On My Mind ...

I am deeply disappointed today. My disappointment is further exacerbated by the fact that I am not feeling any shock. Today's unanimous verdict, is a historic injustice and further nurtures the poisonous tree planted by the Hindutva forces as it grows and encroaches over every institution of this once secular country. The supreme court itself makes the claim that the demolition of the mosque in 1992 was illegal It also agrees that the mosque was descracated in 1949 by Hindus placing idols in the inner sanctum. It also agrees that there has been continuous prayer in the mosque since its establishment in 1528 and that no conclusive proof exists of a demolition of a temple to create the mosque. Then, it goes on to award the site to Hindus. If the site belongs to the Hindus, then would the hon'ble court have asked for the demolition of the mosque in case it still stood? How can the title be transferred to the vandals? Today is another large step in remaking India as the ...

    Photo Credit: newsbugz.com W ith the election fervor up all around in India, I thought it would be a good time to put down a non-tribal view of the NDA government and its achievements. This is an opinion piece, and not a piece of investigative journalism. However, I've made all attempts to stick to facts. Here's my read on the past 5 years: Hits :  Structural Reforms:  Undoubtedly the single biggest credit that can be given to the NDA government is its willingness to tackle large problems areas and undertake structural reforms that have been pending for quite some time. Chief among the wins would be: Introduction of GST Bankruptcy laws Direct fund transfer Foreign Diplomacy Clearly, our engagement with the world has improved. It has tangible benefits. The response to our response to Pulwama was largely supportive for the first time in a long while. This would not be the case a few years ago. Clearly, the focus on this area has enhance...

Who's minding  your AI? I think it's beyond question that the single biggest buzzword cutting across the tech landscape today is AI. From the tech giants in Silicon valley and beyond,  to 1-person startups on the other side of the world, everyone is investing in AI and trying to deliver software that's smarter and more intuitive. The cloud has enabled the compute necessary for the work. The algorithms now come in nice packages just waiting to be deployed. Every single day, I see proof of concepts doing incredible things with just a few lines of code. Object recognition and tracking now seems almost easy. Route optimization, why I'll have some of that.  Of course, when I call AI a buzzword, I do it a disservice. It's not a flash-in-the-pan annual marketing gimmick that will be forgotten next year. In fact, over the last 10 years, I would say, the cloud and AI have been the 2 paradigm shifting events in the technology landscape and they are very real . ...

Note to federal workers: Sick of all this yet? Like the idea of being dependent on the whims of politics? Then step up? There's 800,000 of you not getting paid this time? Theres' 3 million of you. Use your strength. Organize. Threaten to Quit. En-masse. What do you think when the clock starts ticking on losing all of you forever? Who wants to take on the task of replacing 800,000 people? How long will that disruption last? No politician can take on that threat. Take the power back. While you're at it, might be a good idea to demand changes that solves the problem long term. Some suggestions: Legislation passed immediately to the following effect: Loss of 1 year pay for every elected government official for every week of government shutdown. If the amount crosses the expected pay for the official for their entire term, the rest is a fine they get to pay in the future.  Disqualification from the ability to stand for re-election if more than 2 shutdowns ...

I've spent a significant amount of time trying to hire in India lately and here are my personal observations, maybe my sample set is poor or maybe there is a wider problem: Almost all resumes and associated candidates I come across seem hell bent on defining themselves as narrowly as possible. I get an avalanche of technical jargon that’s supposed to impress me with the candidate's knowledge and not much else. Ignoring for a moment that even this supposed knowledge is usually heavily embellished, there is almost no emphasis on their wider selves. Who is the person behind all the technology speak? What drives you? What motivates you? What is the special attribute that will make you an asset when the technology landscape inevitably changes? What makes you interesting? Are you trustworthy? Do you have emotional intelligence? Do you know how to lead? What are your goals? What is the culture you're comfortably with? What are your values? Almost no one is even prepared to h...

I have to admit, the thought of a family trip to Switzerland had me drowning in cliche' induced misery. Growing up on Bollywood staples, Switzerland represented an ever present, over used and completely cliche'd destination of choice. I had serious reservations about visiting the Yash Raj land, Afraid all the spots worth seeing had already been reflected in one Bollywood pot boiler or another. So it was with much inner turmoil that I agreed to go along to the cheese capital of the world. And yet, surprise surprise, the natural beauty of the place seen in flesh and blood surpassed anything I could have imagined even if I was enthused about the trip. I've tried to capture the sense of the place in a few images that continue to leave me in awe ... Truly a magical place. Needless to say, the trip served up a welcome reminder to not let cliche's rule my world.