For Nookie

"That is not my problem now Mr Shah is it? Don't give Mr Butter fingers a bomb to diffuse if you don’t want it to blow up in your face. I'm the one that gets them in here. You are the ones that assign the duties", said an irritated Sanjay Gupta. Even as recruitment head of a one of the top ten finance firms in India, he didn’t have patience enough to placate an overly critical project manager trying to blame him for the inadequate performance of one of his recently hired employees. It wasn't his fault they had made a rookie in charge of something big and he had made a decision which not too many people were proud of. Sanjay had made it clear, he would get the cream in, but in time, the cream had to change to wine, THEY had to ensure it.

He was still fuming in his mind, when the intercom buzzed. "Yeah", he bellowed into the microphone. "Mr Rathod is here to see you sir" , his secretary managed to say. "Send him in", replied Gupta, "and Priya..." he paused, "Sorry about that. Was just a little put off". "Oh not a problem Mr Gupta", she chirped back. Sanjay smiled. A little indulgence now. Mr. Vikram Rathod was the latest person to get through the initial 'entrance procedures' of the firm. He had done well in the aptitude tests and the initial interviews. But Sanjay wasn't relying on them now. The last call was just another reminder that the guys beyond the reception desk expected every new joinee to be as capable as ....."May I come in, sir".

A million times. He had heard this line a million times. Yet something this time was different. He mentally went over each word in that simple sentence. They were all the same. No unnecessary stress on any vowel in particular. Yet he had felt something different from before. Maybe it was the voice. Or maybe he was in a real weird mood. He looked up. Vikram Rathod. Sanjay tried to get descriptive about Vikram in his head. He did this every time he met someone new. Like in the novels he read so often, he tried to gather as many adjectives as he could. Not very tall, not square-jawed, not muscular, not overly handsome......he was trying hard to get an adjective which didn’t involve a negative, but he couldn’t point out any straightforward quality. He could only point out what Vikram was not. Why? Why was he doing this? He was usually very good at analyzing a persons physical appearance. Yet, this time he could not place Vikram Rathod. Why? Then something cleared. Whenever he had someone come in for an interview, he would get a CHANCE to notice them. This time he knew why he wasn’t able to get a clear description. Vikram wouldn’t let him. Vikram stared at him. Right at him. Or was it through him? And for the very first time, after he had taken over as recruitment head and had first sat in his big leather chair, did Sanjay feel that it was he who was being judged. Vikram Rathod stood there as if he was sizing him up. "Don't look for a good word for me buddy, tell me something good about yourself first", his look commanded. "Look around the room," Sanjay ordered in his mind, "It’s the first time you are in here", but Vikram stood there like he and Sanjay were the only entities present in the universe at that instant.

Sanjay nodded.

Vikram entered, walked straight to his desk, and arched one eye-brow every so slightly. Sanjay nodded again, and he sat. Was he trying to intimidate him? Sanjay knew this trick, he had tried to use it at a few interviews himself, but it never worked. You couldn’t mess with the guy taking the interview, it was HE who had nothing to lose. But Vikram wasn't TRYING anything. He just sat there looking at Sanjay, waiting. Sanjay extended his hand and Vikram handed him THE FILE. THE FILE had everything. The mark sheets, the certificates, the recommendations, the awards. Gupta knew the file. He had seen a lot of these before. He knew what to expect. If he was a fresher, he had to be an IIM grad at least. Even grads from foreign universities were scrutinized deeply before even thinking of handing them an appointment letter. If he was experienced, he would have had to have a substantial number of years, only with the best finance firms. "Vicky Investors" etc would be laughed at. The cream. The firm looked only for the cream. But even the best used to quiver when they walked into this office. Why not Vikram Rathod? Or was Sanjay over-reacting?

Unsure, he opened THE FILE.

"Born 21 Septmeber 1983". Hmm. A young gun. What could this guy have possibly achieved?
"...as a defence officers son...".. Good roots. Big deal. Sometimes, the apple falls away from the tree.
"..among top three ranks in school always...". Great. What school? Gumnaam Pathshala? how many students were there? 18?
"Topped X and XII". Same argument as above.
A non-IIT engineer. Sanjays confidence started coming back. This guy was an engineer? That too from some college in Mumbai University. HE knew how THAT worked. And what these guys actually learned over the course of 4 (or maybe 5) years. He smiled inside. Mr Hot Shot wasn't so much of a hot shot was he? But, Rathod never said he was a Hot shot. Where did the word come from?

"Worked for 17 months at a top IT firm". What?? 17 months? But he is an 83 born. How come 17 months already with an engineering degree? Must have been forced into school early? Or was he a prodigy? Couldn’t be. He didn’t get into IIT did he?

He then saw the MBA college name. He had heard of it. Infact that was an understatement. Everyone had heard of it. But...it wasn't an IIM. It was somewhere in the top ten if he remembered correctly. But it wasn't an IIM. His silent laughter reverberated through his body. He felt good. He was going to rip this candidate apart. It didn’t matter if these guys were good. No one could match him. He knew everything there was to know. He knew all the questions that could be asked. And worse, he knew the best answers to those questions. He suddenly felt menacing. He wanted to make this guy feel ashamed. But why? Why? What had Vikram Rathod done? He had just walked into his office with a little.....confidence. The word stung. Confident. The one word he could come up with to describe this guy aptly. He let himself cool down. He looked up at Vikram. He saw the same question "So what’s good about YOU, Gupta?". No, it is just confidence, he thought. He realized that not one word had been spoken since Rathod had walked in. But he didn't want to change it. It usually intimidated the candidate more. They did 50% of the killing themselves. Harakiri. Not one word. Sanjay felt in command now. Really?

"..always involved in extra-curricular activities.."..Yeah yeah.
"played football for ..." Some club. Big deal. No free kicks here. The only kicks you got were...
"played badminton and cricket at college level". .uhuh.
"played zonal tennis"....so you are a player. Sanjay chuckled inwardly at his own stupid joke.
"Interested in music, played guitar and was a lead singer in a band"..maybe you can sing on your way out. Leaving on a jet plane? Sanjay shook a bit, he wanted to laugh out.
"books, poems, blah blah"...I am gonna laugh at his face.

"An Enfield Rider."



The inner laugh was gone. The question…the same question.


Dedicated to Royal Enfield. The unmistakable beat!