Blame IT
Last friday, i went along with my friend to get a house for him on rent. The targeted areas were Nanganallur, Adambakkam etc. The fellow is getting married next month, works for Wipro and his fiance is working in a firm in Egmore. So he is looking for a strategically located house - not far away for him, and easy for his future wife to commute via EMU.
We met three folks and all just stopped short of giving ‘Ketta varthai archanai’. The only wrong we did was that we belong to this breed called IT professionals.
“Ingey ellam seendha aal kedayadhu thambi, ellam indha software pasanga vandhu, kaetta vadagai kudhuthu vadagai yeethi vechirukaanga” started the lady who showed showed us a house in Adambakkam, the landlord stays upstairs. The house should be about 700 sqft, and should be about 10 years old and it showed. She continued about her land owner. “Ivlo naal 4000Rs ku dhaan thambi pochu, ippo rendu maasam munnadi thideernu 500Rs yethitaar, engalukulla adhunaale chinna manasthaabam. naan gaaali pannikaren nu solliten, aana paarunga thambi, TO LET board vechaar, demand parthadhum, vadagayai Rs.6000 panitaar”
A grocery shop guy turned part time broker in Nanganallur was cursing us for the same reason despite the fact that a significant clientele of his are IT folks.
Whilst I agree that there is a perceptible gap in the salary levels and spending patterns of a software professional and other professions, the gap is slowly but surely closing off late. Civil and Mechanical Engineers are in great demand.
Also, while there is some truth that software guys spend more, a lot of our spending is driven by compulsions which are unlikely to be understood by others. For e.g Me coming home late or attending calls till late night from home is something not easily understood by the previous generation folks. Naturally, I will start late the next morning. But there are situations where I have to be in office early as well. So i trade money for time and prefer the auto over the bus that day. But the auto driver is free to make his own judgements. He can very well think, ‘Tha dhinam office poradhuku auto la Rs.150 kuduthu poraan na ivan laam evlo sambaadhipaan?? Adutha dhadavai innoru 20Rs. jasthiya kekkanum’ of which I have no control.
In my opinion, software guys spend insanely huge amount on food and drinks per month. And spend atrociously low on books and staying updated. We spend less time with our families and more time at work (productive or not is a different issue which again is beyond the controls of a rookie techie person). Beyond this, I am not willing to entertain the notion that software junta want to throw money just because they could. I would be seeing fewer forged rental receipts and fake medical bills had that been the case 
I think the chennai society needs some cultural and economic villain. Erstwhile it was the cinema folks of Kodamakkam, nowadays its the IT professionals. I hope I stay in synch with the times, retain my balance and not indulge in such ’stomach fire’ rhetorics even when some other industry gets into the spotlight in my older days.
April 14th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
PK good post. I agree one shouldn’t blindly blame IT guys.
But there is uneven flow of money, how do ordinary folks in chennai manage with this rising cost (food,water,etc etc)? (IT guys included, since I read somewhere lot of IT companies are not cutting down benefits)?
April 15th, 2008 at 5:12 am
PK, Just try to reach bangalore early in the morning and take an auto. The minimum fare for a distance of 3 kms would be 150/-. Blame it on us and people who are ready to pay it. Atleast in chennai, if you enquire an auto guy and move, they may come down on the rate. But in blore, if its not you, someone else. They are ready to sit idle till they get the amount what they ask for.
April 15th, 2008 at 7:05 am
Just out of curiosity - is the salary gap between other sectors and IT really narrowing down?
April 15th, 2008 at 11:25 am
dubukku,
yes, especially in sectors like infrastructure
April 15th, 2008 at 11:28 am
AAR
saami aala uddungo.I thought chennai was worse:)
April 15th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
PK, just because we belong to that ‘IT’ sector, we can’t shy away from facts. Yes, IT people do earn more - the disparity is definitely there. Agreed other professionals do earn more or atleast start earning more but I guess it only in IT where a normal graduate with not very exemplary skills (be it even coding) earns 20 grands starting from the first month of his job. So obviously the money’s worth is not know. Again, as in your case, you take the auto instead of bus only because you can afford to do it and 150 Rs. isnt big amount. Would it be the same had you been earning 200 or 300 Rs. per day? I am sure you would rather get up early and lose you sleep that losing money on the auto!!
Who else is ready to pay 6000 Rs as rent for a 3000 Rs worth house, who else would spend so much on food? Its definitely the people holding IT or IT related jobs. Others, atleast since see huge bucks over a period of time, atleast know its worth and do not spend blindly.
April 15th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
>>I guess it only in IT where a normal graduate with not very exemplary skills (be it even coding) earns 20 grands starting from the first month of his job. So obviously the money’s worth is not know.
Objection your honor:)
First, lets take commute alone.
Check out the MRTS station in front of Tidel every morning. Almost all these folks can very well afford a two-wheeler, if not a car. Yet most manage their daily commute in trains. I know of a few friends who come all the way from villivakkam to OMR in public transport (MRTS, share autos etc). He has a car at home
A friend of mine (monu) traveled in public transport even when she was 8 months pregnant. And she is twenty something, earning more than the amt u mentioned
Personally, I take auto when its more or less a ‘no other option’ scenario.
Its scary to ride 2-wheelers late in the night (that deserves a separate post), so I take a cab back home leaving my bike at office.
Whatever I earn makes no sense if I have to come home at 2 and start at 7.30 bcos i need to prove to the society that i know the value of money or whatever:)
A lot of people who earn 300 per day (say 10,000 bucks a month) actually buy a bike and go for EMIs + spend 50 bucks a day for petrol but do not travel by public transport. Now, tell me how much do they spend relative to their income and how much the so called ‘money splurging’ IT pro spends?
As i mentioned in my post, a lot of money goes for food (eating out is a big money guzzler) and alcohol (includes both the TASMAC shops and high funda permit rooms). The rest goes for home loans EMIs, phone bills (to some extent idhuvum waste dhaan).
April 16th, 2008 at 1:00 am
” tell me how much do they spend relative to their income and how much the so called ‘money splurging’ IT pro spends? ”
see, this is the problem. it’s not the ratio we are talking about.
it’s the amount you are spending.
iam in pallavaram, even my house owner raised the rent by 1000 Rs at a time. you can’t imagine this even three to four years back
you know the advance amount they are asking now??it’s 10 month rent
earlier it was only three months rent.
some one is ready there to pay 1000 rs more for the same house in which iam staying now.who is working in IT industry
April 16th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Babu,
I specically added to drive home the point that its all relative anyway.
I can also argue that you shud’ve settled for a house much lower than what you are paying. I can say you, by paying X amount, has deprived of someone who probly would’ve only paid X-500 for the same house.
Please tell me why is that you are right in cribbing while the guy who is deprived of you was less than reasonable in his offer?
It is all perception.
April 16th, 2008 at 1:58 am
I come from coimbatore whhere 10 months rent has alwayys been the norm for advance.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:38 am
PK, you have quoted the exceptional cases, but what changes things is the majority of the lot right? and that has what has happened with increasing rentals, auto fares, food prices (hotels) et al.
Again, I am not talking about people not using public transport. A guy earning 300 Rs. per day may well get a bike by paying EMI but am sure he will think twice to pay 150 Rs. for an auto trip whereas generally… or rather most of the IT lot would not hestiate to do this. What other good reason do we have for the sudden meteoric rise in rents, land prices? I would purely blame it on the IT and their (our) high salaries.
April 16th, 2008 at 7:34 am
>>A guy earning 300 Rs. per day may well get a bike by paying EMI but am sure he will think twice to pay 150 Rs. for an auto trip whereas generally… or rather most of the IT lot would not hesitate to do this.
I think I have given enough examples about rational thinking IT pros.
There are lot of reasons for increase in rentals. we can start from rise in population to inflation to greed.
Urgent na ellarum auto use pannuvanga irrespective of whether they are in IT or not.
Its like saying those who take the EXPRESS bus service and paying more are to be blamed for such a hike in price and not those who increased the fare
Lets say we agree to disagree on this.
April 16th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
[…] wrote Blame IT couple of days. Few minutes back it suddenly struck me I wrote Salary Trap two months back. Folks […]
April 16th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
“10 Months Advance”
1. Whereever I have gone, they are ready to come down on the advance. 2. Or, if you are ready to pay good amount as advance, they are ready to come down on the rent.
I opt for the second one. Since, advance is something you can get back.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:15 am
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