Rahul Desai's Blog

To Himalayas, via McDonald’s at Lonavala: Just like all my previous whacky trips, this too had to start on an odd note. For the flight at 6 AM from Bombay, I was still at work in Pune at 1 AM. With the grace of God (and pressure/torture from Dipal, Nirav and Kaushal), we hit the highway by 1:40 AM, reaching Khapoli Highway Foodmall by 2:50 AM. Deadly ‘Tum Tum’ tea with some fries, pizza-puff and a few egg-do’s, we suddenly realized we only had an hour and a half and crouching Bombay-traffic before reaching the airport. Kaushal and Nirav were already sleeping on the rear seats, Dipal was also sleepy; I didn’t have anyone I could confess to – that my situation was no better. We still made it to the airport by 4:30 AM. I’m good! So far, no pictures – we actually didn’t have any time for that.

Torture: As direct customer-facing representatives, what could possibly be the toughest ‘handling’ situation for the onboard staff? An irate customer crying for a seat-change (for a completely unreasonable reason); or a group of terrorists politely disclosing their ‘goodwill’ to hijack the plane? The onboard crew is trained to handle such situations. But how about a kid bursting into a ‘loud’ cry every time the airplane is in motion? Can you beat that – that kid had a problem with the airplane moving? (“It” probably belonged to the airport and NOT the airplane.)

With an hour and a half advance arrival at the airport, this was just turning into one of my most-well-executed travelling plans so far. I was the first to clear security check, almost first to board the plane… for WHAT? This ‘crying machine’? S/he just wouldn’t stop!! I had to catch some sleep. I had earned it.

Surprise: I was struggling for some good sleep, when I suddenly witnessed the greatest combination of colors. I realized it’s just not easy to capture the beauty of the dawn – especially when there’s a bright full moon right on the top! With the proud smile (for my photography skills) and a great sense of satisfaction, I gracefully fell asleep and also started dreaming – I was on a plane from Bombay to Delhi when the captain decided to emergency land in Jaipur (for some ‘confidential’ military reasons). (Dreams – they can get really filmy!) It’s less than two hours from Bombay to Delhi anyway. It’d be better to fly back, than emergency land in Jaipur. Jaipur just didn’t make any sense to my limited available-senses in the dream. And I suddenly felt a massive jerk!

The plane had actually landed in Jaipur – in reality – due to heavy fog in Delhi. (Air traffic issues in Delhi during winters are pretty similar to flood issues in Bombay every monsoon. They know the problem - somehow it’s not on their priority list to fix, as yet.) So we landed. In Jaipur. In reality. We weren’t the first to commit this crime – there were 13 others in queue awaiting a landing opportunity at Delhi airport. What followed was to be my surprise encounter with Jaipur – and what a time to be here – my mobile-free-computer-free-just-with-myself vacation! Not that they allowed us to walk out, the pink city looked equally pink even from inside the airplane. Felt like calling up my Jaipuri friend Vaibhav Goswami! (Which reminded me of the sad fact that I had lost my mobile just a couple of days ago. :-| )

Coming back to Jaipur, maybe it was the pleasant 14° C morning out there (Gulaabi thandi), I was feeling fresh and energetic. Positively. Unfortunately, the pleasure was ephemeral, for the captain consistently kept reminding of the fact that it was just not the fog; there was also some serious technical failure in Delhi. On any other day, it would have added to the fury. But I was enjoying the unanticipated sight out of my window! By the way, I realized one ‘good’ thing during this halt here – Pune’s Lohegaon airport isn’t the smallest one in India. We also have Jaipur!

Two hours, two A4 sheets, one sandwich, one tea and one coffee down, we were finally ready to take off again. I must thank my whatever-duration life in Bombay (and Pune, for this instance), I don’t get furious on traffic-jams and flight-delays any more. Say I’ve adopted the reality, or given up on any hopes of improvement. I just don’t get disturbed/panicked on such situations – which is the good part. (I still can’t tolerate irresponsible and rash driving. To me, rough driving and traffic jams should be mutually exclusive, and NOT symbiotic.)

Final call for take-off. 5 minutes before “ATC” gives clearance, I deserved one more coffee. I had ‘written’ (and not ‘typed’) a lot, in long time. (I’m still equally-good at cursive writing!) Pens down!

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One of my closest friends - Tanya - once ‘tagged’ me in a note (on Facebook) unfolding some of her secrets. The idea was to write some equal number of random things about me as well, tag her with all the other people I wanted to read these 25 things about me. And so it finally comes to a shape today! (In this Facebook-age, the better suited title would be "25 Things On My Mind".)

Here’s my story (barely random and significantly long - I spent almost an hour to list them all):

 

1. I love reading. I read absolutely anything that comes handy. Of all, my favorite book is “Indian Muslims – Where Have They Gone Wrong?” by Dr Rafiq Zakaria. With all that in place, I feel my vocabulary is limited to a very small set of words.
   
2. I have full faith in Indian government, their initiatives and efforts. I know the future is even brighter.
3. I some times feel people (/Indians) not living in India should not be allowed to crib about issues in India. (If you can’t see the brighter side, be equally blind to the darker one.)
4. I wish India and Pakistan were never separated. I would’ve loved supporting a cricket team with opening batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar and opening bowlers like Wasim Akram. (And Sania Mirza could marry Shoaib Malik with peace - without making any political news. Shashi Tharoor could also mind his own business.)
5. I hope Indians do equally great in other sports (than Cricket) in future; in Hockey to start with. We are better than China in many ways. Why not in Olympics then?
6. I love Banana milkshake. Any day, any time. 
7. The cook at my parents’ place is just great. But I specially go home, just that I can wake up to the tea my Mom makes.
8. Pune is the best city I’ve ever lived in. I just wish the citizens had better traffic (and civic) sense.
9. I don’t like pets – dog, cat, fish, birds, just any of them. They’re better off to their nature-defined habitat.
10. Believe it or not, I’m quite shy. And I don’t lie, as far as possible. With the spread of world wide web and people’s momentous presence online (Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, etc), I feel it’s practically impossible to lie about anything.
11. My family’s my life and my friends are my life-support. No wonder I’ve survived not-so-pleasant phases of my life, so effortlessly.
12. I’m quite selfish (and self-centered?) compared to my friends. I guess my friends know that too. They still love me!
13. I owe my financial and social independence to my teachers (/trainers) and my employer. (My parents are my teachers. My sister, is like my mother.)
14. I’m not a foodie. I can barely sense/differentiate tastes. I’m just not into junk-food and given a choice, I can live with all-boiled, no-spice food (satvik aahar) for the rest of my life.
15. Something’s terribly wrong with the way I speak/talk. Somehow, on first, most people feel I’m arrogant/have an attitude problem.
16. My likes of profession is pretty unrealistic. It's a mix of some random things I’m good at.
17. I love writing with fountain pens. (It’s one of many other things I try and copy from my Father.)
18. I am not superstitious. But there’s certainly some magic in the shooting stars.
19. I have an OCD for hygiene – especially that in toilets, kitchen and the dining area. I guess I also have an acrophobia.
20. I prefer: Facebook over Orkut, Tea over Coffee, Pune over Bombay/Bangalore/Surat.., Windows over Linux, Red Wine over White, Test-match over ODI/T20, Vada-pav over Burger, Scotch over Vodka/Rum/Beer, Animated over SciFi/Action flicks, House over Hip-hop music and Sambuca over Tequila.
21. I believe in Karma and the ‘Karmic Law’.
22. I hate cooking. I hate it more, when people expect that I should cook.
23. It really surprises me that some people are still stuck to hard cash, and worse, they believe that plastic money/cheques are bad.
24. Internet (on Mobile phone) is the best invention ever. Swimming is the best exercise ever.
25. I do play Tabla and Harmonium. I’m formally trained in Indian Classical Music (vocal) and my personal favorites are Raag Kaafi and Bhairavi. I’ve turned to the west now. Starting with Saxophone.
26. I sincerely feel people should wear helmet/seatbelt without any exceptions. We’ve lost some precious lives due to this ignorance in the past, and I hope everyone understands that her/his life is much more important than s/he thinks.
27. I can’t compromise with my ‘space’. I get quite upset (and annoyed) if the entropy of my house changes. I love my freedom at my new ‘home’. But I do feel quite lonely on times.
28. In my free time I like making random changes to my website. I’ll always be thankful to Pritesh (and Dharmesh bhai) for this great gift!
29. I always over-do things, like I couldn’t limit it to ‘25’ (or '15' in Quick 15 Books...).

I’m a narcissist. I feel I possess a perfect human life, with no regrets for the mistakes in past. I’m blessed, in many ways.

But I really want more.  ;)

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An Old Story:

    * The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
    * The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
    * Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.
 

The Indian Reality:

    * The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
    * The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
    * Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.
    * NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
    * The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
    * Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house.
    * Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.
* Mayawati states this as `injustice' done on Minorities.
    * Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.
    * The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance).
    * Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for 'Bengal Bandh' in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.
    * CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.
    * Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.
    * Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the ' Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter.
    * Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation' for Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions & in Government Services.
    * The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes,it's home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.
    * Arundhati Roy calls it 'A Triumph of Justice'. Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice'. CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden'.
    * Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

 

Many years later...

    * The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley,
    * 100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India,

 

..AND

    * As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the grasshoppers,...

 

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One of the most famous forwards in the air these days... Do check it out.

It's worth your half an hour spent (I assume!).

Presenting...

Modern Analysis of Ancient Indian Civilization

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Disclaimer: When I say Bombay, I mean Bombay - and NOT Mumbai. And that's unlikely to change. Neat? Back to the article.

With a dense humanity of tens of millions, there’s barely anybody who can claim to be somebody here. Everyone’s in hurry and of all, everyone’s priority is the highest priority at any given time. Someone’s in the auto, some in the bus, some on foot; everybody approaching the railway station, and they all will catch 6:23 AM Virar-fast to Churchgate (which would already be filled and over-packed from Virar itself)…

On the same time, there are some fortunate ones who don’t have to deal with the crammed railways at all. I leave by 8:20 from home, reach the office at 9:00 passing through one of the greenest areas of Bombay - Aarey Township. Unless there's some unusual change in plans, I reach back home by 7 in the evening, and have all the time under the sun, all for myself. For any localite, my life is lousy or slow. Trust me, it’s not.

And interestingly, with hundreds of thousands issues, there’s no stopping here. There’s something in it for everyone. If you observe the crowded buses and trains, students apart, everyone in there is making a small or big effort to make some livelihood. (If you can locate someone apart from these two categories, it has to be some outsider, and most likely some jobless visitor from South Gujarat).

There’s a stiff competition, but a great market on the same time. Everyone feels that Bombay is hers/his and s/he runs her. It’s true and valid for everyone on the same time. Shanghai or no-Shanghai, there’s something about being a Bombayite. I’m not sure about my future with the city, but for today at least, I’m very proud to be a part of one of the most-lively-glabal-metro-mechanism…

Kasa kaai, bhankas?

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Article moved:

 

India Unbound - Gurcharan Das

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The Dalal Street bulls finally went one up on Wall Street for the first time in more than 11 years. The sensex surpassed the New York Stock Exchange’s Dow Jones Industrial Average index, closing at an all-time high of 11,183.48 on Wednesday. The Dow closed at 11,154.34 on Tuesday...

Full Article

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[If you're an IT-guy, you must have received this forward by now. If not, here you are:] What will India's innovation and booming economy mean for Americans?

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If there's anything like 'luck', then I've been the luckiest. Twice! Twice I've been privileged to see and hear their master-duo. Probably it all happened just to reinforce my strong-old belief that if one isn't into one or the other form of art apart from her/his professional work, s/he's always missing on something. As of me, such a life can never be called complete. Especially for we Indians (at heart, or at least on passport), in the field of art and culture, only the sky is the limit. Rich heritage of thousands of years of art in the form of dance and music (and many other fine arts), nurtured by the best in their field Ustaads and Pandits, it's tougher to find an excuse not to be associated with one.

It was a sheer coincidence since we weren't aware of this grand event till very morning. That is, the last morning. Thanks to our local non-reliable newspaper (which proved us wrong for this case), we realized Ustaad Zakir Hussein would be playing for Bharat-Bhavan in the evening. We reached the venue on time, being prepared for the typical formal event to be carried with bureaucratic formalities like inauguration speech, conclusion, vote of thanks etc. However, it was just the evening of surprises: the inauguration formality didn't last for long, which actually was held by the Honorable Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh (Mr Shivraj Chauhan), and His Excellency Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Dr Balram Jhakhar. This eventually was my third meeting (encounter?) with the new CM of MP. Any way. The surprising part was that it was not just Ustad Zakir Hussein, there were also Dr Kanak Rele (MohiniAttam Classical Dancer), Mrs Sharda Sinha (Bhojpuri folksinger) and Swami Ramswaroop Sinha (Rasleelacharya) present in the squad!! Quite a bagful, I must say. However, only Ustad Hussein was to play. Still, it certainly was a bonanza!

So came onto stage, our very own Ustad Zakir Hussein to stun the crowd with his magical hands on Tabla. But hey hey hey! What we see here... Ustad was accompanied by another maestro, Ustad Shultan Khan, the only living legendary to be able to pour life into Sarangi with his blessed hands! Now that's what I call a combo!! Just to share (/show off) my experience, this was the second chance I attended an Ustad Zakir Hussein Live, and the first one (1995) too happened to be in tune with Ustad Shultan Khan. What a way to recall some historic moments of life? And what then? A one and a half hours non-stop, of hypnotizing jugalbandi between the duo. All one could one say was... Wah Ustad!!

What say crowd? Ustaad ko nahi dekha, to kya dekha... !??

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For those of my dear friends knowing little or absolutely nothing about my business, there are three divisions in my company of which, one happens to be ‘networking’ (the one that I take care of). Again, for those not having sufficient knowledge of my professional background, I happen to have post-graduated from Networking field and I’ve worked with a security software company as a software engineer for some time.

And now the work I’m doing is completely into core-networking (hardware). So what should be the motive behind this paradigm shift? Trust me, money isn’t first reason here (for a change). Just to relate this to one of my earlier blogs (Of all, why Bhopal?), there are reasons to address the need of Networking-business, and that to in Bhopal. It hasn’t been the easiest thing to do so far. And the path ahead isn’t that easy either. But then, as far as there's work, it’s always great! Over-work is never a problem… no-work can be the issue!

Recently there was an article on ‘Network’ –related market scenario, in The Economic Times (New Delhi, Feb 6 2006, by Ranjoy Punja). It has most of it in the form of statistics, but it said everything for itself. Without much efforts to modify, I’m straight away pasting it here:


Networked and In Demand

The advent of globalisation, India’s prowess in information technology and a strong educational system are bringing about an information communications technology (ICT) revolution. The signs are everywhere: the phenomenal rate of mobile adoption, increased ICT investments by enterprises to compete effectively, small- and medium-sized businesses investing in ICT to become suppliers to multi-national companies and state governments looking to bridge socio-economic disparities and provide effective citizens-centric services are some examples. All of these are having an unprecedented impact on the country’s economic development. Interestingly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Looking ahead, Gartner predicts that Indian ICT spends will surpass $54.8bn by ‘08, and achieve a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 19%. With this growth comes the increase in demand for networking professionals in the country.

Networking forms the backbone of the ICT revolution. While there has been a growth in the number of IT professionals in India, there is an increasing shortfall of networking professionals, which makes it a lucrative career option. Let’s take a look at the opportunities that exist and the certifications that are available for professionals considering a career in networking.

Demand-Supply Gap

A recent report by Evalueserve suggests that the current demand for networking professionals in India stands over two lacs. However, only 140,000 are currently available, indicating a deficit of more than 50,000 professionals. This deficit is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.64% till ‘10. In short, this current demand-supply gap is expected to widen further, posing serious concerns for the growth of BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), telecom and BPO/ITeS verticals in the country. BFSI, which currently accounts for 20% of total demand for networking professionals, is expected to witness an additional demand of over 41,000 networking professionals during ‘05-10, driven by regulatory compliance. The telecom sector, which currently accounts for around 16% of the total demand of networking professionals, is expected to witness an increasing adoption of disruptive technologies creating an additional demand for over 75,000 professionals during ‘05-10. BPO/ITeS is the segment that will witness the highest growth in demand for networking professionals, growing at a CAGR of 35% during the period ‘05-10. Due to an increase in technology adoption, the demand for networking professionals in the governance and retail sectors is also expected to increase considerably.

Take:2 – Soon I’m moving back into the world of network-security (this time as a consultant). So, check your security-gears... I'm coming!!

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