Tomichan Matheikal's blog

Fiction Kundan was returning home after his monthly entertainment of a night show in the city.  It was past midnight and the heavy downpour had put out the street lamps on the village road.  But Kundan knew the road like the back of his palm and so neither the pitch darkness nor the battering rain slowed him down.  He was about to leave the road and enter the mud path through his farm when he felt the touch of cold steel on his temple.  “Keep your trap shut, else you won’t open it ever again,” said a voice which was horribly rough but perfect in pronunciation.  In the flash of a lightening Kundan saw that the burly figure that was holding a pistol against his temple.  The figure was wearing a western suit, complete with the blazer and a tie.  His suit was drenched in the rain in spite of the enormous parasol he was holding with one hand.  “I’m your boss from now on,” Kundan heard the steely voice.  “You’ll obey my orders and be at my beck and call.” Kundan, not knowin

An anecdote and an afterthought Every Monday the staff had to stay back for an hour after office for the Weekly Assessment Meeting.  Boss would speak out his Scrutiny Report.  He blamed each member of the staff for one failure or another.  “Sir,” one of the staff dared to ask one day, “don’t you ever find anything good in any of us?  We complete all the tasks in time, bring in huge profits, and the company is running well.” “Whoever said the company is not running well?” thundered Boss.  “This is your problem.  You are a thoroughly negative person and hence you see everything negatively.” The staff responded with a positive silence.  After Boss had taken charge, over a dozen staff had lost their jobs for crimes far less serious than questioning Boss. Afterthought A docile worker who does as ordered without question is the ideal worker in the corporate world.  Famous French intellectual, Foucault, said that.  The perfect fodder for the Capitalist factory

This is part of a report in today's [21 Sep 2011] Times of India .  According to the report, the Planning Commission of India has recommended $0.7 (in cities) and $0.6 (in rural areas) as the cut off for determining the level of poverty in India. India is supposed to be the Superpower in 21st century. Who makes the rules of Superpowers? Who decides who is poor? Do you have a boss who sits in an air-conditioned room and gossips the whole day while he pays you Rs32 per day (the recommended rate?)