Saturday, August 29, 2009

Smart Goans

Hello Everyone , Gow's no longer in Goa physically but as long as my carefree spirit is still found on Goa's serene beaches , this blog needn't change.
It has been two months into Practice School 2, by far the toughest course at BITS .Probably the greatest amount of learning through any formal course happens in PS2 .
Some people get to know what they want to do for the rest of their lives, others exactly what they want to stay away from. The latter category is more heavily populated.
Anyway guys , this wasn't supposed to be a post groaning about the drudgery of PS2 , there are plenty of those and most readers would be acquainted with these facts already.
What I want to talk about is a culture that envelopes humanity in which life is vestigial, to be caught up with on a rare weekend. The week spent discussing complex jargon of businesses barely understood by self professed experts. People impeccably dressed with polished accents and suave mannerisms sitting at desks sounding pompous , knowledgeable and sometime arrogant. CVs stacking work experience and educational qualifications into towers of glory. The snide remarks and subtle innuendos targeted at subordinates , the false smile and blatant sycophancy piled on superiors , a sigh hiding the chagrin while being slighted by a senior , avarice barely hinted in a momentary grimace on hearing about a colleagues promotion (promptly replaced by the veil of a smile). The racing heart and the beads of sweat in a well air conditioned room , at the sound of a deadline that comes roaring on , the dry eyes and the aching necks it is all a part of corporate culture.
Of course it's not all bad , there's the glitz and glamor at the higher levels, there are lunches and dinners with teams even for the fresher.
In the end though , it's all just a part of eking out a living. I wonder how many of these experts would give a damn about their job if they were gifted a million dollars. Ultimately people work to earn a living they have no time to live.
The mind as usual wanders off to Goa , the sands , the seas , the small town folk their fish and fenny, large number of holidays and feasts , shops that happily close down at 6 , never open before 10. The general lazy air . Not to say that Goans are lazy imbeciles , but there is a laid back air around them, maybe its their surroundings. I can't help but feel that they are the smartest people in the world . When people want to commercialize their beaches and turn them into corporate nightmares , there is nothing laidback about Goans anymore , they are up and about protesting and cancelling New Year, right until the dellusioned politician resigns. The Goans have everything that the rest of the world is hunting for, but has no time to find. Fish , fenny , music , churches , the rivers and waterfalls , the seas , a land of bounty and a people at peace. Development to them is not a megalomanic urge to construct sky scrapers. Even mining, which is creating a big issue , has caught all the Goans attention, the corporates know that their days of indiscriminate pillage are numbered.
Rock On Goa !

2 comments:

Full Of Life said...

Hmm, I liked your description of corporate life, rather true. And yes, once in PS I understood what I did NOT want at this stage in life.
Goa rocks, but I still maintain, it is for a holiday. I really blend into my surroundings and wont be too motivated to do anything if living in such a laid back place. I need electricity sparking through minds and bodies to remain mentally active.

But yes, our time in Goa was simply the best. (I can see how the 1590 came through as well!)
Well written! Keep blogging! :D

Oink said...

I beggg to differ

I feel goa, in fact, is one of the worst places in the world to be in. If life were all about fenny and beaches and fish and holidays and feasts, we would still be in the stone age.

What you said about corporate life is true, certainly, but its not everyone who dreads work, not everyone who would gladly give up work for a million dollars. No one in their right mind would refuse a million, but there are people who genuinely love their work in the corporate world. It is because of such people that we can progress, for better or for worse.

I still feel Goa is the worst thing to happen to anybody. It drives out ambition, it suppresses all productivity and takes on a defeated outlook in life.

(and mining, yeah, it destroys the environment. So they are justified to a certain extent. But as usual, they take it to the extremes, and ruin everything).
long comment :-/