Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Blonde - Part 1

I woke up from my slumber with a start. The phone ring startled me. I checked the time. It was only 6 in the morning. A glance at my mobile screen took away whatever little remained of the state called sleep in my eyes. Not that it was unusual to receive calls at 6 in the morning, but it gets scary when the person at the other end of the line in none other than your big boss. By the time I was back to my senses and could get a hang of the situation, I had already missed his call. I wanted to call him back but a strong urge to attend nature’s call had me rushing to the bathroom. I think the shock I had got had put pressure at the wrong end. It took another call of his to wake me up from the comfort I had got used to sitting there having a tête-à-tête with nature. I completed the customary formalities of this unplanned meeting with nature and rushed towards the washbasin with the phone blaring away to glory. I washed up my face at a superhuman speed in a desperate attempt to be attentive during the duration of the call. I couldn’t have afforded to come across as an inattentive jerk while talking to the big boss. I missed the second call too. Gosh. I would already be on his breakfast menu by now. I fiddled with the phone trying hard to recall any untoward incident in the past few days which had resulted in this call. I silently prayed to god to keep his temper at bay. I was sure of getting a sound scolding for missing his call twice. Nervously, I dialed up his number.

He sounded visibly excited at the other end. “Good morning Swami. I knew you would be awake at this hour given the fitness freak that you are. And see…that pant in your voice suggests you have been exercising. Doing your yoga sessions eh? Well, a healthy mind resides in a healthy body Mr. Swami.”

I just nodded in agreement. I dared not differ. “Uh…Hello Sir. A very good morning. Yaa…was in the midst of Sheershasan, Sir. I have been at it since the past fifteen minutes. It’s said that while doing it you should not do anything else. I couldn’t pick up your call because of that very reason boss. Another hour of my usual set of exercises and I will be done with my quota for today, Sir. How can I be of help to you Sir?”

“We don’t see health conscious young people like you anymore Swami. It’s really commendable for someone who belongs to the fast food generation. I knew you would be among the few awake at this hour. And I couldn’t wait to brief you till the office starts. I have a board meeting scheduled today from 9 in the morning to evening. I would be completely occupied with that the whole day and wanted to hand this over to someone capable enough. And I could not think of a better person who could handle this small thing well.”

My chest swelled with pride. There is something about compliments. It simply whisks away all your miseries. Compliments are like a performance enhancing drugs. You feel possessed and back yourself to do seemingly out worldly tasks after digesting one of them served on a platter. This drug labeled “Compliment” mixes so easily with blood that the effect stays for long. And bosses are greatest exponents of this art. One clean stroke and you have your subordinate raring to have a go.

To be continued...

18 comments:

Usha Pisharody said...

Shirshaasan?

Woah!!

Nice, nice... it's coming along really well...
Waiting!

Arunima said...

Gr8...u have build the equation quite well. It was humorous too.

Awaiting for the next part.

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Me said...

hahaha...

Liar Liar!

Richa said...

:D

now that is wat we call a real good morning tht starts with a lies :P

Tara said...

God! It's like words are your best friends, they could never go wrong with you! That magic, to just keep the reader hooked on till the end, and my eyes hate to see "To be continued..."

It's like you have just got a bite of a delicious item, and you have to wait for the next! But perhaps, that wait makes the next one even more delicious. :)

Waiting...umm...am hungry...terribly daa (can I call you that, but since you are a little elder, I guess I won't...doesn't sound good :)

Adisha said...

Quirk of fate huh ?! :D Appreciation is always a heady drug :)

Cheers.

Adisha

Sandeep Balan said...

@usha

he he...thanx for the appreciation...i dont think i have made this one really interesting..will try to make up for it in the next part...dealing with humour after a long long time..he he...had got used to senti emotional kinda stories...trying to break the shackles daa...

Sandeep Balan said...

@arunima

hey...welcome to my world...and glad to know that you liked it...cheers..

@priyanka

somehow i get this feeling that i have not done justice with this part...it is not taking you to any direction...will try to make up for it in the second part yar..and no...havent written the second part...its in the mind..he he!

@harshita

hey...its not me..its Swami..he he..thanx for coming down yaar! cheers!

@richa

yup dear...thats called a "GOOD" morning!

Sandeep Balan said...

@tara

grrrrrrrrrr...you made me feel "old" yaar...shit man..i have just completed my Post Grad. and am very much in marketers definition of "youth" segment...mamaaaaaaaaaaaaa...tara called me old!! omg....am feeling much older now....grrrr..how dare you...grrrrrrr....he he...ofcourse you can call me daa.....its cool...and hey...dont make the that oldie sorta guy yaar...shit man! disgrace...he he...

Sandeep Balan said...

@adisha

hey...welcome back yaar...yup..appreciation is a heady drug indeed..he he...thanx!

Anwesa said...

waiting 4 d next part..gettin curious..

Tara said...

OK daa! Got that daa! See, I said you were a "little" elder, but it's OK I guess daa! Loved that marketing thing...very funny! You are so young that you'll put an infant to shame! Happy daa....Mr.Oh-so-Young! ;)

Sandeep Balan said...

@anwesa

hey..welcome back...have tried my best not to keep you waiting dear...have posted the second part as well...fresh...straight from the oven ;-)

Sandeep Balan said...

@tara

Mr. Oh-So-Young...Hmmm...Mr. OSY in short...wow..i liked that...he he...thanx daa....god! why did you give me this extra funny bone in my system...no one takes me seriously...kids out there are out to tease me and i cant even get serious coz of this funny bone which keeps peeping out..ha ha..joking...hope you find the second part interesting as well...have just cooked it up...from the city of the nawabs..lucknow...here on a business trip...the idea for the first one also came to me around midnight when i was sitting with my lappy in the hotel room after the day's work got over...and i was awake till 6 in the morning thinking of a plot to extend the idea further...could only write the first part on the first day...got back to my lappy today for the second part also...

so part 2 served piping hot with kebabs n biryani's from lucknow ;-) ...back to mumbai tomorrow...yey!

Kartz said...

:D Neat..! And am off to read the next part!

Been a bit held up lately boss. Hope all is well.

Peace.

Unknown said...

hehe njan vannuu.. njan vannu..

shirshaasan.. reallyy?? have u done it by any chance... just checking..

hehe and compliments.. wonder what that work was.. going to read the part 2 now.. :)

Anonymous said...

Super cool :D

I think the shock I had got had put pressure at the wrong end.

lol awesome!

and the last para is just so, what do you call it? Sheer-truth :)