Relation

“I quiT” – Episode @35

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 3 Comments

(12:22 PM)

Ishwarya took a deep breath when she heard those lines from Meher. After few seconds, “Look Meher, here, you should not be sticking to one single technology or process. You should be ready to work on any technology and process.”

Before Meher replied to that question, “Then, why each one of us were trained in specific technology Ishwarya?” asked Indu very aggressively.

For just one moment, Ishwarya had no answer. After few seconds, “That is to gain specialization in that particular area or technology. It doesn’t mean that you have to stick with that.You have to keep learning other technologies and should explore things as well” replied Ishwarya.

She noticed that Meher and Indu are silent when she said those lines. “See Indu and Meher, you are still juniors; you don’t know the bigger picture. Things are changing day by day rapidly. Technology keeps changing and the market requirement keeps changing. We have to mould ourselves and adapt those changes. Or else you cannot survive in this highly competitive world. That is why you have to keep learning other technologies and processes also. Hope you understand what I am trying to explain.” said Ishwarya trying to make them understand the need to adapt to things and keep ourselves ready in this rapidly changing world.

These particular lines injected little thought in both of them. They started thinking on those lines and also set about understanding the need to change and accept things.

“Thank you Ishwarya for making us understand the need of multi-tasking.” Indu replied raising her head above and showing her confidence.

“Yes Ishwarya, Indu is right. What you said is true. We will start putting more efforts in this and will bring out the best of us” said Meher.

“Good. Try to learn as many techniques as you can. It can be technology or process or domain. Whatever it may be, learn and improve your knowledge. There is nothing wrong in gaining knowledge on cross domains and process. Got it?”

“Yes Ishwarya. Sure, we will do that” replied Indu and Meher with a great confidence in their articulation.

Three of them discussed about the next steps and various other things.In between, Ishwarya gave them little tips and motivated them to bring out better productivity and to encourage their performance.

Indu and Meher became close with each other and used to collectively complete all the tasks assigned by Ishwarya. Indu now became part of Ishanth and Meher gang. Slowly she started taking Uthrani’s place in the pack.As Indu and Meher used to work combine at office, the same thing carried out of office. She used to be very friendly with both Ishanth and Meher. But, with Meher, she used to be little closer and more friendly. Sometimes, Ishanth used to tease Meher with her name.

As days went on, work performance of Indu and Meher raised above the level. It also created a few of competitiveness between them. But, they never took it personally. They used to serve each other whenever someone gets struck in their workplace.

Whenever Ishwarya used to notice that they are getting de-motivated or their performance is going down, she used to motivate them through her talks.

(02:18 PM – 3 weeks later)

One day, Ishwarya called Indu and Meher to her cabin.

“Hey guys, I feel so proud to tell you that you guys are doing extremely well. In the last two weeks, there is no single process which failed the QA phase. Keep it going!Keep up your spirit and motivation levels. If at all you need anything, just come to me and I will be ready to help you out.Okay” said Ishwarya appreciating both of them for the splendid work they were doing for the last two weeks.

Indu and Meher felt extremely happy for that and they decided to celebrate that little success during the coming weekend. They communicated this to each other by simply exchanging their looks.

“One more thing guys, you can improve your project completion period by setting up targets at hourly level and putting your complete efforts to achieve that.This way, you can easily separate your tasks and also you can know what time of the day your efficiency is more.”

“Sure Ishwarya” said both of them.

“Indu and Meher, I want to say you one thing, this is a highly competitive world, if you relax for just one day, then you will go back ages old. Be alert, be confident and adapt changes.”

Indu and Meher nodded their head saying “Yes.”

“Okay guys; get back to your work. I have a meeting scheduled at 02:30.I will get back to you sometime next week. Thank you” said Ishwarya.

“Okay Ishwarya. Thank you” said Indu and Meher and left the cabin.

(02:30 PM)

Ishwarya and Quadhar got assembled in a video conference room and are waiting for Mr. Thyagarajan to get connected through video.

After a few minutes, Thyagarajan got connected and wished both of them “Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon Thyagarajan” said Ishwarya and then Quadhar followed her.

When the welcoming greetings are over, “Thanks for joining Ishwarya and Quadhar. I called you both to discuss about the changes that we are trying to incorporate in the structure and process. I already gave you an insight on these two weeks back. I hope you remember.”

“Yes Thyagarajan” replied Ishwarya and Quadhar.

“Good. As I told you, our Senior Vice President Mr. Andrew asked us to form a team who will work on process and productivity improvement. He is mainly concentrating on productivity. During our last quarterly meet, he raised concerns on the productivity of each individual employee which will jointly determine the productivity of the team and so on.He decided to organize a team called the Productivity Indexing (PI) team.This exceptional team will examine and interpret the works done by each single employee for a period of 4 weeks and will submit a report. Andrew and other leadership team will drill down through that report to come up with a higher level doc.When that is done, we may get a bunch of changes in the structure and process.”Said Mr. Thyagarajan. He gave a complete picture of what the PI team will be doing.

He took approximately 15 minutes to explain in detail about the program and how they will be enforcing it. After all that is done, “Ishwarya, from our team you will be part of this PI team. In 2 to 3 days we will get further updates on the plan.”

“Sure Thyagarajan” replied Ishwarya.

Even though Quadhar sat in the discussion, he dint open out much. It was more like a discussion between Thyagarajan and Ishwarya.

(03:10 PM)

When that discussion was over, “Quadhar.Did you complete all the procedures?”

“Yes Thyagarajan, I completed all these formalities.”

“Good” said Thyagarajan and then “Ishwarya, please schedule a meeting sometime next week with the whole squad.”

@Send-Off

Guess the story: What may be those changes?

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“I quiT” – Episode @34

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 4 Comments

(12:22 PM)

Both Meher and Indu remained silent. They do not knowhow to react to what Ishwarya said.

After few seconds, Indu broke the silence replying “Okay Ishwarya.”

When Meher heard that, he also responded saying “Okay Ishwarya.”

“Good. For today, I want both of you to prepare an understanding doc on the project before we go forward with the following things. Meher, as you are working on this from the last few weeks, I want you to work on that. Indu can help you when required” said Ishwarya and then looking towards Indu, she said “Indu, sit with Meher and try to memorize the procedure. Once he is done with the understanding doc, I want you to go through that before you both submit me the final version.I want everything to be documented and every procedure should be performed as per the procedure guidelines that were set up for each of them. Is that clear?”

“Yes Ishwarya” replied both of them.

“I want the works to be done quickly and efficiently. I should not see any minor errors, especially human errors.Be careful with every single job you perform. This is not a development project where testers will do a test before moving it to clients. Here, this is a support project and you have to be very careful in everything you do. One single mistake can make a huge loss. So, please be very careful before moving it to live.”

Ishwarya is explaining things in very detail and motivating them to perform their work more efficiently as she wants to make sure they don’t run into problems.As they both need to work on a high value maintenance project where things should move fast, she is boosting them in order to align things well. And also they both are juniors; they require a good deal of motivation and reinforcement from the seniors. Ishwarya is exactly doing the same. She is not only motivating them, but also making them understand that they can reach out to anyone if at all they need support.

“Look Indu and Meher, if at all you are struck in the work anytime, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your seniors or me for any kind of help or advice. We are always ready to help you out. Okay.”

“Thanks Ishwarya” Indu replied with a little smile on her face.

Meher remained silent without replying anything. Some opinions are running in his mind.

(Everybody says the same thing in the starting few days. And then later on, they get busy with their own projects and responsibilities.They will not even have time to concentrate on their works, how they will help us?I am fed up with these kinds of false promises.)

These lines were running inside Meher. He is trying to remember his academic days and the initial days in this project. Most of his seniors said the same thing on the first day when he joined the project and then later on none of them used to respond to him whenever he used to go for any clarification. They used to reply him saying that they are busy and so come later or ask someone else. The most common reply from any of them is “Why don’t you google it Meher?You can get things done easier.” Those times, Meher used to feel like “I don’t even know what to google and that is the reason I am approaching you for help.”

When Ishwarya observed Meher is silent and not responding to her words, “Meher, are you there? Did you understand what I said? If you do have any clarifications, please don’t hesitate to open up. Bring it to the table, we can discuss about that.” Said Ishwarya and started waiting for reply from Meher.

“Ya fine Ishwarya. Sure we will approach you if at all we need anything” replied Meher hiding all the questions inside him.

(12:59 PM)

“Okay then, you can leave now. Get back to your works. Thank you.”

“Thank you Ishwarya” said Meher and got up from the seat to leave.

“Thank you Ishwarya” said Indu and followed Meher.

After they both came out, Meher is walking in the front towards his desk. Indu followed him till his cabin. They both discussed about the task they need to work together and then continued working on that. After 15 minutes, Ishanth came to Meher’s desk to call him for lunch.

“Meher, are you planning to eat work for today?”

“No Ishanth. Please wait for 2 minutes. I am coming” said Meher and then looking at Indu, he said “Indu, this is Ishanth our team mate, he is one year senior than me. Ishanth, she is Indu, she will be working in that maintenance project along with me.”

Ishanth and Indu shook hands, smiling at each other and “Hi Indu” said Ishanth and “Hello Ishanth” replied Indu.

“Okay Meher, you both carry on. I will be waiting in the elevator lobby. Okay”

“Hey Meher, please have your lunch and come back. We can continue the discussion post lunch” said Indu getting up from the seat.

(05:48 PM)

After lunch, Indu and Meher resumed their work. They both became really busy in developing the understanding doc which Ishwarya told them to work on.At around 06:00 PM, they decided to go and meet Ishwarya to update her about the status of the work which she assigned.

They walked towards her cabin, got inside and sat in the chairs.

“Good evening Meher, good evening Indu” said Ishwarya, greeting them with a smile.

“Good evening Ishwarya, the requested doc has been prepared and sent to your email” said Meher.

“Oh. Thanks you guys! Let me open it, we shall discuss on that.”

Ishwarya opened the doc and started going through that. She is keenly observing each and every single stock.After a few minutes, “Guys, I have gone through the doc.I have a few clarifications on that.Some of the details are not clear.”

Meher and Indu started looking at each other.

“What are those Ishwarya?” asked Meher.

“After reading the doc, I see that you don’t have complete knowledge of the project and also the process.This was not what I expected.If this goes forward, then it will be very difficult for you to work when change-requests come in production servers.”

“Ishwarya, frankly speaking, I haven’t worked on this project. I just used to work on the little tasks assigned by a senior. She resigned the company few weeks back and after that Quadhar tagged me to this project. I don’t have a complete viewof this. And besides I was never called for any discussion regarding this project.”

Ishwarya’s expressions changed a little bit. “But, Thyagarajan said that you are the one who is working on this project and you have a perfect idea of the process.”

“No Ishwarya, I dint even work on a ticket completely till today.”

“But Meher, when you are tagged to a project, you are expected to ascertain that.”

“Ishwarya, to be frank, I am not even from this technology. I recounted this to Quadhar and Thyagarajan many times. They never listen to me.”

Ishwarya took a deep breath when she heard those lines from Meher. After few seconds, “Look Meher, here, you should not be sticking to one single technology or process. You should be ready to work on any technology and process.”

@Seniors

Guess the story: Define Indu in few words?

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“I quiT” – Episode @33

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 6 Comments

(12:22 PM)

Quadhar paused for a few seconds, he want to tell the truth to Ishanth which is the main reason he invited him to lunch. But, he is confused whether or not to explain him and also how to explain him. He then took a deep breath and said “Ishanth, I have to tell you one thing.”

“What is that Quadhar?”

“Ishanth, sit down. I will explain you.”

Ishanth and Quadhar sat on a bench under a tree shade at the garden park which is located in the boundary of Quadhar’s apartments.

After relaxing for few seconds, “Quadhar, please tell me Quadhar. I could not understand anything” asked Ishanth to Quadhar. He is very eager to know in detail about what Quadhar is trying to impart to him.

“Ishanth, I am moving out of the company.”

“What?”

“Yes Ishanth. I have submitted my resignation 10 days back and in another 3to4 weeks I will be moving out.”

Ishanth got completely shocked when he heard that from Quadhar.He immediately rose from the bench and stood on his legs.“Quadhar, is it true?”asked Ishanth. Even after seeing the luggage packed in Quadhar’s flat, Ishanth is still not able to believe in what Quadhar told him.

“Ishanth, sit down and listen. I know it’s hard to believe.”

Ishanth sat on the bench. For two minutes, he dint speak out anything.After that, “Quadhar, why did you decide to move out? What happened?” asked Ishanth.

“Ishanth.I received an offer in Hyderabad and so I have submitted my resignation.”

“Why you dint tell me all these days Quadhar?”

“Thyagarajan told me to not to tell anyone until the last day as he doesn’t want to disturb the team. Uthrani moved out recently, and now I am also moving out.This may create a little panic situation in the team and then he told me to not to tell anyone until the last day. But, you and Uthrani are my first team members and then Meher joined after that. And also I dint invite you to my house in the last two years. That’s why I decided to invite you and Meher. As the academic year started, my wife and daughter will go first. After filling out my notice period and other formalities, I will leave.”

Ishanth is not able to understand how to react to what Quadhar said. “Okay Quadhar. It is your home town. One or the other day you have to go back and that time came today. That’s all I can say.”

“Yes Ishanth. My mom and dad are staying alone there. They are becoming old day by day. I cannot leave them and stick around here anymore. That’s why I decided to move back.”

“Where did you work before moving to this company?”

“I worked in a media company at Hyderabad.”

“Then, why did you come here Quadhar?”

“Ishanth, that’s a big story. I will explain you, listen. I worked in Hyderabad for a media company. Considering the expenditure and other matters, I decided to seek a job in a large organization so that I can earn more. Two years back when I got this offer, I was told that they will transfer me to the Hyderabad locationafter a year. But, they dint do that. I waited for one more year and still there is no action taken. That’s why I looked for a job in Hyderabad and now moving back to my home town so that I can stay with my mom and dad.”

“Why they dint transfer you Quadhar?”

“They said they will prepare a team in Hyderabad and that I will lead them.But, recently I came to recognize that those plans are dropped out and so I took this decision Ishanth.”

Ishanth just replied “Okay Quadhar.”

As they both were discussing about Quadhar’s resignation and other things, Quadhar received a call to his mobile. He took it out from the pocket and answered the call.

“Hello.”

“Hello Quadhar, this is Meher. I reached main gate – A.”

“Okay. Just wait there Meher. I and Ishanth are just nearby. We will come to that entrance main gate – A.”

“Okay Quadhar. I will wait here” said Meher and disconnected the call.

(12:52 PM)

Quadhar and Ishanth walked till the gate to receive Meher. After reaching there, Quadhar welcomed Meher and then three of them walked to Quadhar’s flat. Ishanth and Meher had lunch along with Quadhar’s family.

After the lunch, Ishanth spent some time with Parveen. Quadhar, Ishanth, Meher and Shamina spent the time knowing about each other.

(11:00 AM – Monday)

Meher is working at his desk on the maintenance project assigned to him. He got a ping from Quadhar asking him to go and meet Ishwarya in the next 5 minutes.

Meher, who is basically tensed for everything, started getting tensed when Quadhar said that Ishwarya is calling him. He got up from the seat and walked slowly towards Ishwarya’s cabin.

After arriving at the cabin, “May I come in?” asked Meher to Ishwarya.

“Yes Meher, come in” replied Ishwarya.

Ishwarya is in a discussion with a young lady who is sitting in her cabin.After Meher stepped inside, she called for him to take a seat and be seated.

“So Meher, how is your work going on?” asked Ishwarya.

“Ya fine Ishwarya.”

“Meher, you know Indu right. She is presently working on the AIO project and now she will also work on the maintenance project along with you.Is that ok for you?” asked Ishwarya typing something on her laptop.

Meher thought for a few moments and then replied saying “Yes Ishwarya.”

“Ok. Good. Now listen both of you.There are many changes that we are bringing in the team and the projects. As part of those changes, as a first thing, in a very short period we will extend this support 24/5 which means 24 hours, 5 days. So, you may need to work in shifts. I will also on-board one more resource so that three of you can share the time working in three different shifts. Remember, this is a support program and we should not fail at any cost. If we fail to support for one minute, that may lead to a heavy loss. So, I want you to take this process efficiently so that the support will run smooth. Okay.”

Both Meher and Indu remained silent. They do not know how to react to what Ishwarya said.

@Lunch

Guess the story: Is Meher the next guy to resign?

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“I quiT” – Episode @32

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 4 Comments

“Yes Quadhar. I am waiting down.”

“Okay. Just come up taking the elevator. Flat no is 14F. If the security guard asks you, tell him the flat number.”

“Okay Quadhar. I am coming up. Meet you there” said Ishanth. He then parked the bike and took the elevator to reach Quadhar’s flat.

(12:17 PM)

By the time Ishanth reached 14th floor, Quadhar is standing at the doorway to welcome Ishanth. The moment Quadhar saw Ishanth, “Hello Ishanth. Welcome” said Quadhar shaking his hands with Ishanth and maintaining a welcoming grin on his face.

“Hi Quadhar” replied Ishanth. Ishanth looked a little tired as he had to travel long to reach Quadhar’s flat.

“What Ishanth, looking very tired?”

“It’s a long 90 minutes travel Quadhar. And, I don’t need to explain you about Bengaluru traffic.”

“Yeah. I know Ishanth. Come inside” said Quadhar and took Ishanth inside the house. He showed him the rest room to fresh up.

As Ishanth is very run down, while he stepped into the house, he dint observe anything.After freshening up, he came out of the rest room. He took the towel placed next to the door and wiped his face. Wiping his face, he walked a few steps forward towards the front room.As he is walking, he remarked that the house is virtually empty with not a lot of things around.

Before Ishanth asked about that to Quadhar, Quadhar asked him “What about Meher?”

“I phoned him while I was starting; he stated that he will reach by 12:30.”

“All right.Shall we make a call to him and confirm? I don’t have his mobile number. Can you please give me his number” Asked Quadhar and then made Ishanth sit on the couch.

“Sure Quadhar” said Ishanth and took out his mobile.

While Ishanth is searching Meher’s number, “Angel” shouted Quadhar. He is calling his daughter Parveen who is with her mom in the kitchen room playing with the mobile.

“Hey, dad is calling, go” said Shamina to Parveentelling her to go to her dad.

Parveen came running from the kitchen. Ishanth is looking at her, his face turned much brighter seeing her.

“Hey Ishanth, she is my daughter. Parveen.” Quadhar introduced his angel to Ishanth and asked her daughter to “Say HI…”

Parveen went near to Ishanth and said “Hello” giving her hand to Ishanth. Ishanth also stretched his hands and they both shook hands with each other.

“Hello, what is your name?” asked Ishanth.

“My name is Parveen” replied Parveen with her sweet little voice. Ishanth took Parveen near to him and started talking with her.

“Hey Parveen, where is my mobile?” asked Quadhar to Parveen.

As soon as he asked that, Parveenran from Ishanth to the kitchen room to bring Quadhar’s mobile. After bringing it out, she gave it to Quadhar. Quadhar took Meher’s phone number from Ishanth and called him.

“Hello.”

“Hello Meher. This is Quadhar.”

“Yes Quadhar.”

“Where are you Meher?”

“Quadhar. I am on the way. I will reach in another 30 to 45 minutes.”

“Okay Meher. You know the exact address right?”

“Yes Quadhar. I know, I will reach that area and will call you on this number.”

“Okay Meher” said Quadhar and disconnected the call.

Ishanth is talking to Parveen and asking her some questions. Parveen, who is an active girl, is replying to Ishanth’s questions very promptly.Ishanth is having a good time with her.

“Hey Ishanth. It will take another 20 to 30 minutes for him to reach” said Quadhar.

“Okay.”

After that, Quadhar said Parveen to call somebody. Parveen again went running into the kitchen room. Shamina came out of the kitchen room by lowering the stove flame.

“Ishanth, she is my wife Shamina” said Quadhar introducing his wife to Ishanth. “And Shamina, this is Ishanth, my teammate.”

Ishanth and Shamina greeted each other joining their hands in the traditional Indian style and then Shamina went inside to continue her cooking.

“Shamina, we will go out for a walk just outside. We will be back in 15 minutes.”

“Okay Quadhar” replied Shamina.

Quadhar and Ishanth walked out through the door. When they both left, Shamina locked the door from inside.

They both took the lift to the down stairs and reached the ground floor. After reaching there, Quadhar is walking in the east direction. As Ishanth is new, he just followed Quadhar.

“Ishanth, so how is your work at office going on?”

“Fine Quadhar, your daughter is so active, but looking very silent.”

“Yes Ishanth. She is very active, but not at all silent. She is very naughty.”

“Oh, is it.”

They both took up the discussion with their daughter. Quadhar is explaining about her daughter and how naughty she is. He also told him about a few incidents. Slowly the discussion came to a topic about what Parveen is studying now.

“Quadhar, which class she is in now?”

“She completed her U.K.G in the month of March Ishanth. Now, she has to join in her Ist standard. But, she is not going to school now.”

“Why Quadhar?”

“We will put them in a school in Hyderabad.”

“Hyderabad? Where she will be when you and your wife are here?”

“My wife will also go there Ishanth. Tomorrow morning they both are leaving to Hyderabad” replied Quadhar. He is giving dry answers to the questions asked by Ishanth. Quadhar is trying to say something to Ishanth. But, he is hesitating to begin over the discussion.

“So, you will be alone here?” asked Ishanth with a very big question mark and confusion on his face. He does not understand completely what Quadhar is saying. Also the luggage which is packed in the living room is splashing before his eyes leaving him some clues.

“No Ishanth.”

“What Quadhar? I could not understand anything.Are you sending your wife and daughter to your home town?” asked Ishanth who completely lost in that discussion.

“First they both will go Ishanth. After few weeks I will leave.”

This particular answer from Quadhar shocked Ishanth. He is now completely confused and lost. Ishanth stopped there without moving forward.

When Quadhar noticed that Ishanth is still back, he turned back towards him. After seeing his face expressions, Quadhar asked “What happened Ishanth?”

“I do not understand anything Quadhar. You will leave? Where?”

Quadhar paused for a few seconds, he want to tell the truth to Ishanth which is the main reason he invited him to lunch. But, he is getting confused whether or not to explain him and also how to explain him. He then took a deep breath and said “Ishanth, I have to tell you one thing.”

“What is that Quadhar?”

@Drive

Guess the story: Will Quadhar share the truth with Ishanth?

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“I quiT” – Episode @31

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 4 Comments

(01:07 PM)

“May be because she is manager right and so he wants her to take decisions and give directions.”

“Not just that Meher. He is not being interactive as like before. He is just coming and going. Half of the day he will be in meeting with Ishwarya or Thyagarajan. He is not even asking the status of the tasks.”

“Yes even I am noticing it from few days. I dint speak to him from last few days. Let me talk to him.”

“Okay Ishanth.”

After that discussion, they both discussed for few minutes regarding some other things and then left for lunch.

(04:30 PM)

That day evening, Ishanth pinged Quadhar and said that he want to talk to him.Quadhar replied him saying that he can come to his cabin after 05:00 PM.

(05:02 PM)

Ishanth saw that the time crossed 05:00 PM, he walked towards Quadhar’s cabin. After reaching there, he noticed that Quadhar is not in his cabin. He waited for him at his cabin.

After few minutes, Quadhar and Ishwarya stepped out of the meeting room. Ishwarya walked away to her cabin and Quadhar slowly moved towards his cabin. As he is walking, he got a phone call from Thyagarajan.

“Hi Thyagarajan. Good evening.”

“Good evening Quadhar. How did the meeting go on?”

“It went on fine Thyagarajan. I officially transferred everything to Ishwarya. May be we can start the reverse transfer process from Monday.”

“That’s very good. So, Quadhar..” said Thyagarajan who is trying to ask Quadhar something.

“Yes Thyagarajan.”

“There is no change in your decision?”

“No Thyagarajan. Sorry for that. I cannot be here anymore.”

“Okay thanks for the time Quadhar.” said Thyagarajan and disconnected the call.

After disconnecting the call, Quadhar stepped in to his cabin. As he is stepping in, he saw Ishanth sitting in the chair. He just stopped for few seconds as he is afraid whether Ishanth heard the conversation happened between Quadhar and Thyagarajan.

“Hello Ishanth. I am sorry for keeping you waiting. Meeting got extended by a few minutes.”

“That’s okay Quadhar.Is it Thyagarajan on the call?”

“Yes, it’s Thyagarajan.”

“You were telling something like you will not change your decision. What is that Quadhar?”

The moment Ishanth asked that question, Quadhar’s face expressions turned different.“That is regarding the new project Ishanth. He actually asked me to take over that. But, I said I cannot handle so many projects and so rejected that”replied Quadhar to make sure that he doesn’t leave any clue to Ishanth.

“Okay” said Ishanth and then immediately “Quadhar. Can I ask you something?”

“Yes Ishanth.”

“From last week onwards, there are regular meetings happening between you and Ishwarya. And also you are directing everyone to go and talk to Ishwarya if they need any information or if they have any kind of concerns.”

“She is new to our company and team right. That’s why Thyagarajan gave me the responsibility to help her during the initial days until she gets tuned completely. That’s it Ishanth.”

Ishanth is actually not convinced with Quadhar’s answer. “You are also not assigning tasks to us and also not asking us updates on any of the project” asked Ishanth.

“Hey Ishanth, it’s now Ishwarya’s responsibility to take care of all those things and so I am not involving much.”

“I don’t know Quadhar. I somehow feel that something is going wrong. After Uthrani resigned, it all became silent. There is no one who talks well in the team. And now even you are not involving much with us.”

“Ishanth.Don’t worry, you are missing Uthrani and so you are feeling like that. Once the new project starts, you will become very busy with that and then everything will be fine.”

Ishanth is still not convinced. He still feels that there is something going unusual in the project. When Quadhar noticed that Ishanth is still in confused state, he thought of doing something to make him come out of that.

“Hey Ishanth, what are your plans this weekend?”

“No plans as of now Quadhar. When Uthrani was there, me, Uthrani and Meher used to hangout for a lunch or a movie. After she left, I dint go out anywhere.”

“Meher is still here right. Why can’t you both go out?”

“Who?Meher? If we call him for lunch, he will come by dinner time. When Uthrani is there, he used to listen to her and come on time.”

Quadhar smiled when Ishanth said like that. “Okay. Then why don’t you come to my home this weekend?”

“Your home?” asked Ishanth with a question mark on his face.

“Yes Ishanth. My home.This Sunday, you and Meher, for lunch.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We are working in this team from almost 14 months and I never invited you to my home. So, please do come along with Meher.”

Ishanth slowly came out that confused mood and gave a little smile on his face. “Okay Quadhar. Sure, thank you so much” replied Ishanth.

“You know my house right?”

“I know the address. But, I don’t know the flat number.”

“It is 14F, second block. I will talk to Meher and will invite him officially.”

“Quadhar. Invite him for breakfast. Then he will come by lunch time.” Said Ishanth, with a smile.

When Quadhar heard that, even he started laughing out loud.

(12:11 PM – Quadhar’s Flat)

Quadhar and Shamina were busy in the kitchen making preparations for the lunch. Meanwhile, Quadhar’s phone started ringing in the living room. Parveen is busy playing games in that mobile. When she saw the call, she immediately swiped the green button and answered the call.

“Hello”

“Hello Quadhar” said Ishanth without even listening to the person who answered the call. When he noticed that a small girl is talking, he gave a look at the mobile screen to make sure whether he dialed the correct number. After getting confirmed that it is Quadhar’s number, “Can I speak to Quadhar?” asked Ishanth.

“What is your name?” asked Parveen with her cute little voice.

“My name is Ishanth.”

Parveen went running into the kitchen room and handed over the phone to Quadhar saying “Dad, your phone.”

Quadhar took the phone from her and saw the screen. When he noticed that it is Ishanth, “Hey Ishanth. Where are you? Did you reach the place?”

“Yes Quadhar. I am waiting down.”

“Okay. Just come up taking the lift. Flat no is 14F. If the security guard asks you, tell him the flat number.”

@Flat

Guess the story: Why did Quadhar invite Ishanth and Meher for lunch?

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“I quiT” – Episode @30

/ Mr. Venky Bond / Leave a comment

“Oh. Welcome. I am Quadhar. We all are waiting for you.”

“Oh. I am so sorry to keep you all waiting. Good evening to all of you here. I am Ishwarya. I will be your new manager for this location.”

“Welcome Ishwarya.” Said Quadhar clapping his hands. Everyone else joined him, welcoming Ishawarya into the squad.

Ishwarya moved a few steps forward making sure that she is visible by everyone and then started talking to the team.

“Hi team. I thank you so much for your warm welcome.I look forward for a great experience working with all of you. I hope for the same from you.Before I take over the complete responsibility, let me formally introduce myself. I am Ishwarya, I am married and having a 4-year-old kid. I am basically from Mumbai and recently moved to Bengaluru. I have nearly 9 years of experience in the field of IT. This is my third company. I worked under various verticals like banking, retail and now working on mobile projects from last 3 years. Now, I am pulled in to take care of the mobile projects wing, especially the new project that was said OK by the clients. I should thank Quadhar and the team for working on the demo, presenting it to the clients and finally winning the pot.We will be working on this for the next 8 to 12 months.That’s all about myself. Now, each one of you can you introduce yourself, please.”Asked Ishwarya to the team.

When she asked everyone to introduce, each one of them started introducing themselves to Ishwarya one by one detailing their name, home town and the project in which they are operating.It took about 17 minutes for all of them to introduce them to her. When everybody completed, Quadhar reminded Ishwarya that Thyagarajan asked them to call to his mobile once Ishwarya steps into the meeting room.

Quadhar immediately took the phone and dialed to Thyagarajan.

“Hello.”

“Hi Thyagarajan. This is Quadhar.”

“Hi Quadhar. Good evening. Did you guys assemble?”

“Yes Thyagarajan. We have the entire team along with Ishwarya.”

“Oh. That’s great. Hi Ishwarya. Welcome to the team.”Said Thyagarajan.

“Hi Thyagarajan. Good evening. Thank you so much.”

“Team, Ishwarya is your new manager. She will be taking care of the entire Bengaluru team and also the new project that is coming up.I guess she finished her introduction.”

“Yes Thyagarajan. Just now we all introduced ourselves to one another.”

“Oh. That’s great. So, team.She will be your primary point of contact for everything you need. She is not even a technical manager; she also worked as people manager for 2 years.So, hope that will be an added advantage.”Said Thyagarajan welcoming Ishwarya into the team and detailing her role with the team.After that, he said “Quadhar.”

“Yes Thyagarajan.”

“Please help her in detailing the process and also the team structure.”

“Sure Thyagarajan.”

“For few days, you have to support her in understanding everything.”

“Okay Thyagarajan. I will definitely do that.”

“Thanks.”

Meeting went on with the detailing of her roles and responsibilities.

After Thyagarajan disconnected, some of them started asking Ishwarya some questions regarding technical and non-technical. When Ishanth’s turn came, he asked her a question related to management.

“Ishwarya. Can I ask you a question.”

“Sure. Ish..” Ishwarya is trying to remember his name and when she confirmed herself that she cannot recollect, she asked “Sorry, what’s your name?”

“I am Ishanth.”

“Sorry, this is the first day right. After a few days, I will start getting used with the names and people.”

“That’s okay Ishwarya.”

“Yeah. Continue. You want to ask something.”

“What is your management strategy?”

“Management strategy? What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, you are 9 years experienced right. What is the strategy that you have learned that will best suit thissector.”

“That’s a very beautiful question Ishanth. But, I don’t think strategy is something that can be defined in words. It is how we work or react upon situations. May be you can know based on how I deal with people and things as the days move forward.”

“Okay.” Said Ishanth. He is basically attempting to understand her management and so posted such a question. But, she gave a dynamic answer to his question.

After the meeting, Ishanth and Meher were walking out of the meeting room. Meher asked Ishanth “Hey Ishanth. Why did you ask that to Ishwarya?”

“I just asked it very randomly Meher. Frankly speaking I want to know whether she is like Thyagarajan or not. That’s it.”

“Okay.” Said Meher and they both went back to their desks. Quadhar and Ishwarya walked towards Quadhar’s cabin.

For the next two weeks, Quadhar got busy with Ishwarya detailing her about the team and the process. And also explaining her about the projects the team is working and the roles and responsibilities of each individual member in the team.

Slowly Ishwarya started taking over responsibilities from Quadhar. When someone used to approach Quadhar for any information, he used to divert them to Ishwarya. After a few days, it turned out like people started going to Ishwarya directly. Quadhar’s work at office used to come down day by day. Ishwarya is very quick at understanding the process and so used to handle things quickly and efficiently.

As this is going this way, one day Meher came to Ishanth’s desk for some information.

“Hey Ishanth. What are you doing?”

“I am just going through the QA report Meher.”

“I need a small info Ishanth.”

“Yes, tell me Meher. Regarding what?”

“This is regarding the maintenance project Ishanth.”

“I am not aware of anything in that project Meher. Why don’t you talk to Quadhar?”

“I don’t know Ishanth, from last few days, he is directing to Ishwarya whenever I go and ask something. Not just me, whoever is approaching him for anything, he is asking them to go and talk to Ishwarya.”

“May be because she is manager right and so he wants her to take decisions and give directions.”

“Not just that Meher. He is not being interactive as like before. He is just coming and going. Half of the day he will be in meeting with Ishwarya or Thyagarajan. He is not even asking the status of the tasks.”

@Strategy

Guess the story: How will Ishwarya manage the team?

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“I quiT” – Episode @29

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 6 Comments

I would have stayed for some more days if I am happy at my work. But, I don’t think a day like that will ever come. These people will never see people as people. And they don’t even have a little concern even though we are women’s.

(07:17 PM, Bangalore City Rly Station)

After hearing the reason from Uthrani, both Ramya and Ishanth turned silent. Even though it is a rush railway platform, the entire environment appeared silent for three of them. For a moment, Ishanth and Ramya started thinking about their own personal life’s and the job they are doing.

When Uthrani noticed that they both are running deep into their own thoughts, she started speaking out to break the silence.

“Hey Ishanth and Ramya, please don’t think much about this. I am now happy with my decision. I can support mom being at home and my dad also need not worry much about me as I will be right before them at home. I am also happy that I came till her. I never imagined I could even finish my graduation. I did that and also I was able to run for 2 years. Even though there is a slight annoyance that I am not able to continue, I am happy with my journey till now. The other thing that makes me so happy is that I don’t need to run late nights from office, I don’t need to wake up early morning. I don’t need to wait for weekends to unwind. And especially I don’t need to get scolding’s from those idiots.” said Uthrani and started smiling a little.

Even though she is not getting smile, she tried hard to put a little smile on her face so that Ishanth and Ramya will come back to normal.

When they saw Uthrani smiling, Ramya also started smiling saying “Yeah. Yes Uthrani. You are a free bird. Be happy and keep smiling.”

“Sure Ramya, you also take care of your health and eat on time. Now I will not be there to wake you up and remember you every time to eat. Ishanth, you also go for lunch on time and also don’t become serious about people. Take care of Meher. Now, Quadhar and Thyagarajan’s focus will be shifted on Meher.” Uthrani gave them all the instructions and spoke about all the memories she had with Ramya and Ishanth.

(07:28 PM)

Even Ramya and Ishanth started smiling and laughing remembering the moments they spent with her. As they were talking happily, Ishanth heard the train sound and then immediately looked at his watch.

“Hey Uthrani, get inside. It’s time for the train to start. “ Said Ishanth and made her get in the train. Even he got inside and accompanied her till her seat. When Uthrani heard the train horn for the second time, she forced Ishanth to get down.

After he got off, the train started moving slowly. Uthrani started waving her hands at Ishanth and Ramya. And they both did the same thing. As the train started moving, the smile on Uthrani’s face started fading away and slowly tears started rolling down from her eyes. And the same thing happened with Ramya. She stopped waving her hands and staring at Uthrani, even she started weeping like a baby.

Ishanth observed Ramya and when the train left the platform, he said “Hey Ramya. She is just crossing two states that’s it. Don’t cry like a little child. See how everyone is looking at you. Come, wipe your tears. Let’s go. I will drop you at your flat. Okay.”

(11:00 AM, Monday)

By the time Ishanth reached office, Meher got himself busy with his work. Meher used to have a little tougher time in office without Uthrani. When Uthrani was there, she used to help him a lot clearing all his doubts. And so when she is not there, he started depending on Ishanth and other team mates whenever he got stuck with anything in his oeuvre.

Even though Ishanth and Uthrani don’t talk much in the office during work hours, they both regularly go for the evening tea break. During the initial days, he used to take Meher and go for the tea break in the evenings. As Meher got busy, sometimes he used to say NO when Ishanth asked him to come out for breaks and so slowly Ishanth stopped going for breaks in the evenings.

As Quadhar also got busy with his new project docs preparation and also his job hunt, he also stopped interacting much with Ishanth and Meher. If there is anything to inform them, he used to just send them a mail detailing the information.

The office environment turned little silent after Uthrani resigned and also everyone got busy with their own projects.

(11:00 AM, After 1 week)

As it was going that way, a new resource is on-boarded into the project. Quadhar setup a small meeting and called the entire team to introduce her to the team mates. Everyone gathered in the meeting room.

Quadhar started the meeting with his words. “Hi all, Good Evening.”

“Good evening Quadhar. why did you call us all of a sudden.” Asked Meher very eagerly. That was the first official meeting after 2 weeks. The last time the entire team met on the last day of Thyagarajan’s Bengaluru official trip.

“A new manager will be joining our team. This meeting is to introduce her to the entire team.”

“What? New Manager? Thyagarajan is our manager right?” one of them questioned Quadhar.

“Thyagarajan will remain as our Senior Manager. As he is working out of Pune, he appointed a new manager who will work from Bengaluru location. We worked on a demo project last month right. Clients accepted that officially and very shortly we will be receiving the first phase requirements.”

“Quadhar, why all of a sudden a new manager for us?” asked Ishanth.

“I don’t know all that Ishanth. Thyagarajan informed me that she will be taking the entire responsibility of Bengaluru location and also the project which got approved by the clients.”

“She? You mean a lady manager?”

As they were discussing about the new manager, one lady started knocking the meeting room door. When Quadhar heard that, he turned back and opened the door.

“Hi, I was invited to this meeting room. I am the new manager who will work for Thyagarajan’s Bengaluru team.”

“Oh. Welcome. I am Quadhar. We all are waiting for you.”

“Oh. I am so sorry for keeping you all waiting. Good evening all of you. I am Ishwarya. I will be your new manager for this location.”

@Manager

Guess the story: Is she the next person in the story who is going to resign?

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“I quiT” – Episode @28

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 2 Comments

And, when I had to stay back for one extra day as my brothers engagement was fixed all of a sudden, I called Quadhar and informed. He listened to me and said ok. I felt good for that.

That day afternoon, I got a message to my mobile from an unknown number.”

(06:45 PM, Bangalore City Rly Station)

“Please call me back”.

I actually received that message one hour before. But, as I was busy with the function at home, I dint check it right away. And when I saw that, I immediately called back to that number.

“Hello. Who is this?”  – Uthrani

“Uthrani. This is Thyagarajan.”

“Hi Thyagarajan. Sorry. I don’t have your number and so couldn’t recognize you. Sorry.”

“That’s alright. Where are you?”

“Thyagarajan, I am in my home town.”

“Are you not coming to the office today?”

“No Thyagarajan. I have informed Quadhar of this in the morning.”

“Whom are you reporting to?” Thyagarajan asked me with a very strong tone. I was not able to understand with what intentions he asked me such a question. I did not know what to answer him.

After waiting for a few seconds and preparing myself, I replied “Thyagarajan. I am reporting to you.”

“Then whom should you inform regarding your leave request?”

I started getting tense with this second question. But, as I have to answer him, I did. “You Thyagarajan.”

“Then why are you saying that you informed Quadhar.”

“Thyagarajan. Quadhar is our team lead and he is the one who is allocating tasks to us and so I informed him.”

“Uthrani. You are not a junior to teach everything. Team leader is different from the person whom you are reporting. The team leader is the person who will allocate your tasks. That’s it. But, all other things you have to get in touch with your reporting manager. I don’t think I should teach you all these things. And the other most important thing is that. We are in a crucial period. We have to demo to our clients next week and now if the team goes for a vacation, how do you think we can go ahead as per the schedule.”

I was completely silent with that kind of response from him. I never expected such a response from him. I applied for leave one month earlier and that too I planned a vacation for just 3 days after 4 months gap. And yet he reacted that way. I was totally upset with his answer. Just to keep the conversation up, I replied him “Thyagarajan. 2 months back when you visited Bengaluru, you said that Quadhar will be our team lead and will take care of all of us. And so I informed him.”

“Yes, Take care I meant project related activities. Remember that I am your official reporting manager.”

Every reply from him is making me more and more sad and angry at him. I wanted to fight back with answers. But, considering the kind of replies he is giving, I decided to pull it down at some point before I break out completely. “Sorry Thyagarajan. As he is our Team Lead, I thought I should inform him and so called him and informed.”

“Uthrani, it doesn’t look good if you go for leave during a crucial period like this. I never thought you would be so irresponsible. I hope this will not be repeated next time. You have to plan your vacations not in these kinds of periods. I heard that you just submitted your code to the QA without performing Unit Testing. That is a very unhealthy practice. It will give way to lots of bugs from the testing team which will ultimately result in the decrease of the QA ratings. You are not at a stage to learn all these now. You crossed 2 years. You should be mindful of all these things.”

The whole conversation went on the same path. He is trying to dominate with just two points. And so I just remained silent without replying him back. The conversation went on for almost 15 minutes. And at the end, he said that “Hope I can see you back in the office by Wednesday morning” and disconnected the call.

After the call, I locked myself in the room and sat idle for about 30 minutes and was crying incessantly. I do not know what to do. I cannot share this with anyone. I saved this for myself and was crying like a child. Every word he spoke hurt me very badly. He was the one who said that Quadhar will be our team lead and we have to reach Quadhar for any kind of information and so I informed him. I also said Quadhar to inform Thyagarajan. He said that Thyagarajan approved. I did not understand whom to blame. That was not the first time either. He scolded many times. But, that day I can never forget. And especially the way he talked. For one moment I felt like why I am working baring all his words. From last four months I dint take any leave. I worked late nights many days and also almost 3 to 4 weekends I spent my time at the office working on the project. In the last 8 months, all my code was 95% QA average. I was the one who completes the task even before the time. Even when my mom came, I used to stay late nights because I am committed to the work I do.

When things go fine, he won’t say anything and when something goes wrong little bit, he fires back. I don’t know what rights he has to scold the employees.

All these thoughts, I kept within myself. I’ve never really shared it with anyone. If my family members will know this; they will immediately stop me from doing my job. I dint even share with my mom because she is the only one who supports me for doing a job and now if she saw me feeling bad, she will also turn against my decision. And so I was not yet in a position to deal with anyone. I kept everything within myself. It was so incredibly painful. Every word, every question, every answer from him disturbed me a lot.”

Uthrani explained her pain to Ishanth and Ramya. Both of them had no words to reply to Uthrani. They were just staring at her. After a minute, Ishanth replied.

“So Uthrani that is the reason you took this decision?” – Ishanth.

“Not exactly Ishanth. After that day, the next day I started from home. As I got tickets for break journey, I had to travel till Mumbai and then from there I had to catch another train to Pune. My mom and my brother accompanied me till Mumbai. After we reached Mumbai, we were waiting in the waiting hall for my next train. I and mom were talking about my family. All of a sudden, my mom raised topic about my job.”

“Uthrani beti, you are happy with your job right?”

“Why are you asking like that mom?”

“Uthrani, you know right. None of our family members agreed when you said you will go for job. Even dad dint agree. But, I made them agree for this. After you joined, many times discussion came in home regarding the same.  In situations like that, it was very tough for me to make them calm down. I used to make them calm so that they won’t discuss that with you over the phone or when you come home. It was all going fine Uthrani. But from recent times, it is getting tougher and tougher especially from the time of your marriage discussion. But, I don’t think I can stop it anymore Uthrani. Some or the other day you have to get married and when that day comes, I cannot make your husband’s family agree for this. Hope you understand. I thought of telling you all these when I came to Bengaluru. But, you were getting late at office and so I dint trouble you. Apart from all these, when I was in Bengaluru, one day you came from office at midnight. You looked very much afraid and tensed. You were continuously looking back till you came inside the home and even after coming inside, you were frequently looking out through the window. I thought of asking you what happened. But, I know that you will share with me if there is anything and also I thought not to disturb you more as you were already tired at office. The next day when I had casual talks with neighbors, I came to know that the area is not so good for women, especially at midnight. And also many incidents happened in that area.”

My mom explained everything that is happening at home. She never spoke about all those in these 2 years. When I noticed that she came to know about the area we are living, I tried to convince her saying that there is nothing like that.

“Mom, there is nothing like that. Everything is fine. Long back few incidents happened. But, now it’s all fine.”

“Uthrani. I trust you and so I dint discuss that with you till now. But, I am only afraid that if something goes wrong, I cannot answer our family as I was the only one who supported you when you said that you are interested in going for job. Even though you worked late nights, you never looked much tired and used to go back early morning the next day. So, I understood that you are dedicated and also very much interested in what you are doing. Beta, I am fine as long as you are happy with your life. I will do my best to stop our family as long as possible.”

When she said those words, she almost cried hugging me. And, even I was not able to control myself. Tears came down running. When the train arrived, I got inside. The only thing that was running in my mind is the discussion happened between me and my mom. To be frank, my mom is pushing my family members so hard. She is doing it, right from my graduation. I thought it’s not fair for me to make her face those situations just because of me. And, on the other side, even I was not happy at my job because of these guys who always cares about their projects, deadlines and clients. They are never concerned about the person who is completing the task. They are worried only about the task. All they need is the completion of task and are never bothered about the person behind it. The whole thing was running in my mind continuously for 4 hours. And then finally I took this decision. My family is not happy with my job; my mom had to face tough situations at home. And even I am not happy working and so I took this decision.

I dint share this with anyone because I don’t want people to start giving me suggestions or advices saying that be strong, problems will come, you have to face them being bold and all those things to lift my confidence levels. But, this is nothing like that. This is a pain which only I know how much it is hurting and how much it is disturbing. Yes, there are so many people who are working despite of the situations like this. But, I can say only one thing. Only that person will know how much it hurts when you are facing problems like this. I would have continued for some more days if I am happy at my work. But, I don’t think a day like that will ever come. These people will never see people as people. And they don’t even have a little concern even though we are women’s.

@Twist

Guess the story: Do you think its a fine reason to quit the job?

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“IquiT” – Episode @27

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 12 Comments

(06:30 PM, Bangalore City Rly Station)

“What is that Uthrani? What happened?”

“Ishanth. Marriage is not the main reason behind my resignation.”Said Uthrani. Before Ishanth replied, tears started rolling out from her eyes.

Uthrani is unable to control her tears. She started weeping like a child keeping her head down.When her flat mate Ramya saw this, she went up to her, sat next to her and put her hands on Uthrani’s shoulder and “Hey Uthrani, what happened? Why are you crying?” asked Ramya to Uthrani.

Ishanth also added his words. “What happened Uthrani? Speak out.”

Both Ishanth and Ramya are getting tensed about what might have happened to Uthrani. They both were trying hard to stop her from crying.

“Uthrani, lift your head up, come on speak out. What happened? Please stop crying Uthrani. Please.” Said Ramya trying to wipe her tears.

“Hey Uthrani. Please tell me. What’s the real reason behind your resignation?” – Ishanth.

“Uthrani. I know very well about you from last 2 years. I know how much dedication you have towards your job and how much interested you are in this job. But then suddenly after coming back from home when you said that you are leaving the job and going back to Gurgaon as your marriage got fixed, I got a little bit shocked. But I trusted you because you will not go away until you have some strong reason behind this.In the last ten days, so many times I thought of asking you the same question which Ishanth asked. But, I don’t want to disturb you more as I knew that if there is something to share, you would definitely share it. Now, you have to tell us Uthrani.” asked Ramya wiping Uthrani’s tears.

“Yes Uthrani, you have to tell us the truth” added Ishanth.

Uthrani lifted her head up, wiped off her tears and decided to speak out and tell both of them the actual reason behind her resignation.

“Ishanth and Ramya. What to tell you guys? If I tell this reason, everyone will say that I am not strong, I don’t know how to balance and so I took this decision. And so I never shared this with any one till today.But now I will tell you both why I had to take this decision. We are basically from a middle income group. We live in a small town with all our relatives nearby like a combined class.I am the youngest girl child among them. I studied till +2 in my town. And then when I wanted to try for higher studies,most of my relatives rejected. Even my dad was not interested in sending me to the town for pursuing graduation. But, my mom stood by me and answered all of them. She made them to agree and then finally I finished my graduation.The next bigger thing is my job. I never told anyone, even my dad that I was attending interviews. For even attending the interview, I had to lie to all of them. I attended the interview secretly. And then one day, I got an offer letter from our company. I felt exceedingly happy.I was the first girl in my class to complete graduation and also I will be the first girl to accept a job. But, I know very well that none of them will agree to this. And so I dint even say to my mom. I looked dull from that day. My mom noticed this and one day night she asked me what happened. I told her that I got selected and also received joining letter from the company. Even though she felt happy when she heard this, she started getting tensed as she also knew that my dad and also my family won’t let me to do this job.

She finally dared to talk to my dad and went and talked to my dad.He immediately said NO without even listening completely.But my mom dint leave. She began asking him continuously to make him agree to this.And then after two days, he concurred.But still, I was not completely relaxed as I knew that the next toughest part is to make my family members agree to this. My mom and dad had to sit one whole day to explain them and make them agree to this. After all those struggles, I finally landed in Bengaluru 2 years back fulfilling all my dreams. Doing a job and supporting my family is my dream. And so I always loved working no matter how much time I had to extend and how many weekends I had to spend in the office.

It was all very good in the first one year. But then after that, it was little tough to extend the timings and stretch ourselves every day and every weekend. I began to lose interest when they used to call almost all the weekends. I still dint complain about that as I am also so much interested in working. When coming to my flat, even though I know that the area is not good, I had to take flat there as I don’t have any other choice. I cannot pay huge amounts for hostels and so I was staying with Ramya and all in that area as the rents are little low when compared to others.Whenever I planned to go home, I never used to get approval for my leave requests as I used to apply for a minimum of 4 to 5 days because half of the days will be killed in travelling itself. When my family members used to ask my mom and dad why I am not coming home for festivals and all, my mom used to answer them saying that train tickets are not available and also I will get sick of going.All that is fine with me.But, when my mom came to pick me up from a very long distance, I had to leave her alone and sit late nights at the office working for those people.I had to keep her starving until I get back to my flat. I had to make her wait all the day. I felt uneasy with that. But my mom never complained anything as she knew how much interested I am in working.

When my dad said that he cannot come to take back mom, I was tensed so much whether they will grant me leave or not. If they don’t, then I had to send my mom alone. Thank god they accepted my leave and I accompanied my mom.I went to my home town after 4 long months. I spent time with all my family members, purchased dresses for my aunts and uncles and gifts for the children. I felt so happy for that.And, when I had to stay back for one extra day as my brothers engagement was fixed all of a sudden, I called Quadhar and informed. He listened to me and said ok. I felt good for that.

That day afternoon, I got a message to my mobile from an unknown number.”

@Graduation

Guess the story: From whom did Uthrani recieve that message?

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“I quiT” – Episode @26

/ Mr. Venky Bond / 6 Comments

“I cannot give reasons Thyagarajan. But, I want to inform you way before I submit my resignation.”

“Is this something to do with dropping the plans to setup a team in Hyderabad? If so then tell me, we can discuss on that. Now the clients are very much impressed with our demo. This is definitely going to be a very long deal and will also help you a lot in your career growth.”

“Not exactly Thyagarajan. I told you right, I cannot explain in detail. I am looking for an opportunity. They may get back to me any time next week and once I get that, I will submit my resignation. Please don’t ask me anything more. Sorry.”

Thyagarajan, who is trying to understand the actual reason behind Quadhar’s decision, asked him many questions. When Quadhar is not ready to open up the actual reason, Thyagarajan understood that it is because of dropping the plans of setting up a team in Hyderabad. As he knew that he cannot re-think on that, Thyagarajan decided to hold Quadhar by offering some perks.

“Quadhar, if this project goes well, I will be initiating Visa for you so that you can work from on-site location for the same project.”

“No Thyagarajan. Sorry, I am not interested in flying anywhere. I know I am making it touch, but please try to understand me” replied Quadhar.

“It’s okay Quadhar. You are very firm on your decision. And so I cannot stop you. Anyway think well before you get hold of any decision. Not even 7 days back Uthrani submitted her resignation and tomorrow is her last day. And now you are saying that you will also move out. I am worried what’s going on in the team”

Quadhar dint drag the discussion much. He just made sure that he informed Thyagarajan before he submits his resignation so that Thyagarajan can plan for the alternatives. He raised the topic during the end hours so that he can cut it short as he needs to leave early to catch the train back to Bengaluru.

Quadhar boarded the train and started his journey back to Bengaluru. It is a long 20 hour journey from Pune to Bengaluru.

(11:00 AM, Next Day, Bengaluru)

The next day, Ishanth made all the arrangements to bid farewell to Uthrani. He also called Uthrani’s friends and other nearby teams and made it a grand farewell to Uthrani. It was followed by lunch by Uthrani to all her friends at a nearby eatery.

Everyone started sharing the memories they had with her and also they were expressing how much they will be missing her. When Uthrani’s turn came to speak out, “Hey all, I never imagined this day would come so soon. I never expected that I had to go through a tough time like this. Everyone had to face this situation one or the other day as mostly no one will stay permanent here. But then, it still hurts a lot when you have to give your dear ones. People, with whom you learnt, worked, ate, played and had fun. Hope you all will remain in touch through any means. I always thought when someone is moving out, they leave everything and run. No, that’s not true at all. They actually take everything and go. They had to read each and every minute of memory with them. They have to take all this in their heart. I am actually not leaving; I am taking every memory with me in various ways.” Uthrani expressed her innermost feelings and at the end, tears started rolling down from her eyes.

Uthrani had to leave for Gurgaon by the evening train which is scheduled at 07:30 PM. Before going for lunch, Uthrani completed all her formalities by the admin department and also submitted her identity card.

She had a fantastic last minute memories with all her friends and colleagues during the luncheon. It was followed by a group, individual and pair photography session. She made sure that she gathered as many memories she can before she leaves the city.

After the lunch, Uthrani went to her flat and checked all her baggage. Ishanth, who assured her that he will come with her and drop her at the station, reached her flat by 05:30 PM. Both of them, along with two of her flat mates, started to station by booking a cab.

(06:30 PM, Bangalore City Rly Station)

They reached station almost an hour earlier. Ishanth observed that Uthrani is very dull. Everyone else thought that she is dumb because she is leaving all her friends, her job and all and so there is no happiness in her face. But, some more questions arose in Ishanth’s mind. He went and sat near to her and “Hey Uthrani. Are you alright?” asked Ishanth to Uthrani looking at her.

“Ya I am fine Ishanth. It’s just that I am feeling really bad leaving this place and all of you. That’s it.” Replied Uthrani trying hard to make out some smile on her face.

“I understand that Uthrani. I knew that. But then I don’t know why, from the last few days I have a strong belief in my mind that everything is happening so quickly and likewise there is no proper connection. Your mom got here, then you went home and then before you even stepped back in office, you submitted your resignation. I somehow feel all this is not properly justified.”

“What are you talking Ishanth? I dint understand your question.”

“All right. Let me ask you very straight. Is there any problem at home?”

“Why are you asking like that Ishanth?”

“No Uthrani. Answer my question. Did something happen in your house? Your mom and dad said something to you regarding your job?”

“No Ishanth. There is nothing like that. I told you right my marriage got fixed and that is the reason I resigned.”

“No Uthrani. I don’t think that’s the real reason. I strongly believe there is some story behind your decision of moving out.”

Uthrani remained silent; she began to understand that Ishanth will not leave until she tells him the truth. She believed that even Ishanth believed her that she resigned because of her marriage. But then when he started asking various questions, she realized that she cannot hide it any more from Ishanth. But then she is still considering whether to tell him or not.

Ishanth, who is looking at Uthrani and waiting for her to respond to his questions, “Hey Uthrani. What happened? Speak out. Are you hiding anything from me?” asked Ishanth to Uthrani.

Uthrani understood that she cannot hide the truth anymore from Ishanth and so she decided to reveal him the actual reason. “Ishanth. I am really very sorry for hiding this even from you. I don’t want to disturb you and so dint share this with you.” Said Uthrani looking at Ishanth.

“What is that Uthrani? What happened?”

“Ishanth. Marriage is not the main reason behind my resignation.” Said Uthrani. Before Ishanth replied, tears started rolling out from her eyes.

@Leaving

Guess the story: What is the actual story behind Uthrani’s resignation?

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