Out of all the Diwalis I celebrated in Germany, this Diwali was something special...mainly because of my mom's presence...had a great Indian evening with all my friends with special South Indian dishes...can you imagine...we prepared 12 different dishes...Idly, Dosai, Poori, Potato Subji, Kuruma, Chicken 65, boiled eggs, sambhar, cabbage poriyal, pakoda, fried rice, pachadi... great moments...amma asirvatham amma samayal....:) Took an off from the work and watched all special programmes in Sun TV, Vijay TV...I loved it...I hope to celebrate the coming Diwali's in the same fashion if I am lucky :D
A small narration: When I was a child, I used to travel to my father's native place Salem in Yercaud Express sitting next to WC because of the crowd...slowly it changed to travelling in 2nd class reservation compartment...after that it changed to Air Conditioning (AC) compartment...and then to British Airways travelling via London...and then slowly to 15 countries in Europe...and finally it came to a situation of my beloved mom coming to Germany for my MBA graduation ceremony :)
There are various moments which I cherished in my life to the core but nothing can be compared to this...my mom's presence in MBA graduation ceremony and it certainly healed lot of pains in my heart...
1. This moment healed my mom's thirst of me not being a doctor....mainly because of the fact I left the Medicine seat which I obtained...
2. This moment healed my pain of not studying in US...but the country with which I didn't expect anything gave me hell lot of things...Deutschland hat mir viel gegeben....:)
3. This moment healed the pain which I suffered when Prof. Killat who stripped my ass in the mid-term presentation of my Master Thesis...But thanks Prof...now I feel whats happiness :)
4. This moment healed the pain which I suffered when I was hunting for jobs in Germany and the rejections which I got mainly because of the strict visa regulations and language constraints....
5. This moment healed the pain of loneliness, depression and the disappointments which I suffered during my tough times in Germany....the sacrifice which I made in Food, Entertainment, Friends, Cricket, Movies, Indian girls ;)
My friends always say that I am always an unsatisfied guy but now I should say to the mirror that, "I am satisfied with what God has given me :)". I love you amma !!
Any Indian who has stayed in Germany for a considerable amount of time shouldn't miss Ham Amman temple in North Rhein Westfallen state and the case holds good for my beloved mom..She was thrilled, excited, happy when she entered the praharam...This temple has been sort of important spot for all the desis in Germany...Whats special about this temple is the Gopuram and the ambience it presents in a foreign soil...Thanks to Sri Lankan tamils for their strenous efforts to build this shrine...
Got delayed because of the connecting train...was searching for some accomodation in the 11th hour finally my good friends Vijay Anand and Karthick turned in to the show...The kind of hospitality shown by Karthick to my mom....my goodness...No words to describe...Thanks Karthick...A day to remember!!
Followed by a German evening on Saturday, was a typical Indian evening on Sunday in Bhagavan uncle's house...Special thanks to Sudha aunt who prepared delicious Indian food - Thayir Vadai, Sambhar Vada, Fried Rice, Apple pickle... Had a chance to meet another Indian family with their kids...followed by a funny discussion of marrying a German or an Indian...finally the argument settled for marrying an Indian girl...:D Mom felt very homely....One more day to remember!! Thanks once again to Bhagavan uncle and Sudha aunt...
Recently my colleague Mark Rueter invited me and my mom to a typical village festival in his place Wetzen....Initially I was skeptical about bringing mom to this fest, but Mark forcibly took my mom to this fest in his car....Drunk a big bottle of beer next to mom along with Mark ;) I did shooting for the first time and I correctly targetted the nucleus and won a prize.....the prize was none other than 3 Kgs of chicken ;) followed by wonderful music and food...Mom danced along with other German ladies....it was a great opportunity for her to see how Germans celebrate their special evening...Thanks once again to Mark for the invitation... A day to remember!!
What could be the best place to make my mom happy in Europe... Switzerland, Paris, London..No!! Then what else....Yes... Celebrating Navarathri festival in Hindu temple... She felt really happy to see Navarathri celebrations in foreign land...the festival was marked with traditional slokas and mantras and followed by arathi...The most important event in this Navarathri festival is DANDIA...played it for the first time and I cherished playing it like gilli ;)....More importantly mom enjoyed to the core... :)
When I say to my friends in other parts of the world that I live in Germany...the next question what they will be asking is "Have you been to Octoberfest ?".. Having stayed in Germany for three years, I didn't find the right time to go to Octoberfest...finally the time has arrived to go to this wonderful fest in Germany...The highlighting feature of Octoberfest is the typical Bavarian dress and the beer...with thousands and thousands of crazy drunkards roaming in the streets and babes exposing their assets ;)
First we went to BMW museum...a must see museum for all the Automobile nerds...this place is highly picturesque with small hill top...lush green grass near the lake...feast to the eyes..I didn't drink much in this fest mainly because of the fact that I need to pick my mom next day from Frankfurt...otherwise the story would have been different....:D Anybody who has spent some time in Europe...never miss Octoberfest!!
If at all one weekend which will reside in my memory forever, it will be none other than Sep 26, 27 and 28th.....after stressful hours of programming in the office on friday had a wonderful memorable party with my MBA classmates in the evening...this party was special because it was a kind of get together for everybody...the party was amazing with wonderful lighting arrangements and most importantly the drinks... ;) After partying to the core, slept at around 4 and got up at 6 on saturday morning to catch the train to Munich for the Octoberfest....
Just 2 hours of sleep...took enough rest in the ICE from Hamburg to Munich....Once I reached Munich, I got the sprits back...the city was bubbling around with lot of tourists marching towards the Octoberfest...a must see fest in Germany...with thousands of people...in typical Bavarian dress..the Brat wurst and the Beer...with some amazing rides and games...no words to describe...I enjoyed this fest with my school friend Parthi and his colleagues...took some snaps with some beautiful babes passing by ;) ... went along with Parthi to Stuttgart by car..again just slept for two hours and was excited about mom's arrival in Germany.... :)
Started from Stuttgart in the early morning on sunday and reached Frankfurt airport by 7.30 in the morning....Waited on and on in front of the visitors place...Finally the door opened and could see amma coming out of the door....Rest...No need to explain :) Travelled along with mom from Frankfurt to Hamburg... Certainly a weekend which will reside in my memory forever !!
Life goes on and on...the clock ticks...the time goes fast...and when I got up in the morning the calendar says I am 26 years old....there are many birthdays which I celebrated but nothing can be compared to this 26th one...a sense of satisfaction which I felt in my stomach....got up early in the morning...ate Dosai with Sambhar...got the blessings of my mom and she wavering her hands when I left to office...my goodness...followed by warm greetings with my colleagues and PLs...the moments which I waited for many many years in my life...
The day was well remembered for our cuisine which me and my mom prepared...Gulam Jamun, South Indian Murukku, Poli, Milk Sweets, Vadai, Bhajji, Sambhar, Rasam....all my Indian friends cherished it but the Germans felt really spicy....cutting of cakes and offering it to mom....Thanks god for giving such a wonderful moments and thanks to all my friends who made the evening a memorable one in my life....
The moment which I waited for many years in my life, mom's presence in the land where I cherished, cried, enjoyed to the core...atlast she is here....I was always skeptical about her journey because she was travelling alone and for the first time in the flight...many speculations, many questions, many aprrehensions...but I always believed in courage and encouraging words which can do wonders...gave all the motivation to her to gear up to face all possible situations which she will encounter during her journey...I was worried about two important things one is immigration check and the other baggage claim....
She managed the immigration check with the letter which I sent and for the baggage I should thank a person named Gowri Shanker whom we never met in our life, who helped mom to come out of the Immigration check and made sure that she meets me....having taken in to consideration of the fact that he has a connecting flight...Ayiram kumbidukal Gowri Shanker ku :) I should thank all my friends Praveen who helped mom to get visa, Palani Swamy doing all the paper works, Sridhar helping her in Meenambakkam airport, Parthiban for the wonderful support in Stuttgart before I left to pick my mom, Veera for connecting the call between me and India...Wonderful....Friends are forever !! There are various moments in my life which I cherished to the core and definitely the moment when I saw her in the airport will heal all the pain which I suffered in this span of three years in Germany... Life is all ups and downs :)
Recently I had a chance to go for a Karting with my colleague to celebrate his 29th birthday at Bispingen, Niedersachsen, Germany. This Karting was owned by Ralf Schumacher, the brother of Michael Schumacher...there are other sports in the arena with Bowling and Skiing as well...it was a great experience to do Karting in Germany with some BMW power in the Kart...it was actually a kind of race and with no doubt I finished last but one... ;) Thanks to Martin for suggesting this place to celebrate his birthday....and a day to remember !!
Recently I had a summer fest in my office..it was a nice evening with all the colleagues coming with their family members and kids...the function started with some blah blahs from Executive board followed by the most important thing BBQ and Bierfest...:) couple of games for the children in which I was not allowed to participate... ;) the weather stayed decent enough for a wonderful evening...
Out of three summers which I spent in Germany....this summer was the most memorable one...its mainly because of our cricket in the weekends...its been long time since I played cricket...the last time I played vigorously was in 12th standard holidays...its a great experience to play in lush green grass and temperature just around 15 to 20 °C.... its a great entertainment for all us since there are not much activities here in abroad...great time pass....initially we started to play for fun and as the days went on, it became very competitive...but in the end a lovely summer to remember!!
Recently I had a chance to see Cruise day in Hamburg port with my colleague....it was a lovely evening with lot of fireworks across the elbe river and huge picturesque ships cruising along the banks of Landungsbrucken....was definitely a lovely sight....Normally three important fireworks take place in Hamburg 1. Hafensgeburtstag (Harbour Birthday) 2. Cruise Day 3. New year eve. Hamburg is definitely a great city in Germany and has lot of things to offer for its inhabitants...I am quite lucky to live in Hamburg and definitely its my second home town.... :)
Recently I had a chance to see super star's recent kollywood film "Kuselan" in Hamburg. The movie was a total time pass with Rajini's heroics, Vadivel's comedy, Pasupathi's sentiment and Nayanthara's sexy hips :D The movie clearly had a message of valuing friendship at all times...nice picturesque shots in the western ghats...Now comes my real review...Rajini fans please avert from reading further on ;) Super star made everybody cry in the theatre except for non-Rajini fans....:D too much boasting about our super star which can happen only in tamil movies....but on the other hand ...kudos to our super star even at this age he looks so young and can dance with a heroine who is of her daughter's age...heheheee I somehow feel our super star has the magic of winning the heart of so many people with all his armery....for sure he is gifted in that aspect....only RAJINI MAGIC NO LOGIC :)
"You never know whats in store in life..." Yes, I never thought when I was in school that after ten years, two of my school friends would come for my M.S graduation ceremony in Germany....and they did...celebrated our joy and happiness in the North Eastern Baltic coastline, Rügen islands...In my opinion must see place in Germany...
Königstuhl:
First we went to Königstuhl, the word König means King and Stuhl is Chair...so in ancient times the one who climbed the cliff first gets the status of King...amazing top cliff which gives panaromic view of the baltic sea...lush green flora...and near to that Baltic sea..feast to the eyes...the weather wasn't good but still the place was amazing...could imagine how it would have been when sun was shining...Unfortunately we had to miss the colorful bikis ;) There is one national park named Jasmund....one of the naturally preserved areas...
Ostseebad, Binz:
Then we went to Ostseebad, Binz...great baltic coastline with small cliffs along the shore...reminds me of Goa beaches...thank god sun was shining here...had a relaxed time in the beach...All in all it was a great weekend with my school friends...laughed a lot after a very long time...cherished each and every moments...Thanks Naresh and Parthi for turning up for the occasion and making this trip memorable...
Master of Science in a foreign University was always my life-time dream and thanks to God for fulfilling this dream. It all started with the GRE, TOEFL, Statement of Purpose, Visa Interviews, Bank balance to reach Technical University Hamburg Harburg (TUHH), Germany to satiate my dream…to be honest and frank…I wasn’t satisfied with my technical learning which I obtained during my Master of Science due to many reasons but I am quite happy with the other important things which I have acquired during this span of two and half years and I thought I can list them down here…
1. Relationship, Love & Affection:
I realized the importance of relationship, love and affection with parents, friends and well-wishers which can never be compared with anything…by staying away from home 10,000 miles away it made me to recollect what these people back home have offered me in my life for 23 years…I really miss you amma…
2. Loneliness:
If at all one greatest challenge which I tackled in Germany, it is none other than loneliness…loneliness brings self-realization but it sucks big time…there were times when I got up in the morning no body to see…went and work…came back …no body to see...cooked something ate something…went to bed…was frustrated to the core but taught me many valuable things…
3. Attitude towards life, Globe trotting:
Thanks to my experiences here in Germany which has changed my overall attitude towards life…not getting bogged down with too many stupid superstitious, religious beliefs…I totally learned from westerners how to approach and lead a life especially with globe trotting and live for the present…. I am not a person who gets happiness by looking at my bank account and savings but gets happiness by exploring some different parts of the globe…Thanks to my fellow classmates who taught me this Vedanta…
4. Independence:
Right from the time you get up in the morning till you go to bed…it’s all your decision…nobody can have any influence apart from few non-senses ;)…I always felt one has to be independent in his/her decision making and my stay here has offered me the world of Independence to do what I love to do..
5. Face the challenges:
Right from the day I arrived here its all about dealing with many situations…different people, different language, different culture, different food habits, different climate, study cum work, home sick, there were times when all my friends were earning huge dollars and I was sitting in the research institute doing some scientific experiments facing the cranky Professor and I wasn’t sure what I was about to do next in my life...job hunting with so many rejections not because of nullification but because of language issues and strict visa regulations.. Life out here has taught me to deal with uncertainties, disappointments and face the worst..
6. International Exposure:
Had I continued working in Indian Software Industry, I should have traveled abroad, earned money everything fine…but I am sure I wouldn’t have got any international friends…my studies here gave a great chance to rub shoulders with different countrymen…. got to know the different cultures, their way of living, their attitude…gave me a great insight that world is not just our culture and there are different ways of leading a life…definitely made the frog to come out of the well…
7. Patriotism:
I hardly had any patriotism when I was in India except on Independence day when I used to carry the tricolor flag during the march past in schools…once I missed my home soil to the core ( the movies, the friends, the entertainment, the cricket, the Indian girls ;) then I became more patriotic…in fact this patriotism helped me to do well in my studies and other things…
8. Cooking:
Whether I become Master of Science or not, I have become Master of Cook…tried all possible dishes ultimately ended in me eating that and not others…;) Cooking is an art, a great hobby and I am sure I am gonna cook along with my wife…if she isn’t lazy…;)
9. Drinking Beer:
One great art which I learned from Germans, its none other than handling alcohol and beer…I truly cherished all my moments with them…it’s a special feeling to be in a state of half-drunk and I hardly go to a full state…Thanks to my 90 Kg fat body…;)
10. Importance of Vitamin “M”oney:
I hardly knew the value of Money when I was in India…I realized the significance of each and every penny which I spent here…. Thank God…I managed my entire stay and all my European Voyage by the part time programming and accommodation scholarship…
All in all, Germany gave me more than what I expected…I totally had a different opinion about Germans when I was in India but what I experienced with them here is simply amazing…What the world thinks about Germany is different and what I experienced here is different… I love Germans, I love Germany…Germany is neither hell nor heaven… J
The much awaited block buster kollywood movie from "ula nayagan" Kamal Haasan was released atlast...thanks to Ayangaran distributors who relased the movie in Hamburg, Germany...to say in one word the movie definitely didn't meet the great expectations which was portrayed before...but credit should go to the genius who acted in ten different roles...the screenplay was awesome, amazing graphic work..songs didn't turn out really great...but I always liked Kamal Haasan's movies who tries to give some message in each film....I get a feeling since he had to concentrate on ten different characters there wasn't a real punch in the story....
The story definitely touched different aspects of caste division in Indian society....first between Iyers and Iyengars...then between higher and lower caste....finally questions us....is god existing...I loved Kamal's last remark..."I never say god is not there....but I say it will be nice if he is there"... :) No doubt Kamal Haasan is a great revolutionary in the present times....no revolutionaries got recognition when they were living but the world recognized their thoughts when they weren't there...classical examples Subash Chandra Bose, Bharathiyar, Periyar and the list goes on....I really dream when a situation will come in India when we don't have a separate column for the caste in educational forms...well I don't see atleast for the next 100 years.... :(
Recently we had a class trip to Cuxhaven situated in the North Western coastline of Germany...the place Cuxhaven is unique for one thing, the North Sea recedes away completely around 20 kms..no water spread at a circumeference of 20 km for six hours and then completely filled with water for the next phase of the day....nature's wonder....it was nice walking with my classmates in the swampy ocean land with out any water...the weather stayed amazing...had a great barbeque..played beach volleyball, cricket, football along the shore...wonderful moments...A trip to remember!!
The sun was shining hard, the beaches were waiting for us and we didn’t go to Ibiza but to the Danish Coastline ;) Yes recently I included Denmark, the great Scandinavian country in my European Voyage, drove around 1100 kms in three days by car, explored the islands, country side of the great Scandinavian country Denmark with really great group who made the trip memorable and wonderful, Bernd Schmidt the German and my fellow countrymen Hemant, Vijay and Rushi.
We cruised along the west coast first with islands such as Roma, Esbjerg, played cricket for a while and taught Bernd some stuffs about Cricket he did certainly well and outplayed us ;) I must say the beaches in Denmark were very shallow, low tides, in my opinion they can’t be called as North sea instead they can be called as North Lake ;) The most important thing in our whole trip was the Barbeque. Thanks to Hemant and Bernd for the amazing preparations they made for the Barbeque. With sun shining really hard, amazing coastline, the sexy bikinis ;) to cook amidst all these things is a great experience. The wursts, the salads, the maizes, the sandwiches, the meat really great food…Bernd was very happy with the meat…Oh ya give to any German a beer, wurst, pommes and a piece of meat…then see their reaction….crazy meat-eaters ;) :D
Then came the important problem the place to sleep….we were searching along the coastline ultimately ended up in a farmland…thank god the owner wasn’t there ;) made our readymade tents and managed with our quilt and pillows…we didn’t have sufficient place inside the tent…but managed to squeeze inside it…pity that no girl was in our trip ;) Once we were bored with the beaches, then we drove to the country side Silkeborg and ultimately explored a great lake Ry on the way, the lake was electrifying with red, rose, green, black biki…when nature speaks one has to sit and listen…oh no I am talking about the picturesque lake ;)
Then we went to reach the highest point of Denmark Hillemsberg which was 175 m high above the sea level, good competition to Mt.Everest ;)…nevertheless this point provided a great panoramic view of the great landscape of Denmark….Once again a great barbeque next to the scenic lake with the sunset….amazing…thanks to the weather god once again…amazing weather all the three days…Then we went to east coast to explore the Baltic sea…but Baltic sea also disappointed with the tides, also have to renamed as Baltic lake I guess but didn’t disappoint us with the biki ;) me and Bernd bought the sun-glasses to be in the safer position ;) for cheap prices but the cover for those glasses must be really high..;) Denmark is really expensive when compared to other European countries...such a small country but their economy is damn good...
This trip was certainly different from rest of my European Voyage…traveling by car along with friends, making barbeque on the seashore, playing cricket on the beach sand, camping in an unknown place with the ready-made tents, I simply loved it…totally different from traveling by plane, train or bus and staying in hotel…Thanks to Bernd, Vijay, Hemant and Rushi for making this trip memorable one in my life….hey guys I didn’t disappoint you people as well I guess…definitely not…Jägermeister worked really well…;)
I loved the great Scandinavian country Denmark Tak (Thanks)!!
Recently I had a chance to do cycling in Hamburg for 20 KMs with my mentor and his friends (oldies ;) ...I have stayed in Hamburg for two years but didn't get a chance to explore the country side of Hamburg...the weather stayed fine and it was a great experience to do cycling in lush green meadows in the country side...after cycling followed by a great dinner at my mentor's place....with Bavarian wurst and the beer...lecker...;) I thoroughly enjoyed the day..Thanks once again to Merkel who had made my stay in Hamburg memorable!
Recently I had a chance to give a presentation "Rise of Indian Economy" - Die Indische Wirtschaft im Aufbruch at Rotary Club, Hamburg. The presentation was in German ;) Thanks to my mentor Mr. Merkel who gave me this opportunity to highlight the progress of Indian Economy. I always enjoyed giving a talk about India to the westerners simply because of the fact its a great challenge...I highlighted some statistical economic facts from various sources and ofcourse a movie to end with...Thanks to my friends Richa, Bernd Schmidt and also my mentor who helped me to translate the text from English to German, certainly not an easy task to do....My mentor gave me a gift "Die Schönsten Reiseziele Europas" --- "The great travelling guide for Europe"...A book which I will definitely use to the core ;) All in all I was satisfied with the talk and it was a great privilege for me to give a talk to the higher sections of the German society...Vielen Dank Herr Merkel!!
It was before 16 years when I was in 4th standard, when I got up at early morning to see the olympic inauguration ceremony in Barcelona, Spain where a person shooted an arrow from a long distance to the olympic torch at the top of the stadium to ignite the olympic torch...it was a dream come true to explore this place and include in my European Voyage...Barcelona one of the top class city I have visited in Europe...amazing architectural buildings, awesome beaches, small little mountains and importantly sexy spanish babes ;)
It was a great group who can make any trip enjoyable, Andreas the American, Juan the mexican and my good friend Veera....we took the bus top tour which covered the important places...the whole city is built by Gaudi...the name which I heard everywhere in Barcelona ;) Museo Picasso, Olympic stadium, FC Barcelona football stadium, Parc Guell, Passeig de gracia are some of the important places worth visiting...The beaches in Barcelona were awesome...with amazing tall sky scrappers, palm trees near the shore...the city looked grand and one of the most expensive cities in Europe...Parc Guell is about 500 m high gives a lovely panaromic view of the city and there is cable car which takes to the top of other mountain where one can get lovely view of the whole city of Barcelona....any cable car ride in Europe is awesome...If anybody wants to know the night and western life, Barcelona is the right place...tonnes of dance floors...the youth hostel which we stayed was amazing...one of the best youth hostel I have ever stayed...the weather stayed really fine...Barcelona has got amazing climate stays warm throughtout the year not as cold as northern Europe....it was warm and sunny all along...
Barcelona Beach:
The beach which we went was really nice, the sun was shining, we started to drink Jägermeister as soon as we entered the beach and it really worked ;)..there were two spanish girls who were playing beach volleyball invited us to play beach volley ball ;) we managed to hang around with them by speaking few spanish words Por favor, Gracias ;) long stretching coastline, amazing weather, Jägermeister, Spanish girls, beach volley ball...couldnt have asked for more... ;) All in all it was a great wonderful trip which will reside in my memory forever...Thanks to Andreas Jägermeister master ;) who made the trip lively and awesome...While returning back we travelled by car from Lübeck airport to Hamburg...was skeptical about Andreas's ability to drive the car after Jägermeister..but he did exceedingly well by driving at 200 Kmph ;) Barcelona definitely the city to be visited in Europe
Recently I included East European countries in my European Voyage...Hungary, Slovakia and Austria. Thanks once again to Ryan air which provided cheap tickets to Bratislava, Slovakia. The weather stayed great and more importantly all the members of the group were in sync, in the end turned out really well and we thoroughly enjoyed every moments!
Bratislava, Slovakia:
If Ryanair didn't operate service to this place, nobody would care to see this place...;) But thanks to geographical location of Bratislava...Vienna is one hour and Budapest is three hours from it...Bratislava, the capital of newly formed Slovakia situated on the banks of Danube river is the only national capital that borders two other countries (Austria and Hungary)...They use Slovakian Croners...initially thought we would be rich guys with our euros...but not much of a difference in the expenses...nothing much to see in Bratislava except for the Bratislava Castle which is worth seeing..gives panaromic view of the whole city...had a great time walking across the town and ofcourse night life !!
Budapest, Hungary:
Budapest is three hours travel by train from Bratislava and one of the scenic cities in eastern Europe....the frustrating part in Budapest was the currency..they use Hungarian Forint..the denomination starts with 100 and one burger would costs 1000...heheheee I guess everybody would earn millions of Forint every month to lead a life there...I dont see the point of having larger denomination may be just to give a feeling to their people they earn really high amount..but the actual value isnt to be....;) the most striking feature in the city is the Parliament house situated across the river Danube...Buda castle, Szechenyi chain bridge, Fisherman's bastion, the great synagogue are worth visiting...Thanks to weather....it was sunny all along the day...people hardly speak English...Budapest didn't fascinate me much, but worth visiting once on a sunny day!!
Vienna, Austria: Vienna (Wien), the capital of Austria is a city of architectural buildings, culture, music, theater and opera...quite similar to Munich but supercedes Munich with gigantic buildings...they speak a dilect of German...which is quite different from Germans and Switzerlanders...Schönbrunn Palace, Kunsthistoricsches Museum, Naturhistorisches Museum, Karlsplatz, Austrian Parliament, Stephans dom, Rathaus are worth visiting....we didn't have enough time to explore Vienna to the core but covered the most important places...
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this trip, three countries in three days with cheap prices, three different currencies and more importantly we had a group of 8 people who can make any trip interesting ;) Thanks to weather god..she stayed fine all three days...in any European voyage if weather stays fine...50% of the trip is successful....A trip to remember!
At the stroke of midnight, when I was gazing at the stars from my window, I just looked at my life path right from my childhood till this 25 years...then my heart said....Life is definitely a roller coaster....some really great moments...some really bad disappointments and depression....Its quite obvious that even Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had ups and downs in their lives...No individual can say they just had great moments and no disappointments...if anybody says so...I would like to meet them....:D Just thought I can narrate some of my ups and downs which I experienced in this 25 years span of time....
It all started when I wrote my 12th standard board exam with the ambition of being an engineer or doctor...fortunately ended up with both the seats...certainly a moment which I cherished for some days...but unfortunately created all sort of confusion in my fickle mind and ultimately ended up in fiasco in choosing one...nevertheless I will never regret my decision now....certainly a good start to my rollercoaster ride at the age of 17....
Nothing great happened in College in the first three years to experience the ups and downs....then came the greatest disappointment in the final year...when I couldnt apply to the US universities with my stupid GRE scores...but soon complemented by one of the finest memories....my first job in HCL Technologies through campus interview....just enjoyed to the core in the final year of my college by basking on the future job....just thought....life is settled...
But soon I realized actual life started once I started to work in the amidst of the great bug fixers of HCL CISCO....then I could experience downward slope of my roller coaster ride....simply because nothing turned out well in my first job....but let me accept the fact that my attitude wasn't right at that moment to cope up with the pace of sprinters... after some time, the roller coaster ride took me to the upward slope.....job in Cognizant...to be honest...the upward slope of this ride was amazing....good friends....cute-looking girls ;)...decent work....but when I was travelling at the top of this upward slope...I saw another big slope which was far away from this ride....Masters in Germany...I was always skeptical about that ride because it appeared to me really costly and also risky....but then I realized to experience some pleasures....there should always be an element of risk....no pain no gain...so went for the costly and risky ride....Masters in Germany...
To be honest, the starting of this risky ride was awesome...my first great experience in abroad...everything appeared amazing...then slowly the ride went to the downward slope....with hunger, loneliness, homesick, cultural differences, language problem, financials, study cum work...but after sometime...the ride went on at even level for considerable amount of time...and suddenly it started to climb a bit...MBA admission with scholarship and my attitude of globetrotting exploring wonderful places on earth...definitely cherished the upward slope....this upward slope really showed the other side of life with western thinking and great scholars to rub shoulders with...I truely enjoyed this ride....
Definitely a ride with great upward slope should have an equivalent downward slope...and this slope came in the form of my Master Thesis at Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Berlin supposed to be Europe's greatest research institute...if at all I want to forget some moments of my life...it should be none other than my time in Berlin...the topic, the supervisors, the Professor, the job hunting, the loneliness and the depression....searched for some rescuers to help me during that fall of this ride....ultimately ended with only my two souls mom and dad....who helped me to survive that dangerous ride...
Thank god, that ride didn't pull me out, fortunately I reached safely on the ground with some minor injuries....and when I overlook the future rides, it gives me a glance of upward slope, my next job in Germany and I am pretty sure that upward slope will definitely have a downward slope after sometime...and life goes on like this....I should say I thoroughly enjoyed all of my rollercoaster rides....Life has to be that way....otherwise life becomes monotonous....life becomes boring...the taste of success depends on the extent of the defeat....Its very difficult to have a flat ride...because human mind is always demanding...but when one acheives the flat ride thats a clear indication of attaining peace. I am sure everyone reading this article had their rollercoaster rides....ofcourse Life is indeed a rollercoaster, isn't it....:)
Recently I had a chance to go to Berlin with my classmates just for partying. It was a nice group and a great combination: Andreas the American, Jan Oliver the German, Juan the Mexican, Christoph the Polish. Andreas drove the car, thank god he didnt get drunk while he was driving ;) It was a crazy night, we drank like anything, Jägermeister worked a lot :D and roaming in the streets of Berlin. By the time we went to disco we were all drunk. They didnt allow us to enter in to disco and asked to say the tongue twisters " She sells seashells on the sea shore" hehehee....Thank god we managed to say and entered the dance floor...All in all a great trip....I loved it after the stressful exams :)
Recently I had one of the best course of my MBA studies, Business Planning. The idea of this course is to develop a new product idea, project the budget, profit, cashflows for the overall Business, decide the various marketing strategies and the overall organisation of the Business. Our group introduced the idea of starting the heating system well in advance by sending a simple SMS. It takes considerable amount of time for the heating to take in to effect without automatic heating system. Our product gives the flexibility to start the heating system well in advance so that when the user enters the car its warm and comfortable. We have a microcontroller which gets interfaced with the heating system in the car and GSM receiver is placed inside the mircocontroller to receive the SMS. Of course this product can be replicated to start the ACs in the car in hot countries. I simply loved the task of writing a Business Plan for this product with all the financial calculations. After this course I realized and smelled the idea of starting a Business at some point of time. Great course!!
Recently I had one of the best classes in my MBA...Strategy.....conducted by Prof. Carl Joachim Kock from IE Business School, Madrid, Spain...ranked number 8 throught out the world in Business schools...Prof. Kock, M.S and Ph.d from Wharton Business School, Univerisity of Pennsylvania, USA was undoubtedly one of the greatest speakers I have come acros...there were very few Professors who were gifted to make the class lively through out the session....Kock is a gifted speaker....explaining, dwelling, thrashing, dashing the Harvard case studies literally in to pieces....;) I really admire his way of explaning the things....making the concepts of Strategy crystal clear...Its a privilege to attend his class...Thanks to NIT who invited Prof. Kock to give the classes for Strategy...Hats off to Kock!
My Master Thesis at Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications gave me a great insight about what research is....at the end of the day I can conclude that I am not good enough for research hehheeeee....Research has its own merits and demerits...
1. Research needs lot of patience...patience to the core.....i am a guy who wants a child after six months of marriage ;) so the word patience is too far for me...
2. Research needs lots and lots of passion, vigor, love for the topic, self-motivation, dedication and most important thing is one shouldn't look for money in research....
3. Research needs very good supervisors...very good motivators...because nobody knows the path its all about trying all possible combinations and finally concluding the result....
But on the otherhand, Research is the place where one has absolute amount of freedom in the work....which one cannot expect in the company....all our thoughts and ideas can be putforth, tested, implemented....the amount of joy one gets when it has been recognized at the highest level with the publications....I definitely would love to do more research in the later part of my career but now I feel i am too far for research....:)
Out of all the Diwalis I celebrated in Germany, this Diwali was something special...mainly because of my mom's presence...had a great Indian evening with all my friends with special South Indian dishes...can you imagine...we prepared 12 different dishes...Idly, Dosai, Poori, Potato Subji, Kuruma, Chicken 65, boiled eggs, sambhar, cabbage poriyal, pakoda, fried rice, pachadi... great moments...amma asirvatham amma samayal....:) Took an off from the work and watched all special programmes in Sun TV, Vijay TV...I loved it...I hope to celebrate the coming Diwali's in the same fashion if I am lucky :D
