Is it "working WITH" or "working FOR"?

As a fellow who has been spending my last two and a half years in Bangalore; the Silicon Valley of India, it has been an experience which gave me the same shock which the author of "The World is Flat" Thomas Friedman  would have experienced. Also, as a young fellow who has plenty of friends who are working in the Multinational Companies (MN-Cs) and frequently saying "wish you a safe journey" to them, I found it very interesting recalling the moment I got introduced to them. The simple and mere variations I found in
the words they used to describe their kind of work they did and the way they explained what they actually do, gave me a bigger surprise. 

As a teenager I have heard some of my relations and family friends saying, 'I am working "IN" the bank' or may be 'I am working "IN" the Ministry of Education, etc. But the latest style of expressions are sounding different. Some of them say 'I am working WITH Yahoo' and some say 'I am working FOR Microsoft". Hope you are feeling the different tastes in your buds. Does that mean that the company has signed a contract with a mutual understanding to use the fellow for few years and throw him/her or has it hired all his/her abilities to be put in together in this job of attractive dollars to make the employees strive and earn.  

Decades ago, a person working at a particular office or an organization, felt in all possible ways, that he/she belongs to that organization and the organization belongs to them too. The fundamentals of Integrity and Honesty were not needed to be monitored. The mind of serving came out of their own selves voluntarily. The organizations and institutions were famous and re-known by those who worked in it.

Is it that now the way employees being treated in the modern companies give us a different picture of "employment"? Are they really being employed or hired? Is it a profession for them or is it being used by someone who recognizes your abilities? It is time for us to think.

If you just ask some of these employees, working for many different companies which have all kinds of symbolic names derived all the way from the Greek tragedies to the modern Hollywood blockbusters, you may be surprised of the way they feel about their jobs. Some feel that they are paid well for their abilities and this may be the best offer provided to them. Some feel that they already know that they are being squeezed to their maximum which leaves them blank at the end of the day. Very few have the realization that their job is a temporary one as long as they are not innovative in whatever they do.

For the company "an egg is a hen's way of making another hen", but for the employees "a hen is an egg's way of making another egg". How long can this approach be intertwined to produce a population of people who live their daily life not only for the income but also for their outgoing?

This really reminds me few words from Dalai Lama's "Paradox of our time";

"We have learned to make a LIVING; but not a LIFE.."

Roaming around in the busy and beautiful streets of Bangalore is another joy I have found. Accompanied with the roadside foods, the evening walks have become a lasting memory in me. Plenty of steamed corns, Paani Puri, Gobi Manchurian, fruit stalls, fresh strawberries and grapes, fresh sugar cane juice, kilos of water melons and the masala dosai, lovely girls on the roadside to watch... hehe.. , they all give me an entertaining walk. I cannot forget the grand book shops I visit. Sapna book shop, Landmark at Forum. One whole day is not enough to have a look at the entire Sapna book shop; at Koramangala, and many other bookshops as such. Whenever I walk through the streets of Bangalore, I thank God for the chance He has given me to experience such a thrilling student life in Bangalore..

The Department of Languages..

by Eby
Dedicated to all my teachers in the Department of Languages!!


In one of the corners of TJC
Elevated in the first floor,
There is one cave, where the lions roar,
The lions who have explored
The nooks and corners of languages.

Six innocent rabbits of BA
Do often visit the lions' cave
Sometimes they are ragged, sometimes screwed,
Many a times made fun of,
But, all the time escape, with demanded rules.

The clerk knows the registration number,
And the cashier knows the roll number
But, some of the lions in this cave
Know each and every rabbit's phone number,
And there starts the tragedy.

From aspects to literature,
Additional to general,
Mother language to soft skills,
The lions are always kept on the top of the hill.

For the rabbits, these lions are
The Kings, when there is monarchy
President, when they need democracy
Parents, when reminded of family
And best friends, in secrecy.

For the lions,
"Attendance" is the Alpha,
"Class performance" is Beta,
"Examination marks" is Gamma,
And "Thankfulness" is Omega.

For the rabbits, entering the lions' cave is a fair-play
For the lions, poking the rabbits is a joy-play.

It is a fun filled tragedy, of course!!

Avoid Intellectual Rubbish..

by Ebi

If the matter is one that can be settled by observation, make the observation yourself. Aristotle could have avoided the mistake of thinking that women have fewer teeth than men, by the simple device of asking Mrs. Aristotle to keep her mouth opened while he counted. He did not do so because he thought he knew. Thinking that you know when in fact you don't, is a fatal mistake to which we are all prone.

(One of the portions I found interesting in my text book)