My Independence Day

Its 12 o clock in the noon as I slowly crawl out of my bed. I see some calls missed and SMSs on my cell. As I go through these messages my addled brain slowly processes all the chores that I need to run for the day like cooking, cleaning, bills to pay, laundry & the likes, till I come across an SMS saying “Jai Hind”. Yes it’s our 62nd Independence Day today and the whole of India is celebrating it by sitting at home, thanks to the H1N1 flu. Sitting here in Mumbai as I curse my chances of missing out on the all India release of “Kaminey”, an altogether different movie was playing in my head that put a million watt smile on my face.

Although I have lots of memories associated with my Alma matter this one is very close to my heart. Back in the 90s the Saraswati Vidyalaya band was a well known brand in Nagpur and when they entered any inter-school singing competition almost all participants would roll their eyes in unison knowing completely well that their chances of winning the competition were at stakes. High stakes!! Winning was not a choice for the band, it was a rule. It was the very reason for its existence.

Getting into this high school band was a huge deal. Every year students would be eagerly waiting for some senior of the band to pass out so that some openings would be created. This isn’t documented as most things these days but it was an unspoken open secret. Once the senior is gone the enthusiast would try his luck by giving audition to Yadav Sir, our vice principal. (The creator, caretaker & the composer). If he was good enough he got the entry ticket else he would be rejected very politely with an excuse that he indeed had a melodious voice but needed more practice. But the enthusiast would know that he had blown all his chances forever. If someone made a back door entry like recommendation, teacher’s pets, others- then several other ways were devised to show them the front door. (Limited no. of students required for the competition, asking them to stand at the back or side, etc).

Even I was an eager enthusiast. I had already made up my mind about which group to join. Although I have been with this school since my childhood, but I couldn’t wait to move from primary to high school since that would give me a break to sing along with the school choir. The band consisted of highly competitive singers who had already made their impression and insured their places in the band. How did I come to know of this band? Courtesy -> My sister who was already in the band.

Though I had my doubts during the audition but things went well and I got the TICKET. Yippee!!!!!!.. I would make all my moves very carefully and flee as soon as the rehearsals got over as I thought that the band was a rowdy lot and had a distant air about itself. But all this gloss and sheen chipped off within the first few weeks. All my fears vanished into thin air and I bonded very comfortably with each and every one in the group, which was a sign that I was accepted and welcome in the group. May be even I had become a rowdy :)

Let me introduce you to some of the most memorable members of the group. Kaustubh Godbole. Kaustubh was the rhythm maker. He could produce rhythm out of anything & everything under the sun. Rhythm flowed in his blood. No doubt he is still making his living out of something he has been passionate about right from childhood. He would play the Tabla, Dholak, Congo, Bongo, etc. Whenever the group had to explain a new type of rhythm to him he was amazingly quick to grasp. At times when it would become difficult to explain we would make all types of noises from our mouth like “Vutsuku Vutusku Vutsuku- chikchik chak ch chik chik ch- tara duru duruduru dum” and believe it or not he could make sense out of it and play it perfectly to the T. Apart from doing his own share he would bring along Aiyyappa the tallest guy in the batch who in turn became our Bongo-Congo man. Nobody vied kaustubh’s post and everybody believed that some replacement would come in. But we could never find another kaustubh Godbole. The post is still vacant. Any takers?

How could I miss out on Yadav Sir? Sir is a gifted artist. He writes and composes his own songs and when he would see that the lyrics didn’t go well with the tune he would impromptu alter the lyrics. Once this was done he would dictate this song or ask one of us to copy and circulate it in the team. Then came the rehearsals. With a harmonium by his side, I bet he could conquer the entire world. He would sing out a line for us and expect us to follow. We would sing out loud with gay abandon. The moment he found a disharmonious chord he would make attempts to make us sing those lines individually. Finally when the culprit was found he would rectify it. If he wasn’t able to do so, he would ask one of their closest friends to sing along with him. I can still do anything to hear him sing “Laga Chunari Mein Daag” with kaustubh on the Tabla. It was the ultimate treat. We could see his vocal chords and fear it would tear any moment. May be that’s how we can define passion when every molecule of your body is in sync with what you do.

This fever would reach its peak only during Independence Day and Republic day coz all of us had the huge load of bringing back the glory to SVN ( Saraswati Vidyalaya, Nagpur). We would practice every day after school and sometimes even during our lectures with special permits. After all we had the vice principal by our side but only with the repeated assurance that we would make up for the missed lectures by putting in extra hours of studies. With such practice most of us would have sore throats. But even this wouldn’t stop us from enjoying the joy of having a pani puri or karvanda or ice cream or a soda. It’s at time like these, medicines like STREPCILS, VICKS came to our rescue. Our sickness was so infectious that if we saw one fall sick the other would also fall sick. So the same advice, medicines & remedies would be suggested & repeated in turns. But if we saw one recover the entire team would also recover. This was how viral it would get and they talk of swine flu?

Finally the day would come-> our independence day. The group would have to sing in front of the entire school. This was a very clever trial run devised by Yadav Sir. If things went wrong with this final rehearsal we would be made to rehearse again till we got it right with only a couple of hours left for the final interschool competition to start. The final rehearsals were made to look as FINAL. Yes FINAL. We would be asked to be dressed appropriately, our shoes polished, uniforms pressed, well accessorized, ribbons & laces tied up, etcetera. We would be made to stand height wise and only the most confident ones would be given the center position near the mike. We would also have to run through scenarios like what if we were not allocated more than a single mike. The solution would be during such times kaustubh would have to hit his tabla harder and yadav sir had to thump harder on his harmonium. Over a time, these practices made us much aware of the subtle cues given by other team members and when to chip in for them.

It’s strange somehow that all things tend to go wrong only at the 11th hour. The car which we would have borrowed to reach the venue would not start, someone’s cycle would be punctured, someone would have a sore throat, someone is locked out of the house, someone’s missing & we do not have their phone number and what not. It was those days when one didn’t have the luxury of a cell phone. So either we had call on their or their neighbors’ landlines. But one thing which stood out amidst this chaos was nobody abandoned the group. Ever!! Everybody would somehow make it.

On reaching the venue we would be scanning our competitors. We never underestimated anyone no matter how many times we Won. Our main competitors would be schools like Bishop Cotton, Somalwada High School, Modern school, Center Point to name a few. All of us would meet time and again and evoke the same feelings of anxiety. Over a period these feelings had become mutual. It gave us a kick. Even while other schools would perform we would observe them and decide what to do and what not to do.

When our turn would come to perform we would take our positions and wait for yadav sir to Signal. That’s it. We were ready to make a killing from there. We would not always win but we did make a decent attempt. Our all time favorite songs were “Vande Matrubhumi Vande” or “Mere Watan, Pyare Watan”. If some school had heard that song once and knew that we were going to perfom the same in another competition they knew that they would be better off packing their bags and taking off. Such was the impact of these 2 songs. And when wouldn’t be singing these songs someone might even have sung it. Yes plagiarism existed at that time too and the quoted standard excuse given was “We Were Inspired”.

There was this one school which has left an indelible mark and is etched forever in my head. I do not remember the name of the school but they were from a special school-A school for the specially abled. I do not remember the first year that we met them but most like most, we didn’t have high expectations from them. But whoa, when they started singing my mouth was wide agape. I can still hear them sing in my ears. When they sang everybody listened. Everybody. Even people from the outside who heard them singing came running through the corridors to hear them out during their performance. Such was their power. Though they were physically challenged but when it came to singing they challenged everybody and nobody could beat them. It’s usually difficult to sing for a long time on a high octave or what we call pitch. But they were literally screaming out their lungs and I couldn’t stop admiring them. The fact that I am taking some space to mention them itself is a proof of what kind of singers they could have been. No doubt they won that year and we stood second. But we were more than glad to lose because they truly deserved it.

By the end of all performances we would have a fair estimate of where we stood. All of us would be at the end our tethers by this time. None of these competitions started on time so they never ended on time which would make us call our parents and reassure them of our wellbeing and safety. Sometimes there would be 2,3 or 5 prizes. None of us were much concerned about what came as a prize- a trophy, cash, certificates or anything. All that mattered to us was that SVN had to win. If something unusual happened we would be aware of what was coming our way and then we would cry foul and say “Partiality Hui”. But whenever we won it was a huge occasion to celebrate. It was equivalent to winning a Grammy or a Nobel Prize.

We would go to a nearby restaurant the same day and feast on a simple pleasures of life like a samosa,kachori, idli, masala-dosa or a maaza. If not on the same day we would all be called upon for lunch in yadav sir’s room which would consist of mouth watering hot samosas of our canteen and some Rasgullas from Haldirams. Finally our hard work had paid off.

Ahhh.....There are many more memories with this group but I do not intend on going into that. Something’s are very special and I have no words in my vocabulary to express it. Singing was pleasurable but not as pleasurable as it was with the batch of 1995. The class of 1995 had Kaustubh and some of the best singers including my sister. After they left, I spent almost 3 years with the school choir. I spent one more year with Yadav sir who retired from school in 1996-97. I did have fun but it wasn’t as much as I had with the class of 95. A new master was found to pass on the singing baton. But he could never evoke the same feeling, the same adrenalin rush.

It has been years since these events had taken place in my life. As this entire thing has played in my mind in split seconds I cannot stop wondering that I have been a part of such a group which can be called as a phenomenon in itself. Every time a mere thought about it, is enough to put a smile on my face. It is a smile which is pure, warm, and has no regret in it. And I guess that’s how it should be.

I know I am getting nostalgic. I wish I could go back to those times and relive those moments again. I wish I could REWIND or PAUSE for a moment. But we all know that life has only one button called PLAY. I know its wishful thinking but no one can tame this monkey mind of mine. I want to believe that someday all of us would reunite again and try to recreate that magic, reignite the fire. But the sheer thought of it in makes me feel good, grand, blessed, and I feel liberated whenever I think of this part of my life and this is what my independence day is all about.

Meeting the Masters

Employment doesn’t come easy during times like these and interviews have become a rarity. Like most devout Christians who visit the church once in a week to pay their respects, I pay visits to prospective employers at least once every month. It all began with a phone call from this lady from HR.

Me: Hello
Lady: Hello, I am calling for xyz securities. Did you apply for the post of a ‘Relationship manager/Dealer’?
(Lots of noise in the background. Lady struggling to speak in English)
Me: Yes Madam.
Lady: Could you come down for an interview tomorrow at 4 PM?
Me: (Ecstatic), YESSS.

In my enthusiasm I forget to take her name.

As I gear myself up for the occasion, I cram up all that I had read till date and try to keep all required figures on my tongue tips with whatever could be stored in my pea-sized brain. I couldn’t fall asleep that night and try to pre-empt all kinds of interview scenarios I could come up with.

Woke up all groggy the next day morning. With the help of tea I try to kick myself out of bed and try to rise and shine. Since the destination was a minimum 2 hours journey from my place, to be on the safer side I start early and reach an hour early on their premises.

As I entered a building “Under Construction” the first thought that crossed my mind was, ‘Gosh,men are really hungry here’. They didn’t mind sizing you up right from bottom to top. As I made my way to the lobby I realized I didn’t have the name of the lady with whom I had to meet. So I call her up only to know that the WALK-IN s were slated in between 4 PM to 6 PM and I thought I was the choooosen one. I waited in their lobby for another hour only to find that the higher you reached the hungrier men got. (BTW the office was on the 8th floor).

Finally the time had come. It was time to meet the masters.I reached the 8th floor and again entered my name on a register and waited along with the 20 other also-rans for my turn. There were no arrangements made for walk ins. It looked more of an impromptu effort. The officeboy or rather the office executive took down our names from the register and called out sequentially. (It’s so strange the term executive has become a catchall phrase for all levels of executives).

Meanwhile the number of candidates increased so was the time for which we were standing. During this display all of us were being looked upon as some exotic creatures who desperately needed that green signal to enter the digital fortress that opened up only when you have served your time. On second thoughts it felt like I was standing in queue to catch a glimpse of the Lords of Tirupati, where one had to wait for hours, except that this time I was standing in an air-conditioned room & none of the men had shaved their heads. The movie rolled on for some more time. To be precise they made all the candidates stand for around an hour till some sane soul had the courtesy to escort all of us into a conference room. The best part was yet to come.

The swanky office consisting of several cubicles had a huge state-of-the-art conference room at the entrance from where one could see what was happening outside, only if the blinds were opened up. Once all of us were seated, the blinds were opened, I found that I was looking at it the other way round, all this while. It was a cagey experience. I felt like some animal in a cage and was meant to be a part of a display or experiment or at best an entertainment troupe. There were several analysts outside to observe our behavior. May be they were all writing their final Ph.D thesis and interviews were the best route to get subjects for free.

Now the office exective comes in and declares the ground rules again. He expected all of us to sort out who would go for the interview and take our turns. Can you imagine the chaos that ensued? All of us vied for the seat closest to the door. So every time a candidate moved out all of us were shifting seats . Today we will make our bones through team work.

After waiting for another half an hour I finally met MASTER around 5:30 PM. He led me into another smaller conference hall. I requested him to reiterate the JD coz my guts told me something was seriously amiss. As he went about the JD I realized that he was trying his best to describe something unpleasant and by this time was accustomed to the look on the candidates face. It was the look when one found oneself on a sinking ship or rather deep S***. The profile was of a Calling Executive, where one had to make cold calls to all HNIs and increase the net worth of their portfolio and maintain relationship with them. Then came the standard pitching...

"The incumbents would receive compensation at par with market standards. It is 10K per month or rather 1.2LPA." But the catch was -> "it would depend on the individual’s skills and talents to exploit the variable component attached to the profile. People are taking anywhere in the range between 5K to 50 K per month. Depends on your convincing ability" (or rather how glib one could get. )

I realized that even the office employees seriously didn’t have much work to do. They could have mentioned all about the profile in the JD on their website and let the candidates make an informed decision for themselves. But I am assuming these guys had to fill up their timesheets and show it to their bosses so that they wouldn’t be handed over the pink slip. I was not asked a single technical question or any questions at all. The interview lasted for hardly 2 minutes with most part of the talking done by the gentleman. So much for a 2 hour ride.

As he tried to make a weak attempt to persuade me, my legs were already getting ready for a marathon run. I somehow could come up with a lame excuse & assured him that i would call him back. On my way out of the building I knew that this was a call I was not going to return in this lifetime.

With a 2 hour journey in between and a growling stomach I somehow made it back to my apartment and treated myself to a sumptuous Chinese course. As I pondered upon what I had learnt from this event, I receive another call from an Executive. This time I will leave it to the audience who must have grown wiser, to guess what to expect from this call. While you interpret I will make my arrangements with this Che(i)f executive who might feed me well after my next meeting with the masters of the universe before i even begin pondering at whats in store for me.