Life is but a flash in the pan!

         My grandfather expired yesterday. He was 86. He was one of my childhood heroes. Born in 1926, he studied medicine and became one of India's most well-known anesthetists of the time.

The fact that hit me like a ton of bricks was that how come such a truth is lost upon us: that this life of ours is going to end one day! All the scampering, milling, all the chores – all those worries – and then one day, just like that everything is gone.
I went into a sort of cocoon – lost in thoughts… my childhood images spinning in front of me like a movie. Then my adolescence and right up to this day. How amazing that in today’s day and age of electronic media revolution, when we see and hear about death all the time, the death of a near one makes us realize that it would happen to all of us. How, when and where only the almighty knows but it will come for sure.

An inner voice though shook me back out of my trance – speaking in a sort of hushed voice: don’t fall to the negative thoughts. Death may be inevitable, but the life before it is too precious to let go off.

The end would come when it has to, but let me live every moment until then. The gloom would pass, I am in peace with the thought that my grandfather lived his life like he wanted to. The end came but it wasn’t painful to him. That is what matters.

History and the Black Swan

I was reading an article prior to the Asia cup final between India and Sri Lanka which was titled "History is with Sri Lanka". It went on to quote numerous statistics and trivia to highlight the fact that India have had an ordinary record in finals of tournaments involving more than two countries over the past couple of years or so. Added to the fact that India last won an Asia cup 15 years back and obituaries were almost written that India was doomed and all the odds were against them winning the cup. At this point I was reminded of The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb of how events have a knack of making all pundits and their predictions look stupid!
        While pondering over this, I realized that in sports 15 years is as good as a millennium! I elaborate how: take the example of the people playing in the team now - Denesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Raina et al are all less than 25 years of age. 15 years back they would have been 10 year old kids !! How the heck is something that happened that far back even going to affect them (it should not for sanity's sake!). As it turned out, India went on to win by a margin of 81 runs - that is huge by all means and someone who watched the match would know that it was almost a one-sided affair for most of the match. So much for "History is with xyz..."
         The point is, history is just that - past, bygone, done and over! In any walk of life, you can only know so much by virtue of what happened in the past. There is not an iota of guarantee that the future would be anything on the same lines! Look at what happened in the football world cup - all the big guns barring Brazil and Argentina are struggling to advance in the competition. There opponents have no "history" of beating them yet that is exactly what they are doing! At best, a good performance in the past only adds to the pressure. I would rather take the present on its own merit without being bogged down or weighed down by the "history" 

Boost your Career - Really?

While scrolling through my Inbox, I saw a mail from one of the job portals that said : Boost your career.

The content read as follows:

Dear Sudhanshu,

Searching for the right job?

Here is what you will need:
- A resume that meets international standards, grabs employer’s attention and stands out in the crowd
- Direct reach to several top recruiters
End your search for the right job, get our Career Booster service – blah blah blah...

I am just thinking aloud here: Is it really a good/well written resume that gets one a dream job?! Here is what I think: Any man (or woman... sorry for the order) worth his salt and desirous of working for an organization of repute needs to be able to jot down what skills he brings to the table and then indeed, be able to demonstrate the same during interview and at job. To that effect, the resume only serves the purpose of enlisting the skill-set that a potential employee offers an employer. Unless you have trouble writing down what you have done and what you are capable of, do you really think you deserve that dream job of yours?! Now I don't mean to be presumptuous, but I really don't feel the need to hire one of these "Resume Writing Experts" (heck! why would someone want to specialize as a resume writing expert for god's sake!!)

In fact a friend of mine did cough up around 3000 rupees to get one of these professional resumes and (!@#$) the thing looked and read like a peace of ... you know what! The real value proposition these guys might be offering (my 2 cents really) would be to show up your resume in search results. That's all there is to it. God save anyone who falls for this!

Does health aid to governments make governments spend more on health?

Insightful article from Laura Freschi:

Does health aid to governments make governments spend more on health?

The Ant and the Grasshopper - 2.0

Got this through a forwarded email :

------------------------------------

An Old Story:
The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying
up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs &
dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or
shelter so he dies out in the cold.
Indian Version:
The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying
up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs &
dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to
know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are
cold and starving.
NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper next to
a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor
Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house!!!!
Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that
Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter!!!!!!!
Mayawati states this as `injustice' done on Minorities.


Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not
upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.
The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the Grasshopper
(many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against
the wrath of God for non-compliance) .
Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for ' Bengal Bandh' in West
Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.
CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the
heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.
Mamta Bannerji allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway
Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.
Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the ' Prevention of Terrorism Against
Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter.


Kapil Sibbal makes 'Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in Educational
Institutions & in Government Services.
The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay
his retroactive taxes,it's home is confiscated by the Government and handed over
to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.
Arundhati Roy calls it ' A Triumph of Justice'.
Mamta calls it 'Socialistic Justice '.
CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden '
Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.


Many years later....
The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in
Silicon Valley ,
100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in
India ,
......AND
As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the grasshoppers,


India is still a developing country…!!!



------------------------------------

Although I hate to be a skeptic, most of the things said here force one to agree...

What does it take?

Hello World!!

How have you been? I promised I would "pay it forward" in my post dated August 2 [Hungry and Blogging] but you know what, I just couldn't push myself out of my slumber. Dear wife is away and it is really horrible living alone. I am literally counting days when I fly over and see her again. I miss you dear!!

Well! coming back to the topic of this post, I was wondering what does it actually take to get through an interview? A couple of months and about half a dozen interviews later, I believe I have the answer. Here is how it works:
80% Preparation
5% Planning
5% Realizing your strengths
5% Understanding the question before answering (Believe me, this 5% makes quite a difference.
5% Just having a good day!

I have never been excellent at math (I am stating that euphemistically; actually horrible at math would be apt :) ) so those percentages may only be indicative. On a serious note though, understand that you may not be able to answer everything 'cause as they say, asking questions is always easier than answering them. So how do you go about giving it your best shot?
I will try to list things that work best for me.

If you are appearing for an interview as an experienced candidate:

1. Go through what you have written in that resume! Yes it is important!! 'cause you will be grilled on every letter you have written there. Be prepared to be able to explain what you have been doing.
2. Relax!! the interviewer is not a starved cannibal! If you are overtly tensed, you would fumble with even the simplest of answers. Look the interviewer in the eye when answering, and yes - if you make a mistake, admit and move on. Do not argue unless you are absolutely sure - even then, be polite if you need to correct your interviewer.
3. Have a answer ready for "Why are you changing". Let it be as honest as possible. Agreed, all of us want to earn more, but you need to enjoy what you are doing or else, you may not be able to sustain that fat paycheck of yours once your delivery starts slipping. "Looking for challenge" may be a good one but it is a bit of a cliche. Why you may be asked "How do you know you will be challenged here?" as a follow up question!
4. Browse the internet! There is a world of information out there! There are several websites that offer peer-to-peer advise on what you may be asked.
5. Know the company you are visiting More often than not, you would get to know what the company does, who are its major clients etc. Chances are, you will be asked as to what you know about the company. As an experienced candidate, it should matter to you.
6. Always project yourself as the one for the long run - In today's times, companies look for people who would stay with them for a substantial period of time. They invest in every employee and let us accept it - they are not doing it for charity! So avoid making statements which would indicate otherwise.

I know some of you might be thinking - the guy is talking common sense! I agree, but then is common sense so common after all? I can think of quite a lot of tips now that I am actually jotting it all but I will probably save it for a follow up post.

So be positive folks! I will talk to you soon.

Hungry and Blogging

Hello World!!

Seems like yesterday when I used to joke about how I can say Hello World in at least 5 languages... Before you set your brains rolling .. I am referring to computer languages. I spent many sleepless nights pondering over where my career is heading (nowhere.. said "The inner voice"); spoke to colleagues and friends I could count on to at least determine the direction I should work in to ensure I can keep paying my bills and take good care of me and my dear wife :)

Then, on an enlightened evening, I was struck with .. um mm ... well not that dramatic but it finally dawned on me that what works best for me is to stick to a technical role. So I sat down (finally.. after a lot of "This has to be done or..") with a computer and a notepad (Alas.. 5 years into IT has made my writing far from legible.. even for myself) and identified things I like doing. It was not easy.. believe me, but it was possible.

Hmmm .. looks like dust would have to come off all those books in my beautiful book rack and time would have to be spent at the computer.. not playing my favorite game but polishing my skills for interviews. After about two and a half months, countless calls, and tremendous support from Anita (my dear dear wife!) here I am with a very good offer and a HUGE sigh of relief.

Now that I have achived what I set out for, i beleive it is payback time. So, like a good netizen, I am going to "Pay it forward" by helping out troubled souls looking for a direction. At least show them the way..

So behold .. I am going to share my comb for all of you who still have hair
Oops.. picked it up from an adage I had read.. that experience is a comb that nature gives to man after he is bald... hope it makes sense now. Watchout people...

It pays to be an optmist