Chapter 02

PRATIBHA

Pratibha heaved a sigh. Her glance shifted to the lower right corner of her computer. She had been debugging her software program for more than half an hour and she couldn’t get any information, either in the help manual or in the Google search. “How can I face Srivastav without fixing it?” she muttered to herself.

The pilot project she had been working on was part of her training program at Tech-Soft solutions. Though fixing the bug was not her responsibility, she volunteered to correct the project's anomalies after she had gained considerable knowledge in Microsoft Technologies. Her inability to solve the problem wouldn’t keep her from remaining in the team.

Her intercom rang. Her project manager, Srivastav’s extension number lit the LCD display. Why had he called at this time? Most of the employees had wrapped-up their work for the day. If not for that nasty bug, she would’ve been at her home.

 “Hello, Pratibha here.”

Srivastav cleared his throat. “Hello, Pratibha. I'm glad you’re at the office.” He paused and then said, “Can you stop by for a minute?”

What he wants now? “Sure. I’ll be there soon.”

Pratibha switched off her laptop and placed it inside her backpack. She turned off her cubicle lamp and went to Srivastav’s place. Is he going to discuss my job placement? Most of her colleagues talked about their choice of location as they had completed the training program. Pratibha hoped Srivastav would retain her at Bangalore instead of sending her to some other branch.

She approached his office and peered into the computer screen. “Good evening.” She forced a smile.

Srivastav swiveled around to face her. “Good evening, Pratibha. Congratulations on successfully completing the training.”

“Oh, thank you. It was because of your encouragement. You motivated us throughout the training period.”

Srivastav smiled. “What’s going on? Why are you still at the office?”

Pratibha didn’t want to talk about what she was working on and invite the trouble. She remained silent for a moment. “I was about to leave.” She kept the forced smile on her face.

“I had wanted to talk to you tomorrow but I thought about giving you the details if you were still in the office.” He took a letter from his desk. “I have a piece of information about your placement.”

Pratibha’s pulse quickened. She drew in a heavy breath and prepared herself to know where she had been placed. “I hope I’m working for you in Bangalore.”

“I am sorry, Pratibha.” Srivastav stretched his hand with the letter in it. “You need to go to Hyderabad.”

Pratibha’s heart sank. She hadn’t expected Srivastav would deliver her this message. He had told her a few weeks ago that he would try to keep her in his group. Why did he fail to do it?

She read the contents. She didn't mind going to a different place, but she worried about her parents. They would be disappointed to send her there. They might even suggest she quit the job and seek a different one. Her boyfriend, Rahul, too would be disappointed to see her moved out of Bangalore.

“You told me I’ll work for you in Bangalore, right?”

“Pratibha, it’s not my fault.”

“Then, who had made the decision?” She tried to soften her tone in spite of her growing anger.

“Our company management has decided to send you there,” Srivastav said. “I don’t have any new software projects to execute in the near future.”

“What about my group mates?”

“Their destiny is not yet decided. It’s because of the lack of projects here. It’s good that you’re assigned a new project so early in your career. I suggest you take up the assignment and start working instead of remaining idle here.”

Pratibha dragged a chair and sat. She stared at the letter, pondering. She had been apprehensive of her placement ever since the training program was nearing completion. Many of her colleagues talked about the matter, and the local guys wished to work at Bangalore. Those from different cities asked Srivastav to place them at their home town. But Srivastav often told them he didn’t have much control over the matter. His words turned out to be true.

“My parents may not agree to send me there. What if I refuse to go to Hyderabad?”

“You’re lucky to have a job in Tech-Soft. I strongly suggest you accept the offer and start working on the project. You may lose the job if you sit idle.”

Pratibha leaned forward. She had been keen on working in the IT industry after she passed her engineering course. Her parents suggested she choose her career in teaching, but Pratibha was passionate about software work. She was good at programming and got high marks in her engineering courses.

“But I wanted to-” she mumbled.

“I don’t want to repeat what I’ve said,” Srivastav said. “It’s up to you to decide.”

Srivastav was correct. He had already told her the benefit of going to Hyderabad, and the disadvantages of remaining idle in Bangalore. The management might not assign her a job there if she refused their current offer.

“Alright,” Pratibha said. “Please give me some time. I will talk to my parents before I give my consent.”

“You must make your decision tomorrow. They want you onboard next Monday.”

“Sure, I’ll let you know.”

“By the way, how is the debugging going?”

Pratibha’s breath caught in her chest. She hadn’t expected he would talk about it. She did fix some minor defects that morning, and that would satisfy Srivastav. “I have corrected some of them. I would look at the remaining ones tomorrow.”

“That’s good. I know you have the ability to fix the errors.”

Pratibha nodded. Guilt coursed through her mind, and she composed herself to hide it from her manager. She said bye to him and walked towards her workplace to see any of her colleagues were still at their cubicles.

All her co-workers around her desk had left for the day. But her friend Vasavi's cubicle was still lit with fluorescent light.

Pratibha approached and peeped inside Vasavi’s desk. Her friend was immersed in studying a code snippet. Pratibha tapped on her back.

Vasavi turned to her, startled.

“Are you still working?” Pratibha smiled.

“I thought I'd finish reading this.” She twirled around and waved Pratibha to a seat.

“I have some bad news.” Pratibha sat on the chair.

“Bad news? What is it?” Vasavi sounded alarmed.

“It’s about my placement.”

“Wow, you got placed? Where?”

“Hyderabad.” Pratibha bowed her head.

Vasavi’s face fell. “How can they place you there?”

“I asked Srivastav the same.”

“What did he say?”

“It's not in his hands. Management has decided it.”

“I don’t trust Srivastav.”

“Do you know if anybody else going there?”

“I think you’re the first person to get an assignment, and it happened so quickly.”

Pratibha hoped at least one among the four of her groupmates would join her in Hyderabad. “So, you three are yet to be assigned project work.”

Vasavi nodded. “Are you accepting the offer?”

Pratibha pressed her lips. “I haven’t accepted it, yet. I need to speak with my parents before I give my consent.”

“What’s your gut feeling? Are you ready to go?”

“I think I have to.” Pratibha stretched her legs out. “Srivastav suggested I better work on the project instead of sitting idle on the bench.”

“That makes sense.” Vasavi rose. “Why don’t we talk about it over a cup of coffee?”

Pratibha glanced at her watch. “It’s already seven.”

“You can spare ten minutes, can’t you?”

Pratibha didn’t want to disappoint Vasavi. She nodded.

They went to the cafeteria. The smell of masala food and coffee wafted in the air.

Vasavi ordered two cups of cappuccino. She waited in front of the counter for the boy to deliver the drinks.

A project manager for a different group sat at the table along with his group members. Pratibha liked to join them.

The boy handed them hot beverages. She walked to the group along with Vasavi and sat beside the employees.

The manager smiled at her and Vasavi. “Did everything go well with the training?” He looked at Pratibha.

“Yes, it went well.” Pratibha nodded and looked at Vasavi. She needed to talk about her placement and find out how their company performed amidst the IT crisis. “When is your project coming to an end?”

The manager cleared his throat. “We are rolling out the release in two weeks.”

“Is it true that we don’t have new projects to work on?” Pratibha placed her cup on the table.

“That’s what I heard from the management. But it’s tentative news. Marketing guys can bring in a new assignment at any time.” He paused and said, “Did Srivastav tell you anything about it?”

“Yes. And I’m placed at Hyderabad.”

“Is that so? Congratulations on getting an assignment.”

“What do you suggest?” Vasavi asked. “Should she accept the work?”

“You must unless there is something important to be here at Bangalore. What did your manager say?”

“He insists I better go there and join the team soon,” Pratibha said.

“I agree with him.” He looked at Vasavi then shifted his gaze back to Pratibha. “It’s good to work on some project instead of being idle.”

Pratibha received similar suggestions from everyone. She would convince her parents and go to Hyderabad. She hoped someone from her group would also join her and she would have someone’s company.

Pratibha needed to inform Srivastav she was interested in her new assignment. She didn’t want him to assign the work to someone else even though she had asked for a day’s time. She said goodbye to Vasavi and walked to Srivastav’s office. He was putting his laptop in his backpack. Thank God he is still there.

He smiled. “You haven’t gone yet?”

“I’m about to leave. I am interested in going to Hyderabad. I’ll convince my parents tonight. I hope they won’t object to my decision.”

“That’s what I recommended to you. It’s good that you decided to go there. Don’t worry. I will wait for you until tomorrow.”

“Okay. Is anyone else from my group joining me?”

“No one at present, but they need a set of hands to start work immediately.” He zipped his backpack and tucked it on his shoulder. “I will surely let you know if the management decides to send another employee there.”

“Alright, thanks.” Pratibha smiled.

She stepped out of her office.

The sky was clear with stars twinkling beside a half-moon. A cold breeze swept down the premises, sending a cold shiver down her spine. She went to the parking lot and dusted off her scooter. Her mind was filled with the news of her placement as she drove outside the parking lot and headed down the main street. She was eager to speak with her parents and her younger sister, Usha, about her transfer order.