Do engineers in Google India work in pairs?

I have a theory that Google's engineers in India mostly work in pairs. You know, like how soldiers or cops in certain units usually work in pairs. I think each Indian Google engineer is paired with a colleague and together they work on tasks/assignments.

Why do I suspect this? I have been following the Official Google Blog for a long time now. I have noticed that posts by Indian engineers are usually attributed to two individuals. I have very rarely seen non-Indian Googlers authoring blog posts in pairs. Non-Indian Googlers almost always write blog posts alone, as individuals.

As of today, a quick Reader search of the Official Google blog's feed for the word 'India' returns 15 posts, of which 7 posts are made by people with Indian-sounding names. Of these 7 posts, 4 posts are made by pairs of Indians and 3 posts by lone Indians. I realize that this is not the most accurate way to count and analyze the posts. But I could not find an easier way to search (any suggestions?) for:
1. Only posts made by Indians.
2. Only posts made by more than one author.

There do exist posts by Indian Googlers writing alone. But it is just as likely to see an Indian Googler posting along with another Indian colleague. And like I said earlier, it is very rare to see non-Indian Googlers writing blog posts in pairs. So, I suspect that the Indian engineers work on projects in pairs, and then end up writing about those projects on the official blog, also in pairs.

If you work for Google in India (or even in other Google locations) or if you know someone who works for Google India, would you confirm if my suspicion is true? If it is true, then why is it so? Why do only Indian engineers in Google work in pairs and not others?

Pssst... The chances of hearing from someone at Google in response to speculative posts about internal stuff is none to zero. So, non-Googlers too feel free to speculate in the comments! :-)

To love a girl...

To love a girl...

• Is to see the picture of a beautiful place and immediately think of your girl because:
  a. You want to share the beauty of the picture with her.
  b. You want to visit the place with her.


• Is to find yourself putting up with an inconvenient situation, and thinking that, "If my girl was with me in this situation, I would not put up with it. I would change it at once so that she would not have to go through this inconvenience!"


• Is to be casually looking at cell phones for sale online, and then unconsciously picking and choosing handsets and plans for your girl, for the time "when she will be here."


• Is for your girl to be the last person you think of when you fall asleep, and the first person you think of when you wake up, no matter what the time to sleep or wake up is.


• Is to accept & assume without a second thought that you will start drinking coffee daily when your coffee-drinking girl is with you, although you are not a habitual coffee drinker, and have infact resisted picking up the habit until now.


• Is to decide that you will never drink and drive when she is with you, for the sake of her safety. And, not even when she is not with you, to save her the bother of you getting in trouble. You were the guy who never before hesitated to drive after a drink or two!


• Is to know simply and undeniably, without a sliver of doubt, that the celestial maiden Menaka herself would not be able to tempt you right now, if she were to appear in front of you, because you are committed to your girl.


• To be in a state of tense desperation, due to circumstances, yet showing a cool & quiet face to your girl, because you don't want her to feel pressurized or disturbed.


• Is for every cell of your being, your heart to want her to be close to you, yet you hold back on expressing any want because she needs time and space.


• Is to be a hard ass, a bad ass, even an asshole to the rest of the world, but to be a docile donkey to your girl, cuz you don't like to see her upset.


• Is to run out of ideas and energy when she is not in your life, but to be full of inspiration and prolific creativity when she is there with you.


• Is to want to be totally generous with her and not hold anything back.


• Is to prepare your furnitures, home, heart and all your immediate surroundings with her in mind, although she is thousands of miles away; to infuse the landscape you live in with thoughts of her, so that it reminds you of her and makes you miss her... although she has never seen that landscape herself.

PS: The above sentiments were recorded at different times in late June and early July 2007... except for the last point, which was expressed more recently.

Double-tailed Lizard

See anything unusual about the lizard in the above picture? Yes, it is a double-tailed lizard! The end of its tail is split in two. In fact, the longer of the two split ends is growing another tiny branch. So, this lizard could be triple-tailed pretty soon.

I saw this lizard in my dentist's office in Bengalooru and clicked the photo on my Blackberry. Hence, the bad photo quality. Incidentally, this type of lizards are pretty common in Indian homes and shops, although I have never seen a double-tailed one before. They are pretty harmless to humans, and in fact, help by eating up insects.

Symbiosis: Monkey & Goat

Noticed this interesting sight during a recent visit to Chilkur, near Hyderabad, in Andhra Pradesh, India. There were a few goats lounging around, and this monkey coolly walked upto one of them and settled down comfortably in close contact. I watched in surprise and amusement as the monkey proceeded to pick ticks and fleas from the goat's coat and pop 'em in its mouth, while the goat continued to rest quite undisturbed!