What was your most unprofessional moment?

Written for Quora.com in response to "What was your most unprofessional moment?"


I will share two stories from my first job.

This was back in 2003. I was a fresh graduate from a top business school in my country, and I got delighted to get a job in one of the top companies.

My boss was a horrible woman. She still is, but I am glad that I am miles away from her influence sphere now.

She had this particular management style of making fun of young employees and attacking them at their vulnerable points. She once pointed out that as I belonged to a middle class family, if she hadn’t hired me, I’d be roaming around the streets like a vagabond. That was not even the worst thing she said to me.

I had a regular responsibility of updating a very boring and useless document. Everyone in the team found the exercise to be boring and non-contributing, but she still insisted that I present it on the weekly team meetings (read team grindings).

So one week, I just didn’t get the report done. Looking back, I can’t really tell what motivated me to get so rebellious, but instead of completing the report by Thursday evening, I took an early out, went home and played some Sims 2 on the PC. I totally forgot about this until Sunday arrived (we have Fri and Sat as weekends).

I entered the office and remembered about not doing the report. I didn’t bother, and just went in to the meeting.

After grinding a few guys for not so urgent issues, she shifted her attention to me and asked to share the update. I just blurted out “I haven’t updated it”. She went in to an instant fit of fury, and literally shouted “WHY?”. I mustered the calmest voice I could ever produce, and said “Because I did not feel like doing it”.

The answer was so outrageously unprofessional and incredible, that everyone got silent. She searched for the right words, and after a while, told me to just update it after the meeting.

Later on, after the meeting, some of my seniors in the team confronted me. I was the youngest member and we were a close knit team; as in, everyone was united due to having a common enemy. So this senior lady, who was a sister figure to me, told me that she was very upset with my attitude, but also glad that I gave her a piece of my mind.

I felt proud then, but looking back, I realize that I should not have done that.

On another occasion, she gave me another boring task which was taking ages to complete because of her incessant revisions and changes in the scope of work. When I came up with the 18th version (yes, I had all versions saved separately) of the presentation, she came up with some totally new perspective, which meant I had to run a new set of numbers to get the figures updated.

I fiddled with the revised requirements, but could not find any way to fit them in unless I totally changed the presentation.

I didn’t do it, and showed her a slightly modified 19th edition.

She was furious, as usual, and asked me “Is this the best output you could show me?”.

Once again, my arrogant self replied “Yes, I don’t see any way to improve this without changing the document totally”.

She said “So you are confessing that your dimwitted brain cannot produce anything better than this?”.
I replied “Yes, you got that right”.

She didn’t say anything further, and I left the job within the next couple of months.

একজন নিতম্বের ফুটা এবং একটি লিফট

কেতাদুরস্ত অফিসিয়াল সাজে উনি উদ্ধত এবং গর্বিত। কানে লেটেস্ট মডেল এর মোবাইল, পিঠে ঝোলানো ভারী চামড়ার ব্যাগ। ভিতরে সম্ভবত দামী ল্যাপ্টপ। ফোনে অতীব জরুরী কোন আলাপ সারতে সারতে ঢুকলেন তিনি লিফট এর ভেতর।

প্রথমেই ওনার ব্যাগ এর আঘাতে ঘায়েল হলেন এক ভদ্রলোক। সে ঘটনা সামলে ওঠার আগেই উনি সজোরে ব্যাগটি নামিয়ে রাখলেন মাটিতে। এ কাজটি করলেন এক হাতে; আরেক হাত তখনো কানে লাগানো।

বিধিবাম! কনুই এর গুঁতো খেলেন আরেক ভদ্রমহিলা। লিফটে অনেক মানুষ, তা ১৫ জন তো হবেই। কিন্তু জনাব ব্যস্ত নিতম্বের ফুঁটোর তাতে কোন ভ্রঃক্ষেপ নেই। উনি তো ব্যস্ত। ফোনে আছেন। ওনার সাত খুন মাফ। বাকিদের দায়িত্ত্ব ফুটা কে তার মত থাকতে দেয়ার। কোন আহত মহিলা কিংবা ব্যথিত মদ্ধবয়সির রাগান্বিত চেহারার দিকে তাকানোর সময় তার কাছে নেই।

সহসা পেছন থেকে এল ধাক্কা। হাত থেকে খসে গেল নিতম্ব ফূটার প্রিয় ফোন খানা। ছড়িয়ে গেল ১৫-২০টি টুকরোর মাঝে সহস্র সুখ দুঃখ। ৮ আনা বিরক্তি ও ৮ আনা অবিশ্বাস নিয়ে তিনি তাকালেন নিষ্ঠুর দুনিয়ার প্রতিনিধি দের দিকে। কেউ তাকে এক্টুও পাত্তা দিল না।

রাগী চেহারা দেখিয়ে, নাম না জানা শত মানুষের প্রতি অভিসম্পাত ছুড়ে দিয়ে গজ গজ করতে করতে তিনি নিজ পথে চলে গেলেন। তিনি একজন নিতম্বের ফুঁটা।

Jorah Mormont

উনার নাম স্যার জোরাহ মরমন্ট। উনি সুপ্রসিদ্ধ ইংরেজী ধারাবাহিক "গেম অফ থ্রোন্স"এর একজন গুরুত্তপুর্ণ চরিত্র। সিংহাসন দখলের খেলায় ভরপুর এই সিরিজে অসংখ্য রাজা বাদশাহর ছড়াছড়ি। তাদের নামের সাথে "ড্রাগনমাতা", "এক চোখা বৃক্ষ" ইত্যাদি সব চটকদার টাইটেল। রাজাদের মদ্ধ্যে "উত্তরের রাজা", "সাদা হাটিয়ে দের সর্দার" প্রমুখ উল্লেখযোগ্য।

কিন্তু সবাইকে ছাড়িয়ে গিয়েছেন শ্রদ্ধেয় জোরা মরমন্ট। উনি উনার ক্রাশ দের সাথে বন্ধুত্তপুর্ণ সম্পর্ক স্থাপনে পারদর্শিতার কারনে "King of friendzone" নামে পরিচিত।

উনার এই মহামুল্যবান টাইটেলটি ছিনিয়ে নেয়ার জন্য পুরো ওয়েস্টারোস এ একটিও জীবিত আত্মা পাওয়া যায়নি এ পর্যন্ত!

বন্ধু জোনের রাজার জয় হোক।

What's so Special About The Beatles?

Well, everything is great about The Beatles. Statistics and articles apart, for me, the music of Beatles means a lot. Before getting introduced to their music, I was mostly a hard rock/heavy metal music fan. I would admire the music of Metallica, Scorpions, Black Sabbath, Dream Theater, etc. bands because of their musical prowess (primarily) and the somewhat rebellious lyrics.

But Beatles changed it all. For the first time in my life, I understood that a band of four young people can create a lot of impact through simple tunes and even simpler lyrics. 

1. 
"Black bird singing in the dead of night, 
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise"

Is it just a song about a black bird? Or is it about a person who never got an opportunity to rise because he had "broken wings"? 

2.
"If I were you, I'd realize that I
Love you more, than any other guy"

What a clever way of expressing love towards a woman...these lines always cracked me up. 

3.
You're asking me will my love grow
I don't know, I don't know
You stick around now it may show
I don't know, I don't know

Today's love may turn in to tomorrow's hatred, or it can also intensify by leaps and bounds. Listening to this great song won't give you an iota of indication that something other than the purest expression of love is in it. 

4.
She's the kind of girl 
you want so much it makes you sorry
Still you don't regret a single day
Ah, girl, Girl, girl

Don't we all know that girl whom we always admired but never got the chance to go near?

5.
I have to admit it's getting better
A little better all the time
Getting so much better all the time

The feel good songs. Nothing can cheer me up more than a little dose of Beatles. No matter how tough things are, it should always get better. 

There are so many other examples. Actually, I can relate to each and every Beatles song. Everyone tells a story, and everyone can relate to those stories in their unique manner. The interpretation of the songs also change from person to person. 

When I heard A Hard Day's Night back in 1996, I found the line "working like a dog" very amusing. I was a high school student then. Now in 2012, I exactly know what working like a dog means, and how meaningful and fulfilling it is to be in the arms of my life after getting back home from a tough day at work. 

The music of Beatles keeps inspiring me, and it also makes me live another day to get rid of depression and struggles. 

That is what is so great about Beatles.

আবালটি

একবার এক দেশে প্লেগ ছড়িয়ে পড়লো। সেরকম মড়ক এর আগে কেউ কখনো দেখে নাই। একে একে মারা পড়তে লাগলো সবাই। এতই দ্রুত প্রাণহানী হচ্ছিল যে অনেকে তাদের ফেসবুকে "রিমেম্বারিং" লাগানোর মত মানুষ ও পেল না।

এই অবস্থায় একজন স্ট্যাটাস দিল "আমার কেন এখনো প্লেগ হল না? সৃষ্টিকর্তা কি আমাকে ভালবাসে না? কেন আমি এখনো মরলাম না?"

দিন গিয়ে মাস হল, মাস গিয়ে নতুন বছর এল, একে একে সবাই মরে গেল, কিন্তু বেচে রইল আবালটি।

তার মনে একটাই ভাবনা, আমি কি আশির্বাদপুষ্ট না অভিশপ্ত?

Iron Fist Reviewed

SPOILERS for Iron Fist

Just finished watching episode 13, and I must say, the closure was quite a let down.

Overall, I liked the show a lot, but I must say it fares quite weakly when compared against the other MCU shows on netflix.

The worst part about this series was the romance between Iron Fist and Colleen Wing. It did not make much sense for the larger part of the show. They had very little humane interaction, and it seemed that they fell in love with each other's fighting techniques more than anything else.

The Meacham family was mostly annoying. They got a LOT of screentime to show their broken family dynamics. Harold was interesting at the beginning, but later on he became a pushover. Ward was weak and pathetic, Joy was boring.

In fact, most of the characters other than IF himself seemed boring. There wasn't even an interesting character like the policeman in Jessica Jones (who was mind controlled by Killgrave and later on became the lover of Hellcat).

Davos and Bakuto didn't add much. Gao was good, but she, too, was overused. It killed a lot of mysticism she showed in Daredevil.

The forced inclusion of the "knight nurse" has now became seriously tiring. Also, she can fight now, which also looked weird.

And for the world's sake, why she never tries contacting Luke or Matt to help Danny out is a big, unexplained mystery. In this case it made total sense to at least call up Matt once and to get some tips on handling the Hand.

Also, what is the timeline for this? Is it just after Daredevil season 1 or 2? If it is 2, then where is Elektra?

I guess most of the questions will be answered in The Defenders.

খাদ্য কাহিনী ১

খাদ্য কাহিনী ১

আমাকে যারা ব্যক্তিগত ভাবে চিনে তারা জানে আমি খাওয়া দাওয়া কত ভালবাসি। না চিনলেও একবার দেখলেই আমার বিশাল বপু সেই তথ্যটি ফাঁস করে দেয়।

তা যাই হোক, বিভিন্ন জায়গায় খেতে গিয়ে বিবিধ অভিজ্ঞতা হয়, ভাবলাম সেগুলো লিখে রাখি।

আজকে সেরকমই একটি কাহিনী বলছিঃ

খিলগাঁও তে হথাত করেই ব্যাং এর ছাতার মত অনেকগলো রেস্টুরেন্ট খুল্লো। প্রথমে ছিল শুধু আপন ক্যাফে আর এপেলিয়ানো।

এরপর খুল্লো "শর্মা কিং" নামের একটি দোকান। সেখানে নাকি শর্মা , পিজ্জা, এবং অন্যান্য ইতালীয় খাবার সুলভ মূল্যে পাওয়া যাবে। ওই দালানের সবগুলো ফ্লোরেই খাবারের দোকান।

যাই হোক, আমি আর আমার বউ একদিন গেলাম ওখানে; চিন্তা হচ্ছে বাসার সবার জন্য শর্মা কিনে নিয়ে যাবূ।

সুদৃশ্য মেনু থেকে আইটেম পছন্দ করে অর্ডার দিলাম। ওয়েটার বল্লেন ১৫ মিনিট লাগবে।

ইতিমদ্ধে আরেকটি পরিবার এসে বসলো আমাদের পেছনে। তারাও রকমারি খাবারের অর্ডার দিল।

এরপর শুরু হল দুঃসহ অপেক্ষা। ১০-১৫-২০ পেরিয়ে একসময় ঘড়ির কাঁটা ৪৫ মিনিট এ পৌছুল। ইতিমদ্ধে

ততক্ষনে ওয়েটার দের সাথে ২-৩ দফা বচসা হয়ে গেছে আমাদের, এবং পেছনে বসা ভদ্রলোকটি শুধু অশ্রাব্য গালি দিতে বাকি রেখেছেন।

আরো প্রায় ১০ মিনিট পরে দেখলাম হেলতে দুলতে জনৈক ওয়েটার আসছেন খাবার নিয়ে।

কিন্ত আমাকে আর আমার স্ত্রী কে হতভম্ব করে দিয়ে সেই খাবার গেল আমাদের থেকে কমপক্ষে ১৫ মিনিট পরে আসা সেই ভদ্রলোকের(!) টেবিলে।

ভাবলাম কোন ভুল হয়েছে! ডাকলাম ওয়েটার কে। জিজ্ঞাসা করলাম, "উনি আমাদের পরে এসেও আগে খাবার পেল কিভাবে?"

দু'গাল হেসে উনি নির্বিকার চিত্তে বললেন, "ভাই উনি বেশি চিল্লাপাল্লা করছিলেন তো, তাই উনাকে আগে দিয়েছি"

এই ঘটনা প্রায় ৩ বছর আগের।

এরপর অনেকবার বাইরে খেয়েছি, খিলগায়ের সেই বিল্ডিং এও গিয়েছি। কিন্ত অন্য দোকানে।

কিন্ত শর্মা কিং এর ছায়া ও মাড়াইনি আর!

#ইশতিয়াক
#খাদ্য কাহিনী

"Bitter" Bittersweet

গতকাল আমার ব্যক্তিগত প্রোফাইল এ একটি স্ট্যাটাস দিয়েছিলাম Bittersweet Cafe তে না যেতে চাওয়া প্রসঙ্গে। এই ঘটনার একটি প্রেক্ষাপট আছে যা শেয়ার করা উচিত।

কিছুদিন আগে আমরা কয়েকজন একটি কন্সার্ট দেখতে গিয়েছিলাম। শো শেষ হওয়ার পর একজন প্রস্তাব দিল খেতে যাওয়ার।

তখন বাজে রাচ ১০ঃ৩০। বাসায় গেলে এম্নিতেও খাওয়া পাব না। রাজি হতে বেশি সময় নিল না কেউ।

কিন্ত কোথায় যাওয়া হবে এই ব্যাপারে একমত হতে পারছিলাম না আমরা। কেউ বলে নান্দোস, কেউ বলে স্পিটফায়ার, কেউ বুমারস, ইত্যাদি নানা অপশন আসতে থাকলো টেবিলে।

আমি মোটামুটি চুপ করেই ছিলাম। হথাত কানে বাজলো অম্লমধুর বিটারসুঊট এর নাম।

অটো রেস্পন্স এর মত মুখ থেকে বের হলো "Anywhere but bittersweet, please. I won't go there".

Pindrop silence. সবাই চুপ।

সবগুলো মুখ আমার দিকে ঘরে গেল। একজন জিজ্ঞাসা করলো "ওখানে কি সমস্যা?"

আমি বললাম "ওইটা সাকা চৌধুরীর দোকান। ওখানে আমি যাই না। "

একজন বাঁকা হাসি দেইয়ে বলল, "আমরা কেন এখানে রাজনীতি টানছি?"

এ প্রসঙ্গে আমার এক্টাই কথা বলার আছে।

যারা আমার দেশের সাথে বেঈমানী করেছে, দেশের সোনালী সন্তানদের হত্যা করেছে, শত শত মা বোনদের ইজ্জত লুটেছে, তাদের সন্তানদের সুন্দর ভবিষ্যত নিয়ে আমার কোন মাথা ব্যথা নাই।

আমি তাদের রেস্টুরেন্ট এ একটি আধলাও খরচ করবোনা।

হয়তো এ আমার নিস্ফল প্রতিবাদ, কিন্ত আমি আমার বিবেকের কাছে পরিষ্কার থাকছি।

কেউ কেউ আমাকে বলে, তোমার এত লাগে কেন? থাক না, "past is past".

But they have not worn my shoes. They did not grow up without ever meeting their grandfather, who was abducted in the early hours of the morning by the friends of SQ Chy, only to be found dead and rotting in রায়েরবাজার বদ্ধভুমি after two days.

His dead body was so mangled and mutilated that my 18 year old father, his elder brother and younger brothers could only recognize him by looking at the shreds of his torn clothes and the wristwatch he was wearing.

And if any kind(!) soul now tells me to forget and forgive, you can show your way out of the door by blocking me.

Reviewing Burger King Bangladesh

Bangladesh, despite of being a small country, has enjoyed the presence of global fast food brands like KFC and Pizza Hut for quite some time. However, a large void existed when it came to burgers, which has been so far catered to by local brands like American Burger, Takeout, Burger'N Boost, Preetom and Madchef--each with their individual merits and demerits.

So when I first heard that Burger King is coming, I though this is it, the "one king to rule them all" will be here soon. But alas, I have been disappointed today.

Since opening, BK BD has managed to create unprecedented levels of excitement, and I also fed the hype by waiting in a long queue before finally managing to order my favorite whoppers.

I had my first BK burger in Kualalumpur, Malaysia some 7-8 years ago. I still remember the taste. It was the best burger I've ever had, and since then, I became a fan. Whenever I went abroad, I would not miss to find one BK branch and have them juicy burgers. I don't want to brag, but I have had the good fortune of tasting BK burgers in another 4-5 countries, and I was never, ever disappointed.

But the Double Whopper Cheese meal that I ordered today failed to impress me. Firstly, setting up a burger meal without having cheese in it is a crime. Secondly, the burger was damned dry.

There was no sauce, very little mayonnaise and veggies, and overall, the double whopper was very, very dry. I had to gulp generous portions of soft drink to merely swallow the big chunk of meat and the bun. There was no problem with the patty; it tasted very well. But the overall combination; the art of burger making is disappointingly absent from the overall process.

Even the disgustingly mayo infused Preetom burger goes easier inside the mouth.

I heard people who ordered single burgers had a better experience. But that is not an excuse--9 out of 10 times I've ordered a burger, it was a double, and I don't want to tone down my appetite just because someone doesn't know how to make good burgers.

I am still willing to believe that the problem is not with Burger King, it is with Burger King Bangladesh, who are not following the international standards set by the parent company.

I will keep listening to people's feedback, but is not very likely that I will go back there many times until this dryness issue is fixed.

By the way, the onion rings are a joke; they tasted awful. The french fries were awesome and the sundae wasn't that bad, either.

Just a little bit more juice on the burger and you have a winner.

Originally posted in Facebook:

Hydrogen Sulfide

I am from Notre Dame College; 98 batch, group 2, Roll number 982140

Today suddenly I remembered the smell of the chemistry lab while attending a meeting with my colleagues.

While sitting in the class, our nostrils would often get invaded by the pungent smell of Hydrogen Sulphide, which was annoying and amusing at the same time. However, the situation inside the lab was much different.

Initially, I was very scared of whatever happened inside. I could not manage to identify any salt; I was terrible with all the gadgets inside and I was constantly intimidated by the bubbling bottles of acid. It didn't help my cause at all when one of my dear friends dropped a small test tube full of sulfuric acid on my precious bag. A hole was created instantly; and upon careful inspection, I realized that two notebooks also received similarly gaping holes.

Eventually, I started getting a hang out of the proceedings and got better and better in doing the tests required to identify the salts. As far as I remember, we were required to identify 10 salts, but I ended up doing more than 15 and I also helped many of my lab mates in identifying their own salts.

I started loving the smell of the different chemicals, apparatus and the overall ambiance.

I believe NDC had the best Chemistry teachers in the whole country. I still remember the kind voices of AC Das sir, Bidyashagor sir, Guho sir and Monoronjon sir.

Now the lab is situated in a different building, but while we were studying, it was still in the same building where we had our classes.

So NDC made me a real chemistry lab expert! Though I never studied chemistry after leaving college, I still miss the smell.

Just a quick reminiscence.

7/12/16

No Romon Given

একটি ছেলে বিন সোলায়মান এর বাসায় কাজ করে। ছেলেটির বয়স কত আর হবে, ৮ কিংবা ১০। অনাথ শিশুটির কোনো নাম ছিল না; এক সদাশয় লাল সালু ভক্ত তাকে মজিদ নামে ডাকা শুরু করে—মানুষটি নেই কিন্তু নামটি রয়ে গিয়েছে।

তাকে সে তেমন টাকা পয়সা দেয় না, পেটে ভাতে রেখেছে। ছেলেটি এম্নিতে খুবই ভদ্র ধরনের, যা বলা হয় তাই করে। তারপরেও বিন সোলায়মান তাকে সুযোগ পেলেই বকে; পেনকেক থেকে সিরাপ খসলে চড় থাপ্পড় ও দিতে ছাড়ে না!

বন্ধু মহলে তার সুনাম আছে ডাকসাইটে দাবাড়ু হিসেবে। অনেকেই তার সাথে বাজী ধরে খেলে টাকা ও অহঙ্কার দুইটাই হারিয়েছে।

এহেন অবস্থায় একদিন বিন সোলায়মান এর শখ হল সে মজিদ কে দাবা খেলা শেখাবে।

প্রথম প্রথম অবধারিত ভাবে সে মজিদ কে গো-হারা হারাতো। হঠাত কোনদিন করো কাছে হেরে গেলে বিন সোলায়মান তার নিস্ফল আস্ফালন প্রকাশ করতো মজিদ কে হারিয়ে।

কিন্তু একদিন ঘটে গেল অবধারিত দুরঘটনা!

মজিদ, বিন সোলায়মান কে “চেক মেট” করে দিল।

লাথি পড়লো প্রথমে দাবার বোরড এ। তারপর মজিদ এর কোমরে।

সেদিন রাতে ১০২ জর নিয়ে ভেগে গেল মজিদ।

২০ বছর পর। বিন সোলায়মান এর পরিচয় হল এক বড়লোক ব্যঙ্কার এর সাথে। উনিও দাবা খেলেন। শুরু হল খেলা।

খেলতে বসে একের পর এক হার।

হঠাত খেয়াল করলো বিন সোলায়মান!

“আরে, তুই না আমার বাসায় কাজ করতি? তোকে না আমি দাবা শিখালাম? যা বেটা তোর সাথে হাত মিলাবো না আজ!”

হাহা করে হাসতে হাসতে বেরিয়ে গেল মজিদ; বিন সোলায়মান কে একটাও “রমণ” না দিয়ে।

He Was a Boy, She Was a Girl

During his university years, he took a course on computers and the teacher taught him stuff like powerpoint, excel, word and a little bit of casual programming.

He was a proud guy. Since childhood, he had access to personal computers and was convinced that he knew the ins and outs of the devices that had "Intel Inside", but on the particularly painful occasion called final exam, the world crashed down on him.

It was a practical exam, and all of the people in their twenty's were required to perform certain tasks on a computer and answer questions asked by the self proclaimed computing guru.

He was asked to create an excel file with ten sheets, and had to create some equations where input had to be given in the first sheet and the results would be automatically pasted in the other cells; sequentially. It wasn't too tough, but it was a tedious job. He did it without much trouble.

But the teacher wasn't done with him. He asked to make something happen whereby he could write something on the first sheet but when printing all ten sheets, that same writing will appear on the other sheets automatically.

This, stumped him.

He couldn't do it, and was crestfallen.

The next student to take the test was the prettiest girl in the class. Everyone liked her because she was not only soft spoken, but also very friendly.

The teacher asked him "Do you have a computer at home?". With shining teeth and a beaming smile, she replied "Yes".

"Can you turn it on?"

"Yes".

"Okay, you may go now".

And the rest was history. He ended up with a B, she got an A.

A Tourist

Banglay lekhar chorcha ta onekdin dhorei nai.....so seeking forgiveness in advance.

A Tourist

This happened 4-5 years ago. I was coming back home after a hectic business trip. It was an Emirates flight, which meant that things were more comfortable at economy class than many other airline's business class.

I am not the kind of person who usually indulges in conversation with strangers. My way of spending long, lonely flights is through listening to music or watching a movie or two, and only taking a break when food arrives.

However, that day, I had to change my ways. The guy who sat beside me was exceptionally chatty. He inquired about my profession, background and what not! I found him quite intrusive and started judging him a bit.

But then he told me his story. He was a US citizen and was running his own, small business. He made a fortune and was having the time of his life in his mid 30s. When he thought things couldn't get any better, he met the girl of his dreams.

Both of them felt a connection unlike anything they felt before. Things started advancing like a movie. In no time, they had their fifty first dates, moved in together and within six months, they got engaged.

Unfortunately, just like the movie their life was, one fateful day he came back early to give the love of his life a surprise; only to discover her entwined with his best friend in a very compromising and improper position. She tried giving some lame excuses, that she was sad, drunk and he was only trying to console her. He really wanted to believe her, and he believed her, too.

I don't know why this stranger was sharing his story with me, but me being a good listener, did not interrupt.

I thought there was going to be a happy ending to this story, but I also knew there won't be.

He caught her having sex with that same person just a few days before they were "supposed" to get married, and that was a very traumatizing event for him. He cancelled the wedding, sold off his business and went in to recluse.

The next few months were a blur. He was spiraling down a path of no return. Drugs and alcohol became his best friends, and his bank balance kept on shrinking.

Until one day he just couldn't do this to himself anymore. He got up, checked his remaining bank balance, and went out on a world tour.

He deliberately choose the cheapest destinations, and also places where it was, as per his own words, "difficult to stay connected".

After hearing this, the mood of the conversation changed drastically. I converted myself from the passive listener to a very active participant. I told him everything I knew about Dhaka, and Bangladesh. Places to see, food to eat, people to meet, things to do, and what not? He was asking one question and I was answering five.

In no time, the flight was over and the jet was ready to disembark. I gave him my card and ask him to call me if he ever needed any help. He wanted to stay for a whole month. He told me that "If I am not staying for a month, I cannot live the life". He did the same thing in Nepal, Thailand and intended to follow his self made ritual in Bangladesh, too.

While giving him the business card, I saw his eyes making a specific motion, and I knew he will never "connect" with me, and this was going to be the last time I will talking to him.

I advertised my country to him with a lot of heart. I believe I managed to convert his skepticism to curiosity. I gave my two hundred percent to convince him that he made the right call to visit the country which boasts places like Coxsbazar, Sundarbans, Kuakata and St. Martins.

That was five years ago. If I had this trip right now, would I be able to endorse my country like that?

Not sure, not after what happened on 2nd July. I hope I will be able to change my stance soon.

Poked By The Ball

The door has a vivid poster on it. The top line is written in a font bigger than the rest. A nice, shiny "I", followed by the not so ceremonious and yet overused word "Shit" is written. Below the I'shit, we can see "ON PEOPLE" written in all caps; giving out an air of arrogance and pride. By now, it was clear to Steve that this ought to be the office of the head honcho. 

But I'shit was not the end of it. There was this interesting graphic image which is popular and well distributed via forwarded emails. There's a tall multi-branched tree in the poster. A big bird is sitting on the top branch, and all other birds are sitting in branches below him. Each bird below the big bird has their heads covered with "white stuff", which has striking resemblance with bird excreta. 

While he was taking a good look at the poster and wondering his next step, Steve heard a loud glass shattering noise and a yelp. Before he could react, a suit clad bulky guy shoved him aside and ran past him like a rocket gone haywire. 

He didn't get enough time to recover from this "heavy" interruption. He heard someone yelling "I am gonna kill that fucking faggot." Steve quickly redirected his vision towards the source of the cursing, and found an intimidating person holding an empty glass. He was wearing a polo t-shirt, which once was dry and ironed, but now it seemed completely wet. Beneath his legs, Steve saw a puddle of liquid substance and the remnants of a broken bottle. 

Steve, being the analytic he is, quickly added two plus two and inferred that the olympic runner is the  source of this carnage, and now the t-shirt guy wants to kill him. 

"What are you looking at you dumbshit?" Boomed the t-shirt guy.

Steve, despite of being a self conscious, confident and proud person, stammered back "I err, umm....I'm here to see Mr. Randy". 

"The hell you are. He's wasted. Don't bother knocking. Wait a while and you will be called", came the reply. 

Suddenly Steve felt a poking pain in his head, and saw a small plastic ball in front of him. Once again, his analytic mind told him that he has just been poked by the ball in the head. It is like having spider sense, thought Steve! Always being conscious about the surroundings. Dad said I'd be dumb if I don't take notice of the surroundings.

He looked around and found an extremely cute young girl smiling at him from a short distance. She was batting her eyelashes and looking at him intently through the pink spectacles she was wearing. The big glasses made her look a bit comical, but her revealing clothes, enticing smile and playful looks were distracting enough to kill any comedy element in the whole situation. 

What sounded like a barking dog with a distorted vocal chord came out as another yell from the t-shirt dude--"You fucking slut, what the fuck do you think you are doing? Get your ass back to work and leave that pussy alone"!

Steve was awestruck. He couldn't recall another half an hour where he was called dumbshit and pussy in quick succession. When he used to wear the sombrero and wield the dual beretta's, he would have blasted anyone who dared insult him in this manner. He put both of his hands inside his pockets and gave the guy a nasty glare.

Then he remembered. He only wore sombreros in his dreams. While awake, he finds them stupid and he also hates anyone Mexican, Spaniard or the whole lot of Latinos. He considers them lazy, pathetic lying cheating and stealing beings whom are infesting the united states of 'merica with their silly attires and retarded gestures. All of them should die the way Eddie got eaten up. 

He didn't realize it, but his hand-pocketing made an impression. The t-shirt guy looked concerned, and his right hand was moving towards a button on the wall. Steve's patience had worn out by then. Gone, exhausted, and not to be refilled anytime soon.

He shouted in his Bee Gees voice (yeah, the voice that was common for two of the brothers, the third one had a different one)-"You stupid cunt. Don't even dare touching that button!". 

The girl with next to no clothes had her mouth open; instantly. The gaping hole created a gap through which a piranha or a baby elephant could jump inside. Well, maybe not a real elephant, but a stuffed variant would easily go through. 

At that exact moment, Steve noticed that everyone in the room was looking at him intently, and there were actually 4-5 others in the room. Every eye was fixated upon his pocketed arms, with a look of fear and trepidation, and there was actually pin drop silence. 

Suddenly, heavy footsteps were heard. What seemed like an army entering ended with the loud door crashing entrance of the "fucking faggot", as termed by the t-shirt guy. He came in and was just going to say something, and then he saw our "arm-pocketed" hero. 

His open mouth stayed open, as his slow brain slowly processed the situation. It seemed to him that someone is here to rob the bank, and he amused the audience by making another quick exit. 

At that moment, Steve got deprived of the opportunity to take a look at the I'shit poster for the first time since he entered this "office". The door opened with a loud creaking noise, and a tiny man came out of the door. He was dressed in black; a black suit, a black tie, black shoes and a black hat. He even had a black mustache.  He looked surprisingly similar to John Larkin, but this guy, the "head honcho" seemed a lot smaller. 

He gave a questioning look at Steve, and instantly realized the tensed situation in the room. He was also going to open his mouth, but Steve interrupted.

"Don't bother opening that fucking hole. I've seen my share of open mouthed morons today". 

So he complied. Steve said "Are you Randy?"

"Umm no, but my name is. Who's asking?"

"I am Steve. I have an interview with you which was supposed to start 30 odd minutes ago. These moronic cohorts of yours held me up from getting in"

Randy smiled meekly. 

"Oh, hello Steve. When can you join?"

"What the fuck do you mean?"

"Yes, I am making you the boss of these assholes. They are now your moronic cohorts. You listen up buddy! They are now your problem, I will get back to sleep now."

Leaving Steve perplexed, Randy got back to his office leaving behind a loud bang and a tough job. 

"What are you looking at, you scums? Get your asses back to work and someone fetch that fat dumbfuck that ran away." shouted Steve, and there started a new era in stark naked industries....the world's weirdest office. 

"Sigh, and I didn't even talk about the paid vacations!"