Recession blues....

I neva knew hw badly d recession hs affected India until I met dis person d other day. He ws an average looking man in abt his late 30s. I met him on d train while returning 2 pune 4m mumbai.

At first I dint even notice him as I ws busy reading a novel I hd jus bought in Dadar. Bt soon I ws bored n I closed it. It ws den dat he broke a conversation wid me regarding wer I live n wat I study. I told him I lived in Pune n studied animation in Mumbai.

''Gud yaar....Its got enuf boom these days...'' he said.

Thru d conversation I came 2 kno dat he ws a resident of Pune itself n a computer engineer graduated abt 13 yrs ago 4m COEP - which is d best engg college in d city. He hd worked wid leading companies like TCS and Persistant. Nw I started taking sm interest in dis man. He looked quite qualified, not wat I hd expected. I myself am a s/w engineer [ though jus for d namesake ] n I hv left d field coz of my interests in arts. Bt jus out of curiosity I asked him,

''Wat is ur salary sir....? Considering ur qualification n experience n d field....''

''65 thousand,'' he replied.

Ofcourse, dat ws expected. Bt wat he said nxt ws neither expected nor believable.

''Dat ws jus b4 dey fired me...''

I ws shocked.

''Ya,'' he confirmed. ''I am at home since d last 1 yr.''

At first I dint believe him. I mean hw is it possible...? I still get so many updates 4m Monster and Naukri regarding jobs in all d sectors - IT, operations, BPO, finance, database n wat not....Even my frnds who graduated wid me were joined 2 sm company or d other. And hw cn any company fire a qualified person like dis...?

''Sir if u dont mind can I ask u smthng ? Was der any specific reason y dey removed u 4m ur post...?''

''Nthng...'' he said, ''Absolutely nthng....One day my senior calls me in his cabin and hands me a piece of paper n says, 'Sign it....n dont cm 4m 2moro...' I open my mouth 2 ask WHY, bt b4 dat he says, 'U wont get even d written amount if u argue...So, samajhdari isi me hai ki jitna paisa de rahe hai utna le lo varna wo bhi haath se jayega...' dats hw things are....''

His voice ws weak. ''I've got 2 daughters. Their education, marriage. The installment of d home loan itself is 14,000...''

I felt bad, n even worse abt not being able 2 do anythng abt it. I realised it ws his ascent over d corporate ladder dat had ultimately caused his downfall...The company cn very well keep 10 freshers on Rs. 7,000 each if dey fire 1 person 4m d 70,000 league....n these freshers will be more dan happy wid dat 7,000 dey get n will work enthusiastically.

Wat has dis 'so called RECESSION' done to us....? Is it inapropriate to climb up d success ladder....? Is it unworthy to excel in one's job....? In other words one is not allowed to do his work properly...or else he will keep getting promotions n finally land up at home....God, save our souls....