ExpertDabbler

Two telephone conversations in recent times made me write this.

Case 1 Profile:
A SWE friend of mine working for a top 5 IT company in India. 30 years of age. Masters degree holder.  He is into Software Quality Assurance and works for projects in the financial domain.

He: ’Machi nalaiku vera bank ku poganum da’

Me: ‘Edhuku da?’

He: ‘Oru DD irukku…’

Me: (Knowing his is a big organization and there definitely should br a drop box, ATMs in his office premises.)
‘Seri. Adhai drop box or ATM la podu?’

He: ‘Illada cheque na podalaam. Idhu HDFC Bank Anna Salai branch DD.. Idhai epdi podaradhu?? DD na namma andha bank branch la poi DD a kaatina dhaaney panam kidaikum??’

Since it was named demand draft, he has assumed that he will get the money only if he personally goes to the particular bank which has issued the draft and ‘demand’ for the money.

Case 2 Profile:
25 year old guy working for a top BPO company in Chennai.  Upper middle class guy.

He: ‘Credit Card vishayathule naan rombo careful la iruppen. Minimum payment evlo potrukaano adhuku mela ye pay panniduven.’

Me: (Knowing a guy of his financial background should not have any credit card balance lingering for months)
‘Nee edhuku pending vekkarey…fulla pay pannida vendiyadhu dhaaney?? Yen balance ku interest pay pannare??’

He: ‘Yedhuku?? ..   adhaan minimum payment panren la aprom edhuku interest kattanum??’

He was honestly not aware of the 3% p.m interest component on outstanding amounts due in the credit card. He had all along been thinking that having a credit card balance is a prestige thing and one should always have it, even if he has money in his bank account to pay off!

This is not to suggest that i know everything in finance or banking. But looks like we are having lots of educated guys like this in India.

Should we not teach these at school level? I think what happens if Sulpuric Acid is mixed with NaCl is less important than knowing Cheques, Credit Cards and DDs.

I hope no one asks me ‘Cheque bounce agudhu nu solrangale, tharai la potta evlo thooram bounce aagum??’ one day.

Recently I was taking my long pending MBA exams. For those of my friends who are curious to know when I’d complete it,
Haven’t you ever heard of five year plans??  Anyway, the fact of the matter is that a few of the elderly students (distance education is a euphemism for mudhiyor kalvi) found the exams a throwback to their student days. Understandably, they role played their school exam days by indulging in a technique as old as mankind – copying.  It’s an irony that the same guy would’ve thrashed his school going kid left and right for the same offence. 

What irked me was not the fact that he was copying, but that he was giving some other’s answer as his own.
“Idiot, both are one and the same!’ I hear you say but I’ll come to this later. 

Moreover, he was using one of the greatest tools employed my mankind to learn anything for a purpose as trivial as clearing the MBA exam. Here was one arpa maanidan who never realized the value of copying. It’s like an Annaachi using a Yamaha 350 CC to get vegetables from Koyambedu market every morning. Bajaj M-80 was designed by a genius for a reason, stupid!

Seriously, at least according to me, learning involves some kind of activity or some doing.  And any doing requires a kind of reference, imitation, guru, precedence, instruction, guidance, or tutorial. Right from the day we said “Amma” for the first time and including the thiruttu dhum during teens, it’s always been this - something or someone has been our inspiration. I have no qualms in admitting that I learnt my 2 anna design skills by copying. While the rest of the junta spent a few lakhs and 4 years in a design school, piravi medhais like me took screen shots from sites like templatemonster.com and tried to replicate the design correct to a pixel. Nowadays we do the same for flickr.com. The reference is different, but the process – you bet! But it’s another matter that we would never pass such copied works as our own. We ensure that we inherit from at least 20 different designers and mix and match in so many ways that it’s hard even for us to decide who has influenced us in what way to what extent.

On the other hand, there is hardly any concept which is more over hyped than originality. I mean, I think it’s more hyped than even ‘Sivaji’. Why do I say so? Let’s consider this.

A B C D…

Now, what was that? A? Alphabets?  How do you know? How do I know? What if I started getting all too creative and original and wrote A,B upside down?? Will it communicate? Would you still understand?

Neither Deva nor half the world’s computer programmers would’ve survived if not for Ctrl + C. 
The difference is that the good programmers always admitted that and inspired from so many sources whilst the lazy ones had one source, and what’s more hardly admitted that. The cardinal sin was not copying but pretending as if they had not and laziness. 

There is a dialogue in Kurudhipunal which is a favorite of mine. “Dhariiyam ngradhu enna na, bayam illadha madhiri nadikaradhu”

The same way, the so called originality is derivative of ctrl+c. If you can copy from, say, 30 different sources so that no one source can claim that their work had influenced you completely (the more the better because invariably its more hard work), mix and match, know what to insert and what to leave, and can deliver an output which makes sense as a  cohesive whole, then you fine.  Subject to one condition though - mention that you had taken from the 30 different sources.

Give the deed of copying the dignity that it rightly deserves, please spread the virtues of Ctrl+C and make this world a better place.

I never thought IT recruitments were cake walks. Having said that, I never thought recruiting a candidate would be so tough either. Now, sitting on the other side of the court with my senior and manager gives a completely different perspective about the job market. That has been the biggest learning in the past few weeks. 

Our team would gladly write half a dozen UI specs than go through the tedious process of shortlisting candidates, conducting several rounds of interviews, only to find the candidate

Is not really interested in a change,
Already has an offer and has used this to better his offer elsewhere, 
Expects Rajinikanth’s salary but can’t draft a decent mail.

Anyways, if you are a UI designer looking for a change, please drop a mail at prabukarthik at yahoo dot com with your CV. 

Client profile:
A solid brand in the internet space, head-quartered in San Jose.

Desired Skill Sets for Job profile 1:
User Centered Design methodologies along with decent communication skills. 
This job requires you to write UI specification documents for web applications and skill in selling your ideas and solutions to other stake holders. In short, conceptual clarity and good communication skills are a must.
Those who expect someone to proof read their e-mail communications everyday, please do not apply. 

Desired Skill Sets for Job profile 2:
Capable of writing solid XHTML, CSS to craft table-less layouts. We are not exactly looking for people whose CSS skills start and end with 

border: 1px solid #000000;

Experience matters but ability matters more for both positions.
Ideally we are looking for not more than 4 years experienced candidates.

Special note to designers from IIT,NIDs:
We need someone who can ideate, iterate and deliver under several constraints.
We do not mind if it is you. But don’t expect to be given royal treatment just because you cary these IIT,NID tags.  

If you just have a design degree from these institutes and specialize only in giving gyaan, please wait till we advertise for ’Chief Gyaan Providers’ positions.  

Sometime back, people would use ‘Thavamai thavamirundhu’ to describe the hardships in getting a child. With the way things are going, it wont be long before HR guys would say,’thavamai thavamirundhu’ for selecting candidates.

Traffic Signal and the way it’s interpreted in India

Green - Go!
Yellow  - Go Fast!
Red - Look sideways and Go!
Pedestrian Crossing - Blow your horn and go fast! 

Dear Karpagambal Mess proprietor,

Can you tell me how to prepare Avial with hardly any vegetables in it?
For a second, I thought I was being served Kanji.
I can understand the ever rising costs in these inflationary times. But do you realize that we are not asking Adai Avial as anna dhaanam but for 18 bucks?.

Traditional tiffin, in my parlance means and includes special items which are not available everywhere for e.g The Adais, Kozhukattais, Aappams, Paniyaarams, Aval Uppuma, etc.   Idly, Dosas and Pongals are default items and every Rama, Shyama and Bhama gives that. We do not need to come all the way up to ‘traditional’ KM to have those.

Your servers/bearers desperately require a workshop on career realignment.

Our Madurai CM Azhagiri, apparently is looking for some ‘fresh talent’ to ‘expand his operations’. Your servers would fit that requirement to a T, but not for treating customers.

Whoever said that having a dilapidated building with 1940’s tables and a wash basin last repaired when Thiyagaraja Bhagavadhar’s movie appeared on screen are absolute musts for a traditional eatery?  When prices can be contemporary, so can be the ambience. Don’t you think??

I do not know about your famous ‘Degree Kaapi’ since your server took a full ten minutes to come back and say,

’Kaapi late aagum’ on a Saturday evening. I had no option but to cancel that order.

What we expect from you is good quality ‘special’ tiffin items in good ambience, good customer service and at decent rates. Please do the needful ASAP. If the present place does not permit you to do those changes, please move out. Nothing wrong with that. Tamilians can come even up to Mount Everest for a good tiffin and a good filter coffee.

In the meanwhile, if you want to eat a decent Adai Avial during evenings, just walk across to a place called Adyar Anandha Bhavan by 5.30 PM. For now, you are much better off there than in your own eatery.

Ippadikku
Disappointed Customer

It is really heartening to see a person who i know very well suddenly take to a stage and perform professionally.

Here I’m referring to Sridhar, several years my junior and cousin of my friend. I was casually watching Vijay Jaya TV’s program “Ennodu Paatu Paadungal’ program today and was taken completely by surprise to find Sridhar among the contestants.
Reminded me of the days in Perambur where I had food cooked by his mom for so many days…

If seeing him on TV was a pleasant surprise, his song selection and rendition was absolutely gorgeous.
(Kayyil Midhakkum sung by Srinivas in Ratchakan).

I closed my eyes and listened and it was superb stuff.
Congrats Sridhar, you absolutely rocked today!

I was tagged by Priya Iyer. Since this was about books, i felt compelled to do that tag promptly

BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

I honestly feel every singly book i’ve read so far has had an impact on me in some way - positive or negative. Let’s just say I wish some books had more impact on me than some others. Those are:

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Flow by Mihaly Cziksenthmihalyi
Jonathan Livingston Seagul by Richard Bach
Alchemist by Pauo Coelho
The Class by Erich Segal
Power of Now by Eckart Tolle
Engey Brahmanan by Cho

BOOKS I HAVE READ MORE THAN ONCE

In addition to all those listed under ‘Changed my Life’,
Some professional books which i keep referring again and again are,

Dont Make Me Think by Steve Krug
About Face 2.0 by Alan Cooper  - referred by a UX Designer cum blogger Muthu 
Design of Everyday Things by DOnald Norman

These folks help me earn my idly and dosa and pay my EMI:) I owe a lot to them.

A BOOK THAT I WOULD TAKE TO A DESERT ISLAND

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt
Su Do ku and Kakuro puzzle books. I’m as addicted to those as i am to Banana Chips. Whether I am able to solve those puzzles, especially the tougher ones are a different issue. I love the struggle part

BOOKS THAT MADE YOU LAUGH

Five Point someone by Chetan Bhagat. No other book has made me laugh as much as this one.

BOOKS THAT MADE YOU CRY

Well, at best books make me ponder and think. Making me cry is a big ask.
I would only cry when i am terribly terribly angry at any of my loved ones or
when i lose any of my loved ones forever.

But Man’s Search for Meaning and a film by name LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL made me think a lot about the times of Holocaust.

A BOOK YOU WISH HAD BEEN WRITTEN

Is there anything like How to Learn Anything?

BOOKS YOU WISH HAD NEVER BEEN WRITTEN

Its hard for me to say some books should never be written. But i guess i have fallen out of love with a few genres,authors etc.
One book by Harrold Robbings which went by the name STALLION or something.
I was told this was basically soft porn, i quickly realised that actually there was nothing soft about it
Also, I could never understand how people can read Anthony Robbins. Rombo kastam :( 

Here I have to add one thing. Some time back i did read a lot of self improvement stuff.
I dont know if i have improved enough or not but i’ve improved to the extent that i dont read most of those
I used to like reading Wayne Dyer. I liked his You’ll See it When You Believe It. But did not like his other books though.
I think some of the books on astrology I read sometime back is useless. I bought a book called FOUR ARCHETYPES by Carl Jung. I could not make head or tail out of it
Any programming books is a useless endeavour for me. I never come to finishing it fully

BOOKS THAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY READING

I should not call it currently reading, i would say in various stages of completion and like the IT corridor project, I do not know when I am gonna complete these :) 

Maverick by Ricardo Semler
Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Emotional Design by Donald Norman

BOOKS YOUVE BEEN MEANING TO READ

Let me complete the pending list first.

But yeah,

All the books by Eliyahu Goldratt
Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham.
I, WOS by Steve Wosniack
The PayPal Wars by Eric Jackson
‘Azhwargal oru eliya arimugam’ by Sujatha

21.06.2007 Kungumam magazine Sujatha Q and A

Q. sivaji pathina top 10 ragasiyam sollungalen

A. (by sujatha) ragasiyam edhuvum illai. thiramayaaga kadhaiyamaikapattu, thirmayaga edukatappattu….

I could not complete that sentence, i literally laughed out loud, albeit a bit sadly for sujatha! :)

–Fade out–Flashback–

Aug/Sep 1992 Madhan interviews Mani Ratnam in Vikatan (liberally paraphrased).

Q. Oru padam edukumbodhu yaar yaarai ellam satisfy pannanum nu ninaipeenga?

Mani Ratnam’s Answer:
“First of all, nalla padam dhaan eduthirken nu enakku thonanum. Padam eduthutu konja naal kalichu, ‘ayyo ipdi oru mosamaana padathai eduthu tholaichitome naan vetkapada koodadhu!”

He may have given hits, he may have given flops, but i dont think Mani will ever feel ashamed of any film he has done in his career so far. Not many film directors in India can say that over a span of 20+ years. Atleast we have one person who does not insult the audience. I feel the younger direectors of Tamil Cinema are more talented than Mani. But nobody has yet matched that man’s consistency.

I could not help but think of Sivaji and Thalapathi - both had big budgets, both had mega stars, both had the best music directors of the times, best cameramen of the times, but Mani need not feel ashamed of Thalapathi and it was a commercial hit too. I am not so sure about the other person though.

I usually suck at taking spontaneous shots! But this one i liked for some reason. This was taken during the famous
Virudhunagar Panguni Pongal Festival.

Tagged by Kutti Priya!

1. No romantic flashbacks, please!

I do not have fond memories of the past. I just have memories and my memory is good. By this I do not mean I had a tormented childhood or something. I had a very normal, happy childhood. And I remember the good and the bad. It bugs me whenever I find people gushing

‘cha school life madhiri varuma, enna life, enna innocence, enna sandhosham!!’

I always feel like asking,”Dude, what’s wrong with you?”

Sure, I had my share of fun @ school, but I also hated my homework. People always see their past with sephia coated filters but not me. I think i’m doing pretty good now, no more school homeworks, no more bags which weighed more than myself, no more tuitions at 7 AM in the morning, no more permissions to go the loo during class hours, no more fear for the princi and teachers,

‘Ada pongappa, naan varalai school ku’

2. I’m like cooker, i like pressure

As more pressures and responsibilities had come my way, the initial reaction has always been,’Pochu, setha da karthi nee!’. But i’ve enjoyed the responsibilities and it has always been better than my fears. So much so, nowadays i think i should put myself under more pressure and seek more responsibilities to improve

3. Don’t even show me your credit card!

Coz, I can remember numbers. I’m yet to figure out if its a poorva jenma punyam or paabam.
People call me just to get the contact numbers of some other person. But it sucks when someone wakes me up in the middle of a nice sunday afternoon nap and says,”Dei namba srinivas mobile number sollu!”

My inventory include - friends vehicle numbers, my present and past vehicle numbers, my 15 digit bank a/cs with PINs, 16 digit credit card nos with security codes, popular train nos, around 60 phone numbers (local/STD/ISD) of my friends /relatives, colleagues, onsite coordinators etc. If I don’t remember any phone number, chances are I have not dialled that number for the past so many months. Phone address books are not designed for guys like me.

So, read the heading and you are herby warned!

4.I just cannot smile at anyone JLT
I seriously envy those who can smile by default. My face is more serious than my heart.
I think i’ve paid dearly in my life because of this on so many occasions. But the other side is, nobody except my close friends mess with me

5. Money - Split Personality
I’m very conservative yet philosophical with money. I will think 1000 times to buy something, but once paisa is out of the bag, I simply write it off and keep going. The money might be well spent or not. The attitude is the same for small purchase as for a major investment. I once wrote off a major investment, its another matter it did not turn out bad as i initially thought

6. Say no to MOUs with Gods, for public good!
I like to visit old temples but i dont ask God for this and that. I dont think I am a pure enough bhakthiman to move God and make him give me all I wanted. Also, if only God did give all that the bhakthas wanted, population will increase as nobody would die, inflation will be at an all time high since all would want to be rich, real estate prices will sky rocket, people will work less than present conditions etc. So i think its better God does not offer all the riches that bhaktas seek

7. You too Brutus!
I can be brutally frank and i’ve lost quite a few acquaintances because of this. I think this is a trait i got from my father. Dont believe this? See my previous post  for a mild sample:)

8. Forgive yes, forget - forget it!

To forgive is human, but to forget is divine, goes one proverb.
I think my father was divine in that respect but he suffered because of that in this material world.

I can forgive someone, but me forgetting - vaipey ledhu!