A Typical Indian Bride? [✓]

P2: Time Apart- 2

Rajeev's POV:

On that happy note, I walked back to the restaurant where Sindhu and Manish were waiting for me. I felt more confident and comfortable than ever. Preparations need to be relaxed and enjoyable and so, I had an idea.

"Hey Raj, there's a big smile on your face! What's up?", asked Manish.

"Guys, it's not that we don't know the subjects. But the very notion that it's an interview makes us screw up things. What if we role-play the whole thing?

Like Sindhu and you can interview me and we all can take turns, what say?"

"That is a great idea-"

After our dinner we went to our PG's and collected all the material and walked to a common cafe which would be open all night. We spread out our resumes and the job description of the company. We each took turns, questioned one another and gave tips and tricks to polish our answers. Somehow, the confidence level seemed to spike up and most importantly we had a lot of fun.

Sindhu's HR mannerisms helped us mould our way of looking at an interview question. Manish was a great strategist and hence was good with jargon and numbers. I had practical marketing and sales skills and so, the three of us make a great team and package.

The clock struck one and we were done. The enjoyment made our time together even more lighter. We decided to go back to our PG's and get some good night's beauty sleep.

The next morning seemed filled with hopes. Manish and me helped eachother look presentable for an interview. Suites, shoes, ties and a neatly combed hair is all it takes. We had a light breakfast and carried our resume files and walked towards the campus. Flashing our ID cards to the security, we walked past to the auditorium for the pre-placement talk.

It felt right, the company's motto, vision, the job role, the expectation; it all felt very very organic. We met Sindhu right after the talk and wished eachother all the best. She was applying for the HR role and so, had to go to a different room to give her first round.

Manish and me walked to our alloted computer lab and the clock started ticking for an hour. Aptitude seemed easy to crack with the strategy taught by Manish. Also the whole preparation that I did to crack the MBA entrances really seemed to pop in within this time.

Marking one amongst the four options, I hopped from one question to another. My rough sheet was filled with calculations and my eyes were glued to the screen. One hour later, I was done. Manish, who sat next to me  turned to look down my way. A smile danced on his lips and I mirrored his. Yes, we knew that we gave our best.

We walked back to the common area and waited for Sindhu. Her chirpy walk brought solace to the both of us.

"Raj, you are a genius. The whole idea helped-"

"Let's wait for the first round results Sindhu-", said Manish, trying his level best not to jinx the whole thing.

Within half and hour's time we received a mail of the shortlisted candidates. All the three of us got through. We also checked our room numbers for the interviews. The bright smile didn't waiver from our faces. We joyously took out our resumes and walked to the respective rooms waiting for our turns.

As usual Sindhu had to go to a different floor and Manish went to drop her off. Usually, I'd drop off a message to Pavi after every round, but this one, I wanted to wait. Whether I succeed or fail I wanted to tell her the final result. For the first time, not cracking the interview didn't scare me.

"Mr. Rajeev Shukla?", called out a well-dressed man from the cabin.

"Yes-"

"You may enter the room!"

There were three men in the panel, all of them in their mid 40's. They welcomed me and offered me a seat opposite to them. Their small talk made me feel comfortable and they explained that there were 2 business heads in the panel and 1 HR.

"We don't believe in having too many rounds Rajeev", explained the man sitting towards extreme left. He was the HR guy who called my name out.

"That's really nice-", I smiled.

"May I have your resume?"

"Yes sure", I handed mine over.

"Woah, you own a shop, all by yourself?"

"Well, yes along with my wife-"

"You're married?", he asked with surprise ringing in his voice.

"Yes, and I also have a 2 year old son."

"And still you chose to do full-tome MBA?"

"Yeah, all we need is a strong family backing us up through our decisions, right?"

"You do seek a lot of strength from your wife, don't you?"

"Yes!"

"I really appreciate it, that shows a lot of maturity", said one of the business heads.

"Shall we move forward with the interview?"

As they took turns in asking everything in my resume and checking my technical expertise in the subjects, I took my time to explain things as vividly as possible. Sindhu's techniques in expressing answers were really helpful. I was also questioned on what business strategy I used to attract customers to my shop, and that's when I explained about the whole tution idea that Pavi had brought up, and lo they seemed to be impressed.

After almost one hour of discussion, the HR asked me one last question, " You could achieve all of this because your wife is a homemaker and hence she could fully pitch into supporting your business and academics right?"

"Oh no sir, my wife was actually teaching in the tution centre and now is a medical student. She just finished her first year. "

"You and your family seem to surprise us with every passing minute Rajeev."

"Oh sir, it's-"

"Rajeev, it's rare to be a part of such an environment."

"Thank you sir."

"You are selected, Rajeev. Please share our congratulations with your wife and son."

***