INDIAN MANAGER

Recently I met a typical Indian manager at Bolmor Regional Park for an exclusive interview with him about his life and profession. The following is the script version of that oral interaction.

I: How do you feel to be a manager now with this company?

He: I struggled and suffered a lot as a student for about 20 years to earn a suitable degree to get a job. I lost many comforts in my life during this time. I worked with five different companies before coming here. It means I am investing a lot of expertise, which I gained as a student and employee with other firms, for the development of this company, at considerably pitiable salary and perks. Companies always exploit devoted and talented managers like me. Many requested me to come to their companies after joining this company. They got ready to offer me unbelievable salary and benefits compared to what I am getting here. I have standards. I work with a company for about three years even when better opportunities are there. I want to be a challenger in my field. This is the spirit of my life and profession.

I: Why do you say that you studied for the sake of companies but not for yourself?

He: We need not waste 20 years of our lifetime, as a student, just to know how to live on our own. For many, education is a social and cultural demand but not personal. Since I want a good image in the contemporary society, I got educated, not because I liked it. Companies hire those who have great qualifications and years of experience, thinking that they do wonders for them. So, I studied for the society and cultural demands around me. They believe that one cannot be refined without education.

I: Can I have a look at your educational certificates?

He: I never like to show my certificates to others, even to my wife or children for that matter. I feel depressed whenever I look at my certificates. I lost years of my life studying boring books and pursuing revolting subjects just for those certificates. When I wanted unlimited freedom in my life, those days, the education blocked me from enjoying it. I had to go to schools, colleges and university. I had to compete with others in terms of getting more marks, ranks and position in the society. Thus, my certificates represent the most tragic days in my lifetime. I cannot show such sheets of paper to others just like that. Also, you may feel depressed and melancholic after scanning the marks I scored those days. I had been such a brilliant student at all levels though I never enjoyed that pursuit. When you see my marks and compare them with those of you or others familiar to you, you sense a kind of guilt and remorse because you could not achieve such educational status those days for some reasons. I am sorry to say this.

I: At least, can I see your résumé or CV?

He: Do you think that I don’t know the difference between a résumé and CV. Résumé is a US version of data sheet with concise and precise points of information about us whereas a CV is a UK format of personal bio-data. It’s longer than a résumé and features most of the data of a candidate comprehensively. I have a one-page résumé. I have many credentials, qualifications, references and preferences as a person and professional but I never try to show off them in my résumé. Why should others know about me more than necessary? I feel very personal and possessive about my résumé. I show it to only those, who offer me a job, when I need one. Privacy is very important in my life and profession. If you know where and what I studied and where and how I worked till now, you may develop a kind of psychological attachment with me. You may often think about me in connection with my educational qualifications, progress and achievements. A man is not just his certificates but there is a lot more than that. Why don’t you try to understand me from that perspective? We can value one without certificates also. I want others to be that broad and generous. I don’t know why others often ask me to show my résumé. When they have many responsibilities in their lives, why should they focus that much on my life and affairs? It’s ridiculous.

I: I never thought that a manager like you can be that sensitive about your résumé. I am sorry for disturbing you. Can you tell me a little about where you worked and how it all had been so far?

He: My salary was just 100 rupees when I joined as a trainee sales executive with Zolapat those days. Free Indians were still struggling to forget the sad days of British times. There were many speculations in all about the future of India. During such crucial times of Indian history, I took this job as a challenge. Zolapat was a distributor of sanitary napkins those days. After I joined it, it forayed into many business segments. My responsibility was to go door to door and sell 20 sanitary napkins every day. They would offer me bonus every month if I had exceeded my sales targets. Those were days when girls and women were still using traditional items of personal hygiene to face their monthly period. It was an ordeal for me to knock at any door. They took me as a suspicious species in their premises. They wondered to know that there could be such a product at all meant for their physical hygiene. Starting a conversation with any girl or woman about it became almost impossible for me during those days of extreme orthodoxy and unbelievable privacy but I made it possible. Indian tradition and culture made them so. Some girls felt shy to look at me. Some women closed their doors with a bang as soon as I delivered the first dialogue about the product in my bag. I walked and walked like anything in the sun, rain and breezes to convince them that I was not a criminal to interfere in their bodily affairs but just a facilitator of a progressive change. Demonstration became a big issue for me. They use it there which I don’t have. Many of them would have beaten me black and blue if I used abusive language explaining the use of this product. Can you imagine how it would be to face a woman and talk with her about a product and use of it, which they never wish to happen with their husbands or lovers also? Meanwhile war broke out between India and China. Majority of Indians donated their clothes, valuable ornaments and land documents also for the cause of the nation. During such times, my company increased my sales targets. If I could sell 100 pieces a month, those days, they promised me, they would make me senior sales executive. They would provide me with a used bicycle and cap as perks. You know riding a bicycle and going home to home is somewhat comfortable and bearable in the life of an evolutionary salesperson in India those days, compared to walking miles together every day and night. I took this challenge. I begged many girls and women to buy it to save my life at any cost. I cried, fell on their feet and beseeched their husbands to make or break my life as a salesperson. I could make it somehow. I got a bicycle. I celebrated that status showing it to my parents, siblings, relatives, well-wishers and social activists. They threw a party to celebrate my spirit of success and happiness. Soon I emerged as a trendsetter in my province. I should say those were all golden days. They encouraged me on humanitarian grounds. I always depended on their immeasurable pity and sympathy for my profession and the product in my bag. I spent many sleepless nights recollecting their magnanimity for me. I sobbed continuously for hours. My parents did not know why I was crying so intensely. I could never explain them the nature of my job and the volume of my work. Those were the bonds of those days. They never asked the reason for my pain anywhere but just advised me to cool down and that everything would be alright in near future in India.

I: It’s exciting to know where and how you started your career years ago and what position you reached today out of your perseverance and vision. Why did you leave that company at all?

He: Change is the inevitable facet of human life. It happened in my case in particular. One day our manager followed me in disguise to trace my whereabouts and check my workmanship in person. He wondered after observing that I was thinking and behaving like a shameless beggar and worthless parasite for meeting my targets. He observed many fresh pieces along the road, in dustbins and almost every imaginable place. He understood that they were all buying them out of sympathy for me but not because they felt its need tremendously. He said that we cannot do business if we impress the hearts of our customers through our gimmicks and magic but their brains, applying our logic and common sense. They should feel that they badly need it for their happiness and comfort. I could not do so despite my eight years of association with them. They said that they wanted such sales agents who live with high degree of self-respect, self-confidence and visionary approach but not one with self-pity, self-indulgence and complacency. They told me to leave their company within days after our manager checked my ground level delivery of service. I argued why I had done so but they did not listen to me. I left that job without one in hand. I thought that I could easily get another job considering my talent but it did not happen.

I: You made wonders as a sales agent with that company. Why did you fail to promote yourself and get a job earlier than expected? When you could sell a product of that nature, why not yourself to a company?

He: In about 50 interviews I attended after quitting this job, I failed to explain them what and how I sold to those who never wanted it. I felt uneasy to touch that matter after those unbearable words of humiliation thrown by our manager before asking me to get out of their company. Many pitied my inability to explain what happened but did not dare offer me a job. I struggled and suffered for 20 months in this dilemma but a miracle occurred one evening. I sat under a banyan tree looking up into the sky with a desperate mood and melancholic temperament. One gentleman patted on my back and asked me, ‘What is life?’ I promptly said, ‘Life is a challenge’. He extended, ‘Can you face that challenge?’ I said, ‘Why not…if there is one to throw a challenge on my face’. He liked that spontaneity and creative bent of mind in me. He told me to join his company within two days at any cost. I jumped into air to celebrate that spirit of success again…after many months of desperation and isolation. I took that job without enquiry.

I: What was your portfolio in the new company?

He: He was a pioneer. He ideated that all Indians should use tissue paper for bath and use in their toilets. He presented papers at international seminars advocating this idea. When millions of people, across the world, are suffering without drinking water, how can other privileged ones misuse gallons of water just for bath and natural calls? ‘Tissue – No issue’ was his slogan, motive, ideology and ideal. He found some likeminded enthusiasts to join his path of goals and achievements. He never liked to offer cash to his office staff but essential items like rice, wheat, sugar and edible oil for our bare survival. He demonstrated us how Government of India was spending a lot of money every year just to print currency notes and issue new notes in the place of soiled and torn ones. On our part, we banned use of currency notes, at home and office also. We almost lived on barter system. He appointed me to go home to home and sell those tissue papers. I used to explain people how western world was saving a lot of water using tissue paper in most of their chores and official transactions. Indians did not believe in new concepts and practices those days. They did not take my idea seriously. They often made fun of me looking at my items of sale. I failed in my job responsibilities here. I could not sell many pieces on any day. Even if one or two bought it out of courtesy for me, they threw them in gutters as soon as I had left their abodes. I left this company within a year. He gave me some items of domestic consumption as a farewell gift. His idea was that I should be able to live comfortably for some months even if I did not get a suitable job. He was such philanthropist. Later, after some months, I heard that he permanently migrated to Nigeria. 

I: What happened after leaving this job voluntarily for various reasons?

He:  I realized that I lacked professional skills required for my profession. I joined an institute titled ‘Lock Lacunae’ in Gorena Lomu for a six-month certificate course in marketing techniques. Its founder chairman Jomba Atchiyas was an internationally renowned book author and marketing guru those days. He chose lottery system to select suitable candidates for training in his reputed institute. He believed that many things happen just by chance in this world. So, he wanted to give a chance to many underprivileged ones also just like that. If something is free, majority Indians run for it. Thousands of Indians and other nationals used to apply to his institute for that six-month long professional training. He filtered them through this unbiased selection system. He would conduct two classes a day. He allows 20 candidates only to sit in each of his classes. I was one of those lucky ones to be educated here under such wizard. He was an honorary chairman of International Society of Hypocrites those days. The UNO requested him to join them but he softly refused that offer. He believed that cheating 10 fraudsters is never wrong if we do it to help and save the lives of 100 deprived and impoverished people in any part of this world. This is how he wanted to bring a positive change in others slowly. So, he taught us how to cheat our customers always. Many media staff struggled to interview him but he never gave that chance to them.

I: What did he teach you in his classrooms for these six months?

He: You are wrong if you imagine that there was a classroom at all. He thought that human beings learn many lessons observing what’s happening around them rather than sitting comfortably in a classroom environment. He took us to different spots of public interaction and showed us how cheating became an inevitable part of human life. A milkman says that his milk is pure but he does not sell milk without adding water in it. A doctor says that one’s surgery or treatment may be successful but patients die soon after those surgeries and treatments in many cases. An architect says that a building lasts for 100 years if we build one based on his plan and suggestions. He or we do not live for 100 years. So, we cannot check it personally and sue this architect. A mother tells many lies to her little children while feeding them or lulling them to sleep. Local, state and central governments tell any number of lies during elections just to woo the voters and get political authority for their parties. Where is truth in these scenarios? Everybody is a hypocrite to the core. We tell lies just to get things done. Then, what’s wrong if a salesman tells lies to sell or promote his product or service. Cheating and lying are integral parts of human life. Some do it for a good cause and some do it out of their selfishness. Every salesperson has to sell a fixed number of items to customers to retain his job with any employer. In this process, he has to lie to customers to get sales. Truths are bitter. People cannot digest them immediately. We studied different case studies as part of this course to know how many companies achieved international reputation just through cheating customers. By the time I came out of this institute, I completely changed my attitude, character and orientation of life. I developed a slogan for following in my life or career, ‘Lie to Live’. Thereafter I practised intensely how I could use a variety of lies to attract customers of any nature and financial ability. The biggest turning point in my life was joining this institute. They taught me the skills of manipulation, duplication and pretension. I daily practised, looking into a mirror, in our house. When we tell beautiful or unbelievable lies to customers, our facial expressions and gestures may be quite opposite to what we are saying because our conscience dictates their behaviour. I practised to be balanced. He should feel that what we are saying is absolutely right. Convincing others and making them buy something from us is very difficult in orthodox countries like India. They have developed certain notions and beliefs for many years. They take years to come out of those superstitions or dogmas. As a salesperson, we have a few seconds or minutes only at our disposal to explain about our product or service to our target customer. We should entice him through beautiful and exciting lies during that little time. Very few mind if he or she loses 10 or 100 rupees because of buying a product. What if we cheat 100 gentlemen of this nature every day and make a lot of money from this venture? What they take easy is a source of daily profit for us. To test my abilities and self-confidence on my own, I worked as a freelancer for about two years. I collected thrown away incense stick packs from some garbage deposit points for my venture. I would spray a little scent on one stick in each packet. When a customer wants to smell it, I take that piece only. He would be satisfied smelling the perfume of that stick. All other sticks are useless. After knowing about my cheating, they certainly search for me to thrash me publicly. So, I sold about 100 packs each day in a region and avoided going that side afterwards. I earned a lot of money this way. I believed strongly that I could cheat Indians publicly. When I felt confident that I had competent qualifications and professional skills, I chose to join a company. If we work as a freelancer, we have to seek customers and get work from them. If we join a company of good standards, we can spend most of our time without doing anything useful to the company. As I told you earlier, cheating is never wrong when there are 90 cheaters around us in a society or nation. We should know how to cheat our company also. I joined Mesai Biyohi as an assistant sales manager. My responsibility was to send emails to a variety of customers and collecting their feedback about many products available in market. We would sell this data of market research to other companies and entrepreneurs. We should know what, when, why and how customers want something. Our CEO Boko Chita pursued many marketing courses abroad but never showed her certificates to others. She married a Japanese guy when studying in Australia. He was a billionaire. He moved to India forever after marrying this marvellous beauty. In fact, they started this company to satisfy their false prestige. If there are some subordinates in our premises, and if they wish us saying good morning and good afternoon quite often, we feel elevated and rejuvenated. What if nobody looks or cares for us naturally? We should create such environment on our own. That was exactly what Boko Chita did. I would often go to her room and discuss something unnecessary. She particularly instructed me to do so. She believed that if we discuss unnecessary things first, we come to know what is necessary for us or others. Time passing attitude is a basic instinct in human beings. So, why should we discuss important things only always? If we give an employee eight hours’ time to do a work of one hour, he may become creative or self-destructive. How one uses one’s free time is not in our control but in their control. When we cannot control the behavior of others much through our measures or timelines, it is better not to try to control anybody. Humanity struggles for liberty, equality and fraternity in any part of the world in all ages. Why should we bother our employees without allowing them to feel and celebrate these virtues in their professional lives also? These were her thoughts about employees and organizational culture. I had no targets at all in this job. She never questioned me about anything. She always used to tell me, “Do what you can do. Never do what you cannot do”. Her philosophy of life thrilled and inspired me. I got a photo of hers framed and kept in my abode. I worshipped her every morning and night like anything. One day I asked her to be my lifelong honorary mentor. She agreed without hesitation and contemplation. After a few days, she called me into her cabin and said, ‘How long can you see the same faces and workplace here? Change must be there. Look for another job. You need not come here from tomorrow. I pay you until you inform me that you got a job. Life is to enjoy but not just to sit in an office and do something to satisfy somebody.’ Many Indians may not believe me if I say that I did work under such a benevolent boss for some months. She closed that company within a year after I quit it and migrated to Monaco forever. She was a goddess.

I: It was a sinecure for you. Very few Indians are fortunate enough to get such jobs these days.

He: I know that sinecure means a position where work is very less but payment is very high. Most of the government jobs in India fall under this category. They come late to office. They start working around 11:00. They go for tea and lunch breaks. They chat with their colleagues. They work for two hours honestly at the maximum. This is why we developed such impression about nasty government employees in India. I never tried to get a government job for this reason. I cannot tolerate if somebody or an entire society blames me for a phenomenon for which I am not responsible. When most of our MLAs, MPs and ministers are enjoying sinecures at their levels, how can they expect the bureaucracy under their supervision to work hard and do wonders? This is how India degraded in terms of standards and values over the years. I pity to live in such India, where indiscipline, corruption, disorders and demerits are pervasive. Corrective measures are nominal. Positive results are minimal. Proactive thinking is nil.  

I: How long did you take to get a job after quitting that Japanese venture?

He: She would credit about 30,000 rupees to my bank account every month until I got a job. This privilege made me brave and careless to a great extent. This Japanese venture spent a lot of money for its publicity. Many believed that if somebody got a job with it, he or she was a genius in marketing arena. I focused on this point. Many start-up entrepreneurs called me up and offered unbelievable packages of benefits but I softly refused them. I wanted to enjoy myself. I wanted to take my own time to decide what I should do and how I should guide my vulnerable career. It was a stage of transition in my career.

I: Indeed very few bosses take such welfare measures even for their ex-employees. You were lucky.

He: Thank you for your empathy, visualization and appreciation. I spent almost two years depending on the magnanimity of Boko Chita. That was the time when my parents were searching for a suitable bride for me in the open market through their familiar sources of information and confirmation. Those were the days when orthodox Indian girls were slowly getting accustomed to the idea of getting married to an Indian with a job. I decided to join some exciting job just to satisfy the parents of a girl. I chose one from many available. I joined Quinol Jesida, an organic pesticides company, with a foreign collaboration. Jamu Abaho of South Africa invested about 100 crore rupees in this start-up venture just to express his sense of devotion to the idea of organic farming across India. An Indian graduate utilized this opportunity to start and run it in India in his name. They made pesticides from products of nature to save environment and educate Indian farmers. About 25 field staff worked under my direct supervision in this company. They would meet peasant farmers and explain them how and why they should resort to methods of organic farming. I told them very little in their weekly meetings with me, “Do what you can do. Don’t do what you cannot do”. I never believed that one learns if we tell one to learn something. Learning should happen intuitively. If somebody is not learning something, it means there is no need of learning anything. If somebody is learning something, it means he or she is unable to survive without learning. Environment in a society or company should make learning an ongoing process. Those that learn continuously must be identified and encouraged and those that never learn anything must be sent out. When there are no punishments to lazy idiots and complacent rogues in an industry, discipline cannot be established. So, I talked less with my staff and expected much from them. I believed they would excel if given more freedom and opportunity to learn and grow. I don’t know what they learned or did, our sales increased tremendously within months. All this credit goes to those few field staff but I never allowed them to feel that joy and sense of fulfilment. I presented it as my achievement to my bosses regularly.

I: Didn't you think that it was unfair on your part to take the credit of your field staff?

He: By this time, I became a hard-core Indian manager. A manager is one who manages subordinates under his guidance. He should be able to manipulate the system in his control. He should get the best from the privileges he has in a company. If I talked for one minute with my subordinates, I talked for minutes and hours with my bosses. I knew how to impress them. I earned a great reputation in their hearts. Communicative and lobbying skills play a key role in the development of careers of managers in India. Our boss may wear a weird suit but we should appreciate it gently. He may not know English at all. We should never ask him to improve his English. He should be in a fool’s paradise. If we talk in English, with a boss who is not good at it, he feels jealous of us and feels respect for us. If we teach him English, he neglects us later. This is how a typical manager should think. We should continue in a company exploiting the loopholes, drawbacks and demerits of staff and resources there. I became a master of art in these skill sets during these few years. Cheating is a way of life in India. I started growing like this.

I: We talk about ethics, standards and policies in India on stages. How can you talk like this?

He: Every policy introduced by Government of India is in favour of cheats and criminals. There are unscrupulous lawyers who argue cases on behalf of notorious criminals also, just to earn a great deal of money fast. There are police who treat a helpless woman like a prostitute if she appears walking alone midnight somewhere. There are politicians who sleep with girls and women regularly. They buy them or threaten them. There are businessmen who make and sell anything just to make a lot of money. They have no concern for the health and welfare of the people in India. They want money. They want more profits every year. This is how India is transforming into a developed nation now. A mighty man is permitted to loot a weak and helpless Indian in any way possible and imaginable. When 95% of Indians, and those ruling them at every level, are living comfortably and happily, cheating and threatening others every day and night, why should I bother about standards and ethics as a manager? What positive change can I bring in this highly polluted and corrupt nation, changing at my level? To be happy and successful here, we must know how to cheat others. I learned it through experience and practice. I am growing rapidly in my career when I am able to cheat my bosses and customers. I die within days if I am not selfish. Narrow-mindedness and partiality are imposing traits of majority of Indians. I am one of such Indians. I am following such trend and culture, which are there in every place across India. How many Indians are discussing Mahatma Gandhi now in their casual chats? How many Indians are talking about our freedom fighters now? How many Indians are paying taxes honestly to governments? How many Indians believe that their local, state and central governments plan and work for their welfare without bias? There is no mutual trust now among Indians. I cheat you one way. You cheat me another way. Our governments have standardized such culture and tradition in this country years ago. Can I change our rulers? Can I change our bureaucracy? When I cannot change others to my expectations, I have to change according to the contemporary trends. Cheating is an accepted and appreciated standard now in India. People have accepted those politicians, who misappropriated millions of rupees, in different scams. Governments are not hanging or shooting criminals or fraudsters publicly because they only authorized them to live so going against law and order. If I were the chief minister of a state, all the cases against me get cancelled within a day. Public prosecutors would be ordered not to argue the case on behalf of government. Courts of law are corrupt here. Temples are made into business units here. Among these many idiots, scoundrels, rogues and criminals, how can I live and grow as a gentleman? Honesty is the worst policy here. I want to become more corrupt and dishonest hereafter. I misguide others and misuse resources tremendously.

I: Every organization has a system of evaluation of the worth of their staff. Bonus, increments and subsidies are some of them meant for identifying and encouraging hard-working employees. In this typical environment of yardsticks of periodical performance appraisal, how can you escape the tests?

He: I believe that in very few companies, across the world, an employee’s skills, standards and values are identified and appreciated beyond the consideration of community, religion, language, region, race and class. Man is basically selfish and narrow-minded. Superiors in various departments and blocks almost never assess the worth of their subordinates honestly, fairly and impartially. Who are close to influential staff in a company or organization get better remuneration and facilities than those who work hard and honestly but fail to impress their superiors artificially and strategically. Thus, many talented and sincere employees and workers don’t get the treatment they deserve from an employer. Further, no company can assess the worth or worthlessness of an employee or worker 100% accurately based on some criteria scheduled by HR experts in different industries. We should personally check every aspect of personal and professional life of an employee or worker to assess him or her perfectly every year but it’s not practically possible. We evaluate others, based on some assumptions, which we develop based on our nominal or casual interaction or familiarity with them. It means performance appraisals occur in favour of those, who act smart roles regularly in a workplace. Smartness means impressing those, who can bring a dramatic positive change in our lives or professions, if they are empathetic or sympathetic towards us, for some logical or illogical reasons. I am an expert in this domain. I work hard for one hour if a superior in my company is observing me directly or indirectly, just to impress him, not because I like working hard. Then, I sit idly or keep moving here and there, without doing anything useful to my employer, when none of my direct or indirect superiors are there around me. I am a hard-core hypocrite. I get more salary, benefits and privileges impressing the right people and neglecting the unrelated ones. I don’t care about those, who cannot bring a benefit or happiness into my life or profession. If I give 100 rupees to one today just like that, it means I benefit 1,000 rupees from him soon. That’s my strategy. Manipulation is my policy to deal with people at home or office. I work two hours seriously every day but make others believe that I am working 10 hours hard for the sake of my employer. Every day of work is an opportunity for me to celebrate but not to bother myself doing hard work like a foolish donkey. I delegate most of my work to all the subordinates in my department. If there is a work to be done by those beyond my department, I praise them immensely and get things done. I grow continuously exploiting the hard work and intelligence of others. Wisdom is in utilizing others but not in being used by others.

I: If there are intelligent and hard-working subordinates in your department, how do you handle them? They may feel demotivated if you do not encourage and appreciate them time to time.

He: An intelligent manager should discourage and demotivate his subordinates continuously. Then only they feel inferior to him and accept and appreciate his commands. If a subordinate in my department prepares an extraordinary report on a topic assigned by me, I either do not go through it or find out mistakes in it. I prove that it is a worthless or ordinary work though I internally feel that it is a superb work of creativity and intelligence. My subordinates should never feel like achievers and challengers in their fields of work. If they feel so, they develop self-esteem and ego. They block the growth in my career because they don’t consider me great when they feel that I don’t know many things which they know or can do efficiently. I don’t smile at them. I keep an angry face the moment they come to see me on some occasion. I make them believe that I have authority on them. If I have no talent, I should at least act as one that has extraordinary talent. Our acting skills impress others deeper than our honesty and toil.

I: Based on what criteria did you choose your wife?

He: For me, a wife is an agent of servitude and loyalty. Since she wants somebody to look after her, she married me, not because she wanted to serve me or sacrifice many things for me. If I do great jobs and earn a lot of money, she spends that money to make her life more comfortable and happy. If I remain jobless for a few months or years, her treatment changes towards me. It means they love my social image and money more than my individuality and sensitivity. Why should husbands feel very loyal and kind towards their wives in this scenario? It is just a kind of business relationship. I want her company to fulfil my physical and psychological needs. I don’t marry one who is unfit for joys of flesh and familial life. I have many expectations from her. She too has many expectations from me. When two are struggling and suffering to meet the expectations of the other, continuously, to keep their bond strong, it would be a commercial relationship. Marriage is a business deal. It is a bond of mutual dependence and expected delivery of services. So, I chose such girl to be my wife, who can serve me a lot, without expecting much from me. If she is more intelligent and richer than me, she does not find my association interesting and exciting. I married a poor and innocent girl for this reason. I don’t allow her much to mingle with others in our familiar or unfamiliar societies. If she knows what is happening around, she may get rid of her innocence and start questioning me rationally about anything I do based on my choice. I should be a master of instructions in my home but not a slave, who follows the commands of the other.

I: Do you have children? How do you treat them?  

He: I begot a son just to satisfy my parents, contemporary society and my wife in particular. No parent ever enjoys his or her life because of their children. They are a lifelong burden on our lives. We lose privacy and intimacy as parents once they enter our lives. We get almost nothing from them even if we struggle and suffer for their happiness and development throughout our lives. They are opportunists. They remain with us until they reach a stage of financial independence. Then they treat us as dustbins. What’s use in begetting many children and suffering to look after them as long as we are alive. Our duties towards our children end when we die. They suck us like cruel leeches, asking for this or that, regularly. Why should I victimize myself in this net of obligations and familial bonds. I spend a little money for his career. I get him married as soon as he finds a job. Children are a formality for me but not reality or responsibility. They are like shadows. We feel that we get something from them sometime but our shadow can never help us when we are sick or helpless. I act love and affection towards my son always but actually I feel that he is a villain to spoil the beauty and freedom of my life and career. If I develop a deep bond with him now, I suffer immensely in near future, when he stops caring for me. I believe that we are all just role players here. If I die, where do I go? Do they die for me? Human relationships and sentiments are almost need-based. Very few practice unconditional love nowadays. They like or dislike somebody or something based on how he, she or it is useful or useless to them now or later.

I: What do you do for career growth while working with a firm or company or organization?

He: I pretend love and respect towards important staff in a company as long as I am there. I don’t develop sincere affection or loyalty towards anybody anywhere. No job is permanent. In other words, I never like to work with any company for more than two or three years. If we see God every day, we don’t feel devotion and respect towards Him. We are visiting His temples and praising His virtues because He is inaccessible and invisible to us. When we are in imaginations, illusions and fantasies about somebody or something, we love him or it more than necessary. Somehow Indians don’t like appreciating anybody who is accessible to them and which is affordable to them. They like novelty. They get bored of my presence and professionalism if I remain with one company for long. Further, we can act smart roles before others for a period of time only. Slowly others identify that I am a worthless idiot. Before they ask me to go out, I make a move on my own. We should work with a company as long as they have no time or interest to probe into our abilities and deliverables as an employee or worker. Once they feel that we are unfit to meet their expectations, they cannot enjoy our association with them. They look down upon us even if we come across them occasionally. I want recognition and appreciation where I work but I want to get them without working hard. A fool struggles and suffers a lot every day and night to earn good reputation in a company or society. A strategist gets such reputation, impressing others, not working hard. We should change companies fast when we are young and energetic. Better salary, perks and facilities are my primary criterion to move from one company to another but not an opportunity to learn something, practice it well and prove my abilities effectively. Learning means a challenge. It’s a struggle to move from darkness to light, getting rid of our drawbacks and demerits as persons and professionals. It is a difficult exercise and journey altogether. Instead of working hard at an intelligent and disciplined boss for years, it is good to work with many foolish and stupid bosses in a short period of time. An undisciplined idiot does not expect standards or values from his subordinates. Many entrepreneurs do not make much money because of their intelligence and strategy but because of God’s will and opportunities at hand. A magnanimous scientist may invent an extraordinary product to bring tremendous positive change in the lives of humanity but people take years to believe in his invention and use it for their benefit. A prostitute can impress them within seconds. In India, being good is for self-satisfaction but not to change others. Good ones are not being recognized and appreciated in India now. I do what is convenient and beneficial to me always but not what is essential and useful to others. I don’t seek pleasure from the joys of others but in my personal and professional growth achieved due to their innocence, ignorance, helplessness and goodness. I change according to occasions and situations. I don’t have an individuality of my own. I am a parasite. There should be somebody or something to bear my burden. I am a chameleon. I know how to change my colours according to the situation around. I act smart. I victimize others wisely.

I: What is your take on the present jobs in India and entrepreneurs offering them widely?

He: It is a market of opportunities for those with money to invest and those that wish to work somewhere like a machine and thus make a living. Demand and supply decide one’s value here. An ideal entrepreneur can become a pauper within months, if he runs his business based on standards and values. A selfish and manipulative businessman can become a billionaire within a few years exploiting the loopholes in the policies of governments and foolishness and helplessness of vast human resources. If an employee dies in a reputed public or private company in India, he may get lakhs of rupees. If a beggar or prostitute dies somewhere, nobody cares for them. Both are valuable citizens of India but their value is changing according to where they lived and how they died. If a poor man travels without a ticket in a train, a TTE fines him, without thinking about his poverty and plight. If a few passengers die in a train accident, the government pays lakhs of rupees as compensation to them. Why should there be such difference of treatment between one and another when both are citizens of India? There is a strong reason for everything we do consciously as civilized human beings. How many are interested to check realities around us and solve them at that level? We are living in a world of uncertainties and apprehensions. We may get or lose anything at any time in this dangerous and unreliable world. Job market is no exception to this. Strategic and manipulative employees like me benefit much from this job market than sensitive and ideal ones. How much we earned and how fast are important here but not the means we followed for it.