Dear Friends,
I was going through some of my writings today. One story that I had written and is a part of a collection of short stories that I published a couple of years back (by the title bitter-sweets), caught my attention. I am putting it here for all of you. It has a message. Hope you like it..
THE COMMISSION
Shastri Post Graduate Institute (SPGI) was a land-mark and the pride of the city. It was part of the Central Government’s plan to provide affordable and world-class healthcare to general public. Being chosen for the establishment of the Institute was a big achievement for the city. The site was well chosen. It was on National Highway number one, which connected the city to the national capital. The project had been started with much fanfare. The foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister. Everybody who was anybody in the state was present on the occasion. A big show, which boasted of the biggest names in the tinsel town, was held to mark the founding of the institute. The show was sponsored by ‘Globe International’, a company which was based in the city itself. Globe International had climbed the corporate ladder very quickly to emerge as one of the most prominent companies on the Indian corporate scene. A huge sum was also given as donation by the company in order to develop parks and public amenities in the land that surrounded the institute. Of course, criticism of the show and the donation was there in the papers and electronic media. That was because the company was notorious when it came to business ethics and practices. In fact, it was widely known that it was the single biggest tax defaulter in the country. There were also rumors that in return for the donation and the show, some very important and lucrative contracts had been awarded to the company which pertained to some of the most medically-sensitive works in the institute. But soon after the commencement of construction, public attention had been diverted by more important issues like the oncoming cricket series between India and Pakistan.
It was the institute’s fifth anniversary. The Director of the PGI was furious. “Another electrical breakdown! And that too in the ICU and two of the Operation Theatres!! What is happening in this place? Don’t we have a generator backup or a UPS to cater for such eventualities!” he shouted at the assistant electrical engineer.
“Sir we have”, the engineer answered in a meek tone.
“Then why is this problem repeating itself again and again. Do you have any idea how serious the consequences of such a breakdown can be? A patient could die. Or much worse.. some VVIP patient could die! You understand what that will that do to our reputation and credibility!?”
“Yes sir, I fully understand. And believe me, I am doing my best. Actually the problem is in the heavy-duty UPS system. It was supplied by a contractor of Globe International when the PGI was constructed. Its codal life was ten years but already its fuses are blowing at the slightest of voltage fluctuation and its circuitry is also giving problems. These problems are not my fault sir. The system was installed five years ago and I have joined the PGI only a year back”
“Well if that is the case then get the bloody UPS changed. Write a letter and mark it to me. I will chase it with the authorities in Delhi. Uninterrupted electricity supply is our lifeline and nothing can force us to compromise on that”
“Very good sir” said the engineer and turned to leave.
“And Mr. Anupam”
“Yes sir”, the engineer turned.
“This time let us be sure of the quality”
“Of course sir” he said and walked out of the room. Anupam’s junior electrical engineer, who had been standing there and listening quietly, came out with him. It was only after they had left the room that he spoke.
“Sir, you know that we don’t need to change the entire UPS system. I mean, I agree that it is not of a good quality, but the problems can be tackled at our level. A new system would be prohibitively costly”
“Don’t talk like an idiot!” Anupam retorted. “If we keep on doing repairs to this system, then both of us can forget the cars that we are planning to buy. A new purchase would mean a big killing. How can you be so shortsighted in these matters?”
The junior engineer smiled. Anupam was right. The monthly bill of the repairs was only rupees ten thousand on an average. That meant a cut of not more than rupees one thousand five hundred for both of them. This was peanuts. A new system would be worth at least a crore of rupees. Anupam would be the nodal officer who would shortlist the suppliers and negotiate on the price. Three percent of the total purchase value was the going rate of commission that Anupam charged from his suppliers. But that was for small purchases in which the profit margin was small. For a purchase of one crore rupees, the commission could go up to five percent. And that too, after the cut of the higher officers was taken out. The Director, Bansal, was an idiot. He was an honest man. And, to top it all, he was a doctor, not an engineer. He had no idea of the money involved. And even if he had, he would not take a cut. Add his cut to their share and the percentage could go up to six percent. That meant a cool rupees two lakhs for him and four for Anupam. The junior engineer’s smile became brighter as he pictured, in his mind, his new car rolling out of the showroom.
Anupam was a clever man. He drafted a beautiful letter, highlighting all the flaws in the UPS due to which it had become irreparable. The Director was extremely impressed.
“Good work”, he complimented. “I am sure that they cannot shoot down this letter, keeping the sensitivity of the item in question. I will send it to the head-quarter straight away. In the mean while, you can start your technical work”
Anupam was ecstatic. It’s not often that you kill two birds with one stone in the course of your regular work. Not only was he firmly on the course of getting his commission in the purchase, he had also managed to please his boss with his letter. And then, the short-listing was only a formality. He knew very well from where the UPS was going to come. He had already talked to his senior in the head-quarter about it. Sure the system was going to be lousy, but the cut was a whopping fifteen percent. Half of the cut, he would send to his senior, the rest of it would be distributed between him and the junior engineer. The J.E. was a sucker. He could give two percent to him and he would be happy. Now, that left him with five and a half percent. “Five and a half lakh rupees in one deal!” he thought. Entering his office, he sprawled himself on the sofa, took out a packet of cigarettes, lit one and started blowing smoke rings towards the ceiling.
As expected, the head-quarter had no option but to acquiesce. Anupam was sitting with the proprietor of the firm that was supplying the UPS system.
“Well Mr. Meena, we will take your UPS. But you are not giving us our due” said Anupam
“Sir, no body in the market is giving more than twelve percent. I am giving you fifteen percent. That means that I am already cutting into my profits. Beyond this, it will hit my bottom-line” protested Mr. Meena.
“Well, in that case, I think that I will talk to Sigma Heavy Electricals’ guys. I am sure that they will not be so stingy about our dues.”
Meena was quiet.
“What do you say Mr. Meena? Do I stay, or do I go?”
“Sir..If you are adamant….I guess that I can go up to sixteen percent, but that will have to be final.”
“OK, sixteen it is. But for the purpose of head-quarter, it is only fifteen percent. After all, the annual maintenance contract is also up for grabs and I am sure that you will not want to lose out on that”
“Sure” said Meena. Anupam shook hands with him and walked out of the office.
“What a bastard!” thought Meena. Corruption in regular work, he had seen often. But it was rare to come across a man who was wishing to do corruption within corruption.
“Sixteen percent!! Are you mad!!” shouted Meena’s partner. “You know that the economics doesn’t work out!”
“Oh don’t worry, it will work out”, replied Meena
“But how? Are we going to supply them trash?”
“Yes. Not exactly trash, but it will be trash within two years”
“And what happens if it breaks down before that?”
“Doesn’t matter. The purchase will be duly vetted and the quality certified by a committee of experts from the head-quarter. They will, of course, certify the flawless quality of our product. After that the annual maintenance contract will be ours. Any breakdown, and we attend. Replace the part, charge the money, give that bastard Anupam his cut. He is happy, we are happy and work will go on as usual.”
“Meena, you are brilliant!” exclaimed his partner.
Anupam was sitting in his office blowing smoke rings as usual. Being richer by six and a half lakh rupees had had its effect. The brand of cigarettes had changed. Now it was the most expensive brand in the market. The car was the same though. He had decided to let the money lie for one year before he went for a new car. What was even better was that after two months of its installation, the UPS was working just fine. That translated into less work for Anupam. Life just couldn’t get any better. Suddenly the phone rang.
“Drat!” thought Anupam, “what the hell is wrong now” reluctantly he picked up the receiver.
“Hello. Anupam Singh speaking”
“Anupam, beta, this is mummy” It was his mother. She sounded hysterical.
“Mummy, why are you speaking like that? Is everything alright”
“Beta…..Aarti…” Aarti was Anupam’s wife
“Aarti…She has met an accident….a car hit her on the highway….some of our staff were passing by….they brought her home……she is unconscious…….Her head is all swollen up……..I have phoned for the ambulance…………Dr. Srivastava was there……….he is coming with the ambulance……….come home immediately” Anupam’s mother’s narration was interrupted by uncontrolled sobbing.
Anupam banged down the phone and rushed out.
Aarti’s injuries were serious. She had gone out to buy some milk. The milk booth was across the highway. As she was crossing the road she was hit by a speeding car. She fell down and hit her head on a boulder lying by the road side. The CAT scan revealed serious brain injury. An immediate operation was needed to stop the bleeding in the brain. Anupam was sitting ashen faced outside the operation theatre.
“Don’t worry sir.” Said his junior engineer. “Let us not forget that this is SPGI and Dr. Klere is one of India’s foremost neurosurgeons. And then you are more than merely a PGI officer for him. After all that you have done to help him out with the electricity problems of his house, I am sure that he will do his best. You will see that bhabhiji will be OK”
The words were reassuring. And they were true. Dr.Klere was indeed an exceptional surgeon. Aarti was in safe hands. And it was only a case of bleeding in the brain due to an accident. Otherwise Aarti was a fit girl. Dr. Klere had tackled far more serious cases. But still Anupam was far from reassured. Aarti was his love, his life, his everything. He knew that he could not live without her. Once again he glanced at the red light above the door of the operation theatre. The light was extinguished. “Good the operation is over” he thought. “But in that case the green light should be on”. Even as he was wondering why the green light wasn’t being put on, the Dr. Srivastava rushed out of the operation theatre. “Anupam!” he shouted. “Where is Anupam!!”
“Wha…..what happened…” said Anupam standing up with a start.
“Anupam the light. I mean the…electric supply! It gone! Do something! The operation is in its most critical phase! We have not more than three minutes. What happened to the backup! Anupam…..”
Anupam was not listening. He was running. Running with all his might towards the room which housed the new UPS.
Dr. Klere was standing and gazing at the dark operation theatre in a condition of shock, with his electric cauterizing tweezers in his hand. Blood was spurting out of the punctured temporal-lobe artery in steady spurts.
Anupam entered the UPS room to find it filled with an acrid smell of burnt plastic insulation. Helplessly he looked at the UPS. If it was a blown fuse, he could have swapped it with the fuse of the segment of the UPS that supplied the general ward. But it was not a blown fuse. It was a short circuit. Three minutes was nothing. He and his full team would take not less than half an hour to fix the problem.
Dr. Klere Pressed the backlight button of his watch and saw the time. Five minutes had passed since the lights went out. Slowly he lowered his electric tweezers and put them on the stand.
Anupam sat down on the floor of the UPS-room clutching his hair.
Dr. Klere pulled the white sheet over Aarti’s face.
