It was an
exhilarating experience getting up as he wished, sipping his morning hot decoction coffee listening to
Subrabatham of MS in Tamil and comparing notes of the superior melody of the
Sanskrit version, and the dislike for Thiruvasagam by Ilyaraja set in western
music style yet listening to it.. These melodies which have to be enjoyed early
in the morning was on listened to later in the morning. The boss was relaxing!!
After years of being in service his retirement was what
he dreamed of as a heaven of bliss.
He was lying in the bed brooding over..
At that moment the servant lady popped in to clean..
"I will put off the fan Aiya.” Making a statement
she started sweeping.
"Ill-mannered brute... Should she not request my
permission before she could start her work?
Could it have happened in my office? This threw open the Pandora’s box!
And the wife of mine gives her all sorts of concession.
These people should be kept in their place.
How beautifully I managed my show?
His powerful connections, the reverential salaams, the
compliant driver opening of the car door with his head bowed, the attaché case reverentially carried by the
peon etc .. in short people waited for
his command.
"Stop the lunch for this lady. Now that both of us
retired we should make our finance go a long way.. understand?" He
commanded his wife.
"mmmmm.. "
a neutral reply came from his wife. If she replied to reason out to him
that getting a reliable person was a rarity
it would be no more than an angry exchange. She had to bid
for the right time!
As days went by the boss felt that something was
missing!
Like in the old clock
requiring it's wound up on every day basis to keep its springs sprite,
he needed something revitalise him.
Missing the office?
Missing the colleagues?
Without a chance to exercise his authority he felt like
punctured tyre!
Neither M.S. Subbulakshmi nor Ilayaraja fascinated him
anymore!!
Sitting at home
he was gaining weight and hence he decided to do some house hold task.
One day Jana the friendly laundry man of the street was
standing by the door.
"Amma why
are you sending Aiya (sir) to the market?"
"My dear Jana.. sir is retired now.. And he needs
some exercise.. It's a good walk to the market."
"You are also retired amma.... and you too need
some exercise and you can go to the market. Ask sir to go to the Besant Nagar
beach instead."
But she knew that this man bored his fellow walkers
with his own tales of glory that they tended to avoid his company.
"Why Jana aiya
bargains better than me. The
other day he bought a bunch of spinach for Rs.8 for which I usually pay Rs.10.
You know in retired life every paisa saved is every paisa earned!"
"You are right. but at what cost amma? He threatens the sellers with his big post
and his powerful connection and says just one word from him to the right person
they would be evicted from the place. These sellers who have to take care of
the police on a daily basis did not want to be deprived of their livelihood too
and give the vegetables to him with a
curse of course! It is not good amma.. scaring the poor! I is sad, Aiya is such
a big man.”
"Thanks, Jana, I will take care of it.”
The other day one of his colleague along with his wife
came home to extend the wedding invitation of his daughter.
One look at the invitation he knew that the girl did
not study beyond high school.
"Has he saved enough for a big dowry for the girl?
We had to toil and sweat for Neha.. oh my."
The boss was shaking his head profusely thinking about
the loads he had spent on his daughter's
wedding. He knew that this man is neither in a big post like him nor his wife
is working. In addition the girl does not seem to have a college education! And the demand from the boy's side
should be heavy!
"Marriage expenses are always heavy my
friend."
"That's true sir.... " his colleague said
"but my daughter Diya is well employed with an American firm.
Boss could not fathom. A girl without a degree in an
American firm..? May be a clerical job...
But to establish his American connection he said
"Remember the time I was deputed to America?"
"Yes sir.. definitely sir.. we all came to the
airport to send you off”
"Mmmm... how well the Americans took care of me -
Five star hotel. They were fascinated with my English. Those were the good old
days”
Boss was gloating impressing the guests.
"You are very clever sir”
By the way what is Diya doing in the American firm..? A
receptionist? she doesn't seem to have a degree...
"But sir today's children don't want to flaunt their degrees in the wedding
invitation. They think it is naff to do
so and Diya is no exception. We
struggle, beg, borrow to give them a good education and they don't give us the
simple joy and pride we deserve by printing their degrees in the invitation.
Generation gap indeed sir”
"True.. true..” The boss concurred
Sir .Diya is a technical coordinator for the firm and
flies to America on the monthly basis and it seems a room in Hilton is always
reserved for her”
Boss’s ego was totally deflated. It is his wife who
saved the day with her grace!!
The more he heard the stories of success from his
friends and relatives' children earning
6 digit salary on their first job which he could reach only before retirement,
the more depressed he became and the
more was his need to prove to the world
that he was indeed a big achiever!
Standing near the gate of the veranda he would beckon
all and sundry to be his audience so much so that the audience were prepared to
take a long detour rather than go through
his street and listen to the repeats!
When odd
invitations came his way for dinner he would witness youngsters coming in
group for dinner in those posh hotels in
half trousers without a hoot for any
etiquette while he was meticulously suited and booted!!
"Who gives these uncouth fellows the money?"
They were loud too along with equal number of girls
with big laughter!
One day as he was walking back from the temple along
with his wife enjoying the ozone filled atmosphere provided by the plentiful
neem trees a man accosted him with a salute said
"Good
morning sir, I am Raja Durai from the airport. Do you remember me sir? We used
to admire you in your majestic coat and suit and my goodness you were so
handsome sir. We used to watch you from a distance and you remember once I had
the audacity to come close to you sir to
wish you good morning and I was indeed
in luck sir ... In spite of your heavy schedule you smiled and shook my hand..! It is indeed a blessing and my fortune to
meet you today sir..! The man bowed his head
and the man was exhilarated with this
recollection from his admirer. The boost from this unknown quarters perked him
up and with a flourish he took out a 500 hundred rupee note and blessed his
fan. The man saluted him and in a in a hurry jumped into one of the moving
buses.
"Robber sir, real robber this chap. today he is in
this locality and tomorrow he would be in the Marina beach with a knack to
locate the right persons. and it is your turn today to make his day. He tried
this with me once but as luck would have it I just had 10 rupee with me.
Otherwise I would be right royally onto the trap like you " A passer-by witnessing this show made a comment
as he walked on that the boss was an irredeemable egomaniac.
The paucity of recognition for which he was aching made
him a depressed man and it was his wife who smoothed things out He started tumbling down the steep and
irreversible slope which made him mentally and hence physically week!
Wheelchair
became part of his gear. He became an introvert lamenting his fate
within.
"There is some problem regarding your account and
the bank manager requested you to come
in person once." His wife who returned from the bank told him.
There was a big crowd in the bank.. He was
diabetic and had to have his food often.
The delay indeed irritated him. The application form was properly filled signed
and handed over long back . He was at the end of his tether.
"There seems to be some confusion." his wife
who had gone in to find out the cause for the delay told him. "Now an
officer is coming here to meet you."
"At last someone worth his salt is coming to meet
me." boss thought.
"Good morning sir, nice meeting you sir. but sir.
your signature seemed to have changed a bit sir."
Boss couldn't understand what he was telling. He was an
expert signatory and thousands and
thousands of files bore his powerful
signature during his tenure!
"Come back again" he told him
"Sir your signature does not match the previous
ones .. Would sir mind putting his thumb impression instead?"
That was indeed the last straw, it blew his lid!
Do you know who I am ? I am an old MA. mind you. old MA. when most of the country was illiterate and old SSLC was what most of the people
paraded with pride! Do you want me to put my thumb impression? How dare you? I
can sue you and take you to the court for your criminal assault on a person
like me”
The realisation that there is no absolute power
bestowed on anybody and the authority one
enjoys emanates from the positive vibrations and the motivation and the
empowerment accorded to the team which in turn makes a good leader
Life is indeed a
positive experience.
To make it or break it is always within us,