Of conversations and their entertainment value...

Caveat: There's nothing profound about this post. And you may not even find it as funny as I did. It's just a conversation...reported on a blog. For variety's sake you may think...And don't ask me how I remembered the coversation down to the Ho...it's only an approximate reconstruction, that's all :)

A couple of days ago, I had a meeting to attend during my regular lunch time and therefore asked my lunch-friends to carry on for lunch without me. I finished the meeting and went in for a quick bite as I had to come back for another meeting in less than 20 minutes. Once in the lunch room, I jumped on to the nearest vacant seat where 2 guys were almost through with their lunch. They were having a conversation in Tamil. Of course, given that I understand Tamil and was very much within earshot, I’d forcibly ‘joined’ the conversation. (What do you do in such cases? It is something of an ethical dilemma. You don’t want to eavesdrop, you can’t you plug your ears, or even tell them “hey, stop talking…I am here and understand what you’re talking, so if it’s anything personal, you may want to wait till you’re alone”). So I just went about my business of eating and was in for some 'entertainment'! They were obviously in the middle of a conversation but it was one that could be ‘joined’ by anyone anytime. (Following is a rough (especially the laughter) narration of what transpired between the 2 aforementioned people,. Ha ha hee hee. :-) And, of course, the conversation has been translated into English for everyone’s benefit)

First Guy: “So, he hasn’t mentioned it to his organization?”
Second Guy: “Yes”
First Guy: “Is there a rule or something that people who join XYZ (he named an IT organization) are not supposed to get married for the first one year? Is there a bond to that effect? Ha ha ho ho”
Second Guy: “Ha ha ho ho ho ho”

{pause}

Second Guy: “Actually, the students who join organizations from Campus will want a job so badly that they might even agree if the organization instructs them to remain unmarried for life! Ha ha ha ho ho”
First Guy: “Haaaa ha ho ho ho ha”

{pause}

First Guy: “So, what’s happening? You’ve told your parents?”
Second Guy: “mmmm,…………..she’s asking me if I’ve traveled abroad, if I’ve traveled to the USA, if I have a H1B Visa!”
First Guy: “Don’t tell me! They even ask you if you’ve got a H1B Visa? Ridiculous”
Second Guy:”Yes, it’s really crazy! Looks like they’ll get married to anyone who has a H1B Visa….even if there’s nothing else!”

{long pause leading to a change of topic}

First Guy: “You know these companies, when they interview candidates, they decide on the compensation based on the behaviour! If you respect the interviewers, they assume that you are ignorant and ask you to settle for something less. If you’re arrogant and don’t respect them…say sit in an arrogant posture or something…they immediately assume that you know a lot and offer you a better pay packet!”
First Guy (again): “What kind of a policy (attitude?) is it? It is something that the company is using to belittle itself…something that the company follows to make itself look ugly!”
First Guy and Second Guy: Ha ha haaa ha ha ho ho

__________________
:-) That’s all folks! (Yours truly made her exit at this point)