Oh Calcutta !!

'To be or not to be with you; that is the question'

For the last five and a half years, I have been battling this question day in and out; to stay in Calcutta alias Kolkata or leave the city. And its not just me, but dozens of seniors, juniors and contemporaries who keep facing this dilemma.

I go to these GMCS classes at ICAI, counselling young and energetic Chartered Accountants on the career path that they should adopt. You show them how the CA degree can give you a global career with entry into any decent size company. Suddenly goes up a hand and asks " Sir, what about job opportunities in Kolkata? I want or I have to stay here because of my family". The subconscious mind replies instantly " Whether it is a personal desire to stay with family or a compulsion; his/her career would invariably be doomed". Same goes for these random queries about Kolkata jobs at my job portal (Link) ; the posts which occasionally feature jobs at Kolkata sell like hot cakes; 1500 pageviews in 2 hours.

Freshers are happy to work at 50% of the salary that they could have otherwise commanded in other cities. They will work for 20k salaries in mid sized CA firms, do copy paste jobs in KPOs, join "babu/laala companies" (promoter driven groups with zero corporate governance), get into selling corporate salary accounts but not leave Calcutta. Except for a lucky few, the gap in salary with peers keeps widening with the years you spend in Kolkata increase; in 5 years time, you have your juniors commanding higher salaries in other cities as compared to you. No matter how hard you crib for promotions at whichever company you choose to work for, you will not get it. "You want promotion also !!! Isn't a Kolkata posting enough? " . You cannot implement the tried and tested Corporate Mantra of "Recognition by Resignation". Subtle threats of resignation that you pass into the company's ecosystem are ignored as they very well know that you cannot leave Kolkata. In the worst case, they will throw you a bit " Transfer for promotion.."chalega?" (Do you agree). You withdraw the protest.

With just 2-3 companies with decent corporate governance practices having their CHQ here, the rest with regional offices and KPOs, you realise that there are limited options where would you go?. Many people dither at the prospect of joining these the promoter driven 'babu' companies as the beta factor is very high. So you brace themselves for accepting the " Chal raha hai " syndrome which is present in most professionals here.

I sometimes wonder what is so great about this city that people embrace stagnation but refuse to leave it. Why are they obsessed with the idea of being stuck here when they very well no that they are not doing justice to their talent here?

"Money is not everything in life" comes the quick retort. "Yahan zindagi mein shanti hai." . It smacks of the 'sour grapes' fable. I say this because in these modern times most people do measure your success by the amount of money you are earning in your job. I believe that from a job, Form 16 is eventually what you take home. " Whats your CTC? "Cut kata ke haath mein kitna aata hai" (What's your take home after all the deductions?) is the standard question used these days, even when the girl's father comes to see a guy from the marriage standpoint. Then why live in a state of self-denial about money making being a futile goal to chase in life?

Talk about the work culture in this city and its deplorable to the power infinity. Obsessed with the idea of celebrating thirteen festivals in twelve months, most Kolkatans hate work and find it an interference between their Rabindra Sangeet sessions, para addas and 'pujas with bhasaan dances'. Say if a working day falls between 5 days of Durga Puja holiday and the weekend, the government intervenes to alleviate the misery of people and declares a special holiday so that people can take an uninterrupted break from work. If that causes the banking system to collapse, its ok ! "Who cares? Money is not everything in life". People wait for 'bandhs' (sadly rare these days) so that its yet another excuse for staying back at home. Go to any government office, say a tax department office or a post office and trying extracting work. The clerk stares at you with hatred as if you have committed a gross error by asking him to work. "Ektu boshun. Aeto tada karko ki hobe.Ektu boshun moshaye?". (Why are you pestering me by your impatience. Things don't work so fast here. You must sit for a while and wait). It is criminal to expect efficiency. Not that the private sector is far behind. Yes, here driven by KRAs , ratings and variable pays, people have their asses perpetually on fire and thus are forced to work.  But they surely hate it. Trust me.

Crab mentality on the work-front is another jewel in the crown.  Because these people 'care' for each other, they will interfere in your life to such an extent that you will be shocked. As explained above, most people with their "chal raha hai" have killed their drive for career growth. Hence, the moment they see a sparkle in your eye, they turn green with envy and ostracize you. They don't want to grow (at least not through hard work or knowledge) and how can they then allow you to grow? If the boss likes you, they feel its because of the 'oiling'. Work can never be a reason for growth here. 'Chamcha hai saala' (he is a sycophant) is the standard refrain. No one is least interested in what is going on in his/her life. 'Dusra ka zindagi mein ungli' (Poking your nose in other's affairs) is the favourite office timepass. Insecurity runs at an all-time high in all offices here. You can test it with the new jealousy barometer invented by me :)

This goes on in personal life also If you are a spendthrift, you surely must be having other dubious means of income. If you spend after thinking, you are such a 'kanjoos' or  a poor man who deserves a pity. If you smoke a cigarette, they will roam around tinsel town telling people that he smokes. If you are seen with a girl, it is again a social crime- a new gossip topic for the para adda.  Look at the grandeur at weddings here. Middle class people who travel in buses throughout their life are forced by the social customs to spend exorbitant sums of money at their children's wedding. When the wedding news ushers in " Where is the reception? Who is the caterer? is it Ganpati? Rajesh Ganpati? Else its not upto the mark !!  People who don't even eat Bananas during their daily life want the best of imported Kiwis at the wedding receptions and then will write off saying " it was a bit khatta..not upto the mark". Super fat aunties , otherwise beset with sugar and BP,will line up at the puchka and besan chilla counters; gobble it all and then say " not that great..namak kam tha (salt was less)" .  If ladies are caught wearing the same saree and jewellery again, its such a social stigma. This causes financial disaster to the husbands. The point is that even though people might show a lot of concern for each other, eventually I find a lot of jealousy and the "he should not grow faster than me" insecurity garbed under the cloak of 'care' here. So the 'samaaj" (society) here is mostly for "ungli' (interference)

The cost of living is the final clincher. " Jo haath mein aata hai, woh bacch jata hai" (You save most of what you earn as expenses are negligible). I believe the reason for this is that people actually earn less. The government forces prices to be artificially curtailed. Look at the recent case where the government does not allow price hike in bus fare in spite of diesel price increases. The noble objective is that the common man shouldn't suffer. But eventually, the number of buses plying on the road has reduced. So buses are overcrowded. Since fares don't rise, the bus drivers refuse to drive the buses forward unless they are so full that you can be choked to death. Yes, rentals are lower here than in other cities ; you get a shuttle here which is a rarity in other cities but eventually if people in other cities are able to afford a more lavish lifestyle on a sustainable basis, its because they earn more!!

Summing up, not that I hate this city, it is still one of the sweetest cities in the country and that other cities might be even worse but for sure it refuses to get in sync with the times; it derives a sadistic pleasure from throttling talent and simply lets you rot sitting on the 'lazy boy' chair.  When I am vocal in my criticism for the city, I know I can be blamed for a dichotomy between my "kathni and karni" (talks and action). This is because I am one of those freshers who had also happily embraced a massive pay cut while shifting back to the city n the year 2008. I am one of those experienced professionals who salary today might have gone lower than what my juniors command in other cities. But yet I still haven't been able to muster the courage enough to leave. Maybe i have also got used to the laziness in the air and if I don't act now soon, am sure the day will come when someone from a different city would come and tell me

"Aaj mere paas bangla hai, gadi hai, paisa hai.......tumhare paas kya hai" 

and..........

 I would reply " Mere paas Kolkat mein job hai"

# wake up call # leave the 'lazy boy' chair #Time to act decisively Kolkatans # hurry up before its too late !!!