The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you are still a rat. So went a poster I came across and I laughed heartily - till I saw the rat in myself.

The rat race is a polite term we give to that great game that is played out in corporate houses the world over - the game of the blame. It doesn't matter who does a job - what matters is who gets the credit for it. And of course, it is not often that these two are the same person. And if something goes wrong, the inverse happens - everyone runs for cover, and the last one left takes the blame. These two simple rules underlie everything corporate, and anything said to the contrary is just window dressing.

It is a game where no quarter is given, and any sign of humanity is a flaw to be exploited. The ends always justify the means, and even when there is no justification, the game goes on. Anyone above is sucked up to shamelessly, while anyone below is mercilessly trampled upon. The hierarchy is built into it the way the food chain is built into ecosystems. And here, the fittest do not necessarily survive.

At the end of the day, when the race is done and you are on top of the heap, it is a little too late to realise that you are just a rat, even if you are King Rat.

Cheers.