Microsoft IDC Campus

Before I moved back to Hyd, lots of people had told me that Microsoft's India Development Center (IDC) campus was very beautiful. A significant percentage of these people had actually gone ahead and asserted that it is even better than the Redmond campus! ... I will write down in detail what Nitu and I think about the Microsoft campus but for the convenience of the "SMS Generation", here is our verdict: "MS Hyd cmps rocks & iz indeed betr than Rdmnd!"

Entrance
The entrance to IDC campus is well guarded with a security personnel manning the smart card operated circular steel gates ... this is unlike MS Redmond where one can pretty much go till the front desk of a building (during day time) without requiring an ID. This felt a little "bumpy" in the begining but is inline with how there is multi-level security required in order to protect things we cherish.

Exteriors and landscaping
You know you are in IDC when you see the "Tiranga" flying high on the wings of cool and clean Hyderabad air with the backdrop of the twin four floor buildings with geometrically choreographed silhoutte, draped in semi-see-through glass, customary of modern offices, sporting the stylish "Microsoft" logo on their forehead. It is a special "Vista" in itself!

The landscaping around the twins is very asthetically done. There is greenry all around. The grass, flowers and shrubs are very neatly arranged in all sorts of geometrical shapes and rows. There is an open air greek style outdoor ampitheater in between the twins, with a tennis court, basketball court, volleyball court and cricket-cum-football ground painted in the neighborhood of the twins. A special note for cricket fans. As some of you know, I used to really enjoy playing cricket on MS Grounds while I was in Redmond. I am yet to play cricket here but what I saw last weekend reminded me of how it-is-supposed-to-be-done ... with lots of desi cheering and desi music ... last weekend I saw a match being played that was being watched, cheered and spiced up by the families and friends of the players and the upbeat music of Salam-e-ishq blaring on some nice music system! Yeah baby that is why they say a player is on a song! We need our crowd and our music ... I bet if they can provide this in West Indies, we can win this and all the following World Cups :) ... ok u get the point.

All this gives the MS Campus a very college-like-warm-informal-and-personal feel rather than a formal-cold-office like feel. This (the warm-informal-personal feel) by the way is evident in all walks of life here in India; something that we miss in the US when we are romanticizing our good experiences and the very same thing that we crib about when we recollect everything that is not right here.


Interiors
As you head inside the buildings you are again "greeted" with more security guards and smart card operated metallic gates lifted straight from star-trek. By the way, these gates are really funny and unlike redmond ... you need to swap your card both while going in and also while coming out! ... you will know more about why I think they are funny once you come here!

The interiors of the twins maintains the blend indicative of modern India ... modern & contemporary furniture surrounded by walls that sport vibrant colors of all hues indicative of our taste for colors ... very western furniture and very Indian colors!

Those from Redmond would probably not notice the usual Table Tennis tables (yes sir we don't call it Ping-Pong here), pool tables and foosball tables in the lounges, but are bound to notice that funny square table (called Carrom board), newspaper lounge, tv-cum-xbox lounge and yes SLEEPING COUCHES ... yup, every software engineer's fantasy, a place to sleep in the office (I am yet to see someone enjoying a siesta after a nice lunch in the cafeteria but I have seen a couple of folks sleeping during the morning hrs, I suspect after a good-old-night-out)

The "Gut" feeling
Now on to the stuff for which we all are working so hard ... what has been taught to all the Indian wives as the gateway to their man's heart ... something we do 3-5 times a day ... it is one of the members of the holi trinity on which Manoj Kumar spent the entire 80s ... The "Roti" in "Roti, Kapdaa aur Makaan!"

Like all other things, the "kitchen" is also customized for the Indian taste ... while the soft drink machines are adorned by Maaza, Sprite, Coca Cola et it is the coffee/tea vending machines that steal the show ... you can get everything from ellaichi tea to south indian coffee to our Kapil paaji's boost-is-the-secret-of-my-energy milk ... again taking a cue from the west, there is a small chart that compares the nutritional content of all the flavors (boost & horlicks) of milk that the vending machines offers ... an amazing feat of science I must say ... with a push of button, you can be holding Kapil & now Sachin's favorite lacto beverage :) ... very empowering!

With all other parts of the campus buzzing with flavor, the cafeteria ofcourse is not to be left behind. By now you can expect that the cafeteria offers all kinds of dosas and chaats and paranthas and north indian thaalis and hyderabadi biryaanis and frankies. It takes it a notch higher with the fresh fruit juice & fruit salad offering. One has to try the "Cheekoo Shake" ... lip smackingly tasty! In our usual tradition of Athithee-devo-bhavh, our global friends can enjoy pizzas, burgers, chinese, continental and even a "Subway" sub. Ofcourse there is a aaloo-tikki sub available as well :D

Here is what will really pull you to MS Hyd. Forget the biscotti and Starbucks that you have in the evening there. Here there is free evening snacks between 4 and 6pm that contain samosa & jalebi or something similar!! And caffene hungry can enjoy a Barista coffee from the Barista outlet for a small price .... evenings were never better

As a small but important aside, the cafeteria has a bevvy of LCD TVs & big projector where they show live cricket/soccer/tennis/hockey/etc matches ...

Bhai aur kya chahiye, isse jyada kya bachche ki jaan loge?