Travel in Austria

Austria is a strange country. When the railway platform displays the arrival time of a train as 9:07, it arrives exactly at 9:07 and not anytime between 11 and 2, as it would in normal places.

They aren't content with just trains being on time, by the way. Cities like Vienna have buses, trams and five different subway lines apart from the regular inter-city trains. All this, but not a single autorickshaw charging oneandaff anywhere in sight. Weird.

We made use of all modes of transport in Austria. Buses, where you could either buy tickets from the driver after getting on board, or use a city card which entitles you to hop on to any bus, tram or subway train within the city. The Salzburg city card for instance worked really well for us, as it allowed us free use of buses, as well as entry to almost all the major tourist attractions.

Vienna had trams too, which were Spider-Man approved:

We used the Austrian Federal Railways portal to book tickets for inter city travel, like getting from Vienna to Hallstatt. Like pretty much everything else in Austria, the site is efficient and works well all the time.

These trains have a catered dining service called Henry, which serves coffee and sandwiches. No samosas though.

We hopped on to a ferry as well, connecting the Hallstatt railway station to the city center.

The only problem we faced was on the train from Salzburg to Venice, where we hadn't reserved seats in advance. We had to walk across carriages with our luggage looking for unallocated seats, which could have been avoided if I had the presence of mind to book seats as well. No one really makes room for you either, unlike our trains in India. Again, efficient and effective, but not really the friendliest place in the world.

But it is one of the most beautiful. More on that later.

Mohan Lal's Favourite City

I blame Sai Kumar. I don't think I'd have wanted to visit Vienna if not for that one line remark from Aaram Thamburan, where he reminds Mohan Lal of his favorite city. Of all the places in all the world, why Vienna? Eighteen years later, a wife, two kids and a couple of weeks away from work, I decided to find out.

Planning for a European holiday starts at least a year in advance. I wanted to do this the right way, so I spent a few months googling for 'Vacation in Europe'. I then took a couple of months trying to create a Google Map with those nice red pin thingummys spread over Europe, indicating where we planned to visit. Another month was spent in trying to locate the right travel planning site which would take those red pins and give me a detailed travel itinerary, including costs of tickets, coffee and samosas. I spent hours on sites that provided detailed information on the weather, what to wear, food, drink and traveling with children.

Armed with all this, I was ready for the board meeting with my wife and kids. I outlined the principles I had come up with, spoke about the areas we would cover, and was about to get into the do's and don'ts when my six year old promptly vetoed the whole plan as it did not include Paris. Why Paris? Because his best friend has been there and he needs to go too. Not to be outdone, my eleven year old daughter jumped in and asked for Athens. Because Percy Jackson. I was wondering how to include Vienna, Paris and Athens in my proposed tour of the Scottish distilleries art museums of Scotland, when my wife, the Chairperson of the board, declared that we will visit Italy and Austria. Because Chairperson.

And that was that.

Speaking Up, Again

This is a short piece I wrote for the Women's Network at work, recycled from an eight year old post.

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I confess I'm at a loss when asked to write or talk about diversity in the workplace. I'm no program leader, neither am I an expert on the topic. There's realms of research done by professionals which prove out the benefits of having a diverse workforce, all just a Google search away. 

One topic that's close to my heart though, is about speaking up. We don't do it often enough, irrespective of gender. This could be due to cultural and social reasons with us living in an hierarchical society, but the impact remains the same. We don't really raise our hand and contribute our ideas when faced with challenges. Our solutions to problems tend to be one sided and linear, as the problem solvers wind up being the same kind of people most of the time. On the other hand, if we were to encourage diverse views from a heterogenous mix of contributors, the solutions turn out to be richer and long lasting. 

Speaking up is also about getting involved. Having the courage to challenge existing authority, or as you will see in the story below, standing up for what's right. What follows is a true story about someone who displayed a lot of courage and did the right thing. I've always found this inspirational, hope you will too.

There was this private bus which ferries doctors to and fro from their college in Hoskote. It stops near the Hope Farm in Whitefield, cuts through ITPL and then hits the Outer Ring Road. This bus was blocked by two drunks one evening near the Hope Farm junction. One of them got on board and started abusing the driver for driving through that area. Apparently, the drunk mistook the bus for a public transport vehicle.

The abuse turned violent when the drunk pushed the driver out of the bus and started hitting him with a thick, flat stone. Blood started pouring from the driver's head. The people in the bus looked on, unsure of what to do, not wanting to get involved. People on the road stood and stared, as they always do. 

A woman stepped out of the bus and ran towards the fight. She positioned herself between the drunk and the driver, stretched out an arm and said,"You will not touch him again". 

The drunk tightened his grip on the stone, said "I don't care for ladies. Step aside or I'll hit you too". The lady didn't reply, but kept her arm outstretched. The drunk moved around in a circle, trying to see if he could get closer. The woman moved with him, making sure the driver was protected. The drunk stopped short of hitting her, but tried a few lunges from time to time. The woman maintained her position, not saying a word, not budging an inch. 

This was the tableau when the cops arrived, ten minutes after the lady had intervened. The drunk tried to run away, but couldn't go far. The cops caught him, brought him close to the lady and asked her to identify him. She did. The cops hauled the drunk away and took the driver to a nearby hospital. The lady took her cellphone, called her husband and asked him to come get her home. 

Which is what I did.

Movie quiz at the office

Here's a Dropbox link to a movie quiz I conducted at the office the other day. Meant for the faint-hearted, not the expert quizzers out there.

And here are the answers. Enjoy!

Speak Up!

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard the following statement in performance reviews: “He is a great engineer. Keeps quiet and does his job.” Most managers nod after hearing this, acknowledge the engineer and discuss a totally different person for promotion. I’ve also lost count of the number of engineers who get frustrated at not getting promoted after being told they are doing a great job.

Why does this happen so often, especially in the Indian software industry? Here are a couple of reasons why I, as a manager, tend to pass over the quiet folks when looking for a senior engineer who can excel as a leader.

First, I expect the senior engineer to be able to influence her peers and business leaders, especially across geographies. I work in India, in the software product development space, where the ability to be crisp and clear in describing your point of view is extremely important. The engineer could be talking to architects, product managers or heads of business units, who may not have a lot of time to spend in detailed discussions. If the engineer is a quiet recluse who finds it difficult to open up and speak in a broad setting, I will not have the confidence that she can influence business and technology direction for the product she is working on. On the other hand, a person who is articulate and can convey her point in a few sentences would be far more effective.

Second, I also expect the engineer to mentor and motivate other engineers. I’d like him to set an example, be a person other engineers can look up to and learn from. I’d like him to help nurture ten other engineers like him, which would raise the team’s overall performance. I would need to see evidence that the engineer can act as an energy amplifier, before deciding to promote him. Here again, a quiet person who does his job well may not be the best possible candidate.

I do realize this topic could be controversial, especially in India where we have been taught to be quiet in schools, and often rapped on the knuckles if we speak up. However, the more we speak up, the more confident we get, the more influential we become. Changing the world is then just a step away.

How to get to heaven and what to do there (Part 4)

You spend a good part of the next morning applying suntan lotion, as you discover you've turned a very dark shade of brown overnight. Of course, it would have helped to do this before your trip to the sunny, snow covered hills of Sonamarg, but you go ahead and apply it anyway. Better late than never, as you always say.

You spend the day dutifully visiting the Mughal gardens in Srinagar, as you've been instructed to by friends. You ooh and ah at the first garden, Shalimar, privately thinking that Lalbagh was better. The second, Nishat, does have its charm, though. Tulip, the third garden is surprisingly enough, all about tulips. You find red tulips, yellow tulips, orange, pink and a few other shades you never believed existed. You find that you've covered only a tenth of the park, but by then you have seen enough tulips to last you a lifetime.

How to get to heaven and what to do there (Part 3)

Alright, let's get down to business. You are here for the snow. You've heard stories about it, you've seen it in hundreds of movies, you've always dreamt of throwing snowballs at everyone, especially at the Bangalore drivers who cut in from the left.

You hire a cab to Sonamarg, it's a ninety minute drive from Srinagar. The family starts cheering when you spot the first blob of snow on the road. It's a brownish-white muddy mess, but you stop and take a dozen pictures. Your driver points at you and laughs helplessly.

The terrain changes quickly. You see more of white, less of brown. You arrive at the foot of a snow covered hill. There are tents, small houses and hundreds of Kashmiri guides all around. 

You get out of the car and try to go with the least intimidating bunch. You do need to rent snow boots anyway. You are not sure if you need a guide though, you try walking up. You cover thirty feet and stop, legs aching, gasping for breath. 

The guides come by again, they tell you that they can take you up the hill on their sleds, they can show you parts of Sonamarg that you wouldn't be able to see on your own. The lead guide is all of seventeen years old. He says he will need to wait five hours till he gets his turn again. It's a token based system, apparently. You agree, he and his friends start pulling you and your family uphill. It's not the proudest moment of your life. 

Then again, it's probably one of the most spectacular.