The Day The State Split Asunder-14

A month has passed since the day of his joining. In a short span, Karthik has accumulated a lot of out of the way knowledge, that astonished his peers.

Madhu reached office early as she had to submit a few training reports to her lead. She looked around and saw no one, except Karthik. She wore a blue salwar kameez and an orchid dupatta with a mint-cream lining.

She sat at her desk beside Karthik, lost in her computer going through the Java tutorials on the internet. Moments later, with a grunting sigh, she banged the table hard with her fist scrunching her face in disgust.

"Madhu! What happened?" asked Karthik rolling his chair closely towards her, "You look so frustrated. Is everything all right?"

"Karthik! I am on pins and needles. What is this hell about class, object, constructors, inheritance, abstraction and polymorphism?" Madhu pushed herself upright, rubbing the temples with her fingers, "Somewhere deep inside, I am getting this foreboding feeling that they will give me a termination letter. The thought of it brings a sinking feeling. When I started, I felt like programming is a comfortable and relaxing thing to do. But now, I am at my wit's end."

The wrinkles on her forehead conveyed her apprehension about the possibility that this phantasm of getting laid off from the job might soon get transformed into a reality.

"As a neophyte learning to code will not be easy for anyone. Programming is no bed of roses, but still, we should learn it, because it is our job. We are not supposed to dabble with theories, but to deal with facts. Don't worry, even I am also from a non-IT background," said Karthik, "I too felt the same just as you do. Try learning things practically. You read you will forget. You do and you will understand, and it never gets erased from your mind."

"I wonder how you became a savant in programming in this short period. You already started dabbling with the code," she said glancing at his screen obliquely, "I had hardly written a hello world programme and that too by copy-pasting the code from mother Google."

"Getting comfortable with an uncomfortable situation is the first step of learning. First, you need to come out of the feeling that programming is tough. Every expert was once a beginner. The empire of Facebook did not come into being in just a single day, and the Windows operating system didn't get-up-and-go in a month. So stop believing that you must start big with all guns blazing. Start small. That's the way to overcome the fear of coding. Tell me what you didn't understand? I will make it clear. Trust me, it's nothing extravagant."

"Karthik, frankly, I understood nothing about Java."

"Is it?" he asked, raising his brows, "I read somewhere that, the world of programming is exactly as florid as the inventor first imagined it to be. Let's do one thing."

"What?"

"Let's go to Cafetaria and have some Java."

"Will you teach me Java at the cafeteria?"

"Did you look at the logo of Java anytime? Have you ever wondered why the developers named it Java?"

"Wait a minute," she typed java logo on her system and in an instant, the search engine displayed the coffee cup logo, "Yo! It's a coffee cup."

"When the team of developers were breaking their heads to name the programming language, the team brainstormed for hours upon hours with no clear winners. In total desperation, someone randomly called out the name Java, and they named it as Java. Java also means coffee. You know," he paused for a second, "Sometimes, a cup of coffee can make life much better. It is only by consuming coffee the developers were able to build it. Let's go and have some coffee so that we can absorb the subject efficiently."

"Wah! You have completely closed the walls around so that I cannot say no. How did you learn these many things in this short period? We both started on the same line, but you went much ahead of me. I used to think college life isn't perfect. But I am wrong, as I look back on it now, it was almost like idyllic."

"Forget about it, let's grab a jolt of Javanese coffee. It is a perfect anodyne to ease the stress levels surging inside of your skull."

"Coffee… yes, I love it. My head is rotating wildly. Let's go."

Karthik and Madhu locked their systems, rose from their chairs, stepped out of the office and made their way into the lift lobby.

Ting!

The lift arrived, and a girl dressed in blue jeans and a pink t-shirt stepped out of the lift.

"Madhu! How are you? What a surprise?" said the girl holding Madhu's hands, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Sandhya! Is it you? I just can't believe it," said Madhu, holding her hand, "I work here at ZenWings."

"I work here on the same floor at Prolific Solutions," returned the girl.

"Karthik," said Madhu, turning her face towards him, "You be there on the ground floor. I will come in two minutes. Please don't feel bad. She is my friend Sandhya. We have met after a long time." 

"No problem, I will wait down," said Karthik shooting a quick smile at her friend and stepped into the lift briskly.

The lift door shut, he pressed the button to the ground floor and checked for his wallet in his back pocket.

Oops… I forgot my wallet, I need to go up again…

Ting!

The lift reached the ground floor. He once again pressed the seventh floor and as soon as the doors opened, Madhu was standing straight in front of him with her arms crossed.

"What happened? Why did you come back again?" she placed her foot to prevent the doors from getting closed automatically.

"Madhu, I forgot my wallet," said Karthik while stepping out, "I will get it quickly, just hold it for a minute."

"I have a wallet," she pushed him inside into the lift, "There's no rule mentioned anywhere that only a boy should pay the bill."

He smiled at her words. The lift reached the ground floor, and they both walked into a large-sized Thai restaurant inaugurated by Thailand ambassador to India a week ago. There is a meditative Buddha statue of three feet in a small artificial pond with plastic water flowers floating upon it.

"What a wonderful place!" said Madhu looking around, "I pass through this place daily but never thought about getting inside."

They surveyed around and there is one table at the corner of the restaurant from where they can have a pleasant view of the outside. They sat on that table facing each other oppositely. The waiter asked for the order. He asked him to get two coffees.

"Madhu, do you know the speciality about the coffee over here?" said Karthik.

"Do they mix something in the coffee to make it taste better?"

"No, they import the coffee beans from Java Island in Indonesia and use it to prepare coffee."

"Once again, Java. I feel sick listening to that name."

The waiter arrived with two hot cups of coffee and placed the tray carefully on the table.

"Cheers… Madhu," he took the cup into his hand, "This is what they call the famous Indonesian coffee. Just don't consume like that. First inhale the aroma and then take the sip. This is the way to drink this coffee."

Madhu inhaled the vapours coming out of the cup and then took a sip. There's a weird expression on her face. She drew in the vapours into her lungs and sipped it again. Karthik could almost feel the whiff and wind of the temperamental rush on her face. It was all in her smile and the turning of her eyes, which were very wide open.

"Karthik, You're right," there was a whimsical twinkle in her eye, "The coffee is amazing."

"I suppose your headache has gone away? I think the source of annoyance is thinking too much about getting ended up with a termination letter. It might be the reason for your headache."

"I now realized I am worrying too much about things that could go wrong instead of concentrating my thoughts on how can I make it right. I am feeling much better now," she took another sip, "Karthik, Where do you stay?"

"I stay at Chamundeshwari Paying Guest hostel."

"Hey, my name."

"Ah! Yes. In the beginning, you said your name like Vijaya Abhaya? I don't remember."

"It is Vijaya Chamundeshwari Madhu Latha, and where is your hostel located?"

"It is on the lane opposite to SSN Shopping Mall."

"Hey! My home is just a ten minute's drive from the SSN Shopping mall."

"Do you stay along with your parents?"

"No, my relatives have a flat in Raman Halli. Recently they moved to the United States. I stay in their home."

"You stay alone?"

"I stay along with my cousin. We cook together."

"How do you come to the office daily?" she asked after she completed the last sip of her coffee.

"I come by bus."

"Where does your boyfriend work?" asked Karthik, "Can you tell me how you both met each other?"

"Karthik, I have to tell you something," her voice reflected the shyness in her tone, "I don't have any boyfriend."

"What! Yesterday when Praveen and I were passing through the parking lot and when he asked you if you can drop him at the junction, you said you need to pick up your boyfriend."

"I told it, so he will not roam back of me. You know, he is the prince of legerdemain. But his conjuring tricks will not work upon me."

"I see. But do you know one thing? This Praveen to a roadside Romeo. He calls himself the most eligible bachelor of the company. He is always busy in chatting with girls. It's good that you've said it, else he will keep pestering you with messages and calls."

"Tomorrow being Saturday, what are your plans?"

"What plans did you make for two days?"

"My cousin has recently gone to her village to see her parents. She won't come for one week. And I forgot to ask you one question-"

There was a message on her phone. She unlocked it, and after having read the message, her eyes twinkled with pleasure.

"We got the salary, check your mobile."

Karthik took out his mobile and saw a message from the bank.

"Hey, even my bank account is displaying the numbers for the first time," his tone echoed with pleasure, "Now I have a plan."

"What drinks party?"

"No, I don't drink, I am a good boy. I will purchase a saree for my mother and a wristwatch for my dad."

"So nice of you. Your parents will feel so happy."

"Since you don't have any plans, will you help me in selecting a saree for my mother?"

"Sure Karthik. I love shopping."

"I know."

"How do you know that?"

"I mean shopping is a favourite activity for every girl on this planet."

"Shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist. It is the best medicine. I agree you can enjoy only if you have money. And Karthik, if you don't mind, may I ask you one question?"

"Ask, what is there to think?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Should I lie or tell you the truth?"

"I don't mind whatever you say. Just tell me whether it is truth or lie before saying it."

"Well, the lie is… I have a girlfriend, and the truth is… I don't have a girlfriend."

"Which one should I take as an answer to my question? You said you are lying, and you said you are saying the truth. Is the truth really the truth and is the lie also truth or the lie which you spoke is the truth or the truth a lie? What kind of strange answer is this?"

"It's up to you the way you like to take it," said Karthik, smiling at her confused face, "Now let us discuss Java. If you stuff your brain with too much theory from different websites, the result will be exasperation. You do and you understand. The only way to learn to swim is by getting into the waters. Start doing it practically."

"Now, I understood. All these days I have been going through the e-books on the internet with boring theories. I will start doing it practically as you said."

"Ask me in case if you understand nothing. I will help you."

"Thank you so much, I expected it from you," she smiled, "From today you're my Java teacher."

The bill arrived, and the waiter handed it over to Karthik. Madhu plucked it from his hands. The bill came to two hundred and fifty rupees. She placed the cash in the bill folder and handed it over to the waiter.

"Is it a lot?" Karthik said, "It is, isn't it? I am sorry you had to pay too much for just a coffee."

"Look, I wasn't feeling good. And I don't have any best friend in this office except you."

"Tomorrow I will give you the treat," Karthik said, "Pick up a nice fancy restaurant."

"I know one place."

"What is that?"

"Let's see it tomorrow. Leave the planning to me. I will text you tonight. For now, let's get back to the office. If Praveen sees both of us together, he will create unnecessary rumours. You go first, I will come inside after ten minutes."

"That's fine, Amigo. He can't dare to step into this restaurant."

"Why? Does he have cibophobia?"

"No, he is parsimonious by nature. He even consumes cyanide if it is given at free of cost."

"Is it?" she broke into a gentle laugh, "Let's go."

To be continued...