The 1st day in Hyderabad began with n excellent breakfast at the guest house and then rushing to office. As in most corporate, the first half involved lots of lectures on which we, poor interns gave up half way as the senior management rattled on about ideas, principles and policies. After a very spicy Andhra lunch, enter my guide. A man who commands authority or is scary, depending on your perspective. But one thing was clear; you could not rub him the wrong way. He draws a 6 day schedule and sends me off to the on-field man.
From the next day, I was commuting between retail stores across the city sitting on the back seat of a scooter. The guy would go in the store, clean up and arrange the stock, while I’d hunt for relevant people to speak to. In between we’d take a break to have something selling by the road. I’d eat with him despite knowing that the food will upset my already weak stomach for the sake of blending in. I am told that this way, they share more info with you than they otherwise would. With time, the luxury of a scooter and a city guide disappeared and I was moving around and hunting on my own. Day after day, I seek to get lost in the sea of customers and try to observe and conduct interviews without the store authorities noticing.
Visits to office are so rare I still haven’t been able to button for tea in the office vending machine. The tea I need to relax before facing my boss, who gives me the hibberly-jibberlies every time I meet him. Not that he’s evil. In fact he’s very supportive and helpful but sometimes he’s just… scary. It didn’t help that he once yells on the phone at someone so loudly that everyone and everything in the office froze for an hour. Well, it felt like an hour.
My workload and degree of difficulty increases with every meeting and I keep insinuating that this time, it might not be possible to accomplish everything. He just asks me to try my best and somehow I have managed it till date. My mid-term review beckons now and with that, a few deliverables which seem impossible this time. I can just cross my fingers and hope that he lets it pass.
On the other end, life is a collage of colours after 5 PM, thanks to old friends and the 2008 alumni bunch. It all started the 1st day itself when Arnab invited me to celebrate his promotion. Within minutes of meeting, he had decided that I’ll move in with him and to Nanda’s place after a week without even asking me. For my 1st week, when I was living in the company guest house, I didn’t have dinner there even once despite the caretaker being a good cook, thanks to Arnab, Nanda and Neha.
The trend continued once I moved in with Auni and then with Nanda. In my 3 weeks in Hyderabad, I have been to HRC, an IPL match, 5 movies, a club’s launch party and Char Minar with these guys, not to mention the countless parties at home. I also have had the famous Biryani at Paradise and the awesome lunch served at 10 Downing Street on my own.
Such stays are not without their share of incidents and memories worthy to be reminisced upon on a later date. Hence, I admit to be politely asked to leave two retail stores as I roamed around the stores for over two hours without showing any interest in actually purchasing something. And then there was the vintage Robby act who just would not let Arnab leave and threw such a tantrum that Arnab relented and stayed back for a half hour even though he was getting late for his packing and his flight. And when Arnab was finally leaving, he went to the ground floor barefoot to see him off and took 15 mins to return to the apartment, in an elevator. Nobody knows how.
Personally as well as professionally, much has been done and more remains to be done. My project is not even halfway through and I am to implement a pilot before I leave, which doesn’t sound easy at all. I am yet to visit Golconda fort, Chaumahala Palace and Saler Jung Museum. There are friends to catch up with from graduation and school days. Friends, who will follow and terminate me if I leave without meeting with. And then there are the epic Nanda jokes to be chronicled and a Robby to control. (The last job spans the whole duration of my MBA.)
I don’t know how much I will accomplish during my stay here but it is certain that the memories will be pleasant and the intern educative.
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