[Reader-list] call centre-posting

[iram ghufran]

Call Centre: Urban work Culture

Encounter: Saurabh

Tuesday night.10: 30 pm. An unexpected discovery. Saurabh.

I was going through my customary ritual of flicking through magazines at the local roadside bookstall, after dinner.

My ears picked up rather unexpected voices
 They were three young men. 

 “ Viru honeymoon ke liye England jar raha hai
 wahan se Europe jayegaa 
 phir Australia
”

(Viru is going to England for his honeymoon
from there he’ll go to Europe
then Australia
)

 The banter went on for quite a while
 I became interested in this speaker.

At the first look he seemed like a morphed image of a smiling bespectacled Harsha Bhogle super imposed on Arunabh Goswami, only slightly wheatish in complexion.

 " Call centre mein 20-30 hazaar mil jaata hai...try karna chahiye..."

(One can get up to 20- 30 thousand rupees working  in a call centre
one should try
)



That hooked me.

His hair was jet black, forming neat curves and stuck to his scalp as if fixed by glue. His face was thin with a light stubble. But he unmistakably had Harsha’s teeth, which were followed by a jaded copy of his fixated grin. Appended to this was Arunabh’s large forehead with drooping cheeks.

Clad in a clean red and white checked shirt and cotton trousers he looked ready to quiz Pramod Mahajan on Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin while commenting on the technical aspects of Muttiah Murlitharan’s bowling.

Saurabh is no average Joe. 

22 years young

B.Com (Hons) from DU

Successfully runs his father’s wholesale books business.

 There was something about him 
 he was a walking talking replica of a 24 hour news channel minus the ad break.

 “ Aapko pata hai India ka tax law sirf Reliance ke liye har saal change hota hai
 woh tax hi nahi dete hain saale!”

(Do you know that India’s tax laws are changed every year to accommodate Reliance
they don’t pay tax!)

 Why do you think so?

I asked.

 But I was late in my response. Time out. The next lead.

 “Nirma ka owner Karsen Bhai Patel Harvard gaya tha padne ko, par use nickel diya 
 cycle pet norms beecha karta tha 
 aur aaj dekho Harvard waale uska distribution policy padhate hain
”

(The owner of Nirma, Karsen Bhai Patel went to study at Harvard
 they chucked him out
 he sold Nirma while cycling through the country
peddling his wares
today Harvard teaches his distribution policy
)   

 But why does he want to join a call center?

 “Mainly to night shift hoti hai, baki time enjoy karo
 Pay acha hai
 Personality groom hoti hai”

(There are mainly night shifts
one can enjoy the rest of the time
The pay is good
The personality is groomed
)

 He says, while donning the characteristic Harsha smile.

 I prod him on.

“Banda hi-fi ho jata hai... Links ho jaate hain 
 jaise mere eik dost ke papa ACP hain
 " 

(The person becomes hi fi
 One can make contacts
one of my friends father in an ACP
)

 Aur kya kya hota hai call center mein?

I ask engagingly.

But like the unending unstoppable ticker at the bottom of my TV screen he surged ahead with his bulletin.

 “India ka stock market crash ho gaya aaj
. Pata hai kyon
?”

(The stock market crashed
Do you know, why?)

 Without waiting for a reply he surges ahead 


  “Sonia disinvestment ministry haatene ki baat kar rahi hai ... isliye...”

(Sonia is thinking of dissolving the Disinvestment Ministry
)

 “
 Eik lakh byyeyasi hazaar krore rupiyaa khatam ho gaya
”

(1 lakh 82 thousand crore rupees
just gone
)

 He rues almost mournfully.

 Aur kya kya hota hai call center mein? 

I repeat the question stubbornly ignoring the break in the control track.

 “call center mein jayeenge to pata chal jeyeega”

(You’ll know if you join a Call Centre
)

 He answers looking rather annoyed. His face suddenly turned grim. Arunabh like. But the very next second Harsha returned smiling generously.

 “Call center mein phone receive karne hote hain aur business process karma hota hai...masti wala job hai.."

(One has to receive calls in a call centre and process business
it’s a fun job
)

 “Hamme bhi Fame aur Fortune chahiye... Yahan mil jayeega to bahut excited ho jaoonga
”

(I also want fame and fortune
I’ll be really excited if I can get it here
)

 He says, while rolling his eyes.

I thought it was my cue to wrap up.

While leaving amid name exchanges and goodbyes I casually asked what does he like doing best?

“Hame comics padhna acha lagta hai - astix, tin-tin, archies
 ya phir star dust vagerah”

(I like reading comics- astrix, tin- tin, archies
 or Stardust etc)

 Aur khelne mein 


 “
 Hmm... khelne mein football acha lagta hai ... lekin sirf jab baarish ho rahi ho tab
”

(Humm... I like playing football
but only when it rains
)

 

Rain. The magic word. The never failing charm.

 Monsoon is still a long time away


Taha Mehmood

Iram Ghufran

 

 

 

 

 


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