The Upper Limit

There are usually three rounds for the on-campus placement session of a company: The written round (aptitude), the group discussion round, and the final interviews. And the results, for either round, can be unpredictable. It often depends on the mood of the employers, or certain other factors that you may never think can be considered. I remember this one company (let’s call it X) that rejected me in the written round because I scored above their upper limit. It was one of the most genuine ‘wtf’ moments of my life, and a serious slap on the face all the “competition” that drove me for the past 15 years of my education.

For the past couple of months, I was a little annoyed over the dwindling response on my Facebook posts (I bet a part of your mind has already made judgments about my entire life and character). Recently my wife, who is an independent artist herself and has more influence over social media than me, pointed out that it is probably because I am otherwise very less active there and so my response on other posts is also very less. She said it’s all a give and take and that I may have to throw some likes/comments/shares on other peoples’ posts if I want the same on mine. A lot of social media influencers over Instagram spend hours finding random people and following them. At times they even drop a comment or a like on any of their posts, which often gets them to follow back. A couple of days later they un-follow them. So it’s safe to say that she was right.

It is funny how every little thing in our lives has become a bargain. Every little and every big decision of our life is often a profit and loss deal. After high school, I had to choose between Science, Commerce, and Arts, and my school, much like every other school of my city had a very clear policy: 60 percent marks and above – Science; 45 to 60 percent marks – Commerce; and 45 percent and below – Arts. So everyone wanted Science as it offered more “job opportunities” and hence more security for the future. Most of us wanted Physical Education for our optional subject as it offered an easy pathway to increase the overall score. Competing for a seat in IITs and NITs is the most chosen next step for obvious reasons. Even if you don’t land a job soon, it’s at least comforting to know that there are a million other jobless engineers to share the pain. And before you realize it, this ‘bargaining’ becomes a compulsive need. Every person you meet, every bond you make, and even every past connection that you sustain is only driven by a desire for some significant (or insignificant) material. And thereafter you only show interest in people because of your interest in something that they may lead you to. This is the very reason why post 60 people have a number of acquaintances but no close friends. And this skill is proudly passed on to us as an esteemed heritage by our elder generations. Have you ever heard any of the following from your peers?

“Dosti vosti me kuch nahi rakha!”

“Vikas se dosti kar lo wo school ka topper hai!”

“Chintu se bana ke rakho, uske papa ki books ki shop hai!”

“Vikram bahut ameer hai use bana ke rakho, kya pata kab kaam aa jaye!”

“Logon se kaam nikalna sikho!”

If you have, then congratulations! You’re an official carrier of the age-old legacy and a couple of years later you’d be passing it on to your younger ones.

The end result of life is death. So it’s fairly easy to deduce that life is about the journey you make. But we’ll need many more centuries to realize that everything else in life is pretty much the same. Every little thing we do does not have to be driven and motivated by a clear vision of some desired end result. Human beings are intellectually superior as compared to other species, but they’re also more emotionally conscious and observant. We can define the ‘upper limit’ to our desire. We can learn to play guitar for the love of music, not to be the center of a party. We can stay connected to a fast friend for the memories we share, not because we may need a favor later. We can wish a client on his birthday without hoping to establish a presence to drive more business. We can show our disagreement with our boss without worrying about appraisals. We can surprise our spouse with their favorite wine without hoping for some good sex later in the night. We can say NO and take a stand irrespective of the consequences. We can fall in love and confess without hoping for reciprocation. We can choose to rise above the conditionality of our efforts and look beyond, or before, our conditioning.

Few more companies came later and I got hired by one of them. And within 3 months of my joining, I left the company for a better offer (more pay package, plus a central govt job). On the other hand, my friends who got placed at X stayed there for several years. They said the company had a good work culture, transparent HR policies, weekends off, and it even supports the employees who are willing to start their own ventures. As strange and stupid as I thought of the company, it turned out they really knew what they were doing.