Cold Love (2 page)
Authors: Amieya Prabhaker
In a secluded government
building in Geneva, Arjun is seated in a dimly lit room looking intently at a
computer screen. The beautiful Jet d'Eau fountain is visible at a distance on
Lake Geneva through a small window of the room. His attention, however, is focused
solely on the computer screen. A satellite image with a rotating refresh sign
hovers over the page.
“
C’mon!
C’mon!” He taps his fingers impatiently on the table. The screen changes to
show a new message – ‘Entering Geostationary Satellite system WAN.’
His eyes gleam with
excitement, as he moves to the edge of his chair, leaning towards the screen.
However, at that moment a pop up appears – ‘Session not authenticated. Logging
out!’ He types vehemently on the laptop, but in vain, as the page closes down.
He chucks the pen next to the laptop across the desk, and rocks back on the
chair with his hands behind his head, still staring stolidly at the screen.
There’s a gentle knock on the door.
“Come in”. He hastily shuts
his laptop off as a well-dressed Caucasian male in official uniform enters.
“Hello Arjun. This has just
come in.” The officer drops a file onto Arjun’s desk.
Arjun picks it up immediately
and starts reading. A minute later he pauses to look at the officer, standing
at his shoulder. “Thanks Martin. So the transaction has taken place?”
“Yes Arjun. The deal is on.
We don’t know what the money is for, but it has certainly exchanged hands.”
Martin pauses and walks to the window to gaze at the view. He turns around to
look at Arjun who has started reading the file again, “This file contains all
the details you need. All the people you need to know about.” He pauses for a
moment to gauge Arjun’s reaction but finds none. “It’s time for you to pack
your bags Arjun! … Mumbai is calling, my friend!”
Arjun nods gently, this time
with an air of gravity on his face. It’s time to return home. India, here I
come!
Two lavish houses, set in
extensive and elegantly landscaped gardens in Navi Mumbai, are enclosed by high
boundary walls, with security cameras and surveillance points at regular
intervals. The gated entrance is guarded by security personnel. Though
flamboyant, high security is not uncommon amongst the rich families in Mumbai.
The two houses are occupied
by the Sinhas and Saxenas—the families of Arjun and Riya respectively. Both
these families have been associated for almost three generations now. Amit
Sinha and Varun Saxena migrated to Mumbai from Chikhodra, a small village near
Anand, Gujrat. Amit and Varun, who were childhood friends, worked hard to
extend their business, offering a range of dairy products sourced from their
village, to a larger market in Mumbai. This took them some time, since they were
determined to provide high-quality ethically sourced products, and they
invested in advanced machinery to keep the products fresh. The company
flourished and they fostered excellent commercial links, selling to several
reputable retailers, restaurants and wholesalers. The two friends built their
houses next to each other within the same compound in Navi Mumbai.
Both the houses were based on
a similar plan with an entrance lobby, a large living and dining room, a family
reception, kitchen, washrooms, a library, sports and gym on the ground floor.
The second floor consisted of a family room, a master ensuite bedroom, two
children’s and one guest room. The two bedrooms had a separate balcony each,
leading on to the common garden between the two houses.
In the large living room,
Arjun’s mother Kamla is shouting instructions to servants. Her best friend and neighbour,
Shanti is by her side. Shanti’s daughter, Riya, is returning after completing
her studies from Nanyang University, Singapore. Coincidentally, Arjun is also
flying back from Cern University, Switzerland, on the same day. Both the houses
are buzzing with activity, as the families get ready to welcome their kids back
home.
“What are you doing, Ramu
kaka? Please hurry up!” Kamla shouts at one of the servants, “Arjun’s flight
must be about to land soon.”
“Arjun is returning after
such a long time,” exclaimed Shanti. “It feels as if this house will be back to
life again!”
“Yes Shanti. You know after
Arjun’s studies from California when his dad agreed to send Arjun to
Switzerland for further research, he said to me, “Kamla, how far is Geneva
anyway? A five-hour flight and you will be in Switzerland. You can visit Arjun
anytime.” Kamla sighs heavily, and pauses, recalling the day that Arjun left
the house for his higher studies abroad.
“Huh!” Kamla continues, “But
how many times did I visit my son? Just once! Despite everything, getting out
of the country is such a hassle. Your Riya also studied in Singapore but how
many times could you visit her? It’s good that at least she visited India more
frequently during her vacations.”
“It’s such a beautiful
coincidence, isn’t it, that both Arjun and Riya are going to join the same MBA
school in Mumbai?”
Kamla nodded, brimming over
with motherly affection.
Arjun’s dad, Amit, laid great
emphasis on education and he spotted Arjun’s exceptional capabilities early in
his childhood. After excelling in his school exams in Mumbai, Arjun took SAT
exams for higher studies in the University of California, Los Angeles for his
degree in software engineering. Subsequently he joined CERN, Geneva for his
research. Arjun always had an ingrained interest in nuclear physics and joined
the world’s leading institute in Switzerland.
Riya and Arjun studied
together in the same school in Mumbai. Thereafter, Riya joined Nanyang
University in Singapore for her Masters in Social Entrepreneurship. Her parents
were extremely supportive of all her decisions; this support enabled her to
participate at will in all the activities that interested her.
“Riya and Arjun had such a
wonderful friendship as kids, isn’t that so? They couldn’t stay away from each
other for a single moment … and yet they were always fighting and creating
mischief all the time.” Shanti continued.
“
Time flies by so fast, right?
Our kids have grown up!”
The two ladies continue their
discussions as an army of servants busily cleans up the house. Puja, Kamla’s
daughter, dressed elegantly in a pair of jeans and a top, enters the room. Puja
and Riya have been best friends since childhood. They have only been apart for
the last three years, when Riya left to study in Singapore. Riya’s elder
sister, Priya, was married and lived with her family at the other end of
Mumbai.
“
What’s
this mama, you haven’t got ready yet?” Puja asks anxiously, “Bhaiyya’s flight
will land soon and Riya’s flight is just half an hour after that. We should
leave quickly.”
“C
ome on Shanti,” Kamla gets
off the sofa, “We had better get moving.” Both women hurriedly get up and join
the other family members outside as they all rush to the airport, ready to
welcome their ‘heirs’ back home. They reach the airport in about an hour. While
they are waiting for the flight, Puja’s phone starts ringing—she picks it up, a
surprised look on her face.
“
Arjun?
Where are you calling from?” Everyone is alarmed as Puja continues to talk on
the phone.
“
What? …
Then which flight will you be on?”
“
Is
everything OK, beta?” Mr. Sinha enquired with a concerned look, “Give me the
phone Puja.”
“
One
minute, Papa… (Pauses) Yes. OK.” Eventually she puts down the phone, with an
extremely anguished and disappointed look on her face. “Papa, Arjun is not on
board this flight. He said he’ll come either tomorrow or the day after
tomorrow, depending on how quickly he can finish his work.”
“
What!”
Mr. Sinha exclaimed, with rumblings from the rest.
“Is Arjun all right beta?”
Kamla enquires, obviously extremely concerned at the sudden change of plans.
“
Yes
mama. He said he had some last minute work and couldn’t call earlier due to the
time difference.”
Everyone begins to discuss
this latest development, obviously disappointed at the last minute change in
Arjun’s plans.
“Oh mama, Arjun will miss his
first day of induction at the school tomorrow!” Puja sighs deeply in
disappointment.
The family members continue
their mumblings and discussions as flight announcements continue in the
background.
“Oh! That’s the announcement
for Riya’s flight. Look at my friend, mama; even her flight is before schedule.
And my stupid brother!” Puja shakes her head in disappointment.
“Thank God at least Riya is
on time!” Kamla exclaims, as Shanti smiles and the two friends hug each other
in anticipation. Puja’s eyes gleam with a sudden excitement as she spots Riya
coming out of the arrivals. She waves vigorously.
“Aunty look…. Riya!”
Riya waves back, as her gait
changes from that of a casual walk to one of an exuberant run, as fast as she
can manage whilst pushing her heavy luggage trolley. A loud scream of joy
startles the bystanders, as the two girls hug each other. An emotional ‘meet
and greet’ follows with the rest of the family members. Riya touches the feet
of her parents and that of Mr. and Mrs. Sinha. A conundrum of sounds and
noises, discussions and gossip, shrieks of joy and laughter fill the atmosphere
around for the next few minutes as they all walk out of the airport together.
Out in the open, Riya takes a
moment to gaze at the skies and ‘smell’ the atmosphere. This is home! After
staying abroad for three years, Riya has completed her studies. She undertook
several specialized courses in social philanthropy and entrepreneurship, and
had completed numerous assignments with corporate and local organizations in
numerous countries.
Now the time has dawned for
her to translate her studies into action. This is her new
karmabhoomi
,
her motherland, the land of her future deeds and actions.
It’s truly now time for
action!
The next day, a large
auditorium at the Indian School of Management in Mumbai hosts the fresh
graduates joining the induction session for the new year. Arjun has joined the
Executive MBA, while Riya, like most others, has enrolled in the full-time
programme. A networking session over tea and coffee has just got over. The Dean
of Student Affairs walks onto the stage and takes the microphone.
“A warm welcome to the class
of 2015-16 and their respective guests.” The Dean pauses to look at the balcony
above, where the guests of the students are enjoying a nice view. “I am
Professor Sahay and I am extremely glad to welcome a new batch of students in
front of us; a batch which is diverse, not only including students from India
but from all over the world. I sincerely hope that we will have a fantastic
year ahead together. I’ll throw the floor open to the students to introduce
themselves. So please share the podium with me and tell me about yourself and
also take any questions from your classmates. To be specific, I want to know
about your background, what you believe in and what you want to learn from us.
So without much ado, ladies and gentlemen, a big round of applause for the
students of the class of 2015!”
Students walk to the stage to
introduce themselves as their names are called. Riya is seated mid-way in the
hall and is eagerly looking around from her seat. She spots Puja up on the
balcony, coincidentally also looking down at her. The other family members are
also seated above in the balcony. As her name is called in next, Riya gets up
and walks gracefully on to the stage. She is wearing a lovely black suit and
holds the microphone as she looks across the large auditorium.
“Hello everyone. I am Riya
Saxena. Before applying for this course, I completed my Masters from Nanyang
University, in the field of social entrepreneurship. I want to do an MBA so
that I can learn the ethics and culture of management and corporate business. I
want to start a unique consultancy after school, one that would be based on the
principles of philanthropy and that would help organizations in the
implementation of their social and green strategy. At the same time, it’s
important that organizations see this as a commercially viable strategy.”
“Miss Saxena, don’t all big
organizations have a green and social strategy already?” One of the students
raises a question.
“Yes, you are right. Most do.
But how many of them are really more than mere lip service?” She pauses for a
while to look around, quickly glancing at the empty seat behind her row, which
should have been occupied by Arjun.
“After returning to India I
feel overwhelmed that I am with my own people,” she quickly looks up at Puja,
“… I am with the people I love… and that after my MBA I could work for the
betterment of my country. Thank you, everyone.”
There’s the customary applause
from the audience, as Riya gets off the stage and the next name is called. Riya
returns to her seat and turns around to look back at the empty seat three
spaces to her right. Inaudible background noises continue as other students are
introducing themselves. Intermittent clapping and cheering, mixed with hushed
discussions continue for a while in the auditorium. Soon, Arjun’s name is
called. As there is no response, the announcement is repeated. Riya shakes her
head, disappointed that her childhood friend is not going to make it.
“Arjun Sinha!” A loud booming
voice expresses the sentiment of the announcer that he is ready to move on to
the next name. There’s a long pause, and then suddenly someone rushes through
the auditorium doors.
“Yes sir!” Arjun jogs swiftly
down the flight of stairs. He spots Riya looking at him, and as he runs two
stairs at a time down the passage, he waves and smiles at Riya. Riya
reciprocates with a half-smile at him. Soon, Arjun gets on to the stage and
grabs the mike.
“Hello everyone! I’m so glad
to be here! … Thank God! Finally! … I’m Arjun Sinha. I recently completed my
research specializing in VLSI design and nuclear physics from the University of
Cern. And before I joined this course, I worked in Europe and the USA. I had a
stint with my start up back in California, in Information Security after my
graduation in software engineering from UCLA…. I am here at this school…”, he
pauses to look at Riya, “… to explore myself.”
One of the students stands up
to question Arjun, “Explore yourself? Buddy, electronics, VLSI, nuclear
physics, software engineering… why are you exploring here, you should go to the
Himalayas, right?” He chuckles as the audience enjoys the sarcasm in the
question.
“You are right my friend!
Everyone who hears about my background says the same thing: a Jack of all
trades! But you know the sages on the Himalayas told me, ‘My dear son,
self-realization is the route to enlightenment!’ And they also told me that
knowledge is the route to that self-realization.” Arjun continues emphatically,
“My friends, knowledge is power. It enables us to make the right choices and
judge correctly – what is right … or wrong? And right knowledge leads to right
action. I strongly believe that if everyone starts thinking in the right way
and is empowered to translate those thoughts into actions, then just imagine a
world of empowered and knowledgeable people, who would understand the futility
of wars, castes, creeds, political divides, creating a peaceful and prosperous
world. And everything starts with right knowledge. That’s what I’m looking for
in this school over the coming year.”
Another student stands up
with a question- “Arjun, I’ve heard that before joining the school, you sold
your California start-up to a Swiss multinational.”
“
Yes.
You are right.”
“And I’ve also heard that the
company sold those information security products to a few Swiss banks that have
been in the news because of alleged involvement in hawala and black money
scandals… So in a way your products have made it easier for black money to be
protected from international scrutiny? Right?”
Arjun
nods smiling gently.
“Firstly I’d like to say you
really do read newspapers around the world!” Everyone laughs. “OK, tell me
friends… if an accident happens, do you blame the car or the driver? When
Einstein shared the mystery of the power of the atom, E=mc
2
with the
world, it was a revelation from a pure genius. Within the nucleus of the atom,
E=mc
2
holds the solution to resolve the world’s energy crisis. But
we all know that this same discovery, this same nucleus is used to manufacture
deadly nuclear weapons that threaten our very existence on this earth. And all
this has been done by us. Friends, whatever exists in this world, good or bad,
is because of us; we have made this world the way it is today. And so the power
to change it also rests with us. What is required is to recognise it, and to
realize it through right knowledge and right actions.”
At this point the Dean
standing at the other podium on the stage decides to take over, “A beautiful
thought indeed Mr. Arjun. It’s the people that change the world. Ladies and
gentlemen, people development is absolutely integral to the economic and social
well-being of our country. And I’m proud to say that our managerial and people
development courses, social and philanthropy courses are amongst the best not
only in India but across the world. I’d also credit it to our alumni, who have
earned a good reputation and left a mark on the world through their commercial
acumen and ethical principles. In a world of financially motivated businessmen
I’d encourage students to read about entrepreneurs like Jon Huntsman, who have
shown the world that business is also about giving back to the society. Thank
you Mr. Sinha for your introduction and for the interesting discussions.”
Arjun walks off the stage and
goes to his seat, a row just behind Riya’s seat. On his way back he taps Riya’s
shoulder waving her a
“
Hi!”
Riya shyly looks half way
back, and responds meekly, “Hi”, extremely conscious that a few girls sitting
next to her have turned around to notice the disturbance. Other students
continue their introductions and soon the Dean is about to deliver his closing
speech. Arjun taps Riya’s shoulder again, “Riya!” and he gestures with his eye
and hand to follow him. Riya feels embarrassed as the Dean is still not through
with his speech on the stage. She looks around to her friends, smiles awkwardly
to excuse herself, gets up and follows Arjun outside the auditorium.
“Hey! So nice to see you!”
Arjun opens his arms to hug her.
“Hi! Nice to see you too.”
Riya shyly hugs him. “How have you been? Fashionably late as usual! But what a
speech, Arjun! …You never miss an opportunity to preach your two pence, don’t
you?”
“My two pence? Ha ha!” he
winks, “Yeah, you know very well… I have always believed that just achieving a
goal isn’t good enough… it has to be achieved through righteousness! So I
thought I should make my first speech count! ”
The induction session is now
over as other students are slowly coming out of the auditorium. Arjun is soon
surrounded by several guys and girls, a few of his old friends who have joined
the school as well. Riya is surrounded by her friends in turn; she looks at
Arjun to coincidentally exchange glances at the same time, and both immediately
revert to the discussions in the midst of their respective friends.
Something tells Riya that
this year in school is going to be extremely interesting… and eventful too. She
is extremely eager to rekindle an old acquaintance, with her best friend from
childhood, Arjun.