HCL > Red Hat > IBM, Pune > IBM Gurgaon

Posted on November 16, 2008, 12:41 pm, by Mayank Jain (makuchaku).

31st January, 06 – when I was still an HCL Tech employee – I had read a Paul Graham’s article – which mentioned that there are two type of people – those who earn their livelihood by doing what they love to do and those who do what they love by earning livelihood from something they don’t like so much.

The transition from HCL Tech (Noida) to Red Hat (Kalyani Nagar, Pune) had directly put me into the first category. Time passed, priorities changed, and with changing jobs, short term objectives also changed – but the long term objectives were still there, visible clearly.

Today, almost 30 months later – I am part of the second group, supporting what I love by doing things that support me financially. The bigger objective is still very much there. Getting back to Delhi with family & my team is just going to put that more into the focus.

Talking of getting back to Delhi – how can I miss the mention of Pune.

Taking the plunge to go and work with Red Hat, away from my family & friends – literally turned me ‘upside-down’. This was my first ever stay away from the family and a ton of things changed with that. Money matters suddenly became important, finding good people to live with became top most priority, finding friends whom I could talk at same wavelength became a challenege and what not. The independence came tagged with a sense of responsibility – which ofcourse took a back seat for the initial period – but it sure kicked in, hard – sooner than later.

When I came to Pune, I didn’t even knew how to operate a Debit Card in an ATM – or even how to deposit a cheque correctly. Ofcourse, driving was supposed to be even out of mention. And I really don’t feel ashamed about it anymore. As I realized, all the people I met during my initial stay in Pune were more or less like at the same page as I was – sometimes even worst!

And that turned out to be the best part!

Living away from the family literally taught me everything I needed. Independence, sense of responsibility & ownership, the missing sense of belonging to my roots, being comfortable with what I am, managing money matters (thought I still am a n00b at it) – and ofcourse driving :)

Luckily, I made some great lifelong friends in Pune – the D25 legacy!
Ratish & I met when we were playing against each other in a Tennis match about two years ago at Deccan Gymkhana Club. Though somehow I won that match… but the dude won my heart. We went on to become room mates in just a couple of months – and that was when I became part of the D25 group. Friends @ D25 were exactly what I was looking for in Pune – full of fun when enjoying and trustworthy when in need. Though the original members @ D25 are now scattered all over India, the legacy still lives on – D-25[at]googlegroups.com

Pune is a great city – unarguably the best after Delhi. A probable second home for Delhi folks who want to relocate.

The flight Captain just announced that we are going to land in a few minutes – so I am going to log off now. If you ever have any questions about life in Pune – please feel free to ping me.

Good Bye Pune!
12:41 PM, thousands of feet in the sky.

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  • http://geniousatplay.blogspot.com/ Bikram

    Hi,

    I reached your blog via google. I’m moving from Bangalore to Pune next month and wanted to know about life there.

    I’ve got a job in ADP, Pune; office located in S.P. Infocity, Saswad Road, Phursungi. Can you please tell me how far is that from the city center? What I want is this -

    A flat not very far from office
    This flat should not be far from other happening places in town, like malls, multiplexes etc.
    It should be a good residential area.
    Living cost shouldn’t be very high :p

    Let me know if that’s possible. If yes, can you tell me the name of the area where I should look for this flat?

    Additionally, how’s public transport in pune? Any additional info you can give me?

    Thanks a lot in advance. You can reply me via mail as well.

    - Bikram

  • http://adomado.com makuchaku

    Hi Bikram,

    Thanks for checking out my scribblings – I’d be glad if they can help you to make an informed decision.

    Phursungi village is pretty far from where I used to stay (actually, i’ve been there – IBM’s got a campus there and I signed my way into IBM at their Phursungi Village campus).

    What’s interesting that you are going to find in the transition from Blore to Pune – is that nothing in Pune is more than 14-18 kms away. Travel that much and you are bound to hit one end of the city – much unlike blore/delhi.

    Public transport in Pune is bad. You cannot rely on buss’s – irregular service and they are marked in Marathi/Hindi. However, auto ricks are a regular means of transport there – 6 to 8 Rs per Km (petrol in Pune is Rs. 10 costlier than that in Delhi). I would suggest that once you settle in Pune, getting a personal transportation should be the top priority. Bikes are usual in Pune – but a car would really help. Rains, traffic, pollution are bad in Pune. Oh yeah, wearing helmets isn’t a requirement in Pune :)

    For your stay, if you don’t have friends/relatives (irrespective how far they are from your office) – call up and book a hotel for atleast 2 weeks. Good hotels cost nearly 1k per night, cheaper ones can go as low as Rs 200/night. Most companies provide an allowance for shifting (do check up with ADP if they did not mentioned this) – you can wisely tap into that for reimbursements. Once you are here, moving in with office friends would be an obvious choice. Mainly because getting a flat for yourself is a costly affair
    - Broker’s commission is 1.5 to 2.5 times a month’s rent. If you get a flat for 10k/mo, you end up paying the broker nearly 15-20k. Thats a norm in Pune.
    - Security amount for the flat (refundable) can range from 50-80k. I’m sure you would want to split this with someone.
    - Setting up a new flat for habitable conditions is surely tough for a single person :)

    Sharing this expense (60+20+10 = 90k) for the first month with 3-4 friends is a wise choice.

    Also, if you are planning up to get a new flat – logon to Sulekha.com and search for property agents near your place. Give them _all_ a call, go and personally checkout the flats they have on offer. You’ll automatically be in a position to understand the right price for the flat you like. I also have numbers for agents we engaged a couple of times – do let me know if you need them.

    If you have friends/relatives in the city – no matter however far from office, do contact them and try to setup a co-stay. Spending 100-200 bucks on travel everyday is much much better than coughing up 4-5k on hotel stay for initial days.

    Having said all the things that might put you in a thinking state… Pune’s an awesome place. Laid back life, very very nice climate, safe and has an excellent night life.

    It will definitely take a couple of weeks for you to settle in – but once that’s done, you’ll enjoy alot.

    I hope this helps.

  • http://geniousatplay.blogspot.com/ Bikram

    Hi,

    Thanks a lot for your prompt response.

    Yea, I’m getting 2 weeks’ accommodation from ADP. Will look for house during that time. Not sure if moving in with office colleague will be an option as I’ll be new there and without knowing a person, no one would like to stay with a totally unknown person. If there’s someone else who’s recently shifted to ADP, Pune – then it’ll be easier.

    “Broker’s commission is 1.5 to 2.5 times a month’s rent”…!!!??? WOW. Here in B’lore, it’s 1 month’s rent, MAX. Can I roam around the locality and spot ‘For Rent’ houses myself, without engaging a real estate agent?

    1 thing I’d like to know is – in which area should I look for the house? Some area that meets my requirements mentioned in my last comment.

    Again, thanks a lot for your response.

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