Back to Pavilion

Finally, my stint at Honeywell is over. It came to an end a bit earlier than I had expected, nonetheless, it has ended. And ended successfully. In the two-and-half months that I worked with Honeywell, I managed to file one patent. So, I will have a patent in my name in the next one or two years. Enough for a work that officially lasted for just over two months.

Apart from work my stay in Bengaluru too was good. I enjoyed a lot of things here. There are a few things that I liked about Bengaluru and that I will miss back in Mumbai. First, the greenery. Many of Bengaluru's roads have a nice green cover on their sides, thus keeping the road cool and shady. In Bengaluru, the problem with street lights is that due to the trees, their light doesn't fall on the roads. However, the trees are a blessing during the day when they keep away the sun.

Second, I shall miss those road-side juice shops. In Bengaluru, there is a juice shop at almost every 100 metres. They serve various juices at low prices. An orange juice costs around Rs. 10, while an apple milkshake costs anywhere between Rs. 12-15. These juices were a boon for me after my workout in the gym. Being exhausted and famished, they helped me stay alive till I could have dinner. These juice shops should be replicated all over India. The juices would atleast satisfy some of our nutritional requirements. Although IITB has one juice shop, they are not available outside IITB.

Third in line are the community parks. Every locality in Bengaluru has a community park, which is maintained by the Bengaluru Municipal Corporation. These parks have a walking (jogging) track inside, coupled with grass lawns and benches. So, you an walk/jog in the park and then laze or rest on the benches. These parks act as real stress-busters for those who need it. They are frequented by everybody, from the young to the old, who want to revitalise themselves.

Finally, I would miss Blossoms, the bookstore off Brigade Road. The three-storied bookstore that had all kinds of books- from childrens' collection to erotica- and sold brand new as well as second hand books. Blossoms was a favourite hangout of mine. I have bought a few books (especially second hand ones) from Blossoms and continue to crave for more. So many classics, out of print books, books bought by people from outside India are kept in their second-hand section for dirt-cheap prices. It is the hangout for book-lovers. I will definitely miss Blossoms as there is no counterpart for it in Mumbai or Pune.

Change is happening

No, this isn't yet another blog post about Obama. It is about my very own country, India. Indeed, it is about Bangalore (I don't know if the city is officially called Bengaluru so I'll stick to Bangalore). I was in this city in 2005-2006. There was a lot of mess around the city. The flyover from Indiranagar to Domlur was in doldrums, there was another flyover near Jayadeva Hrudayalaya whose construction period was stretching for ever. On top of that, Devegowda had gained a lot of bargaining power in the political setup. He announced his hatred for the IT industry, thus drying up funds required to spruce up Bangalore. So many infrastructure initiatives taken up by the previous government were put on hold or funding reduced, virtually bringing such projects to a halt.

Back then, it used to take atleast half-an-hour to reach from Indiranagar to Domlur. There used to be a round about from the construction site through the narrow lanes to go to Domlur. Similarly, near Jayadeva Hrudayalaya there used to be a huge rubble across which the buses, cars and other vehicles used to crawl. Another notorious junction was the Silk Board junction. This junction too used to be crowded and packed because of lack of proper traffic management.

Slowly but steadily, most of these projects got completed with a huge time delay and cost overrun. But, the fruits of these are visible. Today, we can zip from Indiranagar to Domlur over the flyover. We can get on and off the Old-airport road without worrying about the traffic coming from either side. The Silk Board junction has be decongested to a large extent and Jayadeva Hrudayalaya junction has a good over bridge and underpass to allow traffice to pass through it. This has saved everybody a lot of time and energy. The economy is gaining due to improved productivity of the manpower. People are losing less fuel in traffic jams. This helps in saving a precious fuel source. But, the flip side is, seeing this infrastructure development, more people would be tempted to use individual vehicles rather than mass-transport. So, the government should now focus on developing the mass-transport system. The Namma Metro is on its way. The metro should be complemented by the BMTC, thus creating a smooth system of mass-transport.

Change is happening. It is happening slowly. That is the problem. But it is hapenning, it hasn't stopped completely.

Namma Bengaluru!!

I'm back in Bangalore, for a period of 3 months. As a part of my PhD, I am working on a project at Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab, Bangalore. This is a great opportunity to work with one of the leading companies in the field of process control. But, the call comes at a wrong time. While I was supposed to join sometime in September, the HR processes delayed my joining to mid-October. This is Diwali time and everybody longs to be at home. I couldn't do that. So, here I am, celebrating my Diwali in Bangalore.

The weather in Bangalore is very very pleasant. Quite a stark contrast from what it is in Mumbai. Imagine, no sweating through the day. The only soiling of clothes that occurs is due to the pollution and dust on the outside. The day temperatures are just warm enough, while the night is a bit chilly. Bangalore just received a lot of rainfall during the October season. That has added to the chill factor in the evenings. Today it is sunny and a bit of chill in the air. Perfect weather I would say.

With a short stay in Bangalore, I want to go around the city and explore it as much as possible. I couldn't do it last time, as I had no enthusiasm about doing it. Now, this time around, I do not want to go back without exploring the city. I am, therefore, planning to visit one or two places of interest in Bangalore every weekend. Let's see how things shape up.

About my work. Well, the atmosphere is as found in all MNCs. I'm enjoying the work more, as it forms a part of my PhD. And I hope to achieve a lot in these three months at Honeywell. With more friends in Bangalore this time around, I hope to enjoy it better than I did last time.

Kamat Yatri Nivas

After living on hostel mess food, office cafeteria food and tiffin food, don’t we long to have food that is closely related to our homeland? For e.g., a Tam guy would be desperate for dosas, idly or pongal, a Maharashtrian desperate to have pohe or vada pav when thrown into alien land.

Why am I saying all this? I’m myself currently in this situation. Six months in Bangalore and I’ve been away from misal-pav, vada-pav and most importantly, the jowar bhakri and pithale (made from gram-flour). That is when the restaurant Kamat Yatri Niwas (KYN) came to my rescue. Situated in the heart of the city of Bangalore, this restaurant serves authentic jowar bhakri with brinjal (egg-plant) masala and other vegetables that are close to the Marathi style of cooking. They call it the North Karnataka meals but I find it way close to the Marathi style of cooking. Man, at least for the cooking style, north Karnataka should be merged with Maharashtra. Spacious and well ventilated, situated on the fourth floor of the KYN building, this restaurant is seriously a place where the entire north Kannadigas and Marathi crowd should go for a meal.

Enter the restaurant and you feel you have left Bangalore and literally come to north Karnataka. For the Marathi public, they’ve entered into Maharashtra. Why? The guys who serve the food dress in a white dhoti and brown cotton kurta, a common way of dressing in rural Maharashtra. Once seated, a fresh banana leaf is laid in front of you. And then in the true Indian style of serving food, each item in the menu is served. The serving begins with spring onions and methi, and then moves on to vegetables, curd, buttermilk and brinjal masala. Not to forget the koshimbir (salad mixture) and the chutnees. Once your “plate” is full with these, the star item of the lunch—the jowar bhakri—makes an appearance. The only drawback of the jowar bhakri is that it is rolled by the chapatti roller and not roll pressed by hand. However, considering the demand for the meals, you can accept this drawback. Eat as much as you like, no questions asked. I managed to consume seven bhakris before I felt like stopping. However, do not forget to eat rice, even if you want to eat a little bit. Rice and sambar, along with a generous serving of ghee is the near perfect way of finishing your meal. Finished? Well, if you are done eating, your bill will be presented to you. Not alone, but along with ‘pan’ and a banana. Thus bringing an end to a well-eaten and thoroughly enjoyable meal. Now, the best thing to do is to reach home and go off to sleep. One of the best things you can do on a Sunday afternoon.

Life after IITB

Well, this is after a very long time. Precisely four months. I've taken up an internship position for a year in Bangalore. The transition from IIT life to life outside IIT has been difficult. It has been difficult in both terms- a) to adjust to the professional parameters of the organisation and b) to adjust to the fact that you have to live doing nothing on weekends.

To speak about Bangalore... well there is nothing much to speak about. All must have read Devegowda's statements and N.R. Narayanamurthy's outburst in news papers. Traffic situation is extremely bad, couple with it the fact that the locals are trynig to loot you in every possible manner. I think there would be a very few land-lords who would accept rent by cheque and issue a receipt for it. Even my land-lord told me that I shouldn't give him a cheque but instead pay in cash. One land-lord told me bluntly that if we pay by cheque he'll have to pay tax at 30% rate, hence he would prefer everything in cash. Even the outrageous 10 month rent that these guys ask for, he wanted in cash.

Bangalore is not meant for guys who want to commute around. After 9:30 PM, the auto guys ask for 1.5 times the meter reading. Boss give me a break, 9:30 PM is evening not night. They also flatly refuse to come to places that would fetch them only minimum rent.

I am eagerly waiting for my internship to end. I'm interested in getting back for my Ph.D. Well, let's hope the time comes soon. I cherish the work here. It is giving me a lot of exposure to various technolgies and also the work culture, which I wouldn't have had if I'd taken my Ph.D. directly after M.Tech. Also, this insight into life after academics is very much fantastic. If I had taken up a Ph.D. directly, I might have not come to know about this life. Well, it has enabled me to underestand what all should go in before deciding what job to take. I would like to thank almighty and all those who encouraged me to take up this internship before doing a Ph.D.