I got my visa and I’m flying to Toronto, Canada by the first week of January 2012, I quit my job, I started to write a new script for a documentary film, I nearly loved a girl. What a way to start a new post?!
I waited almost a year for this to happen. I started my ‘study abroad’ plan somewhere before May 2010. It was a wonderful experience, to say the least. It offered me a lot of things, things ranging from frustration to friendship. I chose to divert from Mechanical engineering to Filmmaking. I now know that it is not an easy task at all. To quench my travel thirst I planned for my higher studies abroad and to fulfill my passion, I chose filmmaking. The application process took me to New York, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Australia, Canada and mainly New Zealand. I made a lot of friends in New Zealand, including the staffs of my film school. I’m so unfortunate as I couldn’t make it to the beautiful village of Taradale. My NZ visa application got rejected as I had applied for a film making course in spite of having a degree in Mechanical Engineering. But Canada is so generous to accept me! I’m getting ready for a fierce winter and lot of wilderness. So I started my purchase today. I bought some winter clothes like jerkins, woolen jackets, some branded casual shirts and jeans, winter gloves etc. I’m slowly getting ready to move out of my homeland, out of my beautiful country. Hardly one month to go! I’m going to miss almost everything, everything from family, friends, Pani Poori, Idly sambar, first day first show of a commercial movie to lone mountains of Guduvanchery.
But I know one thing. I can’t stay away from this place for a long time.
I worked as a Research Analyst in a corporate company called Connectivity Data Systems. I only worked there for three months but I’ve grown closer to that place because of my friends and the stress-free work environment. It is a startup company and has a lot of opportunities, offers a good pay and paves way for your career growth. I had to quit because of the ‘study abroad’ plan. Otherwise I would have stayed there for a longer period of time and enjoyed the fifteen minutes break, midnight cab ride, time with my friends and lots of beautiful girls.
As I quit my job, I had literally no work to do, not even a house hold work. I was so bored. I decided to roam around my city in a rainy afternoon. I went to the beach, some shopping malls, a war cemetery, an old museum, central station and at last Coyembedu Bus Terminus. That day showed me the beauty of my city from the point of an outsider. I really enjoyed each and every moment of my short travel. That’s the day in which I decided to make a documentary film about the magnificent city of Chennai. Chennai is my home for four years and this is the least I could do. I’m in the process of writing the script. I decided to feature a Chinese restaurant called China Palace in my movie. After a very kind and long request, the owner finally allowed to record few seconds inside the place and as a bonus, he also agreed to speak in that video about the restaurant and its origin.
I'm not going to say much about it, but finally, about the girl I said, Love is not the right word here, an emotional attachment or perhaps a sense of admiration. I really (I mean really really) like her. But one fine morning she made me realize that I’m just a stranger. I never expressed my feelings to her and I’m never going to express it forever. It stays with me as a secret. It is best for both of us, especially for her.
Okay ... So, Why exactly did I write those words ???
I sincerely apologize for those who got pissed off by seeing the sentence "TO BE CONTINUED." It's because, I dozed off while writing the last paragraph. But I had a target of finishing at least one post for the day. I've been told that the best possible way of ending something abruptly is to add that magical sentence, "TO BE CONTINUED."
Coming to the point, where I left, I was shocked to hear that! 'Twenty minutes walk from Taramani Railway Station.' I replied to that staff with the same phrase "I'll get back to you soon." I spent rest of that afternoon thinking about that station (Why??!!). Later that evening my friend Pavan Kumar called me. That conversation took an entirely different direction.
Pavan "What are you doing? It's so ****ing boring"
Me "I got an offer for an interview. I'm in a dilemma!"
I shared my past experience about that place with him.
He said "I have a bike and I need a job"
After an hour or so, myself, Pavan and his bike reached the gates of a eleven-storey building. I didn't believe my eyes. The building was magnificent! I totally didn't expect that. We went in and met with Human Resource Manager. I asked about the job, instead she said something about a written test. I was a bit nervous. We were seated in an air conditioned hall and the test began!
That computer based test consisted of hundred multiple choice questions covering all the aspects of English language. We finished the test within an hour and finally found that the internet was connected. We could have googled those answers !!!
Within a day's time both of us were called for an HR interview. The same bike travel again, same building and same time as the previous day. It was a personal and professional interview. HR manager asked about my future plans, my past experience etc. She checked my memory. She made me read a huge passage from the newspaper 'Los Angeles Times.' She asked some questions based on that and finally she offered a gentle handshake and said 'Welcome Aboard.'
She then explained about the job (Confidential !!!)
It was better than I expected. The company had that so called 'Corporate Atmosphere.' The company has two branches. One, in Chennai and other one in US. There were lots of foreign faces including our Managing Director. The job is a 'nine hours-regular job.' It required lots of writing. I was okay with every terms and conditions. But, I had a question. I usually have this question when am new to some strange place or atmosphere. "Would I fit in here??"
As I already stated, I was nervous. But then, I was happy to know that Pavan got the job too. We treated ourselves in the nearest restaurant. Within the next day Pavan managed to piss of the HR Manager. He had an argument with her about quitting the job. He decided to reject the job offer. I was left alone !!!
On the date of joining, I had lots of questions and confusions. I reached the office on time (Bus travel). I was seated in the same room where I took the test. That floor had a centralized AC. The room was severely cold and I started shaking. Soon, few others joined me in that room. At first I was so hesitant, to even ask the time. Things started happening then. A corporate trainer joined us in that room. He seemed like a jolly guy. He started taking marketing class. It covered self marketing, personality development blah blah blah .... We underwent two continuous weeks of training and finally hit the production floor yesterday. So, what could have possibly happened in that two weeks ??? Well, according to me, lot of things happened!
To name a few, I earned few good friends, I slowly learnt the job, My English grammar was refreshed, I earned a friendly smile from a cute girl, I finally got over my fear of 'TARAMANI RAILWAY STATION.' (because I travel by train and I have to set foot on that haunted station on a regular basis!)
What more one could ask for ??!!
NOW, SOME OFFICE PICTURES ... EXCUSE ME, FOR THE POOR QUALITY. IT'S A 'VGA CAMERA.'
Finally everything is shaping up in a good and unexpected way! I assume that it is fair to say that my job hunt started and ended in Taramani Railway Station.
Now you know the story of 'How I got my job ???'
I'm proud to say that finally I got a job. Finally everything is shaping up in a good and unexpected way. By everything, I meant my study-abroad plans, financial conditions, getting all my degree certificates and stuffs from my college etc etc. Out of all this, I want to mention few things about the study-abroad plans. Studying abroad can be an easy and exciting thing to plan, but to execute ???!!! It is the most toughest thing to do. I'm going to dedicate a separate post for all that confusions, dilemmas and decisions. It totally deserves that. Now, coming back to the job part, again, am proud to say that I finally got a job with a good pay but without a single bond and time restrictions.
To be precise, my job hunt started and ended in Taramani Railway Station. For those who don't know about Taramani, it is an industrial suburb of Chennai city. Unlike other city railway stations, Taramani has a unique one. Unique in everything! It is a place which scares me. Yeah! You heard me right! It SCARES me. The station is deserted all the time. If you're lucky enough, you'll find some two or three passengers on a sunny afternoon. The place has some never ending dark tunnels, leaking pipes, squeaking mouse, bats and what else ??? To be exact, picture a haunted mansion in your mind. That's Taramani Railway Station for you. Some may think that this description is a bit over-exaggerated. But it's not!
Coming back to the story, me and my friend Ravi reached the legendary Taramani Station on a fine sunny afternoon following an interview call from a person unknown. I think this incident, happened before a month's time. I couldn't recall the date. He called from a consultancy and left us with an address. He told something about an interview for graduates. It was the time when we were desperately searching for a job. We found our way out of the station (took us more than ten minutes!!!) We started walking and after twenty minutes of walk, we managed to find a small two storey building which matched the address. We then waited for about fifteen minutes to be received by a man who called us. Another ten minutes in that building and we finally figured out the nature of that job. To sell 'caller tunes.' The script goes like this ...
"Hello, I'm calling from XXX cellphone company. Are you interested in activating a caller tune which is new in stores?" Later that hour a woman, who is an employee of that company inquired about us and she said few things in return. The context of what she said was 'There are two types of customers for this company. First type of customers would disconnect the call at 'XXX cellphone company' part. Rest would disconnect after hearing all of it. The fact is that no body would buy! But the target is fifty buyers per day. If not, the management wouldn't let us go home. The salary is below Rs.5000/month. (Doesn't even cover my conveyance charges !!!) We gently smiled at the person who interviewed us and said "We'll get back to you tomorrow. We have to give it a thought!"
As I said, I gave it a thought and from then on, I never attended any interview until last week. I got a call from a consultancy (again!!!).
"I'm calling from XXX consultancy. I saw your resume in naukri.com (job site) I assume that you are a writer" (I do a lot of writing, but writer??? Nooo !!!).
She went on saying "I have a job which matches your profile. An article and profile writing job. Rs. 15,000 basic pay with no time restrictions or bond." I was so excited. That's the exact job profile I was looking for. I thought 'I couldn't ask more'. I asked in an overwhelming tone "Where's the company located?"
She replied
"Twenty minutes walk from TARAMANI RAILWAY STATION ... "
- TO BE CONTINUED -
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