9 QUESTIONS!!

Aditya was sitting in his plush seaside facing office,looking at the waves coming and threatening the landmass at frequent intervals.How insignificant all of man's creations looked before the might of nature!. Aditya had been married for 2 years now with Anuradha.. Theirs was a love marriage and life was going on beautifully for both of them and their families.

Aditya was the Senior Portfolio Manager of the newly formed Bhalwa and Bros Financials Ltd with its clients in Telecom,Infrastructure and Logistics Industries. He was living his dream of grandeur.Though his father had warned him against joining a company whose founder had risen to fame and wealth in a matter of couple of years,Aditya thought that it might have been a result of the founder's hardwork for a lot of years. Anuradha was a freelancer working as a Creative Consultant in many of the Mumbai's famed advertising firms.

March 12th-2010 - There were rumblings of a scam in the central government.There were chances of the central government falling too. 2G had become a buzz word on every news channel,newspaper as well as the common man's lips. Losses to the tune of lakhs of crores were being floated by just about everybody.The public was fuming with anger and were just waiting for someone's name to come out in the scam whom they could punish with their bare hands.

Shahi Balwa , Aditya's boss called him to his chamber. There was a worried look on Shahi. He asked Aditya to sit down and have a glass of water.

Shahi : " Aditya,you have been one my of most trusted and most efficient executives,but what i am going to share with you now has to remain between us,ok?? "

Aditya : " Sure sir,though i need to tell you that you look very stressed out today"

Shahi : " Thanks for the concern,anyway i hope you have been following the news about the 2G scam and mist have seen that people in Swan Telecom have also been nabbed by the CBI for this.The Supreme Court has taken this case in its own hands now"

Aditya : " Yes sir i have heard,i feel its good that the highest court of the land has taken  this up now,the guilty will be punished "

Shahi : (smiled) " Well thats what i wanted to speak to you about,our portfolio on Swan, you are handling it right? "

Aditya : " Yes sir,i am ,what about it?"

Shahi : (looking at him straight): " Lose those documents,all of them ,anything related to Swan,lose them"

Aditya : (was in a shock) : "I am sorry sir,what do you mean by asking me to lose them all??"

Shahi : " I am meaning exactly what i am asking you to do,lose those files,We were never in any relationship with any Swan Telecom,do you get me? "" he asked belligerantly thumping his desk.

Aditya dint know how to react.He wasnt able to comprehend the situation. He came back to his desk and sat with his face covered in his palms,How he wished Anuradha was there right next to him!! He dint know what he had gotten into.His father's warning echoed in his head. Should he have paid heed to his old man's words?.

He asked his audit team to get all the files related to Swan. He looked into each of those files in detail like he had never seen before,He hadnt bothered to see the source and application of funds of Swan as he had believed he had a super efficient team under him.

He was shocked to see some of the information in those files.This was plain cheating what they were doing to the country.All his teachings on honesty that his dad had given him came rushing back.He dint know that he had done such a disservice to the country.He thought for some time.All his loved ones faces ran through his mind, the eyes of anuradha(oh! those eyes), the caress of his mother on his head, dad forcing him to sit and go through ethics documents one after the other. Strengthening his resolve,he headed straight into Shahi's chamber.

Shahi : "What is it Aditya?"
Aditya : " Sir,some of the information in these are explosive, i dont know how we missed it!"
Shahi : " You are our Portfolio Head arent you,whom do you think the blame should be laid on?"(with a menacing smile)
Aditya : "Sir , you were the one who asked me to let Areef ,your nephew to handle Swan's portfolio,so that he quickly learns the ropes of this business,you cant lay blame on me sir,i dont think we can lose these documents sir,we cant do a disservice to the nation like this"

Shahi : " I am afraid , you would be doing a great disservice to yourself then Aditya, there are a lot of powerful people involved here and well no one is going to hole Areef accountable,you are his boss arent you?"

Aditya wouldnt listen and went  back to this office in a puff.He knew he had landed himself in a huge mess!

That very evening .....................................

FEELINGS III - The Finale Part II(The Alternate Ending)

Ok this is an alternate ending to the finale.I will start off from the point where i have said Shetty was in disguise as Aditya's driver.

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Aditya called Inchara.

He dint know what to talk when she picked up.

Inchara said "hello" a couple of times before Aditya could get the gumption to talk to her.

"Hi Inchara,how are you?" he said.

She replied without her characteristic spunkiness "I am doing good"

"You are looking lovely in that dress you are wearing" 

"Huh,dress! how do you know what i am wearing?" she asked,slightly taken aback at once.

"I am standing right outside your house Inchara,can see through the window of your room"

She immediately saw outside and Aditya was standing there getting drenched in the rain.

Both looked at each other for a few seconds and exchanged silent glances.

Aditya then signalled to her that he was getting drenched in the rain and then whether  he could come in.Inchara, herself came out with a towel in hand and asked him to come in.Her father welcomed him in too.Later when rain had subsided to some extent they walked to the beach and sat for a while reminiscing the start of their journey.

All of a sudden Inchara asked him bluntly "What are you doing here Aditya?"

"I just came to see my grandmom Inchara,had heard she was not well" he said, still not able to talk it out .

straight.

"Your grandmom is fine,we had gone just today morning to get a few utensils from her",she said.

"Tell me the actual reason now Aditya" 

"I came here for you Inchara" he said all of a sudden grabbing her hand.

"I tried to think of you in all other roles Inchara,as a friend,as an enemy,as a nobody in my life,but i realised i had fallen for you Inchara,that dream,that dream still haunts me Inchara"

"Which dream?"

"The one where i saw you all battered and bruised,i couldnt see u like that, i realised what havoc i was bringing on us"

Inchara was speechless for a moment.Just then the drizzle resumed and after a few minutes there was a heavy downpour.Aditya who was standing till then came and collapsed in the palms of Inchara.

"I Love You Inchara,this is the true feeling i have towards you,i cant live without you,it was hell without you not by my side,i dont want to let go of you now!!" 

"And when you had?" she asked

"What do you mean?"

"You left IHP just like that Aditya,we could have easily sorted this out,but u went off in an instant,how can i now trust you Aditya?" she questioned again.

"I felt that you thought Dhruv was better than me to expand your business,i took it personally,i was naive i agree,but please give me a chance Inchara"

"I was also naive by taking a unilateral decision,but at that time i felt he was right for us to expand in the north,but the equation with him was different Aditya, how could you compare yourself with him?,wasnt ours a more personal one,how could you think that i would sideline you?"

"Tomorrow you may again feel the same for some or the other thing and you might again leave me,i dont want that kind of instability in my life ,atleast now after all i have been through,i cant take that risk again Aditya" she said,letting go his hand and walking a bit distant from him.

"Inchara,i am sorry for all that,but please give me another chance" he asked repeatedly.

Wiping off tears from her face and not able to see him ,"I need some time Aditya" she said and walked away.

"But your engagement is tomorrow for God sake" he screamed.

She continued to walk away.He waited till night outside her house but she kept on ignoring him.Having lost all hope,Aditya walked away and sat in his car.In an impulse he asked the driver to drive away to Bangalore.

Through the entire route he kept thinking about her,imagining- her sitting next to him,clutching his hands tightly she asked -  can we survive among these sharks Aditya? He was caressing her cheeks lightly and said "we will survive somehow Inchara and held her hand even more tightly as she rested on his shoulders.

A sudden brake by the driver in the Sakleshpur ghat brought him out of this hallucination.

"Sir,sir " Shetty in the guise of the driver repeated.

"Yes what happened?" Aditya asked still not completely out of the hallucination.

"Sir i think the engine has heated up,we will have to get water from that stream,can you lend me a hand" he asked.

Aditya accompanied him to the stream.Suddenly Shetty took out his 0.3 mm and shot him in the leg,

Aditya pleaded to him to leave him and as he was doing this he was trying to reach out to the sharp pointed broken glass lying below.Shetty was preoccupied with Aditya's antics and as he was about to take the second shot ,Aditya leapt forward and punched the glass into his eye.SHetty screamed with pain and he couldnt hold on to the gun any longer.Aditya felt miserable for having done what he did,but he just threw the gun away and left Shetty to writhe in pain.

He somehow got a lorry on the road to help him reach the nearest hospital in Hassan.He had blanked out after that.

He only woke up the next evening,and it suddenly struck him that he was lying in some hospital,then he searched for his mobile,he also thought that by now Inchara would have been engaged,why hadnt she called,dint he mean anything to her?there were missed calls but only from his home and some of his team members.

His parents had got the news and had come to the hospital.After talking briefly for a while,the doctor told that his leg would have to be dressed now and asked them to wait outside.As Aditya was taking a tablet,

"Someone ordered a nurse" came a voice.

Aditya looked up and smiled- The GUITAR WAS NOW PLAYING WITH FULL FORCE

FEELINGS III - The Finale Part II

Meanwhile Inchara's father had started with the preparations for the wedding.He dint want to waste anytime.Inchara was discharged from hospital,but her father prevented her from meeting any of her factory boys or even to do any work related to the business.

The last words of Aditya before he had left the hospital that day was still ringing in her ears.She was confused whether to go along with her  father's diktats or wait till things got more clearer with Aditya.The engagement was fast tracked and the wedding was to happen a week after that.Her father dint want to leave anything to chance.

He asked Inchara to sell off IHP to some other business house.Inchara refused to sell her dream.She called up Aditya.

"Aditya,Dad is forcing me to sell off IHP,wanted to ask what you thought about it"

"What do i have to think about it?Its always been your business,so u need to take that decision" he replied back bluntly.

"Okay,and also my engagement has been fixed this Saturday,.." she said and went quiet.

"Yeah I know,,your dad had called to invite our family to the wedding happening the week after that,Mr Rahul huh!!" he said

"Yes,Rahul of the US" she said.

"You still havent stopped giving nicknames,have you" he said,with the tone being heavier now.

They briefly smiled.

"Nope" , she said.and not being to talk any longer hung up immediately.The turn of events in her life had taken the wind out of her sails.She was not the usual confident self,not even able to tell her Dad that she was against selling off her business,against getting married to Rahul.

Aditya sat quietly in his room contemplating over what he had to do.Just then his Dad came in.

"Son,you are ok?"

"I am fine,you wanted anything " he asked.

"No no,i just observed that over the past few months you have changed a lot,you are talking less to your mother,and have made this room of urs as your whole home,you are sure there is no problem Son?" 

Aditya let all the emotions go,as he shared all what happened in his life over the past year and what he was going through emotionally.

"Look son,if she has decided to marry someone else,then i dont think you should go for her,but if u think she has the same feelings as you do then i think you should tell her what you feel directly.And about your business,i initially liked that you had gone ahead to start your own business along with her,proud that my son was doing something that i was unsuccessful at,but once you joined Adiga i became a bit worried.I tried to warn you several time,but you and your hot blood wouldnt listen.Business needs patience son,u must keep at it for a long time,only then can you reap the benefits and the same applies to love and personal relationships also",he said.

This was the first time the father and son had a heart to heart talk.They shared an awkward hug later.Aditya decided to pursue Inchara.There was no way he would let go off her.On the day before the engagement Aditya reached Inchara's home in Kumta.It was already evening by then.There was a festive atmosphere at her house with all her aunts and uncles having come for the engagement and also to make preparations for the wedding.

Meanwhile Shetty had reached Kumta posing as a stand in driver for Aditya's permanent one.

Aditya called up Inchara

"Hi,this is Mr Software Engineer of a MNC speaking" he said.

"I am waiting for you here in the beach,can you come here?" he asked.

Now Inchara's father had become overtly worried about sending her out alone anywhere.So she took one of her friends and told him that they were going to buy some Mehendi.

"Why do you have go out for that,she alone can get it right" he asked.

"Dad pleassee,i am going" she said and as planned her friend took off in a different direction once out of the house.Carrying all those heavy lehengas in her two hands she reached the spot.

Aditya saw her and smiled.

They both came close to each other.

"You look nice today" he said.

"You dont look bad too"  she said and smiled.It was as though both knew why they were standing there.

"Inchara,i am sorry for what i have done to you,when you first chose Dhruv's company over me,instead of taking it professionally i took it a personal level,then misunderstandings kept happening,all this while i was trying to prove to you that i am no less than anyone,but never realised why actually i was doing it,

it was only when i came to know that Adiga was trying to kill you did i realise how much you really meant to me,the day you were in the hospital-i couldnt stop blaming myself for putting us through all this,but now i dont want to live in denial anymore Inchara,i have realised that i cant stay without you.." and before he could say anything else

"Is this the way you used to write your code in the company,u know more the lines more the dollar stuff" she asked chidingly

"Huh??",

"You could have said it in short that you love me,isnt it?" she said and winked.

"Yeah i could have done that,but u know what i wont talk anymore",saying this he pulled her close to him and they both shared a passionate kiss,again with the setting sun in the background and a slight drizzle caressing them."I LOVE YOU,Inchara"he said finally .

Then they both walked to her house where they announced this decision of theirs to her father.The family was shocked for a while but were coaxed into acceptance by the couple.

Aditya had to leave back to Bangalore that night itself as he had an important meeting with his staff the next day.Shetty all this while was biding his time.

Inchara went to leave Aditya until his car.

"Adi,come back soon,i have to offer a 50 percent partnership in IHP also" she said and winked.They kissed again and Aditya sat in his car.

"Be careful ,and make sure the driver doesnt doze off when driving" she said.

Shetty replied "Dont worry Memsaab,i will make sure Sir reaches the destination safely" he said and smiled.

"Dont worry Inchara,i will call  you as soon as i reach" he said and the car sped away.

Near Sakleshpur Ghat,Shetty stopped the car on the pretext of a heated up engine.

"Sir,can you help me a bit in getting water from that nearby stream sir?,.i am not able to carry that heavy container alone he said.Aditya readily agreed and as they approached the stream,Shetty took out his 0.3mm rifle and pointed it towards Aditya.

Aditya was confused."I am sorry sir" and there was the first gunshot on Aditya's leg.Shetty was doing it the exact same way as Jay had ordered him to.First the leg,then the heart and finally the head.

Aditya pleaded with Shetty

"Please leave me,you saw that girl right,i am going to marry her,i want to be with her,pleaseeee!!" he pleaded,i am have my parents to look after also,please sir,leave me "

But no amount of pleading would melt the professional shooter's heart.He took a second shot,this time to the heart.A sudden flood of memories came rushing back to Aditya,all his childhood days,his parents,college friends,his first job,Inchara,the ego trip and finally the kiss,

Shetty took one final shot-THE GUITAR HAD FALLEN SILENT

FEELINGS III - The Finale Part 1

Dhruv and Inchara reached Kumta in the wee hours of the morning.Ali was secretly following them not knowing that Aditya had also reached Kumta along with the others. Ali waited for his time.Since he had reached before hand,he had detailedly surveyed all the places.Dhruv and Inchara then went to their factory which was newly setup giving employement to many youth and women from villages around Kumta.

Aditya was secretly following Ali.None of his calls to Inchara were being picked up.He then decided that he had to confront her in order to make her realise what she was up against.

In the evening they went to the temple and this was what Ali was waiting for.Taking an alternate route to the top,Ali hid behind a bush of trees.Waited patiently as Inchara and Dhruv climbed the steps along with a few other employees of the new factory to seek Gods blessings.

As they neared the exact point which Ali had marked so as to shoot her down,Inchara heard Aditya shout from below:
"Run from there,your life is in danger!!" and before anyone could react anything ,the bullet from Ali's gun had its first casualty.


However Ali had missed his mark and accidently shot Dhruv.As Dhruv rolled down the steps,Inchara tried to duck,Ali shot again and this time it hit her arm,and before he could kill her off with a final shot,a few of the boys covered their madam,and few others went to catch hold of Ali.

Dhruv  was shot right in the chest and killed him instantly.Inchara got away with wounds on her arm.A couple of the boys were wounded too.Aditya immediately drove her to the nearest hospital which was 5 kms away.Ali was caught hold off ,Dhruv's body was also taken to the hospital by some of the boys.The quiet coastal town was aghast at what had happened.

Some of the local Hindu leaders on learning that it was a Muslim shooter tried to paint a communal angle to it.Jay Panda was livid with anger,he had lost both his sons and he wanted blood.He ordered some officials in the IB to find out who was behind it.

As Inchara lay in the hospital bed after having lost lots of blood,Aditya stared her with a blank expression.He couldnt comprehend the turn of events.If he hadnt left her in the first place and joined a beast called Adiga all this wouldnt have happened.He closed his face and wept.

He wished Inchara would wake up ,wished he could talk to her,wished all this hadnt happened,wished everything went back to how it was before.Inchara's father on hearing the news had  come to Kumta.
He saw Aditya sitting on the bench outside the ward,his face collapsed in his hands.

"What happened son?"

"Uncle,Inchara was shot in the arm,she has lost lot of blood.."

"Her life is not in danger right?",her father asked worriedly not able to stop tears from flowing down his eyes.He had lost his wife and if Inchara also dint survive,he would become alone.

"No,Uncle she will survive,we already got a donor with AB blood group,doctor says she will recover completely in a few days,besides she is a strong girl .." and before Aditya could complete the sentence,

"Enough of this son,we are middle class people and when we aspire something beyond what God intended us to do,we will end up like this,we are simple village people,i have tried her to explain this a lot before she got into business but she refused to confine herself and now see what has happened,now i wont listen her for anything,shes my everything son,i cant lose her" and he continued to rattle on.Aditya knew none of what he would say to console would work on Inchara's father.

Just then the doctor came out and said, "Inchara has become conscious now,you can go in to talk to her if you want"

Inchara's father rushed in,held her hand
"How are you shona?" and wept profusely
"Dad please dont cry,what will happen to your image" and tried to lighten the atmosphere

Aditya walked in,his eyes all sullen and red.He looked at her and dint know what to say.

"Thanks" she said quietly.

Aditya dint want to speak anything.

"Enough of all this Inchara,no more of this business-gizness,i have decided that i am going to get you married to my friend Ajit's son Rahul,he is earning handsomely ,stays in US,no more of this jhamela,i cant lose the only reason i am living for"

Aditya and Inchara exchanged silent glances.

She tried to calm her father down."Dad,if i go off to US ,then who will take care of you,remember you had told you will always keep me near you"

"Dont try to tell me what is to be done,you are going to get married to Rahul and thats my final decision" and walked away from there.

Aditya and Inchara were alone in the room now.He dint know what to talk to her.Guilt-ridden on having brought all this on them,he attempted to walk away.

"Aditya.."

He dint want to turn  back,dint want to meet her eyes what with the guilt increasing even more when he remembered of how he had behaved..

"Why did you save my life Aditya?" she asked.

"Why are you asking that?" he was still not meeting her eyes.

"I mean you wanted to finish off IHP right,you wanted to be the headline,you tried to hurt me in all ways possible,yet when it came to the question of my life,why did you turn up to save me?"

"I dint save you,it was pure luck that Ali missed his shot"

"Ali??!! you knew the shooter's name?"

"Yes i did,he was sent by Adiga to finish you off"

"Then how come you came here to inform me?"

"I wouldnt have to,if you had picked up my call atleast once" he said, his tone showing a semblance of anger.

"Why did you even care Aditya,you anyway wanted to reach the top,this would have made it easier right?" she probed further.

"Because i couldnt live without you Dammit!!! "he yelled.

A nurse suddenly came in "Please sir,dont talk loudly,kindly go out,dont disturb the patient more" and took him away from there.As he was going out he looked back at Inchara.She looked stunned of what had just been said to her.

It was as though they had connected at a different level altogether that day.The guitar had picked up a romantic tune now.

Knowing now that Inchara had recovered a bit,he rushed off to Bangalore to tell Adiga that he no longer wished to work with him.On his way back he listened to Bin Tere(the base guitar version by Shekhar)
.He knew now how important Inchara was to him.

Meanwhile IB officials had reported back to Jay Panda on the people that had ordered the hit of his son.
Adiga knew he was in for some trouble the  minute he had got the news that Dhruv was accidently shot.However he had to now save his skin.

Livid with anger,Jay called up Adiga albeit from another spare number,so that no call would be traced to him.

"Adiga,i think you already know why  i called you"

"I know Jay"

"Call me Mantriji you bastard,you killed my son you bastard.,i am going to make you life miserable" Jay rattled off in the characteristic tone of political bigwigs,"

"Mantriji thats why i am trying to clear all the things,it was not me who ordered the hit on Dhruv,i had done that for Inchara,but Aditya in the last minute forced the shooter to target your son Sir,it was some issue related to Aditya being jealous of Inchara being with your son or something,i couldnt do much sir"

"You dont lie to me you son of a bitch,this information was brought to me by the IB,dont mess with me"

"I am not lying sir,it is true that i had ordered the hit on Inchara,not your son,Aditya is your target sir,not me"

With some more lying Adiga was able to muddle Jay into thinking that it was Aditya and not him who had killed his son.

Jay then called some of his shooters and told

"Shetty kill Adiga as soon as he comes out of his office,i dont know how you do it ,but kill him,and yes.there is this Aditya also ,dont spare him too,will ask one my men to send you all the details,remember my name shoudnt come in any of this".As he kept the phone "Bastards they think that they can get away killing my son"
"I will show who Jay Panda is" he bellowed emphatically in his office.

Feelings III - Part 7

As the contract signing of Mallya and Adiga neared,massive protests were simultaneously launched in various parts of the state.The issue of forceful land acquisition had taken on a larger proportion altogether and Adiga was now feeling the heat.The very land that Adiga had promised Mallya was now under media spotlight what with the people from his own organization leaking out information to the press under the garb of "sources".Mallya dint want to be associated with this anymore and he decided to back out of the deal.

The Karnataka Lokayukta raided offices of Adiga's various businesses ,however Adiga was not the one to sit quietly and watch.He very well knew who was behind all this. He worked with the principle of "Keep your friends close,your enemies closer".The various real estate deals of his came  under the public purview due to relentless media campaign.Aditya being a partner in the company also had to answer queries from the media.The party which was in power in the state too wanted to distance itself from Adiga.

Under this backlash against him,Adiga being a canny veteran that he was, knew he had to make peace with the opposition camp.With the market share of IHP also rising due to this black mark against his company,Adiga was losing ground in the export market too.A lions share of Adiga's loss went o IHP.He was determined to teach Dhruv and Inchara a lesson but under the garb of friendship.

With the upcoming election to the Rajya Sabha in the centre,Adiga knew very well that Ajay Mallya would want to be elected to the Upper House.For that to happen he would require the support of the party in power in the state along with Kumaranna's party.Adiga wanted to ceize this opportunity and after lobbying from all sides and with briefcases being exchanged,the party in power relented to support Ajay.This was also  in return for asking Kumaranna to drop the farmer's agitation which had given bad press for both the government as well as Adiga.

This was a win win situation for everyone and the newspaper front page photo with all hands raised together showed just the same.Adiga however was burning from inside.He couldnt swallow the fact that "ek gaon ki chori(a village girl) and the son of an old foe could even think of crumbling down his empire.Inchara was the first easy target for him.

He called Ali Hafiz who was his trusted lieutenant whenever he had to "take care" of certain people.Ali Hafiz came to his office.Adiga gave him the picture of Inchara.

"Ali , her name is Inchara,shes been a pain in the neck for far too long.Choti Gaon ki Chokri hain,Tumhe zyaada mushkil nahin hoga,uska thoda khayal rakhna " so saying Adiga winked at him.

"Hojayege saab,payment har time ki thara mere Dena Bank ke account mein hi kar dhena".

"Done Ali".

As Ali was walking out he mistakenly bumped into Aditya who was just coming into office.The photo of Inchara fell from Ali's hand,Aditya observed this.What was Inchara's photo doing with this stranger?
He then asked the receptionist as to who he was.

"He is Ali Hafiz,he is called in by Boss whenever there are certain things or people to be handled when the situation gets a bit out of hand"

Aditya knew exactly what this meant.He understood what the photo of Inchara's was doing with him.He went to his office and sat on the chair,drank the glass of water kept on the table hurriedly,suddenly he was not feeling well.Having been brought up in a simple household under a strict father he had now begun to truly understand the big bad world of business.His breathing became heavier,all memories shared with Inchara came rushing back.

That night he had a nightmare
- Walking in a sugarcane field he saw a girl standing in front of him.The girl resembled Inchara,her face was slit and blood was oozing out,hands had turned black as though it were burnt,the skin on her legs seemed to have come off and it was as though she had been dragged on the ground for a long time,clothes were torn and she seemed to have just been tortured by some cruel butcher,the girl raised her hand and called out "Adi"..


Aditya woke up with a shout,he was perspiring,the girl was Inchara,what if in real life she was tortured like this by Ali.He could never allow her to go all through this,was he panicking?,the receptionist's words kept ringing in his ears,he ran to the bathroom and threw up,it was as though he was not able to comprehend the magnitude of things that were happening in his life.

The next day he had to attend an Entrepreneurs Conference called "Startup Pad" to be held in Bangalore.Entrepreneurs from 15 countries including US,France,Belgium,Hong Kong were to attend this conference.

Aditya's mind only had Inchara written all over it.He tried to call her a few times but everytime it returned a "the User is presently busy" tone.He messaged her but again no success.Inchara had gone to Jharkhand to meet Bipin Dutta regarding expanding business in Jharkhand and Bihar.The phone network was real bad and she could not be reached.He called her office and came to know she had gone there.His wavering mind again thought "She is my enemy ,why should i care? ,remember she was a friend first,you cant allow this to happen to her,so what she dint flinch before fighting me,what would she do,sit quiet and let you destroy her dream"his mind started playing games again.He was not able to take this stress.

The talks had begun and Aditya was told to shut off his phone.A few speakers came and left.Then a couple from Hong Kong who had started their own clothesline Bossini ,came to talk.
Since they only knew Chinese,there was a translator to tell it in English.
Hsien Lee started with how they had started off his business.How he had met his wife,the way they had together started Bossini,the difficult days etc.He came to the end of the speech and told the translator that he wont be needed.

To the surprise of everybody,he started to talk English with a strong cantonese accent

"I come from native China,met Tsee,love motivated I,Love can be inspiring or destructive,never allow love destroy u,dont lose love,its precious,we succeed,you succeed too"

The words of Hsien rang a bell in Adi's mind.The guitar had suddenly started to play a romantic tune,had he realised her true emotions for Inchara.was he in LOVE with her.
The questions haunted Aditya.He realised that if the nightmare he had came true,what would his life be like,until now he was like a small boy,fighting for his share of the pie,but what if suddenly she wasnt there anymore.He realised he couldnt stay without her.

Inchara came back to Bangalore two days later.

Ali then went onto prepare a faultless plan.He had to finish Inchara and Adiga was in a hurry to do this.He first recced the office of Inchara,observed her daily routine ,daily morning walks in the park near her house,then the time when the employees started coming into the house,her evening activities etc.

Adiga knew Inchara had made a name for herself and anything happening to her in the city would make big news and there would be obvious pointing fingers towards.He had learned that Inchara would be going to Kumta through a mole in Inchara's office.

He called up Ali and "Ali Idhar kuch nahin karneka,gaon jaa rahi hain,waha par tum kuch kar sakte ho"

Ali agreed.The plan was in place.On the day Inchara was supposed to leave Aditya went to meet her in her office.She was not picking up his phone and was deleting his message even without reading them.She was very angry on the way Aditya had systematically tried to ruin her business.

Just before Aditya could reach,Inchara had left with Dhruv to Kumta.Aditya followed them.Ali who knew of this plan was already stationed near Kumta.

The assassination plan was being refined.Adiga wanted Inchara dead  but .....................

Feelings III - Part 6

"Mr Aditya can we have a talk..will not take much of of your time",the HR executive commented.

Aditya somehow felt that it was bad news.As they entered the conference room,the IT guy placed a file in front of Aditya. "We have found some emails,chats,printer cache etc",
"We would like you to explain this Mr Aditya" said the HR guy coming directly to the point in a bit more assertive tone.

All the chat information,emails he had inadvertently sent some of his clients, all the resources he made use of the company he worked in was right there in front of him.When he was sending those mails,it dint even cross Aditya's mind that he might be trapped in this way.However for the IT department to look up only his account among the countless employees that worked in his organization surprised Aditya. He start feeling a bit suspicious.

As the HR and IT management rammed home the point about the number of ways  in which Aditya had violated the ethics and business practices of the company,Aditya could only think that this was the handiwork of Dhruv and Inchara.He dint care about the job as he was anyways leaving it.However his profile would be blackmarked in the National Skills Registry and since most companies looked for the background of the person on this site,he knew this might keep away even some of his prospective clients.

His hands started twitching and he even rolled his hairs in a clear sign of tension.And the HR guy had this to say finally
"Mr Aditya i hope you realise that Stratum Inc is capable of suing you for damages,for using company's resources for personal work, using proprietary software of the company etc" , 14 other serious charges were levelled against him.And also with effect from that day Aditya was immediately relieved even though he still had a month to go.

Aditya slowly unknotted his tie and left the office premises.As he drove he could only revisualize the IT and HR guys surrounding him like vultures and tearing his character apart.His anger grew exponentially,he honked his way around the city and had near accidents.He finally stopped at one place,picked up his phone and called Inchara.

"Hi this is Mr Was Software Engineer of an MNC speaking Inchara"
Inchara could sense that Aditya was angry by his sarcastic tone.

"What happened Aditya?"

"You know i had started loving the way you were calling me like that,never knew you would use the same thing to hit me Inchara",hardly being able to swallow his own saliva.

"I am not getting you Aditya"

"Its alright Inchara,i know THIS IS BUSINESS,i was a fool thats all,not knowing how to think from my head,but believe me i am a quick learner,will learn all the tricks of you big ppl fast" said Aditya with his tone giving away aggression.

"Aditya can you please come to the point,i am not able to get you" repeated Inchara.

"Sorry Madam,i wont waste your time,i will come directly to the point,you called and informed my company isnt it,about me having my own company and stuff,i was fired from my job today Inchara,and you have virtually ensured that my career goes into a black hole",said Aditya now breathing more heavily.

"But dont worry,i will get back at you for this,dont think i am going to go away quietly into oblivion,you have hurt me today Inchara"

"Actually... thanks you have helped me to become a BUZINESSman,thanks" as he blabbered this he slammed the mobile down before Inchara could even explain that she hadnt done anything like that.She realized that Dhruv hadnt listened to her plea.

As Mike Shinoda sang "Forfeit the game,before somebody else takes you out of the frame and puts your name to shame,cover up your face,you cant run the race,the pace is too fast" in his car's stereo, Aditya was more determined to prove Shinoda wrong.

He directly went to Adiga."Mr Adiga,i want to be a full time partner of your company,i dont want to head Innovating Creativity anymore,i want more,please give me a chance to take on IHP,i want revenge Mr Adiga,please" he pleaded.Aditya had lost his senses,not being able to absorb what had just happened to him.

Mr Adiga wanted Aditya exactly in this desperate situation.He knew his trick of getting Aditya fired by giving information about Aditya to the HR manager who was a personal friend of his would work well for him.

Mr Adiga smiled cunningly

"Come son,you are still young,hot blooded,but successful businesses arent run this way,you dont give up on your own creations,dont close down Innovating Creativity,now is the time you calculatively think,make your moves smartly,imagine playing a game of chess,you need to win,whether the methods you use are ethical or unethical shouldnt matter to you,the only goal should be to checkmate the opposite player,think more from your brain,not from your heart" and so saying Mr Adiga was poisoning Adi's mind.Aditya who had grown up listening to his honest father's advices was now all blank as a slate.What Adiga would wish he could write on it.

Meanwhile....

 Dhruv had gotten a meeting fixed with Kumaranna Gowda,a seasoned Karnataka politician,an ex Chief Minister of Karnataka who was now being pushed to the oblivion of Karnataka politics due to the new party which had come to power in the state with the help of Adiga and other rich industrialists who actively funded the party.

The land near NICE road which was reportedly taken forcibly by the builder mafia headed by Adiga without giving adequate compensation was an issue that Kumaranna wanted to take up actively .He wanted his political career to be restored to the hey days of glory.Dhruv and his father knew this.Inchara was just a pawn and excuse for them to go actively against the current state government and Adiga.

Adiga had earlier publicly humiliated Dhruv's father in a press conference saying that the Industry and Commerce Minister was forcing companies like Adiga's to fund them during elections in the Centre.This had led to a big media brouhaha in the national media costing Jay Panda the more plumpier Finance Ministry.

A big conspiracy was being planned by Dhruv,Jay and Kumaranna.The fight for the NICE land was to be taken up more violently ,bringing the government machinery down taking it to unmanageable levels,once this was done then the Central appointed Governor would ask for Governor's rule to be imposed on the state.

They knew for this to happen they had to take the government by surprise,protests were planned in front of the CM's  and Adiga's residence.The protestors were given clear cut instructions to become violent if there was no response.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aditya knew of Inchara's plans of venturing into packed foods in the airline sector and that talks with King Airlines was in advanced stage.They drove to the King's CEO Ajay Mallya's resort,Aditya looked at his own reflection in the rear view mirror,with the wind making his jacket collar strike repeatedly against his face,he knew that a new dawn had come in his life,one where ,there would hardly be any space for emotions.

He knew this contract with Mallya was one of the ambitious forays of Inchara and he wanted to hurt her here.Even though he had felt doing this was unethical Adiga had convinced that if Aditya wanted to be the headline then he had to do all this to reach the top. With "benefits" being explained to Mallya about what all he would be gaining if he decided to give Adiga the contract,he closed the deal successfully there.Mallya was promised that some portion of the land near NICE could be given to him for his aircraft maintenance work.As he came out , Aditya smiled to himself,-"Inchara you are going to be hurt BAD",he said to himself.

He then actively seeked Inchara's right hand Bharat Joshi and enticed him with the money to switchover to Adiga's.This would weaken Inchara internally.Next stop :  few of the governments storage facilites which were leased out to Inchara.He asked Adiga to pay a higher price to get these facilties for themselves.

Inchara watched as Aditya started slowly crashing down her dream and also what was one time his own.Though until then she had hesitated to support Dhruv in his machinations she was now forced to.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Both were trying to undercut each other,Both felt a strange sense of agony when doing so.Both dint realise why.

As the contract signing day between Mallya and Adiga neared ...........................

FEELINGS III - Part 5

"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 ........."

FEELINGS III - Part 4

" And also i took a house for lease for 3 years in Jayanagar",she said."I can use this as a temporary office too".
Aditya was now curious to see who the person was.Having wrapped a few minute works,he drove to meet Inchara and the
"mystery person"

As his car came to a halt near the proposed meeting place of CCD,Jayanagar,he could see a tall smart person sitting next
to Inchara through his Aviator glasses.As he went inside

"Hi Mr Software Engineer in an MNC",she said smilingly.Aditya had grown to love this welcome now.

"Hi Inchara and, this is?" he asked.

"He is Dhruv Panda ,CEO of Sketchy Zebra- its the no3 Marketing and Pr consultancy firm in India" she said eying Dhruv
as though she had got a prized catch for IHP.

"Hello" ,Aditya said with a bit of unease.

"Wait a minute are you the son of Jay Panda,the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry?" Aditya asked.

"Yes,I am,SZ was actually started by my brother Vineet,but you might have heard about the Air India crash two years back.
He passed away in that,the media was reporting on his death too" Dhruv said.

Aditya had no clue about Vineet but he had heard of the crash.He nodded as though he knew every detail of the crash.

"After that i was elected as CEo of SZ.Anyways Inchara had wrote to us through our online portal asking for help for IHP
on a pan-India level.We had asked all the startups to write to us if they needed help.We would be charging a lower price
for such companies,i had come down to Bangalore to meet a few of these entreprenuers here",he said.

Aditya was now a bit worried.Dhruv would be encroaching on his business space sooner than later.More importantly he was mad at
Inchara for having taken these decisions unilaterally without even informing him.

The three had a small chat on the road ahead and how they could synergize.Aditya participated very less in the discussion.

Aditya realized that Inchara had not told Dhruv that he too had a low cost marketing consultancy company.Dhruv only knew
that Aditya was a director in the company and was also a minority partner.

After he left,Inchara quipped - "I am stressed out,game for Amoeba?",she asked.

Aditya looked at her with disgust."How could you Inchara?",he asked

"How could I what?"

"You are making SZ your marketing agency and you are acting as though you are unaware of anything"
now his tone even angrier than before.

"I acted in the interest of the company Aditya,the next step for us was to have our products in stores across India,for
that we needed a company who had a pan India expertise in doing this for us.Your company Innovating Creativity as of now
has only expertise in Karnataka and now a bit in Hyderabad,we couldnt possibly wait for you to grow" she said tersely.

"But i am asking Dhruv to support us only in Northern India circles and Mumbai,South would still be with you" she said with a milder tone.

"Yeah South will be with me,do you think these national players will accept such kind of deals.They wont agree to be reduced to a regional player for any
client"


"As you know competition is increasing every day,we need to be moving fast" she said.

"But now if SZ comes in,you are virtually cutting my company to size" he said angrily.
"I dint expect this from you Inchara,while i agree you cant wait,you cant grow at the cost of IC",he said.
"What about the way we started 2 years back and our friendship?" he asked.

"Aditya you are mixing personal and professional things here.THis is Business,if we all keep letting emotions take
control of our decisions,then we are going to end up no where but down,"we are friends but thats at a personal level,i have
200 families to feed,so my decision will not be with respect to me alone,please try to understand Aditya"

"Hmmm ok,true THIS IS BUSINESS" he said and quietly walked away from there.Inchara dint want to hurt Aditya but in the
face of increased competition she had no choice.


Two days later Aditya attended a state level investors meet,the pass for which was got by his uncle.Many top industrialists,hoteliers,angel investors,
venture capitalists,entreprenuers etc were expected to attend this meet.

His uncle a top IAS officer in the government took this opportunity to introduce Aditya to new people,whom he thought could be beneficial for his business.

Sadanand Adiga,the proprietor of Adiga and Bros-the no 1 player in the South Indian markets in the ready to eat category had also come there.Aditya's uncle
always wanted him to work with the bigger and established players rather than a fringe player like IHP.He dint care whether IHP had gained a lot in the past
few months or not.

"Hello Sadanand!How are you doing?"

"I am fine Shankar,how are you?Btw what about the contract you were supposed to give from your association?" Sadanand said,with a smile that showed
signs of connivance.

"It will come,it will come,but you also have to make some effort" his uncle said.

This usually meant a underhand deal was supposed to happen.

"How is you diabetes by the way?" his uncle asked.

"Its fine,who is this young man?"

"He is my nephew Aditya,works as a software engineer in a top US company,also has his own consultancy firm,very hardworking boy Adiga,see if you can make use
of him" his uncle quipped.

"Hmmm what experience do you have young man?"

"I am basically into low cost marketing and consultancy,have a few clients like Inchara Home Products,Mocha etc",he said.

"Oh you are part of that IHP,its been making rapid strides,that young girl is doing really well" Adiga said.

Aditya could almost feel his ego kicking him from the back.He thought that he was primarily the reason IHP jumpstarted from a village endeavour to
being in stores across Karnataka,AP and also having a niche market mostly in the US.

"Well i was also responsible a bit,it was a small village venture,used my skills to get it to where it has" he said now authoritatively.

Sharks like Adiga who had been in the business for long could instantly sense something amiss.


He then called Aditya to his office two days later.

"Welcome Aditya,how have you been,please have a seat" he said when Aditya went to his office to meet him.The desk was folded dosa shaped
and the walls were adorned by all the awards Adiga had collected over the past 20 years.


Adiga thought IHP was a thorn in the flesh and was observing its steady rise despite the presence of other giants.

"Aditya i was thinking over the past couple of days,we need a young energetic company which can give us innovative ideas to market our
products to the young demography of 18-30 better,why dont you join us?" he said.

Adiga knew what he exactly wanted.Shrewdness was something he had mastered over the years and his rivals were weary of this quality of his.
He believed in getting anything by hook or crook,he had businesses in real estate and had figured in various shady deals.

He tried to make the deal a sweet one with Aditya,he knew money could make anyone dance,seduce them into doing something
which otherwise they wouldnt have.


Aditya felt this was the opportunity he couldnt let go,after all the returns were good.

"I am interested Adiga sir,its very kind of you to give me this chance" he said,now thinking his prospects had suddenly become good
after the heartburn of Inchara's meet.

"BUT i have a condition son,you cannot be a part of IHP anymore,anyways the returns you are getting here would be atleast
six times more than what you  are making there even as a partner.

Aditya saw the skyline of Bangalore and the lalbag gardens in between from Adiga's plush 1oth floor office.

His company would itself have not been founded had it been not for Inchara,the close friendship he had with her,but she also
dint even think twice before trying to isolate him in the company,yet his company would not have come to this position only
without the expertise he had got through IHP,6 times the money...his mind started playing games.The new condition meant he had to think twice.

He was in a dilemma,a slight drizzle had started and the city was wet,he made his decision.

"Mr Adiga .....