What do I want to be??

I have now completely read 7 Habits of effective people by Stephen covey. There is one thing written in that book which made me think, deeply. That thing is to think about "what do I want to be"?

Pretty basic and a very boring question is what I thought about it when I first read about it. Nonetheless I went ahead and had a cup of tea with Mr. Covey over this topic (meaning I read what he had to say about this having a cup of tea). As I read further, I realized it is one of the most basic and life changing question that anyone can ever ask to himself. Made me think.

Covey is a very practical and a typical American author. He quantifies everything - from emotions to feeling to your goal in life, with clinical precision. But full credit to him, he has done solid work and I think the things he says have great relevance and they really do work.

Covey is of the opinion that the answer to the question - what do I want to be is four fold. In order to find an answer to this question, you need to know what your roles in life are. Once you know what are the different roles in your life, you can then reflect on each of the roles, think about what is the best you can achieve in each and every role of yours. Third step then is to have weekly goals you set your self in each and every role of yours which will bring you closer to you very best. Fourth step is to always try and improve, o keep raising the bar, to know how you can do whatever you are doing still better.

I know - all these things seem to like shit, something that seems very impractical. Even if you somehow agree to whatever he says and go ahead to it, I think such kind of an approach will take away the spontaneity out of life. In any case I thought is controversial and different enough to give it a try.

One day I sat alone and thought, what are my roles in life? Long after I am gone, how is it that I want my near and dear ones to remember me in each and every role I have in my life? Just pondering over this questions and trying to find answers was very liberating, different and good.

I recognized the different roles I have in my life which is of importance to me. These roles are that of a - Son, Brother, Friend, Colleague. I thought reflected about what I want to stand for in each of these roles of mine. I then noted in down in my "black dairy"... (Doesn’t worry, I wont repeat it here - because they are very personal to me :-)). This exercise is truly very good and I think every person should do it once in a while. It gives you a sense of direction. It also helps you to set your priorities right.

I found the step of having weekly targets in each role of mine to be still more enjoyable. For example, as a colleague for one week I set the target for myself to be very supportive to all my team members, even if they did something wrong. It feels great at the end of the week when you know that you achieved your target of the week.

But then again, as I said earlier it’s very difficult to maintain the tempo for a prolonged period of time. But that is something that I have to try and see. Hope I am proved wrong.

One more thing that I think will work still work better is if you have a role model with each of the role you have. This role model should be chosen carefully and he should be an inspiring person. He/she can be as real a person as your father/mother or as fictional as Prof.Dumbledore. But the key is your role model should inspire you. This way you will know your ultimate goal in each role. You can then move towards that epitome of perfection.

All said and done, the road is rough, twisting and full of difficulties before reaching the desired destination. Just like that path to the top of the mountain in the photo attached (it is again taken in Golconda fort in Hyderabad).

I pray to God to give me the courage and stamina to walk on that path and reach my destiny....Amen :-)

What to write…??

I am starting from exactly where I left yesterday. Yesterday I tried to find out, why I want to write. Today I want to write about what is it that I know of that’s worth writing. I wanted myself to know what is it that if recorded in my blog will make it my Blog truly “mine”. Basically, what is it that I want to write here so that the reader (including myself at a later stage) will have a slice of my life??

Most of the people who are following this blog of mine will certainly notice that I invariably start with questions…Question that more often then not will be having more then one answers…well that's the first things I want to write about – Questions. I love to ask questions, I love to make different enquiries; I love to find answers to difficult questions. After finding answers to these questions, I love to examine my answers in view of my daily experiences, to know if what I thought yesterday is still relevant even today. So, most of the time my blog will be a series of questions. Trying to have a look at it from all dimensions and give the best possible answers.

Secondly I would love to write about the different experiences that I have had in life. I for one have had some very unique experiences. Be it finding best friends among strangers, be it my funny experience I have when roaming in a mall, be it the strange hate that Dogs seems to have with me, be it some of the biggest blunders that I have made in my life, be it the way I am treated in office and many more things. Shortly put I want to tell my part of the story.

Third thing that I would love to write about is my travel. As such my Job involves some amount of Travel (though nowadays it has reduced to a large extent). In my course of travel I come across something beautiful, something funny, something thought provoking. I would love it record all this in this blog of mine, for me and the entire world to read. Most of the times I would love to tell these stories through Photos. Photos that I have clicked myself using my mobile. As someone truly said – A picture is more then a thousand words. You will find my blog dotted with a lot of photos – taken in different places and times.

Fourthly I want to write about the Books I read. I love reading and I love Books. I read anything and everything that I can lay by hands on. It can be a magazine like reader’s digest, a fiction like Harry potter, a Non fiction like The republic, a Autobiography like My experiments with truth, a biography like Swami Vivekananda, a self help like Seven habits of highly effective people, a business book like effective executive…..and the list continues. Basically I love to read and I want that love of mine to be show in these blog of mine.

Finally (slowly down the lane maybe be this will not be the last), I want to write about what angers me, things that shake me up. I know it happens to me sometimes and even a small and silly thing might trigger it. I want to record all those angry moments of mine.

Ohh my GOD!!!!! I have soooo much to write (and how foolishly collogue of mine remarked – “What’s there to write in a Blog?”)

I want this blog to be unique, to have a unique “Susheel” effect to it. As I said earlier in this post, I want to record a slice of my life through this blog – And feed myself and others on it ;-)

Why do I write…..?

I was jut sitting and thinking without any purpose (As I usually do) and a question came across my mind – Why do I write?

I have been with myself from the last almost 25 years. I have been writing since I was in class three. I perhaps know myself the best. And from this know how, I can predict that someday, when I happen to open my dairy or read my Blog, I will definitely ask this question to myself – Why did I write?

I did a bit of inner work to find an answer to this question. My answer to this question can be roughly given by the photo (I took this photo in Golconda fort during night).

Just like the small sources of light that illuminate different parts of the Old Golconda fort, even when in dark, thus making it more beautiful – so do My writings throw small pockets of light about me, about how I live, about what I think, about what I love and what I don't – even though the entire picture is still dark and unexplored.

Let me make feeble attempts to elaborate it a bit more. I write because of three different and equally important reasons. Firstly to know myself, secondly to give some work for my creative side and lastly to get connected emotionally with other people.

When I sit alone in a corner, without any distraction and try to type/write something, I see myself in a totally different light. I connect to my real self. I came to know of feelings that I never know were inside me. If there is a very difficult problem that I am facing, and I try to write about it, my mind becomes clearer, I get more alternatives and more solutions. Shortly put, it’s my first reason for writing – to know myself.

I am by profession and education an engineer. My day to day work involves usage of my analytic and logical skill. In doing so, more often then not I become a Robot, a thinking machine. I loose all emotions and try to concentrate only on work (A few of my friends are of the opinion that I am no less then a mad professor when it comes to work). Writing makes me human. I don't have to be logical when I am writing. I don't require Analytic skills. I don't have performance anxiety / pressure. Just be as creative as I can and throw open all the thought gates. Shortly put, it’s my second reason for writing – Giving work to my creative side.

People may be of different color, different place, different lifestyle, different language, different gender etc…But I truly believe that as Humans there is not much of a difference amongst people. The things that I at times feel will also be felt by someone else. Things that make my heart pain, might make others heart to pain as well. The doubts and difficulties that I face might be faced by some one else as well. In other words, even after soo many differences, there are some basic similarities amongst all people. This is the third and final reason for me to write – To get connected to other people on an emotional level (esp. the readers of these Blogs).

In summary, I don't write so that people should read it, I don't write because it’s a hip thing to do. I don’t write because I want to flatter someone. I write because it makes me feel good. I write because I think God has given me this talent of telling what I feel, in words. And I don't want to waste this blessing of God without even giving it a try.

Ohh Lord!!!! Forgive me for I know not what is happening….

I am frustrated, angry pained and Sad. This is not because of my Personal life; I am rather the luckiest guy when it comes to personal life. I have great family and one of the best friends that a person can have. I am frustrated because of my official life. For Name sake I am working in a MNC, a respectable company but as an insider all that I can see in Politics, back biting, hypocrisy, favoritism and nepotism.

I mean, I have been working in this company from the last almost 2.5 years (of course now the company along with the manager has changed due to a meager). I have worked hard for the company. I stayed put in a department which has the highest rate of attrition. At some point of time (and regret for it now), I placed higher importance to my office work as compared to my personal life. By with each passing day I feel after all maybe it was not worth it after all.

What I see in office sometimes makes me sick. I see a manager who is afraid of his own team, who does not place trust in his own team - the team (including me) which works for him in the office. I see team leaders, who even after having almost double my work experience having insecurity feeling. I see people playing blame games, I see people whom I once thought to be epitomes of Goodness changing their colors depending on the occasion. It irritates me very much. Work does not seem to get any recognization. Favoritism is in vogue…. In short, nowadays – It stinks in office.

People who read this might feel that if there are so many problems, why I am staying there. Well, to that I need to say that I have been trying left right and center to get away from this place. But each time something or the other happens and I miss an opportunity. I don't know what the Lord all mighty has written out for me. One of my friends recently said to me that the reason why I get so upset due to office affairs is because I have a lot of expectations from my Manager/team lean in particular and the company in general. Well, maybe that’s true. But for an emotional guy like me, it very very difficult to Just go about everything in a robotic fashion. I cannot turn a blind eye to what ever is happening around me. And this weakness in me piles up my misery.

After my experience in this company post meager, I am convinced that No company is good or bad. It’s the people who compose it that make a company good or bad. I am also convinced of the fact that employees do not leave company but they leave bosses

All said and done, I really do not know what’s happening around me. I only have one prayer to God – Help me to get out from this company and get me a better opportunity.

I don't want to grow up!!!!!!

Its one heck of a thing to grow up!!!!A part of me always wants to be a child, carefree and innocent. But with each passing day I am forced to grow up. And with growing up is associated the lessons that the silent teacher – Experience - teaches you.

Have your ever observed two children playing?? They will happily play with dust. And they will truly enjoy doing it. They know of only one human emotion and that is Love. They might not be wearing anything and still not feel awkward about it. It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago I too enjoyed in similar fashion.

I sometimes wonder where I lost that innocence, that joy, that carefree attitude, that feeling of nothing is impossible (During my childhood, I thought that if a Truck or lorry Mows you down, you don't die, you just become flat – Just like in cartoons) … I wonder when in this rush of “Growing up” I lost those treasures. I wonder why we become more and more miserable and cynic as we grow up. Logically speaking, it should be the other way round. We should be born foolish, ego centric and fearful but grow up into Wise, non egoistic and fearless. Strange is the way the world works.

Now as grown up adults, one look around you and you see paranoid people. Keep two people together and sooner then later ego starts building up, a struggle is always there to gain upper hand over someone else. In the grown up world, the buzzword is – survival of the fittest. There is always an underlying meaning that if you got to win, someone else has to loose. How very annoying.

At one point of time, I thought that you always have to be Mr. Goodie good with everyone. I felt that if you did good to someone, it is but natural that only good can happen to you. But slowly I begin to know that this is not the case. I came to know that it is impossible to keep everyone happy at the same time. It’s impossible to be Mr. Goodie Good to everyone. I came to know that if you are too innocent, you will be taken for a ride and people will stamp over you to meet their own greedy ends. This has made me more rigid, this forces me to sometimes behave in a way which I am not. This is the lesson that experience has thought me – This is knowledge.

It is said that initially Adam and Eve were fearless, happy and devoid of any human emotions apart from pure Love. Then Eve tasted the fruit of knowledge and made Adam to eat it too. By eating the fruit of knowledge, Adam and Eve became fearful, unhappy and first time felt negative human emotions like Pain, ego, shy (In fact this feeling of shyness made them to cover their body)…

By growing up and with experience, are we not – knowingly or unknowingly – are we not tasting the fruit knowledge? Are we not running away from our true self? Are we not experiancing more and more negitive human emotions with each passing year? Isn’t the world of grown up’s more bad then that of children?

And if the answer to all the above question is YES… then naturally, should we taste this fruit of knowledge in the first place? What will happen if we insist on not growing up and being a child? Many people will even call these questions stupid and probably won’t even give it a second thought…

The road ahead is long and I still have to travel a long long long way, even to understand why I am on this road in the first place :-)

Make way for India – The champions of the world

Yes!!!!!!!! Team India has done it…Unbelievable but true – India is the Cricketing champion of the world. You got to see it to believe it. The festive mood, the crackers bursting, the screams, the people dancing on roads…..its Jubilation all around. Wonderful feeling, I guess a lot of people who saw the match will proudly say, we were there when it all happened. I will not go into the details of the match, because I am sure almost everybody might have seen it by holding their pumping hearts in their hands.

I tried to capture the way cricket binds all of us through this photo. Alas!!! It has not come out very clearly, but still I hope it tells the feeling that runs around cricket in India. The photo that you can see is taken in a small street in Hyderabad, I am not sure if you can see it, but there’s a TV right in the middle of the road!!!!!!!! And people all around it eagerly watching the game!!!! Food and snaks were being offered so that people don't miss even a ball!!!!!!!It happens only in India :-). Of course this snap was taken much before we actually won the match, I wonder what it would be like “after” becoming the champions????!!!!!!

The one thing I like about Cricket in India is that it really brings people together. There are no Muslims, there are no Hindu’s, there are no North Indians, there are no south Indians but Indians with Raw emotion – a Hunger to see India win…..Anything that brings this attitude in us ought to be admired.

Sure sometimes you feel that we are giving undue importance to just a Game, we feel there are far more important things that we need to look at. But then again we need to celebrate on our success else we will never appreciate what we miss when we fail. If all India can stand together and dance if a handful of Young Indians win a match – So be it.

Nothing more can I write now, cause I need to have the feeling sink in that India are truly the Champs of the world…..HIP HIP HURREY – CHAK DIYA, INDIA. :-)

Chak De India.....:-)

My heart is singing today, I want to dance with Joy and I want the entire word to see me dancing with Joy....It’s a great moment - "India reaches the final of T20 match”. Feels great, makes me proud.

India have been doing great this world cup season, makes every cricket loving fan's heart beat a bit faster by seeing their performance. Particularly the now legendry six sixes in an over by Yuvraj against a hapless England was simply superb. Its so Good that you just don’t feel bored by seeing it again and again and again...That's exactly the reason why I am including that video in the post here, see it and feel grateful that you lived in the times when Yuvraj hit six sixes in an over....

Any cricket fan who has been closely following India’s advance into the finals can tell you that they have been doing so supremely well. The first match again Pak was breathtaking till the very last bowl...it takes character a courage to win a match like that - and team India won it :-). Each and every match that India have won till date be it against Pak, England, South Africa or Australia have shown the stuff that Team India is made of. And all this by a bunch of youngsters - WOW!!!!!!!

Out of the cricketing field too India seems to be getting better and better with each passing day. I see an Indian buying out a Huge steel company, I see a Liquor Baron buying a Airlines company one day and a F1 team the other, I see the word's biggest Mobile company Vodafone coming to India and fighting tooth and nail to have their place in India, I see an Indian made software running a boing Aircraft, I saw a Brilliant Scientist as the Head of Indian constitution, I see more and more Indian names in the Forbs magazine, I see an Indian Football team winning Nehru cup, I see an Indian Hockey team giving shivers down the spines of their opponents, I see a Newspaper - Times of India - Understanding its responsibility and coming out with a wonderful campaign Lead India. And the list goes on and on...

I know there will be Cynics out there who might say that as a Great country we have still a long way to go and not everything is going our way. In fact I might be among the first people to criticize India and its state of affairs at the mistakes that we do. But I also know that these are all the sign's of a growing India and see the Glass to be half full rather then half empty :-)

For the time being let's Dance, rejoice and sing aloud. Let’s keep the complaints and criticisms for a later day........ Great going Team India - "Chak De India............."

One more Wicket falls in NSN - Vikas resigns

The bunch of happy faces you see has been taken in front of Hyderabad Airport (Don't worry!!!!! I am not there in the snap), when we had gone to send off Vikas. Vikas has now resigned from NSN and moves abroad to chase his dreams and look for a better future, I am sure all the people in this snap are wishing him the very best from the deepest of their hearts.

Vikas has been less of a co worker and more of a friend from almost a year. It feels strange and odd - cause with passage of time you tend to get used to some faces when you spend time with them - and suddenly to know that from tomorrow you will not be seeing them in their seats, that you wont be able to see their faces as frequently as you have got used to - it feels odd and strange. But the only thing that makes me feel good is the fact people always leave for their own betterment and personal improvement.

I am slowly getting used to this slow march of friends/collogue from my company. But each and every friend who has left the company have thought me some pretty good and lasting lessons.

Feras has thought me how important it is to be Silent. He thought me how speaking a few words could mean a thousand sentances. He truly thought me - Speech in silver and silence is Golden.

Nikhil (Fifth person from Left) has thought me the importance Deep friendship. Nikhil thought me how to truly connect with other people. He thought how to be soft and still be strong. He truly thought me - A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Bhavnesh (Third person from left) has thought me the importance of being Practical. He thought me that the word is not really as rosy as it seems. He thought me that the best from of help is self help. He truly thought me - How to have a body of thorns and a heart of rose, and still be a good human being.

Vikas (Fourth person from left) thought me the importance of being Professional. He thought me how silly and foolish it is to mix personal life with Professional life. He thought me how important it is to be confident in what you believe, no matter what others think. In his very own way he perhaps thought me the 10 most wonderful letters I have known - "IF IT IS TO BE, IT IS UP TO ME".

But the fun part is that when these guys were with me, I did not learn the lessons. I took too much for granted. But today when and sit and reflect on what each of these wonderful people who have been with me have thought me, the lesson's become more evident.

For Now - So long Vikas here's wishing you all the very best CHEERS!!!!!!!! :-)

The 7 habits of highly effective people – a critique

Hi there,

Recently I have been reading the book “Seven habits of highly effective people” by Stephen covey. Must say it's a very good book. You cannot classify this one as fiction, Non fiction, adventure, self help....etc. It is more of a text book. It is a series of principles that the author thinks to be the corner stone for highly successful people or rather highly effective people (there is an actually a lot of difference between being successful and being effective).

The thing that is evident in this book – which you will know after reading only a few pages, is – you and you alone are responsible for what happens to you. Nobody can make you feel angry; nobody can make you feel sad, nobody can make you feel happy. It is totally you – your conscious decision – about your reaction to the situation. If your boss shouts at you, you have two choices – either go in the flow and shout back at him (in which case your boss is having control over your emotions) or you exercise your own free will to decide what you want to do when your boss shouts at you (in which case you are having control over your emotions).

After driving this point home, he slowly and clinically dissects everything and tells you how you can be happy, if you want to. How you can be successful, if you want to. In fact he has clarified it and expressed it soo well & in such a scientific detail that you tend to think everything can be planned and executed as per your will (Which of course is false)

The key here is, he says – to take total responsibility for your self. You and you alone have decided what you are now and not – your parents, the circumstances or the society. Strong Idea. So if I decide that my boss will not control how I react, it is just a matter of application of some will power before you relies that, yes – It is possible.

After hitting home the point about how important you are in your life with some solid example (which by the way is the first habit of highly effective people) he slowly builds up the remaining five habits. The habits too are devised in such a way that you will first gain private victory (that is victory over yourself) and then public victory (Victory over your surroundings). And finally he requests us to “keep sharpening the saw”. Meaning, keep improving, keep looking for new and better ways to do things, learn as you grow. For clarity purpose, I am listing out the seven habits.

Private victory

1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put first things first

Public victory

4. Think Win/Win
5. Seek first to understand…Then to be understood
6. Synergize

And finally, the seventh habit which holds the entire development in place

7. Sharpen the Saw.

The author himself says that these seven habits are the cornerstone of highly effective people. But according to his own confession, it is extremely difficult to live these values. It is this difficulty, this mystery of wheatear we will be able to live these values is what makes it even more beautiful, timeless and rock solid.

At the end the author says that reading the book itself and committing the habits to memory will not do any help to us. We should “live” these habits before we start getting its benefits. You cannot read 100 books on swimming and say that you can swim. You have to shed your cloths, get into the water and start applying what you know to learn and truly swim.

All in all, a very good book to read and potentially life changing – if applied in true sprit.

Questioner of Life….

Questions, Questions and more questions!!!! Life for me seems to be a series of questions. Am I too soft? Is it true that nice men finish last?? Is honesty really the best policy? Does unconditional love really exist in real life?? Why do sometimes things turn out bad even if we have good in our heart??..........These and many other questions have now become my constant companions. And the more I think about them, the more difficult it seems to find an answer for them. In the same breath not finding an answer is like living a life of ignorance – which I am sure I do not want to live. Even now as I site and type this out, I feel I complain a lot!! After all I have everything that makes a person Happy. I have great parents, brilliant brother, sweet sister, Good friends and a pretty decent job, but I still tend to be complaining a lot. I have a lot of unrest inside me. The thing that I fear the most is “Am I wasting my life?”, “Am I doing something wrong?” When I see people o my age around, I see most of them having Girlfriends, chatting ideally, freaking out, drinking, smoking and doing things that I don't even dare to write here. I am doing none of these – I don't have a girlfriend, I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't do anything that can be remotely classified as “outside the rule book”. This raises one more series of questions in my mind, “who amongst both of us is living fully?” “Will it someday happen that I look back and say – I think I did something wrong, I think I wasted my time”…. The problem here maybe - I don't have a clear direction, a sense of having something to live by and achieve. In the words of Stephen covey – I don't know the goal of my life, I don't know the reason I am here.” And this, if I think deeply is very scary. But this feeling itself raises another series of question – “how do I find my Goal? “, “How do I know why I am here?”, “what is it in my life that I want to live by?”, “will I ever find a passion in my life that is all powerful, all consuming?” “Will I be able to do something that I can be truly proud about?” – Something that I can say my life stood for???? Going back a full loop - Questions, Questions and more questions!!!! Life for me seems to be a series of questions. PS: Do I take life tooo seriously????!!!!!! :-)

Visit to Nagarjuna sagar Dam

Hi friends,

Today I am penning down this travelouge to talk about my latest trip – A trip to Nagarjuna Sagar Dam. I had been to this place due to some official work of mine. Hutch is going to cover this area and I was lucky enough to go on a pre survey there :-)

Well, let me first start with a fact file. Nagarjuna Sagar dam (NSD) is the tallest masonry dam in the word. It is located in Nalagonda district of Andhra Pradesh. I don’t have the exact mathematical details about it (like its xyz meters tall, ABC meters wide....blah, blah, blah). But from what I can see I can say - "its Huge". It also made me feel proud for being an Engineer, because it’s nothing less then an Engineering marvel.

We started a few days back to this place in a “cheverolet Tavera” by road. The place is well connected to Hyderabad thru roadways. A national highway runs right thru it. We (Myself, a collogue of mine - Manju, a civil engineer and a land acquisition person) started off at around 7 in the morning and were in NSD after a 4 hours drive.

You are greeted into the confines of NSD by the sweet flowing sound of Krishna River. A roadside bill board screams at you - "swimming here is dangerous. Crocodiles inside". We made a brief stop at this spot to have a good look at the river. A few meters away from us, an old man had just killed a King cobra with his walking stick and was showing it off proudly in our direction. I smiled back at him.

I am attaching a picture taken from this place with my mobile camera for you to see(First picture above).

Then you come across a brief "Ghats section" that leads you inside the main dam area. At the highest point of this hill, I have now planned a Microwave repeater for Hutch. It’s going to be a very important Back bone site in near future. I love this site - It’s my brain child. And no worries if you read the last few sentences as Chinese ching pang po :-). The picture above (picture 2) is taken from the point where my repeater will be coming up in near future

APTDC (Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation) has maintained the main dam area very well. They have given it a cool and neat look. 10 on 10 to them. We can stay back in a Lodging maintained by APTDC called as "project Green land". The cost comes to anywhere between 150 to 750 rupees. It is said that when the dam was being built, the engineers who were involved in the dam construction work used to stay back in this quarters. It has an Old, classy look attached to it. With a big lawn in front, cool breeze, silence, soft music of running water and no mobile coverage - it was a pleasure living in this hotel.

About 10 minutes drive from this hotel is the Right earth dam portion of NSD. Just by standing there and looking towards the construction, gives you a feel of the massiveness of the structure. Appreciation, awe and respect for the people involved in its construction come naturally to you. Behind this Right earth dam is a small town that has been created by the people working in NSD. It’s called as Pylon colony. You can visit there to do some shopping and refilling of your stomach.

Going down from the Pylon colony first brings you to the chief engineer’s house of the NSD project. It’s now in ruins. Not that it is a tourist location or it’s beautiful - It’s just that this is the place where all the chief engineers of the project resided and overlooked the proceedings of the dam work. It’s in a high elevated place and standing on this point, you can view the entire right earth dam in its full glory, along with the power generation station. And guess what we will be putting up a small cell site here, which will help us to cover the full of Power station. :-). The photo above (picture 3) is of the picture taken from the place where once upon a time the chef engineer’s house existed. To the right hand corner of the photo you can see the high tension wires of the Power Generation station.

Right below the Chief engineer’s house is the power generation station. It’s generally locked for the general public. This is locked due to ISI threat (yes, of the Pakistan fame). We tried to get into this station by giving all sort of rubbish reason - we are from hutch, we will give you coverage in this area etc etc etc...But we were not let in. Nonetheless, the view of the dam from outside the power station is breathtaking. From here you can see water flowing in small rivulets after being let away from the turbines. You can hear the constant humming of the power turbines. Inside the power station, power requirements of the state is continuously monitored. If there is any increase in the power requirements - a loud siren is sounded to alert anyone who might be near to the river banks. The water is then let out in higher speed, increasing the turbine speed and the generated power. Engineering Rocks :-). See the view I saw from this spot and judge by yourself. The small tunnel like things you can see in the photo is the outlet from the turbines inside the power generation station. Its even more beautiful see the sudden increase in water flow after the seiren is sounded. Unluckily, the photo is covered by tree branches that hide the view of the actual power generation station. But still it’s good enough to see and have a feel of how it looks(Pleasse look at Picture 4 above).

In case you are thinking "what the hell is this Masonry dam?” Let me give you some Civil Gyan. A masonry dam is a man made obstruction between two hills with water flowing in between. It’s the same in case of NSD as well. The value added service you have here are two bridges between the hills along with a dam. One bridge is an old weak one, which is now broken. And a newer, stronger, longer, taller bridge just a few meters away from the first bridge. Traveling thru this bridge to the other end of the hill takes you to the left earth portion of the dam. Equally majestic, huge, massive and beautiful as the right earth dam portion. You can stand here for some time and enjoy Nature. Luckily for me, I had taken a binocular for survey purpose and could see the picturesque location very well. picture 5 and 6 are two snaps in succession, one is the older bridge which is now broken, owing to the gush of water. The sixth photo you can see in quick succession is that of the newer bridge. The person who you can see in this photo going downwards is my collogue Manju who also accompoined me in this tour of mine.

In case you are thinking “why on earth this place is called Nagarjuna Sagar?” let me give you some historical Gyan. This place derives its name from Acharya Nagarjuna. He is said to be a very great Buddhist monk. He was also very scholarly and learned. He had created his own university on a small island on the river Krishna. People from all over the word thronged there for learning. This was something around 2000 years ago – WOW!!! . Since this place was made famous by Acharya Nagarjuna and his university is on Krishna Sagar, this place came to be known as Nagarjuna Sagar.

The university that Acharya Nagarjuna started is still accessible (though in ruins) from NSD. A few minutes drive from the south earth dam takes you to “launch point”. A boat steamer starts from this launch point every 15 minutes. The destination of this steamer is the University of Nagarjuna. The duration of the trip to the university is a solid 45 minutes. I was not lucky enough to go to that place, due to lack of time. But, from the people whom I met on my way back said that it's a very beautiful place and the boat ride make it still more enticing. The seat of the university itself now contains some splendid sculptures, Buddhist tablets and a serene and calm environment.

My last stop on this tour was Ethipotla. Ethipotla is around half an hours drive from left earth dam of Nagarjuna Sagar dam. The place to watch out for is the Ethipotla water falls. It might not be as beautiful as Jog falls or even Gokak falls. But it provides a nice full stop to the visit of NSD. Start off by seeing the Dam where man stops water for his use and end it with a free flowing beautiful water falls - beauty in contradiction. Picture seventh above is the photo of the ethipotla water falls for you to see and admire. Also, just for the records – you are not advaised to go down there near the waterfalls. This is because this place still houses some mean crocodiles, and it is said that just a few days before our visit to this place a person was dragged into the water by a crocodile for a hearty luunch :-(

Thus came to an end my small yet enjoyable trip to NSD. The things that I narrated were the main part of the travel. There were also smaller not soo important things that happened like our vehicle meeting with an accident, breaking its wheel axle and spinning out of control (we managed to drive the handicapped vehicle all the way to Hyderabad). Or us living a entire day on just a few buns cause the place where we ended up while doing survey did not have anything to eat. Or the “king lizard” that royally fell from the heavens on our feet when we first time opened the doors of our lodging (the thing was so big that I was confused if it was a lizard or baby crocodile!!!!). But then all this things are quite common during travels and surveys. What really matters is as far as Nagarjuna Sagar dam is concerned I can say – “Been there, seen that”…….

Techies at cross roads (corporate curry)

It started as a dream, a seed that I wanted to grow as a tree in its full bloom. Like all science stream students of today, I to wanted to be an Engineer. Money, fame, and peer pressure ultimately brought me to Bangalore, after finishing my Engineering.

After much heartbreak, Interviews and sun burns, I finally got a Job. I became a part of the corporate culture. I started to feast on the corporate curry. But, it did not take me long to know that this corporate curry served to us is not that tasty after all. I came to know – It’s a Jungle out there.

Humans cease to be humans in corporates. They are just work vending machines. You put in the monthly salary in their account and expect them to work like slaves for you. The company itself is nothing more then a big shark – always hunting, looking out for smaller companies, devouring it and filling its stomach and the company owner’s bank vault.

It did not take me long to know the meaning of “every man on his own”. With the company seeing us as people who directly impact their profit margin, and devising innovative ways and means to cut short the expenses – we need to be careful. A classic example of corporate politics can be known from the following true story.

Once upon a time, there was an Engineer named “Mr. me”. Mr. me worked for a company X, there were two competitors of company X. They were Y and Z. Mr. Me being a loyal employee of X worked day and night for X. He forgot his personal life, and worked full throttle to see to it that his compony X performs better then Y and Z. One fine day, it so happened that company X and Y decided to tie up with each other and defeat the third company Z. Z being faced by a stronger opponent “x and Y combined” bowed out of the fight and lost the race. Mr. Me was of course Jubilant that his beloved company has emerged victorious and has forged a strong alliance with Y. X and Y being strong allays, decided to share the market amongst them and not to interfere with each other’s business. With only two players in the market, to save their “Trade secrets” they decide that a person working in one company cannot come into the other company. With competition becoming lesser and lesser, both the companies decided that it’s high time to remove some employees from the company. The reasoning was simple – They simply cost too much. Our hero Mr. me was summoned to the cabin of his boss, and a pink letter was given to him, with a cute message that the company was thankful for all the work he has done. It wished him all the very best for his future endeavors, and that his services were no longer required. Mr. Me’s life was shattered; he did not know what to do. He went to the doors of the company that till yesterday he was working against – company Y. They too did not want his services.

This is a sort of story that’s very common in today’s corporate world, where the newest mantra of companies is “monopoly”. And the buzz word in office is “survival of the fittest”. And in order to be fit you need to keep running. Running to the extent that someday when you happen to sit alone, you tend to wonder – Why am I running so much? As someone very rightly said, “the problem with Rat race is, even if you win the race, you are still a Rat”.

Today when I sit and see what all I have gained and what all I have lost, reality hits me very hard. I left my family, my close circle of friends, my home and almost everything that made me the person that I am today. And in return of all this, what is it that I get? A life full of stress, fear of loosing my job, friends who themselves are paranoid and lost. Definitely this is not what I wanted when I dreamed of tasting the corporate curry.

On a positive note, I started as a kid with a dream, corporate made me a man with a mission. I met different people both good and bad. I looked into the Eyes of a new developing India. I met people with dreams in their eyes and courage in their hearts. I am still seeing the seed growing into a plant. I am also confident that one day this plant will become a tree in its full blossom.