Happy Mother’s Day !!

“kya bolti hai budhiya?” asked Sarma

“Arre Sarmaji, Budhiya ne to mera jeena haraam kar diya hai. Uska Javascript error fix karo, uska defect fix karo, usko query likh ke do and that CAB meeting! She always asks me to represent her CAB meetings!! Pareshaan kar diya hai mujhe. Doctor’s appointment, dentist’s appointment, picking up her grandchildren from school, her pet’s treatment, what not? Why the hell these non-technical people are put into the technical projects?” I snorted

“If you want you can block her in the messenger” Sarma suggested

“No Sarmaji, that doesn’t look good” I replied disappointingly

Lori, I don’t remember her last name, was my project mate in the ING project in Atlanta 3 years ago. She was a business analyst who was put into a technical role. Recession was just creeping in and she had to survive her job and she always yearned for my help. She used to work from home from some state. She was 60+ I guess and we TCS guys nicknamed her ‘budhiya’.

That day she pinged me, “Hi Sajid, could you please represent my change in the CAB today?”

CAB meeting was the Change Approval Board meeting wherein you had to explain your changes which you made to the code and wanted to promote them to production. It’s hardly a 15 min meeting. I was fed up of her and I lied to her saying that I had some other work then. She asked me if Santhosh could represent her in the meeting. I checked with Santhosh. He was already outside as usual.

I just told her, “why can’t you attend the meeting yourself Lori?”

She said, “I am going to the airport this afternoon”

“well..” I said and continued, “you can as well go to the airport after your CAB meeting right?”

There was a pause. Then she said, “This is the most important day of my life. I am going to the airport to pick my son. He is returning from Iraq”

“Iraq?”

“Yes! He is in the Army. He was posted there 2 years back and today he is returning back home”

That really hit me like a lightening! I then realized, how could a mother concentrate on work when her son was fighting for life in Iraq? What would she might be going through in those days? Why the hell do these political wars take place risking human lives? Why the hell do these so called civilized societies indulge in the barbaric act of killing innocent lives ?

Then I told Lori, “Lori, please go ahead and receive your son. I would attend your CAB for rest of my life. I swear”!! Sarma overheared my conversation from the next cubicle. From that day we never called her ‘budhiya’ !!