‘Yippppppeeeeeeee!!! I got selected via campus
recruitment!! Mastek, here I come’, read my facebook status as soon as the
selected students list was put up on my college notice board. A whole bunch of
23 students were selected from our college alone. I was rhapsodic. College was
finally over and I was about to enter my corporate life. ‘Corporate is no college...’’People
can no longer be trusted ‘Money matters...’ etc were the warnings and comments
given by my family members and friends who had already tasted the cake of
corporate life. All these comments failed to unnerve me because I loved taking
up new challenges. I was a confident young girl, exceptionally good with my
academics and extra-curricular activities as well. I was a teacher, a hobbyist
writer, a scrabble player, lead singer in my college band, a dancer, a
voracious reader, a gambler (I was heavily into stock market) and an actor. But, I must say, I was afraid that my
corporate life would not be as fulfilling as my college life had been. I feared
I would become a desktop pumpkin coding my way to my bank account. I wanted opportunities to display my talents
and get appreciated for the same. But the sceptical comments from everyone
around managed to subdue me.
Now let me take you directly to my first day at
Mastek. I was standing in a line along with all new trainees waiting to get our
visiting licences to enter Mastek premises. We were a bunch of excited
youngsters all waiting to experience the big bad corporate world. After we got
our visiting id’s we stepped into a different realm. On our first day, we were
all busy filling up various forms of all shapes and sizes. Since I am a
religious girl, I wanted a place to pray namaaz (Muslims pray namaaz 5 times a
day). This is the first time I experienced Mastek culture. Open Atmosphere and
Respect for Individual. Everybody, irrespective of what religion they followed,
was eager to help me out to find a place to pray namaaz. Some people even
introduced me to people who prayed regularly so that I could have company. The holy month of Ramzan followed after that
and I must say our L&D manager was considerate enough during that phase
also. I was enraptured. Nobody judged me by the way I dressed or by the
religion I followed (I wear a burqa*!!).
The reception of my ideas and the opportunities
given to me was prodigious. I was a part of the scrabble workshop and also a
part of the organizing team for indoor sports. I won the intra corporate
tournament in both the single and double categories and I was appreciated for
the organizing work too. I represented Mastek at the inter-corporate Scrabble
tournament held by IGATE. I was recognized for bringing laurels to Mastek. I
was appreciated for my writing and I was awarded for the same. Here, I came
across people who went out of the way in encouraging me to pursue my passion. I
was never treated as a fresher. I was treated with respect and was always
recognized for my achievements. Sometimes I was lashed for my ebullience too, but
that helped in my growth. My team, other
colleagues were always a constant strength in all my endeavours. Thanks to
Mastek I can now say to my peers, ‘ I know corporate is no college, I think it’s
better’(I get paid too!!:p)..
A small poem in tribute to my amazing journey in Mastek:
Some days, confident, some days I feared,
Some days sad, some days I cheered
Every memory I made, all the memories I shared,
I will keep it near; I will hold it dear,
Once a mastekeer always a mastekeer...
Some days vague, some days were clear
Family was far but colleagues were near,
No regrets are there and there was never a tear,
Now I know for sure, we make magic here
Once a mastekeer always a mastekeer!
**Burqa: A
religious overcoat worn by Muslim women
No comments:
Post a Comment