The Placement Story- 5 of 7

The wait for the next company ws growing….. everyday mom used to ask “AGLI COMPANY KAB AA RAHI HAI”… finally infosys ws fixed… it ws to visit MAIT on 14^th july…. Dis time I knew dat dis ws my last chance n dat too d best one!!! Many had told me dat its only d written of infosys dat matters… rest, d HR interview is a mere formality… they select almost all of d ppl who clear the written exam… they jus need aptitude, rest they know dat they can teach us how to work. Moreover, I also used to think dat technical interview n GD ws my weak point n I cud clear d HR interview easily. Even dad one day said to me “BETA INFOSYS KI TAYAARI ACHHI TARHA SE KARLO, AGAR ISME HO JAYE TO IS SE BETTER AUR KUCH NAHI”… d pressure on me ws only increasing. So, keeping all dis in mind, I started preparing fr d INFOSYS written…. I wont say dat I prepared extremely hard fr dis ppr, bt still more than wat I had prepared for any else… I did some questions from shakuntla devi’s buk… meanwhile we wer informed dat, satyam will also b visiting our campus, the very next day after infosys i.e. 15^th july.. another news dat came ws dat the students who had already been placed wil also be allowed to sit in d ppr. To be honest, I ws furious like anything after hearing dis news… bt still I hd a feeling dat, if I had to b placed in infy than all these things wont matter…. I thot dat my chances wer still d same, if only unplaced students wer to be allowed…. at d same time a mail frm a student of IT came, asking d ppl who hd been placed not to sit fr d infosys exam…. Wat dat guy ws trying ws to show his generosity… n he did it wid gud intentions… bt dis somehow made d inferiority complex in me grow more…. I kno I ws wrong dis time, bt I couldn’t help bt think dis way, the frustration ws only growing. A day before , trust me, I ws 100% sure dat rohit ws goin to crack infosys…. I even told dis to him on phone, dnt kno if he rmbrs it or not. On the morning of 14^th july, I ws nervous like anything, I knew dis ws d golden chance… I hd to grab it somehow… the written exam ended…. I ws quite satisfied wid wat I had done in d exam. We all waited fr d result of d written…. wen d result of d written exam ws announced, I had cleared d written…. mann I ws relieved to hear dat.. 7 pl frm my class had cleared d written exam--- Me, Rohit, Khera, Neha Sinha, Chawla, Shivam n Vishal… as much as I ws relieved to hear myself clearing d written, a d same time I dint kno hw to react wid other ppl who hd nt… arun, nasir, ankit, ankush, mukul…etc.. Now, I knew it ws an opportunity thrown in my hands… I jus had to grab it…. it was d sort of cance dat I ws looking for.Moreover, wid d knowledge dat d interview ws a mere formality, n d rejection rate in d interview ws very minimal… only the ones wid extremely poor HR skills wer thrown out in d interviews… dis seemed to grow my confidence a bit, as I always thot dat I cud clear d HR interview, bt nt d GD n tech interview. All 7 of us wer waiting in d conference hall fr our turn for d interview.. d mood in d conference hall ws kindaa relaxed, rather I shud say we made it luk like dat… d usual jokes doin the rounds. But in between we also prepared, how we wud introduce ourselves, n jus tried to rehearse d answers fr som typical questions… one by one, everyone left d conference room for d interview… d anxiety in me ws gowing. Finally it was my turn… d place outside d interview room where I ws waitin ws extremely hot.. I began to sweat… may be d sweat ws jus coz of d tension!! Finally Shivam came out of d room n I ws called inside…. jus at d time Rohit came out frm d other room. I tried to b at my best, I knew wat importance these 15 minutes had for me. I entered d room n greeted d interviewer…. he ws a guy in his late 30’s , dressed neatly in a sky blue shirt… d interview began d way I had expected it to.. I ws asked to introduce myself… I began… d interview went quite smoothly, with a hick-up or two, otherwise it was quite ok.. it ended in 15 minutes flat. After leaving dat room, I ws feeling mighty relieved… reaching outside, I chatted wid d rest n heard their experience. Everyone’s interview hd gone quite well… I cud sense d feeling of getting placed at dis time… interview hd gone quite well, n I ws expecting to clear dis one… we all , 5 of us , khera, rohit, shivam, vishal n me went to a nearby shop to eat something.. wen we wer goin there I met Avnir, he asked abt my interview n assured me dat d interview here ws jus a formality n my selection ws almost certain, then I went away frm there to d shop….. While chatting , everyone ws tense abt d result, bt we all tried to be normal… we knew dat , the very next day satyam ws comin to d campus.. I once said dat “I KNO DAT TOMORROW I HV NO CHANCE, THIS IS A GOLDEN CHANCE AT INFOSYS, N IF I COULDN’T MAKE IT THRU, I WUD B BROKEN to say d least”.. also we wer asking each other dat wud we b comin tomorrow if v wer to b placed tonight… it was 7 in d evening.. soon v reached back clg… n waited outside. Mom called frm home, I told her dat I hd cleared d written n ws waiting fr d result of my interview… she said to me, “AAJ MUJHE LAG RAHA HAI KI TERA HO JAYEGA, ALL THE BEST” n then she hung the phone….. soon sms enquiring abt d rslt starting to come in, I repied to them, dat v wer waitin fr d result…. We wer sitting on the stais, waiting fr d rslt n thot of clicking som pictures… this pics later turmed out to b one of d best those wer clicked by us…. The ones dat wer clicked in front of d fountain, on d stairs… in strange pose… n strange faces… we all wer a happy bunch out there at dat moment… then we wer relaxing on d stairs in front of the administrative block, when rohti told me “BAS AAJ PLACEMENT HO JAYE, BAHUT RELIEF MILEGI….. KUSH TO HUM ROZ HI REHTE HAIN, BAS AAJ SAR PE SE BAHUT BADA BOJ HAT JAYEGA”… n I nodded in agreement, Suddenly a guy came out of d building , he had d results in his hand…. all of us rushed towards him in all anxiousness n excitement… rohit saw a list in his hand which had d names of three ppl…. He thot dat they hd selected only 3… it later turned out dat those three wer asked to come again… they infact had selected 20 out of the 28 students… he started to take out names… chawla, vishal, shivam, neha, khera n rohit… evry1’s name ws announced…. I cud see relief on the faces of all four who wer present there(khera, rohit, shivam, vishal), specially rohit, vishal n shivam… for whom it ws their first placement n had come after a long struggle… I ws still waiting fr my name to be announced… soon d list ended, my name wasn’t there in d list…I was the only one from our class to b rejected, THE ODD ONE OUT… to say dat I ws broken wud b an understatement…. I turned away, n stood in a corner alone close to crying…. infact I ws.. jus d tears wer nt coming. Then came rohit, he put his hand on my shoulder n told me to inform at home… soon came vishal, shivam n khera… n told me to keep heart… I ws shattered. While walking towards d car, evry1 ws happy… n cheerful, then I cud see rohit trying to tell others to keep calm, without letting me know… I switched off my phone then… I wasn nt in d position of talking to anybody or reply to any queries abt d result.. soon we wer in d car n goin towards our home…. There ws dis strange silence in d car… no1 uttered a single word throughout d journey…. n d feeling dat others wer nt able to njoy there mment of glory jus coz of me dint help much!!! We then dropped rohit, vishal n shivam in the way n moved ahead…. Later khera told me to keep heart, he told me dat atleast I cleared d written, which many others dint managed n told me to take heart frm dat, bt it ws no solace for me…. wat mattered ws d end result. Khera dropped me at rajouri garden… I took a bus frm there n went home…. After getting off at d bus stop n wen walking towards home… I broke down, jus couldn’t control myself. I tried to calm myself down as I entered my house. Dad opened d door, n d first thing he asked me in all excitement ws “KYA HUA”…n I said “NAHI HUA, INTERVIEW MEIN BAHAR”… i hd got sick of giving d same answer again n again… he said “CHALO KOI BAAT NAHI” n then he went away disappointed… then mom came n I gav her d same answer, n told her dat rohit n vishal gt selected, I cud c d disappointment on her face dat slowly everyone around ws getting selected n I ws d only one left…. Then she asked abt ankush n arun, n I said they cudnnt clear d written… she then told me “ABHI HAIN NA WO BHI, HO JAYEGA SAARON KA, UNKA BHI AUR TERA BHI” .... dis time round her answer ws different than wat it ws earlier.... she knew dat there wer nt many oppurtunities left to come..... I changed n went to bed immediately … again while changing, I jus couldn’t face myself in d mirror… I broke down again.. dis time badly…. n then jus slept..

Next day ws Satyam, I woke up in d morning… put on d formals once again… I ws tired of wearing formals now… I ws starting to hate these clothes, bt nonetheless had to do it. Reached clg, n met everybody, all those who wer selected in infy, also came to attend d dis ppr as it was made compulsory fr them coz they hd to … the day began wid d ppt n then d written exam… I wasn’t in d best of shape mentally to giv d exam, I must admit.. I dint feel like attempting d ppr…. Soon we wer waiting fr d result of d written , I cleared d written again…. n then waited fr d GD… the GD began, I still wasn’t feeling in d best of shape mentally…. Sat in d gd room, n uttered only a word or two… then we all waited fr d result of d GD, wid evry1 happy n smiling, n I ws trying to keep up wid them all… putting a fake smile on my face n trying to crack a joke or two… soon d result of d GD ws announced. I ws rejected again…. I dint hd d courage to face mom n dad again, so I switched off my cell, n dint go home immediately after d result ws announced. Me, ankit n Rohit sat in d corridor… Rohit ws trying his best to tell us dat still there wer many more companies to come….. he even told dat infy wud b comin again to visit d campus in d final sem, as we cud sit again fr infy after 9 months. As we wer sittin there, our clg seniors wer sitting in d corridor… all of them placed, except one… KK.. suddenly a shiver went down my spine… I saw myself in d same place after one year… Then ankit went home, rohit told me to go home, bt I really dint hd d courage to go back home again n face mom n dad. So I stayed in clg…. n waited fr d final rslts… Feeling sleepy n tired, I sat there on a chair in d seminar hall…. wondering wat went wrong at infy…. I dint hv an answer…. Finally around 6:30 in d evening, d results of d interviews wer announced… Arun, , Ankush, Vishal, Nidhi got selected in satyam… two placements in two days for vishal, n first ones for the rest…. I congratulated them n then left college after dat fr home…. Now almost everybody in our grp had been placed…. barring a select few… which included Nasir, ME and Ankit… I reached home… n then mom asked me, y I had switched off my phone… she probably knew why… I dint answer her… then she asked. “KYA HUA RESULT”… n then I said.. “NAHI HUA, GD MEIN BAHAR”… she then asked ”KIS-KIS KA HUA”.. I said.. “ARUN AUR ANKUSH HO GAYE SELECT” … she said ”TUMHARE GRP MEIN SAARON KA HO GAYA AB”, I said “HAAN”… “CHALO KOI NAHI TERA BHI HO JAYEGI, BAAKIYON KI BHI HO GAYI NA… BAAKI SAARON KI HO JAYEGI” …… I wondered who all now came in “BAAKI SAARE”…. I ws nt in a modd to talk at dat time… my mom sensed it.. she said “SEEKH BHAI SE KUCH , WO BILKUL TENSION NAHI LETA, EKDUM KHUSH… TU HAI KI CHOTI CHOTI BAATON KI TENSION LE KAR BAITHA REHTA HAI…. IS SE MUJHE BHI TENSION HOTI HAI”…. I still had no words… n jus wen she went away, I broke down again… third time in 2 days, d feeling of being alone in a crowd is certainly not a gud one…. . I switched on d PC, n started uploading d pics, of all d placement pprs, which I had got in my phone… as I was uploading them, Rohit called, he knew wat I ws going thru… I dint talked wid him much, n jus told him dat I ws uploading d pics… n hung up d fone. Wen I hd uploaded all d fotos… d fotos wer all amazing, they represented the perfect us… always happy n laughing!!! Later dat night, after dinner, dad asked me to tell him how did I do GD… I couldn’t tell him… then he told me dat I dint speaked clearly… he started giving me a lecture on hw to speak while an interview… it ws pinful for me.. then he told me to bring a newspaper n read the editorial column loud…. his point was dat it wud help me increase my knowledge base, which in turn wud help me out in GD n also wud improve my communication skills… I hesitated a bit before reading… n objected to it too… bt somehow started reading… while reading it, I wondered , had I hd gt selected in Infosys the other day.. I might not hv been forced to see dis moment. It was one of d lowest, if nt d lowest, moment of my life so far… suddenly, I threw away d newspaper, broke down yet again… fourth time in 2 days, n ran out of d house. Dad came after me n then told me dat… whatever he ws doing ws fr my good only… he ws right, bt it was extremely painful for me.. then he sat wid me n asked me to sit on the PC n look fr sites, which gave interview tips…. he asked me too read all of them… the day ended, n I went of to sleep….

Next day, dad had to go on a tour for a week…. he left early morning.. I missed IMS for yet another day, jus dint felt like going anywhere, n certainly not IMS. Later in d evening I jus thot of running away frm all the madness here at home… so I told mom dat I m leaving fr chandigarh, to my grand parents next morning… she agreed, she knew y I ws saying so, she knew I ws feeling suffocated here. So, next morning i.e. 17^th july , I left fr chandigarh at 5 am… without informing anyone, jus informed one or two ppl, so dat I come to kno if anymore companies are coming. In the evening, around 7 pm , while I ws in Mohali, at my grandparents house, mom called n told me dat d result of sixth semester had come.. avnit told her. She dint knew abt my result as yet. Then I enquired abt it frm frnz abt my result, I had a backlog in Microwave….. very soon bro sent me an sms telling me dat I hd a backlog in one subject, n exact 50 in two others…. It ws d 3^rd bomb dat had exploded on me in the past 4 days…. I ws passing thru one of d worst phase of my LIFE. Everything seemd to go wrong, not dat it was unexpected, bt d fact dat it all came together in a bunch, seemed to hit jus a bit harder. I was shattered… everything that cud go wrong, went wrong. When there in Punjab, I went to d house of any relative, evry1 enquired abt hw wer d placements in clg goin on…. I simply had no answer… rather , I jus dint wanted to answer any of those queries. Every1 I met, asked “PLACEMENT HO GAYI ?”.. I jus said “NO” wid a fake smile in my face, as if it wer still early days in placement, n there wer still lots of opportunities left… bt d fact ws completely opposite..