I am Back !!!

Hello readers,

I return to the sanctuary after a two year hiatus. You might wonder where I’d been these two years. I do too! The fact is that a lot has happened in my life in these two years. End of BBA,headaches,countless visits to the doctors, MRI and CT scans, a few months working at TCS, Moving to London for MBA, changing houses like one changes one’s underwear, working at the T20 World Cup, meeting some great people along the way, more headaches, coming back to India for treatment, more doctor visits, more MRI and CT scans, diagnosis, misdiagnosis and finally the right diagnosis...to name a few things.

Needless to say, these two years have been the most eventful years of my life. These have also been the most painful two years of my life. Pain in any form is unpleasant. Even more so when it’s in the head. Add to that the fact that the pain is constant and lingering. I shall talk about the ‘painful journey’ in another entry. For the time being, let me just talk about the non-pain aspects of the period gone by.

PART I

It was the summer of 2008. BBA was finally over. Phew! During BBA and after it, I appeared for a million entrance tests, GDs and PIs all across India (Well actually mostly in the western and Southern parts of the country). I made it into ICFAI Business School Bangalore but turned it down as it was crap (I would have been selling peanuts on the street if I hadn’t). I would have made it to one of the best colleges in Mumbai if it wasn’t for the stupid regional quota thing. Anyway, after so many failed attempts at getting into a good business school in India, I dejectedly decided to go abroad for MBA.UK to more specific. Why? I don’t know. Maybe because I know more people there than any other part of the world. Maybe because I felt I would be ‘safer’ there than say, in America or Australia(well Australia was never in picture) or maybe because it was the land of James Bond and home to the Mecca of cricket. No logic. Just instinct.

I surveyed a lot of good colleges/universities that offer MBA at an affordable cost. I visited a number of agents in Baroda and Ahmedabad. It turned out that most ‘universities’ were either too expensive or required significant work experience. The ones that were cheap or didn’t need work-ex were just no good. So I started looking out for some decent private colleges offering a University degree. College or University, what does it matter at the end of the day I thought.

I chanced upon this rather decent yet mundane sounding college called West London College, or WLC, as lazy bums call it. I did a lot of research about the college, talked to its then-current students and alumni online, gathered feedback from some of my contacts staying in London and so on...The college was in the heart of London, offered a top university degree, had an experienced teaching staff and the students seemed nice too. It all looked good. So, WLC it was going to be. I was excited. I double checked with my agent about the reputation of the college and its future (I had heard that a lot of colleges in London were bogus and were being shut down) just to be hundred percent sure. That was good too. And so began my preparation to go to London.

Although it was optional, I took IELTS(the English exam needed for for visa clearance) anyway. The exam was conducted in a really plush hotel in Ahmedabad and turned out to be great experience. This was my second major exam in Ahmedabad after CAT and this time I was a lot more confident of a good result. And so it was. I scored 8.5 bands out of 9 with a perfect 9 in speaking and listening!! Some may say it’s not a big deal given my academic background and the fact that the exam was assessed in Gujjuland but I don’t care. It made me happy.

It was the end of June and my MBA intake was getting closer. Just when everything was going like a Cinderella story, I was hit by a series of awfully bad migraine headaches. It wasn’t the first time they hit me. I had experienced them for nearly 4 years prior to this. But this time they were really bad. Anyway, the headaches require a dedicated entry and shall be discussed elsewhere. My UK dream was shattered. I was upset. A few weeks went by. My sadness subsided but boredom started creeping in. I was just sitting at home doing nothing while everybody I knew was either studying further or working. I decided to work too.

August onwards, I seriously started looking for a job, any job, so long as it paid money, not peanuts. I appeared for one interview after another. I cracked a few of them. Two were in the insurance game and the third one was in a BPO. I didn’t mind. I had three offers waiting. I felt happy. I felt powerful. Naturally, I took the one with the highest pay. It was Friday evening. The job wasn’t going to start until Monday. I did some thinking. Somehow, the idea of selling insurance didn’t seem like a very good one. I thought to myself – Am I a Salesman? Can I convince people to buy insurance from me?? Do I really want to hear some middle-aged stranger tell me “Get lost you Son-of-a-Bi*ch??? The answer was an emphatic NO! It was Monday. I never turned up. A few days went by and I was back to twiddling my thumbs.

One day, out of nowhere, I got a call from a recruiting agent about a job interview. It was at Tata Consultancy Services or TCS as lazy bums and verbally challenged call it. It sounded good. I went for the interview and cleared it easily. They just loved me. I joined the next day itself. I was really thrilled. I was a part of TCS...Wow!!! The first few days were a lot of fun. I was so happy I wanted to work there all my life and felt nothing would change that. Nothing but fate. The job started to get really boring and monotonous after a couple of months. Apparently it was like most hindi movies these days. The promos look great but the movie turns out to be total crap! I hung in there and just went through the motions. I started realising that if I worked there for one more month I would surely kill myself. Understandably, thoughts of trying again for UK started coming in. There were days when I would be sitting at my office desk and pretending to work, when I would actually be browsing for information on UK student visa. The more I learned the more serious I got. I wanted to go to UK for MBA whether fate wanted it or not. I was prepared to challenge it.

I began preparing my visa file with full rigour. There was a lot of struggle along the way but you know what they say – No pain no gain. By the 1^st week of December my visa file was ready for submission. With the blessings of God almighty, my elders in the family, I went to Ahmedabad for submission. The process was smooth and I came back a content man. I had done my bit. The ball was in British Government’s court now. I was confident I would get the visa. And so I did. Just in the nick of time. My airline ticket to London had been booked for 30^th December and it was non-refundable. I HAD to get the visa before that. Luckily, I got it just 24 hours prior to the time of departure! I was relieved....my prayers were answered.

PART II

It was 30^th of December, 2008. It was a very significant day for me, a day that would mark the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I was all set to fly to the city of my dreams, the city which is home to so many exciting things – Lords Cricket Ground, Madame Tussaud’s, Hyde Park, River Thames, The London Eye, The Millenium Dome, Tower Bridge, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Royal Albert Hall, Big Ben and yes...The Queen. I had grown up hearing about all those places, seeing them only in photos or the telly. Now was going to be my chance to see them ‘live’(for the lack of a better word). But somehow, more than visiting all those places, I was excited about studying in London. 


One of the primary reasons I chose West London College is the fact that the MBA degree awarded is by Heriot-Watt University, one of the leading universities in the UK. This degree would give a good impetus to my career, and will help me fulfil my career expectations as a senior manager in the future. Moreover, I felt that studying with students from different nationalities at would help develop a better understanding of the various cultures that exist across the globe, a key requirement in today's consumer centric economy. London is the financial capital of Europe and one of the most influential cities in the world. I felt that studying in such a stimulating environment would significantly enhance my personality.

One of the things I was so pumped up about was the fact that my college is located on Oxford Street, the liveliest, most expensive high street in the world, costlier than even 5^th Avenue in New York. It is also home to some of the biggest names in business such as Gucci, Virgin, M&S, Apple, John Lewis and many more.

My flight to London took off at 1345 hrs and so did my dreams. Had a pleasant flight, thanks to some sumptuous Indian meal, fun in-flight entertainment and my friendly British co-passenger. While I was flying at 30, 000 feet, a number of random thoughts were going through my mind. Thoughts such as – How would the weather be in London, would it be cold, chilly, rainy, snowing, what would the immigration officers ask me, will they ask me to unpack my luggage, will they let me through, will I reach safely, what if there were terrorists in the plane, what if the plane is hijacked, what will I do, where will I run,who will I call-mom or dad, How, would I be able to jump off the plane, would the parachute open???? Just normal thoughts. Thoughts which every airline passenger gets, I guess. Thankfully, the plane landed at Heathrow airport on schedule, safely, without any newsworthy happenings. For me take-off and landing are the most exciting things about flying in an aeroplane. The rest is just plain boring.

On landing, the stewardess announced that the temperature outside is 1 degree centigrade. A chill went up my spine. It was just 5:35 in the evening. It dawned on me that I had made a mistake. I shouldn’t have come here this time of the year. I was better off in Baroda, where it was a pleasant 25 degrees. I did not want to freeze to death. Everybody started taking out their jumpers, jackets and woollens. I had nothing. I knew I was going to freeze to death. I couldn’t borrow someone else’s either. They wouldn’t give me anything but a cold smile.

Thank God for Air conditioning! The airport was centrally heated and I didn’t feel that cold after all. I had renewed hope that I would live to see another day. I proceeded towards immigration. It’s a good thing Airports abroad have better signage than those in India. Heathrow is massive. I mean massive. It’s probably equal to or bigger than all Indian airports put together. The signage was helpful and I could find my way to immigration and customs. At the counter were two hefty Caucasian fellows with a physique that a WWE Wrestler would be proud of. They weren’t the kind of people you would like to mess with. Trust me. They asked me some routine questions and asked to me to go to the adjacent room for a chest x-ray. I wanted to ask them why but didn’t have the courage to. I went in and was politely asked to undress. Now I’m the kind of person who doesn’t taken off even his shirt in front of anybody. But In this case I had to. I was stripped off my dignity even before I stepped foot in London. I proceeded with that and other formalities and walked towards the arrivals lounge where my host family in London was waiting to collect me. I walked out of Heathrow. I had arrived.....

PART III

London is one of the most beautiful cities on Earth. It is one of the exemplary cities where traditionalism meets modernity. London is a place where culture goes along with innovation and where music, drama and architecture are aspects captivating the attention of the entire world. The city is certainly phenomenal in preserving its varied culture not only through art, music, drama and architecture but also through the esteem which the Royal Family still holds in the eyes of the British. In addition to this, it is also one of favourite destinations for students like me from different parts of the globe as it is home to some of the best universities with high standards of education. It is home to the topmost business school in the world, London Business School. Although I never had the resources or experience to get into it (the fees for MBA is a whopping 49,000 pounds!), there will always be a little part of me wishing that I could.

I was lucky I got a chance to celebrate New Year’s Eve in London. I spent it with some of my friends at the place where almost all of London congregates on New Year’s Eve – at the London eye on the South Bank of River Thames.  The fireworks there are absolutely breathtaking. There is soaring excitement in the people gathered there as the countdown to the New Year begins. The massive sound of the great bell atop Big Ben as it struck twelve still echoes in my ears.

It was 2^nd January, 2009. I had almost two weeks before the start of college. Two weeks with nothing to do. I thought to myself, what better opportunity to go out and explore the town while I have the time. I was staying a long way from Central London and would face a bitch of commute. Besides, it was chilly and gloomy. But none of that deterred me. There was just too much life flowing through my veins. I was excited about seeing all the places I had only dreamt of, for real. But before I would set out, I had to buy some warm clothes. So with a few pounds in my wallet, I went to Primark, a budget store and bought myself  a nice jacket and some thermals to keep warm. I was ready. I boarded the South-eastern rail service to London Bridge station, one of the busiest stations in the town, located in central London. 

Although I was alone, I had a blast. If you want to get a real taste of what London is all about, you have to be in Central London, especially the West End. It’s the most posh and busiest area in the town and full of tourists, no matter what time of the day you go. There are several great places to see in Central London. Some of the fascinating and significant places are:

The House of Parliament with the Big Ben: Like every other Parliament, this is the place where bills are introduced and laws of the country are enforced. The Queen inaugurates every new session of the parliament. The structure is unique and enormous as it has been built in Gothic style.Big Ben stands tall next to the houses of parliament and is one of the most recognisable structures in the world.  

Buckingham Palace: The palace has been the residence of the Monarch ever since the rule of Queen Victoria. The Change of Guards, a ceremony taking place almost every day around 11am, gives us a glimpse of the long- lasting royalty of the Monarch’s family. Although I’ve never got a chance to see it, the ceremony lasts for about an hour and hundreds of people gather here daily to enjoy it. The palace is opened to tourists for a couple of months in the summer. But there is a rather hefty fees for it.

London Eye: based on the banks of river Thames, it is the biggest observational wheel in the world. One gets a magnificent sight of different buildings and bridges through the capsules that move slowly for about half an hour, thus giving a panoramic view of the entire city. 

Trafalgar Square: Seen in many movies it’s must-visit place for every tourist. The statue of Admiral Lord Nelson was built here in order to commemorate his naval victory. This is one of the most happening places in London as it is situated near one of the biggest museums, the National Gallery. Being an art lover, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the gallery. It houses some of the most famous and exquisite pieces of art from greats like Michelangelo, Monet, Van Gough, Rembrandt, Botticelli, Da Vinci and many more. My favourite painting there is ‘Seaport with the Embarkation of Saint Ursula’ by Claude. Apart from this, thousands of pigeons come here every day making it unique. It’s a joy to feed them as they flock in large numbers and eat right out of your palms. Truly one of the simple pleasures of life.

The Tower of London: The Tower has been the place of execution of prisoners. In addition to this, it is the place where the Crown Jewels are preserved.  While going to the section of the Jewels, an elaborate video of the Queen’s coronation ceremony is shown which gives an idea of the British history. The place can be a memorable for Indians in particular as it is here where the Kohinoor is preserved. I was both happy and angry to see it there. No need to explain why.

Leicester Square: It is the place where world film premieres are held and the nearby Piccadilly Circus which is famous for its huge electronic advertisements. As it’s walking distance from my college, I often hang out there with friends or even alone. All the major musical theatres are in close proximity to this place. Someday, I dream to see my all-time favourite musical, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ at Her Majesty’s Theatre which is a short distance away.

  

Oxford Street: It is one of the most happening and crowded places in London and the location of my college :D.  The street has all leading franchise outlets and a number of souvenir shops too. My favourite place here is Selfridges, the second largest departmental store in UK after Harrods. The place is huge selling almost everything under one roof, most of which is ridiculously expensive though. The extravagance of London life-style is manifested explicitly and even if tourists are not keen on shopping, they end up buying something after visiting this place. Never go there with your girlfriend or you’ll end up bankrupt.

Madame Tussaud’s: I don’t think this place needs any introduction as its the most famous wax museum in the world. A place which immortalises even the merest of mortals. This place is fun to visit as the some of the wax figures look lifelike and you feel as though you’re actually standing with Tom Cruise or the Dalai Lama. I was surprised to see Aishwarya Rai’s and Salman Khan’s figures there. Apparently they are selected via a public poll so I guess it makes sense. Sadly, Amitabh Bachchan’s figure had been temporarily shifted to Hong Kong and I missed seeing him.

The best part about my trip to Madame Tussauds was the fact that it was free!! I didn’t pay a single penny. How? I managed to get a 2-for-1 ticket which allows two people to get in on the purchase of a single ticket. I took the coupon with me and somehow persuaded a guy from Afghanistan to let me in on ‘his’ ticket. He was a little sceptical at first and must have sensed something dodgy but when I told him that it was a legitimate deal and that he would NOT end up in prison, he was happy to oblige. Through a little shrewdness, I got in for free and saved myself 22 quid! Somebody rightly said – The Indian brain is more fertile than the Indian soil !!

Anyway, sightseeing apart, the real reason I went to London was to do my MBA. As, I mentioned before, I chose West London College, which is an approved learning partner of Heriot-Watt University, one of the leading universities in UK. My college itself is regarded as one of the best private colleges in London. Besides being located in Central London, it has excellent facilities backed by a very good teaching staff. Most lecturers have an industry experience of over 15 years many of whom are successful business and law professionals. All the teachers are friendly and very helpful. West London College is a multi-disciplinary institution and offers courses in a wide range of fields such as business, law, fashion, IT, travel and tourism and many more. Each of the courses leads to a good University degree.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my life at West London so far. It has helped me get to know several fascinating people from different parts of the world. It's an enriching experience to interact with such a diverse group of individuals. I'm confident this experience is going to prove very useful to me in the future. 

Because of the relatively high living costs, most students work part-time along with their studies to pay for their expenses. Getting a part job isn't very difficult as London is a big city with a lot of work opportunities. Most students find work within the first month of their stay. There are a lot of employment agencies in the UK which help students find suitable jobs. Besides that, the university or college often has its own employment department which helps students find work during and after their education. My college has it too and the staff is very helpful not only in finding work but also in offering guidance regarding resumes, covering letters, interviews, soft skills etc. 

I was lucky to have found work in the very first week of my stay. I got a well paying job with a market research firm as a telephone interviewer. It entailed calling up offices or households and conducting surveys. It was a new experience for me as I had never worked in a call center before. I was happy about the fact that it didn't involve selling. Just surveys. I worked there for a few months and had fun. Unfortunately, due to recession and the subsequent downsizing, I had to leave that company. A couple of months went by and without any income, I started finding it hard to pay for my living costs. I worked hard looking for jobs on the internet, agencies, asked my contacts but was unable to find anything suitable. 

It was summer and I was beginning to get anxious. Borrowing money is the last thing I wanted to do but I had to do it. One day, I was casually browsing the web and stumbled upon a recruitment link on ICC World Twenty20's website. After the enormous success of the tournament in South Africa, ICC decided to stage the second edition in England In June. I found out they were recruiting people to help out with the organizing of the 3 week long event. I applied for it and after a few weeks got called for an interview. The interview was at Lord's Cricket ground. I was really thrilled. I had been a cricket buff ever since I was 13 and always wanted to visit Lords. The interview went well and the next day, I got a call from the recruitment manager saying that they want me to report to the Dennis Compton Suite in The Danubius Hotel next to Lords at 9 in the morning and collect my uniform and ID. I was ecstatic. It was like a dream come true. Although they had mentioned vaguely during the interview that it was going to be a supporting role, I wasn't sure about the duties. I went there and was briefed about the job. My primary duties were to look after the players and media(including the ICC commentators) before, during and after the match, and if needed, assist with the ticketing and accreditation at the ground. I didn't mind what it was going to be as these are once in a lifetime opportunities. The first match of the World Cup was England vs Holland, Lords on 5th June. I had been given an event staff manual which contained all the facts about the tournament including the itinerary, contact numbers of all the important people, maps of the grounds, do's and don'ts and a lot of useful stuff. I was asked to report to Lords at 12 noon, for the pre-tournament briefing. There, we were told about how to conduct ourselves on and off-the field, how to talk to the players and VIPs, how to tackle the various possible issues etc. It was really boring. 

The briefing lasted about an hour after which everybody was designated their areas of work. This was done primarily on the basis of one's preference and their areas expertise. At the time of the interview, I had made up a story that I had experience of handling the media during the  IPL in India. I was assigned the media role. My Supervisor, the lovely Annie Scott, guided me to the various media sections at Lords, including the famous Media Center. She introduced me to the members of the local and international press, the commentators and other important staff members. I was particularly thrilled to meet the commentators, whom I had only seen and heard on TV. The commentators included Ian Botham, David Lloyd, Ian Chappell, Ian Bishop, Michael Atherton, Wasim Akram, Nasser Hussain, Anil Kumble and many others. They were all quite friendly, especially David Lloyd and Wasim Akram. It took me a few hours to realise that I was actually in the company of such greats. 

Although my duties were primarily media related, I also had a minor role to play in looking after the players and hospitality. The whole experience was a lot of fun as I got to meet so many wonderful people and learned a great deal about what goes into organising a global event. Plus, I got to see all the matches in London( Lords and Oval) live for free! On the flip side though, I learned some dark secrets about the world of cricket, which left me disheartened and later dwindled my faith and interest in the game. 


It was July. The T20 World Cup was behind me. I managed to get my second proper job in London, this one too at a market research call center. This company was much bigger and a lot busier than the company I had previously worked for. Despite my previous experience, I had to clear four rounds of selection to get the job - Telephonic Interview, Face-to-face Interview, a written test and a test call. There were about 80 people working at that call center, all of them British and with not a single Asian among them. On one hand I was proud that I was the only Indian, and the youngest person in the team. But on the other hand, I felt a little awkward. Luckily for me, the people around me made me very comfortable and were very cordial. The job itself was nothing new to me but it involved a greater challenge as the targets there were pretty stiff and one had to meet the targets consistently to stay in the company. Fortunately, I was able to do well on most days, barring a few unlucky days when most of my calls would go into voicemail, hitting my productivity very badly. But my supervisors were generally satisfied with my work. 


It was September and I was nearing the end of my second semester at college. My health started to get really awful and it got to a stage when I just couldn't get out of bed. My absenteeism rate was at an all time high, both in college and work. I started to get mails from college and work, asking for explanation. The college threatened to report to the Home Office if I did not produce sufficient evidence regarding my condition. I went to the doctor and got a medical certificate and mailed to to the college. They were satisfied with it and granted me leave. As days went on, my health went from bad to worse and I just couldn't live in UK anymore. I decided to return to India for treatment.