Friday 25 April 2014

From Ghaziabad to Germany Chapter 1

We came back from our office trip to Mukhteshwar quite late in the night, and the next day, we, being a group of rebellious 20 somethings, decided to bunk the office the next day,for which we faced the consequences.

The Boss a.k.a our team leader: “Why were you absent yesterday?” Then the usual reply of “Sir, meri tabiyat kharaab thi” followed …and then he said “Okay ,you can have a permanent leave then. Vineet, tell him to get lost and get all his paperwork done by the evening.”

I stood astounded, shocked and surprised, not that anything new was happening, I had always faced problems in my corporate life. But this was new, being thrown out of the office just when I had bunked the office with another 5 people.

Well, nothing happened of course, because this was just another temporary mood outburst of our team leader Mr.Sachin Madan, who was as broad as he was tall, and who looked like a typical “daftar waale babuji” to me.

But this insult only pushed me one step forward in achieving my goal for the time being. To get into masters, to live my life again as a student. I had cleared GATE examination two years in a row, but always hesitated to get back to college due to financial hustles, but this made me more determinant, when I remembered my life of 2 years , in and out of offices, insulted, sleep deprived, fighting migraines, not to forget the tiresome 2 and a half hours commuting time to Okhla all the way from the Ghaziabad core.
In the meanwhile, I started with my application process for various colleges. I had been very punctual and had hardly taken any leaves from office, so I got the required leaves easily when I had to appear for an interview for the admission process.

I did not make it to School of Planning and Architecture,New Delhi and I didn’t make it to IIT Roorkee’s first counseling either, which shattered my dreams and I accepted my fate, not until I decided to give it a last shot and appeared for the final on the spot counseling at Roorkee, for which I took a 3 day leave which actually turned into a permanent one.

I went for the counseling with a final hope and I got in, which relieved me in an instant, and I was there , at my new abode, ready to embrace a new world.
If the boss can throw you out in a moment, you can very well throw out your so called “office” from your life in less than a moment.As soon as I got in and was packing my things to start on my new endeavor, I decided to write a resignation letter to my so called “Boss”.


Respected Sir,

Sub: Resignation from the post of Architect

This is to inform you with great regret and humble respect that owing to my immediate circumstances, I have to resign from my services to your company with immediate effect. The reason for my resignation is for academic purpose as I have been offered a seat for Masters Programme in Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee and I am required to join the course immediately as the academic session has already started.
Due to lack of time, I am unable to give a notice period prior to my resignation, and moreover, I came to know about my admission just 2 days ago. I am extremely sorry for the same, but at present, and for my betterment, I need to be relieved from office as soon as possible.
I request you for the completion of all the required formalities/procedures soon and I hope that you
understand my situation and relieve me with immediate effect.


That entire urge to actually slap my boss finally came true…although virtually, with this resignation letter, in a matter of 2 days, my life had taken 180 degrees turn.
And now it was time to look forward.

Look forward to Hope and a little Sugar…!! 

Monday 14 April 2014

Karlsruhe Diaries Chapter 6: Back to Home !!


15th April,2014
1:41 am
Roorkee

They say that the best feeling is when you return to the place where you belong…call it a Germany hangover or returning to home after 7 months or leaving my home just within a week again to join back IIT Roorkee, but its not a good feeling…! It’s like a partial amnesia, as if I was always here. Among these people, yet I can feel no sense of belonging or nostalgia during my last days here…!!

Perhaps people have changed, or perhaps I have changed…!or perhaps it’s the frustration which results from a bad thesis review or the bloody IIT process of writing too many applications. All the people around are either too busy drinking or smoking “weed”…and perhaps I am the one who is already too high….that I crave for a partner just for a long walk…! :-/

Or Maybe I am too tired after my review on weekend….and living life as a refugee in my friends room…but how can people spend an entire day locked in a smoke filled room…and it’s so difficult to make certain people understand the value of privacy, when pestered by Questions like Where are you going? Whom are you going to meet?? And blah blah blah…!!

I thought I would be happy to see all the people in roorkee…!but I am missing home more than anything else right now and want my own space where I can hide myself just for a few days…away from the scrutiny of the curious.
It’s a terrifying feeling when you realize that your two year vacation is about to end, and you have to be back into the real world…! Which is horrific…in many terms…

I realized after coming back…did the people whom I call my best friends here actually miss me when I was away for 7 months ?For it was me who used to call them from Germany…it was me who used to ping them on facebook chats…!! I know some of these things might be kiddish…but these things do matter…!
The brain right now is fucked up, and the heart too…! The sense of having a friend ..a buddy…is lost now..! and the icing on the cake…The Thesis, which never ends.

I guess I might feel better after a cup of tea, but there are sometimes when even a hot cup of tea is not enough to drain away your frustration, especially if you are not a frequent drinker..! I wished I get back my love for hard liquor or weed(for which I never had any love, but I hated it).


And I wish the old friends realize that their friend is actually back…! I haven’t changed, the campus still looks the same, I still roam in my kurta-jeans and chappals, and I still have the same cup of tea-biscuit when I go to canteen at odd hours, What then is missing ?