I was warned ! I saw it coming ! And finally, there it was, hovering over me, inescapable...
Hopping onto the crammed Spicejet on the fateful night of 11th April 2010, I was about to enter the premises of a new city, my unexpected home for the next two months...
I remember being asked in the Interview, "Do you like travelling?"I'd nodded excitedly hoping that my summers shall be spent in golden wheat fields in Punjab and Haryana or dust laden Wheat Mandis in Khanna and Bareilly...I could see myself questioning millers at Alibaug and visiting our factory at Lawrence Road Delhi...I wish I could've forseen what was about to happen !
I shall never forget the Kathi Rolls at the airport and the Logan drive to our destination...Unlike its name, Britannia Gardens housed the Corporate Office and several guesthouses aptly named Deodar, Chinar, Ashoka, Champaka and Gulmohur...A concrete irony ! I was received by the complacent keeper Shankar who had put me up in a beautiful flat atop Deodar, with all the other interns...I remember meeting my first co-intern Varun, as I struggled to carry my luggage up the floors...It was Renuka who opened the door to our flat, 3B Deodar...Inside, I met Manjari, Swetleena and Janani...Though it was late and our induction was early next morning, I knew I wouldn't sleep in peace unless I'd unpacked...The trauma of OCD... ;)
On 12th morning, I walked into the Training Room only to meet the inquisitive glances of the other interns who had reached early and settled in comfortably in their swivel chairs...I looked around for an empty spot and the only one I could find was in the front of the room under the menacing eyes of the presenters in the induction...And all this time, I thought, I was the back bencher ! For the first time, I met the HR persons, Shikhar and Megha, who had been our sole connection with Britannia for the past fortnight...I liked them immediately...They were polite and immaculate...However, it would be a matter of days before perceptions drastically changed ! =)
The Induction lasted 3 days and all the 30 odd interns got to know each other coffee and cookies...I knew Rupali Ma'am was a fan of the coffee at Britannia and now, I wholeheartedly seconded her ! All the interns were gifted hampers of biscuits and hand crafted Folders...For a moment I wondered how lucky the Interns at Kraft would be ! I was also looking forward to the customized notebooks Rupali Ma'am, Nishi Ma'am and Gunanand Sir had received the previous year but in my first experience of the ongoing "Cost Cutting" at Britannia, I was handed a dreary blue Nataraj Notepad ! Despite my minor disappointment, the corporate experience was turning out to be wonderful...There were several insightful sessions with various Senior Managers and Heads of Departments along with amusing games by the HR Manager Rajesh...
Though the Corporate hoop-la prevailed, I felt uncannily comfortable to be amidst eight MANAGEites at Britannia...From the omniscient Pradeep Srivastava to the stress busting Rajeev Singh...From the gorgeous Manisha Singh and Shweta Nawani to the effervescent Arun Goyal and Mukesh Yadav...And finally, the quirky Shashi Shekhar and the big brother Kaushal Kishore... =)
When I'd laid my first glance on my Project Charter back at MANAGE, I hardly understood what my Project Objective was...Over the weekend before coming to Bangalore, I did try to gain some insight over the internet...However, when I met Rajeev Sir,my Project Guide, he casually tossed aside my Charter and dictated two entirely new objectives...My Project had been changed ! Rueful initially, I gradually took it in my stride...What followed was uncertain LAN connections and me, finally buying my Tata Photon as my project depended on plenty of Internet research...Over the days, I learnt all I could in Finance and Commodities over the Internet...From desperate appeals to Brajesh Sir and Gunanand Sir, I could finally understand what my Project meant !
The initial evenings were spent scouring for good food after tiring days of work...From KFC at Total Mall with Renu, Divya and Swetleena to Hyderabadi Biriyani with Umesh and Swetleena...Of course, how can I forget my walk in the rain to Papa John's with Arpit, Ankit, Pratyush, Tushar, Divya and Nitesh ! From the food to the service, we were surprised at how bad it could possibly be ! :D On one eventful weekend, we visited Wonderla and the next weekend was spent exploring Mysore, Srirangapatna and Channapatna...The exquisite Brindavan Gardens, the splendid Mysore Palace, the heady Chamundi Hills ! The creme de la creme was the "Dongi" ride at Sangam which reminded me of the song "Dil Hai Chhota Sa" from Roja...
As the days passed by, everyone busied themselves in their respective Projects...Many of the interns were sent to other locations and I waited in vain to travel ! It was ironic that Nitesh was travelling across rural Orissa for a Marketing Project whereas I was stuck at Bangalore...The remaining interns occasionally partied, though I could never join the group, something I know I missed out on...But I did manage to meet my friends, Siddharth, Ipsita and Rosina, my cousins and my little nephew Akanksh...I ate at the Leela Kempinski, shopped at Commercial Street, marvelled at Mantri Mall, dozed in the Planetarium, and enjoyed Musical Fountains at Lalbagh...
I know, for me, every day was a new slate, chalked in by my peers and seniors...I learnt and learnt and was not tired for one instant ! I was proud of myself when I realized I could work with alacrity from 9am to 8pm five days a week, doing something that had seemed impossible two months back ! All I asked for was the weekend to be solely mine...And often, I'd ruse my way into it... =)
Well, my last week of Summers at Britannia starts tomorrow...Our stipends are safe in our accounts, our reimbursements cleared...My presentation is almost prepared though I'm fretting at the thought of presenting in front of the daunting chieftains of Britannia ! I cant decide how long to write my report but I'll restrict it to what I've done, without any unnecessary fringes...The sole thought of going home keeps me sprightly !
I'm taking a bit of Bangalore and Britannia with me as I leave...I'll remember the Thursday Reviews, the Conference Rooms named after biscuits, Shalini's antics, Anu's hair, the beautiful pastels and sepia murals adorning the walls, the menacing 3rd floor where Vineeta sat and the ample cookies I consumed in my two month tenure ! I shall remember the traffic laden Bangalore, my ride in the 335E Volvo, the Mango Shake at Cool Palace followed by treacherous workouts with Sandip, my gym instructor...I shall remember watching the sky scrapers from my 4th floor window and the grey clouds spitting voluptuous raindrops each evening on scurrying pedestrians...
I remember grimacing when Puja C Ma'am and Rupali Ma'am told me I was lucky...Well, all I can say now is they were right...I'm glad and content I had this opportunity of experiencing my share of...
"Zindagi Mein Life"
Ting ting ti ding ! =)
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