Campus Live!

"Wake up man...wake up"!! Somebody was trying to detach me from my beloved bed and that too on a Sunday morning, not at all acceptable. And despite the fact that everybody knows in my home, I get really wild if provoked while asleep. I was trying to hide under the pillow, the bed sheet but to no effect. The intruder was determined to get me out of my den. Thats it....now taste the bitter revenge was all I thought before shouting..."GET LOST". But to my dismay, instead of him backing off, I got a tight slap, enough to wake even a dead body in grave. My hangover(of sleep ofcourse) had already fled through the window of eyes and I could see my college friend in rage and my family smiling as if enjoying my plight.

"Its already late you Idiot", Ram shouted. Instead of listening to my morning hymns of Atif Aslam, I had to bear the unpleasant brunt of Ram."Don't you remember, today is entrance test for a software company??", Ram continued. "So, you have disturbed me for that. You said that they do not need Mech guys, didn't you?", it was my turn now. "I was kidding, here is your admit card, now get ready real fast...", I could hear the urgency in his voice, so I did not continue the combat.

I got ready within 15 minutes, my best lap time since a long while. That is an advantage if you are a hydrophobic person, and I behave as one, once a week, ok..ok...relax, twice in a week..fine! We took blessings of Mom and Dad and scolding of my elder sis, since we were hijacking her scootret because as usual, my bike was too thirsty to reach the nearest petrol pump. We reached our destination, an engineering college on the outskirts of city. By the time we reached, I had my breakfast on the scootret itself, as Ram was uttering all the curses he had ever heard in my ears sitting at backseat.

I had never been to such a mass gathering with students flocking from all over the city. Ram was searching for the information help desk and I was looking for some other help desk, which can only be searched at such places. But before, my search could have delivered some matching results, Ram intervened. Our test was scheduled in the next 15 mins, so we rushed for the respective examination hall. Everybody looked so tense, as if it were their last chance to get a job. On the contrary, I was relaxed because I knew what was bound to happen. Even if I cleared the test, I would be kicked out saying,"you belong to a different domain".

However, to my delight, the duration of test was 30 mins only. It was too little a time to get bored. After the test, I came out to see the post-test side-effects. Everyone were discussing their performance and speculating the cut-off. Some people were boasting of their approach and some could be seen dissatisfied. Ram and I belonged to neither of these categories. We were too hungry to get into such discussions. So we headed for the canteen and started filling our starved bellies. After another 2 hours of crowd browsing and "face of the day" search, we joined students in the amphitheater for the results of the Aptitude test. Roll numbers were called causing tides of smiles and frowning in the mass. I was busy asking for parties from people selected and consoling friends who missed the bus. I was waiting for call for Ram, since he is from Computer Science and it was a software firm. But we were shocked, when the announcer bypassed his roll no. I proposed exit but Ram insisted to wait till my roll call. I argued that it was a waste of time, but he insisted. And it was fortunate that we waited, I was short-listed.... What a dilemma, I was not sure whether to feel happy for myself or feel sad for Ram. Although Ram made it easy by announcing a treat for me but I was feeling guilty deep inside....

The next day, I was going alone for subsequent rounds without Ram at the back seat. But that is the irony of life, you cannot have sweets in both hands at the same time and even if you have, I bet you would not be able to eat even one of them, because somebody would snatch it from you ... Anyways, I reached the scheduled venue. Although the number of students had decreased but still enough to get lost in the crowd. So, I decided to find a company to kill the time till the next round, i.e. Group Discussion. I had heard that in GD, people discuss some topic to the extent, it transforms into quarrel. My college mates were preparing for the same. Some had dived deep in books, some took shelter in news-papers. And I, not sure what to do, joined a group discussing yesterday's match.


I hadn't had any preparation but just one strategy, to join a group consisting of people whom I considered dumb enough to dominate the GD. But shrewd mind and bad luck is a deadly combination... and so instead of jumping to and fro, I got into a group of ferocious orators, in short... threats to me. We were sent to a small room, with 6 chairs arranged in a circular fashion. I took a chair adjacent to relatively weak opponents. I had made a back up plan till then and that was, as soon as the coordinator would say the word,"Go", I would have a bite into the topic and threw the flesh for others to fight. But again.... I lost the opportunity. Thats it, one, two...just when the third guy was about to start, I snatched the words from his mouth. Haah...I thought I had secured myself. And to top the cake with cherry, I concluded the discussion and.....done!


Now, the last nail in the coffin, the Interview. After group discussion, all my mech-mates had departed. I was the Last Samurai, who had to fight for the honour against the odds. I was sitting there, watching IT guys churning pages of dot.net, java and what not. Elex people were busy with their Antennae and transistors and me.....I knew, the panel would not even know the M of Mechanical Engineering. So he would have to believe whatever I say, and that was my only chance..if at all!


Small chairs enough to accomodate 3, were arranged outside the interview rooms. I was sitting there.....I dont know why, but I get strange notions when I should feel the heat and panic. This time, I was feeling like a patient sitting outside Doctors cabin, waiting for my turn and tell him my ailments. I could see others going in tensed and coming out sometimes relieved and sometimes vulnerable. The girl sitting beside me was from the host college. So I thought of teasing her since she had bright chances of getting selected, but she seemed to be more engrossed in biting nails, then responding to my sarcasm. However, the other neighbor smiled at my effort and struck conversation.To my surprise, he was also from Mech and had to be interviewed before me. He was also unperturbed like me and was ready for any challenge thrown at him. I guess it is an inherent quality or a silly virtue that comes being a mech student.

Anyways, he went in and came back in just 10 minutes, a new record till then and that too with a smile. It was not evident whether he would make it or not but he had fun, that was for sure. Now it was my turn, but I did not get the call. I sat there waiting for another half an hour. Others came, went in and get back. But I was fixed there as if to company chairs. Thats it, I stood up and inquired for the delay because my plastic smile was decaying. And that was then, I was told that my documents were missing. And I sighed a breathe of relief. Unusual right??? but actually with me it is not. In fact if things are going smooth, I get worried. Thats how it goes with me! It was around 8'o clock in the evening, when I was called in.

I greeted the person occupying the chair on the opposite side of the table, a middle aged person in his late forties. He was turning pages of my credentials and when he returned back from his journey, he turned to me."What do you know about computers?". "I know many things but in bits and pieces.", was all I replied. The score became 0 for 1 wicket. "Do you know C, C++?", was his next question. Although I knew on conceptual level, I knew it was a trap inviting further bouncers. And so I gambled making a sad face in a implicit No.The score became 0 for 2 wickets. I knew I could be given out, but I did not want to stretch the ordeal longer. I was waiting for his final words, "Thanks, you may go now." But whats this....he said," Tell me about your final year project." I didn't expect this....a half volley and that too in the last overs of the match. I was onto it in a fraction of seconds to take the score to 330/2. I explained him all the details and tried to seek the expression in his eyes. But he was an experienced player, he did not gave even the slightest hint of his opinion.

Although it seemed ages when I had been inside but friends outside told me, I was the new record holder with less then 5 mins duration of interview. It meant just two things either I had done exceptionally well or miserably wrong. Then we had to wait for another 3 hours to listen to our fate, first job or a new search. Everybody was exhausted of day long activity but the hope of getting a job was keeping them alive. The night had fallen over and the stars were all eyes as if waiting for our result. I made many new friends and discussed almost all the topics under the moon, ranging from canteen's samosa to director's corsa. But still there was no end to our anxiety. In fact, a girl and a guy, one of my acquaintances had taken almost 30 rounds of the square building in just one hour! He was having the time of his life when we were dying of anxiety. I prayed to God to end his verbal honeymoon and to Satan for his exclusion and inclusion of the girl and myself. After all, she was one of the few pretty faces of our college. But I never got the chance to talk to her. And today, although I tried to strike the conversation chord, she did not respond as per my liking. And thats quite obvious, anybody would choose to concentrate on interview rather than on a stranger. Since she played being the anybody, I had to play nobody for her! So in her quest for job, I got the jab.


However, at last we all were called in. A formal speech of thanks and suggestions for the people who were not shortlisted preceded the results. We were clinching hands of each other....eagerly
waiting. Smiles, tears, hugs and applauds. Amidst all the turbulence, my ears were waiting to hear the roll no. that could change the course of my life. Already 30 people were selected, so my chances were pretty less, but you never know... "Shalab Chaturvedi", did I hear my name??? my friends turned towards me....yes, I did....! What an emotion...what a feel....no words could describe what was going through my mind. Was I happy, surprised, shocked ??? I was not able to decide. I had made it......just 5 mech guys in selected 67 and I was one of them! But the funny part of it was, some IT people were looking at me in such disgust as if I had snatched their bread.. and in a way, that was true also.

And yes, I hate Satan since then, he heard me but not properly. The girl did not get selected but the guy. He is my room mate now!