I am …

“Tujhe dekha… to yeh Jaana… sanam…”. This song was playing in his back brain as soon as he saw the first glance of the prospective bride.  He did not expect to meet such a smart-looking yet very Bharatiya girl in this far away village.He had to change almost four modes of transport to reach her home. As soon as he saw her, he decided that he will marry this girl.  He is a software engineer, working at Bangalore and he earns handsome salary. He was sure nobody will ever say ‘no’ to him as a bridegroom. He came alone as his parents have already seen the girl and liked her. This is the guys turn, to see and decide. After he reached there, after greetings and formalities, the core meeting started where the 15 member family sat in front of this guy to ask questions.  “I am a software Engineer in a multinational company. I am working here since last 4 years. I had been to UK and USA twice in last 4 years” he said with pride when the prospective father-in-law asked about his profession and he ensured that his voice and body language are impressive. Others in the room listened him carefully and then the father of the prospective bride asked “What is your role in software industry? What exactly you do?”. He responded maintaining his pride “I am a maintenance programmer. I fix defects that are reported by customers”. There was a big exclamation mark on the prospective bride’s as well as her father’s forehead. “Okay..”,”So…”,”What is that exactly?” prospective father-in-law questioned. He said “I am a programmer but I fix defects and make minor enhancements but do not build a fresh new software.” he continued, to elaborate as he loves his job and more than that he has fallen in love with the girl sitting opposite him “Like when you tractor or motorbike breaks down, you call a mechanic or service engineer to fix it. That mechanic knows everything about the tractor and can fix it in no time. So here in software industry my role is like a mechanic or service engineer.” he told honestly. Then one old woman from the gang said “Ohh. he is like that Madhav mechanic. I called him that day as chintu’s bike was not starting. He fixed it in no time”. Unfortunately, this guy acknowledged thinking he could explain his job well so that even the old woman could understand, and this proposal did not go forward because they thought his social status is no better than Madhav Mechanic. Madhav mechanic is not a bad guy. He is from a well to do family and earns very well. Here the problem is, mechanic is considered of a lower profile than an engineer. This guy had to spent several sleepless nights because he could not forget that girls beautiful face and lovely eyes.

I am sure many years back when human civilization started, division of labor was done with a great intension so that work is done in an organized way and people become experts in their role over time. Kshatriya was supposed to protect the society, Vyashya was expected to take care of business transactions, Shudhra was expected to maintain the society’s smooth functioning, cleanliness and sanctity. Brahmin was expected to do research and analysis work. They all worked together to build a great country called Bharat. But after several hundred years people started considering one as higher than the other. Now our dearest politicians are keeping it alive, so that they can maintain the warmth of their chair and pocket.

I can see the development of new caste system Where Developer, Maintenance programmer, Tester, document writer, support member, IT staff, HR, Facilities and finance are treated differently than others. I heard one developer complaining because he was asked to sit on a floor where people of other role are seated. It is not because of any other problem but because he thinks his role is higher than the other. I fear this may bring us to a state where where we find it difficult to make all these people work together to build world class software.

– Stray Dog