Date: May 25, 2009
Time: 9:00 AM
Location: Salt Lake Office, KolkataT
he soft glow of morning crept through the towering glass panes of Aritra's Salt Lake office, casting slanted beams onto the sleek floor, turning the polished surface into a canvas of light and shadow. Outside, Kolkata had already woken up. The city pulsed with life—rickshaws rattling over uneven roads, the distant honk of cars in the morning rush, and the shrill cries of street vendors setting up their stalls. But within these walls, time seemed to hold its breath.
Inside the conference room, the atmosphere was thick with anticipation. The Legendary System's dashboard occupied the entire stretch of the far wall, a digital masterpiece alive with glowing data streams and real-time statistics. A large countdown timer flickered ominously, the final seconds ticking away like the beating heart of something colossal, something unstoppable.Aritra stood quietly, a silhouette against the glow of the massive screen. Dressed in nothing more than his usual black T-shirt and faded jeans, he seemed indifferent to the monumental weight of the day. But his sharp eyes, focused and unblinking, betrayed the storm of thoughts within. His gaze swept across the room, absorbing the tension etched into the faces of his team.
Ishita was perched on the edge of her seat, fingers dancing over her laptop keyboard, her expression a mask of calm efficiency. Her phone buzzed incessantly with updates—logistics reports, media alerts, last-minute checks from distribution hubs across continents. Yet, her posture remained unshaken, a testament to her iron-clad nerves.Arnav paced near the glass wall, his nervous energy filling the gaps between the quiet. His unkempt hair and dark circles under his eyes were battle scars from nights spent perfecting every line of code, every technical glitch, every last-minute tweak. In contrast, Rajat sat rooted in his chair, arms crossed, brows knitted into a deep frown as he scrolled through endless spreadsheets. Skepticism was etched into his very being, but even he couldn't hide the subtle tremor of excitement in his fingers.
The final minute arrived, the numbers on the countdown flickering like the heartbeat of the universe itself. Ishita's voice broke the silence, soft yet filled with unspoken tension. "All systems are stable. Servers are holding." Her words floated in the room, dissipating into the heavy air.
Arnav chuckled nervously, unable to contain the jitteriness in his chest. "If the servers crash now, I'm moving to the mountains."
Rajat shot him a side glance. "And you'll need Wi-Fi there just to complain, genius."
A ripple of laughter, brief but enough to cut through the tension. The final ten seconds flashed on the screen, and the room instinctively stilled, breaths held, hearts racing.
Aritra didn't flinch. No speeches, no dramatic pauses. Just his steady gaze locked on the screen as the timer bled into its final seconds.
Three.
Two.
One.
The room filled with a soft digital chime, barely audible, yet it felt like the sound of destiny being written. The screen blinked, and then it began—subtle at first, like the first drops of rain before a storm.
A notification popped up:
"SALE CONFIRMED – KOLKATA"
Then another.
"SALE CONFIRMED – DELHI"
And another.
"SALE CONFIRMED – MUMBAI"
The pace quickened, the notifications cascading like an unending waterfall. The numbers climbed, ticking upward faster than the eye could follow. In the first minute, the count crossed ten thousand. Ishita gasped, her fingers frozen mid-air. Arnav's mouth hung slightly open as he muttered under his breath, "This isn't real… This can't be real."
Rajat leaned forward, squinting at the numbers, as if his disbelief could slow them down. "There's no way… This—this is impossible."
But it wasn't. It was happening.
Within five minutes, over fifty thousand units had been sold in India alone. The price point of ₹5000 had detonated like a bomb, shattering the walls of affordability and making cutting-edge technology accessible to millions. People weren't just buying a phone; they were buying into a revolution.
While the office remained a cocoon of data and disbelief, the streets of India told a story of their own. In the bustling heart of Kolkata's Esplanade, serpentine queues spilled out from mobile stores, weaving around corners, stretching into alleys. The morning heat did little to dampen the excitement etched into every face. Among them stood Ravi, a twenty-year-old engineering student, clutching a small bag like it contained his dreams. Inside was his freshly purchased Nova One. His fingers trembled as he unboxed it right there on the street, indifferent to the world watching. As the screen lit up, casting a soft glow on his wide-eyed face, he whispered, almost to himself, "₹5000 for this? It's like holding the future."
Across the city, in a cramped tea stall near Gariahat, a group of young men huddled around a single device. Their laughter mingled with the clinking of tea glasses as they swiped through the sleek interface, marvelling at the fluidity of the Orion OS. The tea vendor, pouring steaming chai into small clay cups, chuckled and quipped, "Ei toh, amar cha bhalo, ar oder phone bhalo. (My tea is good, and their phone is better!)"
In Delhi's Connaught Place, the chaos was no different. Crowds thronged around pop-up stores, their chatter blending with the city's relentless rhythm. Priya, a young journalist covering the frenzy, stood on her toes, craning her neck to capture the madness. She scribbled furiously in her notepad, shaking her head in disbelief. "I thought it was just marketing hype," she murmured to herself. "But seeing this? This isn't hype—it's history."
Mumbai's Bandra district saw auto drivers, college students, and corporate executives sharing the same breath, the same excitement. Strangers became friends as they exchanged first impressions, comparing features, clicking selfies, and laughing over the absurdity of it all. A middle-aged man in a crisp white kurta held up his Nova One and declared, "Bhai, mera toh purana phone ab chappal lagta hai iske saamne. (Brother, my old phone feels like a slipper compared to this.)" Laughter erupted around him.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, sleek Nova One pop-up stores stood amidst the neon glow of the city. Crowds spilled into the streets, curious eyes drawn to the unfamiliar logo that now competed with tech giants. In New York, queues wrapped around Best Buy outlets, the buzz undeniable. In Berlin, teenagers live-streamed their unboxing, their excitement palpable even through shaky phone cameras.
Back in the Salt Lake office, the numbers continued to surge. One million units sold in India by 10:00 AM. Two million globally. The room remained silent—not out of shock anymore, but out of reverence. It was as if speaking would shatter the fragile reality they had just created.
Rajat finally exhaled, sinking into his chair, his arms limp at his sides. The spreadsheets he once clung to now seemed irrelevant. Arnav paced in circles, his mind racing faster than the numbers on the screen. Ishita sat motionless, her usually sharp fingers resting on the keyboard, unable to process the data pouring in.
Aritra stood in the center of it all, the eye of the storm. His face was unreadable, his mind already ten steps ahead. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper, yet it carried the weight of the moment.
"This is just the beginning."
No one responded. There was nothing left to say.
Outside, the city roared with life, oblivious to the small office where history had just been rewritten. But it didn't matter. The world would catch up soon enough.
Because the future had already begun.