Maaya ki Maaya...

No no... I'm not talking about Mayawati... I am talking about Lakshmi... Not the lady... The currency....
Just about 6 years ago a friend of mine complained about the fact that his company (Obviously an IT firm) is not giving him a nice raise.. Reason.. Currency was not stable and his company which was earning dollars, showing rupee income types was at loss... So, No Hikes....
Then came the green back days.. Dollars gave more rupees when en cashed and a SAP names animal was born.. Everyone was gung-ho about its prospects till entirety... People started to go abroad to implement software... The hikes were still missing for few.. Reason... We are expanding, we will pay after we get returns on it...
Then came the great sub-prime crisis of 2007, Dollar was in dumps.. A country which was doing well against the dollar, oil which went up in absolute dollar terms was cheaper as value of dollar went downwards. The IT wallah still didn't get a hike, with companies crying out loud... Dollar is low, though in dollar terms we are earning great... But we show profits in rupees, Govt is not supporting us, We can't do anything about it... So better luck next time with hikes...
The story lives on.. Greenback at its usual highs, Oil cooling off a nice 30% of its highs, 2 BIG Investment Banks went down (R.I.P.)... And guess what.. No hikes... Reason.. Dollar is high... Oil is low.. But our clients are closing their business... So, well... Here is your reward for standing with the thick and thin of our business, for so many years that we had made a mistake of unduly pleasing the CNBC TV-18 on results conference call, for greedily looking at my pocket when we were earning more and looking deeper in my pocket when earnings went down... Here is your PINK SLIP!!!
And I am sure... This is not the end... Its just the beginning of just another chapter... New banks will open, business will come... IT will prosper... Ramalingam Raju, premji and so many like them will add few more millions to their kitty... My friend will again be employed... The pressures will still remain, the margins will be heading southwards, stock markets might not be receptive (After all people will get educated), India will prosper (So, R.I.P. Low cost dirty jobs), Dollar might again dip or rise by 30%... And guess what.. The Hikes.. Will still be elusive... as some old sage scripted in Hindi... Maaya ki Maaya Anokhi...

Kachrewallah..... (The Rag picker)

How many times have we noticed a rag picker? using an old handle to pick up old dirty bags, iron pellets and in his own small selfish way.... Cleaning the roads? Have we ever noticed his work? His job? and thought of it as an important person? A person who has the maturity to distinguish right from wrong? Or simply a person who might steal at the first chance ... Amusing as it may seem is our human nature.. At the outside we speak of dignity of labour and respect for everyone, but somewhere in out heart and mind we look down on some jobs as pithy, piddly or meaningless or more so as a risk to society than a help....

And today a lot of us stand corrected and they ... Well you decide! A city reeling under the strike of a violent and brutal terrorist attack... in a usually busy hour of North India on a weekend... Inflicted by those who don't care for or respect humanity... 5 blasts on the trot, expected to break the back of spirit of the city and that it did to an extent.. But then there was an unassuming victory for its citizens...

2 rag pickers at different points in time, behaved with responsibility and reported some surreptitious activities and doubted intentions of some... In a world where we are afraid of going to Police and they, who bear the maximum brunt of police, dared to go to police and report the incident... and guess what... They SAVED precious lives and more so... resurrected the sagging spirits...

My friend who till last nite were skeptical, worried and doubted the intention of his neighbour and expected this to go on communal lines today called back, telling me that Delhi is back on its foot. Not scared, but determined to demonstrate what kind of stuff are we Indians made of... Laxity in govt information systems, lack of empathy by govt, politicians again using this as a point to get some more votes or save some... These two guys have done a big deal of favor to the normal public...

The real hero is not the bomb disposal squad, its his job. The real hero is not Delhi police who's tom-toming about some string leads. The real and unassuming heroes are these two guys, who did few things different

1. Went to police, knowing very well that they themselves could have been detained ... as that's what out police is good at....

2. Believed their instincts and had the maturity to separate rite from wrong and did what they feel right.

I salute the spirit and these two guys and believe with all my heart that in a country where we have people like these, even with a force as pedestrian as ours.. We will not stop, we will not be scared and we will look after each other. A toast to the unflinching, unstoppable spirit of Delhi and India...

Vande Mataram!!!