In Kochi Again

I guess, going back to your home town or home state is a desire most people will have after working outside for a longer period. And I had many more reasons to go back to Kerala. So, I had to quit MindTree, which doesn't have an office in Kerala, last month to make my home coming happen.

I joined IdenitityMine (www.identitymine.com) at Kochi last week as a Tech Lead. IdentityMine (IM) is a small software development company based in US and having offices in Tacoma, WA and Kochi, Kerala. IM works directly with Microsoft on the new technologies that are yet to be released or getting released, developing applications that showcase the features of these technologies. As of now IM has around 25 employees at US office and 18 employees (I am the 18th!) at Kochi office.

I liked the office and setup here, though it is very small in size. Office is located on NH47 bypass between Palarivattom and Vyttila, near Popular Hyundai showroom. I took an apartment for rent near Vyttila which is around 2kms from my office. Apartment rents are rising here, but still I got a new three bedroom flat for Rs.5,500 rent per month.

As of now I am undergoing training on these latest technologies from Microsoft (WPF, Silverlight, etc.) and hopes to start working on the projects after a month or so.

Being back in Kochi after two and half years is surely a pleasing experience. I will start posting about more news from my life in Kochi soon.

Back in Bangalore

I am back in Bangalore again. The trip back from US to my home town was safe and on time (even though it was by Air India ;)). I spent three weeks at home taking rest and filling in for the missed time with family. My mother and grand mother were the happiest as I had nothing else to do other than sitting at home relaxing and doing house hold works. My younger brothers were the ones who did all these jobs but now that they are also out of home for studies, I had to follow up such things. I was busy all these days with tasks like cleaning the water tank, doing the grocery shopping, getting kerosene from ration shop (Yeah… they, both kerosene and ration shop, still exists; and people are still using kerosene for cooking stoves when LPG supply is limited), waiting at the long queues to pay electricity bills and so on.

Nothing much has changed at least in the villages in Kerala other than the impact of Harthals. There were many Harthals in the recent days and surprisingly people are cooperating with it no matter which party called for it and for what cause. Looks like all are enjoying the total stoppage of life by taking rest at home doing nothing. Soon there will be Harthal special TV shows and movies!

Bangalore is still the same with pollution and traffic chaos. The short walk from the room to office across the street is enough to start hating Bangalore. Let us see what is waiting for me here.

Good Bye America

It’s been exactly one year since I landed in America. Due to some important personal priorities I decided to go back to India for good. A decision I took after careful thoughts and a decision I will not regret in future (I hope). But I had to do lot of explaining wherever I go as everybody wondered why I am losing out on a lifetime opportunity to get settled in US. Well… US is not that far away now… I have my visas still valid and I can be back here if I wish so in future.

The last few weeks in US were eventful. The same frustration and troubles I had faced while settling down here was repeated when I had to get myself detached from here. Starting from vacating the apartment, ending electricity, internet and phone connections to selling my car and house hold items was another kind of experience. Nobody was willing to give me back my deposit in time and I am keeping my bank account open and fingers crossed while waiting for their checks. When the person who is supposed to replace me at work here didn’t get the visa in time, I had to extend my stay for two more weeks in the last minute and stay in a hotel near by the office.

During the farewell lunch given by colleagues I was asked what I will be missing most in America once I go back. It will be the good long roads here. I thoroughly enjoyed driving nice vehicles on nice roads without any hassles (and without any Police tickets). Then it will be the varieties of food ranging from the Sirloin burger at ‘Jack in the Box’ to Asiago Chicken at ‘Apple Bees’.

Did I enjoy my one year stint in US? Yes… very much. Actually this has now become my longest stint abroad and the only place where I felt like settling down for a longer time. Good money, best infrastructure, clean environment, friendly people … reasons are many for falling in love with this country. The only problem I see is the longer waiting periods for getting the residency/citizenship or even visas for that matter. If our folks from home have to come here urgently, we will be helpless if the visa gets rejected. And it takes more than a day to reach home from here in case of emergencies.

I may come back again… but for now… good bye America!

Bronze Animals in Dallas

Now that we have decided to go back to India from US for good, it is time to focus on the sights in and around Dallas. Who knows if we will be able to come back to this place again or not. So spent a weekend day to shoot, well, the famous bronze animals in Dallas.

The first group known as 'Mustangs of Las Colinas' is located inside the Williams Square in Las Colinas area. There were nine larger-than-life bronze mustangs galloping across a granite stream.

Created by African wildlife artist Robert Glen, the Mustangs are the largest equestrian sculpture in the world. Water was pumped up from the stream at their feet giving a beautiful view of splashing water while mustangs gallop across it.

The next set was at the Pioneer Park in Down town. A herd of cattles (I could not count all of them; there were many) driven by few cow boys who are on horseback.

The longhorns were coming down the hill and was heading to an open space crossing a stream.

Tyler - America's Rose Capital

Tyler is a city 100 miles away from Dallas and is famous for its roses. It's been in my 'To Visit Before I Go' list since long time. More over I now have a friend, who is living and working there. I met this guy through our Malayali friends network here and was happy to know that his native place was not very far from my home town Manjeri. He is such a nice chap and his love for the Malappuram dialect of Malayalam is still so burning even after many years continuous life in US.

We started the trip at Morning and had a relaxed two hour plus drive enjoying the greenery of pine trees that dotted the sides of interstate highway I-20.

My friend was busy at his gas station and we spent few hours there waiting for his staff to turn up to replace him. While waiting there, I tried to understand the details of how these gas station plus 'you get everything here' shop is run.

The 5 security cameras inside the shop were covering all the areas and he was able to watch every nook and corner of the shop from his office room or even from his home through the connected portal using internet. It was possible to zoom in/out and pan the camera through mouse clicks enabling him to read even the numbers of an invoice!

We headed for a lunch buffet at a Chinese restaurant there and had a heavy meal. By then it was already evening and was getting late to see what Tyler is famous for.

The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden was supposed to have acres of roses of different colors and varieties. But it was the season of pruning, and we ended up enjoying the garden with few roses left here and there. Nevertheless, the garden was beautiful and there were bridal parties busy with photo sessions.

While returning, drove some miles off the highway to see the scenic country side and it was worth the time.