Travel and Learning 2

Week 2 passed off uneventfully. Research went on well. I took a day off in Madras and drove to Mahabalipuram with a friend. We left around 12 noon and reached fisherman's cove at 1.15ish. The drive was as scenic as ever. It had rained and hence the roads looked washed. The air was moist and the greenery seemed to have got a fresh coat of life. The very sight of the beautiful expanse of infinite blue just beyond the brown sun burnt sand and the small patches of green coconut groves lifted my already soaring spirits to new high.

At fisherman's cove resort we wanted to do the catamaran ride where they would take us on a catamaran into the sea for around a kilometer or two and drop you there with life jackets on. (For folks who have seen Anjana song in Yuva with Kareena and Vivek Oberoi or the Aazhithai Yezhuthu in Tamil with Trisha and Siddharth, this song was filmed in Fisherman's cove and the catamaran ride is the same one that I am talking about). Unfortunately the sea was rough and no boats were venturing into the sea. Later that evening when we came back home, we figured out that the particular day that we chose to go for the catamaran ride was the day when the moon was closest to the earth; and hence the rough sea conditions. Now imagine the odds of choosing one day out of 365 days and getting it on the same day that the moon decides to be 'chuddi-buddies' with earth.

This has led me to an intriguing thought and hence I am starting a contest. I would like to hear from you guys what is 'that' one( or more) situation which you felt would just not happen 'coz the odds of it happenning were not even imaginable. But 'that' happenned. I hope I am clear here. You could mail/ comment about your incidents. There is a prize at the end of this contest. I have the sole discretion of deciding the winner( and yes, I am allowed to select myself as the winner!)

Anywho, I was in Bangalore for the weekend and on Sunday morning I went for a drive and decided to drive to the other end of the city. On my way back, I entered a No Entry road and was promptly caught by the cop. He asked me to show me my driving license. I stepped out of the car with my dad to talk to him. He saw me wearing an Infosys T Shirt and my dad wearing a TCS T shirt. ( Thanks to my brother who participates in hazaar competitions and all inter collegiate competitions in Bangalore are sponsored by software companies who dole out freebies). He glanced at our T shirts, made a rhetorical comment ' Infosys', smiled and said ' be careful next time' and let me off :). I was ready to pay the fine of 300 bucks for making a mistake, but well, I was let off with a warning. :)

Back in the car, my dad was telling me that the respect for Infosys and Wipro in Bangalore is very high, for the phenomenal job creation. And I guess I would agree. The top 3 IT companies, TCS , Infosys and Wipro are together creating one lakh jobs this year. These three alone employ 2 lakh people. Add all IT companies, IT enables services and the employment in the economy due to IT industry like cab services, drivers, security etc etc etc. The multiplier effect is phenomenal. I recently read an article which criticised the industry of being at the lower end of value chain like call centers and author called the Indian BPO workers cyber coolies. You know what, if by being at the lower end of the value chain I can create the employment that this industry is creating today, I would be more than happy to be there. I know of a family where the father was a priest in the local temple earning 4500-5000 a month. They struggled to make their son study engineering. My uncle had helped the son prepare for the entrance exams and interviews in IT companies and he got a job in the first company itself. The starting salary was 15000 a month. The entire family turned up the next day at my uncles place with a basket of fruits/sweets/ gifts etc. Their joy was something to see. THey knew that their life had changed forever and for the better.

The market forces will ensure that at the bottom of the value chain, I innovate or find a niche to stay on when competition comes my way or I will perish. I will also slowly start moving up the value chain once I acquire expertise. By branding the entire force as cyber coolies who do routine mechanical no brainer work and hence destined to doom is completely unacceptable.

I have been ranting quite a bit. Moral of the story, Please wear Infosys T shirts while driving in Bangalore :)

Now I am back in Bombay and back to work in my office seat. Suddenly life has become a routine (within a day) and I am feeling uneasy. Guess I am a nomad at heart and my thrills lie on the roads that in cubicles.

In the meanwhile here are a few pictures from Mahabs taken on my cell phone. So please excuse the quality, but do admire the beaches!