Advice - Quote

People will not bear it when advice is violently given, even if it is well founded. Hearts are flowers; they remain open to the softly falling dew, but shut up in the violent downpour of rain. -- John Paul Richter

shared By - Haroon

The Gender Bender!!!

We are a part of the IT industry where in there is no existence without a computer. Our normal (working) day begins with a computer and ends with one, but did we ever realize that the computer, which we have been using so diligently what can we refer to is as, a male or a female..have been ?
Well if you are a French or a Spanish or speaking that language, then may be you would ponder over the same.

How about taking a small break from our hectic schedules of working effortlessly on cutting-edge technologies, CRMs for Real Estate, Health Care & Event Management Companies, ERPs, MOSS, Portal Solutions, Asset Management Solutions, RFIDs, Bar code Solutions, Employee Relationship Management Solutions (including Human Resource Management)  and CloudERP (phew!!!....well quite an exhaustive list I must say) and let us spend some light moments.... :)

So finally... What is a computers gender? .... Male or Female?

A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.'

'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.'

A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computadora'), because:

1.. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2 The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

(THIS GETS BETTER!)

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ('el computador'), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model...

The women won.

-Najeeb
Octaware Technologies
[Octaware Technologies is a fast growing software development, enterprise solutions and consulting firm]

The Law of Priorities

The very worst use of your time is to do what need not be done at all. The Pareto Principle says that 20% of your activities will account for 80% of the value of your activities. This means that, if you have a list of ten items to accomplish, two of those items will be worth more than the other eight items altogether.

To achieve great things, you must always be concentrating on the small number of activities that contribute the greatest value to your life and your work.

Determine the Consequences

The value of anything in your order of priorities can be measured by assessing the potential consequences of doing it or not doing it. Something that is important has significant consequences to your life and your career. Something that is unimportant has few or no consequences of significance to your life or career. The mark of the superior thinker is your ability to consider possible consequences before you begin.

Ask the Key Question


Continually ask yourself, "What is the most valuable use of my time, right now?" And whatever it is, work on that. Your ability to discipline yourself to work on those few tasks that can make the greatest difference in your life is the key quality that makes everything else possible for you.

Action Exercises
Here is how you can apply this law immediately:

First, make a list of everything that you do as a part of your job. Now, analyze the list and select the three to five things that are more important than everything else put together.

Second, imagine that you are going to receive a $100,000 bonus at the end of the month if you can work on your highest priority items every minute of the day. How would that change your behavior? What would you do differently?

- Shared by Haroon

Practical Lessons from Life - Learning from the VJTI Seminar (Continued)

Part - III

Mr.Aslam Khan

CEO, Octaware Technologies.

One of the other guest speakrs at VJTI was Mr.Aslam Khan, the CEO of Octaware Technologies.

Aslam had whats a successful professional could ever imagine, a US green card, a cushy job at the top of the corporate ladder having the best of lifestyles to stay with (he never lost touch with his roots though) and one fine day he suddenly surrendered his Green Card, chucked all that and returned to India.

Well this was not an impulsive decision, Aslam always had the zeal to do something not just for himself, but for the community and society as well. He believed in not just being successful but according to him he staunchly believe in the proverb “Real Success is making others successful” and he has always lived upto that maxim.

He started a company which is working in cutting edge technologies, such as RFID, Surface computing, ERP, CRM, Portal development, Mobile computing, E commerce etc, with offices in 4 countries and customers across the globe. Here he could be the job provider rather than an employee who's hands are mostly tied, and true to his ideology he did create opportunities for those people as well who had the caliber and the talent but never got an opportunity or a good break. He has believed in creating entrepreneurs in the society along with serving the society and this ideology he has implemented in his Business, in the Hospital (yes he has a hospital as well), diagnostic centre, etc.
(The details (Aslams viewpoint at the Seminar) are available on another bolg posted a few weeks back in this regards by Aslam himself.)

Aslam does not believe in creating only wealth, instead he believes in creating value with wealth for all. As he always insists to the talents who move abroad (Brain Drain), rather than amassing assets for yourselves you should become an asset for your country.

The next installment will be on the excise officer Mr.Patel.

Najeeb
Octaware Technologies
[Octaware Technologies is a fast growing software development, enterprise solutions and consulting firm]

Learning from the VJTI Seminar - Part-II

Elsa D'Silva - Vice President- Route Planning & Charters, Kingfisher Airlines.


Elsa, plans and designs the route plans for aircrafts in Kingfisher Airlines. She is also in-charge of charter flights.

Elsa began her career journey in aviation as a cabin crew (Airhostess) in Jet Airways. She worked in that position for sometime and then appeared for internal examinations in Jet airways called as Fast Track management, and got selected for a a position in the route planning and as she kept on working hard grew further in her ranks.

She then joined Kingfisher Airlines as Manager-Route Planning and then grew to the position of Vice-President with her determination and hardwork.

Elsa, said that what she has learnt from her life is to be determined and focused and never shy away from takings risks and exploring newer avenues in life. She said that had she stayed in her original job when she joined the aviation industry she would not have grown to where she has reached today.

She also said that we need to have a fulfilling and satisfying life as what we earn is for ourselves and those around us and so we should never be miserly in spending on ourselves, our loved ones and those around us and in turn contributing to the society.

As Elsa was explaining about her job profile and her route plans and the nuances of her job, my mind raced towards some of our solutions that we had designed for the Aviation industry , which was an RFID solution for tracking the check-in baggage, which we had proposed to Qatar Airport. This solution as said earlier works on the RFID ( Radio-frequency identification) as explained earlier by Shahnawaz in one of his blog post, RFID is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. An RFID tag is an object that can be attached to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification using radio waves. Most RFID tags contain at least two parts. One is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a radio frequency (RF) signal and perhaps other specialized functions. The second is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal. This can be used for Airlines baggage Handling, Boarding pass, Package handling.

The RFID tags can be attached to the Boarding pass and baggage. It helps in a way such that incase if a passenger picks up a similar looking baggage (belonging to someone else) by mistake, the nearby (strategically) located reader can match the tags on the boarding and baggage and incase of discrepancy an alert can be sounded so that it could be identified that the passenger is with the wrong baggage and this saves:
1. The trouble for passenger taking the wrong baggage to realize only after he opens that bag mostly after reaching home all the way and take the trouble of coming back for his baggage.

2. The trouble and tensions for the passenger whose bag has been wrongly taken.

3. The trouble for the airline to search frantically for the lost baggage and in certain cases compensate the passenger for baggage lost for no fault of the company.

4. Also, helps in preventing any wrongful conduct by someone who wants to deliberately walk away with someone else baggage.

5. Not just that this also reduces chances of baggage being loaded in wrong flights.

6. Also it helps to locate and unload specific baggage from the aircraft baggage hold.

Needless to say we have the technology and the expertise to provide this solution to our customers. The above details is just for one specific industry (transportation), this technology can be used in various industries as well such as Manufacturing, Retails & CPG, Healthcare, Inventory management, Warehouse management, etc.

- Najeeb
Octaware Technologies
[Octaware Technologies is a fast growing software development, enterprise solutions and consulting firm]

Sharpen Your AXE

A beautiful story on constantly upgrading our skills. We must continuously sharpen our axe of knowledge, skill and expertise. Sometime we are too busy in doing our routine work that we don’t get time to increase our knowledge. We don’t get ourselves equipped with latest and emerging technologies in the market which are changing the world. At Octaware, we strive hard and always make effort to provide the opportunity and platform to enhance your skill sets on Microsoft technologies (.NET development, MS CRM, MS AXAPTA and MS SharePoint 2010) and encourage certification in the respective technologies.

The below story is about sharpening our axe to achieve the goals...

-Aslam

Make Every Minute Count

Time management is the central skill of success. Your ability to manage your time, to focus and channel your energies on your highest value tasks, will determine your rewards and your level of accomplishment in life more than any other factor.

Save Hundreds of Hours and Thousands of Dollars in Personal Advancement

Your mind is your most precious asset. You must be continually working to increase the quality of your thinking. One of the best ways is to turn driving time into learning time. Listen to educational CDs or audio cassettes in your car. The average driver, according to the American Automobile Association, drives 12,000 to 25,000 miles each year, spending 500 to 1000 hours that you spend each year in your car. That is the equivalent of 12 1/2 to 25 forty-hour weeks. This is the same as two full university semesters spent behind the wheel of your car each year. Octaware CEO, Aslam Khan has habit of running business from behind the wheel. His follow up calls while driving in Mumbai traffic saves his lot of time and attends regular team sync up.



Use Traveling Time as Learning Time

If you did nothing but use that traveling time as learning time, this decision alone could make you one of the best educated people of your generation. Many people have gone from rags to riches simply by listening to audio programs as they drive to and from work.



Attend Every Seminar

In addition, for personal and professional development; you should attend every seminar you can. You can often save yourself 100's of hours of reading and researching by attending a seminar given by an authority in his or her field. You can learn ideas, techniques and methods that can save you hours, days, even months of hard work and research on your own.



Increase Your Earnings

Remember; to earn more, you must learn more. Your outer world of results will always correspond to your inner world of preparation. Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.



Action Exercises

Now, here are two things you can do to put these ideas to work in your life immediately.
First, purchase an audio program that can help you to be happier and more effective today. Begin listening to it immediately. Resolve never to listen to music when you can turn it into learning.
Second, seek out seminars and training programs given by experts in your field. Sit close to the front, take careful notes, and apply the best ideas that you learn immediately.

-Shared By Haroon

Apple iPad 2

Apple launched is next version of iPad on March 2. It was as always an eventful day for all Apple fans out there. Most importantly Steve Jobs took time off his medical leave and appeared on the launch event. He said Apple has been working on this product for quite a while and he just didn’t want to miss it. The newer version of iPad comes with front and rear cameras for video conferencing and has options to opt for black and white version too.

Some of the important feature of this new version of widget are.

1.  iPad 2 is supposed to be 33% thinner than its previous version. Meaning it is now only 9.3mm as against 13.4mm of iPad 1.
2. Much lighter than the previous version. It is said to be 15% lighter.

Performance.

The new iPad comes up with a new dual core processror named A5. Accordingly to Apple the new processor is two time faster than the earlier one.  It is said that the new iPad has graphics performance 9 times more faster. It comes with latest iOS 4.3. One of the important features being talked during the launch the significant enhancement of Safari browser and porting of Nitro JavaScript engine. One of the accessories Steve talked about during the launch about was the smart covers for the iPad.

To summarize; Apple seems to again rule the Tablet market with these new developments. It has kept the prices of the iPad 2 same as the previous version but with so many new enhancements. So its going to be stiff competition to other competitors in the already getting crowded tablet market. So no wonder when Steve Jobs said during the launch “We think 2011 is going to be the year of iPad 2”.

Siraj

The 90/10 Principle

The 90/10 principle written by The Steven Covey. This article is very touchy, one should read at least one time .
Discover the 90/10 Principle. It will change your life (at least the way you react to situations). What is this principle?

10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react. What does this mean?

We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%.

How? By your reaction. You cannot control a red light. However, you can control your reaction. Do not let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.

Let us use an example: You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just happened. What happens next will be determined by how you react. You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over.

She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus. Your spouse must leave immediately for work.

You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit zone. After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started te rrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home, When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.

Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning. Why did you have a bad day?
A. Did the coffee cause it?
B. Did your daughter cause it?
C. Did the policeman cause it?
D. Did you cause it?

The answer is “D”.

You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day. Here is what could have and should have happened.

Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, “Its ok honey, you just need to be more careful next time”. Grabbing a towel, you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves. You arrive 5 minute s early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.

Notice the difference?

Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended different.

Why? Because of how you REACTED.

You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.

Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle.

If someone says something negative about you, do not be a sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You do not have to let the negative comment affect you! React properly and it will not ruin your day. A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, getting stressed out etc.

How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic?

* Do you lose your temper?
* Pound on the steering wheel? A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall Off)
* Do you curse?
* Does your blood pressure skyrocket?
* Do yo u try to bump them?

WHO CARES if you arrive ten seconds later at work? Why let the cars ruin your drive. Remember the 90/10 principle, and do not worry about it.

You are told you lost your job. Why lose sleep and get irritated? It will work out. Use your worrying energy and time into finding another job.

The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day. Why take out your frustration on the flight attendant? She has no control over what is going on. Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger.

Why are stressed out? It will just make things worse. Now you know the 90-10 principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results. You will lose nothing if you try it.

The 90-10 principle is incredible. Very few know and apply this principle.

The result? Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache.

We all must understand and apply the 90/10 principle.

It CAN change your life!

Article written by Steven Covey

-Shahnawaz

Migration to Cloud

The cloud computing is picking up. With cloud architecture, not only software but also platform and infrastructure would be available as a service. The advantage of cloud computing which includes reduced cost, increased storage, flexibility, easy maintenance and more mobility are very well known facts, especially with the giants like Google, Oracle, IBM and Microsoft as providers and focused in this space. With this huge advantage of low TCO and higher ROI, the organization have started shifting their application strategy towards cloud computing. As we all know cloud is an architecture, mainly for web-based applications that provide on-demand computing power. In 80’s legacy applications were the trend and later in 90’s client server applications on Visual Basic, Oracle forms and Powerbuilders  took the place before web based applications. Today more than 40 billion lines of code is driving the enterprise applications and products.

How these legacy applications would work on cloud? Should organizations use virtualization technology to expose their legacy application on cloud or re-write the legacy code to run natively? In terms of business, migration of legacy/client-server application to cloud would be a huge business segment and there are technology companies who have already started investing and focusing on this niche area. While offering expertise on cloud services using Microsoft Azure will not be a challenge at Octaware, migrating the existing web based solutions with a quick turnaround time would require building a smart tool and strategy.

Here is a white paper by a Microsoft partner who is an early entrant in migration segment which addresses the questions above -

http://www.visualwebgui.com/Technology/WhitePapers/tabid/528/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/916/Bridge-to-the-Clouds.aspx

-Aslam

Ant Philosophy

All of us tend to look up to big people for lessons on how to get better. We are keen to learn the secrets of their success. But we forget that sometimes the biggest lessons in life come from the smallest folks around us. Now that’s a good lesson to remember!


Take ants for instance. Would you believe those small creatures can teach us how to live a better life? Jim Rohn - the great motivational guru – developed what he called the ‘Ants Philosophy’.

He identified four key lessons from the behaviour of ants that can help us lead better lives. Jim Rohn is no more – but his messages continue to inspire. Here then, are the four lessons from Rohn’s ‘Ants Philosophy’.

1. Ants never quit. Have you noticed how ants always look for a way around an obstacle? Put your finger in an ant’s path and it will try and go around it, or over it. It will keep looking for a way out. It won’t just stand there and stare. It won’t give up and go back.

We should all learn to be like that. There will always be obstacles in our lives. The challenge is to keep trying, keep looking for alternative routes to get to our goals. Winston Churchill probably paraphrased the ant’s mindset when he offered this priceless advice: “Never give up. Never, never give up!”



2. Ants think winter all summer. Remember the old story of the ant and the grasshopper? In the middle of summer, the ant was busy gathering food for the winter ahead – while the grasshopper was out having a good time. Ants know that summer - the good times – won’t last forever. Winters will come. That’s a good lesson to remember. When the going is good, don’t be so arrogant as to believe that a crisis or a setback cannot happen to you. Be good to other people. Save for a rainy day. Look ahead. And remember, good times may not last, but good people do.



3. Ants think summer all winter. As they suffer through the unbearable cold of the winter, ants keep reminding themselves that it won’t last forever, and that summer will soon be here. And with the first rays of the summer sun, the ants come out – ready to work, ready to play. When we are down and seemingly out, when we go through what looks like a never-ending crisis, it’s good to remind ourselves that this too shall pass. Good times will come. It’s important to retain a positive attitude, an attitude that says things will get better. As the old saying goes, tough times don’t last. Tough people do.



4. Ants do all they possibly can. How much food does an ant gather in summer? All that it possibly can! Now that’s a great work ethic to have. Do all you can! One ant doesn’t worry about how much food another ant is collecting. It does not sit back and wonder why it should have to work so hard. Nor does it complain about the poor pay! Ants just do their bit. They gather all the food they can. Success and happiness are usually the result of giving 100% - doing all you possibly can. If you look around you, you’ll find that successful people are those who just do all they possibly can.

Follow the four simple steps of Jim Rohn’s ‘Ant Philosophy’ – and you’ll see the difference. Don’t quit. Look ahead. Stay positive. And do all you can.

And there’s just one more lesson to learn from ants. Did you know that an ant can carry objects up to 20 times their own weight? Maybe we are like that too. We can carry burdens on our shoulders and manage workloads that are far, far heavier than we’d imagine. Next time something’s bothering you and weighing you down, and you feel you just can’t carry on, don’t fret. Think of the little ant. And remember, you too can carry a lot more on your shoulders!

- shared by Haroon

To all those planning to buy Smart phone soon here is must read.

MWC 2011 (Mobile World Congress) recently concluded at Barcelona. This is the largest and most anticipated exhibition showcase in the mobile industry.

Most of the die-hard fans for mobile phones were waiting for the Mobile World Congress 2011 event to see what’s coming up next. Around 50,000 people from around the world attended the event this year where more than 1300 exhibitors showcased their products.

Some of the expected new products were launched from various companies. Samsung launched its Galaxy S successor “Galaxy S II”. This is already making good news because of its “Super AMOLED Plus” display, processor and capabilities. Samsung also announced its Galaxy Tab II.

Many of the companies utilized the MWC event opportunity to unveil their newer version of mobile sets which are based on dual-core processors. Companies like Qualcomm, NVidia  demonstrated their latest chipsets. Also demonstrated were some of quad-core mobile processors meant for tablets.

LG Optimus 3D and Pas were demonstrated by LG which implements auto-stereoscopic (glasses-free) 3D in a phone.

Sony’s much awaited Playstation phone was also launched during MWC this year. Xperia Play was announced which is making the beginning of next level of gaming on mobile platforms. The device has the gaming hardware keypad on the set which gives it a different look than normal phones.

~Siraj

Microsoft Groove (SharePoint 2010 workspace)

Last Friday I was in the IAMCP (International Association of Microsoft Channel Partner) meeting at Microsoft office Kalina where major SME companies Directors/CEOs were present. After business meeting, there was a Keynote on “SharePoint Workspace” which was given by Ashok Hingorani, who is Groove MVP.

For a person who is new to Groove or first time he heard the name of Groove, four questions comes into mind.

1-    What is Groove? 2-    How it was originated? 3-    Where is Groove now? 4-    Can I see some example?

1-   What is Groove?

It is a desktop application designed for document collaboration in teams with members who are regularly off-line or who do not share the same network security clearance. Groove's core concept is the shared workspace, which consists of a set of files to be shared, plus some aids for group collaboration. Groove users can create workspaces, add documents, and invite other Groove members to a workspace. 

When participating users are off-line, changes for their workspaces copies are queued, either on a Office Groove Server that mediates the workspace or via other participants (peer-to-peer), to be sent to users when they come on-line. When multiple users edit one document at the same time, changes may conflict and multiple versions will be shown until an editor decides which changes will become final.

2-    How it was originated?

Groove was initially developed by Lotus Notes creator Ray Ozzie, and developed by Groove Networks of Beverly, Massachusetts until Microsoft's acquisition of Groove Networks in March 2005. Ozzie became one of three Chief Technical Officers in Microsoft. On June 15, 2006, Ozzie took over the role of Chief Software Architect from Bill Gates.

3-    Where is Groove now?

Now it is known as “Microsoft Groove” / Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010.

SharePoint Workspace 2010 also provides options for creating Groove collaboration workspaces and synchronized shared folders. By using SharePoint Workspace 2010, information workers can easily synchronize online and offline content with a designated SharePoint site or collaborate with external partners and offsite team members through shared workspaces. SharePoint Workspace 2010 is included with Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010.

4-   Can I see some demo?

Please see below videos on YouTube for Groove.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNUxYjFJEs4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpQy0VgHRJo

 I would be happy for our SharePoint team to explore more on Groove. It could be one of the USP (Unique Selling Point) while proposing solution on SharePoint to an organization that has a team working on confidential documents.

-Shahnawaz

Practical Lessons from life - Learning from the event at VJTI

Part - I

Dear Friends,
As you may be aware that our CEO Aslam Khan was invited to deliver a lecture at one of the premiere engineering colleges, VJTI, in Mumbai.
There were 4 other guests from different walks of life, a Scientist, a Professional from the aviation industry, a customs & excise officer, an Astrologer, apart from Aslam Bhai a technology professional & CEO of Octaware Technologies. This was a part of an initiative of an NGO named Leap India foundation, where-in they go to various colleges and invite achievers from the industry to address the students, share their philosophy of life and work and motivate the students so that the students are inspired and can look forward to become a wholesome professional who is socially conscious as well.
I was present there along with Aslam and here I will be sharing my learning which I derived from hearing each of these people speak. My blogs for this event will be like a series wherein I will be talking about one personality in each of the blog I will be writing over the next few weeks. Let me start with Meher Tabassum, a scientist.

Meher Tabassum : Scientist, BARC.(Bhabha Atomic Research Centre)
Meher is a young and attractive lady defying all the looks of a typical sceintist we have grown up imagining. Not someone who is in her own world, with hair flowing in all directions defying gravity, and blurting out complex equations and philosophy. A total contrast of Albert Einstein :)
She is young, suave, attractive and very much rooted in reality (not that scientists are oblivious for reality but they usually appearv to be aloof, definitely not the case with Meher)
She is a scientist of Robotics, at one of India's premiere and world renowned research centre, BARC. She has developed quite a a few robots at BARC, and has had the opportuity of closely interacting with someone the entire country looks at with awe & respect, Dr. A.P.J. Abul Kalam.
Her idea of life was hard-work, dedication, having a goal chartered in life, being focussed and sincere (to one self and ones work). She said that she had implemented all these qualities in her life and has thus become successful in whatever she has achieved in life, be it studies or work.
Meher also recommended very strongly that we need to give back to the society in some way or the other as well, be it serving others, helping the needy, or simply doing good for others. She said that apart from her hectic work as a scientist, she runs an NGO which helps poor and needy school students with books, uniforms, clothes, etc.
She was definitely proved to be a great inspiration for all the budding Engineers and future profesionals.

Next installment I will speak about Elsa D'Silva - Vice President- Route Planning & Charters, Kingfisher Airlines.

- Najeeb