The year that was.....

I`ve always wanted to believe dat I had a multiple personality boon(yep I refuse to call it a disorder..its way too exciting to be branded as a syndrome… too much of inspiration drawn from Tell me your dreams, I believe)..today I give the ‘retrospective one’ a chance to rise and shine forth (dis is dat one time every year when this personality gets a lot of importance…being content remaining in the wings for the better part of the year)...

What was year 2006 like …Was it Special ? Disastrous ? Satisfying ? Frustrating ? Overwhelming ?....What adjective do I pin down this year with in the diary of my life…

There were quite a few very memorable moments and others of deep anguish as well…

Flashback-December 31st 2005
A New Year`s Eve party at my colony on a chilly Bangalore night. It was an out and out couples special. My newly married sis with bro-in-law in tow ,smiling away,Uncles and aunties gobbling up the lavish spread of dishes and watching da kids playing nearby,groups of young couples engrossed in animated discussions, and of course Mum and Dad glowing with their new found In-laws status and mingling around…. I felt kinda lost in all this bonhomie…shivering in the cold while others basked in the warmth of each others company…what was I doing out there?? My participation limited to taking pics of Didi-Jiju and Mum and Dad putting their best foot forward in the various couples special games that were organized…
As the countdown started to usher the New Year in …one of the things I hoped for was to do away with this feeling of emptiness within….Little did I know what this year had in store for me …

It wasn’t a very eventful year …But those events which do show promise of shaping up the course of my life are but a couple…

The first being a personal high and soon after followed by a very unexpected professional high…

April 30th 2006 … (in the midst of the grueling 6th SEM exams…no less) the almighty granted me that wish which I had so subconsciously made on New Year’s Eve. I wouldn’t say I met the guy of my dreams (prototypes of abhishek bachan-lookalikes sweating away at Fermi labs or some cute nerdy scientist are the kinda guys who frequent my dreams ),who swept me off my feet …nah, I guess im way too guarded to spout clichés like that. But yes, I got the right kinda vibes from a very genuine person with whom it has been a joy ride till now…touchwood !!

Then came the day when I got to know how it feels to call home and announce... “Daddy, I got placed”…Your first job offer…

May 22nd 2006…It was placement time at college and the biggies came calling just before college closed down for the summer break … On a whim I had decided that I wont sit for The Big Three … companies T,I and W and thereby dint register myself for them….Despite immense cajoling from friends to atleast appear for the written test for T , I stubbornly refused to give in and launched myself into a marathon Erich Segal books-reading-spree…On that balmy Monday morning as I was deep into Erich Segal`s Acts of Faith and mulling over the lives of Jews, Israel , the holocaust and the like (alone in my hostel room … roomies dearests had gone to attend the pre-placement-talk of company ‘I’)…I got a call from Manish …”Sweta, come fast …the ‘I’ ppl are allowing students to give the written test those who haven’t registered also….just come down to college asap”…I dunno what made me get up like a zombie from my cozy bed, get ready and reach college armed with just a pen.As I sat down in my allotted seat in the written test hall…I asked myself what was I doing here…with zilch preparation and not having attended the PPT, "what am I doing in this hall…" just then a guy from ‘I’ asks…

‘Gimme your resume’
‘I don’t have one sir’
‘Okay gimme a copy of your marksheet’
‘I haven’t brought one sir’
‘Do you have a passport-sized photo of yours atleast??’ (bordering on exasperation..)
‘Im sorry sir ,but I don’t have one right now’..

He smiles …a sarcastic one at that…”okay, I don’t think I should but im allowing you to write the test, good luck and get the necessary documents for the interview ” ( I bet he was dying to add..’If at all you manage to clear this written test’)….
I hurried through the test and rushed back to the hostel where Neha dearest typed out a make-shift resume as I dictated out its contents while I was getting ready…My wingies who dropped by were zapped to find me getting ready for the interview …”Werent you roaming around in the hostel in the morning…when did you scoot off for the test ??”,”But how are you gonna face the interview … you hadn’t even started preparing for placements”….these were just few of the questions…as Neha went to get my resume and marksheet printed…I brought out my albums and hunted for a decent pic which I could cut my foto out from…this would serve as the passport size photo…
I set out to college with mixed feelings….what if I haven’t cleared the written stage ??..what the heck …Ill get back to finishing that novel .On reaching college im informed that I am selected for the interviews… the first words that rang in my head were “Damn, dat novel will have to wait”…After a wait of three hours im ushered into the interview room…
“Wow, cute guy….even if I don’t get through it`ll be nice chatting with him”…now when I reminisce ,I really cant fathom how these words could arise in my mind when I was facing the first job interview of my life…
A barrage technical questions…some puzzles and a few other company related questions later …im asked “So sweta , what do u think about the PPT given today morning??”.... Now how was I to reveal .."sir, when you people were giving that ppt today morning I was downing masala dosa and idlis in the mess"...I flash my best smile and say “It was a very informative one sir and very impressive too” and start sending SOS signals to God. “God, please don’t let him quiz me on the ppt, pl God….please”…and before I know it the interviewer gives me a rare dimpled smile and extends his hand …”It was nice meeting you sweta. Welcome to ‘I’”….I shake his hands and come out of the room… knowing deep within that perhaps I`ve made it….
I come back to the hostel …freshen up and at midnight head back to college to know the result…
There, huddled among a coupla hundred hopefuls ,I stand waiting …
Then the ‘I’ people emerge …hey that’s my interviewer making the announcements … now starts a steady stream of names being called out of those who have made it…somewhere down the middle of it he looks up from the paper smiles at my direction and calls out my name ….
Im numb for a while…friends hugging me …some others shaking my hands like maniacs …all this doesn’t register within me for sometime…
I somehow disengage myself from the crowd and make that call…
“Daddy, I got placed ...."