He shunned a 3 figure salary to become a slacker

From barely passing out of IIM-Kolhapur to achieving his dream of not doing anything for long periods of time, Virat Rai shares his memorable journey from which many a lesson can be learnt by overeager youngsters.
Interviewer (I): So Virat, where did you go from IIM? Let's start there.
Virat (V): Well, I had a job offer with a prestigious MNC, which I decided to take up on an experimental basis. I don't remember clearly but...
I : Why? How long ago was it?
V : Yesterday morning. It was my first day at work. We had a boring orientation. Then we were given laptops and I did some blog-surfing on mine. I realised one fine day...
I : You mean on the same day? Yesterday?
V : Yes...that my heart was never in it.
I : 'It' meaning browsing the net on a new laptop?
V : Yes. I think at some level, the corporate culture suffocated my creativity. My childhood passion still raged and gave me sleepless nights.
I : 'Night', you mean. Last night, you didn't sleep.
V : Yes...I had always dreamt of slacking off for a bit. It had always been at the back of my mind.
I : Slacking off? And then doing what?
V : Nothing. That's it. Just you know, chilling and loafing. Whatever you want to call it. Some TV now and then, channel surfing.
I : Ok
V : I think the choice was clear. Continue in a dead-end job which didn't grip me at all or just take the plunge. And I just knew. In a moment of clarity, I found strength from deep within. I called the HR Manager and told her, 'I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore'. That was it. Done.
I : What was her reaction?
V : The HR lady? She said she didn't know who I was and then after a while said I was anyway on probation so return the laptop and be on my way. I walked out, feeling a lot lighter in my head and heart.
I : Is it true that you had a 3 figure salary which you gave up? To chase your dream?
V : Yes (smiles). I can tell you it wasn't easy. I was making close to 3 figures on a monthly basis.
I : But you worked for one day so that would be 30 rupees types max.
V : Yes, to give up that kind of financial security and not turn back. It was tempting to go back but I thought of my parents and my teachers.
I : How did that help?
V : It didn't. I'm on the run now so I can't afford to be spotted by my parents or teachers. But you know, if I think back about it now, to be fair, it wasn't like I didn't learn anything from the company. I observed closely their canteen operations.
I : And?
V : Nothing. I asked specifically if the vada was fresh and they still gave me the morning wala vadas.
I : Anything you'd like to share with our young readers?
V : Just go for it. To fulfill a dream, you should first have a dream, so sleep. Then chase it with passion. One day, the dream will happen in reality and you'll feel a bit weird and say 'Hey! This is like some deja vu' and not quite know what's going on.
I : Thank you.
V : and you may fail in the beginning but remember to keep learning. Courage will be your friend in the journey towards success, like Einstein said.
I : I'm sure.
V : Step out of your comfort zone like I did. It may be difficult but I can tell you, in the long run, things will get even worse.
I : Let me conclude by saying many won't do what you've done and for good reason. Thanks a lot, bye.

KK Nagar scrapped - Jeya calls for enquiry

In yet another sweeping move targeting programmes named after, or initiated by, the DMuK administration, ADMuK supremo and Chief Minister Jeyalelitha scrapped KK Nagar (Kalainyar Karnanidhi Nagar) from Chennai.
This is the fourth such announcement this month from the ruling party. In prior moves, the Gemini flyover (constructed in the 70s by DMuK)  has now been converted into an arc shaped, slightly dangerous, public school; the Anna Centenary library becomes a children's hospital; Karnanidhi's second house is slated to become a parking lot for Jeya's drivers' cars.
Justifying the scrapping, Jeya said 'We already have so many Nagars, Ashoknagar, Annanagar and so on. This KK Nagar is another example of a wasteful investment by DMuK from public funds. I would like an enquiry conducted immediately on the creation of KK Nagar."
"I have no hesitation in scrapping this locality. Buses and vehicles will, starting today, not be allowed to stop in this locality as it does not exist. We are also re-doing all Chennai maps accordingly. Our ambitious plan will need a central grant of 1 lakh crore to operationalise, most of it towards unrelated bribes to my party personnel and some whiteners", she added
When asked about the people who live there, she said vaguely 'We are taking steps to allay the fears of people who live there. They will also cease to be real people but this will be done in a seamless manner'

IIT, IIM, coffee, love, one girl and bad language - An IITian's journey through life covering these aspects in more detail than the other stuff

Preface
This is my first novel. When I joined IIT and IIM, little did I know that my experiences there would someday be read by other people in the form of a novel. It all started when I was caught doodling at my office desk with a blade. I'd scratched out some obscene statements with supporting illustrations. One of my colleagues, known for his sarcastic tongue, said 'You should totally do this for a living'. Well, here I am doing exactly that.
Let me start by addressing the question that must have occurred to you by now. Why should you buy this book? It looks crappy and it's probably a lurid account of a failed college affair which led to pornographic pursuits, flunking exams and so on. But what you are missing out on, is the fact that you may be a moron who thinks reading graphic details of how I was ragged in college will help you better your chances of gaining admission into these prestigious Institutions.
Also, notice how some people just laugh at foul language and obscene imagery, for no reason at all? You claim to not be one of them? Ha! F@#$ You. (Did you laugh?) Ch####ya (laugh yet?). Saala B******d (C'mon laugh already)
Well, let me tell you, this book is a treat for that kind of audience. It's got so much of the 'good' stuff that if it were made into a movie, the dialogue would be one long 'beep'.
At the heart of this book is a tender love story. At some corner deep in our heart, tucked away in a corner, of our deep hearts, there will be a chhota sa cute romance story from college. You may deny it but you can't refute it. That first love, that girl (or boy if you are a girl reader), the tentative approaches, will always remain etched in eternity. I hope while reading this book, you reignite that stuff even if it is only for 5 minutes-10minutes. If you went to an all-boys college then I guess we'll have to revert back to how this book can help you get admission into the prestigious IIT-IIMs. Without further ado, my story begins in a faraway place called Kanpur. The year was 2006. Her name was Priya. Fair, lean, black-eyed Priya. Aaaaaaaah. The feeling. It was bliss. Like morning coffee in a cold place. Like sunrise after a sandstorm...

Poor quality of Chetain Bagat an issue : Narayanmurthy

Ex-chairman of Infoshys Narayanmurthy slammed noted tweeter Chetain Bagat's overall quality as an individual today at the Pan-ITI meet in Chennai. 'There is a definite deteriorating trend that I see. He was tolerable a few years back, both as a writer and as an individual. Not the case now' he said, 'We are faced with a grave situation where I don't like whatshisname Bagat's face but he keeps appearing on TV news channels and writing columns and books and tweeting. We have to take firm and concrete steps in a forwardly direction on this matter.'
Chetain Bagat retorted angrily with a tweet that said 'It's ironic that Murty's taking on an author of my stature given that he himself has written several books'

The May-you-help-me section

"I need to be able to access the cash in this account. So can you help me do that?"
"Yes, sir, of course. Have a seat"
"As far as I understand, I need to make this a joint account or activate internet banking and do a funds transfer"
"Sir, this account is with the Indiranagar branch."
"Yeah, but the customer service guy on the phone said I could do this at the nearest branch"
"Yes, of course, sir. Let me key in the details. Hmm. Sir, this is not a joint account"
"Yes, I want to make it a joint account"
"Ok. I think the best solution is for you to open a new joint account with this branch"
Oh, I see what she's doing. Wasn't it Polya who said 'solve a completely unrelated problem'?
"But I have an account already"
"Then you close that account"
"So you can't make that account a joint account?"
"No, sir, don't do that, sir. You shouldn't"
Her earnestness would have been more appropriate if she were telling me not to drink too much.
"Why not?"
"Because in the case of dividend transactions and taxation and (some other courses I was taught in my banker exam coaching classes) blah blah and hence it will be much better for you to open a new joint account here"
I don't push her but I'm pretty sure I can get her to confess that she had a monthly target to meet in new joint accounts.
"Then help me activate internet banking"
"Sir, surely sir. Can you fill out this form please? I need passport size photo and PAN card"
I go out and get them. And then go back again and get PAN card - original.
"So this is it? Are you sure? I'll get a password by post and I can transact online?"
Who am I kidding? I guess a little optimism creeps into all of us every now and then.
www.lowquality banking. com -> login -> enter your password -> change your password -> a one time password has been sent to your mobile.
Drat! That mobile's no longer functional. Back to the branch to change registered mobile phone number.
Cut to three days later. I happily enter the one time password and enter the world of internet banking. I don't marvel at this for too long though. 'To transfer funds, you need to download and fill 'third party transaction form' and submit at the nearest branch along with your horoscope, ration card, favourite books and hobbies.'
Maybe if I give in and open a new account for now, the lady at the branch will get around to solving my problem too eventually.

Jan Lokepal

The parliamentary standing committee on law and justice invited memoranda on email to kpsing@sansadnic.in on August 20, 2011 on the Lokepal Bill pending before it since August 4, 2011, from any individuals or organisations interested in the subject matter. Based on the feedback collected, the committee has decided to add the following memoranda into the Bill as special clauses. Having incorporated public opinion thus, the Lokepal Bill (original) together with the following clauses shall form the Jan Lokepal Bill. (Presently, the committee invites help in understanding #6 in the list below from individuals who can read sms lingo)
1. lolz:)
2. who's this kpsing@sansadnic.in, we want anna. WE ARE WITH ANNA. PuNISH CoRuption. kpsing must be raja and kalmadi's email address that's why it doesn't have their names to protect their privacy. anna tum jiyo hazaaron saal, hum tumhaare saath hain
3. ilayaraja is much better than rehman, you rehman fans must be tone deaf!!! or just deaf!!1
4. rajnikanth once heard a joke and the poor joke had to laugh...lololol
5. think what has 60 yrs of independence given us. a poor man still has to fight for 1 rupee water packet. will we all be quiet if this happened to our own mothers pardon my warm regards
6. wat is govt if not ppl by ppl for ppl. ths not ana campn not fit go bk to own cntry
7. This comment was removed by the committee moderator for foul language. But it will figure in the Bill confidentially.
8. I ask simple question of fellow Indians. if there is law already why is not bein followed. how many politicians are in jail tell me.
9. Anna is not India and India is not Anna. I'm not Anna nor Anna I. Who am I (5 across)
10. Ths so called God of crkt has ever saved a match on his own? memory doesn't cm to mind. in my humble dravd is true and only dada is also on offside only...

Tech product review

Disclaimer : This post has turned out to be a lot more technical than I intended. So if you are not a tech-geek you'll find it pretty dense and incomprehensible.

Google plus has certainly captured the imagination of, well, those who signed up for it in the last few weeks since its launch. It already has 500 trillion users and this number is growing. The saving grace is that it hasn't created any new 25 year old billionaires. Its potential is unmistakable but is it the product that it can be, yet? Let's take a critical look at this product by comparing it to what, in some ways, is its only competitor, my old ipod-shuffle.
1. G+ has friends but Ipod has songs : My shuffle can hold about a hundred songs of all types, English, Hindi, regional languages - you name it (and then download it) and the ipod has it. G+ on the other hand, holds a virtual network of friends and family. You do the math.
2. You can shuffle songs but not friends : Even the most skeptical of song listeners will agree that sometimes you just need to shuffle songs, which my ipod does pretty easily. It can be argued that you can't shuffle friends because it might annoy them but that's just a sore-loser argument in my view. Surely family members and some other 2-3 circles should not mind being shuffled around?
3. Ipod usually comes with earphones : Well, this is self-explanatory. It is rumored that G+ is only in beta phase and when the launch happens, you can download some earphones but then what will you be listening to? Friends' status updates?
4. Privacy : Strictly this is a techno-legal issue and beyond the scope of this article but let me try to simplify it for a lay audience. This is the same malaise that facebook suffered from and can't be ignored. G+ has an option to block some friends (why add them in the first place, moron?) but surprisingly enough, ipod comes a cropper on this one. You can't block a song, but only manage through skipping or deleting.
5. User interface complexity : G+ is a frikking full page on my laptop with so many boxes and text. Ipod has only one circle with 4 arrows. I like. And not facebook-like.
6. Inter-usability between these two : G+ clearly scores on this one too. If I'm listening to a particular song ABC, I can update my status on G+ as "Listening to song ABC" but the reverse integration has just not worked out for Apple. A friend updates his/her status on G+ - absolutely no change in ipod music. And I checked the battery and earphones. Go figure!
7. The physical touch-feel aspect : This one's pretty obvious. You can give your ipod to a friend including the earphones if you don't have any infection or anything. But this is not possible with G+. You can maybe printout your home page and give it to the same friend but I think we can agree it's not the same thing as giving away an ipod.
8. Migration : You were on orkut just a few years back and then you got really lonely there. Sound familiar? Now your facebook friends are vacating for no particular reason. In contrast, when the ipod nano was launched, none of the songs moved out of my ipod, not one.
There's more of course, but these are the top-of-mind issues that developers at both companies are grappling with. Switching costs are high and the product really has to deliver on a unique feature or die a quick death. Will this be another all-out war like facebook versus the desktop computer from the previous decade? Watch this space.