This is a guest post by Srinithaa Ravi. The views expressed are of the author.

I finished my ILP at Guwahati ( Oct - Dec 2017 ) and I’m currently working in Chennai as an Assistant Systems Engineer Trainee. I went blindfolded with no clue about what was to happen.. That was the best part. If you are still curious to know.. I will spill the beans.. Continue reading 😛

STAGE 1: Chaos:

When I got my Joining Letter - Inner peace gone. Not a single soul was happy at home. Being a pampered child, this joining letter came in as a lightening and made my family perplexed. As a girl, safety was anyday the first priority.

My reasons not to go:

• I expected Chennai to be my ILP centre ( as it is just 2.5 hours from my hometown)
• Never been in hostel ( To be precise, never been without my family)
• Never lived in any place other than Tamil Nadu.
• Food ( This was a huge concern for me )
• Don't know Hindi
• I’ve never heard of this ILP Location ( Obviously, None I knew got Guwahati)

Have similar reasons? Lol.. Think again 😛

My reasons to go:

• Too bored to stay at home

6 long months of Engineering Holidays gave me a gift - Boredom! Some of my college mates joined their respective companies or joined PG. People from ITIS Stream got their Joining date in June. What was I doing? Nothing but enjoying my vacation. As days passed by, idleness caused immense stress and depression expecting joining letters every month. I did not know what to do with life. I was so bored that I couldn't stay at home anymore. Having got my Joining Letter at last, I had a sense of relief. Since many of them were still waiting for their Joining Letters, I felt fortunate.

• It was time to be independent

I realized that Ali cannot hide in my parents’ shadow and i was big enough to take decisions and be independent. Moreover, being a graduate, I knew that I will have to move out of my house to make an earning.

• What future awaits

Since it was a new place, I had the curiosity to explore it. Moreover if Guwahati is one among the 5 ILP centres of TCS in India, I expected it to be a very good city. I have been to Mizoram before. So I knew that North-East is beautiful and has friendly and helpful people.

My parents wanted their daughter to be independent (I am gifted and blessed to have them in my life). They did not want to spoil their daughter’s future by stealing her opportunity in the name of pampering. At the same time, they wanted me to be safe and happy. Despite being half-hearted, they said yes, just because I wanted to. So i made up my mind to take the big step. Since it was my decision, I promised myself that no complaining, whatsoever..

So I took a flight with my dad from Chennai and reached Guwahati a day before my date of joining. I can’t tell you how sad I felt when my dad left.

STAGE 2: Guwahati

A LITTLE ABOUT THE STAY AND OFFICE:

ACCOMODATION:

The accommodations were a gated community, Block E at Universal Ecogreens,Betkuchi (approx 20 minutes to the office) and is located on NH 37. So traveling to the city could be a little time-consuming.

Each floor has 8 flats (2 BHK - 4 sharing, 1 BHK - 3 sharing )

Every 4 flats has a TV lounge outside the apartments.

1st,2nd and 3rd Floors : For Girls

5th,6th,7th Floors: For Boys

Block F was for the Mess.

Facilities:

• Lift
• Paid Laundry and Iron Facility
• Transport Facility (pick up and drop from office)
• A facility manager stays in the accommodation to take care of any health & accommodation related issues

Rules:

• Boys are not supposed to enter girls room and vice versa (I laughed while writing this point, but a rule is a rule :P) Obviously funny xD *face palm*
• Drinking inside the accommodation is strictly prohibited.
• Smoking is allowed only in the Balcony
• Not supposed to use any other amenities in Universal Ecogreens ( Gym, Park, Swimming Pool etc..)
• No electrical appliances ( Kettle, Iron Box, Hair dryers etc.. )
• Not allowed to miss the bus.
• INTIME:
  • Weekdays : at 9:00 pm
  • Weekends : till 9:30 pm
• Seek permission from the Admin and Facility Manager if you are staying outside accommodation

P.S: I've seen people breaking these rules and a few facing the consequences too.. But it's up to you 😛

OFFICE:

The ILP centre is located at the 5th floor, NedFi house, G.S Road,Ganeshguri.

Photography is strictly prohibited inside the office premises.

The office is very compact consisting:

• 3 Training rooms (Total seating capacity:150(approx))
• Lecture hall
• Video conference room
• Faculty Lounge (3–4 Faculties)
• ODC
• Small cafeteria ( don't expect much from here).
• Carrom Board ( there were no coins back then 😛 )
• Library

There might be some other facilities which I did not notice. We were trained in Unix CPP Oracle domain..

ILP = CAUTION ALERT!

I would like to stress on the learning process. Our training was for 60 working days (40–20 batch). Take all the assignments, assessments and anything you are asked to do, seriously. Study while you have to, with your full effort. Practice with the software given. Remember this: Your ultimate reason to go to ILP Guwahati is to study!

L.A.P: We had around 25–26 tests including the IRAs and PRAs. To clear all these tests is not a strenuous task! But at the same time, it's not easy either! Not that I was studying 24 * 7 ( I used to study for the test only in the previous night.. My notes and practice with the software helped me ) But I did not miss a moment to enjoy. I have cleared all my assessments in first attempt and was not in LAP (I’m from ECE major) Juggle your priorities well. I’ve seen my friends suffer with mental stress because they were in Tech LAP. People were terminated from TCS because they couldn't clear the LAP. So please be cautious. If you are from non - CSE background, work harder. Getting into LAP solely depends on your performance in the series of tests conducted. Study well and luck does matter. Grill this thought in mind - ‘Try not to get into a LAP’. If you do, work your butt off to come out of jail.

Utilize the time given to you productively when you have to. Trust me, it is not tough. I used to set a target to finish ‘N’ number of videos every day and made sure to understand every bit of that video and try out the examples in the software. And I enjoyed after I had done for the day. Check your schedule and work accordingly. Some people did not study but cleared all the tests. Some were sincere but were in LAP. Know where you stand. It is all about focusing on the things according to the situation. Try to complete the project work within the deadline. Take your Bizz Skills sincerely. But the whole process is not that bad as it sounds.

ILP = FUN!

Everything was fun.. The whole batch was a bunch of amazing people. Everyone was friendly. The people of Guwahati were very sweet.

Advantage & Disadvantage: You cannot go home! So no home food etc.. etc..

But that is what made the bonding between our batch mates stronger. All of us helped each other to overcome our homesickness. We stayed on the couch and used to chat for hours. The walk after dinner around our block is one of the best things 🙂 Interacting with people from different cultures is a bliss. Bus journeys were wonderful. The climate was amazing.. ( 13 – 20 degrees ). The Balaji Temple and Maniram Dewan Trade Center opposite to our accommodation made our ILP days memorable. Group studies before the test day was great. Movies after dinners were splendid ( I watched so many good other language movies). You are free to go anywhere and everywhere during weekends. Weekends comprised of a lot of shopping (But we had to catch a bus from Beltola). The best part is that we also visited many places in and around Guwahati - Kamakhya Temple, Brahmaputra river. We planned batch trips to Meghalaya (Shillong, Cherrapunji, Dawki, India-Bangladesh Border, Living Root Bridge) and the list just goes on.. Donot miss the trekking experience! If you like wildlife, then Kaziranga / Pobitora WildLife Sanctuary is a must visit!

ILP is like earning for having fun at college. (Hostel life at college will be outstanding and this holds good in ILP too)

The 1st 10 days I wanted to run away from Guwahati. All we dreamt about was going back to our hometown.. But as we were nearing 60 working days, we never wanted our ILP to end.. I did not feel like leaving Guwahati.. (you will feel the same too) We had mixed feelings on the last working day. It was hard to say Good Bye to people who were like family for 3 months and not to mention - all of us were put in different parts of the country. But the happiness of going back was indeed a must experience feel.

STAGE 3: Memories & Gratitude

Guwahati has brought countless positive changes in me. I am happy that this was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. Definitely I would hae been a loser if I had missed this opportunity.

HOW THIS ILP HAS INFLUENCED ME:

• Realized how much my parents have done for me!
• Friends from all parts of the country
• Learnt new languages (Hindi And Telugu)
• Respect for different Cultures
• Respect for my language
• Countless life lessons
• Self-dependent
• Became more responsible
• Increased level of maturity
• High level of Exposure
• Confidence
• Visited mind-blowing places in the North East (not everybody will get this chance 😀 )

MY SUGGESTIONS TO YOU:

If you sail on the same boat, ‘DONOT PANIC ‘(Especially if you’re a south indian).. You can learn a million things and have fun at the same time too 🙂 Some points to be noted:

• Be 100% perfect with the documents required.
• Health must be your 1st priority ( It gets freezing there )
• Don’t be a victim of groupism. Mingle with everyone
• Take all the assessments seriously
• Enjoy as much as you can
• Be punctual

Make every moment memorable.. You will miss your ILP Days for sure..

3 months of Guwahati was like a beautiful dream I remember! The experience was fantastic. Had both my ILP and Base Location been in chennai, it would have been boring and.. neither would I have enjoyed, nor would I have felt these many positive changes in me❤️ I miss ILP Guwahati than words could ever describe. And this will remain as one of the everlasting memories of my life. Hope you make your ILP memories amazing too.

Thanks for making me re-live my ILP life when I wrote this 😀

Hola! The best time of your life is about to begin 😀

Enjoy and Rock on 😀

Congrats and All the Best!

Cheers!