FRIENDS IN NEED

My whole office was bustling with activities. The Group Chairman is visiting our new Project Site. Everyone is full of activity preparing for the Chairman’s visit. Every second was precious and everyone wanted that to be put to the best use. None has a second to do anything other than preparing for Chairman’s visit.

It was late in the evening, many of my colleagues were still busy with their scheduled tasks, I had to leave the office to meet a few officials. I along with two of my colleagues Mr.Muruganantham and Mr.Vishwanath were about to board the car waiting for us.

The road was dark with no street lights. Ours being an approach road to beach is always a busy road with a lot of vehicular movement. Though the road is reasonably broad, one third of that is occupied by the open drainage on either side.

With limited options, the driver had parked the car in the left end of the road with just enough space for a kid from Somalia to enter the car.

The late evening was so dark that the meter deep open drainage would have clearly visible to an owl but definitely not to me. Without knowing the danger, I tried to step into the car only to plummet into the open drainage. Before I hit the bottom of the drainage I could hear the panic voice of my colleagues yelling for help.

I tried to get up in the drainage but the sludge did not allow me to get up. Immediately Mr.Muruganantham bent down to lend a helping hand and lifted me out of the malodorous drainage full of slush and mire. Within a minute I was out of the drainage carrying all sorts of filth with me and every part of my body insulated by the sludge.

When I was out of the drainage I could see the whole office in front of me. Mr.Vishwanath and Mr.Muruganantham took me to the office handholding me never minding the finished products and by products I was carrying from the drainage. The whole office came rushing to help me out. After enquiring of any external or internal injuries, one of my colleagues helped me remove my shoes and socks, another colleague gently removed all the contents in my portfolio bag filled with drainage water and other wastes generated by flora and fauna. Yet another colleague took care of my belongings- my purse, my cellphones, my wrist watch etc. In the meantime, the drive came running to me and apologised profusely for a mistake not of his.

I was gently taken to the wash room by two other colleagues. My bath for the next half an hour with Soap, dettol, shampoo could only remove partially the sludge in my body but by then the whole bathroom turned black and my dress unusable. My colleague Mr.Pratap rushed home and brought a T Shirt and a Lungi to wear. For the next one hour Mr.Jeyakanthan, Mr.Rajaram and other colleagues did everything to ensure that all important belongings in the bag and my personal belongings are properly cleaned notwithstanding the bad odour. My colleagues Mr.Vishwanath and Mr.Muruganantham took me to a hospital and gave me first aid and dropped me in my house to a great relief of my wife and children.

Friends in need are friends indeed. I joined this office just a fortnight back. The whole office spent more than two hours on me with less than 12 hours left for Chairman’s visit speaking volumes about our work culture. I thank my colleagues for the help and my stars for making me a member of this well knit family.

Published for MSN.COM

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