Pehla Nasha, Pehla Corporate Job,

Yesterday morning there were quite a few delays. It was late when I reached the bus stop. I waited at the bus stop for over ten minutes and decided to hop on to the Airport local that is a little expensive to travel in, than the usual buses. I wondered for a minute, why I was paying a little extra for this ticket, but then the cool conditioned air and a comfortable window seat and a nice Hindi melody made me smile.

The girl sitting beside me was all covered in black overalls, per her faith, except her eyes. Her eyes looked pretty and was forever searching for something around. Although I was tempted to know if I could help her with something, I decided to keep quiet. These days I offer help only when asked for. Don't know how this change happened, but that is what has been happening for quite sometime now. I turned to the road and started humming the tune of the song.

My world of musical notes was disturbed when I heard the noisy struggle of a plastic cover nearby. I turned to see that this girl was trying to read a few leaflets from a stapled bunch of complicated text. My line of sight said, it was an appointment order for a job and that she was trying to read one of the clauses written in it without taking the paper bunch out of the cover. She pushed the papers back inside, sat back for a while and then the covers spoke again. This time she was trying to read again and her eyes continued to search for something in the paper bunch.

I smiled.. I guessed it was her first job and wished her well quietly. This scene brought back memories of my first ever job back in 2002. It was August 24th 2002. I was also on a bus trying to place my foot on the foot board of a overflowing bus that almost was bent in obtuse angle on the road. I had let five such buses pass by and with no option but to get into the sixth one, I boarded the bus. I had my certificates, was wearing a new dress, was attempting to reach office on time because it was my first work day, and the office had moved to a new location between my interview date and the joining date. It was one experience that I will never forget. The fact that I stepped on to some one's foot instead of the foot board and that I got shouted at in a special dialect that is understood only in Chennai is a different story of painful smiles altogether.

When I was lost in this ruffled memories of the past, this girl asked me if I knew where she had to get down if she had to go to IBM Global, Whitefield. I told her and started a dialogue. My guess was right and she was joining her dream corporate job in IBM Global, Bangalore. It was her first job and she had finished college recently. Her eyes which looked at me now spoke a lot of - confidence, hope, dream, strength, humble pride and joy - the kind that you will notice only in an aspiring fresher who is entering the corporate world with wishes of success inscribed on the mind. Do the corporates know this???

When she had to get off the bus, I wished her : "Many Congratulations and All the best with your first job. Have a successful career, and never quit your job unless absolutely necessary." It was nice meeting her and her joy of a new beginning was contagious. Contributed to my cheerful work day yesterday. Its nice to see the *Pehla Nasha always, especially in the eyes of someone who is joining her first job.

It seemed like it was worth paying that extra ticket money to wish a fresher on her dream journey of corporate life.

Pehla Nasha - First Intoxication

Comments

Deepak G said…
nice tat u hv good n positive ppl around u always :)

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