In 1985, after I graduated, I looked for a job in Mumbai and Bangalore. I had, for the past 4 years, learnt a number of "computer languages", but I was most productive in dBASE II and III. I had already written full applications, and I could see that this would become a common thing soon (Clipper and Foxbase were still a while in the future).

Not a single job offer. Not one of the "computer companies" knew what dBASE was, and hence I was rejected everywhere.

I was so disheartened that all my abilities were going waste that I joined a "computer course" at DataPro to learn COBOL and stuff like that, which was the only thing in demand.

Then I saw an ad in the papers for programmers, and one of the languages listed was dBASE. The ad was for qualified programmers with a couple of years of professional experience, and of course I didn't qualify as a fresh mechanical engineering graduate, but I wrote to the advertiser and thanked him for at least recognising that dBASE was a "computer language" that could be used to write business applications. I sent off the letter (snail mail, no less!) and promptly forgot about it.

A week later, my dad called me saying that there was a letter for me. It was a reply from the CEO of the company I had written to, asking me to drop in.

Not expecting much, I hoofed it to Cuffe Parade, and met up with the man.

I walked into his office, and he looked at me, and asked me who I was, and I told him and reminded him about my letter. He spun around in his chair, handed me a bunch of papers, and said "I have been working on this problem for the past 24 hours [and he looked it!], see whether you can crack this in dBASE". He pointed me at a free machine, spun around, and went back to what he was doing.

Not having anything better to do, I sat down, and went to work. By nightfall, I had cracked the problem, written out the app, tested it against test data, then live data. All that time, the CEO of the company sat on the desk next to me, working like a maniac on another problem.

When I was done, he checked my code, showed me how to correct my coding style, corrected a few things I had assumed wrongly, showed me how to speed up a few routines, etc. Then, with both of us near collapse with exhaustion, he asked me to come back in the morning.

We didn't speak about salary or anything else for nearly a month after that. We just worked. And I had the time of my life. I learnt new stuff, and was introduced to Clipper, and used my dBASE skills to the hilt.

A month later, I was handed a cheque - my first salary - which was far higher than I had ever expected for a first job. And my boss, seeing my surprise, told me "I have been looking for someone like you who understood how important dBASE as a development environment was - I don't want to lose you over a silly matter like money".

That was 1985 - 24 years ago.

And I owe my entire life and career to the foresight of Ashok Hingorani, the CEO of Compu-tact. Whatever I am today, whatever you know me for, whatever spirit you see in me - it is because this man had the vision to recognise that something that no one else here had heard of would become something very important in the future. And he was right.

In 1985, my skills at dBASE were the thing that made me better than others.

In 2009, it is knowledge of python and other tools from the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) world that show you who the smart guys are.

A company that doesn't know that a python developer is usually more productive, proactive and knowledgeable than a cookie-cutter "C/C++/Java" programmer who has done a 6 month course at some "computer institute", is a company that will forever be doomed to be mediocre, non-innovative, and a place I would never recommend to any student as a place to work.

Wake up, corporate India! You need to re-evaluate your evaluation criteria if you want to remain relevant! Do you have any idea how many competent developers you are losing because you don't have a clue what development in the 21st century means, or what its tools are?

p.s. This rant is a spur of the moment thing, and I am going to refine it after a couple of hours. But I needed to get this point out NOW.

p.p.s. This is NOT a rant against C/C++/Java devs, or FOR python devs - it is a rant against companies whose recruiting policies don't recognise that a person who teaches herself python (or any other kind of 21st century development medium) is precisely the kind of progressive, self-starter, innovative developer that you are so desperately looking for!

]]> Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:53:43 +0530 http://atulchitnis.net/diary/showentry/502 Twitter or following Planet FOSS.IN) - we announced the dates and venue for FOSS.IN/2009 yesterday.

FOSS.IN/2009 will happen on December 1-5, 2009 at the NIMHANS Convention Centre in Bangalore, and it will be bigger and better than ever.

I recommend that you read all about it on FOSS.IN Website, and stay tuned for more announcements. A good way is to follow the FOSS.IN account on Twitter, but you should also get onto the FOSS.IN Mailing List.

But first of all, go read the announcement at http://foss.in/news/fossin2009-event-announcement.html - lot's of good stuff there! :)

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:53:59 +0530 http://atulchitnis.net/diary/showentry/501 "The Business of Open Source" at the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication (SIMC) on Saturday, the 28th of March. This talk addresses how Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) influences and drives businesses today, and how people can get involved in the process.

and

"The World is Changing" at the Pune Open Coffee Club on Sunday, the 29th of March. This talk is an updated version of my keynote from Proto.IN earlier this year, and talks about how the world today is different for startups, some of my own experiences, and some tips for startups.

Both events appear to be free for all, so if you are interested, do drop in.

]]> Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:40:24 +0530 http://atulchitnis.net/diary/showentry/500 FOSS.IN this year, you may have a chance to decide when the event takes place.

Check out out this post, where Team FOSS.IN is trying to get a fair fix on a set of dates for this year's event.

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:09:29 +0530 http://atulchitnis.net/diary/showentry/499 proto.in, *the* event for Indian startup companies.

I have been closely associated with proto.in since the first event (this is the fifth one), and over time, this event has become as important to the Indian startup world as my other baby (FOSS.IN) has become to the Indian Free and Open Source Software world. If you are a startup, or just want to get a feel of the Indian startup world, then missing this event is, according to me, shooting yourself in the foot.

I am also part of the PitchCamp mentor team that helps people finetune their pitches to be more effective. This is in partnership with the Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

My talk, "The World is Changing", talks about how things have changed in the product market, and what startups have to look out for both in terms of opportunities as well as "gotchas", including perceived business models, especially given the current economic climate.

And I get to speak right after the man who can be credited with bringing out India's first true product - Bharat Goenka, of Tally fame. I was there at the very beginning in the late 1980s, when Bharat started the project (then known as "PFA", for "Peutronics Financial Accountant"), and it is great to see how well he has implemented his product vision since then.

On Saturday evening, I fly to Cochin, to speak at FOSS Meet@MEC on Sunday, the 25th. My talk will be on the role Free and Open Source Software in preparing students for their careers. This is very different from "getting a job", and hopefully, people attending my talk will understand this difference, and act accordingly. Shreyas, my fellow FOSS.IN organizer and colleague at Geodesic, will also be speaking at this event.

If you are at either of these events, come and say hi! We love meeting people!

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