Gyaan corner  

Posted by Divya A L

Many of us, at some or the other point of time in life, would have encountered people who would have made an impact on us, be it positive or negative. There would have been people whom you would have admired, adored, envied, loved, liked, hated or simple made you say "Wish i was like him!!!". The simple reason behind this is the fact that we know what we are and what we aren't and what we would want to be. If someone happens to admire a person for something, it is because that "something" is missing in him. The initial 'admiration' can eventually take up different shapes. It may infringe the sense of jealousy, anguish in you for not being "like them", which is obviously not good, atleast that is what i feel.


In my opinion, every person is unique. It is more important to create his/her own identity rather than trying to imitate or rather "be like someone else". The desire to be like some else should be such that it only fine tunes your character and not transform it completely. Being an ingenuistic person is the need of the hour. Respect yourself for what you are and discover yourself to know more about what you can do to make a difference.


I've known many people especially those in love say things like "I can do anything for my loved ones!!!" But how much do they mean that. Why in the first place do they want to do that? Even though they do it, I am sure it won’t leave them satisfied unless it is an urge within them to do that “anything”. For instance, a person claims to have quit smoking/drinking on insistence of his partner. But for some reason if they were to depart, I bet this guy can beat any chain smoker in the town or become a Devdas Jr. It’s not only cheating your partner but also yourself. Living for someone else's sake is only transient and is of insignificant consequence.


Do things which ‘you’ feel is right. Be true to yourself and your conscious and definitely nothing can go wrong. Avoid making false promises, faking yourself to impress someone, being dramatic, manipulative etc. There are also instances where people pull others down to push themselves up. Remember life is a boomerang. You get back what you give. Never ever blame others for whatever happens. You are solely responsible for all your deeds. Don’t have a “tit-for-tat” attitude. At the end of the day, you must be justifiable and answerable to whatever you do. Though I had some really tough times in the past, I am happy to say that I have no guilt and regret for whatever that life has given me so far.


Always carry an attitude and not arrogance. There’s a very thin, hair-line difference I would say, between the two. Make sure you fall in the 1st category. Try being honest, sincere and transparent. When you say something, mean it. Try to be consistent in your behavior and that is what makes one reliable, trustworthy and dependable. When something goes wrong from your side intentionally or unintentionally, be ready to apologize/confess to whoever it is. Be grateful to people who have been there for you when you needed them most and make sure you will be there for them too. Co-operate but never compromise. Again, there is a very subtle difference between them. Being patient really helps (which I lack most) but ironically the very thought it makes me impatient :( It’s some of those minor things that make a major difference in life.


I just hate to hear people telling that “Life is a compromise”. No it is not. It only tells you are lazy or not very keen on getting what you want. Or sometimes it simply means that you don’t know what you want. Having said this, it is also true that one must be reasonable enough in his/her expectations.


Well, I do agree that this topic is debatable. However I just put out some of my views and opinions that I strongly believe in and have worked for me. Sounds like as though I am in a Gandhi-an Era, but let me tell you, it surely works. :)


I take this opportunity to thank all those precious people who have made a difference in my life.

Questionnaire!!!  

Posted by Divya A L

For all the punts out there. Try answering these 5 questions below and you'll be in great luck for prizes. This was supposed to be one of the silliest yet toughest question papers ever found. Your answers should be justified with proper reasoning. Will be posting the answers within a week.

Company name: CISCO
Venue: Mahaveera Inst Of Tech, Ghaziabad
Date: 2005, April


(From CISCO these questions may look funny but each of them follows a definite logic)

Test/Interview Question Paper


Q1. If A and B are given in 2's complement find A-B in decimal.

Q2. What is the worst-case complexity of Quick sort?

Q3. A mouse enters a sify Internet and eats up a router. The IP address of the lenovo laptop is 192.42.52.62 through which it entered. If a big computer replaces the router, find its MAC address [Hint: use unified forwarding algorithm]

Q4.For an injured PCM system that has 20% memory left, the channel behaves funny. By giving d(t) as o/p when s(t) is applied as input where ‘s’ stands for “Simon”. For a given out p(t) where p stands for… it’s a secret. Find
i> by how much p(t) differs by d (t) when d (t) is 0.5
ii> derive a relationship b/w d(t), s(t) and p(t).

Q5. Match each layer of the OSI model in a simple manner to the following wild animals and fruits given below:
1> Zebra
2> Baby elephant
3> Cockroach
4> Pineapple
5> Pomegranate
6> Orange tiger
7>Godzilla
[Hint: presentation layer is analogous to pomegranate]


PS: Sincere request to my M.Tech classmates to not to give out the answers :)

An year @ Infy  

Posted by Divya A L in , , ,

21st of AUG 2006 was my 1st day at Infy
There i was, all set to start off a career that seemed so fluffy

Was seated in a gigantic room for the induction programme with the a bunch of friends
It still had made me feel lost, for the crowd gathered there was so immense

The 3rd day was quite a day for rest
But soon realized that it was an evening for a "casual test"

Managed somehow to clear the test, "lucky me" i had thought,
Very soon i knew, in the days ahead was a battle of fast paced training, that had to be fought;

The training was at the Infy campus , mysore
With my hectic schedule, very little time did i find to savour its Azure

The pace of training grew faster day by day
Which made me thinner leaner everyday :(

How i missed my close ones being away from home
Wish such days would never again come

Unlike my other friends, i had a bonus plus
Which was my gorgeous chinese room mate, about whom there was a always a hush hush ;)

Nearing to the end was the training
Tensely we were seated at our desks, to know our postings;

It was "bangalore" for me, which i expected never
The near and dear ones welcomed me back , i had no regrets whatsoever

Stepping into the Infy campus at bangalore
Ahhh!!! a sight of allure!!!

The mystifying structures there would make us awe
Without one's knowledge, the tongue would have slipped a big "WOW"

Some of my friends were immediately on projects and some of us were on "bench"
but never did i realise its wrench

It was a sharp learning curve in the beginning
To complete certifications that otherwise usually remained pending

I was fortunate to have been the 2006 enrollee
For it was the Infy's year of a silver jubilee

Marking its celebration was the live-in concert of the music diva, Sonu Nigam
Great opportunity it was for the Infoscions to enjoy the melody of his sargam

Infy is also one of the biggest techie matrimonial center
For most of the couples there looked like "made for each other"

Tried finding one for myself taking so much pain ;)
Only to realize they were either committed engaged or married, all my efforts in vain :P

There were numerous ways to "utilize" time ;) - a stroll on the long hall , or go for a ball
The favourite being regular visits to the strand book stall

Sometimes it was DVDs and sometimes CCDs around the clock
But all time favorite was the Bangalore's BBs, which simply rocked

BBs discussed almost all topics under, on and above the earth,
Nothing/nobody was spared, neither the loo nor a psychopath

Now and then catching the glimpses of famous personalities including Mr & Mrs Moorthy
They were really the source of inspration or the spoorthy

How can i forget the hang outs - times that were so fun filled and Gala
There was Golkonda, Sudexo, Terminal, Kamat and the famous chinese Casa Piccola

Evening 5 was the time to rush to the bus stand in a bicycle
One bad day, this action led to the twist in my ankle :(

June July was the time for making ourselves free
To visit the scullers and other Infy outlets for the seasonal shopping spree

To get a feeling of leading the life king size, oops "queen size" :)
The very thought of association with "Infy" would suffice

Wish i was still with you dear
Its very unfortunate that our journey had to last only for an year

May your glory continue for decades...
Everytime giving a brand new look for your facades!!!

Mu'sick' :)  

Posted by Divya A L


All of us are normally inclined to music, be in any of its forms. Music is something more than what we generally perceive - the ones which are formed out of musical instrumets, the lyrics and the song. Well friends, actually, music exists quite naturally. The great musicians of the past describe it as something that is pleasant to hear, that which can avert your mind between the 2 extremes of your thoughts. The best example for this is, when you wake up in the morning, the chirping of birds, the rustle of leaves, the hither-tither of the softly blowing wind, breeze rather, are all natural forms music melody.


Though the beauty of music is evident in the above said forms, the humans, with their creativity add more life and meaning to it. It is so dominant now that people tend to think that music is something that humans create, the general perception i was talking about earlier. And the backbone to this new era of music are the musical instruments.


One such instrument is the "Guitar". I would say this instrument is something really special, for, even when a layman strikes its strings, it gives out such a melodious tone. This is not the same with other instruments. For instance, if you try a flute for the first time, you may not even be succesful to blow it in the right area. And if at all you succeed, i am sure you'd hear a sound something like a whistle of a cooker in the kitchen. :) Yet another king of instruments is the violin. Though you will be successful in getting a sound out of it when you play it for the first time, i am sure your neighbours will have a problem :) I can even imagine what they would say. It would be this: "Pakkad manevru esht pitil haakthare ri. Keli keli kivi thoothagogatte" Well, all that i am trying to tell here is that, Guitar is something anyone can easily try their hands on without you/others getting bugged or making it mu'sick' :) The sound of it only inspires you to play more.


Well, now it sounds simple and easy isn't it? But there is more to that. Any instrument that you are keen on learning requires practice. Let me make the word "practice" a little heavy. You really need lots and lots and lots of "Practice". A few days ago, i was going through a blog in which i found this video of someone playing guitar. May be it was the author herself and it was very obvious that she was just a starter. She had played this track from backstreet boys - "As g as you love me". The first feeling i had about this lady was that she was very brave. For, the music was so badly played that atleast i wouldn't dare to upload it on a public website like YouTube. It just sounded like "tn tn tn tnt tn". On keen observation only wil one come to know that the notes of some song is being played. I am not trying to humiliate or belittle that person but i just want to convey that getting the notes right isn't music at all. May be it was just that she was very excited to have got the notes right and the tune some what matched the actual song. But let me tell you, there is a lot of difference in just getting the notes right and deriving the melody out of the tone. Its like a music without life. With the life comes the melody. I know it is not very easy as it is told. The mantra behind this is again - "Practice practice and practice".


And now there is again more to it just than pratice. Its the ability to listen and grasp the tunes. For instance, the "sa" in sargam exists in 2 octaves considering Indian music. Though both octaves produce the same note, the melody or the bhaav it creates are like two opposite poles. Hence when you try playing songs, its not only necessary tht you get the notes right and practice hard, one must eventually learn the art of composition. Once you reach this stage, you don't have to google for notes of different songs.


And the last ingredient to playing musical instruments is to sing along when you play. When my guitar master told me about this i used to think, "I chose an instrument over vocal because my voice was bad, and this guy asks me to sing". Most of you out there may have similar thoughts. But that isn't true. I discovered that it is only when you sing that you get hold of the rhythm. How much ever a bad singer one is, if you really want to get the melody of the music from an instrument, it is always better to sing along. Try it once and you will know. Even humming will work great. This gives the "thaala" right for the tone. For any music - "raaga thaala and bhaavam" are the basic essentials. Raaga is achived through pratice, Bhaavam by listening well and thaala by sing along or the usual way of syncing by patting the feet or fingers.


Hmmm quite a huge gyaan on music. :P To tell you the truth, i am also a layman when it comes to music. Most of these are my observations and some inputs from my guitar sir. And it has worked to some extent in my case. Even i am tempted to actually upload a song that i recorded after practising it for 75+ times, with and without background music. It is a track called "Papa kehte hein". But i still feel it is a lot slower than the actual song and that it doesn't have life in it whatsoever. :) But i would want to work more and make it sound decent enough atleast. Wish to blog it in the near future. For guitar tunes login to one of these sites:

http://www.geocities.com/coolv2k/notes.html

http://www.angelfire.com/musicals/musically_urs/links/bookmark2.html

ಒಲುಮೆಯ ಚೆಲುಮೆಯ ತಾತ  

Posted by Divya A L in

ಅರವತ್ತು ವಯಸ್ಸಾದರೂ ಇಪ್ಪತ್ಟಿಗಿಂತ ಚುರುಕೂ

ಅವರನ್ನು ನೋಡುತ್ತಲೆ ನಮಗೆ ಬೆರುಗು, ಆಮೇಲೆ ನಡುಗೂ

ನೋಡಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಧಾರ್ವಾಡ್ ಪೇಡ

ಆದರೆ ಅವರ ಕಾಟ ಬೇಡ ಬೇಡ

ಹೀಗೊಂದು ದಿನ ನಾನು ಆರ್.ವಿ.ಸೀ.ಈ ಸೇರಿದೆ

ನನ್ನ ಗೆಳತಿ ಅಂದಳು - "ಇನ್ನ ನೀನು ಆಗೋದೇ"

ಯಾಕೆಂದು ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ ಆಕೆ ಅಂದಳು - "ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕೊಡ್ತಾರೆ ತುಂಬಾ ಟಾರ್ಚರ್"

ಆಗ ಅರ್ಥವಾಗದಿದ್ದರೂ ಈಗ ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಂಡೆ ಆ ಟಾರ್ಚರ್ ಇದೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ಚುರ್ಚುರ್

ಮೂಡು ಸರಿ ಇದ್ದಾಗ ನಮ್ಮ ತಾತ butterscotch flavour

ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ದೂರ್ವಾಸ ಮುನಿ ನಮ್ಮ hitler

Short term memory loss ತಾತನಿಗೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಗಜಿನೀ ತರ

ಆದರೂ ಆಗಾಗ್ಗ punch dialogues ಬಿಡ್ತಾರೆ ನಮ್ಮ ರಜನೀ ತರ

ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲಿಯೂ ಹುಲಿಯೂ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲವಾದರೂ

ಕ್ಲಾಸಿಗೆ ಗೋಲಿ ಹೊದೀಯೊಕ್ಕೆ ಬಿಡೊಲ್ಲ ನಮ್ಮ grandfatheru

ಬೇಸೆತ್ತು ಹೋಗಿದೆ ಜೀವನ

ಯಾವಾಗ ಮುಗಿಯುತ್ತೋ ಈ ಪಯಣ

ಇನ್ನೂ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಾ ಹೋದರೆ ಇದು ಆಗುತ್ತೆ history

ಇಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿದರೆ ಇದು ಉಳಿಯುತ್ತೆ ಇದು mystery

PS: ಇದು mystery ಆಗೆಯೇ ಉಳಿಯಲಿ ಎಂದು ನನ್ನ ಬಯಕೆ. ಅದನ್ನು ನೀವು ಪಾಲಿಸುವಿರೆಂದು ನನ್ನ ಹರಕೆ :)

Wish i was still a child...  

Posted by Divya A L

Though November 20th is witnessed as the universal Children's day, in India, this celebration was preponed to 14th of november to mark the birthday of our 1st prime minister Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru for his immensible love for children.

Today when i was hearing to radio, which is my usual pass time when commuting to my workplace (about 4-5 hours a day on an average), almost all radio stations invited kids between 5-8years to host the show on the occassion of "children's day". I was fascinated the way they actually hosted the show. They were very much on par with the actual RJs. I happened to remember my childhood days when i used to happily ride a cycle to my school.

It used to be a memorable day on this occassion, for all of us in the school, for, there were loads and loads of activities in which we were to take part. There used to be dance, skits, fashion show, fancy dress, sports, the band group, prize distribution. And there were these magic shows in which the magician turned a flower into a pigeon, made a bunch of roses from nowhere and things of that sort. After the show, the students were given a special "magic book and a pencil" which was really handy for two reasons, the first one being, we never had to mend our pencils and the second being we could erase whatever we wrote without using an eraser :) There also used to be this special programme where teachers used to take part in activities like skits which had themes of patriotism after which the students were asked to take up a "who is who" quiz. And i can bet that learning cannot get any better. And the best part of the celebrations was at the end, when really really yummy sweets and ice creams were distributed. This was the usual tradition in our school.

The most memorable of all the children's day celebrations at our school was when i was in 2nd standard. The reason was, i had hit a hat-trick and had bagged 3 prizes in 3 discrete events held on that occassion. The first event was a "story telling compitition" for which my father had come up with a really creative story, the story that was never heard of before. Well, don't be worried, i wont narrate it here :P . The second event was the musical chair and the third one, the fancy dress, in which my father had dressed me like "Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru ji" with a rose in the pocket and the typical Nehru cap. ( i still have it locked safely in my wardrobe :) ). I also remember the punch quote of Nehru that i had delivered in that event - "The destiny of India is smoking in its classrooms; the children of today are the citizens of tomorrow". May be this is the true reason why it won a prize even though the rules of the compitition was not to be vocal. ;)
How i wish i was still a child... :( The josh, energy levels and enthusiasm those days makes me awe if i was really me then. There never was the "fear factor" for speaking on a dias or anything for that matter.

And now i gotto hurry up as i have to push my father for a treat on the occassion of his "birthday"(turned 60 ;) ) or rather the "children's day" :)

Hiii  

Posted by Divya A L

Well, i had no intention of creating a blog until i came across one of my colleagues' blogs... It was simply awesome which triggered me to create one too. Thanks to him. Will start updating it shortly. :) Here is the link to my colleague's blog.