Outsourcing If you ask me how I decide to write about a certain subject, my answer would be ‘no idea’. Even until the moment I sit in the comfort of the couch, a cup of tea by my side, and flip open my recently upgraded laptop, I still have no clue. The real act begins when I open a certain word processing utility, thanks both to the richest person on the planet, and the roadside dvd seller who made the software available at Rs.40. Ideas come floating in. It’s like one of those rain bursts in an otherwise perfectly sunny day. Today, as I sat to write down, accidently my nine year old non-plasma (dumb) television set was on. I could not help noticing what was being aired: the plight of IT professionals in silicon valleys of India. Every company was looking to downsize their workforce. The situation had come to such a low that many people working in what was once touted as the ‘trigger force’ of a new India contemplated taking their own lives, and some had already done so. experiamarketing.co.uk Rewind back to a couple years ago, when the US economy was nosediving, and a similar pattern was observed there. Many Indians in the US had met a similar fate then, but unlike their American colleagues who had nowhere to go, they had the luxury of flying back to the comfort of their families. I keep referring to them as friends, not because they happen to be our neighbors, but because I did my Bachelors degree at an Indian college. They came back with their savings, and it became a happy homecoming of sorts, little did they know that it was a blessing in disguise. Soon, things changed dramatically. With the Indian economy growing at a consistent rate, major IT multinationals started setting up shops in southern cities of the country. The need to travel for employment was no more important. Lucky them, their own land had turned into one of the most promising in the world. As I watched that particular newscast, I realized that there was something amiss. Unlike earlier years, this time there was no reference to our social setup, the tradition of not leaving home on your 18th birthday, something practiced in the west. My friends’ American counterparts were left on the streets, grappling with an unprecedented situation. They were doing any work they found, as long as it helped them pay insurance , mortgage and credit card bills. Everyone was full of praise about the way people lived in ‘families’ in the East, and blamed the west of being ‘individualistic’. But here, come certain age, one confronts an unwritten diktat that it’s payback time. I know it sounds rather rude, let me try saying it differently. Parents may not force you to do anything for them, but at some point, you begin to feel the humongous task of taking ‘care’ of them, for which you were never quite prepared. In no way am I trying to suggest that you do these things out of compulsion. After all, you have grown up hearing stories of how difficult their lives were when they were raising you. How they left no stones unturned to ensure you got the best possible education, had everything you wanted, and so on. So it’s inevitable that when you start earning, you look after them, sometimes even at the cost of letting go of your own personal interests. I know I still sound cynical, but I don’t think I can do any better. Now life has come full circle for my Indian friends. The reason they contemplate such extreme measures is the fear of becoming the incompetent child who could not take care of their own family. This is the sad part of the story. On a lighter vein, as much as we complain about our inability to be part of the global village, the chances of us being affected by IT meltdown in India is very low. Thanks to our attitude towards IT being ‘elitist’, we never delved too deeply into it. A glaring example lies on the way to Dhulikhel. At a little detour off the highway, an entire facility once advertised as a stepping stone of Nepali Software park lies un-utilized. It has been reduced to locations for music video shoots. Some weeks ago, I bumped across a different kind of outsourcing. Five students in their late teens and early twenties were crammed inside a busy room with their laptops. I found out later that their work was not the kind you would expect upon hearing the word ‘outsourcing’. Followers of a certain school of thought define outsourcing as modern day slavery. More often than not, I have found myself agreeing. Business process outsourcing starts with some westerner coming to office in the morning, stating for no more than eight hours of work, primarily comprising of meetings and more meetings, and driving back home to the comfort of family. Probably after a nice meal, they put their little ones to sleep with fairy tales. At the other end of the planet, the hustle and bustle begins. You find yourself staring at a memo. It consists of the key decisions made at your client’s place. Without wasting time you start pressing the keyboard. Your heart starts pulsating faster as dawn approaches, for you know you cannot head home without finishing all the tasks. Often times, things do not end there. After electronically transferring your work to your client’s workplace, you anxiously wait for the feedback. Chances are some lapses will be spotted in the task. You stare at the clock. With every tick-tock-tick, you sense your bp rising. Ultimately your work is accepted, and with a great sigh of relief (and satisfaction at having impressed your client) you head home in total darkness. Everyone’s probably busy dreaming as you quietly sneak into your bedroom. Your family is proud that you earn in dollars, that you work for some foreign company, and most importantly, you work ‘very hard’ unlike your cousins. Now back to the team of boys. They were busy doing assignments for their friends attending college in Australia. I noticed some of them had emails open, where the other person said they are rushing off to some gas station. All they had was four hours of free time, which they must utilize to get some sleep. These guys in Nepal were literally helping their friends survive. So much so that some emails had no ‘hi’ or ‘hello’, but just a list of assignments. I distinctly remember leaving that room smiling to myself, thinking about the wonders of outsourcing. I cannot help but wonder what else outsourcing can do. hiteshkarki@gmail.com