You are appointed!

If you are unable to crack interviews for plum jobs despite possessing the best of credentials, don’t sulk. Or, if you have managed to trail-blaze in the selection rounds and land your dream job, thank your stars, virtually. It is just possible that you were either the victim or the beneficiary of the eccentricities of panel members who select candidates. Imagine, you run into an executive who inhales astrology instead of oxygen!

Arvind, a bright engineer, faced a barrage of questions in an interview and he answered them brilliantly. His academic record was excellent and family background impeccable. His qualifications and experience? One could not have asked for more. “You are shortlisted. You have to meet our MD now,” the panel members declared, looked at each other, and exchanged impish smiles.

An Entry at the Right Time

After a 23-minute wait, Arvind was ushered into the MD’s cabin by the secretary. The smart-looking MD fired his opening salvo: “You know what day it is today?”

“Monday, Sir,” Arvind replied with a big sigh of relief. “When is Rahu Kalam- that is, the inauspicious time of the day ?” The candidate went blank and pale digesting this question.

“Never mind. I wanted you to enter my room at a propitious moment. That is why I asked you to wait for sometime.”

The MD moved his fingers deftly on his laptop and continued, “Can you tell me your date of birth accurately?”

Not another VKS episode

“This MD must be very shrewd. Perhaps, he doesn’t want a repeat of Col V.K. Singh’s age controversy,” Arvind thought and gave his precise date of birth that would tally with all his certificates and could not be disputed in a court of law later on. The MD keyed in the figures and asked Arvind, “Where were you born?”

“Hospital, Sir.”

“No yaar. In which town or city were you born?”

“Chennai.”

“What was your exact time of birth?” Now, Arvind started feeling dizzy. “Okay. I’ll give you a lifeline. You can phone a friend – may be your mother but I want the answer now. Give me your mom’s number.”

“98841……..” The MD reached that mobile in ten seconds and after a customary introduction a la Big B, passed on the phone to Arvind. Gathering courage, he asked, “Mom, when exactly was I born?”

“Ten months after I conceived you, my dear son. You were not premature then but you seem to be now.” Arvind finally managed to elicit the time of his birth.

The MD said, “Okay. I have the details to cast your horoscope through software. Within fifteen minutes, I shall unravel your various houses.”

“I have only one house, Sir.”

“No, no…, I am referring to the houses in your horoscope.”

The eureka moment

After some intense soul searching of Arvind’s horoscope, the MD who was in a state of buoyancy yelled, “Eureka! Your horoscope is fantastic. You are appointed. Your entry into this company will bring me plenty of sugary news.”

The MD’s mobile rang and he answered it. Seeing his face twitch in agony and hearing the shrill voice that spilled all over the gadget, Arvind quickly guessed that it must be his wife at the other end and that she was hauling him over the coals for his negligence on the domestic front. “Nothing to worry,” the MD assured Arvind. “This is the usual story for me and in fact, I consider this call and the haul very auspicious. You can collect the order from my secretary.”

(The author works as AGM, Powertech Engineering LLC, Muscat)