And so the day had dawned,the day I was praying for since I got my joining,and the day I was hoping would not turn up since the past month or so.
Woke up to sound of my roommate's alarm,cursed him yet again and tucked myself in for 10 more minutes of tranquility.Woke up finally,got ready for what was going to be the final day.Frantically knocking on the bathroom door and yelling "Abbe bahar aa,kitna time le raha hai ?!","Oye tie ka knot banake de","Shaving cream de yaar","Polish hai kya tere pass?","Iron kahan pe chupake rakha hai ?",neighbours coming running to use the loo and cursing their roomies for taking too long,had soon become a day-to-day thing.Enjoyed those banters for one last time,took some snaps of the place we called home for quite sometime now,entered the out time for the whole floor,and we were off.One thing we always decided on,but never really happened was a photograph of those "working professionals".Well,this was the day for it.Clicking photos from every possible angle,with every person in sight,we almost forgot that we were supposed to report to office !
Taking the "short-cut" route,we sprinted towards the office as reaching late and having to lose half a day's salary was not something we really wanted.
Having been done with the submissions,tests,we wondered what was going to be our last day all about.Some were still busy with java,some checking out the class photos,some reminiscing about the past two and a half month,which was a sheen on an otherwise charred life.As the appointment letters were being handed out,some prayed to experience certainty for once,and not have their base branch changed,while others were desperate to experience uncertainty,for one final time,and be posted to their hometown.
At lunch,the thought that we were having the oil laden food for the last time brought a smile on everyone's face.This was probably the only good thing about us leaving the place.But,whatever be the condition food,the whole experience of having lunch at that place with those people was surely going to be missed.Irritating friends by singing Tinku Jiya,watching Sunny Deol songs on 9X,yelling out "Maaza tujhaya haatat aahey",checking out the girls was surely an experience of its own.
Post lunch,we were told to assemble in the auditorium,where the higher authorities were supposed to address us for one last time.Having being aware of the fact,we quickly occupied the last few rows and dozed off.The top achievers were called upon and awarded 'gems'.Though the real deal of the day was the song written by our fellow batch-mates,describing the time spent there.The song was composed to perfection,as every individual present there,could relate to every line being sung.
A good bye and all the best,and the 200 individuals were left alone in the auditorium.The poor CRs were left with a few last minute chores,and the useless individuals(yours truly included),were wiling away their time singing their anthem,Tinku Jiya,to their beloved mumma.As if that wasn't enough,we started singing it in different tunes,further horrifying the experience for mumma.Man,thats life !
Uncensored,uncut,straight from the heart sessions of Ice-Cream with Ishan and Chaas with Prasad were to follow suit.
End of the day,a phrase which usually brings a smile to an individual,brought tears this time around.Tears,hugs,good-byes were all around,as this was that all of us were together."I love you,man","These were the best days","We'll surely meet again","Be in touch",were the only sentences people could come up with.
The hardest walk probably of our lives,as we walked the same old road,stared at the same buildings,noticed the same nilgai,before finally reaching the same old hostel.On our way back,we decided to enjoy a last meal at one of our favourite restaurants.Quickly rushing back,I packed my bags and called up my Goan family for a last good bye.Otherwise garrulous individuals were at loss for words,as we were counting our last few moments together.A quick photo session and our rides were here.A last round of hugs and we were off,and all I could think about was,"Why was this supposed to end now?".
Chocolate Boy joined us at the station.We laughed and joked and bitched about people.We cursed this place and still cribbed over the fact that we are going miss this place.
The train honked and set in motion.We waved out and bid adieu to the place,marking the end of the journey.The journey which started on 11th December 2010,with the words,"Please dont make me board this train",ended on 23rd February 2011,with the words "Please dont make me board this train".
Arrivederci Ahmedabad.
Showing posts with label Eye Ale Pea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eye Ale Pea. Show all posts
Friday, 15 July 2011
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Feb-Brewery in the Dry State
With our bank accounts no longer reading 0,we realized that we had crossed another milestone,probably left with a couple more before finally reaching the destination,marking the end of the journey.With this thought,we ushered in the last month of the most wonderful phase of our lives.
Trying to look at the glass being half full,I tried to enjoy the remaining time as much as I could.Matarani,Nagpuja were soon passé.Chocolate Room,Sardars,Punjab King was the place be.Late night gigs,with makeshift drumkit,weekend trips,movies,awesome dinner at awesome places,Subway,shopping,football,staying awake,chaas with Prasad,Ice-cream with Ishan,Tinku Jiya and no studying was what all the month was about.
The very first weekend was a royal trip to Udaipur.Weekdays were usually full of Mafia and Maar hi daloge.What started off as a relaxed month,started gaining momentum when suddenly test dates,project submissions were announced.Weekends were suddenly replaced by 'Head First',till your head burst.All this and my BI were enjoying weekends,and I started to wonder if I had done the right thing by opting for Java.
It was the last day for Chocolate Boy,and we gave a much deserved farewell.Chocolate boy became more chocolate-ier by a coat of chocolate,as working professionals had turned into college buffoons,again.
It was a night of uncensored,Chaas with Prasad as our beloved Chocolate Boy was asked questions way beyond his wildest imaginations.A night of heart break for the chicks,as their Chocolate Boy was no longer going to be meeting them.Really wished that he could have "hang on" a little while longer.
Still managed to sneak out for an evening of shopping,a frivolous rhyme duel with Bitiya Rani & Cool Aunty,a ride full of 'emptiness',awesome dinner and nice ride back to the hostel in the cold,while ogling at Deepika Padukone.First real experience of splurging,and it was sheer bliss.
The following day was Valentines Day,and the whole whole place was dressed in red.Apart from making a few couples,the day was just another day at the office.
Days were passing at the speed of light,as we had reached the last week of our stay.With the end of exams and project demos,we had the last weekend to ourselves.A DJ night with decent music,decent food,but awesome company was the last of our weekends together.Even better was the 1 am walk of almost 2 kms from the place to the hostel.But the day wasn't over for us yet,as the guards caught us.K-Pill and our security guy talked us out of the situation in what probably what was our last tussle with the security.
The next day we toured the city from one corner to the other,in search of a decent movie.Totally disgruntled by the movie,we decided to go in for another one,and yet another one after that.Shame though,as we could not execute the plan.Sunday was study day,as we were left one final test.
Last week was morning shift,and 2 pm marked the end of office hours.This left us with whole evening for movies.A class picture at the end of the day,and we were off to another movie,the next day and we had now officially seen all the movies that had been released during that time.
It ain't over till it is over,and that is what happened as we were given a last minute project,just so that we could not wile away our time on Mafia.Though no one really bothered on completing it.
And just like that,it ended.End of a phase,as we headed back to our hometown,though mentally we were still there,lost somewhere in Infocity.
Trying to look at the glass being half full,I tried to enjoy the remaining time as much as I could.Matarani,Nagpuja were soon passé.Chocolate Room,Sardars,Punjab King was the place be.Late night gigs,with makeshift drumkit,weekend trips,movies,awesome dinner at awesome places,Subway,shopping,football,staying awake,chaas with Prasad,Ice-cream with Ishan,Tinku Jiya and no studying was what all the month was about.
The very first weekend was a royal trip to Udaipur.Weekdays were usually full of Mafia and Maar hi daloge.What started off as a relaxed month,started gaining momentum when suddenly test dates,project submissions were announced.Weekends were suddenly replaced by 'Head First',till your head burst.All this and my BI were enjoying weekends,and I started to wonder if I had done the right thing by opting for Java.
It was the last day for Chocolate Boy,and we gave a much deserved farewell.Chocolate boy became more chocolate-ier by a coat of chocolate,as working professionals had turned into college buffoons,again.
It was a night of uncensored,Chaas with Prasad as our beloved Chocolate Boy was asked questions way beyond his wildest imaginations.A night of heart break for the chicks,as their Chocolate Boy was no longer going to be meeting them.Really wished that he could have "hang on" a little while longer.
Still managed to sneak out for an evening of shopping,a frivolous rhyme duel with Bitiya Rani & Cool Aunty,a ride full of 'emptiness',awesome dinner and nice ride back to the hostel in the cold,while ogling at Deepika Padukone.First real experience of splurging,and it was sheer bliss.
The following day was Valentines Day,and the whole whole place was dressed in red.Apart from making a few couples,the day was just another day at the office.
Days were passing at the speed of light,as we had reached the last week of our stay.With the end of exams and project demos,we had the last weekend to ourselves.A DJ night with decent music,decent food,but awesome company was the last of our weekends together.Even better was the 1 am walk of almost 2 kms from the place to the hostel.But the day wasn't over for us yet,as the guards caught us.K-Pill and our security guy talked us out of the situation in what probably what was our last tussle with the security.
The next day we toured the city from one corner to the other,in search of a decent movie.Totally disgruntled by the movie,we decided to go in for another one,and yet another one after that.Shame though,as we could not execute the plan.Sunday was study day,as we were left one final test.
Last week was morning shift,and 2 pm marked the end of office hours.This left us with whole evening for movies.A class picture at the end of the day,and we were off to another movie,the next day and we had now officially seen all the movies that had been released during that time.
It ain't over till it is over,and that is what happened as we were given a last minute project,just so that we could not wile away our time on Mafia.Though no one really bothered on completing it.
And just like that,it ended.End of a phase,as we headed back to our hometown,though mentally we were still there,lost somewhere in Infocity.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
January at Ahmedabad(Integration)
Home is where heart is.Having being under the conception,that I'd left mine in Mumbai for almost a month,the 3 day visit back made me realized that mine had shifted base to Ahmedabad.The journey back to Ahmedabad didnt seem as gloomy as it did the first time around.
Travelling with pals means no sleep.And reached 'home' at like 5 in the morning left us no time to sleep in the morning either.
Like promised,I got home-made chicken for savangs,who'd been missing home-made food.The only problem being those lazy asses were in deep sleep,and were in no mood to wake up that early.I'd been eyeing the chicken for as long as I could remember,and that sexy thing was trying to seduce me into gluttony.I tried to look at it like a stream of System.out statements,that is what probably saved it from me.
Danny Boy was the first to respond to the array of missed calls and called me over to the canteen.The situation didn't change much there either,as the two of us kept staring at the food,while waiting for the others.5-10 mins of waiting and dozen calls and messages later,we lost our patience and started hogging along with few others.
After probably the delicious breakfast in like a month,and still dazed,I got ready for the 1st day of the Integration Phase.Though all my fellow Mumbaikars were there with me,the fact that RP,BP,Danny weren't gonna be there wasn't all that pleasing.
Early to the 'Learning Room',we waited for our new facilitator,as I prayed for the person to be a hot chick ;).
To everyone's surprise,a boy not older than us,whom no one had ever seen before,entered the room.Before anyone could understand hey kon 'ale',pawan ke jhoke jaise,the lad introduced himself as our facilitator.Though he wasn't a hot chick like I wanted him to be,he seemed like a nice no kit-kit guy,and I'd make do with that.The shy guy was then made to(forced to) sing later.
After fun and games came java sessions,during which I made up for my loss of sleep from the previous night.
The initial few days were nothing more than java and few songs.God,how I missed those A-44 days.It was only after a week or so that everyone really gelled in and sessions started becoming fun.'Maar hi dalogey' and 'Mafia' were the two most frequently used words in the class.Soon chocolate boy also started joining us for our "sessions". All this and occasional frivolous mails to RP and the rest made the Integration Phase seem worthwhile.
Evening shifts were alloted to batches.No more getting up in the cold morning.Tuck yourself in the blanket till 10.Get up,have a nice breakfast,play football,have lunch and then office.And theres more.Evening shift meant office for 7 hours and salary for 9 hours worth of "work".Life couldn't have been any better !
A weekend trip to Diu,was the icing on the cake.It also made two new people enter our batch,viz.,Pressy and Nelly.
But,the very next week,our heaven was taken away from us,when after enjoying a week of evening shift,we were made to work in the general shift again.Zaina !
The night of 25th marked the 1st Gig of AHD-10 batch.Armed with 2 guitars,a makeshift drum kit with a C# snare,a tabla and 20-odd vocalist,we screamed,yelled,sweared and sang our way into the night,and also into the guard's ears.He was quick to respond with his usual dialogue of,"Aapka employee id do".But a session of singing and he melted like butter,and left without bothering to note down our ids."Bass awaaz kam rakho",was his advice and we continued yelling to the strumming and drumming.
Still the soft skills sessions full of fun,mafia and maar hi dalogey kept us company with chocolate boy's java sessions.
Weekend meant a time to step out into the city.Some went shopping,others went for movie.An awesome movie,a bite of Subway after months and a half decent laser show,marked our last weekend of being dependent,as the following week was going to be our first salary day.
31st January 2011,was a special day for all of us.Our first salary was to be credited on that day.Finally,after almost 45 days of waiting,our accounts were finally ready to get rid of the size zero diet.Excited,we all logged into our accounts,but to our disappointment,our accounts didn't hog the way we expected them to.The next 10-15 mins were mostly cries of swears and disappointment,as people were trying to figure out where exactly the money had gone.(6 months on,the story still remains the same).
Disappointed,angry,denounced,I tried to console myself,as though not what I expected it to be,it still was,and will always be my 'First Pay Slip',and we headed out,to splurge our first salary :).
Travelling with pals means no sleep.And reached 'home' at like 5 in the morning left us no time to sleep in the morning either.
Like promised,I got home-made chicken for savangs,who'd been missing home-made food.The only problem being those lazy asses were in deep sleep,and were in no mood to wake up that early.I'd been eyeing the chicken for as long as I could remember,and that sexy thing was trying to seduce me into gluttony.I tried to look at it like a stream of System.out statements,that is what probably saved it from me.
Danny Boy was the first to respond to the array of missed calls and called me over to the canteen.The situation didn't change much there either,as the two of us kept staring at the food,while waiting for the others.5-10 mins of waiting and dozen calls and messages later,we lost our patience and started hogging along with few others.
After probably the delicious breakfast in like a month,and still dazed,I got ready for the 1st day of the Integration Phase.Though all my fellow Mumbaikars were there with me,the fact that RP,BP,Danny weren't gonna be there wasn't all that pleasing.
Early to the 'Learning Room',we waited for our new facilitator,as I prayed for the person to be a hot chick ;).
To everyone's surprise,a boy not older than us,whom no one had ever seen before,entered the room.Before anyone could understand hey kon 'ale',pawan ke jhoke jaise,the lad introduced himself as our facilitator.Though he wasn't a hot chick like I wanted him to be,he seemed like a nice no kit-kit guy,and I'd make do with that.The shy guy was then made to(forced to) sing later.
After fun and games came java sessions,during which I made up for my loss of sleep from the previous night.
The initial few days were nothing more than java and few songs.God,how I missed those A-44 days.It was only after a week or so that everyone really gelled in and sessions started becoming fun.'Maar hi dalogey' and 'Mafia' were the two most frequently used words in the class.Soon chocolate boy also started joining us for our "sessions". All this and occasional frivolous mails to RP and the rest made the Integration Phase seem worthwhile.
Evening shifts were alloted to batches.No more getting up in the cold morning.Tuck yourself in the blanket till 10.Get up,have a nice breakfast,play football,have lunch and then office.And theres more.Evening shift meant office for 7 hours and salary for 9 hours worth of "work".Life couldn't have been any better !
A weekend trip to Diu,was the icing on the cake.It also made two new people enter our batch,viz.,Pressy and Nelly.
But,the very next week,our heaven was taken away from us,when after enjoying a week of evening shift,we were made to work in the general shift again.Zaina !
The night of 25th marked the 1st Gig of AHD-10 batch.Armed with 2 guitars,a makeshift drum kit with a C# snare,a tabla and 20-odd vocalist,we screamed,yelled,sweared and sang our way into the night,and also into the guard's ears.He was quick to respond with his usual dialogue of,"Aapka employee id do".But a session of singing and he melted like butter,and left without bothering to note down our ids."Bass awaaz kam rakho",was his advice and we continued yelling to the strumming and drumming.
Still the soft skills sessions full of fun,mafia and maar hi dalogey kept us company with chocolate boy's java sessions.
Weekend meant a time to step out into the city.Some went shopping,others went for movie.An awesome movie,a bite of Subway after months and a half decent laser show,marked our last weekend of being dependent,as the following week was going to be our first salary day.
31st January 2011,was a special day for all of us.Our first salary was to be credited on that day.Finally,after almost 45 days of waiting,our accounts were finally ready to get rid of the size zero diet.Excited,we all logged into our accounts,but to our disappointment,our accounts didn't hog the way we expected them to.The next 10-15 mins were mostly cries of swears and disappointment,as people were trying to figure out where exactly the money had gone.(6 months on,the story still remains the same).
Disappointed,angry,denounced,I tried to console myself,as though not what I expected it to be,it still was,and will always be my 'First Pay Slip',and we headed out,to splurge our first salary :).
Sunday, 8 May 2011
January at Ahmedabad(Induction)
As new year began,half the people were at Mt.Abu having time of the life at almost sub zero temperatures,while the others were still at Ahmedabad,working really hard trying to get a hang of MVC architecture.
Bored with being in the office on new years,we headed to Akshardham.Awesome architecture and the best freaking laser show I've seen.
Back from an awesome weekend,everyone was back to work,trying to meet the coding deadline.Few lost souls like yours truly,RP & BP were still busy with double entendre.Par aaisa karna allowed hai ? Allowed hai,allowed hai.These words soon became shibboleth of A44.
Amidst the chaos technical sessions of coding,documentation were soft-skills sessions with awesome plays.One particular really struck a note with the people when Swamy said to Mr.Wang,that he'll open if he wants to open.Swamy was the highlight of the play,as the escort in the play was willing to offer him any services he wanted.
In between all of this came the moment all of us were waiting for,the posting details.One by one places were listed with the number of vacancies,with Mumbai nowhere in sight.The best they say is always saved for the last.Mumbai,there it was.Good things come in small packages.In this case,the small package being the number of vacancies.Only 70 seats for 120 Mumbaikars.As we headed to the auditorium for a briefing on the whole thing,half the people were already in tears,as if they had been already told that they were going to be in those 50 who were not going to get posted in Mumbai."Why is it always us? Previous batch had 70 odd seats for only 30 Mumbaikars.",was what every third person was saying. The session got over,but the tears didn't.
Back to the rooms,I kept on convincing RP,BP to stick with me and apply for Mumbai,but they were adamant of going to Bengaluru.In a last valiant effort,I tried to make them opt for Java,but they were again not willing to settle for anything which required coding.I prayed and entered my choices and hoped for the best.
The following week was full of hoaxes about posting.Not bothered much,we continued our daily routine of songs,jokes,coding,documentation,fixing errors one by one,as our tester Chabdaji kept finding loop holes in the code.
The time had come,our weeks hardwork put into the coding was finally put to test.Our facilitator started entering erroneous data,but was always showed a proper error message(Daddys home baby !).Tired from extensive testing,he finally asked us if there are any errors in our codes that we hadn't fixed.Its like asking,is Osama hiding in your country? Anyway,he still pointed out some errors int the documentation,which he wanted us to fix by the next deadline.Whatever!
Evenings were the best part during those days.Though we enjoyed as hell during the sessions,football in the evenings was the real deal.
With the week nearly coming to an end,the day everyone was waiting for was had arrived,as the lady held the results for the form we had 'feel'ed.One by one she started calling out names.The sheet was almost over,but still no sign of my name.For the first time I'd become nervous.Not Kochi,not Kochi,not Kochi is what my mind kept saying all that while.Finally,she uttered my name and said Java-Mumbai.Punched the air,and mailed my brother about the same.
Though most we happy with their choices,some of them we left throughly disappointed,not getting either their preferred choice of stream or city.Some of them didn't even have their names in the list.
Excited with my posting,I rushed out to know where others had been posted to.Almost all my fellow Mumbaikars had been posted to Mumbai.
Counting the last few days of the induction phase,I tried to enjoy as much as I could.Our trio continued with our banter,annoying mumma,cracking stupid meaningless,double meaning jokes,singing weird songs.Had never enjoyed so much.Some of them laughed so hard that their " 'Teeths' were showing ".
Having completed with the case study and still one day left of the induction phase,we decided what we wondered what could we possibly do on the last day.But,surprise surprise,there was an announcement,"Test hai kal".Though of them were not much worried about it,RP seemed tensed,as for him,test is hard.
Despite not having studied anything,the test was quite easy,and RP wondered had he done the right thing by opting for BI over Java.
Post the test,we had a viva and we officially done with the 'Induction Phase'.
EOD,and we were off to the hostel,packing bag(s) full of clothes to be washed,as weekend this time around was going to be in Mumbai for us.
Bored with being in the office on new years,we headed to Akshardham.Awesome architecture and the best freaking laser show I've seen.
Back from an awesome weekend,everyone was back to work,trying to meet the coding deadline.Few lost souls like yours truly,RP & BP were still busy with double entendre.Par aaisa karna allowed hai ? Allowed hai,allowed hai.These words soon became shibboleth of A44.
Amidst the chaos technical sessions of coding,documentation were soft-skills sessions with awesome plays.One particular really struck a note with the people when Swamy said to Mr.Wang,that he'll open if he wants to open.Swamy was the highlight of the play,as the escort in the play was willing to offer him any services he wanted.
In between all of this came the moment all of us were waiting for,the posting details.One by one places were listed with the number of vacancies,with Mumbai nowhere in sight.The best they say is always saved for the last.Mumbai,there it was.Good things come in small packages.In this case,the small package being the number of vacancies.Only 70 seats for 120 Mumbaikars.As we headed to the auditorium for a briefing on the whole thing,half the people were already in tears,as if they had been already told that they were going to be in those 50 who were not going to get posted in Mumbai."Why is it always us? Previous batch had 70 odd seats for only 30 Mumbaikars.",was what every third person was saying. The session got over,but the tears didn't.
Back to the rooms,I kept on convincing RP,BP to stick with me and apply for Mumbai,but they were adamant of going to Bengaluru.In a last valiant effort,I tried to make them opt for Java,but they were again not willing to settle for anything which required coding.I prayed and entered my choices and hoped for the best.
The following week was full of hoaxes about posting.Not bothered much,we continued our daily routine of songs,jokes,coding,documentation,fixing errors one by one,as our tester Chabdaji kept finding loop holes in the code.
The time had come,our weeks hardwork put into the coding was finally put to test.Our facilitator started entering erroneous data,but was always showed a proper error message(Daddys home baby !).Tired from extensive testing,he finally asked us if there are any errors in our codes that we hadn't fixed.Its like asking,is Osama hiding in your country? Anyway,he still pointed out some errors int the documentation,which he wanted us to fix by the next deadline.Whatever!
Evenings were the best part during those days.Though we enjoyed as hell during the sessions,football in the evenings was the real deal.
With the week nearly coming to an end,the day everyone was waiting for was had arrived,as the lady held the results for the form we had 'feel'ed.One by one she started calling out names.The sheet was almost over,but still no sign of my name.For the first time I'd become nervous.Not Kochi,not Kochi,not Kochi is what my mind kept saying all that while.Finally,she uttered my name and said Java-Mumbai.Punched the air,and mailed my brother about the same.
Though most we happy with their choices,some of them we left throughly disappointed,not getting either their preferred choice of stream or city.Some of them didn't even have their names in the list.
Excited with my posting,I rushed out to know where others had been posted to.Almost all my fellow Mumbaikars had been posted to Mumbai.
Counting the last few days of the induction phase,I tried to enjoy as much as I could.Our trio continued with our banter,annoying mumma,cracking stupid meaningless,double meaning jokes,singing weird songs.Had never enjoyed so much.Some of them laughed so hard that their " 'Teeths' were showing ".
Having completed with the case study and still one day left of the induction phase,we decided what we wondered what could we possibly do on the last day.But,surprise surprise,there was an announcement,"Test hai kal".Though of them were not much worried about it,RP seemed tensed,as for him,test is hard.
Despite not having studied anything,the test was quite easy,and RP wondered had he done the right thing by opting for BI over Java.
Post the test,we had a viva and we officially done with the 'Induction Phase'.
EOD,and we were off to the hostel,packing bag(s) full of clothes to be washed,as weekend this time around was going to be in Mumbai for us.
Sunday, 10 April 2011
December at Ahmedabad
6 am.Alarm ringing,but unlike most of the times,I dont snooze it.Why? Because,its my roomie's bloody cell thats ringing.Covering my ears with the pillow,I try to go to sleep,but soon I realize that today is my 'First Day at the Office'.Quickly I get up,and start getting ready.Meanwhile,Mr.Cisco too is busy getting ready for his 1st day at the office.Combed our hair to perfection,polished our shoes as clear as a mirror,tied the perfect tie-knot,prayed to the Gods,took our folders and we were off to the office.If life had background music,surely "Aakhon mein sapne liye,gharse hum chal toh diye" would have been the apt song.
Dressed and raring to go,we made our way downstairs,waiting for the others.Alongside were 200-odd people,with the same nervousness on their faces and the same list of documents in their hands.As the others came,we left for the a memorable,yet terrifying experience of our lives.The 10 minute walk seemed like an eternity,with mind wandering away into thoughts of cubicles,projects,deadlines,team members,etc.Finally reaching the building,we were directed towards the cafeteria,where oddly enough,the ever hungry yours truly didn't even look around for food.Shaky hands kept on checking the documents every couple of minutes,as if they were going to vanish in the thin air.The chitter-chatter of the 200 nervous people amplified through the cafeteria,eventually inviting the security guard to intervene.Don't know if it were my anxiousness or the noise around,but i all i could make out was snap,blah blah,bang,blah,snap,pointing towards one end,blah blah and suddenly there was a pin drop silence.The ephemeral silence ended as soon the guard made his way out of the cafeteria,as people resumed to their chitter-chatter.Eventually,we were told to make way to the auditorium.
There is something about auditoriums that always make me feel sleepy.Nothing different was this situation,and so I tried to find a seat at the back rows but being a 'late latif' didn't do me any good.All the preceding seats were occupied as well.During this row scanning process,certain vacant seats in the middle were occupied as well,and the only vacant seats left were the first and the second rows.With no other option left,I went and sat at the seat which seemed relatively farthest from the speaker.Soon all the higher authorities came and gave us an introduction about themselves and the organization after which we were off for lunch.Post lunch,we gathered again in the auditorium, completing the document formalities and called it a day at around 6.30.
2nd day began in pretty much the same fashion.Sleepy from the oil-laden food I had for lunch, I made my way to the auditorium .This time though we were gonna be told our batches.Being an introvert,I wanted someone from the 10 odd people I was acquainted with in the 2 days,to be a part of my batch.One by one,names were being announced.As Mr.Cisco’s name was announced,i crossed my fingers for my name to be a part of the batch as well.Sadly though,I wasn’t a part of the 1st batch.Zaina !
Then came the names of people from the 2nd batch.4-5 names were called,after which I heard my name,and I rose from my half sleepy state and I started noticing the people who were there with me.Soon the list of 40 people was over and as I looked around,none of them were of my acquaintance.Hell,more than 80% of them,I was seeing for the first time.I couldn’t help but bombard a series of swears(in my head) at the person responsible for making these batches.Rubbing salt to the wound was the fact that all of my friends had atleast 1 person of their acquaintance with them.
Still upset with the batch allocation,I made my way back to the hostel,asking people,”Hi,u from A-44?” Dinner was over,and we headed back to the hostel.Met K-pill on the way,cribbed in front of him too about the allocation.K-pill with his ever smiling face told me,”Arre,A-44 na.Yeh bhi A-44 mein hai”,and I met Mukesh Uncle,who also was the CR of our batch.Wow ! My first friend from the batch.Happy I was returning to my room,where I was stopped and invited to Room 201(miss that place),to play the game of Mafia(miss that too!). Ecstatic,I RSVP’d a confirmation.
As I made my way to the room filled with 15 unknown people,playing an unknown game was no different what my situation would have the next day at office,except that the number of people was going to be more.In a way,this was kind of a trailer.Though the trailer seemed like the trailer for Paranormal Activity,a few minutes into it,I turned into an Adam Sandler flick.Soon,I was acquainted to everyone present there,and got a hang of the game as well.1-2 rounds in,double entendres made its entrance and introvert-ism took a back seat,as we laughed and cracked jokes.What started off as a crappy day,turned into quite at eventful one.I returned to room a content person and called it a day.
1st day with the batch.Nervous,I made my way the classroom,as I searched for a familiar/friendly/beautiful face,with a vacant seat besides.Since many had already utilized the output from the above search function,there were barely any places left.I made my way to one of them,and introduced myself to the person next to me,Danny Boy a.k.a. The-man-with-the-golden-voice.As the first session began,our facilitators made us introduce the person sitting next to us,along with his/her favourite food.So ,we got down to work,and to my amazement,Danny Boy was a meat lover like me :).Having introduced my newest buddy,’Sorpotel Danny’ to everyone,I geared up for the next activity. Made quite a few friends by the end of it too,and soon I wished for more of these activities.By the end of it,almost everyone knew everyone.The technical sessions began later,though I’d rather not talk about them.
Next few days were pretty much the same,with an entertaining non-technical session,and 3 technical sessions per day,and mafia in room 201 at the end of the day.Singing,dancing,laughing,coding we made a week into training.Soon tests were announced and sooner tests were conducted as well :P
Finally,the day I was looking forward to since the past 2 months had arrived.As my roommates got ready to give me a sore ass,i prepared myself by tying a pillow to my ass,a method which was used by my roomie,when we gave him a sore ass some days back.As the clock struck 12,phones calls,messages kept coming in,as my roomies waited eagerly for me to hang up,so as to begin the ass whopping.Next day,we headed to the office,as we had an exam the next the.Still,I got a nice surprise birthday celebration amidst the preparation :).
Post test,we were divided into groups for case study.Though was friends with just Danny Boy,soon gelled with the rest of group members as well.Case study was probably the best part the entire first phase,as Petrol Pump and me kept on bugging Danny Boy with our endless pjs.It was during this time that RP and me started our double meaning talks as well.Soon BP joined us as well.With our terrific trio of brothers in place,all that was missing to complete the picture was Mumma.Having recruited her,we went our in search of our dad.Soon Mumma became Mother Ahmedabad,as everyone addressed her as Mumma,with a new brother/sister being added to our family everyday.With project work aside,RP,BP and me kept on making more and more senseless double entendre,from almost every word that ‘came’ from people.
As the year drew towards an end,we had a small celebration organized by our employer.Music,food,fashion show,and a hell lot of a dance as we bid adieu to the year that was,a day before the actual new year(the only sad part about the ‘New Year’ celebration).Though we had a little celebration of our own on 31st night,as well went all over the hostel rooms,wishing everyone,playing music,dancing and as always,at the end of everything,headed to room no.201 for Mafia :) .
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
.. And the journey begins
December 12th,around 5.30 am
After a long,tiring journey,sudden commotion woke me up.People were getting ready to alight,as Ahmedabad station was almost in sight.Quickly,I got up and started taking out luggage hidden under every seat.Half asleep and a bag in each hand,I got out off the train,and looked around at the place which was going to be my home for the next 2 months.I couldnt help but dislike every single thing which I saw.Call it being narrow minded,but still the fact still remained,i missed Mumbai.Though,I loved the cool weather over there.Its the one thing i didnt miss about Mumbai.
I as got out of the station,i saw a bus waiting to pick us up.Alongside were 100 odd aspiring engineers,people who were going to be a part of my mañana.Tired and weary from the journey,didnt really make an effort to know anyone.Loaded my bags in the bus,and climbed aboard.As the engine roared,we began our hour long journey to the campus.The driver,probably pissed at the fact that Vijay Mallaya didnt sign him for Force India F1,decided he didnt need VJM04 to show off his skills.He maneuvered the 5 ton bus,like a 500 kg F1 car,through the streets of Ahmedabad.Cutting corners,running red lights,left side overtaking,u name it.Lewis Hamilton would have been proud of that man.
45-50 mins later,the bus finally halted in front of a gate, and we knew we had reached the campus.Happy not only coz we'd reached,but also the fact that bus had not become a hearse.A few people got down to enquire about our campus.Though we were at the right place,we were at the wrong gate.Arrrggghhh ! Damn these people.What difference does it make if we use a gate for entering as well as leaving the campus.Disappointed we headed back into the bus,only problem being the road was too small to turn the bus around,atleast thats what most of us felt.But the driver had full confidence in his driving abilities.Like before he maneuvered the gigantic vehicle like a hot knife through butter.Michael Schumacher would have been proud of this guy.On we went from one gate to other,through a beautiful road surrounded by trees on both sides.Though this beauty was making it difficult for the bus to make way through it.Slow and carefully,the driver made his way through the road,to reach gate no.2.This time too,the 'Team Leads' went on to enquire about our hostel,but the result still remained the same.Thankfully,this time around we kept the bus on the road.Moving on,we finally reached gate no.3.Team Leads on their work,but surprisingly,this time we got a yes.The bus entered the huge campus and navigated through the roads towards our hostel.
We got down,unloaded the luggage and made our way towards reception.Pacifying myself with the thought that i'll be off to sleep in about 10-20 mins,I made my way to the reception,only to find everyone already in queue,waiting to 'get a room' and doze off.I joined the ever increasing line and waited for my turn.According to my initial research,these rooms were already assigned to each individual and this was merely a handover of the keys and signing of the agreement part of the deal.Surprisingly,rooms were not pre-decided and were alloted to each individual as he came.Seeing this trend,everyone started switching places to be next to their friends.I too squeezed between Mr.Cisco & Dino,either of whom,or even both could have been my roomies.
As I told the receptionist my name,he handed over me sheets to filled.Completing all the required formalities,i handed those sheets back and was told the room I was assigned to.Mr.Cisco was my roomie and Dino was alloted the adjacent room.
Me,Cisco and our newly made friends made our way to the apartment.Making entries in the attendance registers we made way to our room.Ringing the bell,we woke up our roomie on a sunday morning at 7 am(not a pleasant thing to do to an engineer,especially a working engineer).Though he was kind enough to not take offence and showed us our room,where our other roomie was fast asleep.Leaving him be,we kept our luggage towards one corner of the room and left for breakfast.
Having a quick breakfast and making a few acquaintance,the Idea of getting a new SIM struck us.So we said Tata to our new friends and went SIM shopping.Explored the place a little,but the sun got the better off me and I headed to my room for a nice nap.
Waking up in the evening,I started preparing myself for my first day on the job,asking roomie about his experience.Having an early dinner,I headed off to sleep,as the day drew towards an end.
Oh yea,I did miss the fact that I could no longer stay awake till the wee hours of the morning,watching movies,playing games,or just staying awake !
I as got out of the station,i saw a bus waiting to pick us up.Alongside were 100 odd aspiring engineers,people who were going to be a part of my mañana.Tired and weary from the journey,didnt really make an effort to know anyone.Loaded my bags in the bus,and climbed aboard.As the engine roared,we began our hour long journey to the campus.The driver,probably pissed at the fact that Vijay Mallaya didnt sign him for Force India F1,decided he didnt need VJM04 to show off his skills.He maneuvered the 5 ton bus,like a 500 kg F1 car,through the streets of Ahmedabad.Cutting corners,running red lights,left side overtaking,u name it.Lewis Hamilton would have been proud of that man.
45-50 mins later,the bus finally halted in front of a gate, and we knew we had reached the campus.Happy not only coz we'd reached,but also the fact that bus had not become a hearse.A few people got down to enquire about our campus.Though we were at the right place,we were at the wrong gate.Arrrggghhh ! Damn these people.What difference does it make if we use a gate for entering as well as leaving the campus.Disappointed we headed back into the bus,only problem being the road was too small to turn the bus around,atleast thats what most of us felt.But the driver had full confidence in his driving abilities.Like before he maneuvered the gigantic vehicle like a hot knife through butter.Michael Schumacher would have been proud of this guy.On we went from one gate to other,through a beautiful road surrounded by trees on both sides.Though this beauty was making it difficult for the bus to make way through it.Slow and carefully,the driver made his way through the road,to reach gate no.2.This time too,the 'Team Leads' went on to enquire about our hostel,but the result still remained the same.Thankfully,this time around we kept the bus on the road.Moving on,we finally reached gate no.3.Team Leads on their work,but surprisingly,this time we got a yes.The bus entered the huge campus and navigated through the roads towards our hostel.
We got down,unloaded the luggage and made our way towards reception.Pacifying myself with the thought that i'll be off to sleep in about 10-20 mins,I made my way to the reception,only to find everyone already in queue,waiting to 'get a room' and doze off.I joined the ever increasing line and waited for my turn.According to my initial research,these rooms were already assigned to each individual and this was merely a handover of the keys and signing of the agreement part of the deal.Surprisingly,rooms were not pre-decided and were alloted to each individual as he came.Seeing this trend,everyone started switching places to be next to their friends.I too squeezed between Mr.Cisco & Dino,either of whom,or even both could have been my roomies.
As I told the receptionist my name,he handed over me sheets to filled.Completing all the required formalities,i handed those sheets back and was told the room I was assigned to.Mr.Cisco was my roomie and Dino was alloted the adjacent room.
Me,Cisco and our newly made friends made our way to the apartment.Making entries in the attendance registers we made way to our room.Ringing the bell,we woke up our roomie on a sunday morning at 7 am(not a pleasant thing to do to an engineer,especially a working engineer).Though he was kind enough to not take offence and showed us our room,where our other roomie was fast asleep.Leaving him be,we kept our luggage towards one corner of the room and left for breakfast.
Having a quick breakfast and making a few acquaintance,the Idea of getting a new SIM struck us.So we said Tata to our new friends and went SIM shopping.Explored the place a little,but the sun got the better off me and I headed to my room for a nice nap.
Waking up in the evening,I started preparing myself for my first day on the job,asking roomie about his experience.Having an early dinner,I headed off to sleep,as the day drew towards an end.
Oh yea,I did miss the fact that I could no longer stay awake till the wee hours of the morning,watching movies,playing games,or just staying awake !
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Build up to the journey
Post engineering,sans the degree(or results),i eagerly waited for my call letter,not because I wanted to work,I just wanted to have my first pay check,and 1 by 1 start eliminating the plethora of gadgets,and start filling my room with them.After enjoying the initial few months of vacations,I started becoming restless as the months kept passing,with the joining not visible for miles.Soon frustration crept in,but,its prolonged exposure made me immune.Employed,still jobless,I sat in my room,watching movies,playing games,which I once used to be a dream.
As one by one,nearly all colleges in Mumbai had received their call letters,we sat there,waiting for ours,cursing our college authorities for not making an effort.All we kept getting during that time,were mails to verify our details,conduct Bio-metric tests and shit.One thing that I was happy about was the fact that I got to stay in Mumbai longer,as almost all Having lost hopes of getting the joining before the end of the year,checking mails regularly had also become the thing of the past.
One fine afternoon,towards October end,switching between movies,Call of duty,I stumbled upon my Call of duty,which was nothing less than finding kryptonite.After going through the mail,which stated I had to report to Ahmedabad office,on 13th Decemeber,I realized,the joining could not have come at a better time,as I would get to celebrate my birthday with my friends,as I always wanted.Also,the fact that I wasn't very far away from Mumbai,made me even happier.
After sharing the news with my family,I quickly messaged my friends about the same.As excited as a man who was just told he had become a father,I started preparing a list of all the movies I had to watch & games I needed to play within the next month,as my mom started preparing a list of food items she had to prepare in the same time.
As the days kept passing,slowly life started getting serious.This I can say from the fact that suddenly my Iron Maiden,Metallica t-shirts started making way for ties & shirts.Crap! As they say,no pain,no gain.
Clothes,shoes,documents were soon out of the cupboard,as my room became an obstacle course,with me having to navigate through bags,wires,clothes lying all around.
As the month of November drew towards the end,I started to count my last few days in Mumbai,thinking about how things are gonna suck in Ahmedabad.With less than a week left for me to leave the city,Mr.Ha-Horses got posted to Ahmedabad,and had to report within the very next day.As we had a makeshift farewell for him,I put myself in his shoes,thinking in about 5 days,i'll be the one who'll be getting a farewell.
11th Decemeber 2010.Bidding adieu to the city which had been my home ever since I was born,wasn't easy.At the station meeting up everyone,who had been a part of my daily routine for the past 4 years,for last time wasn't easy either.At the platform,waiting at for the train,cracking stupid jokes,teasing friends,irritating cousins,I realized how much I am gonna miss all of this.
Alas,the train was at the station.With no option other than boarding it,I waved one last time to family,friends alike,as I embarked upon a journey,which I didn't really wanted to go on.
As one by one,nearly all colleges in Mumbai had received their call letters,we sat there,waiting for ours,cursing our college authorities for not making an effort.All we kept getting during that time,were mails to verify our details,conduct Bio-metric tests and shit.One thing that I was happy about was the fact that I got to stay in Mumbai longer,as almost all Having lost hopes of getting the joining before the end of the year,checking mails regularly had also become the thing of the past.
One fine afternoon,towards October end,switching between movies,Call of duty,I stumbled upon my Call of duty,which was nothing less than finding kryptonite.After going through the mail,which stated I had to report to Ahmedabad office,on 13th Decemeber,I realized,the joining could not have come at a better time,as I would get to celebrate my birthday with my friends,as I always wanted.Also,the fact that I wasn't very far away from Mumbai,made me even happier.
After sharing the news with my family,I quickly messaged my friends about the same.As excited as a man who was just told he had become a father,I started preparing a list of all the movies I had to watch & games I needed to play within the next month,as my mom started preparing a list of food items she had to prepare in the same time.
As the days kept passing,slowly life started getting serious.This I can say from the fact that suddenly my Iron Maiden,Metallica t-shirts started making way for ties & shirts.Crap! As they say,no pain,no gain.
Clothes,shoes,documents were soon out of the cupboard,as my room became an obstacle course,with me having to navigate through bags,wires,clothes lying all around.
As the month of November drew towards the end,I started to count my last few days in Mumbai,thinking about how things are gonna suck in Ahmedabad.With less than a week left for me to leave the city,Mr.Ha-Horses got posted to Ahmedabad,and had to report within the very next day.As we had a makeshift farewell for him,I put myself in his shoes,thinking in about 5 days,i'll be the one who'll be getting a farewell.
11th Decemeber 2010.Bidding adieu to the city which had been my home ever since I was born,wasn't easy.At the station meeting up everyone,who had been a part of my daily routine for the past 4 years,for last time wasn't easy either.At the platform,waiting at for the train,cracking stupid jokes,teasing friends,irritating cousins,I realized how much I am gonna miss all of this.
Alas,the train was at the station.With no option other than boarding it,I waved one last time to family,friends alike,as I embarked upon a journey,which I didn't really wanted to go on.
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