Preeti had shifted to US with her husband after her marriage. She had been running a Computer Education Institute back in India and did not want to close it down as it was her father’s gift to her. She appointed a Manager and hoped that she will keep alive her father’s dream by keeping alive the Institute he had developed with much love, care and dedication.
Vinit, her husband, was a leading Entrepreneur and was rather supportive of her. In spite of knowing that its very difficult to run a distant business…especially when it happens to be in India, he did not interfere in her affairs.
Fours months later, Preeti found herself transferring funds to the Indian bank …and that’s what she had been doing the previous 3 months. The Manager had been telling her things like Computer Institutes were mushrooming everywhere & therefore with tough competition, there were hardly any admissions going on.
Preeti was getting upset because the previous two months she had asked Vinit to pay for her expenses. She decided to talk to Vinit and ask him for some solution.
Preeti: I was thinking of closing down the Institute altogether…..I mean nothing is coming out of it..I guess I cannot keep my father’s Company alive after all!
Vinit: Why!? What happened, till yesterday, you were pretty enthusiastic about the whole thing and today you look so sad…what’s the matter?
Preeti: I guess its not working out. Only last week I took 2 lakhs from you and today again I received an email…the water tank broke because of thunder and lightening…and they need to repair is asap, Arjun asked for 40k…and he has closed the Institute indefinitely..because the students need to use the toilet and water is very essential….like its all jinxed I think..I am running at loss – not made a single penny in the last four months – its really ridiculous you know…
Vinit: More ridiculous is the fact that the tank broke…I mean I have never heard of such a thing before….and 40 k? Why? Go for Patton tanks …. 1000 liters – that will cost you around 23k, and labour charges maybe a 1000 more..so it should be repaired in 25k…why is he asking for 40k…he wants to repair the neighborhood tanks too?!
Preeti: I don’t know…that’s what he asked for….
Vinit: This manager of yours – this Arjun….looks pretty cunning to me…he became very nervous when I was asking about the monthly expenditure etc…
Preeti: Oh! He must be afraid to speak to you in English…probably he was having difficulty in understanding your accent…
Vinit: But I started speaking in Bengali with him…to make him feel comfortable…still he was kind of avoiding my questions….why don’t you call Golu…or Lalu – what’s the name of the peon who also sleeps in the office?
Preeti: Kalu…but its pretty late…like it must be 11pm …should I call him?
Vinit: How is his relationship with Arjun…are they pally?
Preeti: Not really – Kalu dislikes him in fact…why?
Vinit : Call him…11pm is not all that late.
She calls up Kalu. He picks up the phone after 10 rings and answers drowsily.
Kalu: Hell-llo.
Preeti spoke to him in hindi.
Preeti: That water tank, when did it break?….is it still raining heavily in India?
Kalu: Which tank?…rain yes, it rained very heavily and in fact Arjun sahib’s TV conked off because of lightening…heavy lightening and thunder.
Preeti: TV..where, you mean the Office TV?
Kalu: No, because his residential TV blew off, so he has taken the Office TV to his house…that’s why I went to sleep early…otherwise I watch TV for some time at night, I am all alone here, but Arjun sahib took the TV away…
Preeti : And when did this happen? This TV shifting?
Kalu: Some 2 weeks ago.
Preeti: That 52 Inches flat screen TV is to be kept in the Reception area…so that the area looks impressive enough and the people waiting can watch the artworks of our students…
Kalu: Artworks….nah! they all watch films….sometimes animation but most of the time they are watching hindi films and songs….
Preeti: In presence of the students?!
Kalu: Students hardly come…and the ones who come, they come to watch TV only…faculties are hardly there…
Preeti: What?! the eight faculties who are taking their monthly salaries without fail within the first week of every month….where do they go?
Kalu : Eight….no longer eight, there are only 4 now, out of which 2 of them come regularly…sit in front of the PC, do some work…Internet chatting etc…..and go home by 4pm.
Preeti fell from the sky, Vinit had been listening to the conversation on the parallel line. He gestured her to ask about the water tank.
Preeti: What about the water tank? Its broken I believe?
Kalu: Huh?..oh..it is not broken, just got chipped…..
Preeti: And all the water is leaking away?…no water coming in the toilets and kitchen?
Kalu: No its not all that serious….we have used M-Seal…so its not leaking anymore….actually the repair men are asking for Rs. 400/-..so Arjun sahib himself bought M-Seal, went upstairs and we both repaired the water tank.
Preeti: So the water tank does not need any further repairing….?
Kalu: Well…its better to repair it…to be on the safer side….Madam, I wanted to go to the village, I have not been to my village for last 2 months, Arjun sahib is not letting me go…
Vinit told Preeti to ask Kalu to keep this conversation as a secret.
Preeti: Ok Kalu, I will see about our leave, but do not tell anyone that I called you and asked you such questions…
Kalu: Why…? Ok I will not… but this weekend was a long holiday because of festival etc. so I could have gone to my village…
Preeti: Yes, ok Kalu I will send you on a long holiday…don’t worry, just keep this conversation a secret that’s all. Okay bye.
Preeti lost her cool totally : Oh Gosh!…the @***$#@# (abuses) what the hell does he think of himself! He has taken the 52” Flatron TV in his 2 by 2 inches apartment …what audacity he has to dismantle office property and take it to his residence..I mean with whose permission….
Vinit: See… I always told you – he is a cunning fellow who is fooling you…I could read it in his eyes!…and he is asking for Rs.40,000/- for a Rs. 400/- job!…and making simpleton Kalu believe that he is such a sincere man..saving the Boss’s money by fixing the tank himself!…smooth player he is huh!…and he is alone taking the salary of 5 people – his own and 4 others…quite a fraud he is I must say…!
Preeti: I am going to report to the Police and send him behind the bars…
Vinit: yea? And what will you charge him with?…that he emailed you for Rs. 40k and has taken your TV to his residence?
Preeti: So?! I will let him enjoy at my expense! I will personally go and kick his butt….the bloody cheat that he is….
Vinit: Simply dispose off the thing…or offer it to one of your competitors…there are many others who are holding the franchisee, give it some such person who will actually ‘kick’ his butt…
Preeti: Yes…I know one such person, my classmate….always a very serious type of a guy he was….Hari Sadu …we called him a perfectionist…he was very particular about the minutest of details….
Vinit: You have his number with you?
Preeti: Yeah…that I can get, I recently connected with him through Facebook.
Vinit: Very well then – leave him a message and call him tomorrow, fix up an appointment with him next week….since co-incidentally you will be in India next week for Pravin’s wedding…so plan it that way.
Preeti called Hari and told him elaborately about how she was being cheated by the educated thug Arjun!
Hari: Oh! These guys are like that only, they have zero work attitude….they just want to sit the entire day, and get the salary at the end of the month….I am sitting right in front of them, come to office daily…still they are such mediocre performers….it really gets very difficult at times to handle these ‘below average’ fools….and you are trying to handle them from a distance…really hats off to you! Believe me, I spend enormously behind training these guys, my HR training strategies are the best in the Industry, no one takes the responsibility of training their personnel…but I try my best to give them all the support….just to get quality output!…but honestly speaking I have failed…they do the same silly mistakes time and again and my morning starts correcting their silly mistakes! Such sheer fools I have as my employees and such disrespectful and thankless blokes too!…even kicking their butts wont suffice as you are suggesting…they should be blacklisted in the Employer’s forum….we should seriously think of forming an ‘Employer’s Forum’ where every employer should become a member and we can keep a database of such incompetent fools so that other companies don’t go through the same procedure of wasting their time and energy behind such thankless, incompetent fools!….like we can list them by their names and have their Exit Interviews listed along with our reviews!
Preeti: Really! Is it so pathetic?! I had no clue, actually I never was so closely associated with the office…its only after my father passed away, I just wanted to continue with this Institute….but I guess its not all that easy to run an office like this..I mean you attend office daily and still these guys are not performing…so its hardly any surprise that my Managers are stealing from the company!
Hari: Oh! Yes..they are capable of even worse…..guess what? They call me Hitler behind my back!
Preeti: Hitler!? And you!…you were the most soft-spoken guy in our class…in fact you hardly spoke….we all thought you were of a very shy nature!
Hari: Hmmm….they turned me into one….even my wife was mentioning the other day….that I have become very irritable..but I can’t really help it! These guys are driving me crazy!
Preeti: Why don’t you give an advertisement in couple of Job Portals….they keep millions of replacements…..that might help.
Hari: Yeah! I guess I will do so…but still there is no guarantee that I will find better guys than what I am already having…you see these guys who are currently working for me…they too have their resumes uploaded in such Job Portals…its just an exchange offer going on…I may recruit someone who got rejected from another company..and vice versa…..some employer somewhere will go thorough the same problems I went though because of these incompetent fools!
Preeti: There must be good people as well…
Hari: Of course there are…they are the ones who bring stability to any Company….and intelligent employers always retain them…..like I myself have couple of good players – and they are the ones who worked day and night for me…we all worked together in fact…and that is why I am able to have 200 employees under my payroll….but in order to continue expansion, we need to be more and more disciplined and abide by the rules – else everything will just fall apart!
Pretti: Wow! Hari ..200 employees! Now that’s quite a feat…it’s just been 5 years since you started your business….that’s quite a commendable achievement I must say! Well now this calls for a celebration…..see you next week then…remember to book a table for two….
Hari: Why two…Vinit is not coming?
Preeti: No, he is going for some conference…..so lets go to our favorite club…remember next week, Monday …. book a table for two by the poolside.
Hari: Sure, see you.
…………………………………………………….
1 month later.
Arjun (to his wife): The [beep@%****] sold her company to a greater [beep @%****]…so many questions he is asking me…I have done so much for the Company, stayed awake till late nights…and this is the result I am getting!…and just pack that Flatron TV….I will throw it at his face tomorrow…..he is asking me to clear all accounts! I am not an Accountant – I was just into Administration…they should have kept an Accountant then…..such thankless brutes they are – I kept the Institute running …I could have asked her to recruit an Accountant…I was just trying to cut her costs..and this is what I get in return!…I will see how this Institute runs..I will finish it…I created it ..I will finish it…
Arjun’s wife: Why don’t you change your job…there are so many Job Portals…..they misbehaved with you…so just leave them and join elsewhere…its simple – why crib!?
Arjun: Yes…I will do so..I will certainly do so……
(Only Arjun knew what he was going to miss…his cushy comfortable rosy life was soon going to turn into a nightmare full of thorns…..he had invited hell towards himself…he had to pay for it…)
