TheThe NI R & D office staff 2008
The NI R & D office staff 2007.
25000 lives Everyday !
About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. This is one person every three and a half seconds. Unfortunately, it is children who die most often.
Beautify Yourself Babe
“Everyone sounds like rot and when you’re sounding like rot, it’s better to appear rotten than to go around painting beautiful meaningless pictures of yourself.”
Lifted from - Scrutinizing Indian
How correct ?
Lifted from - Scrutinizing Indian
How correct ?
The Thursday
It was festive season in Bangalore. It was Vinayaka Chathurthi and something else. And it was raining lightly. As usual I carried my umbrella all the previous 4 days and it dint rain. That day as expected I dint have my umbrella and it started pouring as I got out of my office at 7:50 pm. Man I am Lucky.
Friday was a holiday for many, not for me though.
I got fully drenched as I got to Shri Krishna Sagar.
OK dude, its raining, let me eat something and then try to catch a bus. I ordered a Roti-Curry. It came, I gulped it down.
The rain dint stop. Somehow I managed to get into a bus. I was fully wet by then. I was wearing a shirt and another t-shirt inside. I removed my shirt and squeezed it which gave way to a tributary and a few stares.
The bus reached NIMHANS. I am supposed to get down here. But it was still raining. If I get down here I will have to walk a bit and cross the road to get to the next bus stop where I gotta catch the next bus. I don't want to drench.
So I had a master-plan, man that stupid decision that I took- I will stay in this bus till Shanthinagar. That is a kind of a Bus depot, which is fully covered and so I can catch my second bus from there without getting wet.
Don't you feel I am a smart ? eh ?
Indeed I am.
I went to the conductor and asked how much more should I give him so that I can get down at Shanthinagar. He was courteous and told me it is a pittance, its ok.
So I sat down and waited for my depot.
But it never came.
Man this is a Market Bus.
It doesn't go to the depot!!
It went to Minerva circle, J.C. Road and every other road in Bangalore, but not the Depot :(
And I don't want to go to K.R. Market at this time of the day!
Thats the only place I am scared of in Bangalore.
And taking a bus from K.R. Market to anywhere in Bangalore is a challenge for a newbie in Bangalore. There are no platforms and everything there is disorganized.
So I had another master-plan - 2.
I will get down at Town-hall and get a bus to Majestic.
Man I love Majestic!
Such an organized place it is.
So at the town-hall stop I got a bus to majestic. It was jam packed. I squeezed in. In my Bangalore maps back home I have seen that K.R. Market is "very" close to Majestic. So I thought ok man will be in Majestic in 5 minutes.
The conductor, a very friendly fellow came-by and I asked for a ticket to Majestic. It was Rs6. I was surprised. Is it that far ?
Anyways got the ticket and waited, hanging from the bars, squeezing and pushing. We reached K.G Road, I was very happy to see all those Bank building, ok we are going to make it to majestic, I thought.
But wait.
The traffic came to a halt.
Why, what was the reason ? I asked a couple of people. Nobody knew.
The bus was inching little by little then the frustrated driver switched off the engine.
Some people started getting down from the bus and heading towards the BMTC bus depot.
I was lazy to do that. SO I waited in the bus, hanging.
My mother's call came, I attended and told her I am in the second bus, there is a terrible traffic jam etc.
By the by the rain had stopped. So I master planned to walk the rest of it till BMTC depot.
Man! There are lot of people walking. Moreover there were lot of people carrying a lot of luggage.
Only now did it strike. Man if tomorrow is a Friday and its a holiday for many and its festive season- we will have loads of people heading to their hometowns. I could see men and women carrying luggage and babies literally running towards majestic. They are on their way to catch their buses. I could hear a guy telling his wife
"Come quickly, the bus will leave in 10 minutes." And she was dragging herself to keep in pace with him.
I walked and reached a circle, I think this was the KG circle. This is the circle where you will see a traffic police standing in the middle and shouting into a microphone. From here I could see that all the four roads leading to this place was jam-packed. The vehicle owners were so greedy that they wouldn't even give you a inch of place for you to cross the road. The vehicles are placed one behind the other in such a manner that I had to jump over the front wheels of a few two-wheelers to get across the circle.
Then I walked and walked and walked.
I reached the depot.
Man I did it.
When I entered the Majestic depot I saw a scene which was hitherto never seen and I hope will never have to see again.
The bus-stop where I have always seen a lot of buses, whether it be 5:00 am or 11:00 pm had not even a single bus inside it. And there were 10 times the Persian army strength in "300" as passengers here. Once in 5 minutes one bus would manage to enter the depot and people would attack the bus, the mob would swallow the bus. It would get packed in fractions of seconds and is ready to leave.
I went and stood near platform No.14. By now my thoughts had already charted as what I would do if I had to spend this night in Majestic ?
After waiting for about 12-15 minutes a bus came - the coveted 171, yes I can get till NIMHANS in this one. Now starts the drama.
I was petty sure that there will be a fight between the people who are getting down and the people who are boarding the bus. And it did happen.
8 times the capacity of the bus wanted to board the bus. Boarding a bus or train and getting a seat for myself in such a highly competitive situation is like a challenge for me. I was trained in this skill at my school days whilst I used to travel to Thrissur on Sundays in a train ironically named "Push-Pull"!.
So thus I got in and made myself comfortable in a side seat, which turned to be a bad decision. The bus was leaking and my right hand was completely wet.
Through my window I could see people hanging from the footpath risking their life. The bus was densely packed.
People standing were having a tough time. I thanked P. C. Thomas for not opening a franchise office in Ernakulam, I used to curse him for not doing so during my school days. The bus moved very slowly eventhough there was no big traffic. So at last we reached NIMHANS. I managed to get out. I should have been here about 2 hours ago if not for my master plan-1!
A few buses came by, but none in my route. I was getting tensed as the time was 11 p.m. So I decided to do something, that I always detested. Catching a Auto-rickshaw.
Somehow I have a feeling that only weak people catch an Auto-rickshaw. So I went ahead and waved my hand.
And Surprise! Surprise! He accepted the offer of going to BTM 2nd Stage at 1.5 times the meter charge!
Wah, how lucky I am. I thought "yes, this is the end of today's great Bangalore experience", relaxed and happy. :)
Dude, wait, not yet.
We just went half a kilometer and stopped. Why ? I turned back and saw that another Auto-rickshaw was damaged. The front tyre part had completely collapsed. And this vehicle was right in the middle of the road. The poor machine must have toiled a lot as roads were in pathetic condition as it had rained.
So the humble and highly "friendly" auto-driver whom I hired or rather I got hired, had to stop his vehicle right in the middle of the road and go and help his friend in distress. So 10- 15 minutes there in getting that broken machine to the roadside. I could see a Muslim woman in all black inside that patient machine. Poor female, hope she reached her destination. Then we went ahead and started having a smooth ride. The meter was rising smoothly to Rs30-Rs40 etc.
And then Boom, Traffic Jam at 11 pm at Jayadeva near Bannerghatta circle.
What more can I ask for ?
My auto Manipulator waited for quite some time in the traffic and allowed the meter to gain some Rs for waiting charges. Then he broke the traffic rules and took a U-Turn and drove through the ring road and thus I was at home after that great mission.
I gave the auto-driver a brand new 100 rupee note.
I pressed the door bell. Nair opened.
"Why so late?"
"Lot of work at office, da"
Friday was a holiday for many, not for me though.
I got fully drenched as I got to Shri Krishna Sagar.
OK dude, its raining, let me eat something and then try to catch a bus. I ordered a Roti-Curry. It came, I gulped it down.
The rain dint stop. Somehow I managed to get into a bus. I was fully wet by then. I was wearing a shirt and another t-shirt inside. I removed my shirt and squeezed it which gave way to a tributary and a few stares.
The bus reached NIMHANS. I am supposed to get down here. But it was still raining. If I get down here I will have to walk a bit and cross the road to get to the next bus stop where I gotta catch the next bus. I don't want to drench.
So I had a master-plan, man that stupid decision that I took- I will stay in this bus till Shanthinagar. That is a kind of a Bus depot, which is fully covered and so I can catch my second bus from there without getting wet.
Don't you feel I am a smart ? eh ?
Indeed I am.
I went to the conductor and asked how much more should I give him so that I can get down at Shanthinagar. He was courteous and told me it is a pittance, its ok.
So I sat down and waited for my depot.
But it never came.
Man this is a Market Bus.
It doesn't go to the depot!!
It went to Minerva circle, J.C. Road and every other road in Bangalore, but not the Depot :(
And I don't want to go to K.R. Market at this time of the day!
Thats the only place I am scared of in Bangalore.
And taking a bus from K.R. Market to anywhere in Bangalore is a challenge for a newbie in Bangalore. There are no platforms and everything there is disorganized.
So I had another master-plan - 2.
I will get down at Town-hall and get a bus to Majestic.
Man I love Majestic!
Such an organized place it is.
So at the town-hall stop I got a bus to majestic. It was jam packed. I squeezed in. In my Bangalore maps back home I have seen that K.R. Market is "very" close to Majestic. So I thought ok man will be in Majestic in 5 minutes.
The conductor, a very friendly fellow came-by and I asked for a ticket to Majestic. It was Rs6. I was surprised. Is it that far ?
Anyways got the ticket and waited, hanging from the bars, squeezing and pushing. We reached K.G Road, I was very happy to see all those Bank building, ok we are going to make it to majestic, I thought.
But wait.
The traffic came to a halt.
Why, what was the reason ? I asked a couple of people. Nobody knew.
The bus was inching little by little then the frustrated driver switched off the engine.
Some people started getting down from the bus and heading towards the BMTC bus depot.
I was lazy to do that. SO I waited in the bus, hanging.
My mother's call came, I attended and told her I am in the second bus, there is a terrible traffic jam etc.
By the by the rain had stopped. So I master planned to walk the rest of it till BMTC depot.
Man! There are lot of people walking. Moreover there were lot of people carrying a lot of luggage.
Only now did it strike. Man if tomorrow is a Friday and its a holiday for many and its festive season- we will have loads of people heading to their hometowns. I could see men and women carrying luggage and babies literally running towards majestic. They are on their way to catch their buses. I could hear a guy telling his wife
"Come quickly, the bus will leave in 10 minutes." And she was dragging herself to keep in pace with him.
I walked and reached a circle, I think this was the KG circle. This is the circle where you will see a traffic police standing in the middle and shouting into a microphone. From here I could see that all the four roads leading to this place was jam-packed. The vehicle owners were so greedy that they wouldn't even give you a inch of place for you to cross the road. The vehicles are placed one behind the other in such a manner that I had to jump over the front wheels of a few two-wheelers to get across the circle.
Then I walked and walked and walked.
I reached the depot.
Man I did it.
When I entered the Majestic depot I saw a scene which was hitherto never seen and I hope will never have to see again.
The bus-stop where I have always seen a lot of buses, whether it be 5:00 am or 11:00 pm had not even a single bus inside it. And there were 10 times the Persian army strength in "300" as passengers here. Once in 5 minutes one bus would manage to enter the depot and people would attack the bus, the mob would swallow the bus. It would get packed in fractions of seconds and is ready to leave.
I went and stood near platform No.14. By now my thoughts had already charted as what I would do if I had to spend this night in Majestic ?
After waiting for about 12-15 minutes a bus came - the coveted 171, yes I can get till NIMHANS in this one. Now starts the drama.
I was petty sure that there will be a fight between the people who are getting down and the people who are boarding the bus. And it did happen.
8 times the capacity of the bus wanted to board the bus. Boarding a bus or train and getting a seat for myself in such a highly competitive situation is like a challenge for me. I was trained in this skill at my school days whilst I used to travel to Thrissur on Sundays in a train ironically named "Push-Pull"!.
So thus I got in and made myself comfortable in a side seat, which turned to be a bad decision. The bus was leaking and my right hand was completely wet.
Through my window I could see people hanging from the footpath risking their life. The bus was densely packed.
People standing were having a tough time. I thanked P. C. Thomas for not opening a franchise office in Ernakulam, I used to curse him for not doing so during my school days. The bus moved very slowly eventhough there was no big traffic. So at last we reached NIMHANS. I managed to get out. I should have been here about 2 hours ago if not for my master plan-1!
A few buses came by, but none in my route. I was getting tensed as the time was 11 p.m. So I decided to do something, that I always detested. Catching a Auto-rickshaw.
Somehow I have a feeling that only weak people catch an Auto-rickshaw. So I went ahead and waved my hand.
And Surprise! Surprise! He accepted the offer of going to BTM 2nd Stage at 1.5 times the meter charge!
Wah, how lucky I am. I thought "yes, this is the end of today's great Bangalore experience", relaxed and happy. :)
Dude, wait, not yet.
We just went half a kilometer and stopped. Why ? I turned back and saw that another Auto-rickshaw was damaged. The front tyre part had completely collapsed. And this vehicle was right in the middle of the road. The poor machine must have toiled a lot as roads were in pathetic condition as it had rained.
So the humble and highly "friendly" auto-driver whom I hired or rather I got hired, had to stop his vehicle right in the middle of the road and go and help his friend in distress. So 10- 15 minutes there in getting that broken machine to the roadside. I could see a Muslim woman in all black inside that patient machine. Poor female, hope she reached her destination. Then we went ahead and started having a smooth ride. The meter was rising smoothly to Rs30-Rs40 etc.
And then Boom, Traffic Jam at 11 pm at Jayadeva near Bannerghatta circle.
What more can I ask for ?
My auto Manipulator waited for quite some time in the traffic and allowed the meter to gain some Rs for waiting charges. Then he broke the traffic rules and took a U-Turn and drove through the ring road and thus I was at home after that great mission.
I gave the auto-driver a brand new 100 rupee note.
I pressed the door bell. Nair opened.
"Why so late?"
"Lot of work at office, da"
Seasons
All my life I have stayed in South India. And always near the coasts. I haven't experienced extreme weather conditions. And in the coastal areas we sweat a lot. No wonder I had a abode of lice on my head when I was in school and college.
When I moved over to Bangalore, I seldom sweat. And no more lice now.
Day before yesterday one of my north Indian colleagues was complaining that the weather in Bangalore is monotonous. And also I came across this blog of small squirrel.
Ya I do understand. Change is necessary.
But isn't this the viewpoint of the elite rich who can afford to buy clothes for different seasons and who can huddle up in their cozy bedrooms in winter and who can switch on their ACs in the melting summer?
What about the not so well off ?
When I moved over to Bangalore, I seldom sweat. And no more lice now.
Day before yesterday one of my north Indian colleagues was complaining that the weather in Bangalore is monotonous. And also I came across this blog of small squirrel.
Ya I do understand. Change is necessary.
But isn't this the viewpoint of the elite rich who can afford to buy clothes for different seasons and who can huddle up in their cozy bedrooms in winter and who can switch on their ACs in the melting summer?
What about the not so well off ?
Watching Time
Yesterday when I was walking from office to my regular hotel, where I have my dinner, I saw a security guy loafing around his assigned position aimlessly.
I have always felt nobody should waste his/her time in any way, whether he be a hawker, security, or a bencher at Infy!
The security at my office just sits at his seat. He sometimes reads the newspapers, magazines etc. Rest of the time he makes phone calls using the company phones.
I have seen some of them read books and make notes etc.
What was running in my mind was, why can't we give shape to a segment of job, which can be given to these security people. This work should not have any deadlines and should not require any high educational qualification requirement.
The merits of this scheme are many
I have always felt nobody should waste his/her time in any way, whether he be a hawker, security, or a bencher at Infy!
The security at my office just sits at his seat. He sometimes reads the newspapers, magazines etc. Rest of the time he makes phone calls using the company phones.
I have seen some of them read books and make notes etc.
What was running in my mind was, why can't we give shape to a segment of job, which can be given to these security people. This work should not have any deadlines and should not require any high educational qualification requirement.
The merits of this scheme are many
- These guys get an extra pay for this work.
- They wouldn't sleep as they are working on something which is adding to their purse.
- There is lot of clerical, grunt work which nobody would like to do on a regular basis. The security guy would have already got fed up sitting down not doing any work, he would feel this work to be better than not working at all.
Blogging
Off late I have been reading quite a few blogs. This might be the reason - I feel that I should also blog frequently. Probably a collection of my wavering thoughts day in and day out. And ya, I do have enough time.
How come?
Dude my designation in my company is "Software Engineer"!
What more reason do you want me to give.
Ya, I do have work.
But I have no focus.
No single-pointedness in what I do.
Hope I find enough time to blog.
How come?
Dude my designation in my company is "Software Engineer"!
What more reason do you want me to give.
Ya, I do have work.
But I have no focus.
No single-pointedness in what I do.
Hope I find enough time to blog.
Bangalore
Have been there a couple of times.
The first time when I was in the second grade. I was seven then. It was as part of a south India tour. I was with achchan, amma, ammamma, muthachan, mema, cheriachchan, Manikutty and probably others like Vimal mama. We do have a few photographs in our album at home. We had been to Ooty, Mysore, Bangalore and I don't remember where else. Don't remember anything regarding this trip due to 2 reasons, firstly, I was a kid then, secondly, my memory power is damn good. :)
Then after a long time, when I was in eleventh grade, the school trip was to Bangalore, Mysore, Brindavan, Black Thunder. Then I remember visiting the Science Museum and then the glass house in Lal Bagh, the rocky part behind it. I remember our accompanying teacher helping us in mouth looking! Then we went shopping in MG road and Brigade road. I got a Barbie for my sister and a chapel for myself! We had a nice time in Bangalore then. I was quite impressed by the city.
In the second semester of my undergrad I had to do my NCC camp at Bangalore. It was arranged at MEG- Madras Engineers Group, Ulsoor, Bangalore. We had to be there for 15 days. It was named as "Army Attachment Camp".
We boarded the Durgamba travels from our college campus one fine night and the next day morning we were in Bangalore, alighted in front of one of the MEG gates. Then our Army senior (one Hawaldar Major) did all the formalities of getting us guys inside the high security premises. We din't get any accommodation as nothing was arranged as such and anyways there was no facilities to arrange for. We had the shock of our life when we were asked to brush and get "fresh" in a bathroom. I felt the bathrooms portrayed (in the jails) in movies like Mahanadi were far better. I was just wondering how we will live here for 15 days. Then I made a phone call home telling that all is "well" here with me and answering all my mothers curiosity with nice nice words.
An army attachment camp meant that we have to live for a few days with the Indian Army Jawans, eating the kind of food that they eat, staying in the barracks they stay and undergoing the training that they do. These 15 days really thought me a lot about life. I really changed my outlook about life. I understood how ignorant I was about life. The other things that I learnt were
During this 2 .5 years of training they get a monthly pay of Rs7500. After this training they are taken into the भार्तीय सेना as जवान.
I always hated the Parle G biscuits. I used to consider them to be of low quality. they never tasted good, even now they don't. But once in my life they did!
Out of our 15 days there, 3 were holidays। So you can actually stay back in your barrack and sleep or go to a movie (They do have a theatre inside MEG) or play cricket with the JCOs (Joint Commissioned Officers) there। I saw two bad movies in that egg shaped theatre, one Malayalam and another Tamil. What more can you ask for, they just cost you Rs 8 ( front rows ) or Rs 10 ( balcony ).
But I was not content with that. I wanted to see Bangalore that's one reason I was there. And getting a permission is like a crow flying upside down.
But then I got it.
How ?
Tamil!
Thats one lesson that I had learn t right from my days at Madras.
You want to get something done from a Tamil, talk to him in Tamil.
And the Hawaldar Major was a Tamil.
Thus I was illegally out of MEG.
There was this senior of mine with me and he knew the city pretty well. He took me to many arbit places in the city. This was enough enjoyment for me when compared to the closed confines of MEG.
While I was loitering around my friend Sandeep stayed in MEG and went to play cricket. He played with a group of Malayali JCOs. Ultimately he learn t a lot of new bad words in Malayalam. The army officers are really bad-mouthed.
The last of the holidays I went out with Sandeep not even asking our Hawaldar Major. We went sight-seeing to Lal Bagh etc.
Training there was quite torturous for us sophisticated engineering students. We were made to run around 10 kms everyday. But a minutes thought about those guys who stay here for 2.5 years used to give us that push to run that extra mile.
I talked with a few Jawan trainees there
"Isn't it torturous ?"
"Yes it is"
"Are you educated ?"
"Yes, B.Sc."
"Then why are you here? Cant you do something else ?"
"There is nothing that I can do at homeland, my family is very poor and I am not able to find any job with my qualification"
The jawans have a recreation room with TV, Internet, magazines, Chess and Carroms. And I could see that the jawans are making good use of it as well.
The last day at the camp we got the Army Attachment Camp certificate.
Till date I don't have a more hard earned certificate than that.
Then it was in the final semester of my undergrad. I had got placed in National Instruments. The company's International Relationship Managers were coming down to Bangalore, so they had invited us for a lunch with those guys. They had booked us on Jet Airways.
I was at the Mangalore airport. This was the first time I was at a airport. It was a small airport. Got the luggage checked and boarded. Amma called after I boarded.
It was the first time that I was flying. It indeed was a good experience. The flight accelerating, the polite air-hostess, the food, the roads which seemed like thin lines on a map, the vegetation below like a cauliflower.
I was lucky to get of window seats to and fro.
The guys with me were very particular in taking a cab to our future office building. So we got a prepaid cab to Koramangala. I was curiously looking out the widow pane to catch glimpses of my future home city.
I felt it be bland.
I saw a few corporate buildings - Yahoo, IBM, Microsoft etc etc..
On the cab we changed our plans to go to the MG Road instead as we were getting late for lunch and we asked the guys in office to go ahead and that we will meet at the hotel instead.
So we were at Barton's Center. The buffet was on the 13th floor. It was fun. It was on a terrace and you can have a good view of the city from here.
After the lunch we went back to the office and met our future colleagues. We were given T- shirts and LabVIEW DVDs ( Its still hiding somewhere in my Suitcase, never touched it ).
Then my uncle came to pick me up. I planned to stay with him tonight. We went to CV Raman Nagar.
I learnt that his is a completely satisfied and settled life, unlike my other uncles. My aunty is the reason behind the same.
Two cute children - Krithiga and Mridul, both are obedient and smart. I love this family a lot.
I caught the flight back to Mangalore the next morning.
I felt Bangalore to be bland!
And now comes the final time to Bangalore. This time it is not a visit. I am here in Bangalore to live and work.
I have seen that many of uncles and elder cousins are not as lucky as I. I mean, landing in a good job when you are 21. Many of them had to do a lot of unsatisfying jobs, were jobless for long durations etc. I mean many around me were not settled. Some of them dint know what to do. Some of them went into business which tumbled down into losses.
And off late I started reading "Atlas Shrugged". There is this very nice explanation of what money is by Francisco d'Anconia. I was totally impressed. I have started spending one-fourth of my salary. My only expenditures are good food and bad movies. I saw about 2 dozen movies after coming to Bangalore. None of them impressed me, except for one Aamir Khan flick. And of course Bangalore has been a great place for my tongue. Food, of all major Cuisines, yes I have tried most of them. Sometimes I feel I have lived my life. Lets see whats in store.
The first time when I was in the second grade. I was seven then. It was as part of a south India tour. I was with achchan, amma, ammamma, muthachan, mema, cheriachchan, Manikutty and probably others like Vimal mama. We do have a few photographs in our album at home. We had been to Ooty, Mysore, Bangalore and I don't remember where else. Don't remember anything regarding this trip due to 2 reasons, firstly, I was a kid then, secondly, my memory power is damn good. :)
Then after a long time, when I was in eleventh grade, the school trip was to Bangalore, Mysore, Brindavan, Black Thunder. Then I remember visiting the Science Museum and then the glass house in Lal Bagh, the rocky part behind it. I remember our accompanying teacher helping us in mouth looking! Then we went shopping in MG road and Brigade road. I got a Barbie for my sister and a chapel for myself! We had a nice time in Bangalore then. I was quite impressed by the city.
In the second semester of my undergrad I had to do my NCC camp at Bangalore. It was arranged at MEG- Madras Engineers Group, Ulsoor, Bangalore. We had to be there for 15 days. It was named as "Army Attachment Camp".
We boarded the Durgamba travels from our college campus one fine night and the next day morning we were in Bangalore, alighted in front of one of the MEG gates. Then our Army senior (one Hawaldar Major) did all the formalities of getting us guys inside the high security premises. We din't get any accommodation as nothing was arranged as such and anyways there was no facilities to arrange for. We had the shock of our life when we were asked to brush and get "fresh" in a bathroom. I felt the bathrooms portrayed (in the jails) in movies like Mahanadi were far better. I was just wondering how we will live here for 15 days. Then I made a phone call home telling that all is "well" here with me and answering all my mothers curiosity with nice nice words.
An army attachment camp meant that we have to live for a few days with the Indian Army Jawans, eating the kind of food that they eat, staying in the barracks they stay and undergoing the training that they do. These 15 days really thought me a lot about life. I really changed my outlook about life. I understood how ignorant I was about life. The other things that I learnt were
- If you are in the defense services your life has no value.
- You are a slave of your senior. You have to clean their toilets, polish their shoes, and do whatever they ask you to.
- Appearance is very important, even if you don't take bath never go without shaving. If a Jawan reports to his senior without shaving, the punishment is that, a stone is rubbed on his cheek till it bleeds.
- By undergoing an army training a person will develop a great concentration power. This is because if a Jawan makes a small mistake he might have to suffer a lot of pain and torture. So he would' t make mistakes.
During this 2 .5 years of training they get a monthly pay of Rs7500. After this training they are taken into the भार्तीय सेना as जवान.
I always hated the Parle G biscuits. I used to consider them to be of low quality. they never tasted good, even now they don't. But once in my life they did!
Out of our 15 days there, 3 were holidays। So you can actually stay back in your barrack and sleep or go to a movie (They do have a theatre inside MEG) or play cricket with the JCOs (Joint Commissioned Officers) there। I saw two bad movies in that egg shaped theatre, one Malayalam and another Tamil. What more can you ask for, they just cost you Rs 8 ( front rows ) or Rs 10 ( balcony ).
But I was not content with that. I wanted to see Bangalore that's one reason I was there. And getting a permission is like a crow flying upside down.
But then I got it.
How ?
Tamil!
Thats one lesson that I had learn t right from my days at Madras.
You want to get something done from a Tamil, talk to him in Tamil.
And the Hawaldar Major was a Tamil.
Thus I was illegally out of MEG.
There was this senior of mine with me and he knew the city pretty well. He took me to many arbit places in the city. This was enough enjoyment for me when compared to the closed confines of MEG.
While I was loitering around my friend Sandeep stayed in MEG and went to play cricket. He played with a group of Malayali JCOs. Ultimately he learn t a lot of new bad words in Malayalam. The army officers are really bad-mouthed.
The last of the holidays I went out with Sandeep not even asking our Hawaldar Major. We went sight-seeing to Lal Bagh etc.
Training there was quite torturous for us sophisticated engineering students. We were made to run around 10 kms everyday. But a minutes thought about those guys who stay here for 2.5 years used to give us that push to run that extra mile.
I talked with a few Jawan trainees there
"Isn't it torturous ?"
"Yes it is"
"Are you educated ?"
"Yes, B.Sc."
"Then why are you here? Cant you do something else ?"
"There is nothing that I can do at homeland, my family is very poor and I am not able to find any job with my qualification"
The jawans have a recreation room with TV, Internet, magazines, Chess and Carroms. And I could see that the jawans are making good use of it as well.
The last day at the camp we got the Army Attachment Camp certificate.
Till date I don't have a more hard earned certificate than that.
Then it was in the final semester of my undergrad. I had got placed in National Instruments. The company's International Relationship Managers were coming down to Bangalore, so they had invited us for a lunch with those guys. They had booked us on Jet Airways.
I was at the Mangalore airport. This was the first time I was at a airport. It was a small airport. Got the luggage checked and boarded. Amma called after I boarded.
It was the first time that I was flying. It indeed was a good experience. The flight accelerating, the polite air-hostess, the food, the roads which seemed like thin lines on a map, the vegetation below like a cauliflower.
I was lucky to get of window seats to and fro.
The guys with me were very particular in taking a cab to our future office building. So we got a prepaid cab to Koramangala. I was curiously looking out the widow pane to catch glimpses of my future home city.
I felt it be bland.
I saw a few corporate buildings - Yahoo, IBM, Microsoft etc etc..
On the cab we changed our plans to go to the MG Road instead as we were getting late for lunch and we asked the guys in office to go ahead and that we will meet at the hotel instead.
So we were at Barton's Center. The buffet was on the 13th floor. It was fun. It was on a terrace and you can have a good view of the city from here.
After the lunch we went back to the office and met our future colleagues. We were given T- shirts and LabVIEW DVDs ( Its still hiding somewhere in my Suitcase, never touched it ).
Then my uncle came to pick me up. I planned to stay with him tonight. We went to CV Raman Nagar.
I learnt that his is a completely satisfied and settled life, unlike my other uncles. My aunty is the reason behind the same.
Two cute children - Krithiga and Mridul, both are obedient and smart. I love this family a lot.
I caught the flight back to Mangalore the next morning.
I felt Bangalore to be bland!
And now comes the final time to Bangalore. This time it is not a visit. I am here in Bangalore to live and work.
I have seen that many of uncles and elder cousins are not as lucky as I. I mean, landing in a good job when you are 21. Many of them had to do a lot of unsatisfying jobs, were jobless for long durations etc. I mean many around me were not settled. Some of them dint know what to do. Some of them went into business which tumbled down into losses.
And off late I started reading "Atlas Shrugged". There is this very nice explanation of what money is by Francisco d'Anconia. I was totally impressed. I have started spending one-fourth of my salary. My only expenditures are good food and bad movies. I saw about 2 dozen movies after coming to Bangalore. None of them impressed me, except for one Aamir Khan flick. And of course Bangalore has been a great place for my tongue. Food, of all major Cuisines, yes I have tried most of them. Sometimes I feel I have lived my life. Lets see whats in store.
Have I Changed ?
Two years ago I was a very regular person. I used to keep my room clean and arranged. I seldom used to loose anything, or misplace anything. But off late I have changed a lot. I forget to do things before deadline. I misplace important things. There are all sorts of chits, paper slips, tickets lying over my table, my room is untidy, I wait for the deadlines to do things. Indeed my mind has become unkempt. There is waste paper lying all around the floor here. There is no regularity in my life anymore.
Oh, how I wish I was that old self once again. I am not a very successful person, of course, no one is indeed happy with his/her life other than the so called enlightened ones. But then those days I had a state of well being. Now I am not able to control me nor my mind.
Have I become lazy? Probably yes. If there is something that either I or someone else could have done, I make it sure that the other person does it and not me.
Am I running away from something? Or is it that I am just cribbing unnecessarily? Actually I am not that bad.
Everyone's life is nothing but a collection of ups and downs. So is mine. One bad thing about me, when I was at school, was that, I hated failure. I just could not stand me not winning. I always wanted to win and win only.
But now things have changed. I don't mind not winning, maybe because failing has become a habit for me now :) . Anyways I have been waiting for a change in my life, and when this change comes over I will make changes in the way I live. But even in this strategy I don't have much faith as there is always a fear that, if I wanted to change I need not wait for a opportune. I should change today and now. Yes now, right now.
Oh, how I wish I was that old self once again. I am not a very successful person, of course, no one is indeed happy with his/her life other than the so called enlightened ones. But then those days I had a state of well being. Now I am not able to control me nor my mind.
Have I become lazy? Probably yes. If there is something that either I or someone else could have done, I make it sure that the other person does it and not me.
Am I running away from something? Or is it that I am just cribbing unnecessarily? Actually I am not that bad.
Everyone's life is nothing but a collection of ups and downs. So is mine. One bad thing about me, when I was at school, was that, I hated failure. I just could not stand me not winning. I always wanted to win and win only.
But now things have changed. I don't mind not winning, maybe because failing has become a habit for me now :) . Anyways I have been waiting for a change in my life, and when this change comes over I will make changes in the way I live. But even in this strategy I don't have much faith as there is always a fear that, if I wanted to change I need not wait for a opportune. I should change today and now. Yes now, right now.
The Ayn Rand Philosophy
"...man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."
Ayn Rand.
I am very influenced by the book - Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.
The characters and the philosophies that she has discussed in the book is just great. I don't have words to explain the satisfaction that I got from reading this great book. This is what I felt like writing after reading this brilliant work.
I live for Myself and not for anyone else.
You live for yourself and not for anyone else.
What makes me, is my work.
What makes you, is your work.
Not what others think of our work.
Work for other's recognition
Then you don't live by yourself
You live through others
u have no individuality........
Ayn Rand.
I am very influenced by the book - Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.
The characters and the philosophies that she has discussed in the book is just great. I don't have words to explain the satisfaction that I got from reading this great book. This is what I felt like writing after reading this brilliant work.
I live for Myself and not for anyone else.
You live for yourself and not for anyone else.
What makes me, is my work.
What makes you, is your work.
Not what others think of our work.
Work for other's recognition
Then you don't live by yourself
You live through others
u have no individuality........
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