"Mr Adiga,I would want to join you",said Aditya,somewhat in a confused tone.
"I am glad son,let us just sit with my legal department and work out all the terms and conditions"
Aditya nodded.He was still not sure of his decision but he knew he had to be a flowing river,take the chances and opportunities when they come as Inchara had done.
As he drove back to his home he was thinking as to how he would tell this to Inchara.They had built the company jointly over 2 years.Though he was just a marketing partner to IHP,he was a key part of all the strategic decisions,plus being a startup there was hardly any boundary or definition of roles for each person.
The next two nights he could hardly sleep,the meeting with the legal team of Adiga was to happen in a week and before that he had to get things cleared with Inchara and IHP.
Next day,he went over to meet her in her office.Inchara received a call on the intercom,it was her secretary.
"Mam,Aditya sir has come to meet you".Inchara felt silent for a while,she had not met Aditya after that meeting with Dhruv and having known Aditya for the past few years,she knew he was hurt.However all the processes with Sketchy Zebra was consuming most of her time.
"Mam,shall i send him in?" ,the secretary repeated.Seeing the secretary ask Inchara again ,Aditya felt that things had come to such a pass that he was not allowed directly like before.
"Please send him in,he is our company partner,you dont have to ask me again" said Inchara.
"Sir,you can go in"
"Thanks", said Aditya with a smile that gave away his sarcasm.
As he went in,
"Hi Aditya,how have you been?" said Inchara ,with the same dimpled smile,trying to somewhat relax the tempers.However in Aditya's mind the strings of the guitar were playing in a violent manner.
"Hi" ,Aditya snorted back.
"Hows your mom,heard she was not well ",Inchara asked with genuine concern.
Aditya cut her statement and asked "Hows IHP running Inchara?"
"IHP,ya its running well Adi,why?" she asked.
"No since i dont get much of updates nowadays,plus you have new friends now,so just wanted to atleast know whats happening" ,Aditya snided back.
Inchara could feel the open hostility."I have been sending all the weekly reports no Adi,anyways lets just run them over once now,also we need to also make a decision about the contract for packed foods for King Airlines..",her tone was quivering now.
"Actually Inchara,you wont have to share any updates with me from now on",Aditya said.
"What do you mean?"
"I am leaving IHP and giving up on the share i had in this company,all of the 15 percent,all the various roles i had in this" said Aditya keeping a straight face,the guitar playing even more violently.
The room was silent,no one knew what to talk.Inchara's eyes had welled up a bit.
"Aditya i had no option,.."
"Dont Inchara,you already have given your explanation,i am seeking greener pastures"
"Oh! greener pastures huh,...,i really dont know what to speak Adi",Inchara knew now that both were trying to pull the metaphoric "rope" to their side,it could only break now.
"I have got a offer from Adiga and Bros,they are the big ticket i was waiting for,finally i can quit my job,this is it Inchara",Aditya was trying to talk in a casual way,fact of the matter was his soul was crying from inside too,but he dint know what had taken control of him,his ego,envy,jealousy,why did he feel so bad on Inchara partnering Dhruv.He was not able to solve his inner riddles.All he understood was that he wanted to show to Inchara what he was capable of,the power he could possess.
Lust ,greed and jealousy had clouded his true misunderstood feelings.Inchara dint want to lose her dear friend.She had grown so used to him ,having him along the entire 2 year journey,now all of a sudden knowing he would not be there,the emotional pressure was too much to take.
"Fine Adi,will ask Bharat to take care of all the papers",so saying she hurriedly went to the restroom,her face now washed with the tears rolling from her eyes,the partnership had ended before she was able to gauge the entire situation,she had felt what she was doing was right,had she taken a wrong decision?,the tears were not stopping nor was the nostalgia.
But she had to take control of herself.She couldnt allow personal feelings to come in the way.She had to be strong.She wiped her tears,tied up her hair,knowing she had to wage the battle without Aditya.
Aditya stepped out of the IHP office,looked at the board of the company,the logo and tagline of which he had designed,he was now going to be after his own creation, the song in his car was now "What I've Done" of Linkin Park.He drove fast,he dint want to hear his heart beat,dint want to look back.
Since the project he was doing in the company was in the half way stage,Aditya decided to quit after 6 months.
4 months later:
4 months is a lot in the business world.Dhruv and Inchara led IHP successfully.The company's revenue was now soaring,going into newer businesses in the food sector.Adiga was feeling the heat.Aditya was trying his best but was failing everytime to Dhruv's machinations.He had also put down his papers in the company.Focussing on two things was getting impossible for him.
During one of the board meetings of IHP-
"Inchara,we are slowly cutting Adiga to size,the real punch will be if we get after his real estate business,if we plug that source of income for him,he will then no longer concentrate much on the food business,nothing can stop us from being no1 then"
"But Dhruv,our policy has always been to concentrate on ourselves,on how we can become better,i feel this is not needed".
"Inchara,u dont allow competitors to stand on their feet,he is feeling the heat now due to our rapid rise,ur friend has also not been able to do much there,i have contacts,Adiga is part of many shady deals,all his land near NICE road in Bangalore -Mysore highway is worth crores,but many of the farmers have not given up the land voluntarily"
"But i heard adequate compensation has been given,isnt it,btw Adi also had his software job to take care of,dont forget he was responsible for the jumpstart of this company,he is a lethal weapon if he just concentrates on this work" quipped Inchara.
"Yeah yeah ur friend ,anyways the Adiga issue can be made political,i know the person right for this,i will handle it dont worry,
btw ,what about Aditya?"
"What about him?" asked Inchara.
"We have enough cannon to go after him too,tax evasion,business conduct violations in his company"
"No we are not going after him Dhruv,please i cant allow that,you want to go after Adiga,go after him,but please not after Adi"
"Ok as you say,just see how i make this game interesting" said Dhruv with a smile.Being a conniving politician's son ,shrewdness and chanakyagiri came naturally to him.
One month before final relieving of Aditya:
The HR department executives and few IT ppl had come to his desk.
"Mr Aditya,can we have a talk ........."
I've got mixed "Feelings" for the last five posts-
ReplyDeleteFeeling 1:On the business front- From what i can make out from the post is that Aditya is an aspiring entrepreneur.He is sick of the monotonous life as SE.His passion is marketing and consulting.He likes being creative and innovative. He is well on-way to be it.He helped starting the company ,IHP, although with little share-ratio.I thought the deal with the Adiga was more of an emotional impetus for him than money involved, because true entrepreneurs never give up their company for any cause.They treat money as a commodity, not the wealth. Steve jobs is a good example for that.Also, Adi would have earned enough money working in a top MNC as an Engg.Why would he first of all risk his job to get into consultancy if it was some money issue?Aditya likes risks(calculated risks). The deal with Dhruv was in the interest of IHP. If Adi had envisaged any negative impacts of the deal he could have brought it forward in the board meetings(or beach meetings ;-)) and could have resolved it more professionally(or personally ;-)).Ultimately,its their brain child, IHP, which would have been benefited, and they together would have set an example, how a simple home products started from a village could reach such height, eventually turning into a brand. I feel Adi shudn't be running behind money.Instead he shud make the money run behind him by adding value to IHP.
Feeling 2: On emotional front-I think Adi is quite "shyy" kind-of-a-person. He loves the company of Inchara. I feel he should propose her atleast now(not because he could negotiate for the 50% stake in IHP after marriage(Hold on before yout tell WTF... jus kidding boss! :-D)
Feeling 3: On the writing front- You are totally awesome!This story is so refreshing and you are giving it a new dimension in every post.I never thought that you were looking at the less important features like hairs while we used to stare at few girls in the college.I thought you were looking for something else. :-D I am thoroughly enjoying your posts.Its 2.10 am now...and am not yet out of the hangover,so thought of commenting it now only.If the climax is good, i think this story can be a potential bollywood blockbuster which has got all the elements in it. Put some songs also na.. other than Linkin Park(...Sonu would be a better choice.)
Cheers,
Rohit
@Rohit : your post makes me realize how misunderstood i was :)
ReplyDeleteand ya werent we all looking for something else :)
now for the story- yes i have taken a few liberties with a doze of realism.And in startups atleast in such sectors there is hardly anything like a board initially.But as i said a few liberties have to be taken for the story to move ahead
I am still developing as a writer,so hopefully its gets better going forward and the story becomes more real.
And yeah i hope the climax i have planned is good enough.
Too Good maga.. I am really enjoying all the twists and emotions in the post.. Lage Raho..
ReplyDelete