Bombay Diaries

The Flight landed in the middle of a tropical storm, it was raining cats and dogs and a few other species at the airport. Bombay had sent me off with rain and welcomed me back with a downpour. The contrast between Bombay … oops Mumbai and Bangalore is stark, the cities are a studied contrast in growth cycles.

While, Bangalore takes pride in its middle class status and is very clean and green with fresh coats of paint and a new wash, this city at the same time shouts its common man existence, in its grimy ill kept and badly maintained exterior. There are patches of gleaming buildings amidst dirty high rises. When the people of Bangalore are self important and proud the typical Bombay resident is polite nice and help full, but then if you spend two hours a day with your face stuck to some one else’s armpit and another persons ass plastered to you groin personal space and pride become bookish notions. The work space is swanky and has an open plan setup the team charming and friendly with an undercurrent of school yard mischievousness. When I’m with these people I have a constant itch between my shoulder blades expecting a paper taped to my back asking any passerby to “Kick Me”. This veneer of fun and games that overlays every thing hides a truly professional and dedicated work gang. With the number of people working and the outlook Normal Indians have towards BPO’s the task of rebranding and creating an image where by working for us is desirable not just convenient is big and the team has taken it as a challenge.
Signing off, Homeless wet and soaked to the bone, but with a big grin on my face: Shanu