The Pink Gift

Photo credit: amjorsfeldt from morguefile.com

Sitting in his lush garden, sipping hot green tea, playing with his German Shepherds, reading a newspaper, calling out to Ramu Kaka to get a plate of crackers – this should have been the routine morning for Rohan what with the pleasant weather Delhi had presented that day. However today, he had awoken after a sleepless night and wasn’t feeling too good. He got out of bed early and mechanically carried out his daily activities. Preeti could sense her husband’s disturbed mind and didn’t push him to have a conversation or do anything.

“Papa, how am I looking today?” squealed his little angel, as she stood in front of him. She had her fancy dress competition in school and had dressed up like a fairy.

“Yes Rhea, pretty as usual!” Though he didn’t know what he was saying.

A two minute breakfast and he hurried off to go to work. Unlike the other days he wasn’t switching FM channels in his car. He was unaware of what music was playing. He didn’t care what the RJ was laughing or crying over for the past half an hour. The contests didn’t pep him neither did the ads bore him. The traffic didn’t irritate him neither did the hawkers annoy him. His mind was blank or was it too full? He didn’t know. He just didn’t want to go to office. Would they or would they not? (No, he wasn’t doing it with a rose flower!)

For the past 1 month rumors of downsizing were rampant in his office. Smoke breaks, lunch breaks, tea intervals, parking lots all the time everyone was discussing it like they had prepared the list! IPL was discussed like the commercials here. He reached his office. His heart was beating really fast. Each Hi and Hello he assumed had carried a different meaning today. The atmosphere in the office seemed gloomy to him. Majority of his colleagues he thought were giving him negative vibes; a couple of them were unaffected, few others laughed and enjoyed and were discussing Biryani for lunch while a bunch of them were examining their next work targets. He sat at his desk, opened his Face book account – updated his status Life is a struggle, accept it. He then opened his regular online news sites IPL glory – Chris Gayle’s 175 not out did somehow seem nothing great. He then clicked on different job sites, saw some postings, checked some JDs and then simply crossed out all the tabs.

His thoughts started running faster than time.

 Why had they called, Ajay?

Why were those two peons smiling at each other the other day after they saw me?

But, I am sure Mr. Sharma would have hinted me.

Rakhi, also, I think has stopped giving importance to my orders.

It definitely can’t be me. I am one of those initial puppets here.

14 months back, I had been awarded employee of the month.

At sharp 2:30 his boss called him into his cabin. He put his phone on silent. He knocked and entered and was utterly confused. Finally, he came out at 4 PM. He had a few papers in his hands. He then did some work at his desk and smiled at his next chair neighbour and said “I came early to office today. I’m leaving now.”

 Driving back home he got lost in his own world. For the last 12 years this company was his bread and butter; no actually it was much more, it was his pizza, his muffins, his truffle & his life. He joined the company when they were a 5 member team and he saw it grow to 400 today! Starting out as a management trainee he was now leading the Northern region. He had been a sincere employee and shared a neutral rapport with most of his colleagues. He only believed in doing his work right and nothing else mattered to him. He remembered the first day when he entered the office and had vowed to himself to give his very best every day so that he could make his loved ones proud of him. He recalled every praise, every argument, every scolding, every team lunch & outing and every lesson learnt. He smiled recollecting each of them. He had never spent so much time gathering his thoughts.

He then went and sat in the park near to their house. Till yesterday, it was simply a piece of waste land for him. Today, he felt it was his heaven. He simply sat engrossed, his thoughts now moved onto how he hadn’t been able to celebrate his first anniversary because that was when he had to attend his first International Professional Sales Training Course. And, when he came back home 4 days later, he sure was welcomed by his wife’s sarcasm to which he replied “That’s okay. We can celebrate it anytime. Big deal! This training you see was just the right opportunity for me.”

During his wife’s second delivery he had become quite successful in his career and sorry he just couldn’t make it. He had to attend a very important industry event to learn about the newly launched technology. This time she didn’t react; she had just become used to. No, she actually understood him! His brother’s daughter was seriously unwell; he couldn’t visit her at the hospital. He was in Singapore for an awards function and his presence was very much required. Later on his return, he laughed it off when people back bited saying “see him go after money only.” All those moments flashed across his mind in a minute; when his mom said she wanted the whole family to spend a good 3 days together during her niece’s wedding, his son kept pestering him to come as well for the Parent-Teacher meeting, his daughter said she was upset as he was there only for half an hour for her 4^th birthday party celebration…Yes he had never given time to those wonderful God given relations!

He reached home. It was 10PM. Preeti opened the door. It was already so late. Today, she didn’t want Ramu Kaka to open it. She was eagerly waiting for him; half tensed and half excited. She didn’t want to call him earlier as she knew his phone would be on silent and he didn’t like to be disturbed while working. She didn’t know how to react. Should she smile first, should she ask him or should she wait for him to reply? She just stood perplexed not knowing what to do.

She didn’t see him; she saw a bunch of lovely red roses. He then entered and pulled out a box of Ferroro Rochers for his young monsters. She was amazed. She said I knew “They wouldn’t take you out. You are their pillar.”

He smiled and showed the pink slip – “No my darling, they got a stronger pillar.” He hugged her and said “But I am so happy today because I found my calling through this. Today I know your value!”

She was assured there was nothing she needed to worry about now.

5 years later he told this story when asked in an interview – “How did you get the idea for this venture ValueRelations?”

(ValueRelations- The place for families! The zone where families only came together to actually spend time together playing games, solving puzzles, singing songs, reading out books to one another, sharing jokes and creating memories.)

Disclaimer: A piece of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.