Under Pressure

It was 9 AM at "Manoj" Bhavan.

His Excellency walked into his Office. HE resembled Geriatrix. He fancied himself after the Governorator. Upstairs his grandson was listening to his favorite song for the 3rd time that day. HE could faintly hear the words drifting in the air - "Mm Ba Ba Be.... Um Bum Ba De..."

HE went through the morning papers. Everywhere in the news, there was coverage about Tea-rror. HE shook his head.  Because of this Tea-rror issue, HE was having some sort of Delhi Belly for the last few days, which has been caused by the pressure from his superiors in Delhi.

His Assistant walked in to his office and informed that Delhi wants a status report at 10 AM. HE cursed under his breath about the pain of preparing multiple status reports these days. HE opted for this job because, he felt he has done enough work over the years and earned enough for seven generations and now it’s time for some southern sojourn. He did not expect such Tea-rror acts to happen. The music can still be heard upstairs - " Pressure..... pushing down on me.....Pressing down on you.... no man ask for....."

HE got the latest information from his various sources, asked his assistant to prepare the status report and send it to Delhi.

Around 11.30 AM, HE switched on the TV and located a Telugu news channel. There were pictures of burning buildings and people running helter-skelter in the streets and some rioting. Upstairs, unaware of his Grandpa's activities, his grandson was listening to his fav song for the 7th time that day. "Pressure... that burns a building down...Splits a family in two...Puts people on streets....Um ba ba be..."

HE switched off the TV and had a glass of water and went out for a College Annual Day Celebration, where he was the guest of honour. In the function, HE gave a speech about the virtues of hard work and importance of honesty. HE spoke about how not to give in to temptations and bow down to forbidden pleasures. HE got a good round of applause from the students. After the function, HE reached his 'Manoj Bhavan' office back by 2PM.

HE was having his lunch, when the phone rang. HE was informed about students laying siege to some legislators and how they were badly beaten up by the agitating students of the Bossmania University. Upstairs the music can still be heard. " It's the tea-rror of knowing what this world is about....Watching some good friends screaming 'Let me out'..."

HE was shocked at the news and left his lunch half way through to get more updates about the incident. He collected all the details for and sent a status report to Delhi by the 3 PM deadline. In the late afternoon, more reports came in about businesses being targeted and more violence on the streets. Upstairs, the same song was being repeated for the 12th time that day. "Pressure on people... People on streets...."

There were conflicting views coming out of Delhi and he could not handle much more. The Delhi higher-ups released a statement late evening and the impact of it was immediate on the city, adding further fuel to the tea-rror. HE feared more status reports and more work. HE could not handle all this. HE felt very stressed out, having to be in the middle of things when it was boiling. The music was drifting in from upstairs. "Turned away from it all like a blind man....Sat on a fence but it don't work..."

HE wanted to get away from it all. HE wanted to go into his own fantasy land and forget everything thats happening around him. HE could not take it anymore. Upstairs, still unaware of his grandpa's activities, his grandson was singing out loud along with Freddie Mercury..."Keep coming up with love....but it's so slashed and torn....Why - why - why ?....Love love love love love...."

Finally, the music seemed to inspire him. It was 7 PM and HE picked up the Phone and called a number that he regularly called over the years. There was a welcome message and he dialed 1 for English. He next dialed 2 for existing customer and then chose 4 for new contacts. He then dialed 9 to speak to customer service executive. After waiting for 6 minutes and 32 seconds, a voice finally answered - "Good Evening. Thank you for calling Fantasy Escort Services. How can I assist you?"

HE spoke in to the phone...." I need %^*((*&(#$$%%%$$#..." "Yes. That’s right. I want Three..." Yes.... $%$##@#$%%". "Yes. Thank you. That will be all for tonight.". He replaced the receiver. Upstairs, the music can still be heard. "Insanity laughs... under pressure we're cracking...."

A car drove into "Manoj Bhavan" at 9 PM and dropped three of his companions. The music from upstairs was loud enough to be heard in the portico. "Can't we give ourselves one more chance....Why can't we give love that one more chance..."

HE welcomed them and they all had a few drinks and made themselves comfortable for the night. This time the music was a bit softer and faint and gave a good backdrop for them. " And love dares you to care for...The people on the edge of the night... And love dares you to...."

One of the companions placed a mobile phone on the desk. It was needless to say that the phone had a camera and video recording facilities. They all retired for the day. The music was still drifting from upstairs for the 23rd time. "This is our last dance....This is our last dance....This is ourselves.... Under pressure....Under pressure.... Pressure...."

The next morning HE woke up alone and it was almost 10 AM. He switched on the bedside TV and was shocked to see some Porn clips being telecast as breaking news in a local channel.

Author's Note: For best results, its highly recommended that you listen to the song "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie, while reading this posting.

(C) Vijayaganesh Sampathkumar - 2009. All Rights Reserved.