Patna, March 29: Bosses and spouses will have a hard time on Wednesday. Not many will pay attention to them and understandably so. After all, the Men in Blue will be playing against Pakistan in the second semi-final at Mohali.
Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, Manmohan Singh and Yousaf Raza Gilani, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and several other dignitaries are flying to Mohali to cheer the two teams from the stands. One cannot expect the common man to not get excited about the event.
Be prepared for work pace to slow down a little — India vs Pakistan is all that is important on Wednesday.
There are a few lucky employees, though. A leading telecom company has announced Wednesday a holiday for its workers. Satish Kumar Sinha, an employee, said: “This is too good, absolutely brilliant. The email, regarding the holiday, made me jump with joy. I have already planned my programme for tomorrow. Some of my friends will come over to my house. Until the last ball of the match is bowled, we will not move an inch from our seats in front of the television. I have asked my wife to cook good food, something that has made her angry. I am ready to face her wrath, rather than miss the match.”
Meanwhile, excuses for a casual leave have started pouring in at offices where work would go on as usual on the match day. Satyaveer Singh, who works with a private bank in the city, said: “I tried. The day after the India-Australia match on March 24, I applied for a casual leave, stating a doctor’s appointment. But the bosses knew the trick. They asked me to take the leave today, a day before the match. Many of my colleagues also tried the same trick but failed to get an off.”
For the “unlucky ones” like Satyaveer, the cafeteria is the best place to be on the match day. His colleague, V.K Srivastava, said: “We have a television set in the cafeteria and I know it will be crowded. I have asked my immediate boss to relieve me of duty an hour early. I have not got an answer to that yet. But we have told the cafeteria administrator to ensure steady flow of tea and snacks. I think, our bosses will be easy on us tomorrow.”
An employee with Tata Consultancy Services said he would enjoy the match in office. “How can the bosses give us an off just because of a match? But we have a big flat-screen television at office and everyone will be glued to that. In 2003, many of us had requested the boss and gone home an hour or two early to see the match. Work will surely take a backseat on Wednesday,” he said.
Watching the match on giant screens does appeal to the people. Fifty per cent of tickets to watch the match live at Rabindra Bhavan have already been sold out. A member of the organising committee at Rabindra Bhavan said: “The response today was good. We are confident to sell the remaining tickets tomorrow.”
State government employee Vivek Agarwal said: “Rather than missing the match, it is always better to be shouted at by one’s wife or boss. I will definitely catch the match tomorrow.”
So get ready for the mega blast!
