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Corporate professional Rumi never let her neurological disorder affect the work she loved the most. But harassment at the workplace by her senior made her quit the job.
It was going to be a hectic day for Rumi. Morning alarm ticked at sharp 6 pm. She knew it would be a hard day for her as she had back to back meetings. And these meetings were all about cost-cutting. She was utterly not convinced about removing the employees without giving them a fair chance. The team was new and so was she.
As the hour of the meeting proceeded Rumi developed cold feet. Not many people knew that she was suffering from a rare neurological disorder – a combination of nonconvulsive leading to convulsive epilepsy. She was a brave fighter and never thought that this disease could stop her benevolence towards her work.
Rumi was under medication, with a strict regime she was leading a perfect life. She never shielded her good or bad performances at the workplace or in her personal front with the disease. She had been in the corporate field for 12 years and had never taken a break. For her work was worship.
But that day was not her day. Rumi, being a great leader, wanted to give a few team members another chance. This was against some high management people. Mentorship was not something that she had learnt from her MBA books but through spending time with her resources. One final chance for her team was what she begged for, this had the least to do with her job.
When the meeting was over she went to convince the high officials about the positive output of her plan. But her senior grabbed her from behind suddenly. Understanding the wrong motive she protested. Her senior threatened to tell the entire organisation about her neuro disorder unless she decided to accompany him on an official trip. He openly offered her a relationship of convenience.
That day the wound was deep. No one did understand how deeply she was hurt. She even complained to senior officials but she lacked evidence as the incident was sudden.
Her disease didn’t defeat her. Even with that, she travelled, roared, implemented every positive thing that could have been a successful women’s strategy. But she succumbed to a filthy proposal to camouflage her illness. This was probably something she could not agree to. Rumi resigned that very day.
This is based on a true story. The name has been changed to maintain secrecy. This incident puts out a question on the effectiveness of workplaces in carried out a ground level investigation. How they could have helped the girl, having a controllable neuro disorder, she should have been dealt with more empthatically.
Image Source – Pexels
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Rajshri Deshpande, who played the fiery protagonist in Trial by Fire along with Abhay Deol speaks of her journey and her social work.
Rajshri Deshpande as the protagonist in ‘Trial by Fire’, the recent Netflix show has received raving reviews along with the show itself for its sensitive portrayal of the Uphaar Cinema Hall fire tragedy, 1997 and its aftermath.
The limited series is based on the book by the same name written by Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, who lost both their children in the tragedy. We got an opportunity to interview Rajshri Deshpande who played Neelam Krishnamoorthy, the woman who has been relentlessly crusading in the court for holding the owners responsible for the sheer negligence.
Rajshri Deshpande is more than an actor. She is also a social warrior, the rare celebrity from the film industry who has also gone back to her roots to give to poverty struck farming villages in her native Marathwada, with her NGO Nabhangan Foundation. Of course a chance to speak with her one on one was a must!
“What is a woman’s job, Ramesh? Taking care of parents-in-law, husband, children, home and things at work—all at the same time? She isn’t God or a superhuman."
The arrays of workstations were occupied by people peering into their computer screens. The clicks of keyboard keys were punctuated by the occasional footsteps moving around to brainstorm or collaborate with colleagues in their cubicles. Most employees went about their tasks without looking at the person seated on either side of their workstation. Meenakshi was one of them.
The thirty-one-year-old marketing manager in a leading eCommerce company in India sat straight in her seat, her eyes on the screen, her fingers punching furiously into the keys. She was in a flow and wanted to finish the report while the thoughts and words were coming effortlessly into her mind.
Natu-Natu. The mellifluous ringtone interrupted her thoughts. She frowned at her mobile phone with half a mind to keep it ringing until she noticed the caller’s name on the screen, making her pick up the phone immediately.
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