It was late evening, but Sameer was still in the office. Outside in the cubicles, Ashok held court and their voices filtered through the open door. Ashok was the office boy who had been with Stonewell forever. Sometimes it was what he said. But most of the time, it was how he said it that was amusing. Ashok always spoke English in the office. It didn't matter if others understood his brand of English or not. "Toh Ashok ji, kuch sunaye about the old days," said Abhimanyu, the gossip prince. "What you want to listening Abhimanyu sahib? Mister Ashok knowing too many stories. Explaining please." Ashok responded. "Tell us about Ketan sir." "Or Sameer sir." This was Kartik. The weasel. "Ketan sir and Sameer sir, the oldest people in the office. Not as old as Mister Ashok, of course.

