Saturday, October 07, 2006

Netru…Indru…Naalai

Krishnaswamy Iyer (K), Raghavan (R) and Blakan (or Bala Krishnan (B)) are three different characters. I got an opportunity to interview them.

Question: From which place do you hail?
K: I am from Thiruvayur, Thanjavur District, Tamilnadu
R: I am from Bangalore – the software city
B: Me from Mid Town Park. Well, u guys may not be aware of this. This community was formed few years back.

Question: That’s interesting. People from different places! Hope this would be an interesting session. . Does the place have any relevance to your work?
K: You are absolutely right. My parents are from the Thiruvayur. For them Music was religion. They had a small house and spent most of the time in learning and later teaching music to kids. They often invited eminent singers to deliver lectures on music. And this was soon followed by lunch. My dream was to return to Thiruvayur and settle down on the banks of Cauvery. Fortunately, my bank had a branch and they were kind enough to transfer me here on a personal request. I have been working for this bank for almost 57 years.
R: I am a software engineer and I prefer staying in Bangalore as there are lots of opportunities for growth. The city is booming and there are lots of facilities available. It’s like being in Silicon Valley!!
B: ooooh.. My work place is almost 60 miles away! I stay here because there are lots of places to chill. Also, my girlfriend stays here. I am joining a new firm on 20th. Just quit from the old one two days back. Job was sucking!!

Question: Vow! That’s really a mixed bag of replies. So, what does “staying long” in a company mean or rather how long would you prefer staying in a firm? How do you define “being loyal” to your company?
K: Changing jobs frequently is something that I am not comfortable with. I started my career in this bank and I will retire from this place. I have grown up with my bank. I am considered as a trust-worthy, reliable manager.
R: For me it’s a cycle of 5 years. I don’t want to get stagnated in a place. Also, one should assess his/her position in the fast growing market.
B: I like the job I stay...If someone pays me more money, I will go for that. Life is earning more dollars!

Question: Let me switch gears. What do you do on a holiday or on a weekend?
K: I read through the newspapers leisurely and help my wife in cleaning up the house. I usually visit temples in and around Thiruvayur. And I listen to the carnatic music channel on worldspace for at least 2 hrs in the afternoon.
R: I visit the Big Malls on weekends with my wife. My purse gets emptied (giggles). If I get a long weekend, I drive down to nearby places within a radius of 100 to 150 Kms and of course, we travel to Chennai once in a month.
B: Weekends…Yippee… It’s time to celebrate. Pubs, late night parties and movies!!!!

Question: Favorite food and cuisine?
K: Parruppu usili. I like Vasanth Bhavan in Trichy. The kaima-parotta is really tasty over there.
R: Tandoori Roti and my favorite place is Krish’s Dhabha
B: I love chicken Hawaiian pizza and my favorite place is the Taj

This was a random gist of the entire interview. The session went on for 3 hrs. After the interview, I sat in a room analyzing how people had reacted to different questions. I was just wondering as to what would happen if all these personalities crossed each other on a daily basis – K is the Grand Father, R is his son and B is his grandson. I bet there will be regular fights between K and B. Probably, R will be supportive to both K and B as he understands both sides of the coin. That was a classic example of “generation gap”.

……………..

Let me bring-in the reality. K, R and B are from the same family. Today Krishnaswamy Iyer and his wife stay in one of those self-sustained old-age homes. They are affluent and have all the facilities except that they long for the love of their children and grand-children. But who is to be blamed for this – K or R or B or both? Or is it the society and the fast growing economy?


These are questions that can never be answered and even if someone answered it would only spark off a debate. A joint family which was full of life, which cared for human emotions, which was bonded with love and affection is shattered into pieces by this “generation gap”. Mrs. Krishnaswamy says “I hope some day all my kids will come and take us to their home. I will make Hot Bajji’s and Kesari. I am also knitting a sweater for Balkan’s daughter, Nithya. She loves this colour”. Krishnaswamy walked towards his wife, placed a hand on her shoulder “Lalitha, you have been saying this for almost 10 years. After, my death who will take care of you? Who will help you in taking you to the doctor and to the vegetable shop?” Lalitha hugged her husband and wept.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Strangely in many families I see that K and B go well with their generation gaps. But R has a gap with both K and B.

Krishnakumar said...

@Rajesh: It depends on the people in the family.
@Arivan: Probably MrsB would have added more to the fights!!

Anonymous said...

That was an interesting read !! I too think K and B get on well becoz K has no more energy to fight or he has seen the world enough and understands ppl. Mostly, the problem arises b/w R and B or Mrs.R and Mrs.B. In both cases, I feel the problem arises only by forcing their thoughts on others. Though both R and Mrs.R tell things for the well-being of their son, that is where generation gap plays a major role. I've seen many joint families where there are understanding Mr. & Mrs R's and there is absolutely no problem in their houses may be except between Mr. and Mrs.B ;-)

Krishnakumar said...

@Pavithra: You are indeed right. Interference is one of the main causes for these splits.

@Parvati: I feel that the “vittu-kudukarthukku stuff” should come from elders. If they are flexible, then probably things would move on properly in a family.