Business Today Net Special

The Stars Have It

"Will Jupiter entering the Cancer sign in July make the Nasdaq look up? May be, but the Saturn which has been there from last December still casts a very strong shadow."

By Venkatesha Babu

CORPORATE CRYSTAL-BALL GAZER K.N.SOMAYAJI

For those who are wondering what we are talking about, dear friend, these are the kind of talks that fill up the corridoors of India's very own Silicon Plateau these days. Frozen at the first touch of a glacial slump, India's miffed IT community is fast turning to astrology for directives. Increasingly companies are turning to astrological profiles alongside handwriting analysis, personality tests, interviews, resumes and references to determine the corporate compatibility of potential employees as well as before concluding deals. This new phenomenon has led to the emergence of specialised 'business' astrologers. However do not sneer at these guys as parrot carrying mumbo-jumbo dealers. They might not be having professional degrees but they are extremely net savvy and are aware of the latest development in the technology world and the catchwords for them.

Meet one such friendly neighbourhood 'corporate' astrologer who is in big demand. Forty-year-old K.N. Somayaji, Director, Kalpatharu Research Academy, which is attached to the famous Sringeri Shankar Mutt, is unlike your typical astrologer. He spouts jargon like RoI (Return on Investment), dotgones (self-explanatory) and importance of having the right kind of technology. The polyglot, well-travelled Somayaji has no formal education to boast of, but his resume and client list makes impressive reading.

Says Somayaji "Right from Ambanis of Reliance to the owners of Silverline Software, a number of corporates consult me on a variety of issues. This may include right from board room appointments to finding an propitiate time to launch a new product/service, to the vaastu of their workplaces."

Somayaji who is based in Bangalore, says that a majority of his clients also hails from this segment. Commenting on the current prospects of the tech sector, he says that the slump is likely to continue for a considerable period. He predicts that leading IT companies like Wipro and Infosys are unlikely to do well in the future. "Wipro will lose further 50 per cent of its market capitalisation even from its current levels. Infosys will never return to the high growth rates witnessed in the past." He claims that Indian companies would be better off focusing on the emerging sector of biotechnology.

Most of the tech crowd is reluctant to admit that they seek advice from astrologers. However, Sunil Agarwal, CEO of Insignia Computer Networks Pvt Ltd, a Rs 60 lakh networking and hardware company, says: "Seeking advice of astrologers has been a hallowed tradition in the country. What harm is there if we also seek divine guidance for our temporal affairs." Answering a query on whether the current problems he is facing is the natural result of the current slowdown and has nothing to do with the stars, Agarwal turns defensive and murmurs "Might be. But why take a chance ?"

Another such corporate astrologer who is raking in the moolah, while the going is good, is T.S. Rajesh, who runs 'Annapoorna Cosmic Research.' He also claims an impressive clientele. "A number of software engineers come to me asking for advice on changing jobs and whether the existing company they are working for will survive the current downturn. Surprisingly in spite of the current situation a number of them also seek my views on whether they will succeed if they were to float a new company, " he says. Rajesh says that he looks at a person's professional chart, his stars and after prolonged analysis offer 'Scientific' advice.

But somebody throws in a word of caution. Says Dr L. Manjunath, a practicing psychologist who has treated several techies for depression and other psychological problems: "The tech crowd is young and impressionable. They have achieved wealth levels in a couple of years, what took their parents an entire lifetime. But they are extremely insecure. Most of the IT entrepreneurs are also first generation businessmen. Till recently they had never tasted anything except success. The recent setbacks have put them on a psychological backfoot. Charlatans are exploiting this." Dr Manjunath claims that the answer lies not in the stars but in believing in oneself and to do things innovatively. Amen!

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