Supporter Vs Developer
Are you a supporter or developer? This was an interesting discussion which I had with a Delivery Manager at Infosys some months back. What the delivery manager was saying was that people at work can be broadly divided into 2 kinds viz. supporter and developer.
Supporters are people who work efficiently, improve constantly and clearly focussed on their growth by honing their knowledge and skills. You can often see them prepare to do lists at work, complete the tasks, tick mark the list and return home. They support the team very well this way. Consultants and subject matter experts might fall into this category.
Developers on the other hand are people who know their job is to ensure their team members perform exceedingly well. They spend time and resources to develop their skills and knowledge base and ensure that the team benefits through this. Developers might not be the best or most knowledgeable employee in the team, but they lead from the front and ensure the team gets things done and team members are commeded. Project managers and business unit leaders fall into this category.
There is nothing wrong in being in either one of these categories. It really depends on an individual's characteristics, strengths and interests. One's desire might be a supporter while they are naturally cut out to be a developer or vice versa. Self awareness often provides one with the right answers as to which role fits one better.
I am still trying to classify myself into one of these though I very clearly want to be a developer. The reason my mind went back to the discussion was because of an incident which happened today. There is a team member of mine who gave a certification on banking on Friday but did not clear it. She is a software engineer with a technical background. However domain certifications are mandated by Infosys. I clearly saw a need for her to understand banking fundamentals better to clear the exam as well as handle customer queries well. So I voluntarily held a session for about 2 hours explaining the fundamentals and ensuring that all her queries were answered. The kind of satisfaction I derived through this exercise was immense.
It remains to be seen tomorrow whether she clears the certification or not. However rest assured that I took my first step in trying to become a developer.
Labels: developer, supporter
Movie Review: Taarein Zameen Par
Watched Taarein Zameen Par last afternoon and decided to write a review on the same.
This movie is Aamir Khan's directorial debut. And has he done a good job?! The movie is outstanding. It gives viewers an insight into the life of a dislexic child. The child is abused
by his parents and teachers for not performing well in school. His talents however lie in the field
of art and they fail to recognize that. When the child is put in a boarding school, an empathetic teacher understands his problem. How he makes people aware about it and unleashes the child's potential forms rest of the movie.
The cinematography is very good. Visual effects portraying the child's imagination are innovative. Songs by Shankar-Ehsan-Loy are melodious. Lyrics (Prasoon Joshi) of 2 songs are simply superb.
Aamir Khan has taken a difficult subject and portrayed it in a very creative manner. The humor arising out of the child's pranks makes one laugh his guts out. The concluding scene is very touching and there were a few people with tears in their eyes in the cinema hall. Aamir Khan's performance is outstanding as expected.
Overall the movie is worth watching. Not the usual Bollywood naach-gana. It is a different movie.
Labels: Aamir Khan, Taarein Zameen Par
Trip to Switzerland: Day 5 - Glacier Express from Visp to Chur
The tiredness was beginning to show on Day 5. We got up a little later than usual. All other days we were up at 5am and started the day early. We had to catch the 8am train to Zermatt, which is were the glacier express starts. But we were still having breakfast then. So we decided to take the train from Interlaken to Visp and take trains from there.
Glacier express takes people on a 6.5 hour journey through snow capped mountains. The scenary is stunning and I highly recommend it. You don't have to pay anything extra if you hold the Swiss Pass. BUT you have to book in advance. We made a mistake by trying to book the previous evening and the train was already fully booked. Hence we had to take the regular train and change at 2 stations. The route though is the same.
The scenary was stunning. Took a lot of pics. Reached Chur at about 15:45 hours. Chur is a small town. We had a rather late lunch and took the train back to Zurich. We checked into Jugendherberge and snoozed early.
That brought to an end our trip to Switzerland. 5 days is enough time to see all the places. Switzerland is God's gift to mankind. Highly recommended to all travellers - especially honeymoon couples.
Labels: Chur, Glacier Express
Trip to Switzerland: Day 4 - Mt.Titlis & Luzerne
Day 4 of the trip and we set out to the gorgeous Mt.Titlis. We had to change multiple trains to get there. We went from Interlaken to Engelberg (where the 2007 ski world championships were held). From Engelberg we took the cable car to Mt.Titlis. We managed with the swiss pass till Engelberg but had to pay for our trip to Mt.Titlis.
The cable car took us half way up the mountain. From there we took the first rotating cable car in the world - RotAir. It was amazing. The view was mind blowing. Mt.Titlis is 3500 odd metres above see level. It was mightly cold on top, about -8 degrees. We enjoyed the scenary and took snaps. We also visited the Ice Cave on Mt.Titlis. Had some fries and hot chocolate in the cafeteria on top. I also managed to pick up Movenpick ice cream ;-)
Trip to Mt.Titlis was a lot more fun than Jungfrau. Both the journey as well as the scenary. En route to Engelberg the train took us in parallel to lakes and mountains. It was remarkable.
We got back to Engelberg and took the train to Luzerne. Luzerne is a beautiful town 2 hours from Zurich. The lion's monument and Kapel Brucke (Chapel Bridge) are the important sight seeing spots. We managed to cover both within an hours time as they were very close to the station. We got back to Interlaken from Luzerne.
We were dead tired at the end of the trip. Checked into the hostel and snoozed straight away.
One place we missed was Mt.Pilatus. If we had stayed in Luzerne instead of Interlaken, we could have seen Mt.Pilatus and Mt.Titlis. Mt.Pilatus is very close to Luzerne. It is something which travellers can consider.
Labels: Kapel Brucke, Luzerne, Mt.Titlis
Trip to Switzerland: Day 3 - Jungfraujoch & Interlaken
We left Geneva in the morning and reached Interlaken at 10ish. Took the train from there to Lauterbrunnen and changed from there to Kleine Scheidig. The scenaries were breath taking on the way.
We proceeded from Kleine Schedig to Jungfrau by Jungfraubahn. We had taken the Swiss pass for 4 days between 22nd and 25th. This cost us 81 pounds and we could travel by any train/bus/ferry in Switzerland without extra costs. However small caveat is that on certain routes we have to shell out money. We got 25-50% discount though as we were Swiss pass holders. My sincere suggestion to check the map clearly for routes which do not cost extra money. We made a mistake by taking a train from Latuerbrunnen all the way up to Jungfrau and back to Grindelwald. This cost us quite a bit of money.
We stopped en route to Jungfraujoch at Eismeer and Eigerwand. Both of these are peaks which offer amazing views of the swiss alps. The jungfrau railway was constructed in 1912 at a cost of 15 Million Swiss Francs. It is amazing how they had the vision at that point in time to accomplish this. Today it must be earning the Swiss government quite some money.
Finally we were atop Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe. This is the highest point in Europe. The views are breathtaking. There's even an Indian restaurant called 'Hotel Bollywood' on top! It was closed when we went though. We had lunch, took lots of snaps and got back by train to Grindelwald. From Grindelwald we took the train back to Interlaken.
We stayed in Backpackers Villa (youth hostel) in Interlaken. Place was comfortable and the breakfast scrumptious.
Trip to Switzerland: Day 2 - Geneva
Geneva is a city where people speak French in contrast to Zurich where German is spoken. One can notice the stark cultural difference.
We reached Geneva by 10am. We visited the tourism office for directions. As we crossing the Pont du Mont Blanc bridge we saw a ferry waiting to depart. We gladly hopped on for a ride from Geneva to Nyon (town close by). Lake Geneva is beautfiul and huge. We were surprised by the number of Chinese co-passangers on board. People starting to travel abroad for holidays is a clear fall-out of booming economies of India and China.
We found it tough to get Vegetarian food in Nyon. Had to settle for bread and jam. This is of concern to all you veggies travelling to Switzerland. Very few places have vegetarian food on their menu. It is always better to carry a loaf of bread, butter and jam.
Back to Geneva and we continued our sight seeing. Crossed Pont du Mont Blanc and continued walking along Lake Geneva. Visited some monuments in Place de Neuve. Crossed over to Promenade des Bastions and walked along Rue de la Croix-Rouge. The statue and church at Place du Bourge de Four were outstanding. We even listened to a Polizei band playing music and street play of the birth of Jesus Christ close by.
We got back to the city centre and took the bahn to Butini (Rue du Prieure). We again stayed in a youth hostel in Geneva. There was a nice Indian resturant called Little India close by. We took away some naans and panner for dinner.
Overall Geneva is a nice place with plenty to see. We din't visit the United Nations building as it was closed. Travellers can spend a day in Geneva though its a bit far from Zurich and Interlaken.
Trip to Switzerland: Day 1 - Zurich
Zurich is a busy cosmopolitan. We got to Zurich from London at 11am local time. We headed straight for Rhine Falls. To get there we took a train from Zurich Flughafen (Airport) to Neuhof. We walked along the Rhine river for about 3 kms to reach the Rhine falls.
Rhine falls is not very high. But the speed of the river makes up for this. There are 2 huge rocks at the bottom of the falls which add to the scenic beauty. We took some snaps and got back to Neuhof.
We took a bus to the nearest big station - Schaufhaussen and from there a train to Zurich main station.
It was 4pm by the time we used Zurich again. Went to the tourism office and collected a local map and directions to important sites in the city. With the aid of the map we walked from one place to another.
Zurich a small town. Most important places are close to the city centre. We walked along Bahnhofstrasse (the shopping hub) to start with. Purchased some delicious Italian cookies in a shop close by. Walked along Lake Zurich to the cathedral. There were some beautfiul painted glasses on the side of one of the churches. We moved on to Operahaus where plays are staged.
There's not much to see in Zurich apart from this. One can shop for chocolates and watches though.
We got back to the city centre and took the bahn (tram No. 7) to Morgentel, which is where the Jugendherberge (Youth Hostel) is. We checked in and spent the night there.
Youth hostels are present all over Switzerland. I would sincerely recommend this to backpackers on a tight budget. Bed and breakfast costs 35 CHF (17 GBP). Breakfast is sumptuous and tasty too.
