‘Of course I trust you both. I’ll tell you,’ said Geetha, ‘and Viki, why did you ask if it was about sex?’ She could not help but smile.
‘You said we are young and you shouldn't corrupt us with your stories’
‘Sex was the only thing you could think of?’
‘Yes,’ said Viki grinning.
‘Men will always be men’ said Geetha, ‘So shall I start?’
The boys slid lower in their seats so that their ears were at the level of Geetha’s mouth. Though their eyes were on the movie screen, the pictures they saw came in through their ears, from Geetha’s words.
***
‘Raj I just got a call from our head office’
‘Okay?’
We need to get our Module Head qualified for the foreign trip before end of January.
‘I thought he had time till March.’
‘Actually, the campaign goes on till March but a Module Head in Bhopal got qualified already. So there will be heavy pressure on other module heads. We need to capitalise on that.’
‘So what should we do now?’
‘Let’s go with a plan to achieve this. He will execute it with his District Managers.’
‘Okay,’ Raj said and sat opposite Akhila.
Akhila turned her laptop a little towards Raj so that he could see the MS Excel sheet called Foreign Trip campaign score calculator that she was working on.
‘I made this calculator. If we enter the volume of each general insurance premium in lakhs, we will get the total points. I have the calculators for the Module head, District Managers and the bank managers in different sheets.’ She toggled between the sheets to show Raj, who nodded.
‘According to yesterday’s report, which takes into consideration business done till the day before, these are the scores of our District Managers and Module Head. Raj stared at the figures for a few seconds, then said, ‘Akhila, I don’t get this.’
‘It’s simple Raj,’ said Akhila, ‘Branch Manager of a bank gets qualified if he secures forty lakh of insurance premium. District Manager gets qualified if his branches collectively do a total of sixteen crore.’
‘So the Module head gets qualified if the six District managers under him do sixteen crore each. That totals to ninety six crore.’
‘No,’ said Akhila, that’s where the catch is, ‘the module head gets qualified only if one hundred and twenty crore of premium is collected in his territory.’
‘What?' asked Raj, confused, ‘Who will do that extra twenty four crore?’
‘That’s the design. He has to make people under him work for more than ninety six crore.’
‘That’s huge,’ exclaimed Raj.
‘I remember someone saying they will shatter the targets,’ said Akhila and smiled teasingly.
‘So what’s the plan?’
Akhila fed some numbers into the Excel sheet and printed them.
‘Here we go,’ she said handing over a set of printouts to Raj.
In the car, he perused them, ‘When do bankers find time to sell insurance?' he asked casually.
‘Who told you they sell?’
‘What do they do then?
‘They just attach these products to some other banking products.’
‘Please enlighten me,’ said Raj slightly touching Akhila’s hand.
‘If a customer comes to open a bank account, he will find a Personal Accident proposal form along with the account opening forms. So, he will sign and return it anyway.’
‘Are they not explained about the product?’
‘Most don’t even know they have an insurance policy. So no claims. No loss. Good business. Bigger bonus.’
Raj moved his hand away and adjusted himself in discomfort. He felt more than just physical discomfort. He remained silent till they reached the Module Head’s office. He blankly stared at the print outs while Akhila explained her plan to the Head of the Module.
‘Why didn’t you come to me earlier? Why did you let Bhopal qualify first?’ the Head asked.
‘I am very sorry sir,’ pleaded Akhila, ‘we were working on other areas. We will work to qualify you as soon as possible sir.’
‘Do it. No excuses,’ said the beefy man waving them out. While walking down the lobby at the Module Head’s office, Akhila said, ‘Now we have to meet the District Managers and present this plan.’
Raj listened to the conversations Akhila had with the six District Managers asking them to get qualified. He felt some weakness in his knees. He had imagined to do something meaningful in his career. He had wanted to educate common man and build awareness about the need for insurance and eventually increase sales. He wanted to do it the way the heroes he had read about sold their respective products. When they were back in office, he asked Akhila, ‘How will a bank branch generate forty lakh of premium? Do they have so many customers? I don’t see the numbers tallying.’
‘Let’s do the math. This Module has fifty lakh bank accounts. Discount ten lakh for the below poverty line and inactive accounts. We need just thirty rupees from each of the remaining accounts once a year.’
‘Thirty rupees from each account.’
‘Yes, our lowest premium is five hundred, which is for the Personal Accident Insurance. We just have to push the bankers to go for the higher variant which is one thousand rupees. And then we have home insurance for all the housing loans given by the bank. Average premium will be around ten thousand rupees. We have Health insurance, average three thousand rupees, car and bike insurance, property insurance for business loans, and so on. Forty lakh by one branch is easily achievable Raj.’
‘What is this nano insurance you were talking about to the District Managers?’
‘That’s personal accident insurance for farmers.’
‘How much does it cost? And are they explained about the product?’
‘About five hundred Rupees. Not that expensive,’ said Akhila. She left Raj’s second question unanswered.
‘How can you decide if that is expensive or not?' asked Raj, his face grave.
‘Raj, I know you feel bad about the way we work but that’s how the company is. At the end of the day, we have to live with it.’
‘Do we?’ Raj sighed, ‘I don’t know. Everything seems to be so wrong.’
‘What’s her name? What does she do?’ asked Akhila, diverting the conversation.
‘Who?’ asked Raj, bored.
‘Your girlfriend?’
‘Who said I have a girlfriend?’ Raj snapped.
‘I can tell when a guy is in love.’
‘I don’t know what she does now. I don't even know where she is.’
‘I am sorry,’
‘I am sorry. I really don’t know where she is,’ said Raj, ‘The last time I spoke to her was over two months back.’
‘Why?’
‘Her parents have restrained here. She’s not allowed to talk to anyone’
‘I am sorry,’ said Akhila, ‘are they against you two marrying?’
‘Yes’
‘What are you going to do?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Raj and Akhila sighed.
‘Do you have a picture of her?’
‘There are some on Facebook.’
‘Can I see?’ asked Akhila, ‘I am just curious.’
‘I don’t have internet on my phone’
‘Use mine,’ said Akhila pointing her chin to her phone placed in a compartment on the dashboard. Raj felt his stomach contract the moment he saw Meghna’s pictures. Akhila noticed the pained look on his face. She took the phone from him, saw the picture and said, ‘You could die for her.’
‘I am ready if she is ready to choose me.’ Akhila saw his eyes moisten.
***
Detective John looked at Alison, dropping the notes on the table. ‘So you couldn’t find the name of the chemical on that report?’ He was irritated. ‘No Detective, I could not,’ said Alison with a serene look
on her face. ‘You are not fit to be here then,’ said John picking the case file from the table. Alison smiled. He sifted through the report. When he reached the end, he quickly came back to the first page and went through it again.After two more failed attempts, he said without looking at her, ‘I think you’re right.’ Alison smiled broadly.
‘What?' Detective John asked pretending to go through her notes which he had picked up.
‘Is there anything else I can learn from this case Detective?’
‘Well, I visit this place with William though the case was his. This laboratory is owned by a large multinational company that makes food for pets. I think it’s called Canine…’ the detective made effort to recall.
‘Delight,’ completed Alison, her face a perfect reflection of her worry.
‘Ah! Yes, that one,’ said John, ‘how did you know?’
‘I have a pet.’
‘Okay,’ said the Detective with the air of a father talking to his disobedient child, ‘so when they were caught red handed, they admitted to dumping waste illegally, paid the fine and went back to their business. William took the issue up with the municipality and allotted them a new dumping yard.’
‘But Detective,’ said Alison, ‘that doesn’t explain why the name of the toxic substance is not mentioned in the report.’
‘You may leave now,’ said the detective harshly. Alison stood up and left without a word. The detective scratched his forehead. Youngsters these days. He dialled the personnel department on his land phone, ‘How long do I have to put up with this girl?’
Pause.
‘William is on his vacation and I have to deal with a trainee assigned to him. Do I appear so jobless?’
Pause.
‘Why don't you just ask her to go home and return when William returns?’
Pause.
‘Your rules are pathetic. She asks stupid questions all the time,’ he slammed the phone down.
***
‘It began on the first day of college,’ began Geetha. The boys listened with rapt attention, ‘One mysterious boy called Raj intrigued me. He seemed to be a recluse of sorts but over time we became friends. I usually met him at birthday get togethers. We began talking over phone and at some point, we fell in love. We hardly got to meet. I stayed far away from college and would spend a lot of time travelling. Towards the end of the engineering course, my parents began bringing home marriage proposals. I panicked and told them I was in love with Raj. My parents were furious. They wanted me to marry in the same caste but Raj had convinced his parents about us. While my parents were still trying to persuade me to give up, Raj went to Delhi to do his MBA and I went on to work in an IT company.’
‘My parents genuinely thought I was making a bad decision. They were worried that our relatives would write me off and that could make it difficult for them to find a groom for my cousins. I tried so hard to make them see what a gem Raj was. They agreed to meet him but they kept saying they find him unreliable. And guess what, he didn’t turn up.’
‘He didn’t turn up?' asked Bala in disbelief.
‘He didn’t turn up and it became a testimony to my parents’ belief that he was unreliable.’
‘Why did he not turn up?' asked Viki.
‘The only reason boys come up with. My friend met with an accident bullshit.’
‘Did he lie?’
‘I am sure he did. I know all his friends. None of them met with any accident.’
‘I still stuck to him. When he was close to finishing his MBA, my parents stopped me from going to work. I couldn't do much. I have never been a rebel. And then Raj got a job and graduated. My family was afraid that he might come and cause trouble. So they sent me here. Vanita’s husband and my dad are close friends. Vanita got me a job here and most student rules apply to me. No mobile phones. No going out.’ Geetha giggled and said, ’This is my pathetic story.’ When she uttered the last word, the boys sat upright.
‘Are you going to change your mind?’ asked Bala.
‘I don't know,’ said Geetha, ‘Raj seems to take no effort. It’s only me fighting all the time. At some point, I even told him we’ll elope. He refused. He was still studying then.’
‘Now Raj has a job. He could come and get you right?’
‘For that he has to know where I am and more importantly, he should love me enough to do that.’
‘You could tell him where you are,’ said Bala.
‘No, if he really cares, he will come. It’s not so difficult to find me. I no longer know if he really loves me.’
‘You can’t say that,’ said Bala, pain showing in his eyes. ‘She’s right Bala,’ said Viki, ‘he should have taken some effort by now. She has been holding up against her parents for so long. What more could she do?’ Geetha nodded.
‘I agree you have been holding up,’ said Bala, ‘but we can’t just decide he hasn't made any effort. We don't know what he’s going through.’
‘What do you think I should do next?’ asked Geetha putting up a passive face. ‘Let him know you are here,’ said Bala. ‘And how do I do that?’ asked Geetha, ‘Every staff has been instructed not to give me their phone. I am not allowed to touch the landlines. They are all recorded. How could I contact Raj? I don't even know where he is.’
‘You must have his phone number.’
‘I have the one he used when he was in Delhi,’ said Geetha.
‘Give us that number,’ said Bala, ‘we will talk to him.’
‘How will you?’ asked Geetha, surprised.
‘That’s a secret,’ said Bala, ‘and you should not speak about this to anyone.’
‘I won’t,’ said Geetha, ‘but is it a risk you are taking for me?’
‘Not at all,’ said Viki, ‘please don't worry.’
‘Now, I cant stop worrying,’ said Geetha, ‘I shouldn't have told you my story,’
Viki and Bala looked at each other. The sight reminded Geetha of the moment just before the double slap on the invigilator’s face. With her hands involuntarily moving to cover her cheeks, she said, ‘I will give you the number.’
Chapter 6
‘So much fraud re,’ he said.
‘Really? fraud claims?' she asked incredulously.
‘Nah. In sales. Fake documentation. Mis-selling’
‘That happens in all the companies na?’
‘Maybe but here it is happening in my area of responsibility.’
‘What did your boss say? Regional Head kya bola?’
‘My boss is saying this is how it happens. I didn't speak to Regional Head.’
‘See don’t get too worked up on these things. Just do your work and leave at six thirty.’
‘I am trying to do that but it still bothers me.’
‘Got any friends there?’
‘No, Jainika. Priyanka is the only one I can talk to freely. Rest are gossip mongers.’
‘Okay. Convey my regards to Priyanka,’ she said, ‘and Pritvi called me last night.’
‘Don’t tell me you patched up.’
‘I asked him to get lost,’ she said and chuckled, ‘I won’t be stupid a third time/’
‘Good, you’ve become smart.’
‘Oh really?’ she said in an exaggerated tone.
‘Yeah, rub-off from me,’ he said and she laughed heartily.
‘You know what Raj, though I asked him to get lost, I feel a void in me. People are hitting on me already and I feel like I should just stick with someone to fill the void.’
‘Don’t do that. You will end up hurting yourself more. You don’t need a guy to make you whole. You can be awesome all by yourself.’
‘Thanks for saying that Raj,’ said Jainika.
‘Someone’s very busy,’ Priyanka said, coming up behind Raj. She stepped carefully for the floor was wet after Gopi had mopped it.
‘Hi!’ Raj said. He disconnected Jainika’s call and slipped the phone into his pocket. He groped his
other pocket, then stood up. He ignored Priyanka and began searching his bag fervently.
‘What happened?’
‘I think I lost my wallet’ His face was screwed.
‘Uh ho!’ Priyanka picked his bag and began to empty its contents.
Raj sat and thought carefully about where he had last used his wallet. ‘Today in the bus,’ he said, ‘I opened my wallet for buying the bus ticket.’
‘I don’t think we can get it back unless some very honest citizen has picked it up and is going to try and contact you,’ Priyanka said, ‘how much money?’
‘Not much, but the IDs. I’ll block the cards. The IDs are going to give me a tough time.’
‘Well, there maybe easier ways,’ she said.
‘Let’s see. So how’s it going for you?’ he asked.
‘My work is as good as that of a bus conductor. I am just processing refunds for now. How’s yours?’
‘Not very different from the guy who picked my wallet.’
‘Whoah! I was expecting you to say something exciting. What you said is exciting too, but downhill. What happened?’
‘They just take money from the customers’ accounts. The customers don’t even know.’
‘Won’t they notice their balance reducing?’
‘We only take from their loan accounts. They repay it in instalments over time.Most don’t notice I guess.’
‘And those who notice raise refund requests I guess,’ Priyanka said, ‘I got 18 such requests yesterday.’
‘Eighteen?' Raj was genuinely surprised, ‘What insurance?’
‘All sorts. Different types of personal accident policies mostly. You have so many varieties.’
‘Oh! It’s obvious.’
‘What’s on your mind?’ Priyanka asked.
‘About what?' Raj asked.
‘You know about what.’
‘I am trying not to think about it. If there is any effort on her side, I will do anything to get her. After all I have done she should at least give me a call.’
‘What if she has no way to call?’
‘She’s not an idiot. Just a coward.’
Accidental Inquisitors Page 4