Finally, I was in Mumbai. I was cherishing the most recent week which passed by with my mother's tears and Dad's wellbeing tips to me.
Dad had just conversed with his contacts in Mumbai thus I got a call from the agent for the house. He made things simple and efficient for me by finding a house close to my office. He also had arranged a servant for me.
It would be great for me if the maid agrees to come early in the morning, and she acknowledged it! perfect for me. I made an espresso for myself, missed my mom who used to make one for me. I unloaded my bag to discover the best clothes for tomorrow.
It was my first day at the office hence I want to be flawless in all manners.
The next day morning, while drinking a coffee I thought about whether I settled on the right choice of coming to Mumbai for an occupation or not? At that point, I said to myself.
"What is done is done, no looking back. I will give a valiant effort."
I attempted different dresses, and lastly, I choose one formal yet refined dress. I hurried to my office as I would not like to be late on the first day. Because the first impression is the last impression.
"Excuse me?" I asked the woman at the reception.
"Yes! How can I help you?" She gazed at me and said. I showed my appointment letter and stood stiff for her reaction.
"You have to wait." She pointed at the couch and informed me to hang tight for quite a while. I set down and watched her managing various individuals.
She appeared to be employed for the sake of working. She wasn't courteous enough in her talks with others. Frankly speaking, I didn't like her. Did I make a wise decision of choosing this job? That question kept haunting in the back of my mind.
"Hello, Miss Isha?"
"Yes," I rushed to her and prepared to comply with her instruction.
"Go to the main left and afterwards take a right, you will find a cabin, don't go inside, go directly from that point and subsequently again take right. Mr. Sharma will be there, meet him, He is our HR manager. He will explain to you everything."
"Alright, much obliged," I answered, and adhere to the directions given by that lady.
"Where can I find Mr. Sharma?" I asked the individual sitting on his seat with his decisive advantages over the desk. That reminded me of a Bollywood film where the police inspector posing with his legs crossed up on the desk and opening his legs to have a direct connection with the hero.
"Oh! Apologies, I am searching for Mr. Sharma, where is he sitting?"
"Hey, I am the one you are looking for." He unexpectedly raised from his chair. Did I settle on the correct selection about signing up for this organization? My interactions with people till now tells me "NO."
"I am Isha."
I revealed my joining letter.
"Yes, I was expecting you, take your seat, and be relaxed."
How can I be comfortable after seeing the HR manager in an unprofessional and lazy manner? My inner voice told me.
He gave me some forms to fill up and went away without saying anything.
"Do you want to join this establishment?" I was confused and nervous. Mom, please support me, I don't know what to do. I shut my eyes for a while and talked to my mom in imagination.
"Hi, may I help you?" I heard a voice from my back, so I opened my eyes and turned back to check. A young man in his mid-twenty stood behind me.
He seemed attractive, black hair, brown eyes, lightly tanned skin, strong muscles that bulged through his shirt. He looked at me.
"I am Vivan Malik." He stepped forward, smiled softly, and holding his hand out to shake.
"I am working in the marketing department. I noticed you were a bit worried, so I thought I could be of some help to you."
"Thank you, Vivan." I grasped his hand and gave it a firm shake.
"I am Isha Kapoor; I am from Delhi and joined today." I introduced myself as our hands parted.
"I hardly know anyone here, and I was busy filling up these forms so..."
"Filling up forms with closed eyes?" He chuckled. I reciprocate and got calm.
"What would you like, tea or coffee?" He asked me and I couldn't reject because coffee was my favourite.
"Coffee" I replied. He picked up the desk phone and dialled it to the pantry.
"Oh! So we have a pantry in our office, that is awesome."
"Yes, you can eat breakfast and lunch as well." That was a big relief for me. Now I have to make only coffee in the morning.
"I will introduce you to the other colleagues after a coffee."
"Sure." We had good chat over a cup of coffee. He took me to the other wing of the floor where all employees were sitting.
"Hello everyone, listen to me, let me introduce her. She is Isha Kapoor, and has joined our company today."
People started gathering around me and gave their brief introduction. It went well. I felt completely de-stressed and fresh.
After taking my meal, I went back to Mr. Sharma for completing my induction procedures.
After I completed the formalities Mr. Sharma oriented me about the business and my work.
He introduced me to Miss Payal Malhotra who was the senior news reporter. I was told that I had to work with Payal as my first assignment.
"Hi, my name is Payal. I am from Mumbai and working here for the last 3 years."
"She had led many projects comprised of the state elections and T 20 World Cup which was held here in Mumbai. I am sure you will learn many things from her." Mr. Sharma said to me.
"Ya sure."
"So where do you stay in Mumbai?" Payal asked me.
"I stay nearby to this office, I am new to the city."
"Is this your first day in Mumbai? Strange! If you have not seen Mumbai, you have not seen the world."
"No worries I will take you through the city as such we will have to roam a lot in search of headlines," Payal said to me and her phone rang.
"Hello Vivan, how are you?"
"I am fine, I got something for you. Please go fast to the Churchgate road near the railway station. A massive fire broke out." The voice from the other side of the phone said.
"Oh! Is it so? I will be there in no time, thank you very much for the information." Payal replied.
"Got to go, there is a story which I need to cover immediately. I will catch you later." She told me.
"Can I come with you?" I asked Payal.
"Oho! See the dedication... I knew it! Initially, it is good but don't make it a habit otherwise these people will not let you breathe for a moment. OK, let's go," she responded positively after pausing for a while.
She told me to wait for a minute until she informs the other crew members so that they can also be equipped for the task.
In the next five minutes, Payal and the other two people including the cameraman went inside the car quickly.
The traffic of Mumbai did not permit us to get to the destination easily.
"Get used to such traffic Isha," Payal told me with anxiety on her face.
"I am well aware of the similar high traffic in Delhi as I accustomed to travel 8 kilometres from my house to the college daily during peak hours."
Amid our way to Churchgate, I got to know two other people named Rameshbhai, our cameraman, and Ankit our subordinate. Payal introduced them to me in the car.
"We will be there before the fire brigade and the police," Rameshbhai said to us.
"Thank you," the Driver replied.
"It is not because of you idiot! But because of the lethargic approach of the police and fire brigade." We all exploded in the laugh.
"Rameshbhai is well known for his jokes and sarcasm," Payal said.
We reached the location and stood about 20 meters away from where the fire took place. People were running around and the cops had cordoned the area with their cars and vans.
No one was permitted to go even near to the building. But that didn't apply to us, thanks to Payal for her rapport with the policemen that they granted us to stand nearby and observed the view.
I felt privileged as the cop allowed us to stand closer. I had never seen such an unfortunate occasion in my life before.
"Bastards!" Payal shouted and took out her mobile from the pocket. She dialled a call and started yelling at the person over the phone.
Later on, I realised she yelled at the chief fire officer for not being available at the locale, and only one fire brigade van had arrived which was insufficient. I liked the attitude and concern of Payal for the people.
She was spontaneous, without wasting time she called up the fire bridge who should be there at the venue at least before we reach.
Payal already had the contact details of the fire official which helped her to be in touch with the person without any delay. The lesson I learned: you must have important numbers handy for such an emergency.
"What exactly happened here?" She asked the Policeman.
"There is a fire break out on the third floor and many people are still stuck in the building." The policeman said.
Few firefighters tried to control the fire with the hosepipe but the fire was bigger than they anticipated. Therefore, all their efforts were gone in vain.
"Hold this mic for a while," Payal said while handing over the mic to me. She started running towards the block where the fire was broke out. A kid was shouting from the window for help.
Payal instantly asked the fireman to adjust the direction of the ladder in the line of that kid.
Another fireman began climbing the ladder before Payal instructed him what to do. In a fraction of second, the person climbed to the window and covered the boy with the fire-proof jacket.
By now I was impressed with Payal's act and fret about human lives. It was more than twenty minutes we reached the spot, but we had not started any recording or went live. We gave priority to humanity over broadcasting.
Payal stood in front of the camera and behind her; it was a scene where the fire took place. I was trying to get into the camera frame, but Payal signed me to stay away.
I looked at the cameraman like he was recording me. He had popped up his head and smiled at me. Indirectly, instructing me not to imitate like I was on-air.
We did the live coverage of the incident and later on started packing up for the way back to the office.
"Let's go," She told me and asked me to sit in the car. I stared at the opposite side of the building.
I stood there and couldn't hear what Payal said. She seized my hand to fetch me back to the present, and then she also looked in the direction where I was looking.
"Starbucks?" She asked me the question.
"I am tired and hungry as well," I smirked at her and said.
"Let's go," she said. We both crossed the road and went to the Starbucks cafe.
"I am an avid coffee lover, I can drink it all day, and it's my first love," I told to Payal.
"Oh really!" she replied.
"What will you like?"
"I will take a cappuccino."
I gave the menu to Payal to select one for her.
"Two cappuccino" She confirmed. I went to the counter and gave the order. The girl at the desk asked me the names to be written on the coffee cup.
"Isha and Payal" I answered. I took our brews and settled down.
"You were incredible out there." I praised Payal.
"The Government officers don't understand the straight language; I know how to deal with them."
"Ya, I could make that out."
"So tell me something about you," I asked.
"Well, I was born and brought up in Mumbai only. I did my graduation in science and then joined a mass communication course.
Earlier, I used to work for Telemedia Ltd. I worked for two years, and then got a chance in this venture and here I am in front of you."
"That is superb, what about your family?" I asked again.
"I was eight years old when my parents died in a road accident. Since then, I am living with my aunty who raised me." Payal said with an agony.
"Oh, I am sorry," I apologize.
"What about you?" she asked me while taking the sip of the coffee.
"I was raised in Delhi. I am the only child in the family. My dad is into a business and my mom is a homemaker. She is my lifeline and I can count on her for anything."
"Lucky you are," she said to me with a big sigh. We finished our coffee and set in a car.
I saw a huge tall construction on the way back to our office. That was something I couldn't find in Delhi.
I knew three things about Mumbai -- giant buildings, big dreams, and a city that never sleeps.
"Miss Isha, the boss wants to see you. Mr. Sharma told me as soon as he saw me coming into the office.
"May I come in sir?" I asked for permission as I entered in my boss's cabin.
"Come in."
"Come sit down," he offered me a seat.
"So Miss Isha, I hope your joining procedures are concluded smoothly. You have been given the task of an extremely crucial part of our operation. Payal will assist you. Be with her, acquire new skills, and conquer the field."
"I will try my best sir" I replied.
"No try, you must achieve significant heights. Or else, it will be difficult for you to sustain in this industry. Understand?"
"I got it, sir."
"You may go now." I got up and rush to the door of his room as I wanted to escape as soon as possible.
In the evening before leaving I thought of meeting Vivan and be thankful for his companionship and coffee.
"So how was your first day?" Vivan asked me.
"Why are first days frightening?" I throw back a question instead of answering him.
"That is because we are too afraid of facing an imminent transformation in life. Time, people, priorities, and places change all the time...
It's inevitable and as per me, the new beginning is offbeat and vivid for a new start." I sighed.
"Honestly telling, the day was horrible! I don't know how I survived through the day. The only good thing that happened to me today is you." I said to Vivan.
"Don't worry. You will get familiar with it." Vivan said.
"Isha, do you want me to drop you at your place?"
"You are so fast, we met just a few hours ago and you want to come to my house?" I burst into laughter.
"Just kidding, my house is just about a half kilometre away and I love to walk."
"Fine, as you wish. Bye see you," hewaved at me, and we departed.