Not Just Friends #HalfGirlfriend

I am sharing a Half relationship story at BlogAdda in association with #HalfGirlfriend. 

“She is my best friend, but then I don’t know how to stop these feelings for her”, Rohan exclaimed. “I wonder what she will think if I tell her that I love her. It will spoil every good thing that is between us and that scares me to death.” He said.

I have known Rohan for two years, but we became friends only in the last couple of months of my graduation year. He was a quiet, thoughtful and introversive person. Sanya, on the other hand, was full of life, cheerful and congenial. Destiny brought them together, and they became friends; soon something more than that, best of friends! Their friendship was one of the favourite gossip topics in the campus, but they never cared what everyone talked about and continued being together. Three years of togetherness where both remained quietly by each other’s side. They had redefined friendship and rejected a popular misconception i.e. “A girl and a boy can be friends but sooner or later one will fall for the others” in all these years. However, I was witnessing an entirely new angle in their story that day. It was last day of our college. A farewell party was thrown by the juniors.

I didn’t know what to tell him, but I wondered how Sanya feels about the whole thing. In the corner, we were sitting when I saw her coming to us.

“If I were you, I would have told her without expecting a relationship instead just acknowledging how badly I am in love and without putting any conditions wants to continue loving her”, I replied and went away giving them some privacy.

I don’t know what happened next, but I saw tears rolling down their eyes. I stood motionless not knowing what to do next. It was heartbreaking to see her crying. I closed my eyes and wished a happy beginning of their love story. A minute later everyone was being called for one last group picture. I didn’t feel like going.  

The next morning, I met Sanya on the bus while we headed to the railway station. Rohan accompanied her, and they looked happy just like the old days. I could sense the love she felt for him. They lovingly waved at each other till the bus left. She looked at me.

“You were right. It is all about being there for each other”, she smiled.

I was happy for her. 

More Indian Than You Think

It was summer of 2012 when I graduated and had an offer to join one of the biggest Indian manufacturing company. I was more than excited to begin the new phase of my life. The early days in the organisation mostly involved interaction with the officials, workers and various level of training before I was given the first work assignment. The job included assisting in managing one of the smaller plants in the suburbs of the Jharkhand. The productivity of the plant had declined continuously over the year, and the management wanted to bring some changes to keep it profitable. This had caused resentment among the workers, and it further aggravated the situation. 

I was sharing my workspace with Ajay Sinha. He was senior plant manager and my mentor. He was in his early 50s and had spent thirty years of life in the organisation. A man known for his values and widely respected among peer and workers. However, the bitterness in the workers was growing, and he was snubbed a couple of times while addressing them in the morning. The same day something happened that frightened me to the core of my heart. At 11:30 AM, approx. 40-50 workers came into our cabin, and there were more than 200 workers that stayed just outside in the lobby. I had recently read about the deadly riot in 2012 at Maruti plant in Manesar in Haryana that happened due to a certain conflict between workers and senior management. The workers there had smashed properties, set the factory on fire and burned manager to death. I was literally scared playing out different scenarios that could happen. I looked at Ajay helplessly. 

“What happened? There is still an hour to go before lunch”, said Ajay. 

“Nobody is working until we know what is management’s decision” replied a voice from the crowd.  

“Very well” replied Ajay with a calmness in his voice and then continued, “You know these things take time. I have conveyed the issues to management, and appropriate solution will be implemented keeping in mind everyone’s interest. However, I cannot defend us if the management comes to know that you are halting the work.” 

“We’re not moving from here till our demands are met. No work today. We are ready to go on hunger strike” came another voice from the crowd after a pause. 

Nobody moved or spoke anything for next couple of minutes. The tension in the room was palpable. Breaking the silence, I said, “I am not asking anyone to go out of the room, but then some of you can sit on the sofa.” I then vacated my chair and looked at Kartar Singh. I knew him because he was retiring in a couple of months and was one among many who had been in the manufacturing unit since its inception. He was respected figure among the workers, and they used to affectionately call him ‘Sardarji’. I pulled him from the corner and politely asked to sit on the chair. He was startled with this gesture and couldn’t refuse. I went back and sat on my desk. A dead silence prevailed in the room. 

I looked at the clock. It was about lunch hour. I said, “I know we have issues here and I am trying hard to resolve it, however, if you think skipping work or lunch can help it then let me try that also.” I switched off my computer and put aside my lunch box. Everyone looked puzzled. At this, Sardarji got up from his chair and with folded hand said, “Sorry, that we all barged into your cabin, but we were just concerned whether management is taking necessary steps to safeguard our interest.” In next couple of minutes, the crowd dispersed, and it was just two of us in the cabin. I looked at the big screen in the hallway where Lufthansa ad was playing. I believe a major incident was averted that day because of the values that I learnt as a kid.