Samaduni song

 This Odia song "ALO SAMADUNI" from the late 1970s might ring a bell to many. SAMADUNI is the way the mother-in-laws in Odisha, i.e. the moms of the married couples address each other. They are supposed to be jocular to one another in a friendly way, but often notoriously known not to get along with one another. They taunt each other with one upmanship under the guise of friendly banters wrapped in a cloak of hypocrisy. This song from decades back aptly depicts it.

In this popular duet of the time each SAMADUNI tries to outsmart the other by proudly proclaiming how her counterpart is lucky enough to be her "co-mother-in-law".

One SAMADUNI boasts in from of the other - 

PUA MORA BADA OFFISARA,

MASAKU DARAMA PAANCHA HAZARA. 

"My son is a big officer,

 Earns 5,000 a month for sure". 

A salary of Rs.5000 ($60) per month was no doubt big money those days. A government official earning this  remuneration would make a champion son-in-law. She continues to sing - "MO PUARA UPURI KETE PRAKARA" (my son also has extra incomes of various kinds, an euphemism for under the table black money). Corruption wasn't in epidemic proportion those days, but still prevalent enough for the son's mom to boast about it. The desire for that extra buck called UPURI and a tendency to brag about it was obviously there. 

Fast forward to the mid point of the year 2023. The Officer in the song can be substituted for a person working in the private sector, an Entrepreneur or whoever making good bucks these days. But Government jobs have always been the dream job for many Indians in general and Odias in particular. The craze hasn't died down.

Recently saw a few posts on social media eulogizing several NIT, Rourkela Alumnis who qualified for Odisha Administration Services. During our time the NIT pass outs targeted Indian Civil Services and IES (Indian Engineering Services) but not OAS. Looks like we are living in changing times where in spite of the rise in entrepreneurship and globalization the lure for government jobs has gone up. There must be a reason behind it. 

Those days government was a monolithic, behemoth entity - the largest employer, encroaching every aspect of human life. Following the kicking out of Coca Cola and IBM by the legendary socialist George Fernandez in 1977, the assumption was that it is just a matter of time the all encroaching government will swallow the rest.

In government jobs, you can rub Ghee (clarified butter) on your moustache (NISA RE GHIA MARI in Odia, meaning with utmost confidence) and work till you retire with minimal accountability. Not a single SALA (means brother-in-law, but used in a derogatory sense as someone whose sister is up for public seduction) can touch you - not to mention there is always that UPURI or extra income lurking around the corner. 

Not to be outflanked or outsmarted, the other SAMADUNI, the girl's mom comes her impromptu, melodious response in that song :

JHIA MORA DAKTKARA, 

MASAKU DARAMA TINI HAZARA.

(My daughter is a doctor,

 Monthly 3000 is remuneration of her)

Her boasting continues - 

ALO SAMADUNI, 

SE TA PAISA NAUCHI CHHANI..

roughly transliterated 

"Oh my co-mom-in-law lady, 

She is minting money steady". 

No mention about how much UPURI or extra income contributed to her money minting.

Over the years, the combo of Congress and left leaning political parties had created and cemented a freebie culture, making people unaccountable, churning out an Army of KARMA KODHIA or KAAMCHOR (escapist from work). The current BJP led government at the center hasn't done anything tangible to the curb this menace beyond some perfunctory rhetorics. Come elections, every party throws freebies.

Government may be the choice of the most as career, it is also the carrier of social diseases of which people are symptomatic. Folks fondly call the government as MAI BAAP KA SARKAR (care like parents), providing support from cradle to grave. At least politicians are accountable every 5 years, but government officials have little or no accountability till they retire at the age of 60. It perhaps explains the sporadic news of long lines of applicants for Peon's post. Scattered agitations across the nation demanding to convert temporary government jobs into permanent ones aren't uncommon. 

Nothing is permanent in life, perhaps with the exception of the job security of the government jobs in India. No one on earth can guarantee a more guaranteed form of employment, a sense of entitlement, easy money and a few UPURI (extra money from top) as the icing on the cake, explaining why it's still a driving force. It is a pity that our NIT pass outs are opting for OAS jobs, restricting themselves to this remnant of British Raj and accentuating it.