Last week when Shamik was looking at a busty female jogging beside him, he saw a floater in front of his eyes. His eyesight required a check-up. He had been wearing the wearisome Vogue frame for the last five years. The meeting with Malvika Mudgal, VP of Fasper is on coming Thursday and he has to get a makeover done. It has to be an impactful meeting to make his dream come true.

On Monday, he visited  the Line Opticals at Arjun Marg, DLF- I, after going through the motions of two time consuming and idiotic conference calls of his company. A fat ophthalmologist  checked his vision, adjusted his bi-focal power to correct his presbyopia, and  showed him some fashionable round frames.

Then the optometrist began his sales pitch, “Sir, eyewear in round shapes has the distinction of being both traditional – and new. Round frames have been favored from Benjamin Franklin to Gandhi,  Elton John and Harry Potter. What is new, is the amazing diversity and the eyewear impact of dynamic round shapes.” He showed Shamik some eye-catching rimless ones of Armani, Police and Lacoste. Shamik was then questioned on his fashion quotient and how he wanted to appear. Would he like to be seen as sophisticated, fun-loving, youthful, conservative or style-conscious ? As if all these are mutually exclusive.  And if he chooses to wear only one pair of eyeglasses for everything that he does, that says something about him, too! His focus was on how will Shamik be perceived rather than what he will perceive through his eyes. Shamik told him that his vision is unbounded and he is so greedy that his desire is impossible and unmeasurable. Right now he is bell bent on resigning from his present job to float a Digital venture fund for early stage companies to change the digital contours of the sub-continent.

Without battling an eyelid, the Ophthalmologist said, “ Then take this Armani one. Best suited for you, sir.”  He went on to select the photochromic glasses.

At the end of the exercise, Shamik Bagchi, Director of a US based software giant who specialize in legally selling high priced software which are made at a fraction of their cost, an opinionated careerist and self  -proclaimed visionary in the transient technology industry, spent Rs. 15,000 to complete the purchase.

The delivery was given to him on Thursday, 8^th October. Shamik  had dressed nattily that day in his Brook Brothers suit. With the new fitted accessory perched on his nose to reflect his timeless values with global appeal , he got in his car to meet Malvika at her office at JMD Tower, MG Road, Gurgaon  at 12 noon. She had called out to him in a husky voice yesterday to remind him of the scheduled meeting. The importance of this impending discussion was probably the sole reason which prompted her flying out of Mumbai. Shamik had been in touch with her Chairman, Sandeep Das for quite some time. Sandeep is head of Fasper, a VC based out of Mumbai and  custodian of a couple of family funds. Sandeep had e-introduced Malvika to Shamik for meeting up with her when she will be in Gurgaon.

 

He was reflecting at his face on his car rear view mirror, when he heard a voice. A squeaky, impish one, of an adolescent. Stunned he looked around but could not find the source. The radio was off and his mobile was on silent. It again spoke, ‘ Hey, you will get late, Just put on your seatbelt and drive. Am your Armani.’ He took off his specs and looked at them closely. ‘ Yes, I can talk and will change your life, dumbo. Get going.’ Shamik looked at his toy with amusement and put it back on. He had just bought an amazing spectacle which can talk. Probably the Armani got transformed at its change of hands and realized that it was now riding on a genius. He will later cultivate this and exploit its potential.

 

The Fasper  office at JMD Towers was chic. In the next few minutes he went through the process of being stimulated through his retina by the smiling receptionist and then feeling the vibrations of his Armani frame dancing on his bridge on meeting Malvika. His brain followed his eyes and all the other physical elements as usual followed the brain till he found myself standing in front of Malvika, introducing himself, getting a warm handshake from her and releasing his hips into the empty chair opposite her.  In his entire life this is the first time he felt being drawn by such a force to being a follower other than to his brain. She smiled and through his designer embossed glasses Shamik saw her masculine head with clipped black hair, rather short, cut in a ‘bobbed’style. Her neck was round, white and strong. Her black dress showed off, below the neck, the shining whiteness of her shoulders. She was punching on her laptop and signaled him to give her a few minutes.

 

His Armani quietly spoke to him.

 

“ Fool, look under the table.”

“How do I stoop ?” Shamik was playing the quintessential minion to the frame now.

“Stupid, make your pen fall off. Then stoop down to pick it up and look at her legs. “

“Oh , shut up ! But what about her legs !”

“Do as I say and you won’t be sorry.”

“But why ?”

“Because your feeling of guilt will be lessened or even completely wiped out by the discovery of the true purpose of this visit to this office. ”

“ The true purpose of my visit is to find whether Sandeep will invest in my PE fund and get me the freedom from running on the corporate treadmill .”

“No, the true purpose is to see this woman through me and match your sketch of the husky voice over phone with reality. Stoop down then; what are you waiting for ?”

 

Shamik simply let his pen slip out of his finger to the floor and then it rolled on a few inches. He stooped down to pick it up and paused a moment to look at her legs. The legs beneath the long skirt were bare. Because she was sitting with her left leg raised on her right, he could see right up her right knees. He was struck by their glossy, clean, as it were scraped, brilliant white shine, the special shine that is characteristic of Multani Punjabi females.

 

His Armani prodded him further..

 

“Don’t you see that there’s something obscene about those legs ?”

“Why obscene ?”

“Because they’re closed.”

 

He picked up his pen, sat up straight again. But his eyes wanted to see more and Armani prodded him to be more intrepid. It also promised him a Belgian chocolate ice-cream of Haagen. He bent down, put out his hand to slip off his right Bottega Veneta shoe and noiselessly placed it on the carpet. Then he inserted his right foot between the pair of feet resting on the lower bar of the table. He had never behaved like this before in his life. As if with the new spectacle frame, he had become more brazen and outlandish. He was being least bothered about the consequences.  The two feet were not drawn back, nor did they resist. As his own foot pushed its way in, she arranged her legs to put them at the same straight level. Now he became aware of the hardness of her knees at each side of his ankle. A moment more, and then they too yielded, unhurriedly, with the majestic, enigmatic slowness with which, in the tale of Alibaba, the doors of the treasure cavern moved gradually apart.

 

All of a sudden, the two thighs , again like the treacherous jaws of a trap, closed upon his ankle, very tightly, in such a way that he could move neither up or down.

 

Armani encouragingly told him, “Don’t be discouraged, the legs will open. Yes, they’ll open all right. Have patience.”

 

And indeed they did open. But only to dislodge him. All of a sudden the grip was relaxed just enough to allow his foot to fall down into empty space. At that same moment she looked up to have a good look at Shamik and smiled with a “please do wait” plea through her eyes. This is the first time that Shamik watched her face in detail through his bespectacled eyes. It was an energetic, masculine face, with pale cheeks, a large mouth and a delicately modeled nose. Shamik told himself that it was ridiculous and presumptuous of him to have attempted to approach such a prepossessing woman .

 

After finally finishing fingering her laptop, she began, “ And so you come to our office for the first time, take off your shoe and thrust your foot between the legs of a woman you don’t even know by sight ?” Her tone was not necessarily hostile. If anything, it was indulgent, amused. Removing his spectacle, embarrassed, Shamik said, “That doesn’t often happen with me. This was an exceptional case.”

“What was exceptional about it ?”

“I don’t know. Your legs, perhaps.”

“In me it’s the legs that are exceptional, in another woman it would be the bosom, in another the bottom – isn’t that so ?”

“Yes, it’s a bit like that, but ?”

“You are in fact, one of those men who get into buses and stand close against women in order to brush their breasts and touch them.”

“Yes, that used to happen too, but..”

“Who look through keyholes at women undressing in their bathrooms.”

“I did that when I used come back from my school to my maternal uncle’s place.”

“And I will bet you go to sleazy areas and ogle at girls at the joints of Walking Street in Pattaya.”

“Well, that maybe true too, however, …”

“In fact , you’re always ready to take on an adventure, and it doesn’t much matter who it’s with, provided it’s a woman.”

“Only in part.”

“Anyhow you admit that you’re a certain species of man ?”

“What do you mean by  ‘a certain species of man’?”

“The sex-maniac type, enterprising to the point of being a lunatic, but not all that successful; or am I wrong ?”

“Not altogether unsuccessful. Successful – so, so.”

“ So, so ? ”

“Apart from a mortgage in UK, I don’t have any other debt. ”

“Aren’t you deceiving yourself ?”

Ït was clear that she was amusing herself behind his back.

Shamik said firmly , “I am not what you think I am.”

“I don’t think anything. I go by appearances and by facts.”

“Well, how do you like my specs ?”

“That’s an odd question.”

“You can see, it’s an Armani. I actually bought this frame earlier this week and took delivery an hour back.”

“So ?”

“May I tell you something in confidence ?”

“A secret ?”

“Yes, because the thing it refers to is also secret ?”

“Of course, Shamik, you may.” She had called him ‘sir’ over phone. Now that title has become superfluous.

“Well, this Armani controls me and my libido. You understand me, don’t you ?”

“You must explain yourself more clearly. I thought you told me that you took your Armani only an hour back. The only thing I see which stands out is its vibrant green colour. ”

“This Armani, because of its being at the right place of my body is directly attached to my mind and continuously sends signals through my mind and spine for different behavior  of mine. Armani does not feel to have any discretion. He is not restricted by anything.”

“A fascinating story.”

“In reality co-exist inside me two persons : I and Armani.”

“What an odd idea ! As if ‘Armani’ justifies all your behavior and the machinations of your dirty mind. This new found co-existence has lasted only for an hour and you have started making deductions based on that. ”

“ Its like love at first sight. It speaks to me when out of earshot of everyone. He is also very arrogant.”

“I must complement you on the spot thinking. Come one, there is a limit to bluffing, Shamik.”

“Now a start-up PE has to be imaginative. Moreover I want to start a Digital fund. You have to be on the edge for that. I think the Armanii complements me. It drives to go to that last extra mile.”

“ Without even getting off the block, now you are day-dreaming of the last mile without even aware of its metrics of measurement. But right now I feel that the slippers covering my feet can be named as ‘Rottweiler Slap’ and ‘Rottweiler Shove’. Have you heard of the Rottweiler brand ? ”

“ I believe in the beauty of nature and you are a fine specimen of that. Right now my Armani is telling me to bend forward and implant a kiss on your lips in this broad daylight of this office.”

“ Have you thought of the fund size ? Are you married ?”

“ USD 800 million. ”

“Do you love your wife ?”

“Certainly I do. But we are separated, not divorced.”

“ Now that explains it.”

For a moment she was silent, staring at Shamik with those enigmatic, inhuman eyes with their dilated, unseeing pupils. She seemed to be reflecting. Then, with a penetration, that was almost frightening to him she said,  “Lets wipe out the memory of what happened here a while ago. Do you agree or not ?”

 

Suddenly something inside him seemed to be torn from top to bottom, like the back cloth of a theatre during an open-air performance, struck by a gust of wind in a thunderstorm. And there he was, transported in a second by the same gust of wind, clutching her hands, bringing his lips down towards her palms in an effort to kiss them. A very hard blow from her struck Shamik, with outrageous violence, full in the face. She, not content with the slap and dealt him a kick under the table with the fake Rottweiler brand, not angrily but with contempt.

Then she said seriously in a dry, unpleasant manner, “Stand up and get out. I will call the security if you are here for another minute.”

She meant it.

Shamik was perspiring by now. He took off his specs and said, “ Sorry. Am not like this. Believe me. Lets discuss business. Fuck off, Armani.”

She had cooled off a bit and sat down. Outside her cabin two other employees had gathered due to the commotion.

“ I am looking for investment from Fasper. Have made the business plan. Its immaculate. We can have 18% return in the first year. I want USD 2m to start with. Right now I am working as a slave in Dell . I did a stint in Accenture for more than a decade earlier in India and UK. I have a British passport.”

 

“ Why do you think we will buy your dream,” she asked sceptically.

“ Because it’s a dream that can be implemented. It is not delusion. With valuations low and US reeling under recession, this is the correct time to enter PE.I want to invest in IOT, AR/VR and Robotics. Also in Deep Learning.”

“ And is that what your Armani is telling you ? PE is a huge risk. Does Armani have any idea of it ? ”

“ That’s what life is all about. Isn’t it ?” Shamik replied haughtily.

“ Do you think I will forward your case after your debauched behaviour with me,” she asked sarcastically.

“ I must complement Sandeep for having such beautiful and glamorous professionals.”

“ That is if you get a chance to meet him in person. First forward me your business plan,” she handed over her card to him.

 

The meeting was over. Shamik extended his hands which she did not shook and shrugged her shoulders. As if she will get dirty if she touched him.

 

Shamik came out in the wild Gurgaon heat and knew he had blown off an opportunity of life-time. In anger he took off his specs and smashed them on the ground and then stomped on them. A couple walking by took a video of a middle aged suited person doing hip-hop on an inanimate object. The guy put it on his FB and it got shared in multiples.

 

Once Shamik stepped out of Fasper, Prakash Yashroy, a smart youngster stepped in front of Malvika. He was taking in the entire episode from the aisle outside. The guy, fresh from his stint with Qualcomm in US, said, “ Ma’am, thank you for playing the role so well. Our trial went off successfully.”

Malvika nodded to him encouragingly. The trial was important and they will do some more to put a valuation of the start-up for heralding the next series of funding. The high resolution recordings at the shop in Gurgaon and Fasper office were testimony to that.

The TENG sensor was attached to the inside of the frame which Shamik took delivery of, a few hours back. The biometrics and miniscule muscle movement of the eyes, pushed the two-way sensor’s layers together, generating an electro-magnetic signal. The signal further relayed to a heuristics deep learning engine which reciprocated back to the sensor with some cues. This made the senor become adaptive to the individual and intensify his or her behaviour based on their vices . The uniqueness of TENG lies in its quick ability to take on a role of a doppelganger and justify the individual’s behaviour. In Shamik’s case it spoke with him, though in reality it was Shamik speaking with himself in two separate identities to indulge in his behaviour.

Shamik’s professional profile and his social media behaviour with some secondary research had earlier formed a perfect profile of him. He was being tracked right from the moment Sandeep had connected him to meet Malvika at the Gurgaon office. When Shamik mentioned on Facebook , that he tested a Armani and put a selfie with the shop name at the background, the job became easier. A bit of persuasion and promise of reward to the ophthalmologist made the later an accomplice. After that it was simple- the sensor was programmed to prod him to accentuate his intensity on the seven latent cardinal vices. In Shamik’s case, lust and pride came out to be clear winners.

Malvika said, “ Prakash, theoretically if any PE fund invests in Mr. Shamik Baghci then what do you think he will do ?”

Without batting an eyelid, Prakash said, “ Malvika, he will blow a bomb on putting up a fancy office with a seductive secretary. And then will throw a party for all his woman admirers and blow his trumpet ( he has 1000+women friends on Facebook). He will go to press and host champagne parties of being a unicorn in the PE World.”

Malvika quipped, “ With zero returns and then he will blame the market and invest in a bunch of e-commerce companies selling lingerie, which will fail in no time. What do you say, Prakash – that’s what I gathered from your heuristics engine analytics of Shamik ? Let him stay as an Octopus in Dell.”

After helping themselves with a cup of coffee they went to do a video conference to share the success and plan the next set of trials with Mr. Sandeep Das