Layoffs, Mangoes, and the Meaning of Life

Dear Friends,

A couple of days back, I read a LinkedIn post that said: “CTC of ₹80 lakhs. A house in the US. A successful career. And yet, a man died by suicide after losing his job. Recently, a young couple in Bengaluru reportedly died by suicide after the husband was laid off. He had earlier lost a job in the US, rebuilt his career in India, and then faced another layoff in India.”

At the same time, I also read an interesting post about Deba Padhyami from Tamasa village in Malkangiri district, Odisha, who has successfully grown the famous Japanese Miyazaki mango. This fruit is so rare and valuable that premium-quality mangoes have reportedly sold for nearly ₹3 lakh per kilogram in international markets. However, Deba is now facing a completely different problem because he has no idea how to sell them in international markets. He has been spending sleepless nights guarding the tree. Buyers are usually HNIs, luxury fruit stores, premium hotels, and high-end restaurants.

Layoffs are definitely stressful. In my first job after campus, I worked for nine months at a company and tasted what a layoff feels like. Dreams get shattered. We become low and insecure. We get drained. We undersell ourselves in every situation. Even if you are highly talented, a lack of confidence leads you to make multiple mistakes.

Then I realized that when you are at a highly comfortable stage and at the peak of your career, you should quit your job, rank, and earnings and start fresh. It does not mean shifting between multiple companies for a higher package. That is another insecurity process.

In my view, ten years is a decent period to prove yourself in any organization. After that, if you are doing well in that organization, we should move on and start from scratch, as if we were freshers again, in terms of experience, learning, and skills. I attempted two different transitions with different skill requirements. They partly worked and partly failed.

Now I have crossed 50! I do not think God permits me another major transition due to age, skills, health, and many other family parameters. Maybe the next transition will be learning how to lead a retirement life without a proper pension and with fluctuating financial markets that offer no fixed returns!

You might be wondering how these things are connected.

For the last few months, many highly paid executives have been getting laid off. Maybe Japanese Miyazaki mangoes could be part of the solution! If someone with international experience and someone with traditional farming techniques join together, India can become a truly Atmanirbhar Bharat.

We also have different desi varieties. Kesar mango, a GI-tagged variety from Gujarat, sells for $15 to $25 per box in international markets. Alphonso mango from Maharashtra sells for ₹700 to ₹2,000 per dozen. Noorjahan mango from Madhya Pradesh costs between ₹500 and ₹1,500 per piece. Safeda from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu sells for $10 to $15 per kilogram.

If we have enough money for food, healthcare, shelter, and a few basic luxuries, it is more than sufficient to lead a comfortable life.

We should also realize that even if we leave behind a lot of wealth for our children, statistics show that they may not always get along well. Their trajectories, lifestyles, choices, aspirations, and spending patterns will be different. These differences often become reasons for disagreements among siblings.

God has already designed a way for us to live on this earth and has also fixed a time for our departure. Accept the fact, live meaningfully, and move on.

Ravi Saripalle