Chapter-12
“Good evening!” Welcome to this evening party!” I greeted the VIPs and
shook hands with Kelvin, Rozario and Nag who whispered “Well said Sumanta. I am
proud of you.”
Nag suggested Talukdar to stand beside me to welcome few more very
important guests of the company as being almost new in the organization I was
not expected to know them. Though being vexed to some extent as he could not
stay with the VIPs, Ramani Talukdar stood beside me and said, “It’s my pleasure
to be with you. Don’t worry, you will know everybody and everything very
shortly.”
A middle aged tall, handsome, robust and fair complexioned gentleman in
blue coat and trousers wearing crimson bow-tie and handkerchief of the same
colour peeping out of the chest pocket came before us smilingly along with a
beautiful lady, slightly bulky, dressed in blue chiffon georgette and blouse
matching her escort.
“Welcome! Welcome! Mr. Bhatia! How are you? How are you Mrs. Bhatia?”
Talukdar received the couple and requested them to proceed further. Nag
came forward and accompanied them to the spot where Kelvin, Rozario and other
head office bosses were chatting.
“Have you heard of Bhatia and Sons pharmaceutical distributors of
“Of course! I know. They are very big pharmaceutical distributors in
“You are right.” The man you met is Om Prakash Bhatia, key-person of
this pharmaceutical distribution company who are super stockist of Rainbow
ethical products for
“Hallow Mr. Saha! Welcome! Welcome! Both Tarit Ganguly and Ramani
Talukdar shouted together.
The man who got such a warm ovation from both Talukdar and Ganguly, was
of short stature having enormous bulky body and large tummy vibrating under his
glossy silk kurta. His over-oily hairs were parted from the middle and teeth
were blackened for chewing betel and tobacco leaves. With the exception of two
thumbs and two little fingers, other six of his two hands were decorated by
gold, silver and copper rings studded with fortune stones of different colours
subjugating major planets. Ganguly escorted Mr. Saha to the spot where the VIPs
had been waiting for more wanted guests to join the inauguration of the
cocktail party.
“He is Gajendra Saha, sole proprietor of Saha Distributing Agency, a
division of Saha Spice and consumer products company. SDA, I mean Saha
Distributing Agency are the sole distributor of Rainbow Home Products for
“Namaste! Namaste! Gurujee! Welcome to Rainbow! Hallow Rakesh! How are
you? Please escort Gurujee to that side. Mr. Rozario and others are awaiting
him eagerly.” Talukdar said.
Seeing Gurujee from distance, Nag came forward and welcomed Gurujee. He
then escorted him to Rozario and Kelvin.
Gurujee as addressed by both Talukdar and Nag was also a man of
enormous size both in length and breadth. He was having long hairs and beards
with matching thick moustache and cloaked in long silk kurta and pyjama of deep
orange colour. With round vermilion mark of almost one-inch diameter on his
forehead above the eyebrows and half a dozen necklaces of wooden and glass
beads hanging down his big tummy, he looked like tantrik monk, one of the
self-made saviours of mankind.
“Very very important person to Rainbow. Gurujee is from Darbhanga of
Bihar state and discovery of Rakesh Tiwari, our Institutional Executive for
ethical products in
“Good evening Mr. Khan! Welcome to Rainbow. Please go that side, Mr.
Nag and our big bosses are waiting for you. Oh! PK! Please escort Mr. Khan.”
Talukdar said.
After Mr. Khan had gone inside with P. K. Sanyal, Talukdar said, “He is
very powerful senior police sergeant and good friend of Nag and mine. Khan
looks after the traffic regulation of our office area. Rainbow cars always
escape penalty for traffic violation only due to courtesy of Nawab Khan.”
Nawab Khan was really like Nawab in appearance. He was tall and
handsome having well shaped muscular physique. I saw him twice on the road
junction controlling traffic in his white uniform. This evening he was clad in
casual dress i.e. half-sleeved printed shirt and black trousers.
“Good evening Dilip! Where is Mrs. Sen?”
Talukdar asked Dilip Sen, sales tax consultant who was accompanied by a
middle aged gentleman.
“Sorry! She is not well this evening. Meet Mr. Mondol, commercial tax
officer of our area.” Sen replied.
After they had gone inside, Talukdar said, “We do not bother for sales
tax problems as Dilip has got tremendous hold with the department.”
Binoy Bhusan Bhar escorted one gentleman and introduced him with
Talukdar and me. He was Mr. Pal Choudhury, superintendent of excise vigilance.
“Good evening Sir! You are most welcome to Rainbow. Bhar! Please look
after Mr. Pal Choudhury.
“Here comes Chotan Dastidar, our local guardian.” Talukdar whispered to
me.
“Good evening Mr. Dastidar! You are most welcome to Rainbow.”
“Where is your Nag? Hope Rozario has also come.” Dastidar said in his hoarse
voice.
“Oh yes! Everybody is there. We will meet them right now.” Talukdar
escorted Dastidar to the VIPs and came back immediately.
He said, “Have you heard of Chotan Dastidar anytime?”
“Yes! I saw his name in the newspapers.” I said.
“He is the same man and local don of our office area. Any transaction
regarding house, flat, construction of new building, demolishment of old
building or opening of a new office, Chotan must be informed, as his approval
is necessary. You know, our office area was once a purely residential area of
well-to-do families. Old palatial buildings are being demolished and high rise
buildings are coming up. Private companies and government departments are
shifting or opening their offices in these new buildings. Some old buildings
are renovated and housing offices of big companies like Rainbow. So, persons
like Chotan Dastidar are making their fortune. Without being member of state
assembly or parliament, he moves like a minister with red light on his car and
gets salute from the traffic police. He is personal friend of senior police
officers and trusted person of a powerful minister who always protects him from
rape and murder cases.
Without support of Chotan Dastidar, candidate for assembly or
parliamentary seat will never win the election from the constituency.
Such a man like Chotan Dastidar is a patron of Rainbow. Besides Scotch
whiskey bottle time to time, Nag has arranged a permanent monthly levy for
Dastidar and Rainbow is free from all local problems including staff agitation.”
Talukdar paused as probably another VIP appeared before us.
“Hallow Sir! Good evening! Welcome to Rainbow.” Talukdar said and
without knowing his identity I also smiled and said, “Good evening Sir!”
A middle-aged man with square-cut stern face and hairless scalp was a
senior officer of the local office of defence store and supply. He was escorted
by Uttam Das, Institutional Executive Rainbow Pharma Division. By courtesy of
this officer i.e. Major Batra, entire order for multivitamin tablet and cough
syrup comes to Rainbow. Though officially, Uttam Das is under Ramani Talukdar,
DM of Pharma Division, for all matters i.e. commission and gifts for government
officers, the former discusses directly with Chanakya Nag. Talukdar does not
know anything about such transaction and also does not dare to know either from
Nag or from Uttam. “This is the system of Rainbow.” Talukdar said. “Majumdar
wanted to know the reason for anomaly of the system, and so, he got to leave
the company.”
Without waiting for the direction of Talukdar, Uttam went inside with
Major Batra. I looked behind and saw Nag coming forward to receive Major Batra
and Uttam Das.
“Bose! Be very careful of the hypocrites.” Talukdar whispered.
“Sirs! Please do come to the inaugural ceremony of the cocktail party.”
Gouri Chatterjee requested us.
Rozario, Kelvin, Nag, Mrs. Nag, head office managers, various honoured
guests as received by us were standing in semi-circular form with Rainbow
office and field staffs, some with their wives behind them.
Rozario was wearing a full sleeved casual printed shirt having pictures
of the wild animals of African jungle. Kelvin was wearing white sports banian
with a red heart printed on the chest pierced by a green arrow. All other head
office managers were in the same dresses, only without their neckties. Nag and
Talukdar changed dresses in their cabins like me and were wearing casual shirts
and trousers.
Chief service steward of Tiny Tavern was standing nearby. Nag looked at
Rozario and getting his signal told the chief steward, “Gentlemen! Service
please!” Within a minute half a dozen steward came forward with drinks on their
trays. As per direction of Nag, the chief steward himself handed over the
glasses of Sherry to Rozario, Kelvin and Gurujee. Head office managers and
other important guests got Scotch. Kelvin inaugurated the cocktail party by
raising his right hand with the glass and said, “Cheers!” From all sides and
corners of the roof there had been reverberation of ‘Cheers’ for few minutes.
“Che Sara Sara – what will be,
will be”, Samuel Biswas and his orchestra started their melodious music on a
very popular old song. Twisting legs and shrugging his shoulders Kelvin said,
“Thrilling! I feel at home!”
Most of the field staffs dispersed with their glasses like the bees of
the pierced honeycomb to different corners of the roof. Sky was absolutely
clear and the bright stars could be seen atop with the glorious moon. That
evening, was also the fourteenth of the light fortnight, ‘Sukla Chaturdashi’ as
is said which I could learn from Binoy Bhar. He told me further that he had
personally collected information from Alipore Meteorological office that
weather would be favourable for an open-air party and there was no possibility
of rain or thunderstorm till next morning. So the decorator did not cover the
whole roof by canopy. However to remain on the safe side some emergency folding
canopies had been kept at one corner of the roof beyond anybody’s view. All
sides of the roof along the parapet were fenced by six feet high plywood sheet
decorated gorgeously with magenta red velvet and primrose yellow satin.
Opposite to cocktail service counter and on the other side of the roof
there was long buffet service counter table covered by milk white linen. On the
table there were silver trays containing various items and slowly heated by
brass stoves fitted below. Behind each tray there was a service boy standing
like a statue in his red and white uniform. On the starting point, glass
plates, forks, knives, spoons and napkins were heaped side by side. There were
small plastic slabs placed before each tray on which names of the food items
were written in bold letters. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian items were
separated by the sweets kept in the middle of the long service table. So vegetarians
and non-vegetarians would meet at the middle starting from opposite ends.
Plates, knives, forks, spoons and napkins were kept at both the ends of the
service table.
Though there were so many ladies and gentlemen scattered here and there
I was moving alone with glass of brandy. Excepting the managers, I did not know
much of the office and field staffs. Field staffs of pharma and home products
division coming from Bihar,
Nandi came beside me with his glass and said, “Sir, please don’t mind.
I saw you moving alone and that’s why thought of giving you company.”
“So nice of you Mr. Nandi. What’s there in your glass?”
“It’s Sherry. When the big bosses went to other side, I requested the
cocktail steward to get me Sherry.” Nandi said with low voice.
“Why should you be shy in choosing your drinks? In a party you can have
anything as per your choice.” I said.
“You are right Sir. But I heard that Sherry,
“I am sorry Mr. Nandi to learn about such discriminating arrangement.
But how could you know about that? I think service of drinks started only few
minutes back!” I said.
Nandi almost whispered, “One medical representative wanted to have
Sherry from the cocktail steward after he had served to Rozario, Kelvin and Gurujee.
Gouri Chatterjee asked him to go for Scotch Whiskey, Rum or Beer.”
I did not ask him further regarding this matter as I had already
developed distaste for such arrangement. Colours of Rainbow seemed to have lost
brightness, that’s what I felt at that moment.
to be continued........
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