Getting My First Job. Sleeping At The Airport.

I am sitting on an airplane right now. Travelling to Bangalore city, India. For my first job.

Flying at a height of about almost 3500 metres above sea level random thoughts overcrowd my mind. Out of them I pick up one little thought on which I intend to elaborate.

The thought is named "Sleeping at the Airport".

It all started with a call from Mr Vignesh, Associate HR, Quintiles on the day before Poila Baishak (The Bengali New Year). Vignesh had thought that my CV was eligible to attend a walk in interview for a position in his company. Hence the call at 5 pm that evening, asking me to attend the interview the very next day. Attending the interview for me meant travelling all the way to Bangalore from Kolkata. On first thoughts I dismissed the idea and told him that since I was based in Kolkata it was almost impossible for me to reach the interview venue next morning by 9.30 am. In my mind I guessed his reply would be "Ok thank you". Atleast that is what I am used to getting from HRs in Kolkata. But much to my surprise Vignesh said "You can come the day after too, in that case". A totally positive attitude from his end quickly ignited the positive side in me. I instantly replied "I shall be there. Kindly mail me the venue location".

The telephonic conversation done, mail received. Now it was time for the phase of convincing my parents. This seemed to be tough at first, but went smoother than expected. My father returned quite late that night after his dose of radiotherapy. I was very apprehensive of how he would react to the notion. When  I told him all about it he just nodded his head with a smile and did not say a word. Next morning before leaving for office these were his words "The decision is entirely yours. And if it is 'Yes' I am ready to pay for the expenses". Encouragement was all that I needed at that point of time. And with that amount of encouragement from dad I proceeded to book my tickets for Bangalore immediately.

They say obstacles present themselves at their best when you least want them to. I was asked to reach the interview venue by 9.30 am on the 15th of April. This meant I had to reach Kempegowda International Airport by 8.00am atleast as the venue was an hour ride away from the airport. Yatra.com provided two possible options for me to choose from. One, board a flight on 7 am on the 15th(which implied, I would reach the venue by 10.30am, at the earliest) or board another at 10pm on the 14th of April(which meant I would arrive at the airport 1am in the morning of 15th and which further meant I had to spend the night at the airport and leave for the venue in the morning). In short I had to SLEEEEEEPPPP AT  THE AIRPORTTTTT..!!!

I have always been the adventurous kind, so by default I opted for the later. I booked the ticket for the same. This time taking the decision before informing anyone about the timing. By now I tended to believe that I was gradually becoming an expert in handling obstacles. This was proved further when I managed to convince my family(read mother and grandmother specifically) for the idea.

That night I reached Bangalore Airport at 1 am sharp. I just had my laptop bag with me as baggage. Somewhere at the back of my mind someone said ‘If not anyone, you shall have your laptop as company for the night’. I spotted a lone empty chair and quickly made it my ‘ME ZONE’ for the next few hours that were to follow. The first thing I could think of was opening my brand new laptop from DELL (so very treasured, it being a gift from my lovely father) and connecting it to the airport’s Wi-Fi. However it being 1am in the night I was unable to find any Wi-Fi help desk and inevitably had to rely on my low speed dongle (read joblessness side effects and ofcourse to take the control of which I had landed in Bangalore in the first place :P). Sleep having taken a holiday for the night I decided on downloading a few study materials for my interview and going through them. Just five minutes into my mission and my attention was broken by a polite mature voice.

My  'ME ZONE'

A young married lady spoke to me “Are you waiting to catch a flight later?”

She had worn an Abaya in combination with her hijab. Only her eyes were visible from behind her hijab. Just by looking at her eyes one could tell how beautiful she was.

I replied “I got to wait here until morning”. There was a glitter of hope in her eyes as she spoke again “It’s the same for me”. I could feel her sense of relief as I felt it too.

The lady in her Abaya

I resumed reading my materials. This time concentrating forty minutes at a stretch. It was almost 2.30 am by now. Right opposite to the chair I occupied, sat a group of four from Kolkata. By their body language one could say how uncomfortable they felt by spending just 1.5 hours of the night at the airport chairs. There was an aged person in the group with a fractured leg who complained frantically. They finally appeared to book a Meru cab and moved out of the airport. On my left was a mother-son duo sitting and chatting away on a variety of topics. They instantly reminded me of the whole night conversations I have with my mother. I was missing her now.

Sleep seemed to have taken a holiday for the night. I decided on getting up from my 'ME ZONE' and taking a walk. At three in the morning here I was walking alone in a different city amongst strangers. The arrival area of the airport was beautifully decorated with framed works of foreign artists and also advertising displays. In between baggage conveyor belts were colourfully adorned plants that added extra beauty to the arrival area. The airport was being cleaned twice an hour even at that hour of the night. The only loophole I found at the airport was that it did not have any restroom facility in case passengers wanted to rest for sometime inside the airport itself to catch flights later.

Pictures I had randomly taken

  

Photography has always managed to lighten me up in times of boredom. I clicked quite a number of pictures on my phone. At one end of the airport there was an antique clock showing the Indian time. The clock had stricken past 3am by then. The watch was the best part I liked about the airport. Flashing its glossy white color it commanded glory. 

I loved this clock so much that whenever I set my eyes on it I couldn't look away.

As morning neared people who were waiting, gradually started moving out. Meanwhile sleep started overpowering me. Out of nowhere I felt a deep urge to sleep. The next two hours were history. When I woke up, I found myself on my chair with folded legs, my laptop bag on my lap and my body bent in a fashion to rest my head on my laptop bag. One can imagine how sleepy I was to be able to sleep in that posture on a chair.  

                                                                                                                                                                 

 There wasn't even a coffee shop in the arrival area to freshen up my mood in the morning. However I freshened myself up in the washroom, dressed myself up for the interview and did my last minute study. At 7 am sharp I walked out of the airport and  took the bus to Prestige Tech Park stop ( my interview location). The interview was almost for a duration of 6 hours, it being a walk in. The Tech Park campus where Quintiles is located is in itself huge. Walking from the Quintiles office to the Tech Park main gate will alone take you 15 minutes. Though there are tech park shuttles operating across campus I preferred to walk the distance. During that particular walk I remember I had a conversation with myself that day. I had said to myself " May I have more chances of walking this campus in future. I badly want to be a part of this Fortune 500 company. May this not be my last walk here. May my 'sleeping at the airport' hurdle pay me back".

Two days later when I was checking my Gmail inbox sitting on my warm cosy bed in Kolkata, there was a mail with the subject line " Congratulations Tina. Offer from Quintiles".

The taste of success and happiness after sacrifice is definitely the sweetest. And as they say " When you truly want something from heart, you always get it"

Here I was with the offer letter of my FIRST JOB.