Drastic times call for drastic measures !

Hi Guys,

Sorry for being away for such a long time ! Thanks for all the emails enquiring about me !

Life has changed quite a bit since my last post. After the Microsoft shootout i was contacted by the $soft people for a job ("Security Evangalist" - a coveted title) but i declined the offer. I know most of you think i must be crazy !!! Maybe i am but i decided i am gonna run all the shows from now on . I cannot and will not be sitting in an MNC office ever again !!

The notion of a corporate job to me is synonymous with slavery ! especially in MNC's who come to India to exploit the talent here for peanuts. I do not want to serve as a "Back Office clerk" for developed nations anymore. In my brief career of 2.5 years in the indian software industry i have seen and understood enough to sit quitely any longer. We are being systematically exploited by developed countries who come here not for talent but for cheap labor ....not for offering us cutting edge research but to sustain their own miseries. More often than not, i hear people say "Oh ! we are content ! oh we are happy ! Outsourcing is great ! we are prospering! " ......i can only pity such souls who even though being educated are worse than the uneducated.
It is this content and defeatist attitude which has drained this country of all its resources and pride.

Even Pakistan, a country which is a fraction of India's size and military power robs us of our pride every week with their comments against us in the International board rooms. I am sad that all we Indians do is "discuss about it" over tea and forget it. It is this indifference of the common Indian which has led to this day. Politicians and Goondas run this country ..... the ordinary man lives in fear ....women feel unsafe moving alone even during the day ....... we have slowly evolved into something we ourselves have started to fear. Closing ones eyes (Bura na dekho) and jamming ones eardrums with indifference (Bura na suno) and expecting things to get back to normal has made things worse than better. Surely Gandhism will not work today !
It is time we once again brought back the ideals of Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh ! It is time for the common man to arm himself to the hilt and declare war !

I am not recommending a civil war ! ..nor am i recommending a hostile ousting/takeover of the govt. which has not lived up to its promises .......what i am recommending is we all fight injustice wherever we see it ......not let things go just because they do not effect us but fight for our ideals and beliefs.

My ME-ME-ME blog has been temporarily decomissioned ! Its coz i have added finer details of certain competitions :) and as the contest is still on...i was requested to keep things a little hush hush. But there is a small twist. The blog is still availble for viewing but is "hidden" to the eyes of common men ......but all you need a little commonsense to access it :) lets see who can get there !

A lot of people have written to me over email to provide more details of the competition to get an insiders view ........answer: i will but all in good time ....be patient :)

Moving futher with the Microsoft shootout story ............ My tickets have arrived. I will be catching an early morning flight on Thursday and will be back in the night flight on Saturday. A good 3 days will be spent in Microsoft hospitality .....

Lights ...Sound ....Camera....Action !!!!

Ya ! Had my first video shoot yesterday ! The organisers for the
Microsoft Security Shootout gave me my "45 minutes of fame"
at their studios ! They intend to make a video of the
Q&A with the India Top 10. I was asked questions both on
a personal and professional front by the host of the interview.
I wish it was live and not recorded :)

Questions were quite stereotype though: Introduce yourself ? Your
reaction when you go to know you were in the top 10 ? (i told them
i quite expected it ... :) ) Parents reaction ? Best technical challenge
in the contest ? How did you come into this field ? what does security mean
to you ? (i said "to me security is not just about writing safe code ....to me
its way of life ....a life in which every move , every decision is calculated
before hand and well thought of ....being aware of the surroundings , the pitfalls
and the detours ,,,,,,after all this is what security and being secure is.....
and for a person like me who is paranoid about security ....it manifests itself in
all walks of life......." ..
,,clap ..clap. ...and come to think of it ....all this was on the spot ...no thinking
time :) ) What are your thoughts about Microsoft ? their technologies ? What is your
message to the developer community in India ? etc etc ...

To tell you the truth it really felt awesome !
I cannot really articulate in mere words how great it felt to be the
centre of attraction ! All lights, cameras and eyes on me ! Even the smallest
movement i made was important and captured ! People around were asked to "shut up"
and make silence for the "One" to speak his mind.
I have been waiting for this day
since a long time ....to have my presence felt in front of the media ! To be
the centre of attraction ....to be publically recognized and awarded for my
efforts !....it was no doubt a day well deserved.....a title truly due to me .....
Well guys, let me also assure you that this is just the beginning ....
you'll see more of me in the media in the coming days :)
This incident will go down in my history books !

I'll post the telecast timings here or a link to MSDN (wherever they decide to put this) soon.

Btw, guys the main Awards night is on the 23rd of June (this friday). I will be flown down
to Bangalore on the 22nd Morning to meet some biggies and grab my award and then will leave on the 24th.
They promise its gonna be a lotta fun :) and partying ! Lets see how it goes :)