Alas I got into a then 3 billion dollar IT gaint !

Alas I got into a then 3 billion dollar IT gaint !what it gave me over the months...its been 9 months now in TCS as a part of its culture and breeze.TCS is a consulting company that has its history spread over nearly 2 decades,Mr Ramadorai is the company CEO.

TCS has endless number of branches in India and spread across the globe, like the poor man's umbrella! I say poor man because TCS is not a great paymaster thou I must confess ppl from TCS (in IT) are among the richest in India. Its all because of its so called onsite!!Will tell u more on that later..

Initially I got placed to TCS thru the campus in 2005 June ,to be specific on 9th .It was a special Thursday for me. I always had good things coming my way on Thursdays and this one was a value add to that list !! Hurray! was the first word I uttered from my mouth after seeing my name written in pen on the bulletin board of JNNCE college Shimoga,it was a nodal centre for the recruitment.I was the only guy from my college who had carried a tie along with.

I was confident of cracking TCS even b4 I knew what TCS was and what that pattern of questions they followed..It was the first company that came for the campus and they clubbed three colleges and almost it was a fight out. A fierce battle to survive the hottest race to get into India's No 1 (:) wink) IT Company that boasted of 3 billion dollar revenues!(man that’s a huge money believe me)..There were 1700 of them from three colleges who wrote the written test! I was alas one of the 39 students picked!

800 cleared the written test and only 39 were winners after literally a shootout in the interview. Where we were grilled like a sandwich (without even some valid vegetables stuffed into but they grilled to the core till the bread started to crack down.).. no doubt few had the bread and butter coming out after all the tossing and toppling..(Most of the restrooms were flooded!)I remember being in empty stomach for more than 13 hrs (that’s the time my interview lasted -incl waiting period staring at the HRs who seemed be REAALLY busy though in reality had nothing to do at all...

After asking a series of questions like where do u see yourself 10 yrs from now and all that u can imagine! (time pass questions) they came to business. Asked me to write codes! Almost i jotted 8 programs before being sent out saying Il need to wait for their results..I had to travel back to Harihar and they had not announced the results yet. that made me even more tensed..but mind u..I never ever had a iota of doubt of not being selected! I knew il make it (don’t know where i got all the confidence from)..hmm...

yes was ultimately in TCS...that’s June ..my first taste of the upcoming honeymoon ! (I had not married the company yet - coz no offer letter or no joining letter was issued) ...

Was it a battle or a desperation to get phew !

Battle for Offer letter and Joining letter: Once in my wildest dream I had dreamt that TCS would not issue me the offer letter ..it almost went on to become true when I did not receive any intimation from the company for many months after my selection..I was like a bird without feathers..

A BIRD WHO FEARED TO FLY HIGH! lolzzbut i preferred to walk like a penguin. not taking the risk. trust me i have never asked even once anybody for my offer letter..It went on and on..waiting...June..July..August..September..I had not even got a intimation (on papers) that I was selected by them..TCS : Totally clueless syndrome ! Had developed in me..Then the sun as usual wet his eyes on the east releasing a wave of hope to me when I found that my offer letters had come to my college..HEY ONE MORE THING..WE DINT KNOW ABOUT HOW MUCH SALARY PACKAGE TCS OFFERED US !!


it was a small package finally when i saw it. but did not regret because of the brand name this company had created in the corporate world.Now that we got a offer letter from tcs,I again became a true tcser (totally clueless syndrome)..I was patient again to wait for the so called joining letter...days passed cluelessly..My lecturers wondered why there was so much delay in the arrival of the joining letter only from this company!! I always pacified them (just to protect the shame) that big companies took much time to issue letters just to ensure that ppl are with them though they delayed the process (ya I am with them after all their torture :) just kidding )..

Finally the bell rang in the month of August 2006 !! it was a small cyber cafe where I ran to see if I was blessed with a mail from the HRs as my friends had received one!!ya there was a mail popping out of my inbox shouting at me for the delay in opening it. it could not resist itself from saying where and when I had to join,..now TCS again did something that I had not expected. Totally clueless...:)

Subject line of the mail read: "your joining @kolkata ILP on 25th Sept 2006" in the body of the mail was given Hyderabad address.!!!!!now i wondered if there is a small kolkata in hyd!HRs never gave any info abt this small Kolkata in hyd...or a big Hyd in even bigger Kolkata...no one picked my calls..HRs here are extremely intelligent when it comes to picking up calls... I tried to call them from various coin booths, std(pls dont take it as Sexually transmitted diseases :)) centres, different cell phones in vain.. They have a list of all the numbers, public phones,PCOs etc to knw that a aspiring ILPate is calling them to ask for joining details. They are just fed up and attached to the so called TCS (as i have always talked abt this syndrome).But I continued to luv this org though I dint even had first night with it !but i knew somewhere someday il get married to this big boss who pretends to be clueless..now it was the the time to test my patience when I got to know abt the place of ilp ! it was Kolkata - city of joy !!date remained same ! 25th sept 2006 but it was a place 1800 km from where i was staying(Bangalore)..and trust me I dint have a single known person to go with or in the ilp..ILP was just 20 days away.

*ILP : Initial Learning Program by TCS to groom the newbies on Softskills and Technical thingies..World Class training is offfered.It can be the most memoriable days in one's life.


I had to get so many certificates, affidavits to prove ,thousands of annexure !!..oops..
* I m not criminal,
* I am I,
*I am born !~
*Taking birth was not enough where also mattered for them !
*plan my travel..
* had to undergo medical test
* had to again wait for the joining letters..

These were classified under "Mandatory" list ! so had to get them somehow.

I was x-rayed,y-rayed,z-rayed til I became a RAY Fish 4 them

At Medical Test again my patience was tested to the peak ...

* Well springs - koramangala 8th block - Bangalore.* was out there to prove I was fit to take the beatings!! Mentally tough to take up challenges..
* As u know empty stomach makes much noise. It was hard to under go so many tests..Chest,liver,stomach,ecg,stress test,Color blindness..sugar,salt (i mean urine)thank god i did not have stool test ! (now don’t ask me for the reason)Though my liver is weak since childhood it was said alrite in the medicals...though I had some problem in seeing girls I was told my eyes are normal. Though i had difficulty to understand the life they told my senses are 100 percent pacca!

I was proud to be with such a company who compromised in so many things to retain their employees (he he)!!don’t u think they value u so much ??ok after all these tests were conducted in empty stomach,I had no strength to do anything and was experiencing Uncertainity (" Experience Certainity " is the TCS-Slogan). Then had a strange exp..a nurse came to me and took me into a room where I was all alone !! Hmm curious to know what hapnd?





Even i was ...cos I already told u I had no power even to resist if someone wanted to do sometime with me !!hmm ...hm mit was for serving breakfast - Thanks to the Alla above !!! she had taken me..after 10 min of waiting for a breakfast -


I was served 2 idlis...(now what ?) and for another gal next to mewas served dosa !!I wondered if I had passed medical test..cos I wondered if they were serving idli's to ppl who could not make it in the test(coz @ that time I hated idlies)..I was worried if I had any serious illness.....hmm god knws abt the results ..but I got my joining letter...then I booked my train from bangalore to howrah thru chennai !Here on my journey began into the unseen life...mysteries of life..I feared even if the mysteries would unfold ! Different paradigm of life..that was ILP - Initial Learning Program

My soul (sole) companion then -ILP

Journey to ILP in a sad mood: I left my home on 20th morning along with my dad to Bangalore from where I had to take the night train to Chennai and next day morning was my train from Chennai - to Kolkata..

Coramandal Express S2 (2nd tier AC) seat 28.November 28th is my day when I was hatched into this colorful world,28th November is the same day when I was asked to report in my base branch bangalore at a later point of time after ILP got over..28 has played a significant role in my life as it was seat number 28 in the train.



When I left home my mom did not cry surprisinly..I am the only kid to my parents that I have always been with them throughout my education until I got graduated, my mom isn’t that tough mentally but for the first time I was going out to a unknown place, new language, new culture... but she shed not a drop of tear !This further strengthened my mental toughness to survive!! Infact one day I had thought I wont go and attend ILP (as I was already working with Robert Bosch,Bangalore) I had no reason to go to kolkata...but..

Here is this but.

This but always shakes the butt against life...my career needed some graphical representation in God's graph theory! so I obeyed him and wanted to pave way to a exciting career in a consulting firm ..a transition from a product company to a yet to see consulting gaint...

The journey again had some TCS attached to it..(u would know the expansion if you had gone thru my earlier blog)coming to Bangalore by afternoon, I did some shopping and then boarded my train "Yeshwantpur Howrah express" to reach Chennai in the morning ! 21st morning at 6 am.My train was supposed to depart at 9 am from Chennai...my dad left me till Bangalore. Was a loner from then on!I wondered how I would travel 36 hours in train all alone!!but I had done it !!

Frm Rajni to Bipasha !

As i wondered at the Tamil boards (was clueless(TCS had stuck me !) about what it said..) as I waited at the railway station in Chennai... it was a good experience to be loner at an unknown place...the cooliees were wearing dhoti ! First time I saw anybody so keen on their culture though it hampered their nature of work making it difficult to CARRY BAGGAGES...!I paid 40 bucks to a cooliee for getting my luggages to the platform where "Coramandal Express" arrived..

I locked my luggage on to the seat/wooden one and then went for a stroll..Just that my taste buds wanted some hot tea!Unfortunately I ended up sipping something that tasted more like a coffee than a tea. Had to manage with what ever I could get. Since I did not know what to do..

Next bought a crisp newspaper from the stands and started to read. I also looked around if I could find any young buds who could possibly be TCSers trying to catch the same way of life...but unfortunately I did not find anyone! Except for a girl. Her dad was with her.. :(

I just quietly slipped into my compartment and tried to catch some sleep! But it was horrifying to even remember the length of journey that I had to traverse through! it seemed sometimes impossible to go ahead. I had no one to talk with. Had my cell but was on roaming...I still had a companion whom I messaged though it cost me a huge amount!I never thought that ppl around would be so reserved. There were one couple (both working for SBI) next to me.

Also there were ppl from IIT karagpur..But none of them ever had a desire to even speak and know each other. I picked up a novel from my bag and began to read it. Got bugged up with it. Then threw a few messages to my special companion and again checked the pantry for some food..The journey was really strenuous! It took a toll out of me..I landed up in Kolkata - Howdah at 12:30 pm after 39 hours of "fascinating"! Journey..


Its actually 36 hours but the train got delayed due to the storming rain that took the city to its new shape on that day..I alas could meet a couple of friends in train who were going to the same hotel where I was booked by my company..It was at "Park Side Road” Deshupriya park Kolkata..The hotel was Thara mahal..As I got down the train I could not sight a single auto rickshaw! Was strange. as we see so many RICK's here in Karnataka.


I couldn’t find any auto there...I wondered how would I be reaching an unknown hotel!I had no clew abt the distance I had to travel..Neither what transportation to take..I thought I would go in a taxi. The taxi what you can find there are nothing but yellow ambassador cars!Seeing the cars I feared the meter if it would burst my pocket and tear it into pieces cos of the unknown distance I had to take. Because here in Bangalore only executive ppl take taxis and most of it would be paid by their companies..But I dint even know if TCS paid for my commutation...ok i was not alone this time. I had a couple of friends along with me. so decided that we would go together in the taxi !Kolkata mind u is a very big city..the driver kept driving endlessly... whatever we asked him he couldn’t not give any straight forward answer since he knew nothing but Bengali..

A New Quake that did not claim life ~ !

As we entered into the city I was amazed to see the buildings all around. They were like the British era..I had seen such buildings only in my 10th standard history books! There was ppl all around..I saw ppl taking bath on road! Shaving and doing all their "kriya" on road...Yet the road looked less slum and more clean..

The roads were as wide as the playgrounds here in Bangalore.. Sometimes as we traveled further I could sense the tremor on the road! I was taken aback I asked the driver what the tremor was! I feared loosing my life on the very first day where I wanted to start my career...I feared a Quake!The Quake was nothing but the speed monsters that ran underground. They shook the roads above. I will tell you more about it..

My hotel came and I had to pay the cab!Was shocked again to see such low fare! Just 100 bucks for all the distance we had covered and the numerous tremors we experienced...My hotel was as I told earlier "Thara Mahal"..It looked decent from outside comparing it with the other old buildings I had been seeing..We were welcomed neatly. I was asked to choose a room. I choose room number 110 !

I had no room mate initially..they asked me to give a constraint about the new room mate who would be joining me ! Though I am not very comfortable with anyone and everyone (I mean I wanted to give constraints like "he must not booze or smoke in the room " but again I thought I am grown up and must learn to adjust! so did not give any constraints..Just got into the room...faced problems with the lock initally..But managed to cleanly close the door before going for a splash!Had not seen water for 3 days. Was rotting and badly wanted to have a bath that lasted the whole day. I wanted to take rest. Was tired...As I was latched in bathroom a guy knocked at the doors!!

Do u think roomie matters ?

I opened to see a short hefty stout popping into the room with lots of hesitation…*A wwf freak. crazy abt wrestlers…*A guy of razor sharp tongue, with the accent of his north Karnataka (sulemangane!) he use to tear the emotions of the ppl apart! Really very short tempered mashkiri (that’s what he used to represent “masti” guy.I am always weak in understanding the North Karnataka ppl,though I always have felt they have more bondage and social life compared so the people from southern Karnataka,I have never been able to experience it.


I have always had bad experiences with them.Once reason for this probably is I am a very sensitive person and one in appropriate comment thrown on me can ruin and end my friendship with people.I still have been trying to work out relationship with a couple of North Karnataka people in my office even now…I have had no issues until now,neither had positive results aswel...:)

Lets see..This stout whom


I referred to as “mashkiri” was the one whom I had to get along with during the whole of my stay in Kolkata…thou he is a nice guy to be with; he seldom understood the requirement of his friends.Suddenly one night something happened which force me to change the room…It was nothing but a sudden downpour from the roof of my room ! As I was sleeping one night (as usual our mashkeri was watching wwf) ,I woke up to realize that I had a bath in the middle of the night !only to discover that the roof was leaking like a unclosed drainage!!I requested the hotel authorities to change my room! Was allotted ROOM NO 117 (where a police complaint was lodged – il narrate it later)

117 - doors closed !

My old room was 110 where the the whole setup drenched. Room number 117 was a very special room because it was in the ladies floor, all the rooms in the floor were occupied by ladies (I mean girls ...again what I mean is fellow TCSers with opposite gender “ )


So 117 was the most sought rooms of our hotel…It was the one where all the party happened. all the drunkards slept..Its registered in the books of Bengal cops…some old couples next door had lodged a police complaint to counter the noise coming out of 117..

Now 117 was turning out to be a bond of 007…Our room was tailored to see girls from all angles coz it had deep windows stretched across the building to give a clear view of the no nonsense gals.. (I literally never was a part of this prank! :) trust me pls...)


But I could see lotsa ppl who enjoyed this bird’s view..Ppl generally hated to pick calls from 117 intercom.. Would quote u an incident..My friend (pachtavo) (name changed for security purpose..he he) was in room 67 , I called him on extension and he said “ Me todha bahar hu,raat tak aajavunga” (He as a little drunk thou..takhila had done the wonder ! it had thrown those precious words from the bottom of his ****..


Room num 117 also had geyser for next 3 rooms. So only if they (girliesss next door !)had our blessings they could “not smell” in office…Room had a vibrant environment and a gizmo TV that almost pulled all the channels in the city…it had spacious place and hangers to put our under garments for drying!! (Room service was excellent) – I meant serving fud, pressing clothes, I know still u managed to get what I was tryin to tell..Anyways I have less time to jot down the happenings of 117...closing the chapter saying nothing much happened there as one would be imagining

Kolkata !Truly a city of Joy !

Kolkata ..Sometimes the red liquid in the body just stops flowin ..cells stop breathing out Co2 .. Hands wonder if they r fixed to the shoulder...the untidy gets tidy and the ball starts to roll...it all happens if I hear a single weird word "Calcutta"..Calcutta as a city really made a huge difference to my life coz I had never traveled out of Karnataka for such a long time (2 months)...Initial hiccups are bound to rebound from the hills of mystery to the grounds of reality when for the naive first timers...its those small things that help u take wrong decision about any spec in life...As it was a horror in the beginning I concluded that Kolkata was a kala kutta that is was the stepping stone for getting my career screwed to the core as the seeds of hatred was already sown in my "kidney" (y shud always refer to heart ! isn’t kidney a vital organ aswel) ..Durga mata who hold kolkata on her finger opened my eyes only to realize that my opinion was totally wrong..During navratri Kolkata looks amazing. Its a heaven sliced out to make the humans happy ..Those trees around the lanes of Kolkata dance to the tune of decoration ...It looks amazing to in the city at that time.One thing I noticed abt the place is ppl are dignified in the way you want them to be..trust me I couldn’t see a single drunkard even during the midnight of the Durgapuja-Navratri fest,where every hour the crowd gets doubled and the streets of kolkata are floating with ppl at about 3am in the night ! can u believe if I say it would be hard to get into a chat stall that this time !?Kolkata is full of parks and grounds ..lots of these parks host Durga fest pendals at the time of navratri ,the goddess looks gorgeous with gigantic sculptures standing tall with tons of ornaments to enhance her beauty.People take pride in coming out of the houses to see these pendals flashing with lights during the night and the best pendal gets lakhs of rupees as prize money !Its late here in the night I got to sleep nw...Catch u with more stuffs sometime later