Nipun Varma
Nipun Verma in Conversation
Book Title : Adventures of an Indian Techie
1. “Sometimes, we do not get a chance to thank each one who has helped us in our Journey.” Let the readers get a chance to know about all the important people who have played a part in this Author Journey of Yours.
I guess it all started with Sreekumar Pillai- my mentor and partner in crime for anything creative.
Then my better half Sumi who had to put up with my mood swings- she lovingly calls me psycho, how’s that for a humor writer?
My friends and colleagues of UST Global- the initial readers of all my writing misadventures so far. If it hadn’t been for them, I wouldn’t have published this book.
Special mention for my parents who help us in taking care of the kids. They try their best to compensate for their good-for-nothing-much son.
2. Can you share a few lines from your book and maybe give a bit of background?
“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’.”
India is probably the only country wherein the number of engineers exceeds the total number of vehicles on its roads. A huge chunk of these engineers end up in the IT sector. As per my knowledge, there has never been an insider’s account on the daily life of these IT professionals- lovingly called as techies. My book is an attempt to depict a techie’s life in an authentic manner. This IT satire comedy also tries to address the fears, challenges and insecurities associated with the IT profession. For techies, these stories are as relatable as their daily chores and for non-techies, this book gives a sneak peek into the world of IT engineers.
3. Can you talk about any interesting character from your book?
This is not a character driven book. Instead, it is a humorous take on some of the escapades of the protagonist. The protagonist represents the thousands of ‘makeshift techies’ out there. With his wit and storytelling capabilities, he manages to come out of all these tricky situations unscathed. Through the protagonist, I am also trying to share some tips and tricks that are mandatory to survive in this industry.
- Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about?
Yes, couple of projects are in the pipeline. I am having discussions on converting this into a web series. On the writing front, I am planning for a prequel and sequel for the techie adventures. The prequel will be focused on the escapades in the engineering college whereas the sequel will focus on the techie’s onsite assignments. Fingers crossed at the moment.
Rapid Fire.
1. Favorite Place, Person, Food, beverage….
My room, my mom, my homemade food, my tea
2. Your other Talents….
Not applicable J
3. Your First Love….
It’s official- she bears the title of my wife
4. Favorite Quote…..
“This too shall pass..”
5. Favorite Character from a book…
Jackal- From The Day of the Jacka.
What if Round.
1. What if you had to live with only three things all your life, what would the three things be?
Unlimited collection of movies, books and food
2. What if you were given the power to change one thing from this world, what would you change?
Of course, religion- I think the concept of religion is way past its expiry date
3. What if you had all the money in this world, what would you do first?
Set up a trust to provide free education for everyone
- According to you which are the 5 books everyone should read and also Who are your top 3 Authors?
My top 5 must read book list is given below (not in any particular order)
· The Last Lecture- Randy Pausch
· The Great Indian Novel- Shashi Tharoor
· Immortality- Milan Kundera
· The Day of the Jackal- Frederick Forsyth
· The Trial- Franz Kafka
I try to read across genres. Let me list out the names genre-wise/work-wise.
· Frederick Forsyth, Jeffrey Deaver (thrillers)
· Stephen Leacock (humor)
· Milan Kundera (love everything he has written)
- Tell us a bit about your family, likes and dislikes as a person.
Married for more than 10 years. Happy and content with my own small army that comprises of one wife and two kids.
Likes- sharing stories, spreading smiles
Dislikes- Being in a crowd, lack of me-time
- Could you share few tips for Young Authors?
According to me, there is no good time or place to write. Any time is good time and write whatever that pleases you. When you write, don’t edit, or even think twice, just let it flow and have it saved. Once done, take a break and come back to what you have written after one or two days. Read it as a reader and then based on your feelings, make the necessary edits. Do this exercise again and again till there are no more changes to be made. Then show/read it to your group of close friends and get their suggestions and feedback. Based on the responses, enhance the writing and get it to the next stage.
It’s almost like completing a software project. You develop the code, give it for testing, fix the bugs, then give it for business user testing, fix the bugs and finally send it for production.
The mantra is simple- Believe in yourself and just keep going.
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