Summary:  20 Simple fictional short stories. For all ages.

Most of the stories takes you by surprise, with a sudden twist towards the end of the story. They are very simple and easy to read – like the title says ‘Tea-20 : Perfect  Companion for your teatime, you can read these stories while you sip your tea. Or even read them during lunch or dinner, like I did! You will find a touch of humor in some of the stories. Others, teaches you life-lessons.

‘It Rained That Night’ made an interesting read, keeping the suspense till the end. ‘Great Escape’ reminded me of the attitude of some girls of the present generation who kick out proposals for silly reasons (Thanks to the real-life stories, my friends have shared regarding their experience of trying to find a suitable bride!). 

“My Dog-An Amazing Teacher,’ reminds you sometimes humans ignore or overlook some simple facts in life and they even need to learn these facts and learn to love others, from animals.

A collection of 20 fictional short stories, the book is for anyone who enjoy simple writing, stories you could relate to in daily life. Without doubt, the author got the start for a storyline from the experiences and incidents of daily life. Though there are stories related to the IT world, it is not about the IT industry alone.

About the Author:

Vinod Kumar S is a Chennai based IT professional. 

Originally published at http://resmi-jaimon.blogspot.com/2010/10/book-review-complete-guide-to.html (October 2010)

Originally published in techgoss on (3/1/2011)

Nikesh Rathi, author of Somewhere @ Nowhere, worked with IT industry for some time before going on to pursue his passion for Education and Writing.  Though he had only a short stint in IT at Wipro, it helped him form the central characters of his book. Post his MBA from IIM in 2008, he now works in the educational sector.  

 Tell us about your educational and professional background?
 I belong to Raipur, have done most of my schooling at Baroda, engineering at NIT, Bhopal (2005) and MBA at IIM, Lucknow (2008). I have worked in IT and FMCG industries for sometime before moving to education sector recently. I am currently working with IMS Learning Resources, and worked with Wipro and Dabur earlier.
 

What were the reasons that prompted you to write a book? Were you interested in writing from your school/college days?
It was a mix of various factors. It was something which I always wanted to do! I have been somewhat creative throughout my life but this had been mostly limited to blogs, short stories, and few articles in school or college publications or just cracking PJs! There was always an urge to do something more, maybe on a larger platform and this is where I got this idea to write a book. I started and abandoned the project a few times, but eventually I got going and wrote it.

 How long did it take you to write the book?
 It took around 3-4 months to write. It kind of followed Pareto’s principle—the first 80% took 20% of the time! That was when a basic skeleton was ready. Then it was all about revising it, re-revising it, re-re-revising it and so on. Theoretically there is no end to it. This went on for almost around a few months. Most of that time was used in giving ‘finishing touches.’

What were the challenges you faced in writing Somewhere @ Nowhere?
I think the first obstacle is “Getting started”. There was this idea in my head but it took some time before I could overcome my inertia. I started and abandoned the project a few times before I got going.  Once you get stuck, the writer’s block is often there to trouble you. It might be in the form of lack of ideas or ideas not getting converted into words.

There were times when I actually felt that the whole thing was going somewhere towards nowhere! But these were probably minor stumbling blocks.

Could you tell us what Somewhere @ Nowhere is all about?
It is about a young guy who is an investment banker and a pass-out from IIT & IIM. He has always been a “winner” throughout his life. However, one fine day he loses his job and in the days to come he travels across the country with the objective of exploring the country.

Somewhere @ Nowhere is essentially about the different experiences he had during the journey, It is also about different facets of the country and its people as seen from the eyes of a relative outsider. It is also about how those experiences change him as a person and how his outlook about the life changes in the process.

 Did living in several places help you write the novel?
 Yes. It did help, though I have actually traveled to only few of the places mentioned in the book.

Along with it, my interest in knowing about different places and different people and cultures helped me a lot.

You initially self-published the book and later Cedar published your book? Tell us about your experience from self-publishing to finding a publisher.
 The publishing experience was a kind of mixed bag. To begin with, I was a ‘nobody,’ sending an unsolicited manuscript to publishers. There were publishers who never replied, there were some who rejected it outright and there were some who wanted to make major changes to the content to make the book more ‘spicy’!

I wanted to have control over the content, so I initially self published it through www.pothi.com. Later on I published with Cedar books, primarily with the objective of having a wider distribution reach.

 Would you be writing a novel based on IT industry life? Or which other topic would you choose to write, for your next book?
I can’t predict that. I would surely like to write more but I would try to steer away from all those love at IIT/ IIM/ kind of novels! Ideally I would like to write something out and out humorous.

You worked with Wipro for a year before moving out of the IT industry? Didn’t IT industry inspire you enough or you were more fascinated by the education industry?
Actually, I left Wipro because I secured an admission to IIM Lucknow. It was like an offer I couldn’t refuse! When I passed out, IT companies were not recruiting that much. Education is something I am passionate about and I wanted to be a part of it in some way or other ever since I was working in these industries. How that would be, I wasn’t too sure. It was probably just a vague idea. Later on, when the opportunity came, I grabbed it!

 Has your education and IT industry experience helped you in writing the novel?
Actually, different aspects of my life have helped me in it. IT industry has been a part of it. To an extent, the personalities of the main protagonists have been based upon that of people working in the IT industry. So, in a way it has helped me develop characters. Also, there are few references within the book, which wouldn’t probably have been there had it not been for the IT industry.

I entered into the education industry after I wrote the book, so there wasn’t too much from that part. However, throughout the book I have broached upon the topic of education and probably it is a reflection of something which I have been passionate about!

Do you dream of being a full-time writer?
That is like wishful thinking!

 Originally published in techgoss on (8/4/2010)

While IIT trained Chetan Bhagat is a household name after the success of his books Five Point Someone, One Night at the Call Center and 2 States – The Story Of My Marriage, other IIT graduates have also won critical acclaim for the magic of their words. Indian techie and IIT Kharagpur alumni Farahad Zama won international acclaim for ‘A marriage Bureau for Rich People’. 

Now an IIT alumnus Parul A Mittal joins the ranks of successful techies who have written popular books. The marketing blurb of Parul Mittal’s book Heartbreaks & Dreams describes it as: ‘When it comes to matters of the heart, and so many to choose from, how does one know who is Mr Right? -Heartbreaks & Dreams!- is a delightful and funny attempt at depicting circumstantial challenges intrinsic to a college campus characterized by a skewed sex-ratio, cut-throat competition, grueling course work and a largely geek population. Seen through the eyes of a confident and intelligent yet simple, middle-class girl, the book journeys through the most vulnerable and youthful times of her stay at IIT.’

Parul (Agarwal) Mittal did her BTech. in Electrical Engineering from IIT Delhi in 1995, followed by Masters in Computer Science from UMich, Ann Arbor. After twelve years in the corporate world (Hughes, IBM Research and Nextag), she is currently freelancing as an IT Consultant.

 What is your family background?
I come from simple, middle-class family. My father was born in a small village in Rajasthan. He studied on his own accord and was the only one educated among his siblings. He did CA and worked with IOC, Indian Oil Corporation – a PSU, for his entire career.  My mother was born in Old Delhi, and has done B.A in Sanskrit honors and is a house-wife. I have a younger brother who went to IIT Delhi, 1996-2000 and a younger sister who has done BA.

Share with us your educational and career background.
Born and brought up in Delhi, I did my schooling at Lady Irwin School, New Delhi (nursery to class 9th) and Navrachna School, Baroda (10th-12th).

I did my BTech. in Electrical Engineering from IIT Delhi in 1995, followed by Masters in Computer Science from UMich, Ann Arbor. After twelve years in the corporate world (Hughes, IBM Research and Nextag), I decided to quit the job and do something different. I first wrote the book on IIT girls that I wanted to from very long time and then started freelancing as an IT consultant. I specialize in e-commerce and social networking websites based on Drupal.

Was IIT your first choice? 
Yes, I knew it long ago as does the main character in my book. I even gave medical entrance exam and got admission in Delhi Harding Medical School. However, my heart was set on conquering IIT.
 

How many women were fellow students?  What was it like being so outnumbered by the men?
In a batch of about 320 guys, there were 13 girls in my batch. In my specific department, Electrical Engineering, there was only one other girl (from SC quota) and in the three years above me, there was only one senior girl in EE.

How it feels to be an outlier is what I have tried to describe in my book Heartbreaks & Dreams! – The girls @ IIT.  Personally speaking, I remember being uncomfortable among so many boys especially in first two years. Academically it used to be tough to discuss and clarify doubts, as the girls were so few and sometimes none in your cycle. There were manufacturing workshops that were physically tough for girls. However by the third year, I had made my mark and was either 1st/2nd ranker in my department. Most of the class copied my notes and studied from them. I had also formed a few friendships with boys and life became easier. I was really a maggu back in IIT and I wish I had some more fun.

The general Indian society can sometimes be a bit sexist.  Was it more emancipated at IIT?
I don’t recall being treated differentially by any Professors because I was a girl. It was easy to be noticed but that was both good and bad. You couldn’t bunk classes and get someone to mark proxy presence for you.

The skewed sexual ratio played more of a role in making the girl-boy interaction uncomfortable and difficult.
 

What was the nature of your work after you left IIT?
I first went to UMich, Ann Arbor for my masters and then returned from US to join Hughes Software Systems as Software engineer in Jan 1997. The nature of the job was C++ programming in Networks/Telecom domain. However, I soon shifted to Internet/Ecommerce domain and Java. I was at IBM Research lab, Delhi for 6 years where I worked in e-commerce, e-coupons, e-governance, data-mining, targeting algorithms. I wrote over 12 patents and several research papers. My last job was in the area on comparison-shopping at Nextag.

When did you first start writing?  Was it hard getting a publisher for your book which is doing well?
I started writing in July 2008 after having quit my job at Nextag as Manager Engineering. I went about writing quite methodically using Ywriter tool.

After I finished the writing the manuscript, I approached several publishers over Internet. They were all intrigued by the topic but for some reason didn’t agree to publish. I am thankful to Jayanta Kumar Bose of Srishti publishers for having the confidence in my book and bringing it to the market.
 

 Why did you name your book Heartbreak and Dreams?  What were the other names you mulled on?
 ”Heartbreaks and Dreams!” refers to the two aspects that I have brought out in my book – relationships and aspirations. It is a story of conflict between a girl’s heart and mind. I chose this title as it is simple and conveys the essence of the book very well. The other titles were “Lovebirds and Bookworms” and “Beyond pigtail dreams”. 
 

Is your book based more on fiction or based on the happenings at IIT?
A large part is based on happenings from different people’s lives blended into a smoothie and presented with a flavor of fiction. However, there is fair bit of fictional incidents and characters to make it an interesting read.

In India more and more women are taking their rightful place in the IT-ITES sectors. Why do you think more and more women are dropping out of tech careers in USA and Europe?
 This is news to me. I would expect women in US/Europe to be able to continue careers in IT-ITES sector because of more flexible and work-from home options. In India, either you work more than full-time or you do your own business. It’s very hard to have a satisfying career with reduced/flexible hours or work-from home.
 

Is there any club/group for women who have passed out from IIT?
We have a yahoo IITWomen mailing group and a small group on Facebook, which isn’t very active though. Nothing that has all IITWomen registered.

Have you started your second book?  What is it all about?
Not yet. I am trying to figure out the subject for my next book

In the recent times, more and more IITans are writing books. Why do you think the trend is growing?
I feel that every one has a story to tell. Like anywhere else, IITians are a mixed bag with some people good at writing, some at sports, some at singing, some at painting and some being only geeks. People are only following their creative streaks.

Of course market is also open to publishing first time authors and college fiction genre and that makes it easier.