SJS Press February 2010

The lights dimmed and the audience silenced. All that could be heard was the heartbeat drone of the music. An airline CEO was about to answer the final question in Who Wants to be a Millionaire? India. The one that became known in the country as Jai O, takes The Press through his Indian gameshow odyssey.

"When the host said 'For one million rupees' I got really excited. Not only did I have the chance to make a little dough, it gave me an idea. What if I could pay my employees in rupees? 20,000 rupees a year sounds comfortable to me. Hopefully I could deal with my customers in rupees as well. Delta flies to Mumbai Right? Anyways, I sort of laughed when I heard the answers to the million rupee question. 'Fair Labor Practice!' I was thinking of the host, is this guy on crack? You might want to lay off that pipe Apu."

Jai O's account is telling of his affection towards India. "It was a real treat. I especially loved the children of this nation. I could see them as my future employees. After all, they were ecstatic when I gave them the leftovers from my candy bar. I wondered how many hours I could get out of them for a soda?! One kid, waving my picture, yelled 'I will work for you someday Mr. Jai O!' I was thinking if only I could get a waiver on those certification requirements, I would hire him on the spot!"

Mr. O likened the local slum's living conditions to that of his employees' back home. "Taking a look at the average living condition around town, I decided that's what my flight crews could use. I'll just call it Industry Standard. Their crew rooms will be the envy of every slumdog out there. Hey! Does that make me a slumlord?"

The Press at shinyjetsyndrome.com left Jai O to ponder his last thought. One can only hope he will not attempt to bring the lifestyle of working Americans down to that of an Indian slum. However, as we have learned from the gameshow, it looks like those truly in need of a 'lifeline' are his employees.

SJS Press