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Both are not changing their minds. They have one thing in common already.
Both are not changing their minds. They have one thing in common already.
Ruthless & Respectful
TK Govil was running from cube to cube, he was Gopal Munjal’s assistant, he loved working for Gopal but his son Pradyut was a whole nother animal
He never slept and never took no for an answer
Pradyut didn’t care for dating or partying he worked, and flew, he was a flight enthusiast
He spent free time building model airplanes or real ones
Pastimes of the rich and famous, TK Govil thought to himself
Gopal and TK’s Dads started together in the business, 60-70 years ago, but now TK was an assiatnt to Gopal
There was a friendship for sure, a deep deep friendship and trust but only one had the money
TK did not bear the envy but his wife had, the last 40ish years
“TK stared at Parveen Shah’s face without saying a word
“Sir do you want the appointment?” Parveen Gopal’s 30 year old female exec assiatnt asked eagerly scrolling through Gopal’s calendar
“Hmm.. theek hai de do, last appointment of the day karna beta”
“OK Sir”
TK took his glasses off and wiped his eyes
“Sir can I get you coffee?”
“Umm.. nahi… Aa gaya Gopal?”
“Umm.. not yet sir, around 10” she said looking at her watch”
“Aur Pradyut?” “He must have not gone home?”
Parveen wanted to gossip and didn’t want to gossip
“Umm… he is in his office yes…”
“Mil loon?”
“Hes on the 11th floor” Parveen smiled pointing up “Ria Sharma (assistant) hogi waha par”
“Yes” JK nodded distractedly
He went upstairs to find Pradyut sprawled face down on the floor on a sleeping bag
Like the crime scene chalk image
A tall water bottle stood by his head
Ria was pounding her noiseless keyboard quietly
“He doesn’t go home?”
Ria squirmed
TK’s kids partied and stayed up late and didn’t show up at their jobs, three boys all three at various stages of being wasted and wasteful
This billionaire’s son was working 20 hours a day. Pradyut was ruthless but respectful, he maximized profits for his Dad’s company but was fair while doing it. He was polite but a profit taker. He played by the rules but had little patience for underperformers
TK felt a surge of anger
“I can go check sir if u have a meeting”
“No meeting… no… bas I had to give him an update on the Gurgaon Iris project, who 10th floor mein windows rattle ho rahe hain”
“Hmm” she nodded worried
“Umm.. chalo wait kar leta hoon”
Maybe the talking or maybe because he was done sleeping Pradyut woke, sat up finger combing his locks and stood up rolled up his sleeping bag and drank some water and spotted Gvil
“Arey Govil sir” he opened the door and greeted him gruff
“Sorry.. bet… sir”
“Please come in”
He hurriedly opened the window a slit to let fresh air in
“Ria, can you please get coffee for Mr Govil”
“Sir sir… sure”
“Give me 10” he fled
Returned cleanly shaved and teeth brushed
Ria sent a tray with goodies. And coffee
Pradyut ate quietly at first
“When I saw you I knew, there must be trouble” he spoke gruffly again
“Meri baat hui hai Gopalji se, we always have a pipeline of investor buyers… we can”
“Rewriting contracts will take months if not a year” Pradyut leaned back
The large conglomerate that wanted to buy floors 8-12 in Iris did not want it anymore
“Aap Chandigarh ka kaam dekho, I will get the Legal team together and work on it”
JK knew Veer Chopra was much more flexible than Pradyut Munjal…
Pradyut watched him carefully…
The Guys you make are damn interesting. Looking forward to this one's character unveiling now.
Not a bad idea
“See legally they are allowed to back out of the buying deal. Being honest and declaring structural repair might be needed was just full disclosure by us, Towers Partners (Munjal constructions)
“Humne honestly bataya unko we hear vibration, we will fix it, its not quite ready for possession”
“Papa said we any repairs would take months if not a year, humko de dena chahiye tha”
JK mumbled
“No that’s not how we operate and HE knows that” Pradyut was irritated
“We cannot keep this withdrawal by Sethi Leasing hidden for too long, they are the biggest leasing company in NCR if they back out others will too, your father had a point”
“That is fine… “ Pradyut was not liking where this was headed
“We can still ask for a dialog”
“No I don’t think so” Pradyut walked over to the windows and shut it and stared down, dialed the AC up
“I have meetings all day with Satnam Builders about that Chandigarh building we are thinking of… umm.. Zenith Astro? Is that the building name?”
“Hmm” JK nodded thoughtfully
“I looked at the pictures I don’t understand what they mean it has been refurbished, it looks like a dump, I told Dad it needs to be torn down”
“We cant do that, its mostly occupied or already spoken for and there is a book shop on the East corner
Bhushan Books & Stationery, the owner passed away”
“I am sorry” he sat down shocked but curious
“I think our best bet would be to just finish buying and hold it until we start a new project in Sukhna Lake Park”
“Zenith Astro is in the business district, building a spa hotel by the lake is not really attention seeking”
“Aap Zenith Astro giraane ki baat kar rahe ho, Papa ne Ajith Singh CEO of Satnam Builders se just finish touch up and rebranding ki baat ki hai
“Waha Metro station aa raha hai, we cannot be creating construction chaos” JK argued petulantly
“That’s what we do Mr Govil we build things that look like Towers Partners built it” Pradyut was very confused by JK’s advise
JK shifted uneasily and ate his breakfast
Pradyut was on his laptop, zooming in on Satellite imagery of the Zenith location, looked at photos from Satnam builders…. Bhushan Books & Stationery looked like a century old shop
The signage resembled pubs in Scottish villages. Quaint yet unappeling
He zoomed in to see what was on window display
It seemed to him that it was some old Punjabi periodicals and books and what looked like Arabic Urdu books
He leaned back sighing
“Coffee shop hai bookstore mein?” he asked curiously
“Umm.. I… I don’t think so” JK was confused
“I mean is it like the new agey stuff? Books and brew type?”
“Arey nahi…. It has a lot of character, its an old book store, bahar parking lot mein chai wala hai” JK clapped back
“Aap gaye ho?” Pradyut wanted to know why he was being mocked
“Umm.. no… but small towns have many of these”
“Chandigarh is not a small town”
Pradyut kicked his chair back and got up scowling
The men waited in silence, one scowling, the other wondering how he was still not as wealthy as the men he worked for…
Pradyut paced his office slowly hands in his cotton sweats’ pockets
20 minutes went by
“Just offer the owner’s kids a price above market rate and demolish it” JK spoke smugly
Pradyut turned to him “Not a bad idea” he said slowly…
I love these old bookshops! Unfortunately, so many of these are being shut down.
Wo(o)lf on the prowl
Taruni realized her father had enough inventory to sell for 3 or 5 years, she had no idea how many. She had asked Harkeerat Uncle to show up so she could see where they could begin
She had actually opened the store to see if there was a safe with any will or trust papers in there so she could figure out how this place could be sold
The store occupied two sides of the building on a V shape corner of the large multi use building, it had window walls on both sides with books placed in cage like shelving
She hit the lights but nothing came on
She realized no bill was paid
She went into the tiny back office that was stacked with books floor to ceiling, boxes of school supplies like pens and backpacks sat unopened in a corner
She felt tears welling up in her eyes
He was supposed to be here
She sat in his chair and cried her heart out
There was things from Singapore that she had brought for him, on his desk
There were pictures of Gaurav and her and, Tushar and Pallavi and many group photos, not one of Tushar’s wife Pallavi
Her heart ached for the mess the family was in
But that feeling of compassion didn’t last long, she was furious for her own stalled plans
She would have been in college soon,
People started coming in wanting stuff, it was a prime location in the 2.30 hours she sat behind the register not knowing how to get into the computer until she texted Nidhi her mother and she sold stuff for a few thousands
She sat back wondering what just happened
She scrolled through the things she had made a sale of wiping away buckets of sweat
She called the power company they demanded they turn power back on
She was told she owed 10s of thousands, she realized running a store is no joke, Subodh the attendant couldn’t be bothered showing up despite her calling
She paid the bill with her credit card, started the AC and drank two bottles of water
Harkeerat showed up with a confused look
“College nei ja rahe aap?” was his first question
“Ma ke paas koi funds nahi hai, I will get kicked out, ya ho jaati January mein, ek semester ke baad” “I already paid for August-Dec, usko postpone kar diya”
“Hmm”
“Aapko khabar hai Papa ne invest kidhar kara hua hai?”
He squirmed
“Umm.. koi baat hai?”
“Na na puttar”
“Phir?”
“Umm… if he has not lost it, phir hai kidhar, na Ma ko maloom hai”
“Aapko kitne chahiye main arrange karwata hoon market se?”
“I wont pay interest”
“Umm.. aisa thodi hota hai” Harkeerat was offended
“Mujhe bechni hai dukaan aap batao buyer milega kya?”
He looked stunned
A man in his 60s entered the store
“Jee? Sir?” Taruni smiled getting up from her seat up front by the cash register
She tailed him through the store
“Arey baa prey itne saare books, “ he sighed
“Its my Dad’s shop” she felt herself tearing up
Harkeerat was already on the job standing outside talking loudly in Punjabi about finding a buyer
TK Govil heard it all and understood it all
Taruni had no idea who he was
“Are you looking for a particular book?” she asked
Even though she had no idea HOW she would find it
Her papa’s store was not like Selfridges, where every item was bar code scannable and had a computerized search capability……….. or so she assumed
Rajesh Bhushan had a fantastic state of the art inventory system
His kids never bothered or showed any interest, he had self taught and established it all with a paid IT help
TK Govil had come unprepared, he had no idea what to ask for, he went on his phone secretly
“Umm… Virginia Woolf ki koi qitaab hai?” he asked casually
She was impressed
“Wow… for a gift?” she enquired
“Hmm… yes… for my daughter” he lied, he had 3 boys
“Oh really?” Taruni smiled
She went to the rare books glass cases there was atleast 50 she thought
Lo and behold she found a bunch of used copies arranged alphabetically, it took her an hour to figure out the pass code for the glass cupboard lock, many texts to her mother then to Harkeerat
She was astonished
TK Govil stared and stared, she left him alone
“You cannot stand over a customer when they look at a book beta, its not a saree or jewelry, its even more precious it’s a book, it has to be savored by the buyer”
And hour later TK govil, bought a title… she made more on the book than she had made in her first job
“Shops ki hours kya hain?” TK’s questions began “Who is in the store during the day, how long was the shop there, who owned it, what did daily sales look like”
Taruni was amused by the gentle curiosity of the older man she answered patiently, she told she knew nothing and today was the 3rd day she had opened it in the last 2 months
TK stepped out as Harkeerat was nowhere to be seen
He called Pradyut
“Shop open thi, maine ek mehengi book le li…. Company expense account mein” he said firmly
“Of course” Pradyut nodded
“She is the daughter, she knows nothing”
“Good” Pradyut smiled
Cunning & shrewd. Not nice first impression on a girl.
Waiting for more and the first clash.
Hiding & Running Away
TK Govil stayed in the vicinity of the bookstore, asking questions and being nosy. He didn’t relay anything back to Pradyut strangely, he hid from Taruni’s view also
He watched Taruni lock up and leave the store around 2 PM, she seemed like she was in her 20s, tall with long hair and eyes that crinkled when she smiled
He Googled the bookshop, and found more inside pictures and reviews
Most were a 4.5 or above
He had a meeting with Satnam builders, he wanted to get the CEO Ajit Singh’s opinion on what he wanted to do with Zenith Astro
The location was prime
Convincing the girl to sell was not going to be hard he predicted, his gut indicated so
Taruni drove quietly
Harkeerat was going to arrange replacement text books for Math but school had already started who is even going to need one? Sure some kid lost his wants one… yes… but they would never be able to sell 1000 or 2000
She wondered which schools Papa supplied to, she drove around the vicinity, there were 8 large schools public and private
She parked outside Gobind International and asked for a meeting with the office clerk, she was told they were all “busy”
She gave the guard a Rs. 100, he let her in
She didn’t know why she was here
She met a Mr Yash Sharma
He knew Rajesh Bhushan he said
That made her tear up
Yash told her he did indeed order most text books from Rajjesh ji
He told her, Rajesh was not only a retailer he was also a wholesaler
That made her wonder if he had a warehouse someplace
She texted Harkeerat, ……………easy…. There was one 12 kms east
Still no will or papers or documents
She took her leave from Yashpal
He told her Bhushan books was very popular with 3 government schools also
It made her angry and sad at the same time
Maybe there will be enough to go back to school in January?
Nicee!!
She couldn’t wait to go back, she imagined a life in the States from the time, Papa’s brother’s wife, the youngest, married a girl from New Jersey, Indians settled over there for 30 years
The accent her clothes, was all so appealing, plus Disney movies and TV shows.
She knew she belonged in America, with its nice roads and beautiful houses. U of M Masters was going to be just the ticket
She parked the car and went into her brother’s house. Tushar was not home yet, he worked as a CA in a large farm equipment company. Pallavi owned a clothing boutique
Her mother was not home from work yet, the apartment wasn’t big she shared a room with her mother
Everything was so rushed
Yashpal Sharma from Gobind International texted the name of a Pritam Singh
“Shaayad inki baat kari Papa ne, he must be your Papa’s lawyer or CA”
She texted Tushar “Papa didn’t use you for his taxes and accounting?”
“Nahi yaar, he had his own thing going” Tushar responded with a bit of hurt
The son that was not greedy never got a chance to serve his Dad
The son that was greedy, Gaurav, didn’t do a thing anyway
“Do you know who he went to?”
“Ma ne bola unke PC mein hai sab, I haven’t been home or to his office room as u know”
Everyone was hiding in some way from the grief and the pain
Taruni trudged back to her parents locked home, it was an independent home in a nice neighborhood, Rajesh lived there but didn’t own it fully, his 3 brothers and 2 sisters did too
She found someone hurriedly hopping into a car, the man looked like her customer from earlier in the day
He sped off by the time Taruni parked by the gate
She got off and wondered why TK Govil (whose name she did not know ) (it was on the credit card receipt but that was back at the book shop) would even be wandering here
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