Before Bangalore acquired its infotech sheen, it was a thriving nuts and bolts town not so long ago. Its industrial scene was dominated by big public sector industries and several manufacturing firms. With the terms ‘BPO’ and ‘software’ yet to be coined, the city’s youngsters, watching these factory buses pick up and drop their employees, aspired to join the workforce of these big engineering firms. Most companies boasted their own buses with their unique liveries, and at the beginning and the end of shifts, these vehicles outnumbered the red and silver BTS buses on Bangalore’s roads. And the executives who brought their own Lambrettas, Vespas or Jawas to work, were the envy of their colleagues.
And with the outskirts just a short walk away from the city centre, for some, factories were only a quick bicycle ride from home. A ‘shining’ example is today’s glitzy Koramangala, which was once ‘way out’ but is now considered a ‘far out’ hangout by youngsters. The postal address may still read ‘Industrial Area, Koramangala’, but the dominant edifices today here are shimmering glass and chrome malls, IT firms, restaurants and corporate offices.
The flexi time that techies choose at work today, seem far removed from the fixed shifts of the manufacturing days. As the sirens went off, one set of workers trooped out with cotton waste sticking out of their greased pockets while another batch trickled in for the next shift.
The engineering era also spawned Bangalore’s own breed of dabbawallas who used to collect tiffin carriers in rexine or cloth bags hung on bicycles. The housewife left a bag containing a three-tier stainless steel lunch carrier at the doorstep for the dabbawalla to pick up in the morning. After several ‘pick-ups’ along the way, he’d huff and puff away to the factories. Later in the afternoon, the bag would return to the doorstep to the accompaniment of the cry Carrier! from the dabbawallah, with the contents polished off by her husband at the factory.
Today’s infotech firms that pamper their employees with ‘abnormal’ pay and perks in an effort to tackle the problem of staff turnover, must be wondering how those old assembly line giants retained their workforce. It would be a matter of pride for a factory employee to flaunt the wrist watch that he ‘earned’ for completing 10 years of service at his factory. Something unthinkable today, for if the employee doesn’t hop the job for a more lucrative one, his company would retrench him in a downsizing exercise.
And in contrast to the five and even six-figure salaries today, families celebrating their factory-going bread winner’s annual hike of `200 was not uncommon.
And with the outskirts just a short walk away from the city centre, for some, factories were only a quick bicycle ride from home. A ‘shining’ example is today’s glitzy Koramangala, which was once ‘way out’ but is now considered a ‘far out’ hangout by youngsters. The postal address may still read ‘Industrial Area, Koramangala’, but the dominant edifices today here are shimmering glass and chrome malls, IT firms, restaurants and corporate offices.
The flexi time that techies choose at work today, seem far removed from the fixed shifts of the manufacturing days. As the sirens went off, one set of workers trooped out with cotton waste sticking out of their greased pockets while another batch trickled in for the next shift.
The engineering era also spawned Bangalore’s own breed of dabbawallas who used to collect tiffin carriers in rexine or cloth bags hung on bicycles. The housewife left a bag containing a three-tier stainless steel lunch carrier at the doorstep for the dabbawalla to pick up in the morning. After several ‘pick-ups’ along the way, he’d huff and puff away to the factories. Later in the afternoon, the bag would return to the doorstep to the accompaniment of the cry Carrier! from the dabbawallah, with the contents polished off by her husband at the factory.
Today’s infotech firms that pamper their employees with ‘abnormal’ pay and perks in an effort to tackle the problem of staff turnover, must be wondering how those old assembly line giants retained their workforce. It would be a matter of pride for a factory employee to flaunt the wrist watch that he ‘earned’ for completing 10 years of service at his factory. Something unthinkable today, for if the employee doesn’t hop the job for a more lucrative one, his company would retrench him in a downsizing exercise.
And in contrast to the five and even six-figure salaries today, families celebrating their factory-going bread winner’s annual hike of `200 was not uncommon.
2 comments:
So pictureque. Beautiful piece, sir.
picturesque*
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