Though I am now cured fully, my disease cost me 2 years of my life. I didn’t notice when I was beginning to delve into it. Gradually everything around me started getting blurred. And they reached me on the verge of suicide. First I stared feeling lonely at my house which I didn’t share with anyone. Then I started feeling lonely in office where I sat single in a glass cubicle which announced my privileged rank. Then I started feeling lonely in the car which my chauffer drove to my home. I had arrived after all. I had arrived, after all.
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My colleagues still shared their flats in order to manage high rents. They still sat in 1X4 cubicles. And they rode motorcycles. They had not arrived. I had arrived. And I had arrived at the cost. I had strictly controlled everything, sacrificed my pleasures, sacrificed family, and sacrificed the girl who loved me, all, to get that success. And when I finally got that, I started feeling a vacuum. A vacuum which no material buys could fill up. And then a visit to the hospital and everything changed.
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But one thing remained same throughout. She was my classmate actually. When I studied books, she took part in blood donation drives. When I spoke in seminars, she collected old clothes for the poor. On one day, as I came out of the airport, I saw her along with 20 poor children: she had brought them from far away village to show the city. To show an airplane. From a broken boundary of the airport. I didn’t think about her. I didn’t think about whatever she was doing.
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I didn’t think about her even when I saw her in my own office. In my own office building. What was she doing in an MNC where money was religion and dollars flowed in everyone’s veins? It was the first time I stopped and talked to her. She recognized me with a smile on her face. Her smile reminded me of my mother and I ran away from her. I ran away from her to my own glass cubicle. In my own world.
I didn’t think about her even when I saw her in my own office. In my own office building. What was she doing in an MNC where money was religion and dollars flowed in everyone’s veins? It was the first time I stopped and talked to her. She recognized me with a smile on her face. Her smile reminded me of my mother and I ran away from her. I ran away from her to my own glass cubicle. In my own world.
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Today, I have all the answers. I can see the past differently. And today, I think about her. Her parents had forced her into doing an MBA. But she chose to specialize in HR and took optional in CSR. Our MNC hired her because it wanted to appear more responsible and wanted the media to know about some charitable activities which she planned to start with. I remember her sitting in her cubicle very near to the pantry. She sat there every morning when I entered the office. She sat there when I went for lunch. And she sat there the day things started getting blurred for me. One day, when it was too tough for me, I tried jumping from the open balcony. But before my leg could rise, I saw her sitting there. And her smile came in front of my eyes. I fell down, but not from the roof but only on the floor. They took me to a hospital.
Today, I have all the answers. I can see the past differently. And today, I think about her. Her parents had forced her into doing an MBA. But she chose to specialize in HR and took optional in CSR. Our MNC hired her because it wanted to appear more responsible and wanted the media to know about some charitable activities which she planned to start with. I remember her sitting in her cubicle very near to the pantry. She sat there every morning when I entered the office. She sat there when I went for lunch. And she sat there the day things started getting blurred for me. One day, when it was too tough for me, I tried jumping from the open balcony. But before my leg could rise, I saw her sitting there. And her smile came in front of my eyes. I fell down, but not from the roof but only on the floor. They took me to a hospital.
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I didn’t feel anything. How could anyone feel it after those medicines? Two years, made from moments saved from not doing non-profitable work throughout my life, were wasted. But ending it, I felt a relief. So I quit. I quit from the job where only my name was retained on the payroll out of respect. I quit from all jobs in this world. And I started a small company which sold flowers.
I didn’t feel anything. How could anyone feel it after those medicines? Two years, made from moments saved from not doing non-profitable work throughout my life, were wasted. But ending it, I felt a relief. So I quit. I quit from the job where only my name was retained on the payroll out of respect. I quit from all jobs in this world. And I started a small company which sold flowers.
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Now, I live amidst flowers. Every day, I see so many young people come to buy flowers in my shop. I see her smile in all their faces. During the days of my sickness, I avoided mirrors. I was scared of seeing my own smile. Today, a smile is the logo of my company.
Now, I live amidst flowers. Every day, I see so many young people come to buy flowers in my shop. I see her smile in all their faces. During the days of my sickness, I avoided mirrors. I was scared of seeing my own smile. Today, a smile is the logo of my company.
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I don’t know where she is working right now. I don’t know where she is. But I know her smile would be there on the face of so many lives she touched. Today, I understand that life is not about sitting in the costliest chair or drinking the costliest wine. Life is all about sharing smiles.
I don’t know where she is working right now. I don’t know where she is. But I know her smile would be there on the face of so many lives she touched. Today, I understand that life is not about sitting in the costliest chair or drinking the costliest wine. Life is all about sharing smiles.
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Rakshit,
CEO, Smile Chain Inc.
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Rakshit,
CEO, Smile Chain Inc.
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PS: This is a fictional story and all names mentioned here are fictional.
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