A student at IIT Kharagpur received his first interview call, from Siemens. The interview was scheduled for March 30, 1971 in the company’s office in Baroda (now Vadodara). He was naturally thrilled, and booked his travel by the Howrah-Bombay Mail passing through Kharagpur. In Bombay, he had to catch another train to reach Baroda.
He was running high temperature on the day of his departure. His friends suggested him to give up on travel, but he did not want to miss his first job interview.
The train journey over two days and nights aggravated his condition and he was very weak when he reached Baroda in the early hours on the day of the interview. He checked into a lodge near the railway station & attended the interview; but his performance did not satisfy even himself. He could hardly concentrate on the questions or comprehend what the interviewer, Dr. K.G. Desai, Senior Engineer (R&D), was asking.
It was a relief to return to the comfort of the room after the interview. As he was to catch a late-night train, he went to sleep. When he woke up it was 3 a.m., and he realised with a start that he had missed the train. He had in fact missed more than that —wallet, cash and the train tickets for his return journey. Someone had entered the room when he was asleep — maybe he had not secured the door — and decamped with them. It was a frightening experience to get stranded in an unfamiliar city with no money.
The hotel receptionist was not much of help, nor was the police inspector with whom he lodged a complaint about the theft. Meanwhile, he was increasingly feeling weak, sick and unwell. He told himself he had to find a solution.
The help had to come from outside; but contact with the outside was not easy — there was no long-distance dialing facility available in those days.
The solution
Finally he arrived at a possible solution. He decided to approach the only person he knew in Baroda — Dr. Desai, who had interviewed him the previous day — and seek monetary help to buy tickets for his return journey.
To his good fortune, there was a one rupee coin lodged in his trouser pocket, which he used to buy a bus ticket to reach the Siemens office. Dr. Desai was there.
He listened to his account. Immediately he rang up his wife and asked her to bring the family car and took him to their house. In no time he was in the house of the Desais. Soon a doctor arrived to find out what his health problem was. Tests showed he had paratyphoid. He was told to stay in bed for the next 10 days. Medicines were to be taken every six hours.
Dr. and Mrs. Desai took excellent care of him. Sensing his discomfort as a recipient of such magnanimity, they would often remark that he was like a son to them and that they were doing nothing extraordinary.
He became quite fit within 10 days and was ready to get back. Dr. Desai bought him his return train ticket and also gave him a sum of Rs. 250, equal to his monthly scholarship amount, with the strict instruction that the amount need be returned only after he got a job.
They became good friends and were in touch until, years later, Dr. Desai and Mrs. Desai passed away.
Lessons
Though his first interview did not get him a job, it was memorable for two reasons. He learnt the valuable lesson that there was always a solution for any problem; one has to only look for it. Secondly, there is never a bad experience in life — all experiences are good as long as we learn lessons from them.
He was running high temperature on the day of his departure. His friends suggested him to give up on travel, but he did not want to miss his first job interview.
The train journey over two days and nights aggravated his condition and he was very weak when he reached Baroda in the early hours on the day of the interview. He checked into a lodge near the railway station & attended the interview; but his performance did not satisfy even himself. He could hardly concentrate on the questions or comprehend what the interviewer, Dr. K.G. Desai, Senior Engineer (R&D), was asking.
It was a relief to return to the comfort of the room after the interview. As he was to catch a late-night train, he went to sleep. When he woke up it was 3 a.m., and he realised with a start that he had missed the train. He had in fact missed more than that —wallet, cash and the train tickets for his return journey. Someone had entered the room when he was asleep — maybe he had not secured the door — and decamped with them. It was a frightening experience to get stranded in an unfamiliar city with no money.
The hotel receptionist was not much of help, nor was the police inspector with whom he lodged a complaint about the theft. Meanwhile, he was increasingly feeling weak, sick and unwell. He told himself he had to find a solution.
The help had to come from outside; but contact with the outside was not easy — there was no long-distance dialing facility available in those days.
The solution
Finally he arrived at a possible solution. He decided to approach the only person he knew in Baroda — Dr. Desai, who had interviewed him the previous day — and seek monetary help to buy tickets for his return journey.
To his good fortune, there was a one rupee coin lodged in his trouser pocket, which he used to buy a bus ticket to reach the Siemens office. Dr. Desai was there.
He listened to his account. Immediately he rang up his wife and asked her to bring the family car and took him to their house. In no time he was in the house of the Desais. Soon a doctor arrived to find out what his health problem was. Tests showed he had paratyphoid. He was told to stay in bed for the next 10 days. Medicines were to be taken every six hours.
Dr. and Mrs. Desai took excellent care of him. Sensing his discomfort as a recipient of such magnanimity, they would often remark that he was like a son to them and that they were doing nothing extraordinary.
He became quite fit within 10 days and was ready to get back. Dr. Desai bought him his return train ticket and also gave him a sum of Rs. 250, equal to his monthly scholarship amount, with the strict instruction that the amount need be returned only after he got a job.
They became good friends and were in touch until, years later, Dr. Desai and Mrs. Desai passed away.
Lessons
Though his first interview did not get him a job, it was memorable for two reasons. He learnt the valuable lesson that there was always a solution for any problem; one has to only look for it. Secondly, there is never a bad experience in life — all experiences are good as long as we learn lessons from them.
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