Rani Ramakrishnan's Blog, page 2

True Love

 

I remember seeing him for the first time. He was a tiny baby lying in a crib waving his fists at me. His eyes gleamed and he gurgled in the most adorable way “Will you please keep an eye on him?” his mother asked me in her soft kind voice. Of course, I would. He was family.

A few months later, he began crawling and soon we were playing together. He liked ‘hide and seek’ the most and I liked to play ‘Frisbee’. We played both.

Every morning when his father and I took a walk in the neighbourhood, he would insist on coming along and in the evenings while he played in the park, I would sneak off to explore the lanes beyond the park’s green lawns.

During winter, we would cuddle in the bed together and sleep until his mother came to wake us up in the morning. When he fell ill, I would sit by his side and watch him sleep. What if he woke while I was away and asked for me? My heart could not bear to think that possibility, so I would sit there night and day.

When he began school, we walked to the bus stop together and I always went to receive him when he returned in the evening. He would tell me about his friends at school and all the fun things they had done together. At night, I would sit beside him while he pretended to do his homework, watching him mischievously play with his mother’s mobile phone. I never ratted him out, though his mother always found out without my help.

During summers, they would go away on vacation. I was always left behind. In his younger days, he cried and wailed, asking his parents to take me along with them. They never did. As he grew older, he stopped insisting. I hated those summer days of loneliness. But, they were short because my family would soon return and my time would be fully immersed in the care and well-being of my young friend.

Sometime back, they left on one such vacation. He cried when he got into the car and his parents were teary-eyed too. I could see that they wanted to take me along this time. My heart swelled with joy. They were my only family and they loved me unconditionally. What more could I ask for?

That evening, their friends came home. I was very excited. I realised that my family had asked their friends to come visit me and keep me company in their absence. Loving families were like that. They took care of each other.

There was only one problem.

The friends’ family owned a Rottweiler that took an instant dislike to me. He wouldn’t stop barking until I stood meekly outside the gates. Seeing this, the new family decided that it was best for me to stay outside, out of their pet’s reach. They told me I could go away if this arrangement didn’t suit me. I was confused; where else was I to go? My family would come back here. I had to wait for them right there.

I chose to stay.

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To read the complete story visit my last week’s short story

Actions and Re-actions

Karthick looked at himself in the mirror. He was nervous but that was to be expected. He was about to present the keynote address at the graduation ceremony at his alma mater. Karthick Somasundaram, serial entrepreneur, millionaire and Chairman and Managing Director of the nation’s largest venture fund, was as nervous as he had been when he made the first pitch for his company to an investor decades ago.

Many things had changed in the twenty-five years he had been in business but despite everything, he had achieved, he carried a burden. He prayed for courage to unburden himself with grace that evening. He had arrived prepared to make the standard motivational speech but now he knew that the moment of truth was upon him. Taking a deep breath, he walked out of the men’s restroom. The time for hiding was over.

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The Institute Director was waiting for him at the reception. An hour before he had participated in the high tea hosted for the proud parents of the students passing out that day. The parents were overwhelmed with joy and expectation for the future. Their children’s success, the cushy jobs they had earned, the culmination of years of penance on their part, everything was evident in each word they uttered.

With the Director leading the way, the duo proceeded to the ceremony hall. Packed with over five hundred guests, students, media persons, faculty, alumni, and others, the auditorium descended into pin drop silence as soon as they entered. The solemn walk to the stage was excruciating with every gaze in the room taking each step with him. At long last, he was seated on the high stage facing the glowing audience.

The ceremony began with the usual prayer and soon, too soon, his name was announced and he was invited to speak. His breath was coming in short pants now and his chest was heavy. As soon as he reached the podium, he drained all the water in the glass placed on it. Everyone watched in fascination. What jewels of wisdom was he about to deliver in his keynote address?

The first bit of his talk was easy. He said good evening and addressed all the dignitaries on the dais with him.

[image error]He was at the brink of the precipice. One more word and he would be unable to undo his action. The loose robe he had been given to wear for the ceremony was choking him now. Perhaps ripping it off would help, but his sane mind dashed that thought before he could act.

Closing the prepared speech, he commenced his story. Four hundred and seventy-five, he told the audience was his lucky number. That number had changed everything for him. Many times over the years, the media had suspected that he was superstitious about the number. From his mobile number to the registration number of his Mercedes, everything had four hundred and seventy-five in it.

That day, standing in the temple of learning which had paved the way for his first overseas job with a shamelessly exorbitant salary tag, he spoke about his lucky number. The audience was stunned. Wasn’t hard work supposed to be the reason for one’s success?

But he continued, without remorse.

Four hundred and seventy-five had been the marks on the tenth mark sheet he had submitted to the government higher secondary school for admission to the eleventh grade. In those days, those marks spoke volumes about the brilliance of its bearer. It earned him medals and cash awards. It fetched him a scholarship for an engineering entrance-coaching course, which eventually helped him pursue an engineering degree at a prestigious college.

Right after his degree, he was placed on campus in his dream job. A few years later, his employer sponsored his management education, which he undertook at the same institution where he was speaking. While a student there, he fell in love and later married a former classmate. Together, they had a beautiful daughter who had made them proud parents several times over.

Many years after graduating from his masters, he had become the CEO of a multinational corporation and eventually started his own company. One successful venture led to another and soon he became known as a serial entrepreneur. Money kept flowing in and his fame spread far and wide, winning him more laurels. If failure and mistakes form a vicious circle, success and fame form a magical one, he told the audience.

Everything had begun with that first four hundred and seventy-five. His audience remained puzzled by his obsession with the number and his odd standpoint. Despite his mounting stress, he could sense the audience getting bored at his tale. But they would love what was to follow. Would they love him after that? He couldn’t imagine how they would.[image error]

What was Karthick intending to day that would shatter his audience’s faith in him? Why was it important for him to say the words when he knew what lay ahead?

To read the full story for FREE visit my weekly Free Short Story link here

Inspiration

Some days remind you of The Maker

By being more difficult than necessary.

One wishes for a little help,

Yearns for His miraculous helping hand;

Or even petty preferential treatment.

Something, anything at all

To endure the day and

Run the course to its end.

 

Some of us have more such days than others,

Endowed as we are

With less of everything we need.

Every step feels a burden,

And each passing breath a grind.

Because all around us are people

Who have been bestowed in abundance

Every small comfort we crave.

 

Not a worry do they feel,

Nor the burden of life they experience;

Their every wish instantly fulfilled.

Standing on the other side, I ponder,

At these fortunate many

Whose needs exceed my greed;

For whom agony is but an effort

To choose between cream and cheese.

 

Then one day, I laid my gaze upon another

Struggling soul like me.

Stones followed his every step,

And, he claimed no place as home.

For food, he often fought others

And inspected dustbins galore.

For survival, he wandered

From one hostile street to the next.

 

Abused by many, yet he knew not how to complain.

One day in his youth, he had lost a limb the most painful way.

Ignoring nagging pain, he lived each day

As he would were all his limbs intact.

Turning a blind eye to resentment,

His will surpassed his every remorse.

Shame on me for pining while he stood brave,

Unloved and three legged, a lame stray dog.

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Important Dates : 27 Dec 2017 to 31 Dec 2017 

During above period my debut novel [image error]

Twice Blessed (A Spirited Thriller about a Scandalous Crime)  will be available for FREE on Amazon. Grab your copy immediately from Here. 

A preview into the novel:

The main characters:

[image error] Tamannah : An independent  young college student who has everything going for her.
Shikhar: Her good friend and radio jockey.
Kabir: Tamannah’s brother, confident and lawyer.
Dharamveer: A commonplace tea vendor who inadvertently becomes the star of their efforts.
The Villain: S/He canno [image error] t be named!! I am sure you wouldn’t want me to spoil the suspense.
The Radio: In this age of live video streaming, the humble radio plays a powerful second fiddle to our heroine.

Other Characters

Tamannah’s unique family where fun and laughter go hand in hand with mischief.
Her bunch of over-achieving friends who are more than students.
An understanding boss, an accident prone trainee, and many more unnamed yet important persons who appear as the plot develops.

The Story: [image error]

A bright sunny story of a young girl on a quest for justice. She has a unique support system in the form of her loving family, a special bunch of friends, and others. [image error]One of them betrayed her and she is about to discover who the backstabber is. Which is worse, the betrayal or the ugly person behind the act . . . ? What happens when she learns the truth?

Read the book’s Blurb here.

Remember, the eBook is FREE for a few days only. Download your copy NOW!

https://myBook.to/TwiceBlessed

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All in a day’s work ( Unpublished excerpt from Twice Blessed)- Part 3/3

Part 3: The Shocking Confession

Read Part 1: The Acrimonious Beginning

and Part 2: The Sting Operation

before reading this final and concluding part of the short story

I stood still a few minutes, shaken by what I had just learnt. I did not know what to make of it. “Disaster” was beginning to take new meaning, every second. So, there had been no leak, just a plagiary. “Just” being the understatement of the year. What was Prabhat even thinking? He was clearly not capable of thinking at all. Feeling weak in the knees, I sat on the stairs, nearby.

I wondered if I was better off knowing what had transpired or not knowing. I felt lost and cheated. A few seconds ago, I had no clue about what had happened and I was charging full throttle, all guns blaring, on a fishing expedition, to unearth the truth.

How was I to share my findings with The Boss?

My phone buzzed, all of a sudden. Prabhat.

“Where are you?” were my first words, on picking the call.

“I am just entering office.”

“Ok, I’ll be there” I replied curtly. I got up slowly and found my bearings. I had wandered behind the building, while speaking to Swarna on the phone. I made my way back to the real world where we had to face the music for our actions.

Prabhat was at his desk. I walked up to him,

“Come along Bhat” I said to him and then without stopping I continued walking towards The Boss’s cabin.

“What’s up Tam?” he said, following me.

“Got to clear some matters with The Boss.” I said, without turning around. Alok was busy. The PR guys were hashing out options. An intense argument was in progress and I barged in with a knock on the door.

“What the hell, Tamma…….” He didn’t finish.

“This is priority, Alok. Trust me; you need to hear this, now.” I butt in with a no nonsense tone.

“I am with the PR guys,” He began and once again, I interrupted him.

“Vital info, Alok. You will need it for your PR campaign.”

He asked the PR team to stay put and got up himself. He told them, he would be back in a minute or so and headed for the conference room, asking us to follow.

This better be good, Tamannah. I left a very important discussion just to hear you out.” He said taking a seat and indicating we make ourselves comfortable too.

“I found out how this fiasco happened.” I blurted out, not knowing how and where to begin.

“What?” Alok jumped, angry and agitated, yet disbelieving.

Prabhat looked as though he would faint. He turned a deathly white.

“How did you find out? Who is the traitor?”

“You can judge for yourself, for now Prabhat will tell us where he went, after I left?”

“Are you joking, Tamannah? Do I look like I care about that right now?”

“No Alok, you are not getting me. Prabhat needs to tell us something first. I will then tell you the complete details. I am not wasting your time.” Turning to Prabhat, “Do tell” was all I said, giving him a hard state, so he knew that I knew.

Turning paler, if that was even possible, he said rather meekly, “I went to meet a friend.”

“When there was so much going on, you went to meet a friend?”

“I needed to catch some air, too Tam.”

“Does your friend have a name, Bhat?”

“Yes, her name is S.Rao.”

“S.Rao? Girlfriend?”

“No, she’s married. She’s just a friend.”

“Is this going anywhere, Tamannah?” Alok interrupted, looking angrier by the minute.

“Two minutes, Alok. Almost there!”

“So S.Rao, she’s working?”I continued, addressing Prabhat, this time.

“Yes”, he replied.

“Where?”

“The Catalyst” he answered, looking briefly at his brother-in-law.

The Boss’s reaction was instantaneous. He jumped up from his place, Rushed to Prabhat and almost yanked up him up. Catching hold of him, the Boss, bit out. “You are the leak?”

“That’s not quite how it happened, Alok. Please put him down. Let him speak.”

“Tamannah, what are you saying? This rat has all but ruined me and you want me to let him speak for himself?” he bellowed.

“Alok, please, just listen to me, “I implored and finally he relented.

Prabhat looked shit scared, to put it mildly. He eyes, begged me to bail him out, one last time! Sadly, not this time. There was little really that I could do, except insist he spit out the truth. Seeing, that I was not about to come to his rescue, he began, haltingly, stuttering and stammering, as little.

“It’s really not how it seems. I, I . . . (long pause, waiting for the roof to fall, I think. Then he began again.), I, Swarna and I are classmates. She moved to town recently, after her marriage. I, (starting trouble, continues. Another long pause), met her one day at the mall and we, we reconnected. She had joined The Catalyst and I worked here. So we used to chat a lot about our respective jobs.

“She, she (he took a big gulp of water, stalling), she showed me the crackle campaign and told me her client had rejected it. She was distraught. Both of us thought, it was a marvellous idea. She was very angry with the client for rejecting it. She was going to throw away the whole thing, her first pitch that had failed. I took it and told her I would keep it as a souvenir. I told her that one day, decades from now, I would gift it to her, and surprise her. She gave it to me and left.

“We both forgot about it. Then, we got the new client and you said I could handle it. I was thrilled. I had so many ideas. You remember? But somehow or the other they all got rejected. Then, I remembered the “Crackle campaign” that Swarna had made.

“She had made it for our client’s competitor so it could be used as such. I thought, why not. I thought, I would tell you after the campaign became a hit. I also told Swarna, that I had a surprise for her. Something that would blow her away totally. I was going to bring her here and introduce her to everyone and tell that she was the one who actually came up with it.

“The day of our campaign launch happens to be her birthday, so I thought; this would be a perfect gift. Her first, pitch had been used after all. A few months back she informed me that after a million choices, the client had gone back to the original idea. I never realised that the ‘crackle campaign’ was the original idea.

“That’s how it happened. The whole of it. I never intended for you to get into trouble. I would never hurt The Place. You gave me a chance when even my dad wouldn’t. It’s not something, I can ever take lightly.”Tears were rolling down his cheeks and he looked pathetic.

The Boss sat down heavily, at a loss for words. He did not know what to do with his brother-in-law. Clearly, he had not intended malice; nevertheless, what he had done was wrong. “Why didn’t you tell me all this in the morning? Didn’t you see how much trouble The Place was in? Didn’t you see me questioning all your colleagues? I asked you specifically if you had anything to do with this, even inadvertently and you did not come clean. You could have said something at least when I grilled both you and Tamannah this afternoon. At least, she would have been spared all the abuse she had to listen to, on your account.”

“I was totally not expecting this to happen. Caught off guard, I chickened out every time I tried to walk into your room and tell you. Besides, I wanted to speak to Swarna, before telling you. I just returned from meeting her. I was planning to tell you tonight, somehow. By the time Tam, found out, I don’t know how.”

“You did not tell her?”

“No!”

“How did you find out, Tam?” He asked looking at me, in surprise.

“Ahm.. it’s a long  story Alok and I did not use the most ethical of means, I must add.” I said, edgily. Now it was my turn to face the music.

“What have you done?” He said, looking tensed all over again.

“I made a couple of calls, in false pretence.”

“Tamannah, I hope you have not done anything that will put you or The Place or your family in a spot.”

“No , No Alok, nothing like that. I called, the competitor’s marketing person, introducing myself as a headhunter. He gave me Swarna’s name and office number. I called her and told her I was Prabhat’s mother, threatened her with legal action and she came clean.” I finished in a hurry, editing my version, sufficiently.

“You did what?” both the men reacted in unison.

“You threatened her with legal action, for what?” Alok asked.

“Well you see Alok, I called the marketing guy. . .”

“How did you get his name and number?” Alok asked, sounding more curious than agitated.

“I got his name from LinkedIn and his office number is listed in the directory. I called the office and asked them to transfer my call to him.”

“Oh!” they said, once again in unison. One tone was in awe and the other suspicious.

“I told him, I liked the campaign and had a client who liked it as well. He told me he wasn’t looking for a change. In the process, he let it slip that the campaign had been finalised six months before. We did not even have our client on board then, I think. I needed to glean more details, but I couldn’t get it out of him, as a head hunter. So I did the next best thing. I got a reference.

“I asked him for the details of the person working on the campaign for The Catalyst. He gave me her name and office number with extension, quite happily, I must say. He even offered me a job!!”  I beamed at Alok, to lighten the mood a little. If he continued in his present agitated state, I was sure to get the third degree with what I was about to tell next.”

“He oferred you a job?” Prabhat, exclaimed looking more and more like a fan meeting his superstar for the first time. He did make me feel like a Bollywood Khan, but the Boss was the ultimate reality check. His sober face gave nothing away. Was he happy or not, I couldn’t tell.

I continued on a cautious note, “I checked out Swarna in LinkedIn and observed she was friends with Prabhat. I realised, she was the link. I just did not know what had transpired between them. I had to get it out of her without her knowledge. So I told her I was Prabhat’s mother.

“I informed her that you had threatened legal action against him for the fiasco, which you had Alok, just this afternoon, I just did not tell her what the actual fiasco was. I let her believe that I already knew. I told her that Prabhat was not answering my call and if any legal action did happen, I would make it my business to name her, since she was in it just as much as he was.

“She tried shrugging me off, but I persisted and in the end, she told me she had done nothing wrong, by sharing something rejected storyboards with her friend. She also said she did not know that Prabhhat had used them. Then she banged the phone on me. That’s all I gleaned out of my fishing expedition.”

“You thought I was a traitor when you asked me to come to with you just now?” Bhat said looking hurt and forsaken. His most adorable look.

“You did all this, on a hunch?” Alok said, looking unhappy.

“Alok, you said something this afternoon that got me thinking.”

“I was in a bad state this afternoon.”

“We all were, but you were right, this project was my responsibility and I needed to do something, at least post-mortem. I couldn’t work normally, everyday, suspecting each person in this office and Bhat, yes; I thought you were in the wrong, somehow. I found it hard to believe that you could do something underhanded, but still you were clearly to blame for what happened, of that I was sure. That’s why I called you straight to meet Alok.”

“Did you use the office phone for all this?” Alok said, suddenly, looking ready to explode.

“Nope, I used my mobile.”

“You called a random person, took my mother-in-law’s name and threatened her?”

“Yes!”

“Don’t you have any sense of consequences? What if she had called her superior or she may still call you on your number. She may take legal action against my mother-in-law, because she believes that is the person she spoke to.”

“Alok, stop looking at the dark side of things. This mystery is over. I can call and apologize to Swarna, if you wish. I will tell her it was a prank I had played to give Prabhat coronary. I am sure we will never be friends, but she will be relieved. Look at the bright side, you won’t need to look at everyone with suspicion and you can decide exactly how to manage the PR angle.”

He did not immediately respond. Then he got up, looking all serous and said, “Ok, please call the girl, and apologize. I don’t want any ramifications of your actions, to affect anyone, including you. And you,” he said, turning to Prabhat, “I want you to go home and think about what you have done. I am still not sure, if I can forgive you and let you work here. We will talk, when I get home. For now, I need you to leave.”

Saying as much, he walked to the door and stepped out. Then turned back, smiling he added.”Oh, and Tam, I am amazed at what you have accomplished with just a couple of phone calls. Thank you. Because of you, I can at least me sure of my staff. I really appreciate everything you have done. In a few minutes, I will call a staff meeting and share the details with everyone. After all, they have also had a nightmarish day, with me. So they deserve to know and you deserve an applause. But, in future, before you go on these fishing expeditions do consult me; there may be a more correct path to take.”

“Aye, aye, captain” I beamed.

“Maybe it’s time I shifted you to client acquisition,” were his parting words.

Hope you enjoyed the story. Read more about Tamannah at , Twice Blessed – A Sneak Peek !

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All in a day’s work ( Unpublished excerpt from Twice Blessed)- Part 2/3

Part 2 : The Sting Operation

Make sure you have read Part 1: The Acrimonious Beginning 

I needed to think and nothing like going for a drive, to think. I picked up my keys, told Prabhat I was going for a drive and that I would be reachable over the phone. I also promised to be back in a few minutes. I stepped out, put the ride in gear and set out.

I did not follow any predetermined route but soon I found myself crossing the ad agency, which had released our ad. I had half a mind to storm in and lay it on them. Then I thought better of it. They may have been unethical but I was not unlawful. After wandering aimlessly for an hour or so, I got an idea.

I googled the contact details of the brand that had stolen our ‘crackle’, the cherished nickname we had given our now infamous campaign. Then I logged into LinkedIn and dug out the name of the company’s Marketing Manager. I called their offices and asked to speak with the gentleman. I told them, I was a friend. The telephone operator connected the call to him.

To him, I gave a false name and introduced myself as a recruiter. I told him, truthfully, that I had found his profile online, and was interested in discussing an exciting opportunity.

“Thank you very much, Ms. Manali, for considering me, but I am not looking for a change right now.”

“I know, you are on top of the world, right now. I saw your advertisement in the paper today and that’s how I decided to find you. I must congratulate you on an exceptional effort.”

“You saw our ad? That is wonderful. Thank you very much for your appreciation.”

“It must have taken you weeks to plan it?”

“We have been planning it for over 6 months. Today’s ad is only the beginning of the full campaign.”

“6months!” I exclaimed and thought to myself that was odd. We had been working on it for only last 3 months.

“You know, how it is. We work with an external ad agency and they came up with the ‘crackle’’ campaign 6 months ago. It took so long for us to plan and implement it completely. It is timed to beat year-end business competition. You know how competitive our market had become”

They also called it ‘crackle’!! Things were getting murkier by the minute. I persisted.“I do but if you hear me out, I am sure, the opportunity I have in mind will also seem challenging to you.”

“I am sure, it is an exciting offer but right now I am enjoying my work. I have a free hand here to implement my ideas. I am just beginning to warm up to the market. I want to see how far I can go, before I get bored. Only then, I plan to shift. I am sorry.”

“That’s really tough for me. I was hoping, I could tempt you. I liked your ad and my client is looking for someone who thinks like that. “

“Sorry I cannot take this further.”

“No problem, but maybe you can still help me?”

“Sure, would you like me to refer any other pals of mine?”

“Exactly, but I am interested in a very specific pal. You said, you used an ad agency for the campaign. So you will know who came up with this campaign there. I would like to speak to him or her.”

“Ha Ha, you liked the campaign a lot, I see. Well, we work with “The Catalyst” for all our ads and I deal with their client service person mainly, but I think this campaign was designed by their creative executive, Swarna. She is a new hire, and came up with this idea within a week of our giving them a brief. We were very impressed with all her ideas, actually. This was the best of the lot. “

“Can you share her number and last name, please?”

“Sure, she is Mrs. Swarna Rao and she is reachable on extension 13. I am afraid, I don’t have a personal number for her.”

“That’s all right. Shall I wait a couple of days before I call her? Is there any chance of you changing your mind? I could hold on!

“Ha , ha. Would you be interested in a job in our business development team? If so, I could arrange an interview. We are looking for someone with the same ‘never give up’ philosophy.”

“Ha, ha. Now it’s my turn to decline but thank you very much. I will be in touch later, if something that is perfect for you comes up.”

“Sure, after a few years I hope.”

“It was nice talking to you. Thank you very much. Have a wonderful day!”

“Thank you and wish you also a great day.”

 

I sat back and took stock of all that I had gleaned out of him. He seemed quite straight forward. The time line he quoted was quite off, though. Why would he say 6 months when the crackle campaign had not even been conceived then? Was he in on the espionage with the ad agency?

I checked out Mrs. Swarna Rao on LinkedIn. She was new all right. Maybe a little more than 6 moths at The Catalyst. This could be her first creative project for there. She was not new to the trade though. She had worked in other agencies before but all of them were out of town, at Mumbai. Maybe she moved here after marriage and joined The Catalyst, I thought.

Then I spotted something interesting. She was in my network! She was Prabhat’s connection and so she was in my network. Prabhat ! what goof up had he done, this time, I thought feeling sick. He was prone to disasters but this was huge, even for him.

The bugger had denied knowing people at The Catalyst. Maybe, he didn’t. I thought. She could have joined work there after they connected online. They might not know each other otherwise. It was not necessary that all roads from disaster lead to him. He was the guy who couldn’t copy without breaking the machine, after all. How could he steal with panache? He had to be given the benefit of doubt, surely.

I put my car in gear and headed to work. The Boss ushered me in the moment I stepped in, still in his “shoot to kill” mood.

“Where did you go, without informing anyone?”

“I had to clear my head and think. Besides, I did tell Prabhat and I kept my phone on all the time. He didn’t tell you?”

“He left right after you did.”

“He never told me he was going somewhere. Where did he go?”

“God knows! Both of you are gallivanting in and out of here, as through you are kings and heave no need to report to anyone.”

“Oh, Alok, that’s not true, and you know it. I just needed to think about all this that is happening and clear my head. That’s all. “

“You should have at least informed someone responsible.”

“Did something come up? you did not call me!”

“No, I am just keeping track of everyone. Prabhat is not answering my phone. He left right behind you so I thought he was with you.”

“Nope, I did not see him. Wait, let me try his number”

“He’s not answering anyone’s call. I hope he’s not gone and done anything stupid, like run away from home! I have enough problems without adding personal ones to the list.”

I had not thought of that. Prabhat was unusual in his ways but was he capable of running away for a showdown with his boss, who also happened to be his brother in law. I wasn’t sure. But, one thing became clearer. He was involved in some way, or the other. I just did not know how. I had to find out. “Don’t raise alarm bells, just yet. Let me check out the his usual hangouts, ok. We’ll find him and this problem will also get resolved. I am sure. Give it a little time. “

“It’s ok, I will track him. What did Bean Bag say?”The Boss wanted to know.

“That he loves us! But Alok, there is a lot of bad mouthing going on. The word about this fiasco is being blown out of proportion and spread to our clients. If Bean Bag’s version is anything to go by then there is some serious PR (Public Relations) needed. “

“I am well aware of what needs to be done and its being done. Now tell me exactly what he said.” As I filled him in, The Boss listened, nodding occasionally. He then picked up the phone and spoke to the PR team, to come into his cabin. He made me repeat my interaction with Bean Bag, for their benefit. He then excused me and continued speaking with the PR guys about stopgap arrangements, no doubt. “Poor Alok”, I thought. “What a mess”.

I called the Prabhat, again without success. I was in my “bulldozer” mood, you know the one in which, I just charge forward and don’t care what gets crushed underneath. The agency’s reputation, my reputation, so many people’s livelihood and a multitude of other important things were at stake here and somehow, Prabhat was involved.

Prabhat was my responsibility. The day was getting worse by the minute and I just needed to get to the bottom of it before The Boss carried out his threat and suspended me. I found the number for The Catalyst online and dialled extension 13. Someone picked the call and I asked for Swarna. I was informed, she was not at her desk.

“Oh, just a second. Here she comes; I will give her the phone.”

“Thank you”, I told the voice who had been so helpful and had not asked a single word about who I was!

“Hello?” a new voice said.

“Hello, Is this Mrs. Swarna Rao?”

“Yes, May I know who this is?”

Oh, Shit! I had not planned what I was going to say to her. Think fast Tamannah!

“Hello! Can you hear me ma’m?” the voice at the other end, said hesitantly.

“I am Amrinder Kaur, Prabhat’s mother,” I said into the phone, crossing my fingers. I stepped out of the office, once again and used a stern tone. I needed this to work.

“Oh” was all she said and then silence.

“Are you there?” I almost barked into the phone. A passerby stared at me but I focussed on my conversation.

“Yes, I am here, aunty.”

“How do you know my son” I launched into attack.

“We were at college together, aunty.”

“He never mentioned your name while he was at college.”

“I bumped into him one day, a few months ago. We were not very good friends in college but since we live in the same city now, we stay in touch, that’s all.”

“I don’t know all that nonsense. My son has been acting strange all day and now he is not answering my phone. I just know, you are at the heart of all this.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, aunty.” She said, sounding afraid.

“What is all this nonsense about this ad in today’s paper.?”

“What ad, aunty?” she said, trying to beat about the bush.

“You know which ad.”

“There is no nonsense, aunty. I really don’t know what you are trying to ask me. If you don’t mind, you should be asking these questions to Prabhat. I am sure he can answer them.”

“I am sure, he can. But he has to answer my call for that to happen. So, you fill me in, in the meantime. My son-in-law is threatening to call the police. At least, I should know if my lawyer should apply for anticipatory bail.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, really. I am at work, I have to go.”

“Clearly, you are not his friend. You are just someone who went to college with him. Well, don’t tell me I did not warn you. My son-in-law is in a real rage today and even my daughter is not able to stop him from going to the police. You are not my son’s well wisher but I am still warning you. You also better speak to your lawyer. After all, once my son goes in, it’s just a matter of time before, your turn comes.”

“I have done nothing illegal and nobody can take any legal action against me for anything I have not done”

“That’s really for the police and courts to decide. What can we do about it? Once a complaint is filed, action will be taken”

“You are simply trying to frighten me. How dare you call me at work and threaten me.” She was finding her feet now. I had to strike or back out, or else I would be the one in soup.

“Look, my child, I don’ t have your personal number , or I would have called on it. As it is, I went to all the trouble of finding out where you worked and your office number, so I can understand the situation better and help both of you. But you are obviously innocent and are not worried for yourself. So forget that I called. Have a good day.”

“You went to all this trouble because Prabhat did not pick your call.”

“Haven’t you been listening? I don’t worry about grown up sons not picking my call once or twice but I do worry when my usually cool and composed son-in-law promises to see my son in hell for what he has done. Top of that, Prabhat is not answering his phone. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I take it you have spoken to him today. So you know the situation.”

“You are sure about your son-in-law, taking legal action?”

“Why would I joke about such a serious matter?”

“Prabhat did not do anything illegal, neither did I.”

“Really! That’s what I have heard all day.”

“Prabhat mentioned my name? How did you know about me?”

“My son is an idiot but he would never give up his accomplices. He did not mention any names.  But I am not stupid. I worked it out, myself. If I can, so can the police, you know!”

“I keep telling you, I did not do anything illegal.”

“I believe you.”

“You don’t do you?”

“My opinion is worth two hoots in court, as I keep reminding you.”

“I tell you, there was nothing  illegal in whatever we did.”

“Really, “whatever” you did!! Is that how you are going to play this one, now?”

“Look aunty, it’s not illegal to share creative ideas.”

“It is if you are going to copy an ad word for word, especially if you got money from two clients for the same ad.”

“That’s not how it was.”

“That is how it looks, from where the police, stand.”

“Look aunty, I just shared some storyboards that were rejected by our client, with Prabhat. I did not know that it was approved until much later and I did not even know that he used them in his campaign until today. I refuse to take the blame for this fiasco. I did nothing illegal. If you or your family call the police on me, I swear my husband will sue everyone involved, including Prabhat.” Bang and the line went dead.

Watch this space for Part 3 (Conclusion)

Read more about Tamannah and her adventures at Twice Blessed – A Sneak Peak ! 

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All in a day’s work ( Unpublished excerpt from Twice Blessed)- Part 1/3

Part 1: The Acrimonious Beginning 

I arrived at the office for my regular post lunch shift. As I swiped in the unusual nature of lifelessness inside was the first anomaly that caught my attention. Everybody was busy at his or her respective workstation, concentrating at something of paramount importance.

On a regular day, teams working together, huddles debating colours and fonts of a campaign, shouts for hot coffee, a queue at the photocopier, client meetings. . . , would be in full swing at this hour. I found it strange that none of these activities were in evidence. Even more perplexing was the scene inside The Boss’s cabin.

He sat at his desk, surrounded by the sales and the account management team. Instead of addressing them, he was busy on the phone. Everyone gathered in the room was also busy on his or her mobile blatantly disregarding the ‘All phones on silent during meetings’ rule.

The Place, the boutique advertising agency where I worked was a liberal organisation. Few rules were imposed but the ones in place were enforced with strict discipline. In my two years there, I was yet to come across an instance where one of these sacred rules was disregarded in this fashion.

Something was up. I was sure of it.

The moment I reached my desk, the intercom buzzed. It was The Boss asking me to step into his cabin for a discussion. For some strange reason, the call unnerved me. As I worked part-time and by the time I arrived the whole office was fully immersed into their day’s work, it was routine for me to be summoned in for a discussion within minutes of arrival. Despite that, I felt impending doom in my bones.

Walking past familiar faces, I tried to catch someone’s eye and get a hint about the situation. A few muted smiles aside, everybody avoided eye contact with me, making me even more uncomfortable.  I was in trouble. That was the unsaid message. Some deep serious shit! I wondered what it could be.

The sales and account management people filed out as I stepped in. Their stony expressions cemented my fears. Prabhat, my accident prone, catastrophe magnet of an assistant was already present and he stayed put. He looked crushed. A hitherto unseen expression, I noted, surprised.

Usually, when he goofed up and dumped the universe on me, he looked confused and apologetic. Sometimes, even shocked and sad, but never devastated, as he did now. He looked distraught and ready to burst out. That set worry bells ringing. What had he done now? How bad was it?

“How was your exam?” The Boss began being his courteous self.

“Good, Alok.” I replied cheerfully, without letting on my tension.

“Saw today’s paper?”

“Nope, is there something I should have seen?”

“You could say that.” He replied, passing me a copy of the day’s paper.

“What am I looking for?”

“Not the weather report”

Bad mood, I assessed, as I scanned through the sheets of the paper. Then I saw it. The last two pages of the paper looked very familiar. It was the crackle campaign. Wow! It looked awesome. Slowly realization dawned. Why was it out a full week before schedule? Then my heart stopped beating.

The brand was wrong. The ad was the same, pixel for pixel, word for word, but the campaign belonged to a competitor. I checked and rechecked. Even the fonts, words, everything was the same. Yet, the brand was wrong. How could that happen?

“How did this happen?” The boss demanded, at that instant.

I looked at Prabhat and then at the newspaper, trying to understand how it could be that an ad designed in this office, approved by our client, would end up endorsing a competitor brand using a rival agency. I was clueless about how to respond to the Boss’s question.

“Do you know what a hit on my reputation this is? Our client is threatening legal action. Our other clients are getting cold feet. I have been fire fighting all day. You were the ones responsible for this account, I want an explanation. How did this campaign end up with a competitor agency?”

“I have no clue, Alok.”

“That’s not acceptable. You were responsible, Tamannah.” Looking at my distressed assistant,”And you Prabhat. If you cannot do a thing right, how is it that you always manage to do something perfectly wrong? How did you pull, this stunt off? I genuinely want to know. You worked your butt off for this campaign and then handed it to your friends at The Catalyst?”

“No boss, I don’t have friends there.”

“So Tamannah must have shared the details, is that what you are saying?”

“No, she would not have done so.”

“Really, you know that how? Tell me how the hell this ad is in today’s paper?”

“I swear. I already told you a million times, I have no hand in this.”

“So Tamannah, you want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Boss . . . I saw the ad just now, in front of you. I am still reeling under the thought that information was stolen from our office. Do you think, any other campaign may have been compromised?”

“Let me worry about that. You tell me how something you were responsible for ended up in today’s paper.

“I don’t know.”

“Excellent, that is an answer I can defiantly give my clients and they will be sufficiently reassured with those words. Do I look like a brainless hippo? Both of you sitting here smug and unaffected, as through you are not accountable for any of this! But get this, both of you. You are responsible. I will dig to the bottom of this and I will take appropriate legal action against the culprits. There will be no favouritism for family or women or anyone.” (Prabhat was The Boss’s brother in law, explaining The Boss’s choice of words there.)

“Legal action.” Whoa! What had just happened?

 “Do you hear me both of you? “He roared.

We nodded shocked at his ferocity. The Boss was a docile, kind, easy going person. Who was this guy? We were seeing this avatar for the first time.

“Now get out and don’t come back until you are ready to explain how this happened. And Tamannah, you need to hand over all the campaigns you are working on to Tushar. Both of you are suspended until enquiry on the matter is completed. There is no need to come to work unless I ask you to or you have an explanation for what happened.”

How humiliating! I had never been thrown out of a classroom, much less my own office. How date Alok put the blame on me? “Alok, you are reacting unreasonably. We have done dozens of campaigns together. I have worked here for almost 2 years and you know me well enough to know that I will never do anything unethical. How can you blame me for what happened? I understand I am responsible for the account but this kind of deceit is not something I am capable of doing and you know it. How can you utter such harsh words at me?”

“Tamannah, I am sorry if you feel that you are being penalised for something that is not your fault but truth be told, you are at fault. This is a new account and you were responsible for both the campaign and this assistant. On your watch, a competitor has acquired the entire campaign and used it. I fail to see how all is not your responsibility”

“But you are accusing me of unethical behaviour”

“I am accusing you of no such thing. I am saying that this happened on your watch. I just need to know how that came about, if you were not involved.”

“If you were involved,” I retorted, furious. “Really Alok!” Finding it difficult to control my temper, “If I was involved! So you are entertaining a possibility that I may have been involved in all this and that is not an accusation? Let me tell you something. I don’t need this job. I come here because it suits me and I enjoy my work. I have no need to sell campaigns on the sly for a few extra bucks. I cannot believe I never saw the real you till this moment.”

“The real ‘me’ is sitting in a pot of boiling oil, trying to decide if I can pay my employees this month considering the rate at which clients are pulling out of our services.

“I am not responsible for that. No matter what you think.”

“Look Tamannah, I am not saying you did anything underhanded. I am just saying that someone did and this account was being handled under your supervision. So, if anything was amiss, you should have at least suspected.”

“Alok, what are you saying. This team has been here almost as long as I have. Many people on this account have worked for you longer than I have. We have done so many campaigns together, there is no one out there who is dishonest or who would consider tarnishing our reputation. One fine day, suddenly when things go south, you suspect everyone and blame me for being accountable. Wow, Alok, this is really rich.”

“Ok, we’ll think your way. Everyone is impeccable. Nobody has done anything unethical. Explain one thing to me. How in hell is it that this ad came out in today’s paper, without anybody’s hand in it? You are thinking about this only for the past few minutes. I have been pondering this issue since daybreak, when I saw it in the paper.

“The only reason I did not call you was because you had exams and that is important for you and your future. So before you go about accusing me of shifting loyalties, just think about that. I have been sitting here and answering clients and speaking to all employees, not just those on this campaign. Nobody has heard or seen anything. So what am I to assume?”

“Thanks Alok, for not calling me in the morning. That really was thoughtful of you. I would have been totally stressed out and my paper would have been a disaster. You are right, you have been dealing with this all day, but look at the office. These are people who work here because they want to. No one has ever given you any reason to feel disappointed in them, let alone disloyal. These are the people you are suspecting of going behind your back. Don’t lose their trust over a matter that does not involve them, then, even if your clients don’t ditch you, you will be as good as gone.”

“I also don’t want to think the worst of my team, Tamannah but what is the alternative? How could this have happened?”

“Our systems could have been hacked.”

“Right, we are a super secret hi-tech facility whose innovations have huge demand in the black market. This is not our biggest client, Tamannah. It’s a start-up and there is no reason for such information leak for such a small campaign.”

“I agree, hacking is a bit farfetched.”

The phone rang just then, and Alok listened for a few minutes to what was being said by the caller, for a few minutes. He kept asking, “Are you sure” and then after some five minutes, he put the receiver down. “Well, hacking is ruled out. That was the forensic technology expert. The office system security is intact. No breach. Bust someone could very well have taken a print out. It’s a print campaign after all.”

“Alok, this is dirty business, I don’t see this leading to any result, other than ill will among the team.”

“I need to plug the leak. I cannot afford such behaviour from anyone. It’s just too dangerous”

“What are the ‘crackle’ guys saying. “

“They are not saying anything. They told me their lawyer will be in touch.”

“Shit!”

“Shit, doesn’t begin to describe the mess, believe me.” Then he turned pale. “Bean bag is headed this way. There goes one more account.”Bean Bag, a giant obese man, was the nickname of one of our most fussy yet loyal clients. One could please a king and yet fail to match Bean Bag’s expectations. I handle his account and the whole office sympathises with me for being stuck with the account.

 “I will deal with him.” I offered briskly, walked out of the room, met Bean Bag halfway, and steered him towards the nearest meeting room. He was persistent but I was also insistent and finally, with some effort, I was able to get him to sit down. The next hour and a half were pure torture.

He was clueless about the actual problem. One of his business associates, who had a friend whose cousin was a client of ours, had told him that three of our campaigns had been leaked to competitors. Apparently, these competitors were paying five times the price to beat the market by killing the campaign and benefitting from our excellent creativity.

Wow! , I thought. Someone’s imagination was working overtime and the rumourmongers had no doubt done their bit as well. Dissecting the gossip part by part and refuting each bit with facts took the whole time but in the end, he left smiling and reassured that his account was very special and we would die before anything from it was leaked to competition.

After he left, I tried to recall, all that had transpired between The Boss and me. I wondered if I was still suspended. If Bean Bag’s information was anything to go by, clearly, there was a lot of bad talk going on in the market. No wonder The Boss was ready to shoot at sight. Still, I did not like the idea that Alok may actually entertain thoughts of legal action against me. I dismissed the thought when another equally disturbing one came.

Alok was partly right. The campaign had been my responsibility; even through Prabhat was handling it. I had sat in on every meeting and in short, I was responsible. It made me feel sick, to be the cause for this entire mess. He was right, I may not have handed the details to outsiders but I had not seen it coming. Someone was to blame.

In, this team of trusted friends and colleagues, there was at least one who had not cared about betraying everyone. As the one responsible for the whole campaign, I should have been the first to notice but I had not done so. Wasn’t it up to me to find out who it could be? I wondered what I could do. Where should I begin?

Part 2: The String Operation 

To read more about Tamannah and her adventures visit Twice Blessed A Sneak Peak. 

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All in a day’s work ( Unpublished excerpt from Twice Blessed)

Part 1: The Acrimonious Beginning 

I arrived at the office for my regular post lunch shift. As I swiped in the unusual nature of lifelessness inside was the first anomaly that caught my attention. Everybody was busy at his or her respective workstation, concentrating at something of paramount importance.

On a regular day, teams working together, huddles debating colours and fonts of a campaign, shouts for hot coffee, a queue at the photocopier, client meetings. . . , would be in full swing at this hour. I found it strange that none of these activities were in evidence. Even more perplexing was the scene inside The Boss’s cabin.

He sat at his desk, surrounded by the sales and the account management team. Instead of addressing them, he was busy on the phone. Everyone gathered in the room was also busy on his or her mobile blatantly disregarding the ‘All phones on silent during meetings’ rule.

The Place, the boutique advertising agency where I worked was a liberal organisation. Few rules were imposed but the ones in place were enforced with strict discipline. In my two years there, I was yet to come across an instance where one of these sacred rules was disregarded in this fashion.

Something was up. I was sure of it.

The moment I reached my desk, the intercom buzzed. It was The Boss asking me to step into his cabin for a discussion. For some strange reason, the call unnerved me. As I worked part-time and by the time I arrived the whole office was fully immersed into their day’s work, it was routine for me to be summoned in for a discussion within minutes of arrival. Despite that, I felt impending doom in my bones.

Walking past familiar faces, I tried to catch someone’s eye and get a hint about the situation. A few muted smiles aside, everybody avoided eye contact with me, making me even more uncomfortable.  I was in trouble. That was the unsaid message. Some deep serious shit! I wondered what it could be.

The sales and account management people filed out as I stepped in. Their stony expressions cemented my fears. Prabhat, my accident prone, catastrophe magnet of an assistant was already present and he stayed put. He looked crushed. A hitherto unseen expression, I noted, surprised.

Usually, when he goofed up and dumped the universe on me, he looked confused and apologetic. Sometimes, even shocked and sad, but never devastated, as he did now. He looked distraught and ready to burst out. That set worry bells ringing. What had he done now? How bad was it?

“How was your exam?” The Boss began being his courteous self.

“Good, Alok.” I replied cheerfully, without letting on my tension.

“Saw today’s paper?”

“Nope, is there something I should have seen?”

“You could say that.” He replied, passing me a copy of the day’s paper.

“What am I looking for?”

“Not the weather report”

Bad mood, I assessed, as I scanned through the sheets of the paper. Then I saw it. The last two pages of the paper looked very familiar. It was the crackle campaign. Wow! It looked awesome. Slowly realization dawned. Why was it out a full week before schedule? Then my heart stopped beating.

The brand was wrong. The ad was the same, pixel for pixel, word for word, but the campaign belonged to a competitor. I checked and rechecked. Even the fonts, words, everything was the same. Yet, the brand was wrong. How could that happen?

“How did this happen?” The boss demanded, at that instant.

I looked at Prabhat and then at the newspaper, trying to understand how it could be that an ad designed in this office, approved by our client, would end up endorsing a competitor brand using a rival agency. I was clueless about how to respond to the Boss’s question.

“Do you know what a hit on my reputation this is? Our client is threatening legal action. Our other clients are getting cold feet. I have been fire fighting all day. You were the ones responsible for this account, I want an explanation. How did this campaign end up with a competitor agency?”

“I have no clue, Alok.”

“That’s not acceptable. You were responsible, Tamannah.” Looking at my distressed assistant,”And you Prabhat. If you cannot do a thing right, how is it that you always manage to do something perfectly wrong? How did you pull, this stunt off? I genuinely want to know. You worked your butt off for this campaign and then handed it to your friends at The Catalyst?”

“No boss, I don’t have friends there.”

“So Tamannah must have shared the details, is that what you are saying?”

“No, she would not have done so.”

“Really, you know that how? Tell me how the hell this ad is in today’s paper?”

“I swear. I already told you a million times, I have no hand in this.”

“So Tamannah, you want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Boss . . . I saw the ad just now, in front of you. I am still reeling under the thought that information was stolen from our office. Do you think, any other campaign may have been compromised?”

“Let me worry about that. You tell me how something you were responsible for ended up in today’s paper.

“I don’t know.”

“Excellent, that is an answer I can defiantly give my clients and they will be sufficiently reassured with those words. Do I look like a brainless hippo? Both of you sitting here smug and unaffected, as through you are not accountable for any of this! But get this, both of you. You are responsible. I will dig to the bottom of this and I will take appropriate legal action against the culprits. There will be no favouritism for family or women or anyone.” (Prabhat was The Boss’s brother in law, explaining The Boss’s choice of words there.)

“Legal action.” Whoa! What had just happened?

 “Do you hear me both of you? “He roared.

We nodded shocked at his ferocity. The Boss was a docile, kind, easy going person. Who was this guy? We were seeing this avatar for the first time.

“Now get out and don’t come back until you are ready to explain how this happened. And Tamannah, you need to hand over all the campaigns you are working on to Tushar. Both of you are suspended until enquiry on the matter is completed. There is no need to come to work unless I ask you to or you have an explanation for what happened.”

How humiliating! I had never been thrown out of a classroom, much less my own office. How date Alok put the blame on me? “Alok, you are reacting unreasonably. We have done dozens of campaigns together. I have worked here for almost 2 years and you know me well enough to know that I will never do anything unethical. How can you blame me for what happened? I understand I am responsible for the account but this kind of deceit is not something I am capable of doing and you know it. How can you utter such harsh words at me?”

“Tamannah, I am sorry if you feel that you are being penalised for something that is not your fault but truth be told, you are at fault. This is a new account and you were responsible for both the campaign and this assistant. On your watch, a competitor has acquired the entire campaign and used it. I fail to see how all is not your responsibility”

“But you are accusing me of unethical behaviour”

“I am accusing you of no such thing. I am saying that this happened on your watch. I just need to know how that came about, if you were not involved.”

“If you were involved,” I retorted, furious. “Really Alok!” Finding it difficult to control my temper, “If I was involved! So you are entertaining a possibility that I may have been involved in all this and that is not an accusation? Let me tell you something. I don’t need this job. I come here because it suits me and I enjoy my work. I have no need to sell campaigns on the sly for a few extra bucks. I cannot believe I never saw the real you till this moment.”

“The real ‘me’ is sitting in a pot of boiling oil, trying to decide if I can pay my employees this month considering the rate at which clients are pulling out of our services.

“I am not responsible for that. No matter what you think.”

“Look Tamannah, I am not saying you did anything underhanded. I am just saying that someone did and this account was being handled under your supervision. So, if anything was amiss, you should have at least suspected.”

“Alok, what are you saying. This team has been here almost as long as I have. Many people on this account have worked for you longer than I have. We have done so many campaigns together, there is no one out there who is dishonest or who would consider tarnishing our reputation. One fine day, suddenly when things go south, you suspect everyone and blame me for being accountable. Wow, Alok, this is really rich.”

“Ok, we’ll think your way. Everyone is impeccable. Nobody has done anything unethical. Explain one thing to me. How in hell is it that this ad came out in today’s paper, without anybody’s hand in it? You are thinking about this only for the past few minutes. I have been pondering this issue since daybreak, when I saw it in the paper.

“The only reason I did not call you was because you had exams and that is important for you and your future. So before you go about accusing me of shifting loyalties, just think about that. I have been sitting here and answering clients and speaking to all employees, not just those on this campaign. Nobody has heard or seen anything. So what am I to assume?”

“Thanks Alok, for not calling me in the morning. That really was thoughtful of you. I would have been totally stressed out and my paper would have been a disaster. You are right, you have been dealing with this all day, but look at the office. These are people who work here because they want to. No one has ever given you any reason to feel disappointed in them, let alone disloyal. These are the people you are suspecting of going behind your back. Don’t lose their trust over a matter that does not involve them, then, even if your clients don’t ditch you, you will be as good as gone.”

“I also don’t want to think the worst of my team, Tamannah but what is the alternative? How could this have happened?”

“Our systems could have been hacked.”

“Right, we are a super secret hi-tech facility whose innovations have huge demand in the black market. This is not our biggest client, Tamannah. It’s a start-up and there is no reason for such information leak for such a small campaign.”

“I agree, hacking is a bit farfetched.”

The phone rang just then, and Alok listened for a few minutes to what was being said by the caller, for a few minutes. He kept asking, “Are you sure” and then after some five minutes, he put the receiver down. “Well, hacking is ruled out. That was the forensic technology expert. The office system security is intact. No breach. Bust someone could very well have taken a print out. It’s a print campaign after all.”

“Alok, this is dirty business, I don’t see this leading to any result, other than ill will among the team.”

“I need to plug the leak. I cannot afford such behaviour from anyone. It’s just too dangerous”

“What are the ‘crackle’ guys saying. “

“They are not saying anything. They told me their lawyer will be in touch.”

“Shit!”

“Shit, doesn’t begin to describe the mess, believe me.” Then he turned pale. “Bean bag is headed this way. There goes one more account.”Bean Bag, a giant obese man, was the nickname of one of our most fussy yet loyal clients. One could please a king and yet fail to match Bean Bag’s expectations. I handle his account and the whole office sympathises with me for being stuck with the account.

 “I will deal with him.” I offered briskly, walked out of the room, met Bean Bag halfway, and steered him towards the nearest meeting room. He was persistent but I was also insistent and finally, with some effort, I was able to get him to sit down. The next hour and a half were pure torture.

He was clueless about the actual problem. One of his business associates, who had a friend whose cousin was a client of ours, had told him that three of our campaigns had been leaked to competitors. Apparently, these competitors were paying five times the price to beat the market by killing the campaign and benefitting from our excellent creativity.

Wow! , I thought. Someone’s imagination was working overtime and the rumourmongers had no doubt done their bit as well. Dissecting the gossip part by part and refuting each bit with facts took the whole time but in the end, he left smiling and reassured that his account was very special and we would die before anything from it was leaked to competition.

After he left, I tried to recall, all that had transpired between The Boss and me. I wondered if I was still suspended. If Bean Bag’s information was anything to go by, clearly, there was a lot of bad talk going on in the market. No wonder The Boss was ready to shoot at sight. Still, I did not like the idea that Alok may actually entertain thoughts of legal action against me. I dismissed the thought when another equally disturbing one came.

Alok was partly right. The campaign had been my responsibility; even through Prabhat was handling it. I had sat in on every meeting and in short, I was responsible. It made me feel sick, to be the cause for this entire mess. He was right, I may not have handed the details to outsiders but I had not seen it coming. Someone was to blame.

In, this team of trusted friends and colleagues, there was at least one who had not cared about betraying everyone. As the one responsible for the whole campaign, I should have been the first to notice but I had not done so. Wasn’t it up to me to find out who it could be? I wondered what I could do. Where should I begin?

Watch this space for Part 2 and part 3(conclusion). 

To read more about Tamannah and her adventures visit Twice Blessed A Sneak Peak. 

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Writing Right?!!

What should I write?

Is that the question plaguing you? Let me tell you upfront, it’s the wrong question. If you are asking yourself what you should write, then sorry to say, the Columbus Bug is yet to bite you, technically![image error]

Despair not! Even for the wrong questions, we can find right answers:-)

As in my previous post in the series, I will focus on fiction. It’s the only area where I can comment with some credibility. Non-fiction is a zone I am yet to add to my repertoire.

What is fiction?

I looked up the term online. Guess what I found:

According to the Goggle’s online dictionary, Fiction means “literature in the form of prose, especially novels, that describes imaginary events and people.”, or, “something that is invented or untrue.”

Cambridge Dictionary says, “the type of book or story that is written about imaginary characters and events and not based on real people and facts:”

Wikipedia states, “Fiction is the classification for any story or setting that is derived from imagination—in other words, not based strictly on history or fact.”[image error]

I prefer Wikipedia’s explanation. If we were to go with the other two how would we explain most of the world’s thriller novels which revolve around actual incidents like the world war? The Wiki people have paid greater attention to their wordings and they even go on include films, televisions shows, video games role-play games etc into fiction.

In addition to all this, fiction is an ocean. We can categorize it based on;

Genre (romance, thriller, mystery, historic, classic, etc)
Target audience (children, young adults, women, adults, LGBT etc)
Formats (short stories, novellas, novels, epics etc)

You get the drift. If you want to know more about each type, the details are only a short online search away. I daresay the effort will be worth your while sometime down the line.

Why is “What should I write?” the wrong question:

I have two reasons for discrediting the question.

The words “What should I write?” bare your indecision. Unpreparedness, I would say. Please don’t think I am being harsh. For a first time writer, unpreparedness is not the worst thing. I would even say, it’s good. It means you know that you don’t know. That way better than believing you know everything, because truly you don’t. (Prodigies who do know their minds are possible exceptions. If you are one such prodigy, I am not speaking about you)
The other reason is “why” you are asking that question. It short, you have made up your mind to become an author and you are now looking for possible options. Perhaps the more lucrative one, or the easiest one, or the quickest one . . . , I cannot be sure. There can be many reasons behind the question, “what should you write about”.

Reason Two Before One:

If you are confused because you don’t know what is the best option for you, I can only say this:

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So take the shot and let the outcome manifest. An ancient Indian text, the Bhagvat Gita, which has worldly advice on almost every human dilemma, says, that as humans we have the right to work but we don’t have the right to the fruits of work. Famously known as “Karma” and widely misunderstood as the universe’s reaction to our actions,  the text’s lesson is worth remembering. Karma is essentially the consequence of both intent and action, and not merely action. So ditch the doubt and begin work with the best of intentions. Rest will follow.

Quit worrying about the financial consequences, possible future challenges, managing time to take on the task, etc. Remember Karma. Excellent work with the right intentions!

Reason One:

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What indeed!

Inspiration, like lightning, can strike anywhere Joanne first conceived the idea of her seven book series while on a train from Manchester to London. It took her many years after that to transform her ideas into stories and pen her first novel. The rest, as you know is history. Joanne or J K Rowling was the overnight sensation who slogged many years to become one.

So, pen your ideas. They may amount to nothing, or they may be more, much more.

What then is the correct question?

The right question you should be asking yourself is, “What have I written today?”

Yes, you have to begin now, and take stock of your progress everyday. Accountability is important. Some days you will be able to write more and on other days, you may dislike what you have written. Take stock every day. Stay aware of your journey. Don’t worry that you set out to write a mystery but your story is becoming a romance. So what? Kepp at it.

The motivation to bear in mind is that the Story is king! A well-written good story will be able to find acceptance in the long term. Whereas, a shoddy story of a popular genre will fizzle out sooner rather than later. Focus on the story. Keep it interesting. That’s all you need to focus on to begin with.

Hope you enjoyed reading this piece. Please do post your comments / queries below. Join me in this journey of learning to become better writers.

Do follow the blog to receive an intimation of latest updates.

In the next edition of this segment, we will jump right into the writing process. We’ll begin with Characterization.  

What ‘s in a name?

“Trumpet Bellows,” Yes, I know!

It is fashionable to have a funky name for your online rant (the politically correct parlance for which is ‘blogging’). But what does this name (Trumpet Bellows) even mean? Here’s the low down on something very uplifting.

Stage 1: Conceptualizing the Blog:[image error]

When Trumpet Bellows was conceived, the idea of a blog was very new to me, even though popular bloggers were already millionaires. Just like a foetus, whose heartbeat is the sole confirmation of its presence, Trumpet Bellows was a thought, yet to attain full growth. The universal point of contention that any novice faces loomed large. What to write about?

The more apt question was “What can I write that others would wish to read?”

The honest answer, “I hadn’t the faintest!”

I decided to adapt the question and restrict its purview and made it, “What can I write about?”This was tricky too but workable. I decided to write about whatever I felt strongly about (women’s issues, politics, business, nature…,). It would make me happy, I believed and that determined the vague direction of this blog.

Stage 2: Choosing a name

When man ceased to consider himself an animal and became an ‘urbane’ creature, he assumed that the beast in him met a natural demise. Two world wars, hundreds of bloody battles, global religious conflicts, and many such shameful achievements later, we still fail to acknowledge the destructive force we have become.

The blog’s hoarsest shout had to be a loud one to have an impact. A bellow!

Stage 3: Choosing a cause

Having evolved from ancestors who lived in harmony with nature, worshiped it and enriched it in myriad ways, it s for me a matter of personal disgrace that today we are faced with huge environmental problems which are entirely man made. To add my voice against the grave environmental time bomb we continue to build, I chose a cause close to my heart and very close to home.

Many of you may have seen elephants in movies and videos. A few may have taken a fun ride on a domesticated, overworked mammoth while on vacation in an exotic Indian city. An even smaller section may have watched them roam the forest at a popular wild life sanctuary. But how many of us have lent our thoughts to the beasts killed due to negligent practices of fellow humans?

My hometown, Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu, India, is located on the foothills of a mountain range where elephants live. As the city expanded its limits, their  natural habitat dwindled. They were forced to roam into suburbs and villages for food and water. While on such quests, they got run over by trains, were electrocuted by electrified fences, poisoned by angry farmers and sometimes, they attacked people they met along the way.

With newspapers reporting an elephant fatality almost everyday, I was driven to shout out for them, even if my voice was an obscure blog with limited readership.

That is how I added the trumpet to my bellow!

[image error]A parting thought:

As our population grew, and our needs increased, we inadvertently began competing with animals for the resources on earth. This does not mean that we have to be at loggerheads with each other all the time. As the most dangerous of the lot, if we take a step in the right direction, then nature too will come halfway to meet us. Even instant gratification is possible, as you can see in the video below.

Click here to watch the complete viral video

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A young elephant calf was rescued from a pit by villagers and forest officials in Kerala, India. Its mother was so grateful for the help, she saluted the villagers before ushering her child to safety. (You may not understand the language being spoken in the video, but just as for the mother elephant, it may not be necessary to understand the voices. The pictures do speak a million words.

Join Trumpet Bellows in taking that first step in the right direction.

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