4. A trip down the memory lane: The first day

“where to?” the train of thoughts was broken by the rude interlude of the auto-rickshaw driver. The first thing that strikes you about Bangalore is how chilly it is at night. At least for a person from the practically-baked part of the country, that is. India is too big for anyone outside the country to fathom. Every 100 kilometers or so, the language and identity changes and so does the food, the climate and every other cultural pointer.

I had landed a job with a coveted PC manufacturer as a support engineer. The job came with the perks and they were sounding too-good-to-be-true for a small-townee like myself. The initial conversation of the driver was in Kannada, the regional language. But immediately sensing my hesitation, he switched comfortably to Tamil, my native language. This is a rude shock for someone from the state of Tamil Nadu where you swear by your native tongue and English is a welcome addition because of the colonial past. Because language was such a big part of the identity, people from my place never gave it any thought to explore other languages. The fact that an auto-rickshaw driver was comfortable in a foreign language was surprising to say the least.

But the language dilemma did not stop there. I was dropped off at the serviced-apartment provided by the company and the the care taker of the facility was Kundan. I started off in fluent English and it did not take me long to understand that he did not have a clue. He was a Nepali migrant who could manage Hindi and this was an even bigger problem. You see, the state I belong to is known for its anti-Hindi agitations in the past. We did have a sizeable Hindi-speaking community but they mostly resorted to speaking the native tongue – Tamil.

“You should try and learn Hindi. It helps you when you travel the country” Gopal had blurted once. He was a migrant worker in my neighborhood who was one of the reasons for the little Hindi I used.

Anyways, the little Hindi I spoke was more than welcome by Kundan and it was not his native tongue too. I settled into the cozy apartment and I couldn’t help but wonder if moving to another country would have been easier at least for the sake of the number of languages I had to pick up. I was however happy about the societal tag of an “IT Engineer” or a “Software” guy as they liked to call it. Had I been able to foresee 12 years into the future, or maybe even 5, I would have definitely reconsidered.

3. A trip down the memory lane

And so it happened. I picked up the exit papers and started to leave.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk to the job placement consultant we have drafted just for this?” One of the senior HR partners blurted.

Her Masters in business administration had taken out the little bit of sense in her and the rest was done in by the profession. Some poor parent has wasted a lot of money.

” Let me get this straight. You fire people without notice and without due consideration and expect them to talk to a bloody placement consultant you got on-board? I still have my pride intact. Save your Drama for the uninitiated and the insecure.”

Myself and a bunch of faithfuls hit the microbrewery that night. All of them were hired by me and were devastated at the possibility of facing the same fate. I had to assure them that the objective had already been achieved by taking the big fish out. If it comes to choosing between the foot soldiers and the captain, the captain is the one that bites the bullet. After all, you get ten at the price of one.

Microbreweries are the latest fad in Bangalore. They are magnets that attract glamour and stupidity en-mass. There is always a need to fit-in for everyone in the industry and if you can tap into that, you make a killing. A home-brew would cost you anywhere between 300and 500 rupees and people were happily parting with their money under the cover of darkness. These are the same people that argue over the counter at the super market on why they are being charged for the carry bag.

Post the drinking and the food, I had to do the inevitable. Return back from work one last time. I was happy that the wife and kids were back in the hometown for a vacation. Half-drunk, the thoughts lingered back to my first day in Bangalore.

 

2.Zero Day

After an attempt at an inspiring speech and some bemusing tears from the team, I wondered if this is all I have been wanting secretly. The writing had been on the wall for quite sometime and I had an uncanny ability to see the doom that is the future of this industry. As a technology guy you can’t help but wonder how close we are to singularity in Artificial Intelligence and how monumental a shift this was going to be for the entire Human race.

When I entered the room, there was the HR Business Partner and the sulking figure of the guy who hired me.

“I know what this is. I need to know if this is to do with my abilities”

“This is hard for all of us. This has nothing to do with your performance. I can’t say how terrible we…”

“Then I will want to talk to the HR alone. I don’t think we need your presence here.”

My manager was taken aback and tried rationalizing. I can see a fox from a mile and now I don’t have to worry about what I have to say. A couple of pleasantries from me is all it took to further drive him into his shell and leave in a hurry.

The way the layoffs happen in the industry is that they try and give you a sense of calm and assurance. While underneath, these guys are holding on to their balls and hoping that you don’t kick them too hard. The one thing they don’t want you going after is legal options. It is not a coincidence that there are no labor unions in the IT industry. It is a carefully crafted ploy.

I had my legal options ready. I said I am not going sign a resignation letter and I want to be fired in the true sense of the word. This sent them in a tizzy and before I knew it, there were a couple of senior HR partners in the room trying to convince me about the obvious.

“If we terminate you, finding another job wold become that much more difficult. A resignation on the other hand would keep those options open.” one of them flattered.

After an hour and a half of dilly-dallying, I told them I don’t really care about whatever suggestions and advises have come through. I was just not going down without a fight. This was just me having a go at pissing on their porch before I left. After all, I can’t say I complain about the severance package and I was looking forward to the freedom this was going to provide.

I was right and wrong. Freedom is a tricky thing. You see, when a prisoner comes out of life sentence, the one thing he cannot take is the freedom. All that the prison provides becomes a second nature. I am the same. Just that my prison was different. I was just two years short of a life sentence. And freedom was waiting for me to kick my balls.

 

1.The D-Day

D-Day. The one day that changed the course of the second world war. In the post-modern era, it is a term that is loosely used in the Indian IT industry. Ask any kid in the industry about the origin of the very word and they don’t have a clue. All that they know is that it means something bad.

I have managed a lot of such kids in my little stint in the industry. Say this in any other part of the world and you sure to get the queer looks. But hey, it is India we are talking about and the IT industry in Bangalore at that. You are a nobody if you are not a manager by the time you hit 30. It doesn’t matter if you cannot spell the word “management” or if you are managing how donkeys bray. You got to be one.

These are the same kids that have a lot of personality and life when they start working in the myth that is the IT industry. Some prefer to use the term “software”. But no matter what you call it, make no mistake, you are getting your juice sucked out of you before you are out. People who question the very absence of values and employee rights get tagged as the “misfits” and the “negativity engineers”.

Today is the last time I would meet my team before I am handed my exit papers. I am being pink-slipped and the horrors of a distant possibility that I once spoke to them about is becoming a grim reality. Disruptive technology has destroyed this industry and the business has to find away to survive. What better way than to let go of a couple of hundred middle level managers than to lose those two base points in the stock exchange.

After all, the real D-day had costed a few hundred thousand lives. A few hundred jobs lost doesn’t even come close. This is just the beginning of the rest of a saga like no other.