Changing of Guards

I landed back at IIT Delhi yesterday and have been 'enjoying' the humidity floating around me with some friends I've missed the most during last few months. Now another semester is about to start and it's time to let go of the last phase of my life, i.e. the internship. A few days ago, I rated IIT life to be absolutely incomparable to that at MSR (here). But someone has truly said that you start missing something when you start moving away from it. I felt something like that when I realised this Friday that this day onwards, I won't have such lovely and brilliant people around me anymore. I would miss the whole culture of 'Party Hard, Work Harder' culture at MSR, particulary, the Lab Sabha, the PowWow, the perennial pantry supplies, World Cup and the diversity of TEM.

Moving on with life, I guess its time to let go of the FIFA World Cup theme too as it's now long over (YEAH! Spain won, still happy about that!). Just to keep it in memory, my blog used to look like this at one time:

So, as the theme undergoes a radical change, so does the way of life. From the smooth flowing Microsofty Life to the rough IIT Life, the transition is fundamental. Got some lectures to attend in the morning (unlike no strict office timings at MSR), so should catch some sleep! Ciao!

Microsofty Life

The summer break is nearing its end, and so is the internship at MSR. 10 days from now, I'll be back to my home grounds at IIT Delhi, and as I look back at the last 2 months, I realise the striking contrast between IIT (Delhi) life and MSR (Bangalore) life. So, an attempt to list a few as a memoir to the Microsoft experience. (Keeping a count on the positives and the negatives)

Food (yes, for the foodie I'm, this deserves to be the first point):
The regular Paneer Tikka at Mezbaan couldn't find an equal match here. But the variety and delicacy of Idli-Dosa here made me fall in love with Bangalore in a few days. The 'sasta, lekin sabse achha' award clearly goes to the Southie food here. I'm not sure whether the Idlis of Holistic or the Dosa of Sip n Bite would be edible for me anymore. (+1)

Accomodation:
The first week at Bangalore was spent in uncertainty of our resting place for the next 2 months. Finding a suitable place, affordable yet providing satisfactory services, became a heated affair (thanks to our Police Officer (retd.) landlord). While we faced some harsh consequences of being in a language-hostile city, the realisation that however inhuman be the living conditions in our hostels, the life is much smoother and hassle-free there. (-1)

Weather:
This one undoubtedly goes to Bangalore. Never during the whole period did I feel that the internship is actually 'Summer' internship. But, sadly, when I was enjoying the pleasant evening breeze in Bangalore, some of my dear friends were burning in scorching Delhi heat. Our rational Deans and Diro turned down a very valid and popular demand to allow coolers in hostel rooms. (+1)

Getting a bit long, eh? Some quickies now :-
OS: Windows 7, never missed Ubuntu (Jaunty or Lynx). (+1)

Music: Winamp playlists earlier, it's Grooveshark, Pandora or Shoutcast internet radio here. (+1)

Internet: High speed corpnet with no blocked sites and no limits, proxy quota is a forgotten concept. (+1)

Email client: Experienced the beauty of Outlook, bye-bye Thunderbird. (0)

LAN: No oDC to grab all kinds of pirated (or dirty) stuff in minutes; no LAN gaming, despite the (work)stations equipped with powerful graphic cards. (-1)

On TV: Football (World Cup was a phenomenon). Cricket-lovers virtually non-existent here. (+1)

Sports: Football, yet again, and because I can run, I'm not that bad at it. Missing volleyball though. (0)

Snacks: Besides the 5pm snacks with infy variety, the perennial pantry supply helped me about 5 kgs weight in about a month. (+1)

Score, anyone? +5, right? Yet, I missed IITD so much at many ocassions. So, what did I miss out above?

LIFE:
Yeah, there is no substitute to campus life. When I joined IIT, some wise man (no offence to the ladies!) said that the coming years would be the most cherished time of your life. Live it to the fullest, while you can. In this brief stint of corporate office life, I entirely realise the truth in his words. Going to office every morning, sitting in the same chair, working on the same project invariably on each day - the monotony of life couldn't be broken even by the lavish Lab Retreat at Lalitha Mahal Palace, Mysore. Life is too smooth here, with some department dedicated to solve every problem of yours (except the research problem you're working on). What makes IIT life worth living, despite the various negatives listed above, is the variety of challenges encountered regularly - from getting a letter signed to winning an inter-hostel competition; and the irreplacable friends that provide you strength to stand tall in every challenge. Though I met some wonderful persons here, I couldn't help missing the always cheerful WindT and the wonderful company I enjoyed there. Anupam and the SPICY gang deserve a special-mention, who are now accessible only at long-distance. A few long-distance friends became even 'longer-distance' due to switching of time-zones, and thereby, restricting the communication options. Without some people, even in the biggest software company of the world, life feels small. The countdown has begun. Can't wait to get back to IIT Delhi.

PS: @Interns at MSRI or elsewhere: Help me to add more points that come to your mind.

Spain or Netherlands?

This is the million-dollar question (literally) at the moment. And probably, by the time you would read this, most of you would know the answer to this big question. But, one thing is certain - we will have a new name on the trophy this time. Here I make another attempt to remember somethings worth remembering about the knockout stage mainly of the biggest sporting event, which reaches climax today (the earlier one is here).

Round of 16:

Germany playing England, and Spain playing Portugal so early in the Cup race were the highlights of this round. While Germany truly slaughtered the English side, Spain stepped ahead quietly with a single-goal victory. While, Argentina and Brazil continued looking good to strengthen their claim for the cup, Ghana ended the American Dream to keep the host continent's hope alive. Two big faults by referees which went against England (for Germany) and Mexico (for Argentina) led to resurfacing of the old debate of inclusion of more technology in the game. Though FIFA President went on to apologise to English and Mexican team, governments and people, the question of the extent of damage these errors caused to the fairness of a tournament as big as FIFA World Cup remains open to debate and discussion.

Quarter Finals:

4 matches, 4 South American teams - 1 in each. And the one team that went through was not expected to reach the Semis before the kick-off of the World Cup. The giants - Brazil and Argentina subsided to let Netherlands and Germany to go through. While the Dutch team impressed with consistent passing and constant attacking to perforate the Brazilian defence, German team continued to crush their worthy opponents mercilessly to rise to the title of World Cup favourites. Ghana failed to become the first African team to end up in the last 4 due to 'Hand of God', first and 'Bar of God', later. Gyan is going to regret that missed penalty all his life for sure. But the early exits of Argentina and Paraguay at this stage denied some naked runs (Paraguan defeat came as a disappointment for many excited males) [1], [2]

Semi Finals:

Diego Forlan led the brave Uruguan side so far with his skilled gameplay, but a short lapse in concentration of defense gave the Dutch team an opportunity to break-in twice in 3 minutes. Many people wished the other semi-finalists (Germany vs Spain) to clash in the Grand Finale instead. The star-studded line-up on both sides raised the expectations to a heated competition. But as the game kicked off, Spain took lead and played their game of passing in the mid-field and waiting for the opportune moment. They never allowed Germans to take control and raise the pace of the game to their advantage. Spaniards succeeded in getting to the Finals with another low-scoring victory.

Third-place Playoff:

I missed the first half of the match as I failed to get back to MSR from Mysore in time, but according to a friend (Apoorv Gupta):

"Yesterday's match was awesome... lots of aggressiveness, and a lot of bad passes etc. combined to make it one of the most entertaining so far." But, surely Uruguay deserved the extra-time, which Forlan had almost won with his almost-perfect free kick as the last shot of the match.

Now, its time to enjoy the colourful closing ceremony put up to mark the culmination of another edition of World Cup! I'm going to miss the World Cup so much, so many memories in the '3rd floor collaboration room' of MSR! My intern experience would remain incomplete without the mention of these football matches. :)

When should the Bidding end?

The day started out normally as it has been for about 8 weeks now - Getting up, leaving for Microsoft Research and working on the same project from morning till evening (night). Lately, the difference is me reaching office as late as 1 pm, due to the longer sleep required after the evening football (playing, not watching) sessions. Lately, the difference is me still confused where my intern project will lead to, because of some unorganized mentoring. Lately, the difference is me not happy at the place which probably is the dream for some of the best in my stream. This difference is that I wanted to write myself out this time. Not because I don't have people to talk about it, because I am lucky to have them and I've talked my heart out to them, but I wanted to talk about it to myself. So, I want to pour out some of the thoughts my mind has entangled itself into.

One thought that troubles me is our decision-making process about our goals and the path we take to strive for them. One such process took place when my intern started here, when 3 researchers and me sat for a 'brainstorming' session for hours to find a project of my interest. But, the session failed to churn out an intern topic that interested me. One possible reason could be my misplaced interest which was to do something that involved more than pure coding, which involved actually going out to the field to study how the technology we develop is being used, which could make my stay here different from that at IIT Delhi, which could make it meaningful to be a part of Technology of Emerging Markets group. So, at the end, I agreed to start upon a project for the sake of my internship half-heartedly, and throughout my stay here I've thought, what if I would have taken more time to decide. Now, the internship will end in a few days and won't have a strong influence on my future, but the issue still troubles me because of the 'what if', because I'm standing at a stage where the crucial decision of my career path needs to be taken, because I would certainly like to avoid the regret of 'The Road Not Taken'. So, how much time, patience and energy should we spend on actually finalizing the decision, so that it doesn't cross the optimal limit when we start wasting those resources on deciding and not executing the decision? How do we hit the best trade-off between the two conflicting motives? When should the Bidding end?


Meanwhile, a Ted talk in which Dan Ariely asks, "Are we in control of our own decisions?"

Weekend Trips (Part 1) : Cochin

Date: 27th May (Thursday)
Time: 2 pm

Pragun pings on Gmail to lure me in his plan to spend the coming weekend at Cochin. He starts explaining how 'God' place Cochin is for tourists by citing the attractions there (won't reveal them now itself, read on!). The long list of fascinating spots on Wikitravel page on Cochin enchanted me to say 'YES' to the plan, and the first weekend trip outside Bangalore for me was to be at a place more than 500 kms far.

Date: 28th May (Friday)
Time: 2 pm

Tickets available, minor packing to be done. No work done today. A bit of facebooking and email checking followed by lunch, and its time to leave. Pragun picks me up and we leave for Satellite bus stand, Bangalore.

Time: 4 pm

The bus to Ernakulam (yes, Cochin is just a set of islands; Ernakulam is the main city) leaves the bus station and the trip to Cochin is finally a reality! The gruelling 15 hrs bus ride is going to be hectic, but what follows keeps the excitement high! Hereafter, this post will turn into a photoblog because pictures speak much more than words. (No more on Facebook, so it will be pretty much same as an FB album.)

For the whole collection, visit Cochin Trip in my Picasa Photo Gallery. 

Satellite Bus Stand, Bangalore

The long night in the bus

And we reach Ernakulam as the dawn strikes, ready to head to Allapuzah (Allepey)

  

As we enter into the backwaters to explore God's own country!

 

House boats - luxurious, yet natural

 

Happy Me! :)

 

Kanav demonstrating some 'intricate' details of duckweed.

  

The group of 'tourists'

  

 

Boiled Tapioca : Vegetarian seafood

  

Inland waterways are lifelines of people there.

 

Wherever you go, our network follows! :)

 

Magnificence!

  

Haunted!

 

Swimming in Backwaters

  

Under construction!

 

Port of Cochin

  

Wah TAJ!

 

Fishing nets of Fort Kochi

  

Colours and Culture

  

Canopy of Greenery

  

The trip ends with a brief but enjoyable stint at Cherai beach.

  

And finally, some of my best attempts to capture the scenic beauty and serenity of Mother Nature - at its best!

  

  

 

Introduction - Zara Hatke!

This is how I introduced myself to Microsoft Research India Lab through a broadcast email. Don't miss the surprise at the end.

______________________________________________________________

Hey all

I am Vikas Prajapati, an intern in Technology for Emerging Markets group. People find it convenient to call me VP. I have completed 3 years of my Undergrad studies at IIT Delhi in Department of Computer Sc. & Engg. I belong to a place called Rawatbhata (one of the nuclear power plants in India is located there).

I’m not great at hobbies like painting, music or other artistic stuff. But, I am a Volleyball player and currently a part of IIT Delhi team. I enjoy watching almost all sports (golf, motorsports excluded). So, count me in for all plans to watch the upcoming Footy world cup. I listen to different kinds of music ranging from Indian Classical, Bollywood, Oldies to Rock depending on the mood and atmosphere. I have been active with SPIC MACAY IIT Delhi Chapter with an aim to work towards promoting Indian culture. I am a foodie and can consume all kinds of food in large quantities provided it is vegetarian. So, feel free to invite me to anything that involves food! :P I am known for cracking lot of PJs. Feel lucky that you have been spared in this mail. I do a lot of social networking. Find me on gtalk, facebook and twitter as ‘vikaspraj’. I am a bit of computer gamer too who enjoys playing the classic games like AOE-II, CounterStrike, NFS-MW and FIFA. (Probably we can organize a tournament sometime :D)

I hope to spend my intern here to learn as much as possible from all the brilliant minds around me.

Cheers
Vikas Prajapati aka “VP”
(The Thing)

The following poem (yeah, it does rhyme! :P ) preceded the individual introductions. You just read one of them, but can't disclose the others (privacy issues :P ). So, here it goes:

(L to R: Abhinav Uppal, Jasy, Nitesh Mor, Me)

The fantastic four

Jasy, Vikas, Abhinav and Mor

Have just become a part of TEM core

Mor the machine-lover,

Jasy the reader-traveler,

And Abhinav the thinker, the silent composer.

Led by PJ-champ Vikas,

They’re all so smart, yet bindaas,

Such a fine fit to the group of the emerging class.

Vikas digs volleyball

Jasy talks of the Great Wall

Mor hacks code, and Abhinav sings songs for all

Their brains now sore

Of trying to rhyme more

Read on, as they introduce themselves in tradition… the fantastic four.