Chapter 1: The Fall of Kabir

The HR’s email came at 9:12 a.m.—one line, no emotion, and my life flipped like a half-burnt paratha.

The shock didn’t even register at first—like news that bounces off your skin before it sinks in. Years of chai-splattered laptops, midnight Maggi, and the ceiling fan’s constant rattle overhead, and suddenly I was out, my name erased from the system jaise expiry-date ka dahi.

I had built the foundation of our core project with my own hands. Just when I thought I’d finally made it, the company tossed me out without a backward glance.

The memory of those first days—slogging alone under flickering tube lights, that old paint smell still clinging to the walls—hit me like a wave. It’s a strange thing: just when you think you’ve found your place, the ground shifts under your feet. My heart twisted—anger and disbelief fighting for space. In this country, hard work is expected, but recognition always stays a step ahead. Losing your seat stings deep.

The CEO didn’t just fire me; he humiliated me in front of the whole office, calling me a seat-filler with no real skills.

The entire office froze. Some people looked away, fiddling with files or pretending to check their phones. Others exchanged those side-glances that say, ‘arre, dekh, drama ho raha hai’. My palms clenched, nails digging in. But my father’s voice echoed in my mind—‘Kabir, keep calm, always show respect’—and I forced myself to stay silent, even as my jaw tightened, the urge to speak up burning inside. Years of learned restraint held me back. In India, respect for position is drilled into us, no matter how unfair.

He doesn’t realise I’m the only one who can fix the failures hidden in the core code.

There’s a strange pride in knowing you alone hold the secret threads. I remembered Dadaji’s advice: ‘Beta, kaam aisa karo ki bina tumhare kuch na chale.’ That’s exactly what I’d done.

Sooner than they think, the company will come crawling back.

And when they do, I’ll be ready. Maybe I’ll let them sweat a bit. After all, thoda dukhna toh chahiye, tabhi samjhenge na.