Just a month into my new job and our
office got shifted. At the new place we had a highly professional and smart housekeeping
service. It caused some job cuts for old office boys and admin staff. They all were
temporary hires and hence they did not really mind. They would shift to some
other office. One of those office boys, or peons, was asked to be in the new
office for a month, just as a backup till the infrastructure is stabilized. I
being a new employee had not interacted with him much in the old office. But in
the new office this changed.
Since he did not really have much
work in the new office, he started hanging around the Billiards (game) room. He
also started playing and learnt quickly. I also played regularly and hence now
I was able to interact with him and got to know a bit about him. I noticed a
few good qualities in him. First, he had a very friendly nature. He did not get
annoyed or agitated at all and spoke politely no matter what. You can say that this
was expected from him since he was an office boy. Still, it appeared to me that
this was his nature and not just a behavior to display in office. He was also a
very quick learner. Most of us were just learning to play but he proved himself
to be the fastest learner. When I struggled, he would help me. He treated all
of us with great respect. I also noticed that he used to feel a big awkward in
the new super-luxurious office since he was the only office boy and appeared a
bit out of place. But I used to talk to him and greeted him with a smile and a few
words whenever we came across. If I was sitting on a chair and he would come to
talk, I would ask him to sit down too. I noticed that he had become a bit more
open and comfortable with me than he was with others. I think I treated him in
a friendly manner. And then one fine day, something caught my attention.
One day, perhaps during third week in
this office, I saw him doing some housekeeping work in the office. And I felt
offended. I ignored the feeling. After an hour or two, again I saw him moving some
items from here to there in the office and I felt offended. For a moment I
wondered why I was feeling offended. I noticed that the feeling was similar to
the feeling one would get if one’s own family member or a close friend would be
made to do some small work below one’s dignity. At that moment, I realized that
he had truly become my “friend” and that’s why I was feeling offended!
I would have seen him doing small
chores many times before and very regularly. But I never noticed; forget about
feeling offended. But after playing billiards with him and interacting with him
for a few weeks, I had developed a bond of friendship with him. And that very day
was the “Tipping Point” of our friendship. That day onward whenever I saw him
doing manual work, I would feel “hurt” a bit. Although on the surface I kept
ignoring the feeling as if nothing happened.
In a week’s time, his last day in
office arrived. A couple of days before the last day, I thought about giving
him some money as a parting gift. But then it did not feel right. I had treated
him like an equal all along and if I gave him money, I would display that I
considered him lower than me. Therefore, I thought it was not a good idea. But
then he was going away forever, and he was from a poor family. So I decided to
go ahead with my initial plan. On the last day, near the end of they day, I got
chance when both of us were playing billiards and I gave him 500 rupees asking
him to buy for himself something with it since it was his last day in our
office. He declined to take the note and kept saying that it was not needed. I
said that I knew it was not needed and yet wanted him to buy anything for
himself or his family with it. Then he took it and kept it in his pocket. It
was a relief for me.
After 10 minutes he said, “Sir, I
think despite this whole time I don’t know your name”. I was a new employee and
there was no surprise that he would not know my name. I told him my name.
After a while when I was leaving for
the day, he was just entering the office, perhaps to say final good bye to whoever
still remained inside. He said good bye to me and we had a handshake. At this
moment I saw a bit of moisture in his eyes. After all he must have got emotional
while saying good bye to this office where he was working since long and where
he must have made some good memories. Even temporary workers get attached to a
workplace and its people – it is only human to do so. But I know that boys like
him who come from a poor family seldom show emotion. Hence that hint of a
moisture that glittered in his eyes got captured in my memory.
I asked him to come to the office some
time in future just to see us all. As I left office for the day and the weekend
follows, from coming Monday he won’t be around in the office. He won’t be in
the billiards room displaying his new learnings. Perhaps at his new place of
work he won’t get to play billiards and he would miss these days when he loved
the game so much. Good bye, dear friend. Stay blessed always wherever you will
be. May life be kind on you.
Rahul Tiwary
No comments:
Post a Comment