by Amit Sidham
Avanish was playfully referred to as HIPPO by his colleagues. This was because of his resemblance with them in more ways than one. At six and a half feet tall and a heavy build Avanish was really huge. He was extremely calm, silent and peaceful like the hippo. And just like the hippo, one could disturb him only at his own peril. And that is exactly what these attackers had done.
A normal person not having caused him any harm would also prefer to stay few feet away from Avanish. And here were six people who had planned and executed an attack on his role model, on his best friend. They were prepared to die when they had planned this but now, they feared the type of death that was going to come their way. They felt their friend who jumped out of the plane was lucky to have an easy death.
Avanish was ruthless on them. He kicked and punched them mercilessly. Each kick or punch broke at least one bone in their body. The room was filled with shrieks. Anticipation of what was going to happen next caused them equal pain, if not higher.
Aadi walked into the room. The six guys breathed a sigh of relief. They felt Aadi would have seen the video footage and come there to pacify Avanish. They crawled to Aadi’s feet, as by now with a few bones broken none were in a position to even stand on their own. They begged mercy but Aadi was completely unaffected. He behaved as if he did not even notice them. He talked something with Avanish and went away.
Avanish had demonstrated his ability to maintain self-control and restraint in the kidnappings and attacks before. But this time was a different case. He had still not been able to overcome the guilt and felt responsible for the last attack. Aadi knew, only way to pacify Avanish in current situation was to let him avenge in his own way. And Aadi’s appearance in the interrogation room at this time was nothing but a signal for Avanish to go ahead and do whatever he wanted.
Avanish continued the torture in different forms and intensity. He kept those bodies alive and did not let anyone die before a month. Only then was he able to come back to his normal self and appease the guilt in his heart.
28th April’ 2017
Problems did not seem to cease for GALAXY. Within weeks there was another problem in front of them. And this time it was an altogether different one. Neither a risk to life, nor any sudden threat to Mother Nature, it was a problem that could cripple the organization. It was an attack on the backbone, the finances of the organization. On Friday 28th April, the court had ordered seizure of bank accounts of all the group companies. GALAXY took pride in paying out salaries of all the employees on first of every month, which is what most companies do. But the difference was while other companies paid for the preceding month, GALAXY paid for the upcoming month in advance. This small gesture ensured none of the employees worked for money, toiling till the last day of the month in expectation of a salary. That was already taken care of. They worked with pride for a much higher purpose.
There were charges of black money hoarding followed with raids by Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and Enforcement Directorate (ED). It was a well-planned move with the order coming on the last day before which the courts were going to remain closed for a month for the summer vacation. This could not be a spontaneous decision, the move was planned well in advance and the decision was kept discreet with only a select few in the government knowing about it.
Jivika, who was also the group CFO, called out for an urgent meeting. Apart from the leadership team there was one more additional member this time, Ex Judge Ravikisan Mehra. Jivika asked Ravikisan his opinion on the course of action to be followed. She wanted to have a look at the problem from a legal point of view before they took any step further.
‘We can get a stay on the order on the first working day of the court, but that as we all know is unfortunately after a month. One option is we defer all payments till that time,’ said Ravikisan.
‘What’s the other one?’ asked Aadi.
‘We force the courts to open. There have been incidences of Supreme Courts opening up at midnight, once for a petition by a political party challenging the Governor’s decision of inviting a rival party to form a government,’ replied Ravikisan.
‘Both are regular options, government would have anticipated that we would take. I am thinking what if we show that this doesn’t impact us much? We continue business as usual with the only difference being transactions shifting to direct cash deposits instead of account transfers. We have sufficient cash reserves outside the bank to keep operations running for at least six months,’ said Jivika
Continuing further she said, ‘Obvious motive behind this move seems to break two pillars of our power – Money and People Support. By sealing our bank accounts, they have controlled our money to a certain extent and while our people, our employees are not going to abandon us due to non-payment of salaries for a few days, it possibly could weaken their resolve to stand by us. Hence by shifting to our cash reserves we can address both the issues. There is just one problem. The cash reserves could also come under the scanner and the way we have lost control over our accounts unexpectedly, we could risk losing control on the cash reserves as well,’ said Jivika.
‘Do you think someone could take control over our cash reserves and we would allow that to happen? What do they think? Is it something as simple as a bank robbery?’ was Avanish’s question.
‘Relax warrior’ that was Aadi the strategist, the opportunist. ‘We need to be concerned not panicked. All three options that have come up till now are fine. They solve the problem but I am still looking for that one solution which will not just solve the problem but will also be a slap on the face of the people behind this move.’
Ravikisan was not surprised this time. He had seen Aadi convert a problem into an opportunity previously. Aadi smiled and looking towards Jivika and Ravikisan said, ‘Call the SFIO and ED officials for a meeting at the company office tomorrow. You will have your solution.’
‘Ok Chief,’ both of them said in unison.
Meanwhile at the offices, the atmosphere was filled with anxiety. The worry was not about their salaries, their jobs but there was a sorrow about the situation in front of the company, about the impact to its image, its reputation. All employees remembered the good old days, when the company was officially taken over by GALAXY and the impact that had happened on their lives. The townhall meeting with Aakash and the first speech from Aadi. The commitments of a ‘Great place to work’ and exceeding those beyond imagination in the very first year itself. Going out of the way in helping the employees, in the process creating a bond not just with them but with their families as well. The drastic difference they had witnessed in the company post take over had swelled their hearts with pride. And today they looked at this problem not as a problem for the company but as a problem in their family. After all in true sense they lived as an extended family.
Rahul was one of the employees who could never forget what the company had done for him. Once he was on an official trip to the US. His phone was switched off as he was in a day-long meeting when his father suffered a stroke. His wife reached out to Aakanksha, his business unit HR, to see how this message could be communicated to him. Aakanksha quickly ensured message delivery to Rahul through his manager. She also quickly connected with the hospital, shared with them Rahul’s father’s medical insurance card and made a fund transfer from the company account towards the non-medical expenses not covered under insurance. She reached the hospital immediately and met his family. Doctor had suggested an immediate angioplasty and when the family was worried about not having the insurance details and sufficient funds for the surgery in Rahul’s absence, Aakanksha assured them that everything had been taken care of.
In the meantime Rahul had got the message there and called his wife. He was even more worried as his manager had given him the option to come back, leaving aside the work. But his wife explained him that everything was fine now. The Doctors had completed the operation few minutes before and confirmed that his father was now out of danger. Aakanksha had left a while ago and his
manager was still at the hospital.
While Rahul was extremely grateful to Aakanksha and his manager for their help, he also knew that some of the things they had done were only possible because the company had empowered them to do so. This was not part of company’s standard policy, but they could go out of the way and take decisions on behalf of the company to help the employee.
The same HR and same reporting manager on a similar occasion had appeared helpless before the takeover by GALAXY. Rahul was on a domestic trip and his mother had met with an accident fracturing her leg. When he wanted to come back to her, he was allowed to but after a lot of mail exchanges and approvals and with a condition that he would have to take care of the travel expenses himself.
Rahul’s eyes once again filled with tears on remembering the incident. The ringing of his phone brought him out of his trance. Display showed an unknown number. He received the call and immediately got up from his seat. After listening he said, ‘Sure Chief. With pleasure. It’s my honour to be of help.’
He liquidated his fixed deposits and transferred the amount to his savings account. Later he floated a mail across the company with his account details asking employees to transfer amount voluntarily to that account to take care of urgent expenses of the company. This was sufficient enough to trigger a chain reaction and support started pouring in from all One Lakh plus employees.
In the evening, when Rahul went home he narrated this incident to his family. And the reaction from his family left him electrified.
29th April’ 2017
Jivika and Ravikisan were at the company office for a meeting with the Enforcement Directorate and SFIO teams at 8:00 am.
An hour later Jivika heard an uproar. It being a Saturday was a weekly off. She stepped out to see what the commotion was about. For a moment she couldn’t believe what she saw. She removed her phone and called Aadi, ‘Chief, you got to see this. I have never seen something so innocent and so awesome before. How did you manage to do this?’
She started her video camera and at the other end Aadi saw employees standing with their children by their side. Every child with a piggy bank in hands.
‘Oh my God,’ was Aadi’s response.
‘You have not made this happen Chief?’ asked Jivika.
‘No, I had only asked one employee for support. This sweet gesture is a pleasant surprise for me. Feeling extremely happy to see this affection from our employees and their families’
‘Yes Chief. This is indeed a very touching moment. I will take it forward from here’ said Jivika disconnecting the call.
Previous night when Rahul had narrated the incident to his family, his six year old son listened to the conversation. He silently went inside and returned with his piggy bank and told Rahul, ‘Daddy, even I want to help.’ Pleasantly surprised by the same and feeling proud of his son, Rahul immediately clicked a photo and send it on the office Whatsapp group. The cute little gesture did not just garner thousands of likes, it created a lot of action with many children wanting to help. And the result was in front of Jivika. Similar reports started coming in from all the offices.
Hearing some kind of a celebration outside, Ravikisan and the puzzled officials also stepped out of the meeting room to see what the matter was.
Jivika walked to one of the child and kneeling down in front of her asked her ‘What is your name?’
‘Tara,’ replied the child.
‘Tara, why have you brought your Teddy bank here?’ asked Jivika.
‘My Mom says her office is in trouble and needs help. So I am going to help with all the coins that I have’ replied Tara innocently.
‘That’s so sweet of you Tara. This is such a cute Teddy bank that you are holding. Will you also give this Teddy bank to the office?’ asked Jivika.
For a moment Tara’s resolve weakened. She pulled her Teddy bank back close to her heart but then decided against it and said ‘OK, I will give.’
Jivika smiled at her and took her in a hug. Got up, looked towards the admin staff and said ‘I want all the piggy banks with the children’s names and photos to adorn the walls of the office.’
‘Sure Maam. It will be done,’ was the reply.
Despite the power they had, the GALAXY core group was always extremely humble and grateful. They never forgot whatever small help they received from their supporters, well-wishers, employees, customers, business partners or anyone for that matter. They not only humbly accepted and acknowledged their support, they also made it worthwhile for them. And worthwhile did not mean monetarily.
Looking back towards all employees and the children she continued, ‘We humbly accept the support offered. It gives us great strength to know that you all are with us in this situation and hence it makes this problem in front of us now look so miniscule. Thank You.’
Turning towards the ED and SFIO officials Jivika said, ‘Before we paused in our discussion, you were asking me from where the funds had come the very first time? Well, when you work for a noble purpose with the intent to bring about a positive change, support comes in even from unexpected quarters. We had well-wishers even back then.’
The officials lowered their heads in shame. They had nothing to ask further after what their eyes had seen right now. Jivika placed her hand on the shoulder of one of them and said ‘I understand you are doing this against your will and out of compulsion. We have nothing against you. But definitely the mastermind behind this is going to regret for life.’
Ravikisan informed the officials that they will get the requested documents by end of day. The officials walked out of the office without saying anything further.
The plan had seriously back fired. Whoever had thought that by straining the monetary power of the organization they would also be able to weaken the people support, would have completely been taken aback. Instead of weakening the people support became even stronger, Stronger enough to even cover up for the monetary muscle.
Jivika’s last sentence to the officials had a very deep meaning. She had very subtly made them on her side. Lifting the seize on the bank account now was just a formality. Jivika and Ravikisan with some of the other staff worked on the documents and sent those to the officials by end of day. The officials worked overtime that day and immediately submitted their report confirming no traces of black money or any financial abnormalities and recommended the government to lift the sanctions with immediate effect.
The organization, the brand instead of any blemish emerged even more stronger after this episode.
14th May’ 2017
A knock on the door woke up a family early morning. A woman opened the door to see two men with a big smile on their face and a huge box beside. They informed there was a parcel for Tara. They left the box inside the house and left. By this time Tara and her father also came out. They saw a thank you card on the box and the woman realized it was from her office. An excited Tara opened the box and saw a huge Teddy Bear almost her size. The Teddy Bear was exactly similar in shape to her Teddy Bank that she had given at her mother’s office. And this one was also filled completely with coins.
Chapter 27
THE MOVIE
February’ 2018
The movie was made within a span of a year at a budget of Hundred Crores. It had already created a lot of buzz. The coverage on news channels and discussions on social media ensured the movie did not have to spend a single rupee on promotion.
The audience, the critics had already predicted that the movie was sure to break all previous records. But breaking all viewership records was an understatement. They were not yet aware about Aadi’s plans.
Exactly a week before the release date, in a press conference with the presence of movie cast and director, Samir made the startling announcement.
‘This movie is going to be the first ever movie that will not just be tax free, but completely free for the viewers. GALAXY will reimburse the theatres and multiplexes to run the movie for all viewers.’
The critics had predicted
that movie will cross collection of Five Hundred Crores, what they did not know was that GALAXY had already budgeted a spend of Five Thousand Crores for compensating the screens.
Aadi was very clear about the approach. On their welcome at the headquarter after returning from delivering justice to the Tigers, Aadi had briefed his colleagues, ‘Breaking News comes in daily and there are millions of videos having views in millions on youtube. The message needs another lever, another talking point for it to be remembered long. To encourage viewership of movies with a strong message, government makes a movie tax free. To encourage viewership of our intended message, we will show the movie completely free. Poaching should not just come down; it has to come to an end. And this is what the movie will do. We will ensure that each and every person sees the movie and understands what can happen to someone in case of animal poaching.’
Other movies releasing simultaneously had postponed their releases by at least a month when the release date of this movie was announced. Now they postponed it indefinitely.
The movie ran across all shows, all screens for four months till everyone had seen it.
Chapter 28
ANNUAL RESULTS
7th January’ 2019
It had been three and a half years after Operation Reveal or almost twelve years of existence of GALAXY. Every year after Operation Reveal, GALAXY had been announcing the annual results. Unlike a listed company, GALAXY being a privately owned one did not have to announce the results. They still did but with a difference. The results were not related to financial performance of the companies. Instead they were about the work done by GALAXY, they were about the visible impact on the environment. They were about the improvement in flora, fauna and human life.
World over many governments had started looking forward to these results. They would pick up best of the initiatives for implementing in their own countries. GALAXY was not only happy to look at others imitating them but was also more than happy to help them in the implementation. They looked towards Mother Earth, Mother Nature as one. For them, Mother Nature extended much beyond the concept of nations and manmade boundaries.