See You Soon

April 09, 2019

See You Soon

In the entire duration of your life there are certain people you meet and get to experience which bring about a certain change in you or rather make you into what you turn out to be. These are the people who you remember beyond the time where you are in their company... Generally, people tend to mention these individuals to various people throughout your life, trying to explain the difference they made in your life. I too consider myself a normal human being with the same kind of emotions and people passing by in life. I would have written this little piece a long time ago but due to the innate tendency of people to misunderstand and judge appraisal for 'sucking up' this write up had to be delayed till the very last day. The dreaded last day... which has finally arrived.

9th March, 2019... I received a text message from my AFOM (Assistant Front Office Manager) who is two designations above mine saying that she had resigned. For all the fun made about the reactions in Hindi serials where the 'Kya???' is repeated thrice and the actor swooshed upon multiple times, I regretted making fun of those scenes upon reading that message. It was or rather is an unforgettable moment in my life. I could feel my heart slowly sinking like it had been caught in quicksand. I guess some weird currents took place in my brain which made it stop working completely and there I was, sat in a chair in the back office of the Fairmont Jaipur reception not knowing how to react and what to do. Well, this is a wrong start... probably because the story has begun from the end. Let me take you through a little journey through my professional life where in a mere twenty one months, there is an inexplicable bond with my senior manager. To be honest, I never imagined or could have imagined professional life to be like this but here we are.

Ms. Kanika Kapoor (photo attached for reference) was named my 'buddy' when I joined Fairmont Jaipur as a fresher from college in August, 2018. Before we head further, please do not fall for the pretty face because generally the people who look the most innocent are the ones who manage to take the most advantage of this trait. (I speak from personal experience and this has contributed a lot to the relation which Kanika Ma'am and I have) In the first three months, I hardly met her or spoke to her, reason being my quiet nature and her busy schedule. The only time I remember having a proper 5-10 minute conversation with her was in the cab on the way to work but that was it. One instance I remember is when she called me and took a small test and filed the result of it. This was unheard of in the department and hence came as a pleasant surprise to me. It taught me one very important thing which molded my relationship with my buddy. It taught me that she cared. She considered me her responsibility and it was a very humbling moment for me personally. Since childhood I have been someone who needs to be taken care of and I don't know whether she understood that or was just trying to do her job to the best of her capabilities but it worked out fine for the both of us in the end.

Fast forward nine months, the time it took me to come to the real world of Front Office i.e. the reception. To give an insight into the front desk for non-hoteliers, it's a warzone. Trust me, this is not an exaggeration. You have to carry a shield and some Vaseline before you stand and smile at the desk. The shield to protect yourself from the various flying arrows that come your way from all around the hotel and Vaseline to well... umm.. reduce the pain when the flying arrow manages to hit and enter unwanted parts. Anyway, I was lucky that Kanika Ma'am was my buddy because it spared me from carrying the shield and the Vaseline. She quickly became the shield for all the flying arrows my way and ensured that no Vaseline was necessary. Whenever I was on shift with ma'am, it felt like there is an elder sister keeping a watchful eye on me ensuring that I'm learning and taking care of my responsibilities in the best way possible. Now, an elder sister is a very tricky relation... Yes, she loves you beyond what you realize but she's also stern enough when you commit an error to make you feel so pathetic about yourself that you would dare not commit the same error ever again. I still remember, I overslept one day and reached on shift late. There she was, my shield but this time, with an arrow in her hand ready to poke my Un-vaselined hind parts. "Go home, I'll take care of the group myself. There's no point having you here now", she said to me. This one sentence hurt me the same way one hurts when his/her mother stops talking to them. It gave me an unparalleled sense of guilt and shame... but at the same time, I knew that she knew. She knew what she was doing. I was being pushed to the point where I didn't think I could handle it but she knew that I could. It's like having a gym trainer who with a little support makes you go beyond your boundaries. Buddy, elder sister, gym trainer... One lady, many roles.

The best part about having Kanika Ma'am as my buddy was the fact that she is a winner and a perfectionist. She is also another level of crazy. Remember? I told you not to go by the pretty face? Our shifts with Kanika Ma'am generally on a daily basis started with a huge variety of expletives which continued throughout the day. A lot of crass talk about human excretion, copulation followed by random loud singing, shouting and overzealous dancing... Imagine walking into the office only to find your boss waltzing with an associate with a background of sing song by fellow colleagues. She set the mood of the entire department. If Kanika Ma'am is happy, everyone is happy... if she's sad, everyone is… if she's angry, everybody is scared... that's the effect and aura she carries. Considering me her responsibility, she wanted to ensure that I carried the same effect around with me which at my age is extremely difficult and impossible to impersonate. There were many instances where she sat me down and told me, "Jay, I know I'm putting you under a lot of pressure but it is just to make you stronger" This one sentence was enough motivation to go through long hours, staying back in the hotel, ensuring that the work I'm doing is nothing short of perfect. It was checking, rechecking and then checking some more. We also came across a few situations where the work assigned to me was incomplete in bits and pieces, she made me realize that fact but also understood the reason behind me being unable to complete it. What did she do? She did it herself. It's the trust and faith she had in me which was the biggest motivation throughout... I had just one thing in mind as I battled through the days in the hotel and that was to not let Kanika Ma'am down. The duties which her superior gave to her because of the guarantee of quality of work was eventually passed down to me. It was a massive risk on her part but then that is exactly what made me do it with extra care. One very very important thing I realized whilst working alongside this lovely lady was the importance of planning. The day before D-day is more important than D-day itself. This knowledge, I believe, has made me a stronger professional than I could ever aim to be.

It has to be some good deeds done in the past life for her to be assigned as my buddy because that meant I spent most of my time at work with her. I'm sure I must have come across as a snobbish and arrogant little boy because I tend to be silent more than I talk. This silence helped me to observe... and since she was the one who shone brightest in the department, it was usually her that I could see. As much as she was loud and crass talking and fun and frolicy, she is extremely emotional. I never had the nerve to tell her this but I have seen her weeping in frustration a few times in solitude making sure that nobody could see this side of her. For the world, she had to be a strong leader. It is this side of her that made me respect her even more. No matter how difficult her personal life was, as AFOM of Fairmont Jaipur, she was there. Standing strong, delegating jobs, solving sticky situations, arranging birthday parties for colleagues, fighting to make her team win and destroying people who can in the way. I sometimes wondered how is it humanly possible to do so much and still be jolly but then I had a living example right in front of me. Well, the description I have been giving since the start seems all goody goody and positive and perfect but being a human being, it is impossible to be perfect. There were accusations of the lady having two faces, one in front of colleagues and one behind them and being moody and what not. I won't vouch for any of these because at the end of the day she isn't a God. She has emotions and limitations too, it is up to the onlooker or employee to understand the situation and accept things because the positives heavily weigh down the negatives. She might give you the choicest of abuses when the department is under the cosh from senior management but it is not personal at all. It is like a mother scolding her child just so that he can be a better human. That's an apt way to put it actually, she was the mother of the department and we were all her children trying to run the house under her guidance.

It is going to be tough once she leaves the place... it really is. For me, I'm going to lose an elder sister more than losing a boss. I could go to her with absolutely any issue knowing that she would listen even if she does not have a solution to it. Kanika Ma'am has guided me through some extremely precarious professional experiences, there was nothing I could not do when she was there. She has given me the gift of confidence for which I will eternally be grateful. She has created a Jay Ranade for the professional world which very very honestly, I never could have pulled off without her. Just two months back, I got promoted as an Assistant Manager and it is all due to her efforts. I know there are many instances which I am unaware of where she has been a strong brick wall and not let the storm reach me. Since I lack a sense of self marketing, it was her who made sure that I looked good in front of people and all my efforts were highlighted. She was also accused of partiality towards me but I don't think she gave a damn... even as I type these words, my throat is parched, my breath heavy and a tingling sensation of letting go through my entire body.

Yesterday was her last working day at the hotel. Yesterday was the day, I got named Leader of the Quarter just two months into becoming a manager. The award seems inconsequential given the fact that on her last working day she saw all her efforts bearing fruit. It is more of her award than it is mine and even though she may never accept this fact, it is true. They say behind every successful man there is a woman and I have realized this quote in the literal sense yesterday. Everyone is replaceable in the hospitality industry... the position of AFOM will be filled by some other person tomorrow but the void left by Ms. Kanika Kapoor can never be filled as long as Fairmont Jaipur is standing.