A page from an Automobile Engineer's Diary

“Hmm”….The doctor gave a gentle nod as he scanned the anatomy of my lungs which lay glowing in front of him thanks to William Roentgen. I looked on helplessly as a student dreading to hear the word “FAIL” from his class teacher. The doctor put down the spectacles on the table and began – “Seems you have been enjoying your freedom over here too much, too much of smoking and drinking going on?” I was caught unaware at such a stark remark but then the Hindi film dialogue echoed in my ears “You should never lie to your doctor and lawyer”. I confessed sheepishly and the doctor carried on. “You have asthmic bronchitis and you need to quit smoking immediately. I am writing you some medicines. Have them for a week and then we will meet to see the improvement.” I nodded gently and as I started to open the door the doctor intervened with his fat finger wagging at me “Remember, NO SMOKING”.

“Yeah Yeah NO SMOKING “ I tried to imitate, much to the surprise of the secretary who sat outside for the bill to be paid much like an alligator stretching its mouth waiting for its prey. As I rode back I thought about the disease I was carrying with me at 60 kmph. BROCHITIS- The word was enough to produce numerous images in my nerve cells –the most prominent one being coughing myself to death. The thought made me shiver as I lamented every puff of cigarette that I have so proudly inhaled. Collecting the medicines from the chemist’s store I went back to the room and after struggling with the tablets and expectorants prepared myself for the bed.

The mobile alarm is adamant on waking me off the bed and after a few tantrums I succumb to the irritating alarm tone. I get ready for the office coughing intermittently in between cursing everyone under the sun. It’s 8:30. I am into the office premises swiping my identity card and logging on to my computer. I scan the e mails in my inbox. “200 components of Gear Shift Lever Knob rejected” I read the message. Almost simultaneously my boss calls me up: “Aashutosh, There has been some issue on the line of your component. What about it?” I have no answer. Meekly I trouble my vocal chords to utter” I haven’t seen it yet, sir. I’ll get back with the analysis to you.” “You better do and do it fast…….Bang” came the prompt reply. Then for the next 4 hrs I keep on running throughout the premises of my company, on the assembly line, making calls to the suppliers and then finally sit down on my desk for the most dreaded job I have on hand-Analyse the drawing. I just hate these engineering drawings. I know this is blasphemy but I cannot help but curse the day I chose to get into the Mechanical stream of engineering. The icing on the cake has been the automobile company job. “Who the hell has designed this component? Why couldn’t he make a simple one.” I am virtually in tears trying to create a 3-D picture of the gear shift lever from the maze of straight lines and curves I held in my hand. I give up and make way for my boss’s cabin hoping that he is busy with some other work and will call me afterwards which would never come;). “May I come in ,Sir? A nod. I make way into the chamber coughing and laying the huge expanse of the drawing in front of him I prepare myself for the assault. During the next hour he goes through every negative expressions one can imagine. Anger,frustration,disgust…I am running short of adverbs …pardon my vocabulary. He tricks me into various technical jargons. “ Can you draw for me the schematic diagram of centreless grinding” The words sounded familiar to me. My innocuous brain goes in flashback. I strain my brain cells to retrieve images of the bygone “Manufacturing Process” lectures. ”No image found”…pat comes the reply. Of course….I never had the privilege to attend those lectures. I curse myself for bunking classes for the first time. An expression of blankness conveys my answer to him and he loses the little hope he had from a freshly passed out engineering graduate. After one hour of humiliation I head to infuse some caffeine into my system and then motivated by the recent failures I sit down on my desk. “Centreless grinding” I type into the google search bar. Eerie images of big machines followed by prolix description flash in front of my eyes and I am finally led into a yawn. I am not made for this kind of a job. Manufacturing is not the field for me. I pass the verdict and the hooter blows. Its time to pack up. I log off and within minutes find myself ordering to our Anna. “ Ek chai aur ek Classic dena” ….Suddenly the doctor’s fat finger comes wagging at me….”Sirf chai dena”.

I am in my room coughing my heart out and now I sit down with the TIME mock papers. Yes you got it right. I aspire to join a B school. So I cram a few puzzles, solve a few questions of number system and geometry,some sentence corrections and then I am off to the Chhaya parantha house for the dinner. “Ek paneer aur ek aloo ka parantha” I order and sit back ,hands itching to have the white thing but self restraint persists. At least for today. I look at a young couple (not married) sipping juice from a single glass. “Idiots , I shall never do this” and by the time I meandered into my world of thoughts as to how I would never display affection in public,our Dada comes with the order. It’s 11.00 and yet again I am off to bed consoling myself that things will change soon and I ll be out of this life of machines and drawings to a comfortable world of numbers and strategies. Deep down I have doubts though. “ Mirchi sunne waale always khush “ the over enthusiastic RJ helps me run away from life . And I am in my dreams not knowing what lies ahead in the world of machines for me.