Well, LANCO was one of the many dreams that I had beheld in my eyes and it seemed quite achievable as well. I had prepared well for it. With the guidance of seniors already placed there, I had studied my subjects quite well..may be..
It was October 13, 2011, midnight, 11:50 p.m. or so. I was just brushing up on my concepts. Was too lazy nd bored of studying Thermodynamics for the past 2-3 days that it was being unbearable for me to study more..plus the excitement of what will happen morrow had already made my heart pound faster. At 12 o’ clock, while the phone nearby showed it to be October 14, I called up Rishab. It was his birthday. “Hi..Happy Birth day.!!”. “Oh, bday agaya..mein to bhool hi gaya tha..:P”, he replied. Typical one night before the interview conversation followed. “Kya karliya??”, “yar padhne ka mann nahi kar raha..”, “oye fb pe aja”, as weird and hilarious it could be, it was. It was the time for some facebooking then.
“Janamdin Mubarak ho..aapko aaj wo mile jiske peeche YMCA ka poora 4th year bhaag raha hoga..LANCO.!!” was what i wrote on his wall. Likes and comments followed but the repartee was short lived coz I had to wake up at 4 o’ clock to board the first bus to college and it was already 1. We bid goodnights and good lucks to each other and slept..atleast I did..:P
It was 8:22 am by my watch when I deboarded the rickety bus and entered the college premises. It was all calm and serene. Nobody apart from the gate keepers and the sweepers were visible. I was the first one to reach. I called up Rishab again, “Kaha hai??”, “Kab tak ayega??”, “Jab pohoche to bata diyo, gadi me samaan rakhna hai.” People started coming. The usual, and necessary and inevitable greetings followed. Exchange of smiles took place. Smiles that are fake sometimes, sometimes are a tool to avoid any conversation. (I really am pissed at my college and its people). Anyways, with Mr. Raina’s idiosyncrasies and apprehensions, we finally began with the presentation by the company officials.
It was good. Power generation had already fascinated me during my training at the Thermal Power Plant at Panipat and the location and the site pics plus the grandeur of the Head Office of the company made me realise: “This is the job that I want, no matter what..!!’ and the result of the initial aptitude cum screening test reinforced my faith in that dream. The two of us were happy and enthused and excited. As soon as the schedule of interviews was announced, I put on my brand new Navy blue Cantabil tie that I was so dying and wanting to wear for so long. We had thought of getting new display pics(with a new beaming smile) for our fb profiles and we were waiting for those poses nd clicks. “Yar ho jayega..andar se feeling arahi hai.” But destiny had something else in store for us.
Rishab was done with his interview. As soon as he came out, I caught hold of him, “kesa hua??”, “kya poocha.??” “Yaar..welding me types of joints nahi strike kiye..” and the smile had lost its sheen. I kept on asking each and every one who went in and came out. Kept on sub-vocalising answers to questions like- “tell us something about yourself”, “what is your favourite subject?”, “you have no problem in going far away from home?” kept on re-revising them in my mind. Minutes before the interview I was relaxed had had stopped thinking about any “damn” question. In fact, I was enjoying the company of Preeti and Siddhartha, the two juniors of mine. All of a sudden someone called my name and shiver ran down my spines. I jumped outta my seat and raced towards the interview panels.
I had been called before my scheduled number on the list. The interviewer was highly impressed by my CV. As I entered, I greeted him and he replied with a smile. There was kind of an assurance in his smile, that don’t worry, we are here to take you. But I, on the contrary, was a bit terrified. Actually a bit gloomy and I have no clue why? “So you’re Piyush Gupta.” “Tell me something about yourself.” Instead of the detailed frofile that I ahd prepared in my mind, I only spoke about mom, dad and bhai. He was happy and smiling and assuring. And I was, I don’t know why, fearful and gloomy. He asked me about my favourite subjects. What had begun on a positive and confident note transformed into a cricket match with he throwing googlies and I managing to bat each one he threw. At the end he said, “theeeeek hai” and I was assured that I’m not gonna get this job, the dream job.
The day passed on and the two of us were roaming around here and there, waiting for a miracle to happen..you know that “ek umeed ki kiran” but our fate had already been sealed. I could hear the crowd shouting with ecstacy and merry making at Mr. Raina’s announcement of the results when I had called Harsh to enquire “kitno ka hua..aur kis kis ka??” I was fast asleep in my seat when we reached Rishab’s home. It took me a while to see what was happening around. His parents, his mausi and Satvik, his cousin were waiting at the door with cake in hands. This was the first time I had celebrated at a time I wasn’t happy, but your bestest friends day is no less an occasion :P and surprisingly the sadness had already given way to confidence and positivity. That there will be a next time when errors won’t be there and I’ll emerge victorious too. The whole episode had filled me with immense strength. I had a great time with the Sinhas: the family on wheels. I even played with satvik the new game we had devised. I was not crying and cribbing for not having made it. I was, instead, more confident, more positive and more liberated. I was smiling. “Shayad tera aur mera ek saath hi hoga”, said Rishab and I grinned with a spark in my eyes. The mere thought of being with my bestest buddy makes me the happiest person on earth and with the same in my mind, I ended the day that was so eventful and tiring and enervating, with this thought:
Success is a function of time..Aaj nahi to kal sahi..:-) :-) ;-)
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