Nostalgia

Every time I listen to any song from the Tamil movie Boys, I get a very strong feeling of nostalgia. In the hostel I stayed during my Infy training days, a guy staying in the room in front of mine played these songs almost non-stop for 2 months. Not that I minded, I liked the songs. And now they serve to take me back to some of the most pleasant memories of my life.

Mysore was a quaint town when we went there for the Infy training. It was neither too small, nor too big. It was just right! The same cannot be said for the Infy campus there. It was a sprawling 220 acres (if I remember correctly) with a cricket ground inside it. Most of it was under construction and the trainee hostels were not completed, and most of the place reeked of recycled water, but it was very pretty. And we were these innocent lambs, all excited to be working for the "best" company in the country. Brimming with anticipation and all!

One of my mates from college days had traveled along with me to Mysore and we met another guy (who later on became one of my closest friends) on the Bangalore station, from where we traveled to Mysore together. Wen eventually ended up staying in the same room in the same hostel. Another 47 people from the same batch served to fill up the hostel to its brim. The hostel was not a very big one, and the room we shared was not very spacious. 3 beds, 2 cupboards and a table and chair took up most of the room. The remaining was occupied by our books, clothes and us. There were some hot water problems and drinking water problems, and it didn't seem worth what we were paying. But I guess for the fun we had there, it was not that high a price to pay. There was an Andhra mess nearby, which served a Dosa for 3-4 bucks and Onion Uttapam for some 8-10 bucks and most of us descended in the morning there. There was another mess some distance away in some Film Studio, the name of which escapes memory. I think it started from P? There were pool tables in the studio, and got the most awesome Gobi Manchurian I have ever had. And it was walkable to the most happening place in Mysore, KD road, I think, where according to our hostel owner, we were sure to find a lot of "Chicks". I still remember how my roomie lost his mobile in the bus and one of the hostelites went with him searching for the driver and got back the phone. Well, given that phone, it would have been better if it had stayed lost!

In the hostel, we had a TV which was set up in the staircase. I still remember how some 50 of us had wedged ourselves in the staircase and watched the India-Pakistan series. We were making vague threats to anybody, who wanted to move their positions. I particularly remember that after Balaji had just hit a six, someone had dared to turn the page of the book he was reading. At least 10 people around him, told him with rather unkind allusions to his female family members, that if he thought that he could turn the page, he had another thing coming to him. India eventually lost the match and I think he even got bumps, but I am not sure. I was too busy arguing about the match with twenty other people at the top of my voice.

It was not always fun and games though. The training was extremely hectic. We had to learn Oracle in one week, C in another and so on! The passing was 65% and there were also projects to consider! It was bloody tough! And then there were Compres! Yes, those bastards!! There were two comprehensive tests which were so hard that most people would have gladly taken bullets, rather than face Compres! There was some marking error in the second compre, due to which 35 % of the people failed. They corrected the discrepancy and the percentage went up to 40%! Though it was challenging, it was still quite good! I guess I have not required anything from the training, as my project ultimately was totally different and new, but the trainings opened my mind. It gave me a habit to learn quickly, and then learn new stuff again and again! I guess that was what the training was all about!

In spite of all the trouble, with the training and the food and the water and the Compres, I find that most people in Infy remember training very fondly. People tell me that the training is so enjoyable because it is the first time people are genuinely independent. But I think it had more to do with the fact that at that time, I was innocent (Well!! More innocent then I am now!) and fresh. And the fact that probably, I had no genuine problems. Now too many things have happened. There have been too many incidents, too many problems, too many disappointments. Some things done by me, some things done by others. Somethings for which I should have apologized, somethings for which I should have been apologized to. I have lost a lot of ideals and a lot of idols. I lost some friends and some friends have lost me. I have hurt some and some have hurt me. I have lost faith in a lot of stuff and lost God only knows what! But at least I have nostalgia. Something which will bring a smile to my face in spite of everything!