Short Story – INTERVIEW
Photo credit: clarita from morguefile.com
“So tell me about yourself?” Asked the interviewer.
“Well sir! My name is Shrikant Basu.I have done my IT engineering from Bangalore. I have 3 years of experience in Technical troubleshooting. I also have various expertises on latest technology in the market.”I replied.
“OK Shrikant, What are you doing in your present company?”
“I am a Business to Business Customer Technical support specialist where my role involves handling technical issues as well as customer, so I have considerable experience in People management as well sir.”I explained.
“Then why do you want to change your job?”He puzzled.
“I am looking for expanding my work, knowledge area and also am looking for opportunity where I can
‘Take the next step’.”
“Hmm…I see so what is your current CTC?”
I replied.
“And What is your expectation?”he inquired.
I replied.
“Oh! But we can offer you to only 30 % hike on your base salary and not at your entire pay package….would you be interested?” he said.
My mind went blank with fury. What I wanted say was ‘No I would not be interested in this peanut’. I wanted to punch his superior looking smug face. He knew what he was doing. He was asking to cheap rent my years of education and hard work, just because he could. And I had very limited options here.
But the fact was even he was a cheap resource for the said company, mauling through his job like donkey. He probably never had any inspirational idea in his entire life, so he sat there and interviewed people like me who were desperate to validate themselves into the society’s definition of success and glory . Probably, his target was to replicate as many donkey’s like him for the company and this would have given him a little Rs 50 worth trophy to keep at his desk. Then he would go around the entire office showing his grand achievement of the year. He would go on living life like this till his retirement and one day he will simply stop to look behind. He will see that he has done ok; he has accumulated enough to live off till he dies. This was done by 90% of people around him anyways after all, putting up fight for peanuts .
But I wanted to do something else, live in a faraway place where there is peace and beauty . A place which is quiet not because there is not enough going on. But rather which knows that there is no going anywhere, ever. All is here and now.
So we don’t have to accumulate, hoard and store all the wealth and riches of this planet.
So, I sat there still pondering over his question would I be interested in this offer? Then I thought of my wife back at home, my little girl and my mother who was suppose to be operated next month.
There are times in life when we start losing our self in midst of others expectation and desire. And submit to injustice and those who wrong us. Here question arise about our own ability to distinguish between fair and unfair. And fight for ourselves. But, then I will tell you that you will never be able to separate from unfair and fair. Why?
They have covered it all.
From vegetables in the grocery shop to your work place, knowingly or unknowingly you are oppressed .This is then given adjectives like compromise, adjust, and to go in the flow. Take it easy, as any resistance will lead to friction. Friction is a thing which is to be avoided in all cost.
Friction with wife, friction with boss, friction with colleagues, friction with neighbors and even friction with yourselves.
So, I said “Sure, I am interested.”
I called my wife with the ‘good news’.
My wife had bought sweets and my daughter hugged me, when I reached my home. So the life continues….
__END__
