I am a Salesman

March 14^th, 2011-I joined an organisation not as a software engineer or analyst but as a salesman. I had consciously chosen to leave behind the IT tag and get into something that makes me happy .It’s been one year and I should say that I really got to do what I always wanted to do-Travel. I travelled all over the places I was assigned to. Through travelling I started seeing places and people I have not seen my whole life. I started appreciating small things .I started noticing small things infact.That Indian coffee house in Gwalior, that small tea shop near a wonderful mountain and manmade lake in Jaisamand (Udaipur), that small kachori shop in kota, those wonderful wind mills in Jaisalmer, that big marble mine in Udaipur, that small book shop in Jaipur who will exchange ur books and give u some other. All this travel experiences made it worthwhile. Not to mention some wonderful people I met in this one year. Sales is all about meeting people. Some are annoying, some are very humble, some are very intelligent, some are very funny, some are very dumb. None the less meeting people was the greatest education. I learnt a lot jus by visiting people and speaking to them.

Apart from new experiences and meetings and places, the biggest advantage has been nothing other than the FooodJEach place had its own version of a good meal and I was lucky enough to having tasted them all. From road side Dhaba’s to Maharaja’s own restaurant food have been a great incentive all along. I found heaven when I found Indian Coffee House in a small place like Gwalior. A trip to Udaipur is not complete without  the most extravagant meal at Nataraj(Pic attached).Anyone would die for a piece of bread from Wengers(Delhi).The  Lahsun chutney at a dhaba in Jaipur.The list would go on and on .A foodie that I am it was a pleasure and a opportunity to explore all those different tasted and appreciate them. Do ask me about the tastiest places in Rajasthan and Haryana and Delhi, and I would roll out a huge list:)

It has its own negative sides too. Often when you travel or stay in a new place, it gets very lonely. You meet a lot of people during your work hours, but after six, you are all you have to spend time with. It just gets to your head sometimes living your life away from everyone and running behind targets. For me the saviours were books. Lots of random books that I would just read to keep me occupied and not think about having to talk to someone. It did help a lot.I did start writing too. But this is a very small hindrance compared to the excitement in visiting new places. Travelling makes you understand that PEOPLE are generally good. It’s not so bad a world to live in yet. Often strangers had gone out of their way literally help someone in trouble. I can cite many such instances where the presence of good people saw me through. Once the person driving the Taxi decided to take off road and we ended up in the middle of a desert in Rajasthan .The person had so much confidence that his Indica will make it through the deserts. But it was not to happen. As expected the tyres went deep inside the sand and we were stuck. To our surprise every vehicle that crossed stopped by and made some efforts to help us. And with the help of some 3-4 vehicles we were safely escorted out to a highway. Train travels have occupied a major part of my last year in sales. And with the severe sleeping problem of mine, i have always found some good soul to wake me up on the station I was supposed to get down at. The incidents may be small, but it goes a long way in making you smile and believe that PEOPLE are good.

Apart from People, food and places, I was lucky enough to work in a B2B segment and that too for a good company. This gave me an opportunity to visit all kinds of factories and see the manufacturing process and all kind of things we use in our day to day life. It was just amazing to see real engineering and how machines doll out complex products that we consider very ordinary when we use. It was just sheer bewilderment seeing how glass bottles are made in the biggest plant in india, how Pepsi and Cokes are tremendously depleting the Sugar and Water content of our country, how marble stones are being carved out of a huge mountain, how a cloth is made, and why there is no difference between a LEVI and a ordinary Denim. And one small advice-Coke is much better and cleaner prepared than PepsiJ

Travelling all such clients meant i had to travel to all the remotest of places and there is where every time I found the most beautiful of sights and scenes. I could never ever forget the starry night sky over a large desert in Jaisalmer.The view of the largest man-made lake over the Jaisamand Mountain was a part of history that I am glad to know. For people who don’t know, that lake was built by the Maharaja just because  a girl demanded that she will marry him only if he has a ocean outside his palaceJShe did marry him. Passing through Chambal valley had often made me fear the sudden appearance of Dacoits but there aren’t any now.Banaras was a stunner. The border between India and Pakistan in Rajasthan is such a large empty land that seeing Army men living there just makes you respect them even more. I was never aware that my native place Rajasthan was such a beautiful place .Now I know better and just love it. I didn’t have a Camera to capture it all and this even made it better because now it’s in my memories and i will always long to go back to those places.

The Jaisamand lake

I can go on and on about me being happy about being a sales man. In short i have just loved the prospect of travelling and exploring places. There are many good things behind the sales targets and the pressure that will make you appreciate and love the job. The happiness and sense of achievement on selling something has very few equivalents. In the end of everything, I am a Sales man and I am proud to be a Salesman.