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Programming in Bangalore

As we drove the street parallel to the main drag in the high tech district of Bangalore, we hit potholes filled with water as we streamed past the teeming masses, and a blur of bright and vivid colors, animals, beggars, and wealthy entrepreneurs on cell phones. It was a cacophony of energy, anarchy, and …. well, excitement! The jeep rocked back and forth, as we finally made our way to the newer buildings in the high tech sector of town.

My host Satish Chandrasekaran smiled at me as we pulled into the circular entranceway. We then stopped suddenly, and I encountered another grin, this one from the driver, who was not too subtly indicating how eventful the ride was! This was one anarchic scene, I thought, as I took a deep breath to keep the nausea at bay.

We then all piled out of the car, and headed to the main entrance of the building. There we were greeted by a receptionist who pointed us to the second floor, where we proceeded to climb the stairs. I looked around to find out what the company name was, but it was nowhere to be found. However, I did see the moniker “IdeaHatcher!” at the top of the stairs. When I asked about it, Satish explained:

"My friend, IdeaHatcher! is the name of the company that hatched us. They provided the initial capital, as well as the facility, the furniture -- even the programmers. We just arrived with the idea and they helped put the right people to work for us to accomplish our goal. We’re really a bootstrap operations, but I think it will work out. I believe our approach will really change the world!"

 

After we climbed the stairs, I found myself in a large room with dozens of people sitting in front of computers set on rows of tables. Though quite a Spartan operation, every person was very busy at work.

At the front, several individuals were gathered around a buffet, where they were scooping up food that they brought back to their desk so they could continue working on their programming chores. No one looked over 25.

One person, who seemed to be the manager, was an attractive and coolly dressed dark-haired woman. Satish introduced us, and she told me that she was one of the project managers at the company. I asked her how long she had been working there, and she said three months. She then went on to explain that she was in charge of rolling out several web site services for the firm. I was taken back at how young she was, and yet she was managing people younger still. Satish then continued his tour.

"What you see here is Silicon Valley lifestyle transferred to Bangalore. People eating buffet-quality food at their computers, huddled together in rows of tables, where some are doing marketing, others java programming, and others still customer support. They may not fully realize it, but they are working on new web services that will change the world."

"Has Jason told you what we are doing here?" Satish added.

"Well, not really. He told me that you would fill me in." I responded.

"I see. Well then we have much to discuss."

Satish then guided me toward a small conference room in the back of the facility. He then gestured for me to have a seat on the side of a long oval table.

 

The young Indian then began to explain the origins of the mysterious program that Jason had alluded to in Paris. He explained the history of the idea, how they developed a business plan, how they secured venture capital while "shmoozing" (he knew that term!) at Buck's restaurant in the hillsides above Silicon Valley, and how they had set up operations in Paris, Bangalore, and the Middle East.

For some reason I flashed on Buck's, and thought about my visit to that restaurant near Woodside in the wealthy hillside area of Silicon Valley where big ideas and bigger deals are hatched. I remembered walking around, observing people with their families, talking up big Silicon Valley initiatives. What impressed me most however was the twenty-foot wooden trout in front of the restaurant!

"Are you with me?" Satish asked as he recognized that my thoughts were drifting.

"Sorry, Satish. Please continue." I said.

"Now here's the interesting part of the story. This is between you and me only, since I haven't told anyone about this." I nodded in agreement. "The other day I ran a section of the program. The first time I put it through its paces, I suddenly got a call on the phone with good news about a new program we were developing for a client. After that conversation, I ran the program again, and wouldn't you know it, I instantly get another phone call! This time when I answered, I learned of more unexpected good news from yet another client in Europe! Two minutes later, I ran the program again, and the same thing happened! I thought either someone was playing a practical joke on me, or something extremely unusual was going on.”

 

Satish smiled and continued: “And so I stopped what I was doing and turned off the program for the day. I then went home, got into bed, and drifted off to sleep with these extremely strange events swirling around inside my head. The next day when I returned to the office, I ran that section of the program again, and at that very instant someone walked into the room! I then wondered “what now?”and the person told that my wife's medical tests were fine, and there was no need to worry. This was now getting very spooky. Actually, I think I used the word “cosmic.”

I remember once reading at the Growth Online site -- you are familiar with it? (I nodded yes) -- that if you overcome a negative attitude, or if you take an action you were reluctant to take before, you can evoke a positive “response” from life from literally out of nowhere. Since that time, I had experienced this phenomenon once or twice in my life. They call it a "Life Response."

Well it struck me on that second day that we had somehow developed a program that itself evokes life response: that somehow instantly triggers positive circumstances from the world – such as the sudden appearance of the three very beneficial phone calls, plus my wife’s good medical report!

In the next few days, I got kind of sidetracked with other matters. For example, there was an old friend who I had some financial problems with who contacted me after a number of years. It kind of agitated me. After an hour of difficult negotiation, I went back to the office. After I regained my composure, I ran the program again. This time however there was no life response. There was instead a thundering silence. Perhaps all that I had witnessed was an illusion; or it was all coincidence; or there was simply something unusual occurring that I didn't understand. Do you follow?”

I nodded yes, though I did so with a quizzical look on my face. For after all, I too wondered what in the world was going on.