City Greens

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So, my family and extended family members called me an arm chair environmentalist the other day. Why? Chumma just like that. Guess they didn’t have their morning Kapi, Kanji or Kanjavu. Now if you are wondering about the three K’s i.e., Kapi, Kanji or Kanjavu, don’t wonder. It is a mallu thang.

It all started the other day at a family gathering when I was watching a Twitter video clip of two white foxes chasing a white furry and very cute rabbit.

Me (loudly): Run, rabbit, run, oh I hope he outruns them foxes. Run, run, runnnnn….runnnnn....

The video clip ended abruptly and I was left in anguish wondering if the cute fluffy white rabbit made it home. It was soooo cute to look at.

Then I saw a video clip of a fluffy Snow Leopard grabbing a mountain goat and the two falling from a steep cliff in a never-ending fall.

Me (screeching): No, no, nooooooo, we have so few snow leopards. Oh God, hope he gets the goat and doesn’t fall down and die. Please god, please god, please god, pleeease save the snow leopard!!!

The video ended abruptly and my 12 year old cousin tells me curtly that the leopard had died. I break down and sob loudly.

Family: Whose side are you on!

Me: Err… the underdog.

Family: Suggest you leave environmental concerns for the really concerned.

They are right!! I need to start watching less nature videos and do something real like going to the jungles and making a difference. If only I could get past the city crowds trying to do the same with their DSLR cameras and giant lenses and being shooed back by forest officials. Damn forest officials, they are the reason we “nature lovers” from the city never get to do some real field work.  

In the meantime, I am back to watching nature videos. I cannot give up on the environment just because some grouchy members of my family did not have their morning morning Kapi, Kanji or Kanjavu. 

Work life balancing act

Sometimes in the 1990’s

Employee one: Whine whine whine whine

Employee two: Gnash, Gnash, Gnash

Employee three: Sob, Sob, wail, whimper, wails of despair…

Employee four: No work life balance, stressed, tired, burnt out, heavy sighs etc etc.

Management across the world decided to change the work week from six days to five days

Employee one: Yay!

Employee two does cartwheels, end up spread-eagled and is rushed to the hospital: Yipeeee!!!

Employee four: At last! Someone has heard the groans of the over worked underpaid employee!!

Employee four: Two-day weekends! This is too good to be true.

A couple of years later

Employee one: Grumble, grumble, grumble

Employee two: What can you do with a two-day weekend!!! Wail…

Employee three: I can barely recover from a tough week in two days sob

Employee four: No work life balance, stressed, tired, burnt out, heavy sighs etc etc.

A decade later management across the world decided to change the work week from five days to four days

Employee one: Yay!

Employee two does clicks his heels midair, end up spread-eagled and is rushed to the hospital: Yipeeee!!!

Employee four: THERE IS A GOD!!!  THERE IS A GOD!!! THERE IS A GOD!!!

Employee four: Three-day weekends and four-day work week! This is utopia. An employee dream come true! I will love my work so much now!

A couple of years later

Employee one: I am EXHAUSTED! I do in four days what I did in five groooaaaannnnn aaarrghhh I am dying of exhaustion!

Employee two: I am barely alive by Thursday. I wish I had another day to finish the week's work. Then I would really enjoy my weekend.

Employee three: I am sprinting to complete my work. It was so much better paced when it was a 5-day week sigh

Employee four: No work life balance, stressed, tired, burnt out, heavy sighs etc etc.

Some time after that, managements across the world give up on trying to please employees and do what’s best for the company.

Employee one: Whine whine whine whine

Employee two: Gnash, Gnash, Gnash

Employee three: Sob, Sob, wail, whimper, wails of despair…

Employee four: No work life balance, stressed, tired, burnt out, heavy sighs etc etc.

Management: Pffffft

Outsourcing

John was a colleague in the US. He was a good graphic designer. We worked together a lot and shared a lot of laughter over Zoom and beer when he came down to India to meet the Indian marketing team. 

Then one day John got laid off and they moved his job to India. John cursed outsourcing and voted for Trump. Things went downhill after that. John wallowed in self-pity. He was too bitter to attend interviews paranoid that the next job would be outsourced too. There were plenty of jobs but John was not interested.

John: I hate this Silverine, I just effing hate outsourcing!!

Me: I understand your angst John. It must be terrible being laid off like that!

John: There has to be a law against this!

Me: Well, companies gotta do what companies gotta do to make profits. They are still employing a lot of people in the US, in fact 50%.

John: &%^%#$@$ US companies must hire from US only, period!

Me: But John, that is like telling me to hire from Bangalore only. I would be depriving myself of good talent when there are good people in other parts of India.

John: I don’t care for this bullshit!

Me: Sigh

He decided he will work in such a way that his job won’t be outsourced. Which meant he had to be his own boss. So he started his own gig. From one gig to a few more and he was finally able to pay rent and hire more people as his clientele grew. He worked from home and his staff of freelancers also worked from their homes. Business grew and his freelancers became his employees and one day John decided to pitch his services to me and his old company. I was more than happy to consider his services since he was a brilliant designer and had assisted me in many marketing campaigns.

John sent me a meeting invite for the pitch. The meeting started at 9 pm IST since John is in the west coast.

John: Hello Silverine, how are you!!

Me: Hello John. How are you!!!

John: I am fine. Since we talked last, we are now grown to a team of 10 designers!

Me: Wowwwww! Good for you John.

John: And our capabilities have grown too.

Me: Wonderful!

John: Let me introduce you to my team. On the call are: Sivaraman Sarvapalli from Hyderabad, Karthick Krishna from Salem, George Thottumkal from Kochi, Harvinder Singh from Chandigarh, Basavaraju from Bangalore, Swapan from Bhubaneshwar, Abdul from Calicut,  Robin from Goa, Joydeep from Kolkata and Sangma from Guwahati. They work from home but are part of my team.

Me: !!!!!