The Day The State Split Asunder-1

Karthik clutched tightly at the folder containing all his skills, qualifications, and achievements. He had scrolled through millions of resources on the internet and worked the entire week to perfect it, just for a chance to grab this job. 

After having gone through three rounds of the recruitment process, he is just a step away from joining the company only if he can sweep through the face-to-face interview with the HR. 

He stood behind the row of seats, moving back and forth in the hallway, behaving like a cat on a hot tin roof. 

A girl emerged from one of the glass doors where he previously had his group discussion round. She looked saturnine and a drop of tear fell on the floor from her eyes. She wiped the tears with her blue chunni and tilting her head downwards she walked towards the reception desk, submitted her temporary identification card and straightaway moved out into the lift lobby.

Poor girl looks like she failed in group discussion. I don't know what will happen to me today? God, please help me.

A tap on his shoulder from behind brought his chain of thoughts to a standstill. It was one of the candidates who belonged to his group discussion pool.

"Hello! I have a minor question. Is interview a noun or a verb?" He asked Karthik. "My friend told me that they asked him that question." 

"Is it?" Karthik said, looking up trying to recollect the definition. "An interview can be a verb or a noun, but whatever form it takes, it involves a  formal meeting and asking or answering questions. The fact is, a job interview is not much different from auditioning for a play, except that at least when you audition for a play they give you a script to read from. It's hard to predict where the scene will go. Practically, every aspect of the interview is out of our control. However, the experience will look a little different from what you're used to. And sometimes luck  should be in your favor."

"Well said, but if somebody doesn't like you, that's their problem, not yours. But don't worry about it, they will select you."

"What makes you think I will get selected?"

"You spoke eloquently in the group discussion. And thank you for involving me. I was struggling to find my way."

"What is your name?"

"I am Vishal."

"See  Vishal, group discussion is akin to a football game, where one has to shine himself and take the team along. It is not a one-man show."

"Excellent! This organization needs people like you."

"Mr. Karthik," A young lady came in wearing a black blazer with a ponytail.  She called his name again while pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose as she scanned the waiting area.

The sudden announcement of his name startled him. "Yes, Mam!" 

"Go to panel-3." 

"Sure mam." 

"It was nice meeting you Vishal, Bye!" Karthik said.

The woman escorted him into the room, confined within opaque glass walls on three sides and with a wall on one side adorned with glazing white ceramic tiles with diamond and star patterns. In the center of the wall,  there is a big photo of the company's founder with an enigmatic smile.

"Thank you," Karthik said, and she left the room, closing the door behind her.

"May I take your name?" Asked the interviewer.

"Good afternoon sir, My name is Karthik Oleti," he smiled nervously at the authority figure seated on a leather chair having a big beard with white streaks here and there. 

"A wonderful afternoon, Mr. Karthik. I  am Pavan Prakash, The HR Manager of Kelwi Soft Solutions. First,  congratulations on making up this far. Take your seat and give me your  resume."

"Thank you, sir," Karthik sat down on the chair and handed over the resume to Pavan.

A few silent moments passed as Pavan began going through the resume.

"Mr. Karthik, why don't we start this interview by telling something about  yourself apart from the things mentioned in the resume?" Pavan said while staring intently at Karthik's resume.

"Sir, I am Karthik  Oleti from Hyderabad. I completed my Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics engineering at V V Raju Institute of Technology…" he pronounced the same old script eloquently without missing a point.

"Gentleman, travel backward in time and review the question I asked, What did I ask you?"

"Tell me something about yourself?" His eyes widened slightly.

"Are you sure? Did I ask you to tell me something about yourself?"

"Yes…  sir," he was struggling to keep the eye-contact, "Ah yes! I am sorry,  you asked me to tell me something about myself other than the things  mentioned in the resume."

"Who is your favorite God?"

"Lord Shiva, Sir."

"Well!"  said Pavan, "Imagine, If your beloved Lord Shiva miraculously appeared,  and he granted you one wish to cure one of the common ails of mankind  like hunger, poverty, bad days, disease, and so on, Which one will you  wish to end?"

"Poverty sir."

"Hmm... Okay, it was nice catching you, wait in the hall below," said Pavan, "Do you have questions?"

"Yes sir, in case you avail such an opportunity? Which one will you wish to end?"

"Good question, I was expecting whether someone would ask me this same question. I am glad that you've asked me. If I am the luckiest person to avail of this opportunity, I will pray to cure demotivation. If I am motivated and inspired throughout the time I can easily triumph over poverty, eliminate hunger, and sail through easily on grim days. I  expected whether anyone would think outside beyond the presented  options…" he grunted a hefty sigh of relief, "It's okay, is there  anything else you would still like to know."

"Nothing, sir."

"Then go to the seminar hall. We will announce the results of the selection soon."

"Thank you, sir."

Karthik stepped out of the room and checked into the lofty waiting hall present on the first floor. He watched around if he can find Vishal, but he is nowhere around.

A series of small white bulbs embedded into the grooves of a white false roof ceiling illuminated the hall. A Persian chandelier was hanging in the middle of the hall. Seasonal job aspirants from all across the subcontinent crowded it.

He occupied a seat in the third-row corner, diagonally facing the stage.

With brazen disregard for the sign on the projector screen that said  'Silence Please' few candidates were yelling at each other irritating the other members in the hall.

With a screeching sound, the door opened. A dead silence of anticipation prevailed in the room. One of the HR's of the company walked in, holding a paper in his hands. He blindly raced towards the stage, placed the papers on the oak podium, adjusted the position of his mike, and gazed at the members in the hall through his frameless spectacles.

"Dear candidates,  may I have your attention please," said the HR facing the candidates,  "Based upon your aggregate score secured in all the four rounds, we shortlisted hundred people. I will read out the names of the persons whose names are present, can remain in this room, and others can leave for the day. In case of not getting shortlisted, there's nothing to get depressed about, you may get a better  opportunity than ours."

He started reading the names aloud.  Karthik could listen to the sound of his heartbeat and felt the sweat on his forehead. He mopped it gently with his cotton hanky and surrendered his complete senses, expecting his name on the list of selected people.

The count is getting decimated one after the other, but his name has not been called so far. The person to his left, front, and behind marched ahead of the game. The high surge of cortisol pressed the panic button in his mind. He began praying in his mind fervently.

God… god… god…  please have mercy upon me, please help me get this job. If you help me get this job, I will come to Tirupati and will even get my head tonsured.

The count reached ninety. Straight away, only ten members are remaining. His heart started racing faster than the rocket,  his hands trembled, feet began shaking uncontrollably.

Now, only two numbers are pending.

The HR took a pause, put the papers on the podium, took the glass half-filled with water placed beside on a small table, clamped that glass into his hand, and gulped it in a single stroke.

After having the water, he took the papers back into his hands, turned the page, and started reading the remaining names. Only one person's name is on the line. A few already lost hope and started marching out of the room. Karthik vowed to remain in the room, hoping to get selected. He felt the tension of emotion far beyond that of the usual things.

"And the last candidate is," The HR continued, everyone's jaws were wide open, "Meenakshi!"

And it happened again. History has been repeated. The wicked devil of rejection hit him hard again.

God, you are merciless! Why me every time?

Karthik once again secured a position into the list of twenty-five unfortunate people. This is not unusual for him. A day before, he attended the recruitment process for one of the major insurance companies for the role of testing engineer. Out of fifteen people in his pool, fourteen candidates got through, except him.

He forced a lump down his throat, rolled back the tears as it is an embarrassing thing to expose the grief in front of a crowd, especially before the gorgeous girls. His hope of getting a job withered away and collapsed like an autumn leaf.

Miserable thoughts started assailing his mind like a storm on the angry sea. With his head downwards, he walked out of the hall with shattered spirits and started heading towards home in a dampened misery.

How can I face my parents and inform them, No, I can't look upon their sad faces again? I can't dare to inject this bitter pill of dismissal again.  I am disappointed with them consistently.

With a bleeding heart, he slipped out of the office building and reached the bus stop.  He took his resume in both hands and gave it a mighty tear with his eyes flashing red. Moments later he got into the bus and took the ticket to the last bus stop of the route map.

Karthik Oleti, a jobless guy who doesn't care about fashion or design, completed his bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from V V Raju Institute of Technology in the year 2012 where the demand for a  separate state of Telangana was on full momentum. Leaders of the  Telangana region accused Andhra politicians of "colonizing their region"  by taking away their jobs and land and the government of not investing in the region's infrastructure development. Students, employees, and people from all walks of life took to the roads demanding the divorce of  Telangana from Andhra.

Karthik's father once ran a successful business along with his partner and best friend  Ravi Shankar. When Karthik was studying tenth grade, Ravi Shankar deceived his father by illegitimately taking ownership of the entire business. The man whom his father once hailed him as his best friend turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. The family got bankrupted without a single penny in the savings account.

How adverse the circumstances may be, one should always maintain a positive outlook towards life. This is the philosophy his father has lived upon, and this positive attitude of his empowered him to surmount the mountains of obstacles with an unflagging spirit. Karthik didn't inherit this kind of optimistic mindset from his father. 

Karthik was a brilliant student in studies. He secured a percentage of over ninety throughout his academic career. He actively used to take part in paper presentations organized in other colleges and universities and treasured many accomplishments in his achievements gallery.

No matter how astounding the person's academic records may be, unless a person's last name is not as popular as Jindal, Dalmiya, and Rao's, one cannot start their career with a full boost up from the ladder. Karthik's last name being unpopular, he needed to start his career entirely from scratch.  The days are passing, yet the past repeats itself. He is not sure how many days he needs to dabble with joblessness.

The bus reached the last stop. He got down, reached his home, went to his room, and lay down. Rest was impossible for his brain, but his tired body could use some of it.

Getting rejected from an interview is never fun when a rejection makes a comparison between you and another person. We will feel the lingering sting of that slight far more than a flat-out no.

His mother walked into his room and found him lying flat on the bed gazing up at the ceiling, posing like a dejected lover. 

"Karthik, what happened?" She sat on the bed beside him, "Not selected again?"

"Yes, Amma! I completed all the four rounds and still, I didn't get selected," Karthik said burying his face in the pillow.

"If this company didn't pick you, then some other company will take you. Go and fresh up first.  You will feel better. Don't think too much about it."

"How can I stop thinking about it? I'm overwhelmed by a melancholic ache. Things are not going well."

"If you're attached to the past, you'll miss the opportunities that stand right in front of you."

"As of now, I don't have any opportunities standing in front of me Amma,"  he said with his voice lacking energy, "I am fed up with these things. Wouldn't it be fantastic if I can get a job without an interview? Something about the interview setup makes me insanely nervous, to where I can't get to sleep the night before an interview. I prepare for every interview. I prepare like crazy. I spend hours researching the company I'm going to interview. I just hate walking into an interview room and having to answer questions. No matter how good I prepare, I end up falling apart. I am struggling to put my thoughts in order."

"Not every plan works out. Sometimes, there are losses and failures. Doors may close, but there are always others, an unlimited number of doors.  This world is full of opportunities. The  Infinite Power is boundless, and so the possibilities are without number. You have made it through  all the rounds, congratulate yourself for crossing all the four rounds."

Now Karthik was getting mad. "Already I passed through  many doors and I am still not sure how many doors I need to pass  through."

"Remember, what's coming is better than what's already gone. You'll find alternative possibilities that'll change your  outcomes."

He sat up in his bed. "For how long I need to wait, it's already been long."

She patted him consolingly on the shoulder. "Remember, You're where God wants you to be at this very moment. Every experience you encounter is part of his divine plan. When he is making you wait, he is planning to  give more than what you have asked for."

To be continued...