My „Sting“ Experience....

It sure was a „Sting“ experience in more ways than one…

My first trip to Chandigarh….how I had hoped that it was while returning from a visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar!

Chandigarh was at its gloomiest best. The skies had opened up in all the fury, one of the worst showers I have seen this season considering I live in Mumbai. All in all the tone was set for a perfectly depressing day ahead.

I was there to scrutinize a charge of alleged integrity lapse on a colleague. Gloomy- starts with the colleague being one of the top performers in the organization, alongwith being someone you’ve had loads fun experiences with. The agony continued since almost everyone around was a suspect – I think we got into a mode of “Guilty till proven innocent” – which tends to happen in a situation like this.

Anyway the probe involved moving around in the quaint markets of Chandigarh. What a relief it was to walk without ten others bumping into you at all times…well I better not get stated on that bit…else the rambling continues…

Here comes Sting – part one – video recording the witnesses surreptitiously. Sting part two – was being traced by the accused in the city and moving around almost undercover.

The next leg of the journey involved a trip to Ludhiana – a three hour drive from Chandigarh to carry out similar activities. The best part of the entire trip or so I consoled myself was the amazing butter chicken and butter nan we ate. Most amazing butter chicken I have ever eaten. Thank God for small mercies, I say.

The adventure didn’t end here. A ride back to the Chandigarh hotel room and furtively listening to some phone calls to ensure a cover up of the misconduct was Sting part 3.

Anyway met some very interesting people and really wondered at the end of it, how earnest and convincing people can sound to cover up for themselves. I wanted to believe almost everyone I met. I wish we had a bubble that went “ping” above everyone’s head with “true” or “false” written inside it…what I would give for a few thousand “pings” that day.

The accused finally had to resign, not before another emotional session. Here’s the moral…Don’t betray anyone’s trust…it hurts damn bad either way!!!