Force to reckon with.

Magic, I simply can't think of any other way that Force India would have got the result - a second position, the first podium for the team. The transformation started in the previous race, in Valencia, where they updated the car with a new package. And as per Force India, the updates would help them to continuously reach Q2 of qualifying. That is what happened and now in Belgium they have just outshone everyone to grab the pole in qualifying. Am a bit surprised that Sutil could not manage a top 10 in the qualifying round as he has been, I feel, the better of the two drivers this season.

Before the race started, I thought that Force India would definitely be in the points and max they would get 3rd place. But the pace of the car was baffling. Fisci did a real great job. Throught the race Kimi could not shrug off the Force India car from his back, the gap being less than a second between the two for most of the race.

The race started with a crash in the first lap, and that brought out the safety car. With Kimi behind Fisci, a car with KERS against one which did not have it, a track where cars run at almost the top speed for around 10 seconds after the last corner, it would have been a real difficult thing to stop Kimi from overtaking. But the manner in which Fisci took the fight to Kimi even though Kimi had overtaken him just before the next corner was highly commendable. I think Force India could have won it had it not been for KERS in the Ferrari.

The future holds good for Force India. They have progressed gradually over the years and are taking the fight to the big guns. Their's is a team with the lowest budget and still they managed to fight it out with one of the biggest spenders in F1. Red Bull is another team that does not have a big budget and they are fighting for the championship. Augurs well for the sport.

The next race is in Monza, Italy. Do I feel that Force India can be amongst the points. Yes. And here is the reason why? That is a track where cars run with minimal downforce and Mercedes engines, which powers Force India cars are the fastest currently in F1. A podium? Maybe, just maybe...

Satyam - Life's learning curve

Life certainly is life. Do not ask me what this statement means. It's like saying "Varghese is Varghese". I never imagined that I would ever be in the middle of something so monumental. If recession was not bad enough, I have a career problem now.

This October I completed my 2 years in Satyam. What a journey it has been! With all honesty I can say that I enjoyed my time in Satyam. A project where there are no restrictions as long as you showed your work was the beginning. Being judged as one of the best associates in my project was and still is the highlight of my time in Satyam.

Much water has flowed now. Pictures seem brighter now, but there are still uncertainties. The major question with me, as, I believe, with other Satyamites, is what should our next step be. Should we leave Satyam in the state it is and watch as events unfold, or should we stay here, but have the lingering question about our future. Questions, not easy to answer. If only I could have a peek into the future and see the results of my actions.

I have learnt some lessons from this incident -
1. Only change is constant. An often used sentence, but mightily true. One time life was so stable, I never worried about my job. Infact, I had planned what my next step would be. And in the next instance, so sudden, life became a mess.
2. Do what you need to do, fast! Do the course you had planned to do, change your profile if you want do, but do not wait for a muhurtam.
3. What you plan may not always happen. Life changes so fast, so be flexible in accepting what you get.

I never imagined that I would be at a point so helpless, helpless to decide what my action should be. I am still a Satymite in my heart, but you cannot always let the heart make the decisions. I am going to be practical. If I feel good staying here, I stay, otherwise...