VPP- Vada Pav Package aka Virtual Pooling Program

Controversies and Satyam have become synonymous. Since the day Raju Uncle alighted the ferocious tiger, the latter has been mauling whatever it can. If the 7th January revelation send the moral of the hapless associates plunge deeper than the stock prices of Satyam, the latest salvo of VPP has made them further dig a hole and bury themselves.

The VPP is nothing but a euphemism for “goodbye and we will never call you”. The java people will understand the term VPP better if they do an analogy with the garbage collection method.
Garbage collection is something that comes into action when an object (associate) becomes useless. It is no longer required by the classes (System), which created it, and so to release the memory (salary), which becomes an overhead for the JVM (Management) to bear. So it calls upon the System.gc() [ VPP] method for help. Once this method is called, the JVM is rest assured that the object has been cornered and will be forced to be garbage collected.
The VPP, which is a mastermind of the people at the helm of affairs, is a countermove to the government’s plan to interfere, has been tagged as the ‘Vada Pav Package” which in Indian cuisine, is a poor man’s hamburger.

The loyal associate are the ones who will have to swallow this bitter pill, and are sure to have their gastronomic balance disturbed. They have been given the raw deal and associates like me, who are at the bottom of the food chain, have no options left on the plate. We as objects know that the System.gc() has been called and its now not a matter of “how” but “when”. The epicure in us has fleeted faster than the clients and sooner or later we are going to choke in the crumbs of the Vada Pav.

Under the dietary instructions of the Vada Pav consumption Plan (read VPP rules), we will be served the basic Vada Pav and that too without the “chutney” (other pay) and it will be a take home package. Basic health coverage will be there in case you choke on one of those or get yourself food-poisoned. You’ll be free to visit any restaurant of your choice and order any item at your own cost. But what is difficult for us to digest (other than the goddamn Vada Pav) is the fact that other restaurants have initiated “ no admission without reservation (referral)” policy and so the epicure in us will sooner be a malnourished blighter.

Clearly the days of binging are over and the company can no longer pay for that. We are sure to loose some weight and a lot of confidence, but there is light at the end of the tunnel or so to say “some food for thought”. The dietary interval or the so-called “sabbatical” can be utilized to develop some new taste buds (hobbies), to serve some “langar” (community service) or to refine your taste and create some more hunger for success which will help you overcome this food crisis and develop those extra fats that would serve you in future crises.

And truly as described by Milton Friedman in his book-Moon is a harsh mistress –“ There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”