One life, a million dreams – A tale of changing dreams!

“Work while they’re fighting,

Learn while they’re critiquing,

Party while they’re sleeping,

Live like they’re dreaming!”

Basically since childhood I have always followed this with all my heart and mind. Staunch believer of ‘living life king size’, I have always aimed for striving and achieving the best possible with the merit and talent I possess along with the urge to keep growing better every day. But I have been very practical in setting goals and dreams. ‘Jack of all trades but master of none’ is something that has at times deterred me from pursuing multiple passions. But I feel so happy and proud not to have given in to my hesitation.

I feel from personal experience that childhood dreams are not always realistic and things change with passage of time. It is not always bad to change course of life for better results. Blindly following something you have set your eyes on early in life despite having lost interest in it gradually just for the sake of living upto your once ‘dream’ and others’ expectations is not a smart thing. My life has been extremely dynamic. In a nutshell, my story till date ranges from an ardent Biology lover in school to a Computer Engineer turned Corporate HR professional.

Pretty interesting turn of life events, isn’t it? Well, as I write this, I go back revisiting different stages of my life and I sure hope this would be relatable to a lot of students, teenagers and young adults. In school, I was a pretty bright student in academics and a high scorer in all subjects. Typically perceived as a nerd, I took up Science stream in high school and fared well. Noticing my love for Biology and hoping for a ‘Family doctor’, my family encouraged me to pursue Medical Sciences. However, I liked other subjects including Mathematics and Computers pretty much too. This was a major turning point in my life when I realized that it is not necessary what you like today will keep you going all life. I liked to study Bio Sciences pretty much but taking it up as a career needed reconsideration. It is very important to understand the difference between passion and profession. The very thought of additional responsibilities as a Medical practitioner weighed me down – I realized I was meant for something else. In life at many points, you need to make rational decisions keeping the bigger picture in mind. I had not lost interest in my favorite subject or lacked confidence, I was simply not up for that kind of life. It is better to choose a career you’ll be happy with. A science graduate has not much choice you see – I took up Engineering in a reputed Government College.

The next four years were an eye opener for me and the most glorious time of my life. This was the time when I discovered my analytical bent of mind and an unaware creative side. From a so-called ‘geek’, I evolved into a mature young woman with zeal and passion. Back in school I had quit Bharatanatyam dance classes (after training for ten years) and declined all office bearing positions as it required time and effort, all of which I preferred to focus on academics solely. Here I learnt to open up with people and interact with strangers and acquaintances in a tone as per the situation. I became friendly and explored my two dearest hobbies – writing and dancing extensively. I became part of several cultural clubs in college, lead teams in organizing festivals and events, took part in innumerable intra and inter college competitions and served as a Placement Committee member, the Wall Magazine Editor and the Cultural Secretary. Together with that, I started blogging for several esteemed online communities and pages including The Writer’s Nest, My Trending Stories and Kolkata Bloggers. I started taking interest in social causes and joined CRY-Child Rights and You, and United Nations Volunteers, and Careers360 as a student counselor to contribute my bit. My school and college life was so different, it felt like I had just started living the way I wanted to. So much happened so quickly – I think I has always needed this room to just grow. Although I did like the Engineering course but given my dynamic nature, I started introspecting and considering other career options. These college years gave wings to my dreams and I realized I was quite good at multi-tasking with expertise! I did have a way with words and people and with panache. I was too young to opt for a coding job and wanted to continue higher education after B.Tech. Guided by a professor who identified my true potential and showed me my actual interest, I decided to pursue MBA in Human Resources.Constant outlook for opportunities and quest for growth and excellence keeps me alive

Then began the next beautiful chapter of my life as a Business Graduate. I cleared CAT entrance exam and got admitted to a premiere B-school, XIMB. These two lightning fast years were so eventful both on personal and professional front. The typical boring, monotonous MBA student life turned out to be surprisingly fun and happening for me. I was happy to have made another right choice again – I knew I was in a place I wanted to be. I had always dreamt of such a life which will keep me hustling between activities. I probably enjoyed it thoroughly because I had a flair of dealing with many things at a time. While I heard others cribbing about placements and complaining about classes and exams, I had the time of my life toggling between classes, exams, quizzes, live projects, assignments, research surveys, events, competitions, clubs, committees, walks, night life, case studies, parties, outings, trips, group discussions, leadership talks, corporate gatherings, internships, interviews and placements. From participating and winning National level B-school and Corporate competitions organized by top notch brands to leading multiple committees to being a member of the Alumni outreach group, National level SPICMACAY, state level literary societies, I leveraged every opportunity to grow and build network. Short stints of live projects with several companies as an HR and digital marketing intern as well the major Summer Internship with Wipro gave me a lot of hands on learning. I worked on real time business projects to devise implementable solutions that fetched me awards from Business Standard and a live podcast broadcasted to all associates of Wipro.

Next comes my current role as an HR professional in the reputed IT firm, Cognizant. I am part of the Central Corporate ‘Centre of Excellence’ – Compensation & Benefits. Honed with networking and communication skills, I along with the team handle policies and wellness benefits of the entire India headcount of over two lacs. It has been a year and I now feel I had always wanted this role and it perfectly suits me. Along with that, I keep nurturing my passion for dance by learning new styles and choreographies through online media on weekends. Lately, I have also taken to bringing out my inner voice on several social customs to spread awareness by publishing articles on my blog ‘Masqueraded Insurgence’ (the name says a lot!) and ‘The Women’s Web’ – a platform connecting women leaders and writers worldwide. This constant outlook for opportunities and quest for growth and excellence keeps me alive.

But despite everything, I can’t stress the importance of focus on studies in an academic course enough. Traversing through various phases of my life, I did what I loved according to the situation and that’s my biggest achievement. I balanced academics, professional and personal interests perfectly and this is what needs to be mastered foremost to fare well. For me, passion and profession have always been two different things – many won’t agree. Everything in life is based on personal experience and upbringing. Not everything works for everyone. Discovering your ‘right’ at the ‘right time’ will only take you places. However, I love my personal and professional life equally well and trust me, it’s not unbelievable. Commitment towards both is important but very different – In your profession, you are answerable to multiple stakeholders who are impacted by your deliverables and since it is a mutual association, you owe another party. Your passion will keep you going without any external dependency, does more of an internal healing and impacts your personal well-being by making you happy, which is equally essential in order to keep up everything else. My education and development throughout life till date has been holistic. All our thoughts are shaped by duality but many a times, there is a third dimension we overlook, this our biggest fallacy we need to overcome and look at life afresh – Everything may not happen categorically for good, or bad. But it happens for a reason that may be good, or bad, or neither!

~ SUMANA SAHA

Not Always Necessary

‘Necessary’ – a very powerful nine letter word that most of us drool over and want to have in our lives. In these times of lockdown, our minds often ponder over what exactly is necessary and what is not in life. This is the best time that is basically making us realize the same but in very different ways. Many of us who are not into introspecting have started doing so – maybe to kill time or maybe just to look cool and be able to share heavy ‘stuff’ on social media like most others.

It has been a month since the sad demise of a Bollywood celebrity and since then till today whenever I open my feed, there has not been a single time when some ‘random’ opinion around the incident has not popped up. It has been quite some time since this has been there but over the past few days, opinions have aggravated exponentially or maybe I wasn’t a keen observer earlier and am suddenly noticing. This too you see is an opinion and I realize it as I am writing it. I have been a strongly opinionated person since childhood and have been proud of the same. But of late I also realize that ‘opinion’ is very different from ‘judgement’.

Not every action you come across in life can be categorized as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ and neither is it necessary. Everything in life is shaped by duality – we always fantasize the concept ‘Yin and Yang’. It might not be so – there may sometimes or always be a third dimension, or more, that we conveniently choose to ignore. The new age generation talks and posts a lot on modern outlook and liberal perspective but how many of us walk the talk in real life? The truth is we have somewhat become comfortable or made peace with customs and traditions and the thought of breaking shackles of convention is a huge task involving enormous effort. So many of us still live by the phase ‘opposites attract’ because it worked in few cases? I have plenty of examples where it didn’t. Each individual, each situation is different. Mass generalization is a fallacy in the roots. Especially in India which is culturally and demographically so diverse that when you move from North to South in a city, a stark difference in the culture is evident.

We believe that the Universe is a perfect balance of two antagonistic forces that mutually operate. We outright deny any third opinion outside of these thinking that it will disrupt the basic system. Why does something have to be ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, ‘good’ or ‘bad’? Why can’t it be neutral, a little of both and most of neutral, most of good and a little of bad or vice versa? Or why can’t it be sometimes good, and sometimes bad? I’ll tell you why. Ever since childhood you have been hearing ‘a coin has two sides’. You haven’t heard people giving the example of a dice – it has three dimensions and six faces. Ever wondered why? Probably because the former is easy to justify to young inquisitive minds. Complex problems on the dice are good for Probability sums in Maths books only. But is life that simple? Does this sound ideal? But ideal is theoretical, not practical. Now you’ll say ‘Not really, there are exceptions.” Well yes, there are and exceptions only prove a theory.

Our principles, beliefs and ideals are not something we own by virtue of birth, they form over years based on personal experiences around what we see, hear, undergo. They can very well differ from somebody in totally unrelated different circumstances. Then what forms the basis of judgement? It is all a matter of perception. You may not at all be able to relate to some concepts and happenings because you lived, were brought up and grew up in a different place in a different lifestyle. The value system you live by is not superior or inferior, it’s just different. But that does not mean you reject the others’ existence. Multiple perceptions can very well be mutually accepted, respected and peacefully co-exist. I believe the heinous of crimes cannot be tagged the same at all times hands down. The same crime may have so many unique motives. There may be a different side to the story that no one lends an ear to because it is either unconventional or might not attract public attention and sympathy. We are bothered with what will go down well with the masses and in a 1.3 billion headcount, that is something!

It may sound clichéd but lets admit that we are obsessed with the ends more than the means. You can at best have opinions. You see how I have expressed my opinions throughout. Haha, I guess that’s a human instinct. These too have been derived from experiences both felt and heard. For a minute, delete all I wrote and go back to thinking what’s wrong if I don’t want to raise a voice. So what if I am fine by convention and do not want to embrace the complexities. Is it wrong to prefer convenience to principles? Trust me there’s nothing wrong and it’s absolutely fine. All you need to remember is it is a conscious call – a choice which is accompanied by consequences. And it is fair if as an adult, you are willing to assume responsibility of the same in due course of time. Never get carried away by loads of opinions you come across online or offline. Popular opinion is the greatest lie in the world. Always try to understand the difference between opinion and truth.

But sometimes, you can think if having opinions also is necessary. Is it necessary because of peer pressure – when friends discuss it in a group, the feeling of being left out and not being able to participate? Just put up a fake smile and pretend to go with the opinion of majority? No, although that’s what Joey does! It is okay to admit not having an opinion or not being aware and just listen silently. The next few moments will be a journey from ignorance to knowledge. There can be so many things in the world on which you may not need to have an opinion. Even those affecting public or of national importance, you have to be aware completely on the matter to form an opinion which may not always be the case and it is alright. There is no embarrassment in following topics of interest rather than hopelessly reading through big news without a heart, if that’s a happy choice. At times for a change, try being informed instead of just opinionated. Someone’s opinion cannot be your reality.

~ SUMANA SAHA

Growing Up

It was Father’s Day few days back and while writing a post for Dad, I sat back thinking about all this. I have always had immense respect for the generation before ours. Born in the second and third decade after independence, they have come a long way. The other day, we were seated at the dining table and chatting casually about childhood. Mom and Dad very enthusiastically were talking about theirs. Having 5 phuchkas on Sundays for one rupee, waiting to go to uncle’s house to meet cousins and play once a month, getting one new dress a year during Durga Puja, listing Kali Puja crackers in the last page of book under the pretext of studying, competing with siblings to win ‘balloon throwing’ game in Holi, hearing stories about Independence war from parents, eloping tuition from their blind grandfather to play while he was still teaching, asking each other questions during exams – these are some of the happiest memories they recalled with sparkling joy in their eyes. Being chased by a goat and throwing slippers at it, helping Mama to enter home stealthily on a night before exam after playing a Cricket match and all getting beaten up by their father, staying up all night in bed watching logged water go down in the ground floor they lived – were all the problems they faced. No mention of the excitement on getting the first smart phone, winning beauty contests, hanging out with friends, first waxing, first date, foreign trip, etc. Neither mention of fighting tobacco, alcohol, drug addiction, random sex, rehab programmes, racism, feminism, body shaming, objectification, cheating, lust and so on. All they fought was with siblings for the biggest piece of fish! That was when I realized how different their world was from ours.

These early teenage formative years of life are very important for an individual as that forms the base of some strong beliefs and principles that one carries all life. What a child grows up seeing, hearing and feeling stays with him till the end. The question is not about how simple or complex life has become. Both sides exist in both time zones. It is all about time and embracing changes which are only a function of time. The way parents from this generation have adapted and come around is extremely impressive. I doubt if our generation can do that if we ever had to retrogress. Few months of lockdown has irritated us to this extent that we want our older lives back. It is traumatizing to stay at home all day and depression is on the rise. This was the entire life of most few decades back. Imagine how steadily and actively these people made an effort to become ‘progressive’ or ‘liberal’ or ‘modern’.

I have seen them offer the best to everyone with whatever available, indulge in easy conversations with both known and unknown, get along comfortably with all age groups. Their keen interest in trying to understand what they don’t know mesmerizes me. Drawing a line between spirituality and superstition, they have idolized spirituality about doing the right at the right time. Staunch believer of certain ideals and principles – they have shown precision in calculation, decision making guided by logic and rationale. They have been listening to and having faith in us all the time – hearing us out patiently every single time and responding with logic whether they agree or not. I have always lived with my grandparents and hence have got an opportunity to closely examine the mentality and outlook of three successive generations. My parents form a strong bridge between two generations with opposite mindsets – they have an orthodox and modern outlook both and the way they switch modes and toggle between responsibilities trying to keep everyone happy is something to learn. They have seen heights of convention in their earlier generation and a rebellious generation ahead. It’s just amazing how they deal with both extremes, break the chain, not pass on the baton of convention and give us wings to think freely. No expectation, only duty. Sounds similar to ragging by seniors in college right? Greatest epics like Mahabharata talks about change but it’s only natural to give way to doubts in the process. It’s not easy to believe every time. This act of giving us a childhood they probably never had calls for immense gratitude.

Well, this lockdown period has come with a lot of revelations for me. I left home with an adolescent mindset some years back and since then I came back only as a guest to spend vacations. But today when I come back during lockdown after long, a different view dawns on me. Probably these issues were already there but I chose to conveniently ignore or Mom and Dad shielded them. Now being at home all day and exposed to daily routines of all family members, I can see through and realize various responsibilities and perceptions. Staying at home for a long stretch makes my mind wander back to my ‘Growing up’ days during idle times. This is all part of adulting.

Whatever I wrote is purely based on personal experiences and from a personal perspective. There could exist multiple opinions each one of us can have. But from what I have seen, this is a generic opinion I hold on this matter. Blaming parents for not trying to understand our issues and jumping to advice is all natural and part of growing up. They too have done the same, may not be openly always. People will say trying putting yourself in their shoes and vice versa but that’s rarely possible. You cannot experience each other’s position unless you get into their minds. So at times it is fine if parents and children cannot understand each other’s problems and actions. Try to understand why – it is mostly because their version of ‘Growing up’ is very different from ours. But it is important to let go of things with time. Time is the best healer and also the best teacher. When you look back, you may not always feel happy – it will be a unique combination of smiles and frowns. That is what makes this journey of ‘Growing up’ special for each one of us in our own different ways.

~ SUMANA SAHA

Hearing Stories or Attending Funerals?

After quite a long discussion with few people on the tragic headline of Bollywood today, I realize there is no point in judging or blaming the youth for committing suicide. Once a person is gone, discussing the issues and causes that could have bothered him is of no use. Exploring reasons and possibilities is all in vain. But ironically, doing the same as long as the person is alive could be useful and prevent such a scenario. Moreover, it is all a hype in India that dies as fast as it rises. This too will stay in the news for sometime and then be wiped off. People will return to gossip and monotony but what won’t return is the lost soul. Many lost souls, mostly unnamed.

Today suddenly mental illness is a big issue because a Bollywood star is a victim. Everyone around is saying he was too young and had a promising career. There are so many suicide cases reported in the youth and specifically so many in the past few days of lockdown. They all were too young to leave and may be had promising careers in different fields. That is the bitter truth. Depression or rather any form of mental illness does not depend on age, social status, gender or religion. It is pretty much like any other physical illness but even scarier because of its variety of reasons and symptoms. It can be rooted in a person’s life in ways deeper than you can think and beyond what you can imagine. There is no hard and fast rule to problems in one’s life – each one is different. There are sources apart from the most common ones you can think of involving career, love, relationships, addiction, academic, pressure, finances and so on. The news today is a perfect example. Despite having everything a normal man can crave for, depression brings down a young lad. Why? How could have depression got him? What will come to light are possible theories but his true story will remain untold just like many others. Here is the biggest fallacy. Here comes the need to speak up and seek help.

It is strange how untold stories are celebrated and filmed when they lead to glory and success and conveniently avoided when they lead to failure and dejection, whereas it ideally should always be the other way round so that lessons can be derived from the latter. It is high time we start listening to each other’s problems, not necessarily we shall be able to solve. At times, we do not pay heed to minor problems bothering us, failing to realize its potentiality. Sometimes, the brightest smiles hide the gravest sorrows. Next time you see someone laughing, don’t assume he is the happiest being alive. We all experience this – fake smiles, pretense of strength & happiness shields us from the world but not inner self. If Chandler resorts to humor and sarcasm as his defense mechanism, we all have resorted to our own means. The same ignorance over and over again may result in a point where mental sanity and stability become long lost words. Hence, talking about smallest of problems is the first step towards facing it.

So, what is stopping you? Oh ofcourse – the fact that sharing about mental trauma, anxiety, frustration, depression is still considered a taboo in India. It’s all the same – ‘mental’, ‘madness’, ‘craziness’! People make fun of you and you become a laughing stock. And after you’re gone, they’ll say “How foolish of a guy to commit suicide at this age. I know it’s crazy.” It’s funny how can both the cause and outcome be crazy? Both your life and death was crazy?

To people calling suicide an act of cowardice – Imagine the amount of mental strength required to physically hurt yourself to such an extent that you stop breathing. Imagine the level of physical pain you are going through to make yourself bleed till you start panting, blacking out, losing consciousness and your heart stops beating. Imagine the multiple thoughts of your loved ones crossing your minds before or during the act every time causing hesitation, reconsideration and may be few failed attempts. Imagine the thought of not being on the Earth after few minutes, going away from everything you’ve given your life to, and becoming a memory. People say he did not think about his family and fled – you really think he did not think it through? You really think he did not care? Despite all this, he chose to die. Why? Imagine the excruciating pain he is going through, to end or atleast hoping to end which, he resorts to ending his life. The unbearable situation that he is not able to deal with is what makes him take his own life. He thought he cannot keep others happy without being happy himself. He chose to opt out of his own misery rather than live a pointless life for others’ sake. Can you judge this as right or wrong?

In order that one does not have to look at such an extreme step, please do not hesitate to reach out for assistance. The right kind of help. It can be any close trusted friend or relative to begin with and then as needed and suggested, medical guidance. Face your inhibitions, share them and get rid of them. There might be people who will randomly blame your lifestyle and choices for your depression while the actual reasons can be far more deep-rooted. Now is when you know you need to visit a professional practitioner. The young generation has begun being vocal about a lot of their preferences and this too does not call for any shame or disgrace. Often celebrities and other people from higher social strata feel afraid of calling out thinking it would hamper their societal status. With changes on the rise, it is high time we start treating mental illness as seriously as physical illness, being open about and talking about the same in public forum as something normal and that can happen to anyone. Separating them from the society today means separating them from the world tomorrow. Together, lets lead and promote this wave of change – people suffering as well as people supporting.

I am not trying to justify or support an act of suicide at all. Giving up without fighting a battle is worse than actually losing it – sounds cliche. But no one gives up without a reason, especially on life. I feel better thinking that after this painful incident, probably people have started acknowledging that we need to support each other during such times of crises. Or atleast I would like to believe so. Lending a ear has the power to heal and even save lives. In this age of globalization, there are lot of young students and professionals going away from their hometowns to distant places in pursuit of their dreams, careers and passion. They stay alone and away from their families and tend to fall prey to loneliness and depression thereby easily. The world is already battling a deadly disease that is continuing to claim so many lives. We are living with it – a world with restrictions, norms and perhaps changed lifestyles. All too sudden and forceful it seems now but will gradually be eased out and adapted in some time. It is natural for people to find it hard adapting to abrupt big changes. Everyone especially the youth are leading badly disrupted social lives and patterns. Everyone needs help. Some find it within, some look outside. Lets not stigmatize; accept and understand each other by talking it out. Social responsibility is not just for corporate houses and celebrities but for all humans – Hearing stories or attending funerals? Choice is yours.

~ SUMANA SAHA

Chain

SUMANA SAHA

Again, one of those visions startled me last night. I remember this weird Man wearing biker gloves. His face had scars all over. Every night I see him through my window standing outside beside my bike and staring at something in my room.

It was bedtime. Surprisingly, he was not there outside, for the first night in one year! All this while I had been thinking he was just a piece of imagination. Today I suddenly feel an unusual urge in his absence. I went out to check and found this paper glued to my bike, “I see myself in you- The same zeal, love for bikes and rides. Tomorrow is your first anniversary with your best partner. I still remember the joy in your eyes when you got this Yamaha SR500 with your first salary a year ago. Hoping to see you and celebrate at the Café by the highway tonight.”

Who is this stalker who knows so much? Man, he is right. Last year only, I got this bike and this lion tattoo on my right arm! I went to my room to get my helmet but it wasn’t there in its usual place on the table. Caught between should or should not, I felt an eerie voice from within– just one ride! I obviously tried but could not resist hence slipped out stealthily. You know how amazing bike rides can be at night! I felt the wind brushing against my skin as I sped on the highway.

Next morning, I wake up on my bed. It all seemed like a dream. I looked out and surprisingly, the weird Man was back standing right there with my helmet. My bike was not there. I went out to check and saw this huge gathering of neighbours, relatives and the police. I could hear sobs all around. As I went near, I saw Mom crying aloud beside a body, completely disfigured. Dad was discussing some papers with the police. I could see my bike, crumbled and in pieces being taken away. Someone said “He was speeding on the highway without a helmet. It was an accident resulting in spot death. Very unfortunate – when will the youth realize…”

I could see the Man standing calmly beneath a distant tree. Puzzled and horrified, I frantically ran to him. “Welcome to the Biker’s Cult of Hell. I kept staring at your helmet for one year and now finally I have it. I could have it only when you die. I knew you could not resist a ride on your bike’s anniversary. All this while, I kept wishing I had my helmet that night just like you will be wishing the same now. It is a chain and now you are part of it. You have a responsibility. You too need a helmet. ”

Next morning, a young guy riding a bike on his way to college says to his friend behind “Last night, I saw a man wearing biker’s gloves standing outside my window. He had a distorted face and… Oh yes, a vivid lion tattoo on his right arm.

Be wise; Live WiSE (Wipro Summers’ Experience)

SUMANA SAHA

Nervous jitters every now and then, excitement at its peak, calling up numerous friends and juniors and taking a look at the checklist of onboarding documents a hundred times. This more or less says it all about the morning of my first day of internship. Of the numerous times that I wore business formals during MBA, never before had I thought of actually flaunting it. I was taken aback looking at people all around me so normal and casual? Am I the only one who is over-excited? Probably yes, and I had all the reason for the same. It was my first corporate stint as a fresher. The first ever of my life. A lot was at stake. I had heard so much about it – both good and not so good. Looking at my excitement, my fellow interns were like “You’re new to the corporate setup, we’ve been there; we’ll take a look at your excitement a week later.”

So, Wipro Limited it was. Now getting there was again another story! Amid a sea of deadlines and assignments, you will have companies lined up at B-schools to hire summer interns. After shortlisting candidates basis their resume, Wipro conducted the process of intake in two rounds: Group Discussion & Personal Interview.

GD: Simple currently trending topics on which your institutes, seniors, faculty and committees will coach you enough. Follow the general GD rules and fearlessly voice out your ideas. If your points are unique and out-of-the-box, panelists do take note of the same and delve deep into your viewpoint during PI. That’s the time when you can leave a mark!

PI: Mostly revolves around 2-3 main subjects of your domain and behavioral events through which interviewers try to analyze your domain understanding and company fitness. Steer the interview your way right from the very first sentence: your intro (prepare a strong one) ; yes you can do that (worked for me)! Try to convince them how you can add value to the organization. Exude both confidence and poise.

Preparation tips: Each person is different; their brains, thinking, strengths and weaknesses are different. Each lock has a different key. Just believe in yourself and leverage your strengths to the fullest. Brush up on trending topics and atleast 2-3 key subjects in your domain that you are confident. Right at the beginning of the course, perfect answers would not be expected but the organization would look for traits that fit their organization and an outlook that can break the shackles of convention and add value. Most organizations look for ‘change and creativity’ in millennials. Be opinionated and stick to your views even countered. But the key is logic in creativity and vice versa.

So, I had been hired as an HR intern as part of WiSE (Wipro Summers’ Experience) to work on building future ready managers. They had said it’s going to be a mix of competency gap analysis and designing learning interventions for managers. Well, it was so. But these jargons had always awed me until I discovered what they truly looked like in the organizational context. I had no idea what this new world had in store for me.

There were highlights I can’t help but mention. First and foremost, I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful mentor and a supportive team. Half of my work was sorted. I could discuss my work and progress anytime with my mentor and team. I made it a point to have a discussion not only with my mentor but entire team every weak and they were extremely nice to take out time for me every Friday. Post the discussion, I used to document the work done in the week and the next week’s plan and send the same to my mentor and team. I highly appreciate my mentor for sharing with me on the very first day my project topic, scope and deliverable. I then presented a structured layout of the plan which he approved. He then made me understand the organizational structure, context and significance of my project to the company in the very beginning. Being new, I hardly understood anything but gradually realized how important it is for an intern to know why he/she has been entrusted with a project and how he/she can contribute. I understood my mentor was a talented people manager and communicated expectations quite clearly.

There were incidents that were unexpected and surprising. Out of 240 interns, two of us had been invited on the basis of our profile to have a chat on our personal achievements and Wipro experience with the RJ of Corporate Communications Team. It was a freewheeling interview of about 10 minutes that aired on Wipro On Air and flashed on all Wipro laptops and desktops across the globe. It was no less an achievement to have featured in the Podcast that was accessed by all employees of Wipro across locations.

Initially, I was lucky enough to settle down fast in a city that was completely new to me. Well, your internship experience is not only limited to the interiors of your cubicle but a holistic one encompassing so many elements that impart even a minor change in the way you think or do something. A few years back, I’d never have thought of traveling all by myself and exploring places in Gurgaon! Apart from learning and sharing knowledge, building close connections and networks that are common to all interns, major takeaways from these two months for me were realizations, and I’m sure these are also common to most, the difference being they aren’t vocal. What I learnt from my short stint at Wipro:

Don’t be judgemental. Hailing from the cultural hub of India, I was always very apprehensive about the culture of workplace, whether it would be accepting or inclusive. The attention given to and treatment of an intern would be different from an employee and so on. But the culture is not specific to an organization but its people and hence prone to change with its people. The team greeted me, sent out mails welcoming me as a new member. Apart from working, we had meals and fun together too! Actually what happens doesn’t always happen for good but for a reason: I was the only intern placed at Gurgaon hence, I got ample time and scope to bond with my team on and off work.

In order to become efficient people managers in future, you need to understand the organization and its people. You don’t build business right away but build people; they build your business. Managers do a lot of work that way. Your internship period is the best time to learn the same.

Observe beyond requirement. I was so strongly fascinated by the world of talent and appraisal that I spent a major chunk of my stint observing the employees around while working and otherwise. Each behavior exhibited by them is indicative of something relevant to the work they do or how they should be. For a fresher like me, this period was a good deal of learning and provided insights into the intricacies of business world. While gearing up bigger corporate endeavours that await me, this exposed me to how the various HR domains function in close coordination with each service line or business unit.

Network as much as you can. People at Wipro at all levels are extremely approachable. They used to chat with me for long hours and help me understand the organization, their transition from services to digitalization and stuff that are not a direct part of my scope but all of which helped me related my goals to what the organization wanted. And they were senior folks: people with more than 15 years of industry experience. All you got to do is just drop them a mail or send a meeting request!

Plan your work but don’t just stick to your plans. There is so much hype about dealing with change. For an intern, it is as simple as dealing with changing scope and deliverables of your project everyday and accordingly accommodating and reviewing plans to deliver on predefined deadlines. From each new input that you get from interaction with senior leaders from the industry, do away with a part of your existing knowledge to accommodate or replace the same. Be prepared to work on multiple projects clubbed into one. Be an active listener and from various inputs, form your own opinion. Chart out timelines and plans but know that there might be times when nothing seem to go your way. That’s the time when you need to keep cool, embrace ambiguity and flexibility, sit with your mentor and team and redesign your approach/methodology. And this may happen multiple times during the course!

Parties! Well, my entire team seemed like-minded when it came to parties and fun. I luckily got to be a part of a couple of formal parties that the team organized for a member’s birthday, another’s farewell and ofcourse, my farewell. These little moments teach you big things about your team, their bonding and cohesiveness. Right from induction, Wipro has been pampering me with customized goodies. My farewell was memorable and special as no intern would expect one. Apart from the gifts I received from my team and the book from my mentor, their one minute speeches “You revived the child in us, youngster!”, “Stay lively and gleeful like this always” really moved me! It has been two months and it seemed like they knew me for years: I guess that’s experience! I felt exactly the way I had felt on the first day of joining: multitude of emotions and inexplicable!

Apart from all of these, the prime source of satisfaction comes when you are appreciated for your work and your mentor and review panelists assure you that your work will be implemented in due course. “It was a pleasure having you around.”, “We would love to work with you.”, “It would be great being part of the same team” just make your day! Although, I’d say the industry is way different from what is portrayed in courses and case studies and I acquired a major chunk of MBA learning from my internship experience, I can’t deny that basics do have their role to play even today: concepts from Learning & Development course came really handy.

For future interns, I’m not the best person to share tips but somehow, I have shared many already in this article. However, these are all personal. The kind of person that I am and the methodology I adopted led me to these takeaways but they might be very different from yours next year. Just remember that although internship is a matter of luck, I feel the ball is still in your court. You have to connect and reach out to people in different ways. When things don’t go your way, you’re not going the right way. Change track. That’s what actually happens in companies. Your internship will surely teach you that in some way! The second thing is: You have been hired for a reason, a specific project! Hence the association is symbiotic: Most companies now look to absorb talent from interns itself as they have an idea about them through their two months’ work and conduct. Remember you are being observed constantly by your mentor, team and all those around you even when you least expect, so be on guard. But then again, have fun: This is the time when you’re not an employee but apparently you are! You have a lot of privileges and so, enjoy your experience!

Well, the bottom line is that coming fresh from college, in the student bubble we are warned of many things about the corporate, but until we face them; they are just that, warnings! Wipro has helped break a couple of such bubbles in a quite positive way. I had expected a rich learning experience (at personal and professional level) that was fulfilled (in every possible way).

Tricolor

SUMANA SAHA

Days were colorless when both of us left home,

Everyday our country land used to bathe in a pool of gory.

You went abroad to study while I stayed back,

Only to witness people staring at the twilight skies

Waiting for a ray of hope amid the blend of light and dark.

Finally it all ended.

And on this day you return.

I can see you but you can’t see me.

I can see your nine year old waving the tricolor;

And you, with teary eyes, looking at my uniform and medals around.

Slowly you walk up to my photo on the wall with a garland,

With a shivering voice, you utter “Happy Independence Day, Major.”

Wrath of Music

SUMANA SAHA

Tragedy struck the sunken leaf,
Complex far, a tasty grief,
Never more the bird did sing,
Harbinger of silver ring.

Melody means the hearty theme,
The broken rung of salty grim,
The tea leaves now are way too dark,
What we need is just a spark.

Sailing on the healing wounds,
Dusty wetly path,
Savour all the rhyming tune,
Music has its wrath.

The Psychopath

SUMANA SAHA

The psychopath was hell en route,
Pain aching lefty tooth.
Baulked by the burning root,
Waiting for his friends’s boot.

The gall in his heart was way too dense,
His mouth still had the stinky stench.
Envy had him fully drenched,
Madness was the only bench.

He spit on the cleanest hand,
Now no one else but few do stand.
The bird with a greedy eye,
The disillusioned cloudy sky.

The psychopath will meet his mirror,
Which shows the crimes of past error.
Does the freak now feel the terror,
What tells him the magical mirror?

Does his eyes now feel to cry,
Evil worn out , time to pry.
Goodness needs just one more try,
Or we will free him…..the caustic fry..!!!

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

SUMANA SAHA

The transfer order has come
Another gloomy day, ends with rum
Tequila , scotch , vodka , wine,
This farewell party, nothing seems fine.

To some it reads the lucky charm
Prudent timing did no harm.
Another scope to scale the peak
A glimpse of hope for the weak.

But let not stain the test of time
He will leave tomorrow , back he wont come.
New city, new dream
Awaits him , awaits him.

But memories past, wicked lust,
Ray of love , cigarette dust?
Is all that he left behind?
No soul to cheer
Nobody to hear
His bosoms cry.

The money-flukes crave
For the weakest , weakest brave!
The labyrinth of this verse:
Is it solitude or a curse?
And all his pain of loss…
.
A rolling stone
gathers no moss.