Describe about yourself

Abhishek: Hi, I am Abhishek Sur from Kolkata, India. I work for BuildFusion Inc. in my native and very active in the community. I am MVP (Most Valuable Professional) from both Codeproject and DotNetFunda for last couple of years and finally got the same award from Microsoft in 2011. I participate actively in forums from Codeproject, StackOverflow etc and also a Technical Writer on various topics on these sites. Some of my articles have also been featured as “Article of the Day” in Microsoft Official Sites like asp.net and windowsclient.net. I also run my own site at www.abhisheksur.com. I am very active in Facebook and Twitter as well. 

If anyone wants to connect with you can you please provide some information about it?

Abhishek: Oh, sure ! You can find me either at my website (www.abhisheksur.com) or in Twitter @abhi2434 or directly write me at contact@abhisheksur.com 

And if you are from Kolkata, I would also like you to join in our Community www.kolkatanet.com and also visit us directly on community events we do here in Kolkata. 

What are your community activities? 

Abhishek: Yes, I forgot to mention, I do a lots of public speaking before even I got my MVP award. I am very active in our Kolkata Users Group. Recently I have organized Microsoft Azure Camps here in Kolkata. I have also spoken in public events like communitytechdays, user group meetings etc.  and also looking forward to both online and offline events as time progresses. 

How did you get MVP award and which trade ?

Abhishek: Yes I got MVP award in Client App Dev. You might wonder, what is it? There are lots of people already asked this question to me. Client App Dev comprises of Windows Applications. You can include Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Surface, Windows Forms Applications etc. I have been working pretty much on WPF for last few months, and hence got MVP on that trade, you may say ! :)

Any inspirational moment you would like to share with developers ?

Abhishek: I remember the day when I first got my MVP award from Microsoft. Yes, I never thought I would get it, but yes, I got a mail from Microsoft that I have been awarded as MVP for 2011. It was my happiest day in life. I came home early and spent the whole night checking out the benefits we get as an MVP. It was a lovely moment. I remember I didn’t sleep that night as well, and cannot hide my excitement by writing a post here “http://www.abhisheksur.com/2011/01/proud-to-be-microsoft-mvp-in-client-app.html” 

Well, for any developers, it is great when someone appreciates your work. We all get appreciation inside our own Organization, but getting such honour from outside is always very special to me and inspires me to do more for the community. 

Whats your advise for todays  software professional ?

 

Abhishek: It is said “Behind any successful man, there is a woman”, but for me, behind any success, there is lots of dedication, love and passion.  Being a Software Developer is not always easy. Reading a lots of books and loving your subject is the key of success. Update yourself  at regular intervals, I recommend you to give at least 1 hour every day for yourself to update your knowledge, reading latest news updates on technology etc. If you want more, you can also share your expertise to the community as well. 

How do you manage personal and professional life ?

Abhishek: That is really tough as I am getting more and more into the community. But for me I somehow manage both. Ha Ha! ! Well, planning is one of the vital point in this regard. I personally plan my schedules in such a way that I can balance my time for my personal and professional activities.  As you know, working as a Software developer is often seem to a big deal for us, sometimes we have to work for late hours in office, but I try to spend as much time as I could with my family and they are really happy with me. Well, I don’t know what I would do after my marriage though :) :) 

Who is your favorite MVP ?

Abhishek: There are quite a few. John Skeet is one of my favourite MVP’s of all times. Let’s name few others too: 

• Sacha Barbar
• Josh Smith
• Aaron Skonnard
• Shivprasad Koirala
• Anoop Madhusudan
• Abhijit Jana 
• Suprotim Agarwal 

And all others …. (with a wide laugh)

Where do you see yourself after 5 years ?.

Abhishek: Hmm, I see myself closer to the community, to the people. I see myself more and more inclined towards technology, good husband (as I am thinking to get married soon) a good learner, a specialist and many more. 

Your 1 big regret in life

Abhishek: For doing my Graduation in Economics. Well, it was not my strengths, and eventually I found out I am more inclined towards computers than Economics. Even though I learned the overview of the subject and had grown some interests about it, but I had to leave it behind to come back to the subject I loved the most. I have done MCA later.  

So I would suggest to think twice while you choose your subject. Choose one that you like most rather than going for one at random.

Your 1 big great decision

 

Abhishek: One of my greatest decisions is when I started writing for the community.  While working for my company, I had an assignment of doing a project on Google Maps which eventually took me lots of time as there is no such great articles regarding the topic. Hence I thought of writing one myself.  http://www.codeproject.com/KB/scripting/Use_of_Google_Map.aspx

This was my first community activity you can say, and after this one, I continued in my spare time and eventually become what you see now. 

Well, I think passion of sharing your knowledge drives me to know/learn more and help people with better knowledgebase as a whole. 

Which technology do you like most ?

 

Abhishek: Well, I love C#. I am more excited of knowing internals of framework and language advancements. You can find some of my activities in terms of “Internals of .NET”  in my blog.  I love WPF as well. I work in Windows Phone 7 and latest Mango Release is one of my next assignments. 

It is really great talking with you. I would also like to know your feedback on me, criticize me when I do wrong, and also connect with me.