Chapter 3
Getting leave for a couple
of days was a big problem in
the company. Mr. Tyagi,
the CEO, never took vacations, and he always thought his subordinates never needed any. If you had something a bit important, like passing away
of a parent, or getting married, he might admit that
the absence
of a day might not be too much out
of order, but visiting a temple, that too for two whole days! That was something Mr Tyagi would never come to terms with.
And that too for Sreejith Raghuram!. His point man who handled some crucial projects. It was an unfailingly regular affaire in
the mid year, which spanned more than a week. It would start with Sreejith submitting a written request for leave, for his annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala.
The company worked in a bit
of a queer way. Most
of the HR activities happened electronically, but
the old paper forms were still available. This was for
the convenience
of the non computer enabled staff like drivers and security staff. Net savy higher ups never used
the paper system, but for reasons best known to himself, Sreejith preferred to use
the age old form to do this particular request.
The whole company knows about this event. While some looked forward to
the spectacle, others, especially
the poor souls who happened to be in
the crossfire, dreaded it. However, all
of them knew that Sreejith almost always won at
the end.
He modestly put it to be
the blessing
of Lord Ayyappa.
Breeze Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Was a small company dealing with high technology projects. It was originally founded by a group
of technocrats, ex DRDO. It was founded on
the hope that a private enterprise may offer
the much needed dynamism for
the projects that they could sub-contract from DRDO.
The endeavor was even encouraged by some
of the top honchos in DRDO, but soon they realized that running
the business is far tougher than running
the projects. At least while under DRDO, they got paid on time. Here, they have to run around for each invoice to get paid.
As they almost ran it down to
the floor, a conglomerate, already operating in
the area
of defense contracts, bought them off cheaply, and installed Mr. Shekhar Tyagi, a seasoned technocrat businessman, as
the CEO. Three
of the original founders left, while
the fourth one,
the best in technology, and worst in ambition, stuck on as
the CTO
of the company.
Then Mr. Tyagi did
the ultimate sacrilege. He brought in
the untouchable civilian business. He divided
the company into two divisions. One continued to serve
the defense projects, primarily DRDO, but also to
the upcoming private sector defense players.
The other group was dedicated to non defense projects.
The CTO, and
the team hailing from
the original setup hated
the decision, but
the business acumen
of Mr. Tyagi rode supreme.
Of course, he had
the backing
of the top management. Eventually, Mr. Tyagi was proven right, as
the civilian group, which was
the unofficial moniker
of contempt vested by
the defense fans, started bringing in
the moolah.
Sreejith Raghuram was hired directly into
the civilian group as project leader. He was an expert in security systems, but being a bit
of a non conformist, he had made his life a bit too hot at his first place
of employment.
Of course, he never admitted to that, and put
the blame on 'bloody Bangalore traffic' to be
the reason for moving. Mr. Tyagi's unfailing eye to spot talent had its share in
the decision to hire Sreejith, and place him in
the civilian group. It was
the defense projects that originally attracted him to Breeze, but when Mr. Tyagi gave him some details on
the projects on each side, he decided to take
the job as offered. Only that
the smart maverick never ventured if
the big man had, in fact, been a bit disingenuous in that presentation.
Mr. Tyagi never knew, but
the real factor that actually sealed
the deal was something he had originally fought tooth and nails, and lost miserably. It was
the lunch menu in
the cafeteria. Sreejith got bowled over by something he terribly missed at Bangalore.
The beef fry!. In all its glory, adorned by
the coconut flakes and crisp curry leaves, supported by
the onion slivers fried in oil.
Saumya, his sister, laughed so much when he explained why he is taking
the job, that her ageing mother-in-law took
the trouble to raise
the volume
of her chanting as a warning. Parvati Amma, mother
of Vijay, and
the matriarch
of that family, ran a strict regime in that house. Poor Saumya had to run to
the kitchen to suppress
the laughter. When she could talk again, she seriously advised Sreejith not to mention that again, at least to
the old lady. Parvati Amma was really fond
of Sreejith and considered him a good boy, and that good image would be shattered if she knew that he ate beef.
And in
the evening it left
the old lady really perplexed, and a bit annoyed, when he saw that her son too, was laughing rolling on
the sofa when he came back from work. She muttered something about
the whole world being gone lunatic or something to that effect, and went back to reading narayaneeyam* for
the millionth time.
Within a month, Sreejith reluctantly moved in with his sister. He almost had convinced Vijay with some effort, but when it came to
the old matriarch Parvati Amma, he was helpless. He held
the mother-in-law
of his only sister in high esteem, as she kind
of filled
the void
of his own mother being passed away. Soon enough,
the old lady started combing her ancient family tree to find a suitable girl for
the 'nice boy who is my bandhu'.
Sreejith had no choice there, so he just ignored
the minor irritant. He used his wonderful knack
of diverting
the conversation to something
the old lady liked, like
the wonders done by Chattambi Swamy@. Once in that groove,
the poor lady would forget all about what she wanted to say, and go on with
the new thread enthusiastically. He liked his work and workplace, especially
the sea breeze from which
the name
of the company originated. He liked
the free food there. He liked living at
the ancient, but beautifully restored house.
He would never admit it, but he even started liking his sister's cooking. He hadn't forgotten her attempts
of disastrous consequences while they were younger. It should be hereditary, he told himself. There is no other explanation.
Of course, they didn't eat meat or fish at home, but what else are those world famous thattu kadas for?
*See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narayaniyam
@See
http://chattambiswamikal.org/
I am residing somewhat near to Sabarimala but I have checked out 
