Nostalgia...

26th March 2010, with lot of hopes and dreams in my eyes, blessings and wishes in my kitty, clothing and personal items in my suitcase, and a guitar on my shoulder, I left my home and took a flight to Bangalore.

The Almighty has shown me that your prayers can be answered; your struggles can have a sweet ending. Something similar happened with me. After sitting idle at my home, shattered and hopeless, I had finally got the most unexpected thing of that time, my offer letter from Infosys. My moments of despair turned into celebrations and happiness, and behind the picture were few people who stood by me when I needed them the most. Some people helped me out from nowhere... True, as I read in The Alchemist, "Everything is written and you are bound to reach your destiny". It was happening with me. I got my reporting date in Infosys Mysore as 28th March 2010.

Coming back to March 26th 2010, standing at the IGI airport, I was very excited to board my first flight, to be present at my beloved cousin's birthday, to join Infosys, to step into a new life. As the flight arrived, I took my seat and started gazing through the window, watching the aircraft getting airborne, going above the clouds. Yes, I was on cloud 9 too. As couple of hours passed, the flight touched down ground at Bangalore International Airport. Without further delay, I took a cab to reach my cousin's home. Such a great feeling it was.

March 27th 2010, was the day of celebrations and lots of shopping. It was my cousin's birthday and a day before I had to step into a new life... It was an amazing day indeed. I was all set to leave from Bangalore next day, and arrived the awaited day, March 28th 2010. I left for Mysore in the morning. With full of excitement, I reached Infosys Mysore campus. After initial formalities, I was allowed to step into the campus, where there were 14000 other trainees wearing colored straps around their necks with an ID card saying that yes, they were employed by Infosys. I soon collected my room keys and checked into the hostel. After getting into the room, I placed my luggage at appropriate place and took rest.

We assembled at the multiplex the very next day for the Induction briefing. We were made to feel that we are going to do something extraordinary. The joining formalities were being carried out and this process took a week to complete. I was now a part of March 29 LC2 CS batch. The journey of my generic training started from there and it went on smoothly. I was enjoying my every single day there. That place gave me an opportunity to learn, earn, and have fun, all at the same time. I was in a dream run. After the generic training, our stream specific training started and I was now in ESA June 10 batch. Though the batch changed, everything else remained the same.

Finally, at the end of this training, it was time for new posting locations. I desperately wanted to join in at Hyderabad STP where my best of friends were already posted. And voila, I got the location of my choice. Isn't God great?

Life at Hyderabad started with a lot of adjustments, learning, and of course fun. The Delivery environment was entirely different from training, but it proved to be the actual path of learning. I was lucky to be a part of a very nice team who always support and guide me with my work. I somehow managed to still stay in touch with all my hobbies. My weekends are dedicated to music room, badminton court, etc.

I was back at Delhi few days back on the occasion of Holi, and was leaving back for Hyderabad. The circle of life was coming into picture.

26th March, 2011, with lot of hopes and dreams in my eyes, blessings and wishes in my kitty, clothing and personal items in my suitcase, and new responsibilities on my shoulder, I left my home and took a train to Hyderabad. 27th March 2011, I wished my cousin from train itself and 28th March 2011, I joined back my office, completing one year of the journey with Infosys, which I never expected to start.

I thank every single person who was a part of this journey and supported me walking through it. I wish this journey continues and I get new things to explore on my way...

Unforgettable Moments (Part 1)

So, here is another post from me in the bad times of mine. At least it makes me light when I share my mind with my Blog. And today, I would like to share few moments of my life which I cannot forget. Right from my childhood days, to till now, there have been some events which are still fresh in my mind. They gave me amazing experiences, some good and some bad. So, here am I to share them with you one by one.

India (Gate) Topper:

No way. If you are thinking that I ever topped in any national level exam, then buddy, you are dreaming. I know it’s kinda funny. Hehe... So I’ll tell you to focus on the word in the braces. Yes, now you are right. Yes I am an India Gate topper and that too twice. I mean I’ve gone to the top of the India Gate twice. Most of you would have been there many times, orbiting around the great monument. But I got chance to explore the interiors of the same a couple of my times. It dates back to some 11 years ago from now. My dad was posted at the Vayu Bhawan, the Air Headquarters of the Indian Air Force. And that was the place from where the personnel‘s were sent for the duty of guarding the monument. The duty was rotated between Air Force, Army and Navy every four months, covering the entire calendar year. So when my dad got his turn for the first time, as a family member, I got a chance to explore the India Gate from inside. Voila, it was so titanic from inside, just like a 6 floor MIG apartment. Though it looks like blocks of huge a stone piled up from outside, it is very spacious from inside, enough to accommodate 25-30 families. When I started to count the stairs, it crossed 300 mark. Hope I lost at least few hundreds of calories that day. Crossing each stair, I reached the top floor then on its roof. I could see most of the Delhi from there. But what fascinated me the most were the amazing residents of the building. When I went there for the first time, throughout the stairs all I could see were the nests of pigeons, their eggs, chicks, shits, twigs, etc. And the second time I visited there, the monuments was taken over by hundreds of bats. God, it was like a nightmare. At the ground floor, there were array of LPG cylinders, at least 16 of them on the both sides of the entrance which fuelled the Amar Jawan Jyoti 24X7. It also had rooms for the security guards to sleep. Truly, it was an amazing experience for me both of the times to go there. Whenever I see that monuments on T.V. or newspapers, I still feel I’m on the top of it, again.

The Hissssssss:

Sounds creepy? Yes it is, as this experience relates me to the ordeal with a 3 foot brown cobra. This happened around 6 years back when I was in Chennai. We had a rich garden behind our house full of fruitful plants and lush green trees. It also had a big lemon tree which gave us quintals of lemon every year. And at the root of it, there was a burrow of a couple of cobra snakes. Though we rarely saw them, one day one of them entered somehow in our house. I was in the other room then. My mom was going from other room to the kitchen when she realized that there is a hooded creature staring at her in the pathway. She got frightened and ran outside the home calling for help. This was when I came out of my room to help her out. Inspired by the Steve Irwin show and many such similar ones on the Discovery channel and Animal Planet, I was very excited for trying my hands on the snake. I came out of the room with the steel rod making my mind not to kill the devotee of the lord Shiva. The cobra was trying to crawl towards the kitchen. When it felt the vibrations of my footsteps, it started waving with its head in air and its hood on, hissing. Though I was too thrilled, but there was no stepping back from my side. I somehow took that rod, and marched towards the snake as if it was a battle of species. When I placed the rod on the snakes head, it started swiveling rapidly. Without losing my cool, I pressed its head on the floor. But it was still scary. I went close to it and caught its slippery head tightly in my hand. The cobra curled its entire body on my hand and started pressing it tightly, but after all, it was a cobra, not a python. Finally, I took a deep breath and smiled as I was still alive. Hehe... When I came out of the house with the cobra in my hand, my mom got shocked thinking I might have been bitten by it. But I told her what all happened to calm her down. Now it was time to get rid on the snake. So, I went to the small park which was far away from my home and freed the cobra there. The park was less often visited by people so it was safe to release the snake there. But the hissing cobra gave me a thrilling experience and I hope to take control of a python some day. Hehe...

Countless Deaths:

This too happened when I was in Chennai, in year 2004. One fine morning, I went to a bakery shop to buy breads. I met a friend of mine there. “Hey, did you hear? 100 persons died on Marina beach today.” He said with strange expressions on his face. I thought what bullshit this guy is talking. I went to my home and took my breakfast. My dad said he felt like earthquake when he was sleeping. After some time, I switched on the idiot box and started swapping the channels. When I paused on the news channel, I got shocked. What I heard from the guy in the morning was true! And oh my god, not 100, but the toll went in thousands. Most of the east coast of India, the Andaman islands, Malaysia, Thailand, Somali, Philippines and many others countries were affected by a natural disaster which they termed as Tsunami. To see the situation myself, I went to the Marina beach and what I saw was horrible. Countless dead bodies were being taken away on trucks, rickshaws, autos, and people screaming here and there, everything was like a nightmare. The beach where I used to play volleyball was covered with water, debris and dead bodies. The ocean water broke its limits and came till the road and even touched the building there like the Madras University and Presidency College. Thank god, it was early Sunday morning else the toll would have gone much higher. The entire Air Force Station at Karnik, Andaman, got washed away in the disaster, killing at least 200 personnel of IAF and their family members. The entire world lost more than 3 million people on that day due to Tsunami.

I’ll tell you more such events, which made an impact on my life, in the second part of this post. So, keep reading...

Unfolding the Rose

It is only a tiny rosebud,

A flower of God's design;

But I cannot unfold the petals

With these clumsy hands of mine.

The secret of unfolding flowers

Is not known to such as I.

God opens this flower so sweetly,

When in my hands, they fade and die.

If I cannot unfold a rosebud,

The flower of God's design,

Then how can I think I have wisdom

To unfold this life of mine?

So I'll trust him for his leading

Each moment of every day.

I'll look up to him for his guidance

Each step of the pilgrim way.

The pathway that lies before me,

Only my God know.

I'll trust him to unfold the moments,

Just as he unfolds the rose.

Why do women cry?

When God made women, He decided she had to be special.

He made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet her arms gentle enough to give comfort! He gave her the inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times will come, even from her own children! He gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going and take care of her family and friends, even when everyone else gives up, through sickness and fatigue, without complaint!

He gave her sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her badly! She has the very special power to make a child’s boo-boo feel better and to quell a teenager’s anxieties and fears. He gave her strength to care for her husband, despite faults, and He fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart! He gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly !

So, for all of this hard work…

He also gave her a tear to shed. It is hers to use whenever needed and is her only weakness!

When you see her cry, tell her how much you love her and all she does for everyone. And even though she may still cry, you will have made her heart feel good.

She is special!!!

TCP/IP Protocol & Life

Ahh... the college is over now... And here am I sitting at my home at leisure. Don’t know what to do next. Lost all my hopes to join Infosys, maths giving me nightmares, my muscles telling me to go back to the gym, parents cursing me for not doing anything, etc... This isn’t funny. It’s something which I’m facing on a daily basis... :(

So finally I dared to pick up my aged textbook of Computer Networks and started flipping its pages in a jest. I finally settled down on the TCP/IP chapter. I just started reading it again. I was forced to do so in my class too... Lolz... But it was motivating. I could make out something out of it which relates the topic to my life... Read the technical stuff with patience. I know you hate them... Hehe...

For those, who hate IT guys and their stuffs, TCP/IP is a protocol used for transfer of data over computer networks. If it fails to work, then you will start cursing your Internet Service Provider because it is the base of Internet. I studied that TCP/IP uses a virtual channel between two communicating devices and uses sockets to make the connection. The data transfer takes place in form of packets. When a connection has to be established between the devices, the sender sends a packet to the destination device. Upon receiving that packet, the receiver responds to the sender with an acknowledgment packet informing that it received the packet. When the sender receives the acknowledgement packet, the connection is established and data transfer starts taking place. Now what if the receiver receives the data but fails to send an acknowledgment? To solve this problem, the protocol uses few algorithms to respond to this situation.

First, the sender waits for the acknowledgment for a particular period of time and still no acknowledgement is received, it retransmits the previous packet. If due to some reasons the sender still doesn’t receive any acknowledgment, it keeps on sending the packets. After a few attempts, it stops sending packets in no acknowledgment is received. Thus the connection gets closed and the data transfer stops. That’s when your Internet gets disconnected...

Now what this has to do with life? As I said earlier, I found the protocol similar to our lives. We have gone through it many times, but we never impede to give it view. We communicate with many people around us. I apply this theory to those who are close to me.

When two people want to communicate, they make a relationship. They name it as friends, love, father, mother, son, daughter, etc. When you want to express your feeling to them, you choose a socket, which is your heart. In case they are not your dear ones, you choose your brain. We then express ourselves to them. And when they respond to it, we say the relationship becomes successful. We start communicating with them using words and emotions and wait for their responses. Even if they don’t, we keep on trying. But what if the other person is not interested in listening to you? They may try to avoid or ignore you and may not respond you. Since we care about them, we keep on trying. But how many times? We do have our own limits of patience. And when the limit is reached, we give up and break our relationships with that person, like a divorce in the case of spouses.

We should make our algorithms, oops, I mean our ability to handle such situations better. We should not be too eager to see the result in just a short span of time. As one of friend messaged me, Life gives answers in 3 ways. It says yes and gives you everything. It says no and gives you something better, or it says wait, but gives you the best. Let the best be yours. Now what did that actually meant? Hehe...

We have to take decisions wisely as it depends how our relationship with that person is going to be. Whether you actually want to be with that person or not? Or the problems are coming due to communication gap? Or is there any reason? Don’t see how the person is responding to you, but try to figure it out why he or she is responding like that. And I’m sure; it’ll make things unambiguous... Try it...