SOFT HOLOCAUST

I thanked myself after seeing the videos and reading about the holocausts of World War-II. This was because I was not born at those ages in those places as a Jew or even as German either to experience or inflict those kinds of horror and pain. Those were horrible times when the Jews were treated like animals. The secluded living in the ghettos with unhealthy working conditions in factories, long exposure to pollution and finally shortage of food portrays those scenes as a hell to me.

Trying to forget these horrors and focusing my attention back to work, I felt a strange coincidence between the IT industry in which I work to the horrors and conditions of holocausts. The first thing which made me to feel like this was the employee ID tags of software companies being similar to that of the arm band containing Star of David worn by the Jews during the period of Third Reich. Though at start this may be a silly comparison, but as I began to analyze both the situations (holocausts and IT industry) I began to visualize some solid similarities. At first there may seem to be a heaven to hell difference between the environments of holocausts and IT industry like physical conditions, nature of work but I found some grave similarities from a different perspective.

Thinking of the health impacts, the conditions at the factories those times were horrible, unhygienic and pollution prone. Labourers were made to work in engulfing smokes of carbon and sulphur gases. Long hours of work added more adverse health impacts due to extended exposure to pollution. But one may wonder how these conditions are being compared to the present IT environment. In IT industry one uses to work sitting in front of computers in conditioned air for long time. The long exposure to monitor along with the work stress affects the eyes a lot. The conditioned air for a long time makes one sick due to lack of natural air. Moreover long hours of sitting without physical work/activity may lead to obesity and cardiovascular diseases. The above effects can be avoided if regular exercises or precautionary measures are being taken. But I feel that due to work pressure and mental stress the IT people tend to forget the exercises thus creating health problems for themselves.

Going back to the World War-II period, the labourers were made to overwork and lot was extracted from them for below standard wages. This I feel similar to the meager pay which the IT companies give to their employees after making them work on a 24X7 basis in spite of the huge profits they get. Even though the work deadline an be fixed at a considerable span of time, the IT managers schedule out the work for a short period and thus making their employees work day in day out to finish the projects.

What I do not understand is the reason why the management of IT companies makes their employees to work extra time. The Hitler’s men squeezed out the Jews in order to show their talents and dominating them, so as to impress their boss and to get higher ranks. But I wonder whom the IT management is going to satisfy or impress by making their employees work so hard although the work can be done at a normal pace? The answer may be the innocent/ignorant stakeholders (who are not aware of the modus operandi of the IT world) or the IT management themselves.

Whatever the pains and difficulties the suppressed under the Third Reich would have experienced they certainly had a cause to resist them. The cause was the quest for the Holy land which they finally achieved in form of the birth ofIsrael. But I am not sure what the IT workers have in minds as their cause to sustain in IT industry. It may be the money or the career or something else. Only time will tell it.

SATYAM CINEMAS !!!

Chennai seems to be less occupied on Saturday afternoons when most of its residents try to get a nap after a delicious meal. But there remains one place which does not lose its air of zeal but rather springs into active life. It’s none other than Satyam cinemas. It’s the place where most of the Chennaities try to spend their weekends. Cinema is a medium which converges all age groups, and this place just happens to be a proof of this statement.

At early noon boys come in gangs so that they have a look at all girls coming in. Some even wait for girls to get tickets so that they may sit next to them while watching the movie. The guys come in all sorts of attires ranging from bermudas or ¾ tracks to cargos, faded jeans (actually the colour was lost during washing) to formal trousers, with sports banians to transparent shirts. They don’t stop with this. Have some phrases like Adding to the woe et al. With the funky dresses they wear colourful bands, palm sized rings, and monstrous pendants. If this happens to be the case with boys, then a first time visitor might think that he has ended up in a fashion parade on seeing the girls .The girls just treat this place as a tryout area for their new dresses and makeups. The boys too react with ‘oohs’ ‘wows’ and ‘aahs’ and seldom with ‘chee’ on seeing the tight clad jeans with t shirts, dazzling saris, skirts and kurtis.

As the crowd begin to gather hours before the show-time, group of boys and girls get to have a pompous chitchat which makes the heads of opposite sex turn. All this showoff is intended to make new contacts, friendships but mostly dates. In contrast to this, young couples prefer to meet minutes before the show-time and collect tickets which they had booked through internet, of course from the boy’s credit card. But one can easily find newly married couples with the lady being dressed in silk sari with lot of ornaments and heavy make up as if she has come to a wedding function. The man seems too watchful always holding her hand in fear that she might run away. People do come in families whenever some animation film or family subject is screened usually come because of their kids who are eager to see their superhero or cartoon character in action. The fathers of these families do all kind of circus activities like juggling the eatables which the kids and the ladies require as a supplement for watching the movie.

In addition to screening of movies, canvassing activities take place near the ticket counters. These products range from shampoo (with free wash for those who haven’t taken their bath) to cars. On a lot one can see the various shades of youth in this place. There may be chances that one can spot a cine star in disguise (i.e. without makeup) and if fortunate he/she may be seated next during the screening of the film.