The beginning

Shoppers' Stop, Forum Mall, Kolkata

They say that life is full of miracles. Today, as I sift through the pages of the last 30 years of my eventful life, I can gladly say that my life is nothing short of a miracle. At least, as far as my career goes, it definitely is.

Well, my career started way back in the year 2004. I took up a part-time job with Shoppers' Stop limited (one of the top retail outlets). The company had given a very small advertisement in the paper in the classified column. The name of the company was not mentioned there. It simply read "wanted full-time/part-time customer care associate with a reputed retail outlet". I applied for the job and was called for a written test and an interview. The entire seletion process was conducted by a placement agency through which the company was hiring.

Within two days, I was intimated that I had been offered the job. My salary at the time was Rs. 2000 per month. It was my first job. My heart was abound with excitement, happinness and sense of security...I had managed a job for myself. As a customer care associate, I was supposed to sell garments to customers and look after the clothes section that was assigned to me. I forgot to mention that I was assigned to the Kid's section.

It was a job that taught me the first lessons of being a professional, being a team player and being responsible for whatever I do. I loved my job, especially because of the glamour and the focus on targets that came along with it.

Thus, began a journey that was going to take strange turns in future which I was totally unaware of.