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Tawfeeq Shah, Kulgam (2026)

18/05/2026

Final Part — THE CALL THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
The unknown number I received that day was from TCS HR.
For a moment, I almost could not believe it.
The voice on the call said:
“Hi Tawfeeq, I would like to congratulate you. Your joining has been confirmed.”
Even today, after so many years, I still remember that moment clearly.
Just a few days earlier, I had returned to Kashmir feeling broken, lost, and emotionally exhausted.
And suddenly, life changed direction again through one phone call.
The HR asked if I would be able to join within the next few days.
Upon my request, they agreed to let me join on 17th December 2014.
I quickly returned home and shared the news with my family.
And then, once again, I started packing my bags for Bangalore.
But this journey felt very different from the first one.
The first time I had traveled carrying fear, confusion, and self-doubt.
This time, I still had fear…
but I also carried experience.
I now knew:
which bus to take from the airport,
how the city worked,
where to go,
and most importantly…
I no longer felt completely lost.
For the first time, I felt like maybe I truly belonged somewhere outside my comfort zone.
And finally, on 17th December 2014, I officially started my journey at TCS as a Business Analyst.
At that stage of life, one thing had slowly become very clear to me:
Life rarely moves in a straight line.
Sometimes rejection comes before opportunity.
Sometimes survival comes before growth.
Sometimes confusion comes before clarity.
And sometimes, the moments that make us feel completely lost are quietly preparing us for a new version of ourselves.
When I look back at that phase of my life today, I do not only remember the struggle.
I remember:
the people who helped me,
the seniors who guided me,
the accountant job that helped me survive,
the family that trusted me,
and the opportunities that slowly shaped my future.
Because, whatever I am today is not the result of one interview or one success.
It is the result of many difficult days where I simply decided not to give up completely.
And maybe that is what growth really looks like in real life.
Not perfection.
Just continuing to move forward, even when life feels difficult.

17/05/2026

THE WAITING PERIOD & THE COLLAPSE
After finally getting selected at TCS, I truly believed life had finally started moving in the right direction.
For the first time in months, I felt relieved.
Excited.
Hopeful.
Deep inside, I felt that maybe all the struggles, rejection, and confusion had finally come to an end.
But sometimes, excitement can also make us impatient.
Out of happiness — and probably a little inexperience and immaturity — I made a decision too quickly.
I resigned from my accountant job.
Because in my mind, I had already entered TCS.
I thought the offer letter and joining date would arrive within days.
But days turned into weeks.
Then weeks turned into more waiting.
One week passed.
Then two.
Then, more than a month.
And still… no joining email came.
Meanwhile, I was sitting at the flat doing almost nothing.
I still remember spending hours watching Hollywood movies stored on Bilal Para’s laptop, trying to distract myself from the growing restlessness inside me.
At first, I stayed hopeful.
“It will come tomorrow.”
“Maybe the process is taking time.”
But slowly, hope started turning into anxiety again.
And now, after staying nearly six months away from my family, I suddenly found myself feeling completely directionless once again.
Around the same time, devastating floods had also affected Kashmir in late 2014.
And, all of this was starting to drain me mentally.
So eventually, I made another difficult decision.
Around 1st December 2014, I booked my flight ticket and returned to Kashmir.
While returning home, I felt broken.
Like a failure.
Because life once again felt blurry after giving me hope.
Still, deep inside, one small part of me continued believing:
“Maybe the call will still come.”
A few days later, while I was at the University of Kashmir for some documentation work, my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I picked up the call.
And within the next few seconds…
everything changed again.

15/05/2026

Part 4- The second chance
A couple of months passed while I continued working at the accountant job in Bangalore.
Life had become slightly more stable.
But deep inside, I knew I was still searching for something bigger.
So I kept trying.
I kept applying for jobs.
Kept attending interviews.
Kept hoping that maybe one day, things would finally work out.
But interview after interview, rejection continued following me.
Sometimes I would return quietly after interviews pretending everything was okay, while internally questioning myself again and again.
There is a certain kind of loneliness that comes when you are trying very hard in life… yet nothing seems to move.
Then one day, around October 2014, my senior Bilal Para called me and said:
“TCS is conducting another recruitment drive.”
For a few seconds, I went silent.
The same place that had once shattered my confidence was standing in front of me once again.
But this time, something inside me was slightly different.
Not stronger.
Just… more prepared.
This time, I practiced everything carefully.
I rehearsed answers to questions like:
“Tell me about yourself.”
“Where do you see yourself in the next five years?”
Honestly, most of the answers were memorized.
Because this time, I felt like I could not afford to fail again.
Then the interview day arrived.
Once again, I entered the same building in Bangalore carrying hope, nervousness, and silent prayers.
Round 1 cleared.
Then Round 2.
Then Round 3.
And suddenly, I found myself reaching the final rounds.
As evening approached, the final results were about to be announced.
I still remember standing there with crossed fingers and a heartbeat that felt louder than everything around me.
Then the HR called my name.
And this time, the words were different.
“Congratulations, you have been selected.”
For a few moments, I could barely process what I had heard.
As I walked out of the building that evening, I remember looking back once at the same place from where I had once returned broken.
And quietly, inside myself, I just felt thankful.
Thankful for not giving up after rejection.
Thankful for the people who supported me.
Thankful that life had given me another chance.
At that moment, I genuinely believed the difficult phase of my life was finally over.
But life still had one more lesson waiting for me.

12/05/2026

The next morning, 26th June 2014, life placed two choices in front of me once again.
Return to Kashmir after rejection…
or stay back in Bangalore and continue trying.
I chose to stay.
But before that, I did something I still remember very clearly.
I lied to my family.
I told them that I had already got the job at TCS and that the HR would soon inform me about the joining date.
Maybe it was wrong.
But at that moment, I simply did not have the courage to tell them that I had failed.
I also knew that if they came to know the truth, they would probably ask me to return home immediately.
And somewhere deep inside, despite the rejection, I still wanted to explore the world that had just rejected me.
The next few days were emotionally difficult.
Every morning, I would watch my seniors leave for office wearing formals, carrying laptops, and putting on their office ID cards.
And silently, I would pray for an opportunity of my own.
Looking back now, I realize how strange certain phases of life can feel.
You are educated.
You have dreams.
You are trying.
Yet internally, you still feel lost and directionless.
Then one day, around the end of June, two of my seniors Ishfaq and Showkat told me about a small opportunity nearby.
There was a factory called “Kanwal Foods and Spices,” and its owner, respected Nisar Sir, was looking for someone for an accountant position.
For the first time after my rejection, I felt a small ray of hope.
Maybe Bangalore was not done with me yet.
Without wasting time, my seniors took me there and introduced me.
The owner checked my documents and offered me the job.
It may sound like a small opportunity today.
But back then, that job gave me something priceless:
a reason to stay.
Deep inside, I knew this was probably not the final destination I had imagined for myself.
But sometimes life does not immediately give us what we dream for.
Sometimes it first gives us what we need to survive, learn, and continue moving forward.
I still remember sending my first-ever salary home during Eid 2014.
Even today, that feeling is difficult to describe in words.
A few months passed.
I continued attending interviews and trying for better opportunities.
And slowly, I had started understanding life differently.
Sometimes the smallest opportunities arrive at the exact moment we need them the most.
Little did I know…
life was preparing me for one more unexpected turn.
Optîmïstic Aarif

10/05/2026

Thanks for being a top engager and making it on to my weekly engagement list! 🎉 KingKhan Sartaj, Syed Asif Altaf, AL Khadim NP Kulgam, Faiem Ahmad Shah, Parvaiz Ahmad Rather, Syed Muzamil Mustafavi

10/05/2026

THE REJECTION
The next morning — 25th June 2014 — I walked toward the TCS think campus believing my life was finally about to change.
As I stood outside that huge corporate building in Bangalore, I remember thinking:
“Once I get this job, maybe everything will finally become easier.”
But life had a very different lesson waiting for me.
The first round went well.
Then came the second round.
After that, all of us sat waiting anxiously for the results.
When the HR started announcing names and I heard mine, for a moment I felt relieved.
I thought I had cleared the round.
But within seconds, we were informed that we had not been selected to move forward.
Just like that, everything changed emotionally.
A day earlier, I had traveled all the way from Kashmir carrying hope, expectations, and dreams.
And suddenly, I found myself questioning everything.
As I walked back toward the flat where my seniors were staying, I remember tears quietly rolling down my face.
Not because I lacked education.
But because, for the first time, I realized that academic knowledge alone was not enough.
I lacked exposure.
I did not understand how corporate environments worked.
My communication skills were weak.
And the world outside my comfort zone suddenly felt much bigger than I had imagined.
Looking back today, I realize something important:
Sometimes rejection is not life rejecting us.
Sometimes it is life preparing us.
That evening, life gave me two choices again:
Return to Kashmir…
or stay back in Bangalore and continue trying.
That decision quietly became one of the most defining moments of my life.

Optîmïstic Aarif

08/05/2026

12 years ago, life placed two very different paths in front of me.

I had just completed my master’s degree.

One path was my dream — pursuing a PhD.

The other was stepping into the unknown and searching for a job.

At that time, continuing my studies also meant putting more financial pressure on my family, and somewhere deep inside, I knew I had to think beyond just my own dreams.

Around that time, some seniors told me about an opportunity at TCS Bangalore for the role of Business Analyst.

Until then, I had never even lived outside Kashmir.

My family was worried.
Honestly, I was worried too.

But sometimes life pushes us toward decisions before we feel fully ready.

So I packed my bags and boarded a flight for the very first time.

On 24th June 2014, I landed in Bangalore carrying fear, hope, uncertainty, and expectations all together in one suitcase.

Looking back now, I realize that some of life’s biggest turning points don’t arrive with confidence or clarity.

They arrive disguised as uncertainty.

And sometimes, the step that scares us the most quietly becomes the beginning of a completely new chapter in life.

The next morning was my first-ever professional interview.

And what happened that day changed my life in ways I never expected.

I’ll share that part in the next post.

28/10/2025

Beautiful recitation!
Please comment the name of the Qari if you know. Desperately looking for the full recitation

24/09/2024

A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with - a man is what he makes of himself.
Alexander Graham Bell

Tawfeeq Shah

18/05/2026

17/05/2026

15/05/2026

12/05/2026

10/05/2026

10/05/2026

08/05/2026

28/10/2025

24/09/2024

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