Ritesh Arora - When the Heavens Smiled

SRISHTI PUBLISHERS & DISTRIBUTORS

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First published by
Srishti Publishers & Distributors in 2015

Copyright Ritesh Arora, 2015

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This is a work of fiction. The characters, places, organisations and events described in this book are either a work of the authors imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to people, living or dead, places, events or organisations is purely coincidental.

The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers.

Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.

Rumi

Acknowledgements

T his novel is dedicated to my father (Om Prakash Arora) who would have been proud to see this day.

To my mother (Saroj Arora) who has raised me despite all odds.

My wife (Monica Arora) who has been my partner in reviews and late night story narration sessions.

My son (Aayush Arora) whose giggles and endless energy have motivated me to continue writing in late nights.

My sister (Jasmin Sehgal) who believed in me and always encouraged me to carve out my own path in life.

To my in-laws (Surinder Kumar Kapoor & Sushma Kapoor) and my brother-in-law (Vikrant Kapoor) for their constant motivation.

My sincere thanks to Govind Seshadri who taught me that the art of living is actually the art of giving.

To Diya Bhatia and Surya Sharma whose meticulous reviews have made this book what it is today.

Finally, to all my readers who decided to purchase my book and to Srishti Publishers, who showed faith in my script and agreed to publish and distribute it.

You can send in your feedback about the book at or on my official Facebook fan page (Ritesh Arora or WhentheHeavensSmiled).

From the Mughal Capital to the City of Joy

2013

M y final year in engineering college was the year when I appeared for interviews for campus placements. The first three years of engineering college are cake and ale when one can have boisterous fun, while the final year is the year youre given a chance to prove your mettle in the campus interviews. Getting a job through a campus interview is a matter of pride for not only the engineering students, but also for their parents. My class, like all other classes, had a mixed bag of students intelligent, average and the backbenchers. I was amongst one of the sharper minds in my branch of Electrical Engineering. Soon, the day of the campus interviews arrived and various companies multinational and domestic formed the beeline to our college to recruit bright minds. The placement interviews had a formal dress code and my mother had bought me a navy blue coloured suit, with an off white shirt and yellow tie. As they say, dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember you. The campus interview in total had three rounds a written exam, followed by a group discussion and finally an in-person interview with company officials. I finished the written exam fifteen minutes before time and scored forty-five out of fifty, which was good enough to take me to the second round. But, things are never easy for more than a minute. Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, my name was called out loud for the second round the group discussion. My group was given the topic Does talent matter or hard work? and one could either support or oppose it. I not only argued in favour of hard work but smashed the arguments of other contestants mercilessly. I felt sorry for them but one shouldnt mix emotions with duty. Good news was soon to follow. Going strong, I was through to the final round the in-person interview with a company called NetCon Consulting. It was one of the companies that I had opted to appear for in the campus interview.

In the final round, the panelists asked me varied questions on topics ranging from Applied Physics to Thermodynamics and I answered almost all of them with ease.

From my childhood, I had this unusual knack of sticking to a problem and not giving up until its logical end was achieved. This trait of mine would enable me to take on some of the biggest challenges that one could ever face in ones life. I will show you how destiny started playing the dice with me what I did and how I did it. When I look back at it now, I get a Tom Sawyer kind of feeling. I will write about that in a minute, but let us stick to the campus selection part, which was a mixed bag of fun, hard work, and a bit of luck.

Mr Sarthak Arora, without a doubt, your previous years mark sheets and results of the first two rounds are impressive, said one of the panelists.

His desk had a name plate bearing a name Ramaprasad Ramamurthy, NetCon Consulting.

I nodded, acknowledging his feedback. Different shades of grey hair on his head indicated that he was a senior employee in NetCon, likely in his early forties. Such kind words from a senior person like him were an honour.

I, however, noticed that your attendance in the final year is a meagre forty-five percent? What happened, boring professors? asked a grinning Ram as he highlighted my attendance records with a blue marker.

In my final year I had become addicted to playing table tennis with my roommates, Raja and Ankur, and ended up bunking more than half the classes. You know, walk in the company of the wise and you will be wise; walk with bums and you shall suffer harm. I couldnt tell Ram the truth. I didnt even try to give an excuse. Your well-wishers dont need them and your foes wont believe them.

Ram, most of the guys tire of a lecture in ten minutes, clever ones in five minutes and smart ones will never go to the lecture! I said playing the humour card. No humorist is under any obligation to provide answers.

Ram smiled at my answer.

Smart answer! I like your wit, but a job at NetCon is no beer and skittles. It not only needs street smartness but also hard work and intelligence. Nonetheless, let me ask you one final question before we close this interview, he said with that cunning smile on his face which intuited me that something tricky was on my way.

There is a woman, who shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for minutes. Finally, she hangs him, but minutes later they go out for a dinner together. How do you think this is possible? asked Ram, handing me a paper that had the puzzle written on it.

Since morning, none of the candidates who made it till this round have been able to answer this. Trust me, if you crack this or even come close to solving this, you stand a chance. You have got exactly sixty seconds to solve this and your time starts now! Ram said with conviction in his voice and stared at his watch.

He had offered me a make or break deal. A right answer could reward me with a job and a wrong one could blow it all up. I read the puzzle again; the dots, however, were not getting connected. Well, dots are never supposed to connect so easily in life and that is why life is nothing but a puzzle. I started thinking out of the box and focused hard. It occurred to me that my best side was at work and soon the clarity came. In the puzzle, the word shoot had been used differently. It wasnt shoot with respect to a gun, but that of a camera.