Our office is on rent. And the owner is rightfully termed a ‘landlord’. He is the Lord and we need to bend backwards to accomodate his whims and fancies.
Due to multiple tenants in his building, water is usually not enough for all.
As it is, water is mostly scarce in Okhla Industrial Area ( despite the huge cost of land, electricity and what have you).So, mostly private tankers fulfill the water requirement.
Today (of all days), I get a call from the ‘Lord’ saying that we had no business storing water ( we have kept an overhead tank for emergency purposes), that we needed to do away with the tank. And the tone was that if we did not remove it ourselves, he would get it removed, implying that he could do whatever in his premises even if it was lawfully rented out. I am sure if I had argued, his next ‘order’ would have been to ‘vacate the place’, unmindful of the fact that we have invested a huge amount in the interiors and infrastructure of the place and it would not be child’s play to move out in a split second decision.
So, I was silent. But the cost of that ‘silence’ was my self esteem.
The tone and texture of the conversation was very de-meaning and I kept wondering what is it about land owners that makes their egos so bloated and their behaviour so obnoxious. What is it about ‘owning land’ that brings back images of British slavery.
I was wishing today that we make enough moolah to buy our own office premises asap. There is enough shit to deal with on a daily basis. Could really do without dealing with the ‘lords’.
