A non-economist’s analysis of present economic crisis and impact in Indian IT sector. The analysis is fortunate to draw upon experience and input from three ex-Lehman employee. This is part 2 of this collaborative Essay. Part 1 was published in Pentasect October issue.

The global economy is on a slowdown and we can see the signs in our everyday lives. Being in a capitalist polar city like Bangalore I have seen some amazing changes in the last six months. Not too long ago we were regularly troubled by agents calling and trying to push in a personal loan at premium interest rates.

An executive with more than a decade of experience in Indian Telecom sector narrates her journey from Calcutta to Bombay and then to Gurgaon/Delhi where she finally relocates herself. In this piece she describes her first hand experience of the ‘mall and megapolis’ Gurgaon. There is also a dark humour on the comparison between Singapore and Gurgaon – a theme which is confidently touted by the semi-literate and poorly educated (and travelled) mainstream English media (few rare and kindred souls excluded) in this land.

Wyndham Lewis coined the term 'Global Village' and the world has indeed become a village where many things have neared if not physically but definitely psychologically. Gone are the days when to get a copy of foreign newspaper people had to wait for two days; internet now delivers the world in our finger tips. No other country has perhaps cashed on the internet revolution like India has done but the irony is that the Eastern and the North Eastern part of the country has been left far behind.

No city is worth a city unless it has her encyclopaedists, illustrators, strange and secret lovers – irregular sons and non-regular daughters. A true city should also have her fair share of dwellers those could be anywhere but consciously made the city their home. Ethereal Minstrels in one way - they are also the pilgrims of the city.

Anagata or Yet-to-arrive is a drama in Bangla which projects its settings into 2222 – somewhere two hundred plus years from now. The drama starts in a courtroom which needs to decide what malfunction has developed in an android – now a housewife in a hip society. The drama will be published in Pentasect@Bengla in two parts. This is the Second part. The First part was published in Pentasect's October issue.

This poem from Mrs Purnima Sengupta, based in Asansol. Mrs Sengupta can be contacted at her son Sankhadip’s id at ss0032715@techmahindra.com. Sankhadip is a Pentasect contributor and his last contribution – On Bengal’s Dada Culture was published in Pentasect October issue

Calcutta based filmaker Tanmoy Dutta Gupta goes a trip down memory lane of Calcutta’s engagement with films and then informs of the issues of ‘Inspiration’ and ‘Localization’ of films from multiple cultures. A working professional in the area, he goes into certain details of contemporary Bengali and Bollywood films and then – certain debatable but interesting nostalgia of Bengali films of yester years.

Child Littérateur Mr. Makhan Lal Ghosh enters into the domain of child psychology and development and then very sharply tells that how our ‘smart’, ‘double-earning’ and ‘nuclear’ family’s children run many hidden and unknown dangers – security is least among them. He has some advices for many of us who need to balance the responsibility of earning a living and parental mentoring.

Ashutosh Bhattacharyya connects us to the mighty Bramhaputra from Tinsukia. An electrical engineer by training and a poet / dreamer by temperament, he is coming up soon with a write-up on the Bramhaputra.

Festival month as last month was passed as usual although news on economic front had been dismal and hinted at much more protracted pain to come. Mainstream Media, by and large focussed on sensationalizing the profound events. Few asked why and lesser few asked the cost of way-out. If an extra-terrestrial reads Indian mainstream media on these issues, they would tend to think that in planet earth, financial matters have a life of their own and no-one is responsible.