It was rejoicing moment for Mr. Madhukar
who got promoted from Area Sales Manager to Country head of a reputed IT firm.
His excitement had no limits. Tears of joy rolled out of his eyes and he
thought of sharing this news with his dearest friend, life partner and his
inspiration – his wife Ms. Parvati.
On hearing the sweet voice from
other end of the phone call, Madhukar voice choked. He cleared his throat and
shared the reason for making the call to his wife. Parvati congratulated but
Madhukar felt the dryness in her congratulation. He felt the cold sweat on his
brow. He had nothing more to say so had disconnected the call. I rang him and
reminded him about the meeting at coffee shop at 7 pm, which he confirmed and
said that there is a good news which he is going to share when we meet.
Over three months Madhukar was in
my regular contact. He felt that though he is performing extremely well in his
professional career, still he feels there is something that is missing in his
life. He is getting deprived of his true happiness. He always gets irritated
while in company of his friends. He enjoys his loneliness and has started to
avoid even interaction with other family friends or relatives.
To know more about the change in
Madhukar’s behavior, I fixed up my appointment with his wife after taking his
consent. Before giving any further suggestion, I thought to know the root cause
of the problem. I met Parvati who looked absolutely dejected. There was no sign
of charm. On inquiring, she shared with me the schedule which was followed by Madhukar.
Due to the pressure of work and
demand of his position, Madhukar often had restless nights. He often had to
work till late night, foregoing the mental peace and had never cared of his
health. Being his better-half, Parvati has taken ample care of her husband and
also was struggling to keep the cord tight and in harmony with other family
friends and relatives. She had to attend the family functions, different
ceremonies either with her two kids or sometimes alone, when her children were
bit occupied due to their exams or activities of their school.
With huge tear drops in her eyes,
I could sense the hidden pain that was whirling in her heart. She recalled and
said that Madhukar has turned such a work-alcoholic that he stopped sharing
anything with her. There was a huge silence which disturbed my mind. I knew
that if Madhukar fails to understand his wife’s problem, very soon, he will be
left alone. He may lose his best friend and his life partner for ever.
It was time for me to talk to
Madhukar. We planned to meet in a coffee shop at 7 pm. Like other times, he got
stuck with his work so badly that my meeting time had to shift from 7 pm to 9
pm. With three cups of coffee, in the past two hours, I made up my mind to
listen to Madhukar and explore for the right way out for his problem.
My mind questioned my heart, “Is
it so necessary for anyone to work so hard?” and “What is the significance of
all this turmoil in our life?”
Well, I believed we all live our
life with certain aspirations and work hard dexterously to fulfill our dreams
and desires. When someone supports us, we feel, he or she will stand beside me
for every time and will render his or her support which can aid in facing
challenges with more vigor and power. What we tend to forget is, we think only
about self. We have failed to focus on other dimensions and even have neglected
others whom we actually consider as a part of our journey, but in fact they are
not.
Deeply engrossed in my thoughts,
still my eyes were focused at the door of the coffee shop, waiting for
Madhukar. At 9.10 pm, I saw him entering the shop. Though he looked tired, I
greeted him loudly and acknowledged him for his seamless work spirit. My
sentence hit the right cord. He coldly shared about his position but also added
on that the happiness that he felt when he received his first promotion was
more valuable than being the country head.
Time management is really very
important and critical. Madhukar had always put on priority his professional
life. He hardly cared for his personal life. May be, he was running short of
time but there are many people on this beautiful planet who are titled as
successful but at the same time, have given significance to their social and
family relationship. He ultimately realized the fact.
Nothing is too late. I cheered
him and said, let us plan for a party on forth coming Sunday. I told him to
call every fellow friend, new or old and his relative personally. Share the
happy moment and for future plan for a weekend tour - at least every month, so
that he can spend gala time with his family. I suggested him to start with
family and then to include if possible some friends.
Time passed. Days flied and even
months went on.
Madhukar remained busy. After Six
months, one Friday night, I received his call. Well, I knew his voice but I
could sense the difference in it. Madhukar asked about my schedule for Sunday.
I was keen to meet him. I wanted to know, if Madhukar was able to sort his
problem and could come out of his depression.
Sunday I met him at his place. I
was welcomed with the cheerful smile of Parvati. Her face was glowing with
charm. She looked full of life. There was a surprise for me. I met Madhukar,
who looked so different now. So happy and said, “You know, I learnt to manage my
time.”
I thanked Madhukar for teaching me a wonderful lesson. Because of him, I
realized that inner capability are so strong that they can settle the tussle if any faced in life with corrective measures and actions. Also responsibilities are taken to show your capability but no
responsibility should hide your qualities or become so burdensome that
restricts you from exhibiting your potentiality.
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