(... continued from the previous chapter)

But that’s when I was a student. And that is also when I was my father’s pride for having cracked the toughest engineering entrance exam in my state. I was rocking; that’s what all my friends and relatives would think. Some would envy my success. After all, wasn’t I the boy who studied in the number one high school in my state? 

‘Adi, can you please help me with my slide? I’m stuck with the pricing sheet.’ That was Varun who stood up two cubicles from mine, and quickly added, ‘Wait, I’ll be there.’ 

He now stood next to me, with confused palms, not knowing whether he should hide them into his pockets or fold them. I said, ‘This is for the Accounts team to take care of. Why are you working on it?’ 

Varun smiled in an unusually coy fashion, which could not be typical of a guy, ‘Actually David sir asked me to help him with this. He told me he was extremely caught up with higher priority tasks. I think he’s travelling to London or something. So he’s busy.’

I knew David was a 5-star delegator. But I could not say that to Varun the poor chap. He had just joined after having been picked up by our bosses from his B-School campus. I also knew David had told Varun, ‘Feel free to approach Adi. He’s done a similar assessment for another client.’ 

I had been observing Varun for one month. He thought I was God. After all I had years of experience. And he was still a kid. Only if he had overheard my conversations with Kams!

(... to be continued)

So what... I'm an IT pro!

Two gorgeous size-zero saree-clad ladies escorted me into the overly crowded auditorium. My proud smile cut across almost till both my ears, while I made my way to the podium amidst the frenzy of a laser-like ‘mute’ video that was being played on two big screens. Busy camera shutters spoke volume of my success as I cuddled my lower back on the sofa cushion. It was my day, and I knew it was only the beginning of a never-ending pampering season for me. 

A lady – boy, didn’t she resemble Princess Diana – started the proceedings for the day. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, for some time now, we’ve all held our breath for this day. The wait is over, as we proudly…’

‘Adi’, screamed my boss from behind, shadowing all over my tiny face; her French perfume spreading like the Mughals acquiring new empires. She had to follow up this majestic entry with a fitting opening speech, ‘How far are we with the solution design presentation slides please? You know my boss wants to look at the first cut ASAP!’ Man, this otherwise super-sexy diva takes no time in transitioning into a ‘man-eater’. 

‘I’m working on it Kams,’ I responded. 

‘When can you share the first cut with me?’ 

I found myself lost. I had no bloody idea by when I’d be finished with it. Well, the secret was – and nobody but I knew that – I hadn’t even started with the slides, other than staring at the first blank slide throughout the first 2 hours of the day. Kams somehow saved me as she herself set a deadline for the completion of the slides, ‘Remember the previous one that you were working on for 2 weeks, and then I had to re-work on it to make it presentable? I wanna avoid that this time around, and would appreciate if you allow me to take a look at the work-in-progress document by 10 am tomorrow.’ Few expectations and questions do not need responses; Kams left my desk. 

I was so out of my senses, I couldn’t even want to look at her back – an exercise I usually excelled in!

My Fossil watch read 10 am, which meant I had already spent 2 hours in office, and had not done anything. Well not exactly ‘anything’; I was thinking! I looked at the first slide which was as white as a snow-cover. I had to transform that into a detailed solution design for a freaky client who was sitting in the Silicon Valley, and had a wish to consolidate their 4 Data Centers into 2: one in the US and one in Europe. As if that meant anything to me!

My job however was to work closely with few internal teams to prepare a design that would ensure a cost-effective and scalable solution. 

I started scratching my head, sitting in my cubicle. How on earth do I complete this document? A better question would be how do I get started? I told myself.

I decided to start with an introductory slide. I was the ‘go-to guy’ in my college for making introductory and concluding slides. God was always kind to shower me with broad-hearted friends who would take care of the main ‘body’ of my slides, on my behalf. 

 
(.... to be continued)