A Random Bakar

The other day, a long lost acquaintance pinged me on Orkut, asking me about my well being, and the usual 'how n where r u?'. Quite happy to hear from him, I replied rather enthusiastically that I was at Pune, working with IBM and so on. A few days later, I received a reply which said that he was 'sad' that I was not working for an Indian firm, and was helping a phoren country flourish by working for it! 'WTF' was my first reaction. I mean, who cares yaar, if I am working for an MNC. I am not adding to the so-called Brain Drain. Or, am I?

When we were in college, we used to have a lot of discussions(back then, it was aptly called Bakar, or Non-Stop-Non-Sense for the uninitiated) . Here's how one such Bakar session went on. The setting is room number AG-1, Hostel 9, NIT Surat. Time is 11.30 in the morning. Oh, by the way, the next day was the second test of the ongoing End Sems. And yes, a Disclaimer: Names of the involved persons are withheld to protect their privacy!

The Talkative Guy(TTG) or Lambu: So, as I went to her with that 'OMG-you-are-so-pretty-and-I-am-so-lame' look, I suddenly realised th...

 Fundu: Arre yaar, cut it. Nobody's bothered about you and your rickety love life. And anyway, she's gonna go to US after engineering. So stop pestering her with you lame looks, and us with your stories of 'conquests'..

 Me: Hee hee, sahi bola yaar. By the way Lambu, why don't you too give GRE? That way you atleast have some hope of getting into the same college as hers. See, you'll have two more years to waste time and money over her.

 Small Timid Guy(STG) or Chotu laughs 

 Lambu: Ha, Ha, very funny, as if I would go to US just for some girl.

 Me: You wouldn't? strange!

 Fundu: Waise seriously yaar, if any of you get an opportunity to work or study in US, would you go?

 Me: I wouldn't mind going.

 Fundu: Chotu, you?

 Chotu: Me, am not sure.

 Me: Typical Chotu. And Lambu, what about you?

 Lambu: I won't ever leave my country to work for some other nation. Never!

 Fundu: Easy man! Load mat le. Waise, don't you think there are more opportunities if you work outside India?

 Lambu: Who cares? I won't leave my country. And waise bhi, opportunities may be less in India, but if everyone plans to pack their bags and leave, then they will be even more less.

 Me: Point hai boss. But I feel that in life, the idea is to be flexible. If I get a good offer, I don't mind working all my life for this country. But, if not, then I wouldn't mind going abroad either.

 Fundu: But that's not correct na. You should have some perspective atleast.

 Me: I have one. It's called The Middle Path.

 Chotu laughs again.

 Fundu: After I am done with my MS, I'll find a job there and will try to settle there itself. India is not worth working so hard for.

 Lambu: Oye, what the hell do you mean?

 Fundu: Calm down, am just saying that the competition in India has reached maddening levels. What I achieve here, I could have achieved far better had I been in a country like US.

 Me: Yup, I read it in One Night @ Call Center. They say that the IQ of a 35 year old American is same as a 10 year old Indian. Mast na?

 Lambu: (Ignoring me) C'mon man Fundu. Why don't you say that you want to run away from competition?

 Fundu: Coz am not. Am just a cattle who is using its brains and finding a turf where the grass is greener and other animals lesser.

 Me: Ya, but in the process, you are also blaming your home turf for not being so green, which, I don't think, is right. 

 Chotu: I agree.

 Me: Chotu, you actually spoke? Am honored!

 Chotu (smiles shyly): I feel Tiwari is right. You shoud not comment on what's wrong with India if you do not intend to correct it.

 Fundu: You may be right, Chotu, par the fact remains that there are problems with India. If I don't speak out, somebody else will. Remaining silent is like hiding your face in sand on seeing danger. 

 Lambu: Very true Fundu. But speaking out aloud without actually planning to do something is of no use either. 

 Fundu: So what do you want me to do? 

 Lambu: I don't know. Don't contribute to the Brain Drain any further, maybe?

 Fundu: Oh, the Brain Drain thing again. Why does everything have to come to this?

 Lambu: Because that's what everything is all about man. Nobody wants to work for this country, and then you say that India is going to the dogs.

 Chotu: Hey guys, look what I found. I jus Googled for Brain Drain, and it says, 'A brain drain or Human capital flight is a large emigration of individuals with technical skills or knowledge, normally due to conflict, lack of opportunity, political instability, or health risks.'

 Fundu: See, it says '...lack of opportunity'. That's what am talking about.

 Lambu (dishearteningly mumbles): That's the problem man. You are only talking.

 Me: Waise, it also says, '...with technical skills or knowledge' . Why are we fighting then? We don't belong to that category!!

 Fundu(ignoring me and my joke once again): Achcha Lambu, tell me. If you get a job offer from an MNC to work in India, will you take it?

 Lambu: Yes I would.

 Fundu: But won’t you be contributing to some other country’s growth then? Tell me.

 Lambu(confused): I don’t know. I mean, I would be spending all that I earn in India. So, I would be contributing to India’s economy, not theirs.

 Fundu: But by working for them, you are providing them with cheap labor, which is a benefit to their economy na.

 Lambu: But atleast I would be here, seeing the problems posed here everyday, and would try to find solutions to them.

 Fundu: What’s the logic? I can work there and still contribute in solving India’s problems.

 Me: You know Lambu, Fundu has a point. You see, he would be more financially able to do so, what with Indians getting paid much more there than here.

 Lambu: But Tiwari, isn’t that like its the...

 Somebody shouting out in the corridor: GPL,GPL, Jackson ki GPL. Come one, come all...Exams ka frustration nikaalne ka ultimate solution..

 Chotu: Oye lets go. That Jackson git always gets away. It’s his birthday today. Won’t spare him this time!!

 Me: Easy Chotu. Chal Lambu, Fundu. Shall talk about this some other time. More pressing matters at hand!!

 

So people, this was a bakar session we had back in college. And as with all bakar sessions, it was the same too- random in starting, abrupt in ending. I don’t know if we would have actually arrived at a ‘solution’ had we carried on. What I do know is, we surely would have flunked the next days’ exam in that case! I don’t know if any of this seemed sensible to you. What I do know is, its worth more than just a random bakar session. Signing off now. Stay beautiful.