Even today, the internet and beyond age, the moment the words 'Pencil pusher' is mentioned, our cerebral juice works out the reference and context. Mover of papers and files (Desktops and Laptops be damned!). Wonder what is the context with respect to the title? Let us differ to Imaginch to gather his thoughts and words to clear your doubts. Order a dose of patience and wait as Imaginch never comes straight away to the point. Oh, I forgot to add one more point - he likes to speak in the first person to give the impression that he is speaking from personal experience. Now, over to Imaginch.
Let me focus first on households, especially mine. Bringing up children and later mentoring grandchildren (cajoling worked better than compulsion) is a thankless job. Generation gap lost its divide when both groups (my children & grandchildren) came up with the same moniker for me - The dictator. Affection or out of spite, I chose to hang this medallion proudly on my neck and to let them know, these tactic fails to deter me. Little, they did or do, realise that the moniker hung apt on me as I always drilled (somehow they missed to gift me with a whistle) into them that recitation improves diction with pronunciation whereas dictation does wonders to ones' handwriting.
Being inventive, they resorted to evasive measures; sharpen the pencils (I insisted use of pencils to improve handwriting, with hindsight, I understood it as a bad choice) till nothing was left outside sharpener; over-wrote and erased till light appeared through the skylight on the paper. When confronted, with this their 'sharp' response they tried to light the fuse, " Next year buy and stock more notebooks, pencils and erasers; problem is solved." Anticipating another such disconcerting answer, I refrained from voicing, "Who will pay for it?"
In this fashion, we managed to survive each other and stayed the stormy courses of academic years, progressing from pencils to pens with a different set of stocking advice. In my free time, I could not but reminisce managing with few of notebooks, pencils, erasers and for that matter pens too! This type is the first of the pencil pushers, though only to sharpen and dodge homework.
Next in my sight is on mover of papers and files (Desktops and Laptops be damned). An official looking office is usually populated with tables, chairs, filing cabinets and ceiling fans. All in good faith to provide an excellent environment conducive to maximise work output and minimise public grievances.
My natural instinct is to avoid certain official looking premises - where white coated doctors simultaneously look at a patient and a monitor ,prints out a health horoscope without predicting the future; where khaki clad law enforcement personnel do the rounds with a swagger making one to doubt whether the person is a complainant or a person of interest; where a green ink wielding official with an assistant to stamp and send a file moving along the labyrinth of an official machinery, leaving the person in doubt whether the machinery is hungry or suffering from indigestion (read indecision).
I am certain that many of you visitors to these premises might have been troubled by the same thoughts. Now time for me to answer, "Why these persons do come under the category of pencil pushers as none of them even buy a pencil for fun?" I have proposed an alternate term "case pushers" and till such time this moniker is officially recognised by "case pushers" in place of "pencil pushers". So, be with me and let us continue with pencil pushers for the present.
I share my personal experiences, in support of my misgivings about visiting certain official looking offices. For lack of a suitable term, I have included the hospital / consulting premise in the same category.
I was forced to visit one such official looking premises, to get a minor error corrected, in a document. I knew it was an error overlooked by an issuing official, and the person receiving the document politely asked me to come after three days. This indirectly confirmed two things - an official's slip and upcoming holidays covered his promised three days' deadline. The sad experience started when I came to know that the concerned desk dealing with this matter appeared to be in use as a prop in a musical chair competition. Person manning the desk changed coinciding with every one of my follow up visits.
Finally, the machinery swung into action. To save face they blamed me for their bloomer. and immediately the document along with my request forms went into a numbered file, with an assurance that it will be sorted out in a week. The calendar in the office became thin, loosing many weeks' worth of day sheets. In the interim, the file started growing in size and on a fine day, after threatening the desk (because of the game of musical chairs) with a consumer forum complaint, (Honestly, I did not know where from I got this idea!) I was told the startling news. The file had walked away on its own and would I be kind enough to apply for a fresh document, which everyone in the office collectively assured, it will be ready in minutes. Though the episode does not involve actual pencils (pens only were in use), the act of dragging along could be deemed as an act of pencil pushing.
Visit to the hospital stirs in me a misgiving but becomes unavoidable - personal or to call on someone convalescing. The personal ones start at the reception lounge. Registering and getting a patient number along with a folder and a bottle of water. This bottle of water is a forewarning of things are to come. This bustling atmosphere resonates very much with activities of a busy railway station. The wait for the consulting doctor never fails to accelerate anxiety hangs on as an unanswered question. A two to three minutes appraisal ends with a curt demand to get a list of tests done here and now.
Why the doctor is eager to inject some more anxiety in to my system. Subjecting myself to pricks, greasy probes, getting in out of a machine that sounded like a stone crusher - the complementary (charged under miscellaneous fee) water bottle and my bladder get emptied. As bonus I got to walk through maze of corridors, often confused, thousands of footsteps at least. Though I have all the analytical reports with me the medical jargon tells me next to nothing. Hours tick by, and after witnessing multiple entries and exits of my consulting doctor, I get invited for a face to face. This is the part of the encounter; I have become to dread and averse to repeat.
"The white coated doctor looks at me and then at the monitor displaying my health horoscope without predicting the future. After exchanging few words, valiantly trying to avoid jargons, advises me to collect the printout of case summary and suggested medicines. Depending on a secret roster system, I get to meet with him/her after a regime of clinical tests. Thes "case pushers", being doctors play it safe, though the risk is mine. One saving grace, the file is never lost here.
My natural instinct is at its peak to avoid going anywhere near these establishments. Here the khaki clad law and order guardians walk around with a swagger, some vainly attempting to arrest the bulging punches, making me to doubt whether I am here as a complainant or a person of interest. The purpose of this rare visit was to complin about suspicious characters seen in the area. That is all I did. The eyes started a slant look at me as though my profile might match a wanted person, out of pictures hung on the wall. When I too looked at the pictures, the person engaging me asked politely to state my business. With trepidation, I dig out the compliant and hand it over.
Adjusting his reading glasses, tried to digest the contents. Obviously not satisfied with the elaborate write up, he pulled out a paper and asked me to write it in simplified format. I did this and he nodded in my direction. Fearing something untoward I glanced behind my back only to see a chaiwallah standing with glasses of the brew. I declined the courtesy and hurried out - to escape a questioning session, to pin something on me or avoid paying for the supplied tea. I decided to leave this 'case pusher' alone with clear conscience as I have done my duty as a citizen. The rest is up to them.
Note:
I have recounted my experience. Yours' might be different.
You are free to request concerned authorities to provide desktop computers in offices. But be prepared to hear 'file got corrupted, system not booting up, hard has disk crashed' ; If connected to network then 'server down' as reasons for delay!
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