Burnout

It was 12 noon and everyone had already gathered to office, on their respective desks. As ever, being a Monday some of them including my boss - were fully enthused and stalwart to start the week. On the other hand, I was with the same old manic-monday mood! with still a blanket on my mind, reaching office early as ever. Paralysed, I was gazing to catch an eye of the waiter, for a refreshing and astonishing, hot - "adrak-chai"which is as always a benediction for me. The week was to start full of campaigns and campaigns and some really really innovative creativity to come out of me. My thaumaturge of design is already been a word of apprehension amongst all and this time the expectation is a paramount. But my aesthetic designs is not complete without the words from the expert, the extremist, the fanatic, the ultraist - who's words are just meant to define and derive the world of creativity and perfect-paradisaical-blameless and authentic advertisement. Sometimes it's a case where one has to actually search for the word and it's meaning in dictionary. He is my colleague who's also a great advisory.
He came in & we started flinting spark as we had to build a blazing fire. We started of with a simple thing of forming a sentence from a word - this sounds simple as the word brainstorming. Yes, the word brainstorming - sounds simple when pronounced. But in actual - a brainstorm is as even as a storm created around your brain. The storm of words all around our brains. To come up with only one word - which meant all for both of us. One word - which would prove our creativity reaching a milestone, as the campaign was a Hats-off.
With just a pencil and a paper & were in a middle of an imaginary muddle created by us, in the conference room - with chilling AC running and a quite window giving the view of statues of angels on famous Deutsche Bank! which was hardly a matter of concern as we were almost zonked and still in urge to up the hill. For the final, I had an eye-to-eye contact with my friend, and he seemed consumed by silence. I later realized that our three hour discussion is fading into silence and he seemed more lost than me. I asked him whether to stop at a conclusion we had decided but we both weren't happy.
His eyes were lost, he looked like he was lost or rather drunk - comfortably numb. I approached him and shook him, I had to make him realize that we were in the conference room. He SCREAMED!! he sounded like a doped athlete reaching for the ring to fight. His mind seemed lost. He was lost in imagination of words, confused and gathered in his mind, too many of them that he forgot the outer world. He was in a brainstorm. An mental world different from reality. That he for forgot his senses. And I was scared, for me, I thought he was a victim of panic attack as I was once. He was silent and numb. He spoke something which I could'nt figure out even today, some language, wasn't hindi or Punjabi (his mother tounge), I called the security, they rushed in soon, other colleagues including my boss reached. Offered him water, but he was not in his senses. It seemed a panic attack for me, but he did not seem to be afraid of the world around him (as one does undergoing panic attack).
Later he went asleep. For about 6 hours in the conference room, we called a doctor as well. He injected a sleep medicine and recommended to show him to a psychiatrist.
I was surprised, and consumed by my thoughts whether was he in black magic or panic attack or a stress level-busted.
A day later, when he reached office as fresh as he always is - and I told him let drop the shit of this campaign and we are not doing it. He laughed, he said it was a burnout .
The extreme stage of stress. His thought level had extended. He said, he was struck in with thoughts of his argument between his girl friend, his parents at home. And then by coming out with forming a sentence which was out of reach.
We had a go for it! The campaign was a success all over. With shaking hands, and e-mails from the Sr. Management for the work.
Indeed a great campaign which ran over a month. As I was observing my colleague who was staring out from the window for some time. A view in peer silence - towards the angels on Deutsche bank.. And I had the song running on my iPod.

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have you found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here.