Busy Status

Subah ke 10:17 ho rahe the, aur Aarav Mehta ka laptop already khula hua tha. Teams pe uska status Busy chamak raha tha, bilkul waise hi jaise office ke log apne LinkedIn pe “Always learning” likh ke chup chaap coffee peete rehte hain. Screen ke ek kone me Netflix ka frame frozen tha—ek aadmi kisi crime thriller me suspense wali expression ke saath kisi aur suspense ka wait kar raha tha, aur Aarav khud sofa ke corner me half-lying position me tha, haath me cold coffee, aur dusre haath se remote.

Bahaar Ghaziabad ke society ke neeche se school van ka horn aa raha tha. Door kahin kisi flat me pressure cooker se seeti lagi. Balcony ke bahar AC ki condenser unit “rrrrr” karke chal rahi thi, aur andar Aarav ka mobile office waale pings se vibrate kar raha tha. Delhi-NCR ka yeh classic hybrid life scene tha—traffic se bach ke ghar baithe ho, but traffic ka stress phir bhi dimaag me ghusa hua hai.

Aarav ko lagta tha ki uska Busy status ek kind of invisible shield hai. Agar green dot ke saath Busy dikh rahe ho, toh log khud assume kar lete hain ki banda top gear me kaam kar raha hai. Reality? Reality me usne subah ka standup attend kiya, do baar “network issue” bolke mic mute kiya, aur phir Netflix pe “just one episode” ka jhooth bolkar poora half-hour nikaal diya. Uske side table pe Swiggy ka empty burger box pada tha, aur phone pe Zomato ka order history open tha, jaise koi productivity report ho.

Teams pe pehla ping Ramesh Gupta ka aaya.

Ramesh: “Aarav, quick update on the client deck? Need a crisp note before 12.”

Aarav ne turant screen lock kar diya, posture straight kiya, aur ek deep professional breath li. Fir reply type kiya:

Aarav: “On it, Ramesh. Finalizing a few points. Will share shortly.”

Agar koi us waqt Aarav ko dekh leta, toh lagta ki banda kisi war room me last-minute rescue mission pe hai. Par uske baad usne wapas Netflix resume kiya, aur ek aur sip le ke bola, “Bas 15 min aur.” Delhi-NCR me “15 min aur” ek aisa phrase hai jo kabhi 15 minute ka nahi hota.

Thodi der baad Noida se Nidhi ka message aaya.

Nidhi: “Busy ho kya? Deck ka data wala section check karna tha. Jab free ho, ping kar dena.”

Nidhi ka tone hamesha normal lagta tha, par Aarav ko usme ek subtle knife ki chamak mehsoos hoti thi. Wo aise sawal puchti thi jaise casually puch rahi ho, par actually uske dimaag me sabka pattern stored ho. Aarav ne apne status pe ek nazar daali—Busy. Perfect. Safe.

Aarav: “Yep, back-to-back calls hain. 1 baje tak kar lunga.”

Ye message bhejte hi usko khud pe thodi pride hui. “Kaun pakad payega?” usne socha. “Busy status ka matlab hi hai unavailable.” Aur phir usne mobile uthaya, Instagram khola, do reels dekhi, aur ek meme pe has diya jisme office employee “I am in a meeting” bolke ghar pe paneer tikka kha raha tha. Aarav ko laga meme uski soul ko represent kar raha hai.

Lunchtime tak uska routine almost scientific ho chuka tha. Pehle order, phir binge, phir pretend. Aaj usne paneer wrap aur cold coffee order ki thi, aur delivery boy ke bell bajate hi wo itna jaldi gate tak bhaaga jaise koi appraisal letter aa gaya ho. Khana table pe rakha, laptop ke saamne khola, aur ek aur “urgent” tab open kar li—bas is baar tab me Excel nahi, cricket highlights thi.

Tabhi ghar se call aaya.

“Arre beta, khaana kha liya?” Meera Mehta ki awaaz thi, warm bhi, practical bhi, aur thodi suspicious bhi.

Aarav ne tone turant corporate se ghar-waali me convert ki. “Haan maa, abhi lunch kar raha hoon. Bas kaam thoda zyada hai.”

Meera ne ek second chup reh kar bola, “Zyada hai ya bas busy dikhna hai?”

Aarav ko laga jaise kisi ne uske laptop ka brightness suddenly low kar diya ho. “Kya matlab?”

“Matlab ye ki tujhe main roz dekh rahi hoon. Subah se tu khush to lagta hai, par thaka hua bhi nahi lagta. Busy logon ki aankhon me ek alag tension hoti hai. Teri aankhen toh bas screen dekh-dekh ke aur chamak rahi hain.”

Aarav hasne ki koshish ki. “Maa, aap bhi na…”

Meera ne uski baat kaat di. “Main bas itna bol rahi hoon, kaam se mat bhaag. Aur agar thak gaya hai toh seedha bol. Ghar pe bhi aadmi ko acting karni padti hai kya?”

Call cut ho gaya. Aarav ne phone ko table pe rakha aur ek second ke liye blank stare me dekhte raha. Uske andar ek chhota sa uncomfortable silence uth gaya. Maa ki baat me koi lecture nahi tha, sirf ek observation thi. Aur observation aksar lecture se zyada chubhti hai.

Par Aarav ne us discomfort ko bhi ek aur sip coffee se dabaa diya. “Maa ko bhi har cheez ka andaaza ho jata hai,” usne khud se kaha. “Anyway, office ko kya pata.”

Usko kya pata tha ki office ko bhi kuch na kuch pata chalne wala tha.

Shaam ke 3:40 baje Ramesh ne ek quick sync schedule kar diya—15 minutes ka. Aarav ne socha, “Bas routine update hoga.” Nidhi bhi call pe thi. Ramesh ka voice hamesha polished corporate English me hota tha, jaise banda actual me nahi, presentation slide me bol raha ho.

“Let’s keep this crisp,” Ramesh ne kaha. “Aarav, can you walk us through the client deck?”

Aarav ne screen share start ki. Pehla slide open hua, second slide open hua. Sab normal. Wo confidently bol raha tha, “Here’s the structure, and this section is almost finalized—”

Aur phir, ek stupid, tiny, universe-level cruel moment hua.

Uske laptop pe ek notification pop up hua.

“Continue Watching: Episode 6 of ‘Mind Games’”

Room me ek microsecond ka silence aaya.