Sunday, 12 April 2015

Training at Infosys Mysore

Infosys Mysore- "Place where dreams become reality". As soon as one receives the offer letter, the ever agonising wait for the joining day mail starts.Having heard numerous stories about the 5-star accomodation provided to the trainees in the World Class campus of Mysore, I was really looking forward to witness it. So finally, when I received my joining date, I was more than ready to take the first train to Mysore
.
Before entering into the Mysore campus, one has to undergo a mandatory security check up. Since, a large number of trainees had their joining along with me, it took me nearly an hour before I underwent the mandatory security check. After the security check, we were taken to our hostels by a golf cart. When the golf cart made a move towards the hostels, I had the first glimpse of the Mysore campus and it really impressed me, to say the least. As soon as I reached my designated block, I was handed the keys of my room where a big surprise awaited. On opening the door of my room, I was totally dumbstruck. It was really a 5-star accomodation. The room was well furnished with a kingsize bed ,couch, LCD TV,wooden table and a chair. The bed was as comfortable as one could think of(though it’s a different thing that one rarely spent time in bed while in mysore :)). The room was spacious and had large windows garnished with silken curtains. Every morning, the housekeeping guy would change the bed linen and bring in tea and biscuit(which except for weekends, one would never get time to feast uponJJ).



Now speaking about the Mysore campus, it comprises of Hostels and SDBs. Each building has its own unique design but one that stands out is the “Multiplex. This crystal shaped structure houses a large ampitheatre.



This is the centre of attraction on weekends when new hollywood/bollywood movies are screened. Bulk of the land in the campus is occupied by hostels which houses around ten thousand trainees. Each building in the campus is a craftsman's delight. There are 2 GECs(global education centre), where trainings are imparted. Cleaning of the campus is carried out on a daily basis. When we would set off for our classes in the morning, one could find housekeeping guys  everywhere, some would clean the road, others the garden, even a single dry leaf could not be found lying on the ground. This was really amazing. One can move around the campus using bicycles. There is a lot of greenery around and the plants around are watered around regularly by a network of pipes. There is joke  doing round in the Infy campus that ‘Plants seems to be more happy than the trainees ". But jokes apart, you ask any Infoscion what was the best phase of his stay in Infosys, undoubtedly it would be their stay in the Mysore campus.    
Life at Mysore campus is truly a dream true for anyone. Though one spends most of his time at the GECs mugging up technical stuffs and yeah you are paid for that. Classes start from 8 and carry on till 6 in the evening. But the day never ends there, trainess have to burn midnight oil to grasp things for the prometric tests that keep happening every 3-4 days depending on the modules. Late night studies is not at an overhead infact its truly fun at Mysore. You have midnight snacks to complement your slogging. If the weekdays are hectic then weekends are truly most enjoyable and relaxing(provided you don't have modules tests on Monday).

Multiplex, is the place where the trainees converge on weekends.There are long queues for the weekend movies on display. Sometimes one has to wait for 2 -3 hrs to get a ticket, but one doesn't care as its really worth the wait. Where else in the world you get to see movies in a multiplex for free. When I say Multiplex, I really mean it for its far better than most cineplexes we have in India i.e Adlabs,Inox etc. Other then the Multiplex , the most happening spot for the Trainees is the ECC(Employee Care Centre). The ECC houses the retail shop(for all the inventories),saloon ,gym,pool table and other playing arena. It houses a world class gymnasium and swimming pool.
The whole campus is lush green and a sight to behold. Recently, built GEC2 can house around ten thousand trainees. Once you are inside the campus you rarely feel like going out. It just not the campus beauty which has made Mysore campus, world famous but also the world class training facilities makes it stand out. I really had an amazing experience which can not be put in words. 

Saturday, 11 April 2015

How to invest in Stock Market?

Stock markets seem to be favourite place for investors to churn money. Some call it a mere gamble while others call it speculation or calculated risk. Whatever you call it, it is immaterial. It has and will remain to be an attractive source of multiplying your earnings. What do you need to do before investing your hard earned money into stocks. I would like to list down few steps which if followed religiously can yield you good returns. Remember I am not here to list down the stocks that you should buy, instead try to help you out in chosing the right one by taking calculated risk

Prepare a Watchlist

Just do not jump into the market as soon as you have ready cash. Spend sometime in watching the market movement. Believe me it is not as simple as it seems. Study how it behaves owing to different macro economic factors. Prepare a watchlist that would contain stocks that you feel can earn you profit. Do not spend much thought in chosing these stocks. Take help from certain brokerage advice and just prepare a list. Ensure you have  a diverse portfolio. This means you have stocks from different sectors i.e IT,Pharma,Infra etc. Watchlist should not have more than 15-20 stocks. Keep a watch on these stocks over a period of 2 months. During this time you can add or remove a stock as per your wish and note the reason for doing so. After 2 months you should be ready to make your first investment. Offcourse, if you still do not feel confidenct, take a month more.

Look for  Stocks having strong fundamentals

Assuming you are ready now to make an investment in stocks, look for stocks with strong fundamentals. Strong fundamentals in layman terms implies companies that are well known and have posted good results in the past. I would not go into details of the financial terminologies as it will be difficult to decipher for those from non financial background. Just look for stocks of companies that are well known. Once you have decided for the companies then you apply the next step.

Price Pattern of the Stock

Just because a stock has strong fundamentals, it does not mean that will earn you money in the future.
There are certain stocks that hardly move over a period of time. i.e they are less traded. Next step is to look out for the volumes traded per day. This will give you an idea whether the stock is more traded or less traded. Avoid those which are less traded as they would not yield positive return in the long run.Then look out for the price pattern of the stock over a period of 1 month, 3 months, a year and hence forth. There are numerous websites that provide you these information. Price pattern gives you an idea whether it is the right time to buy the stock or not.

Long term Investor

One should have patience and look to invest for long term in stocks. That does not mean that you make an investment and forget about it. Keep a watch on the price movement. If required sell to book profits or buy more of it. Always keep a Stop loss.You will gain experience about this as and when you spend more time watching the market movement.

Listen to everyone's advice but follow your own

This is by far the best strategy. You will come across advice about a particular stock every now and then by different brokerage agencies. Do not follow them blindly. Most of the time they ask you to buy stocks which already form part of their portfolio. As more people buy the advised stock, its price rises. This enables them to sell off and book profits and you as an investor lose your money. Remember the money you lose in the market is gained by someone else. So, you need to be smart to retain your money and pull out money from other's pocket too. This  does not mean that you do not pay heed to advices by the brokerage houses. Listen to everyone and use your intellectual to decide how a particular buy or sell can impact your portfolio.

Finally, keep a vigil on the market movement. It will always give you opportunity to buy or sell. You have to keep your eyes and ear open. As for how will the market behave tomorrow or day after , sadly nobody can predict. In order to earn in an uncertain market, you have to use your intellect and sometimes gut feeling to make the investment. Happy Investing. Let me know if this write up helps and do write to me if you have any queries. I would be more than happy to help you out in whatever capacity I can.

Saturday, 20 October 2012

IPL:Boon or Bane


IPL was started with much fanfare in 2008.It was regarded as the next big thing in cricket.Under the able guidance of Lalit Modi, it started of really well.It was inspired by the highly popular EPL(english Premier League).Since its inception,it has caught the eyes of players and viewers alike.It brought in Bollywood and corporates under one roof. It resulted in huge amount of money poured into the game. Presence of bollywood stars during matches raised the glamour quotient. Pay package of international players, increased by leaps and bound. Players who appeared for a season, started drawing much more than what they were paid by their respective boards. This has lured a number of international cricketers to cut short their international career. Many others have become free lancers. This has resulted in question being raised over player's loyalty for his country. There is nothing harm in the players opting for these leagues which offer them lucrative money but definitely it should not be on the expense of the country. It was only, when they played for their country, their exemplary performance got noticed by the franchise.

IPL, inspite of its money and glamour quotient was projected as a league for nurturing the young Indian talents. Youngsters get to share dressing room with the greats of the game.Useful tips from the seniors in the team real helps them improve their game.Truly, IPL has helped in unearthing new talent .Just that it has been in news for a number of wrong reasons, its contribution to Indian cricket has taken backstage. This tournament provides great opportunity for budding cricketers from India to show case their talents. They get to learn nuances of the game while playing along side top cricketers from around the globe. Owing to popularity of this tournament, it gets a wide media coverage. As a result of which a player who performs really well, stands a strong chance of making it to the Indian team. Saurabh Tiwary, who has featured in a couple of ODIs for India sums up how good performace in IPL can provide you an opportunity to paly for India. In one of the interviews, he stated that he had been playing exceedingly well in the domestic circuit for quite sometime  but it never caught the attention of the selectors. But couple of good seasons with Mumbai Indians earned him an Indian cap.
Every thing has its pro and cons. IPL is all about entertainment for the public but for cricketers its just serious cricket. Most franchises are criticised for holding late night parties after matches. I do not see any problem with it for cricketers are human beings, they also like to hang out and party after a stressful day in the field. It is important here to draw a line too. Cricketers should never forget that they are role models for the society hence its imperative that they maintain a certain level of dignity when in a public place.
IPL being a domestic tournament does not come under ICC control.This has made it prone to match fixing.Of late BCCI has realised this and each franchise has been made aware of it. They will be solely responsible if any player contracted with them is found to be involved in some wrong doings.This has brought some sanity to the tournament which has been plagued with a number of controversies.
IPL has provided us with a  number of gifted talents.Many of them have made it to the Indian team and proved  their worth.Raina,Ashwin,Jadeja to name a few, have been major finds from IPL. Still I am not fully convinced with the theory of selecting cricketers just on the basis of a good IPL season. Domestic circuit is the best platform for a cricketer to nurture his skills.The more he plays in the domestic circuit, the better he gets.
After every series loss , IPL is billed as one of the reasons which I believe is totally unfair.Even recently,when India failed to qualify for the semis in T20 WC, few pointed out IPL as one of the reasons.Some even went as far to suggest that owing to the money involved, players have become more loyal to their franchise than to their country.
We have to stop blaming IPL for each and every loss we suffer at home or away in any format .I believe none of the players do any wrong by appearing in IPL matches for it provides them a handsome package and a secure future.This is testimony to the hard work the cricketer has put in over the years.Not all players get a chance to paly in this tournament. You have to be best to be here.Its simply unfair to undermine the players commitment for they try to give their best whenever they come onto the field.

Lets accept that IPL has totally redefined the game of cricket. It has brought glamour and money in the game. Its fan base is increasing at a rapid space which is really good sign for cricket as a game.

Thursday, 18 October 2012

Test Corrigendum for India

Retirement of Dravid and Laxman in quick succession has left a huge void in the Indian middle order. Once reputed for its FAB4(Dravid,Sachin,Ganguly,Laxman),the batting line up suddenly looks brittle.Worse enough,we still have not found a replacement for Ganguly, who had retired from test cricket wayback in 2008. Yuvraj and Raina were considered to be the most suitable replacement for Dada. Both of them promised a lot but none of them delivered .Cheteshwar Pujara, the run machine from the domestic circuit was drafted into the Indian team owing to his potential of playing long innings. He had a promising debut against Aussies and he carried his form on to the tour of SA. It was widely felt that the search for Ganguly's heir apparent was over. Unfortuantely, it was short-lived as Pujara while appearing for KKR in an IPl match, injured himself. The injury was so grave that he was out of action for more than 5-6 months.
Last year was a forgettable year for the  Indian test team. They suffered a humiliating white wash in England.The Indian batsmen, except for Dravid had a horrendous time.This was followed by the much anticipated tour,down under.It was again a nightmare for the batsmen, in particular. Even the pillar of Indian batting in the England series, Dravid had his stumps rattled a number of times.Only bright spot in this shabby display, was Virat Kohli who fought against all odds to score his debut century. Soon, Dravid announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Laxman followed suite few months later.
How does our batting line up look post Dravid and Laxman's retirement?
We do not have problem at the top as we have Sehwag and Gambhir to open the innings.They have showed us time and again what they are capable of. They might be having a bad patch at the moment but it should not trouble the skipper. The problem lies in the middle order which is still young and untested. Pujara,Kohli, Raina alongwith Tendulkar make up the middle order. Pujara has shown mettle to play long inning in the domestic circuit His continued hunger for runs , makes him a real asset for the test side.He has marked his arrival on the test arena by blasting a strokeful century against the kiwis in the recently concluded test series. Kohli has performed exceedingly well in the ODIs and rightly earned the ODI player of the year.He needs to replicate this form in Tests.He has shown glimpse of what he is capable of: just needs to be consistent.Coming to Raina,his trouble with short balls keeps haunting him.When it comes to ODIs or T20 he is a different player all together.Even the short balls donot seem to trouble him.But when it comes to test match cricket, short ball has been his nemesis. I believe its just about having confidence which I believe Raina lacks when it comes to test cricket.He needs to have patience and spend sometime on the crease: this will do his confidence real good. Dhoni needs to bat up the order.He is too good a batsman to come in at number 7.He will get to face more number of balls which will help him to get his eye in.When he gets in, he can be at his destructive best. Apart from the current lot, there are few other players who deserve a place in the Test team. Just to name a few: Manoj Tiwary,Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Raydu

The advent of T20 cricket(read IPL) has resulted in players resorting to play attacking cricket which entertains the crowd .Most players donot believe in the old school of thought :leave the good balls and punish the bad ones.Test cricket is a different ball game. It involves high level of concentration and its a real test of character.You got to have immense patience and maintain vigil for hours at a stretch. This can be mentally and physically exhausting.This why its said that Test cricket is the real form of cricket. Our younger batsmen should take a cue from Dravid or Tendulkar on how to pace your innings. They need to be solid in defence and yet attack the loose balls. They should have the patience to bat for long hours and lay price on their wickets. Great batsman always make bowlers toil for their wicket. If I were to pick a batsman from the present middle order, one who has the best test match temperament. It will have to be Pujara. He has never failed to impress me with his grit and determination. This man is the next Dravid in the making. No doubt, he has a long way to go but atleast he is on the right track.

Unlike our batting, our bowling looks pretty good.We have spinners in form of Ashwin and Ojha,pace battery comprises of Zaheer,Umesh,Ishant.In all our bowling has the capability of bowling out opposition twice, provided they play to their potential.Add that Ashwin is no mug with the bat for he averages above 30 in Tests,which simply remarkable stats for a tailender.


The young brigade is fortunate to have Dhoni as their captain for he backs them which in necessary for you have to give them ample chances to prove their mettle.You donot become a Dravid or a Laxman in a day, you need to play a number of test matches. More test matches mean, you get to spend more time on the field. This really helps in the development of the cricketer.

We have a long season ahead wherein we will host England and the Aussies.This will be a real test of our younger team under Dhoni.This might shape the composition of our future test team.We might get new Dravids,Tendulkars and Laxmans.We have to wait and watch.

Wednesday, 17 October 2012

Virat Kohli: Mr. Consistent

Virat Kohli, the lad from Delhi has been the most consistent batsman for India in the last 2 years. He averages ov 52 in ODIs with a strike rate of around 87.0 that is simply phenomenal. The good thing about Kohli is that whenever he comes on to bat, he is really calm and composed and can switch gear at will. He has a wide array of shots which makes him a potent player. When he is at his destructive best, he  makes the best bowlers look ordinary. He is from the younger generation that doesen't wilt under pressure and love to face challenges.

As a skipper of U-19 team,he guided the team to World Cup glory in 2008. The transition from U-19 to senior level never been a smooth ride for the players in past. In the past we have seen a number of U-19 cricketers making it to the senior level at an early age but soon they were lost into oblivion.Kohli was no exception. After his heroics in the U-19, he was considered the next big thing in the Indian cricket fraternity. As a result he got to play for India at the nascent age of his cricket career.Owing to frequent injury to our regular openers,Kohli was made to open innings for India . Having played most of his innings as a middle order batsman, opening innings was definately going to be tough for this youngster. Unfortunately, he did not perform to his potential and was soon shown the door when our first choice openers were back. Though he kept on getting few chances here and there :mostly in place of an injured player. He marked his arrival on the international scene by scoring a century under pressure in the second innings against Srilanka in 2009. It was truly a gem of innings where in he mustered a colossal partnership of 224 with Gambhir and won the game for India.Since then he has never looked back. He has amassed runs whenever he has come into bat and become the cornerstone of the indian batting line up. He has truly been Mr. Consistent for India since 2009. 
His delightful cover drive is a treat to watch. He can handle spinners and pace bowlers at ease. Add to that he is a brilliant fielder. Be it backward point, slip or in the outfield, he is just an asset to the team. He is naturally aggressive that  is apparent when he comes in to bat or field. Being a fighter, he nevers likes to lose and wants to give his best whenever he there on the park. Lately, he has been more than effective with his medium pace bowling.
Even though he takes his game seriously which is apparent by the number of runs he has scored in the last two years, he lives his life to the fullest. When he is not playing cricket, he loves to party and hang out just like any youngster of his age. He just knows when to switch on and off which is so important for a cricketer especially if he plays for india. Thanks to BCCI, Indians play a huge number of matches through out the year and add to that 2 months of IPL. This can really stress you out. So you need some time to go out and recharge your batteries.
Success does not come easy. It requires a lot of hard work and dedication. The same rule applies to cricket. You need to practice day in and out to hone your skills. Fortunately, for budding Indian cricketers, you do not have to go far, for you have Kohli to look up to. Kohli is an ardent student of the game of cricket. He always tries to elevate his game by taking useful tips from senior pros in his team. As once Kevin Peterson, his teammate in IPL, once pointed out that if kohli gets out cheaply in a game, he just goes back and tries to rectify the mistake that he had made. He keeps bothering his fellow teammates and his coach for their useful tips so that he can make improvements in his game. This is real dedication. 
His batting simply seems flawless at the moment. He has matured and its not the same Kohli who used to vent out expletives on scoring a century. This is good news for indian cricket. Aggression should not be confused with sledging and abusing. A matured Kohli is the need of the hour for he is the captain in making. Owing to his terrific performance with the bat, he has been made vice-captain of Team India. Who knows few years down the line he might captain India to another World Cup triumph.

Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Dhoni is still the best choice to lead India

After India's third successive Super 8 exits, voice over axing Dhoni has grown strong.Former
cricketers and so called cricket pundits have come up of theory of having different captains
for different format.Some even believe that dhoni should have been stripped of his captaincy
after the debacle in Australia itself .Though everyone is entitled to have his opinion but I just want to put forth one question to them : Do we have a replacement?
 Indian team has performed exceedingly well under Dhoni. The same crictics had hailed him as the one of the best captains.I understand that recent overseas performance especially in Tests were not up to the mark. A captain is always as good as his team and when the team is not performing to its potential, there is little a captain can do.Having said that a captain should shoulder much of the blame for he is is the man in charge when team takes the field.But to drop him after couple of series loss is totally unfair.One should not forget that it was under him,India became the number one Test team. We were crowned WC champions in both T20 and ODIs under his captainship. He has proved to be an inspirational leader and reamins cool under pressure. His calmness even in pressure cooker situation has earned him the tag of Captain Cool. He has built a team which doesn't bog down under pressure and always is ready for challenges.Add to that his performance with the bat is not really bad. In ODIs, he has been one of the best match finishers for India. His  average in Tests is ordinary,but thats mainly because he comes into bat lower down the order.
Lets have a look at the replacements we have. Gautam Gambhir, has become  a strong contender after leading his team to IPL glory. But after the IPL finals, Gambhir is struggling with his form therefore not ideal to lead the team Viru, owing to his attitude has already let the team down and its not helping his batting either. Virat Kohli is definately is in his form of life but he is too young to be burdened with captainship. No doubt, he has already captained the U-19 team to World Cup victory but leading a team at senior level is a different proportion altogether. Moreover, captaining a team like India brings in additional pressure with it which might affect his batting thats the last thing Indian team would want at this stage. End of the day we are left with no choice but stick to Dhoni. He is the best man to lead the team owing to his experience. Meanwhile, we can groom Kohli for the future. I have no doubt in stating that Kohli is the future captain in the making but we should give him a couple of years. We have a fairly young test side which needs a captain with strong wit and conviction as a result of which Dhoni fits in quite well. He has a cool head which is ideal thing to have when you are playing for India where cricket is religion so passion soars sky high. We had failed miserably in tests while playing abroad but it was not because of poor captainship. It was more because we were under prepared and we did not have sufficient  practice matches to acclamatise to the conditions.We showed that what we are capable of when NZ toured India. Dhoni is here to stay as a captain of India for a couple of more years.

Monday, 15 October 2012

T20 WC12: India's performance review

India again failed to make it the semis. It seems to be nothing new as per few angry fans for they expected it to happen. Third time in a row, India had failed to reach the knockout stage. Nevertheless,  it was a much improved  performance. In the previous two outings, we did not win a single game in the Super 8 stages. Still this did not augur well with the former cricketers and cricket pundits.  Swords were drawn against Dhoni and experts began to question whether he was the right person to lead the team. Suddenly, a man who was supposed to be one of best captains of India, was considered to be lacking motivation and will to lead the team. The bigger question is do we have his replacement? Under Gambhir KKR were crowned the IPL champions but the man is struggling with his form of lately in all formats. Viru's attitude is neither helping his batting nor the team as a whole. Kohli is terrific played probably the best ODI player in the world at this time but he is too young to be burdened with the additional responsibility.

I simply fail to understand this question being raised over Dhoni's leadership though the Indian team did not have a bad outing in the T20 WC by any standards. Even going by the ICC T20 rankings, we hold a respectable third position. I agree to the fact that we failed to make it to the semis even though we have players who haved performed exceedingly well in the IPL. Having said that I still believe that we played really well. We managed to win 4 out of the 5 games that we featured in. We were critised for having a weak bowling attack but still we manged to bowl out opposition not once or twice but 4 times which is no mean achievement. Its true that few our batsmen did not play to their potential. Our batting  relied heavily on Virat Kohli but such was the case with other teams. Aussies depended heavily on Shane Watson, not just for his batting but for his bowling too. Infact T20 is such a format where one batsman can make a difference. We had one bad game against Australia where we failed to click as a team. Speaking about that game, Aussies bowlers bowled really well in restricting us to a score of 139 which was not a bad score to defend on a spinning track. Going by the performance of our spinners in our previous game against the english ,we were very much in the game.
But short showers during the Aussie innings changed the course of the game. Indian spinners were not able to grip the ball as a result they kept balling short. Aussie found easier to score on short balls. Watson, in particular simply feasted on short balls and carted them for sixes. Once they were in,Aussie openers were at their destructive best and won the game  in around 16 odd overs. India played out of their skin in their next game against Pakistan and  much to the rejoice of the Indian fan, handed Pakistan a thumping defeat. They even improved their run-rate which had got a beating against the Aussies and were one of the strong contenders for the semis going by their form. It was again, Australia vs Pakistan match that spoiled the party for the Indians. Last time(in champions Trophy) it was Pakistan when it lost to Australia has shun the doors for Indians in the tournament, this time as to return favours, Aussies lost to Pakistan, leaving India with an improbable task of defeating a strong SA team by a big margin. It seemed nothing was going  India's way on 2nd October . First, Aussie were simply thrashed by Pakistan which was followed by Dhoni losing the toss against the proteas. India would have loved to chase under lights as they has done in the previous game. India came into bat and against a strong SA attack, scored 150 odd runs which in the end was just enough to win the match but not enough to earn a qualification for the semis.

End of the day, couple of things went against the Indians in this WC which cost them a place in the semis. It happens in cricket as we must not forget that its just a game. Moreover, its T20, where a match can change in a couple of overs. We might have made the mistake of playing 3 spinners against the Aussies but the same team struggled against Pakistan, when spinners were in operation.  Questions were raised against Dhoni's decision of the not fielding 3 spinners against the SA. I doubt  if that it would have helped as the pitch was really a batting paradise in the second innings. Du Plessis played a gem of an innings and handled Indian spinners without any discomfort. Even the bulk of the wickets were taken by Indian pace trio. Whatever be the theory, I strongly believe that we played really well but just few things did not go our way and we were out of contention for the semis. On the other hand, WI even after winning lesser number of games not only qualified for semis but also won the tournament. This is T20 for you.