What are you doing here? Your name is on the list!’

‘What?’ Pooja was jerked out of her sombre state. Not having cleared the selection processes of multiple companies visiting her college campus, she had given up hope.



It had become a routine process. She would sincerely prepare for all the tests: mathematical, analytical, technical; but not manage to clear any of them. So this time, she had not bothered to prepare for any but just sit for the heck of it.

‘If I prepare, I don’t get through; if I don’t prepare, I don’t get through. Then I shall rather choose the latter. Why make so much effort? At least, I can tell myself that I did not get through since I hadn’t prepared.’ This was her logic and it was certainly better than the mental resonance that she was not good enough for it.



However, this was a pleasant, contradictory surprise. She hurried herself to dress in formals and make herself presentable for the interview.



‘All the best!’ her roommate wished. ‘Thanks!’ she whispered as she simultaneously rehearsed the lines in her mind. ‘I would be interested in the profile......The company offers scope for......’

Pooja entered the room and simply regurgitated the rehearsed lines.



She came out after some time. By this time, her friends had flocked near the room, waiting for her. She knew why they were there. This too could be like the rest of the times, when she would break down and they would offer her their consolation. She sat at the bench along with them, anxiously waiting for the result.



She had never hated studies but never loved it either. She had never appeared in the topper’s list but was never at the bottom either. She had always been dangling ‘in-between’ somewhere. She was good at sports but was not outstanding in it. She was a melodious bathroom singer but not good enough to be a stage performer. She had a good physique but not an hourglass figure as well. She had participated in all co-curricular activities right from childhood. Won few, lost some! This summed up her early school days. And then it was time to select subjects to study further. Like any other teenager, she had been totally perplexed when it came to selecting a career option.

‘Quantitative and technical certifications supposedly ended up with jobs’, she had observed and reasoned out.



‘So? Take the safest route. Select science! Well, no harm in choosing. One had to complete graduation anyways. So why not have a technical hand!’

And, that is exactly how she had landed herself in an engineering college. Of course, it wasn’t in one of the top colleges.



Pooja’s mind had loitered from childhood days to her present situation.

‘Don’t worry!’ her friends echoed as they tried to express their support to cheer her up.

‘Pooja, the result is getting pinned onto the board’, observed one of her friends.

She collected herself and meekly went to the result list. Her name was actually there!

‘Congratulations! We knew you would nail it!’ She gave a sardonic smile at all of her support group and a sigh of relief.



Pooja was both thrilled and scared. Thrilled because she had managed to fetch herself a job while scared because this was a technical job. ‘Technical-Design Intern’ was what was stated on the offer letter. ‘Not sure how much technical proficiency that would require!’ she thought to herself as she signed on the acceptance letter. The leftover college days flew past in bliss without anyone realizing it and suddenly it was action time for all, in their respective areas.



Sky-scrapers and formals; Pooja had entered the office premises. She registered her name on the visitor’s directory. ‘Please wait’, was the hushed instruction. She sat at the foyer and looked around to kill time. People whispered in accented language and sober tones; shook hands with a fake smile which would evaporate on crossing past the person. Everyone seemed to be in their busiest hour. Office and its nuances; this world was very different from college. The HR manager greeted her and proceeded for the completion of formalities and introductions.

And in no time, she had started with the induction training. These sessions saw her brush shoulders with the ‘more technically talented’, all freshly hand-picked from their respective colleges.



‘How am I going to survive?’ she would constantly end up asking herself.

‘Well, sincerity is the only arm’, would reverberate as her mind’s response.



The technical training had come to a conclusion within a month. By now, Pooja had acquainted herself with few unsaid corporate dictations. Leaving the office premises on time was a crime. You could sit at your cubicle surfing or doing nothing. But leaving late conveyed that you were working till then. Colleague-groups flocked at some corner, puffing smoke and gossiping to entertain themselves out of the office pressure. If you joined this group, you were a buddy; if you didn’t you were merely a formal colleague and would end up missing on some important piece of information discussed. Humility had no takers; one had to constantly market himself. And, there was no plain ground or level playing field. One had to be at the top of the hill.



The responsibilities started getting allocated. Rahul received ‘Technical Escalation Support’. Rohan and Siddharth were given ‘Technical Programming’, Vidya was for ‘Technical Optimization’ whereas she had ‘Technical Design’ laid on her plate.

‘Oh No! All are technical! There is no use even in switching places.’ Pooja just wished that her work was a little less technical than that of the others.



There was an initial warm-up period for some time when each one helped the other wherever they got stuck in their respective work. But with every passing day, that helpfulness was slowly diminishing and the warmth was declining. Each one was getting sucked up in their environment without themselves being aware of it. Pooja realized that the rat race had begun and that she had joined it already even though unwillingly. To survive, she had...