Every life/death matters..

Coronavirus has wreaked havoc all over the world and India is at the center of all of it right now. During the first wave, what many were worried about was the impact of corona on so-called 'normal' people when compared to people with comorbities (people with pre-existing illnesses). Whenever, there was a death reported, the first question to be asked was

'Was he having diabetes?'

'Was he having some other illness?' 

'Was he having lesser immunity?'

It was fine until the first wave because we were still coming to terms with the pandemic and we really wanted to understand how it affects us. And let's face it, as a country, we were not prepared for it.

But what has been astonishing over the past few weeks is the way people are reacting to deaths during the second wave. There is increasing amount of numbness when deaths are being reported. The reactions have been 'Oh he must have had a comorbidity and so he died', 'Oh he may be a chain smoker and so he faced trouble'. This has been predominantly because people want to mask the shortcomings (I must say mistakes) in the way India managed the pandemic. It's ok if you don't want to question the government on how they have performed during the crisis. Political opinions are personal and you are free to react based on your love or bhakti for a particular leader. But that doesn't mean you can question the dead. We must always remember that a person could have succumbed to the virus because we were not wearing a mask when we met them. The root cause of someone's death could be YOU. That's how viruses work. A virus can kill a person even if he is perfect. The first wave might have killed more people with "comorbities". The second has killed more "normal" people. What if the third wave kills the healthiest? The children? Are we going to complain about them as well?

The least we can give on someone else's death is empathy. Because, everyone has a right to live in this world and everyone has a right to die with dignity - even if they have severe illness, even if they smoke, drink or are drug addicts. Remember, in India, the most common punishment for a murder itself is not a death sentence. So no one deserves to die just because they ate a lot of sugar in their lifetime.

There were a lot of people of the opinion that I am currently not in India and I have no right to question anyone in India on the basis of the country where I am living because it is a developed country while India is not. Well, I can say there is only one thing that I expect from my country and it's people, which is to respect both a living and a dead individual. That doesn't need good economy or governance. All it needs is empathy and humanity. I am sure that's not difficult for indians. I hope so. Or is it these days?

When Real-IT-y strikes!!

I write very rarely, probably one blog a year but I write when it really comes from my heart. So finally, I felt that something has struck me hard and it was time for me to put pen to paper or, finger to keypad - am a techie, you see!

Okay. So how many of you are aware of Madhur Bhandarkar? For those of you who don't know much about him - He is an Indian film director who gave us gems like Corporate, Fashion, etc. unleashing the harsh realities of these worlds.

If ever he made one with the Indian IT industry, I am sure he would struggle to fix a genre for the film. It is now an open secret that Indian IT is a perfect recipe for the masala genre. This industry just has everything - starting with romance, action, drama, sports, politics and a lot more. 

So, here's the script!!

DISCLAIMER:

All the characters are purely fictional and partly co-incidental.

THANKS TO ALL INDIAN FILMS...

SCREENPLAY BASED ON TRUE EVENTS...

First half: Buddy genre, romance, love, setting up the conflict! 

The movie starts off at the exit gate of an IT company where there is a large group of people making their way into the campus. One girl tries to turn the turnstile without swiping a card and the security comes running after. She politely says that it is her first day and she wasn’t aware on how to use the turnstile.

In comes our protagonist to help her. The protagonist rescues her and asks what she is looking for. The girl says that she is looking for the Auditorium where HR Induction is taking place. The protagonist smiles sheepishly and all his memories start flashing up!!

REWIND FIVE YEARS…

About five years ago, when the protagonist made his way into this industry, he had no other option in his professional career.

To be fair to this industry, when the journey started, it was a bag full of roses. But as the old saying goes, before a goat goes for bali, they worship it totally.

The HR group, kicks this bali off with the induction program. A program that just makes you dream. They make you dream so much that you start seeing stars in daylight. You feel the policies are tailor-made for you to enjoy & you feel like you are The Tiger of the jungle! The roses blossom a lot.

The protagonist makes friends, finds a girlfriend who adds some more roses to his life. He starts loving the girl, he starts loving the job. Everything just looks awesome. But then. This is a movie. A masala movie. And the conflict has to strike. The Tiger of the jungle, begins to feel like a puss...hmm...cat of the jungle!!

The first form of conflict starts with the yearly hike. He skims through the payslip to realize that nothing has changed in about three years. And suddenly what started as a light-hearted slice-of-life film, turns into a sports genre. Yes, you read it right. You now know, that it is a race. An ugly race, which slowly turns the cat into a rat!! 

Conflict: Sports drama, Interval block.

So the rat-race has officially begun. Quite a lot is at stake on precisely one thing - the appraisal.

Have you seen a sports genre film where the athlete or the team first prepares to win? You see shots of the protagonist carrying truck loads of weight to build up some muscle.

The same happens in IT too. But the muscle is a little digital here, in the form of "tools", "automation" etc. The protagonist does everything possible to create an impression that he has done everything possible.

It is a reality in IT that you have to show a lot more than what you have done to get the appraisal you want!

The protagonist works harder than ever for the next one year. He creates multiple tools, automates every possible work. 

Then comes the interval twist!!

Here's how the interval block unfolds.

All the work you do is known only by the person just above you in hierarchy. He is popularly known as the manager. He is the most grey character in this film as you never know whether he is good, or bad. The protagonist thinks he is all set for the best rating as he is always in touch with the manager and constantly updates on the tasks he has done!

But then the protagonist comes to know who decides the appraisal rating.

No prizes for guessing, as in all masala movies, it is decided by the villain. And here the villain is the system.

To his disbelief, the rating is actually provided, or locked by a person who is three levels above the manager in hierarchy – called the super-manager. His head starts rolling off!! He opens a mail that reads - Ratings to be declared tomorrow.

And like our mass hero, he utters - "I am waiting...”

Second half: Politics, Action and Building up the climax.

So the appraisal ratings have arrived. The protagonist reaches the office as early as 8 AM in anticipation of a fantastic rating and change in fortunes in his professional career. But, unfortunately, he does not get the desired rating. He is shocked and broken. He waits for his manager to enter the cabin and as soon he enters, the protagonist explodes…

What have I not done? You had given me largely positive feedback, then why I am seeing a lower-than-expected rating on the system? I know people who have worked lesser than me getting a higher rating than me. How is that possible?

The manager says that he had indeed given him a good rating but it was the super-manager, who had to change it due to policies. And the policy does not allow him to lock best ratings for all. The manager also assures that he will get a better rating for the protagonist next quarter if he continues good work or will try to process a visa to UK for an onsite assignment. The protagonist, though a bit upset, returns back to his place.

As he returns, he sees a 3idiots ka Chatur-like character, who is always around the manager, making his way into manager’s cabin. Mr. Chatur is from the same state as the manager and always speaks with him in their local language. Mr. Chatur has got a great rating and is extremely happy. He also provides some comic-relief in an otherwise serious film, by saying yes to whatever the manager says. 

Six more months pass by, and the same story repeats. The protagonist gets a low rating. This time he gathers courage to fight it out with the super-manager directly. The super-manager now responds that even he provided the highest rating but the HR changed the rating due to lack of budget. The protagonist reaches the peak of angst.

The protagonist remembers the day of Induction program when the HR had said so much about the fairness, ethics, etc. of the company. The same HR group has now turned the tables.

He feels he now needs to fight it out verbally to come out trumps in this political battlefield. And the ACTION begins. All the action stunts are performed in emails. So, the action is digital. It is choreographed in such a way that first the protagonist is made to look like a villain to all the supporting cast – the fellow employees of the project, including Mr. Chatur. After losing support from his colleagues, the protagonist delves deep into depression.

REDEMPTION and the CLIMAX…

Days pass by with the protagonist in tears almost every day. He is unable to fathom the fact that Chatur, who has worked lesser than him is now at a higher level than him. But in comes the heroine – the protagonist’s wife. She was seen in montage sequences in the first half when the protagonist falls in love with her and gets married to her. She gives a riveting speech to the protagonist saying that this is not the only company in the world.

If you have done good work, you will easily find another job. Instead of sailing in a boat with no direction, try to get a new job. If you want, I will refer you to my friends in other companies.

The protagonist realizes that he has lost a lot of time by trusting his current company and starts looking for a new job. He attends numerous interviews and finally gets an offer letter with about 50% hike from the current salary. The protagonist proudly takes this letter and meets the manager informing him that he is offering resignation.

The manager informs the super-manager of this and then asks the protagonist to come back after two days. The manager re-assures that he plans to offer an onsite opportunity or promotion to the protagonist.

The CLIMAX…

Two days later, the protagonist reaches the office and meets the manager. The manager hands over an envelope to the protagonist and shakes hands. The protagonist opens the letter, reads it,

laughs, and leaves the cabin.

What the envelope contains is left to the audience’s perception.

Does it have the role change/promotion letter? Or the manager has accepted the resignation and provides the relieving letter? Or is it an approval letter for initiating visa for onsite?

The protagonist makes a call to his wife, and walks further towards the exit gate where he rescues the newcomer. This takes us to the first scene of the film.

Seeing the sarcastic smile on the protagonist’s face, just for directing the HR auditorium, the newcomer asks what the smile was for. The protagonist smiles again and says “Nothing. All the best...”

The screen blurs as the protagonist meets his wife at the exit gate..

DEDICATED TO ALL IT WORKERS WHO ARE STUCK BETWEEN PROMOTION, ONSITE AND SWITCH!!!

When the Universe conspires..

Never thought I would write a blog when the world was in complete disarray. But, as it turns out, the crisis has well and truly begun.

Who would have thought before few months that we would all leave our regular topics of discussion - Politics (read Pro-CAA or Anti-CAA for Indians), Sports, Entertainment,  and move under one umbrella – The COVID-19.

I read it somewhere - China did the unthinkable by uniting the world. Something which only China could have done. Some conspiracy theories may say that it was a Chinese masterplan gone haywire and it was an experiment with viruses that proved costly. But as days pass by, it is becoming increasingly clear that it is, indeed, the conspiracy of the Universe to provide a fitting lesson to human race. 

COVID-19 might be one problem for all of us but let's have a quick look at what it has corrected.

• A news report read - The Nitrogen Dioxide levels in usually polluted regions of the world, have gone down drastically because of the lockdown due to the virus. No vehicles on roads. No impact on carbon footprint, you see.

• A joke by a man read - Staying at home would mean my wife kills me before the virus can. Keeping the humour aside, the universe seems to have conspired to let people spend more time with their families. With their kids. At their homes!

• Companies are starting to learn how important it is to liberate employees by letting them work remotely. Wow mother nature, thank you for that!

• Governments and their abilities are being tested dramatically by this virus. Are they capable of handling a crisis? Or not? Surely many would lose their next elections if they mis-manage this one. This is Universe’s way of saying – Let me show you who really cares for you! And who is capable of looking after you!

• It is confirmed that this virus predominantly kills relatively older people. This was the universe's way of saying - Well, I thought the average life span of 80-100 years was too high for you guys. Let's make it 60?  You weren't doing anything good for the planet anyways.

• Many reports claim that the virus has originated from a wet market. Universe says - Man, I gave you this world, with (5+1)th sense so you could save my other children - The animals. But you are anyways destroying the forests and killing them and making a meal out of it. It was high time I planted a revenge for them. Here it is!  Take that!

• And finally– Universe says - Folks, you were anyways fighting amongst yourselves. Black vs White. Upper caste vs Lower caste. One religion vs another. You weren't shaking hands, anyways right? Let me set the rules again. From now on, you touch no one. You don't shake hands with *ANYONE*.

Looks like Nature has set the world on a ROLLBACK mode. And it is setting each and everything in order. Maybe it's a bigger lesson for all of us? Let's wait and let the action unfold!!

For now, a DevOps engineer like me - who works on Continuation Integration and Continuous Deployment - would read this virus as CORONA - COntinuous ROllback by NAture !!!

When the Hollywood got it's own Baahubali..

To the people who are reading this, I would like to tell you outright that I am not a person who watches Hollywood films regularly. I love watching culturally rooted films. And hence, I have seen more of Indian films - predominantly Kollywood, Tollywood and Bollywood. 

But I couldn't stop myself from writing this piece after I watched a Hollywood film, after a really long time. And I thought this is just the right time to remind those elites who always believe Hollywood is far ahead of Indian films that - Yes, they are ahead - but only in terms of the use of technology. The VFX. The cinematography. The 3D experience. And of course action. And all this is a result not of talent alone, but also because of the budget involved and because the Hollywood market is global and can afford these budgets. The story telling is very much at par to the Indian films. They are not making great films either. They are just making big or rather HUGE films. You give 1000 crores and some more creative man power, I am sure Rajamouli can make better films than these Hollywood biggies.

Spoilers ahead..

So yes, last night I watched Black Panther. Firstly I am surprised to note that hardly any critic or a reviewer had the courage to point out or tweet that the story is as old as the hills. They say this for every bloody Indian film, right?

A lost prince. 

Two sons of royal blood vying for the throne - One good and one bad for the well-being of the people. 

A mountain tribe that comes at the climax and helps the good prince against the bad. 

A Kattappa-ish revelation - It was me who killed your dad dude.

Then this whole thing around - if you get the enemy, you get the throne - the good prince almost gets the man, but the bad prince gets him at the heck of the moment. 

And. I can just compare and go on and on and on..

Basically, what these guys have is done is - They have lifted Baahubali. They reversed a few characters, adapted it to their sensibilities and then put in a lot of money for the splendid VFX and all. The only imaginative thing they have done here is a full blown attack on white supremacy. And to be honest, I loved those moments in the film.

Next time, if a person comes to me and says "Dude seriously, you don't watch Hollywood? They're so original etc." I just show him this article.

And I just tell him "If Ghajini is a copy of Memento, Dhoom 3 of The Prestige, then please be gracious enough to admit that Black Panther is a full-on copy of Baahubali."

Give me an Arjun Reddy or an Aruvi, any day.

PS 1 : I am sure many would comment here that "Dei. Baahubali itself is a copy of some old XYZ English movie."
Then I just give them this analogy - A murderer kills a good person. He deserves to be punished and jailed. And if the same murderer is killed by another person later, even this person is put to same jail for killing the murderer. A murder is a murder always, under the eyes of law.
Henceforth, A copy is a copy - Whether it is first hand or second hand.

PS2 : If you come and tell me "Dude this is a different universe. This is Marvel dawww. I would just say.. Mayiru dawww..."

Are we forgetting how to watch movies?

It used to be either good, or bad. Then it evolved to good, ok, and bad. Few years ago, it changed to numbers ranging between one and five. And when some guy was stuck between 3 and 4, he started the trend of 3.5. There were a few others who tried something different. They increased the scale. For them, it was from 1 – 10 so that they could avoid (say) a 3.5 with a 7. Some even introduced percentage. Confused? Well, that’s completely alright. And that’s how it works in this world of REVIEWS. You always need to be prepared to face confusion.

There are different types of reviews today. While giving star ratings is the most common and is prevalent even for hotel and travel reviews’, some have taken it to an all new level and have introduced a new system for movies. They have a critics’ rating, a business rating and an audience rating (Don’t ask me how they are different). There are also some reviewers who recommend movies on the basis of your taste of movies. Like, watch it if you like horror movies, watch it if you are a fan of this star, watch it if you like this director’s style of movies, etc. A review, at the end of it, must be able be to give us a binary answer- yes or a no. But most of them today are either too judgmental or too biased.

As a result, the daily movie-goer in me is confused. The ratings that I have mentioned above have now evolved to 2.75 out of five, 7.3 out of 10, 60%, Below average-average-above average-good-very good and so on. I must admit though, “one time watch” is my favorite. If you have a friend asking about a recent movie, use this option, it’s the safest and will hardly bring you bad words.

Not long ago, I asked a friend, “Macha how’s the movie?” He replied, “Acting super, BGM great, Cinematography excellent, and Direction fabulous. But, overall movie is ok - ok. ” That’s how most of these reviews are. Thanks to them, CONFUSING is now an art too!

When you read through those hundreds of reviews, you will realize that almost all movies have a ‘mixed’ response.  There are some honest critics who praise a good movie and tear apart the rest, and, there are self-proclaimed ‘reviewers’ who rate each and every aspect of a movie sitting at home and give an easy ‘thumbs down’ to good movies. These are people who record their review videos in one angle every Friday and they talk about a National award winning cinematographer and his work!

This is about those who tend to confuse you. Let’s have a look at the other side now. The people who get confused..

Gone are the days when people just wanted to know if a movie is good or not. Today they want to know if the 150 bucks they spend for a movie is worth it or not. It’s a wise idea. But that’s only going to reduce the overall impact of the movie. Every person who thinks of watching a particular movie on the forthcoming weekend looks for a review on Thursday night. In the process, he knows the entire plot before entering the cinema hall. And hence, the element of surprise is completely eliminated.

Result is reduction in overall entertainment value of the movie. And when they don’t like the movie as much, they find fault with the one who reviewed it. Huff!! Vicious circle of reviewing!!

But I am not criticizing any of them. I am just “reviewing” them.

And after saying all that, being an ardent Indian movie fanatic, I end this with the cliché, “Movies are meant for entertainment. Let’s just enjoy them and not dissect and kill them.”  And more importantly, let’s hope that while criticizing the directors on how to 'make' movies, we don’t forget how to 'watch' movies.

Disclaimer: The writer himself has fallen prey to this vicious circle. He has provided ratings for movies on his Twitter timeline, and also looked for movie reviews on Thursday night. Hence, criticizing and reviewing him is welcome. We suggest you give him a generous 2.35 stars. What say?

The Thala Thalapathy Syndrome!

One is trolled for his mannerisms, the other for his aged looks. One is heavily criticized for having political ambitions, the other for not standing up/showing up in solidarity for people of his profession. One is abused for his over-the-top acting skills, the other for his inability to rock the dance floor. One is.. wait.. If I start writing up these thoughts, this would become a look-out-for page for one of the most dreaded diseases that has occupied the online space- the Thala-Thalapathy Syndrome. Thala (Leader) is the nick name for Tamil star Ajith Kumar, a man loved by his fans for his on-screen style and off-screen charisma. Ilaya Thalapathy (Young Commander) is the title for actor Vijay, a darling of the masses for his outstanding screen presence and dancing skills.

Hero-worship has been most popular in the southern part of the country from the days of Rajini-Kamal. And though technology has replaced 'real' fan-fights with 'virtual' fan-fights (read tag wars on FB & Twitter), the trademark 'paal-abhishekham' on the day of movie-release still continues. It’s always nice to see unconditional love for their stars (Gods) but it is the level of hatred for the rival, which is absolutely alarming with both stars' family being targeted with a flurry of abuses. And that's not it, you also see quite a few other celebrities like Premgi, Chinmayi, etc. being dragged into it. 

Today, if you ask anyone in Tamil Nadu who they like between Thala and Thalapathy, and the person will give you an answer. And to be fair, each one's opinion would be understandable. But over the past few years, especially the last year or so, the opinions have been turning into widespread hatred on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Hate tags, horrible memes are now the talk of the town. It has almost become a rule that if you like one, you can't like the other (actually you need to hate the other). Disagree? Try posting a tweet favoring Thalapathy one day and a week after, post something good about Thala. You are likely to get a flurry of bad words. Reading them, you would actually feel sorry for your parents! 

         

Words like addict, fan, army, etc have replaced many personal identities on Facebook and Twitter. Pictures of their favorite stars have replaced their own display images. In fact, ask Twitter to conduct a survey on most-used word in this region of the country and you would know that "da" would emerge the winner. Reason? Mangatha da.. Thuppakki da.. Aarambam da.. Kaththi da..

Today, a Thala fan waits more for a Kaththi trailer release and a Thalapathy fan waits eagerly for the release of Yennai Arindhaal just so that they can create those memes and troll them. If you ask them why, they say, "maasss kaatturom da" (we want to show our dominance).

And this is just one side of it.

The other set of people, I mean the clever set of people, have cashed in on this fight attracting thousands of followers/viewers by adding fuel to the fire. They try to woo both groups of fans by projecting themselves neutral to both Ajith and Vijay. Their tweets include praise and criticism for both stars, eventually igniting a fight between the fans.In fact, I have even seen a post like "Neutral fan da". Good way to attract both groups of friends/followers. Isn’t it?

The bottom line is both Thala and Thalapathy have openly accepted in numerous public forums that they are friends and are in constant touch with each other. It’s only the young and immature people on the cyber space who take it as a matter of 'pride' for themselves to show up for their star. Some have even accepted that they love their stars more than their own parents. And in the process, they get 'used' by a set of people, the so-called movie trackers/reviewers for their success. Both the celebrities are supposedly active on Twitter and are aware of these fights.  Thala has abandoned his fan clubs and Thalapathy has asked his fans to concentrate on social issues and take care of their families. But, in the recent past, they haven’t done anything substantial to reduce the heat between these two groups of people. It should be noted that the bigger stars of this country, namely, SRK-Salman-Aamir have made regular public appearances and that has brought a lot of calm in the way their fans behave.

Having said all that, nobody knows when this will end and probably no scientist has a solution for this syndrome. All one can do is give his/her opinion and hope not to be abused. And about the next Superstar, the answer is simple. If Bollywood can handle three Khans at a time, Kollywood can manage two as well. But try telling this to the die-hard fans!!

On that note, I wind this up with the hope that I don’t get abused by the third set of people for not mentioning their star’s name, the Suriya fans!

The first interview..

One of the most anxious days in any person's life is the day of personal interview, especially when he desperately wants to get into that company. The person is nervous before the interview of how it would go about and then just anxious about what the result is going to be. The effect of adrenaline never subsides until the result is out. But this is one such interview in my life for which I was least prepared, My English was weak but still I was sure of getting selected! This is the story of my first interview...
After a long journey by bus, I reached the destination.On the other hand, the room was set for the interview. I waited for my turn for quite sometime and then I got a call. I went in along with another person (Mr. Prakash) who ensured me that I would get a place in the Company because he had got a recommendation for me.
The interviewer, pointing to the person accompanying me (Mr. Prakash) said, "Please come, Take your seat."
The anxiousness of listening to the first interview question was so much in me that even I sat along with Mr. Prakash though the interviewer hadn't asked me to. This was my second mistake.
Yes, The first mistake was to have not asked any excuse to the interviewer before getting into the room.
The interviewer stared at me and asked, "Did I ask you to sit?"
I was in my own world still thinking what is going to happen and hence, I couldn't catch what she said. I murmured, "Yes, madam????" (I actually meant that I couldn't hear you madam. Please repeat!) But I guess she thought otherwise. She thought that I meant a "yes" for her question.
Meanwhile, Mr. Prakash interrupted and told me in hindi ,"She didn't ask you to sit then why did you sit?"
I realized the mistake and as I was about to get up, the interviewer said (in a strong tone), "Now you be seated."
The interviewer took my aptitude scorecard and said,"I am picking you only because the Management has recommended you. Your score is as bad as 2/25 in English. I am giving you four months time and If I don't find your performance satisfactory, You will have to leave the Company."
I picked very little of what she said and hence, I used a safe option this time, "Ok madam."
The interviewer called her Personal Assistant and asked her to help me continue with the process of joining the company.
I was very embarrassed as I left the room. I felt like a loser who couldn't get even his basics right. In short, I felt like Rohit Sharma!
But, It was this day and this small incident that I pledged to make my place permanent in the company by learning English.
I joined the company, managed a good performance, yet I was silent for a year or so. I was quiet because I wanted to learn and understand English and then use it confidently. Within a year, I became good in the language. And that's not it. after 6 years, when I left the company, I got an award from the same interviewer for being the best!
Today, when I rewind, I realize that If I hadn't seen THAT day in my life, I wouldn't have seen THIS day in my life when I attend every interview with enough confidence to clear it.

Today, THAT first mistake is still registered in my heart that I never forget asking," May I come in?" to any interviewer before entering in. My second mistake is something which I would never repeat. I keep my calm and always wait for the interviewers to ask me to sit. Lastly, My English is also good enough at the business level.
But wait folks, I must also be thankful to life that this interview happened very early in my life. Yes, This happened when I was just entering my 7th standard of schooling. The Company I referred to is actually Terapanth Jain Vidyalaya, the school in which I studied from 7th std onwards. The interviewer was my School Principal and Mr. Prakash is my father. And The aptitude scorecard was actually my entrance test scorecard!

People say, Failures are the stepping stones to success..But I feel..
ONE FAILURE can be a stepping stone to MULTIPLE SUCCESS-es!
(No machaaa..don't relate this to your love-life :p)