Swades?

Hello junta. Read on this story of mine. Why? Firstly, because I love you so much and therefore you are going to leave a nice comment for sure (isn’t it?), and secondly, you are going to find absolutely everything here – drama, thrill, pain, emotion, suspense. So fasten up your seat-belts and get ready to be the victim of this typical-Indian-movie-kinda-crispy-chilly story; because this is the story of my internship.

Phase 1

In the summers following my second year, I underwent a 45-days training at Bosch, Jaipur, which to a budding mechanical engineer was no less than an international-level experience, Bosch being a German MNC. So I like kinda made up my mind that in the next summers, I would definitely be flying off shores.

So came the month of September and boom… I joined the rat-race of mailing CVs worldwide. I had developed my own theories for this process of mailing that even worked quite well, in the sense that I got a lot of replies. Lets not talk about what those replies were although!

Or okay, let’s talk about them. These torturous replies rained over me from all over the globe, from institutes of all kinds, from profs of all ages, ranging in a wide scale of politeness. Some were just too sorry for not being able to recruit me. A few were either retired or about to retire. A lots were out of the country during summers and an equal number were very poor. And almost all thanked me from the cores of their hearts for my interest in their organization.

And then, also there was this giant called Illumination that ate up so many of my nights and days and took proper care of the fact that I should not get any time to waste it on mailing.

Fine. So that was Phase 1. Nothing special about it. An inherent part of the life of every IITian. Now comes the cream. Now comes… the phase 2.

Phase 2

All kinds of companies started coming to recruit students for summer internship and the department of mechanical engineering has always been a favorite amongst them. The first one to knock the doors was ITC.

I thought that I would be going to a foreign land anyways so why not have some good practice of group discussions and personal interviews. So I applied for ITC, not knowing that I might eat up a seat that somebody else would have got, which now I do realize and am sorry for that. But anyways, that was my first formal GD and I enjoyed going through it to the PI. Now emerged the big question: to go or not to go. I met a friend (name not disclosed due to official reasons), who had come from ITC for the selection. I knew him because we had worked together for one year in robotix. He told me that my CV was so well suited for their company that they would hire me even if I do some African dance in the interview, and after listening to me, he suggested me to keep trying for an FT (ie a foreign training if some non-IITian is reading this).

And so finally… I didn’t go for the ITC PI. The news spread like I had never imagined it would and thus made me the victim of the harsh thrashings of this cruel world. A few were kinda angry because I wasted a seat that somebody else might have got (sorry again L) and so many were calling me mad because at least they wouldn’t have even dreamt of leaving a chance of going into ITC. One guy, this neighbour of mine, said to me that there was nothing wrong in what I did because at least I had it clear in my mind what I had to do and that was what actually mattered. Love you Sid! J.

Then there was this very famous university of USA (I won’t disclose the name of course) that short-listed me for a special summer internship program that they have exclusively for IITians, and after making me wait for very long, crushed all my hopes. The bas***** had done the same with me the last year too.

So in a double mind, I started applying for Indian companies too. I used to go to almost all PPTs and people used to give me life threats if I even thought of applying to any one of them. The only person with the same fate as that of mine probably was Nimisha because even she didn’t go for the PI of HUL. So I always enjoyed meeting her in these PPTs!

My CG was too low for HUL and even after clearing the GD and giving the best PI that I could have to Schlumberger, the bloody double-faced people didn’t took me because they couldn’t offer a PPO to the dual degree students. And then I didn’t even apply to normal companies like Reliance, Tata Steel and the like because to leave ITC and go for them would have been like to go on a lunch to some road-side dhaba with some XYZ bandi when you had already rejected an offer of a candle light dinner with Aishwarya (when she was unmarried) on a beach!!

The mailing process although continued, but no use!

Fine. So that was phase 2, full of hide tides and low tides, flowing in and out of my mind. Now begins the fun. Now begins… the phase 3.

Phase 3

I had lost all the hope by now. My God was in deep sleep and so my prayers (read screams) were not able to strike his ear drum with the required high amplitude. So suddenly a strange kind of love for my motherland emerged into my heart and I realized (with a sigh) that even India has a lot of good opportunities to offer! But I had already shown my longest finger to all the companies that came at my door. Hence now I started looking out for contacts in various companies and met a lot of seniors.

And now the rate of flow of time increases…

Seniors are Gods… they assure me of a good place… in Tech Mahindra, LnT or RTDC… Thanks Amod and Anurodh!… am relaxed… but still not satisfied… I mail… mail more… the alluring foreign lands… Hyundai, Honda, Bosch… I mail to all… no use… it’s March already… and then an angel appears… Swapnil…my friend from the 1^st year… says… Dude! I got an FT in Taiwan and my prof wants another chap and I am giving your name… could I be happier enough?… The prof calls me up and bingo… I have an FT now… can’t thank you enough Swapnil… Taiwan… ohkkk… not bad… but not very good either… LnT comes to the department… in dilemma again… to go or not to go… swadesh or videsh… I decide for swadesh… apply for LnT… sit for the GD… but then… oh no… am confused again… swadesh or videsh… I decide for videsh… don’t even move my lips in the GD… Taiwan… there I come… I get the tickets… I get the visa… make all plans with Swapnil… it's April 25... and then appears another angel… Nitin… my friend from class 7^th… says… Dude! I got FTs in Japan and Germany and I am going to Japan. Would you go to Germany?… phew… I say no thanks dude… I am satisfied with Taiwan with all things done… and then I think… saale Apurv… what the hell… what are you doing… it’s Germany… and I call him back and say yes… and it’s done… and now I have… I have… 2 FTs under my belt… phew… is that really me?… the same me who starved once for a single Indian training?… God is great!…and so are you Nitin =)!!!… I get the NOC in one day after lots of drama… thanks to Kishen… but it’s not over yet… it’s time to go to Taiwan… and I still don’t have the German visa… time to make a choice… and I take the risk… Prof in Taiwan gets the news that I met with an accident and I cancel the Taiwan tickets… no German visa yet… a week passes… I postpone Germany tickets… the wait continues… and then… then… it’s there… the visa… in my hands… a darling visa!!!

And so here I sit today, in my 10^th floor apartment in Germany, with a breath-taking view before my eyes, enjoying this paid holiday. Still can’t thank you people enough, Swapnil and Nitin. And yes, it’s all about luck, and okay, I was just lucky enough, but yes I was.

That is it, people… as Miyan Shah Rukh Khan would call it… Happiezz Endingzz… and so I take a leave with that. Tataa!!! Or as they call it in German here… Tschuss!!! =)