I am currently traveling to Delhi to learn SQL Server in person from my friend. You can read more details about why am I learning SQL Server. I have signed up for the course End to End SQL Server Business Intelligence at Koenig Solutions. Yesterday I blogged about my registration experience and today I am going to write about my experience once I arrived at Delhi.
From Ahmedabad to Delhi
I stay with my wife and daughter in Bangalore (IT Hub of India), my hometown is Ahmedabad. My parents stay in city nearby Ahmedabad. I decided to spend few days with my folks before I sign up for 3 days of solid learning. I had selected an early morning flight to Delhi. I landed at 8:30 AM in Delhi.
As soon as I checked email in my mobile I was really glad that I had received details of my pick up vehicle from Koenig. I walked out of the airport and I noticed that a driver was waiting with a placard with my name and photo associated with it. He was in Koenig uniform so there was no chance to make mistakes. In minutes of landing in Delhi I was in my transport heading to the Koenig Training Center. After the quick introduction driver handed me a bag (to be precise Eco friendly bag).
The bag contained following items:
- My registration form
- All necessary documents in print which I had received earlier
- A Printed Book of the course next day
- INR 1000 (What?)
I was glad to receive the bag but I was very confused with the Rs 1000. I decided to figure this out once I reach to the training center.
Arriving at Koenig Inn Deluxe
Koenig registration fees include all the stay and meals. I had opted for Koenig Inn Deluxe as my stay as it was recommended by my friend as well it was the right economical choice for me. When I reached to my accommodation, they were well aware of my arrival and was immediately led to my spacious room. The room is well equipped with all the amenities (hot water, air condition, coffee table, munching snacks, and free internet) and the staff is very friendly. I immediately got ready as I had to go to Koenig Training Center to meet Center Head for a quick introduction.
Koenig Inn Delux
Koenig Training Center
The training center is within five minutes of distance from the accommodation. I was lead to center head right away and had a very meaningful conversation with Ms Hema regarding my learning goals. She gave me a quick tour of the training center. I was amazed with the numbers of lab rooms they have in the center. The labs are spacious and give the most needed hand’s on experience to the users. I was led to the lab where I was suppose to learn my class the very next day as well I was provided my trainer’s profile.
Mystery of Rs 1000
Well, after all this I have still not forgotten why I was provided Rs 1000 when arrived at the airport. When I asked about that I was told that because many students comes from foreign places and they may not have Indian Currency when they land at airport. This was for their immediate consumption till they arrive at the training center. Later on they can get their currency converted to local currency at Koenig Travel Desk. My curiosity was satisfied but I had not expected this answer. I am amazed at the attention to the details.
Koenig Travel Desk
When I heard about Koenig Travel Desk, I remembered that I have few friends in Delhi and Gurgaon. I had completed all of the formalities so I had reset of the day on my hand. I requested the travel desk if they can arrange a day cab for me so I can visit my friends in Guragon. Within 10 minutes I was on my way to Gurgaon.
Telerik India Office Visit
What did I do in Guragaon? I met my friends Abhishek Kant, Dhananjay Kumar and Amit Chowdhary. I visited Telerik India office and we had an excellent conversation on various aspects of technology and community. The Telerik India office is very spacious and Abhishek Kant (Telerik India Country Manager) gave us a quick tour of the office. We had an excellent lunch and dinner. One thing is for sure – the day was well spent.
Pinal Dave, Dhananjay Kumar and Abhishek Kant
Later evening I returned to my accommodation and decided to read up a few of the topics which I was going to learn next day. In tomorrow’s blog post I will discuss about my learning experience.
Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)
Within few hours I received emails from Center Manager of Delhi with all the necessary details I need to know about my learning experience. The email contained following information in detail and it blew me away.
When our 
often and I did not talk to her at all. There was no reason to talk to her maybe because I constantly felt that she is with me. Her blessings were with me. I could not get her question out of my mind, still. I was extremely motivated and inspired from my last conversation with her. I called her early morning on January 24. Her very first questions were how I was doing and how was her great granddaughter. I told her that regarding our last conversation, there is actually a movie which is inspired from the book. Her very first reaction was that she knew this would happen as she was confident that my book would reach milestones. We talked for long hours.
Well, the book was an inspiration for the course, but the video course was developed using totally different angle. We made sure that we’d take the broader idea from the book but wanted present something unique and novel. Vinod Kumar and I thought about it for a long time. We wanted to decide on the format of our course. We spent hours talking about the course – how we could make it unique and give a different experience to every attendee. We wanted to keep the subject light enough to digest, yet deep enough to satisfy everyone’s learning eagerness. After spending some days and efforts for the preparation of the unique content and exceptional demos, the course has become a reality for us.
This course is designed to help you have a better understanding on how to use SQL Server effectively. The course presents many of the common misconceptions about SQL Server, and then carefully debunks those misconceptions with clear explanations and short but compelling demos, showing you how SQL Server really works. This course is for anyone who works in SQL Server databases, and basically for those who want to improve their knowledge and understanding of this complex platform.
