Page 21 - Love Story of a Commando
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student. This changed our college environment drastically and once again we
                           were  burdened  with  piles  of  assignments.  Seniors  were  often  found  with
                           bags under their eyes, wound up on caffeine, eating Maggi while working on
                           assignments before the next class. The smug smiles of our professors and
                           their  sudden  rise  in  confidence  while  dealing  with  us  announced  the
                           fulfillment of their long-held grudges. Juniors giggled at us, and we swore to
                           take revenge as soon as we were placed.
                                   It felt like a complete fail, a terrible series of events, a failed plan. No
                           senior deserved that.
                                   In short, life sucked.
                                   Finally, ‘D Day’ arrived when ‘Day Zero’ announced the arrival of
                           top multinational companies. There are usually three types of IT companies
                           that  approach  engineering  colleges  for  placements.  MNCs  with  global
                           offices,  MSEs  which  may  or  may  not  have  global  offices,  and  start-ups
                           which are usually based in India. Most students get placed into IT companies
                           owning  to  their  comparatively  hefty  packages  and  prospects  of  onsite
                           projects abroad. Other than that, core companies also visit college campuses
                           to recruit students. The placement cell functions with full efficiency during
                           this time of year and behaves like royalty unlike the rest of the year when
                           they  hide  in  their  nerdy  dungeons  and  others  think  of  them  as  complete
                           college misfits.
                                   Every company, irrespective of the pay packages, looks to hire smart
                           brains  and  ensure  that  every  hired  candidate  is  the  top  of  the  lot.  Good
                           aptitude,  good  at  logic,  good  at  communication,  well  versed  in  basic
                           technology, a topper since kindergarten and what not; they truly believe that
                           all these qualities can be found in one single student.
                                   In the lead up to the placement day, Gods and Goddesses replaced
                           Justin  Bieber  and  Rihanna  posters  in  our  rooms.  Heart  rates  were  on  the
                           verge  of  causing  massive  heart  attacks,  the  bathrooms  were  converted  to
                           strategy  centers  and  cigarette  butts  were  commonly  sighted  everywhere.
                           Each  batchmate  who  found  a  placement  was  an  outcast,  spontaneously
                           ostracized from the main social circle. The placed students had a hard time
                           finding a mate to boast about their glories or even to raise a toast over their
                           secured  future.  Break-ups  among  couples  were  high  and  they  began  to
                           behave like arch enemies if one was placed and the other was not.
                                   In short, it was like a nightmare.
                                   Thank God, I got placed in a medium-tier company and that too not
                           so  soon,  although  the  inter-batch  rivalry  and  jealousy  lasted  till  everyone
                           was  placed.  Once  the  whole  lot  was  placed,  the  ‘Herculean  spirits’  were
                           back  again,  and  generous  hugs  replaced  the  cold  stares  among  peers  and
                           tears patched up the break-ups. We were one big happy community again
                           with  more  important  and  significant  agendas  like  ragging  the  juniors,
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