Client Requirement

His daughter looks like an angel in the new white frock. She is holding the knife waiting for him to come. The guests have surrounded her waiting for the cake to be cut. He signals to his wife to begin the cake-cutting as his daughter’s expectant looks fall with a sign of surrender. He walks out of the house to get away from the birthday song and claps and speaks into the phone on which he had been for hours, ‘Approved. Reboot the server.’

Why?

Client Requirement

The black sky is filled with colours as rockets explode. The family has got together, the men sitting outside the house munching on the home made savouries while the women busy decorating the house with lamps. The kids are running around chasing one another as she emerges from the room. She is wearing new clothes like the rest. But along with that she is also wearing her backpack. The office cab honks, the sound of which fades away between the noisy crackers.

Why?

Client requirement

The traffic is thick and does not look like it’d move. He is stuck in his car, more than an hour away from office as rains begin to lash out. He manages to cross the signal as his mobile phone rings. He picks it up, listens and sighs with frustration. He pulls up by the side of the kerb, extracts his laptop from the backseat, plugs in the dongle and begins to work.

Why?

Client requirement

It is the seventh cup of coffee that he is downing but seems like the drink is taking no effect on him. His eyes are droopy as he walks along the empty corridor which is dim lit and ghostly silent except for the noise of computer fans and centralised AC.  He approaches the window at the far end and sees a thin streak of sunlight. It’s almost morning. He wonders when he’d ever get to wake up along with the sun.

Why?

Client requirement

This is the life of most IT professionals these days. We are no longer working for ourselves but for our clients. Yes, our clients are important; they give us business. But they are not as important as our expecting wife, our daughter, our girlfriend, our parents and our friends. And they are certainly not as important as we to ourselves. Let us all move towards striking a better work-life balance!