Pragati was a boisterous girl. Though she came from a tier 3 city, she had adapted quite well to the demanding urban lifestyle. Her mannerisms however, still carried the naiveté of her upbringing. The unforgiving city would sometimes take advantage and pounce on her but she proved stronger and would push back vehemently to maintain her dignity.
Her goal was fairly simple. Elevate her family’s lifestyle and get them out of the debt trap and poverty. She wasn’t sure if they were thrusted deep into poverty or if poverty was thrust upon them. Either way, she had to break out of the bureaucratic shackles and she wanted her parents to experience the luxuries of life. At least the basic if not the grandeur.
She was spotted in the campus interview of her small-town college as a bright candidate. She was one of the few who could speak fluently in English, although with a little local twang.
Monday could make or break her dreams and get her family the visualised Golden era. Despite her immediate superior’s apprehensions, the Cluster-Head had recommended her to make the presentation that could get their firm the next big client. Although she was confident, she worried about the reactions from her own set of colleagues more than that of the client’s questions.
She went through the presentation one last time and realised it was past midnight. Although she needed some rest to be sharp and focused on the most important day of her life, Pragati stayed awake the whole night going over the finer details of her presentation. After all, she could not disappoint her Cluster-Head who had shown such faith in her. Also, her own dreams beckoned.
She was slotted as the second speaker right after the opening overview by the Cluster-Head.
As they all gathered in the conference room on Monday morning, Pragati was impeccably dressed and she looked fully confident to turn the events in one swift move.
The Cluster-Head welcomed the clients and made his impressive pitch with the firm’s overview and fantastic track record. During his presentation using one of the client’s questions as an opportunity, Pragati’s boss jumped in and steered the discussion in such a way that it was decided that he present the financials of their proposal after that discussion. Which meant, Pragati’s presentation would be pushed back. She was upset. After all, the financials were neatly packaged in her presentation in such a way that there would be minimal questions. She did not like being manipulated this way. She had to fight back.
The number crunching was so intense, none other than Pragati realized, they had reached lunch time. She attempted meekly to remind everyone that they all needed a break. With a hearty laugh, they broke for lunch.
Her boss sprung another surprise and opened a bottle of rare wine for the clients in an attempt to floor them with his knowledge of wines. Despite it being against the corporate code for both the parties to have wine during lunches, they agreed to make an exception since it was indeed a rare wine that had already been opened. And one cannot waste precious rare wine.
Pragati was fuming. She knew her boss was sabotaging her chance to success.
What could she do? With such a heady discussion in the first session followed by the aged wine, she knew it would be an uphill task to keep her audience awake. Especially during a presentation with the lights down.
She had to think fast. She skipped lunch and quickly ran inside the conference room to make some last minute changes in her set of slides. After all some of it was already discussed in the first half.
After about 40 minutes, the quorum re-gathered for the important decision making discussion.
Pragati was ready with a wicked smile. She knew she had an ace up her sleeve.
Her boss gave her a quizzical look. She smirked and continued to welcome her guests with the warmth of her smile.
While she was about to hit the F5 (presentation mode in Microsoft Powerpoint) button, she heard her client say, “The wine really has made us so dizzy – I hope you’re not trying to intoxicate us into submission with the contract”.
While the members from the client group laughed and thought this was a smart snide remark, the hosts were a little worried at the turn of events. The Cluster-Head threw a dirty look at Pragati’s boss.
He now looked wearily at Pragati. The Cluster-Head contemplated taking over from Pragati. Before he could even move in his chair, Pragati played the National Anthem on the speakers, fairly loud. They all sprung up to their feet and stood in rapt attention. They were knocked back to their senses within the next 52 seconds.
She then began her presentation and to everyone’s surprise, she spoke in chaste Hindi and finally ended her presentation with the image that read “Vocal for Local”.
She concluded, “Hamare pratiyogi bahut honge, par ye jazbaa aur hunar ka killer combination aapko aur kahin nahin milega. Aur apne desh ko aatma-nirbhar karne mein ye aapka mahatva-poorna yogdaan ho sakta hai. Dhanyawad.”
The clients were already impressed with the initial pitch and the financial workings. They were now floored at the earnestness of Pragati’s presentation. They loved her passion and her approach. Pragati’s firm was awarded the contract.
After their departure, the jubilant Cluster-Head made an impromptu announcement of Pragati’s promotion and a celebration that very evening. Pragati did not notice the tears roll down her cheeks.
As they reached the venue for celebration in their fancy bus, while alighting, the Cluster-Head stopped by Pragati’s seat. She had dozed off and was fast asleep after a long night and an unpredictable day. She had a smile on her face though.
He gently woke her and softly said, “Pragati, you’ve arrived finally. You have lots more to do. But you need to stay alert and stay AWAKE”.
Sriks (Who else?) 