Anmol Sagar

Sheila Rao

Wednesday, 10^th December

Sheila started the day on a happy note. Getting special tea in bed can do that to someone. Arguing with your husband the night before did seem to have atleast one benefit. Ankush, her husband, had probably felt guilty about their argument and had decided to get up early and make up with a cup of his special tea. Well, made up they definitely were! Dressing for work, Sheila hummed to herself. It was going to be a good day.

Catching an Auto rickshaw to get to work was always such a pain. Sheila dreaded standing at the side of the road, in the dust, heat and noise trying to yell others down and hail an auto.  But today was not one of those days. A second after stepping into her usual spot, an auto came to a gliding stop in front of her. The driver gave her a warm smile and asked ‘Kidar Jaingi Madam?’(Where to Madam?) ‘Wow’, thought Sheila happily, ‘this is definitely a good day!’

As the Auto stopped near her office compound, Sheila looked at the auto meter. ‘3.90’, it read. Handing a 50 Rupee note to the driver, Sheila waited for the change. It was always a nice feeling to be the first passenger for the day. The drivers had this nice custom of touching the money to their meter in a symbolic thanks to the Gods for their income. But it had its down sides. At the start of the day many drivers did not have change to return. As did this Auto Driver. After going through all this 10 pockets (even the hidden ones in his underpants), he said ‘Sorry madam, Koi bhi change nahi hai, sacchi!’ (Don’t have any change. Really!) and then gave Sheila his 1000 watt smile. ‘Well, what’s 11 Rs?’ thought Sheila, and said ‘Rakh leejiye. (Keep it) No problem’ and smiled back to the driver.

Walking into her office compound, still thinking about the auto driver’s amazing smile, Sheila smiled at the usually grumpy security guard. His expression still said ‘Hrruuummphh’, so Sheila just hurried on. She definitely didn’t want to get on his bad side. He had found Sheila without her security card twice and had made her go back home to get it!

 Office was going to be hectic today. Meetings to do, mails to send, monitoring, tracking, follow up with people to get closures… being an IT Project Manager was not a cakewalk. Every day it was getting more and more hectic and Sheila had been looking for someone to help out with the project management and tracking activities. She had interviewed quite a few people and shortlisted two – Nina and Radha. Nina was a young girl, who had just done her MBA and was energetic, capable and full of ideas, though she had absolutely no experience in the role. She would bring in new energy and perspective, but handholding her in the beginning would take some effort. Radha was older, had done a similar role for over 5 years and seemed like the solid, albeit slow, but hardworking sorts. ‘Better stable than new’, thought Sheila. She had had a long think through and finally decided on Radha as her choice. She needed to sign the offer and get the process going today.

As she walked past her boss’s cabin, Sheila was called in by Tanya, her boss’s assistant. ‘Hi Sheila!’ grinned Tanya. ‘There might be some good news headed your way!’ and as she bent forward to spill the beans, Arjun, Sheila’s boss, walked in and led Sheila into his cabin. ‘Morning Sheila, good to see you! The good news is that we are definitely shortlisted for the MKG bid. And I want you to fly down to Paris Immediately and make the final pitch’. ‘Wow! That is indeed great news!’ said Sheila. It was great that her work in the bid was being recognized, but to be picked to fly to Paris for the final pitch? That was indeed great news! She had never been to Paris and this would be a great opportunity to add value to her resume.  ‘You better be off asap! Kavita can fix your visa under the emergency quota and you can fly by day after’ Arjun added.

As Sheila hurried out, she had a million things on her mind. Responsibilities to be delegated, meetings to be cancelled, phone calls to be made, visa documents to be collected….

Friday, 19^th December

It had been one hectic week in Paris, but a really good one. The Bid pitch went off perfectly and the company stood a very real chance of winning.  Getting back to her project pressures was going to be tough after the energizing week in Paris.

As Sheila’s Auto drew close to her office compound, she was shaken by a sudden realization. She had forgotten her security pass! The grumpy guard was never going to let her through without it! And to top it all, she had a very important debriefing meeting with all the vertical bigwigs in 10 mins. She could not afford to go back home to pick her pass and be late for this meeting! She quickly got off her auto and tried to work out a reasonable line of argument in order to convince the guard to let her in. As she drew close, she saw that the guard was wearing a bright new shirt, clean and creaseless. It was casual Friday at work, but did that extend to the Guards also? But more than the shirt, the expression on the guard’s face was amazing. He looked like he had found a hidden treasure! He beamed at Sheila and said in his broken English ‘Why Madam, no card today?  Usually I not allow… but today is ok. Accha (ok) tell, how the shirt make me look? Like one of your office wallas (people) no? My daughter husband gave. I not had a new shirt like this for very long. Good no?’ Sheila was pleasantly shocked. Awesome what a new shirt could do to a grumpy old guard. Sheila smiled back and after the appropriate gratitude and compliments hurriedly made her way to her office.

After the meeting, as Sheila sat at her desk, catching up with all the pending work, she spotted the unsigned offer letter for Radha. In all the flurry of activity, she had completely forgotten about the letter.  Now, as she mulled over Radha and Nina, she was struck by the picture of the guard and his new shirt. She was amazed at the fact that something as small as a new shirt could bring such a change to someone like the guard. Could it be that having fresh ideas and new thinking Nina on the team might mean a more energized and effective team? Isn’t new & capable, even if inexperienced, better than slow and stable? Smiling and with a mental picture of the happy guard with his new shirt, Sheila picked up the phone and asked for the HR department.

In 10 minutes the new letter was at her desk. She read through the letter and signed it. The address caught her eye. 602, Shantidham. That was close to her place. Maybe it’ll be good having a colleague live close by. They could hitch Auto rides together.

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Kumari Jyoti

Wednesday, 10^th December

Jyoti had spent the day thinking about her maternal uncle’s birthday the next day. She loved her Mamu and wanted to give him something to make his special day memorable. But she had no money to give him anything. Her dad barely ever gave her any money and she knew there would be no use asking him. She had tried putting some cloth scraps from her old dress together to make a cloth flower, just like her friend had taught her, but the flower looked floppy and dirty. She crouched in the corner of her small shabby hut to start up their wood fire cooking stove. As she blew into the steel pipe to start the fire, she heard her father coming back from work. He sounded happy. Quickly putting on a kettle for tea she waited for him to come in.

Thursday, 11^th December

As Jyoti ran along the thin winding pathways between the shanties, she only had one thought in her mind. ‘Mamu is going to be so happy!’ She couldn’t believe her luck! Ganpati Bappa (Indian God) must have been listening to this side of the city last night.  Papa had had a good day, and even without her asking, had given her some money! She’d gotten up early in the morning and run down to the nearby railway station and bought a beautiful yellow rose.

Jyoti found her Mamu packing up bundles of clothes and just about to leave for his day’s work. As she burst into his shanty, she almost fell over all the neatly stacked clothes. ‘Mamu! Mamu! Janam Din Mubarak Ho!’ (Uncle! Happy Birthday!) she said excitedly and held out her little gift. Her Mamu was overwhelmed…He hadn’t got a birthday gift in a very long time. A beautiful yellow rose and sweet little Jyoti with her 1000 watt smile. He hugged Jyoti and thanked her for her lovely gift.

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Balram Jha

Wednesday, 10^th December

As Balram drove his auto off, he was grinning. A tip of Rs 11!! That was indeed good boney (as drivers like to call their first fare of the day). This was going to be a good day!

Still smiling his 1000 watt smile, Balram stopped at the hailing of a well dressed man at the crossing. The man returned the happy smile and gave his destination. Balram, being in a good mood after the tip, chatted away happily with his new passenger. Ramesh was grumpy when he hailed the auto, but something about this auto driver was infectiously happy. Chatting with Balram, Ramesh’s dark mood turned and he found he was having a good time. While getting off, Ramesh handed over a Rs 100 note and asked Balram to keep the rest. Balram was amazed! This had never happened to him twice in a day! More tips? ‘Today must be my lucky day’, he thought.

As he drove around the city during the day, Balram gave everyone of his passengers his sunny smile treatment. He had a surprisingly good day with many of the passengers leaving tips. Balram was a happy man when he headed towards his slum at the end of a long successful day. As he entered his small shack, he was smiling and humming. His daughter was squatting in the corner waiting for him. He walked in and gave her a warm hug. He was always happy to see her after a long day’s work. ‘Beti, Dekh tere liya kya hai’ (Daughter, see what I have for you) and he held a 5 rupee note. He never had any extra money to give to the poor girl. Since today had been a good day, Balram wanted to give her something so that she could buy herself that earring she had been wanting.

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Dhobi Ramubhai (Laundry Man)

Thursday, 11^th December

As Ramubhai loaded his cycle with all the clothes, he was smiling. It seemed like it was going to be a good day.

Halfway, through his morning circuit, he rang the doorbell for Shantidham Society, house number 602. As usual a young girl of about 23 opened the door. He did not know her name, but remembered her because she always smiled at him and gave him a bright happy Namaste. ‘Arre Ramubhai! That is such a pretty flower. Kuch special hai aaj?’ (anything special today?) She asked. He beamed at her and told her.

‘Wah, that is great’ she remarked and then suddenly looked thoughtful. ‘Ek minute wait karenge?’ (Will you wait for a minute?) she asked and ran inside the house. She emerged a few seconds later, beaming and holding out a beautiful new shirt. ‘Ramubhai, yeah shirt maine apne dad ke liye kareedi thi. Par unke liye bahut badi hai and mera bill bhi gum ho gaya hai. Maine socha ki aap ke special din per, yeah apke liye gift so sakta hai. Achcha Laga?’ (I bought this shirt for my dad, but it’s too big for him and I have lost the receipt also. On your special day, I thought it will be a nice gift for you. Like it?)

Like it? Ramubhai loved it! He usually never got gifts and to have someone give him a brand new shirt was a real surprise. He took the shirt and thanked her profusely. ‘Thank you madam, thank you!’ he kept repeating, till she had nudged him towards the door.

As the day drew to a close, Ramubhai hurried home. He rubbed his hands with glee at the thought of his wife’s reaction on seeing the brand new shirt. He walked into his little shanty and yelled ‘Kanta! Dekh!’ (see!) and held out his gift. He quickly took off his shirt and tried the new one. But alas! The shirt was just too big for him. ‘Ha ha…Ek dum hero lag rahe ho!’ (You’re looking like a hero!) joked Kanta. But Ramu’s spirit was not to be dampened. He took off the shirt and folded it neatly. Maybe one day soon he will put on some weight and then he’ll fit nicely into the beautiful shirt.

Thursday, 18^th December

Ramubhai rushed home quickly. Important guests were expected this evening. Having a Father in law who always thought that his daughter could have married better was not a pleasant thing. The old man seemed to think he was some kind of a police man and thus above the blue collar laborers like Ramu. Being a security guard at an upscale corporate place is really not that big a deal, reasoned Ramu. But he was determined to not let anything get in his way of impressing the old man. He had cleaned the shanty and saved up over the last week to have some special food and drink organized for this important visit.

As he walked around the shanty eyeing everything for perfectness, his eye caught the new shirt he had carefully put away for more prosperous days. He picked it up and gave it some serious thought. Maybe this is the right tool to make that big impression on the old man. He quickly wrapped it in a newspaper and waited for his guests.

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