Rama Lakshmi in the Washington Post:
A scene from "Hello," a Bollywood film about the lives of India's 2 million call-center workers.
In a training session at a suburban call center, groups of fresh-faced Indian recruits jettison their Indian names and thick accents and practice speaking English just like the Americans do. They have hesitant conversations with imaginary American customers who complain angrily about their broken appliance or computer glitch.
The instructor writes “35 = 10″ on the board, as though he is gifting the recruits with a magic mantra.
“A 35-year-old American’s brain and IQ is the same as a 10-year-old Indian’s,” he explains, and urges the agents to be patient with the callers.
That is a scene from “Hello,” the first Bollywood movie about the distorted and dual lives of India’s 2 million call-center workers.
More:
Similar Posts:
- Illusion Unlimited
- India’s reverse diaspora
- The dark Oscar horse
- In the making: The other Indian Monopoly
- ‘Brain gain’ for India as elite return
The +35=10″ axiom nay sound nice to Indians, but American call center workers are patently offended. Instead, the book circulating around all the AMERICAN call centers is HANDLE TIME by LiNCOLN PARK.
I read both books — One Night@ the Call Center and HANDLE TIME. I am SO happy that Lincoln Park decided to respond to the “35=10″ axiom in her book. Besides — HANDLE TIME is truly a superior read than One Night. Everybody at my call center is reading HANDLE TIME. It will be just a matter of time before HANDLe TIME becomes a movie, too; and the answer to that stupid axiom will be on the screen for all AMERICANS to see!