It has been a really long time since I have written my last blog. I am sure everyone is wondering from where the last blog erupted ……… Probably it being a part of my life I could not erase. Now I keep wondering should I have done it or not…………. While in Germany (I still have to tell how I reached there) I was watching one of my favorite television dramas named Smallville, where Lex Luthor tells Clark Kent what is the point of living life without any risk. Guess with every choice there is a consequence and I made the conscience decision of living with it. For a person who normally does not tell people around him (except a very few) what is going on in my mind it was a big step in my life…….. ……..
The second term for me became a drag……. It became a routine which personally I did not like…………..There were no highs and lows I was just taking life as it came……………….I still was not placed and my sulking bouts increased even more…………… My trips around Hinjiwadi became even longer…….. For the first time in my life I went to a temple alone (which no one knows about) Even though I never prayed I just enjoyed the view from there and for the fact no one would have disturbed me there…….
One of fun things that did happen in the second semester was The Art of Living Course…………Everyone was cursing their luck that they have to get up at 5 in the morning, listen to someone else about how to live the perfect life and for the fact unlike Vedanta I was not taking attendance……….For a person like me it meant getting up at 4 in the morning and having a shower(everyone thought I was crazy)……………….Days were really long………During the course Chirag and I made Bhaskar world famous in Hinjiwadi…………..The instructor would ask anything about the batch like who smokes Chirag and I would shout “Bhaskar Bhaskar”. Bhaskar was enjoying the recognition so much that one day he actually took the microphone and started speaking to the batch…………But the most interesting moment came when the instructor told us to get into pairs and tell the other person what you appreciate about him or her….My luck Bhaskar was my partner……….And he said things I never thought I was capable of………One of the most genuine guys in our batch but often misunderstood…………………….. Those 5 days went like a breeze……………….I think everyone was glad it was all over…….especially Clinton who was so fed up on the third day that he fought with Ahen………..and on the last day he walked out somewhere in between the session……………………….Now the Art of living if the exercises are taken seriously it can really help……But when living in Mumbai I saw a very ugly side of the course……………….I saw people joining the course not for making their life better but to make contacts, to basically climb the social ladder…………….
Art of living happened somewhere in the second week of January…………..Still not fully recovered from the lack of sleep…………………….So on Jan. 25th I decided that I shall bunk the republic day ceremony and sleep it out…………I thought to myself if 10 -12 people are missing the ceremony it will not make a difference………….But only 12 people went…………..And our director was livid………….He is used to call a batch meet and rip us apart we ripped him apart in front of the directors of 2 other colleges…………..Well done!!!!!!! So on Jan 27th he called a batch meet at 5 in the morning………………….In pitch darkness he was still wearing his Valentino dark glasses and Ahen thought she was in a fashion parade she came with a hand bag and all…………..He mad us take 2 rounds of the campus…………..clean the campus……………and finally made us meditate…………..Telling us that the only problem with our batch was immaturity…………..After the batch meet Shaval and I decided that the two of us should go for a jog, since we were up already so early…………………………………………It was one of the funniest batch meets ever!!!! While cleaning the campus I found a cigarette bud and since our campus was supposed to be a non smoking campus, I decided to fire the guard…………..Guess I had to remove my frustration somewhere…………..
The Ritz Carlton advised me that probably I should get a private placement done since my family had a lot of contacts and for the fact that there weren’t many reputed coming for finance placements………….Spoke to my dad and he said lets see what can be done…………………. I was still analyzing what I was doing wrong in interviews………… What is so bad in me that I could not get through anywhere on my own merit…………Clinton and the ultimate rock star always told me that I would get through somewhere leaving the entire college stunned………..and getting one of the best summer projects in campus………I always thought getting it on my own merit would have been better but the call came…….. After completing and submitting my second marketing research project I was making small talk to batch mate who I was not really close to when my phone started ringing…………..It was my dad (In the middle of the day really surprising since I would speak to my parents after dinner or while having dinner) I remember his words very well “Mohit I have an email in front of me offering you a job in Germany, do not tell anyone that you have this offer since I want to know how long will the visa formalities will take and you also think about it whether you want to go or not.” I told my batch mate I have to run……… I was just dying to tell everyone but I could not so I decided to take my laptop sit in the EDP room and research about the company……. The ultimate rock star and shake her were fighting against time and were completing their Marketing Research project…….. I don’t know what happened to me I just took the ultimate rock stars laptop as she had her post it application open told her that I have a job offer from Germany. She was the only one who knew…….for many days to come……till I made up my mind whether I should accept the offer or not……On the sole grounds whether I get the visa or not………..
I was finally convinced by my grandfather that visa will not be a problem………So I accepted……….The time came to tell the college that I have finally been placed for summers………………….First my room partner Chirag was told…….and then Bhaskar and told them to keep it to themselves till I tell the director………….. When I knew and before I told anyone, one of the more interesting group presentations took place, if I remember right the same day as the submission of the Marketing Research project. It was for a elective called Inter Personal communication skills…………………I did not work for a second for this particular presentation……The 3 girls Ritz Carlton, Bam Bam and Apple Mac worked(God alone knows for how long)………………And as usual was put in a peculiar position…..For the presentation they choose the topic “how to say no”………………..The created an entire skit based presentation………In the first I had to say no to a lady boss who was making sexual advances towards me……………..In the second I had to ask my girlfriend(Ritz Carlton conveniently my girl friend for this one) to go behind a bush for you know what and she had to say no(trust my luck)………………..Did well for a change in a presentation(speaking in front of a crowd not my forte)…………………
So the day finally arrived when I was going to tell the director that I have got an internship in Germany………I decided to finally tell Ritz Carlton before(as she was in the placements team)………..I was standing with her and Ahen when I said I have to speak to you alone……….I took her to the side and told her………Her reaction “Oh My God!!!” and followed by one of the warmest hugs ever…………..Then the tough one to tell Dazzler that I will not be in India for a little more than 2 months……So was walking with her as she had class and said I have to tell you something…….She gets a phone call that attendance is being taken and decides to run. She was half way up the stairs when I don’t know what came over me and I shouted “I going to Germany for my summers”. The worst way ever to tell the one you like that she will not be seeing me and phone calls will be close to zero. She just looked back once and continued running……………. A series of text messages on my mobile followed………….She was angry with me that she was not the first one to know that I had finally been placed…………. Probably one of the worst decisions of my life………….But did not really know how she was going to react…………………….Guess life is no fun without taking any risks……
After telling the director…………..the word was out Mohit Malani has been placed……………..I was sitting n fresh and honest all alone and a group of batch mates came along……One of them congratulated me said I better have fun in Germany, his girlfriend who was standing with him had one of the harshest reactions ever her exact words “Why him”. Then it struck me some batch mates are going to talk behind my back……..That I am not good enough to be placed on my own……………….It was time for lunch and was walking towards the mess quite dejected………..When I bumped into Kake (A batch mate who used to call me Seth saab ever since induction day) I just looked at him and words came out of my mouth I have been placed, I saw a twinkle in his eye and he just asked where and I told him the details…….He just pulled my cheeks and said Seth saab tu ne karke dikhya……. I walked into the mess not realizing he was following me………..There were 2 other placement committee members who did not know and he shouted from behind Dekh isko kehte hain summer placement…………What you people could not do he has done……….The moment made me feel good(guess everyone’s ego has to be satisfied somehow). Another sweet reaction was from Bam Bam she got me flowers (She was the first a girl ever to get me flowers).
When everyone around me asked that why am I doing an MBA….. The answer would always be “For Knowledge”, “Improving my skill set” and “For doing something on my own”. But this view changed after the first semester. The subjects that were included in the curriculum were too many and some of them did not even make sense to me. For example the only thing I remember from the marketing management class was the example the professor gave on customer satisfaction “The porn films made in Europe are much better than the porn films made in the United States of America”. It explains why I failed in the subject (Even though I passed in revaluation). So what was the point of doing an MBA……….You could get the knowledge by just sitting at home and reading any of the suggested readings…………..It would give you sufficient jargon for you to make good corporate presentations…………
Then why all the fuss for an MBA degree………….Well it definitely gives you a jump in the corporate world in terms of designation and salary………………But it does that one more thing……………it gives you industry contacts……………that will only happen if you take active interest in college activities……………but eventually it will be your friends who will also be placed somewhere in the corporate world thus giving you enough industry contacts…………
Second semester was really going slow, probably explaining the fact my mind was not in college in the second semester………………….Beginning of the second semester it was when will I be placed and where I will be placed………….After I was placed how will my summers be in the terms of project and learning…….International exposure always appealed to me as I was the only one in the family who did not have a stint working abroad…….And here was my chance to prove myself………………………………..People did feel that I was not spending enough time with them…………………..I remember this particular call from Ahen, when I told her I was in the hostel her exact reaction “Ok fine you take fevi kwik put it on your ass and stay in that dump all your life.” And I had Ritz Carlton always accusing me that my love for her had reduced……………….Well all that is not true I just wanted to keep to myself………………..I cannot answer that question why I wanted to keep to myself…………..Maybe it stems from the fact that everyone is going to alone at some point of their life might as well get used to it from now………………