With Shiva... the fun never stops!

Shiva: his name belies his personality. Effervescent and happy go lucky – Shivaramakrishnan Iyer or Shiva as he is more popularly known, is perhaps the most well known face in C-DAC. Not surprising. This Arian has the knack of endearing himself to all those he comes in contact with. The twinkle in his eyes and quick wit not withstanding, his intelligence is perhaps difficult to match. C-DAC Connect attempts to figure out the real Shiva.

Almost six years ago, Shiva’s association with C-DAC began when, as an MBA student of the Pune University, his summer training in Computer Systems Management got him a project to work on HTML in 1994-95 in C-DAC. His Assignment- To make available the staff rules and guidelines of C-DAC on the intranet. The challenge was immense. ‘I did not have any software to render the HTML code that I had written and at that time there wasn’t any HTML generator. I didn’t know how to use windows 3.1, neither did I have a time slot to sit at one of the SUN machines.’ ‘ Most times, I was sitting with IRD or in the library, doing what I called research! In one month, my girth increased from 32 to 34 inches thanks to the comfy environment and good food’.

Several smaller projects followed, that involved a lot of ‘tweaking’, making presentations to C-DAC members, getting feedback and ‘inviting trouble’ as a result’ he adds. Shiva was offered three profiles to choose from: Executive assistant to the Executive Director, member of the quality team, member of the MIS team. He chose the latter.

Shiva’s confessions as he took on this rather ambiguous sounding role are both candid and confusing and best described by him. ‘I was the lone person in the ‘group’ and was often without work hence I was assigned the responsibility of the Annual Report. Later, I reviewed some requirement documents for a Hospital Information System at Lucknow. That review yanked me to Lucknow where I got pally with doctors and flirted with nurses to get the requirements specifications drawn up. I yo-yoed between HIS and MIS for quite a while. Getting involved in HIS was a boon, as I came to know C-DAC’s Software Process Manuals and got interested in the finer aspects of Software Engineering.

‘By and by I became a fulltime toxic handler of C-DAC. I got the Year 2000 bug-supply to clean, the legacy application of MIS to re-write, requirements analysis for various State Government initiatives in Agriculture, Administration, Education, Finance, Healthcare, Navy, the C-DAC website revamp and no sizeable team to help me do any of the above.’

‘It was around the same time I was also nominated as Project Manager for the Andhra Pradesh Technology Services’ (APTS) Data warehousing project. I learnt a lot from this assignment. The years 1999-2001 were just loads of assignments, erupting like a sewerage system gone beserk; my two other colleagues and I didn’t even know the kind of mess that was around. Yet, each hole was plugged and each pipe was sealed and the systems slowly brought back to a sense of sanity. Help came after Y2K and the team size increased to seven sometime during September 2000. Things started moving fast and deliveries started making impact. The Integrated Information System that was considered a ‘pipe-dream’ is fast becoming a reality and the team is only a few months away from realizing this.’

Emerging successful albeit a trifle scratched from the rough and tumble of professional life, this incurable optimist goes by the simple adage: Enjoy work. Enjoy life. ‘It is only recently that I have been left alone to enjoy my work. Earlier, I had a lot of routine activities that were definitely less satisfying. In the last 6 months, after the team has been formed, it has been an enormously satisfying experience’.

‘My happiest moment professionally was when I was given the task of conceptualizing, designing, implementing the integrated enterprise wide information system and more importantly being given a chance to productise it. Also, being involved in project management for the APTS project.’

And, when he is not tinkering about with his software and codes, Shiva gets his intoxication from sport - the games kind! Music, traveling, photography, painting and ‘I love to give unwarranted advice’ he declares.

Shiva’s never-say-die attitude and persistence has seen him through some of the more difficult and trying days. ‘I have learnt never to take anything for granted and don’t let anyone take you for granted.’

And ..... ’When the going gets tough.... its time to call the boss! More seriously, the fact is that I have learnt to motivate myself to the highest levels possible. And it works... every time.’