Today was one of the most fascinating days I have had in a very long time. : Fascinating as it involved a situation I never found myself in and I got to observe people I met in various circumstances in a completely different light.
As part of our learning experience at SIMS , we were given a very unique challenge .We were asked to go to to camp(MG ROAD) and find ourselves a job for a day which involved spending not a single penny from our pockets to complete the task in hand. We were split into groups of two. My partner happened to be Anupreet. We went about asking lifts from any every person on the road who seemed to be moving at a speed higher than ours. After a lot of efforts we found ourselves in a car speeding towards MG ROAD. On reaching the destination I had realised after a while that I have lost my partner somewhere in the all the chaos that was around. For the first time I was frightened of wat the day had in store for me ALONE! At that time roaming about the whole of amin street , calling up any and everyone I realised the importance of being well connected. Finally after about 1 hour of panic I found my partner. I heaved a sigh of relief. We had already lost out on valuable time and needed to gear up.
We started doing rounds of some of the popular restaurants and eating joints but due to some of the other reason we were turned down. It was really disappointing and frustrating in the beginning but we were determined to not give up. In our quest for finding the perfect “day job” , we went to many stores , shops even street side stalls asking them to us work with them in any capacity they think is convenient for them.
We were particularly disheartened when after spending a lot of time convincing the managers at Blue Nile, The Nawabs and Amar Sons we were turned down because the top level mangers didn’t think they could give us a chance due to the stringent company policies and labour regulations. That was the time when the realised the importance of authority and responsiblilty and how it plays a major role in every day working at any organisation.
Finally after trying for over 2 hours and a lot of convincing and pleading we started to give but then we gained the confidence and the drive that we had to do this at any cost and started afresh and thought to ourselves that giving up is not an option. We went to this complex near Akbar’s Radiant Plaxa opposite Aurora Towers. We went to a couple of offices there and we were greeted with “Lunch” sign .
Finally we landed on the fourth floor and came to the office named Empress Estates. We went to the owner and offered to help her for a day with all her work. She was let us work with her after some convincing. We were hired for the day.
Having had some knowledge about Real estate , it turned out to of great help as I could handle the clients who came in with their requirements and tell them the new projects available . I was working at the front desk and attended a couple of calls and took messages for Ma’am. The experience at the office made me value the importance of knowledge that one acquires over and above academics and that knowledge gained at any point in time never goes waste. We worked the office for over 3 hours and helped people who came with their property needs to the best of our ability.
At the end, a sum of Rs 100 also didn’t seem that small. I earned it and I was proud of wat I had achieved .
At the end our exercise , we were required to report at the railway station at sharp 4.30. With hardly 15 min in hand , we had rush and asked for several lifts on the way. At that point I realised how 1 min could make all the difference between being on time and being late.
At the end of the day I was exhausted both mentally and physically but at the same time extremely satisfied with wat I had achieved on my own as an individual. I was left with loads of valuable lessons that will stay with me for life.
Ikroop Nijjar
