This week we have been getting The Hindu, a different newspaper, thrust under our room doors in the mornings. In yesterday's Metro Plus section was an interesting article entitled "Hot from the oven: One day in the life of...a pizzeria." It seems this is an ongoing series of articles in which the reporter takes on different jobs for a day and reports about what it is like. Here are a few excerpts from a day in the life of a worker at a Chennai Pizza Hut (with commentary from yours truly in parenthesis)--

As I walk into the kitchen at Pizza Hut, Nungambakkam, I am handed a blue comfort cap. However, it's not really for comfort; it's a move to maintain hygiene, and ensure that strands of hair don't get into the pizzas. (I wonder if the bathrooms have the signs saying "All employees must wash hands before returning to work." Also, I haven't seen any grade reports in the windows from the Health Inspectors--perhaps instead of an A,B,C system for health and cleanliness, they could institue and flame symbol system for spiciness--1 flame=bland, 2 flames= moderate, 3 flames=foreigners beware, 4 flames=locals beware, 5 flames=Satan only beyond these doors)

Though the 102-seater pizza diner opens to the public only by 11am, the first signs of life begin around eight when the morning shift begins. Behind that kitchen door, to which the public has no access, is the section where plates are cleaned for service. (I wonder what else lurks behind that kitchen door, to which the public has no access...)

The energy level is high even when the morning shift ends at five pm. The evening shift that begins at 4pm goes on till 1am. Part-timers are employed during rush hour between 11am and 3pm and between 7pm and 11pm. Interestingly, most of the crew here started out as part-timers.

At 22 rupees an hour, you may not be able to fund your college education but you may be able to get yourself a career in the hospitality sector. (22 rupees is about 50 cents an hour... for a 9 hour day... about 180 rupees/day... for a 6 day work week... give or take 1000 rupees/week... about $23/week... before Uncle Sam [or his Indian equivalent] takes his cut... how's that for some perspective on wages...)

Mohammed Ali (not the boxer--at least I don't think so), who has been around for three years and is due for a Shift Manager promotion, proudly shows off his badges. "It is a funny place to work," he smiles. The badges indicate all departments he has been trained in. (In the picture in the paper, it almost looks like he is collecting Boy Scout badges or something.) "It's like Hotel California," adds Singara Karthikeyan. "You can check in anytime but you can never leave." (I'm not really sure what to make of that comment... If Pizza Hut is reminiscent of the Eagles "Hotel California," then is the local transit system akin to Ozzy's "Crazy Train"?)

Psst: We just heard that they have brought back their unlimited happy hour pizzas for 99rupees on Tuesdays. Feel like a birthday? (Now that you mention it, today IS my birthday...too bad it is Thursday and not Tuesday!!)