A Journey

Be careful while choosing a company

2009-05-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

While surfing through the net this morning I came across an interesting article on Rediff.com on layoffs right from a manager on other side of table engaged in decision making for some layoffs in his company.

For detailed article go through this link
http://getahead.rediff.com/report/2009/may/13/be-very-careful-while-choosing-a-company.htm

He writes his story and sums up with some pieace of advice as below :

My advice to any management

Do not hire people unless you are sure about their roles

Make long-term priorities.

Employees should not be treated as physical assets but as living beings with emotions. If you are not able to afford them do not hire them

My advice to any youngster or an employee

Be very careful while choosing a company.

Small companies are becoming cheats these days by adopting American work policy of hire & fire

Before joining a company, go for a history check.

If an employer has the right to verify your professional background, an an employee you too have every right to verify the company credentials.

Contact its previous or current employees and take feedback from them. You may get the real picture of the company

While on the interview table, clarify each and every point with your employer.

Do not hesitate to ask the HR manager to mail you the company's HR policies for its employees

Last but not the least, do not always blame your manager for the pink slip you have received.

Nano – Changing face of Traffic

2009-05-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

A major concern of traffic Pandits, that come Nano and traffic in some cities like Delhi will hit chaos. Traffic apart but this people’s car is surely creating waves. This is one luxury item which is going to penetrate across all segments. People in as humble as a profession like cobbler, pan-wala etc. are eyeing for this once upon a time Sahib’s vehicle. Not only the lower middle class but also the upper middle class segments are vying for Nano. One of my friends (who already owns two luxury cars) pointed out that even though they have enough cars in their household but taking a Nano would ensure you have one for any emergency when no other is available especially for ladies in the home.
Kudos to Mr. Ratan Tata for his dream project which holds the potential of making many a dreams come true. I couldn’t help but share this incidence when I visited two prominent banks and was amazed to see the crowd which was there to book a Nano. Right now banks have associated several personals and designated a counter specifically for these bookings.
What happens to fears of Traffic pundits that time will tell, but right now there is this celebrity which is getting all attention.

So much for words want to have peek into peoples car then browse through this link
http://tatanano.inservices.tatamotors.com/tatamotors/

Closing Open-Source

2009-05-01T23:50:00.000-07:00

When I saw the news of Oracle’s takeover of Sun after IBM exit, the first thought was where is Open-Source headed. First it was a take-over of MySQL by Sun which worried many hearts that if MySQL would remain free. Now this news of Suns acquisition is a major concern for open-source community. The ever increasing materialization in professional world with much respected open-source companies available for a price is a jolt for community itself. Free software is more popular than propriety software especially in students, entrepreneurs and small organizations and startups. Although personally I see Oracle as more open-source friendly than some of other giants but this surely gonna hit free software in some way or other. On the other side it might be possible that all my fears come out rubbish and this acquisition comes out as a boon for MySQL, Java and hordes of other open-source technologies with support available from expertise of Oracle.

Elections 2009 - Hot Season of Politics

2009-04-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

In India or may be any other democratic country Elections are a big part of life. The drama and activities may be doubles and tripples in as large a democratic country as ours.
Well the current government is completing it’s five years in office and is time for another general elections. Time to elect our new leaders. The election process is generally preceded by high drama of speeches and of promises (which usually have a way to remain unfulfilled till the next election), fight of words and flight of shoes (lastest emerging trend).
The amazing thing is the remark of politicians on each other, the language and the mud-slinging. Instead of coming together for betterment of country and new policies for youth they are busy in making plans and schemes in how to retain or gain their kursi. Ah! The dance of democracy indeed.
But this time there surely are winds of change which may not necessarily bring about a difference immediately but surely pave way for good in the future. The youth of today is the change, the literate, educated, informed youth of Young India. The leaders will be decided by them, smart, suave, visionary leaders. A leader whose ambition is the progress, peace & development of India instead of fighting to hold the post even if it is for one-time only or once in a life-time only. Time to see a person who is always with the people is a social reformer, a visionary, a preacher (if required), acts like a head of a family and shows up whenever required or may be each day but not only once-every-5-years. A determined personality who can make this country terror free, generate and cultivate fresh & new ideas for youth, let religion be a personal topic – a choice of an individual. Take India to next level of development and in a commanding position within our neighbours, generate jobs and opportunities for all, make education more available, take up social and national issues and make efforts to solve them atleast one-by-one. I think that is what we require from a Leader and much more.
Now is the time. We have to cast our powerful votes which is the wand for change to make India more developed, peaceful, terror-free, corruption-free country.

Jai Ho !!

Indian Premier League 2009

2009-04-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

Enjoy fresh from oven the much awaited Indian Premier League 2009 matched...for a detailed list of matches have a peek at
IPL 2009 Schedule

ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup 2009

2009-04-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

Plan your schedule according to ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup 2009

ICC 20-20 World Cup Schedule

WhiteWater River Rafting

2009-04-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

As I sit down to write this post I have three objectives in mind. One to make it a relive-your-experience for the guys who were on this adventure trip along with me, two for those who already have visited this place and would instantly connect with our experience, three for those people out there who have yet to don their naturalist/adventurist hats and start exploring these places away from the usual ho-hum of professional world.

11.30 am: Thursday the 9th day of April
Final update and meeting a day before leaving

4.00 pm: Friday the 10th day of April, when after doing our usual chores at office we
set off for our journey to Rishikesh/Shivpuri for White Water River Rafting.

First let me introduce you to The Team of 12 who were part of this expedition.
Ahmad (that's me), Kushagra (will be referred to as KD), Ritesh, Rohit, Gaurav, Ajay (will be referred to as DJ or the-Manager), Yogesh, Navneet, Binay, Ranjeet, Deepak and Vikas.

Most Important Note: I have deliberately removed the last-names from above team-list as there was a resolution passed between us that nobody will be called by his last-name within the journey as well as during our stay at camps (intelligence derived from one past incidence...for those who know the infamous Agra journey).

7.00 pm: Reached KDz in the evening where generous drinks and snacks were awaiting us,
thanks to Shoili and Mom (and oh yes it was her B’Day too..Happy B’Day mom from all of us) for all the efforts.

the-Manager (DJ) along with Gaurav and Ranjeet went out shopping for some travel necessities though he did a great job but forgot ‘Salami’ which was to be a hot topic for discussion in our next two days of trip, but yes they did bring a Bucket (which was supposed to be a ice-bucket for keeping drinks chilled). After that we devoured our dinner and were all set to set-off for the much awaited trip, waited for the destined vehicle - Tourist Tempo-Traveller to arrive as we watched movie (Ugly-Pugly) on KDz home-theatre.

10.00 pm: As luck would have it, at that moment of bliss a production problem arose and some of us were dragged into solving it (problems have this nasty thing of coming at the wrong time), but we did successfully resolved it.

12.10 am: Saturday the 11th day of April

Finally..at last we are on our way to white waters of the great Indian river Ganges (Ganga)…everybody finds their respective space in the Tempo and get ready for the wonderful journey.
…well somebody might argue that what’s so wonderful about a bus ride….man go on a adventure vacation and that too with friends and that too with loads of cans and that too just after the appraisals and you will know.
Note- for all those cynics, increments/decrements or no- increments at all, doesn’t matter when going on a fun trip.

The Route
Delhi --> Meerut (bypass) --> Khatauli --> Muzaffarnagar --> Roorkee --> Haridwar --> Rishikesh --> Shivpuri --> Marine Drive --> Byasi (Camp Nirvana)

3.30 am: Rampur Tiraha, stopped at a highway Dhaba (Restaurant) for some tea and snacks.

5.50 am: Just crossed Har-ki-baudi in Haridwar..most guys in religious mood and god-fearing what a change or may be for-a-change.

6.20 am: Climbing the Himalayan Range at Rishikesh…crossed Laxman jhula...excellent resort and hotel options, breathtaking view, Hair-pin bends, and green water of the holy Ganges. Now headed straight towards our camp, camp Nirvana (apt name) at Byasi around 35 kms from Rishikesh.
7.20 am: Reached our camp. From where the bus dropped us it is a 1 km journey vertical ly downwards to reach actual camp location, here tastefully done tent houses (make-shift) awaits us and oh yes there is nothing called Electricity here.

7.50 am: Unpack
8.00 am: Beach Volley..played 3 games ..excellent warm-up before the rafting begins
9.30 am: Breakfast calling. Sandwiches with sauce, parathas with pickle and curd, macaroni and tea

10.45 am: Left for rafting and reached the location where our boats awaited. In between also visited a cave in the mountain a few adventurous souls vent deep inside...thankfully they came back fine.
11.00 am: Marine Drive Took possession of our rafting gear..Helmet, life-jackets and rowers. There was a briefing on safety and raft maneuvering by a senior instructor.

11.30 am: Set off for the great rafting expedition from Marine Drive.
PART-I : The whole rafting thing was divided into two parts – the first section was till Shivpuri and second from Shivpuri to Rishikesh. The seating arrangement was such that there were 2 persons in front (known as Leaders), then 2 in middle and 2 in the back, the guide who also was the Navigator was in back-most part of boat.
The stretch was 26 kms of plain (stable) river and Rapids. A Rapid is a section of a river which is fast moving water sometimes forming whirlpools, highly untamed and intimidating. This is where you get to see the actual white-water from the green water of Ganges.

The Incident: In this first part of rafting a un-fortunate but small incident took place. It so happened that two of our friends took adventure to their heads and tried swimming in the river, although the boats along with guides, divers and all of us were nearby but they being non-swimmer somehow lost control and had to be rescued. One of them gulped some water and we thought he had become unconscious, thankfully no such thing happened and they were all fun again.
In another, one of our friends lost control into a rapid and went down into the river. An excellent swimmer he quickly gained control and was helped onto another boat (his saviour happened to be a Girl on next boat. Incidently all of these 3 guys were on my boat. Kudos to the guide who acted quickly and saved and helped each one of them.

The rapids were divided into four level 1,2,3,4. Some of the rapids in this 26 km stretch were Three Blind Mice (2+) because nothing is visible before this rapid approaches, Cross Fire (1), Rocky One, Roller Coaster (3+), Tee-off, Golf Course, Cash Flow (2) because cash (purse) flows out if one is caught in the whirlpool, Club House, Initiation and Double Trouble. Another one was The Wall (4+) were only expert swimmers are allowed.

PART-I I: Halt of 5 minutes at Shivpuri, re-group and continue to next level phase of rafting. Till now we have covered around 15-16 kms another 10 kms remaining. In Phase-I rapids were of upto Level 2, in Phase – II Level 3,4 rapids appear which includes Glof Course and Roller Coaster.
Before winding it all, there was another interesting part i.e Clif-jumping. Here people were allowed to jump from a hight of about 25 foot into the river below. Most of our team tried it, I jumped straight and went about 10 feet deep, the thoughts at that moment were something I cant explain but it was exhilarating. Two of our guys took some nasty hits one at his Butts another at his andes.

05.30 pm: Back to camp, totally worn-out and exhausted. Lunch awaiting
07.30 pm: Drinks and jokes sessions start along with all bc-stuff (bc is short for Bakwas-chat...believe me). Interesting part was how we kept our drinks cold....any guesses..well the river was our refrigerator. In a sack all cans were stuffed, the sack tied to a heavy stone and thrown into the river.
09.00 pm: Snacks both Veg and Non-Veg arrive along with bornfire.
10.30 pm: Dinner served, devoured
11.45 pm: Retiring to tents for a hard-earned sleep morning @7.30

07:00 am: Sunday the 12th day of April
Morning happened early, attended the important chores of morning (loo etc) though the experience was as tough as rafting in those make-shift tents, some chose to go into the jungle to relieve themselves.
08.00 – 09.30 am: Beach Volley
09.30-10.00 am: Breakfast (as as previous days)
10.30-12.00 noon: Individual kayak, Rapling and Beach Volley
Adventure by Ajay our DJ to cross the river and reached the other side onto the mountains. Some different adventures by other team members

12.30 pm: Bath, Packing and Lunch
1.30 pm: Retreat

On our way out visited RajMahal Restaurant for some curd-rice (as one of our guys got hit by Stomach infection) other fiested upon Lassi and Lime-Soda and Sambhar (only Sambhar)
Visited Raja Ji National Park: Wild Bisons, elephants, monkeys in sight.
Back on track for delhi. Though faced some traffic jams and wrong turns but finally made it to home.
1.00 am Monday: Going off to sleep also have to make it to office tomorrow

....

missed an important part of the trip...there was this Antakshari contest (type of song competition) between us while returning back, it started when we were at Rampur Tiraha and continued non-stop till Ghaziabad. The team of 12 was divided into two - one Lead by Rohit and another by Gaurav. Well we didnt intended to go back to college/school days but it so happened that we got stuck into a traffic jam and had to do something to kill time...there was no option to play cards (kd who had 2 packs somehow forgot to bring along)...one more thing about KD he has got 26 pair of shoes (no pun intended)... coming back to Antakshari Binay & Yogesh came out to be the Best Debut (not to mention the huge collection of Altaf Raja that Yogesh has..tum to thehre pardesi, saath kya nibhaoge...). All-n-all absolute fun, Lo and behold we didnt knew when we reached our destination. The trophies are yet to be distributed.

For those planning a trip to Rishikesh can contact below for details
Mr. Ravi Rai (Senior Instructor)
Email : raftwithravi@rediffmail.com

10 Skills

2009-04-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

While surfing through various posts, I stumbled upon this interesting piece of article. Go through the main article to have the authors view on what should be focus in terms of industry skill-sets for developers.

Skills to have as your next 5 year plan. Summary of a post at TechRepublic:

One of the “Big Three” (.NET, Java, PHP)

Rich Internet Applications (Flash, Silverlight, JavaFX)Web development (JavaScript, CSS, HTML)

Web Development

Web services

Soft skills

One dyanamic and or functional programming language

Agile methodologies

Domain Knowledge

Development hygiene - Bug Tracking, SCM …

Mobile development

Read the post in detail here.

Also if you are maverick at a particular skill and believe this going to stay...so please go ahead and post a comment on the actual blog to alter the skills list.

Design Patterns

2009-03-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

the article has moved to Tech-Rapids/Design Patterns

Tunde Kababs

2009-03-28T04:21:00.000-07:00

Tunde Kababs now in Delhi...go for a mouth watering treat

Read More...

Hibernate Dropping MySQL Connections

2009-02-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

the article has moved to Tech-Rapids/Hibernate

Jai Ho!!

2009-01-31T11:30:00.000-08:00

Jai Ho!

Watched the movie.. yes The movie Slumdog Millionaire. What a wonderful style of story telling and narration.
In a nutshell a love-stricken boy spends his entire youth in search of her childhood sweetheart Latika (Frieda Pinto) who also happens to be her saviour.
The story goes over an 18 year-old young Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life as he is just one question away from winning a whooping 20 million on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?". The most intriguing part is how this guy manages to answers all the questions by recalling experiences from his past and extracting answers from them. Though his stint with luck is frowned upon suspiciously by the host Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor) and local police that how come a illiterate boy reached a place where even professors, doctors and engineers failed. Movie revolves around the story of Jamal as he grows up in his slum where he witnesses a Riot..loosing his mother, then along with his brother Salim he takes on adventures of life, then has this encounter with underworld dons loosing and searching his Lady love and in the interim working as a Call Center chai-wala. Each of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions from where he extracts his answers to seemingly impossible quizzes.
Finally he reveals his coming on the show was in expectation that Latika might be watching this show and contact as she is untraceable after being kidnapped by his brothers goons.

All ‘N all a very gripping and catching story. Also A. R. Rehman’s music is the final do for the movie. Though my summary is weak but the movie is strong.

When Pink is not so cute

2008-11-23T22:40:00.000-08:00

This story comes right from the horses mouth where a friend described a situation at his company (I wont be disclosing the company name or the friend just for sake of annonymity).

Ever wondered if Pink can be really very ugly....just have a chat with anybody who got the infamous 'Pink Slip' during recent Tsunami of Recession and economic meltdown and of as-a-result-lay-offs.

One of the waves did also hit at a friends office and there were (officially speaking) some static number of positions terminated or in more simple terms some employees had to be laid-off. Though he wont disclose the number but yes it was high enough to move everybody and bring in another Tsunami of tears and of emotions. It was hard for those on the recieving end as well as for those bidding farewell where everybody else in the audience having a feeling ...it could have been me too.

Everyone of those who were (to put it more decently) not-so-lucky had some or other liabilities on their head.. like new or changed house, bank loans, personal loans, fixed emi to be payed, childrens fee and depenent parents (the list goes on and varies from person to person). But one thing in common was a heart-break, a feeling of unbelonging or a momentary vision of dark times ahead. Though the company gave some severance package but it was still not able to console those souls.

That day nobody in his office was able to have lunch or visit the recreational room (play some games) or even have the courage to discuss the episode; it was a sudden bolt of lighting which took friends away (different from what happens when a person leaves an organisation with planning and time). It was a day when the reality of global ecomonic conditions and it's consequences had hit hard on his face, a day when he was looking at a situation from ground-zero. Though the company promised no such thing would happen again but still people look askance as to what might happen next (next is what?)

The crisis made him realize some of the things which elders emphasize on like planning ahead, keeping your skills always updated and sharp, reduce your expenses and have less loan on your head, save for a rainy day (and yes ofcourse Try to get a Goverment Job).

Well so much for words but yes he sat down immediately to help his friends. He called up all contacts in the HR and consultancies to enquire for any openings that might be suitable and started to give references of those guys. I also voluntered to help him and searched up some good interview questions book and some good technical reference book for him to forward. Most of them did start to get calls and some have also cleared a few rounds of hiring process and hopefully all of them (who happened to be quite skilled resources) would get an offer or two.

After listening to the story.. an array of questions whizzed past my mind which I pondered upon with many friends ...
. could that crisis have been avoided in any way
. why is the world gone in so much of a crisis where there is no control on careers being disrupted, lives being lost and chaos all over
. where has all the money gone if the whole world is in crisis
. are we also adding to the crisis by being irresponsible in some way (lifestyle, loans etc)

Anyways...life goes on and I am back to working during days and blogging at nights.

Write your Comments on this post.

Struts2 - Part I : An Introduction

2007-09-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

the article has moved to Tech-Rapids/Struts-I

Struts2 - Part II : Moving ahead

2007-09-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

the article has moved to Tech-Rapids/Struts