Kahaani me twist - Re-hired!

I was happily under TCS Hangover, that I got one more element of surprise that Life always manages to give me, just to make things interesting enough to be blogged about. I got a call from Tata Motors for an interview. Yes, the very company which I had been trying hard now for almost half a year. I had almost lost hope and had moulded my mind to be ready for whatever opportunity I get and I did too. "Why now?" was the only thing that came in my mind. I was happy, no doubt about that, but somewhere the happiness was hesitant. I agreed to be interviewed but my mind was still solving puzzles to understand whats happening. I couldnot understand why am I not entirely happy, when the opportunity to be associated with Automobiles had come knocking my doors, which I had been trying relentlessly and failed consistently right from 10th class!

I went for the interview. The office was like my home ground as I had done my summers there. The interviewer had seen me roaming clueless around dealerships. He quipped whether I was looking for a second Innings and I nodded in firm agreement. Then the Regional Head wanted to be convinced whether I was fit enough for the Job. I got a call informing that I was selected and I will receive the offer soon. I did get the offer which was too less for me to relocate out of Mumbai and then started a really long period of negotiations. Throughout this period I was being seduced by the awesome bucks TCS offered and its assumed comfortable Job Role with a possible chance of going abroad and earning a lot more awesome bucks! It was like making a choice between an arranged match and true love. Finally they agreed to pay more at the fag end. Today being the first day of me joining Tata Motors, I cant  help but to believe that Success is like a Butterfly, You run after it...it runs away..and when you stand still, It comes and sits on you. What? Was it for happiness and not success? Well it suits me this way.

Hired!

"Why MBA?" - this is one question that keeps haunting you right since you were preparing for the never ending entrance tests, when you get admissions, when you are studying for the course. You kept lying to yourself that you were doing it for growth, higher degree, value addition and all other blahs that you learnt during the course. But 21st Jan 2011 was the day when I had the moment of truth, I looked at the mirror and I found the answer - "I need a job". I knew that day was different.

Placements is the most emotionally charged event in an MBA college. Especially when you are in a Tier2 college.This is when you actually witness the supply-demand gap you have been learning about. A typical Tier2 MBA student is a 24 something who couldnot crack CAT and with some work-experience which is considered inadequate both in terms of quality as well as quantity by most of the recruiters. This guy is in a dilemma, he waits for something that does justice to his profile, while recruiters feel such profile are not doing justice to their high paying jobs. This is where frustration creeps in. In this frustration, you can witness scenes like people getting ecstatic for not getting selected while you can also see tears rolling down the cheeks for getting selected - Insane!

After being not selected (Although some people like to read it as 'rejected', I prefer this way), for 3 occasions, this time I had mentally prepared to fight to win. This is exactly what I did during, the otherwise very burdening process for me, GD. I started the GD for the first time in my life, there I sensed that 'I have arrived!". There was no looking back after that, I got shortlisted for the PI which was a smooth sail and it did have a happy end with finally getting to hear my name being announced by the Placement Manager as a selection for TCS E-serve! This day I came to  know the real meaning of the statement - "Attitude and not aptitude is what matters"

Adventures of the Govt 3 : The Goan Hogfest!

       My dear friend Craig rightly says, "I guess we spent the entire 2010 eating". If the Chinese have 'The year of Tiger, Mongoose, Snakes etc', the government surely can name 2010 as The year of Hogging. We have been spending weekends hogging at possibly the best places in and around Mumbai, all those places which once we used to feel intimidated entering. Surely the Governments GDP is growing! We decided to give the year of hogging a much deserved climax - The Goan Hogfest!

     It was a chilly December morning, 5:45 am to be precise, when Craig's Dark Wife (his nick for his much beloved Black Alto) took a roar after being put to the first gear. The Trance Music blended effortlessly with the 100 kph cruise along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. We touched NH4 at the break of dawn, and it was all a smooth ride through blooming sugar cane fields all along till Goa. We reached Mapusa in the evening and finally manged to find ourself a roof for just one day as for the rest days it was already arranged. Staying in Goa for 420 bucks for a day at the center of city was itself a great start. The night at '9 bar' at Vegathore was amazing with an international DJ getting us into the groove.

The rest 3 days we spent eating at some of the best places in Goa, Johncy's at Benaulim, Brittos at Baga, Lobo's at Calangute, Infantaria at Baga Road and Kashi's Diary at Vasco. No that is not a spelling mistake, thats how the Propreiter wishes to name his resto. Kashi's may not be as well known as other places, but yeah you get one of the most amazing Parathas, Chhole bauture, Jalebi, Mava Cake and Tea! It served as a welcome veggie break every morning to cure the Sea-food Hangover. The count of species that we had will surely make our tummies eligible to be called as aquarium. We had a great dinner on Jan 31st at Lobos and Finally we spent the new year inside our beloved Dark wife, cutting the blue berry cake from Infantaria away from the crowd, noise, buzz! Just with ourselves.

It was possibly one of the best times we had together, yet there was current of thought flowing somewhere inside the sea of enjoyment, that probably we may lead different lives from 2011, each having their own priorities. So this was the moment, and we wanted to live it to the fullest. This celebration of all the good times we had together propelled a great amount of 'josh' in me to look forward for 2011 which is going to be a great year. I am standing at the crossroads, this year is going to be the time when I chose the right roads for me both personally and professionally. 2011...here I am!

An Odyssey called 'Enthiran'

When you do Internet Booking for a movie scheduled early Sunday morning, you are sure not many would be interested in spoiling their post-saturday extra sleephours. I was disappointed with the show timing, as I was not just going to watch the movie, but to live the experience. But I was wrong. Rajnikanth has once again proved that he doesnt go by the law of nature. For a moment, I partially started believing all the Rajni Jokes floating around the net and sms. This man has made a mob throng the posh multiplex along with their kids, grandparents and even extended families. The ladies made the air fragrant with the garlands of jasmine as their hair ornaments. I felt close to being a proud southie now. It was this experience I wanted to witness and the buzz around hinted me about whats in store ahead.

The doors opened as people rushed in to grab their seats. Within few minutes, the entire audi was full to brim and you would easily mistake it for a theater in chennai. The show began and the men did give AR's background score tough competition with their whistles and hoots. And this was just for the credits at the beginning mentioning the name "SuperStar Rajnikanth". I always used to think that the film is being made on a robot just because you can make Rajni do anything as a robot which was otherwise not possible. But as the movie progressed I realised this was probably the most realistic Rajni movie I have seen in recent times. Shankar had a clear picture in mind when he planned for the movie. Some visually exhilarating songs at exotic locales like machu-pichu and futuristic sets does affect the pace of the excellent screenplay. But then you cannot dissapoint the typical thalaivan follower. He has come there to see this and some more. He whistles when the robo-rajni speaks to a mosquito convincing it to not to bite the dumb-bimbo Aishwarya Rai (the only turn-off in the entire movie). Even the tin-box mini-robot in the movie acts better than her. This woman is the reason in the movie why we got to see all those rajni-robo clones formations. Brilliantly shot sequences towards the climax and breath taking special effects is the movie's forte that even a non-rajni fan should enjoy. I expected less from the movie, but I have to say Shankar has taken Indian Cinema to the next level with all the special effects and a very novel concept. 

Along with this, there was a parallel experience which I was witnessing. My Dad, who has taken me and my bro around when we were kids, was visibly happy to see the reverse of that happening. We ate at the same udupi resto where we had been during our childhood. There I recalled a particular scene in enthiran, when my dad hooted! That moment, I truly felt thankful to rajni and the makers of the movie. If you call Enthiran a movie, it would be an insult. Its an experience. DOT!

Once upon a time in Shanti Nagar

"Weekend Ganpati" - this is the term that I have coined for the Ganesh Utsav in my building. This is the sixth year for the celebration since I shifted here and I still fail to understand, after shelling out 500 bucks per family, you get the divine darshan for not more than 2 days. The teenagers are busy with their playstations, girlfirends etc so they dont have the time to organise. A weekend utsav of one and half days is a symbol of changing times in urban india. The point to be noted here is not the inefficiencies of my housing society members, but the way things change from a colony of lower middle class families to a step above and with time.

I still remember the days I spent at Mount Galaxy CHS, my childhood, my schooling days. I used to rush from school as soon as the final bell was heard to attend the afternoon arti at Ganesh Utsav organised by us. We were a bunch of 12-14 yr olds who used to go door-to-door collecting Rs. 20 wonly from families, some reluctant, some bargaining, some generous. The day when the Idol is brought, the entire Building Residents gather around the gallery to catch the glimpse of Lord Ganesha and hailing "Ganpati Bappa Morya!!" as we dance to the dhols of highly negotiated Dhol Teams. We then take the lord to his home, a shoddy room under the water tank on the terrace, modified to seat the Lord. Every year we had different themes of decoration, ranging from snow capped himalayas to Forts to seven wonders, all handcrafted by the baccha party with help from the elders to save money.

The artis and poojas will run for atleast  7 to 10 days. On the last day, we would again Hire a Dhol Team sometimes shared with the neighbour hood Building. Our sardar uncle staying in ground floor would give his tempo for the noble cause of Visarjan. We would all dance till our second last breath, moving at a snails pace to the nearest talao. After an hour of dance-marathon, we would sing the final arati with our throats struggling to gather voice. Then we say the final goodbye to the lord and ask him to come soon next year. While going back riding on the carrier of the empty tempo, we would all discuss sadly, how much fun we had for all the days. We would reach our building, seal prasads in a small zip pack pocket and distribute it to the 84 rooms we had in the building. And finally at night, we would all have a small party, with all the money saved (legally :) ) Those were truly the best days of my life.