Suramya's Blog : Welcome to my crazy life…

Border crossings can be a bit scary with Immigration etc. Another thing that some folks worry about is the data on the phone as in most countries the immigration and border security folks have the authority to check your phone/other devices and see the data you are carrying. If you search online you will find various ‘solutions’ to this problem ranging from carry a burner phone (and download the data once you clear immigration) to having a passcode that deliberately wipes the contents of that device if entered instead of the user’s unlock passcode.

One user decided to implement the Auto-wipe functionality on his phone before entering the US and when Border Patrol asked for the passcode he gave the wipe code instead which wiped his phone. As expected the agents didn’t like this and he is now being prosecuted for giving border officials a code that wiped his phone. While it is technically legal to wipe your phone like this, my personal feeling is that it is better not to be over-smart in such situations. Even though he is technically in the clear he still has to deal with the hassle of arrest/prosecution etc and this will be a black mark in his record the next time he applies for a visa.

When I first went to the US back in 99, my dad told me not to be a smartass with security or immigration personnel. What you say as a joke can be taken in the wrong way by the agent and then you are on a backfoot trying to explain that it was just a joke but by then it is too late. So at the counter I answer as briefly as possible while giving the relevant information they asked for without any jokes or high tech stunts like this one. The immigration agents can ask whatever question they feel is relevant and you can’t tell them that it is none of their business (Someone I know recently told the immigration folks in Malaysia that it was none of their business where she was going in the country… I was surprised they let her into the country after that but I guess she got lucky).

If I ever had to carry data that I didn’t want to show at border security I would just ensure I don’t have it on my phone as there are multiple ways you can download it back after you clear security & immigration. So don’t be oversmart and get into trouble.

Source: Schneier.com: American Being Prosecuted for Wiping His Phone Before Handing It Over to Border Officials

– Suramya

Recently an Amazon executive revealed that she had rejected a candidate who showed up to an interview in a T-Shirt that said “I’m too Hot for a Job”. This caused a lot of noise on social media with folks either supporting her or calling the interviewer out for rejecting the candidate for no good reason. I am in the former camp and would have rejected a candidate if they came for an interview dressed like that.

I personally love quirky T-Shirts and about half of the T-Shirts I have have some saying/joke on them (At one point it was more than 90% of my T-Shirts) but I have never worn them to work, or even to meet people who I know on a professional basis. At one point a few years ago I remember complaining that I wasn’t able to wear any of my T-Shirts because of this, which is when I started getting T-Shirts that were more neutral and less quirky. The reason for that rule is quite simple, there is a time and place for everything and a Job *Interview* is not where you wear such clothes. I have worn a suit to pretty much all my in person interviews and I wear a formal shirt for Virtual video interviews.

People supporting this girl say that if the company dress code allows it then it is hypocritical to punish the person for it during the interview but I look at it differently. Yes the dress-code might allow it but even then I would question the judgement of a person who came into the office in a shirt that says “I’m too hot to for a Job”. I can’t even imagine wearing something like that to work forget a job interview. Maybe in a non-corporate environment something like that would be ok but not at a major company for a white collar job.

You are judged by what you wear and during an interview every gesture & action of yours is being scrutinized and judged. I remember reading about a company who asked their receptionist about each candidate and how they treated her and factored that into the hiring process. Please note that I am not saying that you should only go to interviews wearing a suit. I do that because I am comfortable in it and most of the companies I worked for in the past decade and half have been banks where formality is expected. But even when interviewing at a startup, I would suggest wearing a formal shirt or at least something neutral without any slogans/jokes/weird artwork etc. You have a lot of competition for the position and it would be a shame to loose it because of what you wore.

“This isn’t about dress codes. It’s about understanding context. You don’t wear swimwear to a wedding. You don’t wear a tuxedo to the gym. And maybe, just maybe, you don’t show up to an interview wearing a T-shirt that literally announces you’re too good for the thing you’re interviewing for,” she added.

According to Jain, the issue was not that the candidate chose casual clothing or failed to wear traditional business attire. Rather, it was the message displayed on the T-shirt that she felt sent the wrong signal during a job interview. The slogan, she argued, suggested a lack of seriousness about the opportunity and created an impression that the applicant considered herself above the role she was seeking.

The flip side of this is that the hiring manager/HR should also refrain from overly judging people on what they wear. For example rejecting someone because you didn’t like their brand of shoes or clothes would be wrong. It might not be what you would wear but as long as it is not shabby or offensive I feel it should be ignored. However, depending on the position someone is interviewing for, the right dress could potentially make or break the deal.

I recommend researching the company in advance before the interview so you know what to expect and if you don’t then you are taking a risk. I had a candidate who missed their interview with us because the company security didn’t allow them inside because they were not properly dressed. This was at a bank where we weren’t allowed to wear jeans to work and this guy showed up for the interview in Bermuda shorts, slippers and an artfully torn T-Shirt.

Remember, if you are too formally dressed then you can always take off the tie or the blazer and look more casual. I did that at a Startup meet in France where I was the only one wearing a tie at the event so I took it off and it was good. It it was the other way round where everyone was wearing a tie and I wasn’t then I would have been in trouble.

Long story short, an interview is not somewhere you show up wearing T-Shirts with jokes or torn clothes or Artsy look (unless you are applying for an art position) it is where you are expected to put your best foot forward.

– Suramya

A few days ago a new political party emerged in India called ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ following remarks attributed to the Chief Justice of India during a court hearing and apparently rapidly gained traction online through memes. I am going to talk about the political aspect of it in a bit but first want to talk about the branding of the party. When a new party/organization is formed people try to get a brand image that points to what the party wants to do. For example, when AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) was formed they named themselves as the representing the regular man (Aam Admi) and their symbol was a Broom because they claimed to be looking at sweeping the corruption clean from the country (what they actually did is a whole other story).

This new party decided to call themselves Cockroach janata party. A cockroach is something that no sane person wants in their house, if you find one in a house you know that is is not cleaned properly. I don’t know anyone who would say something like ‘oh I want more Cockroach’s in my house’. So why would you choose an insect that pretty much every human would hate finding in their houses?

Cockroach’s breed in dirty houses with food left in the open or garbage not taken out regularly (found this out the hard way when I got an infestation in my house). Is the party saying that they want India (Bharat) to go back to the ‘good old days’ of corruption and dirty cities without public toilets? (India went from 38.70 per cent population having access to toilets in 2013 to 87.5% having access in 2025). There is a lot we need to improve but we have come a long way since 2014.

The founder of the party Abhijeet Dipke used to work with AAP Communications, doesn’t stay in India (He lives in Boston) claims that the name was chosen because of the quote by Chief Justice Surya Kant during a Supreme Court hearing where they supposedly called the youth of India cockroaches & parasites but claimed later that he was misquoted. (If that quote is accurate then action should be taken against him). Abhijeet on the other hand is known for his pro-Pakistan takes on Section 370 and during the CAA protests. Other folks pushing the party are similarly not in India and are happily staying Abroad but still push the anti-India narratives.

The ‘party’ claims to be a popular platform that is giving voice to GenZ concerns but if you look at the founders, the follower metrics and the actual real life impact/reach it doesn’t seem to be there. Most of the noise generated by the party is coming from the usual Anti-India groups followed by folks from Pakistan and Bangladesh. The ‘party’ appealed everyone to assemble in front of the Bangalore Town Hall and even with 20 million followers on Instagram & 200k followers on Twitter, exactly 0 people showed up for their protest. In contrast when Anna Hazare protested in Bangalore in 2011 with his India Against Corruption (IAC) movement over 87,000 people were there supporting him against the corruption we saw in India. (I was there in Bangalore at the time and saw the support they have).

Cockroach Janta Party has 20 million followers on Instagram.
CJP has 200k followers on Twitter.
They appealed to everyone to assemble in the front of Town hall Bengaluru.
The number of GenZ reached in the front of the Town Hall: 0

In the past few weeks, we have seen multiple attempts to malign India starting with the Norwegian journalist who claimed that Modi didn’t answer questions during a briefing but walked out when given the option to ask questions in an actual press conference. Then we have the whole drama being created about a casual mutually respectful joke between two leaders that are comfortable enough with each other to joke with each other. Look at the video below, does it look like any of the participants are disrespecting the other?:

In contrast, apparently Nehru lighting a cigarette for Mrs Simon and hugging/kissing foreign diplomats/heads of state is all ok and in the best of manners and diplomacy. I can only imagine the ruckus that would have been raised if Modi had kissed a foreign head of state or hugged them.

Nehru, Prime Minister of India lighting the cigarette for Mrs Simon, wife of Deputy High Commissioner of Britain, 1960.

After their miserable showing in West Bengal and barely adequate showing in Kerala & Tamil Nadu the opposition parties are at this point literally throwing things at BJP/Modi/India to see what sticks. The same person who is complaining today that India doesn’t have a good AI ecosystem when compared to China was protesting shirtless in the AI summit back in February.

This is the latest attempt by Congress, AAP and others to try to get GenZ to revolt against the government. Online followers & bots can be bought to create a buzz but the actual humans in India know what is what when they see this absolutely transparent attempt to hurt Bharat’s image on the international stage. Some more facts about about the claim that Modi is a Dictator are easily countered by facts comparing Congress actions and BJP actions.

Nehru dissolved 7 state governments when he was the Prime Minister.
Indira Gandhi dissolved 49 state governments when she was the Prime Minister.
Rajiv Gandhi dissolved 6 state governments when he was the Prime Minister.
Narasimha Rao dissolved 11 state governments when he was the Prime Minister.
Manmohan Singh dissolved 11 state governments when he was the Prime Minister.
After 2014, the Modi government has not dissolved a single state government…
But, is Modi a dictator? Who says? A sticker government! Long live Bharat..

There are so many such examples that it would takes a series of posts to cover them all. But I will end this post with just a statement that BJP & Modi have a lot of room for improvements and I don’t always agree with their policies but when compared to the other parties such as TMC, Congress, AAP and others I will take BJP over them anytime. Atleast they are trying to improve the country (and in a few cases making themselves richer while at it) as opposed to the others who seem to be in it for just making themselves richer.

– Suramya