Two more days and my vacation comes to an end. A lot was planned for but not everything worked the way I wanted it to. The North/NE trip didn’t materialize, the bamboo shelter remains an open chapter and the Kanyakumari-Delhi ride somehow just cascaded into oblivion. But a lot DID work out of the blue – I had an amazing trip down south, got a hang of living on a restricted budget, walked a couple of nice business deals to closure with a decent profit and also earned a couple of bucks by just reviewing stuff. I now have the confidence of eking out a living by doing meaningful things than just doing some mundane job! And an icing on the cake – The research proposal clicked. I just couldn’t have asked for a better vacation!

b

Looking back on other aspects, I definitely have slacked a bit in terms of the outdoor activities. I’ve not been running and cycling as much as I wanted too. Probably it’s just the heat thats keeping me indoors. I definitely don’t want this to be on the downswing so I’ve revisited this years targets. Last year I’d ridden about 1300kms so this time I’ve set my target to 2500kms. On the running front I need to finish a Full Marathon in about 3h45m. – The August Hyderabad Marathon should be a good target. Given that I’m heading out to Pune these numbers should be pretty much reachable, but only time will tell.

b

Coming to think of it, I am going to miss Hyderabad badly. It’s not that this is the first time I’m moving out of here. For four years during my undergrad and one year during my Infosys work life I’ve been away from the city. But then, I did have scope to head back as and when I pleased. This flexibility I’m sure not going to have for the next two years considering the kind of work I’ll be doing in the fellowship. I guess this time its going to be a long good bye to Irani chai and the Hyderabadi Hindi! I got to know quite a few interesting people through the Infosys journey and it’s sad I’m having to part ways just three years through. But the amazing time I’ve spent with them will truly remain embalmed.

b

In the month of July, most of my family would be coming down from the States for a  long vacation in India. I’m afraid I would be able to spend just a day or two with them. Opting to stay back in India, I just didn’t get to see the kids grow up and its sad I will not be able to be with them when they’re here. The way things work!

b

All this aside, I hope to make the next two years, one truly memorable journey. A journey figuratively interspersed with stations big and small, transgressing routes known and unknown. A journey that would ask of me in giving my ultimate best in understanding, motivating and hopefully transforming the lives of the kids out there. This part of my life, this little part, I hope marks the beginning of a fresh story. A story that gets the pages turning on and on. Fingers crossed…

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Well, today is the ninth day as an ‘Outfoscion’ and despite the initial hiccups the transition has been real smooth. It took me a couple of days to let the feeling really sink in and to get adjusted to the relaxed carefree schedule of my self imposed ‘break’ before I join TFI.  The first two days were probably the most demanding in terms of getting ‘acclimatised’. I wake up at seven in the morning and I already have a feeling of not having done anything. Preparing a relaxed breakfast [ as much as I was looking forward to] for some weird reason looked quite  boring.12:00 at noon, I realise there’s no company for lunch. And at about six as I sit before the lappy after a long siesta, the peace seemed to be even more troubling than the incessant honks from the traffic that my ear has got accustomed to from the past three years. But after a couple of days it was as if the sea had calmed down altogether. I could swiftly alter my body cycle to adjust to this ‘new phase’ of my life and the days are no more ‘boring’.  Every other day I’m reminded of some job that I’d long left unattended and to see them being closed out one by one by itself gives me  some kind of an achievement…Well, Now is when I guess I best appreciate when people say It’s kinda nice to slow done every once in a while…

Late tomorrow evening I would be off to Pune to attend an informal get-together with other folks who would be joining me for the TFI fellowship. Even before I meet them in person, I’m thoroughly stumped by the diversity that each of them are bringing with them in terms of their past work/study experiences. Excited is just not the word I can use here! And then after the Pune visit, unless my ticket gets confirmed I guess I would be traveling in a unreserved compartment for about 32hours to reach Palakkad[Kerala]. During this break, I initially wanted to tour all around Kerala as I was sure I wouldn’t be getting this opportunity again..But giving it some more thought, I figured I wouldn’t really gain much just roaming around and decided to spend more time with my people out there. Eventually It loomed on me that I should take time out and visit Paruammai . As far back as my memory traces, Paruammai’s been one woman in the whole family who has seen my generation take birth and grow up to what we are today. She moved in as a maid and became a intrinsic part of the family. Overtime as she grew old and moved back to her village – Pallavur with a wish to spend her last days there. It’s been a while that we’ve heard from her and I hope she’s still moving around in the village. She would probably be in her 90s now!! At times I wonder how we as humans just keep moving on and on without taking time out to stop, appreciate and thank those who’ve done so much for us…With a hope that age hasn’t taken a toll on her, I just cant’ wait to see her in person and have a long long chat with her.

Post the Pallavur visit, I plan to head directly to Trivandrum and spend some real good time with my grandmom. Then there’s this Munnar trip saddled along with a friends’ wedding blocked during the last week of march. If things don’t take an wild turn I probably would be back to Hyd by 6th of April. Haven’t as yet figured out what I’d be doing till the end of April. At least for now, the Ladakh or North East plan stays canceled for various constraints. But I’m not really bothered, Will take things as they unfurl…

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Today was my last day in Infosys – An end of  2.8yrs of  learning to be a software engineer and trying to ‘fit in the groove’ for having followed the mass psyche…Thankfully before it got too late,  I realised IT wasn’t really my cup of tea and decided to trust my instincts rather than follow the herd. There’s so much that Infosys as a company has taught me in this short span that I’m sure I’d reflect back to those wonderful days and experiences over time as I switch roles and careers.

There’s this tradition that folks out here follow of sending an adieu e-mail on the last day and I didn’t want to break it. So here goes mine…

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On March 10^th, even before dawn breaks in, I would be out there on the asphalt roads – Running and training like never before. As I fix my morning breakfast and coffee, I would no longer have to bother about missing the 07:00am Bus. The very thought that I would not have to travel 30kms to reach my workplace gives me a sense a freedom like never before. Life’s just getting better by the day!

As I walk out of the gates on 9th, my 2.8 yrs in Infosys would come to an end. And today as I look back, I see I’ve taken more than what I’ve given to the company. It’s been a stupendous journey. I was lucky to be part of a budding unit and to have real cool managers; to be in a Production support project for about eight months and then a Process centric project for close to 1.5years. I never was keen on doing technical stuff and I’m so glad I wasn’t compelled to do it either! I flunked my certification five times and I’ve absolutely no regrets. The day I was offered a job as a Software engineer, I decided I would work on my terms and would not accept subjugation at any cost. I somehow felt my personal life was far more important than my work life. I stood by Kantabai’s philosophy [Itna Paisa Mein Itna Ich Milenga] and most of the days; I was in by 8 and out by 5. I can count on my fingers the number of days I’ve worked over time or over the weekends – All this without sacrificing on timelines or deadlines.

Considering my interests, Both the LexisNexis project at Pune and the Pfizer Change Management project here in Hyderabad have been highly satisfying. I simply couldn’t have bargained for more! Liaising with various teams across timezones, Scheduling releases and the best part – Anchoring escalation calls is something I’d cherish for years to come. I still wonder why people are so much against working in non-technical projects. There’s an equal amount of pressure and thrill involved and neither really gives you more pay than the other…So what’s the big deal?

Over the last two years, Infosys has given me an amazing platform to meet and network with quite a few real cool and interesting people. I’ve been part of dance teams [Hyd Milan ‘08] and skit plays [Raheem beedi!] which I’m sure I wouldn’t have pitched into but for my amazing team mates. I’ve been part of outdoor adventure groups [AdVentura and eventually HydVentura] and Biking groups [Thunderbolts] which I’m badly going to miss as I plummet out of Infosys in a couple of days.  I picked up the guitar and tried my hands at Budokan Karate.[Haven’t made much progress on these but am sure will get back to complete this unfinished job!]. I’m going to miss all the events and DJ nights that keep happening so very frequently. And last but not the least I’m going to badly miss you folks who’ve always been out there to mimic back those thirty-two shining teeth. The lunches, the outings, the coffee breaks and the cross cubicle volley-ball games – It’s as if I’m putting a full-stop abruptly and vanishing out into the blue…

But I’m shit excited. Excited about the uncertainty that’s going to be with me, about the financial instability, about the responsibilities I’d be taking on, about the people I’m going to meet and more so about the kids whom I’ll be teaching and eventually learning from for the next two years. I’ve still not exactly figured what I’m going to do with my life. But I guess that’s what’ll keep me on my feet every day from now. Post my fellowship at TeachforIndia, I would probably pursue my childhood dream of having a ‘Dr.’ in front of my name or probably start something of my own. There are a lot of ifs and buts involved and I hope to figure the evens and odds in the two month break that I’d be taking. Guess I’ll just do what I’m best at – Backpacking across the country, trying to sink with the locals and take some real good time off. This phase of my life would probably be about crossing the narrow rickety bridge spanning hundreds of metres over a deep ravine – Options galore, But not really sure of what’s at the other end…Life’s just getting fabulous!

One March 9^th, One chapter ends and yet another begins and before I put a bookmark; I just want to stop by and thank you for having made this one memorable journey, to say the least. If you happen to stop by Pune /Mumbai over the next two years, do buzz me or fire me an e-mail…I’d be all the more eager to hear the scoop from your end. For the next few days I should be reachable on 9885913093 and if not, I’ll just be a googol away…

Signing off with tons of sugar [and two ounces of salt…]

Warm Regards,

Srikanth S. Perinkulam
I Hike | I Bike | I Run | I Volunteer | I Read | I Blog | I Tweet
And for all this … I Work

M: +91 9885913093 | W: +91 040 67060198

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Reached home quite late after an active day at work. Scrapped the ‘New year party’ plan and decided to crash after a quick dinner. A perfunctory check of my e-mail throws about twenty ‘greeting’ mails. I invariably tend to shift+delete such e-mails as I prefer talking over the phone to e-mails/SMS/IM. But one particular mail from my sister just swept me off my feet..- ‘may this new year bring you closer and closer to everything you want to do…‘ These simple words are something that have stood by me all through. Miles away, she’s someone who’s been such a wonderful source of motivation for each and everything I do – day in and day out and I couldn’t see any better way of thanking her than warding off my sleep to take snapshot of the amazing year 0f 2009!

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Couple of weeks back when I received an e-mail from Vibha from the GHAC group regarding a basic first aid certification course, I immediately RSVP’d as YES. This was not something I would miss at any cost. Having miraculously walked out unscathed through two major accidents, it was a lesson learnt the hard way to be equipped with at least minimal knowledge of first-aid. My futile attempts to try out CPR on a badly injured neighbour whom I was pillion riding with 9 years back and the Oil tanker incident four years back where I was equally helpless flashed out of memory as the detailed practical session commenced.Though I could not attend the whole two day program due to personal commitments, it was indeed one of the most fruitful programs / meets I’ve attended of late.

Unfortunately, here in India, most of us take things only on the frontal perspective. You do not learn or do something unless it is mandated and the pivotal source of information is available only to those who choose to delve in. Its an irony that even preliminary information is not dissipated to the masses and even if it is, it is done in the most rudimentary form that effectively does not make sense. Basic first aid sessions is something I guess every individual should be introduced to, irrespective of age. To be able to sustain a weaning life and if required, be responsible to keep the flame burning is a chance that we always hope does not cross our paths. But given todays’ fast paced life and highly inorganic growth in the cities, chances are pretty remote that you would see a day pass by without hearing an Ambulance hooting out there on the roads.

Given the fact that I’m much more active outdoors than indoors [I sometimes wonder how I even ended being a Software Engineer!],  I’ve decided to update this post as and when I come across relevant information catering to first aid. That said, there’s absolutely no substitute to practical demonstration. So do attend a certification course whenever possible!

• In case of any eventuality perform DR. ABC – Look out for Danger, Check for Response, Check for Airway clearance, Check for Breathing, Check for Circulation
  • Look out for Danger – [Electrical live wires, Wild animals etc.  - Keep yourself safe and then only attempt rescue]
  • Check for Response – Do NOT tap on the cheeks. Do NOT shake the body vigorously. Try vocal stimuli [call the patients name] and speak into his/her ears if required, shake the shoulders gently.
  • Check for Airway clearance – In most of the cases, airway could be blocked by the tongue. Gently shift the face to either left or right and maintain in that position for about 15seconds.
  • Check for Breathing – Raise the chin gently and sense if the person is breathing.
  • Check for Circulation – With the first two fingers check for the Carotid pulse. [ Check adjacent to the adams apple].
• Pictographic representation of CPR [Source: http://southjerseycpr.com/]

• While shifting the patient to the hospital in case of non-availability of ambulance, make it a point to keep the persons head tilted to the left or right.
• If patient shows signs of life and you’re waiting for an ambulance, get the patient to posture 6.

Related links :

• Mayo Clinic-First Aid
  
• U.S Army Survival Manual

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