Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Article by MindTree SVP

Source: Email Fwd

9.15 p.m. Bangalore Airport. Returned from Mumbai. Hired the ‘Airlift Shuttle’ to reach Cox Town. Fellow passenger. Pretty girl. Will call her Preethi (for privacy purposes).
Started to chat with her (one-hour drive, you know - how long can you look at the funny pattern on the roof of the car?)
Turns out, she was going to her call center at ITPL. Yes, to start her shift. After 11 pm. After flying all the way from Nagaland. Two hops. Ten hours of travel. Add to that bad food on the flight.
Wait. That’s not it.
She was going to her office to attend a test! At midnight, after 10 hours of travel!
Me: "What test?"
She: "Well, you know I have been leading a team of consultants for a few months now, though I am still a Subject Matter Expert. This test is to regularize and formally make me a team leader!" Wait. This is not it either.
Me: "How’s the scene in Nagaland? I have read about the Assam conflict. Are your people safe?"

She: "Actually, that is the reason I went home over the weekend. My father and mother were drugged and robbed. Left in the railway compartment to die… They were missing for two days. Almost died by the time they were discovered. They brought them home the day I landed."
Me: Stunned silence.
She: "Actually, there was another family in the same compartment - the mother and father were found dead – drugged. The son is still battling for life."
Then she called her colleagues at the office. Checked on a couple of team members who were sick. Discussed how they can recover from so many missed "intervals" (apparently the first time this has happened in the past few years).
Started planning for her interview...
I could only stare at her. Single girl. Just lived through a life-altering experience of danger and tragedy. Traveling back thousands of miles from home in the middle of the night. Checking on her sick colleagues and looking forward to her promotion interview. Moving on with life… head held high. No tears. No remorse. No anger. Just “It was a miracle, you know. We prayed a lot, giving our thanks that they are alive”.

1 comment:

NR said...

Stunning. And read here --

http://nikhilraikar.blogspot.com/2007/06/having-bad-2007-how-has-year-of-2007.html

I guess this "Preethi" is having a much easier life.