14 years back on this very day, as the day dawned upon me I was wary of the fact that the third year engineering exams were round the corner. In line with the normal trend I had been playing the fool all through the semester and was trying to conjure up a miracle at the last moment. There was a campus recruitment drive* scheduled by one of the leading software companies of the country in a college in the outskirts of the city.Thanks to my crappy CGPA I wasn’t eligible for attending a good number of these drives but by some strange twist of fate I was eligible for this one. My dilemma was real, on one hand I could just let this opportunity pass and spend the day immersed in studies adding some serious muscle into my already derailed exam preparations. On the flip side I could very much use this as a welcome break from the rut. The college was situated in a hitherto less explored part of the city right in the midst of a number of plantations. The bike ride through these scenic locales would be refreshing if I could tag along with my friends for company.The Long drive of around 30 odd kms was a turn off because that would mean I would be super tired which will in effect render the day useless.. At that point of time little did I know that I would end up in Bombay one day where even the distance from Kandivali(the place where I lived) to South Bombay was 34 km.
*This is an event where companies would visit the Engineering colleges and conduct recruitment tests and interviews for the final year students . The selected ones would also be given a post dated offer letter with a joining date after their final year exams.
I called up my manfriday, MC making him an offer to tag along but on one condition, I would come back the moment the first round of tests are done. I told him in case you got selected, you were on your own. Nothing prepared us for what was to follow, we were greeted by a gigantic crowd of around 2500 eager students. Phew! I thought to myself, that meant that I could go back home by mid day without losing much time. After the initial formalities we were ushered into the exam hall.Since it was an objective exam I played the game “inkie pinkie ponkey father had a donkey” and came out.
While our papers were being evaluated we decided to make most of the time and just roam around the place since we hadn’t been to this part of the town earlier. I was getting impatient after a couple of hours since there was no news on our results. I told MC that come what may I am leaving in an hour.All hell broke loose when we made our way back to the College since the results had been declared .I was bemused by the entire spectacle where a jostling crowd was braying for your blood to catch a glimpse of their names in the notice board.
I didn’t even bother to check and was ready to leave when my best friend Kripa barged in on me with a big grin on her face. I assumed that she must have cleared courtesy. She was one of the toppers of our class. She excitedly announced that both our names were there and without wasting time we should get ready for the next round of Group discussions. When I told her to cut the crap and stop joking her face turned into beet red in anger. By now the crowd in front of the notice board had thinned down. Not because I didn’t trust her,but being a doubting Thomas I went and checked out the results myself. The blood drained out of my face when I realised that the extra large smile on her face was due to the fact that both of us got selected .
Now it has to be understood that at that point of time almost all my friends were going to coaching classes for aptitude test preparations,group discussions, mock Interviews, CAT preparation and what not. On the other hand all I wanted to do was to catch the first train to Delhi after my last Engineering exam to pursue my life long dream. This would enable me to start coaching for the UPSC civil services exam(Elite civil services exam in India). I had never prepared for such an eventuality of cracking an aptitude test so much so that I had no idea of what a group discussion was in the first place.
Not to worry, my womanfriday had taken charge of the situation. Reminiscent of the countless times during our Engineering days where she had bailed me out of many a tricky situation. This would range from when I would be banging my head trying to cram a software program in the morning of a practical exam to painstakingly explaining an important essay topic minutes before a theory exam,you name it she has done it all.For the next 15-20 odd minutes Kripa was briefing me with great gutso on the do’s and don’t’s of a Group discussion. All that I can recollect at this point of time was the takeaway that “a group discussion is not a debate”.
I went on to the hall that was assigned to me for the next around. There were about 15 odd students in my group. I was stumped to realise that it was in no way a discussion at all but rather we were being treated like school kids. A question was posed to us and all of us were made to answer the question one after the other. I was at a huge disadvantage here because I was seated towards the end of the circle, so by the time it reached me I would have no new points to be added to the topic.Below is the excerpt from the 2 questions that I was asked and my corresponding response.
Qn: The Challenges of the IT industry
My Response: One of the biggest challenges that the IT industry is facing right now is that they are concentrated in the big cities like Bangalore,Chennai, Hyderabad etc. As a result of this metro cities are getting congested.
Trick qn: If one fine day you find out you find out that all the coconut trees in Kerala have disappeared what would you do?
My Response: If one fine day you find out that all the coconut trees in Kerala have vanished, no big deal rubber plantations and pepper trees would take their place. Further, the income generated by the coconut trees would be available from the latter.
I was quite upbeat as I walked out of the room and was loitering around the corridor when I ran into Kripa yet again,she asked me if I was selected. I had no idea, I rushed back to the venue just in time to hear my name being called out. Shit was getting real! I thought to myself. I was entering into unchartered territory now because up next was the Technical round interview. At that point of time it was a dampner to know that Kripa had not made the cut. She wished me luck and made a graceful exit, I was on my own now.
As usual I had no clue of what was to happen next, without goofing around I decided to get on to work. As we were escorted to the catchment area for the scheduled interviews I started to call up my classmates one by one who had just attended a Tech interview for another IT major,the previous week.Brick by brick I built my repertoire for the interview that was to follow. My heart sank when I saw one of the toppers of our class walking out in tears from one such interview.Some random guy came out hurling the choicest abuses after realising that the interview he had been to was too hot to handle. The good looking chic sitting near me remarked that he was the topper of her class. She had a disarming smile, I made a mental note of getting her number before I left for the day. Witnessing all these scenes I was starting to get jittery. If the topper of my class cannot handle the technical round, what am I even doing here?.
I walked in confidently to be greeted by a panel of three. I was bombarded about every damn thing mentioned in my resume. Questions were thrown at me left,right and centre all around the park which included DOS,windows,C, C++,SQL/PL SQL among a few.I was asked about my favourite subject to which I replied “Compiler Design”, a volley of questions followed. The irony was that Compiler design was a subject that I loathed the most but for the past couple of days I was sparring with the subject so everything was fresh on my mind. This went on for a good 45 minutes . I had mixed feelings about the interview; it was only then that the gravity of the situation started to sink in. I was totally drained out by the end of the interview. My throat was parched, I suddenly felt tired, it had been a long day. MC came to my rescue with water and got me some snacks. It helped me calm down a bit. God bless him. Dusk turned into night as I was shortlisted for the next HR round.
As fatigue set in I analysed my whole situation I was in right now. I realised that this was now a home stretch for me. If I could back myself well with my gift of the gab I should be able to sail through.The heavy lifting was already done, all I had to do now was to keep my head above the water. I walked in confidently to be greeted by another panel of three. I remember there was a North Indian woman among them. The reason why I remember her so vividly is that she switched to hindi when she realised that I had spent my childhood in the northern part of the country. We did speak for a bit in Hindi.I had nothing to lose at this point of time; in fact I was on fire. I could see that they were particularly impressed with the way I handled the stress interview. I knew I had made an indelible mark in their minds. This went on for another 45 minutes,at the end of it I was totally zoned out.
Adrenaline had slowly started to kick in and the agonising wait for the final results was starting to get unbearable.Seconds seemed like minutes,minutes seemed like hours and hours seemed like a lifetime. All sorts of thoughts were running through my mind “Will this be a case of too near yet too far ? What will happen if I lose from here?”. I tried to remain calm and said to myself that whatever happens from here on I should be proud of the fact that I had completed all the rounds with the least amount of preparation. It was close to midnight now.
There was pin drop silence when a staff had walked in to announce the results, the tension was palpable in the air. One by one the names were being called, there was absolute pandemonium, the ones who were selected had already started celebrating. The rest of the folks were straining their ears lest they miss their names being announced. With a heavy heart I realised that my name was not there. You could witness jubilation and dejection all on a single frame in that room. I congratulated my 2 classmates and lined up to exit the hall. I held my head high as I walked out, it was a job well done. I consoled myself thinking that in the morning when I woke up I had only wanted to appear for the exam and leave but look at me now.
Another staff member came running to the hall saying that no one should leave the hall because there was a supplementary list of successful candidates. Due to some miscommunication this was not included in the original list. I was at my wits end, I was too tired to go back and all of us crowded at the exit of the classroom. Another list was being read out. It was absolute chaos, I steeled my heart and detached myself from reality . Out of nowhere I heard my name being announced. I was shell shocked for a split second. I even went to the extent of thinking that it could very well be a figment of my imagination where my tired mind was playing games with me. But fact is stranger than fiction,I had pulled out a rabbit out of the hat yet again.
I had gone numb because I was totally worn out beyond the point of no return. My heart craved to jump up in joy and punch the air like my sporting idol Sachin Tendulkar but at that point of time I just stood in stoic silence like a monk. My classmates patted me on the back on my way out,everything appeared to be very surreal to me as I was on my out. As I came out of the hall I hugged MC. This bloke even though eliminated in the first round had stayed back to lend me moral support well past midnight. From then on he became my lucky mascot.As a matter of fact whenever he has accompanied me I have scored well in my University exams.
As I came out into the open I looked up, thanked the heavens and said a word to my Dad. Boy,he would have been delighted if he had been around.I picked up my phone which was out of battery and dialed home. My brother answered since my mom was cooped up in the prayer room all along. I was greeted with jubilation at the other end as I broke the news and my phone went dead. While approaching the college gates just before dawn was breaking out I couldn’t help to contrast the moment that I entered these very gates yesterday morning and this very moment when I was on my way out.
As the bike picked up speed I could feel the nip in the air as a result of which my teeth started to clatter.I felt blessed by the warmth of some great friends around me, be it MC who was riding pillion at the moment or Kripa who had gone down all guns blazing to handhold me through unknown territory in the earlier part of the day. I was focusing intently on the taillights of the bike in front of me for fear of getting lost in the wee hours of the day. It was Jibin, one of my classmates who had tagged along with me and had cracked the interview.Friendships are indeed one of the cornerstones of the foundation on top of which we build our entire lives.
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