Once Pubilus Syrus said , 'No one knows what he can do till he tries', I just kept on trying opportunities, Diwali passed soon as it came. It was a regular duty for me to check e-mails twice a day. 13th Nov '04, was such a regular day checking e-mails, my new Nokia 1100 rang in full volume with my mom's call. Mom asked me to guess good news but she couldn't wait till I answer and wished me for new offer from MBT. I couldn't believe and also I haven't seen a new e-mail stating that, but I saw it was already read. Well, my friend Vicky did my job prior and he shared that to my mom.
It was long ago, I have got something good, something inspiring. I felt like crying, may be little more than that. All those tough days and humiliations screened in front of my eyes in fast forward mode. I want to run madly to see my mom and dad to tell them I did it, leaving bike in the internet cafe. Even I forgot to take printout immediately. Took my bike home, my mom blessed me with a kiss and dad shook hands. May be that moment of my life is called "pursuit of happiness" (Copyrights: Will Smith). From then till I reached Pune on 18th Nov, everything at home was splendid.
Pune was the farthest place I ever traveled and northest region ever reached. All I knew in Hindi was 'Paani Puri and Bhel Puri'. Everything in life was new, it's my nature to adopt a situation quickly, after all, the humiliations I faced hammered this character in me. MBT - Mahindra British Telecom, 5000 employees (now 25k and more) and plenty of opportunities, I love(d) to say that I work for this company (nobody but MBT offered me a career).
19th Nov '04 'Friday' - I may not exist tomorrow or reach any heights in future, whatever happens this is 'The date' that I will never forget even if I get memory loss like 'Ghajini - Aamir'. I can say my life started from this day. I got dressed-up formally, wore a smile on face and met 29 other dreamers, none of them were looking sober and passive, they were filled with tonnes of energy and enthusiasm, and mostly having different family background, different by society, state and languages. Like many of you, my induction @ MBT was truly professional (saying this because of the comfort given). Couple of happy faces from HR department appeared and facilitated to complete the formalities, couple of little moments were made like first salary account and first employee code.
We met again on Monday to know what they need from us. Then the real drama started, two weeks of behavioral training were happy honeymoon days, a calm before the storm. Those were ice breaking sessions, very funny, I really felt high on confidence, made friends and understood my competitors. Played some team building games and involved in tough arguments with own mates, everyday was interesting and came across different people, unusual environment and I started liking it. First time after high school days, I enjoyed everyday and slept every night peacefully. I don't know enough words to exactly describe how I felt those days.
The real challenge was Technical training, there was list of 10 areas to be cleared and were given 45 days to complete. We all knew it could be done and also it would be tough. I knew if failed to clear 7 in one attempt and 3 in two attempts, I will be fired. Perhaps I was very close to it, after every evaluation I used to call my mom and tell her I will be coming back to Coimbatore, as usual she used to convince and advised me to compete harder. Some days I worked overnight all alone and worked on the weak areas. My mates were busy saving their life and career, I had partner and she helped me to some extent. Some how, with Gods grace I survived in the border and was given a direct-contract employment for an year. I was happy to survive but not satisfied with the performance shown. But, I didn't have any regrets as I gave something next to my best and got to know my weakness. I was prepared to improve my weaknesses and use my strengths. I was not allocated to any project immediately so went on leave for 3 days after this mind blowing training.
There were more exciting moments after joining back...
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