how far should we bend?

so i went to the client's office. and was shown into the MD's office. now she is the boss, or pretends to be. i had to write 4 invites because all of a sudden one saturday the head boss decides that they'll launch their product on coming thursday. so i had to write invites for press, senior management, vijay team and all employees. they brief me on 3 invites. i ask her to brief me on the fourth one too so that i can go to office. but she insists that i do all the writing in her office.
so i write the first invite and she's ok with it. then she goes in a meeting and comes back brainwashed. she looks at the first invite and yelps, revolution is too strong a word.
by now 4-5 of her pappus have also flooded the room.
me: but i thought you were ok with it.
MD: no-no. tch
pappu 1: how about endeavour?
MD: hmm
pappu 2: initiative sounds good?
MD: initiative doesn't gel well with the internal sensitivities
me: urgh
pappu 3: jouney is a nice word
MD seems to like the suggestion.
pappu 2 realises he is losing ground, so he juts in
pappu 2: waise we can make the invite flow in a different manner. you know, it could start with 'Mr. analjit singh invites you..'
pappu 3 gets back: you never address anyone with a 'mr' or 'ms' in an invite
MD: drop 'mr'
pappu 2: but i have seen it frequently in invites
MD: add 'mr'
by now my brain has gone into the power saving mode and has switched off. i look at the laptop screen. and it looks back. blankly. gingerly i slide it to Asif. let him make the changes in the copy, that is, if he can grasp the proceedings.
suddenly they all are looking at me. my brain switches on. ok, they are ready to brief me on the 4th invite. i understand the brief, and pull back the laptop. anisha and pappu 3 are peeping in the screen. they are judging me by each word that i am typing. i delelte what i just wrote. write again. delete it again.
MD: is it uncomfortable for you to work in this room?
i grab the opportunity and blurt.
me: i would rather go to office and work.
MD: ok
and yes, in-between she also argued with me on a preposition.

to ignore or not

ignoring is one way of not letting the world around affect you. the way Text Twist does. you would know if you have played that game on yahoo. very conveniently it does not accept words like slut, shit and many more. it's like saying that these do not exist in our world. had it been a game designed in india it would have even rejected the word 'sex'.
but why just text twist, many other institutions also have the same attitude. our biology teacher in school very conveniently skipped the chapter on reproduction. i can understand his discomfort, it was a girls only school and he was one of the 3 male teachers. but then it left a bunch of 60 girls confused. for a very long time.
but you cannot ignore the servicing in my office. they are so loud and vocal, despite the fact that they dont do their job. today i made their life hell (rather than allowing them to do the same to my life). just for a tiny moment. suddenly i realise it gave me tremendous joy to see them troubled. if my mother reads this she will call me a failed project .

PS: machupichu, i hope it's legible, now that i have changed the font.

hair apparent (or not so?)

i walked into the store. i should mislead him. so i ask him for clips. well, clips are no longer called clips, he told me. they are now called back clips, side clips and jura clips. by the process of elimination, i ask for side clips. he gestures me towards another counter. as i reach it my eyes are dazzled by the clips on display. multi-coloured stones cover every inch of the clips. bling-bling. instantly i blurt out, no-no i want simple clips. Ohh, hair pins!! that's what you are looking for?

last i knew, they were called clips. he handed me a set of 12 clips. what if i wanted just 2, they are sold by the dozen. clipped to a thick glossy paper which read JP STAY TIGHT. how uncomfortable for JP.

now that the act was over, i should ask for it. very causually i ask, tweezer hoga?

he nods and turns around to get it. it worked. he didnt even once glance at the thick sprouting strand standing proudly on my chin. growing taller everyday. well, not anymore.

take-off seat

2 and a half feet by 3 feet. that's all the space you have. but somehow it doesn't feel that small. it seemed far from the noisy hall i crossed. the only sound here is the humming of the AC duct above. that too if you hear it. lost in thoughts, i can sit on that toilet seat for hours. the boundaries and the wooden door in front melted away. i dont know where i was. my thoughts took me back to last night. this morning. last week. last hour. i travelled everywhere. suddenly my journey was halted by the noise in the lobby. i had been in that loo for probably too long. a crowd was waiting. not very patiently. i could hear their small talk. with all of them waiting, it will be too embarassing to step out. i can hear the flush. the door of the adjacent loo opens. ok. some respite for them. and me. i can stay a minute longer. lesser people in the lobby = lesser embarassment.