The next morning, I woke up to the alarm going off on my mobile. It was a song praising Goddess Mookambika. It reminded me of the power of Amma, which was always with me to help me achieve my goals. And in the day that lay ahead, I would have to make some headway in finding out the real problem faced by the firm, and not just the symptoms.
After a breakfast of idli and sambar, Lok uncle and I headed off to the factory. On the way, I thought about his diagnosis of the problem: increasing costs. “Okay, let’s start with that,” I thought to myself.
At the factory, I was closely watching the production process. One sure-fire way to reduce costs was to improve efficiency in the operations. I didn’t know how to do this. We had to reduce wastage. A big question mark hovered above my head.
I called up Yogesh, my dear friend and classmate for our MBA programme. He was known as Mr. Database amongst us. He had a great network of friends. He was in touch with friends, right from kindergarten to B-school. He maintained contact with seniors, juniors, faculty members, and even people from other departments—just about every body from B-school.
“Abhi! I heard you’re back from Bangalore,” he said. “What are you doing now?”
Yogesh was working in an insurance company. His flamboyant and magnetic personality had made him an instant success at selling insurance policies. I sometimes wondered whether his good looks more than helped him in his job.
I narrated my problem to him, and he straightaway reminded me about Radha Jayadevan. Of course! Radha Jayadevan! She had been our sub-junior. She was a brilliant engineering graduate, who used to think differently. She was like a flower filled with nectar, and all of us were like honey bees trying to get to her. But our juniors, those pests, would always keep us away from her.
She had landed her first job at Chennai, based on my referral. But after that, I had changed my SIM card and we didn’t contact each other. I guess we had been too busy to do that. But she did know a few things about me. She knew about my struggle with tumor and how I overcame it to graduate on time. She knew of my resilience.
Yogesh told me that she had been working at Hyderabad, but later quit her job. He said that now she must be at Alappuzha, which was her native place! And I had forgotten all about that!
“Yogi, this is too good to be true! Tell me you’re not joking!” I exclaimed to him. I was excited to no limits.
“Hey, just wait a second, man! I heard that her parents want her to get married and are searching for a groom. So, I don’t know whether she’ll help you out,” Yogesh clarified.
Hearing this, my spirits dampened, like a seesaw. Mr. Database gave me her phone number and hung up. With fingers crossed, I dialed her number.
A sweet voice answered my call. It was Radha. I chose not to play “Guess who?” with her. “Hi Radha! It’s me, Abhinav,” I greeted her.
“Abhinav Madhavan?” she responded. “Wow! It’s been a long time. How are you?”
“Fine, thank you.”
“What are you doing now?”
“Helping my uncle out in his business. He owns a concern called Lakshmi Industries in Alappuzha.”
“Lakshmi Industries? Oh! I’ve passed by its premises. It’s owned by your uncle, huh?”
“Yes. It’s in the red right now. And that’s why I’m here. By the way, Yogesh told me just now that you’re in Alappuzha.”
“I had found my job quite stressful. I want to work in another sector. But I haven’t decided which one yet. Right now, I’m taking a break...and my parents are looking for a groom,” she said. And then giggling, she said, “I don’t know which of these will happen first.”
Listening to her laughter, I remained silent.
“Tell me Abhinav.”
“Radha, could you do me a favour? I…er…I don’t know a thing about the production process here. Could you have a look at it and suggest some improvements, if it’s not inconvenient for you?” I asked, hesitantly.
“Of course I’ll help you! What inconvenience?” she replied. “Besides, I owe you one. I got my job based on your referral. And that also helped me land another job with a fat pay packet.”
“But Radha, your second job didn’t go well. So do I get negative marks for that?” I joked.
“Negative marks? I know you’ve given me that for not having contacted you,” she said. “This is my chance to make amends for that. There’s no problem. My parents also know you, and its getting boring here too. When shall we meet?”
“Thanks Radha!” I was overjoyed. Her presence would mean making long strides in solving our problems. “How about…today evening itself?”
“Fine. How’s 5 pm?”
“Excellent. Shall I pick you up?”
“No, thank you. I’ve got my brother’s Honda Activa here and my driver’s license. How about meeting at the boat jetty?”
“That’s fine. See you there,” I said, relieved.
“Chalo. Perfect,” replied Radha.
***
I reached the spot in an auto rickshaw before 5 pm and waited for her. ‘Biwi’, that’s what my classmates used to call Radha—B for ‘Beauty’ and W for ‘Wits’. She used to be everybody’s dream girl. So a pun was also intended on ‘Biwi’. Just as I recalled these things, Radha arrived riding a Honda Activa and stopped beside me. A man, I didn’t know, accompanied her.
“Hello Abhinav,” she greeted, in a low voice, as both of them got off the scooter. She placed the scooter on the side stand.
“Hi Radha,” I too greeted her, in a low voice.
“Meet my brother Mahesh Annan .”
“Hi.”
“You talk to each other while I go to that shop and come back,” Mahesh Annan said, pointing towards a store, before walking towards it.
I narrated all that I knew about the firm and my interaction with the workers to her, as she listened. In between, she asked me, “You were able to say those things to the workers there? So you’ve overcome your jitters?”
“Well, I had to put my best foot forward. I guess if you are so determined, and you’re working so hard to achieve your goal, things like stage fright are peanuts,” I realized.
After listening to my recital, she said, “Okay, Abhinav. If I can see the manufacturing process, then maybe we can find out ways to improve. What time should I come to Lakshmi tomorrow?”
“When are you free?” I asked her.
“How about 10 am?” she asked in reply.
“Thanks, Radha.”
“Chalo. Perfect.”
She gave Mahesh Annan a missed call, and in a few moments, he came out with a shopping bag in his hand. They left the place on their scooter.
I was doubly relieved. Her big black eyes told me that she would come up with something big tomorrow. I caught another auto rickshaw and went back to Lok uncle’s place.
***
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