This post is on popular demand of my friends:

Its been 10 days now, out of my comfort zone (refer my last post). And as I sit back on the cushioned chair in ‘my’ EVS office, on ‘beach time’ ( which means free time) after a long, tiring & relatively boring project ( all those adjectives are very carefully chosen), its time to introspect, circumspect & retrospect on the chain of events & their consequences too!

Exhilarating: They say you have to see it, to believe it. Before joining EVS, I had a very positive feedback about the no.1 KPO in the world… & I am glad to say that EVS has lived up to its reputation! Once you enter into cyber park, gurgaon into their offices, you can almost feel the difference. Their motto is: Quality & its almost remarkable how they not only follow it but also exceed the standards most of the times… You are a part of an elite class here, amongst the best brains in the country & from abroad too: IITians, IIM grads & the cream from all the reputed institutes.

Venerate: They almost demand respectfulness in whatever they do: in interaction with clients or with employees or with anybody else & most importantly they respect everybody too! Its almost an unsaid & self-understood principle here.

Skillful, strategic & sublime: They follow this “3 S” rule. They have a group of highly skilled & motivated people working for a project, those who strategize well in advance & then are sublime in their execution, always delivering 100 when the client has just asked for 10.

This was the EVS effect..!!

But once you move out of this majestic workplace, not everything is rosy here…
Because then you look at gurgaon & its side-effects:

Take out the malls, skyscrapers & some other time-pass places here & the place is in a complete mess! Yes I don’t like it at all (at least till now, hope my perception changes though!) , it’s a tough & fast life out there, you have to run for everything: from finding a good place to live ( believe me its an uphill task to find a decent PG in all respects), there are power-cuts, the heat is scorching, the food & water is not upto the mark ( as a result of which I have been very ill, the last few days), its one of the most unsafe places in the country, the whole place becomes a muddy swimming pool whenever it rains ( irrespective of the quantity),i.e, the drainage system is pathetic & the people are anything but warm & caring!
All in all, a sea change from the world of “dehradun” ( which incidentally remains my favourite destination till now & by a good enough margin).

There is more but I would not dwell about it now… ( actually have to submit the project now & the beach time is over)…
So all in all its been a mixed bag till now…
But I sincerely hope that EVS continues to march forward in its quest for excellence & I contribute my level best to it!
And I also hope that I have been seriously mistaken in my assessment of gurgaon!

Till next post ( read beach time), good bye & take care…

“ Ting ting ting ting…
It’s been 20 min. since the alarm clock is ringing, the snooze-mode is on…
Finally at 7:35 am, a still tired soul moves out from bed after sleeping for 200 minutes or so… but there are no regrets (it’s a routine now)…
At a speed which would put Schumacher credentials in a jeopardy, the guy is moving out of his PG room at 7:58 am, the bus stop is not exactly a 2 minute walk, but the poor soul sprints like a would be Gatlin to reach there at 8:01 am & to his relief the company cab has not left yet…

He reaches office at 8:30 am, reports at the main desk & starts working at 9am after completing yesterday’s work in a hurry! He works continuously for 10 hrs with a mini-lunch break in between. Gets out, absolutely distressed not only by the workload but also by the scorching heat of Gurgaon, at 7:30 pm, reaches his room at 8pm. Falls down on his bed like a lifeless body. Sometimes he takes dinner also & chats with his room-mate too, then goes back to complete the pending work again. He does not remember when he slept but fixes the alarm all rite…”

Meet professional Jitin Sharma working in gurgaon!!!

No all this has not begun yet but starting 18 june, all this & more is about to happen, maybe in a lot gruesome manner then what my dreams tell me…

Yes, this was a dream (the part that I remember, that is) & I don’t want it to come true… but somewhere deep down in my heart I know for sure that from a few days from now I would be ‘Out of my comfort zone’…

Life would be a hectic 24*5 schedule (Thank God weekends are off!)
Part & parcel of the professional world…

And all this after completing 4 enjoyable years at college, well its almost unbelievable how life can change at such a short notice…
Not that I was unawares of the fact on 23rd March(when I got placed), but now reality bits me harder as I come closer to the P-day ( a bigger cousin of the D-day)…

Not all is lost though, infact I am looking forward to this rendezvous, to come face to face with the corporate big-wigs for real. The world I have only heard about till now or seen on TV & cinema only!

I am in transition mode yet again…
From being an innocent child to a schoolboy,
From being a teenager to an adult,
From being a first year college junior to a complete engineer now…

& I have always been amazed by the challenges, which accompanies such transitional phases…
Whether good or bad, these experiences are an integral part of one’s learning curve, the metamorphosis of an amateur into an all round human being, & for complete personality development too.

So as I enter into the offices of Evalueserve(EVS) from next Monday, rest assure I would be ready for another transition!!!

The journey is about to begin…

& there are Miles to go before I sleep...

Samuel Johnson, the 18th century English poet & critic, once said:

“Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance”.

Now, this post is on TENNIS.
But it is not about the ‘genius’ of Roger Federer.
It is not even about the heroics of the glam girl Maria Sharapova ( two sportspersons I have written about earlier).

Nor does it deal with the Roddick’s, Hewitt’s or Safin’s of men’s tennis.
& Neither it describes the exploits of the Williams sisters or former no. 1 Amelie Mauresmo or the Russian brigade: Kuznetsova, Dementeiva, Myskina, Chakvetdze etc… (this is a long list indeed).

Infact, this is about the quotation of Samuel Johnson…

And this perseverance was on show aplenty during the French Open’07.
As for three years running now, the tennis folklore has been amazed by the sheer dominance on the red clay of Roland Garros by 2 players.

Well for those tennis dimwits who have not guessed it by now, I am referring to:
Justin Henin-Hardenne & Rafael Nadal.

Justin Henin-Hardenne:

A snapshot of her performance in French Open’07:

Quarters: def. S.Williams 6-4,6-3.
Semis: def. J.Jankovic 6-2,6-2.
Final: def. A.Ivanovic 6-1,6-2.

Which means that she overcame the current Australian Open champ effortlessly & then steamrolled past her miserable opponents dropping just 7 games: semifinal & final combined!

& If you thought that it was just a showcase of temporary form by the little Belgian, then beat this: The indomitable star has now won 3 straight Frenchies from 2005 onwards, 21 matches in a row, without breaking a sweat ( most of the times ). One of the rarest feats in the modern era indeed!

Rafael Nadal:

There is just one match on one court during the whole year when the King himself becomes the miser. When Federer sheds his favourite tag & plays like an underdog. When His Majesty, Your Highness, The Emperor himself bows towards his more fancied opponent. The occasion is:

FEDERER vs NADAL on a clay court.

But this year the tables were turned around during the Hamburg Masters, when Roger, after many failures, finally succeded in beating Nadal, with a 6-0 thrashing in the final set.

The million-dollar question was:

Will the history repeat itself during French’07 grand finale???

Well, the history did repeat itself, but it was not of the Hamburg Masters but on the contrary, it was of the French’06 finale!!!

With the title of GOAT (Greatest of All Time) at stake, the Swiss maestro gave it his all… But when you are facing this clay perfectionist, one thing you know for sure is that sometimes even your best efforts are good for nothing… And Roger learnt it the hard way: Vanquished in 4 sets yet again & for now the GOAT title took a backstage!

Conclusion:
They came almost like nobodies at Roland Garros in 2005…
They saw the red clay, the French hospitality & their opponents…
& then,
They conquered one & everyone who came in their path…
They are now the King & Queen of the French Open…

Queries:
Would Federer be able to win the French open ever?
Is ‘he’ the GOAT himself?
Would ‘they’ conquer the red clay yet again in ’08?

Remember Samuel Johnson & his golden words…

PS: I would really like to know your opinion on the above questions & I owe the origin of the term GOAT to one of my fellow bloggers. And I am fond of it :-)

Question: “How would you describe your stay in Thapar in three words?”

Answers: A Sine Curve
Roller-coaster ride
A learning experience

…B L A C K & W H I T E…

That last answer came out of the blue or did it? Well, these two colours represent the two extremes. The end-points of the line segment which started its journey sometimes during September’03 & came to a halt at the end of May’07. Now ‘Black’ refers to the minima’s of the Sine curve, lows of the roller-coaster ride & bad experiences of the learning curve. ‘White’ is the spectrum of my colorful days at Thapar, the maxima’s, the highs & the good experiences!!! So here it goes…

B L A C K
My very first day at my alma mater: I had just left my parents & home far behind. I was about to enter into a new world. The fear of the unknown had horrified me to the core. I knew no one here. I was a stranger & all alone.

W H I T E
A month into the college, the scene had changed for the better. I had made many new friends & had come to terms with the rigour of college life. Even the hostel-life seemed very fascinating to me now.

B L A C K
The last days of the first semester were like hell. I had never ever studied all night long in my whole life before. Those exam days brought me to my wits end! And worst of all, even after those sleepless nights, I came up with a terrible result!

W H I T E
Aha… how I liked that first semester break. I was back to home for a two weeks break at a stretch. Something that seemed almost impossible during those exam days. This break rejuvenated my spirits…

B L A C K
The second semester was even worse than the first one (academically that is). I broke all my previous records of low scores. The subject I dreaded the most was: EGRA. Infact I came tantalizingly close to a D grade in it!

W H I T E
From the start of the second year, commenced the ‘golden age’@Thapar!
I became a part of the most rocking batch ever to grace the then TIET: ‘The chemical 2k3 batch’… ( & its not an exaggeregation)
So much so that the Blacks almost disappeared from my life…

W H I T E
The next two years turned out to be one of the best phases of my life. I made same great friends… had a fantastic time during all those trips… had a jamboree evening every now & then… studied under some very good teachers & even improved upon my acads!

B L A C K
Though the seventh semester training period at home in Dehradun should have been another enjoyable phase… I messed it up by screwing up with the MBA entrance exams… I regret that moment till now!

W H I T E
The start of the final year brought joys to the faces of many as it was the placement time! I still remember the no. 786(7th Aug ’06), when I got placed… I felt on top of the world at that moment…

B L A C K
The last semester started with an anti-climax. A six month gap during training seemed to have a negative impact on our otherwise mast batch! Then some further misunderstandings (scrapping time in particular) compounded the matter further. The million dollar question now was: “Would our batch never be the same again”???

W H I T E
The answer to that question was a big “NO”!!! Because during the next few months, we dissolved all our differences & had the most rollicking time of our lives: The Mcleod Ganj trip, the farewell party, placement parties, thanksgiving party to our respected teachers followed by colour dress codes in our final dayz, scribbling T-shirt day, Dandia night with director sir etc. All this enlightened our spirits…

B L A C K
And then came those last days of college: the partying time…
“As to meet, to know and then depart is the saddest tale of every heart”…
One by one we all left the hallowed portals of the now Thapar university (TU)… Everyone tried hard to keep the emotions under check… but tears kept on flowing… Within a moment it was all OVER!!!

W H I T E
On the brighter side: The initials Er. were now a part of my name. Finally. I had become an engineer!
So as I prepare myself to enter into the professional world of cut-throat competition…

Walking down memory lane, I will always remember the day when my life took a TU turn…

Sayonara…