The Corporate Ladder

"Hey, Charu, lets go!", that was the chorus of friends waving out to Charu. Charu moved away from Praveen's hold, and their fingers touched as they let go of each other.

"You forget all about us when Praveen is around", her friends shouted aimlessly as Charu walked towards them.

"Hey, just a sec...".

Praveen watched her walking back to him; Her curly hair, dangling over her cheeks, dimpled by the smile, that made her look like rathi - the consort of the god of love.

"I love you honey", Charu whispered into Praveen's ears, brushing her cheek with his doing so. With friends booing her from some 20 feet away, Charu started walking back to them.

Praveen watched as her negligible waistline moved from side to side, rocking him into dreamland.

She walked away in pure splendid beauty.

X----------------------------------------X--------------------------------------X

"Samay is cool, he was my senior in College. He might be able to tell us how to move into dev. He is a good corporate climber", Praveen said, as they walked hand-in-hand into the dev area.

Praveen and Charu were posted in the Quality Assurance department, testing the software churned out by the development department aka dev. Praveen being a topper in college, was cut out for challenges, which were rampant in dev. Moreover, being in dev was a status symbol.

Praveen introduced Samay to Charu. Samay was dumbstruck at the beauty that stood in front of him. It took him a while to recover and mumble a "hi". Charu coolly offered her hand.

Charu waited, watching Samay and Praveen discuss technical topics. She didn't understand a word of it. In spite of all the aspirations to move into dev, she simply was dumb folded by technical discussions. She watched her patience wear thin very quickly.

"Praveen, am leaving", she said looking pointedly into his eyes.
"Charu, just a few more minutes ma... Samay is giving some great ideas, that might help us climb the corporate ladder faster. In fact he himself has steadily climbed up the ranks, and within a short period.".
Samay seemed embarrassed.

"Corporate ladder, my foot!", she turned and walked away.

Praveen couldn't get himself to hold her back. He couldn't understand what made her so angry. But all he was thinking was, "She looks so beautiful, even when she is angry". It hurt part of himself to hurt her. He simply stood watching her go.

She walked away in anger.

X----------------------------------------X--------------------------------------X

"Why don't you get yourself a bike, Praveen", Charu asked, as they waited for the company bus to pick them up in the morning.
"hmm, I don't think I need one. There are enough bus services to the office, right? And visits to M.G.Road arent that frequent given our work schedules..."
"Don't you ever think about me? That I might want you do stuff for me?", Charu was complaining in general, as she always did.
"My dear, Charu, Anything for you. But *I* don't need a bike. How about you buy a scooty for yourself?", Praveen turned around and put a hand on her shoulder affectionately.

Praveen doted on her as if they were already married. They had been together for 5 years, and marriage wasn't far off, he thought. Charu was always the money-minded of the two, and Praveen was the forgiving of the two. Thus it worked.

At the exact same moment, they watched a bike whiz by, stop a few feet ahead of where they stood.
"Wanna ride, folks?", said the rider as he pulled up the visor of his helmet.

"Samay!", exclaimed Praveen, from where he was, "How are you dude? Whats up wit...". Praveen's voice trailed as he saw Charu walking towards Samay.
Strangely, he didn't feel motivated to stop her, or even walk towards them to find out what was happening.

"She wanted to ride on a bike...", was all he was thinking. "Should I have paid more attention to what she wanted?"

He watched her splendid body move in a perfect rhythm, even as she hurried towards Samay's bike.

She walked away indifferently.

X----------------------------------------X--------------------------------------X

Praveen saw less and less of her, and Samay saw more and more of her.

Everybody in the team started talking of Samay and Charu. "The ideal couple", he heard them say. "She forgets all about us when Samay is around", he heard her colleagues complain. "She forgets... She forgets...", Praveen thought, as he wondered how soon the world forgets the past.

It took Praveen a while, but he got back on his foot, focusing more on his job, trying hard for the move into dev or the promotion upward. He couldn't help notice that Charu was slipping on the work-front. She was becoming fashionable day-by-day, taking trips with Samay abroad, but when it came to work, she simply spent very less time at it. Praveen sighed as he deliberately pushed thoughts about her away.

Praveen could no longer talk to Samay like he used to. He wondered how Samay acted like nothing had happened between them and their girlfriends. Maybe thats the way the corporate world is, he thought to himself. Ruthless and nothing personal about it. Nevertheless, he worked hard and single-handedly faced impossible deadlines and impossible people, even as he watched peer leave for 'greener pastures'.

"They only want a new job. They can never make a career if they keep switching jobs like this", Pramod Saxena - his new-found mentor reasoned. Pramod was the head of the team in Bangalore. The 'big-boss'. Praveen went to him whenever he felt his job weighing down on him. Pramod always seemed to have an answer. Sometimes, Praveen wondered if Pramod was being biased toward the company when he advised Praveen. But Pramod not only advised Praveen about the job, but also encouraged him to apply for the only post open in dev. "He is really concerned about my career", Praveen thought. After all, Pramod gets to decide who gets that job in dev. "Maybe he has a surprise waiting for me", Praveen was excited at the prospect, as he went to bed that day.

X----------------------------------------X--------------------------------------X

On the occasion of a release party aka `the big day', Praveen had to complete a few reports for the week and get some preliminary work done for the next week. He sighed as he got the work done, and shut-down his computer. He looked at his watch and realized that he was late for the party.

Praveen was the hot favorite to clinch the `Best QA Engineer of the year'. He had been solely responsible for uncovering some vital design flaws early in the testing phase. He had also motivated and mentored a small team to achieve 1.5 times the number of bugs expected as per industry metrics. Big achievements for a person just one year into his job. A plethora of people `pre-congratulated' him on the award. Praveen was also waiting eagerly for the day, as Pramod had promised everybody that he would announce who from QA would move into dev. After all these hints, and the fact that Pramod himself had asked Praveen to apply, it seemed to Praveen that the dev job was his, and worth all his efforts that year.

He noticed that Samay and Charu were standing near the dias, with wine-glasses in hand, talking to people in important places. He was astonished that Charu had started drinking. But he deliberately turned his thoughts away from her, and talked to a few teammates here and there, as he had his glass of `fanta'.

Suddenly, there was some static on the speakers. He saw Pramod come on stage and wave to everybody. After a few initial formal words, Pramod said he wanted to toast for a very special couple.

"To Samay and Charulatha...", he said, "The pillars of dev and QA who got us where we are".
The crowd chorused what seemed like "ToSam yaA ChNaruDta", as everybody raised their glasses up in the air. Praveen started wondering if Pramod was drunk. But it was difficult to say, as he suddenly felt that Pramod always talked like he was drunk.

"Charu also bags the `Best QA Engineer of the year' award! Charu, come on stage and get your cheque, cmon...", Pramod was slurring by now. But nobody seemed to notice.
"...and as a token of appreciation, I have decided to let Charu move into the `dev analyst' role. Am sure she would do me proud."

Praveen could no longer hear what was happening around him. He couldn't decide what hurt him more. Was it the sleepless nights? Was it the rain of blows that were just delivered? Was it the because even the `pre-congratulators' didn't seem to mind?

But amidst this all, he could see Charu walking towards the dais.

Her dazzling red gown and make-up strangely, made her look ugly. But he had to admit that she had become this seductress and a good one at that.

He watched her walk up the dias haughtily.

X----------------------------------------X--------------------------------------X

It did not take long for Praveen to find a new job, though he did not have the luxury of negotiating the salary.
"I just have to leave, and now!", he thought to himself.

"I placed so much faith in you. I was even planning to move you into dev. You are betraying us...", Pramod burst out. Praveen couldn't understand why Pramod was angry or why he was making up YAUP - Yet Another Unkept Promise. Not that he cared anymore.

What hurt him was the difference between what he thought he could accomplish in the company versus what he had accomplished in the company. He had lost a year with no improvements in his career, tons of working hours, his girlfriend, and most of all - faith in the company.

As they say, time heals. But part of our past comes back to haunt us from time to time. For Praveen, it took a couple of months.

Praveen was waiting for his company bus to pick him up.
A car stopped in front of where he stood. It was a chauffeured "Hyundai Sonata" - The favorite among executives recently. The gleaming gold-framed, white door opened, and out stepped Charulatha.

She was dressed like a royal, and was a world apart from the Charu he had known a few months back. She was an eye-turner, literally.
She walked towards him, resplendent in artificial beauty, stood before him and smiled.

Praveen couldn't help notice that this was the same place where she once walked away to ride with Samay.

She smiled like there had been no past. She smiled like as if she Praveen would enjoy her presence. She smiled like as if she was smiling self-lessly.
She opened her hand-bag and pulled out a charmingly done, expensive invite.

"Am getting married. You should come with your family. Are you married yet?...", Charu's words might have sounded so genuine and sincere to anybody around them, but not to Praveen. But he couldn't make out. He tried looking into her eyes. She hadn't bothered to take her sun-glasses off. He deliberately took his eyes off her and looked at the invite.

"Anyways, please do come. By the by, do you need a lift? Am going towards Electronic City too. Need to hand out a few invites...", she blabbered on endlessly.

Praveen shook his head with his gaze fixed at the invite. The invite had said:

"August 15, 2006, Charulatha Murthy weds Pramod Saxena."

He didn't realize that she had started walking back. When he lifted his eyes from the invite, she was already walking towards the car.

He watched her walk with an air of confidence. No, was it indifference? No, she wasn't walking. She was climbing - climbing the corporate ladder.