एक खूँटी … प्रवेशद्वार की !!!!!

 Friend zone 😊

Aspirations have no ends. We, humans, are born ambitious. Some make it quite obvious to choose the shortcut to be on the up and up, and some try to mislead themselves by making big plans every day and later succumb to the disastrous end results. Lastly comes those who strive really hard to become victorious with a well-chalked-out plan, and this gradual process leads to the road to the desired success. 

I am so happy that as a youngster I was part of the 1990s era. All over the world political, social and also economic changes were taking place. USSR was in the process of disintegration and President Gorbachev coined the words ‘Perestroika’ and ‘Glasnost’ which later paved the way for democracy in the Soviet Union. Britain shifted to a labour government from conservatives. Also, Britain joined the US-led forces to liberate Kuwait from the clutches of Iran in 1991 and in 1995 Clinton visited Northern Ireland to help the peace process. India did not lag behind either. Apart from religious issues lots of economic growth took place under the able guidance of FM Manmohan Singh ji. India was reeling under the boom of computers and many related job opportunities were floating in the market. Liberalised economic policies contributed to increasing the GDP of 90’s India.

Being a girl I had more opportunities and much better choices to make during this period. Up till now, our society had by far lots of limitations for a girl who chooses to become a career woman. Teaching, Medical, engineering, and civil services were the preferred options chosen as a profession. But the 1990s opened lots of job opportunities in Business Administration as well since a plethora of MNCs could penetrate the Indian market. 

What luck? I appeared for the MBA entrance exam and got admission to one of the decent colleges. I was happier to be in the company of like-minded intellectuals and creative minds. My batchmates taught me much more than the lectures we attended. Every burning issue of society was discussed in our free time. For the first time, I hated bunking the class as every lecture strengthened our knowledge base. Our course helped us a lot in our holistic growth. 

By the end of our first semester, multiple groups were created within the batch. Few of the students were common in many groups and few groups were closed ones. We were in a bunch of 10 students. Two girls and 8 boys comprised our closed group. Still, I get nostalgic, as I go down memory lane of our MBA days. Initially, we bonded with each other on our lunch breaks but later we try to grab every possible opportunity to gather and have our informal debate sessions, highly enriching and equally well worthy. 

By the end of our second semester, we were ready to join a month-long internship to get practical experience in the prevailing trends of the market. One day in the morning when I reached college, saw an odd number of students staring at the noticeboard. Curiously I too headed towards it and later got to know that an MNC has floated vacancies for fresh interns. Our whole group immediately decided to give it a try. Together We all went, in the evening, to its local office. To our pleasant surprise, we were instantly asked to meet the HR head of the office. The head informally interacted in groups with each one of us. His gesture gave us extremely positive vibes. Suddenly, he turned towards me and after brief communication offered me the internship. Actually, I was the first one to be offered the internship and I was thoroughly elated. Meanwhile, others also gave their consent to join different branches locally. While everyone was getting accommodated, he asked me to be prepared for an outstation visit in the nearby town next week. Honestly, in my wildest dream, I was not prepared for this. Again I thought maybe he is generous since finds me fit for this training. 

But here I was absolutely wrong. My dear friends became my saviour. They intervened and told him on my behalf that my family will not allow any outstation visits and that if he is still keen on taking any of us then it was better to choose any of the boys. HR Head insisted on taking me only. It was the moment which I will remember for lifelong. The boys mutually took the decision within seconds and told the HR head that they will tell them their decision to join the internship later by a phone call. We all returned empty-handed as we refused to join the good internship of this reputed MNC. 

Times have changed but the harassment still continues in such places.....wish these gender issues can be addressed with utmost care and urgency.