Where are you Christopher McCandless ?

This is Thiruvananthapuram, and i am here for my so-called “Induction Program” organised by a reputed company. Christopher McCandless was about my age when he decided against joining Law @ Harvard, only to lead the most glorious life, ever lived by an individual, in the jungles of Alaska. Neither do i have the guts to be a Christopher McCandless nor do i have such an elevated level of thinking.
So what is this “Induction Program” ? I would love to convince others that its a program, that apart from imparting technical knowledge, goes a long way in confusing an already-delusional class of fresh engineers and what’s more, you get paid for it ! Here we a study a programming language that i believe MIT developed only out of desperation not to keep their scholarly minds idle. Then we have something called grooming classes. Here they teach me how to speak in English. But imagine what happens when some asks you to pronounce “tortoise” as “tort-ese” and “poem” as “pawm”. Then the teaches says he has never heard anyone pronounce “envelope” as “onvelope”! English here has been reduced to what “sounds right” rather than what “is right”. What they don’t realise is that Indians today speak English better than anybody – Indians can adapt to several English accents in days, whereas we don’t really find Americans, Australians, latin Americans or the birtish as comfortable with so many different styles of English.
Let’s talk a bit about Professional Grooming. In short – this is where i learn how to FAKE! what matters most is the first impression. Here, let me bring in a guy named Swapnil Sonawane – this brilliant guy from nit-durgapur was unshaven and in faded tattered jeans when he cleared about 6 levels of programming and technical interview to emerge as the richest boy ever in the history of the college. So, just as the British do in temperatures of 15 – 25 degrees centigrade, i do the same in temperatures of 30 – 40 degrees centigrade, i.e choke myself in a neck tie!
I have sailed through really tough English examinations in icse, isc with 1 points, just like many of my friends, and have interacted with so many different kind of people – so i do believe i have the right to be an individual, not a programmed machine
Wish i could think the way Christopher McCandless did! He died a human being, we’ll die fakers! The biggest difference between him and us is the love for currency notes.

Thiruvananthapuram – A Learning Experience

It was a moment of terrible shame and disappointment when I was laughed at by an international audience at the Computer Festival and Seminar in Lucknow. I, the flag bearer of my school team, had let the whole team down in the debate competition.
Truth is, throughout my schooldays, i had always wanted to be a good speaker – but all i met with were failures of varying magnitudes. Those failures did affect my confidence and i never tasted success as a speaker in school. Chances come far and few in a college and i failed to grab them as well.
But, one fine November morning i finally made a move towards my long-unfulfilled wish. I was asked to deliver a speech on “I, Me and Myself” in front of a more-than-half filled auditorium. The first few seconds as a i walked up the stage i was shivering like hell but as soon i as i faced the audience, i was overwhelmed with a sudden gust of confidence. I managed to draw a humorous reaction from the audience with the very first sentence that i delivered. What more could i have asked for. The remaining 3-4 minutes were pure fun. I included everything from a dead-drugged Shiva, Newton’s 1st law of motion, Sachin Tendulkar, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer to photography in my speech, that kept the audience active and responsive throughout. What was more surprising was the amount of humour that i injected into my speech as i had always believed that my friends view my as a serious person. Success is relative, nevertheless i felt i was successful and above all, i was satisfied !
Once a person tastes success, he can only learn from it and improve. The next oral communication class, i had to make another speech on a photograph. This time, i delivered a better speech in better body language and managed to elicit even more audience response, humour and appreciation. Today i am confident and i feel i can face a large audience comfortably. How ironic of me when i say i am at my best in Kolkata (please don’t call it “city of joy” – its an insult if you really know what it means and how the name originated), yet project my best hundreds of kms away in Thiruvananthapuram.
Yes, my friends, (especially the ones who know me since my schooldays) i am a bit less shy now !