8/6/2019 Surjya

1/10

Surjya

Wake up dear, come on, wake up. At least for todays sake get up. , summoned Surjyas

mother impatiently. No, Surjya is not going to get up so early in the morning despite suchforceful pulling. The sleeping-wonder who cant abate the temptation of bed before 9 o

clock, its rather an overestimation to even think of waking him up at 7 o clock. Even

though it be the day of his college-campussing. Thats the reason why Tamal refers to him

as the Egyptian Surjya. Tamal vexes at him saying, The time you wake up, is the same as

the time, the Sun rises in Egypt.So ultimately Surjyas father had to come to the aid of his wife in the battlefield with a

glass of ice-cold water. It was not until he drained the full glass of water onto his son, that

Surjya woke up from his nap, slowly getting rid of the warmth of the quilt. Had it been

someone else other than Surjya, there could been- pardon me, rather should have been- a

bit of civil-war in the house. Surjyas temperament is very calm and sober. He thinksrationally and works accordingly.Maa, five more minutes, please., pleaded Surjya and tried to get underneath the quilt

once again. But comprehending his fathers appearance, the seed of attempt could just only

germinate and died before growing into a tree. Therefore, he had no other alternative than

dragging his groggy legs to the bathroom in a slow-motion.

After breakfast, Surjya went to his room and placed the credentials in a folder. Then he

took the blessings of his parents and boarded their car. Mother put her caressing hand onhis head and gently said, Dont worry, dear. Free your mind from all tension. No need to

open your books there. Good luck. Surjyas father put pressure on the accelerator. The

road was quite clear. On any other day Surjya would have enjoyed the scenery outside the

glass-window. Today he rested his head on the backseat, turned on the mobile, put the

earphones on. He tuned into his favourite track Noor-e-Khuda in full volume.

Tamal, Prabhat and Soumyabrata are standing in a distance. Before leaving Surjya hisfather smiled and advised, No tension. Play with a straight bat. The interviewers are quite

ghostly. You let them get on you and they will break your neck.Hi Bro! Whats up? Had a descent sleep?, Tamal grinned teasingly.Where are Suchet and Sagar?

8/6/2019 Surjya

2/10

Getting sandwiched in congestion, for sure. So hows your preparation for HR? Their

Highnesses are not pleased with any answer.Leave it. For every question you can answer differently, from different perspectives. Ill

tell whatever comes to my mind.I second you. Its beyond my capacity to please you, dear Sir. Either you take my answer,

or simply I quit. Tada., retorted Prabhat.Everyone laughed. This is the problem of Prabhat. Nothing cannot but slip out of his

tongue. During his creation, the Almighty might have been a bit unaware. Something

greasy got widely spread all over his tongue.Shut the book, my dear Soumyachand. You are going to have severe spondylitis before the

interview commences., said Surjya in his characteristic way of taunting Soumyabrata.Cant do that. Everythings getting seriously jumbled up. Time is jogging. Still itsfavourable to have the venue at our own college. Otherwise who knows we could have got

our turn at midnight., Soumyabrata tried to relinquish his pressure but in vain and once

again concentrated on the pages of the voluminous book.

Its 1 o clock. Have you had your lunch?, the EITC-interviewer asked caringly. Yes, sir., briefly replied Surjya.

So you know the full form of EITC ? Yes, sir. Earl-Ibsen Techno Company.Okay, fine. Do you know how far stretched our company is all over the globe ?Like the tentacles of octopus. No, Surjya is not such stupid to say that. He gently said,

In the last decade and half there has been extensive development of EITC. Mr. R.W.Ibsen

has been the architect of this big industry. By dint of his diligence and perseverance, EITC

has been competing with other companies in the global market and has always held itshead high. His partner, Mr. Jayaraman has, on the other hand, been the forerunner of

EITCs progress in India. Also..Okay, okay. Thats more than enough, appreciatively smiled the interviewer.Give a real-life example of dynamic polymorphism.

8/6/2019 Surjya

3/10

Animals, sir. Say, animals can be classified into herbivores and carnivores and they

inherit the trait of feeding quality from the super-class animals.Good. Look, Surya. Ive been asking you a bit offbeat questions just to see how quick-

witted you are. Alright ?Yes, sir.Penrose Stairs. You know what it is ?Surjya took some time. He had read that somewhere. Interviewer prompted, The concept

has been used in a very recent movie.Yes, Surjya recalled. He found it in Wikipedia a few months back.Oh! Yes, sir. Its a paradoxical structure, a flight of stairs rather, which has no start and

no end. You start from one point and then go on descending the stairs. But after a completetrip you see that once again you descend onto the same starting point. In one word, in this

structure no stair is the highest and no stair the lowest.Thats right, my boy. Quite impressive. Used in which movie ?Inception, sir.Good.

After long twenty minutes mind-games Surjya came out to find Tamal, Suchet and

Prabhat standing there. The rest might be still undergoing the process. Everyone is bearing

a satisfactory smile.Hey Surjya. Would you like to watch Khelein Hum tomorrow? Mani Square?, asked

Suchet.Hmm. Surely. Everyones going?They will surely, wont they? Sems over. This hurdle is cleared as well. Alls fine.,

Prabhats assurance.Okay, then.That day my cousin, Palashda, gave me a information., Tamal suddenly spoke out, He

too is in EITC. The company had, once, sent him to England. The all-in-all, Ibsen is awfully

8/6/2019 Surjya

4/10

terrible! Just like a British jailer. His ancestors habits are persistent in him. The same

ancestral blood is still flowing through his veins. You wont believe, he gives privilege to the

red-skins even in 2011. But he is the ultimate opportunist. When it comes to the companys

profit, he prefers skill. He used to praise Palashda. But that too, only during the working-

hours. After that he talked arrogantly just because Palashda is an Indian. He needs a proper treatment, that Ibsen. That only can get the racism-virus out of

him., said Prabhat heatedly.Okay fellows. Tomorrow at 3. Mani Square., reminded Suchet.

Aamar prothom dekha brishtir jole, bhasi, Surjya took up his mobile sleepily. Tamal.Had the sun set so early?HmmDozed off.Wake up dumb-head. Results are out., said Tamal, excited, 85% of our students have

been selected.Surjya sat up straight, swapped the mobile to the other ear and switched on the laptop.Prabhat called me half an hour back. I looked up the results in the Net and rang you.Yes, there is Surjyas name. The 13th position in the list.Wow. Thats cool. Almost everyone of our class belled the cat., said Surjya. Only eight of us could not succeed. Anyway, other companies are coming on the next

week.

Ambience of the house became very colourful. Hearing the good news, Surjyas parents

returned home from office much earlier than usual. Mother came with a packet of pizza,hanging down her hand. Biriyani had also been ordered for the dinner. Congratulating-

phone-calls were flooding in from the relatives- one after another. It was quite a tough job

to attend the rushing calls at a stretch.

8/6/2019 Surjya

5/10

Surjya enjoyed the last Pujo with his friends very much. The gloom started looming in on

the night of Bijoya Dashami. A sad tune was filling the air around him. The heart-rending

beats of dhaak not only marked the farewell of Devi Durga but also the parting of the

ways for Surjya with Kolkata. Training starts on the 27th of October in Pune.

Many springs have rolled on after this. Some of the hairs of Surjya have whitened. Surjya

is working in his field with self-esteem and self-respect. He is now a high-ranked officer.

Last year he got transferred back to his hometown. Of the old mates, hes got Tamal and

Prabhat with him. With the ascent of designation, more responsibilities have come. Mr.

Ibsen himself is coming to their office on the next Monday. An unofficial declaration is in

vogue that the all-in-all is coming this time to select some efficient employees and bring

them under his surveillance. The sole reason behind that is the economic downfall of the

EITC in the European market. On the contrary, the company has had much improvement

in India. Thats why, the big tycoon is coming on his own to import some eligible work-

persons in his Tour-de-India.

Needless to mention, Surjyas name has been suggested by the company. Tamal and

Prabhat are also in the list of eligible officers. After two boring, monotonous and irksome

hours of detailed-lecture on The Causes and Aftermaths of the Decline of the Company in

Europe, Mr. Ibsen decided to have an acquaintance with each of the selected employees,

one by one.

Prabhat remarked, And now to hear more rubbish and gibberish from that madcap in the

name of friendly chat. I got headache after that lecture. Thought I would have some tea.Instead its now interview-time. Phew!!!Tamal said, Cool down, bro. Once he sees you to be in such volcanic-mood, he will simply

explode. You know his temper. Heard from Palashda.Surjya asked, Palashda? Your cousin? He who said that Ibsen does nepotism to the red-

skin? Differentiates between the Europeans and the Asians?Tamal commented, Notices the complexion of the skin.Prabhat said, Hes got no self-respect. Having fallen victim to destiny, now hes come tothese natives for help. Hypocrites.Surjya said, Leave it. We are only professionally related.

8/6/2019 Surjya

6/10

Out came Tamal from the Interview-Room. Prabhat referred to it as, Interrogation-

Room. The British Jailer is going to beat you and take every information out of you.They tried to laugh, creating the minimum possible noise. Surjyas turn came. May I come in sir ?

Yes, please. Take your seat. So you are Surjya Ray ?Yes, sir.

Surjya didnt notice much of Mr. Ibsen during the head-spinning lecture. Now he

examined the nucleus of EITC from a few inches distance. Bald, bushy mustache,

wrinkled red-skin all over the face, wearing a pink shirt. One can notice perfect

professionalism in his eyes but they lack the caring attitude. They rather bear cunningnessand business-covetousness to a great extent.

Ive heard about your excellence from the Board of Directors. Youve been doing quite

well in the last few years.My pleasure, sir.You maintain word-limits while speaking, dont you? Hah Hah!

What can Surjya say in reply? He just smiled a bit.

Anyway, coming to the business matters, youve surely heard of the steady decline of our

Company in the European market.Yes, sir.So as the founder of this entire empire, the emperor you may say, Ibsen said with a wry

smile, Im quite worried about its prospect. However, hats off to Mr. Jayaraman, my dearfriend, for having the companys status, sky-kissing, in the competitive market in Asia till

date.

Surjya nodded.

8/6/2019 Surjya

7/10

Thats why its high time that I get some really efficient people back in my territory. Got

my point?Yes, sir.Would you mind if I have a cigar?

Though he cannot tolerate the smell of nicotine, still Surjya had to say, Of course not,

sir. Emitting a heavy smoke of a top-brand cigar, Ibsen continued, Thats why Im

expecting you, he emphasized on you, to be under my supervision.Surjya was tring to say something. Ibsen carried on-And look, guys like you will have better future, better opportunities in England. I saw the

other guy, Tamal. Your colleague?

In fact, my batchmate, sir., after a long time Surjya said something other than Yes, sir. Yeah! I liked him very much.Ibsen leaned somewhat forward, What do you have in India, huh? All those political

turmoils, strikes, lock-outs, unpunctuality. No work-culture at all.

Surjya knows these all. He himself has many a time got irritated with these. But today Godknows what happened! His conscience revolted suddenly. Was it due to hearing these

rubbish from a foreigner?

The damn politicians, Ive heard, dont allow people to go to offices on the days of strike,

do they ? Huh ? Come on, look at everything you have here. Oh, yes ! Your climate- bloody

hot throughout the year. During monsoons it becomes Venice. Electricity bids adieu to you

all. Look at the conditions of your streets. Potholes everywhere. You can play golf there,

cant you ? Beggars and garbage everywhere. Congested roads, no traffic-rules. Life is so

pathetic.

What on earth is this crazy man speaking? Just like his tyrannical ancestors. Needless,

monotonous, true yet irritating, non-stop gibberish., thought Surjya.

8/6/2019 Surjya

8/10

Look, Surya, I need you, right ?, stress on you once again, See, what privileges you

will have in England. Your children will get the best of education, the best of exposure. You

and your family will get the best of medical support.....best of everything. How much salary

do you get here ? Ill give you double of that., Ibsen came to a halt. His facial complexion

has gone redder. He wiped off the sweat.

Surjya is staring at Ibsen. His blood is steaming. He contemplated, Why is the man

talking so much worthlessly? Is it only for the purpose of restoring the lost pride of his

company? Or even more than that having got back the unexplainable pleasure in reviving

the lost pride of looking down upon India and her people? Is it the vanity of virtually

getting back the seventy-years-old-British-throne for some split seconds?Cool-tempered Surjya could no longer control his temper. Still he spoke in a soft voice, as

soft a voice as one can have at least in the corporate-world, Yes, sir. None of these is

beyond my knowledge. But you know what, this is my country. Ive been here for long 29years. It has got so many demerits- you know even more than me, though- but still, it is my

own. Herein lies my soul, my heart. And there was one Dominique Lapierre who wrote a

book, City of Joy, in spite of seeing such ugliness and dirtiness in this Kolkata. So Im

very sorry to tell you, sir, that I cant leave this place, whatever opportunities I may get

elsewhere.

When was the last time Surjya said so much in tandem? Even he cant remember. But that

was enough to detonate a little bomb in the room.Ibsen is dumbfounded. Did anyone ever talked to him like this? Where is he, The Robert

William Ibsen and where is one, whats his name? Surjya Ray! He said coldly in a low

voice, Sentimental Fool!, and then increased his voice by one octave, Hmm. Quite

emotional you are, my dear boy. But so far none has ever dared to negate me like that.

Dont you have any fear of getting fired, any moment I wish ?He dumped the ash of the cigar in an ash-tray and said, You may leave now.

Surjya came out of the room like an automated machine. Tamal and Prabhat becameapprehensive, seeing his appearance. Tamal made him seat beside him and asked tensly,

Surjya? Are you feeling sick? Have some water, dear. Surjya kept on staring forward,

unblinkingly, unaware of his surroundings.

8/6/2019 Surjya

9/10

The entire days proceedings have been hectic for Surjya. He is feeling morose. He couldnt

tolerate the dishonour of his country. He couldnt control his temper. And now, there is a

mixed reaction of misery-frustration-perplexity-irritation in his mind. He slowly pulled the

pillow beneath his head and put off the lights. Thinking about what happened in the

morning, gradually he glided down to the land of dreams.

In his dream state he saw himself standing on a sea-shore. In a distance he saw a ship of

EITC coming towards him. When the ship anchored, EITC morphed into East India

Trading Company. A man alighted from its deck. Bald, bushy mustache, wrinkled red-

skin, dressed in a pink attire. Ibsen. He shaked hands with the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-

Doulla, the same Nawab whose picture was in Surjyas history book. Suddenly Ibsen

turned Siraj into a mere puppet. For a long time Ibsen performed puppet-dance. After

that, annoyed, he threw the puppet into the fathoms of the rumbling sea. Blind in vanity, he

roared, I am the founder of this entire empire, the emperor you may say. The next

moment Surjya saw himself standing behind the bars of a jail. The jailer, Ibsen, a burningcigar across his lips, is coming towards him with a ruler in his hand. The jailer smashed

Surjyas head onto the iron-bars and growled, I will beat you up and take all information

out of you.

Tamal and Prabhat are standing beside Surjya, dressed as prisoners. They sponged his

head with some water.The jailer howled, I will transport you, black natives, to England. My company is

running at a loss. You will work. Otherwise I will send you to the gallows.

Tamal protested, You cant take us anywhere.Ibsen smiled wryly, saying, Dont you have any fear of getting fired?, and took out his

revolver.

All of a sudden, from nowhere Abhishek Bachchan, in the guise of Masterda Surjya Sen,

came out of a movie-screen, a movie which Surjya had seen ages ago. He is holding a

hammer. The same hammer with which a savage jailer broke his teeth brutally, tore off hisfingernails and toenails and smashed his elbows and knees. Masterda spoke out in a heavenly voice, No. No more. Our motherland will be free. Our

children will serve their country. No more can you buy us. Nor can you torture us, bind us

to shackles anymore.

8/6/2019 Surjya

10/10

Surjya is moving forward slowly towards the brutish, British jailer. The hammer in his

hand, gripped firmly. Prabhat and Tamal have forcibly opened Ibsens mouth. Ibsen is still

roaring and tempting Surjya, I will give you double of your salary.... Surjya took the

hammer up.

Surjya woke up. A mellowy beam of morning-sunray has entered the room and enlightened

it. Surjya came to the balcony. The young students are blowing conches in the school

opposite to his flat. The national flag is being hoisted on the altar. Today is the 15th of

August. Indias independence day. A soft, serene smile spreaded across the face of Surjya.