THE WORKPLACE

THE WORKPLACE

Ranveer pinched himself to know if he was really on that plane flying over seas and oceans to that faraway island called Curacao in the Caribbean. He could not believe that he was at last on his way to freedom – freedom from the dilapidated house where he had grown up in a hot, dusty village in India named Rajgad, freedom from penury, freedom from a grumbling mother and drunken father.

Ranveer felt lucky to have been selected in the interview conducted by an affluent businessman, Mr. Alwin Ramani, who owned a chain of Department Stores in the Caribbean. Although Ranveer was a college drop-out, he felt blessed to have landed this job which would pay him in Dollars! Ranveer shuddered at the thought of College – he had given up on his studies in the very first year at College. He had felt like a fish out of water in the college environment – all his classmates were smart, spoke fluent English, wore classy clothes and sported the latest bikes. Ranveer spoke halting English and had just two pairs of presentable trousers and shirts and he walked to College. The chatter of his classmates was like cacophony to his ears and he would cringe in fear if anyone of his classmates talked to him. Moreover, having studied in a vernacular (Hindi) medium school and the medium of teaching in college being English, Ranveer found it difficult to cope and hence decided to stop pursuing his college studies. He approached his uncle, who ran a grocery store in town to give him a job. His uncle readily obliged and Ranveer started working under his uncle, assisting him in the warehouse of the Store. Ranveer was given a salary of Rs. 300 (less than $10 ) per month and had to work for nearly 14 hours a day. But then Ranveer thought – beggars cannot be choosers -as he went about dragging the heavy grain sacks and arranging the cartons on the rickety shelves. For company, he had rats and cockroaches, which ran around freely in the Store and the warehouse.

So when Ranveer got to know about this foreign-based wealthy businessman Alwin Ramani’s visit, for recruitment purpose, he desperately wanted to meet him. Since Ranveer was street-smart, he could impress Alwin Ramani and get the job. He signed the job contract with Alwin Ramani’s Overseas Investments Inc., which owned the chain of Department Stores in the Caribbean, as a Shop Assistant for a monthly salary of $500. The contract was for a period of three years during which Ranveer was assured of food and shelter by the Company. This was in exchange for $200 which would be deducted from his salary every month. Ranveer was more than happy to sign the contract, as he did not have any credible work experience. He felt it was a heaven sent opportunity , he just wanted to get away, to a place where he could make money and help his parents financially , so that they could find a right groom for his sister. Although the Government had banned the give and take of dowry (money, jewellery,cars, etc), but the custom has never faded away. Any educated and well-settled eligible bachelor from a respectable family would expect ‘dowry’ from his bride’s family. And Ranveer was on his way to provide for that ‘dowry’ for his sister. As Ranveer was winging his way to the Caribbean Island, his sister’s chances of getting a respectable groom increased.

Ranveer took a deep breath and sighed with relief at the thought of working with Alwin Ramani (AR), a man whose roots were in the same village as Ranveer, but who had amassed great wealth through sheer determination and hard work. Well, AR did work very hard when he came to the Island some 40 years ago as an adolescent, working as a Shop Assistant in one of the big Indian establishments – H P Holdings Inc. – which again has several Stores selling high-end products in electronics, garments, cosmetics, perfumes & watches. Soon AR learnt the tricks of the trade and rose to the position of Supervisor. AR was a keen observer and watched his Managers going about the business of cheating the employers through manipulation of inventory and siphoning off money from the sale proceeds. So, when the Manager left to set up his own shop, AR was promoted to the position of Store Manager at one of the many retail outlets of HR Holdings Inc. The shrewd man that he was, AR took advantage of his position and slowly but surely put to use the art of cheating which he had mastered from his previous boss.
Having accumalted a sizeable amount of money, AR felt confident of leaving his job and going into business. He set up a small garment shop in a rented place which belonged to his friend. He purchased the merchandise from Thailand, Indonesia, India and China. His shop catered to the local population and his business thrived, mainly due to the high margins. Of course, he did have tourists visiting his shop, but he was happy with the local marketshare too. Within two years of setting shop, AR included bags, sunglasses, watches, etc. for selling. The next year he was able to purchase the shop premises from his friend and 4 years into business, AR was the proud owner of 3 shops selling garments, bags, sunglasses, watches, etc. All this was possible through his quick-wittedness and sweet-talking ways. He had a unique way of managing his suppliers , who were spread out in 5 different countries. He would order merchandise from one supplier at 90 days credit and never bothered to honor the credit terms. He would go to the next supplier on his list in another country, order merchandise at 90 days’ credit and sit pretty on the credit terms. AR had beome a master at rotation of suppliers, stretching the 90 days credit to 200 or 250 days. AR used his sharp brains and glib tongue to get ahead in his business.
When it came to hiring cheap labour to work at his Stores, he went shopping in his native village in India. He would choose youngsters in the age-group of 18-22, most of them school or college dropouts and who did not have a fair chance of getting employed in India and that was how Ranveer landed the job.
After what seemed like a long, endless flight, Ranveer finally landed on the Island. He was met at the airport by two of the Staff who worked at AR’s Stores. They took him to this huge mansion which housed other boys like Ranveer who had come to work for AR’s establishment. AR had invested wisely on the Island and had converted this mansion into a hostel/dormitory for the employees. There were eight rooms in the mansion, each room housing 4 persons on two bunk-beds and individual wardrobe/cupboard. The mansion was equipped with television in the common rooms (there were 3 of them) and there was a cook who took care of feeding the employees in the mansion three times a day, all seven days of the week. There was no break/weekly holiday for the cook and neither was he allowed to do the grocery shopping on his own. He had to make a list of grocery items required for the week to the Manager of the mansion and these items would be delivered to the cook. The cook was literally under house arrest, never allowed to go out. On one of those very rare occasions, he would be taken to the beach alongwith the other employees, when AR felt like giving the ‘boys’ a beach break on a Sunday(maybe once in six months)!

Alwin Ramani besides being a shrewd businessman, was also a very cunning Manager of personnel. He had planted his confidential men as spies amongst the employees in the stores as well as in the mansion, so that he could immediately know any wrong-doing or wrong utterances. Over and above this, he had also planted bugs at strategic points in the Stores and the mansion, so that at any given time, AR could hear their conversations, besides watching them on closed-circuit TV.

Ranveer was least bothered about these things, since he had come to work and earn enough money so that he could marry off his sister to a suitable groom. The first year at work was a learning experience for Ranveer. He soaked all information and tricks of the trade – learning the various aspects of sales, merchandising, inventory, invoicing, etc.He would be up early in the morning, go to work at his Store alongwith the other employees of the mansion. All day long he would devour the knowledge being imparted, working very sincerely and diligently. When the Store closed at seven in the evening, he would accompany the other ‘boys’ from the Store to the mansion. After freshening up, he would sit in the common room with a beer and watch TV with the others. There was no dearth of supplies like beer, juice, snacks, toiletries, etc in the mansion. AR ensured enough supplies of these, so that the ‘boys’ did not feel the urge to go out and buy them. This was AR’s way of keeping the ‘boys’ under control. He did not want them to venture out on their own and thereby come into contact with the “outside world”. He feared that contact with the so called “outside world” would bring awareness and make them smart. AR even forbidded them from carrying cell phones and they had to use the telephone in the Store and the mansion only with permission. Even when permitted the ‘boys’ were required to dial and talk in the presence of the Manager. They were not given any money, but their salary was remitted directly to their Bank account back home. AR had also taken their passports and kept them in his personal safety locker, thereby sealing the fate of the ‘boys’. They could only go out of the island when AR permitted them.

However, Ranveer did not feel stifled by AR’s domineering manner. He had engrossed himself in work and was assured by the fact that his as well as his family’s needs were met. His concentration and whole-hearted attention at work pleased AR immensely. Ranveer was given more responsibilities in the Store, which Ranveer welcomed and performed with due sincerity. He soon became AR’s blue-eyed boy and was sent on merchandising trips to various countries. Two-and-a-half years of Ranveer’s contract flew past and he continued working hard content in the expectation of the big fat bonus at the end of the three year contract.

The telephone on his desk rang and Ranveer answered it and heard his mother’s agitated voice at the other end. She told him that his father had suffered a stroke and he was completely paralysed. He had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the local hospital, where the doctors had little hope of him recovering. Ranveer was shaken and devastated by this news and wanted to be with his family. Ranveer rushed to AR’s office with tears rolling down his cheeks. AR patiently heard Ranveer’s piece of news but denied him permission to go and be with his family during their time of crisis. Ranveer was aghast at AR’s denial and begged and pleaded with him to allow him to go back to India. But AR was unmoved by Ranveer’s plight and state of mind and ordered him to stop behaving like a child and get back to work.

Ranveer spent the night tossing and turning in bed, disappointed, pained and angry at being treated so shabbily by AR. Ranveer had not expected this from AR for whom he had worked so selflessly, he was taken aback by AR’s reaction and ruthless behavior. The next day, when Ranveer went to work and sought permission to make a phone call, he was denied permission. All of Ranveer’s pleas and cries fell on deaf ears. He was curtly told to concentrate on his work, but then how could Ranveer concentrate on his work. His mind was with his family, wondering how his mother and sister were coping with the crisis.

Two weeks later, AR called Ranveer to his Office and broke the news of his father’s death. AR’s face was devoid of any expression as he conveyed this news to Ranveer in a very matter-of-fact voice. Ranveer expected that AR would now accede to his request to go home and give Ranveer his passport and ticket. But Ranveer’s bad days were not yet over, he was bluntly told to wait till his contract period was over which was barely three months away. Ranveer was shattered at this statement, he could not believe that his life had taken such a nasty turn. He had given his sweat and blood for AR’s Company and in return, he was being treated so badly. He was harassed mentally at work, where there was always someone watching him. Ranveer felt like a criminal now, with no freedom at all. At the end of an agonizing three month wait, AR summoned Ranveer to his Office, gave his passport and ticket to India and no mention of bonus was made.

Back in India, when Ranveer checked his bank account, he was shocked to see that only his salary had been credited and no bonus was given to him. Ranveer was disheartened by all this. It was really so cheap of AR, who had millions of $$$$$ stashed away in various banks all over the world to cheat Ranveer of a few 1000 dollars in bonus. Ranveer came out wiser from his experience with AR and moved on in life. He managed to get a well-paying job in Dubai, which allowed him one month’s annual paid leave and which also had good perks. Here Ranveer was very happy with his job, since it was a multinational Company and he was closer home. He also managed to get his sister married off to a suitable , well-settled groom, who took good care of her.

While Ranveer moved on to a better job and life, it was AR’s turn to suffer at destiny’s hand. AR was on a flight to New York, where he was going to attend meetings with suppliers of the luxury products, which he had diversified into. The plane was just beginning its descent at New York, when AR felt uneasy. He alerted the cabin crew who immediately notified the airport so that medical assistance could arrive as soon as the plane landed. But by the time the plane taxied to a halt, AR collapsed in his seat – he had suffered a stroke and was rushed to the hospital in an unconscious condition. The airlines and hospital personnel tried to contact his family with the help of the numbers given at the time of booking the tickets. One of the numbers was his cell phone number which he was carrying with him and the other number seemed to be his residence number in Curacao. The authorities tried in vain to reach his family to inform them about AR’s condition, which seemed to be turning worse. But the telephone was only ringing, since AR’s wife and children were away in India on a vacation. AR was going in and out of consciousness and his organs started to fail one by one. Finally, the authorities with the help of the Embassy managed to contact AR’s brother in India and informed him about AR. But by the time the family could reach New York, AR had breathed his last. The Titan who had a vast business empire and millions in wealth died a lonely death. Was it poetic justice for the way he treated his employees – like slaves who only deserved nasty words and curtailed freedom?

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