Google is a wonderful
.........But use it as a tool
................Its not AI for fools
---
If you download every code
Coding will be a heavy load
---
If you search for every error
Debugging will be terror
---
When will you think
Else Brain Drains Thru the Sink !!
---
"File Not Found", "Suspicious Pointer Assignment""Bubble Sort"
please please please
---
Research is not same as search
Discovery is not searching thru results
Innovations is not googling "Ideas for meeting"
---
Think First Google Later
---
(Please Note: AI:Artificial Intelligence)
(Please Note: I love google but I suggest use it as search tool, it is not meant to be AI for fools)
Monday, August 10, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Bhaiya Me Not
Re Released: Rakhsa Bandhan 2009 (originally published in Hindustan Times Jul 5th 1995)
Context: This article was written by me when I was doing graduation in St Stephens. Read the article keeping in mind that I am quiet young when I wrote it. The emoluments (Rs 700) from this went on to serve my one year’s tea and bhelpuri expense
The normal English language may have one hundred and one flaws, but it is one up on most Indian Languages, i.e in its lack of use of the words “brother” and “sister” during normal conversation.
In this land of Rakhi and Bhaiya Duj children grow up with firm realization and conviction that any one older to them (even by a matter of seconds) has to be branded under the label of Bhaiya and didi.
It is the former label that I have an aversion to. This aversion though not recent reached its peak about a week ago. If you say you haven’t had a crush during your college days you are either a fluent liar with a misplaced sense of secrecy or a person with a lack of certain hormones.
The damage these two words, bhaiya and didi do to your lovelorn self is worth narrating. One day I spotted God’s wonderful creation at my college gate. Time came to a stand still, the world moved in slow motion with the constant ringing of bells and fluttering of my heart. Such a situation instead of getting the best in you invariably numbs your thinking process. So when she looked at me, I was sure she had also had heard the bells and felt the flutter. I walked straight up to her as smartly as I could under the circumstances (I must have resembled a lumbering and bungling bear with a minimum of seven litres of the best wine inside him).
But I was run down by a bullet train. Hit by a six ton battering ram and brought down to earth by a small push when she said “Bhaiya, time kya hua hai ?”
All the bhenjis who without any bias believe firmly in the concept of brotherly love and affection to all men kindly do not misunderstand that the apoplexy, anguish and tribulation I underwent was not due to the trivial question hurled at me, but the implications that went along with it. It meant, I was not going to be ever considered by her.
The blatant use of this terminology is curtailed only in the first year of college. Thanks to initial courtesy you have to call you seniors, sir or maam, for a month or so. In this duration the non brotherly relationship is well established. Which I am sure has cut short a dozen rachis enroute.
Unlike the word bhaiya, bhenji is not the said thing. A student calling a lady on the wrong side of 30 as bhenji may not raise much of an eyebrow. But repercussions in calling a young attractive lady in campus the same is not hard to imagine.
But challenges and bets are so much in vogue that you can actually consider it as part of the college curriculum. I challenged my friend to call the lady across the street bhenji. My friend a true college dada went across the road and asked “Bhenji time kya hua hai ?”
In this sweltering heat one would welcome a cold wave anytime. But the ice cold glare which he got back in return for the question from the woman was another matter.
That he had a grin and she had a glare, that she didn’t have a watch and he had one, did not add much warmth to the tete-a-tete, so coldly they parted.
The message I wanted to get across is
Bother me yes
Brother me not
Curse me yes
Bhaiya me not
Context: This article was written by me when I was doing graduation in St Stephens. Read the article keeping in mind that I am quiet young when I wrote it. The emoluments (Rs 700) from this went on to serve my one year’s tea and bhelpuri expense
The normal English language may have one hundred and one flaws, but it is one up on most Indian Languages, i.e in its lack of use of the words “brother” and “sister” during normal conversation.
In this land of Rakhi and Bhaiya Duj children grow up with firm realization and conviction that any one older to them (even by a matter of seconds) has to be branded under the label of Bhaiya and didi.
It is the former label that I have an aversion to. This aversion though not recent reached its peak about a week ago. If you say you haven’t had a crush during your college days you are either a fluent liar with a misplaced sense of secrecy or a person with a lack of certain hormones.
The damage these two words, bhaiya and didi do to your lovelorn self is worth narrating. One day I spotted God’s wonderful creation at my college gate. Time came to a stand still, the world moved in slow motion with the constant ringing of bells and fluttering of my heart. Such a situation instead of getting the best in you invariably numbs your thinking process. So when she looked at me, I was sure she had also had heard the bells and felt the flutter. I walked straight up to her as smartly as I could under the circumstances (I must have resembled a lumbering and bungling bear with a minimum of seven litres of the best wine inside him).
But I was run down by a bullet train. Hit by a six ton battering ram and brought down to earth by a small push when she said “Bhaiya, time kya hua hai ?”
All the bhenjis who without any bias believe firmly in the concept of brotherly love and affection to all men kindly do not misunderstand that the apoplexy, anguish and tribulation I underwent was not due to the trivial question hurled at me, but the implications that went along with it. It meant, I was not going to be ever considered by her.
The blatant use of this terminology is curtailed only in the first year of college. Thanks to initial courtesy you have to call you seniors, sir or maam, for a month or so. In this duration the non brotherly relationship is well established. Which I am sure has cut short a dozen rachis enroute.
Unlike the word bhaiya, bhenji is not the said thing. A student calling a lady on the wrong side of 30 as bhenji may not raise much of an eyebrow. But repercussions in calling a young attractive lady in campus the same is not hard to imagine.
But challenges and bets are so much in vogue that you can actually consider it as part of the college curriculum. I challenged my friend to call the lady across the street bhenji. My friend a true college dada went across the road and asked “Bhenji time kya hua hai ?”
In this sweltering heat one would welcome a cold wave anytime. But the ice cold glare which he got back in return for the question from the woman was another matter.
That he had a grin and she had a glare, that she didn’t have a watch and he had one, did not add much warmth to the tete-a-tete, so coldly they parted.
The message I wanted to get across is
Bother me yes
Brother me not
Curse me yes
Bhaiya me not
Monday, August 3, 2009
Why Teach
Context:
Senior Lecturer, Christ University
Teacher and Guide, Sneh Sadan Orphange
Ex Competency& Culture Manager, MindTree
I love converting ideas into action and teaching lets you do that day in and day out.
I always wanted to share the
· Joy I get from reading books,
· Joy from doing things,
· Joy from touching lives,
· Joy from living dreams
· Joy of seeing someone else see ”wonder” in things around him
Mentors and Guides
I always wanted to share the
· Joy I get from reading books,
· Joy from doing things,
· Joy from touching lives,
· Joy from living dreams
· Joy of seeing someone else see ”wonder” in things around him
Mentors and Guides
I was way too lucky to get good teachers, mentors and guides all along the way. My parents and siblings to begin with, teachers in Columba’s, people like Fr Ajay and PG Uncle, Lecturers in Stephens and Birkbeck.
I was not much attached to my father in my growing days but what I am and what I stand for a lot comes from my dad and I would always be thankful. The stories he used to tell me as a child always inspires me to be a writer. The travelling and the trekking bug comes from our trips on shoe string budgets and our annual 6 km walk across the field in Kerala to the location of the church on top of a hill. Adi and my love for trains also come from my dad.
I used to go with my grandfather to “chanda” (shopping place) in Kerala from the time I was 5 years old. I have learnt more from him than anybody I recollect. Apart from learning how to buy fish and tapioca. I have sat on a tractor and bullock cart with him. Climbed trees, picked wood, eggs and fruits. I have taken the calf to the river for giving it a bath, my grandfather was taking the cow alongside me. Whenever I think about it tears well up in my eyes even today. How many of you have actually helped in getting honey from a hive !!! (Do keep in mind I did not get to put my hand in, I just held the ladder)
These guides taught me the reason why knowledge has to be applied to truly appreciate it
BooksBefore I learnt the alphabets I learned from my siblings that reading was fun. When there are six siblings elder to me who deep dive into books every afternoon without any mandate from the top it makes complete sense to get a hand on a book ASAP.
I enjoyed reading both fiction and non fiction and when I took control of my senses (in class III) I realized not all felt “wow” when they read History, Geography, Maths and Science and I used to think boy what a waste
Today I read a lot of subjects including Science Fiction, Fiction, Physics, Maths, Psychology, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Religion, Management, English, Computer Science, etc the only difference is that now I exclaim “man what a waste” when others fail to see the joy in the books.
It is possible that my screws need a little tightening and this wonder I see is misplaced ….. but till this conviction exist in my mind I always would want to share this feeling.
When did I start teaching I was not much attached to my father in my growing days but what I am and what I stand for a lot comes from my dad and I would always be thankful. The stories he used to tell me as a child always inspires me to be a writer. The travelling and the trekking bug comes from our trips on shoe string budgets and our annual 6 km walk across the field in Kerala to the location of the church on top of a hill. Adi and my love for trains also come from my dad.
I used to go with my grandfather to “chanda” (shopping place) in Kerala from the time I was 5 years old. I have learnt more from him than anybody I recollect. Apart from learning how to buy fish and tapioca. I have sat on a tractor and bullock cart with him. Climbed trees, picked wood, eggs and fruits. I have taken the calf to the river for giving it a bath, my grandfather was taking the cow alongside me. Whenever I think about it tears well up in my eyes even today. How many of you have actually helped in getting honey from a hive !!! (Do keep in mind I did not get to put my hand in, I just held the ladder)
These guides taught me the reason why knowledge has to be applied to truly appreciate it
BooksBefore I learnt the alphabets I learned from my siblings that reading was fun. When there are six siblings elder to me who deep dive into books every afternoon without any mandate from the top it makes complete sense to get a hand on a book ASAP.
I enjoyed reading both fiction and non fiction and when I took control of my senses (in class III) I realized not all felt “wow” when they read History, Geography, Maths and Science and I used to think boy what a waste
Today I read a lot of subjects including Science Fiction, Fiction, Physics, Maths, Psychology, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Religion, Management, English, Computer Science, etc the only difference is that now I exclaim “man what a waste” when others fail to see the joy in the books.
It is possible that my screws need a little tightening and this wonder I see is misplaced ….. but till this conviction exist in my mind I always would want to share this feeling.
- In school I used to request my friends to read Alistair Maclean and Resnick Halliday
- In College I was crazy about Physics so I used to explain relativity to those who would lend an ear.
- In the Youth Movement while leading / directing plays or while taking workshops
- As a PM in the last 6 years, I have always tried to be mentor those who work under me by leading with example, Inspiring with words and in worst case pulling my seniority
- Giving PMP Training
- Teaching in the Campus Batch
In Conclusion
My friends I believe that there is teacher in each and every one of us, we would all have memories of some people who guided us in the past. There would also have been numerous occasion where you would have guided somebody else. It so happens that my job title matches with what I do today.
My Recent Sessions Include:
- Advanced Data Structures in C
- Including Heaps using PPT Animation
- Linked List using code walkthrougho Sorting using Excel
- BTREE using Self Discovery
- Leadership Workshop mixed with games
- Readiness Workshop (include session on Recession, Self Learning , Happiness)
- BI Labs : Self Learning
- Campus Training (SQL , Doc and Collaborate)
- Path to Excellence (MS Excel)
- Project Management (PMP)
- Readiness Workshop (include session on Recession, Self Learning , Happiness)
- Think First Google Later
- Physics : Optics, Magnetism, Electricity
- Chemistry : Atoms
- Maths: Bodmas and simple multiplications!!!
- History : Alexander, Shivaji, Babar
- Geography : Asia, Europe
- Story Telling
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
ARISE Summer Camp : Summary
Context: Summer Camp conducted in the Sneh Sadan.
The camp was shortened due to an administrative problem and lasted only 10 days unlike the planned 20 days. To compensate for lost time we doubled up the time spent, some highlights include
Computer Classes taken by Ryan, he came every day for the whole week and he brought in some learning software. Children learnt a lot of geography and GK in a very short time.
Class on Leaves proved that children knew much more about leaves and plants, as in Sneh Sadan has an excellent farm like environment. Each child bought 10 different types of leaves to class and we had a small quiz on the same.
Alpho and Naveen from MindTree took a class on Astronomy and taught the children about planets and gave them an idea of size of each by making a model in class. Children affirmed the learning by making an animated presentation using Microsoft Powerpoint the next day (with the help of Ryan).
Alpho and Divya took an excellent class to improve English using games. (Word Antakshari, Pictionary, Building Words from Big Words)
Rahul Mohandas from MindTree shared with the children his fascination of cars and his curiosity to find out how things work. How did he teach this? By simply opening the car’s bonnet!!
Srivatsa from MindTree came down and took a class on Painting and Origami.
Cricket Match was played on one evening. Team was captained by Santosh and Prem. Prem came up with class shots and Alwin did some cool spin bowling but Santosh and Father Roy’s team beat our team 2-1.
Apart from this some other classes on History, Science and Maths were also conducted
The children daily played with toys (on loan) brought in for this camp which included 3 blocks set, 2 train/track sets, 3 animal and birds set. (Seeing the way kids enjoyed and came up with really out of the box design I think one day I will open a Toy Library)
Rahul’s son and my two children came down on last day. The youngest group took them around their home and showed their bunk beds, classroom, dining halls, animals in the farm, different types of fruit trees and they loved playing with the baby rabbits.
Trek to Savandurga has been postponed to July as the schedule turned out to be very tight.
Overall it was an enjoyable and enriching experience for one and all. Father Roy did a lot of running around to coordinate the whole event, playing cricket and making sure all who came felt “very welcomed”.
Special thanks to the cook of establishment who sacrificed her 10 days vacation to make this event happen.
Finally three cheers for these wonderful children who inspite of their difficulties are able to share their joy and enthusiasm in even studying in the summer holidays. Overall the children are very bright and what was pretty evident was that they are very sensitive and soft at heart and not all that tough as they like the world to believe.
We have just scratched the surface, we will need to spend much more time with these children in a similarly planned manner if we are to make a positive impact on their careers and life in general. As of today I am sure the children have taught us more than we have taught them !
Thanks for one and all who contributed in making this Endeavour a success.
The camp was shortened due to an administrative problem and lasted only 10 days unlike the planned 20 days. To compensate for lost time we doubled up the time spent, some highlights include
Computer Classes taken by Ryan, he came every day for the whole week and he brought in some learning software. Children learnt a lot of geography and GK in a very short time.
Class on Leaves proved that children knew much more about leaves and plants, as in Sneh Sadan has an excellent farm like environment. Each child bought 10 different types of leaves to class and we had a small quiz on the same.
Alpho and Naveen from MindTree took a class on Astronomy and taught the children about planets and gave them an idea of size of each by making a model in class. Children affirmed the learning by making an animated presentation using Microsoft Powerpoint the next day (with the help of Ryan).
Alpho and Divya took an excellent class to improve English using games. (Word Antakshari, Pictionary, Building Words from Big Words)
Rahul Mohandas from MindTree shared with the children his fascination of cars and his curiosity to find out how things work. How did he teach this? By simply opening the car’s bonnet!!
Srivatsa from MindTree came down and took a class on Painting and Origami.
Cricket Match was played on one evening. Team was captained by Santosh and Prem. Prem came up with class shots and Alwin did some cool spin bowling but Santosh and Father Roy’s team beat our team 2-1.
Apart from this some other classes on History, Science and Maths were also conducted
The children daily played with toys (on loan) brought in for this camp which included 3 blocks set, 2 train/track sets, 3 animal and birds set. (Seeing the way kids enjoyed and came up with really out of the box design I think one day I will open a Toy Library)
Rahul’s son and my two children came down on last day. The youngest group took them around their home and showed their bunk beds, classroom, dining halls, animals in the farm, different types of fruit trees and they loved playing with the baby rabbits.
Trek to Savandurga has been postponed to July as the schedule turned out to be very tight.
Overall it was an enjoyable and enriching experience for one and all. Father Roy did a lot of running around to coordinate the whole event, playing cricket and making sure all who came felt “very welcomed”.
Special thanks to the cook of establishment who sacrificed her 10 days vacation to make this event happen.
Finally three cheers for these wonderful children who inspite of their difficulties are able to share their joy and enthusiasm in even studying in the summer holidays. Overall the children are very bright and what was pretty evident was that they are very sensitive and soft at heart and not all that tough as they like the world to believe.
We have just scratched the surface, we will need to spend much more time with these children in a similarly planned manner if we are to make a positive impact on their careers and life in general. As of today I am sure the children have taught us more than we have taught them !
Thanks for one and all who contributed in making this Endeavour a success.
Monday, March 30, 2009
ARISE Summer Workshop
I am conducting a Summer Camp for children of Sneh Sadan. There are 30 students in this home , the age is ranging from 6-15 years. They understand English (otherwise with my Language Barrier this would not have been possible) . Two MindTree minds have shown interest, but more help is definetly required. This would be a great oppurtunity for you to give back something to the system !! . It could be as simple as 2 hours on a particular day !!
![[ARISEVer4.GIF]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwUEqM-FCxIBaxEeJ63QuiDtkJjbixokJ0IqV7PX_pwlLZ-bqshAa3p_gu6AYo-NCJP4IyEMXZj2AKBzsFOGNvcsYolPHRNZcnR4kJjtQz4B-QTIGeMVdzLNCOexW6uquE_AcmSK4mbr8/s1600/ARISEVer4.GIF)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Arise
Context: I am organizing a summer camp for the children of Sneh Sadan (off Bannerghatta Road). The returns in conducting any program with children has so much returns that to put a dollar value to the ROI is simply not possible.
So are you interested in spending time with these children and to make your time count?
On 8th March 2009 I conducted my first workshop with the permission of Father Roy in the premisis of the Sneh Sadan. There are currently 30 children here for whom this is their home.
We divide the group into three batches, each class one hour and the agenda was
Group 1: Ages 6-10 years
· Ice Breakers: Spinning the Top
· Book Appreciation: Book of Buildings around the world
· Building Tallest Tower (Using Jenga Blocks)
Group 2: Ages 10-13 years
· Ice Breakers: Spinning the Top
· Book Appreciation: Book of Buildings around the world
· Building Tallest Tower (Using Jenga Blocks)
· Implementing their own design (House/Apartment/Church/Monument etc)
Group 3: Ages 13-15 years
· Ice Breakers: Number 1- 50
· Book Appreciation: Book of Buildings around the world
· Implementing their own design (House/Apartment/Church/Monument etc)
· Team Building Game : Tap Tap
The children seemed to enjoy the games and said they are looking forward to the full fledge summer camp. I was completely exhausted by the end of it but did enjoy playing with the children. I plan to conduct these introductory playing sessions on the remaining Sundays of the month of March. Summer Camp is scheduled to start in the first week of April.
The Agenda of the camp would include (5 days a week, 1 hour a day, 3 batches)
Team Games
Individual Motivation Games
Presentation Skill
English Speaking Skills
Subject Appreciation
Astronomy / Maths / Physics / Computers / English
History / Geography / Zoology / Biology
Book Appreciation
Loads of fun
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Leadership Traits
Jibrael Jos, Ash Wednesday 2009
Leadership and Followership are connected, if you do not believe in the system, your company, your practice how do you expect your team members to believe in you.
If you do not follow the strict path ( I do not think we need to) but then why do we expect others to toe the line we draw.
If you do not stand up to change the things you want changed you should not expect your team members to take onus.
Leadership is 90% Action and the remaining 10% is thinking what else to do.
Steven Covey puts forward seven traits of a leader
They are continually learning:
Subroto Bagchi, a major percentage of the books in the library are from his collection and the collection is not random one, it shows the person is a thinker and innovator (or is striving to be one). Closer home there is our very own Srikanth, Derick and Senthil who show the same trait. Learning is not just from books it comes from experiences, people you meet and concepts you develop. It is from both eyes and ears !!
They are service oriented:
Leaders see life as a mission. Ashok Soota comes to my mind but my favorite is definitely Mahatma Gandhi, people followed him by the thousands not for his oratory skills or for his style or for his looks. I believe a good leader needs to be closer to reality (real world) rather than lofty words and high altitude have to the point words and positive attitude.
They radiate positive energy:
Krishnan is a very good example as when he is around rarely does one feel any negative vibe. I remember once I approached with a serious problem of something which I thought we have “committed and we could not technically deliver “. I had been fretting on this problem along with the team for more than a month. But talking to him I was able to abstract the problem and within next couple of days had a meeting with customer and they agreed that yes this same problem was definitely not in scope!!
Siva Vajjala is another person who has impressed me a lot for those who have interacted with him I do not need to elaborate and those who have not I do not think my words can be the paint or this document a canvas to capture the person.
They believe in other people
This according to me is the key to Radha leadership style, she puts immense trust in the people who work under her and once she gives the task she is not trying to guide them, check on them or show them the way. She intrinsically makes the person in front believe he can do it.
They lead balanced life
I have not come across many who does this ! The best people who comes close to this in my experience in MindTree is Suresh H P and Raju Dani
They see life as an adventure
Some people may think that I am a maverick who does 18 trips in 18 months fits the bill but actually Steven Covey is talking about people like Sanjoy Roy. He is my role model when it comes to this trait as I chickened out with TPM role he has moved from Manager to Pre Sales (US) to Operation to Pre Sales (Proposals) to Account Manager. What a journey and behold the trail he set ablaze.
They are synergistic
This is closer home to what I see myself as a leader, I have found that a team of ‘n’ minds are much-much stronger than ‘n’ independent minds and once you get the chemistry going miracles are sure to follow.
They exercise for self renewal
Exercise four dimension of human personality
· Physical
· Emotional
· Mental
· Spiritual
Most of us are playing the role of leader but I am sure none of us can say we are there yet
Why don’t you get the feedback from your team (anonymously) working with you on these seven points and see where your rating stands against theirs. If you are married get it from your spouse and you may discover a new dimension to leadership and followership
On a scale of 1-10, where 10 is Excellent, Rate the following for Mr. Zing Wing
· Learner
· Service Oriented
· Radiate Positive Energy
· Lead Balanced Life
· Synergistic
· See life as an Adventure
· Exercise for Self Renewal
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