Foreigners in India, watch out!

Yesterday, I had gone to the FRRO to extend Ashwin's residency permit. There was an African national who had come to Bangalore to study in a "college" called Bangalore City Institute (I think). He was extremely angry and frustrated. Apparently, since he came to India, no classes have been conducted; there seems to be a paucity of teachers; the principal keeps asking for more money, citing different reasons. To top it all, it appears that the principal has the audacity to act very high-handed and aggressive. This African guy wants to seek redressal, but doesn't know where to go. He has already tried to request the police to intervene with no results. So, he had come that day to talk to the FRRO to see if they could help in any way.

As I stood in line, I witnessed the verbal exchange between one of the officials in the FRRO and the African and it was really appalling. The official was completely uncaring; he didn't bother to properly listen to the complaint; he kept brushing him off, saying that the police are the only people who can assist in the matter. I'm not saying that he was wrong, but he could at least have helped him contact a police station and set up some kind of arrangement, so that the FRRO and the cops could work together to assist the African. Instead, the African ended up leaving the FRRO even more frustrated and angry. Mind you, he spoke English extremely well and he was quite a well-read person. He showed his degree certificates which showed that he had some qualifications in IT/Software/Computers. In addition, the file / folder he was carrying contained documents that were very neatly organized (including some BESCOM bills, I may add!), which again is a sign of a well-read and systematic person.

All in all, the experience reiterated the lack of a proper structure for foreigners in this country. There appears to be no framework or support structure that is easily understandable or widely published that will help foreigners in times of need. Rules are made in a very arbitrary manner and left open to interpretation and enforcing by individual officers. For example, one official told us that we need two copies of all documents for submission; another told us that one copy is enough; a different official told us that we should attach a copy of our PAN cards; but they finally accepted the docket without the PAN cards.

So, that's my India grouse for the day! Still many more to come....

Resolved once again to resume blogging regularly. So, what have I been upto since 12/21/2006?

Visited UK on a business visit in Nov 2007.

Visited Ann Arbor, MI on a business visit in Jan 2008.

Visited north India with cousins in April 2008.

Joined an year-long certificate course in Executive Management from IIM-Kozhikode.

Quit Sterling Commerce on 12/16/2008. Took a break to concentrate on the course.

Got an offer from Altisource Portfolio Solutions (then Ocwen) in March 2009.

Joined Altisource on 03/24/2009 as Director of Software Development.

Bought a second-hand, automatic transmission Honda City in Feb 2009.

Visited Orange County resort in May 2009.

Went to Paris & London for a vacation in September 2009.

Drove to Kozhikode for my eMEP graduation ceremony in Feb 2010.

Drove to Wayanad in May 2010.

Drove to Kukke Subramanya in June 2010.

Joined Sterling Commerce

Today was my first day at Sterling Commerce in Bangalore. I joined Sterling Commerce as a Technical Architect. Sterling Commerce develops full lifecycle Supply Chain Management solutions. Their website is at http://www.sterlingcommerce.com.

Joining formalities took more than an hour to complete. After that, I was introduced to a couple of folks and shown to my desk. There was no phone yet, nor was there any reading material. I picked up a few information brochures that described their products. These were tailored for consumption by prospective customers, so it appeared a bit biased. I had difficulty keeping my eyes open till lunch. After lunch, I tried following up with IS to get my laptop, but it got delayed till 4:30. I had a meeting with my boss and other Project Managers from 3pm to 4pm, during which I learnt a bit about the current projects and customers. I spent time between 4:30pm and 6pm playing around with the laptop and installing necessary software.

Interview with Tyfone

I interviewed with a company called Tyfone today for the position of a Technical Director. Tyfone is a small startup and they wanted somebody who could lead the development efforts for a product they are building for the mobile industry. The interview went quite well and they ended up offering me the job! The pay was very, very low but they threw in a bunch of stock options to sweeten the deal. The work sounded pretty interesting to me, but I had a lot to consider before I accepted the offer. The people I spoke to were nice and seemed reasonably knowledgeable.

Going to and from the interview by auto, I was quite taken aback by the number of people who always appeared to have something to do or somewhere to go. The sidewalks are always crowded and there is no "rush hour" in traffic. The traffic is stop-and-go for almost 12 hours a day (8am to 8pm), in almost every major road in Bangalore. And, everybody accepts it as a fact of life. There are traffic lights almost everywhere, but not all of them are working most of the time, so there will be a policeman directing traffic.

Let me highlight one positive and one negative about Indian traffic. First, the positive. At almost every major traffic signal, there will be a digital display that shows the amount of time remaining for the signal to change to green. So, people (car, auto, bus, bike, etc.) turn off their engines till 5-10 seconds before the light turns green. In the long run, this will definitely result in significant fuel conservation, reduction in pollution and longer life for the engines.

The negative? Actually, there are quite a few, as you might imagine. Invariably, people will get a headstart on the signal, so they will cross the intersection when there's still 3-4 seconds for the light to turn green. At the same time, people who had the green signal till then (cross traffic) will not stop when the light turns red. They will continue crossing the intersection 3-4 seconds after the light turns red. Obviously, this can result in grid lock in the middle and at worst, cause a serious accident, especially when you consider that the vehicles involved can be as diverse in size as huge lorry/truck and a small moped (mini motorbike). At night, people will invariably ignore the lights completely and depend on coordination with other vehicles to get through intersections. Most lorry/bus drivers are egomaniacs with very poor road sense, so they'll drive rashly in narrow roads. In theory, the bigger the vehicle you drive, the more responsibility that is on you to drive safely. But, that is just what it is...theory! In practice, the bigger the vehicle you drive, the more other people had better watch out for their own lives!

Got my LL

I got my learner's license to drive a 4-wheeler! Contrary to most people, I'm completely comfortable driving in India, even after spending 12+ years in the US. I never had any qualms about driving here, even on my infrequent visits to India when I lived in the US.

The experience of getting the license was, at best, eminently forgettable. We (Sahana & I) went to the RTO (Road Transportation Officer) office in Yeswantpur. Earlier, we paid Rs.1300 to a "driving school" to do the paperwork for us to help push the thing through faster. We were asked to meet a person at the branch office of the driving school which was located on the premises of the RTO office. However, when we reached the place, we found a large, disorganized group of people clamoring to get their license (learner's or permanent). Believe it or not, it took the guy at the counter an hour to get to my papers, and all he did was stick my photo to it and fill a few fields with some information. Then, he sent us to the RTO and asked me to take the test.

When we walked up the stairs to the room where I was supposed to take the test, I noticed the red stains where people had spit "paan" on the walls. For the umpteenth time, I was puzzled by the huge difference in the thought processes of humans in India which made them think that it was OK to spit inside a building!

Before taking the test, I had to get my papers checked by an officer and for this, I was asked to go to a different room. Here, there was a long bench, where people had to sit on while they awaited their turn to be called by the officer. However, there was no queuing system in place. People who came to the bench after me would casually walk past me and sit in an empty space somewhere in front of me! Ethics and morality appear to have no place in the lower elements of Indian society! It's not as if they do it because they want to break the rules. It's because they're not aware that there are rules to follow. I realized this when another guy came in and tried to break into the line in front of me and I told him firmly to go to the back of the queue. I was surprised at how apologetic and polite he was in his response.

The test was quite easy, although I got a few answers wrong. Still, I passed and that's all that matters! The whole process took about 3 hours :(. I wonder how long it would have taken if we hadn't paid Rs.1300 to the driving school. Anyway, there's a waiting period of 1 month before I'm allowed to apply for a permanent driving license.

Back in India...

I reached Bangalore on Nov.17. I'm still getting over the jetlag.

My first day blogging....

Well, I have decided to take the plunge and make my contribution to the incredibly huge mass of unread tripe that goes by the name of 'blog'.

More to come later....

Namaskaara,
Swaroop