Punishing schedule and freedom by Puneet Rajhans

As i board the bus from RMM bus stand, the first gaze shifts towards the boy sitting across the aisle. Even before he boarded the bus at the bus depot he was on the cell and half an hour later when the public transport was on the highway he was hooked to the cell.
There is another person too on the cell but his conversation points are brief and to the point. Probably he is telling the punters the number of passengers that the bus would be left with once it reaches Madurai. Probably this is one of the rare state expressway buses which has the temerity to turn to a local ferrying transport as it halts at every spot it spots a prospective passenger. His conversation with the punter off and on doesn't have much prospect and i turn to the one who is touching base with Appa, Amma and Anna at regular intervals for the past one hour.
The bus has gone past Mandampam, Pamban Bridge and Ramnad and his conversation with the three haven't shrinked a bit. It was the call from Appa, Amma and Anna to his office that made them give a call to him and ascertain his whereabouts. The cell conversation seems to be a prized possession for him as he is explaining in detail his employment status. The office guys told his parents that he has ceased to exist for them and his whereabouts can be ascertained by seeking a cell talk. When they inform him that he has ceased to exist for his office, he exults and elaborates his future schedule given the punishing schedule he was subjected to when he was on their rolls. Though he left the office before afternoon had set in with a veil warning that his conduct has been giving them sleepless nights but the officewallahs never cared to share with him the good news that he is history for them. The concerned members wanted to hear his side of the story. This was the umpteenth occasion when he had been dislocated from his job and not the last one.

The punishing schedule that he went through led to his travelling to far away destinations every other week to make presentations and projections about his company to the clients. Once at the new centre he rarely moved out of the hotel room asking the clients to come over to his place for presentation. Most of the clients acceded to his request given the swift presentations he made. As for the company which was about to secure a big order worth millions and by purview of which it could sustain itself for the next five years, he had been strictly told that this business was important for them. On the agreed day and just before the meeting was to begin he again expressed his inability to move out of the hotel room and suggested the clients to visit him. Unable to decide, they finally agreed to his request only to realise later that the road they were supposed to take had closed for some political agitation. The search for other roads that led to his hotel wasn't successful as he hadn't based himself in the heart of the city but a good 40kms away. The protestation from them to his bosses in Hyderabad and their turning the guns on him didn't make him alter his plans and as a result the company failed to secure a business that would been a windfall given the recessionary trends in the industry.

Later his visit to the office and secure reimbursements for conveyance and daily allowance was met with strict resistance given his inability to fudge bills following the booze he drowned with. Though he hadn't stepped outside for three days he stayed there, he was seeking reimbursements for the conveyance and daily allowance that he was entitled for. Precisely with the entitled conveyance and daily allowance he wanted to settle the liquor claims the hotel had posted on him. Though he didn't fudge the bills but he wanted a clean and clear settlement of his liquor bills lest he would have to procure a loan from someone with whom he had shared few drinks some day. The search in the office had come to a naught and probably the places on the national highway would get him the desired company. And he told Appa, Amma and Anna that his inordinate delay in completely fudging the bills led to his exit - and now he was seeking a new highway where he could settle with the bottle of his choice. In between the conversations, he made queries about a new tipsy adda that would have come on the way to his destination. None to spot he decided to terminate his cell conversation - this is a routine staff where he is uprooted from the company for his clear conscience to not fudge bills and not step out of the hotel room as intimidatory threats keep him close to the bottle of his choice - as the concerned members at home seeking elaborate explanation from him was the least he wanted to entertain given the new freedom he had won for himself.

Secured with the belief that Ramanathapuram would surely have the place to rewind and search for companies that send their staff for outstation assignments, his cell was the most prized possession as he could tell the prospective employers that his voice isn't clear (when he is down with a peg or two) as there is some network problem - and given the landline instruments ability to provide voice clarity round the clock he shudders to come in proximity to them. As for the drinking schedule, liquor consumption is the bare minimum in the first fortnight of his joining the work place and once his outstation travelling plans are put in place he attempts to lessen the burden by going full throttle. As for the other gentleman off and on the cell with the punters he has shifted to a new mode. Quite alive to the proceedings of the man who lost job and gained freedom, he too goes full throttle when Madurai approached. And the figures he bet on were way off the mark as the number of passengers boarding for the halt in Madurai had bloated beyond imagination as the rally of a political party had launched a Final Madurai Assault. Precisely all buses had been told to load as many people as they could for a rally that could mar the chances of punters as well as political opponents.
As for the remaining passengers who proceeded towards Chennai, the sight of others hooked to a cell was not hard to locate; the only difference being they had shelved their plans to take up any office assignment in future given the freebies that are distributed at a political party rally and the inducements that are on table to mark your presence for such golden moments. As the bus progressed towards Chennai most of them had taken a vow on cell to dump their jobs and align with the political class to feel the pulse of the nation. As for landline instrumentwallahs, they were checking with the railway men on strike and stir agenda on how many special trains have been planned in the state of West Bengal in the season of assembly polls. Probably that would clear the way for those scouting for food and freebies - and for the likes of Appa,Amma and Anna favourite to have as much bottle as they desire with none to haul them for the booze they took and the babes they befriended and dumped.