I forget a lot of things. What I ate. What I did. Honestly, its crazy how I lose and forget things. But somehow with dates my brain guards them like sacred bookmarks. (But once I forgot my close friend's birthday. Not sure if any sin comes even close to that - story for another day)
December 1st is one of those dates.
Four years ago, something incredible happened. And no, it wasn’t just getting my first job. It was the way it happened, the story behind it, the chaos that led to it, and the sense of finally catching the thread of my own life. Nope, the intent is not to tell “rags to riches” kinda story - but to be grateful for people who enabled it, understand the patterns and do better today.
Chalo then, let me rewind a bit.
College for me was 4.5 years of trying everything under the sun. Writing, directing, editing, teaching English, building a startup with Srini and Sanjeed, getting roasted by case studies, wondering why everyone around me seemed impossibly smart. 2021 had already been a messy year: didn’t want to sit for placements, had to sit anyway because our startup needed a pause, fractured my hand (in a way I still pretend was “falling off a bicycle”), dealt with personal messiness… basically fuckups. A lot of them.
Then Flipkart announced applications. One of the rounds required a deck. And I poured everything into that deck. It’s still one of the most beautiful things I’ve made ⇒ link
October 30th: shortlist announced. I got in.
Cue panic. Every other shortlist was a 9-pointer with NextLeap badges, bulletproof resumes and the “I was born prepared” energy. I had a broken hand, a startup hangover and well vibes…. (if that counts)
So I did the only thing that made sense for me: I played by my rules.
For 30 days, I did three things:
Then came December 1st.
First interview: crushed it.
Second interview: decent… until my mentor called to say I wasn’t making it to the next round.
That call cracked something inside me. Losing is fine; losing after giving your all is the real knife. I changed out of my formals. Ate a miserable breakfast. Answered the “What happened bro?” questions. Called my mentor again. Same answer. “You’ve got to stop calling me. Yes they graded you and no man, there isn’t a mixup…”
I went back to my room to shut everything off. And then the phone rang.
“Anuj, there’s been a mix-up. One last interview. Do well.” Whaaaaa!
That 75 min long interview was brutal: three back-to-back cases, rapid-fire questions, no breathing room. But I gave everything I had left. Every frickin thing.