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Have you noticed? There is hardly any difference between the demeanour of a nursery child going to school and a forty plus lady going to office. Given a choice both would rather be left alone and would love to stay at home.And I fully endorse that feeling. Friday evening is the best time of the week and Sunday evening just flies off and I would give anything to Sun if he sleeps off for another week or 48 hours at least. But you know He is never accommodative!
But in spite of this procrastination, we have to go, because we have chosen to go and there are moments in the mundane office hours, some incidents, some innocent comments or wild and witty humour that lifts your mood and lingers like that taste of chocolate on your tongue, which you keep recalling and which gives a nostalgic smile to your lips.
This incident happened a few years ago when Sri.Yeddyurappa was the Chief Minister of Karnataka, struggling hard to keep his chair intact while Congress and JDS were trying all the tricks in the trade to dismantle him. I work in Life Insurance sector where the policy is generally a long term contract where one is supposed to pay the premium for certain number of years without break else the policy lapses. Everyday we come across many cases where people come to revive their lapsed policies. The procedure is a long drawn one, as it is dependent on the health report of the Life Assured and a revival has to go through almost the same procedure as taking a new policy.
This gentleman had come for the revival of his lapsed policy, went through all the procedures like getting medical check up done and filling all the required forms. Only thing left was getting the approval of CM, our Chief Manager and paying the arrears of premium. When he visited the branch one day, he was already looking flustered, having to undergo through all those formalities. He went to my colleague suguna who was finalizing his papers and asked whether he can pay the arrears at the counter. Suguna, without looking up said “ Everything is almost over sir. Only CM has to sign it.”
The man was flabbergasted and shouted “ YEDDYURAPPNORA? ”
Suguna jumped in her seat at the loud voice and for a second stared at him blankly. The very next moment,she could not control her laughter when the other colleagues sitting next to her started giggling. She tried to control but the mirth of the situation got better of her and she also started giggling joining in the loud guffaws of the colleagues. The poor policyholder stared blankly but soon joined the party when he realized who the CM was!
My friend Chandrika is blessed with two meritorious sons. The younger son had done his IIT entrance exams very well and we were all sure that he would get through one of the IITs, but unfortunately he narrowly missed the bus. Then he joined the prestigious BITS Pilani.
One day we were having lunch when an old acquaintance of Chandrika visited our branch and enquired her about her children. She asked what the younger son was doing. Then Chandrika told her that he is studying in BITS Pilani. Pat came the query "Didn't you send him to engineering?" With all the patience Chandrika told her, "Yes it is engineering, but the college is in Rajasthan." The lady was full of sympathy and exclaimed " Aiyyo! Didn't he get a seat here in Bangalore that you have to send him to such a far off place!"
We all ladies sitting around tried not to smile, at the same time avoided looking at Chandrika. But Chandrika was least perturbed when she informed us that this is not the first and may be not the last time she has received the same sympathy!
And then this incident had happened almost two decades ago in one of our LIC branch offices located in N R Square but it's memory is still vivid in my mind as if it happened yesterday. At the time it happened, I used to giggle hysterically for days together every time I recalled the incident but even now as I narrate it there is a big smile on my face with occasional giggles!
Anyone of you who had the opportunity to visit our N R Square branch would have noticed that the office building is spread over 5 floors with an old style spiral staircase with dangerously narrow stairs.
When I visited this branch, I was in an advanced stage of my pregnancy and dared not climb those stairs so I decided to take the lift. Now, that lift also belonged to a bygone era where one had to pull the collapsible iron gate to enter and exit and the people standing in the lift were visible to the outsiders.
I was waiting to enter the lift on the ground floor along with a few others as I had to go to the fourth floor. The lift filled with people started to move up but within a few seconds, may be before reaching the first floor descended to the ground floor.
Dismayed, we stared at the people in the lift through the open collapsible gate and realised that they were the same people who had gone up and not a new batch of descendants!
Somebody in the lift pressed the button to go up again and this time the lift came down again after a few minutes with the same batch of people.
Never to give up they pressed the button to go up and hardly had a minute passed, a new person arrived in the building and unaware of the happenings, pressed the lift button and lo the lift came back with the same bunch inside looking highly embarrassed and flustered.
I, though was alone, could not control my laughter at the funny situation and turned around to hide my giggles.
When I turned back towards the lift it had moved up but I didn't dare wait to enter it, scared that I may have to continue to play see-saw for God knows how many more minutes.
Slowly I started to climb the stairs and when I entered the second floor, I paused to recover and turned towards the lift. What do I see?
Few persons are waiting outside the lift and the lift is descending with the same bunch of people, one of them raising his fingers pleading people outside not the press the lift buttons!!!
And the next rib tickling incident happened in one of the earlier branches where I worked.
In our office every year during insurance week competitions are conducted for the employees and agents, ranging from singing, translating, quiz, Rangoli, dumb charades and what not. It was a funny incident that happened during such an event that make me chuckle every time I remember it.
Let me deviate here for a minute. In one of his novels the famous Kannada author Dodderi Venkatagirirao had written - in Kannada - " ಸೆರಗನ್ನು ಸೊಂಟಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿಸದೆ ಹಾರಾಡಲು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಅದನ್ನು ಸತತವಾಗಿ ಹಿಡಿದಿಡಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸುವುದು ಹೆಂಗಸರ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯ ಭಂಗಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು." - meaning instead of tying firmly, leaving the saree pallu to fly freely and constantly trying to hold it in place is one of the most beautiful postures of women.
So coming to my office, there was this lady - let's call her "Mohini" - who was very 'well endowed' and was an epitome of Dodderi Venkatagirirao's heroine. To the delight of male colleagues and the embarrassment of lady employees she would leave her pallu un-pinned, letting it slip constantly and then trying to push it up - just for a few minutes - to repeat a millions of times throughout the day.
So one day during this Insurance week celebrations, we had a translation competition where we were supposed to translate the English words to Kannada. Ravi, who was conducting the competition was enjoying our discomfort because he had intentionally chosen everyday household words which we use in English but never knew their Kannada meaning.
Sitting all over the hall everyone was struggling, with frowned eyebrows, trying hard to recollect the words when suddenly Ravi came towards where some of us were struggling and whispered with a poker face, tongue firmly in cheek "Mohini is showing everything and that's why Murthy is not able to write".
Suddenly everyone within a hearing distance looked up and roared with laughter when they saw that Murthy our colleague is sitting across a teapoy with Mohini in her typical style.
Everyone in the hall looked up startled and amazed, and I am sure till this day they would be wondering what made us giggle so much at such a tough competition!!!
There have still been many such incidents, which, like pickles to a staple food, add masala to our mundane office life.
Aaj ke liye bas itna hi. See you again and till next time. Cheerio.
PS : I am sure you also must have experienced many such funny incidents in your office. Haven't you? If yes, please share them in the comment section.
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