The Real Mentor

If you light a lamp for someone it will also brighten your own Path. –Buddhist Proverb

A mentor helps you to see the beauty in your dreams! This phrase seems to be true in my life! I am very grateful to that one Mentor who contributed to where I am today! Apart from parents it’s always good to have a person to guide you and light your path to success.

It was in the end of July, 2012, when it was already three months of my job hunt in Bangalore after my Masters Degree (MBA) that I received a call from the HR of Thomson Reuters scheduling my interview with the manager of the team that had few slots for contract employees. I didn’t even care of the short term position and immediately responded YES for the interview the next day. The HR briefed me to prepare on some excel functions and on General Knowledge. I had never worked on excel till then other than few summations & subtractions during computer classes. I was worried but my elders guided me to take help of “Google Baba” and learn it. I just had less than 24 hours to prepare myself and at the same time I wasn’t feeling well so which means I needed some rest as well as strong preparations. As the interview was scheduled after 6pm, I had the day’s time to prepare. I decided to take proper rest and leave the rest for the next day. The next day I got up early and sat down with the laptop. I tried few functions nonstop skipping my lunch and kept reading stuffs about the company till it was time for me to catch a bus and rush to the MG Road which usually took more than 45 mins to reach in the Bangalore traffic.

I was taken to the HR’s room in the ground floor for the first round of introductory session where the HR wanted to know about my education and why I being a Bhutanese wanted to work in Bangalore and not return to the home country. I explained her about the experience I was looking for as the employment for those with few years of experience in India was more than the fresher’s just out of College. She even asked why did I opt for such temporary job and I justified saying I need to learn and see how a corporate works so for me time is not the limit and I shall try grabbing the maximum. She then said that there was possibility of extension after the contract ends and there were many employees getting converted into the full time employment due to their performance as well as the requirement on the job.

I was then escorted to the 2^nd Floor by the HR where I would be introduced to the Team Manager for which the recruitment was going on. As we entered the 2^nd Floor office we could see many candidates seated waiting for their turn. The HR asked me to sit with the rest and wait for my turn and left the floor wishing us all “All the Best”. My hands were getting cold and I knew it well that it was not because of the AC of the office but with the fear from within as there were more than fifteen candidates waiting. The first round was interview with the Assistant Manager, an advanced Excel Test, Interview by the Head of the Department followed by an hour of interview with the Senior Manager, which I call it as the first Stress Interview in my Life.

In the meantime, I could see a man dressed in formals calling names one by one and taking them to a room little away from where I was seated. I didn’t see how many were seated in that room but could make out that it was a meeting room where the interview was taken. Everyone took 20-30mins to come out of that room and each one of them had different expressions with which they came out. I was the second last person and had to wait for quite a long time.

I was then called and asked to follow him to the room where a Madam was waiting for us to reach and she asked me to sit down. They then introduced themselves to me as Ms Sharon and Mr. Kumar Saurav and they were the Managers and the recruitment was for their team. I was surprised knowing this as the man who was calling out the names outside was a Manager and if I was hired I would be working with them. Till that point of time I had always heard & met many managers but none of them were this young and in their thirties. All I knew and imagined till then were huge, tall, fat fellow and with gray hair. Since then my perception of manager changed. After their introduction I felt so good that the coldness of my hands & feet were gone and I felt inspired and spoke out everything they asked. Those of few which I wasn’t sure of I told them that I would not attempt to answer as I am not confident with the answer that I know. They then explained me all that I wasn’t able to answer and the interview turned out to be a discussion rather than a hard core interview. After it was over we realized that the 20-30mins with others had gone up to 45mins with me. I was happy and satisfied with what just happened inside and walked out with a happy smileJ. The other candidates were watching me with a question mark on their face so I told them it went well. I waited with them for the other rounds and I was escorted to a PC where I had to sit for an Excel test! I kept my fingers crossed and remembered all that YouTube had taught me all morning. There were two questions- one on the lookup and the other on the pivot table. I wasn’t sure if what I was doing was right but I remembered all that I practiced from the YouTube and completed it. The next round was with the head of F&R along with one of the managers. I was asked what made me stay back in India and work instead of getting back to the country of Happiness. I gave them my motto of life and they were quite impressed with the way I answered them. They let me go but with no feedback so that kept me wondering what next!

In the meantime, the Mr. Saurav asked me to leave and told I would get a call to update my results. I went home then. The following day I got a call asking me to come to office for another round of interview which was a kind of the stress round where I was being drilled off with lots of financial questions by the Senior Manager, Mr. Suvadip Kundu and was even asked to give reasons/ examples to support my answers. This was the longest interview I ever had in my life. Once I was out of this I felt like I was on the top of the world and I had actually enjoyed the stress round. It had in fact given me lots of practical examples of how I should lead my life professionally as the bookish knowledge was just for passing exams and the actual reality was to use those concepts practically. I still turn back and re- look on that day which made me feel so good being interviewed.  The interviewer also did not care about who was there in the queue for the next interview but enjoyed having this interview as we were equally engaged in our conversation.

On 2^nd August 2012, I received a call from Thomson Reuters giving me the good news of joining to work from 6^th August. That was a special day coinciding with my dad’s birthday along with Raksha Bandhan and followed by a tragedy which was about losing all the gifts from my brothers while travelling. It included very expensive gifts along with few chocolates but I did not mind losing them as the biggest happiness then was a call for being selected.

This is where the Real Mentor comes in picture in my life! I joined Thomson Reuters on 6^th August and I was to report to Mr. Saurav along with Ms. Sharon.  They were the managers who took the first round of my interview (who actually did not look like managers to me at my first sight). I was in a group of two and five others had joined a week before so the two new comers were put in a room and given with documents to read for a week long. That was the time when Mr. Saurav came and spoke to us time and again and taught us few things about the work. Then later we were allotted with our system and cubical, given with the trainings and he used to come by and sit on my table and talk about the work.

I closely watched him and his actions as he seemed to have friendly attachments with his team mates and taught us so well because he knew we were just out of college and we needed 100% guidance. We used to get very scared of him during our long tea breaks but he was never too scary. We could walk up to him and he would take us to a meeting room and discuss our problems. He had solutions for every problem. My cab mate was a friend of him so I used to get to know him better through her and I always thought that my conversations would have reached him. That was the time I heard about his would be and I was excited to meet her but never got a chance to.

Time flew off as our contract got over but he kept saying we were his armies and we would be safe. One day I decided to take his help off my duty and stayed back at office for extra hours to learn advanced excel. He used to assign me tasks and check on me as and when he was free from his work. I was fascinated with his dedication to help me out with excel and he was clear when he meant I should be selected for a full time job. I saw no gain for him while helping me out but I gained lots. Today I am in this position of my career all because of him. He guided me off all the ill times I came across and gave me suggestions on how to tackle my problems. I could sit with him in a meeting room formally but speak out my heart in tears and he consoled me giving practical examples which always made him so special in my life. I could get his views on my professional issues to personal issues and he always kept it with himself.

On his birthday, we the fresher’s decided to gift him something which would contain all of our faces but as we did not have time we managed a card with animals and named all those animals with ours and presented him. He said he never celebrated his birthday but we managed to have one that day! (4^th Jan 2013) I am a bird with the glasses on that picture!

It was end of February when our contracts were getting over and we were busy searching for alternative jobs and I got an offer from a different team within the same office. I was sad I will have to leave his team but that was a temporary thing. The best part was I would remain in the same company and I could never let go of the feeling that I had a mentor to guide me there. We used to catch up for short conversations whenever possible and time passed. I faced some problems in the new team without work for almost six months and decided to move teams but he was there by my side to keep pushing me forward to be positive in life.

One day he planned a trip to Bhutan and I took that opportunity to introduce him to my parents and got them stayed with my parents for few days. No wonder they enjoyed hosting him and his sweet wife whom I had never met before though but my parents were happy as same was the feedback from him. I missed being with them during their visit but they promised me to visit Bhutan again in future when I was in Bhutan. That came into reality in April 2015 after I moved from Bangalore in September 2014. After their return from Bhutan, I visited them and stayed overnight. It used to be fun as I now knew them so closely and we enjoyed it. I used to spend chit chatting late night and being served with yummy food.

I missed such outings lately as I was to move to Bhutan but the real mentor never stayed away from me. He was there by my side 24/7 helping me get over the depression I was suffering from after lots if ups & downs in life and I was so happy when I got to host them in April 2015. I felt like the Bangalore was here but not for too long. I skipped my work and went around with them. We trekked to Takshang which was his main motto of his visit then. We went for morning driving classes. Like the excel classes- lookups he taught me the pickups. We thought of having long chats but could never speak out but expressed it all through my messages. Even today I never let go of any day without his messages. I understand he would be busy living a city life but I take that privilege of being his kiddo and trouble him all the time. I keep him in my prayers always and wish him lots of love & best wishes in his life!  I bet no one on earth have got such a person in their life as mine!

                                                        

                                                    Hats off to my Real Mentor!

My Super Hero

Everyone has a super hero in their Life! Some from real life and some  from the fiction world, but all have one common characteristic in them that we all want to be like or to follow them. 

I came across so many good souls at different phases of my life, but  one person, who stands out among all is my dad. My dad is my real a super hero. An individual with great values, filled with great energy, always ready to help others and spreading positive vibes all around. I have been fortunate to watch him from close corners and will never run out of adjectives for him.

I as an eldest kid in my family have understood him closely and today I proudly call him my super hero because I have seen him gone through thick and thin of life. The case is equally same with my super mom, in spite of many challenges in life she never let anyone of us down and been catering to our daily needs with such a great care and love.

All these years, be it in school about taking certain decisions or in college on taking any step and now even as I grow up to stand independent I look up to my dad first and move with his ideas and blessings. I look up to all the values he has in him and I hope I get all those in me to live as a good human being.

My dad's been my first teacher both at home and at school. When I was in school, I used to complain to my friends that it wasn't not good to have your father as a teacher in the school you are in as you are always watched on what mess you do at school and get your doses later after reaching home.😢 However, once I moved away from the school where my dad was He was the first person I missed in school and regretted having said that. 

As a teacher, he is very approachable that you can even see his students clinging on to him getting all the comforts in getting knowledge and having fun with him.

I consider him as a Candle who have sacrificed lots to light our ways into the future and I can never finish sharing all that he has done to keep every one of us happy!

Baba, You are the super perfect Dad and no one can be luckier than I have been so far. Here's a short note about you on this day with a greeting on your Birthday!

Wishing you a Very Happy Birthday!! 

Here’s to so many more years of laughter,  travel  and  you be blessed with sound health!!

Love always,

Chori Bhawana

The Dudhsagar Trek

The Majestic Dudhsagar Falls

It was Sribacha Nayak (Shree) who sowed the seed of Dudhsagar plan in our heads with his stories of its breathtaking beauty and being there in the past. All of us put our heads up for this awesome plan and thanks to him for coordinating and guiding us to get ready for the journey. The first thing he did was he made a group in gmail and sent a mail about the destination.  
Dudhsagar Falls (literally Sea of Milk ) is a four-tiered waterfall located on the Mandovi River in the border of the Indian State of Goa and Karnataka. This Falls is amongst India's tallest Waterfalls with a height of 310 m (1017 feet) and an average width of 30 metres (100 feet). The waterfall forms the border between Karnataka and Goa states. The area is surrounded by a deciduous forests with a rich biodiversity. The falls are not particularly spectacular during the dry season but during the monsoon season however, the falls are fed by rains and form a huge force of water. 

I had never heard of Dudhsagar except that I had a glimpse of it in the movie  "Chennai Express", where Deepika's father meets Sharukh Khan for the first time. But for me it was a new adventure to try on so I immediately replied back saying " I am in, No matter What.. :)"and my reply was followed by Sameer , Swati, Swateek, Gauthem and Roopa  finally with Seven of us all set for it. Sameer was my college friend, Swati, Swateek, Gauthem and Roopa were my colleagues from Thomson Reuters and Shree was our scientist friend  whom we called as a foreigner because of his unique look.   

Shree started getting the tickets done and then divided the responsibilities for arranging tents, ponchos, foods items etc.

It was 1st of August 2014, a Friday and the train was scheduled in the evening. I had little challenge with my office schedule, but I decided to work on early shift for that day. I got up early and checked all the things I had to carry and kept my rucksack ready before I headed to work. I was to reach the railway station by 8:00pm, since our train to Castle Rock was at 9.30pm . It was 6.30 am when My office cab driver gave me a missed call as a signal to get out of my PG(Paying Guest). I rushed down and got in the cab. I was among the Asia team to work that morning and they knew I had a plan that evening that's why I had changed my shift. By 9:00 am my senior manager came in and was suspicious that I had another travel plan that weekend, I told him about the 14 kms trek that we would be doing and his reply was "I envy you for your weekend adventures". I smiled and welcomed him to join me some day. 

The day seemed really long at work when I was actually was super excited to travel.

Exactly at 4:00 pm I stood up to rush to the cab and my team mates wished me Happy journey and to come back with lots of stories.  I got to my PG and picked up my bags and waited for Swati and Gauthem to pick me up. Though we started early, we could reach railway station only by 7.30pm, credits to Bangalore Traffic for taking so long. 

Yestwanpur Railway Station, 01.08.2014

Roopa, Shree and Sameer were there already. As always the Indian Railways was hardly on time so as we waited the three ladies wanted a picture before the journey and Gauthem joined us to pose.

It was 10:00 pm sharp when the train entered the platform. We looked for our compartment and got in. It was a wonderful night with lots of story exchanges and as I was seated at the window side I was busy making a collage for my dad's birthday that was on next day 2nd August. I was told that we will not have mobile network so I had to post the picture (my way of usual birthday greetings) and wishes before I lost the network.

Soon after boarding the train

 We chit chatted for long  until we started hearing loud snores from other compartments and  we also started making our beds.

Next morning I was woken up by a voice which I thought was of a chai wala (tea seller) but it was one of the guy of our group teasing us to wake us up. Shree then announced that we were nearing the station to get down- Castle Rock.

Fresh morning pose, 02.08.2014

As we got down from the train we all posed in front of the Railway board, all excited to reach the point of start.

That's the startpoint

We took out our Ponchos as we were told that it will rain throughout the journey so wore it  and got ready to walk. But as a little kid  I was already posing for a picture just below the  board saying a alien from Bhutan here.

A must picture with Poncho

Before we left the Castlerock station to kick off the walking for 14kms to reach the falls we stood to capture the moment with all of us in Poncho and our ruck sack well covered to protect from getting wet.

All set to Go.

We started our walk and  we came across this ruins of a Castle after which we thought that the place was named. But it was said that for many years this village marked the frontier between Portuguese-held Goa and British -held India.

Castle Ruins

After the castle there was a suspension bridge where we quickly posed . All seemed energetic and anxious of the journey and the view of the falls.

Happy Dent Smile please

The 14 Kms stretch was just on the railway tracks and there was no uphill nor downhill. It rained couple of times but we were all covered to face the rain. We stopped as we got good place for pictures and for snacking.

Always ready for Pictures

We laughed, we made memories  and kept motivating each other to walk.

SRK fan & her followers

This is one of my favorite picture. It was taken on a railway bridge which had a tunnel opening right there. The picture looks so beautiful but we all were worried not knowing what we would do if the train arrives.

My Favorite Shot

We kept crossing one tunnel after another with torches in our hand with great excitement as well as little fear of any approaching train. Suddenly this fear came true! We were in the middle of one of the most narrow tunnel among all and suddenly we heard sound of an approaching train. 

Train inside the Tunnel

We all were literally terrified and didn't know how to react. They was no way we could pass the tunnel before the train got in. We literally stuck ourselves to the walls as the train arrived. Each one of us held our hands and pushed ourselves very had towards the wall praying for safety. The train was in very high speed and thankfully none of us were hurt. It was such a relief after the train passed and we all shouted in joy.

Sameer captured this inside tunnel memory beautifully! 

As we were getting out of this tunnel we had a skinny puppy following us so we named with different names of our own choice and then fed him with some bread, it kept following us. Then suddenly another train came and we had another narrow escape. Roopa lost her balance and almost fell but saved herself by sitting down just little away from the track. Her rucksack cover got torn but nothing happened to her. Train nearly touched her before she could bend down. People in the train shouted out loud at her as the train passed her.

That's Roopa walking with her torn plastic though she was little scared.

As we were all occupied looking at what happened to Rupa, we heard the little puppy crying so we immediately attended him thinking he was hurt too but luckily he wasn't. Sameer picked him up and kept him away from the railway track.

 As we walked we reached a place that was the boarder of Karnataka and Goa. There was a demarcation of the state boarder and a tunnel opening right there. I immediately ran to the board and swung on it and everyone took turns to pose in their own style.

 

Let me pose first.

We are here.

After that was the 4th tunnel and before entering the tunnel we all waited for a picture and counted that there were 10 more tunnels to cross before we reach our destination for the day.

Not so lengthy this time.

It rained heavily but we kept walking admiring the beauty of the wet forest and capturing memories whenever possible.

A picture break

Every time we got bored we picked up each person and teased and this moment was my turn. Since I used to call Sri as my daddy, he came to me saying I am his daughter and I can be a good hand rest for him.

While daddy posed, daughter was exhausted already.

Then, next was Roopa and Gauthem, as they walked we called them so many times in all the South Indian Languages we knew but they did not respond back but kept walking busy talking to each other. I guess they were seriously discussing on some programming codes.

That is how IT guys walk/work.

Swati and I kept teasing each other throughout the way and played like those little kids just out of the cage running around and competing to walk fast.

Two kiddos of the group.

Swati's favorite picture.

At one point we reached a railway station where there was a train parked and we had to pass through in between the two trains. One of them started moving so we had to stand still and let it go. When I was small my parents had warned me saying if we stand near the moving train we would be pulled under its wheels and that thought scared shit out of me but after this trip I realized that wasn't true.  That must have been their way of not letting me move around in the railway station.

Stuck in between two 🚆

As we walked further talking we noticed that Roopa usually used "Jiii" after every name she called and that sounded very cute. While she called we all imitated her as - Shreejiii, Swateekjiii, Sameerjiii, Gauthemjiii, Swatijiii & Bhawanajiii. Hence the name of our group was discovered then as the "Jiii Gang", which still exist today as a Whatsapp group with few of us leaving and getting back.

 We reached at a small waterfall where we met other fellow trekkers who were taking pictures. We again started teasing each other among ourselves saying who would be brave enough to be able to convince the other fellow members to take our group picture and I don't remember who actually did it.

Monkey Pose we called it

We the Jiii Gang then posed with our hands on our cheeks saying Jiii to the photographer. I guess that fellow is still wondering why did we say "Jiiii" instead of "Cheese" while we posed.

After that all the rest went to the water fall but I stayed back to click their pictures while they got wet.

Mini water fall

We resumed walking after the picture and little further we again stopped. I was trying to get a quick nap while Swateek wanted a picture so here's the two in one picture.

Nap while I pose

We then reached the Dudhsagar Station which was less than a kilometer before the Dudhsagar falls. We had to cross one last tunnel to reach the falls. The station had lots of people waiting for the train. We were told that normally the passenger trains does not stop at this station but people who give up walking try getting into the cargo trains to reach other stations to catch their scheduled trains. That was the reason this station was crowded.

Last tunnel before Destination

As we approached the falls there was a board which said "Dudh Sagar Water Falls". A different excitement crept into us and we were thrilled to see the Majestic Dudhsagar falls. On the left as we approached was the falls and the mist from the falls had made the view a bit cloudy. We could feel ourselves getting wet with the mist.

Our Camp Site

We then went towards the right side of the falls where we could pitch our tents there adjacent to other fellow trekkers. There were around thirty to forty similar tents. We had carried two tents so we pitched in one corner facing each other. Three girls in one and four guys in the other.

Girl's Tent

Boy's Tent

Next to the camping site was a cafeteria which only served hot water and Maggie but as we had carried buffet lamps with us for boiling water, we used it and had cup noodles for dinner. It was chilly and that was the best time for enjoying the  Maggie Cup noodles. There was no electric lighting but our torches were enough. We  could even use the torch to make our tent look bright and take pictures. This was all of ours first time camping except Shree and we knew we were all making awesome memories. Throughout the night we kept talking as well as listening to our neighboring tents.

Morning Picture, 02.08.2014

For using the loo we had to carry our torch light and go inside the tunnel that was just next to the camp site. That was only the bad part of this camping site- no proper toilets. Next morning, we got up and visited the falls. The view was so mesmerizing that one would feel like watching it forever and not moving away.

Just next to the tunnel was a small water fall where almost all the trekkers went to take bath, which was actually to get wet and enjoy in the natural water. We also followed the crowd and enjoyed.

Three cheers to the ladies who made up to the falls!

While we were posing we heard the train approaching so we quickly put some coins on the track to carry that with us as souvenir from the falls. When the train went over our coins, the coins had become flat.

Jiii Gang

We wanted a group picture of the Jiiii Gang at the falls and got this. This is the best one with all smiles and it does remind us of the wonderful journey we had.

After breakfast which included -biscuits and chocolates we started our journey towards the opposite side of where we came from as we had to catch our train from that station. It was 12 kilometers walk and our luggage were lighter as the food items were almost over. While we walked we reached to a point from where the view of the Dudhsagar falls was awesome.

Pointing to the falls

The second day was very relaxing and we were familiar with the train and the signals so when we saw the train coming we posed for a perfect picture.

Lets pose before we die

We just found many monkeys on the way and fed them with our left over snacks.We reached our destination much ahead of time so we rested at the station.

Eating while waiting

It was again a wonderful train journey as the train had to get back to Bangalore through the Dudhsagar falls so we were again seeing the falls from the train. The view from the train was again a very beautiful one.

As we reached the Dudhsagar station, our train stopped (which was actually not a stop) because there was an accident. Hearing that I shivered wondering what it could be and got to know that a trekker was trying to jump into the moving train but he slipped and hurt himself. That was one thing people do not care about. In their adventure they enjoy and do not care if that would hamper their life. Our end of the trip had this sad story though we did not know him but since he was our fellow trekker we hoped he got well.

We had a good night sleep in the train that night and we hoped we would get to Bangalore and to work on time as it was a Monday Morning! 

Back to Square one & ready for work

After we got out of the train this picture was a much needed one as it clearly showed on everyone's face what we got from the trip! We were returning with our "Jiii Gang", loads of lovely memories and stories to share life long! 

I wrote this blog so that we could read and revisit those memories. I would like to thank each one of you for making this possible! Jiiii gang Rocks! and to everyone else, you must plan to visit this fall. It is not just the fall, but overall journey makes it a lasting memory!

Friends Forever