The End
The Reception area of the once, filled with humanity, office looked as barren as the stump of a just chopped tree. There were few who came in nowadays, including the Chairman or Hairman as he was nicknamed by the staff. The air in the office was that of gloom,despair. 35 crores were spent in two years in creating a company that delivered not one of its promises nor did it succeed in living up its jazzy mission statement. As I sat, waiting for the Chairman and his lawyer to arrive,I wondered what went wrong with this wonderful idea.
An idea, that employed 250+ people all across India, gave dreams and hope to a few more and finally forced me to sue and win an unecessary legal battle. An Idea that had the power to create
a business empire, an idea that could have made the Founder-Chairman Sudarshan Sankar a millionaire many times over. My thought process was disturbed as I saw Sudarshan and his lawyer
troop in. The lawyer, Anand Kumar, had a rather regal bearing compared to the short crooky stature of Sudarshan. Anand, was known in the legal circles as a considerate, astute and abrilliant advocate. He was frequently known to take the side what he thought was right,and ofcourse at a price.
As they trooped in, Sankar, as he is popularly known, smiled a weak smile. A smile that betrayed the nervousness, the tension and the helplessness he faced during the last 3 months. All, the results of a no holds barred contest between us, of which I emerged the comprehensive victor. For a change, he had lost, his first loss of face in many years. I had become the first ex-employee of Sankar to nail him for his misdeeds. The tension was palpable in the room as we shook hands. Anand pushed across to me a legal document that stated all the dues that were to be given to me and my 20 other collegues. The total amount came to Rs 30 Lakhs in direct payment,Rs.5 lakhs as compensation/legal charges and Rs.20 lakhs in indirect payments like PF. Then I was given another folder that had the PF withdrawal forms, along with DD's for each of the 21 individuals. As I went through the folder, I remembered the line from Jerry Maguire "Show me the money". Atlast we had our money, the money that we had worked for, the money that we had fought so much for.
I picked up the speaker phone that was lying nearby. Dialled the number of my lawyer Sumanth and informed him that I had in my hand, all that we had agreed upon in the out-of-court settlement, a couple of days back. Sumanth was worried more about my safety. He had ensured that 2 police constables in mufti were posted near the office just in case. The call was agreed upon earlier so that no tricks could be played. Also so that Sumanth could prepare the necessary documents to withdraw the case that we had filed against Sankar.
My head felt light, it was over at last. We had reached the goal we wanted to. Sudarshan Sankar had been outwitted for the first time in his life. We i.e the 21 of us, had probably become the first people in Sankar's long working life to ever wring out money from him. We had set an example for others to follow. All it needed was guts, dutch courage and some clever thinking.
We shook hands again, I walked out of the office with the folder. As I walked out, I smiled to myself. Little had Sankar realised, that his own Lawyer had sided with us, for a price ofcourse, that the Police Inspector who Sankar had bribed so much to have us nailed, had been bought over.
As I walked on , the sun was shining brightly and showing me the direction as to where to head next....
An idea, that employed 250+ people all across India, gave dreams and hope to a few more and finally forced me to sue and win an unecessary legal battle. An Idea that had the power to create
a business empire, an idea that could have made the Founder-Chairman Sudarshan Sankar a millionaire many times over. My thought process was disturbed as I saw Sudarshan and his lawyer
troop in. The lawyer, Anand Kumar, had a rather regal bearing compared to the short crooky stature of Sudarshan. Anand, was known in the legal circles as a considerate, astute and abrilliant advocate. He was frequently known to take the side what he thought was right,and ofcourse at a price.
As they trooped in, Sankar, as he is popularly known, smiled a weak smile. A smile that betrayed the nervousness, the tension and the helplessness he faced during the last 3 months. All, the results of a no holds barred contest between us, of which I emerged the comprehensive victor. For a change, he had lost, his first loss of face in many years. I had become the first ex-employee of Sankar to nail him for his misdeeds. The tension was palpable in the room as we shook hands. Anand pushed across to me a legal document that stated all the dues that were to be given to me and my 20 other collegues. The total amount came to Rs 30 Lakhs in direct payment,Rs.5 lakhs as compensation/legal charges and Rs.20 lakhs in indirect payments like PF. Then I was given another folder that had the PF withdrawal forms, along with DD's for each of the 21 individuals. As I went through the folder, I remembered the line from Jerry Maguire "Show me the money". Atlast we had our money, the money that we had worked for, the money that we had fought so much for.
I picked up the speaker phone that was lying nearby. Dialled the number of my lawyer Sumanth and informed him that I had in my hand, all that we had agreed upon in the out-of-court settlement, a couple of days back. Sumanth was worried more about my safety. He had ensured that 2 police constables in mufti were posted near the office just in case. The call was agreed upon earlier so that no tricks could be played. Also so that Sumanth could prepare the necessary documents to withdraw the case that we had filed against Sankar.
My head felt light, it was over at last. We had reached the goal we wanted to. Sudarshan Sankar had been outwitted for the first time in his life. We i.e the 21 of us, had probably become the first people in Sankar's long working life to ever wring out money from him. We had set an example for others to follow. All it needed was guts, dutch courage and some clever thinking.
We shook hands again, I walked out of the office with the folder. As I walked out, I smiled to myself. Little had Sankar realised, that his own Lawyer had sided with us, for a price ofcourse, that the Police Inspector who Sankar had bribed so much to have us nailed, had been bought over.
As I walked on , the sun was shining brightly and showing me the direction as to where to head next....
posted by The Buck Stops Here | 2:29 AM
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