Internship mean reds..

"Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds? 

Paul Varjak: The mean reds, you mean like the blues? 

Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling? 

Paul Varjak: Sure. 

Holly Golightly: Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. "-Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, Breakfast at Tiffany's

I really don't want to talk about me rubbing shoulders with knowledge in this particular piece, it's the other thing apart from knowledge that people would find themselves in. Learning is a pretty common thing now, cause no matter what you do, you are learning about something or the other. This on the other hand is my take on the experience I had during the internship.

THE PLACE: We don't have Tiffany's here in Kolkata, the place I am from and where I chose to do my internship. But weekly Barista cafe rut and my bedroom had played a huge role in keeping me sane throughout the training period. The 5 months of professional vaudeville (I wanted to write freak-show, but that will make it sound silly and not sad) has changed me but in a good way. At Least I know what I want to do with my life, now and in future. But I definitely don't want to be like the employees of the office I was working in. The name of the firm I had worked in is Agrawal and Agrawal Architects and Mr. JP Agrawal is the Director. The building was a massive structure consisting of 5 floors and the staff (also the boss) expected each one of us to make use of the stairs and not the lift, even if it were to ask for a pen from the HR or to consult any senior/staff who were stationed at different LEVELS of the building. However the best part of that Building "Worship House" was its front facade and the intricate interior details. It was all straight out of a Karan Johar film scene! The firm has the tag of being "the biggest architectural firm of East India" and spatially speaking, it really is! The environment of the office was definitely welcoming and it gave out vibes of peace and a certain "work is worship" feel. But when there's a rot in the system, it will bring the entire thing down. In my case, it was a terrible encounter with strictness and rigidity. Like I had mentioned that Worship House was all about "work is worship", it clearly didn't leave any gap for recreation. I could see my entire day planned out in-front of me, for the 20 weeks. There's nothing to plan as such, it was all in repeat mode which went like this: wake up around 8 am, bathe, eat, reach office by 10 am, work , have lunch (lunch hours being 1.30 pm-2.15 pm), work, stay back till 8.30 and do some more work, reach home around 9.30 pm, have dinner and then get tucked in bed by 12.30 am. The office hours were: 10.15 am to 6.15 pm, but it was a sin even if one had wished to leave around 7 pm. My senior would often ask me "Why are you leaving so early? Where will you go? Are you supposed to dress up that way just to visit a doc or are you going somewhere else?" 

THE PEOPLE: The director had clearly stated on the very first day of the training that though the official work hours were till 6.15,no one left the office before 7 and if somehow you could manage to stay till 8.30 you will earn extra points! Now that came as a shock to me, I wasn't rooting for this! But later I was even more shocked at my capability to do so. The first 3 months were nerve wracking.

In the month of June when I had joined, there were some 120+ employees, the people body being divided into: Directors,  senior Architects, junior Architects, Architect assistants and interns. And of-course the body of people who made sure the building is not falling apart hygiene-wise or whatsoever. And them there was this HR who was taking his post too seriously as days went by and now works at some security office. No matter how straight that classification and hierarchy looked, oh boy was it all messed up from within! The draftsmen were the true heroes cause apparently they had more knowledge regarding construction and its various phases than the architects. The architect was way smarter than those senior and directorial post holders. The interns were there just for the crushing, trust me crushing a person emotionally, physically and mentally is their favorite time-pass. My senior is is an amusing psychotic creature. She is diabolical, bitchy and neurotic. Figuring her out was like catching an anaconda by its tail and not the mouth where you are actually supposed to hold it. That's right I got bitten most of the time. God I so wished I could catch her by her throat! As frustrating as it was, I found myself been flung at not just one psycho bitch but two of them, only the other one was her bf, senior and equally irritating. Survival was my only hope, else the very threat of been given the boot was dangling by a thin thread over my head. Towards the end I was more than just happy to have lived through the torture. But somehow for some reason I have found myself in the office running errands and doing chillar work for free even when my internship was over. 

But I would be unfair to certain people worth mention without whom I couldn't have gathered the strength to carry one. 

The person who tops the list is a certain senior of my college who had been the agony aunt to all my woes, sorrows and binge breakouts. He had worked in the office for a week prior to my joining and somewhat had a notion of those who spelt trouble. He had even warned me about them but hell shit as my fate, I was handed over to the forbidden bunch. Which was why I had always looked up-to him whenever I was in trouble or emotional outrun. Then there were my fellow interns with whom I have some pretty wonderful memories both inside and outside the office premises. Lunch break was the time when I would channel all my energy towards venting out my frustration and anger or bitch a word or two about my seniors. Trust me when I say that those were the best parts.

 However there's nothing I would trade to bring back that time of my life, cause I am just as happy when it's all over. But yeah bugging my college senior is something I would never stop doing, be it internship woes or work related queries.