Being a Recruiter
I would be lying if I say I had
never given a thought as to how that moment will feel like. It did transgress my mind space quite
often. But what I didn't know was that it would feel so great to stand in front
of a 1000 strong audience in my Alma mater’s auditorium; being a recruiter.
The Sunday evening’s calm welcomed
me and my friend Raghu at Planet E(that's what we fondly call the invitingly lush village of Ettimadai). As we drove in to the all too familiar road
carpeted with the yellow flowers and bordering the university building, we knew
we were home. We met some of the super seniors, thanks to the ongoing Alumni
boot camp. It was heartening to know that there were some souls in each of the
batches that preceded ours who longed to rush back to the foothills of planet E
as much as we do, if not more.
We knew the juniors would have
something up their sleeves. This time, it was a cultural event which had ‘Best
of Utsav’ performances and boy, there was some serious talent on stage.
Determined to meet up our professors, Kulkarni sir and DG sir,(whom we missed
out during the convocation) Raghu and I marched past the store and the ashram
to reach the faculty quarters. As is always, had a soulful chat with both the
marketing gurus.
The next day morning, I came down
to the guesthouse reception to be welcomed by a peacock in all its glory right
at the door step. I realized planet E is a different world altogether, yet
again.
To quell a hint of apprehension that crept in early in the morning,I went to the faculty quarters to meet DG sir (as always). All it took was a hug to get my reassurance back in place that the Murphy's law won't wreak havoc.
To quell a hint of apprehension that crept in early in the morning,I went to the faculty quarters to meet DG sir (as always). All it took was a hug to get my reassurance back in place that the Murphy's law won't wreak havoc.
Being in that auditorium where I
sat through my convocation a week ago, now representing an organization, seemed
surreal. There were quite a few familiar faces. I have each moment I spend
there, tucked away in some corner of the happy place in my mind.
Each second seemed momentous. Be it
interacting with the CIR personnel with whom I was discussing my job prospects
hardly a year ago or going around in the golf cart on which I hopped on for a
fleeting moment asking Vivek to take a quick pic, everything felt so
wonderfully weird. Add to that, administering the test process for people with
whom I have shared a PG hostel and had many a tea with.
Having got a break from the
process, I walked through the stone laid pathway behind CIR block which lead
to ASB, my B-School. Kulkarni sir walked in when I and our junior Geethu were
having a tete-a-tete with Priya mam. As expected, sir made some veiled (and not
so veiled) digs at HR, all in jest J.
The office staff were as welcoming
as ever from where, I went for a quick tea at the canteen, just for the fun of
it. After a small chat with some of the ASBians there, and post the process, we
retired to the guest house.
Having had dinner, the whole team came
out for a walk. With a hint of pride in my stride, I took all of them past the
university building to the football ground and back to the guest house via the
ashram. It was then that my Lead, Dinesh wondered how beautiful these mountains
would look in the morning.
Before hitting the bed, I spend some
time in the balcony which over looked the long road that came in to guest
house. Sitting there listening to the creatures of planet E and the cool ettimadai
breeze brushing past, I secretly wished if Dinesh would forget about the
morning walk ;) .
I woke up to the morning train’s siren.
We walked till the IT block recounting various incidents which made our campus
life worthwhile, all the time admiring the elephant mountain basking in the
twilight sun. The clouds moved at their own will revealing and hiding the twin mountains
that marked the campus boundary.
The second day was even more unbelievable.
Signing offer letters from the very same room where I awaited many a companies’
results and sitting through an interview in the room where I was interviewed!
Having finished the process by
around 6, I came out for a walk and then for a Dosai and tea from the ASE
canteenJ. I sat down at the ASB entrance
making a couple of phone calls and sending out some smses when a girl and a boy
walked up to me. Very sweetly, they said they just wanted to thank me for coming
there and recruiting them. That moment, I knew I am doing a job that is real close to my heart.
Walking around aimlessly, I learned
every corner, every road, every building in that campus reminded me of two
years in my life which will rank right at the top, if I were to look back at
the best years of my life.
The next morning too, we went for a
walk. This time, I decided to take Dinesh to the Ettimadai village and walk
back through the railway station. As we approached the gate, the security
bhaiyyas let out a “hmmm??” with a hint of irreverence which gave way to a
smile when I pointed at the welcome board kept at the entrance. There were
quite a few light hearted moments like these which made the stay all the more pleasant.
When we stopped at the railway gate
waiting for the train to pass by, I looked back at the elephant mountain
promising myself I wouldn’t be gone for longJ.
Arun
Babu
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