Part 3 - Milestones & Memories: The Journey Through Training

First Salary & Giving Back

My first salary was credited.

It wasn’t a full-month salary—just for 20 days—but it was still my first.

Telling my parents about it made me feel proud.

I bought a box of sweets for every close relative, gifted a high-quality wallet to my father with a note that said, "Abbu, you’ll always be my hero," and offered something to the teacher who had taught me the fundamentals of my religion, proper Quran recitation, and its correct pronunciation—for free.

Shraddha’s Birthday & The Laptop Bag Run

On December 3rd, we went to claim the laptop bag offered by the company.

Since it had to be collected from a different office, six of us took an auto-rickshaw during lunch break.

That’s when we found out—it was Shraddha’s birthday!

So, while returning after collecting the bags, we stopped by a bakery, got a cake, and celebrated.

Even the auto driver got a piece.

Shifting Rooms – Goodbye 204, Hello 107

On December 7th, I changed my room.

The window in 204 was getting blocked due to construction, so I moved to 107 on the opposite side—finally, better ventilation.

I met my new roommates, Amjad and Pravin.

Amjad worked in the same company as me, while Pravin had joined Aspire Systems in December.

Both were non-smokers and non-drinkers. That had become a priority for me now—having roommates who didn’t smoke or drink.

The Daily Routine

By now, my routine was set:

• Wake up at 5:30 AM, freshen up, and pray till 6:15 AM.
• A 45-minute workout using a resistance band and filled water bottles in my laptop bag as weights.
• Shower, get ready by 7:40 AM, have breakfast, and fill the lunchbox.
• Stand in line for the company shuttle, reach the office by 8:30 AM.
• Work till evening, take the shuttle back, reach the PG by 7-7:15 PM.
• Have dinner, offer Namaz, read a few pages of a book, and sleep before 10 PM.

That was my cycle. But of course, no routine is ever perfect.

Some mornings, I’d struggle to wake up. Some evenings, I’d be too tired to read. But having a structure helped—it gave a sense of control in an otherwise unpredictable corporate life.

The Friday Ritual – Sukkubhai Biryani

There was a prayer room in our training building, so I could offer my daily prayers.

For Friday prayers, we used to go to the nearby Marina Mall, where there was a mosque on the top floor.

That’s how our Friday ritual began—praying at the mall and then having Chennai’s famous Sukkubhai Biryani afterward.

The group included Waris, Ali, Subhashish, Fazil Rahman (the other Fazil), and me.

Their biryani was different, but in a good way. So far, it was the first food I genuinely liked in Chennai.

Subhashish loved it so much that he started waiting for us to finish our prayers—just so he could join us for biryani.

The First Team Lunch

A few days later, I decided we should have a team lunch. I personally went to everyone’s desk and asked them.

Everyone agreed, but only three people didn’t show up. It was a fun outing. 

Here are some photos.

The Qualifier Assessment & The Evil Eye Theory

Then came the Qualifier (coding assessment).

Thankfully, everyone cleared it.

But I wasn’t feeling well that day.

The day before the Qualifier, Waris and I decided to visit Blue Flag Beach with his friends. It was a private beach, calm and less crowded—just the kind of place where you could forget about coding assessments and deadlines for a while.

As we walked along the shore, I stumbled upon something unexpected—a turtle’s skeleton. It was surreal, almost poetic, like a reminder of how life moves forward, leaving only traces behind.

 

Cold winds, late evening—probably where I caught a cold.

Or maybe… it was the evil eye.

See, at the beach, I had to squeeze the water out of my shirt. And as everyone knows, I have built quite the physique.😜

So yeah, Waris and I reasoned that my fever wasn’t because of the cold winds—but because someone had cast an evil eye on me.

click here to check photos on my instagram profile!

The Farewell & The Damaged Cake

After the assessment, we had a farewell celebration with our trainer, Mangayar Karasi Ma’am.

We ordered a cake and asked the bakery guy to write "Thank you, Ma’am" on it.

When the cake arrived, the surface was damaged.

Disappointing. But hey, not everything in life goes as expected.

We complained, and two days later, the bakery refunded the money.

Here are some photos from the farewell.

The Birthday I Didn’t Want Celebrated

December 23rd—my birthday.

I don’t believe in celebrating birthdays. I believe in celebrating achievements.

I mean, what did I accomplish by being born?

People argue, "You won a race against a million sperms," but that’s a weak argument.☺

But hey, this is just MY perspective. Everybody is entitled to their own.

Speaking of perspectives, I once wrote a few lines:

Sab ki apni soch, sab ka apna nazariya,

Everyone has their own thoughts, everyone has their own view,

kisi ki ankhon me samandar, to kisi ki ankhon me dariya

For some, it's an ocean; for others, just a river.

That’s why I didn’t tell anyone—not my roommates, not the Onboarding Gang (Tushar, Aditya, Raj).

But people love birthdays—whether their own or someone else’s.

Thanks to Snapchat, my cohort friends found out.

So, they celebrated my birthday at the office.

Right after the cake-cutting, the fire drill happened.

Everyone was gathered in the Open Amphitheater, where they demonstrated how to use a fire extinguisher.

A birthday + fire safety training—what a combo.

Christmas Eve – A Diversified Celebration

It was Christmas season, and everyone wanted to see the decorations.

On the evening of December 24th, we visited Divine Mercy Church, Kelambakkam.

Our cohort was diverse—people from different states, speaking different languages, practicing different religions.

Steven, our Christian friend, led the way.

 

After the church visit, we went for dinner and then to the beach at 9 PM.

It was freezing. We stayed for 10-15 minutes, then rushed back.

The Never-Ending Evaluation

Our first evaluation was scheduled for December 23rd.

It got postponed to December 27th.

Then again—to January 3rd.

By then, everyone had lost interest.

Instead of preparing, we started playing games in our usual training room.

People showed off their hidden talents.

I won the "Machli Pani Me Gayi, Chapak" game.

The Adjective Trick

Remembering 25 names wasn’t easy.

So, I gave each person an adjective starting with the same letter as of their name that matched their personality:

• Attractive Ali
• Lovely Likhitha
• Fearless Fazil (me)
• Softhearted Steven
• Amazing Afsana
• Pretty Prathiba
• Sexy Subhashish (The guy chose his adjective himself)
• Warrior Waris

(Comment if you want the full list!)

The Final Evaluation & Moving Forward

Finally, after all the waiting, we gave our evaluation interviews.

I got amazing feedback from my interviewer- and honestly, who doesn't love to hear good things about themselves?

The interviewer wrote, and I quote :

"He has been able to answer direct and indirect questions correctly. He is able to explain the answer with proper justification. His communication skill is also good. His questions to me at the end of interview show he is sincere and interested towards work."

Man, that made my day!

and with that, Stage Two of our training ended.

Now, it was time for the final stage.

(End of part 3)