Request : The story may seem to be
long for some. Please read through till the end.
Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man.
Even the plush comfort of the air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi
express could not cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still
not entitled to air travel.
It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to reason with the admin
person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he had so many things to do. He
opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some
good use.
"Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was
staring appreciatively at the laptop.
Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation.
"You people have brought so much advancement to the country sir. Today
everything is getting computerized."
"Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look.
The man was young and stocky like a sportsman. He probably was a railway
sportsman making the most of his free traveling pass.
"You people always amaze me," the man continued, "You sit in an
office and write something on a computer and it does so many big things."
Vivek smiled sarcastically. "It is not as simple as writing a few lines.
"For a moment, he was tempted
to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but restrained himself to
a single statement. “It is complex, very complex."
"It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid," came the
reply.
This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence came into
his so far affable, persuasive tone.
"Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have
to put in. Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit
in an air-conditioned office does not mean our brows do not sweat. You exercise
the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing."
He had the man where he wanted him and it was time to drive home the point.
"Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway
reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two
stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centers across the
country. Thousands of transactions accessing a single database, at a time
concurrency; data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the
complexity in designing and coding such a system?"
The man was stuck with amazement, like a child at a planetarium. This was
something big and beyond his imagination. "You design and code such
things."
"I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "But now I am the Project
Manager,"
"Oh!" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, "so your
life is easy now."
It was like being told the fire was better than the frying pan. The man had to be
given a feel of the heat.
"Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder.
Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding! That is the easier
part. Now I do not do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me, that is
far more stressful. My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest
quality. To tell you about the pressures, there is the customer at one end
always changing his requirements, the user wanting something else and your boss
always expecting you to have finished it yesterday."
Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self- realisation.
What he had said, was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was the
truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth. "My
friend," he concluded triumphantly, "you don't know what it is to be
in the line of fire."
The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he
spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek.
"I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire," He was
staring blankly as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of
time.
"There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the
cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no knowing
where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when
we finally hoisted the tricolour at the top only 4 of us were alive."
"You are a..."
"I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in
Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a land
assignment. But tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life
easier. On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the
snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. It was my job to
go and fetch that soldier to safety."
"But my captain refused me permission and went ahead himself. He said that
the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and
welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he
commanded."
"His own personal safety came last, always and every time. He was killed
as he shielded that soldier into the bunker. Every morning now, as I stand
guard I can see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me.
I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire."
Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of his reply. Abruptly he switched
off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a word document in
the presence of a man for whom valour and duty was a daily part of life; a
valour and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes.
The train slowed down as it pulled into the station and Subedar Sushant picked
up his bags to alight.
"It was nice meeting you sir."
Vivek fumbled with the handshake. This hand had climbed mountains, pressed the
trigger, and hoisted the tricolour.
Suddenly as if by impulse, he stood at attention and his right hand went up in
an impromptu salute. It was the least he felt he could do for the country.
PS: The incident he narrates during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life
incident during the Kargil war. Capt. Batra sacrificed his life while trying to
save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For this and his
various other acts of bravery he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra the nation's
highest military award.
Live humbly, there are great people around us.
