It’s another day of my life. A series of mechanical motions seem to be in good order of chronology, minus the spruce. I know what’s going to happen, how it is going to happen, when it is going to happen? I was a guy was scared of holding a steady job cause I was scared the monotony would get to me. Look where I am today? The whole damn nine yards seem stretched as a paradigm!
And then I watched a movie called ‘Groundhog Day’. The movie follows a character played by Bill Murray who gets stuck in Groundhog Day, the very day he has been a part of for the past six years. Except, he is actually stuck in this one indefinitely! After recovering from the novelty of the initial shock with the similarity of its parallelism to my existence; it raised a question in my mind, what if there is no tomorrow? What if actions are not weighed by consequences? Seemed like all hell breaking loose right? At the other end of the spectrum, how about getting off this negative shadow to bring about positive light?
I guess it does amount to us being worried about how it is than how it could be? It is not about life finding you new experiences; it is about you finding new experiences in life. I talk to the same people, takes the same road to office and the same politics also happen in office! How am I going to affect the change? It is an initiative I must risk, in relay of the character played by Bill Murray
As in Groundhog Day, our life too has a primordial monotony underlined to it. Every life might not have an exciting adventure set off to it. But how can we harbor this unpleasant monotony of being? It could definitely be countered with attitude for one. One of the greatest words IT has contributed to humanities is ‘INTERFACE’, which in every sense of the word means an interaction with a tougher and subservient medium. The perspective that has to be understood that even though the majority of our lives are going to be hinged on the monotony of being, the small things are the ones that are going to have a Cascadian effect on the finality of life. As Pritchett was once quoted saying ‘ The secret of happiness is to find a co-genial monotony”. WE BETTER LISTEN TO THE SONG THAN THE GODDAMN GUITAR ONLY!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
True or false?
Sympathy is an emotional affinity in which whatever affects one correspondingly affects the other, and its synonym is pity. The Greek translation of the word sympatheia, is to suffer together also. The true meaning of this word was manifested in a wholly opportunistic moment from some friends of my mine who seem to share my sob stories. Initially it really felt good though the magnitude of the anecdotes was apprehensive. In hindsight it seemed like a desperate attempt to recuperate to my own dysfunctional ties.
Empathy on the other hand refers to the ability to perceive and directly experientially feel another person's emotions as they feel them, but makes no statement as to how they are viewed. Sympathy, by contrast, implies a degree of equal feeling, that is, the sympathizer views the matter similarly to how the person themselves does. It thus implies concern, or care or a wish to alleviate negative feelings others are experiencing.
I heard a few sob stories in the past few weeks from some friends and temps. The aspiration was to invoke the above two emotions and it did. When you talk to people of the darker side of your life you pretty much create a bond of trust and the listener does feel special. It is a sounding board, an outlet to express pent up emotions. But the strangest thing happened when I heard the sob stories told to me had been around to a lot of people’s ears. It made me feel used. It was because that specialness of being an agony aunt wasn’t that special after all. It made me feel like I was just there and then, an object to talk to!
You are bound to do such deep analysis to make people feel you understand the magnitude of their dark experiences, but only to realize that it ain’t worth it. I am not using this platform to criticize some somebody exponentially. For me personally it talks about a person’s loneliness. The reason why people talk about their dark phases is to find about what exactly the other person has gone through. I myself have felt so lonely even while in a party talking a wholla lot of people. You try to compensate it with personalized experiences. I had this done to me when I heard about a friend who told his/her story to whole a lot of people, I sort of felt they told me their experiences because they sort of felt a connection with me but it seemed more like a desperate attempt to be accepted more than anything else. More than anything else I felt pity for them. It seemed like an outcry to be heard more than anything else, or a desperate attempt to be accepted.
Empathy and sympathy seem to be the two most exploited values in establishing a relationship. It seems like a lot of people take it for granted that these are the two attributes in establishing and sustaining a relationship. It seems shallow that people do so. As humans is it a necessity for us to connect on an emotional level as such? At the risk of sounding maimed in the head ‘keep it simple, silly!’
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
Empathy on the other hand refers to the ability to perceive and directly experientially feel another person's emotions as they feel them, but makes no statement as to how they are viewed. Sympathy, by contrast, implies a degree of equal feeling, that is, the sympathizer views the matter similarly to how the person themselves does. It thus implies concern, or care or a wish to alleviate negative feelings others are experiencing.
I heard a few sob stories in the past few weeks from some friends and temps. The aspiration was to invoke the above two emotions and it did. When you talk to people of the darker side of your life you pretty much create a bond of trust and the listener does feel special. It is a sounding board, an outlet to express pent up emotions. But the strangest thing happened when I heard the sob stories told to me had been around to a lot of people’s ears. It made me feel used. It was because that specialness of being an agony aunt wasn’t that special after all. It made me feel like I was just there and then, an object to talk to!
You are bound to do such deep analysis to make people feel you understand the magnitude of their dark experiences, but only to realize that it ain’t worth it. I am not using this platform to criticize some somebody exponentially. For me personally it talks about a person’s loneliness. The reason why people talk about their dark phases is to find about what exactly the other person has gone through. I myself have felt so lonely even while in a party talking a wholla lot of people. You try to compensate it with personalized experiences. I had this done to me when I heard about a friend who told his/her story to whole a lot of people, I sort of felt they told me their experiences because they sort of felt a connection with me but it seemed more like a desperate attempt to be accepted more than anything else. More than anything else I felt pity for them. It seemed like an outcry to be heard more than anything else, or a desperate attempt to be accepted.
Empathy and sympathy seem to be the two most exploited values in establishing a relationship. It seems like a lot of people take it for granted that these are the two attributes in establishing and sustaining a relationship. It seems shallow that people do so. As humans is it a necessity for us to connect on an emotional level as such? At the risk of sounding maimed in the head ‘keep it simple, silly!’
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Media: Ideological eunuchs?
Media is a huge shaping factor on the fabric of any society. It shapes the public perception on a plethora of issues thus influencing the very dogma of society. As even a comic caper can tell you, with great power came great responsibility. But the mass media has exploited the fore said powers left, right and centre. News deliverance from the media houses is based on trust. It is supposed to be unbiased, objective, fair etc. and it should help the subscribers form their opinion based on content. In these days with sensationalism the difference between fact and opinion seems quite blurry. The pioneer of the sensationalism, commercialization and the birth of lobbyists like Nira Radia has been the Times of India (TOI) in our country.
This biased based reporting is rampant in India especially; but the very first company to plunge into this dark phase has been TOI. The TOI kicked off the trend with its eyeball garnering supplement called ‘page 3’. With the advent of this phenomenon people desperately wanted be in on this. More so the celebrities as their livelihood depended on garnering these eyeballs. So, to accommodate the needful TOI began milking this cash cow and page 3 space began to be auctioned. The evolution had just begun; soon TOI began to actually receive equity shares of companies in exchange for redundant barrages of advertisement in their papers. Today the Bennett Coleman group stands to be one of the largest private equity investors in India. Then came the actual conflict of interest. As a major chunk of their revenues depended on these companies it only made sense for TOI and Economic times to publish favorable reports of these companies in their paper. Only when SEBI saw a dangerous pattern emerging it was guide lined.
But in doing so the revenue model was transgressed onto another feasible platform. A platform that was proven and productive for any earnings through corruption. The Indian political sphere. Today, as I experienced even a common man sipping chai in a tea stall can tell you, which news channel is affiliated to which party. What better ways for these political parties to advertise than to have the disguised ‘ideological eunuchs’ on their payroll.
The political parties pay the newspapers to print glowing articles about the party in exchange for money and the reader is duped to believe the article as a fact when in reality it is just another paid advertisement thus influencing the proletariat. The Radia tapes have actually broken the credence of our business trust spectrum as well. We thought the Ambanis and the Tata’s were on two different ends of the spectrum but only to know that they were actually quite close. It shows how well the media has toyed with its reporting to form public opinion. Not since the days of emergency (at least to public knowledge) do the media have such a compromised poise.
And now with the political connections of the media being exposed, the TOI has evolved into a new avenue; it has sold its masthead, the paper jacket too to companies. Can’t wait to see what is next. While the rape is underway, I will stick to DD News as it seems like the only boulevard where facts are not compromised for opinions.
This biased based reporting is rampant in India especially; but the very first company to plunge into this dark phase has been TOI. The TOI kicked off the trend with its eyeball garnering supplement called ‘page 3’. With the advent of this phenomenon people desperately wanted be in on this. More so the celebrities as their livelihood depended on garnering these eyeballs. So, to accommodate the needful TOI began milking this cash cow and page 3 space began to be auctioned. The evolution had just begun; soon TOI began to actually receive equity shares of companies in exchange for redundant barrages of advertisement in their papers. Today the Bennett Coleman group stands to be one of the largest private equity investors in India. Then came the actual conflict of interest. As a major chunk of their revenues depended on these companies it only made sense for TOI and Economic times to publish favorable reports of these companies in their paper. Only when SEBI saw a dangerous pattern emerging it was guide lined.
But in doing so the revenue model was transgressed onto another feasible platform. A platform that was proven and productive for any earnings through corruption. The Indian political sphere. Today, as I experienced even a common man sipping chai in a tea stall can tell you, which news channel is affiliated to which party. What better ways for these political parties to advertise than to have the disguised ‘ideological eunuchs’ on their payroll.
The political parties pay the newspapers to print glowing articles about the party in exchange for money and the reader is duped to believe the article as a fact when in reality it is just another paid advertisement thus influencing the proletariat. The Radia tapes have actually broken the credence of our business trust spectrum as well. We thought the Ambanis and the Tata’s were on two different ends of the spectrum but only to know that they were actually quite close. It shows how well the media has toyed with its reporting to form public opinion. Not since the days of emergency (at least to public knowledge) do the media have such a compromised poise.
And now with the political connections of the media being exposed, the TOI has evolved into a new avenue; it has sold its masthead, the paper jacket too to companies. Can’t wait to see what is next. While the rape is underway, I will stick to DD News as it seems like the only boulevard where facts are not compromised for opinions.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The IT Boom/Doom
Chest Congesting News: Infosys hires 26 employees from my college for an annual pay packet between 7.5-8.5 lac p.a. I sincerely hope people regard this article as more than a mere justification of jealously (is it at a sub conscious level?), I’m sure my close friends who have been hired by the above firm will approve! I have nothing against the company whatsoever; I think Infosys is a company that is extremely proficient and competent in our market and a pioneer of the Indian MNC revolution. Why the chest congestion then?
I am not singling out Infosys alone but a lot of these IT companies in India. What these IT companies end up doing to their employees is program them to be mechanical (follow orders) than be thinkers. How many engineers we hear of who are from non related fields like mining, environmental,civil being captured by these IT companies and are turned into IT professionals in a non related field. The saddening part is these IT companies always employ the crème de la crème of the targeted colleges. Moreover, these companies are purely judged on their profit making capabilities, their contribution to the GDP and immense hiring capabilities. Looking at the IT space right now you could see barring a few exceptions, companies have stuck to being basic off shoring companies and doing the needful for their onshore clients. They haven’t moved onto the next level. They are happy catering to Microsoft, GE’s needs without an entrepreneurial drive. Can these IT companies become the next thing? YES THEY CAN, both as a start up on a individual level and for a company! We are blessed with all the resources sans spirit. Their objectives is achieved through charging clients on the basis of hours put in and rake in the moolah, without the client knowing what the quality hours that have been put are. They slog to work for the profit and net worth of a company and then it is absorbed. Every other week we hear an IT firm being bought over.
A brain drain is usually addressed to emigration candidates for a plethora of reasons as may be, but here I would like to lay emphasis on this phrase on a different level. I think it as an antidote for the entrepreneurial spirit because of the high pay packets and security offered by the software industry. Some of my very own friends who have been employed by Infosys are very enterprising young men. But by stifling them with the pay packets and security (mans most primitive need) they have them be penguins in the industry. Every time I meet IT guys from the industry everybody wants to talk about the menial jobs that they have and how they do not feel appreciated at a humane level and also with regards to abilities explored. I guess it is the monotony that gets to them. There are quite a few who break the shackles after a few years, make their money and move on. But the majorities of us are creatures of habit and tend to get habituated in our accumulated comfort zone.
I sincerely hope people become aware of the other side of the success story. We do not need these self destructive penguins setting a precedent in the market. I am aware of the loan repayment objective of students. But hope they don’t get too comfortable. If we want the next big online presence from India like Zuckerberg, action stemming from awareness is the key!!
Note: Chest congestion is a redundant ailment of mine!
I am not singling out Infosys alone but a lot of these IT companies in India. What these IT companies end up doing to their employees is program them to be mechanical (follow orders) than be thinkers. How many engineers we hear of who are from non related fields like mining, environmental,civil being captured by these IT companies and are turned into IT professionals in a non related field. The saddening part is these IT companies always employ the crème de la crème of the targeted colleges. Moreover, these companies are purely judged on their profit making capabilities, their contribution to the GDP and immense hiring capabilities. Looking at the IT space right now you could see barring a few exceptions, companies have stuck to being basic off shoring companies and doing the needful for their onshore clients. They haven’t moved onto the next level. They are happy catering to Microsoft, GE’s needs without an entrepreneurial drive. Can these IT companies become the next thing? YES THEY CAN, both as a start up on a individual level and for a company! We are blessed with all the resources sans spirit. Their objectives is achieved through charging clients on the basis of hours put in and rake in the moolah, without the client knowing what the quality hours that have been put are. They slog to work for the profit and net worth of a company and then it is absorbed. Every other week we hear an IT firm being bought over.
A brain drain is usually addressed to emigration candidates for a plethora of reasons as may be, but here I would like to lay emphasis on this phrase on a different level. I think it as an antidote for the entrepreneurial spirit because of the high pay packets and security offered by the software industry. Some of my very own friends who have been employed by Infosys are very enterprising young men. But by stifling them with the pay packets and security (mans most primitive need) they have them be penguins in the industry. Every time I meet IT guys from the industry everybody wants to talk about the menial jobs that they have and how they do not feel appreciated at a humane level and also with regards to abilities explored. I guess it is the monotony that gets to them. There are quite a few who break the shackles after a few years, make their money and move on. But the majorities of us are creatures of habit and tend to get habituated in our accumulated comfort zone.
I sincerely hope people become aware of the other side of the success story. We do not need these self destructive penguins setting a precedent in the market. I am aware of the loan repayment objective of students. But hope they don’t get too comfortable. If we want the next big online presence from India like Zuckerberg, action stemming from awareness is the key!!
Note: Chest congestion is a redundant ailment of mine!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Tiger Hills - A Review
Sarita Mandanna’s debut effort in the literary world spawned interest that was unheard of in the Indian literary world of late. Her effort has invoked the highest price for a debut novel by the very reputed London based Penguin book house. The wait is well worth it as Sarita Mandanna has spun a tale like no other. The novel is teemed with post Victorian influences in the exposé of the complexities of characters and the turbulences of human emotion.
A native of Coorg Mrs. Mandanna has delved into the intricacies of the land and actualized the land as the main character itself. It makes me yearn for the undefiled salutary land that Coorg once was home to. The picturesque means in which Mrs. Mandanna has painted Coorg makes me homesick staying hardly a 100kms away. An outsider reading this book would probably feel like a tourist lured and never wanting to leave this land. An aspect of this book that brought me great pleasure while reading the same was the means through which the bio- fauna and the attributes & lore of the martial race of the Coorg’s have been bought forth.
It is a story that spreads itself across three generations from 1860’s to 1950’s. It is an expose of the cultural connotations of the land in the ages of colonial power and provides an insight into the generation of my forefathers and their way of life. As I moved through the 400 odd pages it made my chest swell of the pagan culture that we harbored. My pride was basically caused as a result of the intrinsic means through which the Coorgs connected to their environs.
I do not want to paint a picture of the story so as to spoil the thrills of it as most reviews would. I believe, not conceitedly, that it is a good read and would give a valuable insight into how an agrarian society evolves into an accommodating one with it not being a standalone society but an influenced one!
A native of Coorg Mrs. Mandanna has delved into the intricacies of the land and actualized the land as the main character itself. It makes me yearn for the undefiled salutary land that Coorg once was home to. The picturesque means in which Mrs. Mandanna has painted Coorg makes me homesick staying hardly a 100kms away. An outsider reading this book would probably feel like a tourist lured and never wanting to leave this land. An aspect of this book that brought me great pleasure while reading the same was the means through which the bio- fauna and the attributes & lore of the martial race of the Coorg’s have been bought forth.
It is a story that spreads itself across three generations from 1860’s to 1950’s. It is an expose of the cultural connotations of the land in the ages of colonial power and provides an insight into the generation of my forefathers and their way of life. As I moved through the 400 odd pages it made my chest swell of the pagan culture that we harbored. My pride was basically caused as a result of the intrinsic means through which the Coorgs connected to their environs.
I do not want to paint a picture of the story so as to spoil the thrills of it as most reviews would. I believe, not conceitedly, that it is a good read and would give a valuable insight into how an agrarian society evolves into an accommodating one with it not being a standalone society but an influenced one!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
GENDER DISCRIMINATION AND AN APOLOGY
What provoked me to write an article about gender discrimination and female infanticide? My sister!! She has always been on my case about me receiving preferential treatment from my parents. I have always been nonchalant about it; naturally so as I was at the receiving end. But recently my mum remarked that I was a spoilt brat and my sister has always received so little of their attention and despite that has been an achiever. My initial reaction was I had not asked for it? Was I to blame? Giving it more thought I remembered how I used to demand attention and throw a fit if I did not get it. One instance I clearly remember was when my sister was not well and she could not attend school, I took a stance saying that if she didn’t go I would not too. So my mum packed us both off to school. I do not think she has still forgiven me for it. All my cousins and aunts have always lavished attention on me as I was the only son and my dad was also the only son of 7 siblings. But it wasn’t the same with my sister she always got subpar treatment. She sometimes got so distraught that she actually used to wish she could grow a ‘DICK’!!
The Indian society itself is a patriarchal society by nature. Even when we talk of the heydays of being a woman in India, the role of women was primarily to look after the man and the carrier of the lineage. An irony is some of the heralded women of the ages gone by had macho attributes in their personality. It is by honing these attributes they were termed to be great. They are often called great because they treaded onto the male domain to impose themselves. Why does a woman have to be compared to a man to highlight their greatness? In talking about the view about women a very saddening trend has emerged in India of late especially rural India. Pre birth sex determination India is rampant and a lucrative business.
Women are such an integral part of our lives. We cannot live without them right from the day we are born. A woman brings us into the world, bathes us, feeds us, sings us lullabies and does all our dirty work. As we get older she consoles us, delights us, talks us to us when we get sad, angry, irritated etc. as we hit puberty their roles change; our first crush, our first kiss, the first love and culminating in the sanctity of a marriage. We would do anything to woo them to win them over. And then suddenly the spark is gone. We start taking them for granted; we do not need them anymore not as a daughter not as anything. We are suddenly convinced we can make do with a male society. We do not need women anymore. A son is suddenly of primordial importance. The heir to all our family culture, the man who will be the quintessential ‘baap ka beta’ . The son who will show society what the family is all about and keep the light shining on the family legacy. The saddening part, even the women in the family favor the idea. In rural India it is more practical in nature as a woman can only marginally add to the income but a man is much more productive. The maintenance cost of a woman is very high as there are a lot of cosmetics cost, make up, an array of clothes and jewelry to provide and of course dowry. When a girl is born in the family they have to start saving right from the beginning as the bridegroom’s family will expect gifts. And also there is the added responsibility of keeping the street leeches away from your daughter. It adds up to quite a burden as opposed to a male child.
How do we change this social stigma? The most obvious would be education. Talking about education I actually came across a very well respected and educated couple from Mysore who resides in US who went all the way to Bangkok to get a sex test done. But education is important and we will have exceptions and is the way to go. The lifestyle for women in rural India must be made better or on par with the male productivity. It is already being done with the microfinance companies encouraging borrowing and entrepreneurship. Abolition of dowry must be made stringent. The theatre’s showing soft porn should be made to show hard porn too and get more of these theatres in rural areas, legalize porn. Those desperate males will have an outlet for their frustration at least. The ideas may be a bit radical, but it seems the only way to go. Cheers to a bright future for Indian women.
SORRY SISTER, IT WAS LONG DUE!!
The Indian society itself is a patriarchal society by nature. Even when we talk of the heydays of being a woman in India, the role of women was primarily to look after the man and the carrier of the lineage. An irony is some of the heralded women of the ages gone by had macho attributes in their personality. It is by honing these attributes they were termed to be great. They are often called great because they treaded onto the male domain to impose themselves. Why does a woman have to be compared to a man to highlight their greatness? In talking about the view about women a very saddening trend has emerged in India of late especially rural India. Pre birth sex determination India is rampant and a lucrative business.
Women are such an integral part of our lives. We cannot live without them right from the day we are born. A woman brings us into the world, bathes us, feeds us, sings us lullabies and does all our dirty work. As we get older she consoles us, delights us, talks us to us when we get sad, angry, irritated etc. as we hit puberty their roles change; our first crush, our first kiss, the first love and culminating in the sanctity of a marriage. We would do anything to woo them to win them over. And then suddenly the spark is gone. We start taking them for granted; we do not need them anymore not as a daughter not as anything. We are suddenly convinced we can make do with a male society. We do not need women anymore. A son is suddenly of primordial importance. The heir to all our family culture, the man who will be the quintessential ‘baap ka beta’ . The son who will show society what the family is all about and keep the light shining on the family legacy. The saddening part, even the women in the family favor the idea. In rural India it is more practical in nature as a woman can only marginally add to the income but a man is much more productive. The maintenance cost of a woman is very high as there are a lot of cosmetics cost, make up, an array of clothes and jewelry to provide and of course dowry. When a girl is born in the family they have to start saving right from the beginning as the bridegroom’s family will expect gifts. And also there is the added responsibility of keeping the street leeches away from your daughter. It adds up to quite a burden as opposed to a male child.
How do we change this social stigma? The most obvious would be education. Talking about education I actually came across a very well respected and educated couple from Mysore who resides in US who went all the way to Bangkok to get a sex test done. But education is important and we will have exceptions and is the way to go. The lifestyle for women in rural India must be made better or on par with the male productivity. It is already being done with the microfinance companies encouraging borrowing and entrepreneurship. Abolition of dowry must be made stringent. The theatre’s showing soft porn should be made to show hard porn too and get more of these theatres in rural areas, legalize porn. Those desperate males will have an outlet for their frustration at least. The ideas may be a bit radical, but it seems the only way to go. Cheers to a bright future for Indian women.
SORRY SISTER, IT WAS LONG DUE!!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
AGRICULTURAL MNC’S AND ALCOHOLICS: AN INSIGHT INTO VALPARAI
A few weeks back me and two friends rode into a quaint and pre colonial hill station called Valparai. The town has very minimal tourists and is a haven for people who enjoy self exploratory trips and would definitely put the overrated Ooty to shame. The station is filled with a lot of tea estate holding companies who mainly export their produce. We were acquainted with a certain Mr. Abhay of Tata Tea who was courteous enough to let us stay in his house.
I was pleasantly surprised with the amenities provided for his designation (assistant manager). He had 3 people to look after his household chores, a gardener, a sweeper and a cook. All his bills right from electricity, phone up to his fuel (100 ltrs quota) were all taken care of. What’s more his CTC was around 22-25k; this seemed like my dream job. The initial infatuation faded as 3 pegs of whiskey went down with the sun. We got talking about his hobbies and how he killed time. Alcohol, phone calls, clubs and parties amongst the managers ruled the roost. The lifestyle seemed like a desperate attempt to negate boredom. The only real hobby seemed to be photography, which I noticed was prevalent amongst all the estate managers. It then occurred to me that the offered lifestyle was a legal bribe the agricultural MNC’s were onto to pave the way for people accept a lonely job. Speaking to the HGM in a party a few days later, my doubts were confirmed when he said the most important criteria in selection was if a person was disposed to a lonely life in an estate. Speaking to other managers some of them told me they started consuming alcohol only after they joined this job. When I suggested to them about such a wonderful opportunity for them to save money, they burst out laughing. They blew up all their money on alcohol and parties! Every alternate day they have a party and take turns hosting it. Their capacity for alcohol was also incredible; most of them could down a bottle easily. All the women who were married to the estate managers taught at the local schools for a paltry sum of money. They loved the parties too and were excellent hosts and conversationalists.
After a few days at Abhay’s house we went to meet the manager of Bombay Burma trading company, Mr. Prashanth. A lot of these estates have their presence around South East Asia and Africa as Mr. Prashanth informed us. We got to look around the tea factory. The wage scheme followed here was really a piece of work. The workers were paid daily wages until 3 in the evening and they could work if they wanted to after that for extra wages; so at an average they earned about 200-250 Rs a day! No wonder looking at the net I found that Valparai was ranked about 7th in the wealth index of India. They seemed to have struck quite a balance between employers and employees which is quite unheard of in India. Later on we visited another assistant manager Mr. Aiyappa. Being a close friend of mine from Madras Christian College more dark sides of the job were revealed by him as he spoke of backstabbing, laborers trying to scare him and of course rampant alcoholism. Knowing my personality it really seemed like a suicide mission in taking up this job.
I left Valparai with a really heavy heart but fully aware which job would best support me if I ever plan to write a book!!
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