Ranjan was a lowly officer in the large private organization specializing in film and video productions. However, despite his low rank, he had been making many creative contributions at various stages of productions for which he never received any official recognition as was usual in the bureaucratic hierarchy, only the concerned superior sometimes praising the efforts of the. But Ranjan had always been happy that people in the circles of power that mattered knew exactly what he could accomplish in his often limitless specializations. In fact, he had been doing more extra professional work than he was officially supposed to or assigned to. He too enjoyed the patterns of bureaucratic behavior on full display, and was convinced that typical bureaucracy was just as palpable in private offices as it was in government services, which he normally blamed for the bureaucratic mentality. Therefore, he was hardly surprised when a superior officer called him in to help with some matters that were officially none of Ranjan’s business. He expected the same as always: that this particular superior would also do the work for him and boast of the achievement as his own to his bosses.
This particular superior, named Dinkar by name, headed a completely different section from Ranjan’s, and under normal circumstances they never collaborated or met regularly. Anyway, Ranjan knew Dinkar perfectly; his behavior patterns and moods. Dinkar was of medium height and dark complexion, with a stocky, muscular build and had a nearly bald head with only a few strands of gray hair appearing haphazardly on the sides. His face was long as a horse and he kept a graying French beard very carefully. Ranjan particularly enjoyed his bright head against daylight, as well as any artificial lamps, and sometimes seemed to see his image reflected in the bald, shiny surface.
Dinkar always wore a strained smile when dealing with his subordinates; however, Ranjan saw a lot of teeth from him whenever he loafed among his superiors and mainly at general meetings when all the bosses were present, and Dinkar always placed himself close enough in the seating arrangement; sometimes he also took the stage with the bosses as required. Unfortunately, Ranjan was unaware of one of Dinkar’s various traits and realized it too late. Perhaps, he reasoned, Dinkar’s subordinates were afraid to openly discuss that particular trait that might hamper his performance appraisal reports.
Ranjan entered Dinkar’s elegant wood-paneled and acoustically decorated chamber. He was occupying his high-backed padded chair like a benevolent king. He welcomed Ranjan with his usual tight-lipped smile and asked him to take a seat. Without beating around the bush with nonsense, Dinkar got right to the point. The job was simple, but unusual for Ranjan’s specializations. There was to be a special event involving outside film and video producers, artists, and other dignitaries in a fortnight in his organization’s huge auditorium. What Dinkar wanted from Ranjan was for him to write and design an unusual and unique invitation letter that would really excite the guests. And he wanted the job to be completely finished by Ranjan in two days so that the printing job could start right after. Ranjan accepted and left promising several drafts and designs the next day. A cup of tea was conspicuously but expectedly absent.
As promised, Ranjan submitted several computer-designed alternatives with different text and different font styles and colors for Dinkar’s approval. Dinkar, fortunately, was fascinated by one of the drafts and instantly approved it, keeping it a surprise to his bosses as well. He thanked Ranjan profusely, still toothless and without a cup of tea. Ranjan wished him every success at the event and left happy.
As the big event approached, Ranjan was excited to receive the invitation letter he had designed himself and to mingle with many TV and movie stars. He was surprised when the invitation didn’t arrive on his desk even the day before the event. He thought that perhaps the people in the office would be spared the formalities of official invitations and that Dinkar would personally call him any time until the morning of the event. He also considered calling Dinkar to ask him about the preparations, but hesitated when he decided that Dinkar should be courteous enough to invite him personally. He awaited the invitation in any form, and even dressed neatly on the morning of the event.
Absolutely none of that happened. Ranjan was agitated, restless, gloomy and also angry. He helplessly watched a host of beautiful cars drive onto campus from his office window.
Out of his frustration and anger, Ranjan mentioned and discussed this appalling behavior of the superior with his colleagues the next day. And then he learned about that particular one of Dinkar’s various traits. That particular feature was to religiously follow the ‘throw away policy’ like we do with pens. Several subordinates sulkily informed him of this policy: Dinkar would ask people to do jobs off his shift, then dump them as if nothing was wrong.
Suddenly feeling light, Ranjan muttered to himself, ‘To hell with you, you hideous devil! What have you achieved, are you cheating? He used me and then he kicked me out. Okay, you can only do it once. The next time you call me for anything, you will know the kind of person I am…! All the while she toyed with the glass paperweight on his desk, as if she liked the idea of throwing it squarely at that shiny head or blowing hard on its face to bring out those teeth that hide it.