The Charm of Being Plump

Our Satyam Days, part XV

Being plump or well-rounded remained a practical way of life for a dedicated family man like Devi, prompting Mandeep to affectionately confer upon him with a playful prefix to his name: “Sexy.” He astutely perceived how the world operated, correctly recognizing that everything else typically comprised a chaotic territory, a hellish domain, so to speak—within GG's complete 360-degree posture, off-limits to all the other members of the roaming division, like ourselves.

From that operational standpoint, Devi and Suresh both sustainably managed to appease GG, our perennially bad leader, to a large extent. After all, it is not every day that someone justly merits a fantastic prefix like “Sexy,” a playful term of endearment bestowed upon him by Mandeep, a fellow plump young man who undoubtedly had in common comparable physical attributes but had not yet become a family man.

Without a doubt, Devi would ultimately tell a valiant tale or two to anyone willing to listen about how the peculiar title he had come to receive had stuck on him—as we were convinced then and now—like a badge of courage: the one that could be flaunted only among the circle of known friends, not in front of GG, of course. There were not many of his stories, but the one that characterized the new-age manly 'sexiness' in question—thanks to one of our associates—has become a chef-d'oeuvre! On the other hand, Suresh, his financial counterpart, got dubbed with an equally amusing appellation—"Truck Driver." And why leave GG out? He earned a hefty accolade for himself that stuck on him like a blood-sucking leech—"CHICHA."

Mandeep had once remarked: “He deserved it, didn't he? If you ask me.” Without a doubt, we all happily concurred with that term. Life is what it is.

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Plus, the extensive IT experience that someone like Devi can readily relate with his other friends. But GG won't listen to anyone about anything: it's his way or the highway—except maybe listening only to the plastically (okay, sometimes genuinely) smiling receptionist, Ann Mary R., whose friendly demeanour he interprets positively: while viewing our oversights with unrelenting bossism that made no sense. (Terrible though it was, we succeeded by the sheer dint of our resilience, strength of character, and ability (read skill-sets) we brought to the table). Despite the clear and present danger posed by GG's extreme egocentric navel-gazing, amid the excessive commandeering shrouding us in a veil of perpetual torment from morning to evening while we worked with our heads down, liable to work hard in a day-to-day routine for something more achievable and adaptable in a work-life blend, witnessing which, we thought, our U.S.-educated Silent Killer of a boss could become happy for once in his lifetime, it is commendable that Devi (and Suresh, Renju and Gnana, and Mandeep, Kavitha and I, Shiv, Shahnawaz and Jagan, even Revathy and Rafi, not to forget Balaji) recognized this undesirable GG-writ cataclysmic broadside in the roaming division and acted with the same professionalism as the rest who had to be in touch with him professionally.

And how incredibly startling, at times, the world can indeed be with a verbally abusive, irreverent heathen like we had to report to daily: too well-ensconced in the power structure of the company as if nothing could ever go awry (and it did not thankfully, it was a miracle indeed), especially when Hari Sadu-type toxic managers like him had seemingly perfect individuals leading flawless astringent lives, like for example, Ann Mary R.—the quintessential damsel, who, at least, to our knowledge at Satyam, had never known distress (of any kind) and not that anyone was anticipating for her to—hung enraptured by the exquisite chocolates that our roughshod boss GG brought her from abroad. GG, a Big Rig of a man, meant business; this near-hysterical tyrant loved lording it over everything in the roaming department: the power of being in a perceived dominant position writ ominously large over all our days at Satyam.

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​Experience teaches; it alone counts, and all else falls by the wayside, and Devi knows that perfectly well. Good things happen to good people, though. The charm of being "Sexy Devi" must be immensely gratifying for him! And why not!

Fondly referred to as "Sexy Devi" thanks to Mandeep's impeccable comic timing during those beautiful days on the 5th floor of TSR Towers, this cherished memory of our incredible time at Satyam serves as a heartfelt reminder of the meaningful connections we, once close colleagues and friends, can genuinely acknowledge for Devi, the devoted family man!

His unique charm, characterized by his being a plump man with a gentlemanly demeanour, was truly remarkable as I reflect on the days when our IT careers blossomed at a great company called Satyam Computers. Oh, how swiftly those days have passed!

(To be continued…)

By Arindam Moulick