During the past 9-10 years I was not busy writing C++ code only; I have learnt a lot in other areas also. In fact the process of learning new things at different workplaces and from different set of colleagues, has enriched my experience database. Here I would like to share my experiences regarding my very first workplace Databorough India.
Few days after my joining at DBI, I went to attend the convocation ceremony at HBTI Kanpur. It was a warm meeting with old classmates who were also settling down in their new jobs. We shared a lot about the type of Projects we were doing and the Environment in which we worked etc. My classmates were working mainly on Oracle, Powerbuilder (that time Market Hit), Foxpro etc. We discussed about our Salary packets, the expenses of managing a rented household, Onsite possibilities and lots more.
That meeting was an eye-opener for me and I realized the intangible benefits of working with Databorough. I had a clear picture of what many of my classmates/cousins settled at Metros are gettig and what I am getting!
I landed at DBI Lucknow mainly because my late father wanted me to work close to my hometown. During my Project Training at IIT Kanpur one fine day I saw this advertisement in the Lucknow edition of Times Of India – Ascent. First reaction was what the hell a Software Company would be doing at Lucknow??? But there was a very dim ray of hope. The content of advertisement talked about all those big big words like IBM Business Partners, AS/400, UK office etc. Me and my father read that and we tried to not to appear overwhelmed or excited. Deep down in our hearts we knew that if it materializes and turns out to be "what it is projected as" then life is going to be pretty cool!
And that did happen; in a place like Lucknow I worked with a very capable team, an equally commendable engineering team from UK assisted and guided us. Coming out straight from the labs of HBTI Kanpur heavily loaded with DEC - PDP & VAX machines, DBI was the first place where I got a chance to work on a Windows machine with a colored monitor. Let me quote that it was a privilege! I just didn’t work on any useless Inventory Management application; lucky enough; as a fresher I worked on Reverse Engineering Tool and Data Browser type of applications residing on AS/400 machine and in real-time communicating with Windows terminals. Microsoft VC++ used to be my weapon and Windows was the battlefield. I enjoyed that period thoroughly and during those three years I was never on bench! None of us used to be on bench as we were a very small team of engineers with quite a handful of assignments.
And the salary part :-), well I used to feel like Nawab of Lucknow. I had so much of money in my hands and little expenses like 120/- to the Maid who used to wash utensils/clothes, clean house and cook in the evening and imagine the value add that she used to give… serving the food and sitting their till I am not through. 800/- to the Landlord for providing a one room set, electricity and water expenses included. Those were very fulfilling days; I enjoyed my work, I got best opportunities, with not so much of expensive services and material I maintained a cool lifestyle, stayed close to my family and was envied by many of my friends who stayed in Metros.
So what is the learning here; well it conveys that a Software Company operating from a remote place can very well do most of the things that another Software Company is doing in Delhi or Bombay. DBI has set an example of reaching out to people who are not willing to get themselves lost in the crowd arriving at Delhi and Bombay stations everyday.
It’s an appeal to Small Software Houses to come ahead and set up their Development Centers, BPO operations in places like Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur etc. Software Engineer is more interested in Onsite possibilities rather than what his base station is going to be?
Such small Ventures give jobs to so many around us; it starts from the sabziwala, doodhwala, maids and extends up to growing local markets. We as an Industry can save so many poor people who are bound to leave their villages in search of food. We too leave our native places but with competitive salaries in the IT sector our survival is not difficult. Think about the labour crowd; they come here because they don’t see a ten rupee note there as whatsoever they do there are no takers. After reaching here they see a hundred rupee note with little effort but here a hundred rupee note is as good as a ten rupee note they possessed in their village. For initial few days they are mesmerized, then they become working machines leaving their kids to join the spoilt crowd on the road sides and if the desires are not yet settling down they slowly turn into criminals. We have newspapers full of such incidents.
In past 10-12 years IT Industry has changed the face of the country; it has delayed the civil war that could have erupted anytime due to the poverty spreading in our society. Now the Industry is mature and there is another possibility of civil war, this time due to the increasing imbalance between the Employed and Unemployed, Rich and Poor, Metros and Villages etc.
We have to avoid this civil war once again and we as an Industry can do that!
His Justice!
9 months ago
