In Fond Memory Of - O&M

Once upon a time, in a faraway land… that would be about 4.5 years back, in Chennai… I joined Cognizant fresh out of college and had a blast of a time in the 2 months of training at Cognizant Academy. About 200 others joined with me, and the 40 strong MF004 batch was an absolutely delight to be a part of. Some of the friends I made then count among my best. They have been with me through thick and thin, and were always there when I needed them most. I will cherish their friendship forever.

So it was a very pleasant surprise when O pinged me the other day. O was not part of MF004, though a very dear friend all the same. He is married to M, and been in NJ for quite some time now. Its been more than 3 years since I met him, though we were in touch through the occasional scrap. He insisted I meet up with them the very next day. They were going to this Mallu family’s for a get-together. I was not so keen because I just had a very tiring Saturday, out shopping at the Garden State Plaza. Anyone who has been there will totally empathize with me. But not O. And I was smitten by his enthusiasm about driving all the way up to Hackensack from Jersey City to pick me up. I tell H I don’t feel so good about barging into homes of total strangers. H is more practical, and suggests it would be nice to make some new friends and get some good food in the bargain. At the cost of seeming most seedy, I admit it’s the thought of good mallu food that clinched the deal. H sure knows me well.

O picks me up sharp at 2.30 pm. There’s M and a friend of theirs, I forgot his name. We chit-chat all the way to Jersey City, where we pick up another friend of theirs. Must be quite a party, and I ask M if we oughtn’t to get a gift for the hosts. M says gifts are not necessary. And so we arrive at Woodbridge, and meet this lovely couple, K&D, and their cute little daughter. I discover P lives in the same Apartment Complex. (No, P is not famous. I just called him up to tell him I am in Woodbridge, and we discover I am at his place. A different door number though. He says he is in NY. I am not sure if he was in NY or he just chickened out at the thought of opening the front door to welcome me in).

People kept pouring in, and the house became a bit crowded, to say the least. K&D have the home theatre set up, along with a white board and markers. I brace myself for a game of Pictionary and a movie after dinner. Just that I couldn’t smell the dinner yet. And people were is groups of 4-5, whispering among themselves. Have they made the teams already? And then, K&D walk up, and call out for attention. They give a nice little speech, thanking everyone for coming and explaining that their business is doing really good. It is spread across 4 countries and they are planning to expand to Kerala in India. Wow, I thought, I would love to see their business plan. As if on cue, they pull up this presentation on DVD. Welcome to Q*, a network marketing company. I see red and alarm bells in a variety of frequencies are set off.

Just about everything falls into place. The enthusiasm to pick me up, the quite unlikely friends that O made (of the 2 guys he brought to the meeting today - he met one of them at Wal-Mart, the other at the Railway Station), the mutterings, K&D “expanding” business to India through their parents in Kerala and above all the mystery of the missing aroma of the non-existent dinner. The only thing that I still don’t quite comprehend – how could O do this to me?

I sat through the marketing gimmick of following my dreams and being “financially free” in a couple of years. I started off with smart aleck answers, which soon degraded into downright frosty stares and on-the-face sarcasm. I guess the speaker was smarter than I would like to give him credit for, because he soon stopped trying to get me involved in the session. Snacks were served. Q* products of breakfast bars and energy drinks. If only P was home, I would have given them a piece of my mind and walked out. O had to drop me back, so I had to sit through the rest of it too, even after the other newbies left after the "feast".

Once only the believers (and me) were remaining, the real picture was unveiled. The strategy of frequenting department stores and railway stations, of making friends with other Indians simply by starting off a conversation and getting their phone numbers, making use of social networking sites to get hold of “downlines”.. of using as much of their own products by themselves. There was this nutritionist who was selling vitamin supplements, a software engineer who was selling fuel additives, an investment banker who was selling breakfast bars. All in the name of “financial freedom” and “residual income”.

I reach back home by 10.30 pm, and just as I get out of the car, O&M ask me not to speak to H about the “business” yet. I spent half a day with them, and they expect me not to share it with my husband? How can they decide what I should share with my husband and what I shouldn’t? Not that I understand the logic behind that particular request, but it was the last nail on the coffin. Goodbye, O&M.