Completing 5 years in IT industry

Today I’ll be completing 5 years in IT industry and I have company in the form of my ITP batchmates friends here.
On this occasion, I would like to quickly summarize the highlights of these 5 years of mine apart from whatever I got to learn in this industry professionally.

Exactly 5 years back on jan 26th 2006, I landed in Mumbai as I had to join MBT i.e Techmahindra on 27th. I can still feel those odd feelings which I was going through then. The excitement of getting into my first job after going through few failures in the earlier selection process with many other companies and at the same time leaving my family and friends in Bangalore was something which I had never imagined would happen. I was even scared of thinking about leaving home those days. But when it happened, it just happened and I had no second thoughts over it.

The initial few months in Mumbai during the training period was one of the most difficult times as we had to clear all the exams at any cost to avoid getting terminated. And termination was not just about loosing a job..it meant a lot. Unfortunatly, we had to witness so many of our batchmates getting terminated. Many left with tears and few left with vengeance to land up in better jobs. Eventually all of them got back in track in some other jobs. People like us who survived this turmoil looked ahead for further challenges when we got into different projects. I had completely lost touch with my friends in Bangalore during this time. But I got constant and amazing support from my parents and brother during those tough times. After the training period got over, began the most amazing and unforgettable days of my life. Monthly salary, new friends to roam around Mumbai with no time constraints of getting back home early etc etc… were few of the luxuries we all enjoyed to the fullest. This continued till late 2007 and I got a transfer to Bangalore as I got fed up of being away from home, though it was fun in Mumbai.
The year 2008 was very quiet initially in Bangalore. Then by sept 2008 I had to travel to UK. Another 5 to 6 months of unexpected change in life. The chilly weather, the brit culture, the clean and well planned towns, the well disciplined and more organized lifestyle of people were really impressing.
Work and fun both went hand in hand till 2009 feb and then I returned to India and back to home, Bangalore.
Another change was waiting in the form of a transfer to Pune. Soon I was roaming around Pune with few old and many new friends. Though I got to see and learn many other faces of life during this period still it was boring till end of 2009. Brother’s marriage in October 2009 was one of the few happy moments which I enjoyed in this year.
The year 2010, the latest change of getting back to Bangalore by joining Infosys is going on smooth and calm. Got to know few more wonderful people and life is on a different track now.

So if I look back, each of these 5 years were never the same and all were fruitful though unexpected with the usual ups and downs. One thing which I’ll always feel good about is the failures which happened in my life earlier were for the best things to happen later. I' am looking forward for more unexpected twists and turns and I do hope that the best days are yet to come for all of us.
So to all my friends who accompanied me in this journey, a big salute to all of you. As Dinesh and Mayank keep saying ‘few of you guys are still holding the flag high in techm’. But 5 is just a number ...it’s just the occasion to say cheers and remember each other and ponder over those wonderful moments we had. Let’s wish each other good luck and peace of mind in life.