TIME: 6:30 am
I dont actually remember what day it was but i can vividly remember and still paint an immaculate image of the day in my mind. I woke up(the adverb late to be added here and henceforth as needed) to the usual sounds that complemented my every mornings. It was just as any other day started.With mom and utensils raging a war in the kitchen.Dad buried deep inside the morning paper and all i saw was the hot fumes from the morning coffee coming up from it. I went on with my chores and soon i was dressed up in my lucky(which i call them now) shirt and trousers. I had to admit that i did look good in those. Time seemed to have got a pair of new wings.Time 7:15 am
Shoe was an obvious problem. I never owned a pair of formal shoes since the time i started
wearing them. My reebok sneakers winked up from the shoes stand,but this was not the time. I chose one of dad's shoes and settled down to wear them. CHAOS!! it was just half the size of my feet and i sat there wriggling and squeezing my feet into it. Finally i had them crammed into the tiny pair of shoes!
Time 7:50 am
The clock it seemed was in a haste as i hurriedly had a peck of the breakfast and flew out. Mom wished me luck and dad was chanting out the usual "DO's" and "DONT DO's". I ran out and started my 'activa' and before i knew i was dodging fellow commuters on the heavy traffic roads.The ride to the center was one of the longest and tedious i ever made.. I had to reach Marian College of Engineering at Kazhakootam and for me it was about driving from one end of the city to another. Why on earth they didnt choose our college which was more accessible i will never know!
A railway crossing.. a busy national highway.. and a million crowded junctions were all the more ready to hinder my progress.I reached there with five minute to go for the scheduled start of the selection process!
Time 8:30 am
The college was barren and dry like a desert and one literally in rubble.So unlike the pics on the website were screaming out(thanks to mad web designers and high resolution cameras). Luckily i found my class mates perched on top of make shift seats here and there around a huge banner saying ' WELCOME TO INFOSYS PLACEMENT DRIVE'.. aah..did i mention it was the placement drive for INFOSYS,if not..there it is for u.
Time 8:45 am
We were led to a auditorium sort of thing and after registration made to sit there. There it was.. Hundreds of them..gazing around..animatedly chatting..adjusting their dress.. my FELLOW ASPIRANTS!! They were all distracted..shifting uncomfortably..obnoxious chattering filling the hall. This went on for hours with more came trickling in to add to the din!
Time 10:45 am
Patience was running out and still there was no sign of anything happening,but at the right moment some jerk sprang out of nowhere and started fidgeting with the projector and lo behold! there was the INFOSYS logo fading in amidst a tired round of applause. The guy took over the mike after a hasty round of introductions. He went on to say about the company and how they provided services to the 'what-not' to the 'what-not' firms in countries around the globe. He stated emphatically over and again that this was the company that anyone would dream to work and a load of crap that totally went over my head!! Just like the routine,there was time for some dumb questions from audience which the host answered promptly..dumber..
Time 11:30 am
Once this was over with we were lead to separate rooms for the test to be conducted. This started off with filling up my details. This was quite tricky with Tamilian examiners of being no help. They seemed to talk some sort of English that only they could decipher which made it all the more worse. Then the question papers given out! Well i am not going into what they asked and what i wrote since this blog is already swiveling out of my control. It had a Language part and a Quantitative Analysis part and that was it.
Time 12:30 am
One hour was soon over and the examiners were soon collecting the question papers. This being done we went for the Lunch Break. Lunch was a silent affair with people brooding over what they wrote and some scurrying around hurriedly. I was too equipped with food that was given out in the name of 'Vegetable Meals'. It was the most disgusting things that made its way down my throat after the Cappuccino from cafe coffee day. It took a huge effort to tuck a few morsels to maintain my gastronomy equilibrium(more clearly..hunger)..
Time 1:30 pm
We were soon back in the hall waiting for the results to come.They promised to put them within a short while. People were bent down praying and some were ogling at the huge number of chicks crowded around!
Time 3:30 pm
Still no sign of results. People had started wandering around and growing impatient!
Time 4:45 pm
They managed to tabulate the results after 4 hours. This time it was another fellow who steeped on to the stage and without much intro(thank god for that) started calling out names. Each of the persons called were asked to assemble by the far side of the hall. As the list was drawing to a close and the crowd at the corner getting thicker i lost all hope. Suddenly my name was called out and my stomach did a back flip.It took me some time to register the fact that my name was indeed called. I stood up and made way my way to the rest of the group beaming proudly. My joy knew no bounds an i was literally dancing by the time i reached there.
Time 5:00 pm
We were again asked to assemble at a room and they briefed us about the drill and started collecting the resumes. Once this was done we waited for our chance as one by one were called in to be devoured by the interviewer monster lurking in some room along that floor. The ones who came back were smiling and had to say only about the jovial guys they were interviewed by. How he asked about the lunch they had and how much mileage their bikes got and a hoard of other totally nonsensical stuff.This did ease my nerves and i went back to memorizing my resume(of which you mite be aware if you had read my earlier posts).
Time 7:25 pm
Finally the guy who had collected my resume called out my name and asked me to go to a specific room...
I dragged myself over there rather nervously and the puled the door wide open..
......What followed must have to be put aside into another post it seems owing to my over elaborate descriptions and imagery..I owe that to the years of conjuring up total gibberish and nonsense for my degree examinations.. So blame the Kerala University if u have to.
Jokes apart,i'll be back with the story of that eventful interview and what followed suit as soon as possible and til then enjoy the brief respite from my awkward sense of humour!!
[p.s: i didnt do this for the dramatic effect in sound like those cheap mallu tv serials. Any notion to the contrary is total nonsense.]
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