Beyond the tale

 It was a typical workday. I was always on time. As a department head, I used to have a very busy schedule for the day. In my department, there was a group of female employees. The company had provided them with accommodation in a hostel. One day, Preet, from Chandigarh, came to me and said, "Sir, I want to leave the job. My family is being migrated to Canada. " "OK, but have you or anyone in your family received a job offer from there?" I inquired with great care. "Where in Canada are you relocating?" I asked. "No, but my father has received approval for a PR Visa," she responded. I said, "You are a permanent employee of this company. This is one of India's good companies. Please think about it and consult with your parents before resigning from your job. " "Sir, I have already decided," she replied. "Then you need to go to the HR department and submit your resignation for your formal exit procedur...

 For my company's party, my boss and I wanted to go to a party hall. We started from the company itself, in his car. Everyone else left first. We were late because we had some work to do. Those were the days when I was extremely fortunate to work for the ideal company, ideal boss, and ideal location. Everything felt like a dream. My boss used to be very nice to us. He knew the name of the party hall but not the exact location. I asked him if he knew the address. But he was confident that we would figure out the location once we reached there. What can a subordinate do? I nodded my head.  We arrived at the location. There were no lights in the vicinity. He was certain that the Party hall was nearby, but we couldn't pinpoint the exact location. We continued our search on the road for some time. But we couldn't figure out where it was. So I suggested calling HR to confirm the location. "Don't worry, gentleman," he said. "We'll find out." M...

For my friend, it was the happiest day of his life. My friend has been married for a long time, but they were unable to have biological children. I never inquired about the real issue because it was a very personal topic for them. They had had extensive therapy in order to have a kid. However, luck was not on their side. They both were unsure about their chances of having a kid. IVF trials were unsuccessful. Richa had reached the end of her patience. "Dear, Raman," she said. "Please accept it with open arms. I want to start a family of our own. But the difficulties of therapy have become unbearable for me. You are witnessing my plight." He was likewise aware of the issue and shared the same level of worry. "I know, you tell me; what should we do?" he inquired, his tone concerned. "Can we adopt a child?" she said, almost as if she had been waiting to say it. "Are you sure?" he said, with an enigmatic smile. "I mean, ser...

  My first year of college was in full swing. Today, I simply accept that I was dumb at that time. One of our lecturers entered the classroom. "Do you want to know who will be your class's representative?" he inquired. "Yes," all of the students responded. "So let's pick the most likely individual who can be your CR," he remarked. "You all stand up," he ordered. As all the students were standing in the classroom, he said, "So now, the students who scored less than 80% in the maths group can sit down." Some students sat quietly. After that, he said, "All students who scored 85% in the maths group can sit down." Many of the students had taken a seat. Now we were a few students standing in the classroom. Everyone was as intrigued as I was. Everyone was staring at us. Actually, our class had students who scored below 90% in the maths group. He then invited students who scored 86 percent,...

   Life is full of surprises. We never know what surprises will be in store for us. When an issue arises, it appears from all directions, trapping you in a scenario. My life was likewise turned upside down when my father suffered a heart attack. This circumstance upset me because all of my wages had ceased and there was no free money available for therapy. Fortunately, he was covered by our medical insurance. To some extent, it has endured. We chose the government scheme since the surgeons who would conduct the procedure were well-known surgeons. The operation went well. He was no longer in danger. I remembered another woman who had undergone open-heart surgery at the same time. All of these patients were confined to the ICU. For over three days, only nurses and physicians were permitted to enter. In the ICU, families could see their loved ones through a glass partition. However, the glass would be covered for the whole day and only exposed in the morning to see the patients o...

It was an exam day. I was well-prepared for the examination. In the morning, I got ready. My Aunt, who was living with me, happened to have a doctor's appointment near my college. As a result, we began our journey together in an auto-rickshaw. Stress used to get the best of me during exam time. I was just going over some lessons with myself in my head. There was an unexpected jolt for me. For a brief moment, I felt completely blind. Something unexpected happened. I was on road and my Aunt gave me hand to stand up. Yes, our rickshaw was involved in an accident. Some scratches were visible on the hands and legs. Apparently, there was no significant injury to both of us.  My aunt advised that we should rush to your exam first. So she called a second rickshaw, and we arrived at my college. My aunt stated that she was OK and that she had anyway a doctor's appointment. Slowly, I began walking. I had foot pain but was able to get to my exam room. While I was writing, I saw that blood ...

¶¶¶We got ready on the bank of the river. Hunger is one thing which keeps on coming day after day. We cannot avoid and we cannot neglect. We satisfied our hunger today doesn’t mean it will not come again. After all, this walk on fire was done due to hunger only. Nobody fears death but fell for hunger. It is the only thing kept us move on as we were aware that there was nobody to feed us here. During the journey, I kept remembering one adorable lady whom I respect very much. Her name as I know is “ Sindhutai Sapkal”.¶¶¶ From Book Lockdown: A Journey On Fire

  The human resource associate came to me for immediate help. There was an injury to an operator working on a machine. His one finger got stuck into the machine and got a serious injury. I was heading quality and was not having any responsibility for such incidents. I asked him, “What happened?”  He replied, “One of our employees had an injury. Will you please help me to take him to the hospital in your car?  As it is the early morning shift, neither the Plant head nor HR manager has come yet. Thankfully you are here.” As it was not the time to argue about why the Company ambulance is not in working condition, I ran towards my car immediately. I brought my car in front of the gate of the office. One production associate came with the injured associate to help him. They sat in the back seat. I started driving. The associate’s name and my name were the same. It was a mere coincidence. He had started crying. I said to him, “Don’t worry! Nothing will happen.” I had broken my ...

The body of Param was lying on the bed.   Strict lockdown had been implemented in the town. Param had a big family which included three sons, three daughters-in-law, five grandsons.   Such a big family it was. All were at home. The home was quite big. Every subfamily was having separate rooms. Only the kitchen was one. Two weeks before one of his grandsons was sick and he came out Covid-19 positive. After him, all men came out positive. Fortunately, nobody was serious. They were all asked to stay quarantined in their rooms. Medicines were provided. Param’s age was a worry. He had crossed, 85. All others got okay within two weeks except Param. All others reports came out negative except Param. Now everybody was worried for their “Pa”. Yes, everybody used to call him 'Pa'. They all were treated by their old family doctor and best friend of Param named Dr. Rahul. As Param was Covid-19 Positive, nobody was going in the room of Param except one oldest servant and Dr. Rahul. S...

Will there be a human in this world? What does it mean to be a human in this humanized world? I am lonely. Yes... lonely in this crowded world. Surrounded by a sea of lives, still I feel I am living in a dead world. Why I am feeling like this? What is the reason for this dryness in thoughts? I am a mango tree planted years ago by a very gentleman. When I was small, he took care of me every day. There was not a day he did not come to me. He used to speak to me as well. He used to tell me all his sorrows, happiness. Not only that, he used to ask me the solutions for queries which he used to have in his life. I used to answer by moving my branches in a particular way. I don’t know how, but he used to understand what I wanted to tell him. There was a miraculous bonding between us.  He used to come with care when there would be a storm or heavy rain to see if I had any injury. If I got a branch broken due to heavy rain and storm, he used to hug me tightly in his arms. He used to bring h...

  Normally, a bike is an attraction to every youngster. But during my days in college, due to certain conditions, I could not learn to drive a bike. I always had this complex in my mind that if I ever would be able to drive a bike. After college, I joined a company. My boss, Anant, was extraordinary in communication. I learned a lot from him. I was an extremely dumb and less talkative person in my initial days. I learned a lot from Anant, not only communication but also my self-confidence was built by him. I started my journey of development even though it was late. To drive a bike, was one more skill that I was lacking. I used to be ashamed of telling my friends or colleagues that I don’t know to drive a bike. But now while working, I saw that colleagues are required to go to visit at Client's place on the bike. There were two bikes in the company for us to visit at the client's place. The boss also was unaware that I don’t know to drive a bike. Somehow, I was escaping from th...

Lily was raised on violin lessons and minimal parental supervision. Her parents have been divorced during her childhood. She does not remember that her father had ever met her during her childhood. Her mother, Mrs. Julia Rodriguez has married another man Mr. Steven Rodriguez, who was least interested in her being a stepfather. So her childhood was all alone. There was no one to play with her other than her violin. She was a very bright student in her studies. But she always buried herself in her violin lessons. Looking at her interest in violin, Julia had appointed a teacher, Mrs. D'souza for violin lessons. It solved two problems. Her mother, Julia was a working woman and used to be too busy to take care of Lily. Her stepdad, Steven was free from his duties towards Lily in the absence of Julia. Mrs. D'souza was a very gentlewoman and was taking care of Lily like a granddaughter. She was almost 55years old lady. Very soon Lily and Mrs. D'souza had a great bondin...

मै  समय हूँ । आज जब मैं मानव जाती को देख रहा हूँ। तो व्यथीत होता हुं क्या ये वही मानव जाती है जो कभी भगवान महावीर के अनुयायी थे? हाँ , मेरी नजर उसी भारत की भुमी पर जा रही है। जहा भगवान महावीर निर्वाण के समय को दिपावली का त्योहार मनाते है। जहा लोग अपनी सरकार खुद बनाते और चलाते है।     मैने तो काल में   बहुत सी सरकारे आती हुई और जाती हुई देखी है । पर    इसी काल में   मैने जो देखा है , जब आप लोग   जानोगे ,  तो आप लोग भी बोलोगे की   मै चूप   क्यू   हूँ? पर   मै तो समय   हूँ। मेरा काम सिर्फ देखना होता है। शायद आप देख भी नही पाओगे।   ये इतना नन्ना सा बालक .... कोरोना ,. परदेसीयों के गोदी मे बैठ कर   भारत मे आ धमका है।   सारे जग मे हाहाकार मचाते हुए जिसने अपने कदम अब भारत की पवित्र भूमी में रख   दिये है। भगवान महावीर के   इस पावन भूमी मे अपना साम्राज्य जमाने आया हुआ ये छोटासा   जीव .. हाँ , जीवही ...

I came home, washed my legs and hands at the gate only using water and soap. Then immediately went to the bathroom for a bath without even touching a  single thing at home. I even kept my changed clothes in a tub for washing adding detergent to it. No. No…It was not morning but afternoon nor I had come from somebody’s last rites. This routine was started from the day the Covid-19 pandemic has taken over our life. From this routine, I just remembered my childhood days when my grandmother used to change clothes very frequently. We were not allowed to touch anything before bathe in kitchen. She used to wash hands for every little activity. Like wash hands for touching chapatti, wash hands for just serving food, wash hands after touching every pot before touching any other thing. And this was followed so rigorously that there would be arrangement of washing hands using two pots near her. One pot with clean water and another pot to add dirty water after hand wash. She ...

    Ryan is a young engineer who just completed a degree in an engineering college in the year 2000. After an engineering degree, his struggle started with searching for a job in a good company. For six months, he applied for all the best companies in his country. But he was not at all getting any feedback. After six months, there was a disastrous slowdown started in the industrial sector. Many big companies were declared bankrupt. Many companies had decided to lay off an ample number of employees. Now he was facing competition from experienced employees rather than fresher like him. Companies prefer professional people rather than newer ones. So his task became tough to search for a job. His routine was to find out a newspaper and search for job opportunities. He had not even got shortlisted for an interview in most of the cases. Frustration had started taking over his head. For hours, he used to sit on a riverbank and think about what would be his future. ...