Past Forward

After what seemed to be an aimless exercise, Imperfecto's tired and pretty much defeated eyes, spotted a huge signboard on a posh looking gate. The signboard of 'Vedic Towers' was partially covered by a loosely tied white cloth banner which had words 'Thinking Career Fair' screaming at passersby. Imperfecto's joy knew no bounds. He quickly crossed the road towards the tall buildings on the other side. Vedic Towers would easily touch the sky, thought Imperfecto, as he looked up at the glass façade of the imposing structure in the fading daylight.   He made an entry in the register of visitors at the entrance of the building and joined the short queue for the security check just below the banner. The security guard was merely ticking the checkbox by a half-hearted top body scan with a beeping detector. He seemed exhausted performing the same activity since morning, but who cared? All the visitors wanted was a quick passage and he didn’t do a deep dive.

A rude jolt broke Imperfecto's brooding as he crashed over an elderly neighbour who cast a scowl. Before the reprimand came he managed to meekly apologise. He had been conditioned not to hurt anyone. Over time, this thought had strengthened its foundation and extended to inability to refuse anyone without feeling extremely guilty. He just could not say no and if he had, for a higher compulsion, the next few days would make him guilty to the core. The other attribute which accompanied this foundation was believing everyone on their face value, no matter what. Quite a vicious cycle, right? Slowly but steadily, he was slipping in the quicksand and his endless struggle to stay out of it had unknowingly made him shy, introvert and sensitive. Even today, he could not see where he was going. That's when his recall power sprang back. 'Oh yes! I know' he smiled to himself. A newspaper advertisement had announced a career carnival at central town square, where leading compan

Imperfecto was looking out through a narrow gap in the crowded public bus. It was hopeless to try anything else after being pushed around every few seconds. The whole population of the town seemed to have been stuffed into this rickety bus. He had no idea why he was in this bus or where he was supposed to go. The only thought vaguely floating in his casual memory box was that he had been advised to hop onto this one since it went to the central town square. He asked a few bystanders at the bus stop who not only affirmed it but also pushed him inside with themselves following suit. Without a second thought Imperfecto had made his quantum leap into the faded white bus which had just moved after a brief halt. The sudden jerk propelled him inside a can of sardines and with some good help (read stuffing clothes in an already packed suitcase) from his co-passengers he had managed to stand on his own.   Why 'central town square'? he wondered. The constant chatter of co-passen