After Three years…

It might sound like O. Henry’s Short story. Well I really cannot say how it is going to be once you are done reading this. But I am sure this is not a story.
Serving the society or giving back something to the society is one thing that most of the people want to do, but there are only few people who really succeed in it. John Milton once said,

That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts. Who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait."

So if the people who stand and wait also serve the God, then it also means that, there is really no measure of success in serving the society. Whatever little a person does, can bring a good amount of change. And if many people start doing the same at small levels, it is definitely bound to bring a sea change.
As I walk back four years in my life, I remember that day very well. I was getting prepared for the first job interview of my life. Who will not forget that day? Though it was bound to happen, I was least prepared for it. The most surprising part was that, I had cleared the first round of written test and had reached to this stage. Wearing a formal full hand shirt (I hate them always..) tucked properly in my trousers, I walked towards the block where the interviews where being held.
There I met a few fellow mates, who have attended the interview already. Most of them had been grilled in all computer concepts for around an hour. I was very happy. I did not know anything about Computer Science. I would have gladly answered questions on RADAR than about computers.
Once the questions on computers were done, the students were asked about their interests and hobbies and then the students were supposed to ask anything about the company, work environment etc.
Before I could think about anything, I was called inside for the interview. Seeing me “Areas of Interest” as RADAR engineering, he asked two basic questions on RADAR. I do not know how much aware my interviewer was, but he immediately started topic about my personal interest and hobbies. Once this started, it was more like a discussion rather than an interview. We “chatted” for about ten minutes and then it was time for me to ask some questions.
I did not want to pose the same questions about the corporate work culture etc etc and I did not know what else to ask. I badly wanted to ask something, as there was not much scope for me in the interview, because of my lack of computer knowledge. From some where in the middle of the mind, the question came out. “Is Cognizant (that’s where I work) involved in Social Service Activities?” I asked as though, I was involved in such activities from my early childhood, and the company also should provide a platform for the same. That had never happened. I gave my interviewer a big smile when he answered “YES” for my question and told about few activities that they were involved in. The smile in my face would have surely made him think, I was born to help the society.
The interview was over with that, and hours flew by. It was evening and the results where supposed to be declared. Fortunately or Unfortunately I got selected. And as I write this blog, I have almost completed three years in the company.

But, it was only last week that I was involved in some CSR activity. Our team had donated a set of age specific toys to the Neo Natal Care at Voluntary Health Service (VHS), Taramani, Chennai. These toys will be used for analyzing new born babies for any abnormalities. There are therapists who analyse the response of the child to these toys. We had a demo of the usage of these toys to babies who were 5 to 6 months old to kids aged 2 years. People who have seen the movie “Taare Zameen Par” (I have not seen it) would understand this better.
At the end of the day, it was really something different. Few things learned and few things done is what I can say.