Tales of a fresher : Boarding the MNC bus (Part 2)

'Pune Cognizant welcomes me!' - well that was the year of 2007, the year of YES! I came as a stranger to a city called Pune and needless to explain why! Finally destiny thought it was better to engage the impossible 23 year old underdog in an industry that fitted her educational qualification best, finally relieving my mom of her ‘rational’ tensions of ‘what will happen if she doesn’t get a job?’, ‘will she get a bride groom?’, ‘everyone is getting a job, why isn’t she?’ and so on and so forth! My father on the contrary was cool, perhaps either believed that as long as my limited cerebral matter was of some use to the society, it was all acceptable, or he had accepted I might just be an underdog of his hyper brainy family tree all my life! And there I was, joining CTS as a programmer analyst. I too was at peace with myself, as I no longer was required to be patient enough to hear out cribbing, hovering and irritating maamis and mamas, as to why I was ‘jobless’ for 6 months post my graduation, while I was working as a CAT instructor in Professional Tutorials at Baroda (working in any other industry other than IT is probably rendered as being jobless/waste/vetti, for a breed of people).

It was on 17th Jan ’07 I came to Pune. I still remember the day I stepped into the city and was repulsed by everything that had to do with it! The station was under construction, probably getting renovated and for all I cared, the renovation continued for long, making it look like a building shattered by an earthquake! The roads leading from the station to the main road were dingy and I could feel an array of roving eyes behind me, as I walked with my luggage. Also I could sense, I was not alone! The disgust was afloat in the air, with many females like me trying to pace up faster to get a bus to Hinjewadi, the IT park. My joining date was 22nd Jan ’07 and there was a weekend in between, where I had to look out for my accommodation. A new place, a new job and the new friends I was going to make, all brought back the positivism in me, the same feeling I had felt 4 years back when I had gone to hostel to study engineering. And that optimism just kept me going. My stint with CTS of 3 years was sure waiting to unravel a roller coaster ride with a lot to teach me in the process!

The evolution that had started then continued..... My stay with this MNC definitely brings a smile on my face even today! Cognizant Technology Solutions! This name will always be a memorable cherished word in my memory! Apart from the incredible learning experience on professional front, life also delivered lessons not-to-be-forgotten on a personal level. I met kinds of people, some of whom who became friends for a lifetime, some who came across like impressionable folks but left little behind, some who I would not like to remember at all for reasons better not stated, some who were quite funny and insane at the same time and some who still float around as acquaintances! The learning continued and I continued to evolve with time. The best thing that happened and which deserves a mention here is, I started blogging! Initially I was not much inclined to it, but with time, I felt I expressed better when I wrote! It was a release for me at times, when I had to vent out my frustrations, my experiences and a lot more! And thanks to CTS blogs, I also made a few blogger friends who, I still follow till date! After 3 years and post marriage, I changed my profession (don’t ask why? Of course, for a change) and I switched to content writing which I enjoyed to the core! I would still like to freelance, given a chance, but yes, now the chance has to wait for a while!

But the bottom line is I am happy today. A major learning that came with all these phases was, ‘Trials and tribulations are a part of life! Either you can challenge them and give them a tough fight or pretend as though there are none!’ But the fun lies in the former, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!