One of the best perks my company provides me is a pickup and drop facility. Given that I dont really enjoy driving and the drive to Madhapur is not really an enjoyable one, this facility is really a bliss to me. My house is at a distance of 45 mins - 1 hour by car, from my office. So 2 hours of my week day are spent in a cab.
I get a headache when I attempt to do anything like reading in a moving vehicle, thats why I literally end up doing nothing while in a cab. To kill this time, I spend it talking to my friends on phone, taking a short nap at times and sometimes getting into a conversation with my driver mostly initiated by the driver himself.
I have come across a variety of cab drivers. Some are just very silent doing just what they are supposed to do ( these are the kind of drivers I like), some of them pick on the topics I talk on phone with my friends while in cab and start asking me questions on some of the things which I am not very comfortable talking to strangers and some of them initiate a general topic and ask my opinion on them ( if its politics I hardly have any opinion).
But I started believing that there is a whole lot of life that exists around these cabs. Most of the drivers are in their early 20's. Though I am pretty much an introvert, I sometimes break free and indulge in a conversation with them when they initiate it. Some of these guys go upto the extent of sharing their love stories with me. Its strange but I dont get a feeling like "why are u telling all this to me". They dont expect any suggestion from me, but they just want to tell. I hear offering no expert suggestion. I just listen thats it.
Some of their conversations on phone with their friends/relatives, give me a peek into the situations at their home. Some things which we see in old movies, and think "oh the same old tragic family stuff", do exist indeed.
I sometimes wonder what makes me different from them. Why am I leading a fairly comfortable life when that guy of almost my age is working day in and day out just to earn his living. Probably i would have been doing a similar thing if I was born into a family which couldnt have afforded my education. I should be thankful to God and my parents for helping me lead this kind of a life.
But the one thing I find amazing about these young cabbies is that they have a lot of enthusiasm in doing their work. For a while, my daily pickup was done by a driver who didnt mind working for 16 hours a day, just bcoz he was faithful to his supervisor who requested him to work for extra hours as the other drivers werent available. Sometimes, either due to lack of work or excess of work,they tend to drive faster inorder to squeeze in as many kms per day as possible(their revenues are dependent on the distance of their pickups/drops) or finish their drives sooner. Inspite of me(or for that matter anyone) complaining a several times about the rash driving, things dont change.
One thing the IT industry, the BPO industry rather, has done to India is that it not only created employment opportunities in those sectors but also created employment for these whole lot of cab drivers. A whole lot of families are earning their livelihood becoz of this.
Whenever I sit in my cab, I have all these thoughts flowing through my mind, but the moment I move out of the cab, I have many other things to worry about. Just like the cab driver needs to worry about his next pickup/drop. At the end of the day, life goes on ...
Sunday, April 01, 2007
The Excruciating VISA Experience - II
I hadnt totally recovered from the dejection of getting my VISA rejected in the first attempt , when I was asked to reapply for the VISA. This put me under a lot of pressure and also increased my responsibility as the company invested a lot of money and confidence on me hoping that I would get the VISA this time and complete the assignments in US successfully.
The appointment was taken by our travel coordinator and I was surprised to see the date. It was exactly one month from the day of my previous appointment. Even the time and day(Wednesday) of appointment were the same. This made me a bit skeptical of the result, I was just hoping that history doesnt repeat itself.
I started believing in all kinds of omens, I didnt want anything to be similar to my last trip. I tried to change the flight options, though at the last moment I had to stick to the same flights I took the last time. I requested a change in the hotel I would be put up in Chennai. And I have chosen a shirt(to wear on the D-day) different from the one I wore the last time for the interview. I also vowed to visit a temple atleast twice before I leave for the interview, a thing which I havent done in an year. And I actually stuck to my vow. I tried everything in this world to make this trip different from the last trip, hoping for a different outcome.
With all these preparations, I finally set out for Chennai, again, a day before the D-day. I didnt go out from the hotel this time, either that night or early next day. I woke up a bit late the next day, had my breakfast and relaxed for a while. I finally set out for the Consulate about an hour before my appointment time. This time I was lucky enough to sneak through the first two queues ( application screening and finger printing) pretty quickly. Or its just my feeling probably bcoz I was mentally prepared for spending a lot of time in the queues, unlike the last time. Finally I was waiting in the last queue for the interview which was pretty long that day.
I was waiting for an hour before I could actually see and hear my preceding applicant's interviews. I was trying consciously to avoid being put up in the queue of any lady interviewer. But as luck would have it, I got the feeling that I am moving more towards the queue of a lady interviewer. I already could see some rejections before me. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was still hoping that somehow I should get into the queue of any other interviewer.
Then something strange happened, I would probably call it the 'Divine Intervention'. As the queue was growing faster, some people from the queue were assigned to a different interview counter and I happened to be one among them. I would call myself really lucky bcoz I was the last person in the queue to be moved. The interviewer at the counter I was assigned was a young man. There were atleast 10 people before me and 9 out of them got their VISAs. From the point I was put in that queue I was just trying to calm myself down and started memorising the reason for which my VISA was rejected the last time. At the sametime I was telling myself that I shouldnt hurry into answering anything the interviewer wouldnt be interested in.
Finally i was before the interviewer. He took the passport, scanned the barcode and started looking into his computer for a while. My heart was pounding so fast that I thought it was going to leap out of my chest. The interviewer took his time reading the notes on the computer, probably the feedback from my last interview. Then he asked a question "Why are you going to US?". I took a deep breath and said "To attend a few training sessions.". Then he looked at me again and asked "What is the training on?", I was quick this time to say "On some of the tools we would be using to monitor our website". He didnt ask me anything more, after a minute he said "Go home, you will get your VISA". I couldnt believe what I was hearing, the only assurance I had was that he didnt give my passport back( The passport would be given back if our application is rejected) . Then I came out of the Consulate and rushed to the hotel.
As soon as I reached the hotel, I called a whole lot of people including my manager to tell that I finally got my VISA. It did relieve a lot of burden on me.
After these two experiences with the Consulate, I didnt really understand if it was just luck that is involved in the VISA process or if there was something more than just luck. But it didnt matter to me now, as I got the VISA and I am going to fly to US soon.
The appointment was taken by our travel coordinator and I was surprised to see the date. It was exactly one month from the day of my previous appointment. Even the time and day(Wednesday) of appointment were the same. This made me a bit skeptical of the result, I was just hoping that history doesnt repeat itself.
I started believing in all kinds of omens, I didnt want anything to be similar to my last trip. I tried to change the flight options, though at the last moment I had to stick to the same flights I took the last time. I requested a change in the hotel I would be put up in Chennai. And I have chosen a shirt(to wear on the D-day) different from the one I wore the last time for the interview. I also vowed to visit a temple atleast twice before I leave for the interview, a thing which I havent done in an year. And I actually stuck to my vow. I tried everything in this world to make this trip different from the last trip, hoping for a different outcome.
With all these preparations, I finally set out for Chennai, again, a day before the D-day. I didnt go out from the hotel this time, either that night or early next day. I woke up a bit late the next day, had my breakfast and relaxed for a while. I finally set out for the Consulate about an hour before my appointment time. This time I was lucky enough to sneak through the first two queues ( application screening and finger printing) pretty quickly. Or its just my feeling probably bcoz I was mentally prepared for spending a lot of time in the queues, unlike the last time. Finally I was waiting in the last queue for the interview which was pretty long that day.
I was waiting for an hour before I could actually see and hear my preceding applicant's interviews. I was trying consciously to avoid being put up in the queue of any lady interviewer. But as luck would have it, I got the feeling that I am moving more towards the queue of a lady interviewer. I already could see some rejections before me. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was still hoping that somehow I should get into the queue of any other interviewer.
Then something strange happened, I would probably call it the 'Divine Intervention'. As the queue was growing faster, some people from the queue were assigned to a different interview counter and I happened to be one among them. I would call myself really lucky bcoz I was the last person in the queue to be moved. The interviewer at the counter I was assigned was a young man. There were atleast 10 people before me and 9 out of them got their VISAs. From the point I was put in that queue I was just trying to calm myself down and started memorising the reason for which my VISA was rejected the last time. At the sametime I was telling myself that I shouldnt hurry into answering anything the interviewer wouldnt be interested in.
Finally i was before the interviewer. He took the passport, scanned the barcode and started looking into his computer for a while. My heart was pounding so fast that I thought it was going to leap out of my chest. The interviewer took his time reading the notes on the computer, probably the feedback from my last interview. Then he asked a question "Why are you going to US?". I took a deep breath and said "To attend a few training sessions.". Then he looked at me again and asked "What is the training on?", I was quick this time to say "On some of the tools we would be using to monitor our website". He didnt ask me anything more, after a minute he said "Go home, you will get your VISA". I couldnt believe what I was hearing, the only assurance I had was that he didnt give my passport back( The passport would be given back if our application is rejected) . Then I came out of the Consulate and rushed to the hotel.
As soon as I reached the hotel, I called a whole lot of people including my manager to tell that I finally got my VISA. It did relieve a lot of burden on me.
After these two experiences with the Consulate, I didnt really understand if it was just luck that is involved in the VISA process or if there was something more than just luck. But it didnt matter to me now, as I got the VISA and I am going to fly to US soon.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
The Excruciating VISA Experience - I
Sometime in January 2007, I got a slight hint from my manager that I might be travelling to US soon for a month or so. I wasnt really too excited bcoz there had been similar situations in the past where I was promised a US trip, but nothing got materialised eventually. But then in mid February, the appointment with US Consulate was confirmed.
I had to travel to Chennai, a day prior to my appointment day. I wanted to relax before I go to the Consulate the next day. I was put up in a hotel which is supposedly at a walkable distance from the US Consulate. That night, I thought I would walk up to the Consulate and see the place. After walking for nearly 15 mins and realizing that it is still 5-10 mins away, I gave up and returned to the hotel. I am still trying to figure out what 'walkable' meant.
The next day morning, I thought I would visit the beach and took an auto at 6:30 AM in the morning. The autowallah charged me something like 100 bucks for what is a 2-3 km distance but I had no other option. But I didnt really feel bad for that becoz the Chennai beach was really amazing. I have faint memories of seeing a beach in Vizag when I was eight years old but after that, I havent really got a chance to visit any beach. So, I liked the view of the Chennai beach early in the morning very much.
I started for the Consulate later that day and reached there a good 30 mins before my appointment. At that point I didnt know that the whole process is going to take more than 2 hours. There are different queues you need to stand in, one for the application screening, next one for finger printing and the final one for the actual interview. After spending nearly 2 hours in the application screening and finger printing queues, I was put in the queue for the actual interview.
Each of the first few members in the queue will be put into separate queues each leading to one of the interview counters. I was put in a queue of a middle aged fat lady who was tough on all the applicants. 4 out of the 5 applicants before me got rejected by her. With a bit of hesitation, I walked upto the counter, when my turn came. I greeted her and she started asking some basic questions. Working for Amazon, I felt like a large than life character and thought that getting a VISA is not an issue at all for me. But the moment she found a minor error in the documentation, she rejected me outright. I tried to convince her but it was of no use. I cursed that lady and went back to the hotel in dejection.
The next few days I had to tell a lot of ppl in my office that my VISA got rejected and my trip to US would be delayed. Let me tell you, its not easy to tell people that you have been rejected even when there is no fault of yours in the whole process. I was so pissed off with myself and the US Consulate that I even vowed not to visit US at all.
I had to travel to Chennai, a day prior to my appointment day. I wanted to relax before I go to the Consulate the next day. I was put up in a hotel which is supposedly at a walkable distance from the US Consulate. That night, I thought I would walk up to the Consulate and see the place. After walking for nearly 15 mins and realizing that it is still 5-10 mins away, I gave up and returned to the hotel. I am still trying to figure out what 'walkable' meant.
The next day morning, I thought I would visit the beach and took an auto at 6:30 AM in the morning. The autowallah charged me something like 100 bucks for what is a 2-3 km distance but I had no other option. But I didnt really feel bad for that becoz the Chennai beach was really amazing. I have faint memories of seeing a beach in Vizag when I was eight years old but after that, I havent really got a chance to visit any beach. So, I liked the view of the Chennai beach early in the morning very much.
I started for the Consulate later that day and reached there a good 30 mins before my appointment. At that point I didnt know that the whole process is going to take more than 2 hours. There are different queues you need to stand in, one for the application screening, next one for finger printing and the final one for the actual interview. After spending nearly 2 hours in the application screening and finger printing queues, I was put in the queue for the actual interview.
Each of the first few members in the queue will be put into separate queues each leading to one of the interview counters. I was put in a queue of a middle aged fat lady who was tough on all the applicants. 4 out of the 5 applicants before me got rejected by her. With a bit of hesitation, I walked upto the counter, when my turn came. I greeted her and she started asking some basic questions. Working for Amazon, I felt like a large than life character and thought that getting a VISA is not an issue at all for me. But the moment she found a minor error in the documentation, she rejected me outright. I tried to convince her but it was of no use. I cursed that lady and went back to the hotel in dejection.
The next few days I had to tell a lot of ppl in my office that my VISA got rejected and my trip to US would be delayed. Let me tell you, its not easy to tell people that you have been rejected even when there is no fault of yours in the whole process. I was so pissed off with myself and the US Consulate that I even vowed not to visit US at all.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Bangalore : A Flashback
After 3 days of the exit procedure in Infosys Technologies which involved running between nearly 30 buildings for getting no-due signatures from various departments of the company, I finally was relieved. Some hope filled my life again.
Life totally changed in the last one week. There was about only 10 days of time before I needed to submit the legal documents of the 1 year bond agreeement at Infosys. I felt that I was destined to be with Infosys for 1 long year. There was no other option for me. How things changed so suddenly after that, surprised me. One of my friends working in NCR hyderabad sent a mail to our group asking if anyone was interested in a job at NCR. Though I knew that the time I had was too short, I gave it a go and sent my resume to him. I had an interview at Hyderabad in a couple of days and in 10 days I got the offer. Now I am going back to hyderabad, the thing which I have dreamt for atleast since the last 2 months. There were some strong reasons, as to why I wanted to go back to my home town then.
15 days earlier:
I stood on the terrace of our building, staring at the dark skies. A feeling of defeat was overwhelming me. My mind was screaming "Why did this happen to me, what am I gonna do next in my life? Where is my life going?". There was no answer. Only a deafening silence prevailed.
30 days earlier:
I picked up my mobile and dialled a number with some desperation. "Hi, this is Vikram, I just wanted to know the result of my interview as I have an other offer in hand and should be leaving for Bangalore in a couple of days", I said. The voice on the other side replied in a very soft tone "Sorry Vikram, I suggest that you go ahead with your offer. Your application at ADP is currently on hold and we cannot assure an offer to you". The person on the other side was the HR of ADP and that response evaporated my final hope of getting a job in Hyderabad.
Being in hyderabad, was important to me for personal reasons. But now there was no other option for me than leaving for Bangalore. However, something told me that if it's meant to be, I would be back in Hyderabad soon. Bangalore had always been my dream destination. I always wanted to make a career in the 'Silicon Valley of India'. But this trip was different. Going to Bangalore with an Infoscion's salary was not surely something which I dreamt for.
I reached Bangalore with 10 other batchmates of mine. We were given accomodation in a hotel for the 1st week. A bus came to the hotel and picked us up on the first day. After the initial security checks at the entrance, we were let in to the campus. Infosys Bangalore is a city in itself. With 35 buildings and nearly 10000 people, Infosys Bangalore is more of a tourist place than a software company. I felt like a stranger lost in a new city. I was in awe of the campus for the first few days. I was put into a training batch of 150 people.
Infosys training is one of the most rigorous trainings one can get in any software company. Daily lectures, tests every alternate day, mock projects and what not. It sometimes reminded me of going back to school. After the 1st week, I moved to a Paying Guest with six other friends. The place where we lived was awesome. 7 of us lived in 2 small rooms with one attached bathroom. The rooms were so big that if all of us got down from our cots and stood on the floor, there would be no space for anyone else to enter. We had no other option but to live there.
Our entry into Infosys really made a difference to the company. Hey, I am serious. There was a major breach in the Infosys security system just after a few days we entered the campus. Our entry into our locality caused a lot of businesses to thrive. The net cafe , bakery and andhra mess in our locality obviously had a good time during our stay. One thing I really missed in Bangalore was watching movies. Cinama halls in Bangalore suck big time. Considering the price of the tickets, I never felt like watching a movie again in those theatres. And the other negative thing about Bangalore is the traffic. God, it was really awful. Sometimes, it took us more than 2 hours to return home.
Our typical office hours were 7 AM - 9:30 PM including the time involved in travelling. After a tiring day at the office, all of us sat together for sometime and shared the happenings at the office. 7 different people put into a confined space and the result was extreme fun instead of chaos.
One of my roommates had this serious problem of being forgetful, yet he was the most adorable person in the room. Whatever he says, would be witty in some way or the other.Then there was this other guy, who always had this never ending constipation problem. I wonder how many midnights he spent in the bathroom because of that. Added to that, was his tension for doing good in the regular tests at Infosys. Added to his tensions, he also had a strange encounter with a gay medical hall owner, who tried to persuade him. It started with that guy telling all his personal stuff to my friend and then flattering my friend for everything he does. He used to comment on his dress sense etc. And finally one day he asked my friend to come out with him for shopping. The whole scene was out and out hilarious. My friend got skeptical and backed off, I think, at the right moment.
Then comes this guy, fondly called by everyone as 'annayya', who has a great penchant for books. I was kinda jealous of him, I could hardly complete one novel during my whole 2 month stay but this guy went on and on with books. But can you find someone, who gets an Infosys bag to the office just to carry one walk-man and nothing else. Annayya, sorry about this comment.
There was this friend of mine, who feels he doesnt belong to this world at all, yet he is very understanding. But one day, we felt like beating this guy black and blue. That day,all of us decided to hire a TV and CD player to watch some movies. Then come the words of enlightenment "What if there is a power cut today?". Somehow we silenced him and got the TV. The very evening Bangalore witnessed one of the heaviest rain in those 2 months. And obviously, there was a power cut. All the money we spent was wasted :)
And then comes the most studious guy of the lot. I sometimes wondered why he chose to be complacent with a company like Infy. But I liked his attitude, he always used to say that he didnt have any regrets whatsoever.
And last but not the least, here's the guy, who enjoyed whatever he does. You have to watch while making any sort of comment on him. You never know when he backlashes at you. This little bit of suspense about him was always fun. You can never expect his reactions. But Bangalore wouldnt have been the same without this guy.
Though I shared a laugh with these guys every now and then, something was always there at the back of my mind. Getting back to hyderabad. I came to hyderabad on a weekend to attend a written test for Motorola. Fate it seems, had some other plans for me. My name strangely missed from the list of the eligible candidates. By the time, the HR realised that it was their mistake, it was too late. I returned to Bangalore dejected.
Life seemed to have ended for me.
I stood on the terrace of our building, staring at the dark skies. A feeling of defeat was overwhelming me.....
Life totally changed in the last one week. There was about only 10 days of time before I needed to submit the legal documents of the 1 year bond agreeement at Infosys. I felt that I was destined to be with Infosys for 1 long year. There was no other option for me. How things changed so suddenly after that, surprised me. One of my friends working in NCR hyderabad sent a mail to our group asking if anyone was interested in a job at NCR. Though I knew that the time I had was too short, I gave it a go and sent my resume to him. I had an interview at Hyderabad in a couple of days and in 10 days I got the offer. Now I am going back to hyderabad, the thing which I have dreamt for atleast since the last 2 months. There were some strong reasons, as to why I wanted to go back to my home town then.
15 days earlier:
I stood on the terrace of our building, staring at the dark skies. A feeling of defeat was overwhelming me. My mind was screaming "Why did this happen to me, what am I gonna do next in my life? Where is my life going?". There was no answer. Only a deafening silence prevailed.
30 days earlier:
I picked up my mobile and dialled a number with some desperation. "Hi, this is Vikram, I just wanted to know the result of my interview as I have an other offer in hand and should be leaving for Bangalore in a couple of days", I said. The voice on the other side replied in a very soft tone "Sorry Vikram, I suggest that you go ahead with your offer. Your application at ADP is currently on hold and we cannot assure an offer to you". The person on the other side was the HR of ADP and that response evaporated my final hope of getting a job in Hyderabad.
Being in hyderabad, was important to me for personal reasons. But now there was no other option for me than leaving for Bangalore. However, something told me that if it's meant to be, I would be back in Hyderabad soon. Bangalore had always been my dream destination. I always wanted to make a career in the 'Silicon Valley of India'. But this trip was different. Going to Bangalore with an Infoscion's salary was not surely something which I dreamt for.
I reached Bangalore with 10 other batchmates of mine. We were given accomodation in a hotel for the 1st week. A bus came to the hotel and picked us up on the first day. After the initial security checks at the entrance, we were let in to the campus. Infosys Bangalore is a city in itself. With 35 buildings and nearly 10000 people, Infosys Bangalore is more of a tourist place than a software company. I felt like a stranger lost in a new city. I was in awe of the campus for the first few days. I was put into a training batch of 150 people.
Infosys training is one of the most rigorous trainings one can get in any software company. Daily lectures, tests every alternate day, mock projects and what not. It sometimes reminded me of going back to school. After the 1st week, I moved to a Paying Guest with six other friends. The place where we lived was awesome. 7 of us lived in 2 small rooms with one attached bathroom. The rooms were so big that if all of us got down from our cots and stood on the floor, there would be no space for anyone else to enter. We had no other option but to live there.
Our entry into Infosys really made a difference to the company. Hey, I am serious. There was a major breach in the Infosys security system just after a few days we entered the campus. Our entry into our locality caused a lot of businesses to thrive. The net cafe , bakery and andhra mess in our locality obviously had a good time during our stay. One thing I really missed in Bangalore was watching movies. Cinama halls in Bangalore suck big time. Considering the price of the tickets, I never felt like watching a movie again in those theatres. And the other negative thing about Bangalore is the traffic. God, it was really awful. Sometimes, it took us more than 2 hours to return home.
Our typical office hours were 7 AM - 9:30 PM including the time involved in travelling. After a tiring day at the office, all of us sat together for sometime and shared the happenings at the office. 7 different people put into a confined space and the result was extreme fun instead of chaos.
One of my roommates had this serious problem of being forgetful, yet he was the most adorable person in the room. Whatever he says, would be witty in some way or the other.Then there was this other guy, who always had this never ending constipation problem. I wonder how many midnights he spent in the bathroom because of that. Added to that, was his tension for doing good in the regular tests at Infosys. Added to his tensions, he also had a strange encounter with a gay medical hall owner, who tried to persuade him. It started with that guy telling all his personal stuff to my friend and then flattering my friend for everything he does. He used to comment on his dress sense etc. And finally one day he asked my friend to come out with him for shopping. The whole scene was out and out hilarious. My friend got skeptical and backed off, I think, at the right moment.
Then comes this guy, fondly called by everyone as 'annayya', who has a great penchant for books. I was kinda jealous of him, I could hardly complete one novel during my whole 2 month stay but this guy went on and on with books. But can you find someone, who gets an Infosys bag to the office just to carry one walk-man and nothing else. Annayya, sorry about this comment.
There was this friend of mine, who feels he doesnt belong to this world at all, yet he is very understanding. But one day, we felt like beating this guy black and blue. That day,all of us decided to hire a TV and CD player to watch some movies. Then come the words of enlightenment "What if there is a power cut today?". Somehow we silenced him and got the TV. The very evening Bangalore witnessed one of the heaviest rain in those 2 months. And obviously, there was a power cut. All the money we spent was wasted :)
And then comes the most studious guy of the lot. I sometimes wondered why he chose to be complacent with a company like Infy. But I liked his attitude, he always used to say that he didnt have any regrets whatsoever.
And last but not the least, here's the guy, who enjoyed whatever he does. You have to watch while making any sort of comment on him. You never know when he backlashes at you. This little bit of suspense about him was always fun. You can never expect his reactions. But Bangalore wouldnt have been the same without this guy.
Though I shared a laugh with these guys every now and then, something was always there at the back of my mind. Getting back to hyderabad. I came to hyderabad on a weekend to attend a written test for Motorola. Fate it seems, had some other plans for me. My name strangely missed from the list of the eligible candidates. By the time, the HR realised that it was their mistake, it was too late. I returned to Bangalore dejected.
Life seemed to have ended for me.
I stood on the terrace of our building, staring at the dark skies. A feeling of defeat was overwhelming me.....
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
The Journey Of Love
At a point of time, due to certain things that happened in my life, I became cynical about relationships. Since then, I have tried to analyze the human relationships, how they work, what makes them work , how they are broken etc.
From my analysis, I came to know that a relationship especially love goes through 3 phases.
1st phase: The first phase is the phase of mutual admiration. This is the stage in which the two people in the relationship only tend to look at the positives in each other. The other person seems perfect to you. You can hardly find any fault with him/her. This phase may last for weeks, months or even years based on the people in the relationship and the situations.
2nd phase: This is the phase when things start to go in the negative direction. You start focusing on the negatives of the other person. The negatives you notice in the other person may not actually be that bad but they can just be some things which you dont like. These negatives were also present during the 1st phase but you didnt focus much on them bcoz you were in awe of his/her positive side so much. Irritations, small meaningless fights would become the routine in this phase.
3rd phase : The status of the relationship in this phase depends on how long the 2nd phase lasts. After the 2nd phase, if you feel that you cant overlook the negatives in your partner then the relationship wouldnt last long. On the other hand, if you work hard on your relationship, accepting your partner for whatever he/she is, then there would be a higher success rate for that relationship.
I have seen relationships which last for years in the 1st stage, relationships which end immediately after the 2nd phase and relationships which keep toggling between the 2nd and 3rd phases. I feel that the sooner a relationship enters the 2nd phase and comes out of it, the better it is for both the people in the relationship. Because it doesn't make sense in wasting years in the 1st phase. People who have successfully overcome the second phase have a greater chance of staying in the relationship for a longer time. But as the relationship ages, one happens to take his/her partner for granted much to his/her discomfort. This might have a negative impact on the relationship. So one needs to take care of these things too. Its always important to keep the romance alive in a relationship.
Sometimes you may face rough weather in a relationship just because of the situations and without any mistake of either persons. Then the future of the relationship depends on the maturity level of both the people in the relationship and how they handle the situations.
Relationship is a journey, you have both good times and bad times, one needs to work on it in the bad times for it to thrive, coz all it takes is a small misunderstanding to ruin a relationship built on trust for years.
From my analysis, I came to know that a relationship especially love goes through 3 phases.
1st phase: The first phase is the phase of mutual admiration. This is the stage in which the two people in the relationship only tend to look at the positives in each other. The other person seems perfect to you. You can hardly find any fault with him/her. This phase may last for weeks, months or even years based on the people in the relationship and the situations.
2nd phase: This is the phase when things start to go in the negative direction. You start focusing on the negatives of the other person. The negatives you notice in the other person may not actually be that bad but they can just be some things which you dont like. These negatives were also present during the 1st phase but you didnt focus much on them bcoz you were in awe of his/her positive side so much. Irritations, small meaningless fights would become the routine in this phase.
3rd phase : The status of the relationship in this phase depends on how long the 2nd phase lasts. After the 2nd phase, if you feel that you cant overlook the negatives in your partner then the relationship wouldnt last long. On the other hand, if you work hard on your relationship, accepting your partner for whatever he/she is, then there would be a higher success rate for that relationship.
I have seen relationships which last for years in the 1st stage, relationships which end immediately after the 2nd phase and relationships which keep toggling between the 2nd and 3rd phases. I feel that the sooner a relationship enters the 2nd phase and comes out of it, the better it is for both the people in the relationship. Because it doesn't make sense in wasting years in the 1st phase. People who have successfully overcome the second phase have a greater chance of staying in the relationship for a longer time. But as the relationship ages, one happens to take his/her partner for granted much to his/her discomfort. This might have a negative impact on the relationship. So one needs to take care of these things too. Its always important to keep the romance alive in a relationship.
Sometimes you may face rough weather in a relationship just because of the situations and without any mistake of either persons. Then the future of the relationship depends on the maturity level of both the people in the relationship and how they handle the situations.
Relationship is a journey, you have both good times and bad times, one needs to work on it in the bad times for it to thrive, coz all it takes is a small misunderstanding to ruin a relationship built on trust for years.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Of Job hunts and Interviews
There is one thing which is almost inevitable in the life of a software engineer : Switching companies. The reason for a job shift could be as simple as a need for change in work, as materalistic as a hefty pay package offered by some other company or as serious as an issue with the manager . All you need, is a reason, to quit one company and join another.
Being on jobhunt, especially when its for your first job, is one of the most bothersome situation you can face in life . I remember the days when I was on the hunt for my first job off-campus. Gosh, it was pretty tiring. I came across different kinds of people while I was on the search for jobs.
Tech Interviewers:
The first set of people are the tech interviewers. Basically there are two clans of tech interviewers. All the other kinds of interviewers are a mix and match of these two clans.
The first kind are those who are "I am here to help you" kind. These bunch of interviewers try to help the interviewee perform his best in the interview. They make him comfortable initially and increase the complexity of the questions gradually. The interviewee also feels comfortable once he gains some confidence answering the easier questions first. You are lucky if your interviewer belongs to this category. However, its obvious that these kind of interviewers are pretty rare.
The second kind are those who are "Do you really know anything at all?" kind. These interviewers just have fun making the interviewee feel that he is fit for nothing. If you mention on your resume that your area of interest is databases then they tend to ask you questions on networks. You will experience hell if your interviewer belongs to this category. They either give a satirical smile to whatever you say or remain expressionless throughout the interview making you think twice before whatever you say. No matter what you do, 'Mogambo khush nahin hoga.'
I had an experience with this kind of interviewer at ADP, around 2 years ago. The guy who interviewed me, I guess had already made a decision that I am not going to join ADP at any cost. He asked me a lot of general questions but no matter whatever I replied, he had a contradicting view on that. I thought he was taking some kind of a stress interview and tried to keep my cool but in the end even that didnt work out. My resume was put on hold and I never got an offer from ADP.
HR department :
The next set of people are my favourites. They belong to the most powerful department called the HR.
I like the HR department becoz they can stab you in the front and still can explain with a most delightful expression on their face, what a pleasure it was to have you stabbed in their office premises. I had a great experience with an HR of a reputed company. I attended the technical interview in that company and everything went fine. I was pretty confident about getting an offer from that company. But due to some problems at the managerial level, that post had been offered to some experienced guy. I approached the HR eager to know the result of my interview. She came out from her cabin and told me that the offer couldnt be made to me due to some reasons. The whole scene reminded me of a typical doctor of a bollywood movie coming out from an operation theatre and say "I am sorry, hum ne poori koshish kee hain, magar .... bacha nahin paaye".
Even more hilarious would be the mail sent by them informing you that you havent been selected. It goes something like this.
========================================================================
Hi Vikram Kumar,
After carefully reviewing your experience and qualifications, we have determined that we do not have a position available which is a strong match at this time..(read as you are not fit for a job in our company). Hope you might consider us again in the future.(You will never get a job here, better stop trying for this company). All the best for your future endeavours. ( Try to find a company where there are more useless people than you).
Thanks again for considering XXX Technologies. ( You should feel awful for wasting our time)
Regards,
XYZ
(HR Manager)
========================================================================
But things would be a bit different while attending an interview for the sake of a job shift. The technical interviews wouldnt be a problem at this stage bcoz you already have some experience behind you. Dealing with the HRs would be a challenge at this stage. All your soft skills need to be honed. How good a pay package you get depends on how well you deal with the HR.
Being on jobhunt, especially when its for your first job, is one of the most bothersome situation you can face in life . I remember the days when I was on the hunt for my first job off-campus. Gosh, it was pretty tiring. I came across different kinds of people while I was on the search for jobs.
Tech Interviewers:
The first set of people are the tech interviewers. Basically there are two clans of tech interviewers. All the other kinds of interviewers are a mix and match of these two clans.
The first kind are those who are "I am here to help you" kind. These bunch of interviewers try to help the interviewee perform his best in the interview. They make him comfortable initially and increase the complexity of the questions gradually. The interviewee also feels comfortable once he gains some confidence answering the easier questions first. You are lucky if your interviewer belongs to this category. However, its obvious that these kind of interviewers are pretty rare.
The second kind are those who are "Do you really know anything at all?" kind. These interviewers just have fun making the interviewee feel that he is fit for nothing. If you mention on your resume that your area of interest is databases then they tend to ask you questions on networks. You will experience hell if your interviewer belongs to this category. They either give a satirical smile to whatever you say or remain expressionless throughout the interview making you think twice before whatever you say. No matter what you do, 'Mogambo khush nahin hoga.'
I had an experience with this kind of interviewer at ADP, around 2 years ago. The guy who interviewed me, I guess had already made a decision that I am not going to join ADP at any cost. He asked me a lot of general questions but no matter whatever I replied, he had a contradicting view on that. I thought he was taking some kind of a stress interview and tried to keep my cool but in the end even that didnt work out. My resume was put on hold and I never got an offer from ADP.
HR department :
The next set of people are my favourites. They belong to the most powerful department called the HR.
I like the HR department becoz they can stab you in the front and still can explain with a most delightful expression on their face, what a pleasure it was to have you stabbed in their office premises. I had a great experience with an HR of a reputed company. I attended the technical interview in that company and everything went fine. I was pretty confident about getting an offer from that company. But due to some problems at the managerial level, that post had been offered to some experienced guy. I approached the HR eager to know the result of my interview. She came out from her cabin and told me that the offer couldnt be made to me due to some reasons. The whole scene reminded me of a typical doctor of a bollywood movie coming out from an operation theatre and say "I am sorry, hum ne poori koshish kee hain, magar .... bacha nahin paaye".
Even more hilarious would be the mail sent by them informing you that you havent been selected. It goes something like this.
========================================================================
Hi Vikram Kumar,
After carefully reviewing your experience and qualifications, we have determined that we do not have a position available which is a strong match at this time..(read as you are not fit for a job in our company). Hope you might consider us again in the future.(You will never get a job here, better stop trying for this company). All the best for your future endeavours. ( Try to find a company where there are more useless people than you).
Thanks again for considering XXX Technologies. ( You should feel awful for wasting our time)
Regards,
XYZ
(HR Manager)
========================================================================
But things would be a bit different while attending an interview for the sake of a job shift. The technical interviews wouldnt be a problem at this stage bcoz you already have some experience behind you. Dealing with the HRs would be a challenge at this stage. All your soft skills need to be honed. How good a pay package you get depends on how well you deal with the HR.
The negotiation would be the most interesting part of the enterprise. I have recently had an experience with the HR of a certain company and the whole negotiation part was analgous to the bargaining in the Kothi market. You will become a vendor trying to sell yourself and the HR guy would be your buyer.
HR : Whats your expected CTC? --> 'Kitne mein aayega?'
Me : 6.5 lac per annum --> '6.5 laakh'
HR : Is it negotiable ? ----> 'Aane ka daam batao? ' as in 'dene ka daam batao'
Me : Yeah but I have some minimum expectations. --> ' Aap kitne mein ho'
Then the HR placed an offer of 5.25 lac per annum. I thought : Is he kidding? 6.5 to 5.25, then I make a reality check, 5.25 is not too bad either, however my ego wouldnt let me accept the offer for 5.25. Then the proceedings will go as follows:
Me : 5.25 is a bit too low. I was really interested in your company's work but your package is making me reconsider my decision. --> 'Na aap ki baat, na meri baat…chalo 5.75 pe fix kar lein…'
HR thinks for a while and says 'I spoke to your concerned manager and he agreed upon 5.5, thats the best we can offer' --> '5.5 ko aana hoto aao, usse jyaada to main nahin doonga' and if it were really a market the HR would have made an act of leaving the stall . Then I would have acted as a typical vendor and said 'ok aa jao 5.5 ko accept kartaa hoon'.
Probably, I have exaggerated the scene a bit, but more or less the things I have said are not far from reality. Interviews, though, are a pain in the ass while you are attending them, make for good and sometimes funny memories once you are done with them.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Cinema Cinema !!!
Being a movie buff, I manage to watch atleast one movie every weekend. Though films are meant primarily for entertainment, I feel that they can be used as an effective medium to reach out to the people and convey something. When I watch a film, I try to analyze how identifiable is it to the real life. But its quite disappointing that most of the Indian films these days are far from reality.
The telugu movies are worse when it comes to the identification with real life. Here the protagonist is a person who bashes upto 50 people in a single go, romances with heroines half his age and yet walks away preaching something towards the climax of the film. Sometimes the message looks very forced in the film, its just there to maintain the image of the star. To add to the irony, the stars who act in the so called message oriented films, are actually criminals in real life. There is one thing which I dont understand about our telugu films: why should a protagonist of a story be an ideal person when no one in this world is perfect. Also even more hilarious is the characterization of the antagonists. No matter how powerful he is, at some point he has to be defeated by our ideal hero. This is what they call the truimph of good over bad.
I have noted one more interesting point in the telugu films, mostly the ones targeted at the college going audiences. The hero of the film starts of as a fit for nothing guy. Suddenly one transformation song (like the Travelling Soldier song in the movie 'Thammudu') towards the climax makes him responsible, rich or whatever he wants to become. Everything with only one song. God, how I wish such songs happen in my life.
Another notable thing is the potrayal of women in Telugu films. The heroines are just meant to fall in love with the hero, no matter how he is, what he is. The only expectation from the female lead in the movies of top stars is to wear skimpy outfits and woo the hero. I wonder how a teenage girl falls in love with a person thrice her age. There is no particular characterisation for heroines in telugu movies. One exception to this trend was the character of the heroine in the movie 'Anand'. She was portrayed as an independent person who takes her own decisions and very much in control of her life. Now that was something close to the concept of a modern woman.
Coming to the hindi movies, there is a lot of variety atleast. Each production house has its own trend. The Chopras and Johars stick to their 'feel-good' kind of films. The effect is that you just feel good watching the movie without much relevance to the normal life. I feel these kind of stories have relevance only in an utopian world. But amazingly, these films have a high success rate. Probably this is becoz most of us want to live in an utopian world.
I have to admit the fact that I am a great fan of Ram Gopal Varma coz everytime he tries to do something different. But I feel his films trigger the people in the society to take a wrong path rather than the right path. His film 'D' glorified an underworld Don and made it look how easy it was to become a Don. Most of his underworld films have a tragic finale with a message describing the miserable end of those entering the underworld. But the message thats actually getting conveyed is totally different.
One production house I hate is that of the Bhatts'. In the name of thrillers, all one gets to see in their films is the heroine shedding her clothes without any inhibitions. They publicize these movies as bold ones representing the changing society. Oh really! gimme a break. But there was one recent film which was a bit different from a normal Bhatt film. It's 'Kalyug' starring Kunal Khemu. I thought it would be another sleazy Bhatt fair. But a sensitive theme was handled with extreme dexterity. Making such a film is like walking on the edge of a sword coz the theme might look sleazy if not handled properly.
I find films by Nagesh Kuknoor more identifiable with the life of a common man. All the characters in his films are straight out of life. Starting from Hyderabad Blues to his recent Iqbal, almost all his films are worth a watch. There are a few films which really stand out when it comes to the identification with the real life. In the recent times, I have seen this movie called 'Apharan'. The protagonist of the story is a normal middle class person who succumbs to the situations and takes the wrong path. His helplessness in certain situations and remorseful feelings towards the end are depicted very well. A lot of sensitive issues were handled very deftly. Here the protagonist is no superman who has a solution for everything. However, the film didnt fare well at the box office, reason: the entertainment factor being too low. Another thought provoking movie was 'Swades'. But even the star power of SRK couldnt affect the fate of the film at the box office. A lot of such good films have failed at the box office. I feel that these kind of films should be encouraged by the audiences.
Having said all this, I don't mean to say that all films should necessarily carry a message. A movie is basically meant for entertainment, so as long as it entertains you, its good. But atleast the filmmakers should make films closer to the normal life and bridge the gap between reel-life and real-life. As viewers, I feel its our responsibility to encourage movies which are realistic and close to life.
The telugu movies are worse when it comes to the identification with real life. Here the protagonist is a person who bashes upto 50 people in a single go, romances with heroines half his age and yet walks away preaching something towards the climax of the film. Sometimes the message looks very forced in the film, its just there to maintain the image of the star. To add to the irony, the stars who act in the so called message oriented films, are actually criminals in real life. There is one thing which I dont understand about our telugu films: why should a protagonist of a story be an ideal person when no one in this world is perfect. Also even more hilarious is the characterization of the antagonists. No matter how powerful he is, at some point he has to be defeated by our ideal hero. This is what they call the truimph of good over bad.
I have noted one more interesting point in the telugu films, mostly the ones targeted at the college going audiences. The hero of the film starts of as a fit for nothing guy. Suddenly one transformation song (like the Travelling Soldier song in the movie 'Thammudu') towards the climax makes him responsible, rich or whatever he wants to become. Everything with only one song. God, how I wish such songs happen in my life.
Another notable thing is the potrayal of women in Telugu films. The heroines are just meant to fall in love with the hero, no matter how he is, what he is. The only expectation from the female lead in the movies of top stars is to wear skimpy outfits and woo the hero. I wonder how a teenage girl falls in love with a person thrice her age. There is no particular characterisation for heroines in telugu movies. One exception to this trend was the character of the heroine in the movie 'Anand'. She was portrayed as an independent person who takes her own decisions and very much in control of her life. Now that was something close to the concept of a modern woman.
Coming to the hindi movies, there is a lot of variety atleast. Each production house has its own trend. The Chopras and Johars stick to their 'feel-good' kind of films. The effect is that you just feel good watching the movie without much relevance to the normal life. I feel these kind of stories have relevance only in an utopian world. But amazingly, these films have a high success rate. Probably this is becoz most of us want to live in an utopian world.
I have to admit the fact that I am a great fan of Ram Gopal Varma coz everytime he tries to do something different. But I feel his films trigger the people in the society to take a wrong path rather than the right path. His film 'D' glorified an underworld Don and made it look how easy it was to become a Don. Most of his underworld films have a tragic finale with a message describing the miserable end of those entering the underworld. But the message thats actually getting conveyed is totally different.
One production house I hate is that of the Bhatts'. In the name of thrillers, all one gets to see in their films is the heroine shedding her clothes without any inhibitions. They publicize these movies as bold ones representing the changing society. Oh really! gimme a break. But there was one recent film which was a bit different from a normal Bhatt film. It's 'Kalyug' starring Kunal Khemu. I thought it would be another sleazy Bhatt fair. But a sensitive theme was handled with extreme dexterity. Making such a film is like walking on the edge of a sword coz the theme might look sleazy if not handled properly.
I find films by Nagesh Kuknoor more identifiable with the life of a common man. All the characters in his films are straight out of life. Starting from Hyderabad Blues to his recent Iqbal, almost all his films are worth a watch. There are a few films which really stand out when it comes to the identification with the real life. In the recent times, I have seen this movie called 'Apharan'. The protagonist of the story is a normal middle class person who succumbs to the situations and takes the wrong path. His helplessness in certain situations and remorseful feelings towards the end are depicted very well. A lot of sensitive issues were handled very deftly. Here the protagonist is no superman who has a solution for everything. However, the film didnt fare well at the box office, reason: the entertainment factor being too low. Another thought provoking movie was 'Swades'. But even the star power of SRK couldnt affect the fate of the film at the box office. A lot of such good films have failed at the box office. I feel that these kind of films should be encouraged by the audiences.
Having said all this, I don't mean to say that all films should necessarily carry a message. A movie is basically meant for entertainment, so as long as it entertains you, its good. But atleast the filmmakers should make films closer to the normal life and bridge the gap between reel-life and real-life. As viewers, I feel its our responsibility to encourage movies which are realistic and close to life.
Oh God! Where are you?
From my childhood days, I was taught by my parents that God is someone who protects our family, God is the one who supports us in times of need and shows us the right path. I was bound to become a theist. I also learnt some sanskrit stotras and used to chant them daily in the morning in our prayer room. This was one of those innocent stunts of a young lad trying to impress God and make some wishes. Being a theist, had its own advantages. You can offer your prayers to God and get whatever you want in return. Atleast thats what I thought at that time.
I think I was around 12 years old then.I asked God to make my father buy me a video game. It didnt happen. I was kind of upset with Him and stopped my daily rituals. I started offering my prayers again only after 1 year, when my father bought me a video game. My juvenile thinking made me feel that my relationship with God was then just an agreement of 'give and take'.
When I grew up, I started questioning myself as to why should I ever believe in someone called God. Why do I need to depend on someone else, when I am solely responsible for my actions. Is there a need for me to bend down before someone I dont know actually exists. I had no answers to all these questions but I didnt want to take the risk of calling myself an atheist because I was pretty much satisfied with my life at that time. May be I knew that there were some things in life which no one has control over. I wanted some external power to be on my side to deal with such situations.
My perception of God changed when I was studying at IIIT. I was depressed in life because of a broken relationship. After that nothing made sense in life, neither my career nor my friends. Nothing at all made sense in life. I was in a state of extreme depression. I hated God for what He had done to me. He didnt help me when I was in crisis. Then whats the use of such an entity called God. Why should I believe Him? These questions nagged me endlessly. Then out of no where, a person came and helped me recover from this situation. Sometimes the circumstances under which we became friends amaze me. Today he is my best friend and I owe a lot to him.
Since then I have noticed that whenever I was in need, someone sprang up from nowhere to help me. A colleague at office really helped me build my selfconfidence indirectly by encouraging whatever I did. I can tell you about 'n' number of people who helped me or supported me at various occasions. My perception of God began to change. God was in these people who helped me.
Today, I realize God means much more to me than just a supreme entity. All the people who have helped me at various crossroads of life were either the messengers of God or the God Himself. Today when I pray God, I only ask for one thing : "God please help me do whatever is right". Thats it. I somehow sense His presence in every decision I make in life. This is my perception of God.
I think I was around 12 years old then.I asked God to make my father buy me a video game. It didnt happen. I was kind of upset with Him and stopped my daily rituals. I started offering my prayers again only after 1 year, when my father bought me a video game. My juvenile thinking made me feel that my relationship with God was then just an agreement of 'give and take'.
When I grew up, I started questioning myself as to why should I ever believe in someone called God. Why do I need to depend on someone else, when I am solely responsible for my actions. Is there a need for me to bend down before someone I dont know actually exists. I had no answers to all these questions but I didnt want to take the risk of calling myself an atheist because I was pretty much satisfied with my life at that time. May be I knew that there were some things in life which no one has control over. I wanted some external power to be on my side to deal with such situations.
My perception of God changed when I was studying at IIIT. I was depressed in life because of a broken relationship. After that nothing made sense in life, neither my career nor my friends. Nothing at all made sense in life. I was in a state of extreme depression. I hated God for what He had done to me. He didnt help me when I was in crisis. Then whats the use of such an entity called God. Why should I believe Him? These questions nagged me endlessly. Then out of no where, a person came and helped me recover from this situation. Sometimes the circumstances under which we became friends amaze me. Today he is my best friend and I owe a lot to him.
Since then I have noticed that whenever I was in need, someone sprang up from nowhere to help me. A colleague at office really helped me build my selfconfidence indirectly by encouraging whatever I did. I can tell you about 'n' number of people who helped me or supported me at various occasions. My perception of God began to change. God was in these people who helped me.
Today, I realize God means much more to me than just a supreme entity. All the people who have helped me at various crossroads of life were either the messengers of God or the God Himself. Today when I pray God, I only ask for one thing : "God please help me do whatever is right". Thats it. I somehow sense His presence in every decision I make in life. This is my perception of God.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
A journey from 75 to 65
About 4 years ago, I was a person who wasnt much conscious about fitness. I was kind of ok, not too bad for my height. I wasnt over-weight, I used to feel at that time. But thanks to my 2 & 3rd years at IIIT where my regular afternoon naps helped me put on those extra pounds. I didnt realize the change in myself until I saw a photograph of mine. God, I was awful. But I neglected that because I had even more serious problems in life to deal with at that time. I didnt realize that being overweight was the most serious problem anyone could face with.
Towards the end of my 3rd year at IIIT, I had to undergo a minor surgery and after the surgery I was recommended a bed rest for about 2 months. I was asked to not even walk quickly for another 2 months. I remember it was August 2003, and I was about 77 kg. The other tension in my life at that time was getting a job in a good company, no , some company as placements were around the corner. Thank God, I got placed soon into Infosys. Now I had to think of ways to lose my weight.
I started jogging on the road just beside our college, the road which led to Infosys and ISB. I used to go for a jog in the morning around 6:30 am. If I was late even by half n hour on some day, I used to skip jogging on that day. There was a reason for that. It always was fun for some people to watch a fat guy trying to shed his pounds by jogging/running. I didnt want to get stared by such people. I was a victim of inferiority complex then. But that fear made me rise earlier everyday and go for a jog without fail.
Six months passed by, jogging and working out in the gym, I tried everything possible to keep myself in shape. But damn it, nothing happened. I was the same as what I was six months earlier. I didnt know what went wrong. I couldnt double the intensity of my routines due to time constraints. I was frustrated, nothing is going to happen, I am a loser, I thought. Life looked like void to me. If I couldnt do this, I felt I cant do anything in life.
For a few months, I had other problems in life to face. For about 4 months, I was busy trying to find a better job than the one at Infosys, I was attending interviews, preparing for tests etc. Losing weight was always there at the back of my mind but those were some situations where I had to make a difficult choice. Obviously getting a better job was the first on my agenda. Finally, I have joined NCR in hyderabad in Aug 2004 and still tried my best to stick to my routines.
When I was on job, I realised the importance of staying fit and what difference it made to one's confidence. At that time I didnt want to check if I have lost weight or not. My parents and relatives always used to say that I was looking a lot slimmer than before. But then again you can never trust your family or relatives in these things.
I became a bit more serious, a jog and workout are not going to help me. I needed to do something more. The next thing that came to my mind was controlling my diet. I avoided all junk foods and cut down on eating rice. Though I wasn't a glutton, I had this irresistible temptation for sweets. I had to control that and that wasnt easy. I said to myself that I would try this for 2 months, not more than that.
2 months went by and I still didnt see any change in myself. I lost hope. I was a loser in life. But things changed one day. I happened to go to a friend's sister's marriage. A lot of my friends also came there. Most of my friends said that I was looking much better than before and also lost a lot of weight. For the first time, I have felt a sense of accomplishment somewhere deep down in my heart. Now I had the confidence to check my weight. I was anxious to know my weight. It was 66 kg. I can't explain how happy I was. I have lost nearly 10 kgs in two years. I did it. The sense of accomplishment I experienced was inexplicable.
Now I am a more confident person than what I used to be a couple of years ago. Having gone through all this just for losing weight, I understand the importance of fitness in my life. I never neglect my fitness routines no matter what. But the only thing, which I cant resist at times is my temptation for sweets. But I make sure that I more than make up for it in my next day's work out ;). Now it feels good when people call me a fitness freak.
Towards the end of my 3rd year at IIIT, I had to undergo a minor surgery and after the surgery I was recommended a bed rest for about 2 months. I was asked to not even walk quickly for another 2 months. I remember it was August 2003, and I was about 77 kg. The other tension in my life at that time was getting a job in a good company, no , some company as placements were around the corner. Thank God, I got placed soon into Infosys. Now I had to think of ways to lose my weight.
I started jogging on the road just beside our college, the road which led to Infosys and ISB. I used to go for a jog in the morning around 6:30 am. If I was late even by half n hour on some day, I used to skip jogging on that day. There was a reason for that. It always was fun for some people to watch a fat guy trying to shed his pounds by jogging/running. I didnt want to get stared by such people. I was a victim of inferiority complex then. But that fear made me rise earlier everyday and go for a jog without fail.
Six months passed by, jogging and working out in the gym, I tried everything possible to keep myself in shape. But damn it, nothing happened. I was the same as what I was six months earlier. I didnt know what went wrong. I couldnt double the intensity of my routines due to time constraints. I was frustrated, nothing is going to happen, I am a loser, I thought. Life looked like void to me. If I couldnt do this, I felt I cant do anything in life.
For a few months, I had other problems in life to face. For about 4 months, I was busy trying to find a better job than the one at Infosys, I was attending interviews, preparing for tests etc. Losing weight was always there at the back of my mind but those were some situations where I had to make a difficult choice. Obviously getting a better job was the first on my agenda. Finally, I have joined NCR in hyderabad in Aug 2004 and still tried my best to stick to my routines.
When I was on job, I realised the importance of staying fit and what difference it made to one's confidence. At that time I didnt want to check if I have lost weight or not. My parents and relatives always used to say that I was looking a lot slimmer than before. But then again you can never trust your family or relatives in these things.
I became a bit more serious, a jog and workout are not going to help me. I needed to do something more. The next thing that came to my mind was controlling my diet. I avoided all junk foods and cut down on eating rice. Though I wasn't a glutton, I had this irresistible temptation for sweets. I had to control that and that wasnt easy. I said to myself that I would try this for 2 months, not more than that.
2 months went by and I still didnt see any change in myself. I lost hope. I was a loser in life. But things changed one day. I happened to go to a friend's sister's marriage. A lot of my friends also came there. Most of my friends said that I was looking much better than before and also lost a lot of weight. For the first time, I have felt a sense of accomplishment somewhere deep down in my heart. Now I had the confidence to check my weight. I was anxious to know my weight. It was 66 kg. I can't explain how happy I was. I have lost nearly 10 kgs in two years. I did it. The sense of accomplishment I experienced was inexplicable.
Now I am a more confident person than what I used to be a couple of years ago. Having gone through all this just for losing weight, I understand the importance of fitness in my life. I never neglect my fitness routines no matter what. But the only thing, which I cant resist at times is my temptation for sweets. But I make sure that I more than make up for it in my next day's work out ;). Now it feels good when people call me a fitness freak.
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