On a lovely sunny day in July I, along with a few friends (Showkat, Irshad and Istiyaq) headed towards a health resort. We travelled by bus and after two hours we reached our destination. Every fresh breeze gave an impression of a welcome break from the urban life. The weather was soothing as the clouds had humbled, the otherwise piercing rays of the sun.
We were delighted to be there at last, and with great enthusiasm we booked a room in the hotel. The hotel looked wonderful from the outside and with great enthusiasm we stepped into the hotel.
“Only one room is vacant,” the hotel manager said. He ordered the hotel attendant to escort us to the room.
“Sir, this is the best room: Look you can see the beautiful calm view from this window”, the attendant said. The room looked OK.
“Well, it’s only a matter of one night” said Irshad and we all agreed to stay in the hotel. We dropped our bags and left for sightseeing. We enjoyed to the hilt till evening. We returned tired and soon after dinner we were in the lap of deep sleep. Suddenly, at around 2 am, my sleep got disturbed and I woke up. I rubbed my eyes and while yawning started scratching my legs. I couldn’t sleep at all. Quietly, I opened the window and looked out. “No noise”, instead an eerie silence was prevailing as if the whole area was dreaming, every one calm and cool but me. Intermittently the barking of dogs could be heard distantly from some far off place. The moon was in its youth and its reflections were showering and painting the whole area silver. It was calm and indeed mesmerizing. Minutes later, everyone else in the room woke up. Now we switched on the main light, and everyone was seen scratching his legs. My God! We saw an army of bedbugs marching in a line over the pillow, here and there, everywhere. It seemed as if their commander had sent a common text to all of them, “Go and hunt!”
The bed bug alert disturbed our sleep completely. Now! What to do? We made fun of it all, talked and joked together.
We were faced with the alternatives of no sleep or facing rows of hungry bed bugs! Mr. Showkat got an idea. “Guys! Necessity is the mother of invention, you can do the same thing”, he said while putting on his socks and sealing his trousers letting nothing to enter. He also put on his jacket, and headed towards the balcony of the room, and minutes later he was asleep. He managed few hours of sleep but rest of us were awake, trying to get comfortable, but all in vain. The murky night finally ended and as the sun was rising we were busy packing our bags for the return journey home.
“East or west home is the best, friends let us go home now,” said Ishtiyaq . I am afraid lest some bed bugs accompany us to our homes, he further added. “Ha, ha !!” all of us laughed and we came down towards the reception of the hotel. Sleep deprivation was clearly evident on our faces, and we paid the bill. While bidding good bye to the manager we could hardly smile our thanks!
Why all this happened? I dived deep in my thoughts and tried to find the reason .Well, it seemed to me that the owner of the hotel had built the project wonderfully, but had failed to maintain it .Had the staff of the hotel been sincere enough with their organization, the small intervention of few rupees could have destroyed the army of those bedbugs along with their hideouts .All of us would have enjoyed the stay and even recommended the hotel in future .It seemed that sincerity was missing somewhere in the loop that spoiled our trip. Why had the sincerity of employees gone? Possibly the owner or management had not treated his staff like a family. No sooner does the organization fail to address the needs of their employees honestly and genuinely, then the attitude of staff becomes very casual, and that breaks the fulcrum of sincerity.
The organizations even collapse. The successful entrepreneurs never overlook even small things, and consequently their projects progress by leaps and bounds. This phenomenon holds good for all national and international organizations, whether governmental or in the private sector. The smart entrepreneurs never let the fulcrum of sincerity break. When the companies treat their employees like a family, then sky becomes the limit for their success. “Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal.
Walk out of your house like a shepherd?”
– Moulana Rumi
Excerpt from the Book Bumby Roads authored by Dr. Ibrahim Masoodi who graduated from Govt.Medical college Srinagar, Kashmir and completed his DM in Gastroenterology from PGI Chandigarh India . Apart from his work as a physician Dr Ibrahim has keen interest in literature. He can be mailed at ibrahimmasoodi@yahoo.co.in