Final Destination – Bangalore

I had been asked my travel agent to get down at a place called Silk Board. Once I got down, I was to take a rickshaw to BTM Stage I. I had been booked accommodation at a service apartment somewhere there. He had assured me that it was a famous one and I would have no issues finding it.

At 5.00 am, the bus conductor wakes me up. “Sir … We’ve reached Silk Board … You wanted to get off here – right?”
I thank him for waking me up, collect my luggage and get off. I had barely gotten off the bus when I was flocked by rickshaw wallas trying to lure me to get into their auto instead of the others. I randomly picked one guys and head over to his rickshaw. I showed him the address, and he nodded saying he knew the place. Being used to the auto system in Chennai – where, by the way, the autorickshaw meters move faster than the autos themselves (thanks to having been sabotaged) – I asked him “How much for the ride?”. He says “100 bucks”. I was a little stumped on hearing the amount. But being half asleep, and under the impression that BTM Stage I is far away, I agreed to his demands.

He starts his auto, takes the first left and the next right and voila, we are in front of my service apartments. I was left wondering – “I have to pay this creep 100 bucks for this short a trip? I could’ve walked to this place! Heck – these blokes are worse than their counterparts in Chennai!!!”
But heck – it was a company reimbursed trip. What did I care if he siphoned off 100 bucks from me? It was Diapro’s money at the end of the day. With that thought I handed over 100 bucks and headed up my room.

My room turned out to be a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge one. It came with a cupboard, a TV, an A/C, a table, a king sized bed, et al. I was blown over by the sort of luxurious treatment that was being meted to me. I was finally beginning to experience some sort of a respect or happiness of working for Diapro.

But, at that moment panic struck me. Oh … you’re probably wondering why. Let me take a minute to explain why!

As per Diapro policies, when a person travels on a company trip, he/she will be given a cash advance of a MAXIMUM of Rs. 5000/-. The remaining has to be paid from his pocket, and if he is lucky – as I would soon find out – and only then is he reimbursed for it.

The Diapro justification to the above policy was, “We pay the actuals’ of the expenses incurred during the trip. And if you provide us with bills for the same – we will refund the same!”
But, every Tom, Dick and Harry in the company knew that the actual reason for this was– “Instead of giving him money, I will make him spend money. And once he does that, I will refund only part of the total amount – citing various policies and practices as to why “xyz” expense can not be covered under the corporate reimbursement policy! And this way – It’s his headache to get the money from us, not ours to get the money from him!”

Sadly, naïve as I was when I joined company, I wasn’t aware of the corporate conspiracy behind this whole policy – and I fell for it!!!


So, going back to where I started, the Rs. 5000/-. I had been allotted a referral guest house for my stay at Bangalore. And the charge was supposed to be Rs. 1600/-.
Since they hadn’t mentioned whether this was for a day or for the 15 days I was supposed to be there, I comfortably assumed the latter.
In my defense, I came from a college where we paid 300 rupees per month as room rent. And since this was a guest house of the company – I had no reason to believe that they would charge the cost center for anything more than the maintenance fees.

Again – Another one of my stupid and costly mistakes!!!


Well … Back to Bangalore and my big and kick ass room! So – I had come to Bangalore with 5000 bucks, and I was staring at a room for which I would have to pay a rent of Rs. 1600 /- per day.
My mind was thinking – “Wow … You just landed in Bangalore, and you got your arse whipped here too!!!”

But, I knew that something could be worked out. Worst-come-worst-case I’d have to take a loan from one of my friends/roomies. No big deal. So – that said and done, I head for a quick shave and shower.

I check my watch. It says 7.00 am. Time to call Savita’s and ask her for directions to the office.

(Tring … Tring … Tring …)
Savita: “Hello …”
Me: “Hi Savita … Sharath here …”
Savita: “Oh hi … you’ve landed already kya?”
Me: “Oh yes … as a matter of fact I landed at 5 am itself. I didn’t want to disturb you that’s why I didn’t call you till now.”
Savita: “Oh no worries … I’m already at office!”

I was stunned. What sort of an idiot goes to office at this time of the day? Not only is this girl un-attractive, but, she also turned out to be a stupid nerd! Just my luck!!!

Me: “So early???”
Savita: “Oh yeah … We have an early morning bus … I generally take that!”
Me: “Well … I’m still at home. I think I’ll need a good hour plus to get there. I hope that’s ok?”
Savita: “Sure … No hurries … Give me a call when you get here. I am in building 17, 4th floor.”
Me: “Cool … I’ll see you – hopefully – in another hour”
Savita: “Fine then … Bye!”
Me: “Have a nice day … Bye!”

And I got off the phone.


I ask the caretaker of the guest house for directions to the office, and thanks to the fact that this guest office had seen many Diapro guests, he asked me to take a rickshaw to our Electronic City.

Me: “How far is it from here?”
Caretaker: “About 12 kms sir …”

Oh … Oh … That’s bad news. I was charged 100 bucks for a 25 feet trip in the morning. If I travel 12 kms, I might have to sell of my kidney to pay for the rickshaw. Heck – I’d even have to sell off the caretakers kidneys!!!

Me: “The autos here, are the expensive?”
Caretaker: “No sir … You only need to pay the meter charge!”
Me: “But I was charged 100 bucks for the trip from Silk Board to the guest house today morning!”
Caretaker: “Sir … In the mornings and after 10 pm they charge exorbitant rates!”
Me: “Oh … Like that eh … Cool … Thanks for the inputs man … I owe you one!”
Caretaker: “It is my duty sir …”

With a smile, I head out for my first day at Diapro Bangalore. Heck – I am lying - I didn’t a damn about reaching office on time. What I wanted was to get out on the streets and see all those IT professional chicks - which Bangalore was so famous for – before they got on their company buses and left!

The climate was pleasant, and as soon as I hit the main road I could see hordes of babes moving around. All sizes, all shapes, all ages, all colors. “Man … The hype was 101% true … This was babe central …” Finally, lady luck was smiling at me.


I quickly hire a rickshaw and head to my office. Savita would be waiting for me.