“Tell me Neeta, why is this incident being brought to my notice after two hours?”.  “Sorry sir, I did not want to tell you when everyone was around,”  said Neeta .

Raman was very disturbed. The email from Neeta his HR manager said that two colleagues were fighting in the office.  Tempers were flying high. Anurag slapped Tanushri and then banged the laptop on her head”.  Neeta had confronted Anurag and asked him to maintain office decorum.  Whatever the provocation, this type of behaviour was not tolerable and Anurag will have to go, thought Raman.

Raman made calls to the IT head to block Anurag’s access to the server and the office. He spoke to the Managers  of both Tanushri and Anurag and they all decided that Anurag would have to be asked to resign.  Raman felt very sad. He did not know Anurag very well, but he always came across as a silent, humble person and a very hard worker. Raman was finding it hard to believe that Anurag had banged the laptop on Tanushri’s head.

Next day when Raman arrived in the office, a thought had been bugging him. Would it be right to terminate the services of an otherwise good employee based on hearsay without giving him a chance to say his side of the story?

Neeta entered Raman’s office with two files. “Did you know that Anurag and Tanushri were in a relationship?” asked Raman. “Yes sir” she replied. “The meetings with Deepal and Sumit have been lined up, when will you see them?” she asked. “Right away, you also be in the meetings and note down every detail of what is said,” Raman instructed Neeta.

Deepal and Sumit both were present when the incident happened, but none of them could confirm that they saw Anurag slapping or hitting Tanushri. They could only confirm loud voices coming through the cubicle.

“I will see Anurag alone,” said Raman. Neeta did not like that but followed instructions.  Anurag was not allowed to enter his cubicle. Raman tried hard to make him feel comfortable. “Now tell me what happened, exactly as it happened. If you are not at fault, I give you my word; I will help you through this.”

Anurag had met Tanushri in the office a few months ago when she joined.  They were good friends and Tanushri often confided in Anurag about her family issues. Tanushri was from Nagpur and she had come to Mumbai for work. Her father was an anti-corruption inspector in Nagpur.  While conducting a raid on a politician’s illegal liquor den, the politician’s henchmen set the den on fire o destroy the evidence, and her father was burnt alive. No FIR was filed and the case was shut as being an accident.  Because of this incident, Tanushri would go into bouts of depression and often threaten to commit suicide. Raman was listening carefully.  “Please sir, her family is totally dependent on her income. If she loses her job, I will not forgive myself. I am ready to take whatever it means, even if I lose my job, please don’t do anything to her.” Raman was finding this rather amusing. Here Anurag was about to lose his job, but he was pleading for Tanushri. “You take the day off and I will do what best I can”, Raman shook Anurag’s hand and led him to the door.

Raman checked the notes, the witnesses as well as Anurag’s discussion had common points. No one had seen him slap Tanushri.

Anurag informed Raman that Tanushri was told by some Astrologer that she was responsible for her father’s death. Her stars were not right and she was cursed to have a difficult life. Anurag had been counselling her that she in no way was responsible for her father’s death. She would be good for a day and then go into these bouts of depression and suicidal tendencies the next day. Yesterday she was typing her resignation and Anurag was trying to tell her that her mother and brother are dependent on her salary and she should not do this. When she refused to listen to him, he snatched the laptop and banged it on the table and the imagination of someone changed it to Anurag banging it on Tanushri’s head.

Raman asked for Tanushri to see him.  She entered the room nibbling her fingers.  She looked visibly nervous.  Raman heard Tanushri, she too was pleading, “Sir please…Anurag is innocent. I am the one to be blamed. He was only helping me.”

Tanushri told Raman the story of her father’s death and how the Astrologer had told her that her destiny was jinxed and anyone who comes in her life will be doomed. She kept on pleading with Raman to keep Anurag. Tanushri would fight with her mother during the bouts of depression and anger. Her mother had too much to cope and Raman was wondering what a great lady she must be. He counselled Tanushri. “Go and tell your mother you love her. Just think about the fact that she not only has to live with the sorrow of losing her husband but also handle your tantrums.”

At the end of the day Raman called Neeta and asked her to revoke the decision of firing Anurag.  He was happy that he had taken a decision after speaking to everyone concerned and not just taken a decision unilaterally.

It was fourteen years since the incident happened. Today was the opening of the 10^th orphanage run by Sneh Foundation which was started by Tanushri in memory of her father.  After the incident in the office, Tanushri was mentored by Raman and loved by Anurag.  She started with a small sum of Rs.1000/- towards education of an orphan and today her NGO had branches all over the country. Millions of lives were changed for the better by the grit and determination of one person.

Anurag and Tanushri were happily married. They had a beautiful daughter named Nina. Anurag had loved her so much that Tanushri was a completely changed person.  Her mother lived with them enjoying the grand-daughter and Anurag’s belief that ‘Love has healing power’ had come true.