Whoever came up with the idea for music in the elevator had a morbidly depressing impression of human civilization, and ended up coming up with a devastatingly dull solution for a non-existent problem.

Its almost always some pseudo-classical saxophone based twatizzle, or the Titantic theme song, which apparently just never gets old. In the sum total of 30 seconds that I spend in an elevator, I could do without being reminded that my heart will go on. And on. And on. And on. It's this kind of wannabe- American corporate infusion into my worklife that i loathe. Diwali had no sweets, no crackers, no rangoli. But for Xmas, COMPANY-WIDE CELEBRATION! Posters up all over campus for events celebrating the miracle of Christ, and auditoriums booked to have Christmas celebrations. It all just drives me up the wall. Figure out which team you're really playing for, fuckers.

Right. End of rant.
Back to my American customers' global needs.

The Poultry Farm

If there is such a thing as work-life balance, I am yet to discover it. It is as yet unclear if that is a "me" problem, or a "system" problem. Why not explore both?
23lakh Indians are directly or indirectly employed by the great Indian IT machine. A 53.7 Billion $ machine.However the numbers do not stagger. There is an utter lack of imagination in the work that gets done. Although i'm sure its good business sense to develop a document that sets in stone exactly what is expected out of a service company, adhering to that document as pontifical instruction seems to paint a dull picture. If people are employed in a service whose model is based on repetitive, unimaginative serviceline stuff, pretty soon that quality reflects in their personality. I may be grossly generalizing, but thus far i have been proved more often right than wrong. So quite possibly a gloom and doom atmos might be to blame.

Having taken up an apartment pretty close by to work, along with people who work in the same company, i also eat there, my day is consumed by "work" life. There is no separation between work and life. A few hours of guitar a day maybe the only escape from routine. I hate routine. I hate meeting the same people day-in, day-out. It may be that i eventually don't really get close to anyone,and noone really knows me. But i can bear that albatross. There is a dull knowing when you meet people you met just a short while back. There is no impetus to be creative, imaginative, or at the very least, interesting. Of course, for me, it's impossible to be in a situation where i meet new people everyday. Maybe there are people like that. I envy them.

Beyond a certain point, everyone is the same. The only thing that differentiates people is the people we meet and the books we read. I suppose reading more books can, atleast temporarily move me to a different world. I think i crave that. Alternate reality. The stuff Indian cinema is made of.
I suppose this rant draws to a conclusion when i realise i need more cinema in my life. But the problem is surely more deep-seated. More soul-searching will ensue.

Moral Policing

Whaddaya mean im not allowed to copy???

An NDTV report that i caught last night,really caught my attention.
Close to 15lakh,thats 60% of students writing the UP state board exam have cupped(tamil slang:flunked). Now a result that bad always calls for a serious overview of the educational process, and an indepth analysis of the psychi of the stuent body to find the underlying root cause.
And this is what they came up with.
They believe that the students werent allowed to copy enough!!(wtf rite? i is knowing )
This year, the Mayawati govt decided to rid the state of its ''SMS the answers to me during the exams" image, deploying strict monitoring policies.
The result?Half the junta decided they had enough even before the halfway period and decided om-shanti-om was more worth their time.And half of the half that did sit throughout the exam failed anyways.
First,in 1991, the BJP employed strict no cheating measures.The pass percentage dropped by 30 to 40 per cent.Then came the Mulayam government that relaxed the rules and thus the number of students passing the class ten boards again went up to almost 75 per cent.
Now with Mayawati in power, people will have to start studying again.
My heart goes out to these students.
(ps bitcha's from UP na? the 9 pointing secrets are coming out...)