Wet Sketches

I was sitting in my office. The client was happy with our strategic recommendations. This meant more business, more work, more consumption of coffee, more sleepless nights, more work on the weekends. But among all the negativities, there is a silver lining. The tie becomes silkier, the suites become shinier, the laptops become thinner, Nokia N-series get replace by the i-phone, and slowly Timex will transform to Rolex.

As soon as I loosed my neck tie, I saw people rushing towards the tinted windows. It was the first shower in Calcutta. The sky was deep grey, against which the trees looked greener than they were. I could see the people on the streets, reaching out for the nearest shade. Some however were enjoying the first shower. The street hawkers were packing up.

My eyes caught sight of a young boy. He was tightly holding a sketch book, protecting it from the rains. He was struggling. He suddenly looked up. For a second I thought he looked into my eyes. My phone rang….The VP of information communication technology practice congratulated me. I went back to the window. The sky was clearing up.

I returned home no earlier or later than usual, when most people are asleep. I switched on my room lights. One of the drawers was half open. I don’t remember when the last time I checked the contents. I opened it. Saw my sketch book. It was wet…