IAC- Bangalore techies support Jan Lokpal bill

This is an email forward I had received from a friend. Please do go through the content and support the cause.

Please forward to all techies.... Support IAC

http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/

All Techies from various organizations would walk from KR circle to Freedom park to join the Anna Hazare's movement for Strong Jan Lokpal bill. The details are as bellow.

Date: 20 Aug 2011 – Saturday

Time: 10.00 Am

From KR circle – Refer to the map attached

To – Freedom Park where Jan Lokpal movement is going on under leadership of Mr Santhosh Hegde.

Participants: Bangalore Techies – Others are also most welcome

Purpose : To support Anna Hazare's movement for strong Jan Lokpal to curb the corrupt officials and corrupt politicians .

Other details: The police permission has been obtained for 5000 people. We would show case techies support for Anna Hazare movement to disprove the common public opinion that techies generally don't come to the road to fight for the justice as they generally adjust with the problem.

How Jan Lokpal Bill Can Curb the Corrupt Officials & Corrupt Politicians

Existing System	System Proposed by civil society
No politician or senior officer ever goes to jail despite huge evidence because Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) and CBI directly come under the government. Before starting investigation or initiating prosecution in any case, they have to take permission from the same bosses, against whom the case has to be investigated.	Lokpal at centre and Lokayukta at state level will be independent bodies. ACB and CBI will be merged into these bodies. They will have power to initiate investigations and prosecution against any officer or politician without needing anyone's permission. Investigation should be completed within 1 year and trial to get over in next 1 year. Within two years, the corrupt should go to jail.
No corrupt officer is dismissed from the job because Central Vigilance Commission, which is supposed to dismiss corrupt officers, is only an advisory body. Whenever it advises government to dismiss any senior corrupt officer, its advice is never implemented.	Lokpal and Lokayukta will have complete powers to order dismissal of a corrupt officer. CVC and all departmental vigilance will be merged into Lokpal and state vigilance will be merged into Lokayukta.
No action is taken against corrupt judges because permission is required from the Chief Justice of India to even register an FIR against corrupt judges.	Lokpal & Lokayukta shall have powers to investigate and prosecute any judge without needing anyone's permission.
Nowhere to go - People expose corruption but no action is taken on their complaints.	Lokpal & Lokayukta will have to enquire into and hear every complaint.
There is so much corruption within CBI and vigilance departments. Their functioning is so secret that it encourages corruption within these agencies	All investigations in Lokpal & Lokayukta shall be transparent. After completion of investigation, all case records shall be open to public.  Complaint against any staff of Lokpal & Lokayukta shall be inquired and punishment announced within two months.
Weak and corrupt people are appointed as heads of anti-corruption agencies.	Politicians will have absolutely no say in selections of Chairperson and members of Lokpal & Lokayukta. Selections will take place through a transparent and public participatory process.
Citizens face harassment in government offices. Sometimes they are forced to pay bribes. One can only complaint to senior officers. No action is taken on complaints because senior officers also get their cut.	Lokpal & Lokayukta will get public grievances resolved in time bound manner, impose a penalty of Rs 250 per day of delay to be deducted from the salary of guilty officer and award that amount as compensation to the aggrieved citizen.
Nothing in law to recover ill gotten wealth. A corrupt person can come out of jail and enjoy that money.	Loss caused to the government due to corruption will be recovered from all accused.
Small punishment for corruption- Punishment for corruption is minimum 6 months and maximum 7 years.	Enhanced punishment - The punishment would be minimum 5 years and maximum of life imprisonment.

India Against Corruption - Campaigning Videos

India Against Corruption - Campaigning Photos

The information about Anna Hazare's visit on 28th May 2011 is given in this article.
The latest posters are available here.


Photos from Sunday campaign at the National College Grounds.

Getting ready for the campaign

The banners loudly speaking the agenda

Too big for a single person!! :)

Mr Gandhi talking about the agenda of the Anna Hazare's visit

The banner is held out for people who were still playing in the background

Audience for our little talk!!

Such serious listening!! Can't imagine the same inside classrooms!

Even the kiddos were keen to know why they were standing there

More pep talk

Lot many audience at a later stage!

India Against Corruption - New Posters

The posters from the India Against Corruption - Bangalore movement. Please circulate the same among your friends and family members. Let us do whatever possible to get rid of corruption and corrupt politicians out of India...

Poster 1: In Kannada

Poster 2: In English

Poster 3: Zero Rupee Currency Note

Latest News: Anna Hazare to be in Bangalore on 28th May

In the later part of the last week it was confirmed that Gandhi of the modern India, Anna Hazare will be in Bangalore on 28th May 2011. The meeting scheduled for 6th May was postponed due to Anna's health problems at that time. The related articles about the same are available here, here and here.

The event on 28th May 2011 will be held at the National College Grounds, Basavanagudi. All preparations for his arrival is running in full swing including campaigning, security arrangements, etc.

The latest posters and pamphlets shall be uploaded today.


Update 23-05-2011:
A "Jan Lokpal" discussion is scheduled to be aired on Suvarna News 24 X 7 and Asianet News on 27th May, 6:30 PM onwards. Please watch the program and participate.

Postponed - Anna Hazare in Mysore and Bangalore

Dear friends, it has been informed to all the campaigners that our Dear Anna Hazare is not feeling well. Hence the meeting has been postponed. Anna still wants to come, but the doctors say a strict NO. His BP levels are around 190 now. We will have a candle light march in our respective wards on May 1st. There will not be any event on May 6th. I thank you for your time and efforts.

Our efforts will never go waste, they only strengthened the movement.

Poster - Anna Hazare in Mysore and Bangalore in May 2011

As mentioned in my previous post - Anna Hazare will be in Bangalore on 6th of May 2011. Here is the poster containing the same information... Do pass the same on to everybody you know to take part in this event against corruption...

Let us kick Corruption out of India... Let us save India from Politicians.

Find more information about the event here or here. 

Poster: Anna Hazare in Bangalore

PS. Except the posters, the rest of the words written over here in this post and all the other posts, except otherwise mentioned, are my own. They do not hold any person, institute, or organization responsible for anything mentioned here.

Also, this movement is not against any single political party. But it is a national movement to only save India and its citizens from the jaws of the biggest monster (aka Corruption) Mother India has seen in the recent days of her existence in this world.

Anna Hazare in Mysore and Bangalore in May 2011

We all know the now famous Anna Hazare... the latest news is that he is coming to Bangalore. This month (April 2011) it was announced by India Against Corruption, Bangalore's campaign that Anna Hazare will be visiting Bangalore in the first week of May. 

Anna Hazare will be visiting Mysore on 5th of May 2011 and the next day that is 6th of May 2011 he will be in Bangalore to address the crowd about the national movement against corruption. On 6th of May 2011, Anna Hazare will address the gathering of people belonging to all ages at the National High School Grounds, Basavanagudi, Bangalore at 2PM. The place and timings information for the 5th May gathering at Mysore shall be updated soon in this blog.

What more can be of good news to all of us? The fast-onto-death was majorly supported by the youth of the country, and we are sure that the same youth will come forward once again in support for a cause which is against corruption and making the country a better place to live in.

Come one... come all... Lets support for the right cause, and make the cause go in the right direction.

Please forward this information to all the people you know and make your presence felt at the above mentioned centers on the above mentioned dates.

Kumarswamy Layout - Turahalli forest bike trip

I am planning to do this bike trip of around 13 KM tomorrow morning... I shall be starting from ISRO Layout in Bangalore South. The complete route details along with elevation details are given below.

Place Information: Turahalli is a reserved forest area off Kanakapura road. It is around 8-9 KM from the famous Banashankari Temple at Banashankari in Bangalore. The place is also famous for rock climbing.

More information about the place may be found here...

http://www.dreamroutes.org/saveturahalli/bouldering.html

http://www.dreamroutes.org/saveturahalli/activity.html

http://www.dreamroutes.org/saveturahalli/index.html

http://www.visualquotient.net/index.php/nature-watching-at-ragihalli-and-turahalli-may-30-and-31/

Join Movement Against Corruption @Freedom Park, Bangalore -- You Must Support Anna Hazare

To Every Concerned Indian,

I feel this is the time we need to make a difference in our life by joining the Anti-Corruption Movement initiated by Anna Hazare. I understand people are very much busy with their day to day work and deadlines..But work will be there for whole of the life..We will not get another leader like Anna who can lead us to fight corruption..This is the last and only chance we have got to make a difference...Don't stick on to your television watching IPL match, that is not going to make any difference to your or others' life.

It's Now or Never.

If People cannot make it during their Office hours, please do make it to Freedom Park after office hours. Please do take public transport to the Freedom park, avoid bringing private vehicle. If you are taking bus, take a bus toward Majestic, get down at Mysore Bank Stop, Direction given below

Location:
Freedom Park,
Next to central Jail,
Gandhi Nagar

Being Educated lets make a difference. Give some meaning to your life.

If by any reason you cannot make it please forward message this to other person who can make it to Freedom Park Bangalore, Do give miss call to India against Corruption @ 02261557089 so that your call is registered as support towards this movement
http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/

By the way Central Government is trying to Kill RTI Act...

Direction:

Edit: Anna Hazare to break fast tomorrow - 09-04-2011.

PS. This is a forwarded email. Nevertheless an email for a cause, for a better yet a corruption free India.

Super Moon - Bangalore - 19-03-2011

Today the 19th day of March in the year 2011, after returning home from shopping in the evening, I photographed the "Super Moon". The Moon is called "Super Moon" when it is closest to the earth.

The name "Super Moon" was coined by an astrologer Richard Nolle in the year 1979.

Here are couple of photographs from my archives.

1.

2

 Further information about Super Moon can be found here in Wikipedia.

Job Hunting - A big headache!!!

Somebody said...
"... don't love your company... love your work..."

And somebody else said...
".. it is not for money most of them change jobs... but it is because of the bad managers..."

Well... I have loved my company... and have loved my work... and it is for both money and because of my manager I am changing jobs...

The thought to go for job hunting didn't start all of a sudden... but it had grown over a few years now... and it became stronger after a recent incident... And now.. I am in the middle of it... i.e. serving notice period in my first company... and waiting for the D-Day on which I will be joining the new company.

I had been telling my friends that I'd be changing jobs very soon... but that "soon" had not come sooner!!! The main reason why I waited for long before ultimately deciding for a change is because I needed some time to prepare for the interview and a strong reason to go for it. But that, fortunately or unfortunately, never happened. I never prepared anything for any of the interviews and I couldn't find a strong reason to leave the current employer until recently. Ultimately I decided to move on and look for the new employer in the month of January 2011.

One particular night early January 2011...I couldn't sleep... I had this strange feeling... I felt that I can never change job and I will be struck with the current one forever... The fear was so strong... that it made be switch on the computer at that moment, create my resume upload it into a job portal... and only after I did this was I able to sleep... The strange feeling I had that night was actually triggered by another incident that had happened in my current company.

What happened after I uploaded my resume was as expected... I got "calls" from multiple companies (consultants) for various types of positions in the IT field... Within a span of around 2-3 weeks, I attended a lot of interviews... including interviews from companies like IBM, Patni, HP, Microsoft, NDS, ITC Infotech, JK Technosoft, Kyro, Dell, Volvo IT, Sonata. Except HP, I passed the technical rounds in all the companies. I liked the interviews with Kyro, NDS and Microsoft. Though HP questions were good, I somehow didn't feel good about the interview... and from the very first question, I somehow knew that I wouldn't be selected by HP!! Kyro has become a dream company for me now... After the tech lead from Kyro explained about the work they do... I was just overawed! And decided that it is a company to work with. But after the 2nd round of technical interview, I wasn't called for the 3rd round. I do not know why... and I did not ask them why! Currently I am looking for the outcome of the 2nd round of interview with Microsoft... If I pass the 2nd round, then I need to go to Hyderabad for the 3rd round of interview and probably the 4th one too.

If I was happy because of the amount of interview calls I was receiving and the number of interviews I was attending after a 5 years break, I was tired  at the same time because of the amount of travel that I was making by running around various companies for interviews. And after 2 weeks of continuous interviews I was dog-tired, and nauseated. But as the saying goes.. "All is well that ends well"... I did end up with a good offer from one of the companies... though I am currently looking forward for the outcome of the interview with Microsoft, I am not attending any more interviews.

The biggest challenge for me during the entire process of job hunting was to reject the offer from Patni... When the interview was scheduled, I wasn't informed either by the consultant nor by the Patni HR, that the position was for Dell.  I was only told that the client was Dell and the first interview will be conducted by the client. Only after attending 2 rounds of interview from Dell, did I realize that the opening is actually for Dell and Patni was doing what is called as "body shopping". And at the same time the news about iGate taking over Patni was announced. All these made me not to go for Patni... But saying "No" to Patni was the biggest challenge since the consultant was hell bent on making me, forcing me accept the job offer from Patni. I had to have a couple of professional fights too with the consultant and more than half-hour discussion with the Patni HR before making them understand that I was seriously not interested in moving to Patni. and to Dell. I  had/have nothing against Patni, Dell or iGate... But it was just that I didn't want to join Patni and work in a different company day-in and day-out.

We learn something or the other each and every day... and this entire process of job hunting did teach me a thing or two. The first thing I learned after the Patni incident was that the life of a consultant is not easy. They get perks, extra money only when a candidate gets a job offer. No job offer no proper salary for the consultant and he might even lose his job which is in a way ridiculous and in a way embarrassing. The second thing I learned was that do not ever accept too many interview calls in a short period of time. It will  not only exhaust you physically and mentally but may also become a reason for failing in interviews!!

Wishing myself a happy future in the next company. :)

A trip to Kudremukha - Execution 2

The route to hanuman gunDi (ಹನುಮಾನ್ ಗುಂಡಿ ಜಲಪಾತ) falls is a scenic one. The road is constructed on a valley and due to frequent raining  for a few months now, the surrounding was lush green with breathtaking scenic spots. On the way to hanuman gunDi falls we got down a couple of times from the cab to take pictures of the beautiful scenery in front of us.

hanuman gunDi falls

hanuman gunDi falls is an exotic locale which is just a few kilometers from the Sringeri town. One can find a board directing the people about the falls when we travel from Singeri towards Kudremukha though the entrance to the falls is right next to the main road. The falls is formed by the water falling from a height of nearly 100 feet. And it is maintained by the forest department . So the entrance fee to the water falls was Rs 30.00/- per person, which I feel is quite OK. Also the place is well maintained, though the tourists aren't worried much about maintaining the same.

We spent nearly 1 to 2 hours at hanuman gunDi falls, though we didn't get into water or even wet ourselves a little bit!! Guess this is just another reason for all of us to visit this place once again in the future... :) To go near the water, one has to climb down the stairs. I'd like to caution the weak people against getting down since the path is quite steep and might seem to be dangerous too. Nevertheless at certain places, small concrete benches have been laid out for one to take rest.

Full view of the water falls

After climbing up we bought cut-pieces of pineapple fruit (locally called as parangi - ಪರಂಗಿ) Don't know if it was hunger or if the fruit was really tasty, but we felt we had had the finest pineapple of our life until then. A plate of pineapple containing nearly 7 or 8 thin slices of the fruit cost Rs. 10.00/-. We had, probably, 5 plates of the same and then started moving towards our next destination - gangamoola (ಗಂಗಾಮೂಲ).

gangamoola is said to be the birthplace of 3 rivers namely tunga (ತುಂಗಾ), bhadra (ಭದ್ರ) and nethravathi (ನೇತ್ರಾವತಿ) though we couldn't find the any proof for the same. It is again on the way to kudremukha from sringeri after hanuman gunDi falls. The actual place is a kilometer from the main road and one has to walk the entire distance from the main road.  The path is a scenic grassland and a photographer's paradise. If you are a photographer and dying to take a panoramic photograph, then this can be your best opportunity. Try it once and you will never repent. But don't forget to take your tripod! ;)

Milestone directing the travelers to gangamoola

gangamoola

We do not know what we saw was actually gangamoola or there was something else much above our reach. We saw a huge rock and some water under it. Since we were already hungry and didn't have enough energy to climb further, we took photos of the same and returned to our vehicle. We went to our next destination - Lakya Dam.

Our itinerary had "Jamalabad fort" too. But it was strange to know that none of the locals knew or had any information about this famous fort built by Tipu Sultan. We asked quite a lot of them and each one replied the same. They haven't seen any fort in the area, and they haven't heard of anybody ask for it before. One person even went on to say that Tipu had built only one fort which is in Mysore. Little did he know that Tipu had built several forts and most of us had already seen at least 4-5 of them in and around Bangalore and Mysore. With no help available we had to drop this place from our list and move towards Lakya Dam.

Random pictures - Continued

2. Pictures taken at Kudremukha, Chikmagalur Taluk, Karnataka, India

hanuman gunDi falls

Grass land on the way to gangamoola

Some shrubs at gangamoola

Close up of hanuman gunDi falls

A breath-taking view of kudremukha range
from kudremukha peak

A far-away view of kudremukha peak

Another view of the closely laid kudremukha hill ranges.

A full view of hanuman gunDi falls

Panoramic view of wester ghats from kudremukha peak

Another panoramic view

One more panoramic view of the cloud covered western ghats hill ranges

A small flower - found on the way to gangamoola

Shot at Lalbagh - 14th August 2010 - on the occasion of
India Independence Day

A sugar candy - a child's delight.