26/05/2026
THE PEOPLE & THE NIGHTS NOBODY SAW
When I look back at my early corporate days today, one thing I feel very deeply is gratitude.
Because many people helped me during a phase where I was trying very hard not to fall behind.
I still remember Viresh teaching me VLOOKUP in Excel.
At that time, even small technical things felt overwhelming because I was constantly trying to catch up.
Then there was Mahantesh and Rakesh teaching me Excel shortcuts.
Avinash, Soumya, Indraneel, Kaushik Daa and Rajani helping me understand the methodologies we were working on.
Market research.
Data.
Reports.
Processes.
Slowly, things that once looked completely unfamiliar started becoming understandable.
And then there was my first manager, Shilbhadra.
I still remember how calmly he used to guide me.
Not only about work… but also about professionalism, responsibilities, and handling projects properly.
Honestly, those people made a huge difference in my life.
Because when someone lacks exposure and confidence, even small encouragement can become very important.
At the same time, another struggle was also going on silently.
During office hours, I was doing my work.
Trying to understand projects, processes, expectations.
But after coming back home, another shift of life would start.
Learning.
I remember many nights when I barely slept properly.
Not because managers forced me.
Not because there was extreme workload.
But because, I carried one constant fear:
“What if I fail to survive here?”
So after office hours, I again used to sit with my laptop trying to learn everything I felt I lacked.
Excel
Communication.
Research methodologies.
Corporate work culture.
And, sometimes it felt exhausting.
Because when someone is trying to grow professionally while also fighting self-doubt internally… the tiredness is not only physical.
It becomes emotional too.
But slowly, things started changing.
The same meetings that once scared me… started feeling slightly comfortable.
The same work that once confused me… slowly started making sense.
And for the first time, I started feeling that maybe I was finally finding my place in this new world.
Then one day, something happened that I still remember clearly.
I received a “Best Team Player” award.
For many people, it may have looked like a small recognition.
But for me, it meant much more.
Because the same person who once walked out of interview rooms feeling rejected and inadequate… was slowly starting to believe in himself.
A year later, I got promoted.
And around the same time, life gave me another unexpected experience.
My passport received its very first visa stamp.
The company selected me for a three-week training program in Sofia, Bulgaria.
When I first heard the news, it felt unreal.
Because a few years earlier, I was someone who had barely stepped outside Kashmir.
And now suddenly, life was preparing me for my first international journey.
I still remember holding the passport quietly for a few moments.
because, it felt like life was slowly rewarding all those difficult phases I had silently survived.
The rejection.
The sleepless nights.
The self-doubt.
The effort nobody really saw.
And, at that moment, I genuinely believed life was finally moving beautifully.
But after a few more years passed…
something inside me slowly started changing again.
And this time, the confusion was very different from the one I had faced as a fresher.
