Mishal Raheja as Major Dutta Patil
Painful Rapture ~ Chapter 52
" Foregone conclusion"..Shakespeare
Dutta sat in his office, inclined over his pile of marking, his broad brow creased a wee bit over the bridge of his nose. His lowered eyes stared with sharpness every now and then as he assessed and graded pupil written work. Once final numerical were entered he dropped his pen, ,folded his arms and lounged back in his desk chair his head cushioned by his clasped hands. He took a deep breath, let his fixed lips part ,as his right hand caressed his left stubble cheek. Yes, his course was steadily coming to a close. He certainly felt he was well used, training future officers in war studies, in the rule of what makes up combat, precision sharp combined effort of many forces, an execution of mental and physical abilities both in individual and team capacities.. He smiled, as his fore finger ran cross his forehead, they were a clever bunch, they were smart, he mused and they had delivered the goods well in their assignments. His upper bow shaped lip formed into a pout as he raised an eye brow, when he recalled them gagging his jeep to a standstill today.. he perhaps was being a grouch..and possibly a few stray nods ,coupled with a grin may not be unwise once a while , he surmised. He posted his elbows on the desk and held his broad shoulders and chest forward as he cupped his pink stubble cheeks in the palm of his slender hands. The debate was over and done with, and well pleased he stood not by his own handling but by the points raised by his Outs, yes they certainly sounded, literate, well informed officers.. he paused in his thoughts ,but were they convinced by the outcome of the debate, i.e the hung unanswered decision of women out of line Infantry.. there were a few names that popped up in his mind , they were likely to continue to be anxious about their future duties... buzzz of his mobile sounded and he freed his face from his palms and leaned over the table and answered, "haan bol? Naku , kya buna?, Baji , scratched his head from one side and replied," kya re Bhao , Naku ke elava thujhe kuch aur nehi soojhta", Dutta, cranked his neck, "oye shut your face! I was expecting a phone call from her , you imbecile, soo?" he defended. Baji, responded, with concern "hain kyon? is everything ok with her Bhao?,"haan sab theekh hai , the thing is that she has a management post interview today, kuch nervous the, humh I guess she didn't tell you because she wanted to surprise you" Dutta added sensitively ,in case Baji felt not included. Baji, realized and smiled and continued, "yep! you are so right, she kept quiet about this move of hers because , she probably wanted to spare me the anxiety, but tu fikar maat kar Bhao, humara Naku, bahut capable hai ,and the chances are that she will most likely get it" assured Baji. Dutta lowered his eyes, as he spoke through his Bluetooth, his long fingers spun his glass paper weight on his desk," haan Baji , woh tu hai, after all use ka hoona wala pata , bhi tu dekh kaun ,hai, champion!" he jested ,and Baji thought but dared not say, "haan gadhoon ka champion!",and sniggered, but Dutta, growled, "oye nautanki baaz , ekdum ghup! ju bhi tera yehre dahmaak mein chaal raha hai!" he warned, and Baji carried on, "main yehra Bhao?"..and Dutta pulled his neck back , straightened his shoulders and griped, "oye bloody fool, bak ju bolna hai thujhe pata haina duty pe hoon, koi teri tehran, gadding about nehi ker raha hoon, bol kis liye phone liya hai,"?,"oye keep your lid on Bhao, I phoned to tell you, that those two jokers who came asking for a job yesterday..Baji reported, Dutta screwed up his nose and pulled his mouth down, "who in the bloody blazes are you talking about?"he asked impatiently, as usually Dutta as he knew himself, there were loads of people who asked for his assistance in helping them seek for employment, and to keep tabs on them, for him was next to impossible!, and Baji knew that so he reported," Bhao ek tu who chai wala tha, apni naam Zabbir, batata hai, aur dosera tha woh tight jeans wala Dinko! khud ko hero manta hai, Bhao , Bappa shapat! dono he , ghalat aadmi dekhte hain mujhe ko!, Bhao mujhe tu lageta hai koi lotcha hai un dono ka! tu maine pata kiya Bhao woh salla Dinku ko tu darru ke laat hai ! subha uthe he pawa charatha hai , aur woh dossera Zabbir! Woh tu suna hai Bhao drugs bhi lata tha!",reported Baji. Dutta , pushed himself back in his chair and his eyes twinkled, while he ran his finger over his smooth lower lip, "kyon Baji? what happened? now don't tell me they are too hot for you to handle", he asked innocently, "arey Bhao tu bole tu un dono ke main abhi ke abhiech! supari loon ! nehi Bhao dono kaminey type hai, ab dekh na , kam tune dilwaya! dukaan tu dilwaye ! tu logon ko keh rehe hai , hum bhi Dutta Bhao hain!, ab mera tu behja sarke ga na Bhao!!, Dutta bounced forward in his swivel chair and rested his stubble chin on his folded fingers, "dekh Baji, un ke kehane se kuch nehi hota, koi fikar nehi mujhe , mere name use ker sakte hain, ye tu junta he tai kere gi ke kaun hai isle Dutta Bhao! aur kaun hai nikle, akhar unka bhi dhandhe ka sawaal ,hai.. Baji ye tu manta haina ke unka haq bunta hai apna kam aage bharien, jitne daer tak kisi ko nuksaan na phoochien!, commented Dutta, but Baji, insisted, "Dekh Bhao, tune is Zabbir, or Dinko ko kam diya that's fine! But for them to go for your name! Bhao not done! literally shouted, and Dutta ,yelled back, "aye! aqal ke undhe!, choor unhe ,I provided work for them ,like I said, and I hope they can get people support, because if not tu Baji they will have to close shop! warned Dutta. Baji, laughed hysterically, "waise shouldn't say this Bhao, pun kyon ke Dutta Bhao name ko lalkara hai un dono pajion ne, tu mein tu khud un ke shop ka band baje ga! but tu bolega ga nehi!"moaned Baji, and Dutta folded one of his uniformed arm, while the other rested on his abdomen ,and he commented dryly," choor yaar , jana de, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it ,Baji" advised Dutta. Dutta, paused and enquired "aur baki sab theekh haina AS ke saath?. Baji, replied "haan Bhao ab tera bagher jeene ke practice ho rehe hai , started an emotionally shaken Baji, "hain? what the bloody blazes are you on about now! ohhh man, talk about not letting a soldier get on with his duty ,bas ja get lost abhi, ye meri marking woh tere do namoona Zabbir aur Dinku kerian ge?, complained Dutta and Baji, remarked "jata hai main Bhao tu thand rekh.." and before he could say any more Dutta ,shook his head and smiled, yes this idiot Baji is his friend, apart from everything else his friend, a source of encouragement to him, Dutta slanted his head and thought, the three of them, him, Naku and Baji were entwined together in such a relationship that was like a spring board which formed the foundation to the healthy bonds between him and Baji , Baji and Naku, and Naku and him...it's as if they knew and understood the unstated, how Baji covered for Naku just now over the phone.. hummh, Dutta mused theirs was a friendship, bond, that endured..hummh so far, an endurance that strengthened their characters. Dutta, thought how important it is to have friends, for us humans are not created to be loners, we are social animals who interact, we share, we seek support, encouragement ,praise from others. Baji ,he mused was his friend whom he trusted, yes he was making a wise choice by selecting Baji to be at the helm of affairs in his absence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Naku, clutched her phone and her ivory sari swished across her body as she made way towards Ms.Tendulkar's office for the scheduled, interview. The waiting area opposite the reception section contained two other candidates. Naku came, and the PA , smiled ather , but Naku was sensitive and realized that she would not give off messages to the awaiting candidates, that she was well known and hence in a favoured position. She smiled at the fellow applicants and sat beside them .In one glance ,she noted one to big a mid thirties man , with a slightly receding hair line ,and rimless spectacles which gave him an air of being taken for a confident and well versed man. He looked at her and thought, pretty young girl, but obviously has a bit to go yet, before she can sink her teeth into managerial positions. Naku caught his slightly condescending looking and she recalled the moves of her lion, and slightly narrowed her green doe eyes and tilted her head slightly and doubled her tiny chin slightly at the man. Embarrassed, in haste he picked up a magazine on the table and flicked through it. That should teach him she mused, not to throw attitude at me because of my age and stature. She turned her eyes towards the other candidate a mid forties strongly built authoritarian woman, who gave Naku a slight queasiness in the stomach. The woman looked a toughie and perhaps stood a good chance at getting the job. She fixed the pleats of her sari and dabbed the beads of sweat under her sharp nose. She had to calm down, she blinked her green doe eyes, kya bole tha Saab ne "thujhe pyar kerta hoon Naku, promotion mile ya na mile ", her eyes welled up and she quickly threw back her head casually to swallow her tears. Her phone rang and she sprang to her feet, lifted her finger to indicate to the PA, that she would be back ,and the PA, nodded with a smile. Naku moved away from the boss's office, and her eyes brightened ,"Bajjjiii! kaise hai re tu?"she spurted ,"aye Naku main theekh hai Bhao bole abhi, ke tera interview hai , tu maine bole, thujhe ek bhai ka bhi aisherwaad de doon.." he responded a tad overcome, "oooh Baji daar lag rahe hai, pata hai there are two other people ,they are older and Baji aurat tu looks really big and strong, mujhe lagta hai she might get the job", Baji interjected swiftly, "aree, Naku ye koi prison warden ka job nehi hai ju woh madame apne dole flex kerte phire marizoon pe, PT resource co-ordinater ka kam hai". reminded Baji," aur waise bhi Naku tu bhi tu Jhansi ke Rani se kum nehi, sooch Bhao jaise yehre ko sedha ker diya hai tune, tu tera liye ye interview kiya mushkil hai , ab jaa under aur cha jaa dushman pe! Deva Shapat ! is Baji Rao ka aisherwaad, tera saath hai" and after a pause added, "waise tere Saab ko bhi tere pa pura bharossa hai Naku", she smiled with her eyes widened, and nodded, "accha Baji thanks for looking out for me, main chalte hai, aur sun ghar mein kisi ko zikaar maat kerna, if I get it then' mein khud he bataie ge", she instructed and the call ended. She, put her hand in her shoulder bag and her fingers closed around the palm sized golden representation of her Gannu Bhaiya, and she automatically looked up to the heaven's , and sounded a silent, prayer, "Bappa how blessed she was to have found true riches in the form of Baji's friendship..he was always close by to gave her a hand in a sticky situation., Bappa she pleaded silently ,if you think I deserve this job then grant me this favour , and If I don't Bappa, then grant me the strength to accept, your decision... She felt really she had no dearth of energy as it came two fold in this needy situation, firstly from her spiritual lord, and secondly from the backing she received of her earthly friend Baji and her soul mate, her Saab. she headed back to the reception area , it's the waiting in such interview situations that was a chore, waiting for one's turn, she looked up and saw the man come out of the office, looking confident, he looked at Nakusha, and although she nodded politely she conjectured whether he had got the job. The second candidate the woman, stood up at her name call soon after the guy left, and Naku once again sat surrounded by her thoughts, as she played with her fingers, in her lap, she suppressed a giggle as she recalled how he hated the nervous twisted movements of her fingers, she had the keen desire to speak to him and she took her phone out and looked at it trying to figure out should she ring him or not, and she followed her heart and dialled his number, the phone rang and Dutta answered ,"haan bol kya hoya?",he drawled in his guttural voice, "Saab , woh ab tak nehi hoya , me still waiting, I am getting nervous oooh Saab hold me please", she beseeched, Dutta's eyes softened, "baaaby, come on you can do better than this , get a grip of yourself , kya hogaye hai thujhe? , main hoon na , tera pas", she snivelled a bit,"woh Saabbb", Dutta stood up from his marking irritated, "oye jahil aurat! band kar roona! ek interview dena hai tu itna tamesha buniya hai tune! kal ko jab delivery suite mein jaye ge tu edhur kiya kare ge?",she stopped crying a bit shocked at his analogy ,and replied after a giggle "udher tu ap mera saath hoon ge", and Dutta put his hand on his head, "you must be joking baaaby, I'll be doing a runner!" he admitted calmly, and she raised her eye brows ,"saache mein Saab? tu ap kab ayo ga? she played along , and his eyes twinkled, "main tab wapis ayon ga jab you deliver the goods, baaaby" he chuckled ,and paused after he of heard her moan , and continued ,"aur ab ja and give birth to the middle manager in you Nakusha.."he teased, and she nodded and ended the call, the lion had yet again made her realize to be still... and know that he was there for her!
The woman too came out , nodded at her and left, her blank face gave nothing away.Naku ,knew that she was next in a matter of a few minutes and she fixed her pallu across her bosom and took a deep breath , as she responded to her name being called by the reception. Naku entered, her heartbeat a fraction quickened, and she looked up at the interview panel. Three people with stiff distant expressions, heaven's! but she couldn't understand why on earth she imagined it would only be a couple. She took a deep breath and reminded herself this was a performance where she had to sell herself.. her eyes fell upon her boss who gave her a subtle look of encouragement, which made her move forward towards the official large wooden desk. The middle aged man whom she hadn't seen before squared his shoulders and raised his hand, "ah, Nakusha, please do sit down", said the board member of the Dera hospital. Naku smiled shyly and sat down timidly. The man continued, "may I introduce this panel to you, Ms.Tendulkar whom you know as the Site manager or Medical Superintendent, of this hospital, next to her is Mr. ShantiLal, the community representative, and finally myself Mr. Riwaj Singh, chair person of the hospital's governing board, he established. He looked at his pile of papers and raised his head ,looked at her across the table and continued, "now Nakusha, each of us will be asking you different questions, if at any point you wish the question to be repeated please don't hesitate to say so, now we will be ticking across this grid , sometimes whilst you speak and other times when you have completed your answer". Mr. Singh continued, the interview may take between 30 to quarter of an hour," he paused, and then resumed as he looked at her intently, "now have you got any questions that you want to ask?" Naku replied clearly ,"no Sir". The chairperson of the board , nodded and looked at Mr.Shantilal, who rested his arms across the table and began "now Nakusha, your application clearly out lines your qualifications ,so will not be quizzing you much about those..so if you can in your own words explain what your understanding is about the role you are applying for?". Naku, sat up and replied confidently, "well,in a nut shell my understanding of the role is, that I would be the person in charge of the hospital's resources , be they human or equipment. My job would also entail the assessment of equipment required to keep the PT department up and running alongside ,it's ordering ,and maintainance..".The interviewers ticked their grids and Mr.ShantiLal, continued, "so what actually motives you Nakusha?", Naku, replied, "in my present role of PT,I was responsible for several patients in my care, as part of my ward duty, where I directed other auxiliary staff teams and implemented repeatable processes. I, personally give the example of a PT patient, where I was motivated both by the challenge of finishing the project of making her mobile on her feet, ahead of schedule and managed to achieve our goals, both on a department and personal level;, Naku paused and showed a short presentation of the steps she had taken to bring Nandini towards her full recovery. The three interviewers watched and noted the procedures Naku had followed as an effective PT. Naku, then continued and articulated, the rest of her answer, "apart from this, I've always been motivated by the desire to do a good job at whatever position I'm in for I want to excel and to be successful in my job, both for my own personal satisfaction and for my employer. Within myself, I have always wanted to ensure that our patients get the best care service we can provide, as a hospital. I've always felt that it's important, both to me personally, and for the hospital and the clients, to provide a positive patient experience". Mr.Riwaj Singh, the chairperson, asked the next question, "tell us then Nakusha, what is your greatest strength?",by this time Naku was fully in control of her thoughts and she answered, "well, I think my time management skills are excellent, hence I manage to complete projects ,like I said well ahead of schedule. Apart from this, my day to day management of my wards, my PT sessions indicate, that I'm organized, efficient, and take pride in excelling at my work. In dealing with patients families too I pride myself on my service skills and my ability to resolve what could be difficult situations", she explained. Mr.Riwaj Singh nodded, but wanted to probe her by further questioning, "Nakusha, tell us what you see as your greatest weakness,?, Naku, smiled and replied in all earnestness," Sir, the first one is that in my own enthusiasm, I may get carried away and become slightly unrealistic, this well may be because of my desire to beat deadlines. Another thing with me is that I like to make sure that my work is perfect, so I tend to perhaps spend a little too much time checking it. However, I've come to a good balance by setting up a system to ensure everything is done correctly the first time. I used to wait until the last minute to set appointments for the coming week, but I realized that scheduling in advance makes much more sense". Naku, paused but later continued to give an indication of a managerial mind set. "I would say that I can be too much of a perfectionist in my work. Sometimes, I spend more time than necessary on a task, or take on tasks personally that could easily be delegated to someone else. Although I've never missed a deadline, it is still an effort for me to know when to move on to the next task, and to be confident when assigning others work. I've learned to make my perfectionism work to my advantage at work. I am excellent at meeting deadlines, and with my attention to detail, I know my work is correct. I used to like to work on one project to its completion before starting on another, but I've learned to work on many projects at the same time, and I think it allows me to be more creative and effective in each one". Mr. Singh, looked at her and he thought he would find out more about this woman, for it is a bonus if one employs members of the community that the patient can relate to, "ok Nakusha now I am going to ask the next question which may be personal ,so please free to answer it the way you deem fit, what major challenges and problems have you come across and how did you face them?, Naku decided she would allow them to know about her private side ,"well, initially before actually embarking on this job , my family did suggest that I take up an attractive marriage proposal, but within myself I was very clear about what I wanted , and to discontinue my call of working in the Dera hospital took precedence , and therefore to me the option was to explain to my parents what my reason was for rejecting the idea of marriage at that point in time, so yes for me the only way around the challenge was to speak my mind!", emphasized Naku, "another challenge that I face is to do perhaps with as I see it as an ageist and gender based impression that I come across from patients and often from their families as well. I am deemed young and therefore inexperienced at my job, now the way I deal with such a situation is to remind myself that I am the professional, and I would set up a time with patients and their families to go through the procedures of the treatment being offered to their loved one in my care.. you may say it's my duty in care", and after a pause Naku continued, "now in terms of resources , there has recently been an instance where there has been a shortage of required benches for patients with immobility needs. I assessed the situation and took up the challenge of making a difference and by coordinating with outside agencies , plus fund raising from a local family day event, managed to provide the benches in the outdoor area for patients".. here she turned on the over head projector , revealing pictures of the benches, to substantiate her answer. At this point, she noticed her boss Ms.Tendulkar nodding her head in agreement. A satisfied Mr. Singh looked at Mr.Shantilal , to ask the next question, and so the next question was fired at Nakusha, "we would like to know Nakusha ,"how do you handle stress and pressure?, Naku sat up straight and her large green doe eyes widened as she spoke with confidence, "well, stress is very important to me, for with stress, I do the best possible job, to me it provides a challenge, in fact I find it exhilarating to be in a dynamic, fast paced environment where the pressure is on .The appropriate way I deal with stress is to make sure I have the correct balance between good stress and bad stress, for I need good stress to stay motivated and productive" she paused as she saw that her interviewer, wanted to quiz her further, "but surely there must be moments where you are likely to lose your equilibrium", she heard and shifted her eyes and thought of her action man, yes he was the one who often pushed wrong buttons on her , and she suppressed a smirk and continued, "I react to situations, rather than to stress, for to me that way, the situation is handled and doesn't become stressful, also what is helpful for me and has helped me to manage stress on the job effectively is when I prioritize my responsibilities so I have a clear idea of if the people I am managing are contributing to my stress level, I discuss options for better handling difficult situations with them. So yes I would say this about myself that I'm the kind of person who stays calm under pressure and handles stress fairly easily".They nodded and squiggled on their grids, and Naku ,watched them apprehensively, for the next question. Eventually it came from Ms. Tendulalkar, Naku had to pretend that her boss knew nothing about her and give her a substantial answer leaving nothing to the idea... oh my boss knows..."ok Nakusha, what do you find the most difficult decisions to make?, Naku thought and then talked about how she had to blow the whistle on Harshad and the others involved with him. She regretted her decision she outlined, but it was something that was non-negotiable.. misappropriation with public monies and theft had to be reported friends or not. Ms.Tendulkar, had the evidence of Harshad's trial and Nakusha's part in his exposure. Naku explained further, "apart from his trial and sentencing, I also had to rearrange the department to deal with the workload of one PT short, until the postion found a replacement," and with a smile she continued and now that we have one in the form of Sangkkarra, I also took on the job of easing him into his temporary position, and am involved in having review meetings with him so as assess his progress", Ms. Tendulkar nodded and continued with the next question, "tell us then Nakusha about your style of working ,which do you prefer working independently or on a team?.Naku fixed her sari pleats and smiled , her eyes sparkling, "well I am equally comfortable working as a member of a team and independently. You see it depends very much on the tasks and assignments themselves, for there may be some tasks like dispensing medicines to patients during ward rounds and sharing of PT resources where team effort may be most effective. But there may tasks in the future job where I may be required to carry out a great deal of independent work and research in order to brief staff about new resource and policies in the field of PT, in any case like I explained , I'm comfortable with both."The interviewers looked at each other, their looks told Nakusha that the grilling was perhaps over but she looked up as she heard the final question, which the chairperson Mr. Riwaj Singh posed before her, "right Nakusha the final question is tell us why are you the best person for the job?, Naku sat up and in a brisk rewind mode summed up her skills, "well I consider myself the best person for the job, as I believe that I have the qualifications, the skills and abilities outlined in the job specifications, also I feel that I have provided the evidence of my accomplishments. I feel I have a good grasp of my subject, and have a discerning eye towards identifying the lack of appropriate resources. Also Iam familiar with procedures followed in the ordering, and maintenance of stock. Lastly I relate well to patients in my care, the evidence of which is clear in my records, I work well in varied situations and welcome working in a challenging situation, but above all I think I like to take risks to realize my full potential!", concluded Nakusha, her large green eyes shining, deep down she was pleased by giving her best shot.
Her interviewers smiled and informed her the interview had finished and asked her to wait out side. Naku sat worried sick internally... worse than what she felt before she went in. The questions darted back and forth in her mind she bent her neck and fixed her sari pallu to ward off her edginess. She looked up and rolled her eyes and mused that she thought it went well.. but to confirm this .. it was yet again a matter that involved her having to wait. Behind closed doors, the three interviewers coordinated their grading sheets and Mr. Riwaj Singh spoke ,"ok Ms.Tendulkar, apart from the fact that yours was the most weighty recommendation that Nakusha be taken on, it was necessary that she jumped through the hoops and went through the interview process to reach the forgone conclusion"... ok let's get the lady out of her misery", he pressed the buzzer to the reception,"ok send her in please. Naku stood before them an elegantly dressed young woman in a French twist and a ivory sari.., her heart thumped against her rib cage and her stomach sank with the fluttering of countless butterflies.. she stood before them her large green eyes wide open, she saw Mr. Riwaj Singh smile and then she just saw his lips move..."Ms. Nakusha , I am delighted to say that you did extremely well in your interview. On behalf of Mr.Shantilal and Ms.Tendulkar, I would like to offer you the middle management post of Resource co-ordinator, if you accept". Naku, raised her eyes to the heaven's and clasped her hands, with a soft "thank you Gannu bhaiya".. she kept her hands clasped and replied, "I am honoured by this offer and yes, it would please me immensely to continue to serve the Dera hospital in this new capacity, thank you very much",she fumbled ,and Ms.Tendulkar smiled and suggested ,"ok Nakusha you have had a hard day so far , so I would advise that you take a break for the rest of the day, and on your way out on my office please give your confidential files to my PA, and kindly sign the new contract as well, so it can come into place as from today!" proposed Ms.Tendulkar.. and Nakusha left the room with a shy smile as she bit her lower lip... Saaab , her beloved action man, she had to tell him, she dialled his number and he answered,"bole Naku!", she smiled and replied shyly, "woh, ye, main", she started, and he stood up from his desk and yelled, "oyeee teri tu maine, woh! ye! main ke! Bol Naku before I throttle you! he yelled, she took bit her upper lip ."haan Saab I got it ooohhh Saab" she cried out , and he passionately replied, "Nakuu, hummmh", she heard his hummh and asked shyly ,"Saab kya hoya hai ?"and he replied "hummmhh , taking you in my arms Naku, aur teri ankhoon mein tera Saab doob gaye hai, hummmh kissing your lips baaabyy.. bahut pyar kerta hai tera Saab tera se Naku hummmhhhahh",Naku giggled , "ayeee Naku bare hase ah rehe hai tujhe here's me stopped my marking to give you a congratulations kiss ,aur tu he he he kar rehe hai chaal mau age ker"... he moaned, "ooh Saab chooru mujhe kam hai mujhe forms bhi sign kerne hain"... she said as she rejected his amorous advances, he withdrew like a wounded lion and tapped his slender fingers on the corner of his desk..."baaabyy hummmh"... she disconnected, for she knew she had to focus on the task at hand,,that was to getting the formalities sorted out, maybe she could ring him back, she smiled ,there was no harm in keeping the man waiting..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dutta was interrupted by a knock on the door and peeved as he was ,he flung opened the door and was confronted by a uniformed Khan, he almost spat at her, "yes what do you want?"., he had obviously achieved what he wanted , to make her feel awkward at disturbing him, till he gazed in to her morose oriental eyes, and he rolled his eyes, sighed and looked the other way ,till he was interrupted by her reason, "Sir! sorry to bother you but just to let you know that Brigadier P arekh wishes to see me , so I was wondering if you were coming too.." she said nervously. He looked down at her face with a stiff expression and replied, "ummh yes Officer , he has in fact asked me to pop by,hummh, it's a good thing you reminded me as I was meant to head that way,"he said with a degree of revised politeness ,and locked his office and began to walk down the corridor his body stiff and starched . Khan, fell into step with his tall frame and he brought his folded forefinger to his top lip and looked sideways, as his eyes stayed on the narrow corridor leading up to Parekh's office. She turned her head up and caught his strong profile, "Sir ,I wonder what this could be about? I am quite nervous" she said daftly ,and he dug his heels in and responded surly, "it's obvious officer he will not be discussing the bloody share market or the damn weather, and as far as your nerves are concerned! I don't think you will be given the sack!"he said with a little assurance, Khan looked sideways at him, smitten by his aura, there was no doubt had she been given the choice she would have preferred to have worked with him in the near future. He felt her sideways gawk and twitched his jaw, the bloody cheeky girl, open ogles at me and that too in the corridors of duty , he thought as he flared his nostrils, "you do know Khan don't you that you can take solo flights now, I should hope so that as your tutor I have imbibed you with enough self esteem that you can fight your own battles!",he rasped. She wasn't entirely taken aback for she recognized that no matter how much she tried there always remained a gap between them, that which she never created but he maintained. They both went through the security procedures before entry to Parekh's office. Once inside the rank protocol occurred and Parekh looked at both officers, "right thank you for coming officers ,especially you Dutta ,as you are knee deep in compiling the results of your class, so to cut the matter short I am coming to the point" said Parekh as he looked intently at Khan, "well officer in keeping with the current views of women in front line combat ,I regret to inform you that your name has now been withdrawn from the anti terrorist squad as far as live action is concerned, however you are now instead offered a choice of behind the action line support where you could be part of an strategic arms team, seeing that your forte lies in small arms, or you can take up a job here as a tutor and give lessons and support in rifles and bayonets training at the rifle training range. Khan could not hide her disappointment, and she looked in anger at both her senior officers "this is so unfair Sir! I have a dream and now my dream has dashed. Dutta turned his face towards her with a look of severity. "now look here officer, in the forces there is no such thing as unfair or fair ! there are pure and simple orders and the rule is to obey those orders! and no we don't dream in the army we keep our eyes opened wide so we can miss that bullet meant for us and keep our territory safe!", he roared, but saw that Parekh was a bit surprised at Dutta's reaction, which was he admitted from within a disappointment from a Tutor, that such a capable officer like Khan was confronted with this whole enigma," so as a tutor Dutta petered down a bit and suggested "officer I suppose you could adapt your methods of realizing your dream, so I advise that before you give any more reactions which in general is frowned upon any way by the army .. give the possibilities that Brig. Parekh has mentioned a thought". He icily noted Khan flustered and clearly unhappy by the jolt, and his compassion got the better of him and with slight gentleness he continued, "look, both myself and Brig. Parekh understand the shock you feel, but here may I remind you that in our job ,we simply cannot live by the one obvious option, we have to pre-empt the what if... and then make the best of what we have! in fact I would say this would be true to other issues too in our lives, so now you have the choice, where and how do you make allowancesfor what you really want?" Parekh listened to his finest officer and admired him in diffusing the situation, as they both waited for Khan to think about her future plans and arrive at a feasible decision. Finally, Khan stood erect, and stoically declared "Sir, I have decided that once this course has finished which is fairly soon, I would prefer to continue to offer my duties at the military school as a tutor of small arms at the rifle range". Both Dutta and Parekh, nodded, and Parekh responded, "ok so that's settled then,! you may be dismissed officer!". Khan saluted and left, at least that way , she mused, she would still be working under his shadow...
Parekh looked at Dutta with some misgiving, "tell me something Dutta did all this change come as a shock to her? you know don't really want to be seen as a MCP..."he said in all honestly, Dutta threw his neck back a little with a cold glacial look in his eyes, "since you ask me Sir , I think she knows her stuff , reads all the current information, and with what was discussed in the debate , she must have had an inkling that her being part of ATS is something that was not going to happen, shame Sir, but that's policy whether it's making you and me a pair of MCPs is beside the point for we just follow orders.."Dutta reaffirmed without batting an eye lid. Parekh looked at his officer the boy had a commendable mix of soft and hard malleable turns about himself. Parekh nodded and suddenly questioned Dutta about his marking, and possible results,Dutta ,doubled his stubble chin, and replied with a small smile, "almost there Sir, and it appears that the top group within the eighty percent bracket are Kapur, Venkatastan, Bose, and Chauhan
..he waited and then parted his lips and said clearly "and Sir the two to achieve distinction are Khan and Bhatnagar," Parekh smiled, "so Dutta do I need to remind you then who needs to lead the passing out parade". Dutta stood up his shoulders wide and firm his hands hung rigidly by his sides, "no Sir you do not , however I am in agreement that Khan is worthy to lead the parade and not because we wish to offer dispensation to her for taking away the opportunity from her to be part of ATS.. but because I firmly belief that she was an outstanding pupil", Dutta clarified. Parekh nodded and then fired another related question, "that reminds me Dutta what is happening about the passing out parade?, Dutta looked at his commanding officer with slight creases in the middle of his eyebrows ,his face riddled by an almost subtle scoff, "leave it to me Sir.."he said with a little rock of his head.. Parekh walked towards Dutta and patted his muscular arm, "why do I even bother asking you Dutta, you act before I can even think of what I want! tell me lad what's happening about that marriage of yours? Dutta turned his neck towards his senior officer, his mouth half open and Parekh looked at his finest officer with a raised eyebrow well? Dutta realized what was being asked of him and quickly closed his mouth that gaped..stiffened up and replied, "all in good time Sir! all in good time" and caressed his stubble cheek , and Parekh fired the final question, "ohhh Dutta are you by any chance expecting Nakusha to accompany you to UK..?"Dutta stood to attention, "no Sir! I am not expecting anything of the sort" he replied rather curtly, and Parek responded ,"well that's a relief to know my boy for it can't happen any way", confirmed Parekh as he stood alert before Major Dutta who saluted his boss and with stiff dignity left Parekh's office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once the written formalities of her new position were sorted, Naku walked towards the cafe to grab a cup of tea, she would ring her man and unwind a bit.. once she sat at a table with her tea she dialled his number. He picked up the phone and uttered a gruff "haann", Naku smiled, she could tell by the raw edge of his voice that he was sore, "kya hoya hai Saab?" he closed his eyes and yanked his head to one side his face filled with sweet painful pleasure at the sound of her soft voice,"thujhe ah gaye mera yaad Ms. Resource co-ordinator?.. waise just to let you know that teri yeh wali resource needs maintenance tu bol kab check kere ge mujhe?, Naku just giggled at his prattle. Nandi walked into the cafe and screamed "Naku oooh what happened tell me please?"!Naku smiled at Nandi's enthusiasm and replied, "Nandi love! I cannot say anything yet till Ms.Tendulkar doesn't make it official," explained Naku and Nandi let out a big "awwwh ,but added "well Naku if it's good news then Iam sure your Major will take you out on a date...".Dutta who was impressed by his woman's professionalism, was a bit taken aback by Nandi's last remark to Naku... to be continued ~ Hamlet53..8.6.12.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Precap: " no Naku don't ask me for the answer... ask yourself, said Dutta.
aree tahera yaa hammiee mujhe neeche autaru 
Cricket
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
Forum Games
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
