“Tough times don't last, tough people do. ” ― Robert H. Schuller

Every day at 5 pm, Aafreen and I would have a full plate of fried rice so that we didn't have to eat lunch and dinner separately. "Bhai 10 Rs ka chota recharge bhi bahot bada lagta tha"!

I would definitely dedicate an entire page of my life to Prashant Chouksey. I can never forget what he did. Also not many people know this, but Anukrat taught me back then.

One should never stop learning. #MehnatKeSaathChutkiBharLuckBhiChahiye!

Back in college, Pol Khol was our idea. Although the idea never really took off, but he did. Right after college he went on to make some headlines. Broken, beaten, and on the run, the man had no choice but to listen to his guts. Currently working in Infosys with his wife, the man who has had it all - Neelesh Jaiswal!

Thanks man. That was a faad intro. Feels good. Sorry for what happened to Phol Khol brother. 😉

How is life? Any tips for bachelors?

Yes, actually. A lot of I.T. guys have Saturday reserved for the party and Sunday is for the hangover! Enjoy the time you guys are having. That's all I've got.

Is marriage treating you well? What's your mindset like now?

Definitely. We are in a good place. We're in the same company. It was a bit blurry in the beginning, but over time it has become a lot clearer. I personally believe she helped me reach where I am. We have our own share of problems, but, yes we talk and discuss and act accordingly. One can  always find a solution when they are open and honest. You sometimes compromise, but you'll never regret that.

Has marriage changed you or your nature as a person?
I mean the way you approach things now.

My problem was I was too frank. I wouldn't take any shit. I was short tempered. Had a laid back attitude. Now I don't see things as black and white. I weigh all my options, pros and cons in whatever I do. One has to learn to figure out the priorities in life. You know I have a scooter (scooty). I could've purchased a fancy bike but then Aafreen couldn't have used it. You see how different, things have become. I now have money to buy a car, but I don't want to. I want to have my own house and "uske liye thode personal shaukh maarna bhi padta hai toh I'll do it happily" I believe I have become much more calm and composed.

Calm and composed? Is that because of marriage or anything else? 😄

Yeah, it's because of marriage. You have to learn to behave. #LaddakppanAbNhiChalta. 😀
That's something which every married guy will tell you. It comes naturally.


We used to talk at your time in Bengaluru. So how things were back then, the real struggle.

Well, we graduated in June 2014. Everyone was rushing to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi etc. I had a lot of things going on. July 23 was the day when I and Aafreen had begun our journey. In fact, we had to. We had no option. We reached Bengaluru on 8th August with around Rs 15K. We both were saving for this kind of situation. We lived in separate hostels and so 12K was already gone. With the 2-3K left, we had to go for the walk-ins, pay for bus tickets and everything else. Initially we couldn't find a job so we decided to work in a call center because it was easy to join and we really needed a steady source of income.

Since it was your first job, how was the experience?

Funny thing is we both had to work 12 hrs a day for 30 days for 6000 Rs. It was a night shift job. Pizza delivery, call centre, write orders, give customers update. 12 am to 12 pm. I worked for 7-8 days and then they relieved me  giving English speaking as a reason. By now only Aafreen working and the month coming to an end, we didn't have enough money to pay the rent. She was way stronger than me. She worked so that we'd get those 6000 Rs. We needed that money urgently. I turned to Prashant, Pawan, Mayank for help. They gave me whatever they could. Then to save money we shifted to "a store room on the terrace. It was the smallest room anyone could imagine. So small that you tried to sleep your legs reached the end of the room" The rent was 4500 so we took it.
The landlord didn't allow anything to be cooked, so we had to eat outside! We had to buy study materials, keep some money for emergency so you can understand how things were.

That's like aamdani atthanni kharcha rupaiya! So where did you eat as you guys were on a tight budget and I know that you have to pay at least Rs 50/Plate.

Now see, that's a question which many people would not ask. I'm glad you did. We couldn't eat lunch dinner and have snacks and tea as you know by now. There was a tapri where all the bus drivers ate lunch. It was one of those places which served fried rice full plate for Rs 40. We didn't eat separately. In a single plate we'd share. We couldn't afford 2 meals a day. So we both decided to eat at 5 pm daily so that we didn't have to eat for dinner every day. The rule was to sleep before hunger strikes you at night. She would get some biscuits-tea and coffee in the workplace. Some of those biscuits made our evening snacks. That's how it was.

That's really something..I just don't know what to say. I had an incident where I saw 10 year old kids eating leftovers of my plate. I believe we don't pay enough respects to the food we eat and how lucky we are that we are getting food 2-3 times a day.

Exactly, absolutely, man. Those days really opened my eyes. I can never forget that feeling of not affording anything outside fried rice because then I couldn't afford that Rs 70/day bus passes for the Walkins. Those days built my foundation and my approach towards certain things which I'll never forget.

So did you give Amcat/Elitmus? How was the walkin experience?

First of all, Amcat and elitmus are a must. Alot of MNC's are recruiting via it. So it is a must for the freshers who want to join I.T. 
Elitmus has the level of CAT exam and hence it requires a lot of preparation and hard work. Yes. Walkins weren't going well. A lot of people helped during our financial crisis. The good thing is I had a lot of good friends. Priscilla, Ketki, Aditi, Naman, Tarunesh, Abhinav, Chetan and others. Chetan helped me with the provisional. You were there with him. Prashant really helped a lot. I would definitely dedicate an entire page of my life to Prashant Chouksey. I can never forget what he did. Also not many people know this, but Anukrat taught me back then. Everyone who knew me helped me..Somebody offering me a help of Rs 10 seemed like a miracle.


Did you ever feel like all hope is lost now. What is happening? Did we bring this to ourselves?

Aafreen had some health issues. Kidney stones to be exact and the doctor advised her to not eat rice. But we had no other option. Along with medication we made some changes, but we couldn't give up on rice. But as the clouds of darkness go by, you see the light. Everyone should be grateful for their life. She was fine and things started to turn around. We both got out call letters on the same day. A long tiring day and we were crying and as soon as we got offer letter we continuously cried for like 2 hours.

It is darkest before dawn man. Also, why didn't she join TCS? That would've given you guys a steady source of income.

Actually, there were some modules which had to be completed that too with a good rank. We had no idea regarding these. We had already struggled hard for 3 months and we were staring at a new problem. Also it required a laptop, internet..Means Internet recharge..Or going cyber cafe for 2-3 hours after 12 hours of job. That wasn't feasible and the truth be told it was too late by then. She had joining in February. We couldn't wait till then. We got placed in Infosys so she never really pursued that idea.

What would you suggest an engineering graduate fresher who's unemployed now.? What things students should do in the 3/4th year?

Bhai the best thing is to study what teachers teach. Start paying attention to your weaknesses. Start learning C/C++ or Java not for syllabus- for yourself. If I.T. is what you want to work in learn language first. Getting knowledge is very important than getting grades. I've seen coders from Maharashtra, Gujarat and those guys are on another level.

Our colleg had good teachers and labs, but the knowledge should be market friendly I believe. 

Definitely. A lot of times the versions are outdated and one has to pay hefty fees for this coaching. These should be provided by the management. In fact, they should do away with placement programs charging 2500-3000/Student and come up with a scheme to make students learn these things. Students too should be aware of these points like the one mentioned in that BIST post you tagged us. Students should be active and aware.

If you could go back in time, would you change anything? Any serious regrets?

No regrets about the choices I've made. The only thing I feel we both did wrong was to hurt our parents. Actually, in a way that they cried. When we both saw our parents crying, especially father, we broke down. They gave us birth, took care of us, taught us to stand on our feet. They gave us everything. We should've tried to talk to them. At least consulted them. But now both our parents are starting to come around and now we talk to them. So that's great.

Any comments/reviews regarding the blog? 

I do hope people genuinely read your blog to get an understanding of what you are and how one should be aware of the traps. The most apt name you could choose was The Millennial Monk and you've done a great job. College students should read these posts and interview series to get some guidance about career and understand that no problem is bigger than you. You can overcome anything. Thank you for this conversation and telling the original version of our struggle.