Page 79 - You Only Live Once [BooksLD]

wouldn’t have witnessed something half as good as it. It will be enough
fodder for the donkeys to keep talking for a year. They might not focus as
much on my career decisions then.

Seated with me in the Uber Pool are two middle-aged aunties who are en
route to a shopping mall. They request our driver to drop them off first.
‘Aarav’s drop is showing first. I can’t change the navigation route,’ he

tries to make them understand.
They let out a resigned sigh, not convinced of the driver’s moves.

I take my diary out and scribble:
When people book Uber Pool , they look at others with a mental block
that why the fuck are they even here in the first place. If they have so much

money, why can’t they get themselves an exclusive ride?
I make it to the office just in time. I press the elevator button a couple of
times only to realize that none of the three are working!

‘What happens when the lift at your 11-floor building does not work?’
snaps Akshaye as he reaches 5 minutes after me.
‘You get to know how fit you are!’ I say almost as an impulse.

‘Your jokes are getting better!’

‘I’m performing in Pune tonight.’
‘I know.’

But Akshaye isn’t the kind who would look up shows on BookMyShow .
‘How?’

‘Ricky asked me to go watch you perform!’
‘Oh! Uncle Ricky.’

‘Get ready for the meeting. I will be back in a while.’
The month I joined HSBC, Akshaye had sponsored a formal dinner for us

on account of his promotion. The team was invited to Colorin, the
restaurant I was mentioning the other day. I heard one of the team members
say, ‘I don’t want to go back to the same old cubicle. I want to start a
company.’ I moved towards him with a fancy of a child towards balloons.
He was speaking with four other teammates. I stood there to start a
conversation as he declared, ‘Startups are all the rage now. They are
encompassing the Indian landscape like nothing has ever before. Not that