endarO mahAnuBhAvulU andarikI vandanamulu

I am writing a blog after two years and so decided, it has to be a positive one.

The caption is borrowed from the first line of a Tyagaraja Pancharatna kruti. It means “my salutations to the great men”

In our day-to-day lives, we often get hurt because of the behaviour of people around us.  We are constantly criticized, ridiculed, excluded, marginalised, bullied, manipulated and exploited.  All these, many a time result in bitterness.  But there are also some people, who by their gestures or simple deeds, not only make us feel happy momentarily, but the happiness is etched in our memory for the rest of our lives.  I am going to share four such stories.

Two decades ago, I went on a tour with my then colleagues to South Canara.  The trip was arranged on a shoestring budget and we stayed in a guesthouse in Udupi and travelled to nearby places.  The guesthouse had only lodging facility. However, there was a caretaker, who for an additional cost, provided hot water for drinking and bathing and coffee.  Though I wasn’t an early bird then, during my stay there, I woke up early.  I had to share the room with three other persons and since I hate wet bathrooms and toilets, I got up early.  There was two to two and half hours’ time for our breakfast and so I preferred to have coffee.  There was no room service too and we had to go to the caretaker’s room to get it.  I was so uninhibited, I went to a stranger’s room all alone, when it was still dark outside and everyone else asleep. The caretaker’s room was dimly lit and had no furniture except a wooden bench, probably that was his cot and a kerosene stove on which he made coffee and a built-in oven for boiling water, in a corner of the room.  (Its very common in Karnataka to build a concrete firewood oven with a metal pot fixed inside permanently).  He offered the bench for me to sit while he made coffee for me.  He was in his late 50’s or early 60’s and was absolutely simple.  He just wore a dhoti (a lengthy piece of white cloth tied around the waist).  Even in those cold mornings, he didn’t wear a shirt.  In fact, throughout my stay there, I didn’t see him wear one.  The coffee he made was very aromatic and tasty.  Everyday, as I sipped my coffee, we chatted.  That’s hilarious because, I tried talking to him in broken Kannada and he in broken Telugu.  On the day we checked out, we vacated our rooms and waited with our luggage in the open area outside the guesthouse.  The caretaker came there looking for someone. He did not know to express what he was looking for.  When someone asked him, he said, “that madam” and spotted me.  Only then I realised, he was looking for me. As I wondered why he was looking for me, he signalled a lady standing at a distance to come.  I went near them and then he introduced me to the lady as the patient he was referring to.  I was surprised at the introduction. He introduced the other lady as a Physician. She probably was a practitioner of alternative medicine and was famous for treating diabetes.  Since I don’t add sugar to my coffee, he assumed me to be a diabetic and wanted her to offer me medicine.  That doctor told me that the caretaker was very sad that at a young age, I was a diabetic.  I thanked both the caretaker and the lady for their concern and explained that I don’t add sugar to my coffee because I don’t like the taste and that I am not a diabetic.

                                             ****

The next person I am going to discuss was my colleague G.  I have discussed him in a few other blogs too.  He was an office assistant and though very creative, not very consistent and so not very dependable.  Everyone had some complaint or the other against him.  But I never had any issues with him. We got along well. But I had issues with another person who was a manager, but not in the team I was.  He was close to power. He too wanted to become powerful in office and probably thought I was a threat and so bullied me a lot. I was young and a little naïve and I struggled to handle him.  His behaviour was very unprofessional and on days our directors were not in office, he ordered the A/C to be switched off.  (There were no fans or ventilation in office) After many rounds of discussions and requests with him and he failed to help, I took this to the notice of our directors, who advised him not to indulge in such silly behaviour.  Offended by this, he got a wooden door fixed over the switch board of the A/C, locked it and took the key with him and on days he wasn’t in office, we had to work in a room at a temperature of 35 degrees without any ventilation.  Around this time, a major conference of physicians was happening near our office and the organization I was working for was sponsoring a major activity in the event.  All directors and senior managers were away participating in the event and many colleagues were busy at our stall organized at the venue.  We were all advised to visit the stall and so I too went there but was very sad with the behaviour of the troublesome colleague on that day. His behaviour was very humiliating and I wanted to resign citing his harassment as the reason.  I have a very deceptive appearance and people generally cannot know even if I am sick or sad.  But this G, who was helping my colleagues at the stall, identified my sadness.  Though the stall was crowded, he came close to me and whispered “what’s wrong madam? I have never seen you like this before”.  Tears rolled on my cheeks (which is very unusual.  I am very rarely emotional) and I murmured, “I just want to leave this office.  Its no longer the place I loved so much.”  He did not say anything to console.  He took a fresh, tiny towel from a cover and handed over to me and said, “the guy in the next counter gifted” with tears in his eyes too.  I immediately started smiling forgetting all the pain.  Sometimes, all we need is an empathising soul around us.  I still have the mini towel he gifted me that day.

                                            ****

A couple of years ago, I attended an interview in an MNC.  The interview was held at their factory far away from Chennai, almost near the border of Andhra Pradesh. A cab was sent for my pick up early in the morning and my breakfast too arranged at the canteen in their office. The first round of interview was done in the  morning session and I and the other candidates were told that the next round would be in the afternoon, post lunch.  The HR coordinator who arranged the interview, led me and the other candidates to the dining hall again for lunch.  After lunch, when we were back at the meeting room for the next round of interview, he called me inside and politely told me that I wasn’t shortlisted for the next round and that I can take the cab he has arranged for me and leave immediately.  I was stunned.  Not for the rejection.  It wasn’t new to me.  But the sensitivity with which the HR coordinator handled it.  He could have very well told me about not getting selected before lunch.  But he ensured I had lunch, a vehicle arranged and then informed.  It took almost 3 hours for me to reach home and there were no eateries in the vicinity of that organization or in the route.  Throughout my return journey, I was very grateful for his behaviour.  It’s an unforgettable experience for me.  When thought of writing about this incident, I could not recollect the name of the organization and had to search on the internet for the same.  However, this gentleman’s name, face and his voice are still fresh in my memory.

                                            *****

 A couple of years ago, the organization that employed me, wasn’t paying salaries to its employees regularly.  There were also other issues and I left the organization.  They owe me six months’ salary.  While salary dues were paid to those who continued with the service and to those who served legal notices, salaries due to people like me are not paid. It was a group of companies and all organizations functioned under one roof.  There was no distinction between the employees of all the organizations and irrespective of the employer, all employees did work for all organizations. Though my appointment order was issued on the letterhead of a particular company, I received my salary from the accounts of other companies, mostly from one particular account.  That company is going for a liquidation and the court appointed liquidator is collecting details of creditors including ex-employees.  Though most of my ex-colleagues who are aware of this development are still in touch, none of them shared this information with me.  But one long-lost friend from the same organisation called me and informed and helped me to file a claim.  Though my claim was rejected, I am really moved at the gesture of the friend who reached out to me.  It was this incident, that made me write this blog.

If the placement service person who got me the job in that organization decides to write a similar blog, I am sure, I will feature in it, as many of the persons who he facilitated placement are fighting with him and claiming compensation. 

                                      ****

P.S. it's just a coincidence that all 4 persons discussed here are men