The year started off with an all girls trip- Roo and Roo and I, to Bangalore, which I thoroughly enjoyed. February through May was not just the best part of the year but also a welcome break. The supposed final year project was not just easy-breezy but I also enjoyed the whole process, because a. I had an awesome guide at the company who took the pains to make me understand every bit of the pie b. It was in my favourite subject- Consumer Behaviour and c. I did not have to report to work every day- I used to work from home; I could hatch at home when I was jobless which gave me time to do enough reading to last a long long while. I thus discovered Edward Cullen and co, Eragon and Saphira. I even read some strange necromancer trilogy called Garth Nix or something like that. Said hi to the Girl with the dragon tattoo, wept along with Mariam and Laila in A thousand Splendid suns..On the whole, it was good year for enriching the personal literature.
The project also involved me going to Coimbatore on my own. Sort of a coming of age thing I would say, which made me value friends, my own independence and love the ‘what will come next’ feel as I walked around the city on my own. I loved every moment of that trip- met some wonderful people, got a head full of memories and learnt a lot many things.
Somewhere in between, amidst everybody around me getting jobs and me sitting depressed and jobless, I landed in L&T Infotech. I was not all that excited as one would expect- it was more of an ‘I also have a job’ sort of smug feeling. But the job required me to spend 2 weeks in Mumbai, as a part of their ‘Management trainee-Training’ thing, which was actually two weeks of nothing but fun. Again I met some wonderful people- from all over the country. The best part of it was that we were all like minded-same frequency-crowd, where nobody could actually stand out like a sore thumb. All my apprehensions about blending in/ being the only south Indian/ talking nothing but text-bookish hindi/ worst of all- not wearing the right sort of clothes (gasp) evaporated the moment I met the entire crowd. I made some very good friends there- Soham, Anup, Deepa, Sneha..Haresh. And though I do not talk to most of the others as often as I would like, I will always remember those two weeks as the best days of work-life.
I started work soon after that. The months that followed are a blur. But the financial independence that came with it was exhilarating. Vague memories flash by- Long drives on the ECR with friends, swiping the card whenever I came across any bag/shoe/clothing that caught my fancy, many nights out with the girls- one moment giggling over some comical incident that happened in school, tongues loose and minds filled with mirth; the next moment sharing worries and uncertainties about the future; wondering why we grew up.
The last leg of the year saw me desperately needing a break, so I took off to the western ghats with a few friends. For two days there was no worrying about the boss calling you to work on a Saturday, invoice completeness and other headaches. Two days of bliss.
Then it was time for some farewell. My colleague left the team at a time when I was not sure I would be able to take charge on my own. A very close friend of mine from work left for an onsite assignment at a phase when I was just getting to know people and much as I was happy for him, it was like the only person I knew from work was leaving me. In the same vein I add- Where there is a hollow, it is filled. I’m continually being surprised by people around me, and getting to know better the awesome people who had always been around me.
As the year is coming to an end, I look back and I see how much I have learnt. I have had to make some of the most trying decisions of my life this year, from letting go of someone/thing I never thought I would have the heart to, to hardening my heart and standing up for myself in the garbage that is called the corporate world- where everybody is out to get everybody else..This year, I lost a mobile phone, I still keep getting caught by the traffic cops, I don’t read as much as I would like to..And one of my best best friends is not talking to me for reasons best known to him. But I am also doing my extra language, writing more than I ever used to, and being more assertive. I notice stark shifts in the topics we discuss and my outlook towards life in general. I notice myself evolving. I am making new friends, I see myself wanting to go that extra mile and live the life I have come here to live.
I see myself changing. I only hope it is for the better.
