Hello Reader ! I thank you for coming here to know more about me. I plan to apprise you of the following about me.
1. Who is Sandesh? …From Kindergarten to Intel.
1. About me – Who is Sandesh?
I live in Bangalore in an Apartment with a friend, whom I met when I moved here 3 years ago. I work for Intel. Most of the weekdays, Monday through Friday are occupied by work from 8am-5pm, with the evenings mostly spent in sport. Weekends are mostly spent outdoors, hanging out with friends in coffee shops, and other activities such as adventure sports. Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings are occupied with singing practice for church choir/youth and other church activities.
In this section, I would like to speak about ‘ME’, focusing on my achievements, giving the reader a snapshot of the course of events in my life - How I came/became what I am today.
…From Kindergarten to Intel
Formative years of childhood – High-school, College & Engineering – University days and Life in USA
Formative years of childhood : Let us now come to the dawn of my existence in the character of a thinking being. The organ of memory began to develop itself in me at the beginning of August, 1985. I had at that time reached the age of 4 years and 4 months. Of what may have happened to me before that period, I have not the faintest recollection. This is the circumstance – I was staring ceaselessly into a hole, amidst the anthills at the end of the playground of our Kindergarten school. It seemed to me like some ‘Tail’ was going into the hole, that excited my curiosity. Noticing me, our teacher came to me to find out what was going on. On she asking me, I did not know how to describe it to her. She was an Anglo-Indian and understood, only English. My grand-father, who was an ex-serviceman, talked to me, only in English, ever since I remember him speaking to me (I was talking to him in English even in 2003, when he was on his death-bed). Hence, I was not a total stranger to English, at that age. So I mustered all I could compose and said, ‘Teacher, there is a snake in this “Randhram” ‘. She burst into such a big laughter, along with astonishment, that she narrated this to my father and uncle, who used to come drop/pick me up everyday from school. They, in turn, told this in our home, which did not take long to be known to the neighbours. My grand-father was proud of me attempting that feat, though everyone laughed at the joke. However, my mother was angry at me, on going to the edge of the playground, all alone, and sternly warned not to go alone like that, no wonder I was the ‘apple of her eye’, as is the case with all mothers. There are a good number of such sweet memories of my childhood, which cannot be included here, due to the constraints on the time and interest of the reader.
Most of my childhood was spent in playing and fun-filled activity. I was fortunate to have understanding parents, who being teachers, thought that children should not be ‘forced’ to study, but that they should be encouraged to develop that interest in academics out of their own volition. I was very social and extrovert as a child and soon lost no time in winning friends everywhere I went, be it in the neighbourhood, school or in the extended family. I also loved school, as it presented me many opportunities to play with others and also enjoy the lessons teachers taught us. Hence, for most of my childhood, I managed to be an ‘Average’ student, just by listening to what I was taught at school. However, there were some sparks of excellence during this time, notable of which were 1st rank during my class 1, prizes in quiz and fancy dress competitions. Winning bible memorization, fancy dress and quiz competitions at church. I did not study at home, watched a lot of TV, played even more and spent most of the time with my relatives who lived nearby.
All of this continued like this until I reached 8th standard. It was during this time, that something in me changed forever. I noticed that the students who secured the top ranks in the class were treated with higher respect and dignity, both by the teachers and students. Since I always believed I was as good as the best, I resolved to prove it to myself, my friends and my teachers. Hence I sacrificed tv, I set aside 2 hours each night, after sports, and 1 hour in the morning to study. The quarterly results were announced and the teachers were surprised to see a new comer among the toppers – Sandesh standing 4th in the class. There was no turning back! From then on, I consistently stood 2nd or 3rd in the class, earning myself a place amongst the toppers of the class. My mother’s efforts in waiting on me and grooming me to develop my own interest in studies seemed to pay her rich dividends. Thus was my transition from a child to an adolescent.
High-school, College & Engineering : My high-school & college days of 1995-1998 were some of the most memorable in my life. By then, I had developed my talents of singing, was a high-jumper, a football & cricket player (bowling with right & left). I was the darling of our teachers in school, immensely popular amongst my friends circle and enjoyed a reputation of being the most outspoken. Thus, I finished my 10th class as one of the toppers in the school. My good-old days of hometown melodies came to an end with my 10th class.
My loving uncle, who lived in Hyderabad, persuaded my mother to let me stay with him and study in Hyderabad, since he felt it appropriate to be exposed to the city’s competition. So, I enrolled in Gautami Jr. College, Madhuranagar. My pursuit of excellence continued to blossom in Hyderabad too, earning me success academically & in other fields too. One of my friends, Sesha Sai, who believed in me encouraged me to participate in the Essay Writing & Elocution competitions. I reluctantly gave my name. I did not disappoint my friend – I won prizes in Essay writing & Elocution not only at the college level, but also at the Inter-collegiate level in Hyderabad, thus bringing laurels to our college. I was also the ‘Class Leader’ who was hand-picked by our class teacher, who gave me the responsibility to keep the class calm in his absence. This, however, cost me some of my friends, as I was absolutely ruthless and impartial in writing down the names of anyone who talked, leading to some of my best friends being awarded the punishment, which included Sesha Sai. Some of the lecturers who taught me, recalled me even after 5 years and spoke of me. I shall also speak more about this friend of mine, Sesha Sai, in a different section, how we met again in the future.
I entered Engineering in 1998, at Vasavi College of Engineering, Hyderabad, one of the reputed colleges in the sate. Engineering years passed along very swiftly and before I realized, I was in the 3rd year, when I decided to take the GRE/TOEFL exams. As might be expected, I was able to score impressively and apply. It was during this time, that one of my biggest accomplishments took place. One of my technical papers which I had authored, was accepted for presentation at the International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE – 10) in Airlington, VA, USA. I was the only author from India, the second one from Asia in this conference. In addition to this, ASME offered me a $695 waiver of the conference fee, scholarships from ASME and IAEA that paid for my plane tickets – to & fro and for my stay in the hotel. In addition, I was also invited to attend the American Nuclear Society (ANS) meet at Penn State University, after the conference, with all the travel and lodging expenses paid. I became known throughout the college, overnight. News of this accomplishment was published in the newspapers in AP. My grand-father was so elated, that he stood with that newspaper in his hands for the whole week, telling about my achievement to every single person in our town, who knew me. Our college management made a ‘killing’ out of the publicity that was generated, touting it as a testimony to their prowess, though this was the result of my individual efforts & toil. I am placing a copy of those awards here.
It is a different story, that I was rejected the Visa to attend this Conference, for reasons know to the U.S. Consulate officer alone, who branded me as a ‘potential immigrant’. Some people thought the reason for my rejection was due to then recent September 11th attacks, that made Americans more wary in allowing foreigners to gain knowledge in sensitive areas such as Nuclear Technology. Whatever, the reason, I was greatly disheartened and lay praying until my train was to leave back, that evening.
It was my 21st Birthday that day, when I arrived back in Hyderabad. My mother, anticipating I would be in a sombre mood, traveled to Hyderabad to comfort me. As, I opened my door, to my utter surprise, I saw an envelope, that contained an Admission to Auburn University, USA, one of the oldest (1856), largest and best engineering Universities in the Southern U.S. My disappointment with the Visa thing was still so great, that I did not even care to open and read the letter from the University. My mother, however, saw the silver lining in the cloud, and remarked that the LORD had opened another door, when one door was shut for me. That, maybe this was HIS way of landing me in the United States.
She was absolutely right !
University days and Life in USA : On August 5th, 2002, I landed in the United States of America, having got my Visa, this time, with no questions being asked by the Consulate officer. I landed in Atlanta, where some of the Indian students of Auburn University came to receive me and drove back to Auburn University, 100 miles west. I got acquainted with some good friends who helped me settle down with other fellow Indians. I also made a good number of American and international friends at the Local church. One of them was the family of Prof. Paul Swamidass, a Director in the MBA Department, of whom I shall have to speak often, in my other sections. Prof. Swamidass migrated to America 30 years ago and we instantly struck a similar chord, right from our first conversation. I became as one among their family and was invited very often to come spend time with them. We went out every Sunday after church for lunch, celebrated all events together and also prayed often. This worthy man inspired me with the deepest attachment and gave me the wisest advice.
Owing to my credentials and to the favouring of chance, I was able to win a Scholarship from our Engineering Department, for all of the 5 consecutive semesters I studied at the University. This included a 100% tuition fee waiver and a handsome $840/month , that left me with much to save, after spending comfortably, thus rendering me a fat wallet. I was paid in return for being a Teaching Assistant to the Professors. I had to help them in preparing class notes, grading the answer sheets and teaching Labs to the Undergraduate students. All of this, while maintaining my academic excellence in MS, and Research work for my thesis. This was a great time of learning & teaching for me from the Undergraduate students. Some of them wrote to me, even after I left the University.
I graduated with flying colours. My mother visited Auburn University in 2005, to attend my Graduation Ceremony, which was presided by Dick Cheney, the then Vice-President of USA. She was elated to see me take the Degree in front of a 20,000 people- packed audience. While I was still studying in the University, my Professor informed me of an opportunity as a ‘Research Fellow’ at GE Global Research Centre in Bangalore, India. On corresponding with them, I was asked to join. I returned to India and joined GE-GRC as a ‘Research Fellow’. This was a 6-month contract-to-hire position. After 3 months at this Company, I received a regular job-offer from Intel, Bangalore. My thesis work on flip chips was a 100% fit to the nature of work in this group. This is how I ended up at Intel, starting my days at the Kindergarten with that Anglo-Indian teacher!
