holachachi...

In continuation of the last blog on PhD here is my next article.  Observing hundreds of PhD students in the last five years during my research, I can say that, "Gods" can help everyone only till Masters, not in PhD. Many of us agree, right?  The phase through which PhDs walk is unique and unimaginable. It is very tough to motivate and understand their problem. PhDs become more of thinkers than doers in the first couple of years, and this illness continues. Monotonous, boring lifestyle and loneliness bring every weakness out of us. Strengths won't help them anymore. People simply get busy doing nothing.  Most of us have an idea about science but not research. Science is very fascinating, but research. One should look at reality first. Research teaches us how to approach a problem? If there's no problem, then creating one by finding the gap from previous research done by others. As per my understanding, these are the two broad categories of research.  ...

PhD is concentrated Life and Life is diluted PhD. Every PhD must go through the toughest terrains by building his/her own paths. One sees no definite way, no direction, no goal, no meaning. Everything going to be all alone.  It's not meant for everyone. You got to have a hell lot of patience. PhD is not about reading a book - writing an exam on it and getting some good marks. No! ABSOLUTELY NOT.  If you're a topper in university, then don't think you'll fit in well here. Stamps can help you get a seat to some extent but to thrive here, you need to have the patience to keep that patience on.  Failure is not just common in PhD, but it's mandatory. You'll fail without writing an exam. You'll fail without even trying sometimes. You'll fail before you even start the experiment. You'll fail to talk to people. You'll fail to convince your supervisors. You'll also fail to convince your parents. You'll fail to maintain your friendship. You...

This incident happened a few days ago when I wanted to get some work done in one of the government offices. I ended up getting the document without paying a single paisa.  Disclaimer : This particular method may not work all the time. It worked well for me. You can call it my luck or anything. But sharing it for your information.  Mistakes : When you go to govt. offices they will find 100 mistakes in your document.                      Be patient. Correct them and again go back to them.                      Again they will point out a few mistakes.                      Be patient. Correct them and again go back to them.  Background : They point out your mistakes just to make you realise that you're not sufficiently equipped to get what you want from them. Understand this first....

Remember Hanuman? Our childhood hero from Ramayan. Hanuman helped Lord Rama to win over Ravana to bring maa Seeta home. In India, we worship Hanuman with the same respect and love as we do to Lord Rama. Don't run away, wait. I am not narrating the story of Ramayana here. I've something different in today's menu. Look at Hanuman, where has he positioned himself? In the feat of Rama, Lakshmana and Seeta. Hanuman is one of the greatest warrior, leader of the monkies. However, Hanuman always said, "he's just a servant of Lord Rama." We often read/hear this quote especially from our teachers, parents and peers " ' If you don't  build  your dream someone  will hire you to help build theirs ." H aving a dream and working hard to achieve it, is a great thing but in reality, many can't dream. Admitting this fact, then what to do? Does it imply that people who didn't pursue their dreams are unsuccessful? or are they incapable of doing...

"Technical Knowledge" - we tend to believe we've gathered enough of it while graduating from university.  Educationists, academicians and recruiting agencies carve careers of budding engineers. Aptitude, Technical rounds and GD's have become culturally inherent scales to assess capabilities of an engineer.  To all those who can't clear such exams, don't think you're an utter failure in your studies or less knowledgeable.  The general thinking of the final and pre-final year students is that university syllabus or professors or university itself are not helping and training them to gain practical knowledge or industry needs or latest technological developments. On the other side, professors strongly feel that students are not actively participating in studies and are not preparing themselves for " real-world " conditions.  Both are striving towards the same goal yet failing significantly to bring the much-needed change.  The ...

An old school friend of mine walks into my home after 9 long years. He was welcomed by a fresh, audacious IITian (then) with a formal greeting. This audacity of mine could not last long when I heard he's a team leader in a software company.  Yes, I was amazed. I guess there's nothing special about being a Team Leader in a software company. If you ever go to Bangalore, try throwing a stone randomly anywhere I bet you there's more than 99% probability that it hits a software engineer.  So, what is so special about my friend? He was being promoted as a Team leader just one month before we met. Four years ago he got hired by a Mumbai based software company only by looking at his capability and skills on some project which he was just exhibiting.    He was the last bench party throughout the school days.  Struggled even to get 40 marks in any subjects.  Many such students had either lost their interest in academics because of negative att...

Imagine a situation wherein, you're mugged up or lost all your money while traveling abroad.  It's scary, right?  Yes, of course.  I happened to be in this situation while I visited Santiago, Chile. I lost my wallet full of cash and cards at the airport just before boarding the flight to Calama.  In such an utterly terrifying moment if you keep your calm and don't rush towards panic then you can still get financial help and enjoy your vacation.  I stayed in Chile for five days after losing my wallet. I was able to get financial help at right time from Reliance travel insurance  - A big thanks to Reliance. With all my experience I have figured out the following: How to survive in such situations and still continue to enjoy your vacation?  Here's a list of simple things which you could try in such emergencies. I figured out a few simple ways to come out of such situations.  Banking apps - Install banking apps on you...