Adventures of an Indian Techie

By Nipun Varma

Who said all techies have something to do with technology? Welcome to the world of Indian techies. Here you will find two different techie species: The "916 techies" who are the real deal, the hardcore techies who eat, sleep and breathe technology. On the other side, there is the "1 gram techie"- the ones who are in the world of IT just to earn a living. Theirs is a special case of being "talk-nologists" instead of "technologists".

 

This is the story of a 1 gram techie.

 

He chose computers for his post-graduation when the only thing he knew about it was the spelling. He came out of the college armed with nothing but the confidence to be a "talk-nologist"-- simply because he was good in cooking up stories.

 

And cooking up he did, on how passionate he was about computers, how deeply he was in love with the company whose placement drive he was attending, how good looking the interviewer was and many more. In no time, he was part of an Indian IT services company.

 

There started his tryst with the IT industry. In that world, he was a wolf in the sheep's skin.

 

Here he will confess whatever he has done, share whatever he has seen, unearth everything he has witnessed… an uncut, unrated version of everything he has to say.

 

Ssshh….this is for your eyes only

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nipun Varma
• Release date: Mar 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393461203

Book preview

Contents

About the Author

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Disclaimer

Introduction

Chapter 1 - The ‘Relative’ Trouble

Chapter 2 - ‘Onsiteomania’

Chapter 3 - ‘Techie-nician’

Chapter 4 - The 1-gram Techie

Chapter 5 - Yes Boss

Chapter 6 - The ‘Price-less’ Techie

Chapter 7 - Jingle Bells

Chapter 8 - The ‘Casual-ty’ Chat

Chapter 9 - The Techie Revolution

Chapter 10 - The Bluff Mantra

Chapter 11 - The Curious Case of Techie Brains

Chapter 12 - Motivation Private Limited

Chapter 13 - Jargonology

Glossary

About the Author

Nipun Varma is a wannabe writer masquerading as an IT professional for the past 16 years. An avid public speaker, movie fanatic, voracious reader, stand-up comedian, part-time actor and social worker, he is a classic case of jack of all and master of none. Known for his witty tongue and humorous writing, it’s no wonder that his debut book sounds just like him.

His short stories and essays have won numerous prizes in various creative writing competitions.

Nipun calls himself a 916 Mallu who hails from Vaikom – a town in the outskirts of Kottayam district in Kerala. He lives with his parents, wife Sumaja and two kids: Mythili and Aniket.

Dedication

To the lady whom I fondly call Sumi for putting up with me

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to my mentor Sreekumar Pillai for triggering the creative outburst in me.

Heartfelt thanks to my buddy Renju Raj for the whacky illustrations.

Hugs to my friends and colleagues for their support.

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction . Any resemblance to any person or firm is purely coincidental.

No techies were harmed while writing this book. However, the same cannot be guaranteed once this book is out.

Introduction

D:\nipun - backup\nipun\My Creative Writing\The Being a Techie Conundrum\Book\Illustrations\Introduction.png

The word techie is too generic. Who said all techies have something to do with technology? Welcome to the world of Indian techies. Here you will find two different techie species. The 916 techies who are the real deal, the hardcore techie brats who eat, sleep and breathe technology. On the other side, there is the 1 gram techie- the ones who are in the world of IT just to earn a living. For them, this is just another job and technology is something that helps them earn their bread and butter. Theirs is a special case of being talk-nologists instead of technologists.

You might ask if technology is not their passion, why are they here? They simply followed the crowd. In India, you never even get an opportunity to realize where your passion lies. Follow your heart mantra is only seen in 3 idiots movie or in self-help books that help no one except the writer.

Here, the moment you are born, designations are assigned to you:

He looks like his Father only na; let us make him an engineer- Branded engineer-to-be, one more life gone bust.

Arey so cute...my dear princess, you will become a doctor- Branded doctor-to-be, many more lives about to go bust—God save the patients.

See, your kundali is ready the moment you crawl out of your mom’s womb or even before that. After all, we Indians are so proactive.

This is the story of a 1 gram techie. Yes, the quintessential mama’s boy who faithfully followed his kundali.

He chose computers for his post-graduation when the only thing he knew about it was the spelling. He came out of the college armed with nothing but the confidence to be a talk-nologist—simply because he was good in cooking up stories.

And cooking up he did, on how passionate he was about computers, how deeply he was in love with the company whose placement drive he was attending, how good looking the interviewer was and many more. In no time, he was part of an Indian IT services company. Salary was as good as his own knowledge about computers, but survive he did, since he clearly knew that this was the best he could get.

There started his tryst with the IT industry. And for him, one who was an alien to the world of computers, it was just like PK’s Aamir Khan. He crash landed with a thud, and he realized he was an alien,