Interview with Tushar Joshi

Pulse was a monthly newsletter published in Infospectrum Inc., the software company I worked in from 2006 to 2011. As the chief editor of this newsletter, I often participated in conducting interviews of senior managers in the company.
Here's the interview we conducted with my friend, philosopher and guide, Tushar Joshi.

• Celebrity: Tushar Joshi 
• Reporters: Raghunath Soman, Chandrakant Raju 
• Date: 23rd March 2008

Tell us something about your favourites.
My favourite book would be 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, because unlike other self-development books written in West, this one talks about building one’s character first. 

Other one is Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. I like hard work pictured in that book with character of Howard Rock, which has been my own philosophy. 
I watch all sorts of movies, but have a special liking for art films, esp. the ones that show simple people, such as movies of Amol Palekar, Smita Patil. I love watching movies with epic proportions. If I ever get around to building a library, I would collect movies like Patriot, Gladiator, Castaway, etc..
Favourite actors.. Raj Kapoor, and Aamir Khan from the Khan clan.  
Favourite actress is Rekha esp. from her Silsila days. And of course I must mention Amitabh Bacchan… He is in a class of his own! My favourite movie of Amitabh Bachchan is Main Azad Hoon. It depicts transformation of an ordinary person into an extra-ordinary man. Favourite food… biryani!

Tushar does not know ANYTHING about cricket. He did not know why Nagpur was celebrating when India won T20 world cup.

You cooked for your team-mates during your Norway visit…
Yes, I can cook quite a few dishes pulav, anda-burji and some Chinese stuff.

How do you relax? 
I read books. Nowadays, a major pastime is surfing the net and reading blogs, articles and E-books. Our family often goes for long drives, and movies. Eating pani puri together is something that we enjoy the most. 

Tushar was a power lifter. He considers his shift from a trainer profile to IT professional as ‘a wild animal getting domesticated’

One thing that you like about yourself? One thing you wish to change?
Well, I think I can explain things in an easy to understand way, that is to say, I am a good teacher. Of course, my students may have some other opinions.  
One thing I would like to change… well, I find it very difficult to say “No”. It so happens many a times that I agree to do something to avoid bitterness, but when I cannot make it due to lack of time, it becomes even more uglier . So I have been trying to get myself say “No” at the right time to avoid further bitterness.

Working as a senior technology manager in a highly complex project, writing so many blogs, and poems… Taking part in many social activities… how do you manage all this?
The answer would be in two parts:
First n foremost, we must get our priorities right. If I need to do something that will make me a better person, I must do it, no matter what. 
And secondly, I understand that everything comes at a cost… I must say my family has been paying the cost for my so many activities I owe the time I spent on writing blogs and articles to my family. It is because of their understanding and support that I can do all this. The time that I spend in coding or writing at home is the time I take away from being with them. But that is the price we have to pay. I will not say I am making a compromise with the family time, we sit together and decide our priorities and then the time spent is after thorough discussion and our own decision so it becomes investment and not compromise. 

Tushar writes in blogs regularly. Just search by "Tushar Joshi" in Google and the query will return a number of hits about him. Internet is almost like an oxygen for him. Tushar's ORKUT profile has highest number of testimonials that we have come across.

Writing a piece of code and writing a paragraph of article or a stanza of poem… How do you compare these? Do they originate from the same creative source?
A piece of code that works; a well-written article or a beautiful poem…All three gives me happiness; irrespective of whether there are other people to appreciate or not. Appreciation from others is an added bonus! Such creative activities save us from making a machine out of ourselves.

People who have influenced you? 
The list ought to begin with Swami Vivekananda. I feel inspired by his sense of curiosity, his unquenchable thirst to find out answers… 
I admire the devotion of Baba Amte, and the bare honesty of Mahatma Gandhi. George Washington Carver, the Negro scientist who did pioneering research in agricultural in spite of heavy odd is another person I admire. 
In personal life, if there is one person I can name it would be Dr Kishore Mahabal, who is a reader at Nagpur University. I am influenced by his style of asking thought-provoking questions and leaving the other person to find out the answers for themselves. Over the years, I find I have ingrained a bit of his style in myself.

Tushar has been a very active contributor to Vivekanand Kendra. He hates being alone and is at his best being in crowd. He has a huge fan-following of his students.

Best pals at IIPL?
There are many friends at IIPL. I will mention only them whom I have seen closely. Harshawardhan Pandit & Dr Saurabh Sethia… both these have been my close pals, as well as professional colleagues. 
Another person I appreciate is Milind Tapas… very practical when it comes to work! These people have exhibited trait of never making a compromise on quality and they have been delivering consistently against heavy odds. 

In your Infospectrum blog, you have mentioned about your luncheon meetings…
Jay, our CEO, has time and again emphasized the importance of earning our pay-check, and I agree with him. Everything that does not relate to end-deliverables finds no place in our office-hours. Harsh, Saurabh and I meet sometimes at lunch and discuss about our own passions, technologies or current events. 

Tushar perhaps has the highest number of certifications in IIPL. He is expert in Java, PHP, mysql, system programming, designing, Linux, C++, VC++…

At this point, Mrs. Seema Tushar Joshi, made an entrance with a tray of tea-cups and biscuits, and we seized this opportunity to ask her a few questions…

How is to be wife of someone like Tushar who is always busy with his work and other creative pursuits?
Before we got married, he had told me, “See, I am already married…. to computers! My work would always be my top priority.” So, in a way, I knew what I was getting into … But I must say that he has managed the balance quite well. Whenever required, he always manages to steal some time from office work he is doing at home, for us.

Tushar is an excellent poet and is equally versatile in Marathi and Hindi. His poem collections date back right to his school days. These poems are on varied subjects, ranging from romantic songs to philosophical poems. You can see reflection of Tushar and his surroundings in these poems.

Which of his dishes do you like?
Maggie… he has a unique method of preparing it, with a couple of chilies thrown in, which makes its taste special!

Does he remember your birthdays?
Oh yes! I must say he is quite particular in this regard. In fact, there was a time when he used to prepare hand-made cards and give them to the birthday boy/girl in person, but nowadays, a phone-call is all that he can make, and he never misses that.

Does he take homework of the kids?
By the time Tushar comes home, the kids hardly have time to talk with him. So whatever time he spends with them in late evening is all playtime with the kids. 
Tushar: My daughters are very young as of now, and their homework, is completely managed by Seema. I may get more active at a later stage, as they grow up, for taking their homework.

Thank you, Seema-taai…
Tushar, What do you like about IIPL? 
We experience a true flat hierarchy at IIPL. The top management, right from CEO is accessible to every one of us, irrespective of whether one is project-manager or a fresher. Another good thing is, we still have a sense of being in a big, huge family… we have not turned ourselves into a factory.  

You have been on Editorial board of Pulse before disengaging voluntarily due to work-pressures. How do you feel about the way Pulse has developed? Any ideas, suggestions for improvement?
Pulse has been doing well. It has some good sections that I always look forward to. 
One thing I wish to mention is about marketing the Pulse. You need to make it more people-oriented so that each and every employee feels inclined to read it. 

Tushar has a huge internet presence. The list below is just indicative of his prowess in cyber-space, and gives an insight into the many facets of his personality. 

Technical articles:
http://omitsoft.blogspot.com/
http://netbeanside61.blogspot.com/

General Blogs:
http://zdirection.blogspot.com/
http://tusharvjoshi.blogspot.com/

Photo album:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tusharvjoshi/

Poems:
http://shabdachitra.blogspot.com/
http://yetaajaataa.blogspot.com/
http://anuwaad.blogspot.com/

Two years at Infospectrum… Retrospection

Today is a Saturday, and yet I am at my desk in the office; for today happens to be the 10th of May, the date I joined Infospectrum India Pvt Ltd two years ago.

When compared to the 35 years each spent by my parents in their respective government offices before retiring last year, my two years would seem too short a time-span to indulge in nostalgic thoughts, and yet it is difficult not to get into a retrospective reverie.

I vividly remember my first day in the Nagpur office. Coming from a small start-up firm in Pune, Infospectrum was the first big company I had joined. Looking at the lines & lines of desktops and smart-looking people talking about latest technologies and platforms, I was getting more & more nervous about how I would survive.

One of the prime reasons for my worry was that I had just switched my profile, from a .NET programmer to a technical writer. The decision had come after a lot of brooding over my strengths and weaknesses, and though I was feeling confident about myself, there was feeling of worry gnawing at the back of my mind.

I needn’t have worried so much, especially since I had joined such a friendly lot.

In last two years at Infospectrum, I have worked on a wide variety of projects. My project has been one of the biggest in the company, and the opportunity to work in a big team has honed my skills as a team-player. With lots of pressure-cooker situations and challenging deadlines to beat, there has never been a dull day at work!

(My project team, after achieving the Best Project award)

Though my prime responsibility has been towards marine logistics and maritime surveillance projects, from time to time I have also done documentation for projects related to finance, HR and space domain. Each one has been a learning experience in its own.

It’s been a pleasure working under different project managers, Pankaj Khorgade, Vijay Phulwadhwa & Vinaykant Shukla, Vishal Kulkarni, Harshawardhan Pandit, Shishir Dani (Account Manager)… each one of these has a unique style, and I have learnt quite a few things from them.

(Shishir sir, Vijay sir, Vinaykant sir)

At Infospectrum, we experience a truly flat organizational hierarchy. I have been able to write to and talk to the top management without being conscious of any divide of position or grade.

Sangeeta Ma’am and her HR team, as well as Admin & Finance departments have been a source of continuous support all these years. Whenever I have had any problem, I didn’t feel a moment’s hesitation in approaching them and they have always been very co-operative.

Some of my best moments have been the as a member of editorial board of Pulse, monthly newsletter of Infospectrum. The debates and discussions (and occasional fights) that go into making each edition of newsletter would need a separate blog post of their own!

(Team Pulse)

Many of my colleagues have become life-time buddies... Sandeep Sinha, Manjusha Singh, Amit Joshi, Ashay Kulkarni, Snehal Kawale, Chandrakant Raju…

There are two people of whom I must make a special mention…

Jay Chopde, CEO - Infospectrum… He has been a real, live example of the dynamic CEO that I had only read in business magazines so far. I always wonder how he takes time to manage such a heavy workload and yet pay attention to every minute detail that crosses his eyes. His regular column in Pulse, Random Thoughts has been a source of inspiration and ideas.

Tushar Joshi… my friend, philosopher & guide, who was instrumental in bringing me to Infospectrum. Thanks Tushar, it’s been a wonderful journey so far!

As I look back upon the path traveled by me till now, I can’t but help feeling a tinge of dissatisfaction…I did a few things right, but I could have done better... Last year saw me traveling to Norway, to work on a documentation project that concerned radars. It was an immensely learning experience, yet I seem to have failed to capitalize upon it. I am now working hard to get the things back on track.

Today, Infospectrum is a CMMI Level 3 Company, aiming for more peaks of success in future. To know more about it, visit the company website. If you want a personal perspective, I would strongly recommend Tushar Joshi’s Infospectrum blog.

[Disclaimer: This is a personal blog-post. The opinions expressed here are my own and not those of my employer. ]

Tushar – A friend par excellence

Today is the birthday of the man whom I consider as my friend, philosopher, guide and guru – Tushar Joshi. I wish him a very long and fulfilling life, full of accomplishments and happy moments.

We “met” in rather unusual circumstances – through the Yahoo! Group, Marathi.Net. He had exposed me before the world at large, of doing something which I could only justify as a gross failure of judgment on my part. But unlike rest of my detractors, who chose to leave for good, Tushar stood by me. “You have realized your mistake, just promise me not to repeat it,” said he. And together we started Marathi.Net all over again. Over the last 4 years, it has grown to be one of the biggest Marathi groups.

That was when I got drawn towards the phenomenon called Tushar Joshi.

Over the years, he has helped me in more ways than anyone else could have ever done. Be it professionally (He encouraged me to make the shift to technical writing and was instrumental in getting me to Infospectrum, the company I work for); or in a personal way (he knows each of my little troubles and his advice counts a lot).

Our talks are never about weather and sports and politics. Talking to him is always an intellectually enriching experience. He might tell you about a software tool that he has tried, or recommend a highly influential book (such as Winning), or might just share an interesting line of thought he came across. You always go away with a feeling of having learned something new.

A hardcore techie, and yet a sensitive poet; a prolific blogger and a prolific photographer; there’s always something more to him than meets the surface. He has a vast collection of books and equally vast collection of songs. He has multiple international certifications to his credit and he is proficient in more technologies and software platforms than I even know about. A teacher at heart ( his students would attest to that), he consider himself a perenial student.

Last month, I had an opportunity to interview him for Pulse, our company’s newsletter. And even after four years of being in touch, I was amazed with the range and depth of his versatile personality. Perhaps, therein lies the secret of his charisma!

One of the many things I admire about Tushar is, he never pushes his thoughts on you, instead he just recommends what he likes and lets it go at that. But very soon you realize to pay heed to his ideas and suggestions. In this regard, I think he justifies his name, Tushar… the droplets from a fountain… Just like those, he spreads his knowledge all around; it is up to you to pick up those pearls.

Today, on his birthday, I wish him the best and simply the best the world has to offer.