CONVERSION

Globetrotters associate the term “conversion” with currency.  Many Indians generally use the term in religious contexts.

In the past few years, another significant conversion is seen; conversion of relationships/friendships and events into money.

I feel it is the side effect of IT revolution in the country.  Though statistically the economy has improved and per capita income has increased, the IT industry has widened the gap between the rich and the poor and the urban and the rural, further.  The neo-rich, a byproduct of IT revolution have set a high living standard and are apparently giving a complex to non-IT urban working class and this in addition to the rising inflation, is forcing many to take up direct marketing/selling, to supplement their incomes.

There is nothing wrong in taking up additional work or even direct selling or marketing per se, but targeting known persons certainly is, more particularly when the product or service is not of much use to the buyer.  The targeted buyers often end up buying, unable to say a firm “NO”, resulting in a hole in the pocket. 

Direct marketing is almost a parallel economy.  Every second person I have met in the recent past is involved in it.  The range of products vary from airtight plastic containers, cosmetics and beauty products, soaps and detergents, bands, gloves, vests, socks etc with healing properties, chit fund schemes, gold schemes, nutritional supplements, juices of exotic fruits, fat blockers etc.   None of these products are available in shops; so not covered under Shops and Establishment Act.  They don’t raise invoices; so they don’t attract VAT or service taxes.  Whether the income generated is accounted or not is not known. The selling price of the products is very high.  The persons selling are trained to convince that the product quality is much higher than the branded ones available in the market. 

They motivate us to become members in their team, so that they can earn commission on sales done by the members they have initiated into the group.  All this is done with a missionary zeal and the tone is certainly evangelizing.  Once these people taste little profit from this kind of business, they go about targeting more people. Attending social gatherings or functions are no longer pleasant.  We are chased by these people everywhere.  When we do not yield, they get annoyed and stop interacting with us, so much so they don’t like to have an eye-to-eye contact or refuse to acknowledge our presence.  People selling “fat blockers” and “food substitutes” start their work early in the day.  They target us when we go for our morning walks. 

Last year, I was suffering from a gynecological disorder and visited a gynecologist practicing near my house.   When my turn came, I went into her chamber.  As I started explaining to her my problems, she showed little interest.  “These doctors are weird” I told myself.  Though there were several patients behind me, she kept on asking me questions about my family members, my work etc. She spoke about several things and when she paused for a minute, I started explaining my medical condition to her again.  She tried to convince me that it could be because of my obesity and sympathized with me for not being able to reduce my weight in spite of my efforts.  (The doctor had seen me several times on the road during my morning walks)  I was for a minute happy that there was someone to empathize with me.  She then asked me how many colleagues I have in the office.  Though I felt it was irrelevant, I answered.  She was not impressed with the modest number.  She prescribed a scan and blood tests for me.   I knew she was cornering me for something, but was not clear.  I got all the prescribed tests done and went to the doctor with the reports after a few days.  After quickly glancing through my reports, she said everything was “okay” and that she was going to put me on a special diet.  I listened to her with curiosity.  She went into another room and brought a pack and said it contained nutrients extracted from herbs and is a food substitute, which means I should totally stop eating and mix this herbal powder and drink as many times as possible.  I was furious.  Was that a solution to my specific problem?  I told her I wasn’t ready to take it.  She said she would get it for me at a cheaper rate if I became a member and the rate would reduce if I get more members (read scapegoats) into the chain.  I said I had read that such products were carcinogenic and hence I was not keen about them.  She argued that she being a post graduate in medicine knows better.  I said I would take a second opinion and revert and left the clinic.  I decided not to go for it.  I told myself that in a country where starvation deaths are still prevalent I would never spend for not eating.  I am still sticking to my conviction.

Celebrities have started selling telecast rights of their marriages and other important events.  They might start selling “honeymoon” rights in future.  Going by the telephone tapping incidents and the subsequent exposure of scams, our optimistic politicians might soon start selling phone tapping rights. Sky is the limit for making money.

I wonder what these people do with the money they earn and how happy can they really be after converting all the friends, relatives, neighbours and colleagues as their clients.  Obviously they land up at the feet of God men, who for a fat fee advise them to lead simple and humble lives and extend unconditional love for salvation!

I very often think of what Mahatma Gandhi said; “The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed”.

TWO TITLES

A “title” is an identifying name given to a book, play or a film, which in a nutshell conveys the essence of the work.  Many creators are successful in providing an apt title for their work, while some make the audience/readers speculate the relationship between the title and the work.

I have always wondered which comes first to the mind of a creator; the title or the story.  I think both are possible.

I have till date watched many films and read several books.  Please rest assured I am not going to analyze or review them with respect to their titles.  I am going to discuss a film I have not watched and a book I have not read.

I was a very obedient and a submissive person in my formative years.  The very fact that I have used a simple past to describe my behaviour obviously explains my present nature.

For a very long time in my life, I didn’t feel the need to rebel or oppose, as I grew up in a very protective atmosphere.  I was adored at home, at my neighbours’ homes, at schools, at college and wherever I went, which boosted my confidence and self-esteem.  Things were no different when I started work.  My bosses loved me and protected me just like my family members.  But life is not a fairy tale and every person faces setbacks. 

As time passed, I had to tackle rejections, failures etc.  I was certainly not geared to handle them.  Added to this, I had a bullying colleague. 

Though I am perceived to be an aethist by people around me because of my rational and non-ritualistic approach, I am a great believer in God and feel God is omnipresent and provides us with solutions to all problems in an objective manner and it is up to us to choose the appropriate one.

In mid-nineties ( I don’t remember exactly when) one afternoon, I settled down to watch a film on TV and within a few minutes of commencement of the show, there was a power interruption which lasted for a few hours and I missed the film.  This happened in the pre-cable/satellite TV era and so there was no chance of a repeat telecast.

I should confess, no other film title impressed me as much as this one – Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro.  I don’t know what the story is about.  But, I assumed from the name Salim that the protagonist is a Muslim and Langde is some handicap/disadvantage of the protagonist and ‘Mat Ro” an advice, not to crib.  Many times in life, we keep complaining and cribbing about our failures, as a result of which, we either remain where we are or deteriorate further.  On that particular afternoon I did not take up any other work, hoping for the power to resume and in the meantime, had a thorough introspection and decided that I will never crib about any of my handicaps and I am happy I have not violated my decision.  We are as big or as small as we think we are.

When we are surrounded by well-wishers, one thing we will certainly not learn to say in any language is “No” as we always feel compelled to please them, as a result of which at the end of the day feel exploited.

In my earlier assignment, when most of my colleagues were very cordial, there was one particular person holding a responsible position in the office, was different.  He made fun of me, created obstacles at work and harassed me at every possible opportunity.  I analyzed the problem.  He was prejudiced against women, against my community and was very uncomfortable about the fact that like him, I too had access to all the top bosses.  Though I understood the backdrop, I was not at all conditioned to handle the crisis.  One day he called me to his room and made me wait and started conversing over phone.  When I attempted to leave the room, he signaled to me to wait.  As he kept on talking, to kill time, I took the book kept on his table into my hands and read the title “Don’t Say Yes When You Want to Say No”.  I took it as a solution to my problem and interrupted him and said politely “If you are busy, I will come again”.  He disconnected the phone and tried to dump me with someone else’s work as usual.  Motivated by the title of the book on his table, I said a firm “No” much to his surprise. I have never tried to read that book.  But the title made me more assertive.  Since then, I have uttered the word “No” whenever I did not want to say “Yes”.

I don’t want to exaggerate the role of the “titles” in my metamorphosis, but they certainly have played a significant role.