In my first corporate job, I was working in a pilot project and was part of a pilot batch. I was one of those who had gone through the tense client calls and also received appreciation from the client for turning work around. In six months of the work, I felt as if I had seen the whole corporate dynamic.
Eight months into the project and I was informed to train a new joiner. I am happy to take this responsibility because I wanted to do more to support the project. One day the project manager brought a new joiner - Shruti. She was a year older to me. She was polite and eager to learn. She was serious about her career. Within few days of spending time with her, both of us realised that we have a lot in common. Shruti and I became good friends.
Shruti and I worked together. We had become s…
It was the day of Sankashti Chaturthi. Just like every time I was fasting that day. I had sat at my desk working while having fresh fruits.
While working, from the corner of my eyes I saw one of my colleagues, Nidhi. She had been looking pretty that day. She was wearing a beautiful traditional red outfit. She had been wearing the bangles. She was wearing long and big dangling earrings. She had applied vermillion too. No wonder her traditional Desi look suited her. I found it unusual because Nidhi would always be dressed up in a western attire. Nonetheless this change was pleasing.
I waved at Nidhi and she smiled. She approached my desk for a small talk. While speaking I told her that she looked incredibly gorgeous that day. Nidhi blushed but happily accepted the compliments and said, "…
Yesterday I was going through my social media feed. I came across a post from one of my friends, Vishal. It was a poster. It read, "hello I am Vishal, your favourite singer. I am now taking orders for weddings, birthdays, family functions, society functions, and corporate events. Send an email and book my services".
At first I thought it was an AI generated image intended to be a joke. But I was surprised to see that it wasn't a joke. I saw that people in the comments have been engaging with the post and he had been asking them to send an email about the details of the event.
It was surprise in to me because Vishal used to work with me in one of my previous organisations. He was an engineer. He was successful. Yes, he was a musician, he was a classically trained singer and pianist. He…
It was a regular Thursday for me. I started working. I checked my inbox and responded to the emails. When I was checking the worklist, I saw the date 22 October. I paused and thought, "is it Meghana's birthday today?" I could not remember.
That one thought prompted me to investigate. I had to find out if it was my friend Meghana's birthday. I thought ways to find it out and put my investigator's cap on.
First I went to my trusted app, Facebook because Mark Zuckerberg never forgets birthdays. I visited Meghana's profile to see if it was her birthday. No reminder, no post, no photo, no tagged post, no evidence. Not a single wish. I went through the old posts too, but found nothing.
Then I decided to move on to the next app, Instagram. I did the same investigation there too. I found nothin…
A few years ago I was friends with a girl from my office called Nita. One day we were having lunch together. I was talking about a random topic. Suddenly Nita said, "I think my husband is having an affair". She randomly blurted that out and continued as if nothing had happened. My jaw dropped to the floor. I could not believe what I had heard and how she could speak so calmly. I asked her what she told me a couple of seconds ago.
She was hesitant at the beginning but later she revealed, "I think my husband is cheating on me with one of his colleagues. Her name is Pooja. Even at home he often mentions her. Pooja said this. Pooja did that. Pooja is an awesome cook. Pooja is religious. Pooja is stylish. He constantly praises Pooja in front of me. Everyday he receives at least one phone call …
My phone buzzed. I had received a text message from an unknown number. I first decided to ignore but thought maybe someone texted me in emergency instead of texting their friend or relative, so I decided to check. The sender was a woman. Somehow her face looked familiar but I could not remember where I had seen her. The woman introduced herself and also told me her maiden name. That did ring a bell, she was Lata, my classmate from school. I was delighted to get in touch with her after so many years. We chatted for a while and I invited her to come to my home for lunch someday.
Finally the day had come when Lata came for lunch. I was surprised to see Lata wearing saree, because I had always seen her in school uniform. We chatted for some time and then had our lunch. After the lunch, we dec…
It was just like any other day. It was past my dinner. I still had some time to go to bed. I was scrolling through my phone. I suddenly stumbled upon a post from my college friend, Radha. It made me to drop my phone because I was shocked to see it. The post read, "cancer may have started the battle but I will win the war".
My heart started beating faster. My mouth had gone dry. I was staring at my phone screen as if I had seen a ghost. I could not believe what I was looking at. My friend Radha had posted this and it made me wonder if she had been diagnosed with cancer. I could not understand what I should do. I could not decide whether to message her and ask her if she is well. Also a lot of people do not like to discuss their illnesses and this conversation could become awkward. But the…
I had left my full time corporate job a few months ago. I immediately started working as a freelancer. Though this did not pay me as much as my corporate job, I was still fine with it. Freelancing had been giving me the learning opportunities and peace of mind that I had been craving for. Now instead of being stuck in a draining job, I had freedom to work on the jobs that I wanted. This is what I had been enjoying.
Of you days ago I went to visit my long time friend Mihika. When I met Mihika I told her about my freelancing journey and what drove me to leave my corporate job. While I was telling her about the struggles I faced at my corporate job I noticed that her face changed. I asked her if she was facing similar challenges.
"My challenges are little different. I have been working wit…
In 2009 I joined a new company wherein a pilot project was about to start. It was my proper first corporate job because before that I used to work at a lab. It was my first exposure to the corporate environment.
I was going to work with 40 other people who shared the academic background with me. All of them were very much similar to my age. Our family backgrounds too were similar. Needleless to say that all of us had formed a very close bond with each other and had become great friends. At that time all of us were around 23 or 24 years old. Just out of college and enjoying our lives.
Few years had gone by and the life progressed. Most of my friends had already been married or at least engaged. We had been attending the weddings and parties of our friends. During these events there was o…
I met Mira in the degree. On the first day, I had come early and had occupied a third row seat which was kind of in the middle. As students were joining in, they had been occupying the seats as per the wishes. Then entered Mira. She looked around and approached me. She asked me if anybody had taken the seat next to me. When I told her that she can sit, that is when our friendship began.
Mira and I had been together for all four years. Not just friends but we also were the lab partners in the practicals. Mira and I both of us had been more concerned about studies and we did not like partying. We would sit together in the college. We would study together as well. Sometimes we would study at her place while other times we would study at my place.
Everyone in my home and in Mira's home kne…
I was woken up by a phone call. I checked who was calling. The call was from my friend Shruti. My first thought was why was she calling me this late. It was almost 3 o'clock in the morning. What if there is a medical emergency? What if her mother was unwell? Thoughts were clouding my mind. There was only one way to find out.
I answered the call, "Shruti what happened?" I tried my best to sound calm but my voice gave away my fears.
Shruti on the other side had not been speaking anything. All I could hear was sobbing. Hearing her cry I got even more worried. I assumed it was something serious.
"Shruti please try to speak. Please tell me what has happened. Come on Shruti you need to speak with me," I almost pleaded. I needed her to tell me what was happening so that I could help her.
"Yo…
I left my home with a happy feeling. I was on my way to meet my friend Manali. Manali and I have been friends for almost 17 years. She is my friend from my very first organisation and we were able to maintain our friendship all this years. Every year I visit her home for Ganesh puja. Today was that day.
I hopped on to a bus and reached her home in 20 minutes. When I rang the doorbell it was answered by her husband Nilesh. He smiled at me and welcomed me. He asked me to be seated and went inside to call Manali.
Manali entered the living room with a wide smile on her face, "so glad to see you. I thought you would not be able to come".
"How could I miss? Yet I am glad that I was able to come today. These two days have been really hectic. Going from one place to other for Darshan is defini…
I had received a call from my friend Bhumi. I was delighted to see her name pop up on my phone. We had been friends for several years and it is always pleasure to speak with her.
"Hello how Mumbai is treating you?" Bhumi asked with a cheerful voice.
"Mumbai is treating me like a royalty. Just how she had been treating me ever since I was born. How is New York the treating you? Have you adjusted yet?" I asked Bhumi. I was curious to know how my fellow Mumbai Girl was coping up with a new city.
" Quite ok. After all New York is not Mumbai. I am trying to adjust and enjoy. But nothing beats our spirit of Mumbai. Every now and then I miss Mumbai. Whenever I see the huge burger in here I definitely miss our vadapav, Misal Pav and sandwiches. The one that I miss the most is Pav Bhaji. Otherwise …
No filter. What has been frustrating you that you…
No filter. What has been frustrating you that you have not said out loud?
We love in society where we need to reconsider every thought before speaking, cloths before wearing kr how to wall, how to eat, how to talk and all. I feel so irritated and frustrated at same time by this all and I want you to tell me, talk to me the things or words you can't say out loud because I understand you, all of youu (almost)... Just consider me your friend and let's have a talk where you don't have to be someone you're not and I promise I'll truly understand youu.
Ganesh Chaturthi is just around the corner. It is one of the biggest festivals in Maharashtra. Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival that is close to me because of emotional and spiritual reasons. Whenever we talk about any festival we definitely think about the fashion (yes, women have fashion on priority).
Recently I got a dress stitched especially for Ganesh Chaturthi. Today I was trying to see which Dupatta would go with that dress. I took out the box in which I store the design of dupattas. I placed each Dupatta on the dress to see which one fits better. After going through everything I finally shortlisted two dupattas. But I was confused which one looks better.
First I asked my mother but she too was not confident of her choice. "Why don't you ask your friends?" She suggested. It defi…
It was a normal day in the office. I had brought chocolates to be distributed among my colleagues. I had given the box to one of my colleagues and ask her to pass it around so that everybody gets their chocolates. The last one to receive the chocolate was a friend Priya. She took the last chocolate and came to my desk to return the empty box.
"Thanks for the chocolates, they were delicious" Priya said while returning the box.
" Thank you, they were homemade. I wanted everyone to have the taste of them," I replied thinking that it was a genuine compliment.
" So lucky. Your mother prepares really great delicacies," Priya assumed so confidently.
"Not my mother, I made the chocolates," I corrected her.
"Anyway, you still are lucky that you stay with your parents and your mother makes you meals…
It was the first day of our college. I had entered the classroom and found a seat which I found to be comfortable - neither too away from the professor nor in the front. It was somewhere in the middle. By that time I had become very confident and was not afraid of other student's judgements. I saw a girl entering the classroom and trying to find a spot to sit. She thought I would be friendly and asked me if she can sit next to me. I said yes and that is how I met Mira.
As we spent more time together both of us realised that we have a lot in common. Each day I felt that our friendship was growing and we were getting closer. We would share our dreams, hopes, and fears with each other knowing that the other one would not judge. Mira had always dreamt of a luxurious and comfortable home. She…
Just like today, it was the day of Sankashti Charurthi - a day when I fast. I would eat fruits, milk, and buttermilk on the days of fast. That day also, I had fruits in the lunch. At 4 pm I went to the cafeteria to have coffee. My friend Nikita accompanied me.
I took coffee and sat at the table. Nikita asked me, "what will you have?"
That was an unusual question. Nikita knew that I do not eat anything after lunch, otherwise I cannot feel hungry for dinner. Despite knowing this very well, I was surprised why was she asking me.
"Nothing, just coffee," I said why raising my coffee mug. I thought maybe she asked because I was fasting.
Nikita got up and went to the food counter. I saw her returning with a pack of chips. She opened the packet and said, "here, have some chips. They are salted po…
"Hi. Are you busy? Can we talk?", I saw a text message from my friend Preeti. I checked the time, it was sent 2 hours ago. I was unable to check my phone because I was in meeting.
" Sorry I was busy. I am available now. We can speak," I responded. I assumed it was not urgent because she had waited for 2 hours for me to respond. Preeti read the text and called me.
" Hi I wanted to tell you something important. Please keep an open mind," she initiated with pleading.
"Okay here I am with an open mind. Tell me what is going on?" I said in the most calming way ensuring her that I am here for her.
" Today I received a call from Yash," she spoke as softly as possible.
I immediately interrupted her, " no not again Preeti. Please tell me you did not pick up the call and spoke with him. By now we k…
It was a busy working day. I had a lot of deliverables on my worklist and all were required to be delivered today. My colleague Renuka walked up to me. I had no time to glance at her. While working, I said, "what's up Renuka? What beings you to my desk today?" She would not usually speak unless she wanted a favor.
Renuka was taken aback with my direct question. She put a fake smile and said, "don't say that. I often come to talk to you," she gave a gentle nudge to my shoulder.
"That generally does not happen. Do you want anything? I am quite occupied," I had no time for idle talk.
"Actually.. Do you have some time today? I need your help for a report," she kept looking at me hoping for me to say yes.
"Today is impossible. I don't know if I will have time for dinner," I was still working a…
It was a busy working day at the office. I was occupied with back to back meetings. It was such a busy day that I could not even get proper time to have my lunch peacefully. I had my lunch while attending a meeting. Thankfully it was a virtual meeting so that nobody saw me.
It was around 5:30 when one of my meetings ended and I returned to my desk. Most people had already left. When I kept my laptop back on the table I noticed that there was a small flower kept near it. I presumed that somebody must have forgotten the flower and kept it on my desk. Sometime later I received a text from my friend Swati which surprised me.
"Did you get what I left for you?" Her text read.
I looked around my desk to find what we had kept for me. I also check the pedestal to see if she has kept anything in…
In my office all of us where really close friends. At least I used to think that way, until a couple of incidents changed the way I thought.
It was a busy working day. One of my colleagues, Vrinda received an escalation from the client. As a result of this escalation the management arranged a meeting with her. The meeting apparently was to find out the root cause for the error that resulted in the escalation. In reality the meeting was nothing but a blame game. Vrinda returned from that meeting and started crying at her desk. I was really sad to see her cry and I went to her to console her. Along with me few other colleagues had been accompanying her. One of them was my colleague Dhruv. I sat with her till she stopped crying and I felt that she was okay.
Once we went back to our desk…
In the month of March, the board exams were about to start. My school used to be the centre for board exams. To prepare the school for the board exams, the school used to be only for half day. Shortly after the board exams our own school exams would begin. The school days in March used to be very casual. The teachers had already completed the syllabus. The students hand already started preparing for the exams. The school attendance would also not be taken on a regular basis during this time. But an incident took place which was life changing for everyone.
I clearly remember I was in Grade 8. The school was only for half day in one of the days of March. My mother instructed me to not go to the school, stay home, and study for exams. Being an obedient girl I followed my mother is orders an…
Me and my friend Priya had gone for breakfast. We got our food and sat down at the table. I looked at Priya. She looked upset and distressed. This was the time when a woman to woman conversation was needed.
"Are you all right? Are you feeling well?" I asked.
Priya looked at me. She knew that I had sensed that something was bothering her. She decided to come clean, "I had an argument with Ravi. It has been going on for a few days but now that is affecting me. I really do not like arguing with him because most of the time he is right".
"May I ask you what it is if it is not personal," I did not want to get into their personal matters.
" No I think your opinion would be really important in this," Priya said further, " it is about my delivery. It still has a time but many things need to be de…
It was a "make believe" serious day in the office. The reason was that our project head, Swati, who was based out of Delhi office was going to visit our Mumbai office. There were several meetings conducted with all team members by the managers to instruct how to behave on the day when Swati would be here. "You are not kids. You are working professionals. You are not supposed to scream, shout, or sing as you do every day. When Swati is here show some respect and discipline. Maintain the decorum of the working space" this was the common message of all meetings.
Finally Swati arrived at 9:30 AM and all leads and managers were called in a meeting room. Our manager warned us "behave all of you". We tried it to maintain the silence on the floor, but we soon failed.
My colleague Era came to me,…
One of my office colleagues, Rohini was going to get married. She was very excited for her wedding. Each day she would tell us about her shopping or wedding arrangement experiences. Hearing about her experiences, we always pumped up as well. However as the day of wedding got closer we saw a change of behaviour and demeanor for Rohini.
One evening Rohini give me a call, "have you decided what are you going to wear on my wedding day?"
" Not yet but I do have some outfits in my mind," I responded unaware of how the discussion is going to flow.
"Hurry up, don't sit and wait, wedding is only a month away," Rohini said casually.
It really hurt me when she said that. I had been really occupied with work and she was very well aware of it. I personally felt insulted when she called me that. It w…
I was friends with a giel in my office. Her name was Mira. Mira was 20 something girl who had completed her education and joined our company. It was her first job, so I had taken her under my wing. Mira was smart, quick learner, polite, and friendly. With brilliant social skills, everyone in the office instantly liked her. Mira and I had become very close friends or at least I believed so.
One day while working Mira approached me, "can you lend me rs 2000?" She looked almost embarrassed while asking me. I thought to myself that the pay she was getting was not enough to cover the expenses. Also she was staying away from her family. I empathized with her and lent her the money. Mira ensured to return the money afterbthe salary was credited.
But then it became a pattern. She would ask me to…
It was May 2021. Mumbai was under strict lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The cases of infection were all time high. The rate of mortality had also been increased during this period. A lot of my friends and relatives contracted the infection. A lot of them even lost their lives. This was the time then I was contacted by a lot of friends with whom I was completely out of touch. One such incident occurred during this time.
It was a regular working day and I was completely engrossed in completion of the deliverable. My phone buzzed. I saw a text message "Hi". It was from my school friend Gauri, I had not spoken with her in a long time.
I immediately assumed the worse - what if she is infected and needs help? What if someone in her family is unwell and need help? Maybe something is wro…
It was a boring Monday. I was working on my desk waiting for 4 o'clock so that I can go on a coffee break. My phone buzzed, my friend Pooja was calling me. I answered the phone, "Come down at the cafeteria right now. Rohan is crying over Priti" said Pooja with frustration in her voice. This was just what I did not need at that moment - drama.
I went to the cafeteria where I found Rohan and Pooja at a table. Pooja look at me and rolled her eyes. Rohan had kept his head on the table.
"Rohan what happened?" I asked directly. I was expecting direct answers.
" I cannot believe Preeti is leaving me. She is getting married. Yesterday she distributed her wedding invitation to the entire floor and she told me specifically to attend the wedding. After all that we have been through she expect me to…
It was May 2015. A new Marvel avenger movie was going to release in that week. I called my friend Tina (pseudonym) who also was a Marvel, superhero, thriller, mystery, action movie lover like me.
"Tina, are we watching the movie this weekend?" I was so excited. I had already started planning what we were going to do that day.
"Yes absolutely. Let's take the morning show, it will be cheaper. I will use my credit card for the tickets. We will get 1 ticket free. Listen I am out right now. I will call you on Friday and we will decide," Tina sounded excited too.
"Great! Let's meet and catch up," I said and hung up. It was going to be another movie adventure. I could not wait until weekend to watch the movie and meet Tina.
I called up on Friday to check with her if she preferred Saturday or Sun…
