short story collection

Paycheck

ch touched my heart:

Anuradha was very happy as because she had finally secured a job and that to on her own merit. She after shifting base to Kolkata she had been trying for a job for a long time now. Its not that kolkata had dearth of opportunities but she was failing every interview. She was not sure why? It seemed to her that her bad luck had followed her even to Kolkata. Unemployment had led her to shift base from New Delhi in December. In Delhi also she was jobless. She atleast had some tutions there and lived in the covered balcony of a government flat paying a rent of 500 Rs.a month.The landlords were government servant and out of pity they for another 200rs served her two huge helpings of coarse rice and dal for lunch and dinner.It was quite often she had to ask money from her father who had retired and was old and ailing. Her mother had already sought the solace of god’s arms just after her birth. Her father finally threw up his arms and on phone requested her to come back home as it was hard for him to carry Anuradha"s burden anymore. It was probably the best advice he had given her since her birth. So one fine night Anuradha boarded a train for her home city Kolkata, the city which every one says gives refuge to one and all. It especially engulfs losers and gives them an opportunity to achieve something in life. This is how Anuradha landed up in Kolkata. It’s another story that initially after spending so many years in Delhi she faced a disconnect. The first disconnect was the language albeit it was her mother tongue. Sadly for Anuradha she could only converse in broken Bengali. The buses which had placards announcing the destination were all written in Bengali and Anuradha often missed them. Metro was better but she often boarded the wrong metro as she did not understand the directions. Today of course was a day of celebration as she had got a job of sales executive in the local office of a Delhi based company which supplied wheel chairs to hospitals. Henceforth life will be smooth and better.She will be able to look after her ailing father now. Anuradha had met the business head and felt nice as he was an affable man. His name was Sanjeev kumar and he seemed a warm fatherly man. On 1st of April she joined her new office and started working diligently. First few days she was trained on sales and how different the approach should be for a person dealing in wheel chairs. Mr. Kumar was stressing on the human aspect of their work. Together with Anuradha four more people had joined the organisation. After the training process was done with then physical visits commenced. For the next few days all executives were assigned to senior sales people to understand the nuances of a sales visit. Fifteen days had passed and Anuradha was very happy in her office. Her father also felt the happiness which was so obvious on her face and being. By now she had also started making independent sales visits.She had been assigned small nursing homes in central Kolkata. Everyday she left for office at 8am and in the evening returned by 8pm. That night while having dinner her father who was listening to the news pointed out to her that met office had predicted thunderstorm and heavy rains. It was probably norwester approaching south bengal. Anuradha as usual was most casual about it and promised her father that she will return early. The next day was sunny and hot and Anuradha that day for the first time secured an order from a nursing home.It was her first order and with the filled up order form she rushed back to her office in Dalhousie. It is the oldest office area of Kolkata where private as well as big bosses of the government take important decisions. She reached office and there was celebration as she was the first among the new recruits to have secured order of 10 wheelchairs. The weather outside was also gearing up to celebrate and rumblings could be heard even from inside the closed windows of an airconditioned office. Anuradha remembered her father’s words and checked from one of the closed windows and saw that it was fast turning dark. At that time Mr Kumar came in and told her to follow him into his cabin. There he handed her a letter which was the confirmation of order delivery which needed to be carried to the nursing home. She was new to the office and it was only 4’oclock so she decided to go and come back as fast as she could before it started raining. Anyways it was pay day and she had to come back to office to collect her 1st pay cheque. She rushed out with the letter and boarded a bus for her destination. After successfully delivering the letter she again rushed out to catch her return bus. She was excited to get her first salary. As she waited in the bus stand dreaming about what all she needed to buy for the house and her father it started to rain. The winds were severe lashing out in their full fury. Luckily the bus came and she boarded it. Her destination was announced by the conductor and she got up to get down. The bus floor was slippery and in haste and probably all happened in daze she actually did not know what happened. She was conscious of people yelling, shrieks, rain and blood. Anuradha in midst of all this lost consciousness. When she regained her senses she found herself in a cubicle which had curtains all around and lots of pipes were fitted to her body. Her father was there looking at her looking more haggard and old. She also felt very heavy as if her body weight had increased considerably. She wondered why? She tried to speak and no words came out and she lost consciousness again. It was probably after lot of days she again gained consciousness. This time there was no one in the room. It was the same cubicle with green curtains drawn and the pipes had been removed. She was feeling little better and was thirsty. She tried to move her head and see around. It was of course a hospital. She was tense and curious as to what had happened. Just then a nurse came in and she was happy to see Anuradha had regained consciousness and went to call the doctor. The doctor came and checked her and gave her a reassuring smile that all was well. In her heavy voice she asked the doctor why was she unable to move. The doctor did not answer and left with a reassuring smile. Her father who was waiting outside came to see her and she enquired from where he was paying the bills. He said her office was taking care of it. She was reassured and went back into a peaceful sleep. Next day as she got up from her sleep she was feeling better and relaxed. As she was ok she tried to get up but could not move. She tried and tried and then it struck her like lightening. She gave out a shriek and the nurse came running in. Her worst fears were confirmed by her in a very soft tone. The doctor came in and was reassuring her that with physiotherapy and will power she might walk again. Anuradha had in every sense become a burden now as she had lost the use of her limbs. The office was actually paying her first month’s salary and incentive that she had earned after selling 10 wheel chairs as her hospital bills. She would now also get a wheel chair in discounted rate from her office. Her 1st paycheque had been put to use.