Forbidden India Ch. 04

Nidhi Needs More

(Part 1 of 2)

"Can I help you?"

The secretary was pretty and slender, wearing make-up and an attractive Western-styled blouse. She looked at the young girl standing before her modern desk, with its expensive decorations such as carved artwork figures and false flowers in a shiny, orange vase, and spoke with what sounded like genuine interest.

At once, Nidhi felt out of place, as if she did not belong there, in the fancy reception area of one of the many, many pop media companies in Mumbai. She was only twenty years old, with a curvy figure that she felt was too curvy, wearing a nice kurta in dark blue with red designs and hem on it, but not as nice as the blouse the receptionist had on. At least, Nidhi noticed, both women wore trendy jeans.

"I would like to know..." Nidhi started. "I am interested to find out..."

She was nervous. The last few businesses she'd been to, someone had ushered her out almost as quickly as she'd walked inside.

"Are you interested in employment?" The receptionist asked.

Nidhi nodded. "Yes, very much."

"I don't know if we have openings."

Here it comes, Nidhi felt. In another moment, this woman would tell her to turn around and walk to the door... Get out!

The receptionist left her seat. "I will ask the office manager if he would like to speak with you. You can wait in the lounge that is just around the corner. Let me show you."

Nidhi was so sure of rejection that she'd already taken the first step toward the door. Then she noticed the receptionist walking by her, further into the office, and she hurried to keep pace. The carpet was colored in soft gray, with spaced out stripes in very bright blue and orange, a combination she felt was unusual. Before she knew it, the receptionist motioned with her hand.

"Wait here." The woman said. "Have a water if you are a thirsty."

Nidhi noticed the small cooler full of soft drinks and water bottles. That's when she realized one very important thing. She'd been to so many places that morning that she'd already forgotten the name of the office she was in. The receptionist was already leaving.

"Excuse me?" She called out. When the woman turned, she felt foolish, but she had to ask, "What is the name of this business?"

The receptionist smiled at her. Perhaps it was a condescending smile, or perhaps Nidhi only imagined this. "Eros Sky Limited."

"Thank you."

She was left alone a second later. The waiting room was placed in a small corner with wide windows covered over with Venetian blinds. A ceiling lamp overhead and a standing corner lamp gave the room plenty of light. The office furniture was modular, and, Nidhi felt, must have been expensive. She could sit on a red couch or chair, or on one of two stools around a shiny white table. The stools were wide and squat, covered over with tough fabric that made them look like skinny mushrooms. Nidhi considered the seats, and hoping she had chosen the one that would give her the most respectable look, she occupied the red chair.

After so much walking about, Nidhi was thirsty, but she did not want to get a water bottle for fear of the manager coming by and catching her in the act of drinking. A green partition made up the last wall of the waiting area. The partition was thin and had many small holes on it, each one large enough for her to fit her finger through. She looked through them, counting half a dozen work cubicles set along a single white counter, each with its own chair, computer and, from what she could see, much clutter. Only a third of the cubicles were occupied. When she leaned to one side, she could see the back of the cubicle wall, and the start of what were surely another half dozen work spaces.

Someone walked by, causing her to straighten up. It was a man in a dress shirt and slacks, rifling through a collection of papers. Nidhi wondered if this was the manager, but no, he only glanced at her and kept walking to the receptionist area.

Nidhi waited five minutes, then ten minutes, and then fifteen. She became antsy, knowing she was losing time if she stayed in this office too long, but also hoping she might find a job here after three long days of searching. She didn't want to take a water, but she did this anyway and finished off half of the bottle quickly. If she moved her chair, she could have a better look at the cubicles, and discreetly she did so.

From this angle, she could see a large bulletin with a few headlines and first names written under them. The top headline showed the name Kangana Ranaut underlined. Three names were seen under that one, as well as the message that Ranaut, who was a local celebrity, had once again blasted her critics on social media. Apparently, Nidhi theorized, the three names belonged to reporters assigned to find out what Ranaut would say next.

The next headline was Ganeshtov, the annual Mumbai festival for Ganesh. Only one name was written under that one, with the simple message follow-up after it. Nidhi knew what that was about. The festival was not as loud or well-attended as it had been in recent years, due to the fears over the worldwide Covid pandemic.

A woman at the cubicles noticed Nidhi peering through the partition. This made the girl self-conscious. She could have waved a hello to that woman, but she was too shy. Instead, Nidhi turned to the other side. She went to her phone, checking her social media to find out what her friends were doing, asking where they would go later that evening, but most of all she checked the time over and over.

Twenty minutes passed.

Thirty minutes passed.

A few people had walked by in all that time, most of them heading out. Nidhi understood they were going to lunch. It embarrassed her to see some of these people already returning, and here she was still sitting in the same red chair. She finished off her water bottle, and in an act of passive aggressive rebellion, she capped the bottle and put it back into the water cooler where she'd gotten it from.

The man she'd seen earlier, engrossed with the stack of papers, passed by. He glanced at her in much the same way he had the first time, with the only difference being that he was coming back and not leaving. Nidhi again wondered if this was the manager she was waiting for.

"Are you here to see someone?" He asked.

"The manager." Nidhi filled with hope.

"He must be busy." The man decided. "I will let him know you're here."

Nidhi opened her mouth to thank the man, but he was in a rush and gone before any sound came out of her throat. She took a deep breath, already having lost over thirty minutes of her day. At least it was cool inside the office with several fans blowing, compared to the sweltering heat waiting for her outside.

Finally, someone came. It was another man, older and with thinning hair, about her height and slender. He wore a long-sleeve blue shirt with the collar open, and blue jeans. Nidhi estimated this man to be at least forty years old.

"Hello." He greeted. "You have come looking for work?"

"Yes."

He waved to beckon her and started off. "We can speak in my office. I only have a short time before I will be busy again."

Nidhi followed. After all that time of waiting and doing nothing, and now she wished she had two more minutes to check herself in a mirror.

The man's office was smaller than she thought it would be, only about three strides from one wall to the other, as if it had been added into the office late. The furniture was sparse; only a single visitor's chair before the manager's desk and computer.

"You may sit." He motioned, as he rounded the desk and took his chair. "I am Bikram. I am the manager of this small office of Eros Sky Limited. We also have a second location in Andheri West, but that is managed by another person. I say this because I am the better manager. What is your name?"

He'd made a joke, but Nidhi could only show half a grin because she was so nervous. "My name is Nidhi."

"Do you know what sort of work we do?"

Nidhi opened her mouth. Again, she lambasted herself. All that time in the waiting room and she hadn't bother to look up the company! "I don't know much, only that you deal with celebrities and scandals, I believe."

"What sort of work do you do?"

"I have only sold clothing from a stall before." She admitted.

"No journalism? No college?"

"One year of college, but only general courses. I am studying to become a foodie writer, or perhaps a travel writer, except I don't have money to travel yet."

"There are many travel bloggers now." Bikram told her. "You would have to present a unique point of view if you would like to attract followers."

"I have a channel on Youtube." Nidhi said. The moment the words were out of her mouth, she wished she hadn't uttered them. "My videos are not very good."

Bikram turned his chair toward his computer. "What is the name of your channel?"

"But they're not very good!"

"I want to see how well you can make a report."

Nidhi hated herself for what she'd started. She gave the man her channel's name and he had to go and look it up! Nidhi actually cringed when she saw her Youtube page on the monitor screen, and the handful of videos she'd created. She cringed even more when Bikram began watching them!

"You are very unpolished." He commented, after watching two videos.

"I know this." She thought the humiliation was done with, but no, he clicked on another video and watched that one all the way through as well.

"You are mimicking someone, aren't you?" Bikram noticed. "These reports, you are not doing them in your natural voice. You are copying someone else and that is why your videos come out awkward."

"How do you know that?"

He ignored her question. "What neighborhood is this? It looks badly damaged. Was this because of the recent monsoon?"

"I would rather not say where I live, but yes, that is what is left of my neighborhood after the rains. That is the reason I've taken the train nearly an hour away. There are very few jobs at home because everything was left damaged. Even the college will be closed for months. The market where I worked has to be completely rebuilt, and when it is ready, it will have fewer employees than before."

"That sounds very disheartening." He looked across his desk at her.

"My videos are not that good. You shouldn't click on any more of them."

Bikram watched her closely. She was too nervous to ask him to stop, so she looked away.

"Stand up." He said. "Do a model turn for me."

Nidhi did this because if she stayed sitting down she would surely become fidgety.

"Do you know how to use a copy machine?" He asked.

"Yes, of course."

"Can you take an order from the staff here, present it to a restaurant, and make sure the order is accurate before you pay for it?"

"I have no car..."

"We have a company vehicle. The driver is not that good at bringing back what was ordered. He will drive and you will order."

"Oh. Yes, I can do that."

"Have you ever used a company credit card?"

"No, never."

"Have you ever stolen from an employer before?"

Nidhi was about to deny it, and she had her mouth open and ready to do so, but she thought she should just say the truth. "At the vendor stall, sometimes I will eat a fruit when I have no money to purchase lunch. The employees are prohibited to do this, but many of them do it anyway. Another time, I paid for six bread rolls, but I miscounted and took seven by mistake. I felt I should have returned to pay for the last one, but I was too embarrassed and I never went."

Bikram stood up and pointed at the door. "Get out of my office, you thief."

Nidhi lowered her head. After taking a long breath, she left her seat and started away.

The manager hurried around the desk, stopping her before she reached the door. "Sit down, Nidhi."

"But you told me to get out."

"And now I am telling you to sit."

She did this, wondering what the man would say next. She expected Bikram to return to his chair, but he came to stand behind her, setting his hands on her shoulders.

"I was testing you." He said. "I wanted to see if you have integrity." He began to massage her shoulders. "You've been nervous ever since you stepped into my office. You should learn how to relax."

"I can't." Nidhi admitted. "If I don't find a job today, my family will suffer."

"Do you know I once lived in a poor neighborhood?" Bikram revealed. "When I was first hired here, I was still young, too embarrassed to tell anyone my address."

"That can't be true."

"Oh, it is. When I filled out my application, I gave a false address. I pretended I lived in a better neighborhood than I really did."

"I was thinking of doing the same thing, but what if a job calls me? What if they send me a letter?"

"Sometimes, you must take a risk to better your life." Bikram replied, and for emphasis, he squeezed at her shoulders. "Do you like my massage?"

"Yes. You can massage me all day if you let me work here. I don't want to go home with no good news to give to my family. My boyfriend worked in the fields, but now all the fields are flooded and the crops are ruined."

"Your boyfriend? Is he big and strong enough to break me in half?"

Nidhi's worry finally left her. She laughed. "He is strong, but he is not very tall. I won't tell him about your massage, unless you don't hire me."

This time, it was Bikram's turn to laugh. "I must hire you, is that right?"

He let her shoulders go and returned to his side of the desk. "I see your videos. I want you to make one more video of your neighborhood, but this time I don't want you to copy anyone you've seen on the news stations. I want you to show your natural self. Go to the fields where your boyfriend works. Interview him and a few other workers. Find out what they are feeling inside now that their job is disrupted."

"If I do that, will you hire me?"

"You have never done this kind of work before." He replied. "You can be a provisional intern for a few weeks, until I can decide if you can perform the duties or not. I cannot pay you much because interns do not earn very much..."

"I want to work here." Nidhi said.

"I haven't told you how much you will be paid." He watched her closely. "Eight thousand rupees per month."

It was a ridiculously low wage, but she balanced that out in her head. She would work in a real media company, one that published the latest celebrity rumors and local happenings, and if she was lucky, she might even meet one or two celebrities. That was a lot better than standing at the fruit stall all day and waving away the flies with a rolled newspaper, even if the pay was about half what the market paid.

"I accept your job." She said.

"No, no!" Bikram told her.

"No? I don't understand. Why should I say no when my answer is yes?"

"Did you take the bus or the train?" He asked. "You should say, no, that wage is too low. I have to ride the train back and forth for one hour each trip. Transportation alone will be at least five hundred rupee a month. Do you see? And I will say, you are correct. I will pay you nine thousand rupee a month. And what do you say?"

"I accept!"

"No, no! You say, listen to me, Bikram. In my neighborhood, things are inexpensive when compared to the prices here. You must pay me more than that if you expect me to work in this part of the city! And I say, okay, I will pay you ten thousand rupee. What do you say then?"

"I say... I accept?"

Bikram frowned at her. "Try again."

Nidhi considered the people she'd seen shuffling about through the office, and especially the receptionist that greeted her. "I say... All of your employees are dressed much better than I am. I would look out of place if I didn't have the same sort of expensive clothing they have. Your company would look bad if I dressed poorly."

"In that case, how much should I pay you?"

Nidhi didn't know what to say. She took a stab at it. "Twelve thousand rupee a month?"

"If that is your best offer, that is what I will pay you. Do you want to try one last time?"

Nidhi opened her mouth, wondering if this man was toying with her and didn't intend to hire her at all. Who ever heard of a job interview where the applicants could set their own salary? "I think I should be paid... twenty thousand rupee."

"That is too high." Bikram huffed. "You have no credentials and no qualifications. I will pay you fourteen thousand."

"Eighteen thousand. I am worth eighteen thousand."

"Sixteen thousand." Bikram countered.

"Sixteen thousand and one." Nidhi said.

"And one? What is the one for?"

"I was paid sixteen thousand at the market. Sixteen thousand and one means I will be paid more here if you hire me. Will you hire me or not?"

"You must work on your negotiation skills." Bikram answered.

"I have no negotiation skills! I have never negotiated before!"

"You have just finished negotiating with me. I started my offer at eight thousand, and here we are ending the negotiation at two times that much."

"Only because you helped me!"

Bikram grinned at her and wobbled his head. "I can help you at this job, and you can also help me."

"I am not a dumb girl, but I am desperate to have a job." She said. "I know what you are talking about. I will help you, if I can. If you hire me."

"You have plenty of time left in the day." Bikram told her. "Go home, wear your best clothes for a reporter, and make the video I asked you to make. Come back in the morning with the video ready on your channel. I will forward it to the employees here and they will give me their opinion of your reporting. If I receive more positive feedback than negative, I will hire you as my personal intern, at sixteen thousand and one rupees a month."

A few minutes later, Nidhi was on her way back to the waiting lounge. She had the company's website on her phone, where she could file her application before she left. After that, she would go home and make the video that would either get her the job or lose it. If she was hired, Nidhi felt that Bikram didn't need to give her another massage, but instead she would be giving one to him!

Nidhi did everything she was told to. The next day, to make the best impression possible, she wore her nicest kurta, colored in teal with beautiful gold and pink edging, and for luck her gold bracelet with inscriptions to Lakti. If Bikram were astute, he would already know that she had uploaded a new video to her Youtube channel. It was her best performance, she felt, but she also felt it would not be enough.

When Nidhi arrived at the office, she was surprised to find that the receptionist not only recognized her, but instructed her to walk herself to the manager's office. Bikram stood near the cubicles, speaking with two other workers. Nidhi was nervous to stand there, worrying that perhaps the entire staff had seen her video and didn't like it. She grew even more concerned when Bikram waved for her to come over. Shyly, she approached the group.

"Good morning, Nidhi." He smiled. "How are you?"

"Good, I think." She said, smiling and nodding at the others.

"Your video is circulating among the staff. I have given them until lunchtime to complete their impressions about it. Until then, you may work with Samir and Harini. I must run errands, but I will return in a few hours to see how you are doing."

Nidhi didn't want Bikram to walk away, because he was her only anchor in the entire office. She looked at Samir, who was tall and cinnamon-skinned, a shade darker than she was. He was the man who had helped her the day before, dressed in a colorful button shirt and jeans. The woman, Harini, she didn't think she'd seen the previous day.

"Hello, Nidhi." Samir greeted. He had a handsome smile and bushy, well-kept hair that reminded her of a lion's mane. "You can help us with our project today. It will be tedious, but it will allow us to pursue a developing story."