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Have you ever had this experience? You are sitting in the cab to go home and some one in your team calls you to tell there is a bug in your code and you have to come back. Well I had to undergo this inhuman treatment today.

It was 8.30. I was on the way to main gate, my phone started ringing, the no… oh shit… it’s the office landline no. I knew from a past experience that something was amiss. Dint want to pickup the phone, but if I was destined to suffer who could prevent? I picked up the cursed phone.

The module lead on the other side says “Srikanth…”
“Wait… Don’t tell there is some bug. I am already near the cab” I say facetiously
“Actually, in the EventTemplate Manager, confirmation message is coming twice”
“Yaar it’s a simple fix. Don’t make me stay for 2-3 hours for a job that takes hardly 5 minutes. Why don’t you yourself look into it?”
There is a pause of few seconds
“Ok. I will do it”
“Thanks yaar. And sorry”
“It’s ok”

I go and sit in the cab. Two minutes later, the dreaded phone rings again. The same no again.
“Hello Srikanth. I have other work to look into some other issues. I don’t have time. Why don’t you come back man? We will arrange a cab at 9.30 for you”
“Ok. I am coming” I replied with a mixture of sadness and anger in my tone
“Sorry yaar”
“Its ok”

I don’t know how many times I used the ‘F’ word before reaching the office. I whole heartedly cursed that module lead and the company ( don’t know why company got victimised :) ). I opened the door and without looking at that guy I just rushed to my system. Phew! I had shutdown my system!!! :( A software engineer shutting his system is like raining in summer. Few more ‘F’ words come out fluently. I switch on the system and that guy comes from behind and says “Sorry man… I have some other work”. I say “Its ok” demurely without turning back.

This is not the first time it happened. Some time ago I was called back to fix a “minor” issue because of which I had to stay till 5 am. The problem is you might fix the bug in 5-10 minutes, but there are no other cabs and you have to wait till the last person in your route is ready to leave. Moreover food won’t be good in the evenings.

The first thing I did was to open a empty word document to write a blog in protest of this inhuman practice. I felt like "bali ka bakra". Started the IDE and the server and then the client. Saw the issue and fixed it in two minutes. Then it took some 5 minutes to deploy the code and restart the client and test it. Works fine. Checked in file. Done. Then I went to have dinner. Another cab was about to leave by the time I completed my dinner. I wanted to complete this blog before my anger reduced, before I could soften my stand, before I could lose out that flow. Told the office boy that I would leave in the 9.45 cab. Its 9.49 now and my mission is accomplished.

can anyone suggest a suitable title?