I just discovered posts from my old blog - vritti.net and it was surreal. It was an impromptu trip down memory lane with some positive revelations. Reading through it I realized I haven’t changed much. The outlook that I had back in 2003 seems to be consistent. I am still excited by the unforeseen and at many levels I still feel like an outsider trying to carve my own niche, though the circumstances defining these realizations have markedly progressed.

It was nice to read lost thoughts on the future that is now part of my past, I feel happier about the present future outlook.

I have been trying to hire my first full-time Ruby on Rails programmer in India and the experience has been disappointing. I recently posted this article here on the Bangalore Ruby Users Group:

Hello People
I am new here - India Web 2.0 scene and Bangalore RUG, been trying to
get a grasp on the landscape here - How is the work environment for
web startups and the ecosystem around it. Its been really great so far
from almost all aspects. The energy is infectious, the market wide
open and a lot of cool development happening.

But I am having a hard time figuring out the talent pool here. For the
most part, people don’t really care about what we or other startups
are doing. RoR Coders that we have met so far don’t start off with
asking about what we are doing or using or innovating on. The first
question happens to be ‘what are you offering?’ and we are always
taken aback. On top of that, why are Indian coders working for Indian
companies talking to an Indian entrepreneur quoting hourly rates in
dollars?

I get the economics of demand and supply. But is there no
rationalization and no interest in creating something cool out of
India? If nothing else, then talking about that before the
conversation gravitates to Rs. (oops $) and loses all enthusiasm.
Almost all startup founders I spoke to warned me about the talent pool
and the shortage of quality committed creative coders, but I am still
kinda shell shocked. We are willing to pay top Rs. and maybe more if
the guy/girl is right, but is that all that matters here? Please tell
me there’s hope for startups who want people who love their code and
can do more than figure out which is their next project.

I would love to hear back from everybody on here.

I have been back in India for over a month now and have been traveling as much as I can. It’s been about three and a half years and I am keen to get a sense of understanding of the markets. There’s no doubt that there is a sense of urgency in the way business is conducted - “Next Please“. I have been to 3 different cities so far and on to the third one as I write this and in simple words, I am excited.

In almost every industry that I have tried to look into and meet appropriate people, there is growth. Growth = Opportunity = Challenge = Change. I am looking into a project in the manufacturing sector in Bengal along with a virtual product that can be developed and deployed from almost anywhere with partners in 3 time zones and its been fascinating so far. Executing a ‘real’ project in Bengal has its own pros and cons, loop holes and black holes. A manufacturing plant is worlds away from the intellectual world of web technologies. That’s not to say that it doesn’t require its own level of expertise, planning and networking. But execution is another story. Compared to what’s possible in 0s and 1s, this is at a snail’s pace.

I can’t imagine what it was pre-1992 and even in the ’90s. I am grateful to be in India at this time and all that it brings with it.

I just discovered Geobeats. Its a great resource for videos of places all over the world.

I think I am going to do some more research and write up on this genre of video sites.