So the internet on my mobile has conked again. The fact that the internet has stopped working frustrates me less than the fact that I have to deal with a customer care executive to get the problem resolved. Every time I call customer care, they give me a different reason why the problem is happening. They will make me do random things on the phone. And in the end, the solution is always the same. “Sir, I will surely help you with the problem. You first need to switch off the device, remove the battery and sim-card. Then wait for 10 minutes and restart your mobile phone.” And just like that, the mobile phone will cure itself. Sorry boss, my smart-phone isn’t that smart. And neither are you.

PS. There is an analogy to the universal solution for the desktop computer. Minimize all windows, right click on the desktop and click Refresh a couple of time. That supposedly solves all the problems. Or if that doesn’t work, there is the good ol’ format command. Guaranteed to solve all your PC problems.

Woohoo! Finally found an application which will let me blog from my cellphone. Testing 1 2 3. I’m the king of the world now!

I do not want a 9 to 6 job
but I want a corner office
I want to travel the world
and I want to feel the wind in my hair
I want to own the city I live in
and I want to live by my rules
I want more bandwidth
I want to fly a plane

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow
domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the
dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought
and action–
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

– Rabindranath Tagore

Happy Independence Day

I had planned to write a post about how India suddenly becomes patriotic during the Independence Day ever year. On the eve of Independence Day, I see everyone buying little flags, badges and what not which are worn proudly for a day or two. And then the same are seen thrown on roads, footpaths and gutters. I’ve always wondered why there is a sudden surge of patriotism in the blood on these days and for the rest of the year, we couldn’t care less in which year India became a Republic.

But this post on Independence Day and the corresponding volatility in patriotism has been overshadowed by a far urgent threat this year. The swine flu has taken over the consciousness of the Mumbaikars this time around. The virus which reportedly surfaced in Pune has spread to Mumbai and other areas in India slowly. The symptoms of the flu are similar to that of a normal cold – running nose, sore throat, watery eyes, along with a unique symptom of this strain – the tendency of the afflicted to oink randomly much to the surprise of onlookers.

CEO – So all in all, with this strategy we’re looking for a growth in profit margin of atleast 15%, which is quite healthy in the current circumstances.

CFO – Oink….!

CEO – Say what?
And as is the norm nowadays, with repeated hammering by the media, Mumbai has come under the grip of the flu. Today’s trip to office was a darkly humourous sight. I saw people “protecting” themselves using masks, handkerchiefs and what not. Suddenly the Mumbaikar has become hygienic (and paranoid). During normal days, a person would say, “Aah, this is but a pithy cold. Nothing can stop me from going to work and doing my bit for my company.” But now, the slightest sniffle will send us scampering to Kasturba Hospital.

Now I’m not saying that there is anything wrong in this. Prevention is better than cure. But what is more of a concern is that in a few days (weeks?), when the swine flu panic subsides, these same masks will be thrown on the roads, and footpaths and gutters. The same people won’t hesitate any more again to spit around carelessly.

That is one question which repeatedly hammers my mind. Why aren’t the measures for prevention taken only when most required? And often too when its too late? Why does our psyche unfailingly follows this pattern ad infinitum or dekhenge jab ayega tab?

Disclaimer- If anyone decides to take heed of this post oozing of sarcasm, do it at your own risk. Don’t blame it on me. If you feel you have the symptoms of the swine flu especially an itch to oink , please visit the nearest hospital authorized to take your samples. Don’t be a hero like me.

Life 24×7 here has posed a very important question. Why is it that most all IT projects in the end lead to a situation that people have to stay back more than the stipulated office hours and work 6-7 days a week to get the project done? And in the end the quality of the project is nowhere close to the one which was anticipated in the beginning.

There could be many reasons which could lead to this. Let’s analyze the major ones :-

1) Is it tough work? Building a solution for online reservation of tickets for an airlines may seem impossible or at least insurmountable at first. But enough books have been written about the different life cycle methodologies. Indian IT companies have enough collective experience among them to formalize the whole development into stages. Simply, breaking down a huge task into smaller tasks gets it done. Software development is no different. Build units, combine them into modules, combine them into sub-systems and ultimately you’ll be able to build a complete working system. In no ways is building a reservation system for airlines more difficult than building the plane itself.

2) Are workers particularly incompetent? If the workers were incompetent in any way, India would not be able to establish itself as a preferred destination for IT enabled services and business process outsourcing. One doesn’t need to be physically strong (except for spending these long hours on site) to succeed in the software industry. All that is needed is mental competence and I’m sure India has a decent enough intelligence curve for people employed in the software sector (and otherwise).

3) Are the initial estimates themselves unachievable? This is one of my favourites. In the increasing competition among Indian IT companies, there is a pressing need to win more bids and clients. In that process, business development people tend to overpromise at times. Timelines are shortened, resources are de-allocated and requirements are increased to satisfy the client. No one asks whether at the end of this, the timelines would be feasible. The overpromise leads to the delivery team not being able to fulfill all the initial expectations set by the client or the management of the IT company. Projects get late, initial estimates are revised, which themselves turn out to be impossible, and the iterations continue. What remains in the end are delays, skirmishes, broken promises, lost business etc.

The most common solution for dealing with a late project? Put more people into it. But as is pointed out in the classic software engineering text, “The mythical man month,” putting more people in a project does not necessarily make it quicker. If anything it could lead to the project getting delayed further.

A better solution to deal with a late project? The book “People ware” expressly forbids management to set estimates for activities not performed by them. The books says only the people who are in charge of a particular activity – be it development, or design should estimate that activity. This would lead to more realistic timelines, and consequently better working hours for the industry. I suspect the top management of IT India Inc already knows this. But who would be brave enough to estimate a project to take 4 months when its competitors can promise the same in 2? Never mind that due to innumerable delays, the 2 month project stretches to 12.

Delays and long working hours is something the IT industry will have to live with until it gets the courage to collectively improve the conditions for its employees. Until then, 9am-11pm would be the normal working hours for the Indian IT industry.

Quite ironic that this post was written on a Sunday afternoon from office.

This post will contain all my experiences with the infamous Mumbai rains. Already had one of a kind experience in the July 2005 showers. Let’s see what 2009 will bring.

Day One (25 Jun 09) - Left an umbrella in the auto rickshaw. May God provide shelter to a umbrella-less person.

Day Two (26 Jun 09) - The back up umbrella I have fails to keep me dry in the rain last Friday. Got drenched from head to toe in my walk from Jogeshwari to the WE highway. Incidentally, this umbrella was bought from Gurunath stores in IIT Madras. Evidently, umbrellas manufactured in Chennai cannot protect you in the Mumbai rain.

Day Three (29 Jun 09) - A new umbrella bought for 200 bucks. In the second use, the bottom handle of the umbrella goes flying into the air. Stuck with a half-broken umbrella. It seems the Rain Gods are determined to keep me wet through this monsoon.

Day Four (30 Jun 09) – A relatively dry day. Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) takes up centrestage. Finally opened in 2009 (as opposed to a planned date in 2004) at a cost of around Rs 1600 crore (at around 5 times its original budget). And to think my boss cribs about my project running a month late. But I’m not complaining (about the BWSL). Mumbai needed a monument like this since a long time. Now the only thing to see is how the police manage to protect this structure.

While roaming through the streets of Chennai, I came across the book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. I had heard about this book a lot before and was really surprised to find it in the least likely of places, at a second hand book stall. That is one of the best paybacks for exploring a second hand sale or a library clearance sale. Sometims you get some rare classics. I got this book for Rs 25. Krakauer is the also the author of his bestselling book Into the Wild, a true story about a teenager named Chris McCandless who left his family and disposing all his money to live in the forests in Alaska. McCandless ultimately died in the wilderness at the age of 24.

Into Thin Air, however, is about the journey of an expedition group which meets with disaster while climbing Mt Everest. This too is a real life incident, and beautifully describes how nature still has an upper hand over us. The blurbs on the book claim the book to be one of the best adventure books of all times. I have very high hopes from the book, and you can bet a review of the book once I read it.

Until then, happy reading. And I’ll keep searching hoping to find for a bargain his other book, Into the Wild.

Finally the blog has a new domain. Quite interesting timing. I’m finishing my MBA and at the same time I decided to host my blog on a separate domain. What were the reasons for this? As usual I won’t give one specific reason. Is it the pride factor of having a dedicated website to one’s own name? Is it the chances of better search results for the blog? Is it a commitment to more regular and constant blogging? In the usual style of an MBA, I’ll give the safe answer, “it depends.”

However registering the domain and hosting the site hasn’t come cheap. So unless I make full use of the increased flexibility which this setup brings me, I’ll probably be pouring more money down the drain. So let’s make a commitment to meet here after one year and see where I’ve taken myself and whether it is worth it to continue this arrangement.

In the meantime I keep looking for a job to justify my MBA. On a related note, how would you like to be interviewed by this fellow?

Today I almost was. Brrrr! Can you guess who it is? He was in the news recently for creating a record.

These lines from the now legendary song by Eminem have become a common way to restart something one left doing midway. Still I’m happy to use these cliched lines to reintroduce myself to the blogging world. The question which needs to be answered now is why had I quit in the first place? Maybe it was lack of inspiration for writing. Maybe it was disillusionment from the entire thingamajig called life. Maybe it was just laziness. Whatever it was, the phase has passed. Much water has flown under the bridge since then. Many classes have been bunked since then. Much cribbing has been done since then. Why am I writing sentences in batches of three?

As I realized in this time of self-imposed silence, sometimes you do need time out to gather your thoughts. Neurons of my mind had been working overtime to figure out the meaning of life. And I realize sometimes it is better to give them a rest. But I’ve rested enough. It is time to dispose off the excess baggage, pick up the rest and get back on the journey. First and foremost I need a new template. I’ve shortlisted a few nicer ones. And I’ll be updating the blog to see which one fits the best. Better still, I’m planning to change the blog host itself. If everything works out well, this blog will soon be hosted on a spanking new site. With new features and new widgets and new templates.

Every project should have a mission and a vision, so we were taught. For an MBA, developing the mission and vision is paramount. A true MBA should be able to recite these statements even before going to the loo. So its only logical I should create a mission and vision for my blog as well. But those of you who know me will know that I will choose to conveniently skip that step. Or maybe not, maybe I’ll come back and write that mission and vision after all. So here I’m leaving space for both…

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Mission:

Vision:

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What I promise now is not to crib about life, the universe and everything; not to ridicule every Tom, Dick and Harry I encounter, especially the Dicks; to tone down the sarcasm in my posts (but why?), and last but not the least, to blog regularly, even if no one reads my blogs, I will keep a regular habit of writing in me alive.

So here’s to a new start, the second (or third?) lap on this never ending journey in search of nirvana.