Credit Devatta Namo Namaha

Engineers and Credit

Well, it is my privilege to write about something as great and wonderful as credit.

I am an engineer in the making, in other words I am a college student; a college student in India. This means that I am not employed in any part time job which pays for my expenses. The money required for my futile needs is sent to me by my loving mother or caring brother. And as is the case with the majority of the students, the money in my wallet (like all other things in this world) does not last for ever. Replenish able –yes. But not ever lasting. And when the phenomenon of running out of money occurs, the divine power of credit shines upon a mortal soul.

No money for tea??? No cash for cappuccino??? Just step up to the concerned seller and say “please add it to my account” or typically “mere account mein likhe lena” (try for a facial expression which make you look constipated). And you will have your tea (or cappuccino).Ahhh, the taste!!!!!!!. The feeling of walking away without paying gives a profound sense of satisfaction and in that feeling the tea tastes even better.

What I am writing about is not to be confused with the loans that we take from our dear friends from time to time. Both the credit and the loan system have flourished due to the financial deficit of an individual...but taking loan is different from credit. Loan is borrowing money and that is not good. Because borrowing money makes you feel poor and the other party richer (though both your respective parents might be working in government offices and are always trying to save that extra rupee). This might leave you with a sense of inferiority (which is not good).

Credit, that I am writing about is entirely different. It is the process or idea which allows one to pay his bills when he/she wants to or feels like paying them .The money that I have might be needed for other, more important things thus prompting me not to pay for my tea immediately. For example my mother used to buy the supplies and all the stuff from the near by kirana store and pay him at the end of the month when she received her salary. In the interim, the money she had was spent on more important things, namely, us: - her children. For our chocolates or cakes or chips packet, etc etc (sob!!! I love her).

So u see credit helps you prioritize your financial expentidure.WOW!!!! How wonderful it sounds when it is put that way. Another example, the 10Rs I have will buy me a nice cool cup of cold coffee. But I might need it to pay for the Xerox of an assignment which is to be submitted by evening. And thus the cold coffee goes in as credit (by reciting the above mentioned mantra to the Nescafe stall fellow) and the money for the Xerox is paid. Off course, one might ask as to why the cold coffee is needed when I have no money?? But you see that is the whole idea of credit my friend. Fulfilling your little pleasures even in the momentary deficit of money. The useless yet important phone calls to your girlfriend(hoping you have one),the tea which you need even though it is 12 in the night, the shirt that has to be washed urgently because you have nothing else to wear ;everything can be done by paying homage to the ‘MAHAN CREDIT DEVATTA’

I do not have strong evidence to prove that the female students in our college practice the holy tradition of credit. But judging from the above example of my mother, I am sure they will put it in action at some or the other point of life.

So you see my friends. It is unavoidable. It teaches you many things. It fulfills your little needs.BUT.Be careful. That wallet of yours will be filled with currency at some or the other time and at that time you better pay up. Or kiss your tea (or cappuccino) good-bye.

THE C S I MALE

C S I (Conservative South Indian) Male

Whether it is the frustration of not having a girl-friend in my college life or the jealousy of seeing other guys roaming around with pretty ones by their side or the longing that I have to endlessly talk over the cell phone walking to and fro in my hostel corridor or simply and attempt to present the facts; whatever be the reason that has prompted me to write this post. One thing I will declare openly in the very beginning is that this post is about me and other C S I males like me.

The C S I male???!!! New term??? .That is short for the Conservative South Indian male {henceforth referred to as C S I male}.Firstly what does conservative mean. According to the oxford it is about being opposed to changes and following traditional ways. It is about purposely being low for the sake of caution. Everyone is conservative in some or the other aspects of life like money, education etc but the south Indian has the speciality of being conservative in his approach to the divine feminine. In simple language – girls. This post is about such males.

Lot has been said and heard, written and read about the C S I male but he still refuses to change. I know that because I am one of them.

No risk what so ever we want to take: - trying to talk to a girl or hunting for a girlfriend. The thing that I consider 'it' has a ‘risk’ must tell you something. We are in no way capable of finding a ‘friend’ in the opposite sex. The very idea of talking or the simply saying “hi” needs lot of thought and practice (no practical for this). The only person I have to help me out in this regard is my dear old mother, who unfortunately gives an advice fit for a Telugu/other south Indian movie story (OR the very advice is picked straight of some useless movie). Either the reply is typical (which I already know, but am expecting something different) or some this ‘outrageous’ (which I don’t wan to accept).And her comes the problem. We simply don’t want to change our views or opinion about girl or all this 'stuff' (what stuff is I can’t explain ….it just is …..Stuff) .

Welcome to the world of the romantically handicapped south Indian male. Where every conversation no matter how small if remembered and treasured as an achievement ,where the very task of saying hi to a batch mate requires herculean effort and iron will , where the thought of going up to an girl and saying something needs countless rehearsals in the mind. I know that none of the above require for us {us as in other C S I males like me} as smart as Madhavan or as brawny as hrithik .But still we stumble at the very beginning of the ‘process’. As long as a girl appears before me as a chat window or as a orkut scrap I have no problem in replying but face to face?? I can’t find the strength to lift my eyes off the ground below {leave alone those’ beautiful eyes’ and stuff like that}.

Hyderabad being a hard-sore southie land is expected to be filled with C S I males .But NO. the pizza corners ,the multiplexes and the eat-street have changed all that .unfortunately or fortunately I had to leave Hyderabad at the right time and land my sorry self at Dhanbad{please refer atlas}for my b.tech degree . Now, the female population here is pretty scarce and thus the poor old C S I male has few chances of changing himself. The hip-hop north Indian on the other hand seems to require no reason at all to go up to a girl and start blabbering rubbish in her ears. DAMN!!!!! If only I could find that much ‘courage’ in me.

Then again what is wrong in being a C S I male?? When I am old enough I will fill my profile in some matrimony site, apply to some newspapers and my girl will be found in no time. Chi…chi…chi. I sound like a 40 year old unmarried guy with half an acre of clean ground on his head.

I wish I could change and be a ladies man (or something close). But……all in good time ma friend….all is good time. That is what my C S I male brain / heart says to me. So ……until then I guess the girls have to wait for the Romantic Raghavan to arrive