Vikram came back to his apartment, in a posh area of Plainsboro,New Jersey, from work, tired. He is not a stranger to tiredness. Its been his best buddy for a long time. Actually he liked being tired which usually means he has met a deadline or exceeded expectations earning kudos from his manager. That's how he rose from a developer to tech lead in a short span of two years. Its his tiredness that reminded him of his worth in work and life.
But, today he is tired for a different reason. He didn't like the way he felt about himself. His pride has been hurt today. He dropped himself on the couch and turned on the TV. The 70s Show was on, his favorite, but he felt strange that he is not interested in seeing the show. He started to reminisce the things that happened in the office.
Today, he met Kannan, a new hire for the post of Project Lead. Kannan introduced himself to the team as IIT graduate from Chennai, finished his Masters in Stanford and with a couple of years of experience with Microsoft under his belt. Kannan smiled a lot and was nice to everyone. But Vikram didn't like Kannan for some reason and he is mad that Kannan is going to be his boss from now on.
Vikram, stretched himself on the couch and started debating why he didn't like Kannan. He thought to himself, 'Well, I didn't go to IIT because, I am came from a rural town in Tamil Nadu and didn't have the coaching required to pass the IIT entrance. But, I still got good marks to get into a good college for B.E and then to a decent university in US. I am only 26 and I am already a team lead. I am good myself and why should I feel jealous of Kannan ? Had I received the same opportunities as him, I would also gone to IIT and would have become a project manager like him'.
Its been a week since Kannan joined and every day Vikram felt miserable. He felt inferior before Kannan. He decided to get his mind off Kannan and started to type the Status Report for the week. He turned around suddenly disturbed by the sound of a slow humming, It was Larry, the janitor. He is a tall African American with a tattoo in his fore-arm. Its a signia of the battalion he served under in Vietnam. He seemed to be in his fifties and has been a janitor ever since he left the Army. He is humming a tune and clearing the garbage can in Vikram's cubicle. Larry seeing Vikram looking exclaimed, 'Sorry dude, didn't mean to disturb you, I just can't get this song out of my head. I heard it yesterday in my grand daughter's kinder garden Christmas celebrations. Here!! Is the picture of Lakeesha, my grand daughter. Isn't she a cutie pie!!!.'
Larry went to the next cubicle. Vikram stopped typing and started to think, 'This guy Larry, How can he just go about do his stinking job with all this happiness. Why isn't he jealous of me? After all I am half his age and earn three times more than he does. I am a foreigner in his country leading a wealthy life, still he doesn't seems to care. Infact he jokes with his fellow janitor and the CIO, talks to everyone in the same manner. He doesn't seem to be affected by anything around him. He is just too sure of himself. Now, why can't I be like him?'.
Vikram thought for some time and realized that the only difference between him and Larry is Vanity. He said to himself, 'I look down on people who are below me, that's why I am jealous of people who are above me. If I put my Vanity aside and look at people for what they are and not for what they do, I will be a better man. I will be like Larry!!'.
Skely said...
amazing man...
Absolutely well narrated story suiting the modern world.
Stories/Incidents such as these can change your perception of life..
I liked the moral of the story "Just do what you want and do not compare it with others..."
DD said...
Very nice one CK! So you too working out your right brain? Keep up! Loved it :)
ck said...
thanks skely, DD. Its sort of based on my experience in US. The character Larry is real, the rest are fiction.
-ck
Anuradha Sridharan said...
Good one, CK. Very appropriate for today's generation. Keep writing more.
ck said...