This Mirror Reflects......................

Network Community

2006-10-11T08:54:00.000-04:00

Now a days its a craze to be in Orkut, Hi5 , Tagged Network Communities is a popular thing. Today in the news many got interested by a Thane issue where the Orkut.com has been used to harm the reputation of an young lady. Click Here

Please be careful when you are in such network communities. The world is very bad out there, we need to be cautious before we provide any information

My First Fall 2007

2006-10-08T09:36:00.000-04:00

I have never thought in my life , I would be seeing the most beautiful thing in this world. What an excellent thing is Fall in USA. While watching movies , sme songs might have trees with colors and i used to wonder where the hell are these places, when I am seeing one. I was so so happy yesterday. For everyone who had been here for Fall the first time, may be you would have been like me, or am I over reacting. Anyways just a few snaps from the NewHampshire Fall Colors.

Google Logo

2006-10-07T01:18:00.000-04:00

Some of you guys would have known by now about this Google Logo creation.. Its cool isn't it
Check it out....

On Mirror

Indian Niagara

2006-10-04T14:07:00.000-04:00

Athirapalli and Vazhachal Waterfalls, this is located in Kerala on the edge of Sholayar Forest Range. It is in the Chalakudy river. If anyone reading this blog have visited the falls. Please share your experience.

After seeing this I wonder why the Indian Government does not increase the tourism benefits. We can definitely earn lot of revenue by these places. Why are we hesitating some places like this?

Google Reader

2006-10-03T13:55:00.000-04:00

Its been a while since I had updated this blog. I thought of updating something which is really useful for the bloggers.

Google has come up with a real good stuff which our bloggers can use and have our day start cooly.

Its the Google Reader .

We just need to subscribe the blogs which we would like to view everyday and the feeds of that blog would be in the Reader Inbox. It is something like our web inbox.

I think most of us would try to explore. Lets explore and make this a good one !!!

Is Pluto still a Planet ?

2006-09-21T00:31:00.000-04:00

Offlate there were lots of news whether Pluto is a real planet, dwarf planet, asteroid or a comet. Just to have some info on Pluto.

Pluto is the ninth planet of our solar system and it was discovered in 1930. This Planet status has no problem until 1992. In 1992 when astronomers found out a strange object called 1992QB1. And they questioned the status of Pluto being the Planet. And now serious discussions are going on whether to include Pluto as a planet or not.

Interesting Things on Pluto:
1) Like earth having 365 days to complete one rotation in the orbit. Pluto takes 248 years to complete the rotation. And in this 248 years, at a duration, Pluto comes closer to the Sun than Neptune and it becomes the Eighth planet for 20 years.
2) Pluto's size is less than United States of America.
3) Pluto has not been visited by a space craft till now. And plans are there to visit in 2010.

Whether Pluto is still a planet or not, but what do the astrologers have to say on this?
This astrologers in countries other than india have said,
For all that Pluto (re)creates (it also governs the reproductive system), it loves to destroy. This Planet rules destruction, death, obsession, kidnapping, coercion, viruses and waste. That's definitely not pretty. Pluto also governs crime and the underworld, along with many forms of subversive activity (terrorism, dictatorships). This Planet is about all that is secret and undercover, that which is hidden from view. Is this the story of good vs. evil? Yes.

No one will deny Pluto's power (it rules atomic power, too) and intensity. This Planet's energy is often focused on the masses and what the collective will do. Pluto beseeches the masses to look inward (and to their subconscious) to see what's there. It may be scary, but Pluto doesn't care. This Planet knows how to push buttons.

Astrologers in India have made this statement,
"Indian astrology did not include Pluto as a planet and the latest announcement by leading global astronomers after a marathon week-long meeting at Prague only endorsed the Indian mathematical astrology of Aryabhatta and Varahamihira in the sixth century. Western astrology uses Pluto as a planet while Pluto was always out of Indian astrology and we do not use it in our calculations. This is the practice from the days of Aryabhatta and Varahamihira.Indian astrology is mathematically concerned with the nine planets, two of which are Raghu and Ketu that are nothing but derivatives from the diameter of earth, which is a circle having a value pi (22/7) imbedded in the equator of earth" eminent mathematical astrologer Mangal Prasad said

Nine Planets in Indian Astrology are
¤ Sun
¤ Moon
¤ Mars
¤ Mercury
¤ Jupiter
¤ Venus
¤ Saturn
¤ Rahu
¤ Ketu

I got my friend back

2006-09-13T01:39:00.000-04:00

I have been with this Friend since 1994. Initially neighbours said to my dad, if i have her my education would be spoiled. Later i was immersed in lot of hers like Jodi Porutham , Varthai Vilayattu, Arattai Arangam etc., There were so many faces (mega serial) for her Jeevan, Marmadesam, Chitti, Annamalai, Selvi. I was watching from her first face of Raghuvamsam.

Earlier to this only one story(movie) per week is allowed from other friend(Doordarshan). After she came into my life there was a story everyday.

When ever X / XII results come, i watch her eagerly to know the top ranker and the details. We woke up in her face everyday. She is always my good friend. It is always the 1st channel in our house.

My life was embedded in hers. Even though lot of other fancy friends came. I always had this Softcorner to her.

After i got married i missed her a lot, as my inlaws house dint like to have her, as she is in other language :(

But now i got my friend back in my laptop . She has come with her sister to my laptop.

News: I have got SunTV and KTV now :))

Do any of you guys miss her. Go to http://streambox.tv

Should this day be removed ??

2006-09-11T09:36:00.000-04:00

Its hard to see the TV programs here today. As all the channels are showing the Live Telecast of the 9/11 Fifth Anniversary.

First from Newyork : 8.45AM when the First Flight hit the North Tower , there was a moment of silence held followed by the Spouses of the Victims pronouncing the spouses names. About 2749 names were pronounced and some of the stories were being shared. Including a 9 year old kid who was in the South Tower at the time of attack and the feeling of him now.

I dont think no one could ever survive seeing that incident too.

Second from Newyork : 9:59 AM when the second flight hit the South Tower, St.Pauls Chappel which is across the street of this place( This chapel had survived even lot of fire accidents before ) And during that day before 5 years , the victims came running for emergency into this chapel.

Third from Washington: Pentagon moment of silence 9:36 AM American Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. There were only families allowed in this anniversary. This place was got back into operational within a year with construction workers working 24/7.

Fourth from Pennysylvenia: Where the American Flight hit the ground at 9.59AM. Moment of Silence was observed at 9.59 by the family of 60 people who fighted that day in the plane , killed a hijacker and then died. This flight was supposed to hit the White House.

I hope this never happens again. God please save the world with peace

Puliya Karaikuthu :-(

2006-09-07T10:17:00.000-04:00

Yesterday i was trying to make sambhar and i had kept the tamarind in water till it gets soaked....

After some time when i was trying to pour the water, i could see a big rubber band stuck in the middle of tamarind. It is a famous brand Tamarind here in USofA. Guys Please be careful...

Try to investigate :-) the item a lot before using it.

A Great Algebra :)

2006-09-05T11:39:00.000-04:00

Algebra can be thought of this way too

Lage Raho Munnabhai

2006-09-03T10:44:00.000-04:00

I always hate to watch Hindi Films. I would prefer to go with someone who can explain me the story line by line. This is because i dont understand Hindi. I guess most of us who dont understand will always have the same problem. Munnabhai MBBS i understood with the subtitles in DVD longtime after the movie became a hit.

But I love here to watch Hindi Movies. They have subtitles pretty good. This is the first Hindi Movie in USofA Lage Raho Munnabhai.

What should i say about this movie? Must watch movie. It is simply superb. Before going to the movie my husband said, sequels mostly would not be good and we would definitely say the earlier part is good. I think almost everyone would be having the same feeling. But this movie has proved us wrong. This has more comedy, more fun and it has a message which each and every Indian have forgetten. The actual hero of the movie is Mahatma Gandhi. They have built the story around him and we would definitely enjoy watching this movie. They have given us the gandhian concept and then they said about the Munnabhai's effect because of that.

If you do get a chance, please watch the movie.

Google Sketchup !!

2006-09-01T13:46:00.000-04:00

I always have some craze in Google Earth. Finding new places, exploring new things, searching for the places we had visited a long time ago. Now Google has launched a new software Google Sketch up !!. This is cool...

This software creates sketches of a 3D Image and you can add textures and images to it too. I created this image in 10 minutes.

I remember during the Engineering Drawing Session in the first year of college its a pain to create these 3 D images.. and i remember my Engineering drawing sessions always a problem and i would like to escape. Try this software and you would love it.

You can download this software from http://sketchup.google.com/

Lalu in IIM-A

2006-08-30T16:40:00.000-04:00

Lalu to teach management at IIM-A
He may be the quintessentially rustic politician whose 15-year-rule in Bihar as chief minister was dubbed by critics as 'jungle raj,' but Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad is set for an image makeover when he dons the role of lecturer at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad next month.

The turnaround in the financial health of Indian Railways, with Prasad in charge, has been a subject of discussion at IIMs and Prasad is already being looked upon as a 'management guru.'

On September 18 this year, Prasad would be delivering a lecture to management students and the faculty at IIM-A, explaining finer points of the Indian Railways 'turnaround,' which earned a profit of Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) in 2005-06.

The invitation to deliver a lecture came after IIM Ahmedabad Professor G Raghuram conducted a detailed study on the Railways 'turnaround' and decided to introduce the case study in its curriculum.

In the process, it has become the second-largest PSU profit-earner after the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. Prasad has surprised many by emerging as one of the top performing ministers in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Cabinet.

So what Prasad has done to the Indian Railways which his predecessors could not? The answer lies in his own down-to-earth attitude and rustic wisdom.

Prasad puts it in his inimitable style: "My mother always told me not to handle a buffalo by its tail but always catch it by its horns. And I have used that lesson in everything in my life, including the Railways."

When some of the Railway Board members expressed apprehensions in increasing wagon loads, a decision which alone generated Rs 7,200 crore (Rs 72 billion), Prasad said: "Wagon is the bread earning horse of the Railways. Load it adequately. Make it run and don't stable it."

Prasad's other management mantra for the Railways has been: "If you do not milk the cow fully, it falls sick," which he is practicing while running the Railways.

When Prasad took over, the Indian Railways was a loss-making organisation and the Rakesh Mohan Committee said it was destined to hit Rs 61,000 crore (Rs 610 billion) in bankruptcy by 2015 and termed it a 'white elephant.'

Prasad's secret lies in the fact that he did not convert the ministry into a Bihar Bhawan but left the crucial decision to his bureaucrats. He is achieving his targets not by increasing fares or downsizing, but by increasing traffic.

He believes traffic volume will rise significantly as the economy booms, yielding room for further reforms, and is also confident that the Railways will be able to generate revenue to help improve safety, open up container train wagons to private players and air-conditioned 'Garib Rath' with low fares retaining his pro-poor image.

Today it is not only IIM Ahmedabad, which wants to fete Prasad for posting a fund balance of Rs 15,000 crore in 2005-06.

Even the premier international business schools like Harvard and HEC Management School, France, have shown interest in turning Prasad's experiment with the Railways into case studies for aspiring business graduates.

Courtesy : http://www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews&id=14837

H4 Curse

2006-08-29T23:05:00.000-04:00

Today we had a post in TringTring's blog on H4 and i had posted a comment and as a follow up we thought of getting the fellow bloggers view on the following.

I just thought of adding some more H4 bloggers view on this
Destiny1 and the comments on these

I want to add this on , this is just a feeling of a H4. It has nothing to do with H1's :)

My Dream TV as of 2006

2006-08-29T10:09:00.000-04:00

Every year dream TV becomes different. This year see my dream TV. I hope for everyone it would be the same

You are a desi if................

2006-08-26T14:08:00.000-04:00

You might be a Desi if.....

You ask for small drink at fast food restaurant because the refill is free.

You know more than one plans offered by long distance companies.

You take plain water instead of Coke for lunch.

You take any drink with no ice because you can't drink ice.

You ask before eating any meat "Is this beef?".

You try to ignore all other unknown desi's around you.

You know all the facilities available at public library.

You talk to americans as if you represent your whole country.

Stove top in your apartment is covered with aluminum foil.

Your frequent visit to yard sales every week.

You find taco bell sauce packets in your kitchen drawer.

Your dinner involves spreading newspaper on living room floor.

You take off your shoes before stepping foot in your living room.

If you like onion rings at Burger King.

You are looking for dual voltage appliances.

The phrase "When are you going to India" comes into your conversation at least once a day.

If you bought Toyota or Honda car only because it has better resale value.

The number of long distance calls is more than domestic calls.

You keep switching your internet service provider because first month is free.

You go back to your apartment for lunch.

If your full name contains more than 15 characters.

You know all the $1.50 theaters in your city.

The only reason you go to a temple on festivals is because there is free food.

You have spent nights in the car while traveling because you wanted to save money spent on cheap motel.

You don't know any American outside your work.

You tried to flirt with the Hindi speaking operator at AT&T.

You have at least one India made pressure cooker in your kitchen.

You know how much a 7 layer burrito costs at Taco Bell.

You run to Laundromat in your lungi.

Put oil in your hair.

You have a picture of Indian deity on the dashboard of your car.

If this thought comes to you "Oh shit I just saw another desi" when you are window shopping at a local mall.

If you keep comparing prices at circuit city for the phone you bought six months ago.

The lawyer handling your green card is in your speed dial.

You are compelled to visit ever major city in US, just so as to say that "Yes I have been there ".

You are comfortable with an American than an ABCD.

You have been to Mexico or Canada for multiple entry H1 Visa.

You pay your bills the day they come in mail.

Spent 2 days cleaning your apartment before leaving so you can get full security refund from landlord.

Have a bucket in your bath tub.

You have to borrow luggage from friends for India visit.

The smoke detector goes off whenever your are cooking dinner.

You know which grocery store keeps coriander.

You buy butter milk before you run out of it.

You use grocery bags as garbage bags.

You say "Damn I have already seen this show" when ever you are watching Married With Children.

You buy rice in the 20 pound bags.

Office supplies mysteriously find their way in your house.

You don't want to buy a printer because you can always use the office printer.

You have postponed buying answering machine because the computer you are planning to buy six months later has in built answering machine.

Your idea of fun involves bowling.

You starts spelling your name to the operator like A as in Apple, B as in boy, T as in train ...well you get the idea.

You ask another desi if he /she ever got a traffic ticket.

You haven't had a single female in your apartment besides your friends wife.

You bring over the counter medicines like iodex and Vicks from India.

Decide to marry a girl, your parents fixed without even meeting her.

You know the current differential in gold prices between India and US.

If you smell like a curry.

You go to a temple to pick up a women.

You have worked illegally in a Guju's motel.

You mark your forehead with scared ash.

You have a bought a video camera just before Niagara trip and returned it after the trip.

Wear VIP / Indian brand underwear and undershirts.

You have Rin (detergent soap cake) in your bathroom.

You have taken pictures of your car and mailed to your folks back home.

Use the credit card with maximum cash back.

You have collected enough frequent flier miles for a international trip.

You are saving more that 30 % of your salary.

Talk about the sexual escapades of your friend.

You have never asked a girl out.

Have bookmarked immigration web pages in your browser.

You know all of your friends salary.

Tried to talk in a phony accent with the freshie in the school.

You have asked a PhD student for a ride to grocery store.

There are more that 4 guys living in a 2 bedroom apartment.

You have cooking schedule in your kitchen cabinet.

You spend at least 2 evenings in a week at Kmart.

You split even tax from your common grocery bill.

Complain about Indian international airports on your first vacation to India.

You take 4 week long vacation.

You are the first to know about any on campus job openings at the school library/cafeteria/computer center.

What a failure is this?

2006-08-24T18:05:00.000-04:00

1) Go to google.com
2) Give failure in the search bar
3) Press " I am feeling lucky"
4) Try which site opens for that.

Kalyanam Panni Paar Car Vaangi Paar

2006-08-23T12:46:00.000-04:00

There is a saying in Tamil, " Veetta katti paar, kalyanam panni paar" . But there is a pudhu mozhi now, "Kalyanam Panni Paar Car Vaangi Paar".

Getting a car needs lots and lots of patience, analysis, intelligence ofcourse money :-)

We are planning to get a car now and thinking about that, going through the deals. I think getting a car in India is very easy, just apply for a loan and get a new car of your favourite brand.

Here getting a car takes a lot of step
1) What is the amount which we can afford ( based on the Car Loan EMI :-))
2) What is the brand we go for?
3) Will it have a resale value?
4) Which year model would be better?
5) What is the mileage we should get?
6) Some car terminologies ( 4 wheel drive, 2 wheel drive, Power steering, spoiler, wow... i know a lot)
7) Should it have any new features
8) Whats the best deal we can ask for?

After all this i donno when we would get the car. But by the time we get i donno the fall season here might be over :-(

If you guys know any of the tips please add

When a Mobile Phone is missing

2006-08-21T12:38:00.000-04:00

I saw a post on Kiruba's as he had almost lost his cellphone and worried about his phone book. So thought of sharing some info on the cell phone

Things you never know your cellphone would
THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR CELLPHONE COULD..

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it: -

*EMERGENCY*
*I*
*The Emergency Number worldwide for **Mobile** is 112.* If you find yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. **Try it out.**

*II* *Subject: Have you locked your keys in the car? Does you car have remote keys?* This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call Someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone.
Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

*III* Subject: Hidden Battery power Imagine your cell battery is very low, you are expecting an important call and you don't have a charger. Nokia instrument comes with a reserve battery. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time. AND

*IV*
How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?
To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone:
* # 0 6 #
A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. when your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless.

You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either.

If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

If you live in chennai you can use this information

And if your cell is lost please contact "CYBER CRIME CELL" with the IMEI number at the following Email addresses.
cyberac@rediffmail.com
baluac@vsnl.net
Here is the address.
S. BALU,
Assistant Commissioner of Police,
CYBER CRIME CELL,
Central Crime Branch,
Egmore,
Chennai - 8.

Also this will prevent the misuse of any data in the cell phones.

9/11 tapes are released

2006-08-16T13:26:00.000-04:00

Listen to the podcasts of 9/11 tragic incident.

Please follow the link

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-911-excerpts,0,20914.audiogallery?coll=ny-top-headlines

Do you have a Dell Laptop

2006-08-16T13:06:00.000-04:00

If you have a Dell Laptop and had purchased it within April 2004 to July 2006. Please check ur battery. Dell is recalling 4 million batteries. The largest ever in their history.

Recall NEWS: Dell to recall 4 million batteries... Click Here to read complete details.Story :: Dell has identified a potential issue associated with certain batteries sold with Dell Latitude™, Inspiron™, XPS™ and Dell Precision Mobile Workstation™ notebook computers. Some of these batteries were shipped to customers between April 1, 2004 and July 18, 2006 See this page to Identify your battery falls in Recall or not

Happy Independence Day

2006-08-15T09:19:00.000-04:00

Wish you all a very happy independence day

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7399792002477900458

Why do we leave a company after 5 years

2006-08-10T08:43:00.000-04:00

Its been a long time , since i had written in this blog. But i thought to write today as i had gone through this same mail i had read almost a year ago and at that time i thought it was another post resignation mail.

But now i believe this is not a post resignation mail, this is a mail of true feelings. I was giving another thought a person who hops the job once in 2 years mainly hops because of the money. A person who is there for mostly 5 years and above, get used to the company and they dont usually hop for money. Then what do they hop for may be this is an answer.

This mail has been addressed to a bunch of people which include most of the top people in Satyam(One of the best Indian Offshoring company) including Ramalinga Raju ( Chairman of Satyam). It was dated June 29 , 2001.

Please read this through the end

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Tejaswy R
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2001 3:20 PM
To:
Cc
Subject: Why I am leaving Satyam

Dear Fellow Satyamites,When I walk out the door today, I would have completed just over 62 months in Satyam, 48 months of that with SFI ( 6 months in SFI-IS Maintenance, 10 months with SFI-IDC offshore and 32 months at SFI Onsite). Why all this information? So that you may better appreciate what I want to say now. What follows in this mail are the feelings with which I am leaving Satyam after having given it five years from the prime of my youth. It is gonna be long, I warn you, so read it only if you are interested in hearing what I have to say. And kindly note that almost all of my references to Satyam are applicable mainly to the State Farm account.
"Why are you leaving?" - This is the question that I had fielded umpteen number of times in the past two months. I would love to say that my career in Satyam has motivated me so much that I now want to reach farther and achieve more. But nothing could be further from the truth.
So what is the truth? After graduating from IIT-Kharagpur in June 1995 and doing a couple of odd jobs around the country for an year, I finally settled with Satyam in April 1996 because of the promise of a fast track career in a growing company. My first two years in Satyam have been everything that I dreamed of - I saw my career progressing just the way I wanted. I was a team member, an ML and then a PL within two years. I was very happy with my job. So happy in fact, that I turned down my admission at the IIM, Bangalore to continue with Satyam. My then PM convinced me of a wonderful future in Satyam. Even though I didn't get promoted as I wanted, that didn't bother me much as I was doing something I really loved (and I hope my team liked me too - as there are so many of them here at SFI now). I figured that if the IIM can make me a management trainee in two years, I can become a real manager in Satyam in those two years. That was in March 98, fast forward three years to March 2001 and surprise, I am still sitting at my desk, coding programs and reporting to a totally incompetent, confused and clueless person. And that, my dear friends, is why I am leaving Satyam - no career growth, not even the promise of a growth. The moment an opportunity shows up, and my hopes of a promotion or growth start rising, they are squashed mercilessly by someone who has "Oh! so many years of experience". Correct me if I am wrong, but shouldn't ability, knowledge and skill be the criteria here?
The first person I met after joining Satyam was Mr. Ramalinga Raju (actually he was the third person - the first two being U.Balaji and Mala Vidyanathan, but it sounds more dramatic this way). In his welcome speech, which was very invigorating and motivating by the way, Mr. Raju promised that if we performed well we will be rewarded fittingly. His address was followed up by Mr A.S.Murthy who said that only performance can advance us in this company. I was young then and I believed those words. I wonder if they remember them. Because now, after working my butt off for the past five years, I realize that what advances you in this company is your age, how many years of exp you have under your belt (doesn't matter if that exp is shouting at labor in a cigarette plant or growing a paunch in a govt office or even, maybe, tossing burgers at a McDonalds). Capability and Initiative are two bad words when it comes to promotions and incentives. If you want to grow, it doesn't matter if you suck at your job, what matters is how well you suck-up to the powers that be.
Before I started writing this mail, I promised myself that I will not mention any names. If by chance, a name or two slips by, please ignore - OK!. This is not intended to be a personal vendetta, I just want to give some feedback about how I see things happening around me - just my viewpoint, only mine, in the hope that it will make people think about it and maybe even initiate some discussion for the betterment of everyone. Also, please do not confuse this with cribbing. I am not. I am leaving and I have nothing to gain or lose if this letter is taken seriously or thrown in the thrash can.
I don't know exactly when things started going wrong, but the work environment in Satyam-SFI has steadily gone from "Really Great" to "Down in the Dumps" - both at Onsite and Offshore. When I look around I see a cess-pool of internal-politics, power-grabbing and greed. This is definitely not the Satyam I joined. Satyam was about 500 strong when I joined and today it is a force to reckon, with thousands working around the world and the total employee figure racing to get into five digits. Growth has different ways of changing a company....
Go and visit Satyam.com and you will read about a lot of wonderful things like "See-through Company", "Open Door Policy", "Performance Oriented" etc, etc. However, I regret to inform you all that I do not see these anywhere around me. Instead, what I see is almost quite the opposite. There is no room for dissent. No policy is open for questioning or even discussion. Favoritism is rampant and factors other than professional skills and capabilities seem to have a higher importance while taking decisions. I can quote scores of examples to prove my point. From little things like vacation time and to big things like promotions, every where there seem to be bias and personal preferences. Someone has a genuine need to go to India but cannot get any additional vacation time other than what is accrued, while the boss's chamchas seem to get enough vacation with loss-of-pay to enjoy themselves. Someone gets a bad feedback from the client and is released from the account so fast that he must have felt his ass was in a time-wrap. Another person gets similar (if not worse) feedback, but being in the boss's good-graces that person has nothing to fear and is conveniently shifted to another area. Someone slogs like hell all year and hopes for a promotion but is denied because there is nothing "extra-ordinary" in what he did or he didn't complete the mandatory "two-years" (where the hell did that come from??). But another suck-up is promoted, without the two-years or without the extra-ordinary performance, because there was a "need" for it. And in case you are wondering what that "need" is, the Boss doesn't have to answer to you.

I can tell you many more stories, and some may make you shake your head in dis-belief. Like this PM who promotes and prefers married people because they have a family to feed and because married people are more dependable (how??, someone please explain me). So if you are skilled and top of your line but unmarried, then too bad for you. And then there is this person who won't promote you because he doesn't want to answer the others who may ask about it. He agrees that you deserve a promotion, mind you, and is very sympathetic about it, but won't do it because he is scared what others might say. How do you like that? Some consolation, huh? I can go on, but I am sure you all get the general drift.

So if things were so bad what was I doing here for so long. Well, things weren't always like this and it isn't as if I didn't have opportunities to get out. But "Hope", my friend, is what kept me going and tied me to this place. Never under-estimate the strength of hope. It made me suffer more than two years of negligence here. I stuck here thinking that every dog will have its day. But seems that either I am not a dog, for I haven't had my day yet, or I've already had my day and didn't even realize it - boy, I can be such a dumb dog sometimes. The inertia, complacence and the innate human need for security and comfort made a powerful combination when added to the hope and that power held me here. Bloomington is a very easy and comfortable place to live in, so easy that it dulls my senses and competitive edge. When I look back at what I was three years back and what I am now - a fat, overweight, unhappy, complaining slob - I feel ashamed for having let myself degenerate like this.

So, I am doing something about it. And getting out of this rut is my first step in the right direction. It is understandable if a married person, with a wife and kids and maybe parents to support, thinks about security and compromises with his work environment. But there is no excuse for a free bird like me to lie cooped up like this. And it has only frustrated me beyond all imagination, to the point that I even considered taking the next flight home and take to farming. The only thing that kept me here is my desire to beat this situation, just as I beat all the obstacles I faced in my life and to emerge stronger. And of course, the cars. If there weren't so many wonderful cars in this country, and if I weren't so crazy about them, my decision would have been much more easier. I am now in a very fortunate situation to have admission offers from three of the top ten Management Schools in the world from three corners of the globe, really. And whichever one I chose to attend, I am sure I will have many more opportunities available to me than Satyam can ever hope offer and, hopefully, they will also be better. My only regret is that Satyam has no use for me. And I wonder how many more frustrated individuals like me are here, waiting for their time to quit.

So what is the solution? The same thing that I have been saying for the past three years. Take feedback from subordinates and peers before promoting any one to the next level. When I put this suggestion to Mr. A.S.Murthy during one of his visits to SFI, he said that it is not possible to implement at the current stage of organizational restructuring, but that they are looking at something like that down the road. How far down the road? It is obviously too late for me. How many youngsters have to endure the stress and helplessness of working under an incompetent boss and see their careers going no where? I have had the opportunity to know and work with some excellent persons in Satyam and I've had an equal opportunity to suffer under imbeciles. Believe me, nothing beats the pleasure of working for a dynamic and competent boss and nothing sucks more that the realization that your boss is a total loser and you are stuck below him.

People find it easy to say "It is the same everywhere, why are you complaining only about Satyam". That is a very pathetic and lame excuse. Just because things are rotten at your neighbors place doesn't mean you have to put up with the stink here also. This is where you work, this is where you belong and it is your duty to clean things up. Do you let your house be in a mess just because the guy next door keeps it so? No. Why? Because you have a sense of pride and belonging about your house. This is what is severely lacking in Satyamites - especially in the middle level management where there is a lot of dead wood floating around. The top management appears committed to Satyam's growth, at least in appearances, with exciting visions, path-breaking concepts and such. The bottom seems to be strong with a vast number of engineers and programmers eager to make their career with Satyam. But the middle layer, mostly filled with drifters from other companies and career-changers and other such miscellaneous characters seem to give a hoot about Satyam. Everybody is grabbing for stock options and talking about jumping boat as soon as they encash their options. What will these people care about Satyam or its associates? A lone voice of dissent like me easily gets lost in the crowd. But when everybody takes it to heart to do something about it - something can be done.
Nobody wants to question or discuss policies in the so called "open" forums. What else are they open for then? If all that everyone has to say is "Hail Chief", then why all the talk about transparency, employee satisfaction, customer delight etc etc? We might as well throw all the policies out the window and have just one policy - "The Boss Rules". True, running a corporation isn't a democracy, but it shouldn't be a dictatorship either.

I think I just blew the basic rule of corporate employment. I burned the bridge behind me - there is no turning back now. So I might as well go all the way, right?
Just because a person has been around for ten years doesn't make him a better manager and just because someone is young doesn't make him a bad leader. All it needs to make it a better place for all of us is some compassion, a strong sense of justice and a very large supply of competent people in the middle management. As long as these are lacking in the work place, people won't trust each other and sustainable growth cannot be achieved. Why has Satyam become just another alliance for SF from being the largest alliance partner? How many can truthfully vouch that whatever growth we are seeing is solely because of the efforts of our managers and would be lost if the managers weren't there? I see Satyam only taking what comes their way and the alliance office working to keep the resources loaded. I see people wasting countless hours in meetings deliberating over totally irrelevant subjects. You know what it all sounds like - straight out of a "Dilbert" cartoon strip. Wake up guys!! we are living in a Dilbert world. If Scott Adams ever decides to make movie on his strip, Satyam at SFI would be a hands down winner for the location.

It would have been very easy - v.v.v.v.easy for me to walk away from all this without saying anything, like so many others before me. But every time somebody left I cried out loud why he or she would not express their concerns to those in higher places - higher than your boss and even your super-boss. I am not sure whether they are aware of the state of things or not, but they have nothing to lose in listening to my 2 cents.

So, I am finally leaving Satyam - about time too. Hopefully, to a place where I expect my career aspirations will be fulfilled to a much greater extent than in Satyam. Also, my time in Satyam has humbled my ego and lowered my expectations, so I do not expect much from this place that I am going to, but whatever little that I desire I am sure I can find it there.
How would I rate my experience with Satyam? The first 2.5 yrs have been great, it has been one exciting ride. The next 2.5 yrs sucked royally, thanks to you-know-whoall. But over all, the two periods break-off evenly and I am exiting with a fairly neutral opinion about the whole experience. I learned a lot, there is no question about that. And I will always be grateful to all the people who motivated me or inspired me in one way or the other - Sunil Talloo, Srinivas Moharir, Apurba, Ramana, Srini, Rama, Bharati, Bhowmik, Amit Kumar, Ratan Singh, Srihari A (and his brother whom I never met), A.S.Murthy, Ramalinga Raju, Shankar and a whole bunch of friends - too many to mention here. And I am also thankful to my detractors and my bosses for frustrating me beyond my limits of tolerance and driving me to desperation. I guess that too was a sort of negative motivation, I doubt if I would have tried so hard to get out if I had better opportunities here at SFI-Satyam.

I really would love to work for Satyam again sometime in my career - after all we (Satyam and I) shared our youth together. But not if these bunch of hypocrites are still hanging around.
Ok, I guess that is all I had to say. Seems rather vitriolic when I read it again - but that's how I feel. Do your job well, but don't forget to say your (Thursday??) prayers.

If you want to congratulate me on writing a good essay, want to curse me for the things I wrote or just want to kick my ass for having the guts to actually write and send such a mail, then you all can reach me at any of the following contact points:
e-mail - tejaswyr@hotmail.com
phone - (309) 287-7543
address - 309 Robinhood Ln, Apt A-4, Bloomington, IL 61701

"Its Nice to be Important, but it is more Important to be Nice." To those whom I have offended - No hard feelings. I let mine out. Hope you can too. Peace!!
Wish me luck.
Cheers.Teja

Free Web Seminar on DB2 9

2006-07-28T08:46:00.000-04:00

There is a free web seminar sponsored by IBM on Aug 2 , 2006 at 11.00 AM for 1 hour.
Speakers:
Bob Picciano, IBM Vice President, Worldwide Information Management Sales
Thore Thomassen, senior enterprise architect for Storebrand Group

You can enroll from http://www.dmreview.com/web/reg_ibm05.cfm

Please utilize this oppurtunity and explore the possibilities of DB2 9. IBM is coming up with certification exams for DB2 9. Family Fundamentals being named 730. Others are yet to be named but they have their online material from now on. Z/OS DB2 9 will be available in a short while

Software Engineer

2006-07-27T10:31:00.000-04:00

Profeesional Tax:
Software Engineer who used to pay Rs. 200/- every month and Rs.300/- in March. For an year it was Rs. 2500/- . But now the government has increased that to Rs.7500/- a year which comes to Rs.625/- per month.

This is completely under the impression that S/W Engineers are paid more in India. To the people who are not in Software Industry let me try to explain what happens to Software Engineer.

Most of the Software Engineers are from the upper middle class or lower middle class where they have heard of monthly income Rs.10,000/- to Rs.20,000/- for a 20 year experienced person. They would have started the inital pay some where in Rs.100/- to Rs.1000/- . So when a guy / a gal enters into the Industry and able to get the same amount as their father or any one in their famil circle who are employed as a fresher. The SE becomes excited. I am able to earn in this small age. They tried to spend extravagantly as they were not allowed to do when they were kids. They fly countries, see different cultures and they think they have lot of time to save and bring the family. But the fact is hardly 5% of Software Engineers think of saving something for themselves. Others try to spend. They have expense for everything( Bday Party in Taj, Honey Moon in Abroad, Diamond gift for the fiancee , Taking trips) We cannot defend that it is wrong. But the common people do not really understand that they dont have savings. They think these people are able to spend this much, then there would be lot that they saved.

Most of the SE's now go for getting their new home to avoid tax and they consider that as an investment. But that too , they dont know the depth they get in. A Person with Rs. 30,000/- monthly income goes for a Rs.20,000/- EMI for 30 years.

May be the SE's should stop being in fantasy and come to a real world where we dont know what is going to happen next. Things will not be the same blue moon every time. Be prepared even for the worst, so you can take the worse. I am not a pessimist and the above wordings are meant only to descrive the situation where we are now. We are used to a life style today and we cannot be sure how we are gonna live if this goes.

Yahoo Hires DB Guru to Compete with Google

2006-07-26T11:37:00.000-04:00

Just heard that Yahoo is hiring the Database Guru to compete with Google. And this position will be the most important position in the search facility of Yahoo. And the proudest thing in this factor is this Database Guru is Raghu Ramakrishnan who is a B.Tech from IIT and Ph.d from University of Texas. I am not only proud that he is an Indian. His basics are from India which definitely is strong. We are proud to say that we are Indians

Yahoo and Microsoft both are in the verge of overcoming the google mania. Microsoft has advertised for a recent position known as " Google Compete Lead" for China Division. This competition if healthy, we are the people who would be enjoying with the benefits from them.

Let the technology groom and make this a success

Post Effects of the Previous blog

2006-07-23T23:02:00.000-04:00

After seeing yesterday's blog my husband felt really bad, am i treating you this way. Ofcourse he knows the answer would be No from me. But here is how i console myself. Just go to the link and read the article fully. May be some day in life, i would be giving statement like that

Timetable of a H4 wife

2006-07-22T17:21:00.000-04:00

I guess mostly everyone as a H3 wife would agree with me in the below time table. In the freedom world of america, there has been a thought to completely forget about the women community is this H4 visa i would say.

7.00 AM - 8.00 AM - Get up, make breakfast, pack the lunch which was prepared yesterday for the husbanc.
8.00 AM - 11.00 PM - Chat with India, Call to India
11.00 PM - 12.00 PM - Watch some DVDs got from others or doenloaded
12.00 PM - 1.PM - Have lunch, Browse some sites, Download some movies.
1PM - 3 PM - Call friends who ever in H4 and discuss about the recipe, gossips about husbands promotion, gossips about the unmarried people who are friends living together, about some sites which have movies
3PM - 4 PM - Have a short sleep
4PM - 5 PM - Make some snacks or prepare Tea
5PM - 6PM - Husband comes in serves the Tea / Snacks
6PM - 8PM - Go for a walk in the near by park or the near by place
8PM - 9 PM - Have dinner with husband, sometimes this is Potluck and sometimes this is calling someone for dinner
9PM - 10 PM - Call husbands home or husbands relatives circle and talk.
10 PM - Go to sleep

This is the routine thing every H4 wife in USA does. So women in India, be happy that you are in India. Not in a Jail in a freedom world. We all miss our country and the freedom only after coming here. " Veyilla ponathukkaprum thaan nizhaloda arumai theriyudhu" ( Meaning: After going in the sunlight, you realise how good was a roof).

Love of my life

2006-07-21T09:08:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the love of my life, my hubby had asked me a question, Why is the blog name " This Mirror Reflects"? Every mirror reflects. Why did you keep this name as this mirror reflects. All the Mirrors do reflect. I turned to him, smiled at him and said, dont think logical honey.

He left it. But yesterday full night i was thinking what should i say to my husband. I never could get sleep. Got up and searched some stuff in google. What could be the answer? Did anything strike to me? Suddenly i had a flash. This mirror is me, I reflect my inner feelings. I got up early at 6.00 AM and started to wake my kumbakarna husband next to me. As i dint sleep the full night, i fell asleep and he had gotten up and made himself ready to go to office. Suddenly the mirror came and disturbed my sleep. Hey Hey Please tell about me. He was tying the shoelace, i went and looked at him. Baby, Do you know why i have kept this name as thismirrorreflects. He replied me back, dear what are you talking about. I was shocked and surprised. Did i stay awake all night for this reply? Oh My God. Oh My God. I some how wanted to get inside his mind and tell him what i wanted to say. I said, San so and so is the reason for this. He laughed and said me, Oh you meant that. I know you are a nut loose and would keep a name like that. So leave that. He left then.

What should i do? Who would listen to me... Anybody there. Could anybody listen to me?

DB2 Certification

2006-07-20T15:34:00.000-04:00

I am preparing for the DB2 702 certification. And this is going to make a very good change in life.

Learning more about Indexspaces, Tablespaces, Tables makes me more and more interested towards it.

I would like to write more about the serials which i do watch in the TBS and in UPN9.

Lets start from tomorrow.

First Post !!!

2006-07-18T08:07:00.000-04:00

This is my first post in this blog. I am starting with a good news. I have cleared the DB2 Certification 700 Exam.

This blog would exhibit what i experience in my H4 life.