Inverse Karma

Finally I’ve found time to write something on IK once again. If you had read my last post Heya!, you would know that I’m away from home, away from unlimited internet access, and away from an Indian-style toilet.

It’s almost a month since I’ve been here, and here goes my tirade on all things good and bad in my new life.

The setting

My training campus happens to be the largest corporate university in the world. There’s the majestic Roman-style GEC-2 (Global Education Center), the Origami-based SDB-4 (Software Development Block) which looks like one giant love letter gone wrong, the Geodesic Multiplex which looks like “a crystallized golf ball” as a friend colleague put it, and the fabric roof Oasis food court. While all these might be breathtaking at first, what really is breath-stopping is the female population here. My company has redefined eye-candy. Another thing to be proud of is that the company takes so many steps to reduce the ecological footprint of the campus – auto switch-off lights, auto switch-off taps, recycled water for landscaping, strict electricity usage guidelines – the list is endless. And the icing on the cake? 5 star accommodation! Nothing can beat watching HBO late at night on my LCD TV, pizza in hand.

Queue queue queue!

I’ve grown wary of queues. There’s a queue for food, a queue for movie tickets, a queue at the Laundromat, a queue at the swipe machine, a queue at the gym.. The only thing for which I don’t have to wait in a queue is to go to the loo!

DJ Night

Okay, so I’m not known for my moves. In fact the only moves I can make are sitting, standing and walking! But then the DJ Night happened. One night of every month, all of us get to go nuts at the Amphitheatre, when the dance floor is open to all of us, no holds barred. Awesome dance music, psychedelic lighting and one crazy crowd complete the night. I’ve never felt so much energy in my life, ever before. Pure bliss.

ILI

The Infosys Leadership Institute is the place where they mould every employee into a complete corporate professional. The ILI sessions teach us about global effectiveness, interpersonal skills, business etiquette, reading & writing skills and what not. But one very important takeaway from these sessions is the number of people you get to know. I made friends from almost every single part of the country, and that has taught me how much diversity there is truly in our country.

Babel, Babble

Here’s an exercise for all of you. Try finding out which language (and the dialect) these lines are in.

“Arrey yaar, yeh kya bakwaas kar raha hai” – In class.

“Spoon ekkadra?” – In the food court.

“Machi endha figurum namma kitta paesa maatengudhu da!” – Restroom.

With around 10,000 people inside the campus, you always hear chatter all around you (in different languages, all at the same time). All the different languages and the dialects can easily scare the crap out of a Tamil guy. A thing to remember is that Tamilnadu is the only state where they don’t give importance to Hindi as a secondary language in school. And they call it “Tamizh patru”. Seriously, people should find better ways of expressing that feeling.

Romance

No, I’m not talking about my latest crush! This is in fond memory of all those loving (or horny!?!) couples that suddenly spring out after 10 PM. With all the maddening test schedules and assignments, people need to unwind – and they’ve found some pretty interesting ways of doing that. Couples are frequently seen cuddling up late at night and.. you know.. doing.. stuff! When we hang around and come across some of those species (the people in love are just different from humans altogether), the guys go “Machi machi.. anga paarra! Thadavu thadavu’nu thadavuraan da!”. Well, may be the guy’s gone through a dangerously long dry spell. For once, let us learn to leave lovers in peace!

And.. The tests!

And of course, all the talk about the rigorous training is no myth. While we have all this, tests and projects can be pretty taxing. Around 80% of the trainees stay back in class after End Of Day to continue studying. In fact, most of them leave class only at midnight, when the air conditioner and the fans are automatically switched off!

That’s it for now. Time flies by at such a fast pace that I still can’t believe that I’ve been here for a month now! Stay tuned for more updates. Hopefully I get to post some pictures of the campus and my life here!

Welcome back amigo! Check out the homepage for latest posts or the archives for older posts.

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