STRESS, SUCCESS AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN
The Highs and Lows of A Woman’s Journey in the Corporate World
CARE: This is Chapter 55 of my book Stress, Success and Everything In-Between. These are individual anecdotes but to understand the professional journey in totality, I would recommend reading the book right from Chapter 01 onwards.
In the Meerut office, a ploy used by Sharma ji, one of my team members, was to bring the proposals for approval when I was about to leave office and insist under the garb of urgency that I sign them immediately.
One evening, he rushed in with a fat file and a long note containing five legal-size pages covering a complex issue. He asked me to quickly put my initials on it so that he could carry it to the boss for sanction. When I refused to sign the note without reading it, he tried to prevail that the boss would be livid if I delayed it. I insisted that I would not put my initials unless I read it. Sharma ji made a dramatic tongue-in-cheek remark, “But Madam, you would not be able to understand a word of it."
“Why? Why would I not understand it?” I frowned.
"Because Madam...," he declared with the air of superiority, "...the Note is in Hindi. We in Meerut write pure and intricate language. And you, being a Convent-educated person, may not comprehend it."
Aha, Meerut! Pride in the language! Little did Sharma ji know that my formative years were spent not in an elitist Convent school but in the mundane classrooms of government-run Hindi medium schools.
"Let me at least try, Sharma ji," with a mischievous glint, I took the file from his hands.
“I will give it to you first thing in the morning,” I assured him, stuffing the file in my overflowing briefcase while rushing out of the office.
On my way back, a flashback ensued, transporting me back to 1962 in the eighth grade in Dehradun. My favourite Hindi teacher, Miss Nidhi Varma, had been transferred and replaced by the formidable Mrs Sharbati Devi.
On her first day in the school, Mrs Sharbati Devi entered our classroom, quickly scanned it from the front to the last row and boomed, "Who is Ranjana Sharma?" Startled and wondering why she was enquiring about me, I stood up.
"Come here," she ordered, gesturing towards the blackboard. "Write down all the words I dictate."
And dictate she did! कर्म, क्रम, कार्मिक, क्रमिक, क्रमशः, कृत्य, कृति, पराक्रम, प्रकृति, प्राकृतिक, प्रवृत्ति, प्रारब्ध...and I kept writing them all confidently until the black-board was full. Finally, she ran short of words, and a smile appeared on her serious face.
Fast forward to the present. Sharma ji received his Note the next day with a liberal sprinkling of cross marks in pencil adorning each page. My remark on the first page read, “कृपया वर्तनी शुद्ध करें।".
Days passed, but the file did not come back. Finally, I inquired about its whereabouts from Sharma ji, "What happened to that note you brought with so much urgency that evening?"
With embarrassment writ large on his face, he confessed his predicament. He had scoured the entire Zonal Office, seeking the meaning of this arcane word, वर्तनी. The whole of the Official Languages Department was also stumped and could not help him.
"But Sharma ji," I could not resist saying with a hint of mock surprise, "I thought you would know this word. If not, why did you not ask me instead of sitting over the file for so many days? वर्तनी, for your information, means spelling."
I wanted to say, "Do not ever try to take me for a ride!" But I refrained from doing so. Not everything needs to be stated explicitly.
He had tried to show unwarranted one-upmanship, but I had successfully showed him his place.
(To be continued...)
*****
12 comments:
Thats the way.....Mahi ve!....Lakshmy Iyer
In the real drama of life this incident too is an interesting chapter..... Indira Narasimhan
Well done Ranjana. Every chapter has a surprise lesson.....Shanta Vasan
No one can take Ranjana Bharij for a ride.
How stumped he may have been and how sheepish he may have felt.
Some of these people need to know, “you won’t understand “ to a woman is like showing the proverbial red flag to a bull.
wonderfully worded experience.....Varsha Uke Nagpal
You are a great ,engaging story teller, Ranjana Ma'm, having mastered this art. ' Vartni' was new addition to my knowledge also. The present story is a slap on the face of those who always practise One Upmanship and try to demean others for nothing. But you always come out victorious n unscathed. Shat Shat Naman. Also, no dearth of such blokes in any work situation.....Vijay Gupta
Rajeshwar Kaushik: I am at a loss for words for expressing my admiration for your adroit and, yet, diplomatic skill! आपने वर्तनी की तर्जनी शर्माजी को दिखा दी। बहुत दिनों तक तिलमिलाते, शर्माते रहे होंगे, शर्माजी।
मैडम, आपकी अंग्रेजी ही नहीं अपितु हिन्दी भाषा पर भी जबरदस्त पकड़ है । इसके अतिरिक्त आपकी प्रबंधकीय कुशलता और प्रशासनिक क्षमता भी लाजवाब है । सेवाकाल के अपने खट्टे मीठे और अविस्मरणीय संस्मरणों को कहानी के रूप में कलमबद्ध करने की आपकी लेखनशैली भी बेमिसाल है । आपकी पुस्तक "Stress, Success, and Everything in between" के सभी चैप्टर बहुत ही रुचिकर और प्रासंगिक हैं । अपने सभी सारगर्भित अनुभवों को इस पुस्तक के माध्यम से FB पर साझा करने के लिए ह्रदय से आभार । (Vijendra Kalura)
Ha ha ha . Stumped our poor Sharmaji did you ? Language chauvinism is rampant .
This has made me think however what people who are not conversant with English ( particularly the Conventia type who jabber away in English ) ,feel. There is a sense of alienation I think ,and it comes out in such ways . Willy nilly English is seen as the language of our erstwhile rulers , and not just another language . There is both admiration and resentment....Manju Iyengar
क्या मैं आपके हिन्दी-विषयक और वर्तनी के अर्थ ढूॅंढते इस अत्यन्त रोचक आलेख का उत्तर हिन्दी में देने की धृष्टता कर सकता हूं ?
हास्य और अद्भुत रसों का मिश्रण इसमें बहुत ही सुन्दर बन पड़ा है। यदि इस हास्य में थोड़ी सी गम्भीरता मिलाकर कुछ कहूॅं तो यह कि मेरठ उत्तर प्रदेश के पश्चिमी अंचल का भाग है और यहाॅं की हिन्दी पर हरियाणवी लोकभाषा का अच्छा खासा प्रभाव है। और यहाॅं के अर्धशिक्षित निवासी उसके घालमेल को ही स्तरीय मानते हैं। अब यदि शर्मा जी को यह आभास ही नहीं हुआ कि आप स्तरीय हिंदी और उसकी वर्तनी से परिचित ही नहीं, अपितु उसमें आपकी रुचि और गति दोनों ही परिष्कृत हैं तो वे हरियाणवी-हिन्दी-भाषी भौंचक्का रह जाऍं तो इसमें आश्चर्य कैसा ? वास्तव में वे बेचारे तो क्षमा के पात्र हैं। और आपने उन्हें बहुत अधिक शर्मिन्दा न करके अच्छा ही किया। (प्राणनाथ पंकज )
Every line creates curiosity to read second one...(Anurag Mittal)
The storyr is a well-crafted narrative that blends humor, cultural nuance, and professional dynamics.The author is a confident and capable woman who navigates the male-dominated workspace with grace and intelligence. Her handling of Sharma ji’s ploy is both strategic and dignified, showcasing her as a seasoned professional who does not need to prove her competence through overt confrontation.
The humor is understated and effective, particularly in the protagonist’s calm yet clever handling of Sharma ji’s arrogance. The twist with the word “वर्तनी” is a masterstroke, subtly asserting her authority while exposing Sharma ji’s lack of depth in the very language he claimed superiority over.
- -Gulshan Dhingra
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