In a recent trend, many government bigwigs have switched to the corporate sector, for better or purse

Wanted, food for thought: Rajnit Kohli Photo: S. Chandan

Accommodation, some sahayaks and a life-long pension, plus other perks make a government job a dream job for almost everybody till some time back. Facts like nearly three lakh applicants taking the IAS exams annually and almost the same number sitting for any other competitive exam still, substantiates the popularity of sarkari naukri. However, despite these frills, dissatisfaction has crept in and quite a few bureaucrats and other professional, who were faring well in their jobs, to head to the corporate sector.

The ever-comfortable and prestigious government jobs are being declined for challenging corporate sector, and the cut-throat competition there is not a deterrent. And of late, Vivek Atray, Director Public Relations, Chandigarh, going for a three-year break to work in an MNC has once again set off the debate. It makes us to take stock and we check out the reasons for the change in their priorities.

Break time: Vivek Atray Photo: Pradeep Tewari

"Input in the public sector is disproportionate to the output. At times, we get results more than expected and then at times for all the hard work we put in, output is negligible where as in the corporate sector, being highly professional you get what you deserve," avers Atray. Though he is still all for government jobs for the reason that it gives an opportunity to work at the ground level and a lends you a larger perspective of situations, he feels the pragmatic parameters of success of corporate world helps you do better as a professional. "Government employees who take a break from service to work with the corporate sector can benefit the public sector with their experiences and exposure," he adds.

Ajoy Sinha, the former deputy commissioner of Ropar, left bureaucracy after he got an offer from an MNC some months back. Citing the reason for people leaving the government jobs for the private sector he says, "Besides the personal grounds, money and professional satisfaction are the only reasons that lure government employees towards the corporate sector.

A few years back, Dr Vikas Bhutani left a job in the PGI and joined a private hospital to give a boost to career and now he justifies his decision, "Growth in the public sector takes place at snail’s pace. There are hardly any vacancies, as people don't leave jobs before retirement and one doesn't get promotions complementing one's career." His decision to move, according to him, helped to participate in the open competition, which is an inspiration to perform better. "The laid-back attitude of majority of people at my earlier job made me also slack."

Be a good employee or a useless one, as most of these people say, it hardly matters. Rajnit Kohli who served in the government for past 16 years, left it one fine day to join a private college and is now working there as head of the food and beverages department. "People today are career oriented unlike earlier times when money was the only criteria. Job satisfaction is equally important. The earlier job didn't give due value to my qualifications," adds she.

All said and done, what remains to be answered is, is sarkari naukri losing its charm?

ashima@tribunemail.com

Corporate gifting is low key this time though the hampers are high on style and substance, ranging from rangoli packs to idols of Lord Ganesha

The time is right and the season just perfect for souvenir shopping. It's Divali time and people are busy picking gifts for there loved ones. But more than a trend to gift friends and family, there is this culture of gifting something or other to the employees on Divali. More than being a ritual, it signifies a bond between the employee and the employer.

Here's what's coming the employee way.

"We have a set policy and every year, right from the top brass to the lowest rank the company gifts the same thing to one and all," says Rupesh, Head corporate communication, Reliance Anil Dhirubahi Ambani Group. Informing us about the gifts they are giving to the employees he says, "It's a gift hamper that the company gives to the employees and it mostly contains chocolates, biscuits, juices et al. Other than this, a Divali pre-party is also organised".

Moina Arora, financial manager with the wealth management team at HSBC-9, says, "Our company sure makes the employees fell very special during festivals. And Divali gets for all of us loads of gifts. Right from wall hangings to rangoli gift packs, pataka hampers and idols of Lord Ganesha, our company arranges for a special Divali lunch for all the employees."

In consonance with its corporate mantra of "earn and share", whereby the profits are distributed among all employees on an equal basis, CITCO is giving a Divali bonus in cash and kind to the extent of Rs 12,500 to its nearly 1200 employees, according to Niharika Rai, Managing Director (CITCO).

Following the tradition religiously, J.D Ghai, CEO, santabanta.com says, "We have been following this trend of gifting our employees a bonus of 15 days' salary as cash for quite sometime now." Talk about why only cash and he adds, " Cash makes for a better gift, as we don't know what an employee wants. We may end up gifting them something that they do not want at all. So, playing safe we gift them cash and they can buy or save the money as per their wishes."

jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com

Laptops are, by definition, portable computers. So one always wants a longer battery life. Nowadays almost all laptops are very high-end machines with huge RAM, latest processors and extremely powerful graphics card but still the battery inside your laptop has limited usage. The average battery life is anywhere between two to three hours for most notebook models and if not maintained properly it goes down to about one hour after a year or so. A long lasting battery will keep you connected. And to achieve that this here is all you need to do —

• Turn down the screen brightness to a lowest level setting where the screen is readable. It can significantly extend your battery life by 20 to 30 per cent.
• Defragment your hard drive regularly. It makes it faster and power efficient. However, you should never defrag your hard disc while it’s on battery power. Cut down on programmes running in the background like messengers music player word sheets etc. Nowadays processors are made for multi-tasking but running different programmes at the same time add to the CPU load and cut down on battery life. Stop using external devices like optical mouse, portable hard drive USB hub or an iPod cause some of these devices charge them self from the notebook draining you battery.
• When you are not surfing the net or using network services, shut down your WiFi.
• One of the most beneficial steps is to add more RAM. This way your PC allows you to process more data hand to hand rather than relying on virtual memory which would have resulted in hard drive use, and is much less power efficient. Worse then this is the use of CDs and DVDs. Even having one in the drive can be power consuming. They spin, taking power, even when they are not actively being used. The maximum power hog and a strict no-no function is CD or DVD burning. It can drain half the battery life in one go.
• Cleaning your battery’s metal contacts every couple of months with a moist cloth or with rubbing alcohol etc keeps the transfer of power from your battery more efficient and improved performance.
• Do not leave a charged battery inactive for long periods of time. Once charged, you should at least use the battery at least once or twice every two weeks. Lithium batteries should be given a little extra care Li-On battery should not be kept completely discharged. Although placing a laptop in standby mode saves some power and you can instantly resume where you left off, it doesn’t save anywhere as much power as the hibernate function does.
• Hibernating a PC will actually save your PC’s state as it is, and completely shut itself down. A Laptop operates more efficiently in cooler and stable temperatures. Clean out your air vents with a cloth or an airbrush battery life can have some drastic change in extreme temperature. Try not to use it in the open as we have a very dusty environment.

 amitpalsinghgrewal@gmail.com

Aamir returns to his blog after nearly two months and he has a story to share: an ant attack!

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan who has been missing from cyber space for over two months, has posted on his blog his strange encounter with a colony of ants that bit him en mass while he was sleeping.

"After a long day at work, I went to bed at around 3 am. A couple of hours later, deep in sleep I had this vague feeling of being bitten on my ear.

Gradually I was being bitten on my stomach, legs, neck. I was so sleepy that I just kept cursing, scratching, turning and tossing. Finally it got really unbearable, and I kind of woke up to see my bed filled with ants," Aamir wrote on his blog www.aamirkhan.com Friday.

"There were hundreds of them! Crawling all over and giving me hell. I had to jump under the shower and then went and crashed on my couch," he added.

Considering that ants swarm around anything that has some sugar level as they feed on it, the actor joked: "I guess they found something really sweet on that bed, and since K (wife Kiran) was out on a night shoot I am assuming it was me." Aamir also apologised for his uninformed absence from writing regularly on his blog.

"I suppose you all want to know why I have been away so long. Well I'm not sure I can explain. I guess I needed to be by myself for a while. Still, I should have expressed that. My apologies," the actor wrote.

Designer Manish Arora's Circus collection made for an unusual finale at wifw: Just jesters

Call it a drama of fashion or creativity at its best, the grand finale of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) 2008 concluded with a spectacular show by ace fashion designer Manish Arora's circus collection on Sunday.

It was not models walking in sheer dresses, flowing evening gowns or in the empire line designs, but it was beautiful faces painted in white and red sporting clothes that one would associate only with a circus show.

It was a show stealer for sure and though one would have wanted to watch the well maintained models in feminine attires, the clown pants, voluminous jackets and ruffled skirts did ensure a magnificent finale.

After the show, Arora, conscious of the fact that he has set a new standard for creativity said that circus is a part of everyone's life and he couldn't think of a better closing to the event.

"Circus was a theme, which I thought was easily related to everybody, it could be a child, it could be an adult, it could be all-young. I think, it was such a nice theme that nobody has explored it so far as a collection," said Arora.

Arora said that he wanted the grand finale to be an out of box show.

His collection will be retailed from Wills Lifestyle stores across India.

Animators are the newest stars of B-town with Hindi cinema's big daddy Yash Chopra taking to this niche genre and actor Jugal Hansraj debuting as director in Disney co-production Roadside Romeo

With reigning romantic couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor lending their voices to the big-budget Disney co-production Roadside Romeo, Hindi cinema's big daddy Yash Chopra adds a glamorous touch to the hitherto niche genre of animation with his first venture in the field.

Roadside Romeo, which marks the entry of the Hollywood giant, Disney, in Indian cinema in the avatar of a co-producer, is the most-hyped animated film to hit the theatres in this part of the world.

Roadside Romeo is getting released on a Diwali weekend, which is traditionally reserved for heavy-duty productions as the festive season guarantees big box-office gains. It is also a time when audiences expect nothing but the best of cinema, which is as much a religion in India as is cricket.

"If industry old-horse Yash Chopra has chosen an animated feature as his best product fit to be released during the holiday season, then it is even more confirmation that animators are the newest stars of Bollywood," says a trade analyst.

The 3-D animation venture Roadside Romeo has Saif and Kareena lending their voices to the animated characters Romeo and Laila, respectively. The character names themselves are an amalgamation of English and Hindi literature and epitomise hopeless romantics. The fact that the two are the most-talked about real life couple, gives the first-ever romantic fully-animated Hindi film that added edge.

Dino Morea's Pain is his gain. Actor-producer Dino Morea, who injured his leg during a basketball match and is in bed for a while, is spending most of his time watching desi classical movies.

"Yeah! I got injured while playing basketball and because of this I am taking rest at home and catching up with lots of Bollywood classical flicks like Satte Pe Satta, Yaadon Ki Baraat, Ram Aur Shyam etc. I am really enjoying them," said Dino.

Dino will feature as an army officer in the multi-starrer Heroes, releasing Friday.

Living your life and portraying it through cinema is every moviemakers dream. And that is what debutant director Kaushik Ghatak has done in his film Ek Vivaah... Aisa Bhi.

"The concept of the film is very close to my heart. I have actually lived the life I have portrayed in my film. I have had to stay away from family and my home to make a career and also had been in love with my wife for more than seven years before we got married," said Ghatak "I knew exactly the way the emotions needed to be shown on screen and it has been much easier for me to explain the characters to the cast. I am sure loads of Indians will relate easily to the characters and emotions in the film," he added.

Isha Kopikkar and Sonu Sood play main leads in the film that is schedule for Nov ember 7 release. — ANI, IANS

It's a one-stop destination for all. Name it and the ongoing exhibition at Sector 34 ground has it all. Be it home accessories, upholstery or furniture, the exhibition has a wide variety to choose from.

If you are looking for things to bedeck your home, this is the place to be. Right from flowers to Kashmiri carpets and handlooms from Jaipur there is a variety waiting to be explored. "We have a host of bed sheets, cushion covers and mats in Jaipuri block prints," avers Sudhir Kumawat who has come from Jaipur to put a stall at the exhibition.

Lending that contemporary touch to your home décor the exhibition also houses a stall of fish aquarium. Value for money these mini aquariums have been adorned with water plants and colourful fishes.

Wall paintings showing Kinhal and kabila art are also attracting a lot of clientele. "These paintings are made from colours extracted from flowers and other natural products," informs Monika Sharma, a professional artist and owner of the stall.

Not to forget the stall put up by Uneeza Iqbal from Delhi who has brought artistsic jahrokhas made of wood and they come with aluminum work done on them.

Last but not the least the stall offering handloom from Srinagar is enjoying a huge footfall. Mohammed Asif, owner of the stall says, "The distinct embroidery style on the suits and shawls has always been popular. Also, this time we have crepe sarees with Kashmiri embroidery. — TNS

The Chandigarh breast cancer trust (CBCT), gave away prizes worth Rs 1 lakh at a poster- making contest held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Punjab University. Organised by the CBCT as a part of their anniversary celebrations, Ishmeet Kaur (21) won the first prize of the poster-making contest and she was given a cheque of Rs 30,000 as prize money, while the second prize winner, Geetu (22) was handed over a cheque of Rs 25,000. The third prize went to Parminder Singh (20), who won a prize money of Rs 20,000.

The winners were awarded the cheques by principal secretary (public relations), Govt of Punjab, D S Jaspal (IAS).

Open for all, with an age restriction of 16 years and above, the contest was aimed at creating awareness regarding breast cancer among the masses. Over 138 entries were received for the contest. All the winning entries were displayed for the public viewing and five consolation prizes of Rs 5,000 each were also given. The programme was sponsored by Pfizer Oncology. — TNS

GOING for a movie or a cricket match may be the ultimate idea of fun for youngsters. But then this comes for a price. If never-ending queues and the disappointment of not getting the ticket are what pulling you back, then here comes a solution. KyaZoonga, a website that offers e-ticketing facility so that you can catch up with your favourite movie or cheer for your cricket heroes live.

“Our mission is to make movie-going an effortless and fun experience. We provide seamless ticket buying experience by allowing them to quickly review movie synopsis, select a movie, plan when and where to see it and buy tickets up to 15 days in advance,” says Neetu Bhatia, co-founder, chairman and CEO of KyaZoonga. It also provides its services for the IPL matches and the ongoing India-Australia series. — TNS

Nivea has launched the new deo for men called Sport Deo. The vital catalyst is a really a refreshing shower gel like the popular Men Sport Shower Gel from the company. To make sure your batteries don't run down too quickly after showering, now there's a deodorant to match. The deo has the enduring power to extend the revitalising effect of the shower throughout the day.

It comes in the spray form and the anti-perspirant formula has been proven to keep working for 24 hours. — TNS