There was a contest in TCS to write a fictional story for 500 words max which would start with the line "On a dark and foggy night, a small figure lay huddled on the railway tracks leading to the Chennai station."
This is what a guy wrote for the contest... and surprisingly, it was adjudged the best short story:))
On a dark and foggy night, a small figure lay huddled on the railway tracks leading to the Chennai station. At once, I was held back to see someone in that position during midnight with no one around. With curiosity taking the front seat, I went near the body and tried to investigate it. There was blood all over the body which was lying face down. It seemed that a ruthless blow by the last train could have caused the end of this body which seemed to be that of a guy of around my age. Amidst the gory blood flow, I could see a folded white envelope which was fluttering in the midnight wind. Carefully, I took the blood-stained envelope and was surprised to see the phrase "appraisal letter" on it. With curiosity rising every moment, I wasted no time in opening the envelope to see if I can find some details about the dead guy. The tag around the body's neck and the jazzy appraisal cover gave me the hint that he might be a software engineer.
I opened the envelope to find a shining paper on which the appraisal details were typed in flying colors. Thunders broke into my ears and lightning struck my heart when I saw the appraisal amount of the dead guy!!!!! My God, it was not even as much as the cost of the letter on which the appraisal details were printed... My heart poured out for the guy and huge calls were heard inside my mind saying "no wonder, this guy died such a miserable death"... As a fellow worker in the same industry, I thought I should mourn for him for the sake of respect and stood there with a heavy heart thinking of the shock that he would have experienced when his manager had placed the appraisal letter in his hand. I am sure his heart would have stopped and eyes would have gone blank for a few seconds looking at the near-to-nothing increment in his salary.
While I mourned for him, for a second my hands froze to see the employee's name in the appraisal letter... hey, what a strange coincidence, this guy's name is the same as mine, including the initials. This was interesting. With some mental strength, I turned the body upside down and found myself fainted for a second. The guy not only had my name, but also looked exactly like me. Same looks, same built, same name... it was me who was dead there!!!!!!!! While I was lost in that shock, I felt someone patting on my shoulders. My heart stopped completely, I could not breathe and sprung in fear to see who was behind... Splash!!! Went the glass of water on my laptop screen as I came out of my wild dream to see my manager standing behind my chair patting on my shoulder saying, "Wake up man! Come to meeting room number two. I have your appraisal letter ready".
From India, Bangalore
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6This is what a guy wrote for the contest... and surprisingly, it was adjudged the best short story:))
On a dark and foggy night, a small figure lay huddled on the railway tracks leading to the Chennai station. At once, I was held back to see someone in that position during midnight with no one around. With curiosity taking the front seat, I went near the body and tried to investigate it. There was blood all over the body which was lying face down. It seemed that a ruthless blow by the last train could have caused the end of this body which seemed to be that of a guy of around my age. Amidst the gory blood flow, I could see a folded white envelope which was fluttering in the midnight wind. Carefully, I took the blood-stained envelope and was surprised to see the phrase "appraisal letter" on it. With curiosity rising every moment, I wasted no time in opening the envelope to see if I can find some details about the dead guy. The tag around the body's neck and the jazzy appraisal cover gave me the hint that he might be a software engineer.
I opened the envelope to find a shining paper on which the appraisal details were typed in flying colors. Thunders broke into my ears and lightning struck my heart when I saw the appraisal amount of the dead guy!!!!! My God, it was not even as much as the cost of the letter on which the appraisal details were printed... My heart poured out for the guy and huge calls were heard inside my mind saying "no wonder, this guy died such a miserable death"... As a fellow worker in the same industry, I thought I should mourn for him for the sake of respect and stood there with a heavy heart thinking of the shock that he would have experienced when his manager had placed the appraisal letter in his hand. I am sure his heart would have stopped and eyes would have gone blank for a few seconds looking at the near-to-nothing increment in his salary.
While I mourned for him, for a second my hands froze to see the employee's name in the appraisal letter... hey, what a strange coincidence, this guy's name is the same as mine, including the initials. This was interesting. With some mental strength, I turned the body upside down and found myself fainted for a second. The guy not only had my name, but also looked exactly like me. Same looks, same built, same name... it was me who was dead there!!!!!!!! While I was lost in that shock, I felt someone patting on my shoulders. My heart stopped completely, I could not breathe and sprung in fear to see who was behind... Splash!!! Went the glass of water on my laptop screen as I came out of my wild dream to see my manager standing behind my chair patting on my shoulder saying, "Wake up man! Come to meeting room number two. I have your appraisal letter ready".
From India, Bangalore
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That was a very good one, the TCS guy was very imaginative or probably he was giving some real facts :D
From India, Madras
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From India, Madras
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Hi Dude what a cool story.. But this story has a hidden irony which every HR professional should identify.. Fear of appraisal.. Why employees fear appraisal so much...
From India, Bangalore
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From India, Bangalore
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Hi Ramesh Sood,
I don't know, but my imagination would have given it a little different ending. Like, instead of him coming out of a dream and finding his manager standing there, I would put that he found his more cheerful self behind, smiling and saying, "How can you be thinking so stupidly about your own appraisal? The person lying and I, we are both two sides of the same coin, but then you are the coin. Don't get tossed around by negative emotions. Wake up now, see your manager is coming with some great news. Smile, man, smile." Moreover, a person working with TCS and imagining such an end because of an appraisal? No, man, it's not done. Come, smile, please.
Now, this is what I felt. But still, the story is good and interesting. God bless!
Ramesh Sood
"There was a contest in TCS to write a fictional story of 500 words max, starting with the line, 'On a dark and foggy night, a small figure lay huddled on the railway tracks leading to Chennai station.' This is what a guy wrote for the contest and, surprisingly, it was adjudged the best short story:
On a dark and foggy night, a small figure lay huddled on the railway tracks leading to Chennai station. At once, I was held back to see someone in that position during midnight with no one around. With curiosity taking the front seat, I went near the body and tried to investigate. There was blood all over the body, which was lying face down. It seemed that a ruthless blow by the last train could have caused the end of this body, which seemed to be that of a guy around my age.
Amidst the gory blood flow, I could see a folded white envelope fluttering in the midnight wind. Carefully, I took the blood-stained envelope and was surprised to see the phrase 'appraisal letter' on it. With curiosity rising every moment, I wasted no time in opening the envelope to see if I could find some details about the dead guy. The tag around the body's neck and the jazzy appraisal cover gave me the hint that he might be a software engineer.
I opened the envelope to find a shining paper on which the appraisal details were typed in flying colors. Thunder broke into my ears, and lightning struck my heart when I saw the appraisal amount of the dead guy! My God, it was not even as much as the cost of the letter on which the appraisal details were printed. My heart poured out for the guy, and huge calls were heard inside my mind, saying, 'No wonder this guy died such a miserable death.' As a fellow worker in the same industry, I thought I should mourn for him for the sake of respect and stood there with a heavy heart, thinking of the shock that he would have experienced when his manager had placed the appraisal letter in his hand. I am sure his heart would have stopped, and his eyes would have gone blank for a few seconds, looking at the near-to-nothing increment in his salary.
While I mourned for him, for a second, my hands froze to see the employee's name in the appraisal letter. Hey, what a strange coincidence, this guy's name is the same as mine, including the initials. This was interesting. With some mental strength, I turned the body upside down and found myself fainted for a second. The guy not only had my name but also looked exactly like me. Same looks, same build, same name... it was me who was dead there! While I was lost in that shock, I felt someone patting on my shoulders. My heart stopped completely, I could not breathe and sprung in fear to see who was behind... Splash! Went the glass of water on my laptop screen as I came out of my wild dream to see my manager standing behind my chair, patting on my shoulder, saying, 'Wake up, man! Come to meeting room number two. I have your appraisal letter ready.'"
From India, Pune
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I don't know, but my imagination would have given it a little different ending. Like, instead of him coming out of a dream and finding his manager standing there, I would put that he found his more cheerful self behind, smiling and saying, "How can you be thinking so stupidly about your own appraisal? The person lying and I, we are both two sides of the same coin, but then you are the coin. Don't get tossed around by negative emotions. Wake up now, see your manager is coming with some great news. Smile, man, smile." Moreover, a person working with TCS and imagining such an end because of an appraisal? No, man, it's not done. Come, smile, please.
Now, this is what I felt. But still, the story is good and interesting. God bless!
Ramesh Sood
"There was a contest in TCS to write a fictional story of 500 words max, starting with the line, 'On a dark and foggy night, a small figure lay huddled on the railway tracks leading to Chennai station.' This is what a guy wrote for the contest and, surprisingly, it was adjudged the best short story:
On a dark and foggy night, a small figure lay huddled on the railway tracks leading to Chennai station. At once, I was held back to see someone in that position during midnight with no one around. With curiosity taking the front seat, I went near the body and tried to investigate. There was blood all over the body, which was lying face down. It seemed that a ruthless blow by the last train could have caused the end of this body, which seemed to be that of a guy around my age.
Amidst the gory blood flow, I could see a folded white envelope fluttering in the midnight wind. Carefully, I took the blood-stained envelope and was surprised to see the phrase 'appraisal letter' on it. With curiosity rising every moment, I wasted no time in opening the envelope to see if I could find some details about the dead guy. The tag around the body's neck and the jazzy appraisal cover gave me the hint that he might be a software engineer.
I opened the envelope to find a shining paper on which the appraisal details were typed in flying colors. Thunder broke into my ears, and lightning struck my heart when I saw the appraisal amount of the dead guy! My God, it was not even as much as the cost of the letter on which the appraisal details were printed. My heart poured out for the guy, and huge calls were heard inside my mind, saying, 'No wonder this guy died such a miserable death.' As a fellow worker in the same industry, I thought I should mourn for him for the sake of respect and stood there with a heavy heart, thinking of the shock that he would have experienced when his manager had placed the appraisal letter in his hand. I am sure his heart would have stopped, and his eyes would have gone blank for a few seconds, looking at the near-to-nothing increment in his salary.
While I mourned for him, for a second, my hands froze to see the employee's name in the appraisal letter. Hey, what a strange coincidence, this guy's name is the same as mine, including the initials. This was interesting. With some mental strength, I turned the body upside down and found myself fainted for a second. The guy not only had my name but also looked exactly like me. Same looks, same build, same name... it was me who was dead there! While I was lost in that shock, I felt someone patting on my shoulders. My heart stopped completely, I could not breathe and sprung in fear to see who was behind... Splash! Went the glass of water on my laptop screen as I came out of my wild dream to see my manager standing behind my chair, patting on my shoulder, saying, 'Wake up, man! Come to meeting room number two. I have your appraisal letter ready.'"
From India, Pune
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Quite funny for us n thought provoking for the said employer.. an open suggestion to the suggestion box, if any, hence a good representation of employee’s grievance.
From United Arab Emirates, Dubai
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From United Arab Emirates, Dubai
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Hi,
Imagine the thought process behind that man's storytelling. There is not an inkling of doubt that he has shared with us the ugly face of today's companies. Not only software engineers, but professionals throughout different fields go through the emotional turmoil of an appraisal gone wrong.
Cheers,
Kavita
From India, Thiruvananthapuram
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Imagine the thought process behind that man's storytelling. There is not an inkling of doubt that he has shared with us the ugly face of today's companies. Not only software engineers, but professionals throughout different fields go through the emotional turmoil of an appraisal gone wrong.
Cheers,
Kavita
From India, Thiruvananthapuram
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Hi,
To my surprise, it is more like a suspense thriller 😈. Really, the story was narrated very nicely 💡. The person indirectly hinted at the hidden truth of a software employee 😂. It is good that at times people come out of their mechanical life and showcase their hidden talents ➡️.
Prasanta
From India, Visakhapatnam
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To my surprise, it is more like a suspense thriller 😈. Really, the story was narrated very nicely 💡. The person indirectly hinted at the hidden truth of a software employee 😂. It is good that at times people come out of their mechanical life and showcase their hidden talents ➡️.
Prasanta
From India, Visakhapatnam
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I APPRICIATE THE IMAGINATION OF THE STORY TELLER. IT CAN BE A PART OF RAM GOPAL VERMA’S DARNA MANA HAI SERIES. REGDS, VIKRAM SINGH
From India, Delhi
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From India, Delhi
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hi For a person who is sleeping during his working hours will get only that result, not a surprise.
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Excellent imagination. This guy has "short-story writer" stuff. He should try his luck in fiction than TCS. Keep posting. Govans
From India, Madras
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From India, Madras
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