No one has learnt everything from his/her mother’s womb

Part-I
As a child, I never bothered anything except studying. My father was bribing me of cycle, watch and many more for getting good marks in school. Later, my father’s responsibility was taken over by my mother and she started bribing me of clothes, rings, chains and more. I used to try my best to get those always. This continued till my 6th grade but then bribing changed into threatening. But when I graduated to my 10th grade, my mother neither bribed me nor threatened me, she just prophesied that “This is the biggest turning point of your life. The marks you score in 10th will have an impact on your life now onwards”. This statement of my mother echoed in my mind always and by God’s grace, I completed my matriculation with good marks. Then came another biggest turning point in my life (again according to my mother), that is, my intermediate phase. My mother repeated the same words that she said me when I was in 10th and I also got focused but then I was confused wondering how many ‘biggest turning points’ will come in my life! Thankfully, I cleared my 10+2 with good grades again.

Then came a phase in my life, which can actually be considered as a turning point in anyone’s life. My father always wanted to see me as an Engineer. As a step to realize his dreams, I enrolled my name in the dept of Info Tech in JITM(my college). Far from home, I stayed in my college hostel. This time, my mother didn’t say me anything and my father also didn’t bribe me, as he used to do when I was a kid but then he just said, “You are not a kid now. You have to judge your Do’s and Don’ts, but be careful LIFE is not easy all the time”.

A career in engineering started taking its shape. Got in touch with many people… faculties, seniors and friends. Being new to the field, we really had a tough time but then our seniors used to say, “1st and 2nd years are a bit hard but later, one can clear papers by studying one night just before the exam”. Keeping that in mind, I started studying with all my best efforts and those two years went really well. Then 3rd year came with many other challenges. Placements in reputed companies were the point of focus then. Somehow, I was good in technical analysis and general aptitude due to which some of my friends used to tease me saying, “ Yaar, you don’t have to worry about placements. You have 1st class career. Apti and technical to tujhse chutki me ho jayega. Anyways congratulations, you are going to be placed on 0 day only”. Finally the ZERO day came. ZERO day means, the 1st on campus held in college. We had SATYAM as our 1st company, somewhere around 2nd or 3rd of February in 2008 (I don’t remember the dates exactly).

The process went on for two days. I cleared my written on the 1st day itself and appeared the interviews on the2nd day. The results were announced in the evening and I felt the HARDEST slap in my life!!! I was not selected, which literally depressed me. Some 47 students got through it and I was not one of them! And again ‘sone pe suhaga’, there was a rumor that I fainted during the interviews. But let me clarify, that was not me! That was one of our batch mates. I have never fainted in my life except 3rd May, 2010 and that too, because of weakness. Anyways, some times I don’t care what people say behind me, if that is not so serious!

That slap echoed in side my mind for two days and I cried my heart out! My friends tried comforting me by sending many inspirational messages, from which one of my favorite is ------“Every bad situation will have something positive. Even a stopped clock is correct twice a day. Think of this and lead your life.”-------- I realized that I am not going to get anything by being upset, instead I should try to polish my skills in every possible way. That was not an easy task, I was expected to learn many things but within a stipulated time period. Thankfully, friends were there to help me. I realized, only studying is not everything, I need to bring the best out of me in terms of academics, attitude and personality! I focused on that. Meanwhile, I also appeared many on-campuses and off-campuses. I tasted struggle for the first time! Finally, I got through two companies and thought that was the end, but fate had something else for me! RECESSION popped into the market and the companies had to reject the offers!

(Sorry for making this post long. You can continue to next post)

Part-II

Meanwhile, I graduated as an Engineer in 2009 and came out with good grades. The fun, the happy days were terminated in no time! I came back home. Initial days were good enough but then comments from relatives and neighbors became harsher day by day. I tried making them understand about recession but it was of no use and finally, I started ignoring them. I didn’t give my heart a chance to weaken. I tried coming to Bangalore but situation didn’t permit me. I started preparing for GATE 2010 at home. I had my exam in February. Meanwhile, my sister’s marriage was fixed in January. So I had to swap my timings for preparations of my sister’s marriage as well as my exam. I was done with both the marriage and exam; it was time for results. Results were declared and I secured good percentiles too, but that was of no use. I couldn’t make through IITs and NITs. So I thought of dropping the idea of my Masters.

On 4^th of April, I came to Bangalore. A new girl in the city! Everything was new for me, but thanks to Pragyan (a friend of mine), for making me acquainted with the city. Then I met many of my college friends, who were in Bangalore in search of job. Day by day, I started loving this city more. The huge buildings of the companies established by the road side, the big bungalows, the Volvo buses(with AC), the flyovers (always reminding me of various video games on races), the paintings on the walls depicting the culture and tradition of Karnataka have started fascinating me gradually! Moreover the lush green trees and the peaceful environment here, sometimes take me to a different world! The only thing I don’t like about this place is the traffic! But somehow, this can be ignored for all the above positive points.

Coming to the struggle part in the big city, I travelled alone and found places for appearing exams all on my own. Once I wasted money on a stupid consultancy which didn’t bother about me after getting money but then I learnt from my mistakes and promised not to throw away money at these consultancies blindly. I registered myself in many job sites. Many a times, these free job sites also led me to some fake companies. Once I went with my friends and we came to know that the information was fake. I proposed the idea of returning hostel, but they said,” No”. When I asked them the reason, they asked me, ”Have you 4- 5 copies of CV with you?”. I said,” Yes I have”. Then they said me to follow them. I did the same. They went to the companies built on the roadside, asking the same thing to all of them. The conversation was like this….

“Is it an IT company?”

If no, then “Thanks a lot for your time”.

If yes, then the conversation has some more weight,

” is there any vacancy for software people?”

Without bothering about any reply, they were simply handing CVs to the receptionist saying,

“These are our CVs, if you have any vacancy then please do mail us or call us on our cell phone. Thank you”

I was really amused by that conversation. This distribution of CVs reminded me of those days when one had to circulate leaflets of Ma Tarini or Shirdi Baba so that his wishes can be fulfilled (as a custom believed in our region). But when I was getting those leaflets, I had avoided and thrown them. I think the same might happening with job givers too. How many CVs they will see? On that day my CV must have tried to get into their dustbin, but unfortunately that might have spilled.

One day my ex-room mate sent me an email regarding some vacancies in Tech-Mahindra, so I applied for that. I waited for around 15days to get some response from them and finally got a mail that I have my written and technical round on 9^th May. Amid I had registered for MeritTrac (a famous consultancy) and I got a mail for that exam too, whose date was the same as Tech Mahindra’s but with different timings! MeritTrac was at 9.00 am and Tech-Mahindra was at 3.00 pm. On the very day, I was quite stressed of the pressure as the MeritTrac exam started at 10 am and continued for 3 hours, I didn’t get an auto-rickshaw while returning and on top of that, two of my college friends were waiting to see me. It was a bit hectic to handle but finally I met them and reached at Tech-Mahindra office before time. I found, all were in formals except me as I forgot about the technical test and anyhow if some one is clearing the written test then only can appear the technical round. So I thought of focusing on the written test. After 1 hour of test and ½ hour of halting, results were out and I did clear that. I felt, I would be thrown from the technical round as they would take me as not so serious about this job (I wasn’t dressed up in formal). But thankfully the rounds got postponed and I had my technical and HR on 13^th May (this time I wore formals).

When I reached the office on 13^th, I came to know that I have to appear for three rounds. I was wandering what the rounds would be. One may be technical, second may be HR and third????? After completing the first round, I was wondering which round it was. The answer might be the third one which I was unable to think of, “A mixture round”. Anyways, results came… “Selected in 1^st round, be prepared for 2^nd round”. I imagined if the 1^st round was so tough, then what would be the other rounds! But it does not mean that what ever we imagine should always been right. Due to lack of time or what I don’t know, but the next two rounds were easy. After being done with all the rounds, I sat in a hall with other candidates. The result was being announced one after another .When I heard that the guy who had completed his rounds just before me, was not selected, my heart started beating fast. There was a girl beside me whose heart was competing with mine and I was saying her “All Z Well” (thank god I have seen the movie 3 idiots, which is helping me all the time). Then we both heard the result …… SELECTED….(hurrayyyyy), we congratulated each other and thanked God! Then I called my parents and messaged my friends (as my cell phone was fighting with charge)…. I was really happy! Finally I got through one where I can join as a software engineer (previously I got through a KPO in Bangalore).

After a two months of waiting finally I got the joining letter and I am going to join on 30^th july.

No one has learnt everything from his/her mother’s womb. Life is a learning process. Each time we fall we get some experience. And as we all know… “ALL IS WELL”