Wednesday, September 13, 2006

I just love these lines from a great work: Hope, you will also enjoy:-)

When things go wrong.....don't go with them.

Zindagi hai choti , har pal mein khush raho…
Office me khush reho, ghar mein khush raho..

Aaj paneer nahi hai, dal mein hi khush raho,
Aaj gym jane ka samay nahi, do kadam chal ke he khush raho..
Aaj Dosto ka sath nahi, TV dekh ke hi khush raho..
Ghar ja nahi sakte to phone kar ke hi khush raho…
Aaj koi naraaz hai, uske iss andaz mein bhi khush raho..
Jise dekh nahi sakte uski awaz mein hi khush raho…
Jisse paa nahi sakte uske yaad mein he khush raho

MBA karne ka socha tha, S/W mein he khush raho…
Laptop na mila to kya, Desktop mein hi khush raho..
bita hua kal ja chuka hai, usse meethi yaadein hai, unme he khush raho..
aane wale pal ka pata nahi..sapno mein he khush raho..
Haste haste ye pal bitaenge, aaj mein he khush raho

Zindagi hai choti , har pal..........

Friday, July 07, 2006

Life@D-138 - Part I


D-138 at Sector-20, NOIDA, India. Do bells start ringing?? I doubt. This is a street address that changed my life. Here, I explain HOW ??

While doing a job in Noida, I was looking for a appropriate room for renting (I was a bachelor then). Searching a room for bachelors is an uphill task in itself in India. Landlords & landladies don’t entertain you. At times I felt that these lords and ladies of their land, should hang a board, depicting, Bachelors and d… not allowed. I never felt the sulphuric acid urge of getting married, till the time I was searching a room for bachelorS. The capital ‘S’ in bachelorS is intentional. This was my first foray to live with my two friends, forming a total of three bachelorS. How this three converted into four, is a story in itself. So, there were we…searching a room or a flat, as you like it, on scorching Sunday afternoons in June 2003. We ran from pillar to post (office), property dealers and paan-shop dealers, from girl-friends (still confused !!) to girl’s friends, from news papers to new papers and what not. It was the “Google-enabled search” of our lifetime. However, the results are not going to come in 0.1 seconds, as generally the time taken by Google for searching every bullshit you type.

Bhagwaan ke ghar der hai, andher nahin..goes thepopular Hindi proverb. So, one of the thousands of Sunday newspaper’s supplements, was a letter from God. One of the property ad read: Ground floor, 2BR apartment vacant, BACHELORS needed. This gave me a momentarily feel-good factor of being a bachelor. Atleast, some sane humans on this planet believe in the species called bachelors. The ad mentioned an address below the details: D-138, Sector-20….BANG!!!! We loaded ourselves with clothes….oops, before that we took an early-Sunday shower, got an elegant shave, and decide to storm D-138. So, Mercedes was out after so many days….this is slang for my 1998 model LML Vespa scooter. My two other bachelor fiends were well-off with a pulsar motorbike. Before going on, I would like to introduce my other two soul-mates, Saurabh and Nitu Bhaiya (Nitesh)….I never understood why we called him bhaiya despite that he was younger than the other two. .

Ding-dong….ding-dong…the bell at D-138 sounded like the traditional Indian bell-next-door. I wonder why people are not attracted by new cacophonous door-bell ring tones. They have the power of waking you up even from the deepest of your dreams. So, we were greeted (??) by an elderly lady and her not-so-younger son who showed us the flat, highlighting its USPs and taking a roundabout about its shortcomings. More interesting was our chat with the landlady who interviewed us from toe to head, east to west and from zero to infinity. I though I would land up drawing up my family tree before her (I really never ever paid heed to my clan details). The three of us felt that it would have better, if we would have appeared in an interview for a post that would topple Bill Gates as MS Chairman.

The gist of the story is that finally, we got succeeded in getting hold of D-138.

Friday, June 23, 2006

IT people

Got this from some unidentified source but says a blunt truth:

In the confines of cubicles, by artificial light,
Sipping coffee from the machines day and night.

Speaking on phones, in meetings we sit.
Staring the monitor, the keyboard(s) we hit.

Far away from loved ones whom for days we do not meet.
Remembering them, working, on our seat.

Working away from homes and loved ones in places afar.
This is the kind of IT people we are !!!

Monday, June 19, 2006

Project Manager & Patriotism

One of my friends forwadred this to me. Go ahead, you won't regret reading it.


Vivek wasn't a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the First Class air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi express couldn’t cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought; he had tried to reason with the admin guy, it was the savings in time. A PM had so many things to do!
He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use.

"Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop.

Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive car.

"You people have brought so much advancement to the country sir. Today everything is getting computerized."

"Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look.

He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young and stocky like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school. He probably was a Railway sportsman making the most of his free traveling pass.

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

Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naivety demanded reasoning Not anger. "It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just A question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that Goes behind it." For a moment he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but restrained himself to a Single statement. "It is complex, very complex."

"It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid," came the reply. This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence came into his so far affable, persuasive tone.

"Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in." "Hard work!" "Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office doesn't mean our brows don't sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing."

He had the man where he wanted him and it was time to drive home the point. "Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centers across the country.

Thousands of transactions accessing a single database at a given time; concurrency, data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?"

The man was stuck with amazement, like a child at a planetarium. This was something big and beyond his imagination. "You design and code such things."

"I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "But now I am the Project manager,"

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

It was like being told the fire was better than the frying pan. The man had to be given a feel of the heat.

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

Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading With self-realisation. What he had said was not merely the Outburst of a wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get Angry while defending the truth. "My friend," he concluded triumphantly, "you don't know what it is to be in the line of fire."

The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek.

"I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire," He was staring blankly as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time.

"There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when we finally hoisted the tricolor at the top only 4 of us were alive."

"You are a..."

"I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a land assignment. But tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety. But my captain refused me permission and went ahead himself. He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded. His own personal safety came last, always and every time. He was killed as he shielded that soldier into the bunker. Every morning now as I stand guard I can see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me. I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire."
Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of his reply. Abruptly he switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a word document in the presence of a man for whom valor and duty was a daily part of life; a valor and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes. The train slowed down as it pulled into the station and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight.
"It was nice meeting you sir."

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

PS: The incident he narrates during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true life incident during the Kargil war. Major Batra Sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight.

For this and his various other acts of bravery he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra - the nation's highest military award.

Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn!

Monday, June 12, 2006

Football Fever

India seems to be a cricket-crazy country where cricket is a religion and Tendulkars, Dravids & Kapils are demi-gods. Ever heard of Ronaldinho, Nedved, Ballack, Klose, Wanchope, Drogba, Ronaldo, Beckham, Cole, Rooney, Viduka, Hargreaves, Rossi, Totti, Robben, Nistrelooy.......

Bade ajeeb se naam hai ?? Well, a considerable population of India does know these names (are they really names or some continental dishes). To these few, one-month long football frenzy means a lot. The rollicking start of FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany on 9th June, 2006 was just a highlight of the passion generated by this game in India. Fans across India are worshipping for their teams, be it Argentina, Brazil or even our rulers, England. To these football crazy fans, the ongoing cricket Test match between India & West Indies is a secondary topic. While writing this, I am anxiously waiting for Brazil to headstart its carnival later today against Croatia.

Football experts around the world are hoping (me included) for an England-Brazil final on 9th July in Berlin but such fancies are always brought to an end by lesser known names (such as Ivory Coast, Costa Rica in this World cup). Trinidad & Tobago had already ruined Sweden's dream of winning their match against Trinidad (the match ended in a goal-less draw). Hope, everyone would have remembered France's early exit from 2002 World Cup, thanks to the underdogs Senegal. To the best of my knowledge, there are as many as five countries who are playing FIFA World Cup for the very first time. Who knows, one of these can be the World cup holders this time.

Host Germany are banking on Klinsmann for using the "being-the-host" advantage to the maximum. He was a part of the title winning West Germany side in ITALIA 90. Brazil, on the other side, can boast of World's best player, Ronaldinho, forming a magical quartet with Ronaldo, Adriano & Kaka, not to forget old warhorses Roberto Carlos and skipper Cafu.

In my thoughts, nobody is paying heed to Czech Republic (ranked at No.2 by FIFA, No. 1 is obviously Brazil). They might prove a force to reckon with, spearheaded by magical duo of Paul Nedved and Milan Baros. I can also put my money on Portugal, provided they remain consistent throughout the tournament and use the skills of Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo.

whatever will happen, myself, as a fanatic football fan, will be following the World cup enroute till its final. May the best team win (cos India is not playing and is placed at a cool FIFA ranking 117, as of April 2006).

If you also wanna go crazy, spare some time at http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/, the official site of World Cup 2006.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

WELCOME

Hi all,

This is ankur saying cheers to all of you.