I don’t know when the tides will turn again,
I don’t know when there will be a time devoid of disdain…
In joy and sorrow, where friends could be around,
Searching a place, where Happyness could be found..
Sitting at my home office, it's been more than a year, I went through many personal achievements and agonies during this period but alas! there was no sweet at my desk to celebrate them or cafeteria break to went anger against them.
Like me, professionals around the world are exhausted doing household chores, some of them who wished to stay at home for their family obligations are frustrated too, as they cannot venture out.
Either it is my senior citizen mom or the infant kid, or the adorable wife everyone wants to go to the park or the temple or the shopping mall with me. No one likes to sit at my home office desk for sure, they all wanted me to spend time with them, but never like this.
I remember, the time before the pandemic when I used to have a mini fight with my wife, as to why we keep bringing the office work at home. Now the same thing is played around in every household. Everyone understands the need of the hour, the health risk, the concern of the larger public and society but the meaning of being at home has been changed completely.
There is hardly any time to switch off between office and home modes, the multitasking has already started taking a toll on everyone. Some of my friends are already longing for that office desk.
The desk, which some of them liked messy, some of them cleaned it with the extra cloth they borrowed from housekeeping. Few of them even had quotes written, photographs of their family members, some art, gift pieces, awards, and certificates hanging around. Like they wanted to tell themselves, I sit here, this is my workplace. I define it. It's my desk.
When I used to be upset, looking at the desk of my fellow engineer (Vijay) who had “Zindagi na milegi doobara, never stop chasing your dream” written on it, was a mood booster. Or do you know the girl sitting behind me (Priyanga) she had her desk filled with so many awards, I especially had a liking for the red color zinnov award certificate, it was striking.
And then there was the beautiful desk of this girl (call her Happyness) where souvenirs from friends were displayed, a cute little half cup, a few miniatures bottles, a flower, a little bird, and the ever-growing money plant, it was a complete happyness package.
There were also special desks like the one my friend (DJ) had, where everyone used to gather for not just complaining but also cherishing the first rain of the season, a striking rainbow, or a wildfire smoke in the forest near JP nagar. Since the desk had a diverse crowd visiting frequently, all the smoke of office news, hikes, promotion, scolding, and praise used to travel via this desk only.
There were cabins of our senior staff (Harish) where whiteboards were filled with codes and diagrams where the entry was bit prestigious and quiet rooms as well, which most of us used to make phone calls, or do scrums, but desk had its own power.
During lunchtime, waiting at each other’s desk was a common pastime, I had an indirect view of my friend (Satya’s) desk, but still imagining that he would call me while going for early lunch was soothing. The desk of another friend (Girija & Nitin) was near to bathroom area, stopping by at their desk every time I had an urge to pee, was common. Some of my hackathons' ideas were the sheer product of those pee break desk meetings.
And then doing the desk exercise, turning my chair around 360 (So that I could catch a glimpse of Happyness), waiting for another friend (call her Swag) to announce at my desk and find me busy. Her animated antics used to make my desk lively for whatever time she was around.
We also had desk decorating competition sometimes, where everybody used to gather and draw dawn their ideas on a group of cubicles, the camaraderie, the equivocal passion towards making their team proud, and the high running temper during results always felt like a livable crest.
Do you know, we also had a small locker at our desk, that little place where the 4 digit code worked instead of keys, where we used to keep every stuff except our peripherals. And the sound of tower servers? a pretty calm lady (call her Priceless) adjacent to me had a very noisy server, but after a year of silence, I feel the longing to hear that noise again.
It was our desk, where we have followed the greatest victory and worst defeat of the Indian cricket team, or the election result of Indian or American Parliament. The most intense or feeble debate, the most worthy or pathetic jokes, the sustainable or useless ideas, the greatest code or the dumbest bug, everything came from that small 4x4 desk…
Hope the desks are not longing for us, in case they are, please tell them, we are missing our happyness too…
In search of happyness, I went judgemental…
from dawn to dusk…
And then my heart told me, that the happyness I was looking for…
was at my desk…
- SKY01
