Mumbai bomb blasts and other random thoughts

"YET AGAIN" screams the Times of India newspaper today. They should keep that headline lying around because they'll keep needing to use it. Let's face it. It's near impossible to protect India against these kinds of terrorist attacks.

As you walk around, observe the narrow lanes / alleys. How will you protect every square foot of India? There are countless unnoticeable places where a person with malicious intentions can plant a bomb. Observe the teeming crowds. Any one person out of the thousands of people that you pass by every single day could be carrying a bomb. No amount of intelligence is going to be enough to counter this. As far as I know, the information that intelligence agencies gather are more general in nature. They are not privy to specific information like the exact target areas or identity of people carrying out the operation.

India is a cursed nation with a lot of factors working against it.

1. Population: 2nd most populous nation
2. Area: Huge population crammed into a relatively small area. India's density of population is, by far, the highest among the top 5 most populous nations in the world. China - 80th; India - 33rd; US - 179th; Indonesia - 92nd; Brazil - 193rd
3. Infrastructure - old, aging infrastructure (buildings, drainages, roads, power transmission, etc)
4. Government - yes, let's face it, democracy is absolutely the worst form of government for Indians. For a democracy to work effectively, the people elected to power should, for the most part, be truly concerned about the welfare of the nation. In the process, if they can prosper personally, so be it, but the nation should not suffer. In India, however, politicians and bureaucrats only care about personal gains and completely ignore the plight of the people who elected them.

On to a slightly unrelated note. I believe that there are two major problems facing India today. And, both problems have something to do with selfishness.

1. Complete apathy by the people who matter. People who are in positions of power, either political or financial, show absolutely no intention to improve the state of affairs. Almost everybody in any position of power is more concerned about increasing that position of power, either in the form of wealth or political clout.
2. Self-centred existence by the Indian plebeian. When I observe what happens at traffic signals or queues, all I see are instances of one-upmanship in silly / trivial ways. People want to get ahead of others by hook or crook with complete disregard to rules, regulations or fairness. 

Friends and relatives on my social networks take pains to point out the positives in India, like when somebody performs acts of sacrifice, kindness, generosity, etc. The other common refrain from the youth of India is to "go out and vote" to ensure that the right candidates get elected to power. But, these examples are too few and far between to gather any kind of momentum. I am reminded of Malcolm Gladwell's 'Tipping Point'. For any new initiative or movement to catch on and establish itself, it needs to attain a certain 'critical mass'. That 'critical mass' is unfortunately too great for a country as large and populous as India. India, on the whole, is a country where the people are too caught up in their own misery and blame everybody else for it. This, in turn, causes them to take actions and make decisions that ensure their own survival at the cost of others' downfall. How will India gain that critical mass, in such a situation?

Some thoughts...

A friend / ex-colleague recently asked me if I would be interested in taking up a position as an Architect (Software, that is) in a company that he was about to join. In his opinion, my strength was technology although I was most recently working in a senior leadership position (Director - Product Development). Although I feel there is some truth in what he said, it made me wonder. Would I really be able to do a good job as a Software Architect? After all, I've been so cut off from all forms of coding (Java or otherwise) that I am not so sure that I will be able to contribute effectively as an Architect, nor will I be able to compete against the hordes of young, energetic programmers that seem to be gushing out of the reputed Indian colleges (mostly IITs, NITs & BITS).


The more I think about it, the more I feel that the best analogy for my role would be that of a conductor like Zubin Mehta. I know how to read music (requirements) and translate that into tasks for different groups of instrumentalists (programmers, testers, analysts, managers). In order to produce good music, I need to hire talented musicians for my orchestra, equip them with high-quality instruments, ensure that they maintain them periodically, understand the strengths and weaknesses of each artist and position them appropriately to emphasize their music (or drown them out, as appropriate), understand the music and twirl my baton in the right way to ensure that every artist plays what is required, when it is required.


Now, is this analogy clichéd? I don't know. I know that I didn't steal it from anywhere, so I hope I don't get pulled up for plagiarism. Sure, there may be some holes in this analogy, but I thought it to be apt for what I feel my role is.


That's it...peace out!

Some thoughts on India...and Indians

Why do so many Indian men feel the urge / need to urinate in public? Do they realize that this act:
a. is socially deplorable
b. results in an unholy stench
c. can lead to germs and infections


Is it really a matter of not being able to hold it till they reach their destination? Can they not find one of those roadside toilets? When I argued this point online with a few of my classmates during my Exec Mgmt course, some of them said that it is because these people are not well off and that their houses may not have bathrooms. My response was that:

a. a lot of these people are very decently dressed and they are usually riding a bike or driving a car when they stop to pee.
b. there are several roadside toilets built by the government that are either free or require a small fee to use

Next, spitting. This applies to Indian men and women alike. Why do they feel the urge / need to spit in all kinds of places, including indoors in office buildings? Yes, I had been to an RTO to get my driving license and as I climbed up the stairs, I noticed dozens (or more) of paan stains on the walls and corners. And, everyday, as I drive or walk on the roads, I see phlegm-laden spit all over and it's a real task for me to hop around and avoid them. Would these same people spit inside their own house, I wonder? Would the provision of spit-buckets by the government help?

Seeking God's blessings....even if it kills us!

A few days ago, while I was driving in my car, approaching a temple, I noticed a lady abruptly stopping in the middle of the lane. She proceeded to take off her footwear right there and stood in the middle of the road to pray in front of the temple for a few seconds before wearing her footwear and continuing to cross the road! This was during peak hour in the morning, with impatient drivers in two- and four-wheelers. She was willing to take the chance of getting run over in order to seek blessings from a divine being.

Similarly, I've seen drivers of two-wheelers who take one hand (or both hands) off the handle when they pass in front of a temple to fold their hands and pray for a millisecond. Do they realize that they may be putting their own or other lives in danger by doing so?

The Great Circular Indian Railway Challenge + extras

I am planning to take on the 'Great Circular Indian Railway Challenge', in which I visit the railway stations at the extreme compass points of the nation. These stations, from what I have understood, are Dwarka (West), Udhampur (North), Ledo (East) and Kanyakumari (South). In addition, I want to do a couple of other interesting trips that I have heard a lot about. The first is the 'Dhulghat Spiral' and the other is the Igatpuri ghat section. Information about these is given below for your review.

I am looking out for companions who can go with me on this trip. It is a lot more fun than going alone. I have done the first cut of scheduling this trip and I believe that it will take about 17 days to complete it. Tentative start date is 17th Aug, 2011, returning to Bangalore on 3rd Sept, 2011. The cost for the train tickets alone will run to about Rs.10,000-12,000, especially because there are a couple of Rajdhani Exp legs involved and also because I want to travel at least once by 1st Class AC in Rajdhani Exp (currently the Delhi-Guwahati leg). You will have to add food & lodging expenses to the train ticket costs. Lodging should be very minimal because the train will be our 'lodge' for the most part.

I am also looking for causes that we can advertise or raise money for during this trip. Any ideas from my to-be companions are welcome.

Dhulghat Spiral: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhulghat_Spiral

Great Circular Indian Railway Challenge: http://gcirc.wordpress.com/, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=372971199730

Tentative Itinerary

Leg #	From	To	Hops	Train	Runs On	Date of Travel	Avbl	Class	Price
1	SBC	CAPE		16526/Kanyakumari Exp	Daily	08/17/11	Y	SL	325
2	CAPE	TVC		16525/Bangalore Exp	Daily	08/19/11	Y	AC3	120
3	TVC	DWK	TVC-BRC	12431/Rajdhani Exp	Tu,Th,Fr	08/19/11	Y	AC3	1940
			BRC-DWK	12906/HWH-Okha Exp	Su,Mo,Th	08/21/11	Y	SL	259
4	DWK	UHP	DWK-ADI	59548/Okha-ADI Pass	Daily	08/21/11	Y	SL	124
			ADI-NDLS	12957/Rajdhani Exp	Daily	08/22/11	Y	AC3	1210
			NDLS-UHP	12445/Sampark Kranti	Daily	08/23/11	Y	SL	274
5	UHP	LEDO	UHP-NDLS	12446/Sampark Kranti	Daily	08/24/11	Y	SL	274
			NDLS-GHY	22424/Rajdhani Exp	Th	08/25/11	Y	AC1	4140
			GHY-LEDO	15603/InterCity Exp	Daily	08/26/11	Y	SL	241
6	LEDO	AK	LEDO-GHY	15604/InterCity Exp	Daily	08/27/11	Y	SL	241
			GHY-HWH	15960/Kamrup Exp	Daily	08/28/11	Y	SL	332
			HWH-AK	12130/Azad Hind Exp	Daily	08/29/11	Y	AC2	1532
7	AK	INDM		52974/AK-RTM Fast Pass	Daily	08/31/11	Y	SL	100
8	INDM	IGP	INDM-KNW	52975/RTM-PAU Fast Pass	Daily	09/01/11	Y	SL	80
			KNW-IGP	11062/MFP-LTT Exp	Su,Mo,We,Fr	09/01/11	Y	SL	194
9	IGP	SBC	IGP-MMR	17617/Tapovan Exp	Daily	09/02/11	Y	SL	54
			MMR-SBC	12628/Karnataka Exp	Daily	09/02/11	WL #2	AC2	1362
									12802

My croak list

You've heard of the bucket list. Now, here's my variation of the same thing. The 'Croak List', namely, a list of places to visit before.....you know, I pass beyond the veil, hand in my dinner pail, etc.

So, in no particular order of priority, here's my croak list.

• Jordan
• Jerusalem
• Egypt
• Peru - Machu Picchu
• Brazil / Argentina - Iguazu Falls
• Angkor Wat
• Scotland
• Greece
• Italy
• China - Great Wall
• Yorkshire Dales

OK, now, we've got that out of the way. If I can find the time and money to check all the places off the list shown above, then I have a nice-to-have croak list to work on. Here it is.

• New Zealand
• Austria
• Kenya
• Zambia / Zimbabwe - Victoria Falls
• Kauai Island in Hawaii
• Java / Sumatra
• Switzerland
• Islands of Hebrides

Frustrations in Indian traffic

Whee, my second post of the day! Somebody STOP me....


Anyway, have you noticed a common and extremely irritating habit among drivers in India? When you've stopped at a signal (traffic light) and there's a long-ish wait, after a little time, these 2-wheeler and auto drivers slowly start creeping up on the right side of the road (against oncoming traffic) and try to squeeze in ahead of you when the lights turn green. Sometimes, I've seen this being done by cars, too, and more rarely by insanely stupid bus drivers.


Here's the two consequences of this incredibly stupid, asinine and selfish action by these drivers. First, they end up blocking oncoming traffic and earn their wrath and curses. Second, they cut in front of other drivers who have been waiting patiently in their lanes when the light turns green. Now, I am wondering what's going through these people's heads. Do they think that they are more important people? Do they think that their time is more valuable than everybody else's? How can they look themselves in the mirror (the car's rear view mirror, that is) when they do this? Even without these kinds of shenanigans, traffic is a nightmare in Bangalore due to the sheer volume of vehicles and the unpreparedness of the infrastructure; these driving habits only serve to exacerbate the situation, in my opinion.


And, almost nobody shows any degree of courtesy while driving. When I come out of the office parking lot in the evening, there's usually bumper-to-bumper traffic backed up about half a kilometer on either side. I wait patiently for 10 minutes but nobody lets me merge on to the road. If there happens to be a slightly big gap between one vehicle and the next and I try to squeeze in, the second vehicle honks loudly and accelerates in a threatening way, so that I have to back off and continue to wait. It's only when a vehicle in the left lane tries to turn into my office parking lot and ends up blocking traffic behind him that I get an opportunity to get on to the road.


Final topic. Roundabouts in India. Almost daily, I get stuck in the roundabouts (circles) where there's a deadlock created when vehicles from all roads leading up to the intersection come to the circle because there's no policeman monitoring the situation. Again, nobody wants to think a bit and understand the obvious benefit in waiting for a couple of minutes to allow the traffic around the circle to clear before approaching it.

Overtaking in Indian traffic

I've noticed one really annoying and scary thing in Indian traffic. It's got to do with the way drivers of 2-wheelers overtake other larger (usually) vehicles. They overtake the car or truck/lorry/bus and then immediately cut in front of it, completely ignoring the fact that the other vehicle is also moving at a fair rate of knots. This forces the "overtakee" to slow down abruptly to avoid hitting the 2-wheeler that just overtook him/her. I'm curious to know whether this is caused by a) complacence of the driver of the 2-wheeler b) complete ignorance of basic traffic rules/etiquette or c) complete callousness of the possible consequences.

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