Benchnama

[On Sir’s insistence and encouragement, I managed to write my first translation. This piece was published by Anandabazar Patrika on 9^th  February, 2014.  I hope I did justice while translating the very well written piece. If not, pardon me. After all this is my first translation. I promise to improve my skills.]

I was a back-bencher in school and college. I work with an IT company now, but the Bench hasn't left me yet. I still sit on the bench. My Louis Philippe Shirt and the Blackberry trousers look at those cabins with yearning eyes. They wish to cross this “benched” mark and sit before those flat screened computers showing various codes. But alas!

It was five years ago that I got this job. The campus placement procedures in my College had started since four in the evening. It was 1:30 in the morning when I was called in. I thought I was tired, but when I was greeted with a yawn by the interviewers, I knew they were in a worse condition.

I was honestly, disheartened with my interview. I had gone in with the expectations that I would be asked about complicated computer programming languages. The panel members asked me to sing a song, and stopped me just after the first two lines and asked me to send in the next candidate. Yes that was my interview. I was sure that I would not get this job.

Next day when the head of the placement cell, put up the list of the short-listed candidates, I was more amazed than surprised, when Nivedita from the electronics department congratulated me for getting the job. We were 250-300 would be B Tech students and all of us were placed in one month’s time.

That was back in 2007, when the companies needed us more than we needed them. There was a boom in the software industry, and apparently, except for the first 10-15 candidates no one had to go through the technical round. Yes it was that simple. As my friend, Sudipto said, “I went in the interview room chewing tobacco, and bagged the job.” I think I was in a better position. I was at least asked to sing.

We happily gave up studying in the final year. There was no point after all. At the end of the day we study to bag a job. When that was already done, what was the point in studying anymore?

It is funny, how nowadays; the seats in the engineering colleges are left vacant. Even after 2-3 counselling sessions, at least 10% seats are left vacant. The colleges literally beg students to fill in the seats. But why shouldn't it be that way? Look at me? More than an engineering degree, what have I achieved? I have a job, but I am benched.

For all those, who haven’t understood the meaning of “Bench”, rest assured, you are no better than I am. You don’t have a future to look forward to as well.  Keeping pace with the increasing number of malls and multiplexes, engineering colleges have raised their heads in thousands. Every year there are at least 12000 engineers. It’s just in the name that some are civil, some are mechanical  some IT and some electrical. After all like the rivers end up in the sea, the various streams of B tech ends up in the sea of Software. In this generation, I can bet you that you won’t find a house without an engineer. But I can assure you that, if you ask any of these engineers, “son, do you sit on the bench?” one out of five engineers would lower his head and smile.

It all depends on the pool. No not the water body, but the human resource pool. As in greater the human resource, more the chances of getting projects.  For instance, a client comes over to a certain IT solution company with a project or a problem.  Suppose they require around 500 people for the project. The company’s human resource is around 850. The impression on the client is that this is a company rich with talented people. Hence more the number of people the easier it is to get projects. My company however likes to deal with foreign clients. Hence the deals are made in crores.

My office in Rajarhat is a fifteen floors building. I work in the fourteenth floor. Sorry, I punch my card on the fourteenth floor. Honestly I don’t have anything to do. If I look back, when I joined this office, after college, I went through an eight months training programme. As soon as the training period was over, I got a project. Then another. In three years I worked in two projects. I dreamt of going overseas with my third project. But there was no third project.

Apparently, the technology is to be blamed. C++ , Mainframe are all obsolete. Hence I am benched.  A few more months on the bench, and God save me, I will be handed the pink slip. I would be asked to leave with an advanced salary of two or three months, and a letter saying, “Thank you for your valuable association.” The HR would smile and say, “downsizing.” In a lay man’s language: “a kick in the ass.”

Who cares about how I am living my life? My day begins with travelling with the thousand others to the Rajarhat-Newtown-Sector Five. We don’t have computers in our office. They are called workstation. I have one too. I swipe my card and after the finger print check has been done, my computer welcomes me with a message, “your company feels for you.”

Passing your time is not a problem for us benched. We can increase our technical knowledge in the library. We can Facebook, we can spend as much time as we want in the smoking zone. No one can tell us anything. We are the benchers. We are the company’s resource pool. It is just the hope of getting a project that keeps me going.

I am left with a blank look, when someone asks me about my work load. I deliberately look past the self- help books in the book stores. There are books like, “How to manage your work stress.” I wish I had some work to be stressed about. I am ashamed of the fact that I have a blue collared job. A fifteen floor office building, but no work. I spend my day sitting idle. Looking blankly at the computer screen.

Earlier I did not care much about the business papers. How do I care about how the cornflakes production would be affected by the rise in the oil prices in Qatar?  But now, that business page is the one that gives me hope. I hardly understand the world economic theory, but what excites me is when the value of rupee falls in comparison to the Dollar. With the depreciation of rupee, we become cheap labour. The cheaper we become, the more important we become for the foreign companies. My hope, that I will be called becomes stronger.

When will I be called? The flat 40% off on the apparels call me every morning. I look with yearning eyes at the attractive offers on the front page of the newspapers. My heart wrenches at the thought of a two nights three days holiday at Pataya. I dream about the luxury cruise and the moonlit nights.

I last remembered Goddess Kali (kali ma) during my campus placements. I now remember Obama. It’s all your whim and wish, your honour. Give me a project please!