Welcome to Chirag's Blog

Working in a Start-up vs Big Organisation

2012-06-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

After working for 3 years with well-established companies, I am now working with a one year old start-up. In initial 3 years of my career, in first year I worked with a mid-size company, having employee strength of around 200. After that, for next 2 years, I worked with a very old and large company, having over 2 lakh employees, though the environment and working culture there also was very relaxed, no-nonsense kind, courtesy to my manager and all teammates. Coming from that huge company to directly a start-up feels very different. Start-Up, the word seems to tell: Start and work your way up, if you were sleeping till now. Though it has just been a week since I joined my new start-up company, so it may be a very early to compare both, I would still like to list few differences I have noticed.
I would start with very visible and common things. Here in start-up, there is no restriction on you should wear at work. You don’t have to be very formal with your attire. You can wear t-shirts, jeans daily. There is a guy in my office who comes in half pants daily. You do not need a pair of formal shoes. Your casual sports shoes or even sandals will do. There are no specific timings. You can come late if you don’t like to get up early, and work till late. There is no specified number of hours that you have to spend in office. Although, that means that often you end up working long hours in office, as there is a lot of work and few people in small company. If you don’t feel like coming to office, you can work from home. So you can see, there is a lot of flexibility in a start-up.
There are other more important benefits of working in a start-up. There are less number of people, so everyone is important and your opinion counts. You are noticed for almost everything you do, for every step you take, though it applies for your mistakes also, as much it does for your contributions. In starting years, there is generally only one office, and that also is small, so you end up sharing your space with the people who matter most: the founders and CEOs/CTOs of the company. You can see how they are running the organisation, how much effort they are putting, what new ideas they are thinking of, their decision process etc. You can even give them your suggestions, and thus directly become even more important part of the company. In big organisations, you sometimes have not even seen these people even after working for years. In those big companies, some big guys, sitting in some other part of the planet, will take decision for you, and you don’t even know that who has done what to you. There you are just another drop in the ocean; here you are like a river, which after meeting with other rivers will form the ocean someday. There you are just going with the flow; here you are actually deciding the direction of the flow.
In small companies, you can try new things, fail at them, then retry something new again. There are no monolithic hierarchies for decision making. Instead of deliberating on pros and cons of something in meeting rooms for hours without actually trying it, here you just try it, learn from failures, and move on. Whatever work you do, its effects, whether good or bad, are in front of you very soon. There is no waiting for months to see the result of your work. That is called failing fast approach.
But there are lot of things that I will miss from my previous companies. Here I cannot sit in canteen and chat with colleagues on latest news, cricket or movies. Nobody seems to have much time for long discussions on Sachin’s 100th hundred, or Dravid’s retirement, or the movie released last Friday, or share market, or the next scandal done by UPA government. But as they say, nothing comes for free in life. Here you are important, your time is important, so you do only important thing.
Welcome to Start-Up !!!.

Edit: As one friend pointed out, I forgot to mention that there are some exceptions among big organisations, where still a start-up environment is maintained as Google,Facebook,Cisco etc.

Is Negativity more powerful than positivity?

2011-11-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

Today a friend inquired about why I don’t drink, don’t smoke and don’t eat non veg. He wanted to know that why I am still missing the enjoyment he and other friends get from these things. His thoughts were that I might not have done these things early in my life because my parents had not allowed me. Now when I was living hundreds of kilometers away from them, independent, free to make any decision, why had I not started any of these enjoyments? I have been asked these types of questions often by friends. Most of the times, I am not able to satisfy them logically by my answer, because my answer includes some reference to my religion, Jainism, but they want is pure logic. It was no different this time. But after many incidents of this type, my mind was forced to find logic behind this choice of mine of not smoking, drinking or having pieces of meat and bones of a poor unlucky animal in my plate.

I had been a science student, and science says that there is logic behind everything in this world. So, logically, there has to be some logic behind this reasoning of mine. And after some logical thinking, I found that there is a reason for everything we do. We eat because we feel hungry, we earn because we can have something (veg or non-veg) to eat, and I am writing this because I want to share my thoughts with you. So perhaps there is a reason behind everything, and reason can be positive or negative. Positive reasons encourage us to do something, while negative ones make us frightened, skeptical of doing something, and sometimes force us to take a back seat. But the question here is that which one is more powerful? I find negative reasons to be more powerful in most cases. You may have lots of positive reasons for doing something, but most of the times, one negative reason is powerful enough to convince us to not to do that thing. For example, fear of failure stops us from trying something new in our life. A novice speaker has fear of crowd; students do not answer questions in class because they might get their answer wrong and others might laugh on them, juniors do not put their idea in team meetings because seniors might reject it. A batsman looses an opportunity of hitting a six because he is feared of getting caught if he plays his shot in air. And those don’t fear; end up making bowlers feared from them, like Sehwag or Chris Gayle. In Math, you multiply infinite number of positive numbers with one negative number, and the whole result is negative. In software, a program of thousands of lines of code gets spoiled by one wrong statement.

So negativity is much more powerful in most cases. That’s why great men tell us to think positive, to be optimistic.

In my case, I can think of many negative reasons, but not even a single positive reason to drink, smoke or eat non-veg, so I don’t do it. I am thinking highly negative here, but will continue to do so, irrespective of what wise men say.
Which one is more powerful in your case? What do you think?

What to write about?

2011-09-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

After a lot of days, I happened to recall about my long forgotten hobby of blogging. I browsed through the old posts and thought of adding one more today. But cannot decide what to write. Should I write about my office and the work I do (or made to do) there? Nah! Today is Sunday and I will be at that place after few hours tomorrow, i.e. Monday morning. So let’s not bring the thoughts of it before tomorrow. Should I write about how I passed the whole day today? But there is nothing special to tell about it. Same routine, sleeping, eating, watching TV, then sleeping again. Then waking up and suddenly wanting to write a post here, then will go to sleep again and waking up on Monday morning to be in office. Nothing interesting to write about! Should I write about the current happenings? About the Mumbai blasts, then Delhi High Court blasts? Or about the unfolding of one after another scandals about our corrupt politicians, who seem to come at the helm only to make money? Leave it. You already have had a lot of it on news channels buzzing 24 hours. Oh! I remember about one thing that interests me a lot. Cricket! So I can write about it, but what? Let’s try. Indian team lost badly to England in all formats, returning with a tied match only. Not a single victory for a world champion team in the whole tour. And Rahul Dravid retired from ODIs. So here also nothing good to write about.

After so much thinking, I do not know what to write about. So let’s leave it for some other day. Let’s talk about what I am doing now. Hey, you already know it. I am writing this post, even if not knowing what to write, and my 4 years old computer, on my 8 years old speakers, is playing songs of latest movies. Great Na! That’s called new wine in old bottle. Let’s rest all of this for now, as I have to go to bed, to wake up on Monday Morning. Wish me Luck!

The great "Trio" of Indian Cricket

2010-06-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

Sachin Tendulkar: This man does not need any introduction, at least in India. And if he does for you, then please tell which planet you are from? You may not belong to the earth, for sure. The greatest cricketer born in India till date, he has left very less to be done for others, so no one will have any chance to be greater than him in near future. He is adorned by many names as Master Blaster, Run Machine and ‘A 5’5’’ Giant’, as Ricky Ponting has called him. In our country, India, cricket is the only religion which does not distribute and make people fight, politicians can not make use of it to play with peoples’ sentiments and increase their vote banks. It does not cause any riots, no one gets killed on its name, and Sachin is the God of this religion, the greatest epitome of it. His name is now synonym of cricket. Most of the time, the players are identified by the game they play, but in India, Sachin identifies the game itself. If somebody does not know about cricket, he will still know Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, and would identify cricket as the game Sachin plays. He is a nightmare for bowlers; he even came in dreams of Shane Warne hitting him outside the ground. He holds virtually every record in batting. With his small height, he stands tall among all his counterparts. I just request him that he continues to frighten the bowlers, sitting on th e pile of records which grows higher and higher.

Sourav ‘Dada’ Ganguly: Don’t go on his boyish looks! He will knock you down if the time belongs to him. That’s what, the most successful captain of India, Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, had done throughout his career. He always had to fight, with the selectors, with the board, for his team, for young players and ironically, for himself also, and he did it all, with glory and elan. There were few people who did not cherish his flamboyance, were furious at him at moments, but he did not mind it. He did not fear with anyone, and always strived for the team. His aggression, with distinctive leadership, brought India to new heights. Now we were winning abroad, our players could retaliate with eye-in-eye to opponents. He made the Australian captain, Steve Waugh, to wait for toss. He waved his shirt in Lords, in reply to England’s Andrew Flintoff. He filled Indian team with new spark. The opponent captains were not able to digest his tactics; they did not like him, because they never expected the ‘polite’ Indians to be furious. In the process, Sourav had few enemies, inside and outside team, thanks too his distinct and never seen style. But inspite of all this, he was just a player in the team. Perhaps, there was nothing he could have done. So, at last, he had to go, leaving his aggression and flamboyance in the players, as his eternal footprints. The day ends, the evening comes, the furious and aggressive sun has to dim its light, and vanish completely in the night. Dada could not change the law of nature.

Rahul Dravid: ‘Mr. Cool’, ‘Mr. Dependable’, ‘The Wall’ these are some names this man has earned. ‘Earned’ because he did all the hard work through out his career. Many a times, the great master blaster blasted, Dada faltered, but The Wall stood upfront, strong and resilient ever, denying to fail, denying to fall. He is the man entire team looks upon in ordeal. You would often hear ‘out-of-form’ season of every batsman in the world, but this word comes very rarely against the name of Mr. Reliable. He took even the responsibility of wicket-keeping in ODIs for many years. Like Sachin, he enjoys a clean image and respect of opponents on and off field, but not that fame and stardom the first one has, but deserves for sure. He may not be the run – machine, he may not have that aggression, but he the most dependable and reliable batsman. He does not come in the dreams of bowlers hitting them out of ground, he does not hit those high and handsome offside sixes, but he is the one who makes the bowlers to sweat most for his wicket. There is one suggestion from my side for the bowlers: You better knock The Wall down, otherwise he will be there, frustrating you, testing your patience, and slowly and silently, taking the game away from you.

One Year of Corporate Life

2010-06-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

Today is 1 July, 2010. The date marks the completion of one year of corporate life for me. Since I joined Rave Technologies as my first company last year, things have changed a lot, including me. That Ghaziabad college boy is now a software developer in Mumbai. I have become more distant to my family, hence more unreachable. Until last year, I was one phone call and 4 hours away. Now, still one phone call, but 20 hours.

There are lot more things that have changed. Friends have been replaced by colleagues, seniors by mentors, teachers by managers. In college, if you don’t go to classes, you will get more time with friends, hence more fun. But here, if I don’t go to office, I will be alone, no one to be with, no one to talk. Apart from that, you can’t choose not to go to office at your will, it depends on your manager’s will. He’ll choose whether you can take a day off or not. But the more difficult and strange thing comes now. In college, you call a guy one year senior to you Sir or Mam. It looks that you are giving respect to that person, but you are doing it because you are told to do so, and that person knows it. But here, you can turn it around. The person may have as many years of experience as your age, but still you call him/her by name. It looks that you are showing no respect to him, but you truly respect him for all his knowledge and experience.

There are few more things. A few bucks given by parents for monthly expenses have changed to a bigger amount of salary, but still you find it tough to meet your expenses. The list of changes may go on, but here I leave to discuss other things for the next time…

P.S. You may also put comments to share your views about this experience

A Battle For Top Spot

2010-02-17T08:28:00.001-08:00

India and South Africa,both cricket teams are fighting for top spot in ICC test ranking in Eden Gardens ,Kolkata.The winner of this test match will earn the coveted spot Currently Indian team is proudly sitting there.But after the diamal performance in previous match, they will have to earn the spot again by winning this match,they can not be satisfied by a draw either.Since the starting of the ICC test Ranking in 2001, the Aussies had continued to be there at the top until their team was hammered by the retirement of some ace players as Hayden,Gilchrist,Warne and McGrath.The departure of all these players from cricket happened at almost no gap of time,leaving their team dangling to retain the prestige they continued to enjoy,and Ponting being the lone survivour from the past.Entire team had to be rejuvenated. Ponting had to put a lot of worries and effort, and he somewhere lost his enviable batting charm in the process.But again that team is showing that they are eager to come there where they were left earlier by the retired player.This is the bench strength of Australia and craving to perform of the young players that has paved the way again for Australia and now Ponting is leading them beautifully to progress to the desired place.

But what about India? First time in the cricket history, India is sitting at the top.But will they able to retain the spot for a long time as Australia did? We have seen in the previous match how our team is dependant on some of its key players, the old legs. Sachin,Dravid,Laxman all have crossed the dangerous 35 mark and we can see their retirements in coming 2-3 years.Sehwag is also of 31.Selectors are also paying no attention in preparing young players to fill the blanks in future.In Bangladesh tour,they could have given a chance to lokes of Raina and Kohli but they refrained form doing any experiment even against Bangladesh. Nad in last match, when 3 key batsmen were injured,they had choosen Wridhiman Saha, a wicketkeeper instead of pure batsman.What was that? A team so strong as South Africa, they are doing experiments with new players,where we needed some solid and promising players to fill the spot.Even Saha himself did not expect his selection at this time.

Well,having said all this,India is in a commanding position and well poised to win this match, and in turn, the No.1 place,thanks to the blistering performance of their "key old players", with no youngster having shown any guts and hope.I can just hope that ALL Izz WELL for India.

Some grand exits in Cricket

2009-07-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

Hi,here is something very fascinating for cricket fans.I found this article very interesting, very exciting, citing wonderful information about some of the legends of the game. Really a gem to read. Go For It

A New Beginning, in a New City....

2009-07-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

Hi,greetings to all! It has been more than a month since I wrote any post here.After finishing a vigorous,very happening and crucial college life of 4 years,last few days have been a bit static,lazy and sleepy, with a sense of relief,a feeling of being without friends after so many days and some apprehensions about future life.But after roaming on those joyful and colorful paths of college life, finally life has taken a new turn from today.Today was the first day in office of Rave Technology,Mumbai,where I put my first step in the corporate world with some excitement,some pinches in the heart.

And on all these things, this city itself says a lot about it.I have passed my last 4 years nearby a metro city,the capital of India,but this another metro city has got a tons of different things in terms of lifestyle,local languages and a lot other things.A city of filmstars,businessmen and other high profile people,the city has lot of stories of success,struggle,terror burried in it. So being here gives a different feeling.You pass through the ways where some greats lingered in the past searching their ways of life during their struggle times,the roads where some terrorists fired the bullets last year,in local trains reviving the memories of 1993 blasts,but inspite of all this fright and intrigue,there is something magnetic in this city, that keeps its people attached to it, inspite of all this uproar.And now,I am going to be a part of it.

So now,back to some work, catch you all later.....

Microsoft's entry in search engines, names it Kumo

2009-05-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

Microsoft is set to launch its search engine,KUMO . It is supposed to be unveiled in D: All Things Digital conference next week.
This search engine is a long expected and awaited effort from Microsoft in the battle of search market presently captured by Google and Yahoo.
In the U.S., Google sites held 64.2 percent of the search market in April, a strong lead over Yahoo!, which holds 20.4 percent market share, and Microsoft, which follows with 8.2 percent, according to comScore Inc. data. The Ask Network held 3.8 percent and AOL held 3.4 percent.

For more features about Kumo, Click here

D: New Programminig Language

2009-05-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

D, one more programming language, is a re-engineering of C++. It has been developed by Walter Bright of Digital Mars. First version came in 2007.
Now, D has ventured to the Microsoft .Net also, called D.Net.
For more information on D language, click here

To compare it with other programming languages,click here

Windows 7: New version of Windows

2009-04-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has launched new version of its Windows operating system after Vista. It is Windows 7. Lets see what Microsoft says about Windows 7 on its website:

"Over the past few years, you've asked us to make some changes to Windows. We listened closely. Now it's time to share an early look at how we've used your feedback. Windows 7 is faster, more reliable, and makes it easier to do what you want. Both the everyday things and the killer "is that really possible?" things. Dig into this site to see what's coming.
Windows 7 was built around your feedback, so you'll see a lot of things you've asked for. You asked us to make everyday tasks faster and easier, make your PC work the way you want it to, and make new things possible. And that's exactly what we're doing. See how it's coming to life."

For more information on Windows 7, click here

Ramalinga Raju Original Letter

2009-04-13T06:33:00.001-07:00

Here is the original letter written by Raju,Satyam;s ex fraud chief, to SEBI and others, few months ago....

From B Ramalinga Raju
Chairman, Satyam Computer Servcies Ltd

Dear Board Members,

It is with deep regret, and tremendous burden that I am carrying on my conscience, that I would like to bring the following facts to your notice:

1. The balance sheet carries as of September 30, 2008

a) Inflated (non-existent) cash and bank balance of Rs 5,040 crore (as against Rs 5361 crore refglected in the books)

b) An accured interest of Rs 376 crore which is non-existent

c) An understated liability of Rs 1,230 crore on account of funds arranged by me

d) An over stated debtor position of Rs 490 crore (as against Rs 2651 reflected in the books)

2. For the September quarter (Q2) we reported a revenue of Rs 2,700 crore and an operating margin of Rs 649 crore (24 per cent of revenues) as against the actual revenues of Rs 2,112 crore and an actual operating margin of Rs 61 crore (3 per cent of revenue). This has resulted in artificial cash and bank balances going up by Rs 588 crore in Q2 alone.

The gap in the balance sheet has arisen purely on account of inflated profits over a period of last several years (limited only to Satyam standalone, books of subsidiaries reflecting true performance). What started as a marginal gap between actual operating profit and the one reflected in the books of accounts continued to grow over the years. It has attained unmanageable proportions as the size of the company operations grew significantly (annualized revenue run rate of Rs 11,276 crore in the September quarter, 2008 and official reserves of Rs 8.392 crore). The differential in the real profits and the one reflected in the books was further accentuated by the fact that the company had to carry additional resources and assets to justify higher level of operations – thereby significantly increasing the costs.

Every attempt made to eliminate the gap failed. As the promoters held a small percentage of equity, the concern was the poor performance would result in a takeover, thereby exposing the gap. It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten.

The aborted Maytas acquisition deal was the last attempt to fill the fictitious assets with real ones. Maytas’ investors were convinced that this is a good divestment opportunity and a strategic fit. Once Satyam’s problem was solved, it was hoped that Maytas payments can be delayed. But that was not to be. What followed in the last several days is common knowledge.

I would like the board to know:

1. That neither myself, not the Managing Director (including our spouses) sold any shares in the last eight years-excepting for a small proportion declared and sold for philanthropic purposes.

2. That in the last two years a net amount of Rs 1,230 crore was arranged to Satyam (not reflected in the books of Satyam) to keep the operations going by resorting to pledging all the promoter shares and raising funds from know sources by giving all kinds of assurances (Statement enclosed, only to the members of the board). Significant dividend payments, acquisitions, capital expenditure to provide for growth did not help matters. Every attempt was made to keep the wheel moving and to ensure prompt payment of salaries to the associates. The last straw was the selling of most of the pledged share by the lenders on account of margin triggers.

3. That neither me, nor the Managing Director took even one rupee/dollar from the company and have not benefitted in financial terms on account of the inflated results.

4. None of the board members, past or present, had any knowledge of the situation in which the company is placed. Even business leaders and senior executives in the company, such as Ram Mynampati, Subu D T R Anand, Kesab Panda, Virender Agarwal, A S Murthy, Hari T, S V Krishnan, Vijay Prasad, Manish Mehta, Murali V, Sriram Papani, Kiran Kavale, Joe Lagioia. Ravindra Penu Metsa, Jayaraman and Prabhakar Gupta are unaware of the real situation as against the books of accounts. None of my or managing directors immediate or extended family members has any ideas about these issues.
Having put the facts before you, I leave it to the wisdom of the board to take the matters forward. However, I am also taking the liberty to
recommend the following steps:

1) A task force has been formed in the last few days to address the situation arising out of the failed Maytas acquisition attempt. This consists of some of the most accomplished leaders of Satyam: Subu D, T R Anand, Keshab Panda and Virender Aggarwal, representing business functions, and A.S.Murthy, Hari T and Murali V representing support functions. I suggest that Ram Mynampati be made the Chairman of this task force to immediately address some of the operational matters on hand. Ram can also act as an interim CEO reporting to the board.

2) Merrill Lynch can be entrusted with the task of quickly exploring some merger opportunities.

3) You may have a ‘restatement of accounts’ prepared by auditors in light of the facts that I have placed before you.

I have promoted and have been associated with Satyam for well over twenty years now. I have seen it grow from few people to 53,000 people, with 185 Fortune 500 companies as customers and operations in 66 countries. Satyam has an excellent leadership and competency base at all levels. I sincerely apologize to all Satyamites and stakeholders who have made Satyam a special organization, for the current situation. I am confident they will stand by the company in this hour of crisis.
in light of the above, I fervently appeal to the board to hold together to take some important steps. Mt T R Prasad is well placed to mobalize support from the government at this crucial time. With the hope that members of the Task Force and the financila advisor, Merrill Lynch (now Bank of America) will stand by the company at this crucial hour, I am marking copies of this statement to them as well.

Under the circumustances, I am tendering my resignation as the chairman of Satyam and shall continue in this position only till such time the current board is expanded. My contribution is just to ensure enhancement of the board over the next several days or as early as possible.

I am now prepared to subject myself to the laws of the land and fact the consequences thereof.

(B. Ramalinga Raju)

Copied marked to:
1) SEBI Chairman
2) Stock Exchanges

India vs New Zealand 3rd Test: 3rd Day

2009-04-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

India resumed their innings fron 51/1 on 3rd day. With Gambhir and Dravid at crease, the expectations for a big and steady partnership were always there.What India was requiring today was to get few quick runs, keeping wickets intact.Both batsmen were going fair enough, but after lunch, the more experienced one,Dravid was caught in the trap of kiwi captain and Mccullum.But on the other end,Gambhir was playing as he would not get out ever. Gambhir has displayed uncanny ability in recent days. He is one of the unsung heroes of indian team,who are not much buzzed about, not much talked,but their bat do everything for their team. In all forms of the game, today he is one of the most reliable batsman, a player every team would desire to have. Today also,his innings of 167 played most important role. He has scored almost half of the total runs in this innings.Yesterday, when he reached on 10,he scored continuously in double figures 22nd time, surpassing Laxman's 21 times.
After Dravid's dismissal,Laxman played a good knock.But India could not succeed in scoring runs at good pace, which was required to give a good challenge to kiwis, simultaneously giving our bowlers a good time to bold them out.
But 2 more days to go, conditions are in full favour of India......

India vs New Zealand 3rd Test: 2nd Day

2009-04-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

Bravo Zak! Once again, Zaheer has proved why is he the best indian pacer. His 5 wicket haul on 2nd day brought the kiwis on backfoot. Apart from Ross Taylor, who scored 42, no other kiwi batsman could resist the indian attack.Before the starting of this test match,talks were there that on this wicket, where temperature is below 10 C,the pace of wind is very fast, Indian batsmen would not be able to face New Zealand attack.But everything was just turned around by indian team. Indian batsmen scored 375 runs in a single day, that is a record on New Zealand pitches by indian team.On the other hand, the home team batsman were bundled out on below 200.This now brings India in commanding position in this game.The highest total on this ground in 4th innings is a mere 213. New Zealand would have to bat in 4th innings.Now india need to just capitalize the conditions and consolidate the lead upto 300. That total would be good enough for New Zealand to chase....

3 crores Mobile Phones To Become Useless?

2009-04-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

Is it true? Well,it may be. Every 8 mobile phones out of 100 in our country do not have IMEI number.So in this manner, about 3 crores of mobile phones will not work till the end of this month, if sources are to be believed. IMEI(International Mobile Equipment Identification) number of a phone helps in tracing the location of the phone at time of call. Most of the phones in India which do not have IMEI number either have come from China or they are pirated. So security agencies of country consider these mobile phones a major concern for the security of the country.So these phones may stop working till the end of the month.
So, does your phone has IMEI number? Check it now. Dial *#06# from your phone and get your IMEI number now.........

JAGRITI 09

2009-03-29T02:54:00.000-07:00

Well this year, in Jagriti 09, I took a step further, and I was the main coordinator of PAPER PRESENTATION event. This year, I participated in world parliament event, for which I was the coordinator last year.I reached to the final round,and ended being at 4th position.In paper presentation event, I got the chance of doing anchoring for the event, that also first time in my life. Though it was an innocuous task, not requiring much effort, but brought a new experience for me.
Now, when college life will be over in few weeks, I know there will not come more occassions like these, all these things will be great memories of my college life.....

JAGRITI 08

2009-03-29T02:52:00.000-07:00

Next year,in 2008 the moment came again. Jagriti 08 was knocking the door again. This time, having entered in 3rd year, I was feeling less apprehended and more promising. This time, I decided to play my part as a co-ordinator.I did not want to end up just a participant,that also unsuccesful, like last year. I started thinking about the suitable event, talked to friends, tried to convince seniors, to get a event in which I could play my part. Then one evening, few of my friends, who were the main organisers, came to me and fortunately, I got my name finalized for the event "WORLD PARLIAMENT".
I started working with the team of this event, comprised of seniors, my colleagues and juniors.This was something very unusual, very special for me.I have been a silent person at times,not much exposed, not much highlighted,throughout my life.Though I have always been very known to the people around me, to all my fellows,but not in these kind of things.Seeing my name on the website of Jagriti 08 as a co-ordinator was something I always wanted, but was never sure that it would happen.But it did.Eventually, the date of the fest came, and all the work that out team had done, In the guidance of Abhinav Sir, my senior, and a wonderful leader, was materialized......

Jagriti : A college Techfest at RKGIT

2009-03-29T02:37:00.000-07:00

My college RKGIT organised a technical festival on 24-26 March, 2009. It was having 3 parts in it. One for technical, one for cultural, one for literary. Though being in a technical course of B.Tech. in Computer Science, I have never been a very technical person. I am familiar with few things in my field, but it is not enough to win any event in technical fest.
JAGRITI 07
The first time I knew what a technical fest is was in 2007. I was in my 2nd year of engineering then. Being from a small town, I had never been in a very big and good school. So these kind of functions were never seen in any of the school I was in. Jagriti 07 brought an element of surprise, enthusiasm and intrigue for me.I was enamoured but apprehended at the same time. There was a very new thing going to happen in my life, for the first time,but the fear was that would I be able to contribute for any way for my college. I saw seniors and my colleagues runnung, playing different parts of co-ordinators and volunteers. I looked and felt all this, but had no idea of what the final picture would look like.At the end, I just ended in participating in 7 different events, but my train stopped in the first rounds of all. I did not the clear the first round of any of them. Nevertheless,it was very fine experience, atleast I took part and could feel what was happening from inside.

How to Open .WPS file

2009-03-22T02:45:00.000-07:00

While downloading some files from gmail, I encountered a new file format today. It is .wps. I tried to open it by double clicking it, but it does not work.What to do? Asusual, it was again my friend,Google, who helps me every time in these kind of situations.
.wps file is for Microsoft Works. If you have MS Office 2007, then you can open it in MS Word.But not directly. Open MS Word,click the button at top left corner, click Open and go to the .wps file. Now you can read the content.

Extending the life of Laptop Battery

2009-03-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

Does your laptop shutdown when power is gone? Do you need to change your laptop's battery after short spans? Here are few tips to extend the life of a laptop battery:

*Every battery has got it own charge circle, some 100 times, some may be less or more.Take out battery when using AC adaptor, this way the battery won't charge every time you use it.The best method to retain the life of battery is always try to use the battery only when you need ,means if you have power supply then go for it and remove the battery. It minimises the circles of recharging the battery again and again.

*Charge your battery only when it run out or when you know you need to use it outdoor next day. Some laptop provide a program to recalibrate your battery, use it at least once every 6 months. (as Asus provide it under bios setting).

* NEVER EVER discharge the battery to below 20% capacity. Lithium ion batteries will be put under extreme stress with every deep discharge. If you keep the battery at 0% charge for a few months, a copper shunt will actually form in the battery and when you try to charge it the shunt acts as a short circuit and the battery will catch fire.

* If you're not going to be using the battery, charge it to exactly 40%, take it out of the laptop and store it somewhere cold. Do not leave the battery at 100% charge needlessly, because the wear process is accelerated at 100% charge and is significantly slower at low temperatures and 40% charge.

Indian Team: A journey of excellence

2009-03-20T23:27:00.000-07:00

There was a time, when India started playing test cricket, they were treated as minnows og the game.Then after few years, the time changed, and indian team improved a bit. To win a test match was still far, but they started drawing test matches.Indian were being considered big drawers of the game now. Somehow, Indian batsman would struggle and succeeded in drawing the matches anyhow. Then the time came, when one of the greatest batsman of test cricket Sunil Gavaskar strode in team. With him and Ajit Wadekar, then captain of team , India started winning at home. Then India was said to be "Ghar ke Sher". Occasionally, India would win a match or two in foreign also. That time was treated as golden era of indian team. Nobody would expect a better indian team even in future at that time.
Gavaskar retired, another players came and went out, but the scenario did not change.Then in 2000, the man came, who changed everything in the team. He gave the fire, the aggression which our team always lacked. He was the greatest and most successful indian captain till now, Sourav Ganguly. Even writing about him here is filling me with great joy and pride.There are very less time in this world when the people come who change everything around them. They never yield in front of the dire conditions. They live their lives on their own terms.
Sourav Ganguly was one of those people, who happened to be the anchor of the greatest and finest revamp in indian cricket team.Now indians would show aggression on the field. The bowlers showed eyes to frighten the opposite batsmen to frighten them, the indian batsmen would now go for big hits to disturb the rhythm of bowlers, and team started winning matches abroad. Who can forget the waving of T-shirt by Ganguly in Netwest Trophy final at Lords? He retaliated at opposition captains and players in their own languages. Never had been a captain in indian team like him. Now he has retired, the reign in the hands of Dhoni.Ganguly himself has admitted that Dhoni is a better captain than him.Indian team is performing very well under him. Now lets hope that there would come a day when losing a match will be thing of past.Best of Luck to Indian team!!!

End of 33 Years Stink: India won Test Match in New Zealand

2009-03-20T22:59:00.000-07:00

Fantastic! Fabulous! What should be said about this indian cricket team? It is on the brink of breaking one after another impasse in a tandem. Here is one more. India have registered their first test win in New Zealand in last 33 years. Today, just few minutes ago, India beat kiwis by 10 wickets at Hamilton. Now the next goal is to win the series .India has not win test series in New Zealand for last 43 years. But watching the performance of our team in this match, it does not seem very onerous task, though not quite easy one too. There were both black and white shades in the team performance. Our batsman batted with apt,authority and technique.They, especially Rahul and Sachin,showed a great temprament. They proved why they are called "Wall" and "Master" respectively.To succeed in test match, a batsman has to be very strong in defense, specially going on backfoot, and kiwis were lacking in this. Though Dhoni made 47, but he faced difficulties throughout his innings.Even Zaheer Khan scored a quick fifty. From New Zealand side,at the start of the 4th day Daniel Flynn played a lone hand for New Zealand with his third Test half-century. Then Brendon did a fine job to save innings defeat. Our bowlers did good job by taking early wickets, but they failed to wipe up the tail in both innings. That has been a major concern of indian team for a long time, in both forms of the game. Harbhajan Singh took 6 wickets , 5 of which on 4th day.Sachin gotb man of the match for fantastic 160 in first innings. Sachin has now equalled Don Bradman's record of scoring more than 150 runs in an inning of test match 18 times.
Now lets hope that India keep on winning the second match, and the series...

Bangladesh tour of Pakistan Postponed

2009-03-05T05:39:00.000-08:00

Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh, due to start next week, has been postponed on the advice of the Bangladesh government. Officials are hopeful that the tour will be held soon and are working on a revised security plan in consultation with the ICC.

Last few months were of major blow for Pakistan cricket...

* March 2008 - Australia postpone tour of Pakistan, slated for end-March, over security concerns following Benazir Bhutto's assasination
* August 2008 - Five of eight ICC members choose not to send teams to Pakistan for September's Champions Trophy. The tournament is postponed till October 2009.
* October 2008 - West Indies call off a proposed tour of Pakistan scheduled for November, a week after their women's team cancelled the Pakistan leg of their Asian tour.
* November 2008 - England cut short seven-match ODI series in India after Mumbai terrorist strikes. They return for the two-Test series in December.
* December 2008 - BCCI calls off India's scheduled tour of Pakistan in 2009.
* February 2009 - ICC decides not to stage the 2009 Champions Trophy in Pakistan after some of the members expressed reservations about touring the country.

Lahore Attacks cast shadow on IPL

2009-03-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

Due to recent attacks on Srilankan players in Lahore,players in NewZealand are queasy
over touring India for next month's IPL, with eight NewZealand players expected to feature in the tournament which runs from April 10-May 24.
New Zealand allrounder Jacob Oram said the events in Pakistan have only worsened the state. "Definitely after what happened in Mumbai late last year, and what happened last night, it keeps raising questions," said Oram, who is part of the Chennai Super Kings squad in the IPL along with Stephen Fleming.

Along with NewZealand, their are waves of anxiety in England, with English coach warns player against IPl."The traffic is often so bad in the big [Indian] cities where a lot of the cricket is played that the coach can move along only slowly at times, which turns it into a sitting duck for terrorists," he wrote in his Guardian column. "There's nothing stopping a tuk-tuk pulling up alongside and detonating a bomb."

So with all these happenings, what is going to be the fate of IPl? The flumboyant tournament which created a frenzy last year, is under dark waters of terror this year..

Download jar files

2009-03-03T21:01:00.000-08:00

Here you can get all jar files...

http://mindprod.com/jgloss/wherejars.html
http://www.java2s.com/Code/Jar/CatalogJar.htm