Angels and Demons

This is one mystery-thriller from Dan Brown. Published by Pocket Books. In this book Dan Brown introduces Harward symbologist Robert Langdon. He is the central character in the two other following novels by Dan Brown.

The plot revovles around the legendery secret society Illuminati. A murder happens at CERN and its director calls up Robert to solve the ambigram seen on the dead body. It turns out to be the ambigram by Illuminati. From there the story begins. It describes the things happening in next 24 hours. Dan had tried really hard in narrating the story in very fast pace, suiting the present generation without making it boring. Langdon further goes to Rome where Pope is recently dead and Preferiti is assembled there to elect the next Pope. One side papal election is going on and on other side Langdon’s investigation is getting intense. To add spice to the dish there is a nuke bomb which is set to explode in next 24 hours. Langdon has to find out the Illuminati, find the location of the bomb and destroy it. Sounds like a computer game?

Dan Brown has said the story convincingly. The pace at which the sotry goes is terrific. To add masala he has included the inside story of Papal election and internal politics in Vatican. As a trend he would follow in the following books to come, he has mention some old digniteries, artists and sculpturers from past in the list of the members of the secret society. Finaly with the help of a lady scientist who happened to be the step daughter of the murdered scientist at CERN, Langdon finds out the culprit.

The book was made into a major movie with Tom Hanks in the lead role. It surely has got some hard criticism from the church. But we should treat a thriller as thriller. Not as a document on history.

Get Prepared for a Presentation

There is an old saying “A good start is half done.” It is very much true about presentations, whether sales or internal. It is equally important the preparation for a good start. Ever felt your heart beat going up before a presentation? Felt nervous? Well even the world famous presenters had admitted feeling same. The key is to be prepared for the event. Dressing up formally boost your confidence. Be sure that you are present at the presentation hall well before the proposed time of the event. Set the projector or other equipments ready at least 10 minutes before the decided time. Make sure everything is working properly and make ready the ppt .


Now it is show time. Take a deep breath, look into the eyes of audience, smile, hold head high and shoot. May be you can start a long presentation with a light incident or a story. Idea is to grab attention in the first 30secs. If you are not able to raise audience curiosity within 30 secs you are lost. Greet the audience, introduce yourself (if your presentation is outside your office) and give a brief idea of points you are going to speak or purpose of it. Then the crowd is clear about what you are going to speak in next few minutes. Everyone will be anticipating some benefit for themselves from what you are going to say. Everyone’s time is precious. So risk factor is that if you don’t have anything to arouse your curiosity you will lose the game in first “OVER” itself.
Voice modulation is the key to success of any presentation. You should know when to raise the voice, when to lower etc. The voice has to be very clear.


Not too loud either. Even you won’t appreciate someone shouting at you. If possible prepare for the first 2 minutes of the presentation and it is advisable that you learn by heart the first 2 minutes. Use of jesters is very effective in bringing back audience attention .It avoids monotony also. Make sure that you mention in the beginning itself you will give time after the presentation for any doubts. Once you are through the first few minutes you will be confident to carry it forward. Remember practice makes you perfect. Go ahead hit the target.

Agastyarkoodam-God's seat

The first thing you notice in the forest is the deafening silence.





When I got a chance to apply for pass from forest department for trekking to Agasthyarkoodam I was excited. It was like a dream come true. Long time wish, now accomplishing. We planned for the trip. Five of us. Praveen, Manu , Sareesh, Subhag and yours sincerely. The forest dept. officials had advised us to start as early as possible. The reason, you have to start trekking before sun tires you out with his hot blessings.


The journey:
We started from Thiruvananthapuram by 5-45am. Once we reached Bonnacaud we asked for Forest entry point. There was virtually no road. A county road with full of rocks and no tarring leads to the forest. If you travel by small cars, you need to be careful while driving. Throughout the 2kms stretch the base of the car will be hitting the ground.
There was a warm welcome at the forest entry point from forest dept officials. There was a crowd over there waiting to start their trekking. Officials were calling out their names from the passes they had submitted and verifying the id card. Some were getting signatures from tourists and pilgrims(there is a small temple on the top of the peak) .They asked us to wait since the crowd was big (100 passes will be issued for one day and that too in advance). We decided to have breakfast meanwhile and get the lunch packed from the small canteen there. The food was simple . We checked our supplies once again. Went through the customary requirements. The forest officials checked our bags for weapons, liquor etc. Then allowed us to start trekking from the base camp by 10am. The distance to be covered was 22kms to reach the Adimala (Pongala para) camp.

We trekked almost 2kms when we saw a small shelter made of hay and tarpaulin. There was a trench almost 5 feet deep and one foot wide. Subhag asked the guide “ Why you dig this big trench?” The guard said there was a menace of wild elephants. As a precaution they had made it. Everyone started looking at each other. Man, we need to keep going, was the message. The trekking was tiresome but exciting. The forest took us to some other world. We were actually breathing fresh air. Drinking pure water from streams, cold and tasty. It was like being in union with the nature. A wonderful experience.



There were totally four notable water falls on the way. You have to walk through the falls to continue your journey. There were people taking bath at the last falls was are bigger than other three falls.


It was 1-30pm and we decided to have lunch there and enjoy the falls for a while. Even the guide reminded us the next 4.5kms stretch was steep hills. We needed to regain our strength before climbing. Upon your luck you can see wild hogs, elephant, monkeys, birds etc. The entire area is a heaven of medicinal herbs. The air there itself is believed to have medicinal effect. The falls is called Attayar meaning “the leach river”. Sure you will find lots of leaches there. You can get rid of them if you sprinkle common salt on them.

Started from there by 2-30pm. The last 4kms walk was really grueling experience. Man, I literally panted. Praveen feeling sorry about me stayed back with me keeping to my pace. Others moved on with their speed. It was deep forest. Only colour you will see is Green. But as time goes on it will get darker.

Inside forest it will get dark very fast. So before 5pm you have to reach your destination. For concrete jungle animals like us in broad daylight itself it was very difficult to find the way. Can’t imagine what will happen once it is dark. Above all there was a threat of rain.

There were lots of butterflies on the way. The scenery was something you won’t see even in movies. Exquisite.









We reached the Adimala camp by 4-30pm. Dead tired.Once we reached there first thing we did was having a black tea. The hot man made drink after a long trek through dense forest. We felt like in heaven










Route:
Thiruvananthapuram to Nedumangadu through Perurkkada and Karakulam. From there take the straight road towards Thullimanoor. From Thullimanoor take a right towards Vithura. Once you reach Vithura you will see a road going to right side which takes you to Thayiodu . Bonnacaud road is towards right from Thayiodu. Once you reach Bonnacaud ask for forest entry point. Its only 2kms away.
Distance:-
Thiruvananthapuram =>Thullimanoor - 18kms
Thullimanoor=> Vithura - 12kms
Vithura => Bonnacaud – 20kms
Bonnacaud => Forest Entry 2kms
Things to be remembered:-
• Plan for 3 days trip
• Last 6kms stretch to Agasthyarkoodam will be really tiring
• While trekking you should only sip water in small quantity. Don’t drink too much.
• Eat light food
• Avoid sweet, sour and hot tasted food
• Take glucose in very small quantity to avoid muscular cramps
• No liquor or cigarettes allowed
• Order food in advance at the base camp and at Adimala camp.
• Avoid travelling by late evening
• Always keep a guide with you. he can suggest alternate paths if some animals are on the way
• Don’t use perfumes or flashy coloured dress
• Don’t shout or talk in high voice
• Don’t drink juice or Cola while trekking. Only plain water
• Last petrol pump ,puncture shop and hospital at Vithura
• Keep only minimum fuel while you go for trekking
• Keep a steppini tyre
• Water
• Snacks
• glucose
• Bedsheet
• towel
• 1 pair of clothes for changing
• trekking boots
• essential medicines, plasters or band aid .remember a hospital is the last thing you can find in deep jungle
• camera with battery back-up
• id card

First Day @ Cadmium

When I got the offer letter from Cadmium Technologies& Solutions Pvt Ltd I recalled I have heard this name before. Some where else. Some other context. Even some of my friends and family members who are working with different industries also felt the same.But quite uncanny for a growing organization.
I decided to ask St.Google for answers. Wikipeadia gave one answer: >“Cadmium ( /ˈkædmiəm/ KAD-mee-əm) is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. The soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other metals in group 12, zinc and mercury”. It also said:
” The most dangerous form of occupational exposure to cadmium is inhalation of fine dust and fumes, or ingestion of highly soluble cadmium compounds.[4] Inhalation of cadmium-containing fumes can result initially in metal fume fever but may progress to chemical pneumonitis, pulmonary edema, and death.[33]
Cadmium is also a potential environmental hazard. Human exposures to environmental cadmium are primarily the result of fossil fuel combustion, phosphate fertilizers, natural sources, iron and steel production, cement production and related activities, nonferrous metals production, and municipal solid waste incineration.”em>My wife came behind me looking at my laptop asked what I am searching.
I told “ The new company am going to join.”
“Okay !!” She started reading about Cadmium.
With a horrified face she asked “ Are you really going to join these people” .
“Yeah! I met coupla guys there. I think they are cool.” I tried to pacify her. But same time something was going in my mind also. “ Kind of name”. I said with a sigh. I decied to give it call. Lets see how it turns out to be.
First day it was fun. My train reached station by 7-15. It was 20mts late. My reporting time was 7-30. I literally ran to my office from station. I reached the office full sweating and panting. Everyone stared at me with a face who the heck is thi,s looking so terrible in the morning. I ignored stares and exchanged pleasantries with Praveen. Then the morning ritual called “The 7-30 Meeting” started. I watched curiously. People came towards a big white board and told what they are going to do that day. Then they wrote it on the board. Interesting..hmm…. After that the customary introduction began. Well, the guys seemed to be okay. They started reciting their names. Arun, Subin, Sujith,Das…..
Then Praveen told “ You will be briefed about the product by Ria”.
“Okay. Cool”
Ria came. She seemed to be a little hurry” The presentation went in superfast mode. With full zeal and zest. I finally told. “Let’s stop it for the time being. Once I start interacting with the clients we will sit again. That time with more doubts”
She said” Okay” and she vanished.
Later I came to know that we got another room at the level (-1). Ria, Mausumi, Arun, Manu , KP etc sat there. Its 9am and I was feeling the fire in my stomach. People were disappearing for a while and they appeared back. Later Anusha came and asked.
“You had your breakfast?”
I said, “No’.
“Okay. You can have it outside” and she suggested a nearby restaurant.
I came out of the office and found this lovely place called Café Planet. It gives a beautiful view through the open space. Beautifully designed restaurant. Nice service. I came back for lunch also from the same place. Costly, but good.
Then Nishanth came in. With his full hearted smile. He also tried to make me at ease. Post lunch there was a session with Praveen and then one with Anusha. By 4pm the cab came. They offered a ride to the station.

Slowly I started to jell in with the team. They also accepted me. Now almost 4 months down the lane sitting at my cubicle as one among them. Wondering how time has flown.

Better your work Habits

Have you ever felt that you are a wrong guy on a wrong boat? It is high time you give a call on it. The basic necessity for making a job interesting is to love your work. Check out these factors:
Everyone has his/her own skill set. Some will be good in coding some will be good in documentation. There will people with a passion for testing. Recognize your skill set. Go for it.
It very important to know what special knowledge you have. Improvising oneself is the key to success. Whether a programmer, an actor, a businessman whoever it is without improvisation and improving your knowledge you cannot survive in these Corporate Jungles. Personality development and better technical knowhow will be the key decisive factors deciding your career when you apply for a better post. Whether its inside the organization or outside.
Next thing you have to take a look is what kind of people you want to work with. The kind of work culture a company is promoting is as important as the domain they are working. For example someone is happy with a relaxed environment where responsibilities are given not targets. Some other will be a better performer with a rigid work target. So while you choose your company, choose it wisely.
Now tell me whether you prefer a company with a compassionate emotional approach or a practical corporate approach. Both has its own merits and demerits. The key factor is how you use the time inside your office. What is the output you will be giving?
No pain no gain. Always ask yourself how much additional responsibilities you are willing to accept. There won’t be a career growth until unless you start taking more and more responsibilities. Taking more responsibilities doesn’t means taking lot of dishes into your plate and not able to eat it. More responsibility calls for more time and justification of all the duties entrusted on you.
In a job always see how you can balance your professional life and personal life. A good balance between both will make you life Happy. Injustice to any one of them will make your life miserable. See to it you are investing “Quality” time for both. Doing office work at home and engaging in personal activities during office hours are both unadvisable.
Enjoy your work. Start building better work habits. Enjoy life

The Show

Backstage
It was a cold and drowsy morning. Rain Gods were at their most furious mood. As usual bugsy came late to the office. “Hi dear. Good Morning” he gave me a bear hug. My vision blurred. I started sweating. Stars seem to circle me. I started counting 1, 2,3,…. “ Goo..dd.. Morn..ing, Goo..d Mo..rning” I shouted back.
Opened my laptop once I regained myself. “Today’s meetings.” The name of the MNC appeared on the screen . For quite a long time I was trying to get an appointment with MNC Nair. 16 times had been to his office to meet his PA regarding the appointment .Despite all the visits and numerous phone calls made nothing fruitful came. Every time she gave an excuse for postponing the appointment. Once she said he had been to Kathmandu and will be back in one week time. But in real he was at Kattakkada , a local place.
Anyway today am not going to leave him. Took the land phone from next cubicle, kept it in front of me and started dialing. As soon as I started dialing I heard a loud cry “Ayyooo”. My colleague had tripped over the phone cable. I said my apologies and started calling again. Luckily this time I got him and he asked to come and meet by 11am.
Rehersal
Opened the latest presentation I had made. Made some corrections. Yeah, now its perfect. “Great!” I told myself.
“You said something?” It’s the team lead from other department.
“Yes. The first over you bowled in the last cricket match was, Great!” I told with a smile. He smiled back and thanked me.
Went to the wash room checked my attire, polished my shoes once more.
“Good. Now you are ready for the show” told myself. Came back to the cubicle studied the presentation once again.
Act 1
The girl at the reception welcomed me with a smile.
“I got an appointment with Mr.MNC Nair” I told her.
“Please wait.” She tried some phone and told “Sir, MD’s no: is engaged. “
I said, “O.K. I’ll wait”
It’s a good office with expensive furniture. Pulled out a magazine and started reading. After finishing 2 articles I realized its more than 10 minutes. I asked the receptionist to try again. She told some internal meeting is going on. So it will take 10minutes more.
“OK fine I will wait” I had no other go.
Meanwhile I started calling other clients and colleagues. It should have been half an hour when I asked her, “ What happened? Sir is still busy?” She started dialing the number.” If its getting too late I’ll take my leave. Will come back again once he’s free” I told her as she was making the call.
“Sir told to wait just 10 minutes more”. She told apologetically. My other schedules are getting affected. Even though I came by 10-50 am he has not called me in. Started dialing other clients for rescheduling the meetings. Some told no we are going out so we’ll meet tomorrow. Means I have to go through all the custom of calling that client and his/her office for appointment. I start becoming impatient. It is almost 12. I stood up.
“I think sir is busy today. I’ll call him and come back tomorrow. Now am late for another meeting.” This time receptionist asked me to wait 1 minute and called him again. Mumbled something over the phone. She raised her head and told “Sir you can go inside now.”
Act 2
“Good Morning sir. ” I said with a grin. He seemed to be too busy with some work in the computer. I
Sat down as he shown the chair. It’s a nice office, well maintained. I slowly opened my laptop and started to give presentation. It went well and as it progressed he started showing more and more interest. I concluded the presentation and looked at him.
“See boss your product is good. But am not sure how my people will use it. They are not technically sound and won’t appreciate anything new. “ He started talking as he leaned back to the chair.
“ What you can do is send a commercial proposal for this and we’ll meet again. “ He started staring at me as he explained. I looked him with utmost interest. He is the customer. Customer is king.
“I had been to Malaysia last week. There they were using something like this. 2 months ago I was at China. There I had asked them to design something like this. Am happy that someone from India has made this.
“ Sir if you were that keen. Why can’t we implement it tomorrow itself.”
“No, no, no… What I meant to say is I want this product. But my budget for next one year has been fixed. I can’t change that. My Accounts Head won’t allow that.” I had met his accounts head earlier. One old gun with no enthusiasm. His main job was to say Yes boss. In my farthest dream I won’t believe he will make any suggestions on anything. Above that his boss won’t listen to him on any advice. Kept persuading him on different points. But he’s not agreeing for a closure.
“ Ok sir. I will send proposal. You please discuss with your Accounts head.” I started winding up the meeting .Its almost 1 hour. “Once you see that we’ll sit for negotiation and finalize”.
After bidding good bye I came out. Receptionist was there with a smile.
“ How did it go Sir?” she asked.
“ It was good. He is interested”. I said hiding my disappointment.
“ As you went inside itself I knew he won’t agree. He had told that to me. Today it was his grandmothers death anniversary. He won’t sign any new deal this week. Its bad omen for him. First I thought I will tell you this. Then on second thought I didn’t want to discourage you.” I started feeling a shiver as she finished the last sentence. I felt like lifting the monitor before he and hitting on her head.” Then why the heck you didn’t tell me early. I would have saved my 3 hours and done some other useful calls.” I felt like shouting at her.
Instead I composed myself and told her.” Oh! Really? My bad luck. Let me try to meet him next week. Thank you”. Saying this came out and relaxed. Took the phone. Dialed the next number