Today, Do You Get Hired Or Acquired?

When a company recruits you, does it hire your services or acquire you? This is a question that has been in my thoughts for days. The reason: expectations were different when I started working 15 years ago; it used to be eight hours a day for five days and 4 hours on Saturday. Now, it’s 24/7.

Agreed that new recruits on average do earn at least 5 times more than what I used to when I started my work life. But then costs have also increased by at least 6 times [half a glass of tea (called cutting in Mumbai lingo) costs Rs.3 now compared to 50p 15 years ago. Companies are also making more money than ever. So if they are paying more, they are doing so more out of compulsion than choice. Of course, there always are exceptions to the rule, but I ain’t talking about exceptions.

What is it with companies nowadays that a workday never seems to end at a reasonable hour? People are expected to be in office by 9 am latest; however, no boss will be willing to commit a time when one can call it a day. Bosses proudly tell job aspirants that you come in by 9 in the morning but there is no saying when you will get to go home. And with a satanic smile, they ask, how does it sound? Does it interest you? To me, that’s akin to asking a man how he feels on the day he is going to be hanged. O yeah! He is going to say on top of the world, right?

So how does one analyze this trend of why do companies expect people to kill themselves? What is so great that any company offers that would want people to push themselves to tipping point? I am in no way saying that people should not work hard; if people can work smart, even better.

What I am talking about is a proper work-life balance. What are companies doing to ensure that the large majority of the people who enable a few at the top to become billionaires lead a full life? By full life I do not mean having coffee machines, five star canteens, television sets, and bunk beds at work. I am talking about ensuring that employees reach home at a reasonable hour, spend at least an hour with family during earthly hours, and get a good night’s sleep.

I don’t think companies are at present bothered about such niceties. The attitude is if I am paying, I need you to be my doormat. My question: Do companies have the right to have such expectations bordering on exploitation; exploitation of a person’s need to earn a livelihood, take care of his family, and provide for his future? I say NO.

I have asked myself many times that after working for 14 to 15 hours a day 24/7 if I happen to fall seriously ill and am rendered incapable of working for a year, will the company grant me a year’s paid leave to recuperate, and return to resume my duties? No matter how desperately I want to believe this will happen I know that 99 of 100 times it won’t.

Then the key question is how can any company expect me to kill myself? Some may find my thoughts to be Leftist. To them, I say NO, my thoughts are just plain human without a political agenda. I am no Prakash Karat or Sitaram Yechury, and I thank God for that. I am just looking for answers to a question that all of us must have thought about at some point of time.

I know it’s a tricky problem, but one that demands solutions. Many may argue, it’s a person’s choice whether to work for a company or not. To them I say, yes you are right. But at what cost, is my question.

Nothing

Nothing is a word that we use very often. Today in the morning a friend asked what are you doing? I said nothing. The moment I said nothing, I started thinking is it possible to ever do nothing?

I am still thinking but my thought is veering more towards “not possible”. Although I am not fully convinced, I am there about 90% in believing that doing nothing is not a possibility.

One can justify that I have not moved even a finger hence, I am doing nothing. But can the mind do nothing? The more I think about it the nearer I am to being convinced that the mind cannot cease thinking.

If that’s the case, then how can we ever say that we are doing nothing? To me doing nothing is being in a state of mental vacuum. That is being in a state of shunya, the ultimate goal of meditation.

I am not sure how many of us have experienced being in a state of shunya. If one has, then it’s nirvana. Come to think of it, does the mind ever stop thinking? I can’t speak for others but mine doesn't. Please do let me know if any of you can achieve or have achieved a state of shunya.

Given that the mind works tirelessly 24/7, can we rightly claim to be doing nothing? I don’t know and am looking for answers. Does anyone have one?

God And Ownership

Over the past 15 days the country celebrated Eid and Dusserah. There air was festive and the city wore a colorful look. It made me extremely happy to see a city that never sleeps and always on the run take a pause to celebrate life. But there was another thing that caught my attention. The increasing trend of ownership, i.e., mobs collectively exhibiting their might and right to own God.

I say this not in the sense of disapproving belief in God, but in the way these mobs usurp public property in their show of faith. I have always believed that God and one’s belief in the creator are personal matters to be practiced within the four walls of the house or inside a temple. But increasingly people are taking their beliefs to the street and forcing their way of celebrating God on others.

I don’t think God is interested in public show of faith; I don’t feel that God approves the destruction of public property to acknowledge his existence. I do not question the right of people to believe in God; even I am a believer. But I do question the right of people to resort to organized chaos to keep reinforcing their belief. My take: if you need to keep reinforcing your faith, then you are completely lost. And your claim of believing in God is hollow.

Do people think that holding public gatherings, blocking roads, littering roads with waste will make them dearer to God than someone who practices his faith in the quiet confines of his home? This Dusserah, newly laid roads have been dug to erect poles that hold huge cutouts of known politicians and wannabes with God mercifully finding a brief mention and/or a small space in one corner of the banner. Does that mean that the Politician has replaced God in the religious equation? I am not even counting the loss to the taxpayer who pays for repairs of roads and other public infrastructure.

I agree that we are a democracy and I am thankful for that. But does democracy mean everyone does as he pleases? What worries me more is the increasing blurring of lines between religion and politics. It’s been a while since politicians have been cleverly exploiting peoples’ belief in God to secure votes. But do they have to go to the extent of supporting and exhorting people in damaging public property? I guess that too works in their benefit; every time they relay a road or dig a gutter, a new contract is issued. That means added source of income for politicians and political parties through bribes and kickbacks.

I agree that in India corruption has reached a stage where legalizing it looks like a realistic solution than trying to eradicate the menace. Politicians feel that from my right to speak to the country’s right to vote everything should be controlled, and there is very little that the common man can do to prevent it. But trying to own, market, and sell God? That in my book is taking things too far.

Over the years what we have done is come this close to patenting God. We claim to protect God and fight for the need to ensure his longevity. Can someone please tell me that if God stands for Generator, Operator, Destroyer, then why on earth does the creator need our protection? Has creating the Universe and all of us depleted his energy to such a level that he is crying for protection?

The answer to all these questions is a capital NO. God does not need our protection nor does he demand public display of affection. If God is the creator, then by default he is our parent. And no matter how errant a child, a parent never wishes ill for his ward. So God is not going to punish us for not taking out processions, for not trying to protect him, and for not trying to spread his name by forcing our thought on others. God is God and needs no introduction, protection, or publicity.

So dear devotees, stop using God’s name to achieve personal goals, settle personal scores, and to try and prove there is no devotee better or bigger than you. You cannot please God or gain his love by causing trouble to your fellow human beings. Hence, please spread the message of love and peace; that will be the true way of expressing your love to the creator of the Universe.

Anwar

My name is Anwar. I live on the streets of Mumbai and am a rag picker by profession. I don't know how old I am, and I don't know who my parents are. I was found by Mariam apa about five years ago on Falkland Road, Mumbai's infamous red light area, in South Mumbai. According to her I must be around eight as she perceives me to have been three when she found me.

Mariam apa passed away last month and I am on my own again. I generally work the area from Mahim to Andheri, rummaging dustbins for plastic, paper, and anything else of value. I make about 40 rupees a day, which takes care of my food. But I would have liked life to be different.

When I observe life on the streets, at signals, when I see children going to school with their parents, when I see children traveling in cars, playing at parks, I ponder how it would be to have a roof over my head. I wonder how it would be to have a mother, a father, brothers and sisters. I wonder how it would be to sit with family and have a meal.

My heart yearns for a mother's love, father's care. How I wish I could go to school, study and make it in the real world. I long for some one to call me bhaiyya (brother). It's the holy month of Ramzan, and when I see kids along with parents going to pray, breaking their fast in the evening, I, in my heart, ask God why am I lonely? Why do I not have anyone to call family, why is it that I do not have a place to call home?

I wonder how it feels to be fed by a mother. How it feels to be scolded by a father when I do something wrong. I yearn for a family, I wish I could study, I wish for a life different from the one that I live.

But I know that all I could do is yearn, for life is the way it is. It's fair to some, unfair to others. Then I take solace in the fact that I am not the only one without a roof over my head. There are millions like me in this county called India. Millions of children who aimlessly roam the streets of the country, who have no future, nowhere to go, nothing to achieve.

Mariam apa used to tell me that children are God's gift to mankind. Now she is no more and as I sit and recollect her words, I start doubting them. If children were God's gift to mankind, then why are so many like me wandering the streets? Why are so many like me abandoned by parents? Don't they believe in God, don't they love their own flesh and blood?

Sometimes on a bad day when I haven't earned anything, hunger forces me to seek alms. Most don't give any, but they do make it a point to tell me mehnat karo (work). At that time I feel sad, it hurts. I ask myself, aren't children supposed to be God's gift to mankind.? Aren't children supposed to study and play? Aren't children supposed to be sans survival worries? Are children supposed to work when they are supposed to be studying, leading a protected and secure life?

I know the answer is yes, they are meant to be without survival worries. Then why am I on the streets, why am I at such an young age working for a living? I will grow up illiterate. Don't I have a right to live life as other fortunate children? Or am I condemned to a life of misery forever?
I search for answers but find none. Do you have one?

Growing Up With Big B

It was the seventies, the time when I was growing up, learning to read, write, and starting to understand worldly ways. It was also the time a certain Amitabh Bachchan was growing up, professionally. Amitabh turns 65 today and what a journey it has been. For him, and for me.

To cut a long story short, I, like most of that generation, grew up with Mr. Bachchan. Fridays that marked the release of a Bachchan starrer used to be big days for me. I would stand in line when plans opened and walk out in the afternoon with a ticket in hand. The world was my oyster then.

Life with Amitabh was exiting to say the least. The first real anti-hero taking on a corrupt system. An Indian Robin Hood of sorts who used the system to get at the system. I was sold. I laughed with the Shahenshah, cried with him, fought on his side, and mourned his onscreen death. I watched Sholay maybe 25 times, maybe more, every time expecting the ending to be different, expecting Jai to walk into the sunset with his lady love.

His onscreen death used to weigh me down for days. That after knowing very well that it was just cinema to me was the ultimate tribute to the man's talent. You left the theatre believing completely in make believe. He was a seller of dreams and continues to be one to this day.

There have been better actors than him, there will be in the future. But Amitabh is Amitabh. There is something very sophisticated about him, yet something very earthy. His sense of style, his famous baritone, his hair style, his shoes; he is in a league of his own.

How can I forget growing my hair over my ear and pushing it to the back of the ear in school and hoping that no one would spot it. Long hair was banned in school. Unfortunately, I used to be caught finally; I have had many a haircut at the school's expense. And believe me it used to be brutal. Then I used to feel one with Amitabh wanting to fight the system. When I look back I realize my enthusiasm was misplaced. But what the heck, aren't these episodes part of the joys of growing up?

The phenomenon of Amitabh spawned a whole generation of Bachchan clones, including your's truly. My father used to tear his hair out everytime I returned from an Amitabh movie and demanded new clothes, shoes and the works that would be in line with Bachchan's latest.

I watched in joy the transition of Amitabh the actor to Amitabh the mega star. I saw him carry movies with flimsy story lines, poor scripts, and funny songs purely on his talent. The cash registers were ringing non stop.

Then came 1982, the making of Coolie. Who can forget the accident, and the whole country was in mourning. I remember waking up everyday in the morning praying to God that newpapers did not carry the dreaded news. There was no 24x7 television then. I prayed for his health, rejoiced at every news of his getting better, and visited Siddhi Vinayak the day he walked out of hospital. I know many will call me a fool. To them I say, I am glad to be one.

In the nineties I saw him stutter a bit. But never did the thought occur that this could be the beginning of the end of a glorious career. And am I glad that that the thought never crossed Mr. Bachchan's mind either.

I agree that he is as human as any of us. He committed errors, but so what? So do we. And today when I am entering the third quarter of my life, I do so with great confidence. The confidence of having seen Mr. Bachchan fight and win. It's been a long journey and I too hope to emerge victorious too. Not in the manner that Mr. Bachchan has, but then I am not Mr. Bachchan.

Land Of Reservation

Over the past three years, the word reservation has assumed a different meaning. And again who do we have to thank? The humble politician. Now reservation has assumed a secular meaning. The reason: politicians have hijacked the word secular too and changed it to pro-minority from equal rights sans discrimination.

I know that a lot has been written about the merits and demerits of reservations and I do not wish to be another in a long line of reservation analysts. I have decided to get secular about reservations, in line with the government’s interpretation of the word.

Why not bring reservations into every aspect of life? Imagine if the government were to implement reservations for the usage of public urinals. For every one person from the general category using the toilet, it would be mandatory for 8 people from the reserved categories to use. In short, if another person from the general category wants to use the restroom, he will have to wait for eight from the reserved category to do so before he can relieve himself.

And imagine swipe cards with chips and all to use the toilet. How else will they monitor usage?

The government will also make reservations mandatory for admissions to hospitals. In a 100 bed hospital, 95 will be reserved. And even if the 95 are vacant, they will not be allotted to the general; an effective way of reducing population. Since the hospital will run into losses given the high non-occupancy rate of reserved beds, the government will charge the general public a non-occupancy tax. Goes without saying that the reserved category will use the hospital for free and the general will subsidize 100%.

Reservations will be mandatory in the private sector. For every 5 businessmen from the general category, it would be mandatory that 50 will be from the reserved category. And how does the government achieve this? In the same way as Kerala implemented land reforms in the sixties. Take businesses away from the general category and pass it on to the reserved category. Do I hear the Ambanis applying for membership in the reserved category?

Next will be reservations in the Army. And if the Congress government continues for another 10 years, we will have quotas for Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, and the Chinese in our armed forces. The reason: Kashmir will be with Pakistan, Assam and some other north-eastern states with Bangladesh, Arunachal Pradesh with the Chinese, and Tamil Nadu with the Lankans. So people from these territories will be given Indian overseas passports, and hence, a right to join the Armed forces.

The only place that will not have reservations will be Politics and the Parliament. There’s no point in biting the hand that feeds, right?

Hyde Wins, Rest In Peace Jekyll

We claim to live in a civilized society, yet we knowingly behave in uncivilized ways. We are aware of the law, legal and moral, yet we willingly stray. So what is it that leads so many of us astray? What is it that brings out the Hyde in us even when the Jekyll begs abstinence?

Last evening on my way home from work I saw a couple of guys zoom past on a bike. They slowed as they approached a girl walking about 200 meters ahead. And in a flash the pillion rider thrust out his hand, squeezed the girl's buttock, and before the girl could react zoomed away.

The girl was shocked. She just stood there for a minute, then gathered herself, and looked around guiltily. The next thing I knew, she hailed an autorickshaw and left in a hurry. As she got into the rick, she looked back and I could see tears in her eyes.

I was left thinking as to what kind of a society are we living. A girl gets molested, the molesters ride away as if what they did was their birth right. And worse, the girl ends up feeling guilty for no crime of hers.

Shouldn't it be the offenders who should feel guilty? The guys looked educated. So what is it that makes literate people do things that most so called illiterates refrain from indulging? Are parents not teaching children what's right and what's wrong? Aren't schools imparting education that teaches people to treat fellow beings as humans and not as objects with which one can behave in any manner that one deems fit?

Why is it that if someone were behave in a similar manner with the sister/mother/wife of one or both of the bike riders, their reaction would have been one of outrage and anger? Isn't every woman the mother, sister, or wife of someone?

And I have always wondered, what pleasure does one derive from such acts that hurt people? I am at a loss. Looks like when it comes to satisfying desires, Hyde is scoring over Jekyll 10 on 10. That dear friends is a sad reflection of the heady times that we live in.

Of Love And Life--A Blast From The Past

I saw a young couple at a bus stop arm in arm engrossed in each other, oblivious to the world around them. It took me 15 years into the past to my student days. The eighties had ended and we had just entered the nervous nineties, a time filled with new hope. India was on the verge of shedding the garb of socialism and embracing capitalism. It was the time of Narasimha Rao and liberalization.

Love however was still in the flower kissing a flower stage and public show of affection was considered Western. It was the time when love came knocking on my heart doors and I too spent time at bus stops with my beloved (now my wife of 11 years). But no arm in arm and a distance of at least 6 inches between the two of us.

I am not trying to compare different generations. I am just plain nostalgic. I remember the times that we spent in the library studying together. Taking tea breaks in the canteen, going for walks around the University campus in the evenings. And then parting to meet the next day.

The parting used to be the most difficult part of the day. When one is young and in love, life holds no other meaning than being together, being care free. Not that the feeling changes as you age, but priorities do as you are dragged down by the burdens of living. We were no different. Those were the days when we used to dislike Sundays. There were no lectures and getting out of the house was difficult. Many questions asked as to why do we need to go out on a Sunday, where, and with whom. Our parents were not aware that we were dating.

Dating was an alien concept for parents in those times. And so were telephones. And in our case, she had one, I did not. Those also were the days of the black monstrous but sturdy public phones that let you make never-ending calls for 50 paise. But then getting a fifty paise in itself was a Herculean task. It was strictly no pocket money on holidays. So the entire week used to go in trying to save that 50 paise for the Sunday call. And sometimes a wrong number or faulty instrument would lay you low.

Eating out used to be the roadside Chinese stall and tea used to be cutting chai (half a glass) at the coner (naka) stall called a katta in Mumbai lingo. Travel used to be strictly by buses and local trains. A rickshaw ride used to be reserved for birthdays when parents used to loosen their purse strings and let us splurge. On that day lunch at a Udupi followed by ice cream at Vadilal was the norm. And boy, how we used to wait for that one day of the year.

We used to dream of completing our studies, finding good jobs and settling down in life. Those were the last days of a lifestyle immortalized by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in his movies--just plain simple yet beautiful. Being Amol Palekar was the mantra of the day, but a slowly fading mantra.

We graduated, found jobs, jumped jobs, and raced ahead in life. We married, bought a house. Finally, in my dad's parlance, "we were settled". We no longer drank cutting chai at kattas, long walks were long forgotten, and life fell into a pattern.

The couple at the bus stop broke that thought pattern, albiet briefly. It was a refreshing blast from the past. Of times spent making promises many of which we went on to break in our quest for a better life. But I guess very few couples actually remember and honor all the promises they make to one another. No complaints on that front for some of the promises in retrospect were plain silly such as "I will listen to whatever you say". I guess all of us want equal partners and not doormats.

I know change is the only constant and I have no regrets in my time having passed. It will for the couple at the bus stop and for everyone else. What matters is how well we adapt to changing times while keeping our dreams, hopes alive. And like all things love too changes from the physical to the emotional. From sound to silence. And after being in love for over 15 years one finds that love can beautiful in silence too.

The need to say much is gone, a slight nod of the head, a wave of the hand, the blink of an eye says much more than a thousand words. For me that works and if it does for you too, then friends I believe you have succeded in keeping love alive in changing times.

Who Let The Dogs Out

It's 11 in the night and the lane that I live in turns into a virtual playground for strays. So much so that it's impossible to walk. Even bike rides are a strict no-no. The dogs chase bikes and try to dig their teeth into any available calf.

So am I to assume that one is supposed to be under house arrest post 2300 hours because no one wants to do anything about the strays? This is where I have a bone to pick with the so called animal lovers. The main reason why strays roam freely on the streets while humble citizens like me stay behind locked doors.

I have an aging mother at home. What happens if I need to go out to get the doctor post 2300 hours in a medical emergency? Or do the animal lovers feel that to humor their warped sense of equality towards animals, I let my mother suffer the worst possible fate?

I have a few questions for these so called animal lovers. Why do they selectively fight tooth and nail to support only dogs? If they have managed to secure freedom for strays, why do they not step up and take them into their folds and look after them? Or do they think that their duty is to just fight for the rights of dogs to roam the streets free terrorizing ordinary citizens?

And my key question. Do they think only dogs qualify for animal rights? There is a chiken shop outside my building gate and at any given point of time in the day I see the owner of the shop decapitating poor hapless chicken. So my question is if decapitating chicken is fine, then what's the harm in rounding up strays and sending them to the slaughter house.

Humans eat meat, fish and other forms of life. Why are these animal rights activists not fighting to get a ban on killing any animal or bird? There are temples where they behead a chicken and use its blood for rituals. People slaughter goats on Bakri Eid. I don't see these animal activists protesting any of these religious rituals.

I guess they do not have the guts to question organized religion or take on the powerful religious zealots. So what best to do than fight the ordinary citizen who has no voice, nor the time and energy to counter these so called well wishers of animals. In short, these dog lovers are behaving in no different manner than goondas or bullies who often take on the weakest in society to prove their point.

My challenge to these animal lovers is if you feel so much for the strays adopt them and fill your houses with them. Or create facilities where these strays can be shifted and taken care of. Please do not fight half battles, and let the common man fight the war. The war of surviving the strays in the night.

Will PETA or any other organization or animal rights activists pay compensation if someone is bitten by a stray? God forbid, if someone dies of rabies, will these farcical dog lovers look after that person's family? I tell you, the answer is a big NO.

If these people cannot do any of the above-mentioned things, then in my book they have no right to expect the common people to put up with their nonsense. I think it's high time people like you and me, people who are hugely affected by strays, call their bluff, take them on and force them to be accountable for their actions.

I agree that dogs are faithful creatures and 10 of 10 times will stand by its master while many may do so 1 of 10. I have no problems with people wanting to take care of strays. But I certainly have a problem with them doing a half job and unleashing monsters of Frankenstien proportions.

And yes, please do not give me the logic of if you do not harm them they will not attack you. That is a convenient argument, but an untruth. So dog lovers, rise and be ready to clean your mess. If you can't, then get off you high horses and face reality. Strays are a problem, a huge one at that. Many children have lost their lives, don't wait for tragedy to strike you home. If you do, it will be too late to react.

No Smoking

The business of helping people smoke themselves to death is a lucrative one. And why not, when at least a fifth of the world's population willingly subscribe to it, knowing fully well the damage caused every time the haze settles.

Can't blame businesses for they will engage in a trade as long as there is money to be made. Isn't that the meaning of enterprise? And can't blame them of misguiding people; don't they write on the box "Consumption of tobacco products is injurious to health", or "Smoking is injurious to health".

What amazes me are the people who read the warning and still willingly lead themselves to the slaughter. One may say it's my choice to smoke. Agreed, I have no issues with that. But yes, I do have an issue with someone polluting my lungs with second hand smoke.

If one claims a right to smoke, then I claim the right of not wanting to be subjected to that smoke. Smoke your guts out, kill yourself by all means, but do not exhale. If you can do that, be my guest.

We are worried about terrorists planting bombs and killing us. But we are not in the least bothered of smokers killing us each minute. I leave it for you to decide who is the bigger threat, terrorists or smokers. Sometimes I feel the terrorists are wasting their time killing people who are anyways intent on committing harakiri.

The government's attitude is even better. They will try to ban smoking, but not the manufacture and sale of cigarettes. And why would they ban companies from making these cancer sticks when they earn billions by way of taxes. Big tobacco know how to keep the machines well oiled.

To me, higher taxes and hiking prices of cigarettes and smoking bans are just a farce. A show of action to mask inaction. A look at Parliamentarians gives us an idea of how they think. Most are addicted to smoking.

The Left leaders who are so concerned of the nuclear deal and its impact on the people of this country see no danger in puffing away to glory and of polluting the atmosphere. Can't help taking a dig at the Left; according to me they deserve it for trying to force upon the masses an ideology whose time has passed.

No cigarette vendor is supposed to be anywhere close to a school, educational institution or hospital. That's not what I say. That's what the rule book says. But as ususal we love bending rules; the result, we have a cigarette vendor within spitting distance of most schools, at least in Mumbai.

Dev Anand in Hum Dono had immortalized the deadly cancer stick when he mouthed the song, "Mein zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya, har phikr ko duaen mein udata chala gaya." The writer of thar song would have done a great service to mankind if he had written "Mein phikr ka saath nibhata chala gaya, zindagi ko duaen mein udata chala gaya." What say?