M&D

One of my first real friends at the workplace turned out to be Miti.She's tall and willowy with the perfect heart shaped face and slanting eyes.She's quite and distant in the start so you think she's a safe bet but her ability to bug you comes out much later. A stickler for being worried, if you ever saw one. Where do I get these people from? Maybe it's because of my inability to worry about myself therefore I surround myself with everyone who can tell me when I need to. I am at work at the moment and she intends to see that I finish this testimonial about her. Forcing me to write has never been a good thing so if this turns out bad,it's all her fault. It has nothing to do with my lack of skill. She and I got close because of a bomb blast really. Yes, I actually have a dramatic story to tell which is ridden with tragedy and death. Bah! I travel back with her usually and she lives at Grant Road. So when we heard about the blasts, her father warned her to not come home. So she landed up at mine.

Crying.

I still have no idea why and all she does is laugh when I ask her.

She does that a lot too. But we'll get to that later.

She is twenty three but I've always had the impression that she was a kid. A kid who doesnt know what to do when there's a disaster. A pretty kid, I must add. One that I'm thankfully not envious of because she doesnt flaunt it. She has this weird urge to put some 'Gujjuness' in me. She tries to make me eat paan and coerces me into having supari. She hasnt succeeded yet. Not that she will.

There's this other thing that I eluded to before so I will mention it now.

She laughs.

When she's mad.

I dont get it.

We dont get a bus or she misses a train,I yell in frustration but she..

Laughs.

She has this weird obsession with cats, my least favorite animal and she's trying to convert me too.

I have a feeling she likes it when I'm irritated so she tweaks my chair up and down when I'm sitting on it and working.

The next thing she's obsessed about.

Her weight.

She knows about the number of calories every food item has and she has the most precise moments to let me know.

Right before I'm eating it.

I swear I've lost two kilos just being guilty.

* * *

Darshana is the second person I'd like to talk about. She's like a breath of fresh air in this office. Five minutes of talking to her gets you high on something and you're all ready to go back to work. She's the strongest woman I've met even though she wont admit it herself. She thinks she's emotional but to me, that's what makes her strong. Her ability to empathise with you. She has been strong for me when I got into trouble the first week and I've learnt the ropes, thanks to her. Funnily enough,I can see a little of myself in her.

She's not the perfect lady like women who gives in to societal sensibilities. She has her own opinions and she somehow knows what its like at my age. Her quirks include listening to these teenaged loved induced Hindi love songs-something I would listen to when I'm 15 and believed in Prince Charming. She's named her pet cat Zeus!! The same name I wanted to keep when I got a pet dog. She gives her honest opinion about human nature and has no qualms about admitting when people will be selfish. I like the fact that she knows people will be selfish most of the time. She has her own ethics that I wish everyone did. They would be so much easier to get along with. She can be my mother sometimes, advising me in exactly the way I think parents should advice their kids without being condescending.And she can be my friend too, someone I can laugh and be bitchy with. Simply put, I love her.

: D

* * *

Mitchelle, who is the Head HR of the company, met me at my second interview-the interview that I was petrified of because it was supposed to test my current affairs knowledge. Thankfully, the Big Boss was busy and my 200 country capitals didnt need to be tested. So I met her instead. There are some people you instantly like and she was one of them. However, for my mother and me to like the same person was unthinkable. But she did. I realised, in time, I liked her because she reminded me of my own mother in many ways. She was Goan , just like my mother. She was easy to talk to, always laughed and smiled,loved food and was somehow easier to relate to. She likes to live life king size, and splurges on herself and others generously.

However, with most happy people, like Darshana and Mitchelle, there's always a sense of sadness and loneliness hiding behind their strong personalities. These fiercely independent people shut down when hurt and they prefer solving problems themselves. In the end, they're taken for granted and not appreciated as much as they should be. Mitchelle is confused about what she wants but very clear about what she doesnt want..which makes her far easier to understand, to me..She may be in her 30's but she's still fun to talk to and she's mantained her child like behaviour...