The King of Earth

“I am,
indeed,
a king,
because I know how
to rule myself.”
~Pietro Aretino

I were to meet this guy somewhere in the middle of 2008. The telephone conversations earlier weren’t very impressive. While travelling to meet him, ‘Hope the guy isn’t troublesome’ was my mindset.

He picked me outside the guesthouse and led me into the room that we would share for a few weeks. When he opened the room, a pungent blast of cigarette smoke hit me in the face. I were super-pissed. I shuddered to think of staying in this room for weeks till I find a room for myself. ‘Gotta find a room for myself’ quick’, I told myself.

“Do you smoke?”, he asked.

“Not actually”.

Nonchalant disappointment.

We had breakfast and went to office. While we came back, the roomboy had cleaned the room and managed to get all the smoke out. I were determined to tell him that he can’t smoke the very first time he lights a cigarette in the room. He never gave me a chance.

That was enough to strike an impression on me. But, he didn’t do it for the sake of impression. I weren’t worth an attempt to impress, in the first place. And, that was just a beginning.

Getting along, I found out,He

• never overeats even if the greatest dish on earth is served free. Whether we go to a buffet for 50 bucks or 500 bucks, he wouldn’t eat a morsel more than required. While, people like me would eat to avenge the robbed 500 bucks.
• understands corporate mechanism/politics like a prodigy.
  (If Subbu appreciates my attention to psychology, he’ll adore this guy’s.)
• has pride camouflaged as tenacity of a hard worker.
• has an attitude that a king would envy, spot on sense of humour and a completely open mind
• The way this guy listens, you would think that he thinks you are gonna die.              
  
  

  When people think you're dying they really listen to you, instead of just waiting for their turn to speak

  –Tyler’s figment with Marla.

If my memory weren’t like a sieve, this list would have been endless.

It was a good feeling for me to realize that we shared a few feelings, though silly, in common. Like, a common beauty prototype, a common reverance etc. Working with him was like re-entering the corporate world with a brand new mentor. I should have met this guy before meeting Prabhu. Damn me, God thought I were ready for Prabhu.

Apart from being naïve at times and spelling like Ishan Nanda Kishore Avasti, I couldn’t find any fault in him.

History books never told me that there exists a king of earth. But, I got to meet him. It’s not like, I am the only guy who ever met him. But, I am not quite sure that everybody recognized him as the king of earth. Did he realize it himself?

So, once while walking around, I said to him, “You’ve got a unique name, you know? What does it mean?”

“The king of earth”, came the reply. Clairvoyant parents?

The day had come when we had to part ways. This guy who completely reigns over himself and who is fit to reign over the world, directed me to a kingdom where nous reigned and left me all alone. I felt a sharp twinge in my heart when I realized we would discuss nothing more than Data summarization or Agent compliance risk analytics in the future.