Stench all the way

Category : Social

Ramesh and Parvathi are newly married. They work in nearby offices in Chennai and travel by a two-wheeler. Today morning they started early from home and stopped at a temple nearby. They offered prayers. Ramesh pinned a fragrant flower in the hair of his wife, and they started for office.

They crossed the main city and turned towards Tidel Park. They had moved a bit forward… and guess what happened… something what everyone going by that road hates. A giant truck carrying all the garbage of the city came blowing the horn behind them. Ramesh had no other option but to let it overtake. The garbage truck (called “kuppai vandi” in local language) went ahead, spreading the worst stink. It was a large dirty truck, filled with garbage up to the brim, and covered loosely with a cover. Just after a while some pieces of junk fell down from the truck, which disturbed everyone following it. The smell that it was spreading was unbearable. Ramesh somehow managed to drive properly. But chunks of garbage kept on falling from the truck, making the road dirty and making it impossible for all the people driving behind it to drive. The chunks included big shells of green coconut (imagine if it had fallen on someone’s head…)

I was the spectator and a victim of all this and I thought of sharing my experience with you. This is the experience of more than 25000 people who cross this busy road (most of them are people working in big IT companies, which generate lot of revenue for the state). The vehicles meant to collect and dump garbage are spreading garbage across the city. There are other cities where garbage is managed much more efficiently, without causing trouble to the residents. This is a clear chaos by the city municipality.

Chennai residents ... raise your voice !!

Satyam about to join $1 bn club

The news about Satyam Computers becoming a $1Bn company is getting hotter in the markets (Indian and International) and among the shareholders.

For those who don't know, Satyam is the first Indian IT company to reach the $1 bn mark in the shortest time.

Satyam is soon going to announce its quarter results on April 21st and probably the $ 1 bn news along with it. While the company's management is happy for this achievement, the shareholders are anticipating bonus shares. But the most interesting topic for discussion among the employees of Satyam (popularly known as 'Satyamites') is what they will get as a bonus or incentive... Recently CTS provided each employee with an iPod... so, Satyamites are expecting something interesting. (any idea Satyamites??)

IT Trend

I was reading some news articles, and it was mentioned that Rupee value is getting appriciated. Well, its good in many respects, but not all. Consider the IT and BPO businesses. The major factor behind IT and BP/KP outsourcing is the cheap labour at offshore. If we project that in next 10 years, the value of rupee gets doubled in the international market, considering the current trend, then it would be no longer cheap for outsourcing.

So, what will be the future of outsourcing? Lacs of people in India are dependent of this business... It will be great if we gradually shift the focus to more revenue generating business like product development. It definitely needs serious investments in R&D which is not easily recoverable!!

Linear Path versus ZigZag Path

I remember my school days, when I used to rate my classmates and other students on the basis of academic performance (not my fault, even the teachers used to do so). The common understanding was that a student good in studies was a decent guy with good character and a dull student was a "bad guy". The only recommendation to such a "bad guy" by anyone would be to study well and score well.

This is true in a broad sense throughout life. There is a fixed straight "linear" path defined for the progress of a "mediocre" performer, and that is to try and excel in his primary area of work. But, there is no such fixed path of success for a "bright" performer, because he is already good at what he does. Diversification is the key for a successful person to become more successful. The way here is not a straight one, but a "ZigZag" one. Keep performing well in your primary area of work, but keep trying your hands in other areas too. This might not click instantly, but over a period of time it definitely will !!