This is all about my life after B. Tech & before M.Tech!!
‘People’ as we term them, always have interest in our lives!
No matter what good you do, how hard you work, how thoughtfully you behave,
most of them will always have a reason to criticize you, to make you feel bad,
to make you feel frustrated, guilty….
I met people. Hundreds of them, may be thousands, in 15
months.
The first 2 months!
Graduated in May ’13, was placed in campus as a GET in JSW
Steel Ltd. With no offer letter, but hopes that it’ll arrive, I wondered what
to do. Had an interest in learning, didn’t want to waste time, as I thought I
hadn’t properly utilized time in 4yrs of engineering. Although people thought I
knew considerable number of things, ‘only an engineer knows that he knows
nothing’ would describe my state of mind then. Within two weeks after
completion of B.Tech, my friend Mohanish Khairnar & I packed our bags &
with a thirst for knowledge got enrolled for short-term GATE prep course at the
famous Ace Academy, Hyderabad (June ’13). I attended almost all classes, trust
me, many days had classes for almost 12hrs. Acute pain as a result of sitting
so long at low temperature made concentrating on studies difficult, but we
managed. Food, as we know, in a different part of our own country did bother
most of the people, but not me. I was comfortable with food, classes……although
I did hate some people who stayed with me. But then I had friends. More friends
got enrolled as time passes, started living wonderful guys- Zubair Mulla &
Sudhanshu Tayade. They made life in Hyderabad worth living after 12hrs of
studies. Other classmates who came for long term too made us comfortable as
they thought of us as miserable short term people. The thing to learn was I
could practically sit in one place and study for 12 LONG HOURS without
weekends, with little or no entertainment, with no social life. Also, hundreds
of students taking an year off to prepare for GATE shocked me, as it meant
spending such a large amount of human-hrs in teaching/learning things which
have already been learnt/taught in 4 yrs. Surely, our education system lacked
something. I met many motivated people, studying, hardworking, intelligent, all
preparing for GATE/IES, but the motivation behind all this was getting a fancy
job, with a fancy salary, which would yield fancy lifestyle. I checked mail daily, for that fancy industry
would send my joining date, and I would return. But it never did, & I
completed two months & returned (July ‘13).
Next 3 months!
10 days at home made me feel bad that I lost momentum of
working, so I made a status update on fb, stating I would be beginning my job
search as the place where I got placed didn’t send a joining date, not any
offer confirming that it’ll recruit me. To my surprise, that industry’s HR
never even bothered responding to mails or answering phone calls as he/she were
themselves uninformed. Such a bad feeling it gave me before joining. Luckily, another
industry called up, Sudarshan Chemical Industries Ltd., Roha. Having done an
industrial training there already, I knew many people there, of which one
person informed me about a vacancy as an apprentice. Like every passout, I had
mailed my resumes to my seniors, of which Vinit Metha helped me join Sudarshan
as a GET (August ’13). I joined within 2 days, as sitting at home being
unproductive didn’t comfort me. So, there I worked in maintenance. They say you
learn a lot in your industrial career, many practical things. I started
observing small things- pumps, compressors, filter presses,…..many equipment.
Hardly after a month, I started getting a feeling that the things I was doing
were purely repetitive. Somehow, guidance was missing; work didn’t make me feel
good, although I was learning considerably. It was an MNC, I wanted to quit, no
one else wanted me to, but I did, I knew that my place wasn’t there. I needed
something different. 2 & ½ months was my life’s first job at such a good
industry as a GET. I met a considerable number of people here too. I met people
who worked on wages as low as 7-8k pm. But those people seemed quite happy as
compared to those earning 15-20k. 50-60k earning people seemed more tensed. So
basically, happiness didn’t lie in money!! You can’t buy happiness. Also, a
7-8pm person has a considerable social life, lesser job responsibilities, and
enjoys free time, can take a day off, although has to face many economic
difficulties.
3 frustrating months!
That I left my job, and wanted to get back to studies, I
could hardly concentrate as each and every person I met tried explaining how I
was wrong, how I could have continued, how all jobs are same, how my attitude
was wrong……..’n’ number of things to make me feel guilty, and I really felt. I
was sad, low, I understood I could keep talking to people and needed to stop
most of the social interactions. So, I left Panvel, went back to Goregaon,
stopped meeting almost everyone. I wouldn’t speak, I had vowed not to. Then,
somehow, of that boring life, needed to start something, so started reading
story books, tried remembering everything about my life. My life. Somehow, I
felt I should do what I did during engineering- teach students. But, had no
students, so joined XI-XII classes to teach Maths-Physics. Although just 15,
but could at least spend a considerable time studying, teaching, figuring out
what to do, but there seemed lot of confusion- whether I should join for PG,
whether continue teaching, …..a direction still lacked. These months taught me
no matter what you do, what you suffer, people will make your life miserable.
Neglect them. Knowledge has a value. The day you want to earn, you can start
en-cashing it.
7 months before dream run!
Finally, long awaited joining from JSW came, and I joined
it, as I had no concrete plans of what to do. Tried living like others, buying
costly things with a fancy salary I was paid off each month for the clerical
things I did. Travelled a lot, for fun, for meeting friends, for meeting
teachers, for time pass on weekends,….. I worked in production department, and
my performance seemed quite good as I rated myself. I wonder what others would
have rated me. This job, control room operations, taught me a great deal of
patience, as we waited long hours to get what we wanted, sometimes working
without break for 8 hrs, and sometimes just looking at screens and watching
everything work fine. Also, working in shifts, and for 16 hrs sometimes, made
me feel much better as I realized that I could work continuously, more than I
had ever imagined in my life. The way we communicated in office, proved
importance of words. I saw many people leaving the organization. It proved that
you can’t just buy people, you need to bond them. No matter how much you pay,
unless you give people a respect, a satisfaction, they won’t work for you.
People don’t just work for money, money is a priority only when you lack it,
once you get it, all you need is – satisfaction, happiness, social life……… As
the days passed, although I learned to handle things, I even understood that I
couldn’t just work somewhere where ‘people’ considered my life as ‘happily
settled in a great industry’. I needed to live, I needed a life of my own, I
needed to enjoy, to do things what I loved, to study. For 4 years of
engineering, the things which gave me happiness weren’t my results, but of
those whom I taught, of those whom I helped. I enjoyed college, working in college
activities, being busy in simple things- ISHRAE, MESA, gatherings, projects, ……
Teaching was what I loved the most. I was addicted to it. Never in those 4 yrs
had there been any examination, wherein I hadn’t taught my friends. Teaching
was a regular activity which kept me fresh, so here I knew where I should be
going. I knew, at this early age, what I should be doing for the rest of my
small life. So, I left a high paid job in a reputed MNC near my house,
disturbed a well settled life.
After 15 months
I returned to Dr. B. A. T. U., Lonere, for my PG- M.Tech in
Thermal & Fluids Engineering, with hopes of doing doctoral in continuation
after M.Tech, with only dream of becoming a teacher.
And for those people, who’ve helped me, especially those who
pulled me, this doesn’t portray any frustration or anger against any one I may
have ever met. I’m doing what I’m doing is because I love to, not because I
should for having a settled life. That I live in a relatively backward area, I
mean not a city-area, many people ask if I couldn’t handle work pressure, or if
I couldn’t handle work pressure, and I say yes, I failed at my job. Deep down,
I laugh, that I left places I didn’t want to live. I’ve seen good number of
people leaving their comfort zones way later in life, pursuing PD-Doctoral many
years after graduating, had they done it earlier, they would have spent
considerable time doing things they loved, having peaceful sleep, satisfied
lives, and settled lives at the age they chose going back to universities. Go
chase your dreams, don’t let people decide your future. They say, “Log kya
kahenge” has killed more number of dreams than anything else. Each time you
fail, find another way, that’s how iterative processes work, you don’t get
answers in first step, iterations are a must in solving problems, so is true in
real life. “Log kya kahenge iske bareme aap sochoge, to iske bareme lag kya
sochenge”. Forget what people think, forget what is expected from you, focus on
what you want. Do what makes you happy. Remember/Plan to have a balanced life.
Career is just a part of life. Social life is other half. You can grow money
anytime you want to, sufficient enough to make your living. Make sure you don’t
leave too much behind while achieving some goals, and don’t sacrifice many
goals to get along with people. Have a peaceful happy life, help people, try
being empathetic, but maintain peace within yourself!
