The Lateral Chronicles

It started with a simple instruction: "Get a medical checkup." It ended in a frantic race against time. Thirty professionals, used to corporate boardrooms and structured meetings, suddenly found themselves navigating the labyrinthine corridors of RML Hospital.

Rumors flew faster than files in a fast-track court. "There's a 4 PM deadline!" someone shouted in the WhatsApp group. Panic ensued. Grown men and women were seen sprinting with urine sample bottles. Nilesh wisely advised everyone to "make their own arrangements," which sounded ominous but just meant "book a cab."

By the end of the day, we had our certificates, but more importantly, we had our trauma-bonded brotherhood.

"We are fit. We are young(ish). We can play cricket."

That was the hypothesis. The reality was the "Lateral Cricket League." Bidur organized the pitch. Hardik collected the funds. T-shirts were printed. We looked like a professional team. We played... well, we played with spirit.

Hamstrings were pulled. Egos were bruised. But for one glorious Sunday, we weren't Joint Secretaries or Directors. We were just a bunch of friends trying to hit a leather ball without falling over. The score didn't matter (mostly because we lost count). The memories, however, are permanent.

August 2024. The UPSC advertisement dropped. 45 new Lateral Entry posts! The scheme was expanding! We were pioneers!

48 hours later, politics happened. The backlash was swift. The TV debates were loud. Then came the notification: "Cancel the advertisement."

The group chat fell silent. Were we next? Was this the end? Then Prabhu Narayan typed, "Relax, guys. It's just a job. Have tea." And just like that, the panic subsided. We went back to our files. Because that's what we do.