I worked in Bangalore a few years ago. I used to think of Bangalore as a sweet combination of Bombay and Udaipur. Udaipur's quaint beauty and nice weather with Bombay's cosmopolitanism and opportunities. Bangalore was a much better place then. I keep visting Bangalore for business and cannot help notice the steady rise in pollution, traffic and headaches.
In a recent visit, I had the opportunity to dwell over city's booming IT business and the cultural changes it has brought. Bangalore is IT. I guess even paanwalla there stocks a USB storage device! Udaipur has history, palaces and lakes; not wi-fi hotspots.
Advaiya should rather be at Bangalore. Whats Advaiya doing in Udaipur? But then I may not reach home, if it were in Bangalore, in less than five minutes. In Udaipur, Advaiya is talk of the town; at Bangaore, Advaiya would be one of -- a rather large -- bunch. We focus on doing great things for our clients here and we have lots of time to do that. If a customer calls, our guys would get out of their quilts and be at office in 10 minutes. And, Udaipur is much less expensive than Bangalore in almost every way.
Udaipur might not have huge malls and multiplexes; Udaipur has Advaiya. Advaiya is proud to be in Udaipur.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Friday, October 07, 2005
English and C
Somebody I know gave an interesting hypothesis. Good English language (or, maybe, any language) skills go hand-in-hand with good programming skills. Though I have not put this to rigorous test, I have reasons to believe that this is true.
Programming is nothing but communicating to the computer. Language is a way to communicate to people. Every good programmer knows that its not syntax but capability to design the, well, communique which makes her program a success; Shakespeare would vouch.
So, maybe, a programmer would be greatly helped by reading literature. And a good programmer should be able to communicate to people as well.
Maybe some of us just find computers to be better company!
Programming is nothing but communicating to the computer. Language is a way to communicate to people. Every good programmer knows that its not syntax but capability to design the, well, communique which makes her program a success; Shakespeare would vouch.
So, maybe, a programmer would be greatly helped by reading literature. And a good programmer should be able to communicate to people as well.
Maybe some of us just find computers to be better company!
Monday, October 03, 2005
What's Advaiya
Advaiya is a solutions company. It has the capability to add value to business processes and to build valuable business processes via its technology and business skills.
Advaiya is not a large company. Advaiya does not see itself restricted to particular domain, vertical or technology framework. The central value is belief in 'Advaiya': the core, the oneness in businesses, technologies, people and processes. The core which manifests itself into a rich, vibrant and complex tapestry of modern businesses.
Advaiya does not ignore differences, it would rather accentuate them -- for Advaiya has no fear of variety -- to manage them by thinking beyond them, beneath them.
Advaiya has chosen to build platforms, solutions, applications and programs with Microsoft technologies. Advaiya has expertise in various enterprise technologies. The choice of expertise and technology flows from the judgment that this is a good way to end the duality of technology and business.
Advaiya is not a large company. Advaiya does not see itself restricted to particular domain, vertical or technology framework. The central value is belief in 'Advaiya': the core, the oneness in businesses, technologies, people and processes. The core which manifests itself into a rich, vibrant and complex tapestry of modern businesses.
Advaiya does not ignore differences, it would rather accentuate them -- for Advaiya has no fear of variety -- to manage them by thinking beyond them, beneath them.
Advaiya has chosen to build platforms, solutions, applications and programs with Microsoft technologies. Advaiya has expertise in various enterprise technologies. The choice of expertise and technology flows from the judgment that this is a good way to end the duality of technology and business.
What's in a name
I and the team (just a bunch of half a dozen enthusiasts) had been working to build solutions, applications and programs for around a year when we got serious about organizing ourselves. We had been working under the aegis of a company that my father founded (which he proudly finds true to its name: a bundle of initiatives) but then we needed another identity. We were looking for a good name for this new company. We wanted our name to say something about what we have in our minds about what we do. Its an interesting loop: you define yourself, the definition leads to a name, and then the name defines you. This leads to the realization that finding a name can be a very effective intervention.
Then, came up 'Advaiya' -- and it sounded good -- which according to the suggester meant 'unique'. But then Advaiya is a Sanskrit word and is the root of 'Advaita'. Advaita or non-dualism is a profound philosophy expounded by Shankaracharya. So Advaiya would be the non-dual entity.
It could not have been more apt. I have been fascinated by the concept that all knowledge and all skill are manifestations of the 'core' and the core is not segmented into disciplines, functions, fields, subjects or domains. Now I had a name for that: Advaiya. It described us neatly. While we worked on a very small set of technologies, we never could define ourselves by that. For us, technology was just a tool though an interesting, fascinating tool which was in itself an extension to our world-view. Technology, for us, is a natural ingredient in the rational scheme of things which we felt all around us. This rationality has been our window to the core, to Advaiya.
It is so common and so frustrating to see people and companies go about thinking that theory and practice are different, that means and goals are different, that dreams and reality are different, that business and technology are different. We find this narrow. We feel that this inhibits experiencing Advaiya. And, so, we define ourselves: we would help people and companies by building solutions which cut across technologies, functions, departments and teams: which bring them together, which help them experience the Advaiya -- the oneness -- that, we believe, would lead everyone to their objectives better and faster.
Then, came up 'Advaiya' -- and it sounded good -- which according to the suggester meant 'unique'. But then Advaiya is a Sanskrit word and is the root of 'Advaita'. Advaita or non-dualism is a profound philosophy expounded by Shankaracharya. So Advaiya would be the non-dual entity.
It could not have been more apt. I have been fascinated by the concept that all knowledge and all skill are manifestations of the 'core' and the core is not segmented into disciplines, functions, fields, subjects or domains. Now I had a name for that: Advaiya. It described us neatly. While we worked on a very small set of technologies, we never could define ourselves by that. For us, technology was just a tool though an interesting, fascinating tool which was in itself an extension to our world-view. Technology, for us, is a natural ingredient in the rational scheme of things which we felt all around us. This rationality has been our window to the core, to Advaiya.
It is so common and so frustrating to see people and companies go about thinking that theory and practice are different, that means and goals are different, that dreams and reality are different, that business and technology are different. We find this narrow. We feel that this inhibits experiencing Advaiya. And, so, we define ourselves: we would help people and companies by building solutions which cut across technologies, functions, departments and teams: which bring them together, which help them experience the Advaiya -- the oneness -- that, we believe, would lead everyone to their objectives better and faster.
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