Graduation: The last day you have fun

"Hey Jyot. How are you? You seemed to have recovered quite well" said my trainer as I took a seat opposite him to join him for an evening snack on the graduation day of my training.

"Yeah. I'm much better now", I replied.

"Good. Do you think you will be fit enough for corporate life a week from now?" said my trainer reminding me that I would be joining my first team in the company a week from then.

Had I been asked this question just when I just graduated from college, my answer would have been a confident "Yes". But this question made my mind go back 4 months in time.

It all started when I started my first job with a reputed MNC. Good grades and a degree in engineering had given me a nice job and dressed me up for success. Little did I know that four days into my job I would find myself lying on the hospital bed. My first taste of blue blood left me down with enteric fever (typhoid). On my way to my hospital, the thought of telling my manager about my condition made my pulse rate rise to 180. Finally after gathering my composure,I made a call to my manager at work and told him everything. My manager was cool as a cucumber and told me to take care and get back soon. I felt relieved and spent 10 days under treatment in the hospital. I finally resumed work after 21 days.

During the time I was sick, I received a lot of support from my manager, my co-workers, friends and family. I had missed 3 weeks of training and had loads to cover-up. I had to really put in a Hercullean effort starting from then to prove myself in my first job.

When I got back to work, the training program for the new joinees was in full swing. Test were being conducted, long days were scheduled, presentations had to be prepared and the program just got more and more hectic by the day. Finally, roughly a month and a half after getting back, I was at par with the other joinees and had started to enjoy my work.

One Friday, when I got back from work I realised that I wasn't really felling all that well. I had a severe headache and couldn't sleep that night. The next day morning I woke finding myself having high fever. I was taken to the doctor who asked me to get my medical reports done. 4 days later, I was diagnosed with enteric fever for the second time in less that 2 months.

This time around, it was killing me not only physically but also mentally. What will my manager think? What about my job? Will I still have my job 4 weeks down the line when I recover? What will my co-workers think? What had I done to myself-I had all of a sudden become Jyot-The Weakling.

Finally, I had to come to terms with the fact that there was nothing I could do to change things. I just had to lie down on the hospital bed and let the recovery take its course. I made a call to my manager informing about the tragedy. This time around, I got the same reaction and he calmly told me that I should get back soon and come back. My co-workers too extended great support. I owe a lot to them as it was their encouragement which kept me going and always lifted my spirits. The illness left me to weak to inform many of my friends. But I got amazing support from the one I did tell.

5 and a half weeks later when I welcomed back to work. My manager told me that I have managed to pass the training program and the gave me my grades for the various courses in my program. Though the grades were average and my performance was not all that great, I was just happy that the efforts I had put in would allow me to graduate in a couple of days from now.

Graduation was fun and reminded of my last few days in college. The long hours I spent together with my friends in college doing nothing but still having the feeling of satisfaction of having come to college to spend that time. Playing tennis, whiling away hours in the quadrangle and the photo sessions all flashed back. I just couldn't imagine life being so chilled ever again. Corporate life was different. In fact, I dont't think any of us has a life at MNC's :P.

I don't know what drove me back to work the second time I recovered. I wasn't confident about proving myself any more. I didn't fell convinced that this is the right place for me. Should I have jsut listened to my mother and done my MBA from the reputed college I got into? It was I who had opted to work instead and from the time I had joined this MNC, things had taken a bizarre turn. I was hospitalised not only for the first time but also the second time in my life. Was I doing the right thing?

I still don't know the answer to that question. But some times I feel it is not a choice we make, it is just destiny. Things just take their course irrespective of what we do.

I finally answered my trainer's question, "Only time will tell. But I guess I was destined to be here and may be I am destined to be fit one week from now."

My trainer replied: "Yeah, I hope so. But right now, you are destined to have fun. Whether it is B.Tech or MS or MBA or work, graduation is the last day you have fun. Go out there and have a blast. Take care of your health and you will do amazingly well in the future." I couldn't do much after this but hope my trainer was right. I exchanged a smile with my trainer and spend the rest of the evening having fun with a new bunch of friends and co-workers! That night I went home singing and hoping in the future "All Is Well"!!!

Last few days at VJ

VJTI

Well with the last sem coming to a close in about a month its time to reflect back at my experience at VJTI. I don't know if my life will be so chilled out ever:). So here I get into flashback mode and recall 'life in VJTI' which can be described as 8 semesters, 7 departments, 6 course each sem, 5 gardens, 4 years, 3 annual festivals, 2 tennis courts, 1 soul, 0 regrets.

First Year : The hardcore stuff

• Most people get an impression that engineering is going to be a grill. Lectures take place regularly, vivas and assignment on schedule and every one is serious about college except for may be a few mass bunks. College from 9-5 was the routine for most of us.
• The irony of the first two sems is the workshop "Minimum credits maximum efforts".
  
• Cricket at five gardens whenever we got free time was another highlight of the first year.
• The first Technovanza, Pratibimb and Enthusia was when I mostly got to know the seniors and the college as a whole.
• The lighter moments of the first year were the 9 pointers party, traditional day and other 'days' and the first class trip to goa...which i was not a part of :(
• All in all one would get the feeling that he is part of a very studious batch of students and things were going to get more competitive in the years to come. Very few perceived the suprises that awaited them.

Second Year: The transition begins - From sincere to lukha

• At the start of the second year, most of us get a true picture of VJTI. The lectures are few and most of the time we spend our time here at the famous VJTI quad.

• Most of us dozed off in the few lectures which took place :)

• But the free time we get allows us to discover our interests and participate in all extra-curricular activities like:

1. Sports: Most people practise and participate in Enthusia. People play as many sports as they can. However, I was more or less limited to playing tennis only because i was good at it.
2. Festivals: People participate in as many events possible in Technovanza and Pratibimb. Some of us get into organising.
   
3. Academics: Very few sincere and dedicated ones get interested in the subjects and pursue them in depths.
4. True love: In the ample free time we have, some of us find this too :)

Third year: The lukhagiri continues :)

• Lectures and labs situation similar to second year and the usual lukhagiri continues.
  
• Most of us continue pursuing our interests untill half the year has passed and some of us realise its time to start thinking about further studies. Some of us take up GRE, some CAT and some look ahead to placements.
  
• People start their preparations seriously in the sixth sem as this is the time when most coaching classes start.
• I remember this year because of the class trip to Shimla Manali which was one of the best trips I had been to.
  
• Overall a great year with a perfect blend of everything in it from class trips to class movie outings to festivals to academics.

Fourth year: The finishing touch

• This is year is packed with activities. From placements to entrance exams to projects it has it all.
• I did not attend college much this year so there is not much I can write about it except that this was the year when I was on top of my tennis game and managed to pick up few accolades in tennis tournaments.
• With a last few days left for the 8th semester to close, I am looking forward to make the most of the time at VJ :)

At the end of 4 years I have realised there can never be a single reason to come to VJTI, because if you are coming here for:

1. Campus : then I would it is the wrong decision. Its not because we have a 16 acre campus in the heart of Mumbai with two grounds, tennis courts and a brilliant quadrangle.
2. Placements: also wrong reason. Its not that we have the best companies coming to campus and students ending up with multiple job offers.
3. Chilling: again wrong reason. Its not because we have the best class trips, outings and festivals.
4. Academics: once again wrong reason. It's not because we have the best players with excellent track records on campus and some of the best industry people coming for seminars.
5. Extra-curriculars: Wrong reason again. Its not because we have three annual national level technical, cultural and sports fests each year having participation from all over the country and teams from the college winning at a number of competitions

But if you are at VJTI for all the above reasons, you are at the right place!
आमची आई तुमची आई वीरमाता जीजाबाई
Cheers
Jyot

My first post

Based on the suggestions of the die-hard bloggers in VJTI and their insistence on me starting a blog I decided to start this blog. I really didn't have any idea of what would I write on my blog or even on my first post. But then I realised that there are so many things to talk about this would where anything is possible. 

Since there is not much I can write in this post, I will elaborate the suggestions that I received when I discussed starting my blog with the VJ bloggers during the lunch break in college.

1. the blog should have my nick name ZYOT ...well i really wanted to incorporate this but felt jyot would be better and didnt really prefer something like zyotsir cos it would make me feel like a prof :) 

2. the blog could help me talk about my college experiences....which i will definitely use it for in the future :)

3. the blog would help me get valuable comments on what happens in my life...defi waiting for these :)

These are the ones I remember ... Hope you guys make use of the comments section to remind me of the points we had discussed that day.

Cheers 

Jyot