What goes around, comes around

“Everything will be fine. This is what you wanted. Now be prepared. An exciting, challenging new phase in your life starts now” Anirudh told himself as he stepped out of the train at Bilaspur. He was one of the countless engineers placed into the corporate world by one of the over 500 Engineering Colleges in Tamilnadu. Though a part of him rued the fact that he had become a victim of the system, the practical part of him accepted reality and embraced it. His mind shot back to the winter of 2008 when he had just finished his sixth semester exams.

His holidays had just begun and he was excited as he along with some eminent seniors had been entrusted the duty of preparing the College magazine for the year. Ranjith, the editor of the magazine, a final year EEE student, had asked him to take care of the “Discussion Board” or DB as they called it. The DB was the most popular feature of the magazine, for it was the only part that was not censored. The rest of the magazine was scrutinised atleast a dozen times before it went to the press. The College Dean, a respectable 70 year old man, believed in the voice of the students and the right to express themselves and hence allowed the students to start the DB which, he had assured, would not be censored. Hence over the years, DB became the most popular feature even though it never had anything that merited censorship.

Editorial teams over the years, never ventured into anything serious or silly, fearing that doing so would lead them to being purposefully targeted in Internal assessments or Job Placements by teachers, who indirectly threatened them of dire consequences.

“This is ridiculous. These articles, even if they had been censored, couldn’t have been more appeasing to the Management”, Ranjith said going through the DBs of the previous years. “Why have they not put the ‘no-censor’ clause to good use?”

“Well, you know that clause for DB is just an eye-wash. We all know that. Our HOD has already mentioned DB when he met Ramesh” said Deepa, a final year ECE student and the Associate Editor of the magazine.

“Oh, screw them. They threaten you with Internals and jobs. Who cares? This is our team and our magazine. It will bear both our names in the Editorial space and it should be different. We should come up with a powerful, stinging DB that will be talked about in the years to come.”

“Easy for you to say when your Dad owns the largest supermarket in the city and you top the class so consistently. You may not need a job or internal marks, but I need them. So keep me out of this. I’m not party to it.”

“Come on Deepa. You know I’m not interested in running a supermarket and who needs the 15 internal marks when you can score 85 through the Externals. This is not about you or me. It’s about us and our magazine. We have to create an impact. How else will it be unique?”

“Ok fine, but I won’t be doing it.”

“I didn’t ask you to and I can’t do it either.”

“What? Why? Afraid? For all your talks, I thought you had some plans?”

“Afraid? Me? No way.”

“Then why?”

“It’s the Principal. He barred me from doing the DB, fearing that I might cause some trouble.”

“He guessed it right, didn’t he? Still you can do it and put someone else’s name.”

“That’s plain cowardice. Plus he has read a lot of my stuff and will easily find out. I can’t change my style too for it’d be artificial then.”

“What to do then? Any plans in place?”

“I do have a plan. I know someone who’d do it. I’ve also told him about it.”

“Who is it? Please don’t tell me it’s Vivek”

“Ofcourse not. It’s Anirudh.”

“You mean the third year Mech student who just joined our team? Or should I say, you recruited into our team?”

“Yes. He’s a rare talent. I’ve been reading his blog for the past two years and he sure writes well. He packs a punch in his posts and is not afraid of the reactions. He writes what he believes in. That’s precisely why I took him into our team. He will do it.”

“Have you given him any topics as such? Have you told him about the consequences – about what it could do to his Internals and Job Opportunities?”

“I did but he’s not bothered at all. He seemed so excited. Plus, if any trouble were to arise, I’ll take full responsibility. I won’t let him face the heat. I haven’t mentioned any topics. I’ve left it to his choice. But if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say he’d write something about the degradation of Engineering Education in TN. A lot of his blog posts talk about it.”

“Wow! Spoken like a true leader. And the topic seems interesting too. We’ll finalize everything in the Team meeting this Friday. See you then.”

The Team was excited for all the plans were to be finalized. The Team had 8 members – 4 girls and 4 boys. Deepa, Swathi and Ramesh were from ECE, Ramya and Suchi were from CSE, while Ranjith and Vivek were from EEE. All were final year students. It was Ranjith who spoke to the Principal about the need to have a third year student in the team so that he/she can be trained to handle the work the next year. And doing so, he got Anirudh into the team. The team was not happy about this. More than the fact that he was a third year guy, it was his Department that irked them.

Mechanical Engg guys had a rule of their own which was to follow no rules. They ran their own show. Though they excelled in all fields including Academics, they were found more often in the Principal’s room than in their classrooms for one offence or the other. The Principal even told them that he is considering a move to shift his room to their classroom. Though they never regretted this, staff from other departments often warned their students not to be close to Mechanical guys. A part of this warning stemmed from their jealousy. Even other students envied these guys for the carefree, happy life that they led inside the campus. All girls adored Mechies, though they never admit it.

Anirudh realized the indifference of all the team members except Ranjith towards him. He also realized that it was more due to the fact that he was a Mechie. When Ranjith introduced him to the team, he felt that he was not welcome there. He felt uneasy. He told Ranjith about it. Ranjith said that things would get better as time progressed and they will start liking him. These words of assurance calmed Anirudh.

He walked to the Students’ Activities Centre or SAC for the meeting. Ranjith had called him a week ago and told him about the DB. He wasn’t sure how to react. Writing an article that’s powerful in nature is something that comes naturally to him. He wasn’t worried about that. He wasn’t worried about the consequences that Ranjith warned him about either. He was worried as to how the team members would take to him doing it for it’d be impossible to do justice to the task at hand without their help. As soon as he entered, he found everyone waiting for him. Ranjith greeted him while the others hardly acknowledged his arrival. Then Ranjith informed everyone about the DB.

“WHAT?” everyone reacted.

But before they could object further, Ranjith pushed Anirudh on to the stage and asked him to introduce himself properly as the introduction during the previous meet lasted barely a couple of minutes and the meeting was called off due to some emergency. Anirudh relished this opportunity. He knew he could talk well and he can win them over through his speech.

He started with a brief intro about himself and continued.

“When Ranjith Anna called me and told me that he wanted me in the team for the magazine this year, I was overjoyed. I’ve written quite a few blog posts but this is different. The whole college will read these articles. It’s an opportunity like never before. But I sense that I’m not so welcome in the team ... would love to learn from you.... you inspire us ...blah...blahh...”

By the time he finished his speech which lasted a good 5 minutes, he could sense a complete change of mood in the room. The team unanimously applauded him. They all shook hands with him. Now he was one of their own. Ranjith gave a wry smile. His plan had worked. He knew this guy had the ability and he was right. The team had accepted Anirudh. Now they can work like they always did. The magazine will be out soon and it’d be a success. It will be talked about for years to come. With all these thoughts in mind, he smiled to himself.


“Those days... I miss them” Anirudh thought as he walked to the Auto stand outside the station. He wasn’t sure if he had to take an auto or a taxi. His HR had only told him to come to the Bachelors’ Hostel in the company premises and contact her.

“Kahaan jaana bhaiya?” a taxi driver asked.

With the little Hindi that he knew he understood what was said.

“Advaita Corporation”

“Baito. Baito”

“How much?”

“Kya?”

“Kitna Bhaiya?”

“200”

He felt shocked. But he had no choice for he could not bargain with his little Hindi and also his company had promised him that his travel expenses would be reimbursed. He got into the taxi. As he looked around the new place from his taxi during the journey, his mind drifted back to another day, another journey.

“Faster Ranjith, the press closes in another 10 minutes” shouted Suchi from the back of the car. Ranjith launched into full throttle. Anirudh gasped in the front seat.

“Relax Akka, they won’t close before taking our order. I’ve spoken to the Manager. They agreed to wait for us.”

Their magazine was now complete and all the editing work was done. Since it was Ranjith who was at the helm of affairs, every article was scrutinized more than the usual no. of times and finally when all the teachers involved were convinced, they gave the go-ahead nod. They weren’t much worried about the DB for they knew that Ranjith did not write it. They didn’t care about the rest. They never suspected that the third year guy would cause any trouble with his DB. Plus they were assured by their pets Deepa and Ramesh that it was all fine. So they left it alone and did not bother. Little did they know what was to come.

Four Days later:

The magazine was released and like the team expected the DB became an instant hit. Anirudh Shankar became a hero all of a sudden. The entire college was talking about him. Ranjith was overjoyed. The team was over the moon. They were overwhelmed by the response. Anirudh struggled to cope up with his newly found celebrity status. Students posted the DB in Facebook, Orkut, Twitter and their own blogs. It became a sensation in the local circles. A small time local newspaper prying for local stories carried it in their op-ed page. Needless to say, the management was furious.

The DB was about Engineering College Education in the state and it compared an Engineering college to a Manufacturing unit. A manufacturing unit takes order from the customer, procures the raw materials, machines them to the required shape and size and delivers the finished product. Similarly an Engineering college looks into the corporate requirements, takes in students suitable for their objective, grinds them hard till they match the requirements and delivers them to the corporate world. Though the comparison made sense, it was written in a sarcastic tone that not only questioned the intention of these colleges but made a complete mockery of the system. The humorous tone added to the sarcasm. It was all too much for the management to take. They set up a committee and called Anirudh for an enquiry. Ranjith spoke to the Principal about how it was his idea and so he was also called for the same enquiry.

A week later at the Enquiry room:

“So you say it was your idea and that he was just a puppet?” the Principal asked.

“Yes sir” answered Ranjith.

“No sir.” Anirudh interrupted. “It may have been his idea that we needed a strong DB but every word written in it is mine and I take full responsibility for it.”

“Stop it Anirudh. It’s my fault and you keep out of this.”

“No Anna. I told you that I am prepared to face the consequences.”

Just then the commotion outside the room grew louder and the next moment, a tall, old man barged into the room.

“What’s going on here?” the Dean asked in an authoritative tone.

Everyone in the room instinctively stood up.

“Enquiry sir”, the Principal answered.

“I get it. But what for? For an honest article? An article that I longed for for all these years? For an article that a young man had the guts to write? For an article, hoping to find which, I allowed the no-censor clause? You must be kidding.”

The faces of the Principal and other members of the committee went blank. Anirudh and Ranjith were surprised.

“Principal Sir, you’re just wasting your time. So are all these Professors. Have you seen the crowd outside? Have you seen the support that these young men have garnered? I have never seen the students so united before. Almost the entire College is behind these walls waiting for the verdict. It’s as if a court case is going on with the innocent about to be punished. Have you ever seen the students so united before for anything? I haven’t. Atleast not in my college. It just shows how much the article had impacted them .I even showed this to some of my friends from the Ministry of Education. Even they liked it and admitted the flaws in the system discretely. Now by punishing these young men, you will only set a bad example. It’d be akin to dictatorship and that’s exactly what has been written in the article. The choice is yours Principal sir. The choice is yours.”

Anirudh felt like crying while Ranjith almost whistled in exultation.

The Principal came to them. “You guys have great guts. Put it to use in a positive way. You’ll go places. Don’t repeat this. The case is dismissed. You may go now.”

The moment they stepped out of the room and informed the crowd of the verdict, pandemonium broke out. The team hugged each other in a huddle. They were in tears. After all, they stood by what they believed in and sanity prevailed in the end. Anirudh and Ranjith were heroes. Ranjith, who was already popular among the girls, saw his popularity hit a new high. Anirudh gained a lot of female fans too. Junior girls were seen walking up to him and shaking hands with him. Now it was his fellow Mechies, who grew jealous of him. It was an unforgettable day. Every moment of it was still clear in his memory.

As they were about to leave in the evening, the Dean caught up with Anirudh.

“Now tell me young man, did you write this for a stunt or do you believe in what you’ve written?”

“Ofcourse I believe in what I write sir”

“Meaning, you will not take up a posh Corporate job, no matter how much they pay you?”

“Yes sir.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely sir.”

“Good. In a year’s time, if you are as firm in your views as you are now, call me. I have some contacts in newspapers and magazines who might be interested in you. The society needs writers like you” saying so, he handed him his card.

“Thank you sir.”

Thinking about it, brought a tear to Anirudh’s eyes. He looked at the card in his purse and pushed it inside. He paid for the taxi and stepped into Advaita Corporation, ironically, a multi-national Manufacturing Unit. Whether it was the lure of money or parents’ insistence or his own insecure feeling or peer pressure, he could not decide as to what made him accept this job. But life can play games on you, he realized. What once went around, had come around to haunt him. He too had become a victim of the system.

*Note: This is a work of fiction although factual elements have been incorporated into it. I leave it to your imagination to decide what elements are fictional and what are factual. The characters in the story though, are purely fictional and any resemblance to anyone dead or alive is purely a coincidence.*

**This story was written in phases to kill time during work ;-) Bouquets and Brickbats are welcome.**

-Ashwin Murali