Labyrinth: A Novel about the Software Industry

by Arunabha Sengupta

Learn Tamil in Thirty DaysOne Hundred and One ways of Getting MarriedThe Book of Indian CookeryWho would submit bills of these titles against a grant meant for big, fat, jargon-filledbooks on Software Technology?But, then, Vikram Gupta is no run of the mill Software Professional.Fresh out of college, highly qualified, in great shape and intelligent, he is employed by ACS, the biggest name in the Indian Software World. He is the archetypical image of a young man with a glorious future ahead of him.Yet, he has his problems.He loathes his job, abhors everything about Chennai and hates the guts of his reporting boss. And more importantly, he has the questionable gifts of eccentric logic,irreverence for authority and a macabre sense of humour, which more often than not,place him on sticky wicket.As the year 2000 approaches, accompanied by the dreaded Y2K bug, ACS goes about its customary way of getting innumerable projects done dirt cheap by employing fresh graduates whom they can brow beat, bully and exploit. However, in Vikram Gupta, they run against something they have never encountered before.Within the spic and span corridors of the multinational firm, Vikram discoversconspiracies that threaten to spell doom for the hordes of young people recruited bythe company. And he pits his eccentric wits against the cold-blooded deviousness ofentrepreneur-par-excellence S. Digambaram, the EVP of ACS Chennai. Somehow alongthe line, he also manages to fall in love. But, can a sole youth, even aided by cupid,succeed against a giant corporate?What results is an uproarious rollercoaster ride encompassing the deepest secrets ofthe software world just before the turn of the century. The technological landscape ofthe software world is etched with numerous colourful characters from all walks of life "A most refreshing sense of humour."-Shyamala Narayan

376 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2006