Yes, real men do cry!

I am raised in a culture where I am told, "You are a man, don't cry!". I've never understood why it is considered sissy if a men cries. Don't we have feelings? We are humans and have emotional quotient!
...and more importantly crying is not losing or giving up!

Change is the only constant thing, I reflect on my life - a lot has changed in the last year. One thing for sure, I seldom write. I don't even remember when I wrote last. Probably half a year ago.
I am not complaining, life is getting hectic, too much is going on - both, on personal and professional front.

Work has taken almost all my attention and... sadly the time. I am still with the L&T Infotech, which is now listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and is the 6th ranking Indian IT co. by NASSCOM. The year 2016 has been very challenging and stressful. The former part is why am still here but, it's the latter which is now affecting me. Life has taken a back seat :-(
I am not in the best shape of health either. Fighting a painful battle with my dental infection, lost a tooth. Shoulder injury keeping me away from the gym and to add to my excruciation, recently fractured my hand. But I will be back in shape and peak of my health in 2017.

Relationships are hard. Maintaining a distant relationship is harder. They need time and attention. Sometimes, life just doesn't go according to your plan. Anything you do - good or bad, will be taken against you. Like a wise man, I try to learn from my mistakes and trying to improve. "It's the effort that matters, result might be positive or negative.  The day you stop trying to improve, is when you actually fail." I've realized it hard way but still haven't learnt the best technique to balance work life ...working on it! Probably will write my findings, hope it will be helpful to someone ;-)
Learning: Always be honest, no matter how unexplainable the situation is. Honesty will save you in the long run.

However, there has also been wonders this year. We are blessed with cute little baby boy. It is the best thing that has happened to me. There aren't enough words to explain the feeling. It is extremely blissful to see him do cute things, his expressions and the way he reciprocates to my gestures. His thought brings smile on my face and the fact he is thousands of kilometers away brings tears to my eyes.

It is unbelievable what my son has taught me about my parents.

2012: The year that was

The leap that made me 30 years of life. Not my best, but an eventful one nevertheless.

A very unusual start…
It's not that often, that I spend my new year's eve away from my family and without booze ;).  However, it was an amazing experience watching the fireworks at the City Hall Square, Copenhagen. for the first time I felt there are people living in this city!

It has been more than a year living in Europe and working for one of the big banks. Did some nice work, not awesome, but am not sulking about my professional life. Made some decent money. Well, now a bit boring though err... not the money making ;), the typical job!

Tough times…
Both my India visits were terrible. Just couldn't imagine how all that happened.

Good times...
The only but blissful vacation to Legoland, Mons Klint, Odense with friends and how can I forget Stege (gosh... that pretty place ;))
First time driving on the right hand side of the roads and shifting gears with right hand haha... (Thankfully the pedals were in the same sequence)
Made some very good friends, learnt lot of interesting card games.
Met some brilliant people round the globe. Inspired.

The way ahead…
If/when my current gig ends, I’ll have worked in most of the areas I’m interested in -technology, finance, strategy, smartphones etc.
New role. Interesting work.
In 2013, I’ll definitely start working on my big idea. One way or the other. In my own startup or someone else’s. Probably the latter. Hopefully the former ;)

2013 to-do:
Keep  myself fit - Physically and Mentally.
Work on my idea/startup.
Travel more round the world.
Sky diving, bungee jumping, ...

Wonders of milk - Jo kheer piye so veer thiye...

This post is dedicated to all my sindhi folks out there...


During my childhood days my mother was obsessed with qualities of milk and just like most other kids I hated it too but she gavage me. I still remember, she used to recite a very nice poetry when I refused drinking and am sure most of the sindhi kids must have heard too. It goes like...

Jo Kheer Piye
So veer thiye
Dand zor vathhan
Daadha sunhira lagan
Akhiun ji jyot vadhe
Dadhi sunha thiye
Vathe zor badan
Lighan chust thiyan
Kheer safa sutho
Wah dadho mitho
Baaro acho piyoun
Bhare khir vatiyoun
De khir amma
Pee Parhan Vanya :)

Non sindhi folks, I know you must have stopped reading it after the second line... It means:

The one who drinks milk

Becomes brave/heroic

Has Strong teeth

Looks very handsome

The glow in his eyes increases

Develops strong limbs

Milk is so good

Oh so sweet

Come children

The bowls are filled with milk

Give me milk mother

So that I drink and go to study

As I grew older I started liking it and I like milk till this day. In fact I still prefer milk over coffee or tea. 
I don't know why, today while drinking milk, this poem came to my mind and how my mother used to recite it.
Here is the audio if you would like to cherish your old memories 

Jo kheer piye

Working at a Startup vs Big Company

Quite often you hear people boasting about their employer(or themselves), "I am working with Infosys..., I am with Wipro..., Cognizant...". I've been working for more than 6 years now and of-course, I have my own reasons for vouching on Startups compared to these big companies. My career started in a small start-up where the CEO/MD of the company knows every employee by his/her name; and every employee knows his CEO not just by name!
A year ago, I linked up with one of the big organisations and the professional and cultural difference made my mind think and compare my present and past experiences. It tried to create a poise but I was more inclined towards the Startups for many reasons:

1. Responsibility, Accountability: 
At a startup it’s unavoidable to have lots of responsibility and accountability. There’s no doubt, too, that being at a startup will put you in a position to make a huge impact. If you do amazing work the entire company and all of its customers will benefit from it. And you’ll be loved for it. You’ll get notes from the CEO and other leaders complimenting you on how awesome your work is. On the flip side, if you make a big mistake, the whole company pays for it. But keep in mind that most startup cultures prefer agility and speed to cautiousness. It’s likely that your mistake won’t actually get you in trouble, as long as you were trying to do the right thing.

2. Risk: 
working at a startup is riskier. The startup likely isn’t profitable, and probably only has at most 12-18 months worth of money in the bank (this is called the startup’s runway). If the company does very well, the CEO will raise more money and extend the runway. You’ll still have a job and each round you’ll get a salary closer and closer to market rate (more about this later). If the startup doesn’t do well, you’ll be out of a job when the startup runs out of money. But you’ll be forewarned if the CEO is transparent — most of them are in earlier stages. A startup is risky because you’re building something from nothing. You’re doing something ridiculously hard because you believe in it and want nothing more than to see it succeed (this part I love the most). You’re not failing even when all the odds are against you. You’re the underdog in many ways.

And by the way, if you’re a good engineer you’ll have zero issue finding another job. Zero. Every company in software, big and small, needs more good people. This trend won’t change for a long, long time, either.

3. Opportunities for generalists (This point perhaps is more focused on me): generalists don’t do well at big companies. Big companies want you to be really, really good at that little thing you spend all your time on. Not at a startup. Although specialization is still important at most startups, there are far more opportunities at startups for generalists. I’m defining generalists as people that have interests in one field or many fields. For example, if you want to be an engineer and work on the website, the data infrastructure, and the mobile app, you’ll love a startup. Similarly, if you’re an engineer and want to get your hands dirty in marketing or recruiting or whatever, a startup is also a great place for you to learn and grow. To be totally clear, I’m not saying specialists don’t do well at startups — they do incredibly well. Generalists, however, don’t do well at large companies. 

4. Ownership and leadership: 
At a big company you need to wait years and years to become a true leader with big ownership. Not at a startup. If you’re awesome you’ll be able to grow and move up in your career far faster. Mark Zuckerberg would have never been given a CEO role at a big company he started working for after college. The only way he could find himself at the top of an organization is by starting it, or in the general case by joining a super small team. Your career will be accelerated in a major way by joining a startup.

5. Transparency: 
Startups usually have far more transparency than big companies. You’ll know why the CEO decided to raise a new round of funding, or why a VP of marketing was hired, or why the company decided to open a new arm of business, or how the CEO did the recent round of investment. There will always be information that isn’t shared, though, for example salaries and equity compensation, certain board meeting information, and certain sensitive investor information. But in general every other decision made about the company will be transparent. You’ll get to see how the company grows, why certain decisions were made, and how the company reacts to competitors and business plan changes. All of this will teach you about business and prepare you to do your own startup one day.

6. Company culture: 
You get to help define it. A company will be, for the most part, an extension of the founders’ personalities. But especially in the early stages you’ll have a huge impact on the culture of the company as well. You’ll be in a position to define company-wide celebratory goals, or traditions that the team rallies behind. At the end of the day a startup is just a few people in a room. If you’re one of those people your personality will rub off on everyone else and you’ll help create a company that is as much a part of you as you are of the company.

7. Hiring: 
You’ll probably do a lot of interviews, and you’ll be part of the decision to hire or not hire someone. I interviewed candidates more experience then me. Even if you’re right out of school you’ll still be asked to interview. Of course, if you don’t like interviewing, you’ll only need interview potential team mates. If you’re an engineer you’ll only interview other potential engineers.

8. Financial incentive: 
In general your salary will be lower than at a big company, but your equity, or ownership in the company, will be significantly bigger. Depending on the stage of the company you join, you’ll be granted anywhere from a few percentage points to a micro fraction of a point. If the company is bigger, you’ll get fewer shares and your salary will be more inline with the market rate. If the company is smaller, your salary will be smaller and your equity will be far greater. Equity has a long, long tail, meaning the first 5-10 employees get significantly more equity than all other employees that follow, with certain exceptions for executives. This is especially true for the first and second hires, though.

A little more about stock: if you join a company that is already doing incredibly well, you probably won’t get enough stock to retire unless the company turns into the next Facebook or Google. In most cases, you’ll only get retirement money if you’re one of the first five employees. Otherwise you’ll get a large down payment on a nice house, assuming the startup does well of course  . Let me say that all again: except in very rare occasions like Facebook or Google, you can’t expect to join a company that is already killing it and hope that you’ll retire on the money your equity brings.

9. Politics: 
I’ve never heard of a company with more than 50 people that didn’t have politics. Politics are a necessary evil whenever a company reaches a certain size. The point of no return is when the first middle manager is hired — or when the first job opens up that is about controlling people and nothing more. Small startups can have politics, too, but in the early days there’s generally too much camaraderie and too much daily work to worry about power or any other bullshit like that. Oh yeah, and while I’m here, unless the leaders of a startup are lame, there won’t be any bullshit. Everything is pragmatic at a startup, or at least should be.

10. Be a part of something bigger than you: 
At a startup you’re a part of something much bigger than just what your job asks of you. Sure, you need to write code, publish blog posts, whatever, but you’re doing much more than that. You’re building a company. It’s hard to describe what that feeling is like, though. Being a part of a small company is somewhat like creating a community or finding new best friends. You’re making something from nothing, with people who are in it for the same reasons you are. You’re at the apex of what might become something big, something meaningful and different. And the excitement is amazingly powerful.

Disclaimer:

The post above is purely based on my personal experience and understanding. It is in no way meant to offend any person or institution what so ever!!!

A Chronicle of Sindh and the Sindhi

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Sindh, as of today, is one of the province of Pakistan. Sindh was home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, the Indus Valley civilization which included the cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa at least 7,000 years old. The remains excavated in Mohenjo-Daro depict the state of affairs from civilisation point of view at that period. The region got it's name "Sindh" from the river sindhu (Indus) and the people living here are called as "Sindhi". Since the time of indus valley civilization this region is called as sindh and the people as sindhi. The term Hind and Hindi is derived from word Sindh and Sindhi as the ancient Persians pronunciate "s" as "h" e.g. sarasvati as harasvati, the same way they called the people of this region as Hindi people their language as Hindi language and the region as hind, the name which is used for this region since ancient times and later for whole northern part of Indian sub-continent even today India is also known as Hindustan the name which has nothing to do with hinduism, but related more to a people and their language named after the main river flowing through this region sindhu (Indus).
Indus valley civilization was one of the most developed and advanced city in South Asia, during its peak. The planning and engineering showed the importance of the city to the people of the Indus valley.

The Indus Valley Civilization encompassed most of Pakistan, extending from Balochistan to Sindh, and extending into modern day Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab as we know today. When the Aryans came to India and stood on the banks of the mighty river Indus, they exclaimed in sheer wonder, "Sindhu! Sindhu!" The word 'Sindhu' appears in a number of hymns in the oldest Scripture of humanity, the Rigveda. And India was originally called, "Sindhustan" the " Land of the Sindhu". These Aryans in Sindh virtually the Indus Valley are mentioned in history of having played role in the battle of Hastinapur when King Jaidrath took his army to support the Kurus. The Sindh time line:

• The Sindhis rule the Sindh : 3300 BC - 1700 BC.
• Achaemenid Empire : 522 BC
• Macedonian and Greeks under Alexander the great : 326 BC
• Mauryan empire led by Chandragupta : 305 BC 

And from that time onwards they played the role of refugees. My regret is that many Sindhis - scattered, as they are, all over India and the world, are unaware of rich heritage which belongs to them. In the recent past, after partition in 1947, we left our home and spread out in every part of the world. And we still continue to be refugees. Though we are refugees driven away from our home we are again with our own Aryans who had spread out in parts of the country. The brother Aryans kept the banner of Sindh alive by including our identity in the National Song and recognizing as a positive community whose future lies in recovering the land of our birth and supporting the country as we did in the battle of Hastinapur. For at that time, we learnt that we were part of the central government ruled by Duryodhana. After the partition of India, Sindhis were dispossessed of their lands and properties (as my grandparents told me), they did not give into despair. Leaving their properties and possessions in Sindh, they migrated to India, bringing with themselves their enterprising sprit, their faith in God and their many qualities of head and heart. In Sindh, "there was never a Sindhu beggar". When they came to India, "they resolved that they would starve rather than beg". Little boys attended school during the day and in the afternoon, kept themselves busy hawking on the streets or in railway trains. Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region and is spoken by the Sindhi people over the world. Sindhi has various dialects:

• Sireli : Spoken in upper Sindh
• Vicholi : Spoken in the Centre
• Lari : Spoken in delta of Indus (Sloping grounds)
• Tharri : Spoken in the Thar
• Lasi : Spoken in Baluchistan

Sindhi Surnames: 

Derived from place of origin, caste, title... 1) Many Sindhi's have their surname ending with "-ani" (like mine, "Lalwani") Famous Sindhi scholar Professor Bherumal Advani even claimed that "-ani" surname dates back to Rigveda, According to him, pronunciation of Sanskrit suffix ayan and ayani have changed to -ANI in Sindhi and its meaning is "a descendant of". This means a surname "Lalwani" will mean descendants of Lalchand. 2) Surnames based on place, like from "Aror" has "Arora" or from "Shikarpur" has "Shikarpuri".. 3) Surname based on caste: Thakur, Bhatia, khatri... 4)Surname based on title: Mukhi(head of panchayat), Choudhary(head of village) 5) Surnames based on Nukha (totem): Chawla, Kukreja... 6) Surnames suffixed with "PAL"(protector): Rajpal, Nagpal... Similarly most other surnames...

Robotics

Since my final year of engineering I was obsessed with the subject "Robotics". I was fascinated with the basic concept of "Robotic Arm" and the fact that I had ATKT in this subject made me get more involved (I believe it was other way round :P).
I knew there was not much scope for Robotics in India then, and I was not so eager to do majors in US or some other foreign country.
Recently I saw this great video of microcopters (Quadrotors) performing complex maneuvers depicting the future of robotics!

Why do men marry???

I will be turning 30 this year and apart from my parents even my friends have started interrogating, "Why aren't you getting married?"
I began reflecting on why a man would want to marry at all. What is it that a man could get out of marriage, that he could not get otherwise!
First and foremost, at least in the formative years of a marital life is someone who would share the marital bed and keep the man happy on that respect. After all, we men are all built to function that way. Sometimes I wonder if that is all that is there for all the men to do. I wonder, had it not been we men who carry the million of invaders required to infuse life into the otherwise infertile egg, there would be no need for the creed of man; And with all the accessories available today we are not really required (I don't like it).

Coming back to the topic, the second reason why a man would want to marry is for someone who would do the basic feeding, cooking, and housekeeping stuff. Men, I admit, are not socially geared to that role, although more are picking up the basics pretty good these days. But then again, you can always hire a maid for the same purpose (I would like to do the cooking myself anyways).

Third reason, is for that yearning for constant companionship. Somebody who would take up the emotional side of man (yeah, men do have a emotional quotient), listen with a good year. Someone who is smart, intelligent and is able to engage the higher needs of existence. Preferably someone who can also handle the finances (but then you have portfolio managers for that). Again, for this a man can have very good female company that is totally platonic.

There is yet another reason why a man might want to marry. And that is for an offspring. For a child that a man can call his own. For a kid, for which the man can proudly say he has fathered. I think that is the most major reason, why a man would go to any lengths of time to actually search for such a potential wife. And for this, and for this alone, I could not find any counter. I am not able to see what alternative could potentially replace this need (let's leave aside those men that choose to live the life of a hermit out of the society).

After writing such a post, I still hope that someone out there is still ready to marry me sometime in the future, if not now. Since, we men are supposed to be narcissistic chauvinist, I wonder what keeps the women from being so...

DISCLAIMER: The post above is not to offend any women. It is just for light humor.

Disgusted with self!

I have been so caught up with the corporate world of managing things, achieving results and deliverables that I forgot I used to like to learn new things. That I once took pride in the fact that I was near the ideal where if I knew something, I could explain it to my grandmother or a kid.

Lots of people, including myself, think that building an application is like gluing different parts together, without thinking about form, just based on function. And indeed that is how it is promoted today in the software applications world. This approach does indeed work towards delivering results in the form of applications running in today's world.

But I am beginning to realize the difference between a mason and a sculptor. When a sculptor build a sculpture, he has the final form in his mind. It is only he who decides the design and only he who delivers it. And then it becomes a thing of beauty to behold. A thing which lasts for generations. No wonder application architects are respected so highly (and paid highly too).

Jägermeister - The German drink

I had never heard about this drink until an evening with my colleagues at The Dubliner. One of my friends cringed as he quaffed a shot of it, so I had to try it to see if it was really as bad as he made it. Then that was it, I was hooked! Everytime we went out I made sure of Jager shot!
Jägermeister is a German digestif, not a digestive!
It is a drink that is made up from 56 different herbs and spices including; citrus peel, liquorice, poppy seeds, saffron and ginger. Jagermeister is a German creation which literally translated is "Hunt-Master", with a little bit of digging around about the brand it seems that the stag on the front of the bottle with the cross between its antlers has something to do with the stories of Saint Hubertus and Saint Eustace, patron saints of hunters. The drink was introduced to the world back in 1935, so this tipple is one of the more aged ones, yet still somehow it managed to elude me for years!

Ingredients:
Most of it is a secret but of what I know, Ginger, orris, galengal, lovage, chiretta, angelica, elecampane, hyssop, pomerance, camomile, lavender, coriander, pepper, cloves, star anis, allspice, nutmeg, cardamon, fennel, bitter orange, rose hips, quinine, licorice, tumeric, mace, saffron.
Possibly, yarrow, burdock, curcuma, grains of paradise, cubeb, wintergreen, cassia, betony, purslane, borage, sandalwood...

How to drink it?
Well, the fact that this drink is made up from 56 herbs and spices, by nature it is very hot. Thus, there are recommended temperatures this drink should be at, like being kept in a freezer at -18 degrees, or on tap at around -11 degrees. When served it is meant to be served over ice, but I don't know anyone that does serve it that way
JagerBomb - shot of Jagermeister and some Red Bull. Apparently the most popular way of having Jaegermeister. I not only liked the style of preparing it but also the feel and taste. Here is the official world record on JagerBomb

However, I like to take it as a direct shot which goes in like hot bullet burning all inside and it leaves a typical after taste (I love it). To some it may smell like a cough syrup which may put you down initially but once u have it, it will remain in your throat for sometime which is why some like to have it with red bull or some energy drink.
Be careful with this one if you are sensitive to alcohol, as it is one that doesn't hit you until you stand up and try to walk! If you have never tried it before I urge you to try it, look out for it behind the bar it is the one that's in the green round topped bottle, with the stag on the front, but don't be surprised if there isn't a queue of drunk people behind you asking for the same!

Time lapse view from space by NASA (HD)

India Poised

There are two Indias in this country.
One India is training at the leash eager to spring forth and living up to all the adjectives that world has been recently showering upon us, the other India is the leash.
One India says give me a chance and i'll prove myself, the other India says prove yourself first and maybe then u have a chance.
One India lives in the optimism of our hearts, other India lurks in the skepticism of our minds.
One India wants, the other India hopes.
One India leads, the other India follows.
These conversions are on the rise, with each passing day, more n more people from the other India are coming over to this side and quietly while the world is not looking, a pulsating dynamic new India is emerging.
An India whose faith in success is far greater than its fear in failure.
An India that no longer boycotts foreign made goods but, buys out the companies that make them instead.
History they say, is a bad note rest, it rarely ever signals its intentions when its taking a turn, this is that rarely ever moment, history is turning a page; for over half a century our nation has sprung, stumbled, run, fallen, rolledover, gotup insulted ourself and canterd sometimes ledged on but, now in our 60th year of free nation, the ride has brought us to the edge of times great pessimist and one India, a tiny little voice at the back of our head is looking down at the bottom of the vein and is hesitating, the other India is looking up at the sky and saying... its time to fly!!!

Interested in my Blogs?

Its been quite sometime that I've been thinking of writing a blog but wasn't getting right time to actually do it. I keep reading a lot of blogs, especially those that interest me the most. It is my intention to tell the world about the things I have read in my own way, language and expressions. Because I believe, "Knowledge increases by sharing, not by saving!", and I spend quite a lot of time (though I am trying hard not to) browsing the internet. Hence, this blog came to a birth.

There are a few categories under which those blogs are grouped. You can see most of them categorized as:

• Bushu16 - I share my personal dilemma, hopes, aspirations, lament and... love. I find a couple of other similar blogs, brilliantly expressed in words and I love to read them, most of them are from people I know personally.
• Finance, Economics & Capital Markets - This is not to give you advice on a particular stock or some fund (you can contact me personally for that ;)). This is more on the functions and business implications of capital markets around the globe.
• Cooking - Born and bought up as a Sindhi I was lucky to hail in an environment where aroma of food ...err "delicious" food developed my sense of taste... so you may find some posts on it.
• Fitness - One of the hot topics in today's era, I read and write on this quite often.
• Phone Stuff - It started with my beloved personally owned HTC and since then I've installed n-number of OS on it and also cooked my flavour of WM6.5 for it. Here you can find all you need to know to burn new OS on your "Widnows" mobile. Android will follow soon... ;)
  UPDATE: I own an HTC ONE X now and have Unlocked and rooted it :) follow my blog on Phone Stuff to know more on it
• Photography - A hobby which developed of late. I read somewhere that left brain is responsible for all the logical, analytical, mathematical reasoning and being a techie... whereas, the right brain is responsible for CREATIVITY and ART. I thought, I was born with a half paralyzed brain (right paralyzed, I have decent IQ score :P) until I discovered my shots and realised  that I was born with the talent ;). I just love photography; wildlife, Macro, People, Art... Here you will not only see some of my favorite pics but also some useful tips I have acquired from my own photography.
• Technology - I read and write a lot about technical stuff and most the blogs will be either on software or hardware technology. This section may be only for the pros'   
• Travel - I love travelling and talk about places I've been and my experiences there and also how to plan your trip and stuff...
• Spirits - Here I talk about my love for few alcoholic beverages. 

I must confess, I am not an elegant writer. I am not an expert in a language which I am using now. My personal connection with this widely used language remains in the academic use only. For that reason, probably I do not even know the depth of grammar. I know this sounds like a big embarrassing thing, but have patience(or courage!) to understand the condition that I suffer.

Yes, it is hard to make people understand. Even worse is that you try to make them understand, knowing that they will probably not understand! The grip on the language is the most important factor.