What's Written?

Raghavan was astounded, gobsmacked, and hurt at his colleague’s reaction on WhatsApp. Burdened by his own responsibilities and duties he was not a very good communicator. But he was unaware of this. He had heard phrases like “show me your friends and I’ll show you, your future” but because of boredom and loneliness he would often open doors to people who would affect his communication skills with multi-directional thoughts, lack of focus, and almost spam him daily with a casual approach to life.? He suffered because now his age and the world demanded that he upgrade his written messages to something concise, precise, crisp, and to the point.? But here was Raghavan, unaware of this entire methodology.? He simply messaged and called whoever he wanted to, whenever he wanted to – thinking, that he and the other person had a lot of time. Even Buddha’s quote, “The problem is we think we have a lot of time” never made any serious impact on him.? But life has its own myriad ways of teaching people and he faced the brunt of this ignorance.??

“I just don’t know, what do I do Reena? This guy, Arivu, the way he reacts to my messages makes me feel like I am not up to the mark,” said Raghavan sitting opposite Reena. By now their train had reached Nagpur as they were on their way to a short family visit. Reena was his college friend and she was also from Nagpur.?

“Let us, get our bags ready, we need to get down, you think too much and maybe I can see the messages first once we reach home.”??

Reena’s composure played an important part in Raghavan’s life, especially at a time of chaos, it brought a sense of hope and order.????

There were several issues to address but Raghavan had the habit of not taking pauses.? Reena was a reminder to his need for pauses.???

?“The messages, Arivu has sent to you are quite legit,” said Reena looking at his phone. You seem to jump from one topic to the other and you are expecting perfection from others.? Your approach needs to change,” said Reena. “Arivu and Calvin both have very politely mentioned their intent, process, and how you can structure your communication but I don’t see the point of you over-intellectualising and breaking your head over this.? Are you angry about something else? tell me frankly.”??

By dusk, sitting by the pond, Raghavan told Reena, “I don’t think there is enough communication, patience, trust, and neither do I think everyone is on the same page with me. I love this place and it is an extension of me. But somehow, this communication gap is so freaking chaotic.”??

“People often want to murder each other when they work together a whole night for a week on a deadline due to differences of background and opinions and go for a beer together when projects are closed. I am telling this from my own experience at the IT company where I work. You need to push yourself and close off things with speed. Also, why don’t you pen down your thoughts and then have a more to-the-point communication? To be frank, I have faced this with you as well but the company and your lover are not the same things lol,” said Reena.???

“Why is so much perfection expected from me, when people are themselves not so perfect,” said Raghavan.???

“There is a reason I chose you. There is a reason they chose you. You are not ordinary.? You are Raghavan. Everyone does not need to be so perfect. But when you become a master at certain things you can lead others, and you can sustain yourself with these learnings, the world is changing Raghavan, this is not 2018 where we are walking in the park and going to parties. The world is at an economic, cyber, and virus war, the competition is cutthroat, if you can just tap this phase of your life, you have no idea about the fortune you can create for yourself. If you are not humble you won’t be able to think.? Have an open mind, unlearn, re-learn, don’t react, pause, do whatever it takes to become Raghvan 3.0. Are you getting what I’m saying? What happened.” Said Reena?

Raghavan’s face had welled up with the praises and he bowed down his head and took a sigh. Reena’s hands were on his shoulders.???

“Try to get new knowledge and unlock your learning powers. You will notice the change. Do you know what I used to go through in the initial months at my company?”, said Reena “and neither are you interested, your only interest is to date me and take me out whenever possible.”??

Raghavan nodded his head still looking down and smirking. His emotions were becoming lighter.??

“There is a lot of written perfection I have to master with you as well, ” said Raghavan??

“You can because there are other guys who will do that to impress me anyway,” said Reena. She winked and smiled.??

“Oh no issues at all, go for it!” said Raghavan with a tinge of jealousy and sarcasm in his tone.???

“Hutt, nautanki sala! (meaning - dramatic fellow)” said Reena, slapping Raghavan on his shoulder and pushing him to the side.??

The sunset gleamed over the two and now it was time to move back to their own houses and move on to their online evening shifts. Raghavan was also happy about the fact that he was working on independent projects. In the coming weeks, due to the improvement of his messaging and clarity of thought, he went from being disturbed to a state of calmness. His productivity at work also improved.???

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