Wednesday, January 01, 2014

The year that was!

The year that was....and what a year it was.

Beginning Jan 1 of 2013 by partying with some of my closest friends at the Indian School of Business, and then making a 250km dash to Vijaywada to pay respects to our family deity, missing my return train and then catching the bus back to Hyderabad, I did not realise at that time what the year had in store. As I look back, it has been a monumental year, personally and professionally. I have grown, I have regressed. I have matured, I have acted impulsively. I received gifts and awards I will cherish through the rest of my life; I have made monumental errors of judgement. As I climbed peaks, I faltered at the straights. Enough of metaphors. I have shed a tear as one of my heroes retired from a sport that has been his life for 24 years. I paused for a moment's silence, as another hero who fixed the heart and soul of a nation, long broken by hate, breathed his last. I pray and hope that yet another hero, no stranger to risk and danger, fights the battle of his life, comes out victorious This year, has been quite the year, and two dates stand out amongst the rest:

April 7: The day when 550 students of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad Campus donned their graduation robes and made that "final walk" towards the graduating podium, after which they would not be students of ISB, but alumni of one of the best business schools in India and amongst the finest in the world. For all of us, it was a day of mixed emotions. Thrill, excitement, nostalgia, sadness, all rolled into one. We formed friendships that continue till this day. We crack jokes that only we can understand, and yearn for the time we could all wake up at 8AM for an 8.15AM lecture and rock up to the lecture theatre.

June 3: A dream come true. The start of my professional life in India. I had always dreamt and hoped to work in India, and on this day, I became part of the Indian workforce. Over the past six months, this experience has been exhilirating, frustrating, draining, exciting. But at no time has it been regretful. During the 1996 World Cup, I am told that the Australian Cricket team's slogan was "No Regrets". I have tried to live with using this as my slogan, and have succeed in no small measure. This too, is an experience, I have not regretted. It has been full of learning and has made me into a better person.

So what for the new year? As the bard hath written in Hamlet "We know what we are, but not we may be". With that thought firmly in my mind, I recall, with sadness, at errors of judgement I have made, errors which still continue to haunt me, and teach me a painful lesson. Thus, in 2014, I will be better. I will be a better human being. I will be a better son. I will be a better brother. I will be a better member of the family I will be a better friend. I will be a better colleague. I will be a better student. I will be better. To paraphrase India's first Prime Minister, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru "Whither do I go and what shall be my endeavour?" I do not know, but if 2013 is any clue, then I shall sure learn a lot on my journey

2014, I welcome you....

2 comments:

Swetha Venkat said...

fantastic! Good luck PK ! :)

Swetha Venkat said...

fantastic! Good Luck PK! :)