bangalore on S Anand

An ambulance ride

Wed, 08 Oct 2014 05:21:18 +0000

I rode in an ambulance yesterday.

I’ve been in a few of these in the last 3 weeks, but yesterday was the first time I had to give directions, so I was paying a bit more attention to the traffic.

It’s remarkable how well Bangalore traffic responds to ambulances. Almost every single person gave way. (Not that this is easy. Merely slowing towards the left isn’t always effective if it ends up blocking the way. Many people were wise enough to give way at the appropriate place, and our flow was not impeded.)

Not everyone gave way, though.

The first was the driver of a small car. (I can’t identify vehicle models. This sort of looked like a Maruti.) He was driving right in front of us for a while, right in the middle of the road, without giving way on either side. After some time, when the road widened, we passed him. I noticed that he was wearing earphones. Based on his body posture, my guess was that he was listening to music – as opposed to speaking on the phone, for example. Clearly, he had not heard the siren nor the horn.

The second was a young girl riding a moped. (Scooty, or something like that.) The road was narrow. There was no chance of overtaking her. She did hear the siren, though, and tried her best to rush ahead of the ambulance. After about half a minute, the road widened again, and she gave way. My guess is that she was under 18, out on a ride in a relatively small and safe road, and had no idea what to do when an ambulance scares her noisily from behind.

The third was a bus driver, though the circumstances were different. The car ahead of us (a call taxi) gave way to the left. The bus was approaching us from the opposite side. The bus stopped right next to the car. Given the width of the road, the ambulance could not pass.

The taxi driver tried to guide the bus driver, telling him that he should move a bit forward to let us pass, but the bus driver (again, a very young chap) seemed frozen. He didn’t (or couldn’t budge). The taxi driver in front of us started his car, moved 50 metres ahead, and let us pass.

The fourth caused the longest delay. A couple riding a bike were ahead of us. The road turned ahead. They tried to give way, skidded, and they fell right in the middle of the road.

The were shaken, but not hurt, thankfully. It took a couple of minutes for them to gather themselves and their vehicle (with assistance from a passerby) and give way. We checked after confirming that they were unhurt.

I’m not sure what to make of this. In every case, the cause for delay ways ignorance. Either not hearing, or not knowing what to do, or not knowing how to do it well. But it’s gladdening that the bulk of Bangalore is both knowledgeable and responsive to the needs of those in ambulances.

But: please don’t endanger yourselves while giving way.

Comments

Uday Madpathy 9 Oct 2014 1:46 pm: This is good.. Have seen the opposite in other cities like Hyderabad..
Manoj Gaddam 9 Nov 2014 3:59 am: I am glad that people in Bangalore do understand “what is emergency”. But how to change the behaviour or habit of the driver in the Maruti car. Good post!
Sathya 13 Jan 2015 7:29 am: Was linked this posted in the comments of my latest blog post http://sathyabh.at/2015/01/07/ambulance-and-bangalore-traffic/ I think now the situation has changed that people are willing to give way to Ambulance, but simply are clueless about how. Do they slow down, speed up, keep to the current side, move to the right, move to the left? Our Traffic Regulations mention

Each driver shall on the approach of a fire service vehicle or an ambulance allow it free passage by drawing it to the side of the road so I guess it means that we’re supposed to move over to the left side of the road. But with our current clogged roads, this is near impossible. So people try to improvise and give way however they can.

The next chapter of my life

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:01:56 +0000

I’m writing this post on a one-way flight from London back to India. I’ve moved on from Infosys Consulting, and am starting up on my own.

I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. There’s always more freedom in your own company than someone else’s. There’s often more money in it too, if you’re lucky enough. But my upbringing is a bit too conservative to make that bold step. However, given that my father runs his own firm, I figured it was just a question of time for me to do the same.

Two years ago, in Jan 2010, I picked up Rashmi Bansal’s Stay Hungry Stay Foolish at an airport. That book killed the last bit of resistance I had. If the people in that book could succeed, I felt I could too. And if what they did (building small companies, not huge ones) could be called a success, I could be successful too.

After the flight, it was clear in my mind. I would be an entrepreneur. I would create a small company that would probably fold. Then I’d do it again. And again, 10 times, because 1 in 10 companies survive. And finally, I’d be running a small business that’d be called successful by virtue of having survived. A modest, achievable ambition that I had the courage for.

I usually make big decisions without analysis, by just sleeping over them. I slept over it and announced it to my family the next day. I’m not sure they believed me.

Two months later, along with a friend, I built a dynamic digital image resizing product. We had our wives start a company in the UK, and tried selling it to retailers. There clearly was a demand. The problem was, we didn’t know how to sell. After a year and having spent £500 with no sales, it was clear to us that venture #1 had failed. We eventually shut it down.

In the middle of this, my ex- boss from IBM told me that he was looking to start a venture, focusing on mobile, rural BPO and energy management. This later on changed to data analytics and visualisation. They all sounded like fun, so I said I’ll help out in my spare time.

A few months later, a classmate told me he’d started a business digitising school report cards. That sounded like fun too, so I said I’d help out in my spare time.

Now, if that sounds like I had a lot of spare time on my hands – you’re right, I did. And it’s time to talk about the jobs in my life. My first 3 years at IBM were fun. I was coding, learning, and leading a bachelor’s life with friends, money, and no responsibilities. My 4 years at BCG were strenuous with 80-hour weeks, but it was interesting and challenging. I was newly married, and between work and home responsibilities, I had no time for fun.

I moved to Infosys Consulting in the UK with the specific aim of rectifying that (and for health reasons as well). In the last 7 years, the work has (except on occasion) been a bit boring, but very relaxing. On most days, I would spend 4 hours working, and 4 hours learning new stuff. The things I learnt only helped me be more efficient. So I ended up getting even more work done in less time.

Many things came out of this. Firstly, I recovered my health. We had a daughter, and I spent more time with her. I started coding in earnest again. By 2007, I was writing code as part of my projects – stuff that others whose job it was were unable to. By 2009, I had a few websites running, like an Indian music search engine, an IMDb Top 250 tracker, a few transliterators, and so on.

So when I said I’d help out with these startups, it wasn’t an empty promise. For the last 18 months, I’ve had a day job and three night jobs. I never did justice to any of them in my opinion, but I had more fun than ever in my life, I learnt more than ever in my life, and I produced more tangible output than ever in my life. Sometimes, quantity beats quality or reliability.

Both these startups are doing well today. Gramener.com offers data visualisation and IT services. I will be joining them as Chief Data Scientist. Reportbee.com offers a hosted report card solution. I will continue helping them out. And I will continue working with a few NGOs.

You’ll see me a lot more active online now. I can publicly write about my work – something I’ve been unable to do the last 11 years.

I am relocating to Bangalore. From a professional front, it’s an obvious choice. That’s where the geeks are. In my last visit to India, I was at Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. In the latter two, it’s tough to meet geeks. And when you do, it’s no easier to find the next. Bangalore has many more geeks, and they’re fairly well networked.

From a personal front, too, Bangalore works well. It’s close enough to Chennai without actually being in Chennai.

It’s 10am on Thu 12th Jan. Our flight is descending into Delhi airport. It’s the start of a new chapter in my life. Scary, but exciting. Wish me luck!

Comments

Thejesh GN 13 Jan 2012 9:19 am: Welcome back.
AnanthRK 13 Jan 2012 8:51 am: Great to hear that you are taking the plunge full-time. All the very best!!
Madhur Singhal 13 Jan 2012 12:47 pm: Anand, best wishes!! Well - I never had a doubt that you take only 4 hrs for 8 hrs of work anyway. I have been guilty of being lazy in calling but thankfully, I travel to Bangalore sometimes. I am at 9873901163 and if you tell me your #, I will call you. cheers!!
Ashish 13 Jan 2012 12:31 pm: Hey Anand! Good to hear that, best of luck for your ventures……happy Independance!! Do let me know if i can be of any help Ashish
Raghu 13 Jan 2012 12:42 pm: Enjoy always and lead from the front! All the best and do well!
Kalpesh 13 Jan 2012 10:22 am: Anand, I am sure, you have all things needed to do better things in life. Hopefully, we will meet & work together in future. Best Wishes Kalpesh
Vanaja 13 Jan 2012 11:28 am: All the best Anand! I have always wondered why you were stuck with Infosys when you were so much more. This looks like the way to go. Good Luck and God Bless!
Pawan Bhargava 13 Jan 2012 9:55 am: Hi SAnand, good call. It does not matter how it works out (trading in handsight), but all that matters is enjoying what you do. I am sure it would be immensely satisfying. Good luck.
Ravish 13 Jan 2012 10:00 am: People said “search” was too late for Google.. they also said “social networking” was too late for Facebook.. good that neither Larry Page nor Mark Zuckerberg listened to them.. All the best Anand.. Good Luck !! Its never too late for new ideas!!
Gaurav 13 Jan 2012 1:29 pm: Way to go Anand! You will love being an entrepreneur - the freedom to try different things and the satisfaction you get when something works…
408wij 13 Jan 2012 2:17 pm: Good luck. –Joe
sriram 13 Jan 2012 2:49 pm: All the best Thala.. :)
Somnath 13 Jan 2012 3:35 pm: Just goes to show the fan following you have. I am really late in checking your latest post. Welcome back to Bangalore and India. I see couple of batchmates have posted to. Wish I can join small organization / startup but am hesitant to take the risk. Then again what is my true skill set :D Somnath
Harish Kashyap 13 Jan 2012 4:59 pm: Welcome to place where you belong! I am sure you will do well. You can reach me at 99010 32469. It will be good to have a cup of coffee with you!
Suresh 13 Jan 2012 5:27 pm: Wish you success. “Real success comes not from being invited onto the yacht, but from being able to paddle one’s own canoe” - Hugh McLeod
Sridhar 13 Jan 2012 5:34 pm: All the very best Anand! I am sure you’ll have no problem adding tremendous value to whatever you produce and that will ensure your success.
praphul 13 Jan 2012 6:54 pm: Congratulations!
San 13 Jan 2012 9:12 pm: You’ve always been an inspiration and it seems like you always will. All the best!
Sathish 13 Jan 2012 10:13 pm: Didn’t actually get the technical part you are talking about… but looks like your are excited and I’m happy for you… ALL THE VERY BEST!!
Madhu 14 Jan 2012 2:53 am: Good luck, many dream of doing it and few take the bold step. I am glad you did. Congratulations and wish you the best.
Vasant 13 Jan 2012 4:25 am: Awesome! Welcome back. And best of luck ahead.
Girish 13 Jan 2012 3:07 am: Congratulations for new change Anand :-) S-Anand.net is always at the back of my mind for the content it has.
satish 13 Jan 2012 7:09 am: Wow. Good to know sir. Wish you all the very best
Krishna 13 Jan 2012 6:43 am: Nice to know this Anand. I’ve been following your exciting works in our intranet blogs. For sure, this is going to be the best decision you ever made :) Wish you loads of luck!
Cipher 13 Jan 2012 6:55 am: Congrats and the best for your future Anand.
Veera 13 Jan 2012 4:53 am: Whoa! that explains the number the data visualization posts in your blog. :) Congratulations for starting up on your own! Me too in the same situation, going to work on my own start up from coming March onwards :)
harish 13 Jan 2012 3:44 am: Hi Anand….. wish you the very best and am sure you will have no problems succeeding…
Venkatramanan 13 Jan 2012 3:51 am: Anand Surprising to see you very late to entrepreneurship! I thought you were managing your business! All the very best! As they say in school ‘you will definitely come with flying colours!’ Regards Venkat
chaitanya 13 Jan 2012 1:35 am: All The Best, Anand. It was always knowledgable and pleasure to follow you. Good luck.
saurabh nitin 13 Jan 2012 4:33 am: best of luck brother! cheers
S_Thomas 13 Jan 2012 3:20 am: Congratulations Anand, we look forward to hearing more
Manish 13 Jan 2012 4:36 am: Anand, congrats I was also struggling with the same thoughts to take up a job or start on own
Ayyappa 13 Jan 2012 4:40 am: Best of luck Anand! Btw -I am a daily user of your mixamail for twitter and never said thanks! Thanks a lot for that! Also, I hope you write your experiences in the startup life for “other conservatives who are afraid to jump” to learn how it feels to be in the wild outside.
sadhasivam 24 Jan 2012 9:33 pm: Good Luck Anand. Being associated with you as read for a decades i am thrilled to go through post. We wish a great journey ahead.
vivek 22 Jan 2012 5:49 pm: Best of luck Anand.
Sankar 23 Jan 2012 2:05 am: All the best Anand!
MohaN 23 Jan 2012 3:26 pm: As someone mentioned, I stumbled across on a pursuit…Life an Unwrapped GIFT……Tear it or Peal it or Break it…something underneath it…
Karthick 13 Jan 2012 8:41 am: All the best.
Naveen 14 Jan 2012 5:37 am: Anand- Congratulations , the day I had been waiting for long time. You will make a big impact where ever you are. Good Luck to you and Gramener
Rajesh bhura 14 Jan 2012 2:10 pm: Finally! This is teriffic news. From our campus days I always thought that this was the way to go for u. Remember the digital signature idea which u had come up with as our e-commerce project? It’s a big industry now in 10 yrs. I don’t have any doubt whatever u do will be successful in it’s own way. All the best. Your fan for always - rajesh
Ashwin 14 Jan 2012 5:42 pm: Anand - I have been following your blog for several years now. I wish you all the best !!
Nirav Kanakia 3 Feb 2012 6:09 pm: Good luck
Shobha 9 Feb 2012 9:27 am: Hi Anand, You do not know me. But I had read your posts in 2007 and I was inspired by your diverse interests in almost every area. Suddenly I remembered you today and read your recent post and gotta know you are starting your own firm in India. All the best and kudos to you. -Shobha-
Karthik A 12 Feb 2012 3:30 am: All the best - have thought several times of making the leap but never got out of the comfort zone - Very happy you did. Maybe probability of this visualization thing becoming the next infy is 100% All the best
Ravindra 3 Feb 2012 12:17 pm: Thaliva…All the best! Looking forward the IPO in Year 2015 or earlier! Cheers
Ramana 16 Jan 2012 3:13 am: All the best Anand!
Anand S 16 Jan 2012 1:08 am: Anand Good luck. Our paths are similar (I am anand @ anands.net). After 12 years in silicon valley, I returned to Bangalore an year ago to run my own venture (started this 4 years ago). Let’s meet in Bangalore.
Venkataragavan 25 Jan 2012 5:25 pm: Hey Anand, wish you good luck and great success ahead. I got interested into data visualization after reading your blogs and now I am actively learning it. Hope to move on someday. Cheers
ravi atluri 13 Jan 2012 2:19 am: this is great. Congratulations. Data in India is going to get more exciting :D
Ravi 13 Jan 2012 6:01 am: All the best Anand. I’ve loved your site and all the tools you’ve built around it. I’ve always wondered how you got so much time to do all that you do. Gramener seems to be a happening place now and I am sure you will make it a grand success.
Amitesh Jasrotia 13 Jan 2012 1:24 am: Hey Anand, I was not really inspired by Rashmi Bansal’s book but I am mighty inspired by the piece you have written. Nothing else is more self-liberating than becoming the master of your own destiny. I have been following your blogs/site for quite some time now. Something tells me you will be successful. Still, Best of luck for your future endeavors!
Nithin 16 Jan 2012 11:50 am: All the Best Anand…
Anuradha Shastry 16 Jan 2012 3:46 am: Lots of good luck!! Landed on this blog just an hour ago. best, another Infoscion
Sumit Dhar 16 Jan 2012 6:32 am: Now that you have moved to Bangalore, we should exchange numbers and plan on catching up. Where, in Bangalore, are you based out of ? Cheers, D.
D 2 Mar 2012 12:10 pm: Anand, Wish you tremendous amount of luck.
Nikhil 31 Jan 2012 9:31 am: Might be of interest to you http://kurt.karmalab.org/2012/01/30/building-a-data-team/
Sreenivasan L 1 Feb 2012 11:11 am: All the best Anand. Wishing you a great success ahead in your new journey.
Judy H 23 Feb 2012 7:22 am: I have no idea how I found your website today for the first time, but I’ve enjoyed reading it. I wish you all the best in your endeavors!
Sri 19 Jan 2012 2:50 pm: Hi Anand I have followed your blog several years now. It’s great to hear about the new venture. Very inspirational post. Good luck and all the best. Vaalga Valamudan Sri
Sajiv 18 Jan 2012 4:20 pm: All the best Anand.
pankaj 18 Jan 2012 6:39 pm: Good luck with your new venture. Keep us posted. :)
Ranganathan 18 Jan 2012 7:53 pm: Hey Anand, I used to follow ur blogs for the past 2 years. I think i came to know about ur blog when i was searching about the tips in excel . Sometimes if I am bored i used to check ur site for the movie list..:-) .. I just want to say ‘All the very best ’ for ur new journey.. I am sure definitely u will succeed…..this will be an inspiration for me some day for starting a new company….
S Anand 16 Jan 2012 1:26 pm: @Sumit: definitely. Still haven’t move into Bangalore just yet, but my contact number is on the home page. Please feel free to call any time,
Shankar V 16 Jan 2012 2:04 pm: hey Anand All the very best and trust me…..I knew this was coming! :) Welcome back to India and welcome to Bangalore. Hope you continue to post interesting stuff. Please do stay in touch. I had your Infosys email id. Don’t think I have your personal id. Please pass it on.
ranjit bawa 16 Jan 2012 4:09 pm: hey Anand - great to hear!! good luck with the new chapter and look forward to seeing you soon. hope to follow suit, but till then, shall live vicariously…
S Anand 18 Jan 2012 1:46 am: @Shankar, I keep my latest phone number at the top of my home page. Will be good to hear from you!
Rajesh B 18 Jan 2012 7:00 am: Great to know you are starting off on your own. Good luck. I took my one way ticket to India 3 years ago. Still burning through my first venture. Inspiring post. Am planning to start 9 other on the side just to be on the correct side of the odds. Jokes apart, can think of few others more equipped to start off on something. If ever you are interested in doing something on the education space, drop me an email. Will try to make that as my night job. Am good with creating content, abysmal poor in trying to sell it. So, ideal for a night-job. Best wishes. Cheers, Bee
Ravi Tiruvaipati 18 Jan 2012 1:13 pm: Hi Anand, I have been following your posts and your applications…It is good hear that you are planning to start your own. I wish you all the best!!
Sriram S 15 Jan 2012 6:14 am: Welcome back and all the best…I stay in BTM Layout in Bangalore..lets catch up sometime
Sudheer 15 Jan 2012 9:35 am: All the best Anand! Looking forward to hear more and more about you in the coming days from sources other than the blog
Jitendra 15 Jan 2012 3:25 pm: Wish you luck Anand! I am sure with your attitude and energy you’d do well in whatever you try to do!
Raja 24 Aug 2012 3:25 am: I try to visit you website since 2008 whenever I get a chance and look for what geeks are doing lately :-) and just noticed today that you moved to India starting out your own venture. Hard work pays off for sure. I am sure you will succeed. Good Luck!
Michael 22 Oct 2012 7:16 pm: Good luck with this Anand. hope it is going well.. Michael
mohan 11 Nov 2012 7:50 am: all the best mr anand keep going your website is so informative with high entertainment value , you will suceed god bless you mohan. you will definitely suceed in
Amutha 25 Nov 2013 9:37 pm: It’s very late if I say gud luck,:) and I hope you are going great with your plans.
Ankur 15 Apr 2013 8:22 am: Hi Anand, I first heard of you courtesy Rahul Guha during my first year at BCG in Mumbai in 2006. He mentioned you as a Consultant he had a very high opinion of. I came across you next a couple of years later, as I was trying to index by IMDB 250 list - I used the app you’d created and recommended it to many friends too. Today, I reached your blog while browsing through some data on poverty in India (datastories.in). Just wanted to let you know. I wish you all the best in your venture(s). Ankur
Father of the bride - S Anand 1 Nov 2023 8:25 pm (pingback): […] In 2012, I started Gramener with half a dozen friends. […]
10 years later - S Anand 17 Mar 2022 1:24 pm (pingback): […] 12 Jan 2012, on a flight back from London, I […]
Moving to Singapore - S Anand 2 Aug 2022 6:37 pm (pingback): […] “I lost my job. Please don’t tell anyone. Let’s go back to India.” We left 2 weeks later to join […]
A challenge of blog questions - S Anand 4 Mar 2025 4:44 pm (pingback): […] The next chapter of my life, which I wrote on a one-way flight back from the UK to India to start Gramener. […]

Rushing out of planes

Sat, 01 Apr 2006 12:00:00 +0000

Why people rush out of a plane at Bangalore but not at Delhi. via Kaps

Indian visa

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:00:00 +0000

For a long time, I thought the problems associated with getting an American visas was mainly for Indians. Today, I met someone at a Lebanese restaurant near Marble Arch. (It’s called Maroush III. There are at least a couple of other Maroushs in the area.) He’s a consultant, and has been travelling around the globe for over 20 years.

He recently flew from Boston to Bangalore. Without a visa. Why? Because he would be issued a visa at the port of entry, of course. Stands in the queue. Hands his passport to the officer. The officer leafs through the pages. Halts. Studies each page very carefully. Gets puzzled.

“Where is the visa?”

“I don’t have one. So please issue me on.”

At this, the official is startled. “Come this way, please.” And they go into a room in some corner. Left alone for a while. Two officials come back with lots of forms.

While patiently filling the forms, one of the officials says, “You’ll have to go back, you know?”

There must have been a faint smile as he said it. “No, you’re just kidding me!”

“No, no. You must go back on this flight to London.”

Disbelief. “Ha, ha! Quite funny. You’re just pulling my leg. Now, just give me a visa.”

“No, really. You must return by this flight immediately.

Having travelled for 16 hours from Boston, he heads back to London spending another 8 hours on the flight.

He is, incidentally, the only person I know (Indian or otherwise) who would have to tick “Yes” to the question “Have you ever been refused entry at the port of disembarkation?”

P.S. He DID get an Indian visa later. It was a painless process – apply in the morning, collect in the evening.

Flat world

Mon, 04 Apr 2005 12:00:00 +0000

It’s a flat world after all. Thomas Freidman on Globalization, Bangalore, …

Second, the Netscape stock offering triggered the dot-com boom, which triggered the dot-com bubble, which triggered the massive overinvestment of billions of dollars in fiber-optic telecommunications cable. That overinvestment, by companies like Global Crossing, resulted in the willy-nilly creation of a global undersea-underground fiber network, which in turn drove down the cost of transmitting voices, data and images to practically zero, which in turn accidentally made Boston, Bangalore and Beijing next-door neighbors overnight.

Yes, crazy overinvestment can be good. The overinvestment in railroads turned out to be a great boon for the American economy. ‘But the railroad overinvestment was confined to your own country and so, too, were the benefits,’ Singh said. In the case of the digital railroads, ‘it was the foreigners who benefited.’ India got a free ride.

Comments

Genmys 4 Apr 2005 3:56 pm: Some articles are star marked. Why?
S Anand 5 Apr 2005 3:03 am: They are popular or interesting articles.

Bangalore Bloggers Meet

Mon, 25 Nov 2002 12:00:00 +0000

The Bangalore Bloggers’ Meet in the eyes of Ayesha and Harris.

Urban legends

Tue, 18 Sep 2001 12:00:00 +0000

No updates till the weekend. I’m in Bangalore. In the meantime, remember not to trust anything that’s forwarded to you. It’s likely to be an urban legend.

Zero piracy zone

Thu, 07 Jun 2001 12:00:00 +0000

By the end of the year, Bangalore will become a zero piracy zone. First, the Karnataka Government will try and eliminate all piracy within. Then it’ll appoint compliance officers who’ll walk into offices and check randomly. And this will reduce piracy. Right. What of corruption?

AI game

Thu, 31 May 2001 12:00:00 +0000

Spielberg’s next movie, A.I., has sparked a weird game. I read the article on it at ZDNet and searched for Jeanine Salla, listed as the movie’s sentient machine therapist, which lead me to her site, (at the so called “Bangalore World University”!!) and from there to others… it really is a wierd game. Those with enthu, do try it and let me know your progress.

NASDAQ in Bangalore

Mon, 29 Jan 2001 12:00:00 +0000

Nasdaq will open in Bangalore.

Discounts in Bangalore

Sun, 07 Jan 2001 12:00:00 +0000

123india has a list of discounts in Bangalore. For example, US Pizza has a party pack Rs 111.