The Monday morning in Siruseri was really strange. Usually Siruseri is a quiet place. You can only hear the sound of cows away and the leaves of the palmyra trees moving gently in the wind.. Today the village square was filled with big expensive cars and the sound of people typing away on their laptops.
Aditya Varma got out of his car. Three lawyers followed him. They were all carrying briefcases. They looked around at the banyan tree then at the group of seventy farmers and finally at the young boy who was sitting in the middle sipping tea from a glass.
Aditya Varma showed them the contract for buying the land. "Karthik like we talked about here is the offer to buy the land. It is 20% more than what the government says it is worth. This is a lot of money for these families."
Karthik did not even look at the price. He just pushed the paper back to Aditya Varma.
"The price is okay for the land Aditya Varma " Karthik said. His voice was strong and confident like a man who had seen a lot of deals in his life. ". We are not just selling land. This Trust is now a company. We are putting the land into the company as our part."
The main lawyer laughed. "You want to be a part of a company like this? That is not how it works for people who own land."
"Maybe it is time for a change " Karthik said. "15% Of the land that will be developed into the 'GlobalNexus Park' will belong to the Siruseri Land Trust. The people of the village will not just get a one-time payment; they will also get a say in how the land's used. They will get 15% of the money that is made from the land every month."
Aditya Varma looked at Karthik. This young boy was turning a group of farmers into people who would have a say in how the land was used. "This will cost us a lot of money in the run " Aditya Varma said.
"But it will also save you a lot of money on security and dealing with people who might be upset " Karthik said. He looked at Mani, who was standing nearby. ". I have a plan for the second phase of the project that will save you 30% on cooling costs. That alone will pay for the 15% stake."
Aditya Varma looked at his architect, who was checking Karthiks notes. The architect was surprised.
"Okay fine " Aditya Varma said. ". We need someone we can trust to help us with the technical part of the project. Someone who knows about our plans and the land."
"I will do it " Karthik said before Aditya Varma could finish. "I will be the Chief Technology Advisor. I will make sure that the digital part of the project and the land are taken care of. My payment will be a 2% share in the project."
Aditya Varma held out his hand. "You are a negotiator, Karthik. You are a fifteen-year-old who's very good, at this."
Two weeks later a big moving truck was parked in their neighborhood. Lakshmi was crying as she said goodbye to their neighbors. Sundaram stood there looking a bit awkward. Held a framed photo of his parents.
"Are we really doing this Karthik?" Sundaram asked quietly as they drove to the city center.
"We are moving on Appa " Karthik replied.
They stopped in front of the Emerald Towers, a new high-rise building in Nungambakkam. Karthik led them past the security guards. Who saluted him.. Up to the 12th floor.
The glass doors had a logo on them: K.M. STRATEGIC HOLDINGS.
The office was huge. There were floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the Bay of Bengal on one side and the city on the other. It was filled with the sound of computers working and a small team of engineers that Karthik had picked from the university.
The office had a penthouse suite that was super modern. When Lakshmi walked into the kitchen. Which had appliances she had only seen in movies. She gasped.
"Karthik... This is like a palace " she said.
"It's our base of operations Amma " Karthik said, standing by the window.
Karthik looked out over the city. From, up high the 2004 traffic looked like ants moving. In his mind he could see the future on top of the present: the buildings that weren't there yet the fiber-optic cables that hadn't been laid and the big digital change that was two years away.
He sat down in his leather chair. The real "CEO" chair he had ever owned.
The first week in Emerald Towers was really quiet. It was too quiet for Karthik. In their house Karthik could hear the neighbors TV, the street cricket matches and the vegetable vendor shouting in a rhythm.. Here the special windows that blocked all the noise from outside made everything feel dead quiet.
One evening Karthik walked into the kitchen with a lot of marble. He saw his mother, Lakshmi sitting on a stool staring at the induction stove.. She had not even turned it on. A small kerosene stove, the one she wanted to bring from their house was kept in a corner on a piece of cardboard.
"Mom why are you not using the stove? It cooks food faster " Karthik said softly to Lakshmi.
Lakshmi looked up at Karthik and her eyes looked cold because of the kitchen lights. "The food does not taste the same, Karthik.. I do not know who to talk to here in Emerald Towers. I went to the hallway to give some sweets to the neighbors. Their door has a camera and a strong lock. They did not even open it " Lakshmi said.
Lakshmi missed talking to people over the wall in their house. She missed being called Lakshmi-anni by the people on the street. Here in Emerald Towers she was the Mother of the Chairman and that felt like a wall, between her and the world. She felt like she was missing something. Emerald Towers was not feeling like home to Lakshmi.
On Sunday Anjali came to the city for her entrance exam coaching. Stopped by the office and the place where Karthik lived. She was wearing a cotton salwar-kameez her hair was in a braid and she had a backpack that looked really cheap when she was standing on the Italian marble floors.
Karthik met Anjali in the lounge. He was wearing a linen shirt and his Blackberry was buzzing on the glass table every thirty seconds.
Anjali looked at the view of the ocean. Said "Wow you really did it did you not? You bought the sky."
Karthik said "I did it for everyone, Anjali for the village for Anjali." He took a step towards Anjali.
Anjali took a step back. It was a movement but to Karthik, who is forty years old it felt like a big gap opening up.
Anjali said "The village elders are happy with the money, Karthik but my father does not go to the fields anymore he just sits and stares at the bank passbook he says he feels like he sold his soul and Anjali looked at Karthik and Anjali said "You do not talk about movies anymore you do not laugh when Vignesh makes a joke you talk about market shares and infrastructure who're you Karthik because the boy who solved the math problem for Anjali under the neem tree Anjali cannot find Karthik in this building."
Karthik said "I am the person, Anjali I am just making sure we are safe." Karthik's voice was loud. Karthik was frustrated.
Anjali said "Safe?". Anjali pointed to the security guard standing at the door and Anjali said "You have a man, with a gun standing outside your bedroom we were safer when we had nothing but our bicycles, Anjali and Karthik were safer."