|
I completed 6 years in a single company.!! ( Did I hear a "uh" from you ? ).
Its actually no big deal. Half of my friends are of my type. They have completed 5-7 years in a single company. And then there is the other half, like Jaggu who jumps his company everytime Salman or Saif decides to shed their shirt. ( he forgot to add SRK into his trigger group, hence is currently stuck in TCS ). Jumping companies used to be a hobby for Jaggu, but like a decent MNS activist he gives 1 round of notice and 3 rounds of gharao-ing the manager before he jumps the company.
"How does it feel, Sojish ?" asked Smitha.
Nothing . Actually I dont feel anything. Its just another day for me where I spent time trying to recollect what happened over last 6 years. Oh Boy, It went so FASST. !!! 6 years went like a blink of an eye.
I still remember my interview in Poornam, like it happened yesterday. I was out of job for few months, and then Poornam called for an interview ( thanks to my friends and interests in Linux ). Dressed in a white shirt with blue lines on it, I landed in Ernakulam to go to this company ( which I never heard of , before ). A friend adviced to take a bus to Kakkanad, so I did.
The address given to me was "1002 , VC Valley , Opp CSEZ".
Till then I had attended two interviews Wipro & Subex. The company addresses were like " Ganesh Complex, Madivala" and "Ganesha Block, Mahalaxmi Layout". Those addresses lacked a punch. I mean, how can I tell someone that I'm in Maha-laxmi layout? How would you feel if you see ShahRukh as Balettan ? They just dont match . ( Hope someone up there in Wipro or Subex hears me ) Poornam's address," 1002, VC Valley , Opp CSEZ", was a total contrast. It sounded really cool. It had a punch of its own. I used to practise giving my new address to others, with a special stress on the trailing "z". And the "VC Valley" part , does it not sound like Silicon Valley ?
Asked an auto driver for the final trip and he said I'll have to pay extra 15 rupees , coz of bad roads. ( Bad roads ?? Dude,I'm going to a SOFTWARE company in the "VALLEY"). Reluctantly, I agreed coz I was running late for the interview.
Kakkanad was completely different those days. There was no Port-to-Port road which now goes right infront of Poornam. There was no decent restaurant. I remember looking out for a hotel/lodge when I came to join Poornam, but there was none.
Auto finally stopped infront of VC Valley, which turned out to be a 11 storyed structure on the top most place in Kakkanad. There were few cars around but less actvity outside. Asked the watchman for directions and he said "10th floor" . 10th floor !! ( Did you notice a punch in that too? My office is in the 10th floor ) I pressed the lift button but nothing happened. Watchman was kind enough to enlighten.
"There is no electricity, you'll have to walk up the 10 floors".
Walking up 10 Floors , to attend an interview ? I should be nuts to join such a company !! I wanted to leave a note saying, "Guys, I prefer going to a Gym than coming to your office". Fortunately or unfortunately, I did not have an option. Walking around jobless was more degrading than walking up 10 floors.
Realisation sinked in after I opened the door of 1002 . Its a 3 bedroom flat ( with tiled rooms ) . There are no glaced windows or glass doors to open. There is no airconditioning and even worse, no beautiful receptionist to attend. ( We have 10,000 sq ft office now , with glass doors and AC but beautiful receptionist is still missing )
I got rejected after the interview. Yes, I got rejected on the face.
I begged and pleaded by phone & emails to get the job. ( After few years, Amar posted my begging email on his site . I would have preferred stripping on MG road to such a character assassination) . After persistent bugging , Amar gave the nod.
And here I'm 6 years later.
Today I thank God Almighty, for giving me the strength ( to climb 10 floors ) and will-power ( for persistent begging ) on that fateful day to face the challenges ahead ( years in Poornam). It was/is a roller coaster ride that has not ended, but believe me , it was/is worth each and every moment of it. "Behind every great fortune , there is a great gamble"... GodFather.
|
!