I was not complete alien to a camera. I have used a friend's Nikon film SLR when I was working in Genpact. I really loved the sound of the shutter, the vision from viewfinder and the feeling that I have the power to steal a moment from time and print it on paper.
I had to lie to my dad that I need a camera for industry tours that were part of the MBA curriculum, else he wouldn't have let me buy such an expensive camera. But today no one seems to mind that harmless lie. So I bought myself a Nikon F55, a damn neat camera and we are still going strong.
As soon as I got my hands on the camera, there was no looking back. I was clicking portraits, landscapes, architecture, and just about everything except the factories on MBA industrial tours. I have always been fond of traveling and my camera became my best travel buddy. As soon as the lectures were over, I was out with my camera chasing birds.
The feeling was matured enough not to disturb a really busy man. It was just me, my camera and the nature. It was bliss.
It's hard to stay away from internet in a B-school. There are lectures to attend and pink newspapers to read. For everything else ... there is google. I started uploading my pictures on a few photography sites just to showcase my work. There were these great people (all over the world) who would visit and leave their comments. It really helped me sharpen my skills and learn new photography tricks.
It was time for summer internship now. There were companies visiting the campus and everyone wanted to be in DHL or Asian Paints or ICICI. I managed to get into Britannia Industries Ltd. It was a decent name to have on your resume. My project wasn't too far from campus, I had to go Thane.
My first day at internship. My internship guide comes on time. He was a small man, with small moustaches, small beard, small spects and a big belly. My summer project was titled 'Developing new Channels for Britannia', no Britannia isn't into broadcasting ... it makes good biscuits. So here I was at a distributor of Britannia in Thane, dresses in brand new Van Heusen formals, waiting for my guide to explain my job to me. As soon as the guide finished telling me what he has in store for me, the feeling returned like lightening.
Thane has a lot of industries. My job was to visit all the possible factories and commercial establishments in Thane and try to sell Britannia biscuits there. It was so hot. As soon as I stepped out of the distributor's shop, the 'I don't belong here' feeling was back.
I was walking in the sun, with a map of Thane and a list of schools, factories, BPOs and canteens I had to visit. Why can't they have summer internships in November-December?
Well those two months in Thane were horrible. I would leave everyday from my hostel at 9.30 and return around 7 pm. I just walked whole day in the sun, Thane-Mulund and more Thane. Will I be doing this for my living after I pass out of B-school ? The thoughts in my mind were scary. My priorities for the summer project changed. I didnt want to sell biscuits now, I just wanted to write a status against the names on the list given to me. I just wanted to visit them all, and finish it as soon as I can. 'I don't belong here', it echoed in me.
After 10-12 days, some of my hostel mates who had similar exciting summer jobs began falling ill. Walking in sun all-day was too much for the future managers, who studied in air conditioned class rooms. My room-mate at hostel stopped going out for his research based project. I remember once when I was leaving for another exciting day at work, he said "Health is wealth Uba". It just stuck into my mind that day. So after 15 days of roaming and no potential deals in my list, I started to take it easy.
If Thane had all the places in list, it also had lot of parks and lakes. So i started to explore things which were not in my list. Sometimes I would just sit by a lake in shade on a bench and observe people. There were these people beside lakes, who can clean your ears for a few bucks with so much of precision. So i saw lot of people who came, relaxed by the lake and returned with better hearing. Every evening when I called my guide to report the progress, the 'I don't belong here' will get louder and louder with every passing day.
The two month ordeal came to an end. One more day in Thane and I would have joined the 'lets make hearing better' team. After all we were good friends now. I submitted my report, got the project completion certificate and was waiting for the stipend.
All this while I didn't get a chance to click. The camera waited for me in my hostel, it suely wanted a new friend. I wanted to go out and click birds again. I wanted to click them without them realizing it. I knew I need a tele-lens for the same. So the very day I got stipend, I went to South Mumbai and got a Tamron 300 MM lens for my Nikon. Hell Yeah, a Tamron 300 MM.
I can see the Taj Mahal from Mumbai now.
