Singapore Story two (Contd..)

After some superlative shock treatment within a span of 6 hours (Chennai airport, folkfore culture in the plane, air stewardess), enter Singapore. Singapore airport and NTU are at extreme ends of the island, something like Perambur to Tambaram, but can be covered in less than 20 mins if you take a cab. Locals attribute this to the superior highway system, but the truth still lies in its size…

First year at NTU had ragging and stuff, which was quite interesting. The lecture theatres and tut rooms were a wonder, and every week you hear stories about a vegetarian guy eating beef stuffed burgers and commenting that it closely resembles mom’s home-cooked food. We all had a hearty laugh at that. We lived as a happy family, but it was shortlived. It was then that we were struck by the dreaded Singapore syndrome – something that we heard before coming here but failed to believe.

The syndrome (theorem) states that any girl that failed to gather a second look back in India has some three to four guys drooling at her at a given point in time, in Singapore.

The converse strikes you harder, because the first time you go back to Chennai after a year in Singapore, every one irrespective of caste, religion, social status, and even sex (in a known rare case) appears to be superlatively attractive.

Once the syndrome strikes you, it’s tough to get rid of it. This was shown during the time we entered second year and were ‘seniors’ already. It started with rushing to the International Students Office to collect and tabulate the list of new students arriving from India. One of my friends rated the girls based on their names as homey, and westernized. That the homey girls had more facial hair (side burns to be specific) than my friend is a different story. Some ‘modern’ girls talk in a way that even the most studious guy thinks he stands a good chance, spending the time and money on her.

There was also a race to being the most frightening senior. Eager to put on a rowdy and dada kind of a face, one of my friends used to have a lit cigarette for so long in front of the juniors that he eventually became a chain smoker. Desperation was taken to an art form. Amidst all this, there always used to be one dick-head per batch of seniors that would take one junior girl separately to say absurd things like “we seniors are after all your friends. If you feel someone is really going overboard just lemme know. I ll take care of him” thus scoring some extra points. He is still perceived to be an enemy of sorts, by a lot of people.

Third year was fun, because we had matured and blended into the system, and in a way had to let people know that we are in fact frustrated by the entire monotonous way of life. It was also the time we did our Industrial attachment as a part of our curriculum. Each one of us had the opportunity to enter the corporate world, and we had the illusion of being real business people. Once into the company, we unloaded whatever little knowledge we had on fellow peers:

“Machi, working with Motorola was cool da, but I think I made the wrong decision. I just heard that our stocks fell big time….Maybe I should ve waited. Wats ur say?”

“I heard from someone that you are just arranging papers and filing them at the right rack..?”

Exit both.

Final year. Job hunts; Final year projects; exams; everything kept us busy. But still, we were the seniormost batch at NTU and that had some effect on us. Wannabe or studious juniors came up to us and asked about the ‘Job situation’ that Singapore is facing. Once again, we were ecstatic that someone is recognizing us, and made most use of it responding to it:

“Capitalism sux da, I m not sure if I ll buy into that concept. I mean, just look at Bush. He s not only bombing Iraq but my entire future…”

If this was how we ‘enjoyed’ our university life, one can easily imagine the level of cynicism after staying here for six whole years. Now the race is on for MBA’s and overseas assignments. A sure sign that we have progressed into the next phase J

The Singapore story…Chennai chatter’s perspective

Come June, I would have spent a fourth of my life in a place that’s a little larger than the IDPL ground that extends from St Thomas Mt to Defense colony. Six years in Singapore is a long time, and there is hardly anything to look for in this city, especially for us ‘bonded’ souls. Despite the multitude of negative feelings I have for the city, I take this chance to go nostalgic and wonder how it all happened. Right from the time we came here after 12th, to the time we are gainfully employed and o’course, bonded.

Remember the time we finally decided to go after the ‘Singapooor’ brand? We had visions of coming back to Chennai rich, visions of living in a completely westernized society with chicks and girls by our side…took all the hyped up reports on the city’s cleanliness at face value. The euphoria just wouldn’t die. I personally bought a 50 Rs. T-shirt with Singapore – A ‘Fine’ City written all over it with illustrations and implementations of various fines and flashed it across at every given opportunity.

And finally, we had the most humble vision of getting a degree that would be looked up and recognized…

Keeping all this in mind, we boarded the Indian Airlines flight to Singapore, our first trip to ‘foreign’. It was the first and the biggest culture shock of my life.

I got into the flight, sat down and closed my eyes. I even dreamt of a sex bomb that sat next to me and kept talking to me despite my resistance. I mean, that’s the kind of life I m gonna lead anyway!

Quite suddenly, I was woken up by strange noises that sounded like belches. There was a guy from some patti (Villages and towns in TN have a ‘patti’ suffixed) down south, sitting next to me, wearing a white veshti (dhothi) and a silk white shirt, with the first two buttons undone. He started ordering beers even before the flight took off, and even threatened to complain to whoever is driving the plane (the pilot) if he was refused drinks. I looked around a bit and found that the entire flight was packed with such people! Some even wore lungis!

It spelt doom when I spotted the stewardess. In fact, Tears rolled down my cheeks as I was reminded of my grandma who wished me luck, blessed me and sent me off at the airport. The stewardess looked as if they had been trying for this job for a lifetime and finally got in.

After an uneventful 3-4 hrs aside from filling up immigration forms for a number of people seated around me, I could see needles of buildings below us. We had reached Singapore. I was ecstatic. There was a template airline message recording that said:

“Thank you for flying Indian Airlines, We would be landing in Anna International Airport, Chennai soon...”.

Five tense minutes passed and there was another human voice that cracked:

“Sorry for the wrong information. We would be landing in Changi International Airport, Singapore…The local time…”

Thus began my stay in Singapore.

(Part 2 following shortly)

Explanations?..

“Dear staff, the site that you are about to navigate is restricted…” was the message I got when I tried blog surfing from office, after I came back from my long vacation. Hence the long absence..But I m back, with not so good news!

I was shocked to read the news of Mr. Paramasivam, who died under ‘mysterious circumstances’ in the Singapore prison few weeks back. I have been trying to follow up on this ever since, but there has been an uneasy silence from both the Indian and quite understandably, the Singapore media. Senior Minister Lee...I mean Mr. Goh has traveled to India and promised to aid the setting up of Special Economic Zones.
In the meanwhile, god knows what struck president Abdul Kalam of India; he is visiting a godforsaken place called Nanyang Technological University. While delegates keep visiting and returning each other’s visits, it would be more helpful if someone could throw some light on what exactly happened to Mr. Paramasivam. Yea yea agreed, he is afterall a ‘worker’ from the south of India. So am I..

It’s quite ironic that the city that boasts of cleanliness and skyscrapers hardly employs local cleaners or construction workers. No harm in employing laborers from overseas, but safety is as important as the economy. At the least, a simple write-up on what led to the death of an innocent worker in jail. (NO news about him committing a criminal offense as well..)

Limited coverage in Chennai based Chennaionline, Newstoday, and Hindu.

Remembering Manjunath

I followed the entire coverage by NDTV while in India, and was indeed moved by the way his parents (mom, especially) threw questions at Abdul Kalam during the Indian Express conclave. Kalaam was indeed keen on getting on to the next question during the press meet of sorts, but was eventually put in a tight spot by being made to answer the question.

People might have hailed this honest IIM-L graduate as a hero, but whats important is to make sure his legacy lives on..

And here's a site linking the latest news and articles related to the incident.

More Singaporeans profit from NTU’s Exchange model

The Hindu reports:

“Ten animals including a jaguar, two pairs of chimpanzees and an American Alligator, arrived from Singapore Zoological Gardens to the Arignar Anna Zoological Park (AAZP), Vandalur, on Saturday. The animals were received under an exchange program between the AAZP and the Singapore Zoological Gardens. Four male spotted deer, two male hog deer, three barking deer and a pair of Indian rock python, were given in exchange, said the zoo authorities.”

Chennai chatter reports:

NTU, a pioneer in incepting students from around the world has been ecstatic about exporting their model and trying it out on a new bunch of deers and pythons.

All six deers were thoroughly tested and certified to be male before exporting them to Singapore. The stress on gender comes as a result of focus group observations on a bunch of male Chennaiites who were thrown around a female breed. In general, it was observed that their desperate ways to woo their female counterparts were quite disastrous. NTU Chairman / President Dr. Su Some-thing told the press that animals and pythons don’t ask questions pertaining to permanent residency and six year ‘bonds’.

“PR Lah, Student-Pass Lah…No Job lah… All boh-pien but still tok-cock about the system” was his violent reaction towards Indians who did not have high academic credentials yet fault the system and university for lack of jobs. Instead of changing the entire model and making the university well reputed within Singapore, exchange programs and eventually striking a chord at the global level is what really matters, he said.

Who knows? Perhaps the animals at AnnA zoo had big visions of getting into a US zoo, but got rejected due to poor performances or dint get permits. Singapore threw its arms open, extended a shoulder to lean on and offered the same ambience at less than half the cost. Perhaps the animals would enjoy themselves in Singapore; perhaps they might find ideal partners to date – something that humans have repeatedly failed despite some pathetic advances.
Perhaps they too get frustrated, might learn to register at blogspot and start venting their frustration on their innocent peers...I mean deers.

Back to work.

Sennaipattinam..

Fellow bloggers have joined hands to embark on an initiative – the Chennai Help Blog, which gives information on what is being done; what needs to be done and interesting pictures on how the people have responded to the rains.

Some of the guys have been quite pissed at the response from the state, but that’s expected given the amt of downpour the city is subjected to. Going by the recent updates, it appears that the city is limping back to normal except of North Chennai, where the army has been called in. Controlling the diseases, rebuilding houses and relocating the displaced lot are posing a big challenge right now. Some reliable websites put the no. of casualties at 13, but is expected to rise.

In related news, Chennai is on high alert following the Delhi blasts that killed more than 60 people.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Going by media reports, Chennai is on a roll right now, with major MNC’s of all fields of work setting up shops and development centers in the city.

Just to name a few top ones,

“GIC invests Rs. 250 Crore in Chennai project”

“Amazon.com, the Seattle-based, Fortune 500 Company’s Chennai development Center”

"Nokia's Chennai plant may go operational in April "

"Flextronics to invest $100 m for Chennai park"

“Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson’s research and development (R&D) center and a regional services delivery center in Chennai.”

“BMW of Germany is to set up Chennai plant at a cost of 20 million euros”

Aside from attrition rates and marginally better infrastructure, I feel the attitude of the entire city plays a major part in lifting it up. In spite of its globalization and the stress on the usage of English as the official language, it has not lost a bit of its originality. Teakadais and barotta shops have opened up promptly along the IT Expressway..The people have no qualms accepting talent from various parts of India. (Kollywood is an ideal example)....

Celebration of Food - Part I

After coming up with blogs that offended a few and cautioned the rest, I decided to hit the mass market with something less aggressive and more useful.

Being in a job that requires me to travel thru out Singapore, I am compelled to post a guide that walks you through various eatouts in and around the city; their plusses and minuses. Being a true blue southy, I love to have industrial quantities of rice for lunch everyday, though it involves battling your way out of a blissful sleep that’s induced immediately after the meal. I don’t know if years of eating at the NTU Canteen killed my taste buds, but anything beyond spicy Indian cuisine is beyond the scope of this post. The first glance at all the local Indian stalls in Singapore would make you wonder if they are all owned by one big dada who sets the rules and recipes for all similar stalls around the city. But we look at Authentic Indian cuisines, and indicators here are based on how unique their product is, the differences in the taste, and some such...

Raffles Place:
This place is like the grand daddy of all food courts and food varieties in and around Singapore. Situated in the Central Business District, there are close to 50 Indian stalls and restaurants that you can patronize.

My pick would have been Annalakshmi, if not for their weird “Eat-As-You-Wish-Pay-As-You-Wish” concept! It sounds heavenly, but it’s not. Ever workered why workers dont flock to this place to have buckets of rice and leave by donating a meager sum? The main branch at Cityhall is marginally better, as the guys dolling out the naans and biriyanis to you would actually be doctors and engineers, possibly trying to get rid of their huge backlog of sins by doing ‘service’. But the one at Lau Pa Sat pales in comparison. Coupla guys are employed to serve you and the way you are treated is commensurate with the money that you pay. For a standard meal of Half Fried Rice + Half curd rice with a chapathi and 2 veggies, you pay $3.50 at other places. Since you cant ‘wish’ to pay in multiples of 0.5$, its either $3 or $4. If you have given $4, the chapathi is placed gently on the side, right next to the veggies and you are good to go. If its $3, the same chapathi is carelessly thrown ON the curd rice, soaking it all the way. If you would nt mind receiving a few ugly stares as bonus, go ahead and just pay $2…Trust me u ll get used to the it after a while.
Albeit all the negative aspects, the food here rox, and gets closest to mom’s home-cooked food!


If it is Molagaa bajjis, (Chilli bakodas), it has to be Marina (beach). There you can find this dish that’s actually made in heaven, and they have repeatedly succeeded in setting the benchmark for such type of bajjis around the world. And a stall in Singpaore that comes closest is ‘Raj and Raj Indian Food Stall (north and south)’ at Lau Pa Sat again.. They serve a variety of dishes, and make the best molagaa bajjis this side of town – a dish I‘ve hardly noticed being served in Singapore, with the possible exception of the NUS arts canteen. But what is unique here is the pudhinaa (mint) chutney that goes amazingly well with this yummy dish and the minute the combo reaches your tongue, you phase-transform into an elevated state of pleasure and pain coupled.

The ‘Pangat’ northy restaurant gets additional points for excellent PR skills. You are always received with a smile and a ‘how are you?’ no matter how big the queue is. . Well, most of the times. Dealing with a society where customer service is a mere suggestion, our ‘uncle’ begs to differ.

The other stalls are more or less the same, with pros n cons. If you have grown up in Chennai, you are bound to have great expectations of Saravana Bhavan, and trust me it’s a huge let-down. It’s never possible to whet your appetite at SB with the kind of budget that is offered elsewhere. You can have a meal once in a while, but make sure they have either potato kari (red color) or aviyal. The rest is not worth the cash…

Part II following shortly…Inputs and opinions, especially those espousing opposing viewpoints are most welcome…