Internship under Architect Hafeez Contractor – Ekshikaa from MEASI Academy of Architecture
Sometimes we know where are we going, sometimes we don’t. And sometimes, we realize if we don’t want to go somewhere. Read Ekshikaa’s internship story which should depress you, elate you, and inspire you to not give up.
“Mumbai” and “Architect Hafeez Contractor” are two exceptionally magical words. For the moment I utter them, everyone has half their eyeballs popping out along with their jaw-drop in full swing, free-fall I call it.
I may as well have said “Open Sesame”.
I’m still interning in the Stock Market by the way. Yes. I call my office the Stock Market. I read it’s healthy to give your workplace a funny name, keeps you going they say. Like how it kept me going even on Sundays I suppose.
The relentless phone calls and our architects yelling into the phone most politely in their sexiest intonation, the pitching of glorious designs in a manner so boisterous, you wonder why hasn’t he gotten beat yet on grounds of socially-unacceptable-egotism-levels, the immutable clatter of keys being punched hard into their places, you can almost hear them scream, the ruthlessness of deadlines and gluing of ourselves onto the seat for more than 12 hours and the quiet grieving, trauma, misfortune of a system-crash, is what makes me call it the Stock Market.
Yes. It isn’t what I expected. Not even a degree close to it. Work is strenuous, yet the joy of using fresh software has no bounds. Seniors are rude, but hey nobody likes a show-off, or anyone smarter than them, especially an intern. Lunches are lovely in your head because they don’t exist in reality. What does exist in fact are deadlines, like shiny daggers hanging above your head. Once successful slash that deadline champ. Slash it all you want, just like scratching that one thing you accomplished on your to-do list in 12th grade. Fourteen more splendid tasks to go.
Yet, I love it, adore it, admire it and respect it. The internship that took me four months to get was going to witness every fiber of me grasp as much as I can, learn as much as I want to, observe as much as I get.
I choose to sit long. I choose to eavesdrop on client meetings. I choose to sneak to the site on weekends. I choose to work the extra shifts and get the extra practice, because I put my ‘socially-happening’, ‘family-loving’ ‘Make-em-jealous’ life on hold for 5 months to rise in this period to the person I can be.
“Why be ‘Good’ when you can be ‘Great’ with additional effort and attention to detail?” said an incredibly wise man. Oh what words, sliced through laziness like scythes.
“Learn more. Earn more.”-That’s my latest motto, my drive.
Every time I’m low what flows within me is only gratefulness for being in, working in and learning in one of the world’s best firms. That being said, the office might as well have been in Timbuktu since I hardly step out.
Yes, we get seasick in this Internship of ours. We feel like it’s the end, we see no destination. But I spew and survive. To live a lighter, brighter and challenging day ahead because life, my friend, is just not fair. Particularly considering the exceeding levels of competitiveness in the social drama, not to forget Melanin.
If Ekshikaa’s experience touches your heart and motivates you to – no matter what – not give up, you may check the latest architecture internships.
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