Seva @ Bangalore

A couple of months back a group of Oriyas, working in Bangalore, had been to Nandi hills for an outing. For an outsider, it may seem as just another picnic where a bunch of guys go out and have fun, but it was much more than that. It was about the belongingness that we have for our motherland; it was about the love we have for our fellow-beings. During the picnic, we had a nice discussion on the issues related to Orissa and the possible solutions. Many of us were quite excited at the prospect of being able to help Orissa in someway or the other. The picnic had a definite conclusion: we, at Bangalore, need to do something for the betterment of Orissa. In that regard, the picnic was a huge success in bringing a lot of like minded people together.

On our way back, a strange feeling was doing rounds. “Was it the beginning or the end?” It happens in a lot of endeavors that after the initial success, the enthusiasm level drops and the mission dies. It was unacceptable to us. Within one week, we had a concrete plan. A lot of young Oriyas, after completing B.E./B.Tech./MCA come to Bangalore to seek for jobs. With growing number of graduates turning to Bangalore, these people are subjected to fierce competition. We thought, we could help them with the years of experience we have in IT field.

The concept was to start a discussion forum, where they can discuss about the technical challenges they are facing and we can share our experience with them. The idea was to sharpen their technical abilities as well as boosting up their confidence. The support from Global Oriya community http://www.globaloriya.com/ gave enormous momentum to the movement. The response to this project was overwhelming, both from freshers as well as the would-be-mentors.

We planned to meet on a weekly basis and had the inauguration ceremony on October 1, Sunday at Visweswaraiya College on the Airport road. After a couple of weeks, we moved to a nearby primary school.

Since the day of the start, where we had only one forum to discuss about C/C++, we have grown to 3 forums with additions for Java and Testing. The topics for discussion are decided beforehand and the mentors come prepared with a range of tricky concepts. The sessions are so refreshing that you would definitely learn something at the end of it, no matter what you are - a fresher or a seasoned pro.

The joy of being there can’t be put in words; it feels like a job accomplished, like you did something for the society. A sense of satisfaction that comes when you see them smile cannot be described, it can only be experienced. Visit the place once and you would experience the same feeling which prompted me to write this article.

See you there someday.

Blogspot aint cool always

Posting through e-mail doesn't work always ... I feel there is some catch which I am not able to figure out ... Hope, I get to know that soon  :)

Oriya get-together at Nandi Hills

Last Sunday (17-Sep-06), I had the opportunity to attend a group outing at Nandi Hills, which is situated around 60kms north of Bangalore. The group mentioned here is a select group of Oriyas staying in Bangalore with a common objective to do something for our motherland, the great Orissa.

 

I had heard a great deal about Nandi hills, but never had I got the chance visit the place. Named after the great bull of Lord Shiva, the hill now boasts as a great tourist destination around Bangalore. The climate up there is fabulous; especially when it drizzles and the sun shines elegantly (my first hand experience). There is a very old temple of lord Shiva on the top of the mountain. The view from the courtyard of the temple is excellent; a part of Bangalore is visible from there. Words of caution! The monkeys. You will find a lot of monkeys on the hill. They have become good friends with the visitors, and very often they try to steal some food from them too :)

 

We had great fun there ... team games, Orissa quiz, roaming around the hill, a sumptuous meal (cooked by one of our Oriya friends) ... yummy!!! In the afternoon, we had a brain-storming session regarding our roles and responsibilities towards the development in Orissa. It was well summarized by Mohini Bhai, who is currently All India Secy. for Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. Happy beginning and happy ending ... that is how the event can described as.

 

On the way back, there were some serious thoughts doing rounds in our minds. We have a lot of beautiful and scenic places in Orissa, but they never get the attention. Tourism in Orissa has not evolved to its  full potential. It might be apt to say that Orissa is still like the unexplored ocean and we have plenty to get out of it.

 

Something even more serious - the issue of identity. In this (busy!!!) world, people tend to make judgments in a hurry. You say you are from Orissa, they already have an image in their mind; and onwards, you will be treated in just the same way. Every now and then, when some negative comment comes up regarding Orissa, they would promptly point it out; but never would they praise it for some good cause. And see the effect, we start adopting their image and start feeling inferior to others. We need to change this attitude of ours as well as theirs. We might not be the best in all respect (must remember, no one is perfect), but nor are we worse than anybody else. We have to fight back when people try to bury us in the sand of despair, else we will soon become part of history. We need to defend well, and attack when it is required. Mohini bhai's thoughts provided the foundation for this thought, but we have to build a castle on it - a castle through which we can fight back all the evils against our motherland.

Blogging through e-mail

Hey ... that's a cool feature now ... need not log into the blogger's zone at all ... all you have to do is to compose the blog and send it a configurable mail id ... e.g. tushar.abcd@blogger.com ... that's cool .. isn't it ...

 

So .. happy blogging ... till then, good bye.

Blogspot is great.

It is almost a year since I started visiting blogspot pages. Was quite impressed with the (network) traffic it generates. So many people logged onto a single server ... Now it is my turn to make it little worse ... So, hurray ... I am here.

Ensure Zero before You Start

Yeah! The hibernation is finally over. But, tell you, it is really great to sleep and dream of waking up. But finally, I am no more dreaming; I have woken up.

Okay! Okay! Too much of junk thoughts. Let's get onto the point.

How long would you get cheated and don't utter a single word? Many a times, it happens that you find something very objectionable, you raise your voice only to be heard by you; but never do you speak it loudly for the public to listen. Remember, it helps you sometimes when you raise your voice, though may harm you sometimes too L.

A couple of months ago, I was at a petrol bunker - getting my bike its fortnightly diet. There was a long queue and this made the staff work little faster. When I got my turn, the retailer didn't reset the counter before starting again; but before I could tell anything, he had already started fueling my bike. Smart enough, he pocketed 100 bucks as I had no way to prove my case.

Again yesterday, I was presented with a similar situation when the retailer tried the same stunt with me. Enough was enough, how many times would you just try to prove your point to yourself? You need to speak a little louder when it matters. With a couple of minutes of loud arguments (and of course, a threat that it will be reported to the bunk manager), I succeeded in winning my case. This time, my bike was a lot happier with its full quota of diet.

Speak when it matters, sleep otherwise.