Leadership Series, September 17, 2011

Leadership Series, September 17, 2011

The flagship event of Symbiosis Institute of International Business (SIIB), Leadership Series, was held on the 17th of September 2011 with the theme ‘Social Entrepreneurship – A Fulfilling Mission’.

Guest speakers included:

Ms. Rashmi Bansal

The chief guest and key note speaker for the event. She is a writer; all three of her best sellers are based on entrepreneurship - 'Stay Hungry Stay Foolish', 'I Have a Dream' & 'Connect the Dots'. She is also the co-founder and editor of JAM (Just Another Magazine), India's leading youth magazine and writes on one of India's popular blogs – Youthcurry

Dr. P. Namperumalsamy

He is an Indian ophthalmologist and Chairman of Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai. He is known for bringing assembly-line efficiency to eye surgery. In 2010, TIME magazine named him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He is also a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India, and under his chairmanship, Aravind Eye Hospital received the 2010 Conrad N Hilton Humanitarian Prize.

There couldn’t have been better choice of speakers for the event than the above two. While Dr. Namperumalsamy leads by example by being one of India’s leading social entrepreneurs, Ms. Bansal, through her latest book, ‘I Have a Dream’, has brought to light twenty of the leading social entrepreneurs in India. The students were greatly inspired to get cognizant of the selfless deeds Aravind Eye Care Center has been doing for the country. This reaffirmed the belief that a successful business organization ‘can’ and ‘has’ to be socially conscious and socially relevant – which underlines ‘SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP’.

The pre-events day, 16-09-2011, kicked off in the afternoon with the B-plan competition. There had been an overwhelming response with as many as 48 teams participating, sending their business plans. The top 5 made it to the finals. Teams shortlisted were from IIM-A, IIT-Kgp, TAPMI and SIIB. The event presented an opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to add a social angle to their business plans, which thereby contributes to what the country is striving to achieve, inclusive growth. The panel of judges found themselves in a tight spot when it came to selecting two winners. The teams from IIM-A emerged the best among the finalists. Although winning and losing are two sides of the same coin, what really bridges them is the desire to improvise. Yes, it was a pleasing sight to notice participants, in an attempt to improvise, further discussing their business plans with the judges and the faculty members of SIIB. The latter was more than happy to offer valuable suggestions. Visiting students were appreciative of the hospitality provided. One such participant went beyond word-of-mouth appreciation and expressed her delight publicly on Facebook.

“Thanks a lot for the wonderful experience I had in SIIB during the Leadership Series 2011. It was truly a pleasure and honour being there!!! :)” - Shubhra Singh (MHRM, IIT KGP)

The B-plan event was followed by other pre-events like Survival, Tambola, Koffee Relay and Leadership Series Quiz. It was absolute fun and the campus reverberated with joy, joy and only joy. Even the so-called losers felt that the joy of participating completely overshadowed the fleeting disappointment loss evoked. Cash prizes worth Rs. 25000 were distributed. Things wrapped up with the screening of the Hindi movie, ‘Ye Saali Zindagi’.

The D-day arrived. The main event commenced at 1100 hrs on 17th September. Dr. Namperumalsamy, Chairman, Aravind Eye Hospitals, along with Dr. Rajani Gupte, Director, SIIB, lit the traditional lamp. The latter presented the welcome address, elaborating on the relevance of the theme of the event in Indian context. This, she said, shall pave way for budding entrepreneurs in the audience to add a social angle in analysing and solving business situations and complexities. Dr. Namperumalsamy delivered an inspiring speech igniting the social spark in one and all. He shared the journey of his organization’s growth path, from a humble beginning in 1976 to the position it holds in Indian ophthalmology today. He stressed that Aravind always cares for its patients and that profits were a by-product of the services rendered to the society. It’s worthy to mention that case studies on Aravind have been analysed in the Harvard, IIMA, IIMB and other leading Business schools in the world. He mentioned that as part of its outreach programme, in the year ending March 2010, 2148 camps had been conducted through which 455378 patients were screened and 76081 patients underwent surgery.

Much to the delight of the audience, Ms. Rashmi Bansal took the stage following Mr. Namperumalsamy’s talk. She appreciated the idea to have a theme as thought-provoking as social entrepreneurship. She provided an insight into her latest book, ‘I Have a Dream’, which narrates the story of 20 social entrepreneurs in India. To the students, it was an opportunity to identify 20 businessmen/businesswomen they could look up to. The stories of Mirakle Couriers and Akshaypatra Foundation were moving. While the former provides employment to the visually and the aurally challenged, the latter provides nutritious and delicious mid-day meals to school going children. Akshaypatra foundation is an excellent collaboration of the corporate and ISKCON Bangalore. The latter adds a unique spiritual dimension to the social initiative by providing nutritious prasadam to children studying in Government schools in Bangalore. This, she said, ensured fall in drop-out rates in schools and improved participation of students in academic activities. The Q&A session followed with students posing Ms. Bansal with questions on MBA, IIM-A, writing, social consciousness and entrepreneurship. Students were appreciative of the frankness associated with her answers. She made her fans’ day by signing on their copies of her latest book.

Following a brief lunch break was a panel discussion, members being an eclectic mix of corporate and social activists. The discussion emphasized that one could work for a corporate and still make a difference to the society. This, students realized, was corroborated by the work done by one of the panellists, Ms. Majula, Associate Vice president, Infosys. She also manages an NGO – ‘Sparsh- A Healing Touch’ – formed by the employees of Infosys Pune Development Centre. Sparsh has 300+ volunteers working with more than 15 NGOs in and around Pune. The relevance of CSR was discussed at length and there was great emphasis on the need to create a separate department for it at the organizational level. This, panellists believed, would do justice to what really is intended. Valuable inputs were added by Mr. Umesh Malhotra, Founder, Hippocampus. Mr. Umesh, an IIT Madras alumnus, along with his wife, Ms. Vimala, set up Hippocampus in 2003 to promote reading amongst children. Hippocampus runs ‘for profit’ children's libraries in Bangalore and Chennai and has inspired many others to start such similar ventures. Their program, ‘Grow By Reading’, he said, has been implemented in more than 250 libraries reaching out to more than 100000 children annually. Candidness personified, he stressed on the need for one to follow his/her heart and do what one strongly believes in. This, he said, was the driving force behind his setting up of Hippocampus. Mr. Pradeep Bhargava, MD, Cummins Generator Tech India Ltd, played an able moderator and kept the discussion lively with his good sense of humour. Other panellists included Mr. Arbind Singh, leading social activist and Managing Director of Nidan Swachdhara Private Limited (NSPL), Mr. Yogendra Saxena, the Chief of Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) and Sustainability at Jubiliant Life Sciences Ltd., and Kishori Gadre, Director of Janwani, an initiative of Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture.

The distribution of the SIIB Excellence award followed. The award is part of SIIB’s efforts to recognize the outstanding contributions its alumni offer to the society. From a list of more than 25 nominations, Mr. Mukesh Kumar, batch of 1997, was chosen for the award. He reminisced his association with SIIB and took Dr. Rajani Gupte down memory lane on a nostalgic trip. They shared the humble beginning SIIB has had and were in awe of the progress it has made over the years in terms of international presence, academic excellence and contribution to society at large. Mr. Mukesh shared a few of the many interesting incidents during his times. He offered valuable tips to students and emphasized on the need and suggested ways to leverage the stay at SIIB. This was followed by distribution of prizes to the rank holders across the three courses – MBA (IB), MBA (AB) and MBA (E&E).

All good things have to come to an end. Likewise, Leadership Series 2011 drew curtains after screening of the ‘Making of the Leadership Series’ video. The video reflected the assiduous efforts put in by students that were well guided by the faculty members. The many funny moments and crazy ideas that had been part of the execution process in the lead up to the event formed the vivid moments. What really was evident in every moment of the video was the intensity with which the team had worked – being as creative as they could and making no compromise on the efforts put in, by putting the heart and soul into it. Undoubtedly, a standing ovation was a befitting mode of appreciation and the same followed as everyone in the audience was floored by the commitment of the students and faculty members in making Leadership Series 2011 a grand success.

SIIB Leadership Series team expresses its sincere thanks to the sponsors and media partners – Business Standard, Pagalguy, Radio Mirchi, Planet M, Freecharge.in, Café Chokolode - the participants from other B-schools, Dr. Rajani Gupte, Director, Ms. Asmita Chitnis & Ms. Soumi Rai, Faculty Co-ordinators, and the students for the inspiration, the sweet memoirs and for scripting the scale of success achieved.

Rajesh Sridhar

Public Relations

Batch 2011-2013

The Journey of a TechMechie – Part 1

Special thanks to the person (I prefer to not name) who partly influenced (not inspired) me to write this piece

Disclaimer: All characters, events in this piece are fictional. Any resemblance to those living or dead is purely co-incidental.

The first thought that comes to the mind of many readers after reading the disclaimer is “Could this have been a real-life incident?”

Trust me, it’s fictional. And I know, to some readers, this thought might have not struck. Nevertheless, creation of uncalled for reactions (or hype, if it is sometimes called) seems to be a duty of every creative person in 21stcentury India. And he/she needs it for an initial pep up.

Here we go…

The Journey of a TechMechie

Vishal, a 21 year old Mechanical Engineering graduate from a private university in Tamil Nadu, awaits the results of the interview he’s attended at a top B-school in Pune. It’s a pleasant February morning in Chennai, and he’s minutes away from attending yoga class. Brushing teeth in the backyard of his palatial old-fashioned house, he looks up at the sky (heavens) to seek His blessings. The results mean a lot to him because he’s been aspiring to pursue an MBA (from one of the top 20 B-schools in India) for the last couple of years. And in the second attempt, despite taking as many entrance exams on as many Sundays that came by, he could get short listed for the GD-PI round for this institute alone. Ask him why he didn’t perform better, he asserts, “I did my best. But, the others were better.”

Fair enough! When it comes to competitive exams, it’s all about relative performance. As a backup option, he’s an offer from Tech Mahindra Ltd. And in four days’ time, if he’s destined to, he would join as an ITP-ian at one of their Pune offices. The train tickets for the same have been reserved and he whole-heartedly wishes there arises the situation which would make him cancel the ticket and enable him live his two-year old dream. Just when he’s about to leave for the yoga class, a thought strikes him.

“The results…to be announced…today…but what time” he tells himself. “Let me check it out now. Just in case….”

He looks at the pendulum clock, which is as old as the house, hung in the hall.

“It’s 5:15 now. They might have just put the final shortlist now.”

He now feels more confident about the realization of the thought. He swiftly moves to his room, switches the desktop computer on, and starts shaking his legs left and right in great anticipation. Drenched in mixed emotions, he feels cold. Just as Windows starts to boot up, scenes of life at the institute and at Tech Mahindra flash across him in those few minutes. Although he wishes to visualize only the former, the latter alternates involuntarily. Now, his fingers start to quiver, as he keys in the website of the results page. He looks up to Him and reaffirms God is omnipresent (that includes the ceiling of his room). To add to the already soaring emotions he’s going through, the page displays a rectangular box as the latest addition – Results of the final shortlist MBA 2010-‘12.

As a reflection of his anxiety, the scenes of life at Tech Mahindra start to outnumber the ones at the institute. It seems easier to be pessimistic than be optimistic. And finally, scenes of life at Tech Mahindra surface his imagery mind, stamping those of the other, hard, beneath it. That’s reality – dreams seem to have been not ‘even’ dreams when they go unrealized. They make one think as living in Pluto that's non=existent but that seemed to have existed just a few years ago. His eyes start to get wet. He wonders if his heart is being used as a punch bag by a boxer. It beats faster than ever before. Life appears gory as though a deadly earthquake, measuring more than 6 on the Ritcher scale, has destroyed his property. Yes! That is, to an extent, true. The only property he possessed was his dream to pursue an MBA. And that’s now shattered, at least for the next one year.

He feels like banging his head onto the walls of the room but his soft-natured heart feels sorry for himself, consoles him and asserts that life could be lived happily even without an MBA degree. Various other thoughts suggest him ways to move forward, but fail to stop him from feeling devastated. He’s in two minds if he should inform his parents about the results or not. Fresh after a tumbler of filter coffee, his dad is seen browsing through the pages of The Hindu, while his mom is seen busy adjusting the gasket under the lid of the pressure cooker. It’s 5:25 am and he can sense the hyper activeness in her body language, unlike his’. He decides to delay the passage of information by at least an hour. For reasons known only to him, he approaches his mom first.

“Maa…”he says, as words about the results involuntarily reach the lips.

“Haven’t you left for the yoga class?” she asks, looking beneath the cooker, confirming if the stove is lit.

Her words bring him back to the real world – 22nd Feb, 2010, on planet Earth. Only then is he reminded of the yoga class he’s to attend in a few minutes from now.

“Ya I’m leaving now” he manages.

“You’re to get the results today, right?”

“Y….Y…yes” he stammers and leaves his house instantly, in search of solitude.

Just as he starts walking towards the yoga class, he backtracks and decides to proceed to a park. Ashok Nagar, a scenic locality in the heart of the city, is home to most of the well-maintained parks. He decides to proceed to one such, located a few metres away from home. As he rests on a bench in the park, he wonders if he should give company to the many senior citizens there. And as he looks out, he finds a few of them even jogging. But, he immediately realizes, he’s in a philosophical mindset and that, it’s certainly not the time to jog or to do yoga. He acknowledges all he needs now is peace, the private space and the time to get in touch with himself – talk to himself, understand completely what he feels inside, analyze and decide how best things could be made better, and more importantly, at the earliest.

As his inclination with the bench gets more obtuse, and as he views a larger part of the sky, memories of the past – registration at a private institute for CAT coaching, the first day class there, the crush he had on a girl who quit classes after a week, the Cappuccino times they spent at CCD that week, the two problems in ‘Number Systems’ he taught her, the tens of problems his tutor and batch mates made him understand, the hundreds of exercises he solved at home, and the hundreds of prayers he said to God to make Him realize his dream – haunted him. At the end of the recollection, he is forced to pull his T-shirt up to dry the wet region just below his eyes. Uncontrollable, the tears had indeed edged out of the eyelids – a reflection of the pain in his fast-beating heart.

“Almost a year has gone by…” he adjusts his throat as the inner feelings stiffen it, “…just like a flash of light.”

He wonders if he shouldn’t have had a crush on her but instantly realizes that things like these happen automatically. He regrets joining her to CCD and questions himself if he was justified in extending her a helping hand to solve those two problems in Number Systems. He admits, he did so not with an intention of helping but with the purpose to make their relationship closer in the early days of their coaching stint.

“Did these hamper my preparations?” he asks himself.

But then, happenings of the first week, he feels, would never have had a deep impact (as the one left by the exit of the girl from his life) on his performances. On a positive note, he feels, he wouldn’t have got even this particular GD-PI call had that girl not quit that early. Hatred towards the highly valued entity, MBA, starts to pervade his heart.

“Why the h**l should I do an MBA?” he asks himself annoyingly.

He’s reminded of the answer he’d given to the interview panel to that standard first question - why do you want to do an MBA? - posed to every so-called MBA aspirant in every B-school PI. Apart from those reasons, he’s reminded of the most important reason behind doing an MBA – the wads of Gandhi notes that would make his wallet look smaller than it actually is.

“I’m not lucky enough to do an MBA…” he regrets. And after gaining an iota of confidence, he continues, “…this year”.

Inside his heart, he thanks his saviors – the RMG at TechM – who have made him understand ‘be happy with what you have and try to make the most of the same’.

“I tried my best…but just couldn’t get through the PI” he consoles himself, and with a reluctant smile, decides to make his mind up to accept the job offered. He knows that the only subject he failed to clear in the first attempt in college was C programming and he also realizes how hard he studied to scrape through in the second attempt.

“But, when thousands of people can manage to learn programming and coding to earn 20K a month, why not I?” he tells himself.

With time, out of the blue, life in an IT company appears pleasing to him. To a Mechanical Engineering student deprived of feminine warmth, pretty looking women are definitely much more than an icing on the cake. After more than half-hour, after many deliberations, with a seemingly pleasing face, he gets up from the bench and proceeds to the exit of the park only to hit upon his dad, standing just in front of the gate.

“Hey…” he exclaims. “What are you doing here? I thought you’re at the yoga class”

To Be Continued…

The Brain Gets Numb and I Don’t Realize That!

Numbness – this used to happen with my legs whenever I played violin for more than half-hour, uninterrupted, while I was a primary school student. And when I just finish the final bow, I realize the acute pain that prolongs just for a few micro-seconds. Yes! It prolongs for micro-seconds. That acute pain which I used to suffer makes me use the term ‘prolong’. And slowly, as I widen my legs apart and tap the affected leg hard on the floor, to relive me of the pain, I end up calling for more prolongation, and thereby more pain. It’s then when I used to realize how tormenting one shall feel, if one were to stay numb. But then, it eases after a few seconds.
My brain has been numbing for the last few months, for the last few weeks at least, indifferent to many things people would normally react to. I’ve never been this way for the last twenty-one years. “Now, why this sudden change?” you put this question to me, and my instant, candid reply would be a terse ‘No’ accompanied by a smile. Now, you throw another question to me, in an attempt to make me react the way I actually feel inside. “Are you happy with the numbness?” “Well….” I start, but in an attempt to put more pressure on me, you raise the tone, “You’ve any complaints? Why don’t you just party? Something for a change…” I think deep, not as deeper as you might imagine. And I reply, “I don’t think so. It’s just that I’m neither happy nor sad with the way things are going. I don’t know if it’s for the good or bad. But, just like how the sun rises each morning with neither complaints nor enthusiasm, I live every passing day with no striking reactions.”
Yes! This exactly is what has been happening for the last few months. I get up late in the morning after an early morning sleep at 2am, brush teeth, sip coffee, skim through the first few pages of The Hindu newspaper, and in a few seconds, the right index and middle fingers automatically get themselves relieved from the sheets to flip a few more pages to the editorial section. Trust me, it happens involuntarily. Whether it’s about the Indian healthcare industry, or about the Liberhan Commission report, or about the disciplined behaviour of the MNS (let them be called disciplined at least in this page), or about the Copenhagen summit, or about the India-Pakistan relations, my inner conscience has made it mandatory that I should read them, and later, if I’m unable to peruse, should scissor the editorial column and put it into the file that contains many of its predecessors. Then, I walk into the empty hall, switch on the TV. The year-old practice of switching the ‘Channel V’ or the ‘9xM’ or the ‘B4U Music’ on, starts to build in me, but before I could I press the ‘OK’ button in my remote control, I press the ‘Exit’ button and move to CNBC TV 18 or NDTV 24X7. When I turn to the former, it’s the stock market experts who answer the queries of our Indian middle class who wants to sit at home and earn money at the click of a mouse.
“Sir, I’ve 1000 shares of HDFC Bank. I bought them at Rs. 28.10 and today it stands at Rs. 1807….” And as he’s speaking, charts adorn the TV screen, indicating a 6000 odd percent return on investment.
“What the fuck, man? What more do you want today.” I yell.
“Why the hell do you people call up and flaunt your stock-marketing skills?”
Irritated, I switch to NDTV 24X7, and there I see the Harichandra of the 21st century, Mr. Madhu Koda, denying all the charges against him, and claiming that he’s the most innocent politician India has ever seen. From one level of Harichandra-ness to another, I see all politicians smiling on the screen, making sure they contribute to at least twenty minutes of the half-hour news bulletin. And, in the last ten minutes, the so-called real heroes who the 21st century Indian youth adore and admire, cricketers and film-stars, make sure they end the news bulletins on a refreshing note. I switch the TV off and walk to the dining table to find my notebook stacked between the questions and answer pages of a workshop material distributed by IMS learning Resources Pvt. Ltd. I start solving the problems, or start to practise a few Grammar exercises.
By now, if you still didn’t know what I’m up to in life these days, I suggest you please drag your mouse cursor to the right top corner, press the ‘X’ button, close the window and do something better. Else, continue reading. If you decide to go ahead, flouting the rule, go ahead, but make sure you know what I’m up to, before starting with the next paragraph. I’m a B-school aspirant. I’m aspiring to get into a B-school which is in the top 15 of all the surveys, irrespective of whatever amount of money bribed or not to the surveyor.
After solving a few problems, I get up from the chair with mixed emotions. I would be happy for the fact that I could solve many problems but at the same time, unhappy for the fact that I was not able to solve quite a few problems, sometimes dismayed by the misfortune that even after repeated peruse of the solutions pages, I was not able to digest the concepts. It just doesn’t get into this head. Then, I do the easiest thing of all –leave things to God, just pray to Him to ensure I’m not tested on these sorts of questions on the D-day. I bathe, say my prayers, lunch, and sit in front of the desktop computer to check my e-mails. Posts of a few of the pagalguys like me fill my inbox. I skim through them only to ensure there’re no more unread messages in my inbox. The jobless me, I clear the spam mails too – the e-mail account as clear as a blank slate, or if I could say, my mind.
Then, in a few minutes, I get a call from the Head of the Institute where I work, teaching students who are aspiring Probationary officers at one of the banks.
“Rajesh, free today evening?”
“Yes, tell me….” I say, wondering if I should have actually said that.
“Ok, you’ve a class at 6.30. Lecture on Time, speed and distance.”
“Ok, done”
“Fine, bye…”
As I hang up, I’m happy for two reasons. The first reason being I would earn a few more rupees and the second reason being, I would get a break. Instead of learning, I would be teaching the same concepts.
So, life, this way, moves on, every passing day. Even if at times, I’m a tad upset, I’ve KK’s Dil Ibadat or Javed Ali’s To Hi Haqeeqat to refresh me. Of course, Shreya Ghoshal is invincible. But, trust me; KK is superb in Dil Ibadat.
Well, I’ve taken one of the many B-school entrances – IIFT. I’ve done reasonably well. If this year’s cut-offs are similar to previous years’, I can’t be denied a GD/PI call. The results are to be announced in mid-December. So, just like any other student, my fingers are crossed as well.
All said and done, I’m pleased with the way life has been on for me in the last few months. As long as I’m on the right track to fetch myself a seat in a top-notch B-school next June, I wouldn’t complain but only feel proud of myself for the fact that I would’ve achieved something for the first time in twenty-two years. I just wish good things happen in the near future.
A few hours ago, I was asked by a good friend of mine as to why I’ve not been blogging for the last many weeks. She was not the first person. Another good friend of mine too had asked me the same question last week. This post is not written for their sake but just to see if these words could actually give vent to my feelings (if there're any because I seriously doubt their existence). It’s just that I thought I would share whatever I could - things that have been happening at my end in the last few weeks.
So, with a mouse in hand, I’m all set to bell the CAT on Dec 5. Come what may, I’ll give my best shot.

P.S: For people who have been following my blog for a long time, I’ve a good piece of news to share. My book has been getting very good feedback. Many, including my inspiration, Shreya Ghoshal, have been saying kind words. They’ve appreciated me for what I’ve done. I just hope my first creative child sees the light of the day really soon.

An open letter to Shreya Ghoshal

This is my 50th blog post and I couldn't think of a better post than this.

To: Shreya Ghoshal

Subject: An innovative suggestion

Dear Shreya,

Hope you are doing fine. Seeing the subject, you would be curious to know what innovative a suggestion you are to receive from this die-hard fan. But just as I start to type the body of the letter, there's a second thought if this is REALLY innovative. There's a good chance of you having already received such a suggestion. Nevertheless, this idea struck me last evening, and after some analysis and thought, I thought I'll e-mail you about this. Along with the myriad songs that flood my computer hard disc and mobile phone, I have a collection of all your videos also (downloaded from youtube) - from your Sa Re Ga Ma Pa days to the recent concert at Digboi. I watch them whenever I want to seek inspiration.

Last evening, I was minutes away from leaving home to the institute where I conduct aptitude training classes for people taking the bank exams. Since I had to teach a challenging concept, I thought I'll seek inspiration from your videos, get reinvigorated and attend the session, all charged up. I watched your rendition of 'Kaatril Endhan' at the Ilayaraja Concert held in Dubai in Jan 2009. It was just amazing! The first time you sang it on-stage was in Chennai when you mispronounced 'Thedudhe' as 'Thodudhe', and later, the crowd gave you a big round of applause when you finally corrected yourself. Raja Sir followed it up with a wonderful talk. Now, coming back, I could really identify the difference in both the renditions - in terms of your body language, pronunciation, and the confidence - and your rendition at the Dubai concert was impeccable, to say the LEAST.

I know I'm not in any way qualified to rate your performances or point out areas where you had erred. But, let me tell you, when I did analyze both of your performances, I could infer many a things. Being an MBA aspirant, it's important I analyze things and develop rational thinking. In all these years, you would have heard many of your fans, including me, tell you, "SHREYA, YOU INSPIRE ME". Now, "why you inspire us?" The answer to this is subjective, and it differs from one individual to another.

But, people learn a lot from you, and that makes them idolize you. I'll give you an example. Watch the video wherein you receive your first Filmfare award in 2003. Just watch the manner in which you address the audience. That was too much for you then, and you even thank your brother for that. I don't mean to say that your brother would not have helped, but it's a sign of your homeliness. In the sense, your world was still restricted to the 4 walls of your house, and that the exposure was less, then. But, when I watch you receive the 2009 Kannada Filmfare Award, it's just amazing! You seemed to have walked up stage as though the award for you was always on the cards, and that you were expecting it. But when you do collect the award from the jury, a sense of humility paints your face and the same gets reflected in the short speech you give. Now, from this, I learn that ONE IMPROVES WITH TIME ONLY, and that ONE NEEDS TO MAINTAIN THAT RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN SELF-CONFIDENCE AND HUMILITY. You embody both.

I think I went completely off-track (happens with me whenever I think about you and your music - I ramble quite a lot). Now, coming back, that rendition of 'Kaatril Endhan' was amazing and only someone as genius as Raja Sir could pick the right song for you. Truly, he is a GENIUS! You won't believe, I was humming that song all the way to the class last evening. For more than 10 minutes! Such a heavy traffic it was, at 6.15 in the evening, but, that couldn't stop me from humming though. Such was the impact of your rendition - flawless, as I always say, with regard to your diction. And after I came home later in the night, I listened to the original version by S Janaki. To be honest, I couldn't find one aspect of the original composition being compromised. I generally am a lover of the ORIGINALS only.

In fact, I strongly feel that the Hindi remake of Ghajini was no better than the Tamil one, the performances in particular. Surya rocked but Aamir was just OK (I'm a big fan of Aamir though) I feel, only you can revisit the 80s, provide the modern feel and at the same time, make no compromise on quality. As we all know, you are Raja sir's most favourite singer among contemporaries. And so, I feel, if you can put in a little effort towards this, you can bestow your Tamil fans with the best gift we would ever crave for - an album containing a few of the wonderful compositions of the 80s of Raja Sir, revisited by the ONE and ONLY SHREYA GHOSHAL. I'm sure the present generation will lap it up and the album CDs will sell like HOT CAKES. I bet on that. Album name could be 'Shreya Ghoshal revisits the 80s'.

Any singer can revisit the 80s and provide the modern feel BUT ONLY YOU can pull it off with no compromise on quality. To be honest, you did outscore S Janaki Madam in a few aspects, the diction in particular. I really mean what I say, and I say this, not as a Shreya Ghoshal fan but as a music lover. You yourself have acknowledged the fact that I'm a BIG music lover (remember your autograph for me?) and so, you have to believe my words. I'm sure Raja Sir will not object to this idea. You are his darling, I know. His compositions in the 80s are just amazing! and I'm sure compositions as original and as mellifluous as them can never be emulated. Hence, as a tribute to Raja Sir, you can work on this and deliver an album, which we fans are eagerly awaiting. I know 'TIME' is a factor - you really are busy with other projects but please do think about this suggestion. No other contemporary female playback singer has got a fan base in the South as strong as yours. As you tweeted yesterday, "I think this can be an incentive to really do all the things in life which u really wished to but didn't have guts or time for". Please overlook the 'TIME' factor and please make it happen before 2012. I wish to buy such an album.

The same could be done even for your own songs sung between 2002-2006. When one listens to Tum Jo Ho Kareeb (Three) now, one can realize how mature your voice has turned. And this particular song, I feel, is one of your best songs in 2009, apart from the many others. Just imagine what impact this mature voice can have on a song like Agar Tum Mil Jao or Jaadhu Hai Nasha or Aye Meri Zindagi. We did enjoy that teenager-ish voice in the original versions. That was, in fact, best enjoyed in songs like Tum Hai Jo Meine Dekha (Main Hoon Naa) and Shikdum (Dhoom). But this is something we fans are eagerly looking forward to. Hope you get time for these as well.

Just think about my suggestions. I really wish God gives you 48 hours a day to enable you satisfy the wishes of all of your fans.

Take Care. Hoping to get a positive reply.

On behalf of all of your fans, I wish you a Happy and safe Diwali. May your life become as colourful as the 'FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS'. May God bless you!

WE FANS LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYBODY!

Regards

Rajesh

An Unusual blog - typed out in my mobile :)

Last night was quite a time. As I contracted my body within the edges of the bed, incidents of the recent past started to evoke eclectic emotions in me. And just to make sure, the feelings are conveyed here with no compromise, I typed it out in my mobile right away.

I'm listening to Shreya Ghoshal's Tu Kahaan Kho Gaya. This song actually has the power to make even an insomniac sleep. Such is her rendition. But the gamut of the feelings in me seems to defy it. Shreya, first time, I must say, something more powerful than your rendition is swaying my thoughts in its direction. Life's bad but at the same time good. People tell me, this is the time to do many things, but I’m not doing that one thing which most grads do after UG – work. So, does that mean I’m doing many things? Well. Yeah. Many trivial things. Quite a few useful things as well – CAT prep. I’ve been trying to do it. Sometimes, the commitment pushes me to the extent that I solve all the problems in a particular topic in the BRM workbook of IMS. Sometimes what I do is, keep staring at the previous year's SIMCAT papers, in an attempt to discover where I'd gone wrong etc.

I'm quite confident of putting up a better show in CAT this yr. But, what if I don't? There's that probability as well. I do acknowledge it else I wouldn't even make a mention of it here. But, as of now, I don't even want to discuss it. A strong believer of ‘The law of attraction’, I prefer to remain positive. And which is why I’ve gone the extra mile by applying for the IIFT exam as well, this year. 40K candidates competing for 40 seats. In fact, the 28 seats in the general category is what matters to me. When I was a kid, my mom used to say that I was so kind-hearted in my previous birth that I’ve been blessed to be born a Brahmin now. But, in the last few months, and at least till I secure a seat in one of the top 10 B-schools in India, I seriously wonder why I was so kind-hearted in my previous birth. Enter Kapil Sibal, but Arjun Singh's orders still hold. After all, both are Congressmen and it was we who wanted them to rule us.

Well, ruling something…. Now what rules me? My mind or my Heart? I don't know. It's a case of both. Sometimes when u do something wit a lot of passion, it feels really good. But when things don't seem to click, you feel why at all you should be passionate. It's like this. Tendulkar practising hard at the nets; the middle part of his willow connecting the ball every single time. He feels great, but imagine him getting bowled off the very first ball in a match. It's like that. I worked really hard on my novel, with a lot of passion – gave my heart and soul to it. Just like him – it’s like middling the ball at the net sessions. My book has been getting a very positive reception over the last 2 months. More than 20 people across the globe have read it. Yes! Across the globe! It includes India, the US and the UK – the key areas of English novel distribution. And trust me, not one has said that it's bad. Everyone has been praising my work to sky heights. Of course, they do point out “why this, why that”. That happens with all books. The overall opinion is what matters and it's a big thumb up. I'm happy about it. But what's the point if Tendulkar is clean bowled off the very first ball he faces. What's the point when there's no GOOD publisher coming forward to publish my work. I've been waiting, waiting, and waiting. No response!

I've been conducting aptitude training classes – sharing my knowledge with people of my own age group - for the so called engineers, who don't even know the difference between a scalar and a vector. Yes! I really mean that. That's the status of Engineering education in my state of Tamil Nadu. I'm not trying to say that I’m ‘An Engineer’ in the real sense. But I can say I’m not that bad. Well, let me not think about the past; let me think forward. After all, I’m the author of ‘A Step Forward’.

Actually, I wish to spend 4-5 hrs on CAT prep every single day. I really wish for that. But the gamut of the thoughts which trouble me, and the myriad feelings I grapple with, day in and day out, prevent this wish from getting entrenched in my heart. And what happens is I see myself out of sorts posing a straight face, not just at me but at my mobile too. Even at the wallpaper of Shreya Ghoshal on my mobile. Yes! A die hard fan staring at his icon! It's been happening! I feel I must take a break, get out of home, and stay alone. That's what I’ve been wishing for, for the last 1.5 yrs, but God seems to think otherwise. He does not understand me. I don't know what's to be done. I just wish I channel my thoughts in the right direction. Well... Right? I’m reminded of the BJP. I pity them. They’ve been kicking out all the few well-learned, scholarly men from the party, and from the country too (Jaswant Singh plans to visit Pakistan). Yesterday, it was Mr. Singh. Today, it’s Mr. Shourie. Tomorrow, is it Mr. Sinha? “Mr. Rajnath, tell me”. Well, he may be kicked out as well if he speaks ill of Mr. Mohan Bhagwat. Hmmm… Let me find some sleep. The last half hour, I can say, has been rambling of the highest order. Well... Well... Happens with me :) :)

A different blog post indeed! In fact, the thoughts were so hard-hitting, and I was so desperate to post it here that I've gotten up as early as six in the morning.

I was tagged!

I was tagged by Christopher. So, here I go.

1. I am listening to...Shreya Ghoshal's 'Kyun' from Khambakkt Ishq.

2. I talk... what is required. Not that I am reserved, if things are exciting, I talk lots.

3. I love... myself, apart from many others.

4. My best friends..... are people who like me for what I am.

5. Love is... to be experienced, and perceived without providing first priority to momentary pleasures. That's what I did, and will do, in future also.

6. Somewhere, someone is thinking... about something :)

7. I'll always... do things I enjoy, and do it with the best of my abilities.

8. The last time I really cried was because... I was moved by an incident in my novel 'A step forward'.

9. My cell phone ... is as close to me, as my heart is.

10. When I wake up in the morning... I hope for a good day for all.

11. Before I go to bed... I listen to Shreya Ghoshal, and I ensure that I don't repeat today's mistakes, tomorrow

12. Right now I am thinking about... an incident that happened last night.

13. Babies are... people everybody long to become, when they grow old.

14. I miss... my childhood and school life.

15. Today I... am a good person at heart.

16. Tomorrow I will be... what I am destined to be, then, although I really wish to live up to my expectations.

17. I really want to be... a nice human being till my last breath, and not hurt a single person, intentionally.

This was an interesting tag, and which is why I did it instantly. Anyone who is interested can do this tag.

Hope you enjoyed reading it.

Ani proposes, LAFARGE disposes

I write this post with a sense of happiness and relief. My first sense of this feeling was at around 8 this morning, after I read an e-mail in my yahoo account inbox. As I finished reading the mail, I rewound myself to my first semester days at SRM University.

“Hi, I am Anirudh”, was how a fair complexioned, decent looking, and an average built teenager introduced himself. Apart from his character, the one thing that has not changed is the goatee on his chin - those whiskers have been part of all the trials and tribulations, in all these years - conspicuous indeed. And if they had had the ability to speak, they, for sure, would have told him this morning, “Ani, it was really worth the wait.” And since they are not gifted to share such nice words, I take this opportunity to tell him, “Ani, it was really worth the wait”. Though I rewound to August 2005, I couldn’t resist myself from getting back to June 2009. Ok, now, let’s get back to 2005 again.

Ani, the once-upon-a-time owner of a Nokia 1100, always remained an average student in my opinion, (but I suppose, he calls himself a below average student) and his academia never lived up to his expectations. But when I say that, I seriously wonder if he had any expectations from himself; because he just moved on with life. Just like how the 30th of June is happy to accept ‘sunrise’ from 29th June, Ani too, never complained about the yesterday events, and accepted ‘today’, with not great exuberance, but with a rather laidback attitude. Now let’s talk about the other aspects of him.

He’s one of the very few guys in college to be dressed in pucca formals. The Anirudh I remember, at this moment, is the guy dressed in an olive green shirt and a black trouser, carrying a very heavy bag over his shoulders, arriving in college, walking towards the Mech PG block all alone (sometimes with his bus mate Bhargav). When one peeps into those thick bound ‘classmate’ notebooks inside his bag, and the childish handwriting penned using an ever deep blue ink, one gets a feeling if the owner of the notebooks is a studious guy, waiting to rewrite history by scoring a ten pointer, or rather a nine pointer at least, but Ani never managed anything above 8 tilll the eighth semester.

The ever bubbly Mechanical ‘A’ section during lunch breaks, is also the home for the reserved Anirudh Kaushik, who remains subdued, even when someone pulls his leg. A corner smile with the goatee widening its area on the chin, would be his response. Years passed, and he still found it tough to clear a few arrears, whose exams he claimed to have done reasonably well; the most prominent of them being Operations Research. That misfortune made him not eligible for campus placements during the seventh semester. I remember, it was a pleasant September afternoon, and I was weeks away from appearing for CAT ’08. After sipping water from the filter outside his class, I was standing on the lobby in the second floor, looking down, hoping to glimpse at a good looking girl passing by.

He walked out from his class, smiled at me, and asked,“So Rajesh,CAT preparations in full swing?”

“Not really” I blushed. “The percentile scores are never crossing 80 in the mock CATs”

“Anyway, you have Tech Mahindra as a backup, right?” he consoled. “Unlike me”

“Hey you apply for CAT, man” I suggested. “Give it a shot”

“Hey I can’t attempt the math part, for sure. And I am not too keen on doing higher studies. I am not able to manage even this B.Tech” he laughed.

Though I tried to convince him saying he could make up with a decent score in the verbal section, considering the fact that he was too good at English, he seemed relentless. While his friends foresaw their futures by getting placed in renowned IT & Manufacturing companies, and by scoring good scores in GRE and receiving admits from well-known Universities in the US, his future still remained a question mark, and however hard he tried, he couldn’t find an answer.

Finally, a relief! The seventh semester results were announced, and fortunately, he cleared his Operations Research paper, ensuring he had no standing arrears; but unfortunately, with the economic recession hitting the corporate world hard, going to campus to recruit a fresher was the last thing on the mind of every HR. With time, I got a feeling if he had begun to find himself lonely in the crowd, and if the worry in his eyes made him blind to other joyous things in life. The Eighth semester exams arrived; and it was on the afternoon of the Industrial Engineering & TQM exam, the first of the three exams, when I found him standing alone at the railway station, opposite my college campus. He asked me about my future plans; with my MBA aspirations doomed for the following academic year, I informed him that I was definitely going to take up the job offer from Tech M. Though I wished to ask about his’, I knew he would have nothing to say. Without delay, he opened up, saying he would give LAFARGE, a cement manufacturing company based in Qatar, a shot.

“Don’t worry man” I consoled. “You’ll get through this one.”

“Let’s see” he snapped a regretful corner smile.

“Mark my words; you are destined to leave for Qatar.” I affirmed. “And which is why God has made you not eligible for the other companies. Everything in life happens for a reason.”

He smiled back, unaware of the fact that he was going to be one among the seven in the shortlist, which was to be announced on June 30 2009.

And this morning, as soon as I received the yahoo groups email about the shortlist, I moved to the next window with great anticipation, to see if his name was present; and just as I had expected, he was one among the five selected from the Mech department. I text messaged him right away, but the 'Kumbakarnan' he is, replied to me late in the forenoon after waking up from a sound sleep. But trust me; tonight’s sleep will be the most peaceful of all, for him. And in his reply message, he had said ‘Everything you said that day in station has finally come true’

And after a while, he messaged me again, ‘write something about me in your blog.’

I thought, “If these words in my blog post are going to make him feel happier, I don’t want to deprive him of that”

So Ani, this post is for you, mate.

While we guys are still awaiting our call letters (unsure if we’ll ever get), he’s scheduled to leave for Qatar in the first week of August to join work.

Bon Voyage, dude! May the coming years be more memorable for you!

NOKIA Connects

Well, I am excited…I am feeling wonderful, really good; I am happy, I am delighted, I am ecstatic… I can use ‘n’ more of such adjectives, but, even those many expressions of my feeling in words won’t suffice, because, I am feeling unimaginably excited. What more can a music lover ask for, when his dad has just bought him a new Nokia 5130 Express Music mobile phone. Yes! I purchased it yesterday.

Ever since I first owned a mobile, three years ago, I have started to consider her (I give my mobile the feminine gender) as an inseparable possession. But for the time I spend in the restroom (at home), she stays inside my left trouser pocket 24X7. And every five minutes at least, I touch the pocket to confirm her presence; she is such a special companion. She is my only buddy who follows me everywhere I go, rather, I make it a point to carry her with me, and she doesn’t mind that. She has traveled with me under the scorching sun in the afternoons, on rainy nights, and on pleasant evenings as well.

I experienced the best of nights, yesterday, in her company. She was kissing my ears and I didn’t feel like leaving my hold over her. My right palm had a grip over her body throughout, and my intermittent looks at her face (the screen) evoked myriad expressions of joy, every time I changed tracks, from one favorite to another. Suddenly, I realize that it has gotten late, and so, I look into her again, and she displays 0117 hrs. “Three hours gone in no time!” It was an amazing feeling to listen to some of the most favorite songs, in my girl's company.

When I talk about my love for mobiles, I would also like to discuss about a section of people who seem to supposedly hate the usage of it. I have listened to various kinds of comments. Let me list a few of them.

“I am using it just to keep up my status”

“It’s such a nuisance, you know”

“It’s an unnecessary carry”

“I just wonder if people can’t live without mobiles!” would be a baseless comment remarked by someone who himself possesses one of the costliest mobiles available in the country.

“I am happy I am away from it for the time being”, would be a reply from someone who has just lost his/her mobile. I actually see it as a coverup for the irresponsible behavior.

From what I have observed over the years, I don’t see their HATE for mobiles in these stupid remarks. I see these groundless talks as an ineffectual attempt to be ‘DIFFERENT’. The world knows how well mobiles have enticed us to become ‘Man’s best friend’, and these people, by passing such remarks, are just TRYING to portray themselves as a unique breed. Ok! Fine! Let them talk against mobiles, but why the hell do they use one in the first place, and above all, why the hell do they have to sound rhetoric? Simply because, they can’t stand their own liking or addiction to that 100 gram electronic gadget.

I strongly feel, one doesn’t talk excessively about something he/she hates, rather, it’s done for something which is adored enormously. The heart loves using it but the mind is unable to bear it. What these people fail to realize is, however hard they are going to try, man is not going to stay away from mobiles. Whatever! All I wish to convey to such specimens is, “You use a mobile, or you don’t use a mobile, I don't give a fuck, but, please don’t see yourself getting fooled in front of my eyes, by passing such comments, time and again.”

Coming back to my other love, music; no blog post of mine, related to it, is complete without a mention of The Undisputed Queen of Indian Playback Singing, Shreya Ghoshal. Wow! What a wonderful feeling it is, to listen to her sing so wonderfully. Now, I feel, Nokia actually CONNECTS me with her.

It is now when I get a feeling of how blessed I am to have both of my ears sharp. To see her name appear on the screen while listening to her sing is, by itself, a special feeling. Her name spells Magic (Jaadhu) and her songs spell Intoxication (Nasha). Imagine how I’ll feel like, when I listen to her sing Jaadhu Hai Nasha (Jism). But, now, I am reveling in her ‘Kyun’ from Khambakkht Ishq. I am talking about her solo version. Wow! Terrific! Do listen to it.

Also, her songs in ‘Morning Walk’ are fabulous.

I feel good to have penned down this write-up. Just like my many other blog posts, this also is close to my heart. After all, I have dwelled upon three of my favorites – Mobile, Music and Shreya Ghoshal.

Below is the first photo I snapped on my mobile.

Back!

Hello...

I am back to serious blogging. It's been a long time since 'As I Introspect' found place for frequent introspectives. But I am sure I'll make it happen in the coming days.

The happy thing is, I am finally done with my novel 'A step forward' and I am satisfied with its outcome. But what really matters on the commercial front, is the satisfaction readers get on reading it, which I hope will happen too. There were quite a few good and bad experiences while I was in the process of writing my first novel, and also, there are many things which I have learnt. So I thought I'll just pen them down here.

Firstly, as soon as I finished reading the manuscript this evening, there was a smile on my face. Apart from the satisfaction that, I have authored a novel (210 pages in MS Word Docu), I was in awe at the way the story had taken shape. When I first started off with it on Feb 18, I just had a vague idea and didn't really know what incidents will happen and also, which will happen when. But as I started to write, as thoughts moulded into words, as chapters unfolded, the story shaped up differently, something I myself didn't anticipate. That was when I wondered about the phenomenon called 'The Human Brain'. It stuns you sometimes. Apart from this example, there have been numerous occasions when I had been in awe of my own thought process.

And something I liked about my novel was that, every event that happens is part of the chain called 'A step forward'. So I just wish, every incident in our lives too, happens with relevance to our future, though I must admit that I strongly believe 'Everything in life happens for a reason'.

Actually I did no paperwork for my novel; in the sense, I never wrote the script or jotted down points on paper. The desire to write a novel always took centre stage whenever I thought deep, while reveling in solitude. Hence, writing a chapter was more or less, like writing a blog post. So, I would call my novel as a 'collection of blog posts'. What makes me call so, is actually, my approach to writing the novel by itself. And of course, just like my blog posts, my first attempt at fiction is a work straight from my heart. Being a so-called Engineer, I knew nothing about scriptwriting. But being an avid blogger, I knew to write blog posts. And so, just like how I have penned down 42 posts here, I could manage 24 there (22 + Prologue + Epilogue).

Also, writing this novel has really made me deal with patience. Though I was deriving great pleasure in writing the novel, I must confess that, there were days when the ideas and the thoughts didn't quite come about and that used to make me get annoyed with myself. But I could come over them all quite successfully.

In my opinion, the best time to write is after a sound sleep in the afternoon - the time between 4 and 6 in the evening. That's actually when I wrote some of the best chapters, and I wrote some good ones, late in the nights too (10pm-2am) - when there was noone around to disturb. By writing this novel, for the first time in life, I seemed focussed and was determined to get done something I wanted to happen. But as a matter of fact, there had been really nothing in life which 'I WANTED'.

It's a fantastic feeling, to see a word document for 210 pages written by me alone, to see a word document where my thoughts and emotions have been moulded into words, to see a word document which contains the life of all the characters I have created myself. But overall, it has been a wonderful experience and I have enjoyed every moment of it.

I feel great to have shared my feelings here. Thanks to the blogging platform and you guys. When you actually read my novel, you will know for yourself, how you have been part of the journey called 'A step forward' and how you have contributed to it.

Well... I am still waiting for my call letter from Tech Mahindra. So, I am sure I will be having enough time to introspect. So, my blogger buddies can expect a flurry of posts here in the coming weeks.

A strange feeling

Hi guys...its been a long time since i blogged. I was just lying down on my bed this afternoon and the chill air from the AC helped me escape from the heat. Just like the AC, the blogging platform helped me escape from the feelings that were troubling my heart. I needed(and i still need) someone to listen to what I had to say and it was you people with whom i actually shared everything. I felt good at recollecting my recent past, from march 22 2008. That was the day on which Shreya Ghoshal made me re-enter the world of blogging with a new-found exuberance. And just like her music, blogging too made me feel good and happy. If they were her songs which made me love her, it was you people who made me love the art of blogging.

For a moment I wondered why I have actually stopped blogging now. Of coourse, I had a reason. I wanted to concentrate on my book. Well, my novel is going good. Till now, I have completed 13 chapters =104 pages. (People who would like to read them and give me your reviews are welcome to do so. Leave your mail id in the comemnts section and I shall mail you. I would be glad if you people can take time off and read my work). 

A few weeks back, I received a comment from Niveditha who had said "Where you? Just cos you've big plans, don't stop blogging..." Though it was not meant to offend (hopefully...) I felt bad when I read it. I got a feeling if I was overlooking a platform which actually made me realize and hone the writing skill in me. Definitely not. 

Even now, I know I am not overlooking it and I am actually waiting to get back to blogging once I finish the book by the end of may or mid june(hopefully...). But I thought I ll pen down a short write-up now, to THANK U people for what you have done to me. THANK U to one and all for reading my blogs and making me realize that "I AM A DECENT WRITER".

Take care...Bye.. See you :) :)

Happy Blogging..

I am on my way to each of your blogs to know what's happening there and i have decided to spend the night at your blog sites.

P.S: There is a special mention about most of you in my novel, and apart from this article, everyone of you will be thanked in the "ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS" page of my book when it gets published. Hopefully, it should. Let's see.   

Stepping on a new platform

Hello… I’ve some news to share.

I’ve begun work on a fiction and as many of you know, it’s always been a dream for me to get a book published and it still is. I wish it turns into reality soon. Being fellow bloggers, you have been following my writings for quite a long time and I owe you lots for having been so supportive and thereby exuding the confidence in me to start with this work. Thank you so much! You are the first among a few to whom I’m disclosing the start of this new venture. So I take this opportunity to share with you, the storyline of my work of fiction. 

My first attempt at fiction delves into the mind of an Indian teenager to retrace the path of his life in the last five years. Though annoyed, he’s determined to make life enjoyable and prefers to take his future as it comes. Years are punctuated with months of mixed events and he begins to examine reasons for his mediocrity. Not a very ambitious person, but suddenly starts to value life at the dawn of a few unexpected memorable events. He's on a mission to dream BIG and realize the same. In the process he takes a step forward.

Based on real-life incidents, I stand in the shoes of the protagonist to narrate the events that unfolded to make him take that step forward.

It’s not completely fictional and incidents from my life shall be part of it. Just like my blog articles, it’ll be a work straight from my heart and I stand in the shoes of the protagonist to feel every word I pen. I’m indeed very happy to begin work on the same but I know, it calls for a lot of patience and shall truly be a test of my character to actually deliver something really worthy enough to reach the pages of a book. Till then, I wish to channel my thoughts in the direction of my work and hence taking a break from blogger as far as writing is concerned. I shall visit your blogs for inspiration to improvise on my work, time and again. Looking forward to a challenging but at the same time, a refreshing and a learning experience!

The exact time I shall take to complete this work remains a question mark but being my first attempt, I want to take sufficient time and deliver my BEST.

Till then, take care. 

P.S: I'm thankful to Divya for presenting me the Thoughtful blogger award.

Regards

Rajesh