Tughluquine Instincts

I am more than perplexed and frustated with the attitude of the present day government of Tamil Nadu. One could expect a school going kid to have better sensibility; let alone wisdom. Having said this, I do not take a political stand nor do I have a priority for one political party over the other.

I am just venting my feelings on a social or rather a personal platform from an "Aam aadmi's" perspective. The recent decision of Jayalalitha to shift the Anna Centenary library from its current location and to convert the existing building into a Pediatrics hospital was arrogance at its heights. The library built at a cost of around 200 crores is deemed the largest of its kind in South Asia. The Civil Engineer behind its construction obviously wouldn't had made the building flexible enough to accommodate varied set-ups.

The conceptualization for a library would have incorporated tailor made specifications for its layout, ventilation, drainage among other things. So converting it to a hospital would result in both unwanted and excessive expenditure apart from a 'not so efficient' end product. Thankfully, we have our dutiful Judiciary - the High Court which stayed the move.

Another high point of the self proclaimed "Amma's" tomfoolery was conversion of Secretariat to Multi speciality hospital - yes a hospital again - she is apparently very concerned about people's health and has a personal target of creating World Class Hospitals in Chennai. No complaints against her targets but why at the cost of meddling with BUILT buildings ?? The reason quoted for dumping the 1100 crore worth building was that it could not accommodate all the 36 government departments and the two km distance between the Assembly (Block A) and Secretariat (Block B) would make it difficult for the Ministers to function. At least that way all of them would have something concrete to do everyday i.e. travel to and fro. Sorry, I know this was a rather rude joke which the entire Executive doesn't deserve !!

Political vendetta could never have been more obvious. She had gotten 15 partymen of DMK arrested within 100 days of 'swearing in'. On this note one cannot fail to recollect the midnight drama a decade ago where she had Karunanidhi arrested as soon as she had stepped into power. This apart from the arrest of a dozen other Union Ministers.

How healthy would it be if politicians quarreled by trying to outdo each other rather than undoing what has been already done. By targeting the dream projects of her opponent, viz. the Secretariat and the Anna Library she proves how less she cares for people and their money when it comes to quenching her thirst for revenge. It also shows how directionless an administrator could get moving around things ala our great Emperor- Muhammad bin Tughluq.

P.S. : Tughluq was a Sultan of Medieval India whose over thought foolery of shifting the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad and then back is legendary.

Disclaimer : The views expressed here are strictly personal !!

http://theviewspaper.net/tughluquine-instincts/

A ray of light

As I write this, I have been in anticipation of a call from a Business Analyst who would be interviewing me !! It all started with talks with my supervisors for a Business role. I had requested for it a year back (was not given then) and more recently a couple of months ago when my promotion was at hand. The point to reflect was that 'Market Research' was a niche domain for a Business Analyst to thrive once he leaves Nielsen. Both Jinu and Mohan held the same opinion(both BA's themselves) and I was convinced .

But why do I see myself here then ? My agenda and my interests ended up being in the same direction after a ROLLER COASTER ride of decisions with my future (self inflicted and tumultuous). I was always keen for Business stuff and Management was where I had always placed myself at whenever I thought of my career in future. So I zeroed in on GMAT with the right amount of experience in my kitty. Typically a B School looks out for people who stand out with varied experience and I am here with four years of pure technical background. So I thought functional experience would be the right icing on the cake !!

Well, I now stand here expecting the second promotion (after IT Analyst) and the coveted chance promised by my Manager which would help me considerably in making the most out of my last chance to make a difference in my life !!

The Lokpal and Anna

The Anna craze has caught up big time and Jan Lokpal suddenly seems to be the magic wand which could get the ordinary man out of his daily quota of cribbing against Corruption. With the ocean of supporters that Anna has, he also has critics who play down his techniques. Intellectuals like Arundhathi Roy and other Polictical Analysts are of the opinion that Jan Lokpal would be a threat to democracy. Here, I would like to voice my opinion from whatever little knowledge I have. 

I am keen on seeing a BALANCED Lokpal being implemented which doesn't see itself sitting over and above the three wings of our Government namely Executive, Judiciary and Legislature. Change is what everyone craves and justifies the mad mass appeal our Anna has. It is on similar lines as the governments of TN and AP. People simply vote for the OTHER party !!

With great power comes greater responsibility !! But with it also comes great greed !! The futuristic Lokpal should be made accountable and shouldn't be vested with more powers than it can handle. It is rather evident that ANNA is not an intellectual in the way he bluntly says 'My way or no way' but he definitely is a Hero !! He has given a platform for people to demand a Better Living.

History says that great changes were brought in with street battles. You got to fight out your way on the street whether it is overthrowing a ruthless dictator or staging a protest against injustice.

The Janlokpal Bill is AMBITIOUS in having the President the Supreme Court and the entire bureaucracy in its ambit. But the govt Lokpal on the other hand was TOOTHLESS which would serve nothing in being incapable of dealing with CWG, 2G spectrum or the cash for votes scam.

The great powers vested with the Lokpal body is the single biggest threat which should be taken care of with the ongoing negotiations to shape up a competent authority !! It shouldn't be left from where it has reached.

India's Crusade against Terrorism - Time for a reality check !!

We continue to be the mute spectators we always are, as terrorists continue to rip India apart year after year. After the gory triple bomb blasts in Mumbai on 13th of this month, our honorable Home Minister wastes no time in putting his point across that every city in India as much gullible and that the blasts have actually come down in count. PC couldn't probably be more blunt. 

"India's post-26/11 police reforms painted stripes on a donkey — and passed it off as a tiger" - screamed a title from the editorial in Hindu. With the media acting as a window to our world around an average man doesn't need to stay with the presumptions of a complex constitution or an even more complex govt. and pass off for not even being intellectual enough !! At least in matters where the govt has promised and even boasts of things which it never desired of strongly. Not to forget the millions disbursed for such reforms.

A lay man's google or a casual browse over papers would give statistics which would make our honorable HM feel guilty after his heroic claims of modernising India's Mughal-era police. For instance, the Ministry of Home Affairs, year after year boasts of exactly the same achievements in exactly the same language in its yearly reports as if they were new achievements !! There's no fault in promising to achieve and then only achieving partly. But when it blatantly over states its achievements, its definitely worth criticism. 

Government has failed with the transponders it promised on merchant fleets. It is still short of bullet proof jackets, communication kits, training on intelligence and so on if what we need is statistics. The officials who came to visit the CWG games pointed that a very few of the thousands of police personal even appeared to hold automatic weapons !! A joke of sorts !!

We have a serious situation at hand, we have the funds, we have the personnel who could be recruited and we have the govt which boasts it has done things but the patchy reality stays that the funds don't materialise at every point.

Its not about the present govt. or the past govt. Its only about the attitude the ruling body has for an individuals safety. Life is deemed cheap and easy !! It's a mere statistic for a person at power, but life indeed is man's integrity. Even a person dying of cancer would want to live that one extra day and go for the inflicting chemotherapy. The question is why has life got so less importance in our country !! Its heart rending and ever so silly to even imagine that ATS chief Karkare was killed because of a spurious or duplicate bullet proof jacket.

One might find solace when he compares our situation with that of our neighboring Nations (where terrorism is creating greater havoc). But why should we even look at countries which still strive for the true meaning of democracy we have achieved decades ago.We aspire to be a part of the Security council at UNO. We dream of moving ahead to become a developed country from our persistent tag of 'developing country'.  We have already shed a lot of blood to reach where we are already. The collective GDP of many such nations together (which we think are more fortunate) would comprise India's GDP. Why should we look back when come a long way towards a better living ??


We should ideally look at Nations which are better off !! In 3 years after 9/11 the US FBI has the raised the number of its trained counter terrorism agents to double their number for a population which is only 3 times Maharashtra. India's pompous Investigation Bureau and Analysis wing together have less expert resources. 

 
This is where we should self introspect. Its not only about cursing your authorities when terror strikes. Little has materialized since the murderous 26/11 and is a reason for debate and the reason for a Crusade in its actual sense. Corruption hardly matters to a person who rarely gets a square meal once a day. We have a crusade waged against it !! We need a crusade against terrorism and it is by no means justifiable for the government to lend a blind eye to it !!

My Romance with the Indian Navy

Chest No 65 !! Came the call and I responded instantly with confident "Yes Sir" and walked past the Commander into the room to take my seat among the other guys selected at SSB 33. I was definitely expecting my number to be called out as otherwise I thought I would have been overqualified on similar lines as Abdul Kalam or Rahul Dravid :) I may seem to be boasting but that was what the circumstances seemed to be screaming out at me. I sat beside my close buddy TyagaRajan and we congratulated each other as we had "Screened In". We had cleared our first round at the selection and were among 30 others who got in from a total of 67. I was literally beaming with happiness and why not ? I was only a step away from my dream job !!

I always wanted to be an officer of the Indian Navy. It had a complete package of Discipline, Adventure, Physical fitness and most importantly lots of Respect. The memories of the 'Navy Day' celebrations where the men in uniform displayed their might (held yearly at RK Beach, Vizag) had etched permanently in my mind. The medals, the uniform, the courage, the thrills always had me craving to be a part of the Defence services. Having spent my childhood in Defence quarters and looking up to my father (retired as Lieutenant from the Indian Navy) as a constant source of inspiration, Navy was my obvious choice. My flirt with the Indian Navy started early and I wanted to pitch in with an Engineering course at National Defence Academy or National College of Engineering after my Intermediate. So much so that I had put my preparations for EAMCET (Entrance exam for private Engineering colleges) on a backseat, convinced that I had my destiny in the Armed Forces. But then counselling happened after EAMCET ( I had managed a decent rank ) and I had a Mechanical Engineering seat up for taking. Meanwhile I had cleared both the initial screening for NDA and NCE and was called for Interview and Physical tests. I consulted my dad and he did not want me leave the opportunity at hand. He wanted me to be better prepared for the Board Interview and the physical tasks and crack it in the first attempt as people attempting for the first time would be given preference.

I chased my aspirations while in college and I had been a part of the NCC (National Cadet Corps). Three years of training had given me a varied perception and outlook for the armed Forces. I was into Army wing and it was here that I learnt that defense was not all what it seemed from outside. I was mainly not convinced with the personal or social life of the soldiers. The rigors of work had made them tough both physically and from within. Solitary life had caused many vices to creep into their lives. Ruthless was the word I could attribute to many of the mentors. I always wanted my heart to be leading me in life and what I was witnessing was 'heartless'. But that is how soldiers are expected to be "Mentally tough and Physically strong". I learnt a lot in self dependence and discipline in the varied camps we had. I finished my course with an A grade and as a Senior Under Officer but with a little lessened passion.

I had on many instances innocently debated with my mom and dad - Is everything and everyone in defense the same ? and the reasoning at the end of the day was that it is you who define how you would shape yourself. I could look at my dad for that matter. He was into an entirely different 'class'. Moreover the life of the officers and the soldiers/sailors was not alike. The sailors had a lot of physical stress and were not paid well when in comparison with their efforts; whereas the Officers as they went up their ladder had more of mental work than physical and were paid handsomely (infact treated princely by the government). Then campus interviews happened in our final year and I was placed into TCS which was like 'another dream' come true. The IT boom and the craze for campus placements had me nurturing this second dream with a long term plan of Management.

Two years into IT industry, I was not liking much what I was doing and wanted a change. This was when my passion rekindled and I realized that I had my last few chances to give a go at the Defence services. I applied for the SSB interview for Engineering services and am here in Bhopal after hard fought 5 day leave with my manager. I had done a thorough preparation gathering enough material for the varied range of tests conducted. I also helped myself to a two month work out on physical fitness and jogging. En route Bhopal from Chennai, I was doing my last minute preparations (which I always do)

To Be Continued

Hit the nail "almost" on its head

Landed into Nielsen, one of the biggest accounts in TCS! Got the work of my choice having the potential for a good amount of Business exposure!!

Though initially hesitant, owing to the amount of responsibility (I would be responsible to the onsite co coordinator and the client on the other hand as a single entity which means no substitution of work) I finally made my decision weighing my options. I expect a good hands-on on the technical stuff too !!

My mentor is pacing up my KT with his "spoon feeding" lol @@

With the aesthetic campus of Siruseri and my pals for company I guess I wouldn't feel monotonous for the coming months.

The only point I compromised was the "Onsite opportunity" which is bleak in here. The paradox of the situation is - Onsite was the only thing in mind when I set off searching for a new project and in the process rejected around 5 other projects.

On the hunt

Just signed off from first project in TCS - SMB. The journey had been a medley of things for me. Wonderful friends (Best in fact), healthy environment and a good amount of exposure to corporate life is what I would really cherish having got at SMB. Got to know an entirely new definition of Management here :) which I would rather love to forget, but has in fact helped me equip myself for the war ahead.

Am on the look out for a nice project which would cater to my quest for business knowledge and also provide me an onsite opportunity at the earliest :)