Just click here

"It's really very simple Sir! Just click here" said the young engineer as he fervently pointed to the button at the bottom of the screen, his voice rife with amazement.

He couldn't, for the life of him, understand his senior's behaviour. It wasn't as if he hadn't been informed. He had reminded him to process his leave application just a week ago and under his mother's instruction, that morning too. The veteran had agreed on all occasions, and clicking the 'approve' button on the online form would have made it official.

After staring at the computer screen for what the young engineer perceived as an eternity (but in reality, were only about five or so minutes) all that PKC could come up with was-

"Get me a written application. Please." His voice was two tenors below his normal speaking tone which was barely audible in the first place.

The young engineer stormed out of the room in disbelief. As he did, he made a mental note of all the departments and officials he'd have to personally inform about his impending absence. He wished his senior understood technology better.

Prasenjit Kumar Chatterjee, or PKC, as he was popularly known was the technical manager at Mechalite Industries. He was a brilliant engineer and manager, but was known to be very miserly and austere. Even at the fag end of his career, he dressed simply, did not carry a cellphone, and commuted by public transport. He hung on to every penny he earned while his peers splurged on luxuries like cars and expensive gadgets. Ah yes, the gadgets.

Modern electronics have developed at an amazing speed over the past few decades. They have completely revolutionized the way people work, and PKC was a perfect example. As a student, he'd learned to do his calculations on a slide-rule and using logarithms. Once he started working, he was using the electronic calculator and now in the final lap of his career, the personal computer. Understandably, he was a little bit of a novice when it came to operating it. He had mastered the basic commands, but that was it. Although he had hesitantly accepted one at work, he hardly ever used it save for checking the odd email or two. 

That's why it didn't bother him when he one day received an email from a Nigerian prince who was looking for help. It detailed how he had been through tough times and that 'a trusted contact' informed him that PKC was the right person for keeping his $1 million inheritance safe from the anarchists in his own country. Of course he'd collect his money in due time and offer a generous reward to PKC for his services. PKC wondered who the trusted contact was, but then remembered that his wife's brother had been posted in Nigeria for some years. This realization ensured that he parted with his bank account and other details to help the prince transfer the money. After all, a friend in need is a friend indeed.

When he came back the next day, he saw an email from the IT department warning staff about a hoax email doing the rounds. Apparently, some scamsters were sending out emails in the names of fake Nigerian princes complete with the riches to rags stories of how anarchy in their country had robbed them of their once regal lifestyles. It categorically asked staff to not share any details with the sender. PKC immediately had a sick feeling in the gut of his stomach. All the grammatical and factual errors in the email he'd responded to started registering in his mind. He called his bank to check his account status, but in his heart of hearts, he already knew. The operator only confirmed his worst fears. His entire career's worth of savings had been reduced to zero.

What followed were an embarrassing few months as he came clean in front of his family, and then, for the first time in his life, borrowed money from his friends and relatives. Of course, this was only till the following month's salary came in, but that didn't make it any more comforting. He had to default on his home loan, couldn't send much money to his son studying in Benares, and give up on his dream of owning a bigger car. His wife didn't like it one bit and he hated it even more. But there was no way to undo what had been done. He simply had to find a way to live with what he had done, and that was why he was always careful with his money to the extent of being miserly.

Of course his subordinate didn't know this. PKC, along with his life's earnings, had lost his faith in modern technology that fateful day three years ago. He really did understand technology, but, to him it was much more complex than 'just click here'.