TAKEN ALREADY - A Preview
Content
TAKEN ALREADY
About Notion Press
Notion Press is a Self-Publishing platform to write, publish & sell Print books and eBooks around the world. To learn more, visit www.notionpress.com TAKEN ALREADY is a product of the Notion Press Author Incubation Program.
TAKEN ALREADY
Yaagneshwaran G
NotionPress
5 Muthu Kalathy Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 600005 First Published by NotionPress Copyright © Yaagneshwaran G 2013 All Rights Reserved. ISBN: 978-93-83185-21-4
This book is sold subject to condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold or hired out, circulated and no reproduction in any form, in whole or in part (except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews) may be made without written permission of the publishers. This book has been published in good faith that the work of the author is original. All efforts have been taken to make the material error-free. However, the author and the publisher disclaim the responsibility for any inadvertent errors.
To my wife, parents and my in-laws who have always been with me and kept inspiring me.
Acknowledgements
This book was only an idea for a long time, in fact it could have died as an idea. So words aren’t enough to thank Abhilash Ayyappan, one of my very close friends for being the catalyst and pushing me on this one. He supported me throughout the process, read the manuscript and kept giving me suggestions and honest feedback. My wife Aarthi has been the life behind this book. There have been times, where I focussed days together on writing without allocating enough time for her. She bore everything with a wonderful smile and supported me with love. To my baby that’s on the way – It is for you that I finished the manuscript before you are born. I’ll try to make up for lost time with you and your mom. My parents and in-laws as always showered their love and showed tremendous faith in me. I cannot forget to thank all my colleagues and gurus at SolarWinds, my ex-colleagues at GAVS Technologies and Zylog Systems. I can never forget to thank all my gurus, friends and mentors at Jansons School of Business and SRM Arts and Science who keep inspiring me in every walk of life.
i
TAKEN ALREADY
Sincere thanks to one and all who read and loved my first novel ‘The Group of Fools’. For those who didn’t like it, I sincerely appreciate your feedback and constructive criticism. You help me mature as a writer. I’m indebted to the support and love of all my friends on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Finally, association with the publisher is always critical. Right after my first chat with Naveen of NotionPress, I knew I had found the perfect one. Thank you for approving my manuscript and suggesting things to make it better. I’m at loss of words to express my admiration towards the professionalism of my editor and the whole editorial team. The list of thanking continues …
ii
q
Chapter 1
Mid-May in Chennai, needless to say it was a harsh summer. Night shifts meant more breaks and it clocked 7.30 p.m. as we just slipped in to the food court. She was standing at the order-placing counter at the Cafe Coffee Day in the food court of our IT Park. I just checked her out from the corner of my eyes - synonymous to the Imperial Blue commercial which says “Men will be men” Oh my God! What a girl! Amazingly pretty, subtly dressed, quite elegant – she had all that it took for one to fall head over heels for her in the first instance. Ranking her gorgeous would be an understatement. Reading my mind, Arvind asked, “Arjun, do you know something that’s common between women and parking spots?” With a blank expression, I turned to him knowing that I was in for a mockery. “The good ones are usually taken,” came his self-proclaimed words of wisdom. “Uff. Also there’s a similarity between clouds and people like you, when both are not around, we call it a bright day,” I shot back. As I continued to steal a glance at her, she moved her left hand to her face as she was sipping her cappuccino. She was sitting amongst a group of nerds, which made her look even more beautiful.
1
TAKEN ALREADY
“Enough, let’s go,” Arvind’s husky voice brought back my senses as we walked towards our block. She was just out of college and convincingly looked so. As luck would have it, it was her again in the HR’s office, finishing her on-boarding formalities followed by the customary introduction. As the HR took her to our table to give a brief of what we did on a day-to-day basis, still assuming we did something, I heard her talk to me for the first time. “I’m Anita,” she said looking at me. “Hi” “I’m in as a software tester,” she continued. “I’m into marketing and promotions.” “Hmm, handling the tough part, I believe.” “It’s fun actually. Anyways all the best, we are here to help you anytime.” “Thank you.” I nodded as she walked to her new workplace. What is the secret of someone becoming so irresistible right away, I thought, and I really don’t have an answer for this, even today. Days passed by. As we were in the third quarter, the sales targets were doubled and that meant a proportional increase in the amount of marketing events. The pressure seemed to creep on us steeply. “Ranjit said he wants to meet you,” Arvind told me. Ranjit – a forty-year-old with the timidity of a four-year-old. To me, he always appeared as someone who needs to be kicked despite the fact that he calls himself the Vice-President. Though it takes away the importance of the title he holds, at
2
Yaagneshwaran G
least this helps in conveying the reality of what he is. “Hey Arjun, sit,” said Ranjit as I stepped inside his cabin, which looked more like a storeroom with files, brochures, and collaterals piled around. “Yes Ranjit, tell me.” “This thing .... tell me one thing.” Which thing and what thing am I expected to tell, I thought. Mind you, these are some effects that topmanagement people try to give you, to show us that they are discussing something serious. “Have you done any market-intelligence on the current ERP and mobile applications market?” he continued. “Yes, I shall share it once I’m back to my desk.” “Please try to understand, our CMO Raghav is looking to launch the ERP for the mid-market segment,” taking a very brief pause, he continued, “We need to get a good target list of companies in that revenue range.” When they say, “we need to do this, we need to do that,” it’s not that both will work together on those things. It simply means, “I need this, go fish.” “Would that mean organizations with revenue of $200 million to $500 million,” I asked to confirm. “That will be good enough, by the way, how are things otherwise?” Once they start talking generic things after the actual subject, it means – “It’s time to get up and leave.”
3
TAKEN ALREADY
“Pretty good, Ranjit. Alright, will catch up later,” was my customary response as I rose and stepped out. Weeks passed as we were heads down with ultra-busy product launch and promotion work – busy hyping. By now, I had to continuously work with Anita’s team for the Beta testing, which meant that I could now legitimately spend time with her. But the best things in life don’t come easy. She was one of those conservative types, never into outing, partying, etc. If this wasn’t enough, she had the habit of getting into her shell every now and then, and alienating herself from the rest of the world around her. “Joining us for a snack?” her friend Tina asked her as we were still on our tasks. “Carry on, I’ll wrap this one and join you,” replied Anita. Taking a snack break now would make it difficult to get back the focus, I thought, although I focussed more on Anita than those report references on the PowerPoint slides. Also I had heard from others in her group that she was very emotional but tried hard to present herself as balanced. I walked up to the coffee vending machine to bring a cup for both of us. “So how’s the social media responding?” she asked me as I returned, continuing her time-tested processes. Oh wow, you’re talking to me! “Considering the initial stages, it’s a good start,” I said.
4
Yaagneshwaran G
“You marketers will always try and sound optimistic, come what may.” I smiled and said, “True, but I wouldn’t lie to you!” “Huh?” “I meant not to my colleagues out here,” I said, quickly managing my previous statement and smiling. By the time we finished, it was well past 8.30 p.m. “I’m bored of the restaurants in the food court here, can we go out? I’m quite sure we have decent restaurants nearby,” she said. This is awesome. The subtle, conservative, yet so pretty Anita calling me out for dinner – can’t get any better! “Sure”, I said. She had just moved into Chennai after completing her Bachelor degree in Engineering in Pondicherry. She was unsettled in terms of her residence and was temporarily staying with her maternal uncle. She was a little concerned about getting a decent hostel and was constantly talking to PGs and hostels in Thiruvanmiyur and Besant Nagar, since these places were in proximity from our office. “I would like pizza – a long time since I had it,” she said standing up. “We have a Dominos close by,” I offered. Forget the followers on twitter, fan page likes on Facebook, the eyes of the entire marketing team followed us till we flashed our ID cards to walk out. “How about a combo deal?” The menu card kept flipping in my hand as I asked.
5
TAKEN ALREADY
“Yes quick, I’m dying of hunger,” she said. “Chicken combo and a deluxe veggie combo please,” I told the waiter. “Can you make it quick,” she added as the waiter nodded, walking back. It was around 9 p.m., Dominos was soulless and the TV was playing the highlights of some old cricket matches of the Australian Big Bash. “So, you are based out of Chennai?” I asked. “Pondy. And you? Please don’t say Mylapore or Nanganallur,” she said with eyes glued to the TV. “Is being from Mylapore a problem?” was my reply which almost came in a split second. She was still looking at the TV and I thought Gayle’s sixes were obviously more entertaining than my talks. Should I do a Gangnam style to grab attention? Nothing more silly; second, I can’t dance. There was a pause for a moment, and then she turned to me and looked straight into my eyes. That was a moment of truth. Aflyer! I tried my best to appear normal, and almost managed. “No. Just kidding. You looked like a vegetarian and also you ordered veg stuff,” she said talking like a forensic scientist. Her smugness was a little annoying. Despite that, she looked pink and pretty, which I couldn’t help admiring. “Hey we are sharing the bill right?” she asked as the waiter served our pizzas and coke. Oh yeah, for her I’m just a commoner and commoners share bills. But hope springs eternal, you see!
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Yaagneshwaran G
“Of course,” I replied tearing a slice of pizza with my teeth. But mentally I said “Afsos” in Hindi meaning – regret. “So, you are an MBA from Great Lakes?” she asked. “Yes, by the way how do you know?” “Tina told me.” Right, so I was a topic in the girls’ gossip, I reckoned. “What else do you know about me?” I asked with a sly grin. “Nothing much, but you are a nice person to talk to,” Anita said shifting her eyes around. Dude, this is progress, isn’t it? And even those silent moments in a conversation with her were musical. “Really? I’ll take this as a compliment,” I responded. “Cool, we got to leave now, it’s getting late.” Being still a commoner on the cards, we shared the bill and left Dominos.
ab
7
TAKEN ALREADY
About Notion Press
Notion Press is a Self-Publishing platform to write, publish & sell Print books and eBooks around the world. To learn more, visit www.notionpress.com TAKEN ALREADY is a product of the Notion Press Author Incubation Program.
TAKEN ALREADY
Yaagneshwaran G
NotionPress
5 Muthu Kalathy Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 600005 First Published by NotionPress Copyright © Yaagneshwaran G 2013 All Rights Reserved. ISBN: 978-93-83185-21-4
This book is sold subject to condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold or hired out, circulated and no reproduction in any form, in whole or in part (except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews) may be made without written permission of the publishers. This book has been published in good faith that the work of the author is original. All efforts have been taken to make the material error-free. However, the author and the publisher disclaim the responsibility for any inadvertent errors.
To my wife, parents and my in-laws who have always been with me and kept inspiring me.
Acknowledgements
This book was only an idea for a long time, in fact it could have died as an idea. So words aren’t enough to thank Abhilash Ayyappan, one of my very close friends for being the catalyst and pushing me on this one. He supported me throughout the process, read the manuscript and kept giving me suggestions and honest feedback. My wife Aarthi has been the life behind this book. There have been times, where I focussed days together on writing without allocating enough time for her. She bore everything with a wonderful smile and supported me with love. To my baby that’s on the way – It is for you that I finished the manuscript before you are born. I’ll try to make up for lost time with you and your mom. My parents and in-laws as always showered their love and showed tremendous faith in me. I cannot forget to thank all my colleagues and gurus at SolarWinds, my ex-colleagues at GAVS Technologies and Zylog Systems. I can never forget to thank all my gurus, friends and mentors at Jansons School of Business and SRM Arts and Science who keep inspiring me in every walk of life.
i
TAKEN ALREADY
Sincere thanks to one and all who read and loved my first novel ‘The Group of Fools’. For those who didn’t like it, I sincerely appreciate your feedback and constructive criticism. You help me mature as a writer. I’m indebted to the support and love of all my friends on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Finally, association with the publisher is always critical. Right after my first chat with Naveen of NotionPress, I knew I had found the perfect one. Thank you for approving my manuscript and suggesting things to make it better. I’m at loss of words to express my admiration towards the professionalism of my editor and the whole editorial team. The list of thanking continues …
ii
q
Chapter 1
Mid-May in Chennai, needless to say it was a harsh summer. Night shifts meant more breaks and it clocked 7.30 p.m. as we just slipped in to the food court. She was standing at the order-placing counter at the Cafe Coffee Day in the food court of our IT Park. I just checked her out from the corner of my eyes - synonymous to the Imperial Blue commercial which says “Men will be men” Oh my God! What a girl! Amazingly pretty, subtly dressed, quite elegant – she had all that it took for one to fall head over heels for her in the first instance. Ranking her gorgeous would be an understatement. Reading my mind, Arvind asked, “Arjun, do you know something that’s common between women and parking spots?” With a blank expression, I turned to him knowing that I was in for a mockery. “The good ones are usually taken,” came his self-proclaimed words of wisdom. “Uff. Also there’s a similarity between clouds and people like you, when both are not around, we call it a bright day,” I shot back. As I continued to steal a glance at her, she moved her left hand to her face as she was sipping her cappuccino. She was sitting amongst a group of nerds, which made her look even more beautiful.
1
TAKEN ALREADY
“Enough, let’s go,” Arvind’s husky voice brought back my senses as we walked towards our block. She was just out of college and convincingly looked so. As luck would have it, it was her again in the HR’s office, finishing her on-boarding formalities followed by the customary introduction. As the HR took her to our table to give a brief of what we did on a day-to-day basis, still assuming we did something, I heard her talk to me for the first time. “I’m Anita,” she said looking at me. “Hi” “I’m in as a software tester,” she continued. “I’m into marketing and promotions.” “Hmm, handling the tough part, I believe.” “It’s fun actually. Anyways all the best, we are here to help you anytime.” “Thank you.” I nodded as she walked to her new workplace. What is the secret of someone becoming so irresistible right away, I thought, and I really don’t have an answer for this, even today. Days passed by. As we were in the third quarter, the sales targets were doubled and that meant a proportional increase in the amount of marketing events. The pressure seemed to creep on us steeply. “Ranjit said he wants to meet you,” Arvind told me. Ranjit – a forty-year-old with the timidity of a four-year-old. To me, he always appeared as someone who needs to be kicked despite the fact that he calls himself the Vice-President. Though it takes away the importance of the title he holds, at
2
Yaagneshwaran G
least this helps in conveying the reality of what he is. “Hey Arjun, sit,” said Ranjit as I stepped inside his cabin, which looked more like a storeroom with files, brochures, and collaterals piled around. “Yes Ranjit, tell me.” “This thing .... tell me one thing.” Which thing and what thing am I expected to tell, I thought. Mind you, these are some effects that topmanagement people try to give you, to show us that they are discussing something serious. “Have you done any market-intelligence on the current ERP and mobile applications market?” he continued. “Yes, I shall share it once I’m back to my desk.” “Please try to understand, our CMO Raghav is looking to launch the ERP for the mid-market segment,” taking a very brief pause, he continued, “We need to get a good target list of companies in that revenue range.” When they say, “we need to do this, we need to do that,” it’s not that both will work together on those things. It simply means, “I need this, go fish.” “Would that mean organizations with revenue of $200 million to $500 million,” I asked to confirm. “That will be good enough, by the way, how are things otherwise?” Once they start talking generic things after the actual subject, it means – “It’s time to get up and leave.”
3
TAKEN ALREADY
“Pretty good, Ranjit. Alright, will catch up later,” was my customary response as I rose and stepped out. Weeks passed as we were heads down with ultra-busy product launch and promotion work – busy hyping. By now, I had to continuously work with Anita’s team for the Beta testing, which meant that I could now legitimately spend time with her. But the best things in life don’t come easy. She was one of those conservative types, never into outing, partying, etc. If this wasn’t enough, she had the habit of getting into her shell every now and then, and alienating herself from the rest of the world around her. “Joining us for a snack?” her friend Tina asked her as we were still on our tasks. “Carry on, I’ll wrap this one and join you,” replied Anita. Taking a snack break now would make it difficult to get back the focus, I thought, although I focussed more on Anita than those report references on the PowerPoint slides. Also I had heard from others in her group that she was very emotional but tried hard to present herself as balanced. I walked up to the coffee vending machine to bring a cup for both of us. “So how’s the social media responding?” she asked me as I returned, continuing her time-tested processes. Oh wow, you’re talking to me! “Considering the initial stages, it’s a good start,” I said.
4
Yaagneshwaran G
“You marketers will always try and sound optimistic, come what may.” I smiled and said, “True, but I wouldn’t lie to you!” “Huh?” “I meant not to my colleagues out here,” I said, quickly managing my previous statement and smiling. By the time we finished, it was well past 8.30 p.m. “I’m bored of the restaurants in the food court here, can we go out? I’m quite sure we have decent restaurants nearby,” she said. This is awesome. The subtle, conservative, yet so pretty Anita calling me out for dinner – can’t get any better! “Sure”, I said. She had just moved into Chennai after completing her Bachelor degree in Engineering in Pondicherry. She was unsettled in terms of her residence and was temporarily staying with her maternal uncle. She was a little concerned about getting a decent hostel and was constantly talking to PGs and hostels in Thiruvanmiyur and Besant Nagar, since these places were in proximity from our office. “I would like pizza – a long time since I had it,” she said standing up. “We have a Dominos close by,” I offered. Forget the followers on twitter, fan page likes on Facebook, the eyes of the entire marketing team followed us till we flashed our ID cards to walk out. “How about a combo deal?” The menu card kept flipping in my hand as I asked.
5
TAKEN ALREADY
“Yes quick, I’m dying of hunger,” she said. “Chicken combo and a deluxe veggie combo please,” I told the waiter. “Can you make it quick,” she added as the waiter nodded, walking back. It was around 9 p.m., Dominos was soulless and the TV was playing the highlights of some old cricket matches of the Australian Big Bash. “So, you are based out of Chennai?” I asked. “Pondy. And you? Please don’t say Mylapore or Nanganallur,” she said with eyes glued to the TV. “Is being from Mylapore a problem?” was my reply which almost came in a split second. She was still looking at the TV and I thought Gayle’s sixes were obviously more entertaining than my talks. Should I do a Gangnam style to grab attention? Nothing more silly; second, I can’t dance. There was a pause for a moment, and then she turned to me and looked straight into my eyes. That was a moment of truth. Aflyer! I tried my best to appear normal, and almost managed. “No. Just kidding. You looked like a vegetarian and also you ordered veg stuff,” she said talking like a forensic scientist. Her smugness was a little annoying. Despite that, she looked pink and pretty, which I couldn’t help admiring. “Hey we are sharing the bill right?” she asked as the waiter served our pizzas and coke. Oh yeah, for her I’m just a commoner and commoners share bills. But hope springs eternal, you see!
6
Yaagneshwaran G
“Of course,” I replied tearing a slice of pizza with my teeth. But mentally I said “Afsos” in Hindi meaning – regret. “So, you are an MBA from Great Lakes?” she asked. “Yes, by the way how do you know?” “Tina told me.” Right, so I was a topic in the girls’ gossip, I reckoned. “What else do you know about me?” I asked with a sly grin. “Nothing much, but you are a nice person to talk to,” Anita said shifting her eyes around. Dude, this is progress, isn’t it? And even those silent moments in a conversation with her were musical. “Really? I’ll take this as a compliment,” I responded. “Cool, we got to leave now, it’s getting late.” Being still a commoner on the cards, we shared the bill and left Dominos.
ab
7
TAKEN ALREADY
