Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Outrageous and Heights of Insecurity



Now tell me how are you all gonna respond to this! I don't really know whether they are talking about India outsourcing work to other countries? Or they are saying by taking too much work outsourced by other countries we are not focussing on work back here? That sounds illogical. Because anyway they don't work. Someone who is aware of the financial sector please clarify!




The Little Clarification I got from my wife who works in the Insurance sector and specifically deals with the financial and capital market for the Little Shop is this:

1) Internal outsourcing. Example: Citibank outsourcing the maintenance, tracking and collection of Credit Card related issues to local Call Centres

2) Mobile companies outsourcing stuff to Call Centres. Am sure all of us would at some point have received phone from our own respective network where they offer you another airtel/aircel/hutch connection. Stupid. They aren't from the Network Operators, but their little stupid call centres that are tucked in all over chennai. I have visited some of them. It's pathetic how they look. They look like a dunghole of some printing press' cutting section.

3) Companies in the insurance sector outsourcing maintenance etc of bonds debentures etc for backoffice work. Actually there is a mega company in Chennai called CAMS whose main work is handling backoffice work for most of the stock/insurance such like companies. You can imagine the amount of backoffice work required these days and you can imagine how much of outsourcing is required because no company can finish these chores even if they worked dutifully their full 9 hours at 6 days a week and some overtime. Work has got cluttered and unnecessarily complicated in the name of division of labour and creation of employment so much. It is pretty interesting how we are fighting internal outsourcing even while there is such a brouhaha about India as the prime destination of Outsourcing for US and Europe and Australia. India as the key competitor with an English-speaking edge over China etc. Imagine why the foreigners from the respective countries are right about grumbling about some little twerp Indian attending their queries posing as Jill or Bill!

ART QUOTE OF THE DAY

Always make the audience suffer as much as possible - ALFRED HITCHCOCK

I don't need to expand on that!

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Getting into the Skin

Getting into the Skin
an introduction to acting essentials

May 22 – 30, 2006
(Weekends excluded)
10.00 am to 1.30 pm

· Age Requirement: 16 years and above
· Casual and stretchable cotton clothing is mandatory
· No denims nor jeans
· Max. 24 participants only
· Last date for submission 15th May, 2006 (MONDAY)
· For Application Forms & further details email masquerade@vsnl.net
with Subject: "Getting Into The Skin" or call 98840 29865

WORKSHOP DESC. & OBJECTIVE:

"A trained actor can make a huge difference to a production even beyond the director's inputs... Because acting is more a craft than an art"

This is the first workshop that Masquerade brings to a participant outside the repertory. Until 2005, Masquerade has been offering Summer Theatre Workshops solely concentrated on the teens and youth between 13 and 19 years, through Landing Stage Youth Theatre Group. With the need to train oneself as a good actor increasing among the existing young crop of theatre aspirants, Masquerade realises the time has come to open the doors beyond the teen and youth segment.

The Workshop attempts to train anyone who is 16 years and above and is interested in discovering how deep their perception towards acting goes. The workshop would seek to open a whole new way of approaching acting rather than just taking up a role and memorising lines and rehearsing. At the workshop, as a participant, one would get opportunities to play with the given material like a child with a spoon and discover new approaches.

One would get to learn the upkeep of an actor's most precious possession - oneself. One would soon realise the power of the body, the gesture, the space and movements beyond words can explain!

The workshop is contingent to a minimum of 15 participants. Otherwise cancelled. The workshop would be conducted by Krishna Kumar. S & Pritam Chakravarthy.