Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Software Dinagalu Page-1 : Initial Days of Infosys

For who are "differently abled" in Kannada, Dinagalu = Days. 

I am keeping up my word and back with a post in the first week itself. The series starts!!!

As a software professional (this word doesn't have any literal meaning here), i should stick with version control and my posts will have different "Pages". And I am allowed to have page numbers in decimals.

The first Page is all dreams and enlightenment. If there is a hint of sarcasm, that's called reality.

The story starts on a chilly, foggy winter day in December 2000, 4th Dec to be precise. I was all set with a thought that I am going to change this world forever. Joining Infosys was a dream come true (not entirely according to me but according to Infy HR and PR), which only 1 out of 50 or 100 could achieve. Now after 8+ years I know that I am not going to make a difference out of the blue and 1 out of... is another number of the game called BUSINESS of any IT/ITES company in India. 

The first things that strike to me when I think about Infy is, TIE and formal SHOES. We had to wear the tie on Monday, then it became Monday and Tuesday. But the Off-Shore centre I worked was casual enough, so we used to remove the tie once we enter the building. Few people used to have a spare sandal in the cubicle for use inside the office!!! If you cant brake the law, try to bend it.

Catch the bus at 7AM from NR Colony and be in Infy by 8AM was the usual routine. Classes used to start at 8:30AM. We were all thrilled with the conference room and in the first session they announced that we are the biggest batch in Infy history till now, and we were thrilled even more. This was the beginning of my "Number Crunching" experience in IT.

The first 5 days were all fun; games, passwords/mailboxes/bank accounts, preaching about Infosys ethics and more number crunching. The best part here was I made friends with Avinash and Vivek. We three went for lunch/snacks together till I was in Infy for the next four years. Avinash died in a car accident in 2007, which I am yet to understand why; and for vivek, he is the best friend of my son (and mine too).

We were "trained" for 3 complete months and our instructors kept on telling that 3 months of Infy training was equivalent to 3 years B.S degree in UK. Crash Course, how amazing!!!

More about training in the next Page.