Saturday 23 February 2013

NIGHTMARE ON FIRST JOB STREET. PART 2

At first, my senior seemed to be a nice guy. He would guide me on how to write and share a few tips. He was a Bong (slang for people from Didi land, Kolkata). The other staff would be surprised when i told them that i like my senior. They thought i was crazy. They were right.
I interacted mostly with the art department. They would often ignore my mistakes and correct it, without bringing it to the notice of my senior. They would take me to lunch and share many things about life. It was odd that, apart from work, they hardly interacted with my senior. They avoided him. My senior would make his presence felt as much as possible. From his breath filled with the stench of smoke and calling names loudly, to his music on the earphones which reminded us of the Banglore traffic outside. I figured he was 'socially awkard', like most writers and creative people are. I also figured that he used more of deodrants than wasting water on showers.
The abuse started from the second week. He would write hurtful comments, and ask me to rewrite. I would do it a zillion times and finally get it right. I figured this was a way of pushing myself. Soon, it became evident he had a hatred towards Tamils, which i was. Behind my back, he would refer to me as a Madrasi. It grew worse when he started to tear the paper, or crumple it, and throw it on my face. I was too meek to protest. He would point out my mistake in front of the whole office, make up stories and insult me. This went on for quite some time, and was accompanied by the F-word. F@*k this and F@*k that. This was my greeting and goodbye.
I hated the way i had to wait for him to complete watching his movie, or porn, or Facebook. The ad copy was delayed, and clients used to scream on the phone to the client-servicing guys. On some occasions, he used to leave before a review was done, leaving the project incomplete. I was frustrated. I knew this was my first job, in a great company, and would look really bad if i left because i could not manage the pressure. Or had a bad tempered senior.


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