Experience Ke Naam Pe

Aarav Mehta ko lag raha tha jaise aaj uski life ka “real start” hone wala hai.

Noida Sector 62 ki us glass-fronted building ke saamne khade hoke usne apni shirt ka collar thoda sa seedha kiya, backpack ko ek shoulder se doosre pe shift kiya, aur deep breath li. Building ke bahar hi ek sleek sa board laga tha — “Growth. Creativity. Hustle.” Aarav ne andar jaate hue under his breath bola, “Bas, ab lag gaya career ka engine.”

Reception pe coffee machine ki smell, walls pe motivational quotes, aur open office ka loud-ish but polished vibe — sab kuch usko bahut impressive lag raha tha. Final-year student hone ke saath unpaid intern ka tag uske resume me chhota sa hi sahi, par uske liye bada tha. Ghar me paison ka tension tha, mom kabhi directly bolti nahi thi, par Aarav samajh jaata tha. Isliye jab usne doston ko bola tha, “Bas experience ke liye kar raha hoon,” woh aadha sach tha. Sach ka doosra hissa tha — usse job bhi chahiye thi, aur recommendation bhi.

“Hi, you must be Aarav,” ek polished voice aayi.

Aarav ne mudke dekha. Ritika Sood. Crisp white shirt, neat ponytail, laptop bag, and that kind of face jahan professionalism pehle aur smile baad me aati hai. Par smile aayi toh kaafi warm thi.

“Welcome to the chaos,” she said with a half-laugh. “Main Ritika hoon, content team lead. Main tumhe brief karungi.”

Aarav ne thoda nervous hoke haan me sar hila diya. Ritika ne usko desk dikhaya, login details diye, aur casually bola, “Yahan startup culture hai. Sabko sab karna padta hai. Learning fast hoti hai.”

“Sounds good,” Aarav ne kaha, aur usse khud pe thoda proud feel hua ki usne itna cool reply diya.

Usi din lunch ke aas-paas founder Kabir Khanna ne interns aur junior team ke liye ek chhota sa “welcome huddle” rakha. Kabir ki personality waise hi thi jaise LinkedIn pe log apne baare me likhte hain — charismatic, inspiring, aur thoda too smooth. Blue shirt, expensive watch, aur aisi smile jo bolti thi, “Main kaafi wise hoon, mujhe follow karo.”

“Guys,” Kabir ne haath faila ke bola, “hum yahan sirf kaam nahi karte. We build culture. We build future leaders. Learning work se hoti hai. Book se nahi.”

Aarav ne side me khade ek aur intern ko dekha. Dono ne almost same expression diya — impressed but slightly confused.

Kabir ne continue kiya, “Yahan family culture hai. Agar kabhi extra effort lagana pade, toh samajh lo it’s an opportunity.”

Ritika ne soft nod kiya, jaise ye line usne pehle bhi 100 baar suni ho.

Aarav ne socha, wah, kitna motivating office hai. Ab toh bas mehnat karni hai.

Pehle do din tak usko laga ki shayad sach me yahi hota hai. Ek do content drafts, ek social media calendar, client ke liye kuch quick research. Usne khud ko prove karne ke mood me sab kaam jaldi-jaldi kiye. Ritika ne “good job” bola, aur Aarav ka mood lift ho gaya.

Phir chhota kaam aaya.

“Yaar, can you print these 38 pages?” “Can you make chai for the team?” “Client call ke notes bana doge?” “Ek quick caption bhi dekh lo.” “Design team ko ye file bhej do.” “Bas ye deck bhi align kar do.”

Aarav ne pehle haske sab kiya. Usko lag raha tha, maybe this is part of the process. Maybe har internship aise hi hoti hai. Maybe sabko pehle kaam se hi seekhna padta hai.

Lekin ek week ke andar uska “learning” ka meaning badal gaya.

Usko meetings me bheja jaata, par bolne nahi diya jaata. Notes banane ke baad usse feedback nahi milta. Drafts revise karwa-karwa ke raat 10 baje tak baitha dete. Kabhi Kabir bolta, “This is how real agencies work, beta.” Kabhi Ritika bolti, “Thoda aur hustle kar lo, it’ll reflect well on you.”

Hustle.

Ye word Aarav ko ab thoda chipchipa lagne laga tha.

Ek din usne Ritika se himmat karke pooch hi liya, “Ritika, honestly… kya main kabhi content strategy ya campaign planning me bhi involve ho paunga? Because abhi mostly execution aur errands hi ho rahe hain.”

Ritika ne laptop se nazar uthayi, phir ek professional smile diya. “Aarav, startup me sabko sab karna padta hai. Pehle ground reality samjho. Strategy baad me aayegi. Abhi exposure lo.”

Aarav ne “okay” bola, par uske andar kuch khatka.

Exposure.

Ye word bhi usko ab suspicious lagne laga tha. Exposure ka matlab kya sirf extra kaam tha?

Usi hafte ek big client presentation aani thi. Office me sab log on edge the. Kabir ka mood extra motivational ho gaya tha, matlab extra demanding. Team ke log late-night calls pe the, aur interns ko toh jaise invisible full-time employees bana diya gaya tha.

“Deck final kar do.”

“Caption tone aur premium karo.”

“Client ka competitor analysis update karo.”

“Ye 12 screenshots ek spreadsheet me daal do.”

“Presentation ke liye 4 backup options bhi rakho.”

Aarav ne ek raat 11:40 pe apna third coffee khatam kiya aur monitor pe jhuk kar typed text ko blur hote dekha. Uski aankhen jal rahi thi. Pet me sirf do biscuits the jo usne lunch ke time chhupke kha liye the, kyunki lunch break bolke nikalne ka time hi nahi mila.

Tabhi uske phone pe mom ka call aaya.

“Beta, khana kha liya?” Sunita ki awaaz me woh usual warmth thi jo thakaan ke neeche bhi seedhi dil tak jaati hai.

Aarav ne chair pe seedha baithne ki koshish ki. “Haan maa, bas thoda kaam chal raha hai.”

“Raat ho gayi hai na? Itna kaam kyu? Internship hai ya factory?”

Aarav hansa, par hansi thodi phat gayi. “Bas busy time chal raha hai. Good exposure mil raha hai.”

Phone ke doosri side kuch seconds ki silence thi. Phir maa ne dheere se bola, “Theek hai beta. Bas apna dhyaan rakhna. Aur paise ki tension mat lena, main manage kar lungi.”

Yeh line sunke Aarav ko aur guilt hua.