continued from before…
Those were the days when recession was at peak and students of even the most premier colleges of India were not getting jobs. My college, even though one of the best colleges, was also facing similar difficulties.
In the month of August, L&T; came to our college for campus placements and conducted a written test, result of which was given on the same day. I, along with a few of my friends, was shortlisted for the interview. L&T; decided to conduct the interview the next day in their own premises at Vadodara, which is a 100 kms away from our college! Unanimously, we decided to hire a mini-bus. At the break of the next day’s dawn, with all the zest, we started our journey to L&T.;
Around 8.00 AM, we reached Vadodara and entered L&T; premises. We were seated in an auditorium and briefed about the interview process. We were given roll numbers following which we were called for interviews. The process of interview continued for the whole day and L&T; was not only kind enough to provide us with food and snacks but they also compensated us of our bus hiring charges. I was impressed by the generosity shown by L&T.; My interview lasted for 40 odd minutes which, my friends said, was pretty decent. My friends had a notion that if interview lasted long the person gets selected! Well, in my case it did come out true.
After a skittish wait of 10 days, the result day arrived. It was the second Wednesday of September and I was attending the somnolent lecture on ‘Signal Processing’ when the peon from our placement office interrupted our professor. After a short conversation between the two, our professor announced fifteen names, including my, which were supposed to report to Placement Office immediately. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was having a feeling that something good is going to happen and as I reached the placement office, my feeling came true. My placement officer congratulated all fifteen of us as we all were selected by L&T; to join it after we complete our engineering. We were exhilarated and tears of joy flooded our eyes. I called my father and intimated him about my getting placed in L&T.; It was the moment when I felt that I have really been a good child to my parents as my father, for the first time in my life, told me, “I am proud of you.” It was the statement which makes any child feel the best and I am no different. Today also when I re-live that moment, I feel proud of myself.
I do have a few more such moments but the importance of them is not as much as the ones I have narrated. These moments were the best moments of my life till date and I am sure I’ll be having a lot more moments which I’ll cherish before my D-day.