One degree north of the equator, the Little Red Dot was scorching hot that day. The glass buildings along its skyline shimmered like jewels as the sun radiated over the city-state in all its glory. For the uninitiated, we're in Singapore, or as it is lovingly called, the Lion City.
Singapore is, indeed, a tiny speck of land in the vastitude of the Indian Ocean. Yet, its highly developed market economy - the 3rd highest per-capita GDP in the world (in terms of Purchasing Power Parity) - overcompensates the lack of physical space.
Our story begins at the heart of the Financial Business District of this economic powerhouse. It had been only two days since Anu had started his internship with The (mighty) Development Bank of Singapore Limited - better known by the acronym DBS Bank. The bank had earned Global Finance's "Safest Bank in Asia" accolade for seven years in a row (2009-2016). For Anu, however, the assignment was turning out to be anything but safe.
Three weeks before he gave up the luxuries of living with parents, Anu had nonchalantly proclaimed his departure as 'independence from servitude.' Little known to him, this freedom was merely a stepping stone to a new, highly-sophisticated form of serfdom.
Anu was incredibly talented, though not an academic scholar. He scored above average grades throughout school and university. Yet, teachers always complained that he applied only 50% of his potential. However, this critique, coupled with the look of exasperation on his parents faces, was not enough to push him to exhaust his full potential.
He scored four big companies in the first session of the placement season. It didn't surprise his teachers that Anu was among the top talents. What astonished everyone - even his parents and close friends - was his final choice.
'A midget with a big ego!' was one of Anu's favourite, albeit insensitive, phrase to describe Singapore to his friends back home. 'It's all plastic. This whole place is like a wet-dream of a Lego or Play Mobil fan (atic)' he would say on certain occasions (especially after a few rounds of his dad's favourite Old Monk).
"Give me a high-five," Anu cried out as he sprinted excitedly towards his dad. "Are you sure about this," asked dad without taking his eyes off the offer letter. "Mamma! What is wrong with him?," Anu turned to his mother. "Enough! Now end this joke and tell us where you will 'really' go for the internship," she replied angrily.
He had only six minutes to pull it off. Dizzy, out of breath and drenched in sweat as he ran up the stairs of the 50-storey DBS Building Tower One - the third tallest building in the city - Anu confronted the memory of this conversation with his parents. If only he could turn back time!
On this particularly hot day, air-conditioning units across the city were hard at work, puffing at full throttle to maintain the high level of comfort that the privileged inhabitants of this urban sprawl were so accustomed to. Everywhere except DBS Building Tower One.
...to be continued (stay tuned)☺
Singapore is, indeed, a tiny speck of land in the vastitude of the Indian Ocean. Yet, its highly developed market economy - the 3rd highest per-capita GDP in the world (in terms of Purchasing Power Parity) - overcompensates the lack of physical space.
Our story begins at the heart of the Financial Business District of this economic powerhouse. It had been only two days since Anu had started his internship with The (mighty) Development Bank of Singapore Limited - better known by the acronym DBS Bank. The bank had earned Global Finance's "Safest Bank in Asia" accolade for seven years in a row (2009-2016). For Anu, however, the assignment was turning out to be anything but safe.
Three weeks before he gave up the luxuries of living with parents, Anu had nonchalantly proclaimed his departure as 'independence from servitude.' Little known to him, this freedom was merely a stepping stone to a new, highly-sophisticated form of serfdom.
Anu was incredibly talented, though not an academic scholar. He scored above average grades throughout school and university. Yet, teachers always complained that he applied only 50% of his potential. However, this critique, coupled with the look of exasperation on his parents faces, was not enough to push him to exhaust his full potential.
He scored four big companies in the first session of the placement season. It didn't surprise his teachers that Anu was among the top talents. What astonished everyone - even his parents and close friends - was his final choice.
'A midget with a big ego!' was one of Anu's favourite, albeit insensitive, phrase to describe Singapore to his friends back home. 'It's all plastic. This whole place is like a wet-dream of a Lego or Play Mobil fan (atic)' he would say on certain occasions (especially after a few rounds of his dad's favourite Old Monk).
"Give me a high-five," Anu cried out as he sprinted excitedly towards his dad. "Are you sure about this," asked dad without taking his eyes off the offer letter. "Mamma! What is wrong with him?," Anu turned to his mother. "Enough! Now end this joke and tell us where you will 'really' go for the internship," she replied angrily.
He had only six minutes to pull it off. Dizzy, out of breath and drenched in sweat as he ran up the stairs of the 50-storey DBS Building Tower One - the third tallest building in the city - Anu confronted the memory of this conversation with his parents. If only he could turn back time!
On this particularly hot day, air-conditioning units across the city were hard at work, puffing at full throttle to maintain the high level of comfort that the privileged inhabitants of this urban sprawl were so accustomed to. Everywhere except DBS Building Tower One.
...to be continued (stay tuned)☺
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