School to work or is it the other way around

At the moment I am reading books that I never thought I would touch again in life. I believed that college education had got me to where I am and from this point forward I had newer battles to fight. I know people telling me on my first job that working is an entirely different ball game and what I learned in school would not help me much. To which I would argue that what they teach at school needs to be understood in a broder sense and would not have a point-to-point application.

But things were almost the opposite in my second job. First of all I have used my entire repertoire in statistics and have learned greater skills. It did not stop with that. I have used my previous experience and industrial engineering more than anytime before. I have also learned and used some programming skills.

The biggest difference I find in my two jobs is that at the first place they trained you and then you were left to figure out where you could apply that knowledge. So it was more of the individuals ingenuity to make the best of his skillsets. At the second place they first identify the application, identify the skills for that application and figure out what training would be required. Then the individual is picked and trained. So he has a short term target to atleast do one project and then comes the ingenuity part. I think this is the best way to go about it.

Happy Diwali Kid

This dates back to August of 1999 when we were all trying to be in the 'Cream of the cream' class (a.k.a Mech S/W pattern course) in COEP. About 25-30 amongst all the applicants would get this chance. So you can imagine the competition. Leave no stone unturned- was the golden rule.

Some guys took this rule literally. While some were busy preparing for the interviews, some were 'oiling' the system. Emergence of old "lambche" relations and friendships with big shots became an everyday story. So one of us, and may I say the politician among us, had this interview in the company of 'Calibre'. Now there is no doubt in my mind that he did great at the interview. But just to be on the safer side he waited for everyone to leave the hall and thanked the interviewer whole heartedly, showering the best of prasies for the company and the people. He may have elaborated on his desire to work for this 'best company in the world'. I think by this time the interviewer would have been ready to offer the internship on the spot. But our guy was not done yet. He went ahead wishing the interviewer a happy Diwali and a happy Dassera.

'The One' is Back!!

The demi-God for all the followers of The Game is back. And back in a big way. Wasn't surprising at all, the way he hit everyone to all the corners of the field.

Here are the highs of that smooth innings!

He is one of the many people who make me proud of being from Mumbai. More than that the fact that I share a part of my name with him makes me an even bigger fan. I am sure that no writer, no leader of recent times, no politician, no no-one can bring joy to millions of people in a matter of minutes. No one than him can make companies plan in advance so as to take care of the absenteeism on a 'match' day. No one can forget the innings he played against Pakistan in the World Cup. And no one can forget the six he hit off Aktar. Harsha Bhogle said after that shot that it was one Big answer to the dominance Pakistan have had even since poor Chetan Sharma got hit for a last ball six.

What I am a fan of is not only his game, but the way he carries and conducts himself on and off the field. He values and acknowledges his roots, still visits his old society and plays with the kids there, still practices at MIG, Bandra, still is the determined boy of 16years who got hit in his first test and refused to retire.

"Here is Tendulkar, then there is daylight and then the rest"

That Game

This week saw something that I thought I would never see. A rejuvinated performance from the Indian cricket team. It was such a welcome change. Some will argue that this is a one off performance and we still have a season to go. Some have stopped following the game. But really speaking cricket is like faith, both for the players and followers. You can be excited by an isolated spectacle, but to be absorbed for a day you have to identify with and feel for the game!
Here is an application of real rigorous statistics to the game.

It is one of the best and coolest jobs to have!!

Goals in life?

"What are your goals in life?" asked one of the junta interviewing me a year ago. I thought, there you go. There are always standard set of questions that you prepare for and this one is very commom. I think I will lose respect for anyone who asks this question in an interview where they are suppose to grill on operations and manufacturing and statistics. But I put on a simle on my face and answered my "muggofied" goals. I don't even remember what I said then.

Heres is what I really wanted to tell her but didn't:
I don't play a lot of soccer. The only time I played soccer was some ten years ago. And being a bit intellectually challenged I obviously don't have a good recollection of the game. I did not hit any goals during that match as I ended up being a goalkeeper. I have hit only 4 goals in my entire life, of which I don't remember any details. So why don't you be a little bit more imaginative and ask me about the games I play.

Anyways, here they come, the five goals of my life-
1. To have a goal.
2. To have the dribbling skills to hit that goal.
3. To enjoy hitting that goal.
4. That goal should be as good or better than the 'Hand of God' goal.
5. That goal should make me part of the 'Hall of Fame' of goal hitters.

Passport Story

My parents get a phone call at 11:00pm from the police station. No it wasn't about my misdemeanors, it was about my mothers passport- which she had submitted for a renewal. As per the new procedures they do a check on the authenticity of the persons' address. But 11:00pm is just too much. But lets just set that aside because it is just the tip of the iceberg. "Udya amcha manus tumchya ghari yeun jaael". Barah. "Aani tumhi parvah yeun documents deun ja". Thik aahe saheb.

"Udya" never dawned in the police station. So FF to "parvah" my mother lands at the police station and she is asked to come after two days. Thik aahe saheb. As if thats the only work we have got in life. So she again goes to the policestation with the docs a couple of days later. She is made to wait for one hour which is when her patience runs out. I would say what was to follow for them was their self inflicted thing. Mother had already sensed that they were looking for "Karcha Pani".
I would take a moment here to state that she hates the idea of having to give "Chiri Mira" to make files move. She has never given nor allowed me to make such offers. Which is why I can proudly state that all my documents (passport, DL, Domicile cert, etc) are all clean! Can't say the same for my father (he is more practical minded!)

So she walks straight to the station incharges' office and starts her fact based, data driven verbatim with times and dates. Finally shows him her ID (shes a central govt. gazetted officer). And not for the first that I have known, the file get completed and start moving faster than Carl Lewis would have run for his 100m Olympic gold medal.


There would be thousands who would have comprimized and complied to the implied action. Some might argue that the fact the she is a govt. officer got her the deal. Let me tell you this, my uncle is also a govt. officer and he ended up giving the "hafta" at the same police station for the same purpose. So it requires more than being an officer to stand up for values. Well done mom! I hope I can replicate that during my time.

Don't Chase

Don't chase anything. If you try chasing something, harder it becomes to get it. My friend once told me this: Everything is like a butterfly, the more you try to catch it, the more it eludes you. Instead if you stay put and remain calm it will, by itself, come and rest on your shoulders.

Such a great thought. And he told me this when he and I were sixteen and something and I was too much worried about the SCC results.

I have tried to implement it ever since. But there is also a "constant worry-ier" in me. This constant worry-ier does not allow me to rest peacefully, but makes me think of how, who, when for everything. Sometimes its good, but many a times its just not necessary. I am yet to learn to seperate the necessary occassions from the unnecessary ones.
I still remember I wanted to do engineering (traditional push!) after school, but just to be on the safer side I also applied for a 'easier to get' professional course. I haven't seen my folks dissapointed with me as much as they were that day. Here I was, preped to go to the best college in my state (debateable) and that day momentorily I deviated from the path. I don't know if that was out of insecurity of not being there or lack of confidence or that constant worry-ier in me. I bet it was the worry-ier.

Back to school

Spending more than half of the day reading books and deriving equations for the next half seemed to be a boring idea after graduating from grad school. But the more we dislike things the more they happen. As if just to test your patience. So going back to studying advanced probability and statistic has been my activity for the past few days. To top it all I have to write an exam on these topics. And worst of all my job requires me to sucessfully complete this exam, and complete it before I catch the flight that would abridge ten thousand miles and eight hundred days of seperation.

But the paradise on the other side of the horizon is worth this crap!!

Online Help no more

I have a big list of online friends. But Niket is not exactly only "online". He is the one who I have been with for the best part of four years. His D-day had come today. He was going back to India and was hopeful of never returning to that wretched place called the middle east. That also signaled a temperory haitus on my online help in programming.
As I go down the memory lane I remember the miniature conveyor design we made for our Applied Mechanics project. It wasn't perfect but never the less good enough to earn us extra credits. I also remember the standing in the college corrider between classes. Also the four hour of painful workshops. In fact it was a bigger PITA for him because he had to endure another two hours of the Virar fast local after that.

I never thought I would meet up with oldtimers when I was moved to Pune. But here again he and others proved me wrong. Right before the flight that put ten thousand miles and eight hunderd days between me and everyone, he and other friends turned up at the airport. That moment to me is worth a thousand lives. I am very optimistic about meeting up everyone again and by God I will. I am just waiting for that day.

The Book that changed my world

It was the end of Spring 2004. I had nothing to do, on that day or for the next three months into the summer. So I decided to read some unfinished 'want to read' books. I am usually not a big fan of reading. I do the 'necessary' reading and I am not so good with the 'optional' reading. But that day I picked up a book called "The Machine that Changed the World". It is not a technical book, but its not a novel either. It is something semi technical put forth in a narrative form. Anyways, I started reading this book and found it interesting.

Couple of days later I went to this interview for a summer internship. My interviewer actually did not turn up for the interview. As bad as it could get, I thought. So the poor HR guy took a guess that I was interested in manufacturing and called someone to see if he could do the interview. And that is how I met my guiding sunshine, who would pull me through the rut that I was in. Interestingly he was reading the same book and the conversation hung on the subject for a long time. And after a hour and a half I was sure I had made it.

Nothing is totally waste. Even the smallest thing learned will be useful and sometimes change the world.

Maroon Out

One more visit to College Station. This time for the Football Game. Texas A&M was playing Okhaloma State. To top it all it was a "Maroon Out" game. Maroon what? Texas A&M is the nationally acknowledged college when it comes to traditions. Maroon out is one such tradition at A&M where the fans, all of them come to the game in their maroon colored outfits. Maroon is our official color. Legend has it that A&M does not loose the Maroon Out games. And history is witness to A&M nailing the number one teams in a Maroon out game. And yesterday was no exception. A&M won 62-27.

Texas A&M is home to some of the best and richest traditions in the country. Aggies all around the US are know for the Aggie Network. Here is a great article on the best college traditions in the US.


Above: "Maroon Out" and "The 12th Man" traditions
Below: A&M pounding Okhaloma State


I finally got a chance to be at a A&M game. I wanted to go to a game on so many occassions when I was in school. But it had to happen this way with me driving hundred miles with thousands of Aggies to see their team play. I would say that when I was in College Station, I wasn't actually there. My world revolved among three '-ments': Apartment, Department and Assignment!

thor tiche upkar

My roommate told me today that yesterday I talked something while sleeping. I did not doubt him because he wasn’t the first (or the last) to witness this. I inquired if he remembered what I said. Upon which he asked me if I was feeling homesick, because I said the word ‘aai’ many times.
I have called three different people by the word ‘aai’; my mother, grandmother and aai. Having working parents meant someone had to take care of me while they were gone. That is how I got the immense love of aai. Aai and her family lived next door to us. She had four kids and I was the fifth kid in their family. I was her favorite. I listened to the “Ek hota raja…..” stories from her. Even after we moved from the place I used to go and stay with them during vacations. Her love and affection meant so much to me.
Then when I was eleven aai lost her eldest son in a wicked fate of events. She cried for days while I sat besides her. She finally accepted the cruel reality and felt may be that’s why God gave me to her. Six years past this, on a Sunday evening she wanted to see me. She just wanted to see me. She wasn’t doing too good with her health. I did not realize the gravity of the situation and decided that I would visit her the following day. I never got that chance. Aai passed away that night with an unfulfilled wish. It is ten years past that day today and I long to listen to the “ye gh ye gh gaai...” from her as I try to sleep. I would like to believe that there is an afterlife where I can apologize to her for failing my duty.

Talking of T-shirts

……Those were the best days of my life!! were the lines (from Bryan Adams’ summer of 69) for our final sweat shirt while in COEP. There is an amazing story that goes behind this. The sweat shirt was ‘in planning’ for almost a year. It did not go into production on various occasions, sometimes cost prohibitive, sometimes we did not agree on the catch line, sometimes on the color and sometimes on just the timing. Everything changed on the last day in college. Now the “Cream of the Cream” in COEP gets a chance to get paid enjoyment (read learn) in various industries for a year while the “Cream” does an in-house (read ‘gharghuti’) project. Down side of this was that we were still in college (technically) when others went home after the final exams. And this time we decided to make our stay special. So when our batch had to part ways, money did not matter, timing was great, the catch line was perfect. We made the Sweat Shirt after some of us had already left for greater destinations. I bet this is the only shirt from COEP that has been ship-delivered to the US.
Another T-shirt story from my batch was of the “We can Screw Anything that comes our way!!” shirt. This is arguably one of the most popular shirts ever in COEP. Credits to Ritz and PC. I bet there were other popular designs portraying of the COEP warmth (read maaz), but these two stand out in my mind.

So is COEP only about making shirts and bunking classes? No, COEP is much more than that. It is about learning to learn, it is about finding your way, but more than anything it is about getting the confidence of “I can do it”.

Why am I talking T-shirts today? That’s because I am making one for my department today and cannot help getting nostalgic. So many memories from the best days of my life………

Nine moments

Nine Moments that have influenced my life:
1) When the doctor were able to find a vein on me to put me on saline. This becomes crucial when your blood pressure is agonizingly low, you are loosing bodily fluids by the minute and you are two months old. Still pains around the spot on the toe, as if just to remind me of this.

2) Being asked to quit sports for academics. The most heart crushing moment that I have ever felt for. I became a bigger skeptic after that. Did not talk to my folks for a while. But not getting something I wanted really turned out to be great ( I must say)

3) When I cracked the board exam (or just missed cracking). It was the first academic success of any kind for me. After that I believed that I could do it if I wanted to.

4) May 1999. I had resigned to the idea of not doing a bachelors degree a few months ago and was looking for a job while completing the diploma in engineering. Getting the boot from L&T interview and the last six months at Mahindra convinced me that I would be a nobody if I did not continue college education. I am glad I took this decision.

5) Moving to Pune for studies. Not only did that give me a chance to live the COEP legend, I also got the hard lessons in a competitive environment. I learned survival in Pune. I made friends for life in Pune. Looking back I think I graduated to a more fulfilling level. COEP gave ‘me’ to me.

6) Working at Telco. I got my part of honesty at Telco. I can proudly say that every front suspension in the Indica and the Indigo are assembled till day, by the process that Abhi and I designed. There is my part in the big ocean called Telco. I also fulfilled my love for driving cars at high speeds on their test tracks. I learned (or should I say “leaned”) the things that would go on to give me my present job.

7) Coming to the US. Big decision for me, even bigger for my family. I always thought I was a strong individual and would never feel the pain of separation. The evening before I left India was the most uncomfortable time I have experienced. I could not bear the uncomfortable silence in the house. I will never be afraid of being alone, I will always be afraid of the loneliness.

8) December 2003. Pulverized to dust by the grueling A&M system, I was thinking if I had made the right decision only a few months ago. There were times when I felt homesick and hopeless beyond comparison. I made the biggest decision of my life here- I asked myself if good things are really worth waiting for. If so, how long? I was determined not to chase something that I did not want. I refused to work with my advisor on things I did not like and it worked out great. I felt I was reborn that December.

9) May 2004 - Meeting my mentor. I think I met my equal. I owe my success to him as much as I do to my abilities. I would have never been where I am today had it not been for him. I hope I live up to my expectations, not just professionally but in the bigger scheme of things in life.

When dada went over the hill.........

It’s kind of odd to be celebrating birthdays two weeks after the actual day. But such were the repercussions of Rita. After a eventful evacuation, time with friends and short visit to the Emergency Room I was back, kicking and screaming in Houston. A weekend birthday party did great to break the monotonous routine that has become off late. So why am I saying that dada went over the hill. Precisely because I am the next one in line and I don’t want to regret not pulling someone’s leg when I had the chance.
It will be a much awaited 'going over the hill' for me. There would be no birthday bumps, no cream on my face and no throwing me in the swimming pool (that’s what birthdays meant at A&M). I have my escape planned!!