Views & Interviews II

As per my promise I am writing my worst interview but I request my readers to simply read it and forget it. I felt so embarrassed after the incident that I kept it as a secret for many. Although few of my friends know about the incident, I am writing it in the post. But I again request all of you to please forget it as soon as you finish reading it.
 

The worst interview that I have faced was in the ragging. I feel very upset to say that this ragging happened with me, neither in my first semester nor in my second semester but in my third semester's ending. To add fuel to it I give you one more fact that I was not ragged by any group of senior boys but by a gang of senior girls. I was crossing the roadside stalls near my college and I was all alone. I was going for a game of badminton near the faculty quarters. I was having my racket with me. Suddenly I heard a female voice calling from behind, "Hey you, badminton player, come here". It was not a request but an order. Thus I took no time to recognize that I was called by some seniors. But I was shocked to hear a female voice. Anyways I had no other choice than to turn back and check out who was calling. From one of those food stands there was a gang of seven to nine girls sitting and the tallest one had called me. I recognized her as she spoke up again "Can't you hear, we are calling you here, come fast". I walked to the stall but it was unusual to see such a huge gang of girls sitting in these food stalls, this time of the day. It was evening, the time when these girls eat up their so-called boyfriend's brain in the name of dating. I went there and stood in front of them and wished each one. Five were sitting on a bench while three were standing nearby. After which the first thing they always wanted to know was INTRO i.e. introduction. It is just not a simple intro but had to tell everything from birth to the present status.
"Black track-pants, white shoes, white t-shirt, Yonex racket... What's the plan boss?" the one who called me spoke.

"I am going for badminton", I replied with utmost politeness.

"That I can see but are these dress necessary for the game?" another question was thrown by her. She was only interrogating me while the rest were busy scanning me from top to bottom. I don't know what their plan was.

"No, but I feel comfortable with them", I tried to say an unbiased answer.

"But I don't feel comfortable", surprisingly another girl from the gang interrupted.

"May be but I feel so", with due respect I gave my answer.

"I think he is just covering the story; he is all set to impress the girls. By the way that badminton court in which he plays is just beside the junior girls’ hostel. Look the way he is dressed, everything is shining. I hardly find a speck of dirt in his shoe. I don't think he can play at all", the first girl gave her synopses to the second one.

Yes she was right; the court was at the distance of stone throw from the girl's hostel. It was also true that some of those girls were our all time audience as they peeped from their windows after putting off their room's lights. But I was sad that she said I can't play well. By the way the shoes were brand new.

"No ma’am, I don't have such intentions and these shoes are new", I tried my best.

"So you are flaunting your new shoes", the second one told.

"No ma’am, not like that. I always wear shoes. In fact I never wear slippers or floaters in any game", I was saving myself.
"Why then you don't want to impress girls?", now this was a bouncer. No it was a beamer. A girl was asking me that. It was becoming tough for me.

"NO ahh NO I mean why not. Yes I want", I was off my track.

"But you said you don't and that too just few seconds ago", a third girl told whom I had considered to vocally challenged.

"Yes I told that but I am not in the mood of impressing any girl right now. It's a play time and nothing else", I tried hard to convince them but failed. Another beamer was thrown. No baller can throw more than two beamers in the game of cricket. I wanted to protest but this was not cricket, “So you are a player?"
English is a very bad language; this "player" was a googly now.

"I am a sportsperson that's it", I was brilliant.
"OK then what all are the sports that you play except badminton", the first one told.
"Volleyball, Table-tennis, Football and a bit of cricket", I was obedient. My answer came within microseconds after her question.

"Hmm you play a lot that means. By the way that means you must be having a girlfriend already that's why you seemed to be so relaxed and busy in games", the second girl spoke but I didn't know what she wanted to say but it was a Yorker right on my weak nerve.
"No ma’am I don't have a girlfriend", I defended.
"Why? You had two-three but now there are none, I hope", surprisingly another girl came into this discussion. I thought that she must be sorry about my current situation, but who knew that she had some other plan.

"No ma’am, I am not so lucky", I was being a gentleman in front of them.
"Why you didn't have any?” the fourth girl asked.
"I never approached anyone", it was true.
"You said that you are from Durgapur; that means there must a girl but you are not telling us", the first girl spoke after a long gap. I was surprised by her comment that how Durgapur is related to girlfriend and if it is true then how I became an exception.

"No ma’am, it’s true; neither I approached any nor any girl approached me and there is no such thing in my life", I was true again.
"Ok let us consider that you are right, then tell me why you didn't approach", a new entry in the asking team.
"Ma’am, I never felt like doing so", I replied to the fifth girl.
"Just let it go then. Now say among all the girls present here, whom you will approach", the first girl interrupted.

WTF. A girl was asking this question. I was in cloud 9.
"None", a straight answer and it looked like a slap on their faces because all their smiles vanished in a moment.

"Why?" the second girl questioned.
"Because you all are my seniors", I was so good with the answer that all the smiles appeared back on their faces.
"Consider we are you batch mate then whom you think to be most beautiful?" the fifth girl asked. WHAT A QUESTION.
I acted over-smart in front of them and answer the question in this way, "Beauty lies in the eye of beholder. Thus for me you all are beautiful".

I was done and I had spoiled all my good impression. I showed my other side that I was a big flirt-cum-jerk.
"Look I told you he is not at all innocent", the first girl made her point clear while the rest giggled and I was confused.
"No you won't have such option, you have to choose one", the second girl said after suppressing her laugh.
"Then I choose you ma'am", I choose the second girl because she was kind to me as compared to others and moreover she was really cute.
"What’s the problem with others?" the fifth girl fired.

"Nothing, just because you all asked to choose one so I choose her", I wanted to say the truth but was unable to do so.
"That implies that you rated her at top", the first girl put forward her view.
"Yes you can say", I cleared my point but I watched the second girl who was topping my list, from my eye's corner. She seemed to be smiling too much as if she wants to convey the message to all that she is number one.

"How do you rate? Any criteria?" the second girl asked an unexpected question.
"Smile and Behavior counts", I answered immediately to avoid further questioning.
Then suddenly a guy came in the scene. He was one of the badminton players in that court. He seemed to me as if he was their friend because he came and occupied a seat beside them after giving me a big smile. He was a senior whom we called Dev. I never knew his original name.

"What happened, Bhanu? Seems like you have been caught in a trap", he asked me and yes his every word was right.
"Bhanu has rated your girlfriend at number one amongst us", the first girl gave the explanation about the trap. There was no trap till now but the net was thrown on me after the statement. He was a kind of boy who had a real mad gang behind him and one punch from him can shatter my skeletal system. This is a very tense situation for you to react when a junior rates your girlfriend as number one in his list. So he was tensed and I WAS DEAD.

"I didn't know that she is your girlfriend", my frightened and uneasy mind provoked me to plea with these words.
"Hey what's the problem buddy? It’s OK. I know you. Relax", I felt same like a lost boy returns home.
"So, you said you will approach her. So now approach her", the first one said. She looked strange and it seemed like I had taken few billion dollar from her and refusing to return.
"I can't", I still feared the lad there.

"It's an order. You have to. Now let me make your situation a bit easy. PROPOSE HER...", she said. I was confused that on which parameter she made my path easy. She was vomiting fire with each words.
"Ma’am, Please I can’t”, I pleaded as I can’t at least chance to walk on a path to hospital bed.
"You have to, a senior has asked you, but be ready for after effect", Dev said me.

He was actually threatening me or was saving me, it was unknown but he was smiling as he said the statement. Well I thought if he is saying in such a way, then he will save me so I said, "Ma’am! Will you accept me as your next boyfriend?”

Yes it was very indeed and the girl too started laughing but the after-effect is worth to be forgotten.
THHHAASSS!! A slap right on the left side of my face but the first girl offered that saying, "How dare you say that?"
Well she was the one who asked me to do so but indeed she awarded me with this slap. God knows why but the one of her fingers did strike my eye. I covered my eye immediately to reduce further damage from the upcoming slaps but no more came.

Dev took me out of the stand and he explained, "Dude, just relax. That girl wanted to slap you but she needed a reason. So just forget it". I asked, "Why? Have I done anything wrong to her?"
"No. It’s just that she never liked your attitude. She says that you are a kind of over smart. Well leave that and let’s go for the game. Be confident I won’t tell this to anyone", he consoled me and we moved towards the court.

May be she can't tolerate me around. One thing which I came to know after that is: when a senior wants to sue you, then he or she can do it anyway. No way out. By the way the word "ATTITUDE" is still a mystery for me as I never understood the criteria and clauses that defined this word.

Views & Interviews I

Everybody has to face an interview in his life. May be it is in the form of practical viva, ragging, oral exams, placement interviews, police interrogation or an questionnaire from your would-be in-laws before your marriage. So in some case or the other you have to be an interviewee. Some interview you love to remember which inspires you always while some of them are like your bad times which you still remember them as lessons. I am no exception. I have faced an interview that always inspires me and another one that always teaches me a lesson. To start with here I will tell you my good one and in my next post I will describe my bad one.
It was in the Wipro Campus Recruitment Interview's Technical Round which always inspires me to be confident, firm and determined. Being honest it was not my first placement interview because two days before, I had already appeared for Infosys HR Interview and it went quite well. I was still awaiting for the results of that Interview. The day before was the Wipro's Aptitude Round which was in pen-paper format. I qualified and was selected for the Technical Interview. It was early in the morning at eight o'clock. I have never seen so many people in the college at this time, before. I saw my friend Nitesh in the Placement cell. He was the coordinator of these interviews being the student representative from our department. He had reached an hour before. His swollen red eyes and dipping shoulder were clearly speaking that he was dead tired working late last night. He is really a tough and hard working guy. He had been running around for weeks before the on-campus placement even reached the starting line. He has a huge body and yes huge means really HUGE. He was almost triple than me on volume scale. But his massive structure was a store house of enormous power that helped him to work like bulls and horses. Moreover his presentation skills and communication abilities always made him our representative. He has a great future in politics because the way he convinces others, no one can.
I was sitting in the waiting queue and Nitesh came up to me, handing me a piece of paper, he spoke in one go, "Dude, I am placing your name for Panel-3. I know your Infosys Interview was good and moreover you are technically very sound. The guy in the panel is asking conceptual questions and he is spending nearly an hour for one candidate. He is the one who interviewed Arko last night for nearly three hours. By the way he is rejecting like hell. Arko was the last and the only one who got selected by him. If you can engage him for a longer time then in the mean while I can use the easy panels for technically-not-so-sound guys. And I know you will be selected for this company for sure. You will be the one after Arko. Will you?"
I already told you that he had a great convincing power and I agreed. SO LETS TRY.
The paper he handed me was a blank sheet where we were asked to write our views about "Global Warming" in three hundred words. I wrote an essay with lot of idioms, phrases and quotations from great personalities. At least anyone who reads that essay of mine can clearly say that I had lack of relevant points but I had tried the best to express my so-called-feelings. Two candidates were ahead of me in that Panel. The first candidate went in like a heavy-weight champ and came out like a feature-weight chap after a half an hour interval. His body posture and his biting teeth were announcing that he was thrown out by that person and his behavior was noway human. My hands and feet froze as if I was in poles. The second boy had already lost half of his strength after the scene. He entered as if there was a cannibal waiting inside to tear him apart and proclaim "REST IN PIECES".
The wait was really killing me. I saw people entering and leaving the other panels. The frequency was quite good in those panels. I thought once that it would have been better if I had taken an easy path but it was too late now. I saw people literally jumping up at the gate and giving bear hug to each other. They were very happy for cracking the interview. Some of them were howling in joy. I don't know what made them so happy. It's just a job that will pay you a salary which is not enough to sustain a standard living, on my dad's parameter. I was sure that I won't become a monkey even if the company hires me before the HR round. There was another half of the scene also, I saw several sad, dull and most importantly crying faces. Some girls were crying so much that it can dehydrate them. By the way, I realy want to ask all the girls out there, WHY YOU ALL CRY SO MUCH???
I was busy admiring the fact that why there was nobody after me in this panel. I was sitting at that very chair for more than two hours with two short and swift journeys to loo and back. I had two people ahead of me but there are none after me. The next two chairs were empty as if they were meant for nobody. I saw Nitesh sweating around with different people and papers. The placement drive should have been a boon for him as he got a chance to work out without even facing the gym toils. A hand came over my shoulder. I turned around to see who was that. I saw Dr. P.R.Purkait was sitting beside me. He is the HOD of Electrical Engineering. He was the counselor of IEEE in our college and I was the Vice-Chair of IEEE Student Branch. We knew each other very well. He was also a great fan of my Badminton skills and he never missed a chance to challenge me for a game. He didn't said a word to me and smiled. I tried to stand in response but he pulled me back to my seat, as his hands were still on my shoulder. He then pretend to be a doctor and checked my nerves in my hand after which he showed a surprising gesture to say that the pressure was high. Yes it was. He sat there for next fifteen minutes and we both didn't exchange a word there.
The door opened and my heart pumped at its maximum. PRP sir alias Purkait sir stood up and left the place after tapping my back. The guy came out and the result was obvious, he was rejected after being interrogated for more than an hour. He asked me go in and wished me luck. I wanted to ask him that how it was but he was in a hurry to cry and he left within few seconds. I just watched him going away and hitting hard the file he had. I WAS NEXT.
I opened the door. I saw a vacant chair was placed in front while across the large table there was a man wearing formals and company's id card in his neck was busy writing something in a paper.
"May I come in sir", these were my first words in the room.
"Yes! do come. Good Morning. Have your seat", he raised his hand to show me the chair. The accent with which he said the last sentence made me clear that he was either from Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh.
"Good Morning and Thank you", I said to acknowledge him and took my seat.
He put forward his hand to take my file which I had placed in the table. He asked a simple two word question to which I had to reply for next two minutes and it was, "Introduce yourself..."
My introduction was nothing but an elaborate version of my fact based tabular resume. In the mean while he turned the pages of my file and I was quite sure that all my talks was of no use because he was busy reading my certificates. I ended my answer to which he replied, "Impressive".
I was pretty confused about the topic he was talking: was it my introduction or my file. Anyways it was a good sign.
He put his head down and started writing something again. Then said while writing, "So you are form Computer Science.."
"Yes", I said but he raised his head and gave me a strange look which meant that the last sentence he said was a fact and not a question. He pushed a paper and asked me to sign. I did.
"You said that you did your intern project at IIIT Hyderabad. What kind of project it was?" My god he was listening. GREAT.
For the next five minutes I had to explain my whole project whose name itself was twelve words long. I don't know whether he understood or not but I explained whatever I knew about that topic. I was speaking and in reply he was just waving his head up and down so that I can feel that he was listening. The thing ended and he spoke, "I have also worked on this platform. By the way you spoke everything from scratch to the final. GOOD". FUCK! I was treating him like I treated my departmental teachers in the presentation. But luckily I spoke everything relevant to the topic. I WAS SAVED.
"Well your CV says that you are developing an online system for an international conference", I was surprised that how a man can listen to my introduction and read my CV simultaneously.
I again gave him every detail of the project in which I was working. An international conference was about to be organized in our department after two months and I was the web in-charge of it. He seemed to like my short presentation of the ongoing project and he simply asked me a question, "Suppose the MD of a company wants to wish all his employees on their as well as on their family member's birthday. How can you do that using the platform in which you are working?"
I told him the mail function of the system. I wanted something that reaches instantly to the employee.
I said, "Sir, we can use SMS gateway to wish them via cellphones and an acknowledgement summary of the people who had been wished on the behalf of MD on MD's cell."
He was really impressed and that was easily visible from his facial expression. Then these was followed by some conceptual questions from C, data structure and algorithm and I answered them correctly. He was really impressed. But then the interview took a new turn.
"You already appeared in Infosys Interview right?" he asked a strange question.
"Yes Sir, I had", I said with utmost politness.
"That means you are selected in Infosys", he said.
"But results are still not out sir"
"No problem, Infosys people are not so fool that they will leave you"
"Thank you sir, but still I can't say anything as results are yet not declared"
"Ok but I know you have cleared Infosys and now I can't waste my seat on you. I am sure that you will be joining that company", he was testing my patience now.
"But Sir, nothing can be told right now", I tried to convince him.
"Ok now you tell how was the interview? I mean this interview", he asked.
"If you hire me then it was good or else it was not", I had a point.
"Come on! Every singer can say that how he performed before the results and so does students"
"Then it was good"
"Ok then think you have cleared both the company. Which one will you join?" Shit this question should not come.
"I can't say it now. Both are good companies and both are offering me almost the same package", I was polite enough.
"But you have to join one of them"
"Yes, then I have to ask my mentors", I said to which he simply wanted me to say who are my mentors. I gave him every detail of my mentors: my HOD and Apratim Sir.
"Ok think you went to your mentors and they are not able to take any decision. But finally they said that it's your life you better decide", his questions were killing me now.
"Then I will ask my senior who are currently working in the industry", I replied and then he asked me the details of those seniors. I gave every detail.
"What do you want from the company you will be working for?" he put forward a valid question.
"Opportunity and Good Working Environment", I never meant that, I wanted to say fat salary and luxury.
"Ok you will get lot of opportunity here. Do you want to go for higher studies in future?" again a valid question.
"Ya for sure but not now. Right now I want to earn something", I made my point clear that I won't be doing M.Tech just after my B.Tech.
"Sir, can I ask you something", a very unusual happened. I was asking him. Obviously he replied a yes.
"Sir, I have heard that Wipro supports the higher education of it's employees in different college around the globe", I seriously wanted to ask this question to somebody who is directly related to the company. He started telling me the list of all the programs that company had for this cause and he also named few universities after that where they have send their employees on study leave. I was now enjoying the show as I have done enough of the talking. Now it was his turn.
"But I know its of no use for you. You won't join Wipro and even if you do then the day the contract is over you will leave the company. You are not a long term asset for me. The company will simply drain its money behind you", he was stubborn. He was sticking to that very point only.
"Nothing can be said right now", I said in my lowest tone.
"Ok now lets make some real deal. Relax push your back. Feel easy. Remove this file", he said and he pushed everything to one corner of the table including my file.
"We can offer you ten thousand more per month than the salary assigned on special case. Will you join Wipro?"
"Sir, Money is not everything and I can't say anything right now", what a liar I was. FOR MONEY I AM HERE.
"Then we can allocate you in one of those higher study programs right now or we can hire you as our intern . Will you join?"
"Sir, Thank you for such an offer but I can't come back to this place again to correct my mistake if anything goes wrong in future. So I will discuss it with my mentors and then only I can say.", my answer was enough to shut his mouth.
Then he simply took the red form signed it and gave it to me and said, "You are selected now but wait a bit"
I was surprised if he had hired me the n what more. He took out his wallet and placed it on the table. Then he took out his keys and placed it beside the wallet. Then he placed his ID card over them.
"These are the things given by Wipro. Now I am not an employee. My name is Arvind. Call me Arvind and no Sir anymore. And I am from Kunnoor. I am working in Hyderabad right now. I am your friend. Lets shake hands...", then he put his hand forward and I too. We shook hands and he continue, "...you are selected. Nobody can drop you now. I have written a star performance on this slip which the HR will see and he will not ask a single question to you. You are done. Now as a friend tell me WIPRO or INFOSYS?"
I smiled back to his question saying, "Arvind, I still can't decide. I will have to do a R&D at my level and then I can answer"
Then what he said, stills gives me goosebumps, "Bhanu, you are firm and determined. Over it you are honest and calm headed which I liked the most. Technically, I am leaving the point. Nothing to say. But do you know for even once if you would have told that you are joining WIPRO, I would have rejected you. Because if you can say yes to such a deal then you can easily convey some secret to any rival. But you didn't. This friend stuff was also a trick. The form, I have yet not signed there. It's a piece of paper without the sign. I hope that you will get great heights in your future irrespective of the fact that you joined any company".
He took the form back and signed it. He asked me to leave and go for HR round. I went outside. I was physically outside the room but the picture of the last phase was still revolving in my head. I saw the form once again and it was hard for me to believe that I had already spent two hours inside the room.
I knew I wont celebrate as one more round was left.
I was totally unaware of why he choose me for such a session. I asked Arko and every one else who went into that panel. Nobody was interrogated like this but at the end it was good and I am glad I was successful there.

That place! not again!!!

Often you come across some tough situations and unforgettable moments in certain places. These situation may be the result of some mischievous acts by few unsocial person or the result of your unawareness. But whatever may be the reason, after such a phase it is very obvious that you start hating that place and you always wish to stay away from there. It is a human nature of hating and loving something which is quite biased decision of the individual. Even though that place may have it's own boasting story and history but you tend to ignore those facts and figures. I too personally hate a place known as Bokaro Steel City and yes that's because of certain phase I tolerated there. Your eyebrows may fall to it's lowest level if you love this city but please listen to my story I guarantee you that I can elevate those eyebrows.
March 31st, 2008 is one of the most memorable day in my life because the month long Class XIIth Board Examination finally came to an end on this very day. The rest of the day was quite a fun as we raided the nearest multiplex to watch movie and had fun with our full fledged school gang. The next day was April Fool and it was the day when I totally dedicated myself  to become a true fool i.e. now I only studied for different engineering entrance exams. I was very sure that without anybody's help, it would be tough for me to study continuously the same set of books. Thus, I asked Manish to come to my place, so that we can have a joint preparation. By the way allow me introduce Manish to you all - "Manish Pratap Singh aka Manish aka Topper is one of my close friends. He is a kind of character who can demoralize you with his knowledge, at the highest level of your preparations for any exam. He was the brand ambassador of all the toppers that passed from his school. He was the favorite of all the teachers who has taken his class for at least once. He had a huge body and this was the reason that made him capable of decomposing himself within the piles of books, that were always decorated in his study table. He was a kind of guy who was pointed by over-expecting parents in our town for setting up examples for their wards. Two reasons forced me to have a joint study with him: first was, he was a great teacher and second was, he always quoted some nasty examples to make you understand things better. Manish was the one who arose my love for Chemistry." Although there are several more reasons for my affairs with Chemistry. The beautiful and trimmed structure that stood in the teacher's podium for teaching us that divine subject in our school was also to be blamed.
I can remember once Manish described Chemistry in these words, "In Hindi we call this subject Rasaayan Vigyaan. If you break the word like Rash-aaaaa-yan Vigyan. You will get to know that the subject is full of Rash meaning love. So just make love with this subject".
Anyways we really burned our eyes, brain, mind, hands, ears and all possible body part that were used to study. We gave exams too. WBJEE got postponed for a month. So we studied more. But at last we were not satisfied with the way our exams went. We thought of dropping a year, join some good coaching classes and then face the exam once again. So we decided to go for FIITJEE, Bokaro.
One fine day we decided that we will go to Bokaro, take the form, appear in the exam, get some scholarship and join there. Sticking to our firmness we boarded a train for Bokaro. As per directed by some experienced personals we got down at Dhanbad and took the bus to Bokaro. The worst part of this journey was that we both had just an amount of five hundred with us out of which two-hundred was the cost of the form. Dad asked me to take more money but I ignored him giving an unwelcome advice on my savings of the pocket-money he gave. The bad luck started from the point we landed in Dhanbad. It was seven in the morning of  the mid-June summer. Not a single penny was used for the railway journey, an advantage for being an immediate extended DNA of a railway employee. We had our breakfast in a decent restaurant before boarding the bus to Bokaro but the price they charged was not decent. They charged forty for each plate. Anyways we gave the amount and boarded the bus after taking an oath that we will be checking the price list before entering such restaurants. The ticket price was as high as the breakfast. It costs eighty rupee each. That means we both had just one hundred and eighty to spend after saving the price for the form.
DAD WAS RIGHT.
We got down at the bus stop and opted for an auto-rickshaw. Unusual to Kolkata and Durgapur there was no queue of people waiting rather the vehicles outnumbered the passengers. We asked one of the autos to take us to Sector IV. He readily agreed and without even waiting for other passengers he simply moved fast in the smooth roads of the city. It took twenty minutes to criss cross the area and finally reach the spot. I was looking at the idol of Chatrapati Shivagi at that place and meanwhile Manish was paying the charge, few meters away. He came to me and said,"I have a shocking news for you." I asked the obvious question and he replied that the auto-wala took one hundred rupee as charge. Here nobody shares an auto but hires one. So we were just left with one hundred and thirty with us after the form's price. To save ourselves we decided not to have food and avoid any sort of vehicles whenever possible.
We hardly took any time to find our destination as the large hoardings by FIITJEE in the surrounding made sure that you are there at correct place. Well with all our frustration and tiredness we walked the stairs to reach the place but the shutter was down and it was clearly written in bold

"The center will be closed today in response to the strike"

We got down the building and went to the gatekeeper. He replied in his Nepali accent that because of  malfunctioning of some industry around, a strike has been called for the day and all shops, offices, factories, transportation system within the city are closed down. Now we were helpless. Going back home and again coming back the next day was not our cup of tea. It was enough tiring today only. Staying there was not also an option as we were in huge scarcity of monetary.
I called Dad and explained him the situation to which he gave us a phone number of his cousin who lived in Bokaro only. A ray of hope appeared before us but vanished in a flash because after calling him we got to know that they are on a family trip to Jammu & Kashmir.
HEAVEN, GOD SAVE US.
Then I called my maternal uncle who was in Ranchi and narrated him my situation. I had a hope that he can arrange something in the city but he simply said us to come down to Ranchi. We had no other option left than to go to Ranchi. We walked back to the place where the auto left us. We found a school-going student standing there and we asked him the shortest and the cheapest way to reach the railway station. The way he replied was enough to bring my heart into my mouth. He said, "Dude, f**k that CHEAPEST word. Just pray that you somehow reach your destination. Today's strike is not a normal now. A mob had broken into a factory nearby, creating huge violence. Police had forced curfew in the city for next six hours and it can be extended also. I pray that somehow dad gets here quickly and I reach home fast. For your information let me tell you that you have to take a walk of about 10 km to reach there and you have no other option. But don't ever try that because in the way, forget any homo-sapiens you won't even find a stray dog. The auto-rickshaws are also not plying now."
His dad came like a storm in his pre-independence era scooter and went away like a thunder after taking him. We were left gazing the smoke that the scooter blew in the air. Yes we can see that there was hardly any living being in the road except us. We just walked the lonely footpath and took nearly one hour to reach a roadside stall which was luckily open. We were forced to have some food or else we won't make it to the station. Forty more gone. We were just left with a fifty rupees note and four ten rupees notes to spend, keeping the form's price safe. Another one hour walk in the scorching sun finally took us to the station. Yes that boy was right those roads were nothing but next to void.
I was amazed to see the condition in which the station was. There was hardly any passenger around. All water tapes were either broken or were not in a condition where you can drink water. We asked the station master about the next train to Ranchi, to which he replied, "Every train through Bokaro is diverted because some massive damage happened to tracks nearby, so I can't say". We thought of spending the night in the platform only.
It is said that

"When your bad time starts everything seems to be falling out of your reach but keep patience good time will come for sure."

But in no case the saying seemed to be true. We went to last platform where an open rack goods train was standing. The guard of the train was sitting right beside us in the bench. He was waiting for something. I don't know why he got interested in us and questioned our presence in the station in such condition. I don't know why we told our sad story to him that brought us here. He said something that rejoiced us, "This Goods train will be crossing Ranchi, if you want you can come."

THANK YOU GOD.

We didn't hear a word more and got up in the rack. It was an open empty rack and one can clearly see the engine from the guard's bogie. We didn't knew why and where the racks were going but we only knew that it will cross Ranchi. The train rolled after half an hour. The feeling you get on sitting in any open air train is not so soothing as it sounds to be. The place didn't looked like the plot from the film Dil Se. There was neither any good music being played nor was there any Malaika Arora around, rather the plot from Escape from Taliban was perfectly matched. The sun is right over-head, we can't listen to each others voice, you cannot stand in between for disposing your waste, you can't sleep, just you have to sit ideal in a place holding something that can save you from falling out. The train was roaring and passing through hills, planes, bridges, fields and the view was awesome. But after an hour's unstoppable journey, the train halted in a place for more than an hour. Many passenger train passed through but none of them halted so that we can board them. We could just see them going swift and steady. We didn't had water to drink now. The guard came up to us and asked whether we are hungry or not. We were not hungry but thirsty. He offered us the life. We now regretted for our decision because even though the train would cross Ranchi but it is not sure when. There was a big question WHEN?

Anyways after similar running-halting cycle continued for five hours and we reached Ranchi at eight o'clock in the evening. My uncle was waiting there for us as we have informed him few stations ago. We went to his house. Mami (hindi term for maternal uncle's wife) was ready with the dinner. We ate like dogs and slept like buffaloes as the next day we again had to go to Bokaro. 

Early in the morning we wake up and were ready for Bokaro. Uncle gave us something that we badly needed. Yes he handed us a five hundred note each. We were happy now. WE WERE KINGS.

We took an express train to Bokaro. But Bokaro looked a totally different city now. There was crowd in the railway station. The curfew was lifted now. There were trackers(a local made vehicle) outside. Yes like every other Indian city, there was a huge scarcity of vehicles compared to the passengers. The journey we did this time in tracker was way longer then the journey in the auto last time and also way cheaper than that. It charged ten rupee only. TEN TIMES LESS.

We went to the FIITJEE center, it was open. There was a beautiful lady in the front desk. We took the form and Manish started filling that. I gave my form also to Manish to fill so that I can admire the lady. She was not a kind of beauty that can be nominated for Miss India Contest but yes she was of the kind that can keep you awake the whole night and can convert your resting hours to some extra working hours. She was sitting in a chair which was quite low and her dress clearly exhibited her assets every time she bent down to pick something. She can be a good working out option. God must have furnished her keeping our expectation for sizes in mind. Manish filled the form so quick that I was yet not satisfied admiring the nature's creation. He was a dog. We gave the forms to her and after accepting the form she handed us the admit cards of the scholarship exam that was to be held ten days later in Bokaro itself.

BOKARO AGAIN. NO!!!

The rest of the journey was smooth as now we were expert in the city and moreover we had the money. Now I knew one thing

"If you have the money you can enjoy the honey".

Ten days later we were again ready to visit the city. The exam was to be conducted in DAV Public School, Sector IVB from 9 o'clock in the morning. We knew that, noway we can reach the center at time if we start the journey on exam day itself. So we left the evening before. This time we had enough money with us and moreover we had our dad's ATM card also. So this time money was not an issue. We had planed that we will stay in Dhanbad that night either in Railway Dormitory or any Hotel nearby then we will take the first bus to Bokaro after that we will give the exams and will return back. NICE PLAN.
We got down from the train at ten o'clock in the night. We went to the person in-charge for Dormitory, it was full. We asked for the retiring room, it was also full. The first class waiting room, in no sense looked like first class so we dropped the idea for our stay in Railway compound. We went to some nearby hotel all were full. The reason was The State Athletic Meet was to be hosted on the next morning in Dhanbad so every hotels, lodges and waiting space were booked. So no space and not even on extra cost.
Then we saw a temple nearby. The gates of the temple were open. We thought that we can stay here only. We sat in the temple's compound went to sleep very fast. Then the temple priest came to us at midnight saying that we can't stay here because it's not allowed. So we had to leave the place.
In the midnight Dhanbad is nothing less than any barren land. Nobody is visible around. We thought that we should go back to the Railway platform and can adjust somewhere in the platform itself. Yes we were right, there was enough empty benches in the platform. So we parked ourselves in one of those benches and slept.
BAAANNNGG!!! I woke up after feeling the strong sensation in my butt as if it was struck by some truck. No, there was a RPF standing nearby who had struck me with his wood-cum-iron stick on my butt with all the force that he had. I tell you with the experience that the force was so intense that half of that effort would be enough to break a coconut shell in ten pieces. "Why are you sleeping here? This not a place to sleep", were the words of consolation or maybe threat from the RPF. Before I could answer him his question he was ready for the second blow. "AAAHHH!! Sir we didn't find any place vacant. Every hotel, lodge and waiting room is full here", I said and stood up collecting my belongings. Manish too was ready to go.
"That's not my problem, just leave this place", now he moved towards Manish. Manish was alert of the upcoming danger but even before he can react he also received a blow but he saved his butt by interfering his hand in the trajectory of the stick.
 We had no other option than to leave the place. It was late night now around two o'clock. We went outside the railway station and we saw some potters were sleeping in the footpath. They were relaxed. We knew that this was a perfect place to sleep. We too gave them the company.
BOOMM!!! At the stroke of early dawn, the newspaper bundle fell right next to my face. I was saved by inches. We woke up by the sound and show that the whole truck of newspaper was to be unloaded there. The person who were sleeping nearby were all gone. There was nobody around except a stray dog near Manish's legs. We left the place and moved to the bus stop. The first bus to Bokaro was about to leave. We boarded the bus which was almost next to empty. We took a comfortable seat and slept.
That day I learned another thing,

"Money is something but off course not everything"

The Bus halted in the Bokaro Bus Terminal just in front of Sulabh Sawchalay (pay & use toilet). We were thankful to the kindhearted bus driver who made our work easy. We did our mandatory work and took a bath there. It was six in the morning. We took a tracker which dropped us near the center. We thought that we can have our breakfast near the school. We reached there two hours earlier but there was no sign of any food stall anywhere. We had to miss our break fast. But something fell into my eye that was shocking. The place where Manish received the blow had swollen up and it was dark red in colour. He was complaining for the pain too. Yes I was also feeling a sensation in my butt. The moment I sat on the bench I started paining too.
Sharp at nine the exams started and it was an easy exam of three hours but we were too hungry and moreover my butt was paining enormously now. Thus, we finished the exam half an hour earlier. We had another exam that was to be started at one o'clock. We took a kilometer walk to reach a restaurant and for the first time in life I ate two Dhosas back to back. Then I went to medical shop beside the restaurant and bought an pain-relief spray. I sprayed the ointment all over my base which had enlarged a bit after the blow and yes obviously in private only but it was a feeling that I can't forget. UFFF!!! RELAXED. Manish too sprayed it in his hand. The way he was feeling I didn't knew but I was in heaven. We were so over loaded by food that we took rickshaw to come back to center within time. The next exam was an aptitude exam and we were good at it. Half an hour and our paper were finished.
We hurried back to the Bokaro Railway Station and boarded a train back to our place. The time we got down from the train I got a call from one of my close friends Khushboo. She called for informing me that I had got a comparatively good rank in AIEEE than I thought. Later on checking the results we got that Manish was way behind his expectations.
The result meant that I was joining a college while Manish was ready to go to Kota. Seven days after the day I received a call from FIITJEE  and I was hearing a sweet voice of a lady. It was a familiar voice and I knew who she was. She told me, "Bhanu you have been selected for the scholarship along with your friend Manish. As because you are among the top five student at the FIITJEE, Bokaro we are also providing you..... ". I cut the call midway because I was pretty sure that it was of no use. BOKARO!! Enough I had seen. Two days and it were worse. I knew I won't visit the place again, at least not in near future. That place! not again!!!

I lived another life for 9 seconds

Everybody has this dream in a very small corner of their heart that I WILL BE JOINING AIR FORCE and will fly over the cities in some multi-million-dollar supersonic jet planes. I was no exception. My desire to join the IAF took new leaps and reached new heights during the Kargil war. I did all sort of ashaan and yoga so that I could quickly cross the height hurdle and get rid of my dust allergy. But the greatest sorrow of life is that : they are still my best companions. Anyways it was in the days of post-Kargil time. I was in class V and my then and god-knows-why-forever best friend Sahil was very passionate narrating stories of his maternal uncle who was in IAF. I too took keen interest in listening those stories, that how they are trained, where and how they fly, how do they play with their strategies and many more. Luckily from God's greatest blessing I got a chance to meet his uncle. Yes I meet Flight Lieutenant Vijay Shankar Rana. The moment I met him, my inner enthusiast simply can't withheld his feelings and ended up asking, "Mamaji will you please narrate us your story and experiences from Operation Vijay?" I forgot that his name was also Vijay. Later I recognized my mistake but he was smart enough to handle the situation. He also can't resist his laughter seeing my eagerness. He said, "Well it's tough to explain the whole story but yes I will share one which is my most memorable". Both Sahil and I sat in front of him with chins supported by our hands and elbows supported by legs. Eyes and ears fully directed towards him. He narrated as-
It was in the initial days of Op. Vijay, our wing was given the task to find out the possible hide outs of the intruders in Drass Sector from the air. We were on the survey duty as the operation was yet to start in full form. We did the survey with a team of three MIG-21 and a JAGUAR. The MIGs flew at the same level and comparatively at lower level to JAGUAR. In the first three days of survey nothing special fall in our eyes. There was no such suspicious movements going on in the hills. It was all quite and in the absence of the white snow blanket everything was clearly visible. On the fourth day, we again started our survey early in the dawn as we were expecting movements in this time of the day. I was flying one of those MIGs and I was in between the other two. Just above me was the JAGUAR. It was a great scene in front of us. The sun's rays were just peeping out of the peaks in the far east. The far west part of the sky was still dark. The sky just over my head was in the intermediate shade of blue. The whole sky looked like the colour pan of my computer. Yes, one more thing that was up above me was the swift, the deadly and the enemy's nightmare JAGUAR. Well I was busy admiring the nature's canvas but then I suddenly received a message over the radio from one of those MIGs, "Rana look down there seems some disturbance".
I looked down and I saw that there was small fire dot in the brown surface of the Himalaya. It looked like a fire pit to me for sometime but slowly the size was increasing and it was moving also. Then I recognized the thing, I transmitted the message on radio to my team,"SHIT MAN it is a god-damn-deadly rocket and it is coming towards us".
I had no escape and it was strictly following me. I was helpless as I can't go left there was a MIG and so was on my right. I thought of directing up but there was JAGUAR. I was helpless and then shouted, "Spread up and twist around".
Both the MIGs followed my order and they spread on both sides and twisted back. The JAGUAR also elevated itself and twisted back. I checked all around the space and it was empty but at my back the rocket was still chasing. Rockets move following a helical path and so was it, which means if somehow it misses your  tail end then the rocket's path will make sure that you are hit in the middle. I thought of twisting back. I pushed the plane to its limit. Twisting back means the speed will fall and if the speed falls, the rocket will show no mercy. Now the rocket was so close to me that I can see the tip of it's metal body. I was sure that I will be dead within few seconds and my ashes will spread all over the cold Himalayan bed. I will be dead.
I was being directed by my team constantly over the radio for what to do and what not. But nothing fall in my ears. I checked for any possibilities of increasing the speed. I revised all my training lessons in my mind but the plane was at its extreme limit. A drop of tear rolled from my eyes and I was ready to surrender myself to death. I closed my eyes and pushed all possible buttons with full force that are used to speed up the plane. I was flying at the height of thirty thousand meter. I knew that there is only one way out and it was to slowly elevate your plane and I did so. There was a huge risk behind. The speed fell but I tried that it falls in a minimum rate. My eyes were still closed. I revised my whole life in my thoughts. I can see my dad scolding me for my rash riding which I did just to impress those cute Dehli girls, they still look cute. I saw my whole family got pissed off when I rejected to join Regional Engineering College, Hamirpur and took IAF as my carrier. I can see Poonam di getting married. I can see my new born nephews crying in my lap. I can see my best friends who came for receiving me at Nizzamudin Railway Station after I completed my IAF training. Then I saw the moment when I first saw the coffins of the dead soldiers. I saw the Tiranga being wrapped over those coffins. Yes I am also going to be dead but I won't be wrapped with the national flag because it is wrapped around a dead soldier and not on it's ashes. I was sure that I will die but not a normal death but a weird one. Then I open my eyes and it was hard to believe that just four seconds has elapsed from the last time I saw the rocket. Then I saw the EJECT button but I dropped the idea as I have already entered the enemy's area and by ejecting I may survive but these enemies won't leave me before cutting me into pieces and burning me into useless body. So for me it was better to die at one go than to live a life worse then death.
Then suddenly a smile came on the face after a wonderful thought that LETS FACE THE DEATH. I slowly turned around and saw a miracle happen. The rocket's speed started to fall and I was now at the height of forty five thousand meters. Then slowly the metal body of the rocket flipped back and started falling freely. The rocket had reached the maximum height of it's projection and it was falling down. I WAS SAFE. HURRAY I was rejoicing, dancing a bit , thanking god and smiling at the same time. A cold wave of relaxation ran through my body and my heartbeat slowed down. I again closed my eyes to thank GOD. I twisted back and headed toward the airbase. Then I generated the message to my team, "I AM SAFE, THE ROCKET WAS DOGGED". I gave them the message after nine seconds from the last one. Nothing but a sound of rejoice came from the other side. They were also happy for me.
We returned to base. I got down from plane and I collapsed. I suffered a sudden fall in blood pressure. I could hardly speak and I was taken to the health center. Water splashed on my face and I was given glucose. Then my commanding officer asked me, "What happened Rana?"
I replied, "I lived another life for nine seconds".
We too took our heavy breaths after a long pause. Both Sahil and me were stun, unmoved and eyes wide open when the story was told. Later he took us to a nearby market for having ice-cream but we were dead silent as if we were on the plane.

I never bought a railway ticket

My father says that "When your son's height almost reaches your knees then love him to no limits, when his height crosses your waist then scold him if he even does a small mistake, when he reaches your shoulder guide him to correct way and when your shoe fits into your son's foot then be his friend". Following his rule he has become friendly to me. One day I asked my dad, "You must have done some daring stuffs in your college life." For which he replied with a broaden chest, "A lot". I requested him to narrate one of them and he narrated a story like this one.

It was in the middle of 80's when I was a student of B.Sc.(Mathematics Honors) in Sahebjang Science College, Bihar (now in Jharkhand). My home was in Tinpahar which was nearly fifty kilometers away from my college. Our financial condition was not that better that my dad can afford my stay in Sahebjang so I had to shuttle from college everyday. I used to take the first local to reach my college and would return around eight at night by another local train but there was an express train that can save my one hour while returning. In my initial days I never dared to take the express train as I never bought a ticket. But after some time we had a group and all my friends forced me to take the express train. Slowly it became my daily habit to go by a local train and return back in that express train. Nearly three years passed and I was never caught by any TTE or any RPF. My final year exams were approaching and our classes got over by then. I had to visit one of my professors one day. I took the same train to college and took that same express train to return but that day something happened that never happened before. That day Magistrate Checking was being conducted in the train and I was totally unaware of the fact. The coach in which I was sitting was the general compartment and hardly had five to six people. Two TTE and two RPF entered the coach and they were bad enough. They pulled out a person with his collar when they found him to be a ticket less traveler. I had to no idea what to do. The train was gaining speed and jumping from it would make be eligible for Physical Handicap quota for sure. It was better to have a full working body and serve in jail than to have few bones broken and get served in bed. Well I placed the notebook in front of my face and started faking seriousness. I did this to avoid any sort of eye contact from those approaching devils. But after sometime the inevitable happened and I heard something in heavy voice, "Ticket please". A fear shriek run through my body which vibrated my spine. But I never wanted to sound uneasy and I said without fear as if I was the owner of the train, "Student and I don't have the ticket". I could see a gathering beside me from the corner of my eye. Then slowly a person in white trouser came there, standing close to me said, "In which chapter of Indian Constitution its written that student don't need a ticket to travel". I was shocked that who the hell was he. He was talking about Constitution. He was a well dressed person with a good outfit and it seems like he was an high ranking officer of Railways.

"I am not a student of political science", I replied.

"Where you will get down?" he asked.

"At Tinpahar", I replied with equal firmness.

He occupied the seat in front of me. Then he spoke in a very gentle voice, "What do you study?"

"B.Sc. Maths Honors", I said proudly.

"And in which college?"

"Sahebjang Science College", I was again broad chested.

"That is a very good college which tells that you are academically good student", he was polite this time.

"I am", what else can I say after such a praise.

"Then why don't you have a ticket. Your father must be giving you the money for it?" he asked.

"Yes, but it is not enough to fill an empty stomach and buy a ticket. Our family is not so economically sound", I said without any pause and every bit was true.

"Ok! have you ever bought a ticket?" he asked a valid question.

"I never bought a railway ticket but my father bought  and gave me a monthly ticket on the first day of my college", again a truth and this time a smile came into his face.

"Ok! I see that your notebook says that you are in final year and your college is going to end soon then", he was flipping the pages of my notebook.

"Yes next month the practical will start", I said and he place my notebook beside him.

"Do you know the punishment for the offense", he was firm now.

"Three months of imprisonment or a fine of twenty rupee or both", I was in no mood of bowing down. In those days the twenty rupee had more value.

"But still you committed the crime. Well what will you do in future: higher study or job?"

"My family can never support higher study. I reached till here with the help of the scholarship that I get from the government. I have been receiving this scholarship since class four", I said my true story as I was sure that I would be jailed because I didn't had the money for penalty. So no way out.

"You are really a bright student that means you will also be getting a good job and you will become a high ranked officer. After that its sure that you will be taking bribes", he has forecasting a lot about my future.

"Look if I get my job by bribing other then I will become the most corrupt official the country ever had but if I get a job by my merit then nobody can be more honest than me", I replied.

It looked like something struck hard in his mind and he returned me my notebook saying, "Go your destination has come, get down and never do it again".
Well my dad was smiling and was expecting a response from me as I heard the story without moving from my place. I said, "Dad, you were too lucky. You were saved by few millimeters". He started laughing and I too joined him. Then he said , "You know I met that person after four year and I recognized him because he was wearing the same dress". I was excited and asked him to continue.
Four years later I was  in Rampurhat station while returning back to Andal from Tinpahar. Again a Magistrate checking was done. Coincidentally I saw him again standing in front of me. I was better dressed now but he was unchanged.
"This time you must be having a ticket because this time I won't leave you", he said to me in hard voice. I was surprised to see that he recognized me. This was his daily routine and he meets hundreds of such ticket-less travelers but how can he remember my face.
"No I don't have", I was polite enough.
"So pay the penalty or get the punishment", he asked the RPF along with him to pull me out.
"Wait, I have something that can save me", I took the Railways-pass from my pocket and showed it to him.
"Hmm", he said a smile in his face.
"Sir, I am an Asst. Loco Pilot of Goods Train, Eastern Railways and I am posted in Andal", I said with utmost politeness.
"Well, that means you will never need a ticket now and you never bought one", he said and started laughing. I also joined him while the RPF standing there was shocked as he was totally unaware.
I asked him, "But why did you leave me the last time". He replied, "You were honest and no one lie with such a perfection in front of such checking. I hope you got your job with your marks and not by bribing others". I replied with a big YES. They left the coach.
Dad and I started laughing too. I said ,"That's true you never bought a ticket. You are a Loco Inspector with a first class AC pass". He said to it,"Well you should learn one thing that honesty pays and it pays well and yes I never bought a railway ticket". I smiled back in acceptance.

The place where I love to be

In my childhood days, it was in my usual routine that I used to be the company for my grandpa in his evening walk. He took me to the same place everyday and the place was a railway station. We used to sit there for hours watching trains halting at the station and passing by. We used to look at the numerous passenger boarding and getting down from the train. The unloading parcel coaches and the working potter in the station were like an episode that we watched daily. In this place only I used to hear the stories of Amar-chitra katha, Akbar-Birbal, Ramayan and many more. Here only I was taught how to talk with different people and the manners that are necessary in daily life. Here only I saw some bad examples that worked as evidence to teach me what not to be. So the railway station lessons were like a pre-schooling for me. My grandpa being a principal of a Government High School was a very respectable and famous person in the town. As per said that you become a king if you are a good teacher. He was one of them for sure because every now and then when he used to encounter a person in the road, was either his student or a teacher who worked under him. The worst time taking thing was when he meet the parent of his student. But I like his this attitude. To me this was a great way to meet new people and know new faces. Even though I was just a two and half year old child but I still remember some faces and incidents. The most interesting one when I meet "Haazari Sir" and he was a person who taught my entire maternal family in his teaching carrier and he was a very good friend of grandpa. Haazari Sir asked me to come to his home and get a lesson taught by him as he didn't want to break the tradition. And the most interesting fact was that I was sent for a week, hence making me his another student. Then I also met the person who did the intermediate job of bringing my paternal and maternal family to a junction i.e. my parent's marriage. Anyways the evening walk was the best part for my life that time.
All of a sudden, my parents shifted to Andal and I had to leave the place. In my initial days in Andal, I really missed my grandpa and grandma. It was hard for me to stay here. Then my schooling got started here and I got busy with it. The evening walk became a memory. The daily routine became like wake up then breakfast then school then home then lunch then sleep then playing some games then studies then dinner then sleep and the cycle went on. I was nowhere missing the walk now. I was happy with my work. We used to visit our maternal home every year but hardly for two or three days. Around eight years passed, my brother was born and I was ten by then. I almost forgot about the walk. I got a chance to be with my grandpa for a long summer holiday. My grandpa suddenly asked for the evening walk one day. I was all ready and excited to live my childhood days again. He was leading the way and I was just following him. He took the same path and went to the same places that we used to visit once. Again lot of people wished him and he did wished all of them back. Many similar faces I encountered and many old stories were told to me that how I behaved when I was small. Again many trains came and went. The scene was almost same, potters, passengers, coaches and all. But I didn't find it that attractive this time. May be I liked the outlined life that I was leading. I just asked grandpa that was he coming here after long time or it was a just the same. He replied that he was visiting the place daily. I was surprised and kept mum. I went back home and never visited the place again in that holidays.
Ten more years passed and now I was twenty. To be called as by my voter I-card that I was an adult now. I again got a chance to have a long holiday in my grandpa's home in one of my semester break. Now he was a retried principal but still he followed his hard and fast rule of visiting the railway station. This time I asked him take me along with him. He did and surprisingly nothing changed there. He was following the monotonous walk. This time I simply can't restrict myself from asking him that how could he visit the same place daily without failing, years after years. He replied in a polite manner and he taught me another lesson. He said
"There are many things in life that you will be cherishing. I also do so. I cherish being a teacher and the best part of it is to be a true mentor. Although government paid me to teach the children for eight hours in a day but the role of a teacher never ends there. He is teacher even after his duty gets over. Bhanu just remember that whatever you do in you life just do it sincerely as it is the God who is directing you to do the work. So follow his orders. Yes I take the monotonous path everyday to visit this place but in the mid-way I meet many of my students and their families. I just want to check that all my students have became a good human or not. I check that if some are still lacking behind in the course of their life then I can help them to my limits. Evening walk and health maintaining is just a cover story for my original motto. Yes I proudly say that all my students are good human even though some became great doctors, engineers, administrators and some joined business while some are potters in the station but they all are good at heart. You won't understand why I am doing this but one day you will. This is the place where I love to be"
I nodded my head to accept his point. I was not surprised but was amazed by his commitment towards his work and he is a great teacher. He has been visiting the place for last thirty years. The place where he loves to be.