IT Refunds, People, Salaries & Humility

A few months ago, I visited the Income Tax office at Bellary Road, more than halfway across town, to respond to an erroneous notification that I'd received. It was an afternoon, and I was surprised by the sparse population of visitors such as myself. Very unlike India, I thought.


I was directed to a lady, who acknowledged the problem and reviewed my rectification request. I submitted the same, and forgot all about it, especially since I didn't hear from the office ... I assumed that they'd botched things up as usual.


In the meantime, on a completely separate issue, I received a refund that was long pending. This time, the refund order named a bank account number from 2003 which I closed earlier this year. Naturally the refund cheque was now useless. I finally made up my mind to go down to the office again and take a chance at having this rectified. It'd also give me a chance to ask about the first problem.


I drove down there, and went up to the 4th floor. I usually seem to have a decent pictorial memory, but thankfully, this time I also remembered the name of the lady I'd met. I scanned the office, and recalled her approximate location. Looking for a somewhat familiar face, I walked up to her and said "Ms.Radhika?" She smiled in acknowledgement. I said that I'd come by a few months ago regarding something .... before I could finish, and without batting an eyelid, she remembered who I was, and said that the first problem had already been rectified, and that she had verified it the day after I had visited the office. I was just amazed.... I kept asking "Do you remember me, do you remember what I came for". She kept answering, "Yes" with a smile. I even repeated my PAN# a few times ... hoping that she'd feel the need to check, but she simply assured me that it was taken care of. Sensing my distrust, she simply restated the problem and said that it had already been rectified. I was just flummoxed.


With regard to the second problem, she directed me to the concerned Assessing Officer. I went in, armed with the refund order, and a letter, expecting to go through another rectification request and oblivion. The Officer was a kind old man, who asked most politely for a photo ID, and was very hospitable ... so distant from the kinds you usually meet in the other State offices. One polite conversation and a few minutes later, the rectification was complete and I was good to go.


I guess theres a lot that can be said against the system and its flagrant inadequacies, but it does seem to have a smattering of good people. I was just so fortunate to meet two of them on the same day. Say what you will, educated Indians tend to be really sharp, and thats that!


Trust me on this one or observe for yourself. Young Indians in the non-IT segments of society, at least in Bangalore, and *on*average* still seem to have a sense of humility which is completely missing from those sitting in front computers on their fat wallets and staring the livelong day at Orkut or whatever crap social networking site there is out there. All you need to do is talk to someone in healthcare, banking or services for a minute and you will see what I'm saying. Unfortunately the lot keying in code or hitting refresh on their Outlook windows simply doesn't understand that their pride is based on little more than chance and currency conversion, and that in due course as oil climbs, the rupee weakens they will be hit hard by realities.


Humililty is a great bedrock from where one can develop the perspicacity to think, evolve and act. Unfortnately, it is fast becoming a scarce commodity among the overpaid twenty something engineering grads in the IT industry. A problem further compounded by a lack of understanding and appreciation of the lives of those who don't have the benefit of Alt-Tab keys. You only have to observe the way these idiots speak to local waiters in restaurants to know what I'm saying.


This disparity, where a double PhD holding rocket scientist at the Indian Space Research Organization gets paid less than a fresh grad who joins an IT MNC will be addressed at some point by global forces and market economies. It simply will ... this bubble is going to go away, and there's nothing anyone can do about that. If you don't believe me, read any basic economics and watch what the Central Bank has done in the last 18 months. Already, companies like Trilogy which wanted to pay a US salary in India are having to shut entire groups faster than you can say Lord of the Rings.

When we go back to paying what people deserve the wheat for sure will be separated from the chaff.


Something for all of us in IT to think about ... humbly.

On a lighter note, I am reminded of a friend of mine who is was being patient with the demands of a fresh grad he'd hired. This rookie went on about his salary, what someone else was making, that he wanted a better set of headphones, a faster computer, how he didn't want my friend to follow up on him, etc etc. When challenged he retorted that he was a "knowledge worker", and that he needed this environment to deliver. My friend simply asked him a few questions about the knowledge area that this rookie was supposed to be working in. Expectedly, there was no response. My friend simply said "Don't call yourself a Knowledge Worker anymore. I know that you have no knowledge".