Does Goodness Deserve Loyalty?

 

This question has been lingering in my mind for a long time. If I pose this question to anyone, the answer would be an obvious No. But, if I change the question and ask this if nicety is taken for granted or considered as someone's right, how do you respond?

Now, why am I asking this question? Well, I have a maid who has been working for nearly a decade. Unlike everyone else, she comes to my house only when I call her which is maybe once or twice a week. Understanding her situation back home, I ensured she gets paid the same amount as her other employers in whose house she goes every day without a break.

Even when I had moved abroad, I continued to pay her. Even during the lockdown, she lost her job almost everywhere but I continued. My whole thought process was that instead of helping any unknown person, I should help a person whom I know personally.

But here comes the problem, whenever she needs money and she asks me as if it is her right. I did help her financially on a couple of occasions without expecting her to pay back and at the end of the month, she still expected to be paid her full salary.  

What saddened me was that even if I had called her for work, she wouldn't turn up and I see her working for my neighbor where she doesn't have any such expectations.

This month I had similar incidents. One day she came home and asked me to reach out to my friends in the US and start a donation drive for her ailing mother. I just ignored her statement and she did her work and left.

A few days later, I called her for work, but she didn't turn up. Today, I saw her at my neighbor's house and asked her to come to work. She came and did a very half-hearted job.

The question popped up in my mind, I have been helping her but why is she taking me for granted? She is loyal to people who don't even exchange pleasantries with her.

 I am not a perfect human being, I have my shortcomings too. What do you think I need to do now?

Guns 'n' Roses

 

Thor, Love and Thunder soundtrack made me listen to Guns'n'Roses's Sweet child o' mine after a long time. It's one of my Liked songs on my Spotify list. More than the song it's the memory associated with
the song that made me look back to my younger days.

Immediately after my graduation, I got a job where I met an incredible bunch of people. It was my first time away from home but these people never let me miss home. Though we didn't speak the same language, there was lots of warmth and affection among us.

In this group, we had this insanely talented guy who had learned the strings all by himself. He was the musician in the group, playing and singing Western and Bollywood songs with ease. It was during those
times, the early 2000's we had the email boom, and this guy had his email ID as axlrose***@xyz.com. Any gettogether, he was ready with his guitar, singing songs so effortlessly. It was due to him, that I
explored Guns'n'Roses, Queen, etc to name a few

We were in touch till we worked for the same organization, then he left for higher education in the US. When I heard the soundtrack of Thor, I remembered him, his ever-smiling face, and all those good

Universe Conspiring Mane Story

This may sound absurd but it is a true story. I never had a fascination with long hair since childhood. The shorter, the better was always my myntra. My parents took it in their stride or they accepted me as a tomboy. All through my growing years, I had maintained my short hair look.

It was during my pre-university time, my grandmom visited us and decided to stay back for a few months. During that period, we found a long lost connection and all she requested was to see me in long hair. I budged. As she was around, it was not difficult to maintain my mane.

During my graduation and the first few years of my employment, I had hair till my shoulder. There were few relatives who thought I looked good with that look. Opinions matters during that stage. One fine day, I went ahead and shortened my mane. What triggered that action, I still have no explanation. That look stayed for a few years.

I succumbed to the pressure of elders as they thought no suitors will agree to my hairstyle.  Around the late 20s and early 30s, I got inspired by the straight hair look and went ahead and got my hair chemically treated.  That was the worst decision I had taken, not only it was a costly affair but also it damaged my hair.

My rebel soul woke up again and I went ahead to shorten my straightened locks. There was no looking back again. Many did tell me to be more feminine and to grow my hair but this time I was very determined.

I had shifted to the US and that stint really was a revelation. The female who is supposed to be the "man" in the lesbian community adorns such a hairstyle. I was approached by many females in clubs and pubs as they misread my hairstyle.

When I returned back to India, I had this deep desire to be this typical Indian girl in kurta pyjamas, bindi on her forehead, and neatly partitioned hair.  But I had become so used to my short hair and its hassle-free maintenance.

With the corona scare and the nation under complete lockdown, and no parlors opened, my hair has started growing. I feel that this is the way, the universe has conspired to get me what I wanted.

As Pink as it gets!

It was the last week in college. All were signing autographs and filling in the slam book. The college magazine will be handed over in two days’ time. There was a section in there where we had to fill some trivial questions about ourselves like your favorite film, favorite quote, favorite song, so on and so forth. I was the last one to submit the questionnaire for I had difficulty in figuring out my favorite song. I started thinking how the entire process went.

 “Will anyone really care about others’ likes and dislikes? It was easy to fill in details about the film, quote etc but what about the song?” I wondered.  

I shrouded off “It’s me being typical.”

I made a quick glance through my music collection, all the downloaded and copied songs. It had taken lots of efforts to have that kind of collection. Thankfully I had it i.e patience.

“I like all of them, that is why I listen to them. Now which one to pick?” I contemplated.

“Everything I do, I do it for you by Bryan Adams. Should I pick that one? Nooo … People will judge me as a hopelessly romantic person when I have always been portrayed as this studious kind.  There was one person besides me in the class who liked that song. If he suggests the same, everything will be out there in the open.” I wondered.

The following night, I saw Armageddon. More than the film, I loved the soundtrack “I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.” I had it in the music collection but never knew it was from this film.

I realized that the entire western collection was from a friend. To be precise, he was my senior in school. We had never exchanged pleasantries in school.  Our friendship started because we were doing courses from the same university, he was doing his masters and I was doing bachelors, both in computers. We had the same books and similar topics. We were introduced by a mutual friend, who was my senior and his junior.

Apart from exchanging books, we started exchanging movies, songs etc. He introduced me to the world of western music. Earlier, my western music was limited to one and only, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.  Apart from being a good singer, he was a prolific musician. Few times, he did perform “Hotel California”, “Lady in Red” for me within the closed doors of his home. I had heard him take the name of Steven Taylor too.

After watching Armageddon, I decided to hear the songs from Aerosmith from my collection, this time very attentively.  I was immediately addicted to the song “Pink”.

“Pink is not only my favorite crayon, it’s favorite song too!” I thought as I happily filled in the questionnaire.

By the end of the week, we received the college magazine.

He asked “Pink? Is there any song by that name?”

 “Of course. You will get it today. Wait for my email.” I chuckled.

We left college. He moved on, I moved on. We were never meant to be together.

I was dating a guy who was not from my region, who didn’t understand my language or my culture. All we knew was that we could tolerate each other and there was a comfort level.

We were invited by a friend for a Karaoke night. I was super excited when my turn came. Without any second thoughts, I declared “Pink is my favorite crayon and my favorite song.”

Clamors were replaced by deafening silence.  I flustered. I was never used to this kind of appalling attention. I looked at him, his face had turned red.

“What is happening? Is he, all right? Why does he look mortified?” I wondered.

That didn’t deter me. I sang my heart out.

We left the place in a hurry. All through the trip back home, he was all grumpy.

After few heated exchanges, he said “Do you know the lyrics of the song? Do you understand its meaning?”

“Of course, I do. It’s about color Pink. So well written!” I said.

“Are you sure? If you had known, you would have never declared it as your favorite song! Go and do some research. One more thing, please don’t embarrass me next time with your acts.” he said angrily.

That night, we never exchanged our custom good nights and sweet nothings. My ego was hurt, so was his.

I started doing my research. As I discovered the hidden meaning of the song, I was really amazed by the clever craft of words. My respect for Steven Taylor increased in multifold.

“There is nothing condescending in the lyrics. You need to grow up!” I texted him.

“Ok.” He replied. That was the last time I heard from him.

Unborn Tomorrow

“It’s 9 pm, hand over the remote” she said. Curiosity was killing her. The whole day, she was thinking about it, venomously cursing all the characters who could possibly be the perpetrator. All the while, he has been noticing her. Her zaniness brought a smile on his face. “Mom, it is just a TV show. They can change the storyline anytime. Why do you suffer so much?” he asked amusingly. “You do not know the ordeals women have to go through. It’s always been a man’s world even though the world is said to have progressed” she said dishearteningly.

There was an unwritten pact between him and her. He got to watch television till 9 pm, after which she takes over.  She watches three shows back to back. In the morning while doing her chores, she thinks about the characters and how the stories will move forward. During lunch, when she discusses with him, he has seen her messing up the storyline and the characters. Correcting her, he said “Mom, you have got it wrong. Don’t you know that this character is not a part of the show which you are talking about? He is the part of the next show”. Immediately, he chuckled “What is wrong with me? I am following these unrealistic TV shows. I need to find ways not to waste my time watching them with her”.

However, he always enjoyed watching the shows with her. She cursed, she cried, she laughed along with the characters. “She is such a pure, innocent soul” he thought. Once she is done with the shows, she goes to the kitchen to make sure that it is clean and the new day can be welcomed with a hot, strong tea. After that, while she calls it a day, he continues to watch television.

“Didn’t I tell you? He was always mean to her. He deserved the punishment. It is called Karma” she said beamingly. “Mom, this is insanely crazy. The fictional show makes you so happy!” he said.  “Here is the remote. Tomorrow, we will come to know how the story will unfold from now. Let me go to bed” she said. “Have you already done with your kitchen chores?” he asked. “Yes, I did. I am feeling little tired. I have been anxious all the while. Now I can sleep peacefully.” she chuckled.  

The next day morning when he got up, he saw her sleeping peacefully from a distance. “Why hasn’t she woken up? These shows are really ruining her health. Let me make the tea and then wake her up” he thought. The kitchen was pristine clean. “It’s been ages since I made tea for her. I need to do it more often” he thought.  He went near her and saw a hidden smile on her face. When he touched to wake her up, she was all cold and numb!

Unwarranted Expectation

Two decades back they had met each other at college. Within no time, they became the closest of friends. She liked his humor and his general attitude towards life. “Everything seems so simple for him. He never cribbed anything about life. He took each day as it comes.” she signed.  She was very aloof, extremely diligent and studious. Her seriousness towards life and her dedication to whatever things she awed him. “Within that diffident, reticent girl lives another fun-loving woman. “he thought.

They left college, got busy with their respective lives. Like any relationship, they had their share of ups and downs. But every time they got back together within no time. They were not regularly in touch, however, whenever they talked, they could start from wherever they left previously.

He met the girl of his dreams and decided to take his relationship to the next level.  She came to know about it through another friend of theirs. She felt miserable. She thought “Why didn’t he tell me? It’s an important decision in his life and all the while during our conversations, he kept it hidden from me.” She expressed her displeasure to him. He said “I was about to say to you. It was not intentional.”  That was all she needed, no other explanations or arguments after that.

Days passed, years passed. She frequented him and his family whenever possible. The warmth they shared, transpired to his family as well. More good things happened to his life. In some instances, she came to know about them through their friends or through his wife. She wondered “Why didn’t he tell me? Does he even value me?” She confronted him but he had reasons for everything. He had no issues with her, whatsoever. 

There came a day when his hard work was recognized by his fraternity. The news was broken to her by his wife. Instead of being happy for success, she got upset and dialed his wife. She told her “Why is that I am always the last person to know about him.” Before his wife could answer her, she hung up. After a while, when everything had settled, she thought “What did I just do? I feel ashamed of myself. How can I face her? She always has been the peacemaker. Also, he has been consistently inconsistent. I should have just accepted him the way he is. Sometimes we create our own heartbreaks through expectation!”  She texted his wife an apology.

Work Nirvana

At work, she opened her inbox. She was flabbergasted to see several emails that were generated in the last fifty minutes. She never felt so important at her workplace. Chat messages popped up on her system asking her to join the ongoing escalation call. She had seen this issue earlier and had reported it. “No one took any actions then. Work in my office gets done only during escalations.” she sighed.

When the customer escalated it as a service impacting issue, he needed someone to bear the brunt. He had seen her email earlier, he handpicked her to face the heat. “She had raised this issue, why didn’t she fix it?” he thought.  All he wanted was a cover up for his negligence and due diligence. He overlooked her statements in the emails that she had written asking for help.

She joined the call, everyone was taking her name. “Who are they? Why do they keep asking me the status? I know the issue but I don’t know the fix” she thought.  Every two minutes, they were asking her for updates. She pinged him, he never responded. She was on the call throughout the day, with absolute no progress. She needed help but no one seems to understand her predicament.

By late evening, he joined the call. He pinged her on her messenger stating that the issue has been escalated to CEO and he will join the call. She replied, “It's good, the more, the merrier!” He was taken aback by her response. She chuckled “All the while he was blind, deaf and mute to my request. It doesn’t matter whoever joins the call. If I don’t know, I don’t know.”

 

Enchanted Encounter!

She had never interacted with him. He was her junior at work. They hardly had communicated outside work. While at work, it had been just exchanging pleasantries. Soon, she left the organization and there was no further communication between him and her.

Meanwhile, he shifted his job, left the country and moved to the US for greener pastures. Little did they know that their paths would cross again! They met at a restaurant.  It was more than a decade since they last met, however, they could easily recognize and remember each other’s name.  They learned that they were neighbors in the US. They exchanged phone numbers and decided to catch up some other time.

They met again. He did all the talking, while she listened to him attentively. She had picturized him in a certain way but he turned out to be totally opposite. Back home, he was quite reserved, but in the new city, new country, he was rediscovering himself. He made new friends and was extremely extroverted. “He is quite garrulous but he is interesting.” she thought.

One fine day, she wanted a break from her routine, mundane life. She texted him asking about his evening plans. He was surprised to see her message but responded back by asking whether she was interested in a Friday night rendezvous. With no further hesitation, she decided to join him. He was taken aback.

 “I have never done it before and never will I. I don’t want to miss this opportunity” she thought. He took her to a pub. He introduced her to all his friends. Everyone had interesting stories about him. His friends were like him, extremely easy going and entertaining.  She hit it off with his friends. He thought “Was she like this all the while? I have seen her being very serious and reserved at the office. She seems to be an enigma”.

Together, they did pub-crawling, enjoying each other’s company, quite oblivious of the surroundings. They held hands and in an inebriated state, danced the night away!

Indecisive Decision

At work, she always looked up to him. He was a bundle of energy and exuberance.  Whenever she goes to his desk, he welcomed her with a smile. She has never seen him losing his cool. She noticed that whenever he was in a tense situation, he took a break, walked on the corridor and returned to his desk. In short, she was in awe of him.

He brought lots of positive changes in her. Whenever she was in a bad situation at work, she did a little bit of self-introspection. She said to herself “If he can do it, so can I”. She wanted her life to be sorted just like his. He was her mentor more than her manager.

One fine day, an opportunity knocked at her door, a change that she wanted to happen. She was confused whether to take it up or remain on the same team. After all, moving teams would mean she can no longer work with him. She was also not sure how to present this information to him. He had been so considerate and accommodating. The new manager had given her a week to respond.  She decided to delay the news to him and continued to work on her projects.

On the third day, during the project review, he told her “I have been working in this organization for last one decade. I have decided to move on and move out”. She was taken by surprise. Never in her imagination had she thought the situation would turn out this way. She told him “I have a bit of news from my side too. I have decided to change team. I was indecisive till now. If you reconsider your decision to quit, I would continue to work in your team”. He smiled and said “Well, I knew about it. I am happy that I was able to help you make a wise decision”. She just nodded in agreement.