this, how many Americans would have given a coloured person a chance at occupying the highest office? But what is sad - almost tragic - in India is that the political class is sowing the seeds of dissension by following a mindless policy of appeasement of the religious, linguistic and ethnic minorities. Instead of rallying and unifying the country, they are sowing the seeds of its demise...
And last, but not the least, how many politicians would graciously accept defeat and pledge support to the winner to strive so that we

... leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited
John McCain, in his concession speech

Can we hope to get politicians who will strive to make this a better place to live in? Who will put aside petty political differences and unite people instead of dividing them? Well, a people get the leaders they deserve...

Asian Tigers, and the Lumbering Elephant

2008-10-26T12:43:00.004+05:30

There are a few things different about this post. First, I'm writing this the good ol'-fashioned way - using pen and paper. The reason behind this - and the second thing that's different about this post - is that I'm writing it not at my desk at home or office, but sitting on the Upper Berth of a Sleeper Class Compartment in the Udyan Express. I'm traveling to Bombay (this name oddly strikes me as more 'romantic' than Mumbai), and the train is running a couple of hours late. It's twilight and the train is meandering its way through the Western Ghats. We've just crossed Khandala, and gazing out of the window, I could see the vast valley and the little sleepy hamlets spread out below. The sky above was turning from crimson red to a dark orange and finally Night spread it's Cape over the villages and towns below (and us!). I could see the lights beginnning to twinkle in the houses of the village-folk. It was a really beautiful feeling - beauty is often found in simple things, and when you least expect it.
The journey has not been tiring - all I've done is eat, rest and read a bit and sleep a lot. But I'm beginning to feel the monotony of travel - the gentle swaying motion of the train, the sights and sounds of the countless hawkers plying their trade, and my co-passengers. Somehow, I couldn't strike up a conversation with any of them (well, try I did). My stop is still a couple of hours away (we should've been there by now!), and so I pulled out the little pocket notebook (the paper variety!) and my pen (not a stylus ;) ) and started scribbling to while away the time.
The rest of this post is about part of a book that I've been reading during the journey. I borrowed the book from a friend at work, and started reading it even as I was waiting for the train to arrive at the Bangalore City Junction. The book is India Unbound (Penguin Books, 2000) by Gurcharan Das. My friend had advised me "to carry something lighter for the journey" as well, saying that the book makes for some rather serious reading. Now serious it is, dealing with the Economic policies of Independent India, charting our course through the years of the "License Raj" (the term was coined by C. Rajagopalachari, I came to know) to the Liberalization of 1991, and India's almost meteoric rise in the Knowledge Economy of the present decade. A book on such a topic definitely makes for some serious reading. But I found the book (the part that I've read so far) very absorbing both in content and in the style of narration adopted by Das. The first part of the book (which I finished reading an hour back) looks at the period from 1942-65. The first chapter is interestingly (but very aptly) titled 'Ranting in English, Chanting in Sanskrit', and together with the second chapter looks at pre-Independence India, and how the English language and Western Education opened up the doors for Indians to the global world. It is often (incorrectly) said, that the Western Education only created clerks for the British bureaucracy in India. Well, that may be true to an extent, but it also created Engineers, Lawyers, Doctors and other professionals, and it brought the history of other cultures and Revolutions within the ambit of our thinkers and intellectuals. The first part of the book also examines a traditional Indian prejudice against businessmen and entrepreneurs. And this is most certainly true. Somehow creating wealth is deemed secondary - Das cites some philosophers' theory that the Vaishyas were the third in the caste heirarchy, after the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas. He also looks at the reasons why an Indutrial Revolution has always eluded India. Inspite of having a great Rail network. After all, in other countries, most notably America, the Railroad ushered in an era of prosperity, trade and commerce.
The way Das poses issues and examines various viewpoints and facets of the issue makes for very interesting reading. One thing was particularly interesting - the author delving into the traditional Indian psyche to explain one of the reasons why India did not witness a technological revolution. On why it did not, could not, innovate - and this is true for the last couple of centuries, and not just the past six-odd decades. He says that Indians, unlike Americans, are not "tinkerers". Manual labour is held in somewhat of a contempt, and tradition shows a bias toward the pure sciences rather than applied sciences or technology. I think that Das has hit the nail on its head. We Indians are generally not the "Just Do It" variety - we prefer to mull over theoretical problems rather than experiment and get our hands dirty - both literally and figuratively speaking.
Das also examines various economic policies expounded by various thinkers and economists during this period (1942-65). He describes his time at Harvard as one of "encounters with ideas rather than persons". He describes his own economic and social views at the time (liberal and socialist) and describes how he moved from being an uncritical exponent of Marx to a capitalist viewpoint. He also looks at the policies of the Indian Government at the time and how they nipped in the bud any trace of entrepreneurial spirit. He describes very nicely the travails of homegrown entrepreneurs like Kasturbhai Lalbhai and how the State instead of encouraging them, did the exact opposite - put in place excessive controls that made private enterprise virtually non-existent!
I'm continuing this part of the post on the 'morning after' (my train journey, obviously!) as the swaying of the train as it picked up speed on the plains made legible writing impossible. Getting back to the book, Das looks at how the flawed policies of the Government and the Bureaucracy instilled a culture of complacency at best, and inefficiency, low productivity, lobbyism, and corruption at worst in state enterprises. And how, surprisingly, Nehru defended the low productivity in Parliament! His reasoning - these enterprises were not 'set up to generate profit, but to meet social objectives'. The book looks at how ministers and bureaucrats, who had no experience whatsoever in running a business, presided in a shockingly ad hoc manner on business decisions. To sum it up, we got the 'worst of both worlds' by pursuing Nehru's brand of Socialism - the controls of socialism and the monopoly of capitalism'.
Reading the book really makes you think about a line Das uses a couple of times - "When individuals fail, it's a blunder; but when leaders fail, it's a catastrophe'. I've always wondered how the other Asian Economies who more or less started out at the same time as India did, have today become tigers, while India is still light years behind them! Of how, countries like Malaysia, or city-states like Singapore or Hong Kong have achieved so much with a fraction of the human and natural resources of India. Reading the book gives you some idea of the reasons behind this. Anyways, this post has already become long enough (and I'm really, really hungry!). So I'll sign off for now. But I'm sure that reading the remainder of the book will spur another post. Till then, ciao!!

Charge of the Young Brigade

2008-10-20T22:03:00.003+05:30

A lot has been written on the future of the Famous Five of Indian Cricket, with the print, television and online media debating furiously on the future of Saurav Ganguli, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, and Test Captain Anil Kumble. Saurav has already set the ball rolling by announcing his decision to retire from international cricket at the end of the ongoing series with Australia. What spurred this post was the performance of the Indian team in the ongoing test match (Oct 15-19). Anil Kumble was forced to sit out and so MS Dhoni took over the reigns and Amit Mishra got to make his Test debut. And to say that both have excelled (especially Mishra, bagging five scalps in his very first match!) would be an understatement. At the end of the fourth day's play, the test is poised for an exciting finish (I read a few reports which said 'Australia heading for defeat', but I'm sure that the Indians would have to earn this win). The enthusiam of the younger lot of cricketers is definitely a huge bonus. Yes, you do need experience at the highest level. But fresh blood, and fresh legs, and most of all a fresh outlook tends to make up for some of that. A friend remarked today that Kumble had better step aside voluntarily, or else the day he'd have to accept a CRS (Compulsory Retirement Scheme) might not be far. And it couldn't have been truer. While the aging war-horses have brought glory to Indian Cricket, they must not be a stumbling block in the careers of those who would bring it glory in the months and years to come. And so, it's only fair that the Mishras, the Chawlas, and the Rohit Sharmas and Badrinaths get their chance at the highest level. It would be unfair to have them wait in the wings just so that the Famous Five can bow out on their own terms. Barring the case of Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble, the other three have perhaps passed the stage of bowing out when people ask "Why?" rather than "Why not?!" Probably they should look back at the start of their own careers, to look at how excruciating the wait was to break into the team, to don the Indian colours. Finally, it would be nice to see them go out on their terms, rather than be shown the door... Change is the only thing that is constant, they say... It now remains to be seen who takes up the baton from Saurav...

Small car, Big gains

2008-10-08T18:22:00.006+05:30

After a tumultuous time in the state, the Tatas' have finally said Tata to Bengal, and Singur and moved to Gujarat. So it's goodbye to one M (Mamata) and a hello to another (Modi)! The move has dampened Durga Pooja celebrations in Bengal, according to reports on the internet, and print media. Understandably as well, I would say. The Nano factory had provided a stimulus to the local economy in Singur. The local people are understandably both disappointed and angry at the Tatas' decision to move out. But I guess they have only themselves to blame. Indirectly, if not directly. Mamata Banerjee's protest wouldn't have any fire without support from the locals. This is a loss for the state, but also for India as a whole. What kind of signals does it send out, when an elected government is held hostage by a renegade opposition leader? When it cannot come true on the promises it made? Well, you can call me an unabashed capitalist, but there is no option to industrialization, if we are to progress. No, I'm not saying that snatching your land for setting up a factory is fine. But that's where the state has to step in. To ensure that you are compensated fairly for your land. That you've got a fair bargain. If the state cannot ensure that, you cannot blame the industrialist for that! And that was what Mamata did. Instead of working out a package where the farmers would be compensated fair and square, she demanded complete transfer of land back to the farmers. What would they do with just the land? Ultimately, as the Singur plant demonstrated, the gains to be had out of industrialization are immense. Creation of a micro-economy in the industrialized zone. Creation of jobs, of infrastructure - roads, transport, electricity and water. Is the transfer of land back to the farmers worth sacrificing all this? Mr. Ratan Tata famously said that he will not pull out, even if a gun is held to his head. In the wake of the decision (to pull out), he said, "Ms. Banarjee has just pulled the trigger".

Since August, when the agitation started in Singur, several states had shown interest in offering Tatas the necessary incentives for their project. Finally, Gujarat has pipped them all to the post. The speed with which the government moved clinched the deal. And I think that is what is really noteworthy. Whatever may be said about Mr. Modi's style of functioning (some say that he's autocratic), you cannot deny that he's moved swiftly and smoothly. In fact, this is what invites investors to the state. I'd once read an article a long time back (when Mr. Modi assumed office for his third term as CM) about how he personally takes initiative to cut red-tape and bureaucracy. Gujrati people have business in their blood. Give them a conducive environment, and they're sure to flourish. And Gujarat has indeed emerged as one of the most investor-friendly destinations. At the Vibrant Gujarat summit in 2007, Mr. Tata had said, "You are stupid if you are not in Gujarat!". That one of the foremost industrialists in the country (and worldwide!) should say this, says a lot about the economic scenario in the state. And with the Nano project moving into Gujarat, this image will doubtless be embellished. Though it's a small car project, the gains will be BIG. As they would say in Gujrati, "Project nu naam Nano chhe, par faydo bau moto!"

Apocalypse Now

2008-10-08T10:40:00.005+05:30

As I'm writing this the BSE Sensex is about 700 points down, or almost 6 percent down. The bloodbath does not seem to stop, with the market losing anything between 4 to 6 percent every single day! And no one knows when or where it'll stop. The markets have already breached the two-year low in India, with the US markets touching a five year low! And the turmoil has already claimed a life, with an NRI shooting his family and then committing suicide, with the stock market crash turning him from a millionaire to a virtual pauper almost overnight. In an earlier post, I'd written about the fall of some of the biggest investment banks. But what is unfolding now is surpassing everything. It's a 'once in a lifetime' event, and may be a life-changing event for some.
The turmoil has left the small investor in a fix. The prices look very attractive, but everyday a new low is touched, surpassing the previous day's low by as much as 10 percent. Does he go out and buy, or does he sit tight? Well, I'm buying in small amounts, reasoning that nibbling at the stocks is the right way to go. That's the only bright side to this whole scenario, if you were to call it that. That it's a right time to buy if you have the cash to spare. But how far down will it go? Well, it's always darkest before the dawn, as they say...

The road less taken

2008-10-01T20:52:00.005+05:30

Today evening talked to a friend after a long time. It'd been almost a month since we talked, and just thought I'd catch up on how things were going. This friend of mine is a really special person. No, I don't mean special to me (which he is!), but a special human being. Brilliant in academics right from the school days, he completed his Engineering degree from one of the most prestigious colleges. He was picked up by Infosys as part of their campus recruitment programme. He could have gone places, with his intelligence. But my friend was slightly different. He did excel at work, no doubt. The awards that he won (and I'm sure he hasn't told us about all of them) prove it. But he wanted to do more. More for society, more for those who aspired, but their conditions held them back. Right from the time he joined Infosys, he spent a lot of time volunteering to teach kids from the slums, the backward areas. It gave him a special joy, something much more than excelling at work. It gave him a sense of fulfillment. Every weekend he used to come to Mumbai from Pune (where he worked), and Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings were spent teaching slum kids. Ditto with festivals like Holi, Diwali, and important occasions like Independence Day. But it was not enough. He knew that he had more to give. So one day, he just decided to give up his job in Infosys, and pursue his passion, his dream full-time. All of us who knew him, though not shocked, were a little surprised. Full-time social service?! But fortune favors the brave, and he was offered a full-time position by the Akanksha Foundation, an NGO working in the field of education for the under-privileged. He now 'works' in a special school, where he conducts classroom and other activities for kids. We've talked a few times about his 'day at work', and all that it involves. Teaching kids is no child's play (no pun intended)!! The kids have boundless energy, and it is us volunteers who find catching up with them difficult, he said once. At the end of your day at work, you're totally tired. But it's a sweet tiredness. And with that tiredness comes a feeling of satisfaction. And to see a kid's smile... Well, it definitely makes it worth it.
Today he was talking about preparations that he does every evening for the next day's 'classroom'. It's difficult to hold the kids' attention for a long time (well, the adults don't do too better ;) ), so Akanksha has devised short activities, spanning not more than 20 minutes. Unless it is an activity like drawing, or coloring sketches. Or crafting something. And so, he spends about an hour to an hour and a half for each such 20 minute activity. Planning about what to capture in that 20 minutes, how to present it. And then making photocopies of the material to be distributed to the kids. There's a lot of planning and skill involved. And committment. To your dream, to your passion. It's not something for the casual altruist. Early next year he'll assume charge of a school in Pune, that Akanksha Foundation plans to manage. Assuming charge of a school!! That sounds like a Herculean responsibility. But we know he'll do it just fine. It couldn't have a better 'headmaster' ;) at the helm of affairs. When we heard that he's been given the responsibility, we were very happy for him. He'd always wanted to do this. Finally, he'd found his true calling.
My friend found very early on in life what his passion was. He found and worked hard towards pursuing his passion, his goal, his dream. Well, as he'd say, he's only started working on fulfilling his dream. But he's started. How many of us can say confidently that we've found our calling? To begin with, your's truly can't. But that requires listening to your inner voice. And daring to listen to it. Not be swayed by family, friends, society. Just pursue your heart. And being sure that it's leading you the right way. My friend dared to take the road less taken. He'll celebrate his 26th birthday in a few days. Here's wishing him in advance, that he sees his dream being fulfilled. Here's wishing you the very best in Life, now and always, Chikka. Here's wishing your kids that they achieve their dreams. For that is his only dream...

Love thy neighbor... Even if he slaps you!

2008-09-30T21:59:00.005+05:30

The headline carried on the front page in today's edition of the Times of India just riled me no end. 'European Union raps India' it shrieked. And below the headline were the words, 'Describes Church Attacks as Massacre of Christians'. And may be I got out of the wrong side of the bed today morning, but the words just put me off. The church attacks were a reference to the recent attacks on Churches in Karnataka and Orissa. Of course, the issue has been hotly debated in many forums - on mails, by casual bloggers, by seasoned columnists, in the television and print media. But the point really is not about the attacks. It is about a conglomeration of countries trying to interfere with the sovereignity of a nation. A nation's internal security is it's concern alone. And people living in glass houses certainly shouldn't throw stones. Look at what the French President, Mr. Sarkozy had to say about the issue of Sikhs in France. "We respect their customs and traditions and they are welcome to France. But we have rules regarding the neutrality of civil servants... So while we respect the customs of Sikhs, we expect them to follow the rules of the Republic", he said. This was Mr. Sarkozy's response when asked about the ban on Sikh turbans in government-funded schools. And honestly, I admire him for his clear words on the topic. Unlike the ruling coalition in India, where the leaders hem and haw about calling a spade a spade. For clinging on to their chairs. To preserve their votebank. And do not utter a word about a third party interfering in the nation's internal affairs. To give an analogy, this is like your neighbour giving you sermons on familial harmony because he happened to overhear that argument you had with your wife last night. Not only that, imagine the same neighbor calling you a serial wife-beater! Calling the attacks on the churches a 'massacre' is being exactly like the neighbor. Well, if he (the neighbor) were to do that to me, I'd tell him to shut the *#$** up! But our premier, being the genial Sikh that he is, gives an 'assurance' to the neighbour about 'the constitutional right' of the minorities 'to profess and propagate their respective faiths'!! I can understand the profess part. But propagate?! What the hell does he mean by that?! But then you expect no more from a man who 'professes' the 'love of Indian people' for Mr. Bush, the president of the US of A! What riled me was the fact that this remark was a slap on the administration of the country. And the fact that the administration remained a mute spectator, instead of reminding the EU to keep their noses out of a sovereign nation's affairs.

The box said 'Requires Win 95, NT or better'. So I installed Linux

2008-09-27T19:52:00.004+05:30

Yes, it is true... I've just switched loyalties to Linux! I'm now using the Ubuntu 7.10 64 bit edition, and from my initial experiences, I'm just loving it! Especially, the graphics part, which IMHO (in my humble opinion ;)) is way beyond what Windows Vista has to offer. The nVidia GeForce 6150 Graphics card which was lying unutilized all this while (yep, I'm not a great gaming enthusiast), suddenly sprang to life and the snazzy effects are cool, to say the least. Well, there were teething troubles in getting up my notebook to full functionality, so to speak. But they were just that - teething troubles. And thanks to the huge Ubuntu community out there, getting them sorted out was no sweat. That's the best part about using Linux. There's a whole bunch of guys out there, who've likely faced the same problem that you're facing right now, and you'll find the answer on a forum. You just have to google on your problem, and Voila! And oh, the ubuntu official forums are there, too. So getting my Wireless connection up and running, and fixing the sound issue (no sound) was done in a matter of an hour or two (well, the sound card issue was vexed).
The move from Windows was prompted by an itch, really. An itch to do something different, to just experience a different OS for a while (OK, OK, I'm a geek ;)). And at not having to pay through your nose for softwares, and updates - who doesn't like free stuff?! And real quality free stuff!! The installation itself was pretty easy. I've worked on Linux boxes quite extensively during my grad student days at IIT, Bombay, and so Linux installations were nothing new. In fact, Linux itself was nothing new. And there was a time when I was more comfortable at command lines than Windows-based apps (for one, it really helps on a notebook, when you don't use a mouse). But installing Ubuntu from the disc proved nothing at all like installing that Linux distro I'd installed on my machine during my IIT days. No manual partitioning, no setting up /boot, /home, /swap; no being prompted for LILO or Grub. Just a glide through the set-up process where you're asked for the place settings and a couple of administrative things. The whole set-up was done within half an hour, and I was ready to go! Next followed setting up the Internet connection (the LAN card was configured correctly, so this was smooth), and getting help on setting up the Wireless connection. And fixing the sound issue. This far the UI,while being on par with Windows, was pretty ordinary after all. Then I installed the restricted firmware for the nVidia Graphics card, and boy! The snazzy effects while switching between apps, opening or closing a terminal, switching workspaces... A whole lot of cool stuff! Then downloaded the security updates from the Ubuntu site, and there I was ready to go.
I've been using Ubuntu for the last couple of days, and the experience has been perfect. In fact, it does all the things Windows does, and more! So unlike the Linux distro that I'd used in IIT-B, I don't have to mount and unmount the CD-ROM and USB drives - they're done by the system. Even though I'm comfortable with that part, that was a pleasant surprise (yep, I hadn't quite been in touch with the evolution of Linux the last couple of years). At the same time, the command line just puts a lot of power at your fingertips (literally and figuratively). I don't think I'd be moving back to Windows any time soon. So here's to Linux!
Cheers!!

Dont Look, We're changing! Bet you can't NOT look!!

2008-09-25T08:31:00.007+05:30

Amidst a lot of hype and buzz, the Android phone was finally launched in the US on September 23. I guess it'll be quite a while before it comes around to Indian markets, but looking at the features it really made me wish I could lay my hands on one. Here is the coverage on Techcrunch, and you can read another post here. Now you'd think that these 'smart phones' are only for the nerd and geeks amongst us, but if you scratch the surface, it's kind of a revolution that's happening in the mobile space. It began with the iPhone launch in July, and it's really catching up with the Android launch. Mobile phones are no longer just devices that you use to make calls, or text messages to your friends or girlfriend. They are packing in a whole lot of features - right from checking your e-mails to searching maps to cool apps that allow you to do a whole lot of stuff that seemed just un-imaginable just an year ago! You can use your mobile phone to listen to your favourite songs, to chat with your friends, to browse the web, to check your e-mail (and make sure that it syncs up with the mail server!)... And the list goes on... Heck, you can even take snaps, record a video inpromptu, and watch full-length movies on that small device! And you can carry all this functionality in your pocket! And with at least 8GB of storage, you don't have to offload data every other day to your notebook. I seriously can't think of something that my notebook can do that these phones cannot! Now a lot of phones had these kind of features for a while now. They were restricted to the cool dudes with hot pockets. Or the business executive who'd use them as a PDA. But with these phones being launched in the USD 200 range, they've become a lot more you-and-me-friendly, from the cost point of view. The fact that the iPhone 2G sold as many phones in the first week as the first iPhone sold in a month says something! The Android phone may not (yet) give the iPhone serious competition, but it's sure to revolutionize the segment, and give Steve Jobs something to think about. The mobile phones are changing in yet another aspect. They started out as big, bulky devices, and then moved to a phase where small was in. Now it seems that the catch-phrase is Big is Beautiful and life for the mobile phone seems to have come full-circle! But then looking at everything that's packed in there... Well, I can't wait to get either the iPhone or the Android for myself. But I guess I'll have to wait... At INR 31K, the iPhone in India is still a bit out of my range. And the Android G1 will take a while to come to our shores... Till then, you can drool over some of these images ;)

T for technology, T for terror

2008-09-23T09:26:00.004+05:30

Came across this post on TechCrunch about GnuPG, a software that helps you to encrypt mails, to avoid a hacker looking into your private mails. The post is a little bit geekish, but contains nice step-by-step instructions to use both GnuPG and FireGPG, a Firefox extension which provides a nicer interface than the command line one given by GPG. I haven't tried it (well, I don't have any incriminating mails to hide, for one. For another, I'm not running for a public post, to have some enthusiastic hacker look into my mailbox ;) ), but it looks pretty useful tool to have. But call it the effect of the current security situation, call it paranoia, the thought occured to me that this could easily be (mis-)used by terrorists or anyone with nefarious motives to communicate securely, without having the intelligence agencies eavesdropping. Already the bad guys seem to be one step ahead of the good guys, and in these times of cyber-crime, cyber-fraud and cyber-terrorism, this is a real serious prospect. The Internet has shrunk the world, and while it certainly helps me to chat with my friend in the US, it also helps the bad guys to co-ordinate their plans for that bombing in Cairo, sitting in Alaska (OK, no reference to Palin here ;) )! As terrorists and criminals become increasingly hi-tech and get more educated, highly qualified people into their fold, it's becoming a case of playing catch-up with them. Now I'm not saying that the bad guys are not already using encryption and this site will have some one saying 'Eureka!'. But the point I'm trying to make is that there's such a wealth of information available online that can easily be mis-used. Like Naseeruddin Shah's character says in Wednesday, "Internet pe 'bomb' ke liye search karo toh 352 sites milengi!" Yes, sad but true. We talk about technology enabling our lives. But it is also being used in the pursuit of much more dastardly acts, acts that are claiming more and more lives - across the world...

Fewer traffic rules = Fewer accidents?!

2008-09-21T21:03:00.003+05:30

A week back read an article in the Times of India about a town in Germany that did away with traffic signals. Not only this, it also tore down kerbs and erased all marked crosswalks. To quote from the article:

Bohmte has scrapped its traffic lights, torn down the kerbs and erased marked crosswalks. The main street is now shared equally by bikes, pedestrians, cars and trucks. Initiatives like this which aim to break the hegemony of cars are popping up across Europe.

Now a really interesting result of this experiment was that the town actually witnessed accident rates declining! When I read the article, a thought came to my mind, can this work in India? And the very next moment, I found the very idea simultaneously revolting and ridiculous. Why, well, we already have many parts which do not have signals; sidewalks if they exist at all, are taken up either by hawkers or by motorists (yes, you can try to navigate the sidewalks of Bangalore or Pune!) and whoever saw marked crosswalks! Drivers lack even the basic courtesy, forget about road discipline, honking incessantly and overtaking even in a crowded street. Pedestrians consider the road as a park, strolling along without looking right or left. Add to this, the occasional cow ambling across the road. And what you have is nothing short of total mayhem! The philosophy of fewer rules is based on one simple thing - consideration for your fellow drivers, or pedestrians. But do we see that here? Everyone is in a tearing hurry, either to get to work, or to rush back home, or to catch that movie show. The article talks about the concept of "shared spaces" pioneered by Dutch engineer Hans Monderman. This concept can work when people take time to slow down a little bit. On the road. And in their lives as well... When they inculcate a little bit of discipline. But most of all, when they learn to be considerate about their fellow citizens. Till then, I don't think that fewer rules will lead to fewer accidents in Indian cities.

A Saturday...

2008-09-21T15:02:00.005+05:30

So after a busy week, Saturday evening was a welcome break. There's nothing like enjoying a weekend of movies, eating out, and especially when you've really had to work hard through the week. 'Work hard, party harder' as they say! Saturday evening was spent watching two movies, and eating out at Bombay Post, a restaurant on Airport Road in Bangalore. We rented DVDs for A Wednesday and Rock On, two movies I'd been planning to watch for a long time. And 'A Wednesday' just had me floored. I do not remember the last time Hindi cinema gave such a hard-hitting, fast paced, taut, thriller of a movie. It's a must-watch! I'll not be a spoiler and say anything about the plot. Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah, are at their best, reprising their parts to perfection. Kher's character, Prakash Rathod, the Commissioner of Police of Mumbai, is a tough cop, efficient and calm in the face of crisis. Watching the movie really made me feel that we need officers like Prakash Rathod leading our police force today - tough, calm, efficient and quick decision makers. The other actors are pretty fine as well, but this movie is only about Prakash Rathod, and an anonymous caller who threatens to blow up the five bombs he has planted in various places across the city. This morning's papers carried a small item about Taare Zameen Par being selected as India's official entry for the Oscars. A Wednesday was in the contention as well. Now I haven't seen TZP, but I really felt that Wednesday deserved the wider audience that it would have got, had it made the cut. For the rivetting performances, for the plot, but most of all for the message it carries. For the thoughts that it spurs in the viewer's mind. Especially in this age, when terrorist bombings have become disturbingly common. Especially in India, which is bleeding through a thousand cuts - Mumbai, Lucknow, Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and now Delhi...
The other movie we saw was Rock On, and I don't know whether it was because I saw a movie like Wednesday just a few hours before this one, but honestly felt that it was OK. Well, yes, just OK. The music is fantastic, no doubt. In fact, in music, I think this is a movie which has dared to be different in a long, long time. And it's no small compliment that the music of Rock On featured in Rolling Stones magazine! Only the second time Indian music featured in Rolling Stones. But the movie itself drags at times. I felt that a little bit too much takes place in flashback. And the theme of friends re-uniting after a misunderstanding causes them to drift apart is pretty stale. We saw the same thing in Dil Chahta Hai. OK, the movie is not bad, not at all. But there are times when it left me looking at the watch. And when that happens, well, you know it... Farhan Akhtar makes his acting debut in the movie, and he does a good job of portraying Aditya. The rest of the cast is good as well. I especially liked Purab Kohli in his role, infusing a youthful charm into the movie. Of the leading ladies, Prachi Desai looks really cute. Goswami has also played the role of Debbie nicely. Overall it wasn't a bad watch, but well, it was Wednesday which rocks!!

And they all fell down...

2008-09-20T15:50:00.012+05:30

After a brief lull, I'm back to blogging! The week just whizzed by, and here I am on a Saturday afternoon chained to my desk at work, working on the technical paper submission deadline! (Well, the chained to the desk part was exaggerated :D) But while I was busy trying to get everything done before the deadline, the world outside was witnessing a huge turmoil. The week began with the frontpage news on Monday crying out that Lehman Brothers is filing for bankruptcy. That too the biggest Chapter 11 bankruptcy claim filing in US history! This was followed by news of AIG looking out for buyers, and doubts being expressed about other banks like Morgan Stanley as well. Suddenly, the who's-who in the world of investment banking were on their knees, begging for government largesse. While Lehman filed for bankruptcy, the US government attempted to bail out AIG with an infusion of US$ 85 billion. Here is a post on the mess that the big banks find themselves in. The numbers are staggering - 4 trillion dollars down the drain! The next few days carried the grim news of the aftermath, with the effects being felt in India as well. Almost all of 2500 employees in Lehman's India operations would be losing their jobs. And when the banking and financial sector was facing such a tough time, the impact was bound to felt on the IT industry, with BFSI (Banking, Financials and Insurance Services) being a major part of product/services offerings of some of the top players. So news of lay-offs and pink-slips in organizations world-wide was not unexpected, though the sheer numbers were shattering. HP announced cuts up to 25000 people, while Satyam announced it was 'right-sizing' about 4500-odd people. And suddenly, IT professionals became aware of the Sword of Damocles hanging over their head. The stock markets, too, reacted to this turmoil, and several millions of rupees of investor wealth was wiped out. (Though they did bounce back on Friday, and gave investors something to cheer about as the week ended.) What will happen in the weeks ahead? No one knows how deep the rot brought on by the sub-prime crisis has set in. After all, when a Bank that had never posted a loss in any single quarter in its 158-year old history goes bust, you really do not know what to expect...

Viral Marketing

2008-09-13T16:15:00.007+05:30

Read this editorial in today's Times of India about viral marketing, and it got me interested. I'd already come across this term a couple of times before (on TechCrunch, a blog covering start-ups and cool technology products and services), but hadn't given much thought to exactly what it is. So when I saw the phrase 'viral marketing' in the tag-line of the article, I dived into the full article, to understand what it exactly means. So viral marketing is basically word-of-mouth publicity, albeit on the internet. To quote the article,

... Viral advertising involves companies or marketers creating messages so funny and interesting that consumers feel compelled to forward them to their friends and family.

Now word-of-mouth publicity has of course been a very potent tool to market products and services, but the internet takes it all to a whole new level! For one, with the amount of content shared online these days these campaigns reach out to a huge population across geographical boundaries. For instance, I watched the new Microsoft commercials, featuring Gates and Seinfeld on YouTube, even though they are airing on televisions in US (and not in India). Social networking has led to the world shrinking, and sharing of services, applications, has never been so easy! And marketers have of course latched on to this opportunity to use the Web as a marketing tool. The goal is to identify users with high Social Networking Potential (SNP) and create viral messages that appeal to this segment and have a high chance of being passed along. Viral marketing can be in the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, images, or even text messages (SMS). Viral marketing has serious implications for the traditional media of course, with the Internet eating into the ad spend for print and television. To quote some figures from the Times of India article again, Google witnessed a 42 percent jump in revenue in Q1 2008, over the same period in 2007, while a leading American newspaper reported a revenue dip of 9.2 percent. Companies are clearly putting their bets on the World Wide Web!

An Evening in Paris

2008-09-12T08:41:00.020+05:30

Saw a French movie at the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore yesterday. The movie titled 'Fauteuils_d'orchestre' depicts the tale of a young small-town girl, Jessica, who comes to Paris and finds a job as a waitress in a smalll cafe. She is the sort of a narrator of the whole movie, as we often see the other characters expressing themselves to her; we see her amused and bewildered at some of the plots that enact out before her. For instance, the pianist Jean-Francois expresses his frustration at the world of formal music concerts when she is serving him his order. And she cannot understand why such a great pianist would want to run away from it all! The plot of the movie can be found on the movie's Wiki page. The movie is a nice, gripping narration of the incidents in the lives of the five lead characters of the movie. The characters themselves are nicely portrayed, and all the actors have done full justice to capture the nuances of the characters. Cecile de France as Jessica is superb, portraying the curiosity of a small town girl nicely. Overall, a nice evening, with Cinnamon and Butter Croissants, Banana and Coffee cake (at the canteen in the Alliance Francaise), and Fauteuils_d'orchestre!

A Journey to the Beginnning of the Universe?

2008-09-11T08:28:00.008+05:30

So the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have begun with the first proton beams completing a full circuit of the particle accelerator. It is being touted as the Next Big Thing in the world of particle physics; with the data collected from the experiment being used to test out the math worked out by the theoretical physicists. Amid all the hype and hoopla surrounding it, there were also fears that the experiment would lead to the world being wiped out, but those were nothing more than a few Chicken Littles' running around saying, "The Sky is falling!". Here are a few links on the various aspects of the experiment - hope you find them interesting!

http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080905/full/news.2008.1085.html - some interesting numbers on the experiment.
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/11/72198?currentPage=all - a series from Wired.com.
http://blogs.uslhc.us/?p=328 - a blog by a US team involved in the LHC experiment.
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=c51JNQ1nH_o - the moment of the first circulating beam.

Update: just came across this interesting video:

Google Chrome... Rock ON!!

2008-09-10T08:30:00.006+05:30

OK, so this one is for nerds. Or is it?! I'm referring to the launch of Google's new browser Chrome. One would think that a post on a beta launch of a browser would be strictly for nerds, but look at the publicity it generated! I don't remember the last time a browser launch received so much widespread coverage!! The internet of course led the pack with reviews of the new browser as soon as Google launched it on September 2. But articles in the leading newspapers, and even the tabloids!! Here is the article in Mumbai Mirror. And the Pune edition (Pune Mirror) also ran an article reviewing it, where they asked a serious techie to review the browser for its readers! All this within 24 hours of its launch! Well, so I guess this is no longer for nerds or techies exclusively. I guess I'm not really a nerd, but then your's truly was also waiting impatiently for the launch of this browser - in fact stayed awake late in the night waiting for the launch at 11:00 AM PDT! And I've been using it ever since, and to quote the Mac tagline, 'I'm loving it!'. Yes, the browser has a clean UI, and is almost minimalistic on the UI front. But boy, is it fast! Don't know how exactly browser speed is evaluated, but I tried loading a few rich content pages into Chrome and Firefox 3.0.1 and the new Internet Explorer 8 (which also launched less than a week back - aren't the browser wars hotting up!?). Just to be sure that the pages were not cached, I cleared the browser cache in all the cases. And Chrome trumped the other two hands-down! Another cool feature of the browser is the "Omnibox" as Google engineers call it. There is a single bar that serves as the address bar and the search box. Also the auto-suggest entries are displayed in a list in the same box. Google claims that the browser's main feature, or USP, is it's rock-solid stability. This is the first multi-process browser, in that each tab runs as a separate process. So if one tab hangs, then you don't have to close the entire browser, just the particular process can be killed. Oh, that reminds me, the browser has it's own process manager! Oh well, I could go on and on about it. Instead, let me just direct you to the experts - Chrome's official web-site. For those of you interested in knowing a little bit of engineering that goes behind Chrome, you can find it here, in this comic strip. I've been using Firefox for a long while now, but I guess I'd be compelled to switch to Chrome. Chrome simply rocks!! And oh, it is open-source. I can't wait for the next release, and for plug-ins for Chrome.

Google Chrome.... Rock ON!!

Update: Here is a look at the market share of Chrome, a week after launch. For those interested for a review of Chrome, you can find a good one here.

M for Media, M for Monster?

2008-09-10T08:28:00.002+05:30

Just read this article on Rediff about how the media in India tends to sensationalize at best and completely distort people's comments and actions. The gist of the article is how the media distorted Raj Thackeray's comments, and gave him an opportunity to score some brownie points in a political struggle of one-upmanship with the Shiv Sena. Now I'm not going to go into whether Raj Thackeray is right or wrong in raising this issue of Mumbaikars versus (so-called) non-Mumbaikars. In fact the article uses this issue only as a case in point. The larger issue being how the television and print media in India distort issues and statements to influence people's opinions (for better or for worse). Whatever happened to impartially reporting a particular incident? Here is an earlier post on the same issue, that was inspired by the depiction of the media in the recent film Mumbai Meri Jaan. Is the media fast turning into a monster, a Frankenstein?

Of Idlis, Orchids and a serial entrepreneur

2008-09-05T22:15:00.006+05:30

Just finished reading “Idli, Orchid Ani Mee”, a book by Vitthal Kamat. The ‘Orchid’ in the title refers to Hotel Orchid, Mumbai, and the author is the owner of the ‘ecotel’ – Hotel Orchid. The book is written in a simple, yet lucid narrative style. The reader is transported through the life of the author, a self-styled entrepreneur. The book looks at the journey of the author from ‘Hotelwala Kamat’ to ‘Restaurantwala Kamat’ to the owner of the five-star, deluxe ‘Ecotelwala Kamat’. Reading the book one thing struck me, that to be an entrepreneur the first thing you need is to dream big – not be content with your achievements and rest on your laurels. Though not new to the hotel business – his father already owned a couple of restaurants in Mumbai – the writer went on to open and successfully run almost fifty odd restaurants in Mumbai, and other cities around India and the rest of the world. To this list were added a couple of three-star hotels, and finally a four-star hotel in a prime locality in Mumbai – Airport Plaza, later renamed Kamat Plaza. But not content with this, he dreamed of opening a five-star hotel where Kamat Plaza stood. Dreaming big is just the beginning, but the second thing you need is a burning passion, a fire within that is all-encompassing. You need to breathe, live, eat your dream; not worrying about hunger or sleep, for these are but human frailties that get in the way to realizing your dream. You need to work, work and work. As the author recalls his father saying, “Kamat naav asel, tar kaam kara” (if the name is Kamat, all you should do is work – work is loosely translated as kaam in Marathi). And so the author often put in eighteen-to-twenty hour work days, overseeing the work on his dream project. Everyone sees a flourishing business, but few see the hours of blood-and-sweat that behind its creation. The book offers a glimpse into the trials and tribulations that Kamat faced in the realization of his dream. Overall the book is a good read. At times, it gets a little mundane, and you find yourself losing interest. But once it gets to the point of Kamat’s single-minded pursuit of his dream, it makes really wonderful reading. The book is also replete with many anecdotal tales of incidents over the almost twenty-five to thirty odd years of Kamat’s journey from ‘Hotelwala Kamat’ to ‘Ecotelwala Kamat’. These make interesting reading, offering an insight into the author’s personality. They give an insight into his powers of observation and innovation, of how a serial entrepreneur relishes challenge, and converts every obstacle into an opportunity. An insight of how, in business, the biggest profit or gain is gaining goodwill of your customer(s). Overall the book makes quite a good read, and is definitely recommended for wannabe entrepreneurs. As the author quotes a saying in Marathi, “Pudhchyas thech, magcha shahana” – the mistakes of the one in front teach the followers quite a lot!

Journalism or sensationalism?

2008-08-31T14:35:00.016+05:30

Watched Mumbai Meri Jaan yesterday. As you may already know the movie looks at how the lives of five people are affected by the 7/11 local train blasts. One of the five people is television reporter Rupali Joshi (played by Soha Ali Khan), who loses her fiance in the blasts. The movie shows how her life changes, and how she is forced to take a second look at what goes on in the media - especially the television media - in the name of journalism. And the director Nishikant Kamat has really hit the nail on its head. Of how the television media in India - well, I'll talk about India because of my ignorance of what goes on in other parts of the world - will almost do anything to garner TRPs and viewership ratings. Of how almost anything is sensationalized by the media today. Right from frivolous things like a cat on the roof (see image), to people's personal tragedies and battles. The movie shows a scene where Rupali is shown covering a story on caste-based murders in some remote village. The scene shows the women bemoaning the death of their husbands, and the reporter (Soha's character) thrusts a mike into their faces to ask, "Abhi aap kaise mehsoos kar rahen hai?" And suddenly, a similar visual from a popular television news channel came to mind. The setting was very familiar. Communal tension. Deaths. Protests. And the television reporter asking a family member, "Ab aap kaise mehsoos kar rahen hai. Aapki kya apeksha hai, ki sarkar ne kya karna chahiye?" One feels that the media in India would not hesitate to sell it's soul to the devil, if they were to be guaranteed the numero uno spot in the TRPs war in return! In the movie, the television team Rupali works for is shown huddled together in the meeting room after the blasts, looking at possible 'hot' stories to be aired at 'prime-time'! She zeros in on the case of a young 25-26 year old who loses his life in the blasts. This young man is the only earning member in his family, which includes his wife and kid, and his ageing parents. Rupali asks her team to get every bit of information they can on him, and his family. It will strike an emotional chord with people, she says of the story. And so it's decided that the story will go on air 'Saturday night, 9:30 PM, primetime!'

Is this what has come to pass in the name of journalism. Sadly, the answer may be yes. While the media does do it's bit in creating awareness, and may even help in securing justice (the Jessica Lal case), one wonders (yes, it may seem cynical) whether it does even that with the sole aim of getting the truth out? Or is it another attempt at garnering TRPs?

Mumbai Meri Jaan...

2008-08-27T20:57:00.004+05:30

Today evening, talk during a snacks break turned to different cities - the city culture, the people and how 'livable' the city was. And as two of us had lived in Mumbai (your's truly having lived in Mumbai almost all life), the topic moved to the madness that Mumbai is. My friend was talking about how the city is not very 'livable' - thanks to the maddening, suffocating rush in the suburban trains, the crowds, the traffic congestion, congestion in general. After all, Mumbai is just a group of seven islands, forever short of space. But one thing that even my friend, who disliked the rush and commotion of the city, could not deny was the attitude of the city, of the people who make the city. Yes, the attitude of Mumbaikars is truly amazing. And it's something that can be felt, not described. You've to live in Mumbai to know what I'm talking about. I've lived in Bangalore for a couple of years now, and honestly, I like the city. The city, like every other, has it's plus points. It's truly a cosmopolitan city, and a vibrant one. But I feel that the city is not professional enough. I've lived in Mumbai all my life, in Bangalore for a couple of years, keep visiting Pune frequently, and have been to Chennai, Delhi (Noida), Hyderabad on work trips. But I've honestly never seen a work culture like Mumbai. This is a city where people are prepared to work hard for a living. They are prepared to go that extra mile. Shopkeepers are prepared to bend over a little backwards to please their customers. Sample this - in all these years, I've never come across an auto-rickshaw driver who has demanded extra fare (in Bangalore, if a auto driver does not demand extra fare, I pinch myself to check if I'm not dreaming). I've never been to a restaurant which does not have something that's on the menu card on offer. Bangalore, by contrast, is much laid back - people do not seem to have the same drive. In commuting as well, Mumbai rocks! Or rather the suburban trains rock! Yes, they are over-crowded (that's an understatement!), yes, there's barely breathing space. But you're guaranteed a train every 5 minutes. Want to travel to the other end of the city? Simple, just hop into an auto or a bus, reach the nearest train station, take a train (or two), and take an auto from the other station to your destination. Simple. Even in road traffic, in my experience, Mumbai has the most road discipline, compared to any other city (In Delhi, he road is your very own personal property, free to be used as per your whim or fancy. And every single guy on the road thinks the same!). Well, I'm not going to rave and rant about how Mumbai is the best. It has it's cons. But the point is - that the people of this wonderful city make it what it is. The commercial capital of the country. A city where millions come to chase dreams - and see them being fulfilled. A city which is bursting at the seams, and yet is accomodating more and more people. A city where everyone is in a mad scramble - to get into a train or bus, or to reach home, or just because it's a sin to slow down. But this city has a heart of gold, and the mind of a shrewd businessman. This city is.... Mumbai Meri Jaan....

The Pursuit of Happyness

2008-08-26T20:40:00.004+05:30

A colleague happened to remark today - if the work's good, the boss is bad, and if the boss is good, the work happens to be bad! The discussion we were having was a typical workplace discussion about work, bosses, projects and so on. But her remark got me thinking. It's true with most of us, isn't it? As professionals, it seems to be our destiny that we can only have one thing - either a good boss or good work. Seems like a case of 'You can't have your cake and eat it too'!! And so, it seems like while we can pursue happiness, we can't (always) expect to actually lay our hands on it. If you ask my take on this colleague's remark, I would say that of the two I would choose good work. Bosses, good or bad, are people, at the end of the day... Like you and me.... It takes all kinds of people to make a world! And bad bosses just end up teaching you about managing difficult people. Now in a corporate environment, bad work is bound to come your way at some point of time, but doing good work is finally what gets you noticed finally. Not only in your organization, but outside as well. And however philosophically one might look at it (no work is truly bad, there's a bright side to everything, blah blah), there's no denying that having work that's not proving to be any value addition over a long period of time, is going to harm chances of further growth. To sign off, how do you know if you're really doing 'good' work? Or what's the definition of good work? A friend of mine had this to say: "If you open the Times Ascent, and see the (kind of) work you are doing figuring in the work profiles, you're doing good work!"... Neat, I would say...

Window shopping... but at a price!

2008-08-24T21:35:00.003+05:30

About half an hour of browsing in the Pepe Jeans store proved costly for me today! The cost of the browsing - 300 bucks :( ... Had planned on meeting a few friends, and we decided to meet in Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) at around 6 in the evening. To avoid the peak hour evening traffic, I left early and was there at our rendezvous point about half an hour earlier. After parking my motorbike on the pavement in front of CCD, decided to check out some of the brand stores next to the CCD outlet. After spending some 25 minutes checking out the new arrivals in the store - and talking to a friend I ran into - I came back, only to find my motorbike missing from the spot I'd parked it in! A guy standing by the 'parking lot' told me that a towing van had come a few minutes back. Now I'd thought that the parking was for CCD customers, and parked it without a second thought. To get the motorbike back had to go to the nearest police station, and pay the fine and towing charges. Well, one helluva costly round of window shopping!!

A White Elephant?

2008-08-22T18:38:00.004+05:30

So the iPhone 3G has finally launched! With Airtel and Vodafone going in for an unprecedented mid-night launch. But has it really generated the kind of interest that it generated when it was launched elsewhere (in the US, in Europe)? For starters, the price of the set is bound to be a dampener. The 8 GB model is priced at INR 31000 and the 16 GB at INR 36000. So the iPhone risks ending up as a luxury device that many can covet, but only a privileged few afford. But the pricing apart, there are a few other aspects too which put a question mark on whether the iPhone will really catch on in India. Here's a review in the Economic Times. But the question that begs to be asked is whether an iPhone owner will really be able to exploit it's features, when 3G roll-out in India is still quite a while away. For the iPhone is really a internet and multimedia device, that you can make calls using it is quite incidental! A few practical issues exist as well. The change of battery being the most crucial one. You can get the battery changed only at a service provider outlet (Airtel and Vodafone being the only ones currently). Now this does not seem like a tough thing to do, but Blackberry users will definitely tell you otherwise. Another reported issue is about call-dropping and battery life. And then of course the fact that you cannot forward messages! All this apart, the interface is really cool (especially the accelerometer, which is sure to enhance the mobile gaming experience)! But will this really drive me to buy the iPhone (assuming that I could afford one)? Well, probably not. But a few months to an year down the line... With 3G rolling out in India, and hopefully a lower price tag, and better features (forwarding of messages, better battery life)... Well, I might go for what I feel is a "White Elephant" right now...

Road Trip

2008-08-18T19:34:00.002+05:30

Yesterday was a road-trip of sorts, what with traveling from one end of the city to the other. But I must admit that I actually liked this road-trip, even though before I (or rather, we - my parents and I) set out, the prospect appeared a little daunting. My parents were here for the long weekend, and they really wanted to see the ISKCON temple in Bangalore. Now our apartment is near Whitefield, and the ISKCON temple at Rajaji nagar, and the distance must be a good 35-40 kilometers at least. Anyways, since we do not have a car (yes, in these times of rising fuel prices, we're amongst the lucky few ;) ), we decided to travel by the BMTC buses. Now I haven't traveled a lot by the BMTC (that's the government bus service), and honestly, I didn't consider it a very viable option either. So far, that is. But after yesterday, I've become somewhat of a convert! Yes, to the fold of people who would vouch for public transport. Well, so we set out early in the morning. Now there is no direct bus to Rajaji nagar, so we took the bus to the Shivaji nagar bus terminal, and decided that we would change buses there. Now, being a Sunday, the buses were a lot less crowded than usual, as were the roads. And luckily I got a seat by the window. For a change the sights of the city, which otherwise are a blur as we zip by on our motorbikes or cars, started holding my attention. The same streets of Bangalore which other wise seem so drab, seemed to come alive. A man selling potted plants by the road. The cobblers by the road-side getting ready to ply their trade. Kids running through the roads. Construction workers getting ready to start the day shift on the Metro Rail Project. The names of the areas which in spite of being in the city for just over two years now, were just that, names... Up until now. Now as the bus found its meandering route through the city, I saw the city that really is Bangalore. Honestly, this is the best way to see a city, to explore it. Hop on to a bus, and then just soak in the sights, sounds and the smells. And suddenly, before I realized it, I was in love with the city. With its streets, the very streets which I'd often curse for the horrible traffic jams. Now instead of the car or truck or bike in front of me, I saw the tree-lined streets (alas, some of these very trees may be felled for the Metro Rail), and the various establishments that dotted them. All very mundane, and yet, today the ordinary seemed different. May be because I never stopped to look at the so-called ordinary goings-on. As in Davies' poem (Leisure),

What is this Life if, full of care

We have no time to stand and stare?-

Indeed, yes, we scarcely have time to really see, observe the city around us, and the city within the city. And this road-trip gave me a chance to do that. Observe the city, hitherto almost unknown. And most of the route to Shivaji nagar, and then on to Rajaji nagar was through old parts of Bangalore. The city of Bangalore as it was 8-10 years ago. And so there were the wide avenues, tree-lined, old stone buildings rising up not more than three stories from the ground. The stone buildings harking back to the period when Bangalore was a pensioner's paradise - going about it's business in a slow, leisurely way. None of the concrete eyesores that we see today, filling the sky-line. Well, they say the journey is more interesting than the destination. How true it was, yesterday. Scarcely had I imagined that this trip would show me a different face of the city I've lived in for the last couple of years.

IT (Impossible Traffic) City

2008-08-07T09:26:00.001+05:30

OK, as you must have guessed, I'm about to start rambling about the traffic in Bangalore. Sorry to disappoint you, mate, but while this post is about the traffic in India's IT City, I am not going to curse and swear at the horrible traffic. Instead let me contribute my tuppence to another issue, which is definitely related to the traffic snarls. As I was driving to work yesterday, I was stuck in yet another traffic jam. Well, nothing unusual about this, except that the complete traffic stand-still was before 8 in the morning! And I had thought that commuting at non-peak hours would be pretty much of a breeze! So as I was stuck in the traffic, I just glanced around myself. And noticed all the cars around me. Now in a random sample of cars, I noticed that about 9 in 10 cars had single occupants. The odd car in which there were more (well, two to be precise) was a father dropping off his kid to school. A couple of days back I read a post somewhere about how the state of California guzzles more gasoline than all of India. The post went on to remark how almost every family member there has a gar of his/her own, and BIG cars, at that. Now, while we are still a fair distance away from this situation, I would say that we are getting there - in the metros or IT cities (like namma Bengalooru). OK, so every family member definitely does not own a car here. But because of the sheer numbers - the population - the situation is alarming. Now besides the environmental aspect - fuel demand, quality of air, there is the aspect of the traffic snarls that this gives rise to. In the absence of a good Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, people cannot be faulted for resorting to private transport. But think about the snarls such as the one I was caught in - and I'm sure many of you must have been in, too. The situation can only get from bad to worse, if the government and public do not do something about it. On it's part, the public can definitely resort to car pools, or using the company transport. Or taking a two-wheeler and commuting at non-peak hours. The government can do it's bit by proper urban planning. Whoever thought of putting a two-lane bottleneck in the way of traffic from a four-lane highway?! (That was the bottleneck I was stuck at, and I couldn't help but be exasperated by the lack of planning.) And starting a good MRT system. And once such a system is in place, heavy dis-incentives for private transport. And finally, creating awareness through print and electronic media. Otherwise, it woudn't be long before our cities are shrouded in haze and a clear blue sky becomes consigned to picture postcards.....

Winds of change...

2008-08-03T13:32:00.001+05:30

And so it's time for a change... I'm talking about a change of jobs... Friday was my last day at Siemens, and I'll be joining Samsung from Monday. The two years at Siemens were a lot like Life - a mixed bag of experiences. I must say I learned a lot in these two years... As I look back at those two years, I feel that yes, He indeed gives one what one needs, not what one wants. The real world is a place infinitely more complex than University, and He gave me what was necessary to deal with this world. To deal with different kinds of people - it takes all kinds of people to make a world! To deal with situations when things do not always go your way. But most importantly, to have a positive outlook irrespective of the challenges Life throws at you. Sometimes, you do not realize the significance of the goings-on around. But I'm a great believer in Destiny - whatever happens, happens for a reason. There were times when I thought, "Man, why am I stuck with this lousy work?", or, "Definitely, this is not what I'm here for!". But as I look back upon such times, I feel that those were the times that shaped me. I guess when we are fresh out of University, we all have very lusty ideals, about the kind of work that we'd want to do. And when the script doesn't play the way we want it to, we start feeling disappointed, or frustrated, or both. But then, everything has a place of its own. You just have to slug it out. And be patient. Yes, I think that is a virtue which is the most important in this world. And my first job taught me that. Finally, I think a part of learning is to learn How not to do things as much as how to do them right! Well, I've made my share of mistakes on the job. Each of them taught me something. Success is what you get when you achieve what you set out to do. Experience is what you get when you don't.... I'm looking forward to start a fresh innings tomorrow, learning from the successes and experiences of the last couple of years....

Cheers!

Black Friday... and now Saturday, too...

2008-07-26T23:29:00.001+05:30

Terror has raised its ugly head again. In Bangalore on Friday, and today again in Ahmedabad. And once again, the usual reactions are doing the rounds. The top politicians from the Prime Minister to the Hon'ble Minister for Home (and anybody who's somebody) have condemned the blasts and appealed for peace. At the same time they are proclaiming that they will leave no stone unturned in finding out the perpetrators and punishing them. Commando teams have been dispatched to the affected areas (talk about locking the stable door after the horse has bolted). The television channels are 'Breaking News' of the blasts and bringing viewers images that they would rather not see. The same images are being flashed across television screens over and over again. The Intelligence Bureau will claim that it had warned about the states about possible attacks. And after a few days, after the dust has settled down, it will be life as usual for all. Till the next spate of attacks, that is.

Does anybody really care if a few people here and there lose their life? Do we care? Yes, we all scramble for our phones and check on our friends, relatives, and colleagues. But do we spare a thought at least for the families who lose their loved ones? It is said that a people gets the kind of leaders it deserves. If we are apathetic to our countrymen, is it any surprise that our netas are just a reflection on the society?! Our netas are only concerned when there is an attack on Parliament. After all, it is an attack on the very foundation of democracy in India! And what about the attacks in the temple in Varanasi, the blasts in the market in Jaipur, or the blasts that brought a lasting darkness in the Delhi blast victims and their kin on Diwali eve? Oh well, now that is not an attack on democracy. Never mind the fact that the very edifice on which democracy is based - we, the people - is being targeted!

After every blast, some knee jerk reactions are seen. There is flurry of activity, with intelligence reports being cited, opposition parties blaming the government (even calling it a failure, and demanding President's Rule!) and the top police brass being summoned by the political masters. But do we see any policy changes? Do we see the powers that be taking a holistic view of the problem and bringing in measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated? Intelligence reports are still more like the Weatherman's reports. There is no actionable intelligence, that is, precise intelligence which the agencies can use to foil such an attempt.

How long will this continue? How long will India bleed through such a 'thousand cuts'? How long will it be before the policy makers wake up and take concrete measures? Till then, terrorists will continue to strike at will. Till then we will always live under a constant shadow of fear. Yes, you may not even realize it, because so numb have we become, that we do not realize this fear till such an incident triggers it! No doubt, the task at hand is challenging. It is not easy to police a nation of a billion people. But impossible is nothing... Not if you have the will... Not if you have the burning desire.. But above all, not if you have empathy for your fellow humans...

May God be with the families of the victims... May the souls of the departed rest in peace...

Dreamz Unlimited

2008-07-26T22:20:00.001+05:30

Just happened to watch the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch video on YouTube. And I was floored... There is no other way to describe what I felt. I will not go into what the video is about, for there are simply no words to describe it. You just have to watch the video for yourself. Here is the URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
A short introduction to the lecture can be found in this shorter clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25tfstdGC-8

Randy Pausch passed away on July 25, 2008. Randy was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in August 2006.

While I will not go into what his Last Lecture was about, I would like to share with you some things which made a lasting impression on me. The first was the boundless zest and enthusiasm. Here was a guy who had been given two to six months of healthy life by his doctors. And yet, he is so full of Life! As if he seems to be smirking at Death and saying, "You can't kill the spirit, only the body!". Yes, Randy will always live on in the form of Alice, an edutainment project conceptualized by him. The second thing is his attitude towards Life. Never missing the bigger picture. As he says, "Did you get the head fake?" The third is his belief in the inherent goodness of human beings. You just have to wait, but people have a way of surprising you with what they are capable of. No one is completely evil. In times of cynicism, I feel that is the single most important virtue. Belief. Belief in humanity, in the fact that there is goodness in this world in no small measure. The fourth is genuine concern for his fellow human beings. As he says, "Always focus on others, never on yourself". In this world of big egos and small hearts, here is a person who is dying from cancer, and yet talks about enabling dreams for others. And dreams of doing it in a way "that is infinitely scalable".
Randy Pausch may be no more. But people like him leave behind their indelible footprints in the sands of time. The body may die, but the Soul lives on forever. As do the deeds and the philosophy of people like Randy. Rest in Peace, Randolph Pausch. May God bless his family.

Sala mai toh blogger ban gaya! [:D]

2008-07-25T22:37:00.001+05:30

Well, so I too have been bitten by the Bug! And it's itching like hell! Well, I'm talking about blogging and the itch is the itch to post my first blog, here on blogspot. So often we want to do something, but then laziness gets the better of us. Take up that new hobby, call up your room-mate from your college days, clear off the pile of files from your office desk. Or, start your blog! That was how it was in my case. Have been thinking of it for a long while now. So finally got around to it! Watch out this space for new posts and also my other blog: http://amitprabhudesai.spaces.live.com/blog.
Cheers!