Avalanche

(Caricatures)

She begins her rant for the day.

“These people will drive me crazy. Damn blood suckers. What in the hell do they want, do they want to kill me? I work and work and work. No recognition, not even a nod, not even a smile, everyone sort of takes it for granted. And they spread tales on you too. That is the worst cut of all. You do them some favor and you are being shouted at in the top of the voice. Look at the way the daily currents are coming in, these all have to be made into files and pushed up to the “know all”s. I am not playing double or triple role here. I can only take in food enough for one. How am I supposed to do several peoples work in a single day?

I too am a human being, does anybody think of it even. As they say you can watch and clap when others go crazy. You can look on and smile. I too have done that unfortunately. But this is different. I am facing it here in avalanches. Every one looks on while I suffer, No one has a nice word for me, and none is even interested. What do they take me for, a camel? I have not signed any contracts to suffer like this.

Well there is Sasikala and she was smiling at me. Oh, she can smile alright; she doesn’t have to slog it like me. She is just a class four employee, one who has only to carry off files to others like me, she has no responsibilities. She won’t be fried if the files are not moving. She can go on laughing.

“I can’t do all this work alone’ I tell her “the moment I come in, people start poring in. I don’t have time for anything. I have to do everything by myself. None is there to help me, have you thought of that. She calls me every now and then and asks me to do several things at the same time. I can’t do all that. Can I? She even alters the fair copies of letters she signed earlier. I have to do it again. She does not have a conscience. If she is a human being, will she do this to me? My son is lying with a temperature of 105 at home. And I have to be at the office then too. Not that he is going to die. Do they think I have no family, no responsibilities in life? I have a family and they are important for me. I neglect my husband and my child. No one is bothered about that, is it? Dametta told me yesterday to sit at home and do nothing. But I have a conscience, have I not? There is the public to be thought of. Why do you laugh? Is it wrong to think about the interests of the people? Stop smirking like that. I am not amused. How people laugh, as if we don’t exist. “

She was bitchy enough to tell me that she would help me if I want.

“What help can you give me. Can you talk to people when they stand around you asking for information? Don’t you know that they are not merely after information and they want their cases to move? “

Sasikala is hiding a smile. What is she smiling at? Do they think that I am going to suffer all this and still work?

“Did they misbehave in any way ma’m. “ She asks can you believe the nerve?

There is general laughter around. What do they find so amusing in the situation? They are heartless; they don’t know how I am suffering here. I had enough work as it was. Then the sadists force another type of work on me. Ok ok it was an important work, and, there are reasons why I took it. You know you don’t kick the goddess of money away with your back foot, see what I mean. People are envious. They think that I am running a lucrative trade here. The fact is that I am not.

Every thing we have at home now is by the sweat of my husband’s brow. No a single pi was saved by me. How can I save money, think of the bus charges to and fro the office, think of other expenses, think of the food costs. How can I save money? Well I have money in a few saving schemes, that is the norm you know, every one has them. You can say for sure after the installments I don’t have much to give Dametta. He scolds me all the time. Well we were prosperous once, and then some one put a spanner into the wheel and off I went to …..On transfer. The heartless sadists.

How I suffered all those years I was away, no one knows .Well actually, I was back at home within the month, but I was cut off from my Department. Thank god that there is something called deputation in Govt service. I got deputation to a workers welfare fund. I enjoyed my work there. In fact there was no work at all. You bring a ‘pulp’ to the place of work and work on it till it is finished. It was very relaxing there.

The only problem with this deputation thing was that it had to be extended every year and that took some savings to do. But anyway I had it easy there. Certain dishonest people spread stories about me, that I was transferred because I took bribes. Bribes, what in the hell is that? Have any one heard of it before? It is easy to accuse people of corruption but you have to prove it. But who minds them. There are envious people all over the world. They would not let others live. It is their one interest in life.

The guys are standing around the desk. Their expressions are not pleasing at all. They think that they are doing some service by coming to the office and standing around. Their audacity is unbelievable. They have the RIT of course, that is the reason for the shameless pose. Not that they can do a lot in a situation like this.
They ask some time

“Is there anything that I should do? “

Do they see the numbers of files lying around? Do they think they can do anything about it if one did not show up at all? Have they any idea how the files can go missing sometime?

I patiently explains to them that I have to start from Anil Villa that is my house, at about 9.30 in the morning after all the house work is over and walk to the nearest bus stop at …… and has to get on the bus to city first and then catch an auto rickshaw to this place. I am patience itself when explaining these things. I am even ready to explain it several times, if necessary till they get the way by heart. And they don’t understand. I explain the way back too. Some people never understand such fine details and remain dumb. It is not my problem if they face a little delay, for they should understand the real situation. No one can have everything on a platter all the time

People tend to forget that.

People will even forget their own mothers if it will save them the money and trouble.”

And the rant goes on……….