Urmila and Aman felt exploited by Aman’s ex-boss Ranjit.
“You can blame it on 9/11 for all that I care!” Urmila, his wife, yelled.
“Yes, and hindsight is always 20/20,” Aman retorted.
“If only you had listened to me, we would never have been in this situation!” she bit back.
“I know Urmi, but don’t worry; something will come up soon.” Aman mollified, trying to calm his wife down.
He could sense that Urmila was reaching a breaking point, even though she tried hard not to show it. It was day 75 of his of 90-day notice period and he was yet to find a new job.
Aman’s mind drifted to that night two years ago, when his ex-boss Ranjit had called up.
“Hi Ranjit, it’s such a delight hearing from you. What has it been… six years now?” Aman said, answering the ringing phone.
“That’s right, Aman. How are you doing? How are Urmila and the twins?” Ranjit replied
“All fine Ranjit. How are you? Where are you now?"
“I am moving to a chip design company based in San Jose and will head their 15th Design Centre in Noida. I need you to join as my head of HR here.”
“Ranjit, you know that I am well settled in Pune. I also happen to really enjoy the work I do here.” Aman replied.
“Aman, why don’t we do this. Let’s set up a call for tomorrow at 3 p.m. and I will tell you more. Please assure Urmila too. Goodnight for now.”
“Alright… Goodnight”
Urmila, who had overheard the conversation, waited for Aman to speak.
Aman obliged.
“You remember Ranjit?” he said. “He has picked up a great job with a US based company and wants me to join him in Noida.”
“Aman we are so well settled here. The boys are in a good school too.” Urmila said, frowning.
Aman replied, “I have a call with him tomorrow afternoon. Let’s hear him out.”
A woman’s instinct
“I think Ranjit wants you here purely for his selfish needs. I don’t want to put my future in the hands of another individual.” Urmila said. She didn’t think to highly of Ranjit and did not approve of him making Aman uproot his family from Pune and moving them to Noida. “And as it is, these US companies are famous for shutting down operations at the slightest of headwinds. I don’t have a good feeling about this at all — call it woman’s instinct,” she added, trying to reason with him .
The salary and perks that the job offered were double his current earnings and the employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) would provide a very liberal nest egg. Urmila had been opposed to the move, but gave in when she saw how keen Aman was. Plus, she did not want to carry the blame later.
Life in Noida was a clear upgrade for Aman and Urmila. Every month, Aman travelled for off-site meetings to the US and Europe; the kids got the latest toys and gadgets, and soon the family was holidaying in Singapore, courtesy the frequent flyer miles that Aman had chalked up on Star Alliance.
While they rented out a flat on the first floor in Noida, they soon put money in a 3 BHK flat in an upmarket location in Pune. With Aman’s current income they could easily afford the EMIs and more.
But all this came crashing down, two years later, following the events of September 11, 2001 and their lives were turned upside down. The company Aman worked for shut all 15 global design centers, and all the employees were laid off with a 90-day notice period.
Aman and Urmila were clearly devastated.
Sound advice and some help
A few days later, Aman told Urmila: “Ranjit wants to come over for a coffee tomorrow.” Urmila was not pleased, but relented.
The next day, Ranjit could sense the hostility as he walked into their house.
“Anything come up Aman?” he asked.
Aman shook his head, “Nothing yet.” He hesitated, and then added, “I am losing hope.” Aman was clearly on the verge of breaking down.
Urmila sat down next to Aman. “This would never have happened if we had stayed in Pune. We don’t have much saved up as it is. After 15 days, we really don’t know what to do or where to go,” she said, tears forming in her eyes.
Ranjit inhaled sharply and said: “I feel bad for what has happened. I have also been impacted. But, tell me, what would you estimate your bare minimum expenses every month to be?”
Aman and Urmila looked at each other—they did not know where Ranjit was going with this. Aman quickly calculated a rough figure of ₹1 lakh a month, including the EMI for the Pune flat.
Hearing that, Ranjit pulled his cheque-book out and wrote a cheque for ₹12 lakhs.
He handed it over to Aman and said: “Please don’t get me wrong. This is from some of the money I have lying idle in a fixed deposit. Keep this and take it that you now have another 12 months to find a new job. Don’t stress yourselves any further; don’t get desperate. You can repay me later as and when you can. And believe me, something will soon work out.”
Aman and Urmila’s shock was written all over their faces.
Ranjit continued, “The biggest mistake people when they’ve been laid off is to continue believing that their current standard of living is the bare minimum required for survival. Nothing can be more far from the truth. Getting laid off is now a reality, never let it affect your self worth.”
Aman and Urmila looked at each other — how wrong they had been about Ranjit.
They accepted Ranjit’s offer.
Happy ending and lessons learnt
Three months later, Aman had found another job and soon, Ranjit’s money/loan had been paid back in full.
They whole experience, of course, had made them stronger and wiser. They vowed not to splurge till they had a sizeable amount in the bank — equivalent to a years expense. .
But most importantly, they learnt not to judge a book by its cover.