A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A STUDENT

This day had all the traits of any usual day , sun rose at its scheduled time , the world woke up with the usual hustle and bustle , time went by in its usual menacing manner , everything was normal but this day was different for a student , this is the day to which every budding student looks for , the day of reckoning , the day where u redeem yourself , the day where u step astride the conventional mode of life and to a more realistic one . The day happens to be the day where u get the stage to prove yourself and face the world ...any guesses whats the day ....welll anyone who has undergone that particular day will , with hands raised term the day as the "PLACEMENT" day .The student i am talking about is incidentally a engineer , one among many , privatisation of education has allowed students to become engineers with ease , and also liberalisation has enabled economy to spurn up lots of employment that can be shown with all the leading software companies rushing to this student's college , and on this day an Indian company called TCS was coming to the campus.
TCS , the name itself is synonym to the "GREAT INDIAN GROWTH" , name assosciated from the tea we drink to the airlines we travel , no company is as diversified as this company and it can be made out from their selection procedure which were different from the rest of the companies , the selection was an online test followed by a psychometric test and interview....welll as the name is familiar to many aspiring students , this student was also awestruck by the name and growth of this company and had dreams of making into the payroll of this company.
The student woke up with dreams in his eyes , little bit apprehension in his mind thats considerable given a fact that past records have not been good . There's excitement in the air , most palpable as the pay package is good and only IT background engineers are allowed to sit for placements , ya the student happens to be a electronics engineer who is as distanced from transisitors and diodes as the moon is from mother earth , but the pull is there to cast that shadow of a analytical growth and reasoning that the tough course has taught him. The day proceeds to the afternoon session where all the HR people address the students , about the profile , paypackage ...our student is more fascinated , ready to go and face the online tests after all he thinks the test is tailor made for his analytical prowess that he developed during the preparatory stage , now the stage is set and every student has to log on to the company website and start answering the questions. Our student logged onto the site with the given password .....with hands trembling , a page sprouts out of no where , verbal section wow he is delighted thats his strength , it took some time to acclimatise & adjust to the condition but he settles down to a good rythm, it was war out there , tensions palpable , lots at stake , well our student was now a gladiator facing the adversary in a virtual arena , questions after questions ,his mind working fast competing with the time clock on the page , after verbal its quantative , a weak link to the our students performance , but wonders of wonders the qiuestions are from previous TCS papers , questions were treated with disdain , no questions were able to test our student , he had done his homework well , after the quant section came the analytical test.Clock ticking away , brain working at its best .....now after finishing the section , the results get automatically updated...our student perspires , can hear his breath , he feels his heart coming out of his mouth , the processing stops and the page show " Thank you appearing for TCS online test , congratulations you have passed this round "and the psychometric test page comes up...He is elated , days of hard work bores it fruits ,with hands shaking , joy unbound our student quickly runs through the test , answering with energy and new found vigour and finally submits the page and walks out of the room like a warrior just vanquishing his opponent .
Time flies by , its now well past afternoon , our student is now relaxed , though the result of the final outcome lurks in his mind ....TO BE OR NOT BE ....theres a thin line between success and failure , he knows that but theres a chance , a chance to redeem himself to the holy grails of a software firm ....the moment of truth is nearing , our student rushes to the academic building , lots of commotion , dreams will be fulfilled today theres a spring in his walk ...someone shouts around 12 people selected for interview , a pang of pain fills his stomach , so many and only 12 , probablity of not being selected decreases anyways he puts up a brave face and lunges forward among the crowd to see the results ...a quick glance tells it all , but still our students again gives a broader look hoping his name escaped his anticipating look..no the name is not there , he can feel the world going down , kneees without the usual strength , a tinge of perspiration comes out of no where , all of a sudden the world comes to a stand still , he is unpetrubed by the chaos around him ...he walks out ..............never to look back ...though tears are hard to come by but eyes are moist . He saunters through the college lane , feeling dejected , no one to hang to , he wanted to burst out but he has a uncanny ability to reason with life , he has always been a monkey to grab the peanuts that life offers him ..but today was different..life had much more to offer ...walking by he is reminded of a great poet ROBERT FROST , who has influenced him a lot ... ..."THE WOODS ARE LONELY DARK AND DEEP , AND I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP AND MILES , MILES TO GO BEFORE A SLEEP " ....these few lines go in a infinite loop in his brain . He has failed today but gained a lot .he is in stress but problems are his best friend he has learnt to live by it ...from that day he promised never to look back ...our student marches ahead ........the day will always remain a day of reckoning to him.