College Memoirs - Part I (Placements)

Now, since I am still so hung up on college, I'll write some posts about the most memorable things for me in college which would include some incidents, volleyball, the BC at LC, the computer games we played(read AOE), the videos we made etc. So, gear up, there would be 4-5 parts to this.

In this post I'll concentrate on our placement times. According to me it was the most interesting time of our college life. It may not have been the best for all but it had all the ingredients - joy, sorrow, despair, sense of achievement, under-achievement, good luck ,bad luck and what not.

It all starts with all the people going through the puzzle books like Shakuntala Devi and Summers just to prepare for the written exams of Infosys (though I still feel people in IT deserve a lot more than Infosys, its just that they get satisfied too easily in most cases).

As soon as you reach back to college in the final year, you can almost sense that anticipation and tension in the air. There's almost a month to spend in college before the actual placements start. The attendance in the classes fall a lot below the already abysmal levels. Then comes the times of the announcement of the companies visiting. The TPRs going to the TPO trying desperately to get more companies to open for their batch.

Then comes the filling up of the forms and the meetings in the hostel discussing about the companies and their requirements. Then comes the D-Day when the written exams are held. The selfless friendships come to the fore here when people sit in the exams just to get their friends through the written exams(this may seem unethical but what the hell!!!!). Then begins the wait for the shortlist. You see the same faces who are selfless enough to wait in the TPO for the results while the other guys are preparing for the final phase of the process. I did make some very good friendships there.

Once the shortlist comes out, then begins the frantic search for White Shirt, Black Pant and the Institute Tie. Its an amazing sight watching the people waiting for their interviews to get done with which sometimes stretched to 2-3am in the morning or began at 6 am in the morning. The actual interview may be only 5 minutes long but the wait might be more than a couple of hours.

Just after the results are declared, came my favorite part, the job bumps. Even though being the TPR , I was the person who was given bumps almost every second day. It gave me a sense of satisfaction that I have contributed, maybe not in a major way but in my own small way. The better the job, the worse the person was beaten black and blue. It was just a way to show our happiness or maybe just a way to show our jealousy although no one would like to accept that).

There were people who I feel that deserved a lot more than they got. But I think thats life, sometimes you under-achieve sometimes you get what you deserve. Its just about keeping your foot on the Pedal. Ultimately, everyone gets what he deserves. For some it comes early, for some a bit late.

I would conclude by quoting some famous quotes used especially during the placement times:

"Arre yaar CV kaise banaye, batao zara?"

"Meri weakness kya hai batao........... teri hobby bata, mujhe bhi likhni hai"

"Abe form jama kar diye?"

"Maine PPT attend nahi kara, kya karti hai ye comapny?"

"Saale tu PPT me nahi aaya, free T-Shirt de rahe the."

"4-5 log exam hall me jaldi pahunch jaana, sab apne log saath me baithne chaiye. Writtem me sabka hona chaiye"

"A,B aur C shorlist ho gaye hain, inko jaldi TPO bhejo."

"X aur Y ki lagi hai job, sab chappal tayar rakho hostel me." and after reaching the hostel "Maaaaaarrrrrooo, bachne nahi chaiye"

(frustration) "Abe yaar ab 5 comapny me nahi hua hai, ab baithne ka koi fayada nahi hai"

(endurance) "Ye meri 10th company hai, isme to ho hi jaayega"

(desparation) "Meri dream job lagwa do"


It then all ends with all the people giving their job parties to their closest friends. Generally those party become those senti types because all the people start realizing that in a very short time, everyone has to go their separate ways leaving four years of friendship behind. I think and sincerely hope that these friendships I formed here would stand the test of time overcoming all the distances.

Finally I would like to say, I'll never forget those times