XAT ??!!

A spark...tiny though it may be..has set me thinking of what I didn’t want to do this year..should i take XAT 2007/08??!!...If any of my previous vows are anything to go by, then this one is probably best termed as ‘Pathoda onnu pathinonnu; athoda ithu onnu’ (roughly equivalent to ‘Add one more to the previous list’) and nothing more..but I need to get myself moving out of what I am doing in this IT field and I do understand the urgency and necessity associated with it.. term it over confidence..I can’t help but think of these lines when I see myself in this quagmire (only consolation being that I was not thrown in, but it was on my own will)

“Nallathor veenai seithe

Athai nalam keda puzhuthiyil erivathu undo

Solladi Sivasakthi

Ennai sudar migum arivudan padaithu vittai”

The source of all this...hmm.. a couple of my colleagues are busy writing exams for their post graduate courses and couple others writing the whole lot of ‘Indian Management’ exams and the GMAT takers..Do they also have only 24 hours a day??Sure??The lazy bugger that I am ..my answer is too obvious to be penned down..

’exam’ –night outs the night before the exam, skipping breakfast (yup..bath too as usual and more specifically on the day of exams), complete exams and head right to the mess and fill until a kakka can kothify from my open mouth and get on to the steel cot or a game of Red Alert until it is cool enough to head out to Octa (our computer center)...whew...I would love to get back to those lovely college days..doing absolutely nothing..yet feel like having done everything..Comparing it with what I am doing today..a world being done and at the end of the day all I can feel is an eerie emptiness..and the routine hasn’t changed over the past 3.5 years..

Is this spark going to change this all?..I clearly remember this drama enacted exactly 2 years ago when I started leaving office by 6PM, come what may...unfortunately that didn’t last long due to various reasons and ultimately my tryst with my employer has L

Bharathiar hasn’t left me searching again..

“Manadhil urudhi vendum.....

Kanavu meippada vendum..

Kaariyathil urudhi vendum..

Dharaniyile perumai vendum..”

There aren’t too many days left to apply...and ironically there aren’t too many self-imposed vows that I have kept up either??!!

Will I wake up by 5:30 at least tomorrow??

We, The Living!!

As is always the practice with me, I returned ‘We the living’ by Ayn Rand to the lending library having taking a month to read that book completely. This has become a habit for me to pick up an AR book and while reading it, complete 2 to 3 other books. Her books are so laden with thoughts that I hate to read them as though it were yet another Sidney Sheldon.

This book is stated to be the closest ever AR’s attempt at autobiography. The prologue by Leonard Peikoff was an eye opener on what the book was about. Post-Russian revolution scene..need there be anything more in the plot to interest a pro-communist???I took that right away from the library’s dust covered shelf after a long search..

AR’s novels are so focussed on the protagonist that as you progress through the novel (I wouldn’t want to use that term to AR’s creations..they just can’t be compared to the earthly Sheldons, Ludlums and Archers), you tend to be part of the character...The previous ones that I had read were : The Fountainhead and Anthem..I don’t remember much of Anthem except that it was a futuristic novel where the ‘I’ doesn’t exist (or does it???)...hmm..Fountainhead’s Howard Roark was brilliant..the final dialogues delivered in the court defending his act of bombing a building (don’t remember whatever that was..) were amazing..

‘We the living’ is a bit different from Fountainhead in the sense that the plot revolves around 3 characters instead of 1: Leo, Andrei and Kira..

Leo – Degenerates slowly and breaks down after he understands that he is on the losing side of a battle..

Andrei - The die-hard communist who ultimately finds the true sense (or nonsense) of the principles he had lived for

Kira – The victor who dies at the end of the struggle.. All the struggle that Kira goes through...the way she supports Leo’s stay at the sanatorium by losing herself to Andrei.her odyssey to get out of Russia..present a poignant picture..

Most of what I infer above is based on the prologue by Leo but I accept all that totally..The novel is a fantastic portrayal of the pathetic state of certain sections of the bourgeois class after the Russian revolution.. to call that ‘Tit for Tat’ for all the power that this class exercised over the Proletariats defeats the spirit of socialism...Empowering the Proletariats never intended beating down the bourgeois...

This question on socialism (initiated by The Fountainhead) inside my half trained mind still remains open (too confusing now..)...I have always maintained that the welfare of the state is of paramount importance..no exceptions..but with each of the AR’s writings that I have completed, I feel if that indeed supersedes the individual’s welfare..After all, everyone lives primarily for the ‘I’ in him...me included..(am none too great to be granted a special status ...still felt like adding that)..perhaps her writings are so greatly realistic in the depiction of a principle...in its personification ...that for some time after completion too many thoughts crowd my mind...I brood over the foundation of socialism (as stated by Marx/Engels) as against the pro-individualistic view taken by AR..only to end up subscribing to both schools..

Am I losing clarity of thought or am I in the process of defining a new Philosophy that combines these two..Only time will answer...

(Interesting to note that this book was rejected by many publishers before being taken up by Macmillan company!!..probably AR was far too ahead of her times..)

another crib..

I've wanted to post so much in the past week that I actually managed to post none!! So that says it all..Another usual crib story about my God-forsaken Office, Office Mates, Mr.x...But I cross all boundaries that can be thought of and make this statement:
"IT is SH short of what it actually is"
and don't forget to add me to the ever expanding list of IT-bashers.

This is not about the past week but about something that has changed over a period of 4 years (quite some time, isn't it??, fair enough to make that generalism!!) Are people being recruited just to show off that we are the biggest recruiters? Is this some kind of human trade??(dubaikku kalla thonila poraa mathiri varavana ellam eduthukaa..)..Do these HR guys have any idea of what is expected of people who come in or is it only the target that matters to them? We are not running Training institues to train and provide certificates to freshers. People are expected to work on bloody projects and DELIVER..Why else on earth are they being paid in 5 digits a month right after stepping out of college?Questions on syntax, loops, logic put me totally off
balance.Do our HR guys insist on getting guys without brains/common-sense and hope to fit it here making them work on live projects??.Cmon..when are we going to stop spoonfeeding...India is already reeling under this new age of Intellectual slavery and we are only adding to that ..too fast...and i see no end in sight unless we understand that IT is not restricted to Air Conditioned office rooms..flexi-work hours..perks,..pay..onsite...

I have always said this and continue to say: My only expectation from anybody (be it a fresher or a director) who joins work is the willingness to work and learn...ATTITUDE...as simple and straight as that...let me even cut that learning part off if people find it too hard...the least that you can do for all you earn is complete what is expected of you..I will not be surprised if i hear from a fresher that it is a violation of labour law under so-so section!!If these guys wanna play the game according to their rules,my response is clear: get the hell out and gather guts to put up your playground..define your rules and prove that you are what you say...don't expect that here...

All said and done.. i don't blame these guys solely for all that has prompted me to write this..what do the trainers(who else but partially baked guys like me who need to fill in some 'Organization Initiative' in the Appraisals form or the all familiar 'yaaravadhu pudusa vanthirukkanu pakkalmda' guys) do all through the couple of months of training...people still are at college level with no idea of what coding standards are...school students will beat them any day with their knowledge...Trainings ought to be made more stringent and dedicated faculty added if we are looking at steps forward...

Ooh ..the best part..doesn't end without references to Mr.X ..does it??...What kind of a manager is one who cannot read through his emails but never fails to ask for an update (on what was put in the email..the worst part being..it would have been addressed to him??!!)?I never knew we had an 'Illiterate quota' in my company..easiest way to get in...someone who can't identify what project is being talked about for 45 minutes???someone who cannot understand what a UNIX login id is???someone who stumps you by asking the all too famous 'who is going to fix the MySQL bug man'...all this someone is not someone..this is specific to Mr.X..and am sure there are friends of mine who are only more than eager to add details about 'their man'...there is one consolation from these guys though: they are living examples of 'Learn How not to be a bad manager in 24 hours'...i do not include every manager in this list...there are some who have acquired the art and 'manage'(in its purest form) really well...hats off ..you guys are a rare breed!!!

Deteriorating standards of new entrants..weak middle management...a far-too-distant top management...are we heading anywhere?? Yes.. the only destination that i see is an endless dark hole and the direction:VERTICALLY DOWN...!!!

(My favourite song suits perfectly: Naadagam vidum velai than ..uccha kaatchi nadakuthamma...
and if i am going to read this post sometime in the future, i should not be left wondering as to what the inspiration to this piece of writing was: Jus heard from someone that one of my team members was seen in a 'near-weeping' status after all the drama early today...!!??)

Vaanaththil oru puratchi..

andhi vaana mandapathil
vidhavai marumanam...
natchathirangal vannam poondu
vellai thurandhanave!!!
deepavaliyin vaana vedikkaigal...

Azhagiya Tamizh magan...!!

Wonder why people need to come up with such an impressive name for this guy's movies!!! I've been listening to this film's songs for the past couple of days...hmm....

First impression: Did ARR outsource this project to some DJ???All songs except the 'Maduraiku pogadhe', with a profound country side feel, give you a feel of having just jumped out of the dance floor!! That songs gives me a feel of the Raja Rajeswari title song on Sun TV...!!:(

Am not sure if ARR always wanted to speak out 'punch dialogues' on screen.. 'Ellapugazhum' has given him that opportunity...it cannot be classified as a song under any genre...that is prose read loudly with some BGM, if I am so generous enough..

'Nee Mariyln Monroe' impresses with some new age lyrics that has been taking over Tamizh filmdom recently..nothing much to be written about music though..

'Valayapatti' has more of a Harris Jayaraj feel ..reminds of Saiyo Saiyo from Arasatchi..pada pada pattamboochi from Majnu..

and to the much hyped 'ponmagal vanthal' remix..hmm..is this the same ARR who recreated the 'Thottal Poo malarum' magic?..none of that is to be expected here....sadly ARR has also gone a square back by adding the usual remix stuff...computer generated beats...some who-needs-to-understand english lyrics in between and letting the singers do the 'talking'....the only solace are the bits where TMS' voice have been left unchanged!!!

The pick of the lot: 'Kelamal kaiyile' sung by Sriram Parthasarathy and Saindhavi(!!) has both the male and female singers reaching high octaves consistently throughout the song and both are equally up to the task..
('kokilam' (Kudos Thamarai for all managing to dig up such words!!!Umathu Tamizh sevai thodarattum..) is one of such countless words (one of my faves..) in Tamizh that has an inherent melody about it and produces a visual effect with it..Saindhavi pronounces it to perfection...)..Saindhavi is a find...her voice in this song proves it..

Thennaga isai puyale..
Azhagiya Tamizh magan isayil Azhugiyathen???
unnidam naan edirpaarpathu isai; osai illaye!!
Sivajiyin kalaipil oiyvu kandeero???
allathu thalai alaviruku thalapathiku vendam endru mudivu kondeero??

IT Professional's life..

Why would I need to think of anything beyond the Title of this post to define what an oxymoron is?!

oru
morone
oxymoronai
vilakkugiraane!!!

Diwali...

The festival of lights is due in a couple of days and is in no way different to me from how i have been seeing it for the past 5-6 years or so. To me, Diwali is symbolic of eradicating darkness and replacing it with light.
'Tamasoma Jyothirgamaya'.

I fail to see any reason as to why people would be so excited about this (not only this but all festivals in general); the only justification being a day's break from work, even that doesn't count this time because Diwali falls on Thursday, right in the middle of the week.Oh Yes, the holiday
does provide an option to save a day's leave :).

My first concern, Lifes of thousands of families are being scorched for the manufacture of crackers. Agreed that is their means of earning their daily bread;but the health hazards they encounter in making them and child labour do not in any way serve to justify the end products; nor their necessity for celebrating this festival. What I propose may seem to be the classical ending of a Shankar or a Rajini movie but it is the need of the hour: Members in this industry need to be educated to ensure that they do not push their future generations into this unfathomable abyss.

One more concern that applies to all festivals is, people often say that a festival serves to bring the family together. Family, as an institution, is not so well established in any part of the world as in India. But does it still hold good? To say that a festival brings together a family is
nothing less than making a mockery of the statement. This is no 'Thanksgiving day' as in Western nations, where people 'take time off' to visit family members. Do we need a 'reason' and a 'gift' to meet our own kith and kin? Has materialism cast such a powerful shadow on Indian traditions?

As I see,in recent times, festivals serve only as a stage to showcase the economic disparity in this fast developing nation. It certainly does not make much sense to eat sweets and savouries throughout the day when you see the guy who collects garbage waiting outside the gates for his
'collection' to get what he had promised his children back at home. Worse still, children watching from across the street when my own cousins happily while away a whole day bursting crackers is certainly not an occassion to be remembered for the right reasons.And the voices of the
thousands of children's' cries for right to education and normal living do not drown the din of the crackers.

If Diwali does remind people of their duty to help people in need and values to be upheld, I would be more than happy to 'celebrate'. Until each tear is wiped off the face of every Indian child...darkness will prevail no matter how many lights are lit..and I wait until the light of the inner soul guides us all...