Techie break

A group of techies in the city have got together to combine technology with pure fun, at least during their free time. They have a website which has quizzes and other brain teasers in several formats. "This is a purely non-commercial activity which I hope is going to be infectious," says one of the founders of the website, the dynamic Vishnu Murali."There are eight lakh techies in the country and so we had to come up with a streamlined homogeneous deal which would cater to a larger community," he adds. He's been planning and executing fun-filled activities for his co-workers since 2001. The motto of the group is 'Have fun, leave your mark.' Initially there's a ten-week event comprising technical challenges with cash prizes for winners. Being totally voluntary and non-commercial, there is no registration fee. Prizes include a home theatre system, a laptop among other gizmos. "We hope to invite winners from other towns for the prize-giving ceremony. Later, region-wise interaction will be planned." The underlying thought behind this entire exercise is that receiving appreciation from your peers is a very powerful, moving experience. There isn't going to be any management interference," assures Murali. It's high time the two lakh IT professionals in Bangalore brought some entertainment and fun value to their lives, says Murali and his colleague Smitha who helped with helped with the marketing and publicity, agrees whole-heartedly. "If you saw me a month ago, I had a collar around my neck due to spondylosis," says Smitha. "It is time we have a bit of fun too," she laughs. Leadership expert Indraneel Mukherjee had started a forum to bring together IT employees to pursue creative activities. Members meet once in two weeks. "Most initiatives are however meant to be a quick diversion than a fulfilling engagement. My concern is that here too they are reinforcing their left-brain obsession with problem-solving and win-lose competitions. Some IT companies do encourage employees to do voluntary work. These as well as creative and ecological pursuits are more wholesome and awaken empathy and compassion. They could even heal their emotional selves which is unfortunately, ensnared in fear-led left brain controlled stressful engagements," he adds.