All's Well That Ends Well

After having raving and ranted about the 2 months I spent at my internship, the one thing I have learnt is to always see the bigger picture. For 2 months I have focused on the negative and that took over my life. In hindsight, I’m satisfied with how things finally shaped up. Surprised? I’ll explain.

As I type this entry, I’m on a plane to Delhi from Mumbai. Sudden travel plans came up 3 days ago when I was asked by the bank to come down to Mumbai to make my final presentation. Humiliation was the first thing that came to my mind. I would be the laughing stock of the bank if they saw what I had been doing for 2 months at their expense. Reluctantly, I sat myself down and began preparing my presentation. At the end of the day I realized that I had learnt a lot in 8 weeks. I won’t bore you with details, but I will tell you that I was proud of the work I had done and the project that I had given shape to, single-handedly if you may. I actually had recommendations to give to the bank and to the panel that would be evaluating my performance. I also had some “live projects” to boast of.

So off I was to Mumbai. The bank booked me onto a great airline which truly gave meaning to “the joy of flying”. I left in the middle of the afternoon straight from the office, corporate style!!! The flight was delayed, but I’m not really complaining. In the airport lounge I saw news reports on the television about a downpour in Mumbai and hoped that all would be well weather-wise. I do not have a fear of flying (was too lazy to look up the phobia for that!), but I hate turbulence. I spoke to a friend in Mumbai at that point in time and was thrilled to hear that the rain had stopped. Happily, I boarded my flight, convincing myself that the delay was a good thing. After getting into the aircraft and hearing the announcement of the clearance for take-off, I strapped myself in. As the plane moved on the tarmac, I saw a distant dust storm brewing. I could hardly see the airport building anymore. It was then that I realized that the plane was moving due to the wind. It started drizzling and the downpour that followed was something I have never seen in my almost 23 years of existence. The winds were strong and the plane rocked to and fro. Finally, we managed to leave and reached Mumbai after a moderately turbulent flight.

A friend met me at the Mumbai airport, and thankfully so since I had no idea about how the city worked and had to make my way from the airport to my hotel at Marine Lines. An hour later I had freshened up at the hotel and was on my way out for a cheap dinner. I love trying out new things and was adventurous enough to take a bite out of bheja fry. Not too exciting a dish, I decided to stick to my bhuna chicken! A brief walk to the Taj and the Gateway of India made my day and I was dropped back to my hotel to retire for the night.

The next day was important and I was jittery as I woke up. A quick bath and after getting ready I headed down to the hotel coffee shop for breakfast which was an impressive spread. I reached the office early and waited around for a bit until it was time for my presentation, which went off pretty smoothly. I then caught up with the other interns who had spent their summer in Mumbai. From Churchgate I then headed to Bandra, all alone on a Mumbai local train. Met up with my friend again and went to see the boutique he is opening with a designer friend. A little bit of shopping and a lunch later I was on my way back to Churchgate to change and head for the intern party. With the bank’s biggies at the party along with us interns, it was a great do. We even managed to catch the Australian band Taxiride at the club we were at!!! I had initially thought I’d feel awkward around everyone since I was the only one outside Mumbai for the summer. But nothing like that happened. I got along really well with everyone and am happy to say that I am “richer by the dozen”. I have 12 more friends to my credit!!!

The next day I spent 5 hours at the Mumbai airport listening to announcements over announcements of my flight being delayed. I did get to eat a “batata vada” at the airport though!!! I’m now back home, making the most of the 10 days I have here until I get back to L. I still haven’t got my stipend yet and will be heading to office tomorrow to get that and some reimbursement done. Funny thing is, after the bank having treated me so well, the contrast shows in how my boss still expects me to be in at work early on Monday morning. She has no clue about my project and is not really bothered by the look of things. But I had a good time in Mumbai, and the title of this post describes how I feel of the entire summer episode. I’ve broadened my view and have realized that the people at the bank are great. The interns, the alumni from L, their colleagues, the senior management, everyone is really nice. A bad apple here and or there is inevitable, and it was just my luck to have been subjected to that. Don’t judge a book by its cover; you never know what’s inside.