My 2nd book - LOSER!!!

Dear all,


My 2nd book - "Life Of a Software EngineeR" is going to be released in Jan 2012...!!! :)...


*About the book*: This book depicts the software world in a funny, sarcastic and witty way which will surely project the apparently real picture of the software world without actually hurting anyone's feelings. And there are N number of tips on how to fool your bosses, what to do in meetings and presentations, how to garner good ratings in appraisals, what to say and not to say on the last day of job, myths and truths of the software world, difference between an Onsite guy and an Offshore guy, etc.! This book is going to be like the Murphy's law for the IT world... :-)


*About the Publisher*: The book is going to be published by FingerPrint Press - an imprint of Prakash books, Delhi... They have been in the market since last 50 years and so have a very  good reach in the market.


*Website*: www.aboutloser.com


*Facebook page*: http://www.facebook.com/ABOUTLOSER


I would request you to go to and follow the above mentioned website and FB page!!!

thanks,

Dipen

First anniversary of my book “In Their Shoes…”

Dear all,

It gives me immense pleasure to say that my first book “In Their Shoes…” has completed one year in the bookdom! The last one year has made me feel many emotions such as anger and frustration, pride, happiness, sadness,etc. and I have learnt a lot in life. This blog is to share those thoughts. A business analyst that I am, I would like to categorise my thoughts as per the emotions….

Pride: Till date since 11^th april 2010, not even a single day has passed when I haven’t felt that I have done something in life that I would never have thought as a child. It gives me immense sense of pride when I say “yes, I am an author”. Please don’t misconstrue my statement as arrogance. I can’t tell you how proud I feel of myself when I imagine what pride would have gleamed on my dad’s face, were he alive! Today is one more day when I miss my dad because if he were alive he would have told all his friends and colleagues “did you read “In Their Shoes..” or not?... arey, go read it…my son has written it…”

Happiness: Happiness is related to pride and so the above sentences are also applicable to this point. A year or 2 back, I would have never thought that I would ever receive a letter from the governor of Maharashtra stating that he liked my book. Getting testimonials from Mickey Mehta (the fitness guru), CEO of Naukri.com, Dainik jagran, Navbharat times, Loksatta, Maharashtra Times, Amar Ujuala, Afternoon Despatch and Courier, etc. would be something that I would have never thought of! But, it was the Shoes that made it possible for me. Needless to say, that happiness that I feel everyday is because of Shoes!!!..

Anger and frustration: Promoting a book is as tough as promoting a film! It doesn’t matter how well you write unless you let the readers know that “boss, this is a good book. Read it!” Getting testimonials from the biggies was a very difficult task! I must have called the governor’s office some 30-40 times before I got that letter of appreciation. Sending my book to the top most newspapers was also very difficult. Its so damn difficult to reach the right person! I had tried to get a testimonial from one very famous politician from Mumbai. I must have called atleast and literally 25-30 times to his office! To no avail! Everytime I used to call his office, his assistant’s assistant used to say “call at 1.00…call after 4.00…call after 9.00…” I was so damn frustrated that I gave up! I said to myself that my book would be good even without his testimonial!...

All in all, last one year has taught me many things! I just hope that with the new publisher, I will see the kind of success that I feel my book deserve! Keeping fingers crossed!

Jan Gan Man Adhinanayak Jay hai….

 

This blog has been written to propagate a fantastic video made on The National Anthem of our country. It is the best video ever based on our anthem. It’s made by Mudra Communication. The theme of this video is that there is no language of patriotism. There were tears in my eyes when I watched this video. I must have watched it at least 20-30 times since yesterday. It has been beautifully shot and wonderfully executed. If you are a true Indian, then please do watch this video. In fact I strongly believe that this is the anthem that should be played in movie theaters.

 

Corruption…God save India!

God save this country, because none of the departments in this country seems to be free of corruption. IAS, IPS, IRS, politicians, government officers, everyone!!!!!!!!! I mean, what the fuck is going on? I sincerely feel that corruption has become so rampant and integral part of our lives that it’s almost impossible to root out corruption.

I feel that corruption exists because of our impatience. It starts at a very basic level. Suppose if a normal process takes 5 days to happen, we are so impatient that we want it to happen in 3 days. We are ready to pay (read bribe) extra rs.500 so that we don’t have to wait. Out of that Rs.500, Rs.200 goes to the top-most officer, Rs.100 to the one beneath him and so and so forth. You keep bribing Rs. 500 for a few years and then one fine day you are told “saab, mehengai badh gayi hai… petrol, kaandaa,etc ka rate double ho gaya hai..…abhi Rs.1000 lagenge.” You twitch your face and ponder for a few moments. You take out rs.1000 and then your work is done. The greed for money has now increased and now that corrupt officer knows that for that particular work, one is ready to pay rs.1000. So, subsequent ordinary people are asked to bribe Rs. 1000 for the same work that could have been done for rs.500! With time, that bribe keeps increasing and one fine day you realize that you are the one who spoiled the “kids”! But unfortunately there is no returning back to getting your work done for less than Rs.500. The point is that it is we – the ones who want to break the line – who are the reason for corruption. The one who is giving a bribe is more committing a bigger crime than the one who is taking the bribe. A few steps that might reduce corruption:

1) Plan your things properly: It is we who should be more organized so that we don’t have to be in a hurry to get our work done in less than the expected time. Let’s suppose you a kid aged 17 years and 11 months and you are a Car or bike freak. You know that you are going to get a driver’s license in a month’s time. Then for god sakes, start your driving license process a month prior to getting 18 and not JUST a week ago by paying extra (read bribe). Plan your things properly.

2) Don’t jump the queue: everyone who comes to a government office to get work done has the same amount of haste as you do. His work is as important to him as it is to you.

3) Value your money: As I have said earlier too, corruption starts at a very basic level and with a a very small amount. There are tens of departments that you will need to go to to have your work done. Even if you pay at least Rs.200 at every department, then you can safely assume that annually you would be shelling out Rs. 5000 in total. (of course, this is just an approximate). I am sure that you can think of better ways to spend that Rs. 5000.

4) Think about others too:  People who take bribes don’t have hearts. They don’t differentiate much between rich and poor. For example, if you want a telephone connection, chances are high that you won’t be spared because you are not rich. If some rich person has set a standard of bribing Rs.1000 for a connection in 10 days, be sure that you too would be expected to shell out the same amount. So, it’s all about the highest value set by someone for an illegal work to be done! Think about others too!

Needless to say, all above tips are applicable to me too!… Readers, do come up with simple and practical tips…

15 hours at Infosys Pune!

Just to give you a background of why I am talking about infosys pune – In the last month at Mphasis, I had 2 offers in hand – one from Infosys Pune and other from Citiustech Mumbai. Needless to say, the brand name of Infosys lured me to leave aside the more lucrative (in terms of salary in hand) at Citiustech. I had heard a lot about Infosys , the facilities, the swimming pool, badminton, TT, tennis,etc. at Infosys. So, I denied the  offer from Citiustech and went to Pune. I had to join Infosys on 13 december morning 9.00. So, I packed my bags and reached the Infy guest house on 12th december evening 5.30. Just as i reached Infy Pune’s guest house, i started feeling that i did something wrong. I had left my mom alone at home and would have to meet her only at weekends if i chose to stay at infy (the option of taking mom to pune wasn’t as feasible as it seems). Also, i missed Mumbai! kitna bhi traffic, pollution ,etc. ho, mumbai is mumbai! So, i called up the HR of Citiustech and informed her that i would join Citiustech from 15th dec and told the HR of infosys that i wouldnt join Infy the next day!…

The point of writing all this is that there is nothing wrong in changing your decision. I know that many would have thought ki “kya pagal hai ye, decision leneko hi nahi hua”. But, trust me, after this incidence, i dont feel even a bit of hesitance in saying that i did nothing wrong in changing my decision to come back to mumbai. Ultimately, what is important is that you should be happy with your decision. The outcome of a decision has to make you happy. There is no point in being the “one-decision-final-decision” kind of a person. The society looks down upon those who dont stick to their decisions. Circumstances change in no time and the decision that you had taken a day ago can go ‘wrong’. Don’t be shy from changing your decision. This applies to almost everything in life… be it marraige, job, etc. Now that i have taken the example of marriage -  the normal indian tradition is 1) meeting of parents 2) meeting of the boy and girl 3) engagement within no time and 4) marriage… Its very difficult to know a person in the time frame that a couple is allowed before engagement. So, even if either of the couple is hesitant to go ahead with the relationship, due to the societal norms they have to keep their decision intact. They then commit to get married and finally a day comes when the elastic of endurance snaps! and then you realise that you took ‘some’ wrong decision in life. but its too late then! The point here is that if you foresee a problem, then don’t think about what the world says, just go ahead and change your decision. I know that there would be millions who would say “aise to fir kabhi shaadi hi nahi hogi”. But, i feel that living  a life in a bad relationship is far worse than living it alone! Being a Sharhrukh khan fan, i am reminded of his words from the movie “kuch kuch hota hai” - “hum jeete hai ek baar..hum marte bhi hai ek baar… aur shaadi bhi ek hi baar karte hai…”. Atleast i am this kind of a person and that is why i say that if you feel you are stuck with the wrong person, then change the decision of spending your life with that person… you are not OBLIGATED to the society in any damn way! Make a decision that makes you happy!…

A few lessons in life…

Recently a few things happened in my life and that is why they have made me sit down and introspect as to where I have gone wrong in life and it is time for me to learn from my mistakes… and I thought that it would be good if you all can learn a few things from what I have learnt in my life… btw, after reading this blog, you might start judging me. But it is ok for me, as long as you learn something from this blog… btw, this blog is about what I have learnt from my mistakes and others’ too!...

1) Respect your parents: Day before yesterday, I was standing at a bus-stop and there was a poor woman who was lying on the bench of the bus-stop on the other side of the road. She was shivering. Her son, around 5 yrs old, was not able to figure out what needed to be done. A middle-class person standing nearby took pity on that poor woman and gave a 20-rupee note to that small kid and told him to get some tea and biscuit for his mother. That small kid ran to the nearest kirana-store to get some biscuit. While returning, he got some tea too. The tea was packed in a small plastic and he had 2 empty glasses in hand. Being so small, he wasn’t able to pour the tea from plastic into those 2 tea-cups. He tried once to pour that hot tea into tea-cups. But, his little fingers got scathed and then his mother got up with great difficulty and poured tea and then they ate a few biscuits. After eating one biscuit, that small boy started massaging her mother’s forehead. The poor woman, after eating a few biscuits, slept for a while. That small kid made sure that his mother’s body was properly covered with her dupatta.

I was so moved by that episode that it has changed me for good. Being the creators of our lives, parents deserve respect and love from us. I guess, when we become parents someday, we would realize this ourselves…

2) Never break your friend’s trust: A month ago I did something I repented for a month long! I broke my friend’s trust. I will not go into the details of what happened and all, rather I would jot down what I learnt from that mistake of mine.

a) Every friendship demands a level of trust and make sure that you never do anything that would make the trust go down below that level.

b) Treat the other person how she/he wants to be treated and not the way you want to treat them.

c) Friendship is like a piece of cloth. Once it tears apart, it is very difficult to get it into its original form. Only in the rarest of rare cases can the friendship come into its original form. (I am happy that in my case, the things are as normal as it were earlier; in fact better than earlier because I know that I am not going to make the same mistake again!)

d) Don’t try to test the elasticity of your friendship. Every friendship has a set of untold barriers and rules. Respect them. As they say, there is no use crying over spilt milk! Watch while the milk is boiling so that it doesn’t spill over!

3) Know when to ‘give up’: In one of my earlier blogs, I had written about the importance of never giving up. I would like to mention that the “never give up” principle doesn’t work in everything in life. Know where to give up and where not to give up! Chasing mirages never helps!

4) Be free from OCD (obsessive compulsive disorders): Many people in this world suffer from OCDs. OCDs can be related to your anger, kindness, etc. I have an OCD of helping people. I am not trying to blow my own trumpet, but I feel an obsessive compulsion to help people. Like for example, if some GRE-aspirant asks for little guidance regarding GRE, I go to the extent of sharing my phone number and charting out a GRE-Preparation plan for that person. At times, I even call up that GRE-aspirant and ask about the status of his/her preparation! I mean, this is height! I don’t know why I should care for some stranger! I am working on this OCD of helping people. The problem with this OCD is that many people start devaluing you for this kind attitude. People start feeling “isko to kuch kaam dhandha hi nahi…pagal hai ye jo kisi stranger ke liye itna fight maar raha hai”…I now help only 2 out 10 people who approach me for help! If you have such OCD, pls rethink about it! It might land you in some trouble, someday!

Ek Lau Is Tarah Kyun Bujhi Mere Maula….

“Ek Lau Is Tarah..” is a song from the movie AAMIR. This is my most favorite song ever! mainly because of the meaning and the soft background music… The first time i heard this song was at the time of 26/11 Mumbai attacks. There used to be a video that showed the carnage of the terrorist attack and then at the end there used to be a list of martyrs that scrolled up on the screen… all this had this beautiful song as the backdrop …

Almost every time i listen to this song, i have tears in my eyes… life is so fragile… i mean, you are sitting in TAJ hotel, having a lavish dinner with your friends and someone all of a sudden drops a bomb on your hotel and you are taken hostage and then killed for no fault of yours…!… It is so difficult to accept a heart-rending conclusion for no mistake of yours…

I just want to dedicate this to all those who lost their lives, whose families were destroyed, those who are injured and perhaps crippled forever, for the city, for all the citizens, for all those who were affected in any manner. This should not have happened. I pray for everyone affected…

 

(Song has been written by Amit Trivedi, from the soundtrack of Aamir, sung by Shilpa Rao)

 

Ek Lau Is Tarah Kyun Bhuji Mere Maula…

(Why was a flare extinguished like this, my Lord…)

Gardishon Mein Rehti, Behti Guzarthi,

Zindagi Aahein Kitni…

(Struggling through dark clouds, flowing, passing by,

There are so many lives [being lived]…)

In Mein Se Ek Hai, Teri Meri Agni,

Koi Ek Jaisi Apni…

(Your life and my life is just one flame amongst all of these)

Par Khuda Khair Kar, Aisa Anjaam Kisi Rooh Ko,

Na De Kabhi Yahaan…

Guncha Muskuratha Ek Waqt Se Pehle,

Kyun Chodd Chala Tera Yeh Jahaan…

(But God please, may no soul here receive, this kind of ending…

Why is it that a smiling bunch of flowers wilted/died before its time had come?)

{*writer refers to the gradual, sweet smelling natural death of a flower."}

Ek Lau Is Tarah Kyun Bhuji Mere Maula,

Ek Lau Zindagi Ki Maula.

(Why was a flare extinguished like this, my Lord,

A flare of Life, my Lord)

Dhoop Ke Ujaale Se, Aus Ke Pyaale Se,

Khushiyan Mile Humko…

Zyada Manga Hai Kahaan, Sarhadein Na Ho Jahaan,

Duniya Mile Humko…

(The light of the sunshine, the beauty of the morning dew,

We recieve joy from all of this…

Is it too much that we ask for a world with no borders*)

{*As in, borders/divisions between people, ethnicities, religions…symbolizing all artificially created conflict amongst humanity}

Par Khuda Khair Kar, Uske Armaan Mein Kyun

Bewaja Ho Koi Qurbaan,

Guncha Muskuratha Ek Waqt Se Pehle,

Kyun Chodd Chala Tera Yeh Jahaan…

(But God please, why should anyone be sacrificed to fulfill this desire*…

Why is it that a smiling bunch of flowers wilted/died before its time had come?)

{*Why should there be sacrifice for the sake of creating this division-less, conflict-free society?}

Ek Lau Is Tarah Kyun Bhuji Mere Maula,

Ek Lau Zindagi Ki Maula. (2)

(Why was a flare extinguished like this, my Lord,

A flare of Life, my Lord)