Let us continue!!

After Lucknow, it was IIM C...it was on the 13th of March..aldo, I am not superstitous by nature, I do not like the number 13 too much:) Still, that I suppose, was the last thing on mind that day!

The interview was again at 2..at DCC (Dadar Catering College)..I followed my usual routine of waking up at 8, reading newspaper, getting together documents, forms, etc..

I reached the place well in time..and met a few people I knew..

Was called in for the GD..and lo and behold ;) There were 11 people in my group which included three girls..now 11 people is not such a good idea..

N I was a teeny bit nervous coz it was Calcutta!

There were three people on the Panel..two professors and one from the Industry..they came and called out our names..then gave us the GD topic..

It was..'Only the tax-paying population of the country should be allowed to vote'..I quickly jotted down some points..and waited for them to throw the GD open..

I usually do not compose what I will say or how I will say it..I just sort of make a general list of points and then decide to play it by ear..can't say it's the best possible tactic..a lot of people who compose some sort of a cracker opening statement or something will obviously have an edge..but somehow, I can never think of a 'cracker' opening statement! I always bank on good soft skills..a fair amount of knowledge..sans the facts and figures (I have always been terrible at remembering the exact numbers)..and listening skills..

So I was sitting there and waiting for the GD to start, thinking, yeah, it will be cool, we will have a nice discussion, like all the other GDs I have been in..I couldn't have been more wrong!!

The guy signalled for us to start and immediately to my left..the girl sitting shot forth with her opening..she had a nice loud voice..the kind that carries..and she was sounding like she was not gonna take any kinda interruption too well..and she verily demonstrated that..none of the guys could also cut her in..she was just too good, for the time that she spoke..which was not all that much..but I knew she had made a good impression..

The other guys caught on..they jumped into the fray with equal energy..loud voices..vehement opinions..frenzied gestures..et al..

Poor old me just kept trying to break into the GD..but evertime I would open my mouth..someone would start speaking..in the beginning..I refrained from cutting in..as is my policy..which I have already mentioned earlier..after a while, it dawned on me, beta..abhi nahi bola, toh kabhi nahi bol paoge..yeh log aasaani se chupp nahi hone waale :) So I tried to cut in..I tried some 5 times..could manage to cut in some couple of times :D

It was as close to the proverbial 'fish-market' as it could have got ;)

The third girl was extremely soft spoken..she realized very early that she is not going to get a chance to break in, she had probably faced a similar situation before..so she, instead, did a very smart thing..she noted down everything..coz people who do not speak much are usually asked to summarize!

Well, we were all asked to summarize, but it was in ascending order of peoples' talking-time..so she was the first one to be asked to speak..I was the second :) I do not even remember what I reeled off..I should have planned it out better..should have given that thought instead of sitting and getting agitated about not being able to get enough air-time :)

So you see, the GD sucked! :)

But hold your horses, there was more to come!

After the GD got over, we all trooped out and sat and spoke with each other, discussing it and stuff..the interviews started..a couple of people came out and told us that the panel was extremely chilled out and that they were almost conversing with the candidates..

I realized that my turn would come a lot later since I was the 'last but one' person, out of a group of eleven..and that would mean waiting till around 6 o clock..

At around 3:30, I happened to glance at the form of one of the people sitting there and a shiver went down my spine..I saw it stamped..I inquired..did we have to get the form attested? Turns out we did!

O my god!! I had an interview in some time and my form, which was supposed to be attested and stamped by a 'gazetted' officer, was nowhere near being that!

Where would I find a gazetted officer (G.O) at such short notice?

I debated for approximately 10 seconds about whether to come clean in front of the panelists, but then decided against it..already my GD hadnt gone well..I didn't need them to know what a grade 'A' ass I was too! :)

I decided to dig out some G.O from somewhere..there had to be one in Dadar!!

I thanked my lucky starts that my interview was so late and ran out of DCC..I went to one of the nearest paan shops and asked a customer standing there, whether he knew of a G.O somewhere in the locality..he told me about the BMC ward office..

Gleam of hope!! It also struck me that my Junior College - Ruparel was some little distance away and if nothing else worked, I would try getting it signed by my college principal (aldo I had never met him/her in my entire life, did not even know where he/she sat, or whether he would be around that day..but it was an alternative)..

I caught a cab (the situation reminds me of Taxi no 11, coz it was a race against time that I was running and the cab played a pretty important part :D)..so I caught the cab and asked him to take me to the ward office..once I reached there, I went in and inquired from some people about a G.O, any G.O! They told me that there wldnt be any G.Os there and I could perhaps try in some other office nearby..I nevertheless, asked a couple more officers and they told me the same thing..so I took off for the other Samiti office..I don't remember what its name was..but it was on the ground floor of the same building..

So there I went..the lady I asked directed me to another man in the same office..I went flying to that man's cubicle and I was told that he would not be coming in that day! I related my predicament to some people outside his cube and one of the ladies told me to try at the office of the Janshakti Congress Samiti (or something similar) along the road!! She even gave me the name of the G.O there..

I ran out and asked my cabbie to take me a lil further..I jumped out of the cab when I located the office and went in..there was this room where a man was sitting playing with a cat..I asked him about the G.O that the woman had told me about..he turned out to be very helpful..he told me to sit down and calmly informed me that the man in demand had gone home to have lunch!!

O man!! How many more hurdles!! :) On being asked when he would be back, this guy told me that I could go to his house and get my stuff attested!! He lived nearby, apparently! He gave me his home number and I called him up..he asked me to tapko at his house..

So I gathered some seals and left, after taking directions of course..me and my cabbie found the place..I found his apartment and rang the bell..this woman opened..the man in question made an appearance..he was extremely helpful..he took some 10 minutes though getting his pens and seals ready..and I was getting very impatient..but finally, it got done..

I had the all-important ATTESTED interview form with me..I thanked him profusely..he was very nice about it..and left!

To the cabbie: 'Back to DCC!!' :D

I reached back and I cldnt help feeling that I had handled it pretty well:) It was just around 4:30 and I still had some four people to go before me..moreover, I was extremely happy and grateful to all the people who had helped me get it done..

So there I was, outside the interview room, exhausted but very happy, adrenaline rush can do wonders sometimes..

to be contd..