Unlike last time, I have a big smile on my face as I write this. My last article was more for waking some of my readers up to hard core reality. I may have sounded very mean. I also may have easily hurt quite a few of you. But then reality should bite, afterall! (If this is not making any sense, you probably should grab a copy of enriCH November issue and read the same column).

This month, I wish to share with you a few great examples I have had during the course of my term at CHEM. Some of these examples are quite recent ones. They portray sincerity and a willingness to learn. They are essentially epitomes of what passion really is.

I shall start with one of my students and now friends Niriha Khajanchi. Most people would dismiss her due to her ‘teen-like’ cute looks. She is naughty, so the rest of the world would have an opinion about that too. But the reason why I noticed her at first and really liked her much later was that she was true to her word. She ‘woke up’ late for CAT 2010 preparation, yet was willing to fight till the last. I suggested her a 2-month prescription to follow for cracking several management entrance exams. She couldn’t do really well in CAT, but got impressive percentile in MAT. She finally made it to her dream institute The UPES Dehradoon from where she wished to do an MBA in Aviation Management.

However, more than her successful call, I was impressed at her eagerness to use time and learn new things. For example, while she waited for her joining, she asked me if I had any work for her. She writes poems and short abstract pieces. So after she pestered me a lot, I decided to make her write a page of a website I was working on during that time. The page was all about HR Recruitment.

I sent her an email, wrote instructions for her. Gave her a few links for reference. First of all, she acknowledged my mail. Then she sent me an SMS saying that she should be easily able to meet the deadline. She called me up twice during the day to ask questions. Next day, I almost forgot that I had given her a task, so she called me up saying she had sent the mail.

When I read the content that she wrote, I had a suspicion that this could be a copy-paste. So I checked on Google and realized it wasn’t. She then told me that she had gone to the CH library and had done some reading on HR and Recruitment. Then based on a few examples given in that book, she had written the content. Her research and understanding of the subject reflected clearly on the content that she wrote.

There are three things that come out clearly about her as a candidate for any task/job:

• Willingness to take up a task
• Ability to communicate: This includes understanding the task, acknowledging the challenges, researching, discussing and sending the right messages
• Sincerity of delivering what was promised

I found another example in Vijay Kabra, a BE student at the Medicaps Institute of Technology and Management. He was appearing for an interview in a company. He has no experience in that field. So when he approached me for help, I expected him to display all the classical symptoms of a fresher. Well he did quite a few of them too. But again, this boy was true to his word. He sent me a copy of his Resume through an email so I could correct it on advance. He had already asked me some relevant questions like what to wear, general body language, questions that would be asked etc. He didn’t really seek answers, he was only confirming them. But before he finally stuck his Resume, certificates as per my instructions in his file folder, he showed me something that amused me at first. It was what he called ‘My Dream Book’. This was like a scrapbook with a twist. He had pasted pictures of things/places he had always wanted in his life. For his privacy’s sake, I cannot share that. But I was genuinely impressed by the seriousness he felt for his dreams. And he confidently carried that dream book in his interview too.

A lot of you are probably thinking ‘What’s such a big deal?’ Well, did you also notice the meticulousness of these two people? They had an eye for detail, zeal to influence and a sincerity that would surely take them to places. Most of all, they were very serious about what they were doing, however, small that was.

That’s what my point is this month. You have to be serious about what you are doing. You must respect your talent. At the same time, you must admit where you need some essential correction. Humility, remember? It was, still is and will always be a virtue. Time to practise guys.