Reflection over failed Amazon SDE interview relating with Indian Historical Villans .
As i was doing my daily routine today, the memories of yesterday’s interview at Amazon for an SDE position kept replaying in my mind.
Despite my best efforts, I had lost the battle. though i had very limited time for revision I’ve revised Stacks, Queues, LinkedLists, Trees and Graphs for 2 days. But then did not touch the other parts of DSA.
During the interview i was asked very much easier question than ive expected, it was not even from the above topics ive mentioned and not even from recursion, nor DP . Although I had managed to explain the logic behind the solution, I struggled to code it without a bit of assistance. The initial solution, even without optimization, took me about 45 minutes to implement, maybe because I hadn’t practiced coding effectively and consistently in the past two years ???
During this time, I found myself doubting my abilities and questioning if I was truly qualified for the role.
Then it suddenly stuck to me about Muhammad Ghazini’s determination to invade India 17 times wasn’t just about conquest; it was also about his self-confidence .
We often portray him as a villainous person in Indian History, but what if we were to flip our perspective? What if we saw him not just as a conqueror, but as a strategist who learned from his mistakes and adapted his approach with each failure?
He refused to give up, even in the face of repeated failures.
Also as i was thinking about it, it also came to me about Duryodhana, the infamous Kaurava prince from the Mahabharata. We often depict him as a villainous figure, driven by jealousy and ambition.
But what if we saw him not just as a power-hungry individual, but as a normal human being who believed in himself and fought for what he thought was rightfully his?
I somehow was able to relate both of them to a common trait “SELF BELIEF”.
They might not be the first people who come to mind when we think of inspiration, but they have good potential practical lessons to learn from.
Maybe It’s not only about technical knowledge but also about our mindset at that very moment.