Seasons of Love by Jaismita Alexander

Seasons of Love Part 2

Part Two:

Dreams aren't easy to achieve. One has to cross several hurdles to reach the aimed goal. I was well aware of it and therefore worked hard day and night. Something clicked me hard. The world was full of male chauvinist pigs. People working with me, taught me how difficult it can be for a girl to survive in the professional field. With every step I moved up, they tried to pull me ten more steps down. My achievements were sometimes tagged as female charismatic influence. My good rapport with the people in power were looked down upon.

A girl achieving something was not welcomed with respect.

My mentor, Sudhir was another such male chauvinist pig. When he chose me to groom, I found it very weird. He replaced my real mentor and wished to guide me and teach me working skills. I had no other option but to accept my mentor. Sudhir was some three years senior to me, and I did not ever find it important to call him 'sir' or by any such respectable titles. I was very focused towards my work and therefore gained much appreciation from my colleagues. Sudhir quite a few times mentioned how fascinated he was by my talents. Before every project, his lines of appreciation had a new word. His 'buttering' reached peaks when I had to do everything, even his work too. We were working on a very crucial project and I knew he had no capability of helping me in it. But he wanted it to be done on time. I was very disturbed by his calls. He called daily and harassed me. When the project finally ended, I was extremely distressed and told him clearly that I wanted to change my mentor. The call in the morning from my side was a stern one. I disconnected the call making my point clear.

It was night and I started working on my new project without his help. It was 1:00 am and I was still struggling with my research work. My waist ached after sitting in the same posture for about four long hours. I turned off my laptop and stood up stretching my arms. Suddenly I heard my phone vibrate. It was lying on the wooden table so the vibrations made a weird sound.

Sudhir calling...

With much disgust I answered the call...

"Hello..."

Sudhir: "He..hello, I called you casually tonight. The assignment was pretty good, so...I, so won't talk about work anymore."

I could well understand he was drunk.

"So why do we even talk about something else?"

Sudhir: " I know you are very upset because of my behaviour for the past few days. I..I am s..sorry."

"Okay, Good night. Will talk to you tomorrow"

Sudhir: "Listen. Please listen to me. I am very upset today. You know today is my ex-girlfriend's birthday. After our breakup I hate girls, but after I met you I feel different. My point of view has changed."

"See, not everyone is the same. I am different. Your ex is different. Other girls too are different individuals.", I said.

Sudhir: "Yes...yes I know but you are different from everyone. You are so so so talented and hard working. You know right, how difficult our job is? There is so much competition. No matter what, I want you to shine. I want you to do the best. I will do anything to see you at the top."

I was bored hearing all this for the past few weeks. Sometimes for entertainment I laughed alone, removing the phone away from my mouth. He sounded like Ashique 2's RD. I used to tell Tania, he was the second Aditya Roy Kapoor. We had a hearty laughter at his dialogues. Tonight as well he started off with his same old dialogues like a broken tape recorder ( Translated from a Bengali idiom). I yawned several times and just kept on replying..."hmm hmm".

He continued...

Sudhir: "I can do anything for you. Trust me. I generally do not share my personal life with my juniors but you are special. You are so matured than your age. How do you manage to stand out?"

I replied, "Hmm...hmm..Oh! Yes yes. Very much."

He said, "Yes. You are. Very matured. So I want to say something to you."

"You are only speaking tonight. So say...please ASAP"

He said, "Yes I know. I want to tell you that...that I love you. And the rest I leave upon you. You are matured enough so now give this a thought."

He fell silent.

I was not surprised but somewhere within I realised things are going to be worse for me now. I was thinking what to reply him. But spontaneously it came out from my mouth...

"What? I couldn't hear you. First of all I am too sleepy and then your voice is too broken"

He said, "I told you tonight, I won't repeat it again."

I said, "But what did you say? I could hear nothing. Uff, such disturbance. I am too sleepy. Talk to you tomorrow. And what ever you told me, if you can't repeat it again then don't."

I controlled my laughter hard.

He said nothing but disconnected the call. Probably, he thought I am stupid because I couldn't understand his three magical words.

The next day Tania and Shivani laughed their heart out when I narrated this to them. I was tagged as a fool with brains.

Thence I realised MCPs are everywhere. Sudhir was one such pig. He thought girls can be emotionally black mailed. He said that I was different flirtatiously but actually I was. I was differently emotionless. I was anti-love. I was stoic and did not believe in the three magical words. His most back dated stupid weapon got misfired. It was a mere comedy episode for me. I was determined to not do his work anymore. At any cost. After my ex, he was the second person who made me more focused towards my goal. Now it was my turn to shine, without his help. He was not a mentor to me now, but I considered him to be one of the competitors. I knew, I have to prove myself now. By hook or by crook.

To be continued....

Jaismita Alexander