A walk to my birthplace Day 55 (160 Km covered so far)

Yesterday the jungle babbler took me back in time and today as I walked along, I was still in the world of birds. I remembered story of a bird family I had read as a child. 

There was a bird that had formed a nest in a field in the midst of tall grass. Every day the mother bird went out to pick up food for the baby birds and the baby birds eagerly waited till  their mother was back. One day as the mother bird came back, she saw that the babies were scared and unusually quiet. She asked them about the reason. One of the babies said, “O mother today the owner of the field was walking around. He looked around and commented about the wild grass to be cleaned up. What will happen to us?” The wise mother told the babies not to worry and their routine continued for a week. Again after a week the mother bird saw her babies worried when she returned back. Babies told her that the same man had returned and he talked about getting some farm-help to clear the weeds. Mother bird smiled and reassured the babies. Few days passed peacefully and the mother could see the fear haunting the babies once again. She asked, “What happened today?” One of the baby birds said, “Well, the same man had come and he said that tomorrow he himself will start clearing the field”. This time the wise mother bird thought for the moment and told the baby birds, “Its time to go. Lets move to a safer place.” Next day morning she shifted her babies to another place.

This simple story kept coming back to my mind. The message also is simple but profound. Many of us are aware about the weeds we need to clear in our life / mind but just the awareness does not help. Then sometimes we keep waiting for a help to arrive and no-one is in any hurry to clear your weed. The day you take a step to act yourself, it would actually happen sooner than later. The wise little bird knew this reality and shifted her babies only when the owner talked of doing something on his own!

As the year comes to an end, here is wishing my friends a new year full of purposeful action. Do take charge of your own destiny and act to clear the unwanted weed in your life! Wishing you an action filled 2014

A walk to my birthplace Day 55 (154 Km covered so far)

I am fortunate to have a huge campus of NCL next to my house. It’s a lovely place to take a walk in the morning. You do not feel you are in the midst of city as you walk through trees and tall grass.

Today as I crossed a cluster of trees, I was distracted by a sudden noise made by a group of birds. I realized these were jungle babblers- commonly known as “seven sisters” for the habit of moving in the group of 6-7 all the time and making a lot of noise.

“Seven sisters” took me back in time. During my college days, a few of us had formed our own nature club and registered ourselves with WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature). We diligently used to go on our bird-watching trails every Sunday. Mumbai has (or at least that time had!) a 91 Sq Km jungle which used to boast of about 285 species of birds ….

…. We used to park our two-wheelers near the film city gate of the forest and walk deep inside …. We walked on many Sundays in all different seasons …. During monsoon one could lose count of peacocks crossing the roads … a pheasant crow – an otherwise shy bird with a sweet call used to be a regular friend there …. Oriole with a bright yellow body and black head was a sight to behold! I still can feel the shiver up my spine when we spotted a family of huge vultures on a lonely road!

The best memory I have is that of a Malabar Hornbill. Hornbill is a bird with huge beak and not very common around crowded cities. On one corner of the road, we spotted a tree little below the level of the road. As soon as we spotted the hornbill, we stood there still like statues lest the bird should get disturbed. Hornbill sat there on a big branch and as we saw little more carefully, we saw a hole in the tree trunk covered with mudpack. A baby hornbill sat there comfortably taking feed from the parent hornbill on the branch. I don’t remember exactly but we sat there for a long time transfixed. It was something of a spiritual experience!!

Looking back, I realize that those jungle trails did a lot for me …. Those trails taught me to walk on lonely roads without any expectations and be appreciative of the gifts, the journey has in store for you. Walking around aimlessly, after all,  can be very purposeful!

I winked at the babblers and walked away with a promise to return tomorrow!

A walk to my birthplace Day 54 (150 Km covered so far)

Couple of weeks back, I got an invitation for a function that aroused my curiosity. The function was about donating two boxes of books to readers. The function was organized by ‘Kusumagraj pratishthan(Foundation)’. Kusumagraj was a towering personality in Marathi literature so when you get an invitation to participate in a function that bears his name, it was an absolute honor.

I entered the venue to be met by a short man. “Hi, I am Vinayak Ranade from Kusumagraj Pratishthan”. I shook hands with typical enthusiasm I reserve for office bearers of any type! I had reached early and there were not many around. So I asked Mr Ranade “Tell me something more about this function”. I must say, I asked the question just to kill time and was not ready for what I was about to hear!!

Mr Ranade started his narrative. In 2004, he met with a near fatal accident in which his friend lost his life and Mr Ranade himself was seriously injured. He had to lie on the bed for close to one and half years. All he could do that time was to reflect on life. “For the first time I realized that the world can run without me. I have a printing business which my wife had to run and she did it efficiently.” Mr Ranade recounted. He also had a unique hobby. He never forgot to wish anyone on their birthdays. He soon realized that he had about 3000 contacts. He organized these contacts into the groups. He would send a birthday message to the person concerned along with the others in the group so that others in the group also wished the birthday boy/girl – a very simple way of spreading happiness.  Invariably people celebrating their birthdays called Mr Ranade in the evening and asked him about what can they do for him.

This set him thinking. From this huge contact base came an idea “Pustak tumachya daari (Book at your Doorstep)”. Mr Ranade raised funds through his well-wishers and created what he calls “Reading Groups”. He would go and buy best of Marathi books and put 100 of them in a box. He would then give this box to one volunteer who would take responsibility of circulating the books in the box to the registered members of the reading group for next 4 months. After 4 months Mr Ranade or one of his volunteers would come to take the box and replace it with other box! The whole mission was about giving quality books to anyone who wants to read! “Lot of books in libraries lie on shelf but this way many of the books get read and people don’t mind reading if the books are easily available”.

Mr Ranade does not take a penny from this venture; neither do readers pay a penny. Today he has 400 boxes of books in circulation with each box containing 100 books. This is the overwhelming power of a simple idea acted on diligently. Here is a simple man who runs his business, his family but also runs a madness where 40,000 books are in circulation and the number is growing. Take a bow Mr Ranade – the world needs more mad people like you to make it a better place!!!

A walk to my birthplace Day 52 (145 Km covered so far)

Just like any average Indian middleclass boy, I drooled at Royal Enfield bikes (more commonly and fondly called “Bullet” across all its models). The problem was, I could never afford one – neither the price nor the mileage. However, the dream of buying a “Bullet” always lingered on in my mind.

Finally at the age of 43, I bought a Royal Enfield classic 500 - a sheer beauty. I just wanted to live up my old dream of roaming around on my bike with my wife. As we started roaming around, we realized the problem. Back seat is not all that comfortable to ride and Pallavi complained some back pain after some long rides. I was little disappointed and decided to take the bike to one of the mechanics I had heard about.

My cousin had told me about a mechanic who operates in Pune. He is considered as expert on ‘Bullets’ and also called Bullet Ramesh. I went to him with my bike to check if something can be done about the backseat. Well, Ramesh operates near a petrol pump and when I went to search for him, a man in shabby dress approached me.  He introduced himself as Ramesh. I was little disappointed – he looked a simple man not even wearing a mechanic apron! I told him the problem and asked him if he could do something.

He told me that he works on bike and not on “other parts”. He also told me not to waste my time searching for the solution for the seat. I was disappointed but liked his direct talk. “I am sure something can be done” I asked him. Ramesh scratched his head for and said, “May be if we adjust suspension setting, ride on the back seat could be little easier.” I asked him “Ok, how much time will it take and when should I come?” He looked at me, shook his head, sat down near my bike with a screwdriver, “I will do it now”. He showed me how simple was the adjustment and finished the job in couple of minutes. “How much do I pay you”. He smiled – “Nothing for this. Just don’t ask such questions, some people will advise you to change the suspension instead of this simple job! By the way, I am also authorized to service your bike”.

I thanked him and left thinking. There was something about his expertise that appealed to me. He was not the one who hyped his work. I also may not have to pay for overheads like his workshop rent, uniform and many other things which may not have any relevance to servicing my bike! May be this simple man had a very simple USP for which I would not mind paying him – his passion and knowledge for Bullet!

A walk to my birthplace Day 50 (142 Km covered so far)

Today as I walked my thoughts drifted to some random memories about my sister.

I have a sister who is elder by 6 years. I can’t exactly say that we grew together because she was someone I always looked up to and knew that she will always take care of me. Well, I always needed someone to defend me due to whatever mischief I played almost every day. My sister always used to fight my case and that delicate little girl used to be a terrific advocate!

I used to exploit her benevolence to the full. I still remember, once I had a slight injury to my finger at the beginning of the academic year. So my sister wrote the science journal for me. Her handwriting, unlike mine, is outstanding. I told her that if I now write the journal, teacher will detect the difference and that would be a trouble. She smiled and wrote my journal for the rest of the year!! My mother told her not to fall for such obvious tricks but she was ok…..

Of course there was a little fee to be paid for such cover. I used to be the errand boy not only for her but also for her friends. In those days when telephone was a luxury, I used to go from one place to other exchanging the messages she and 3 of her best friends wrote to each other. Other duties included standing in the Q for movie tickets, escort them from a late night movie etc but I was fine ….

Just the last week, I was in Mumbai for an important meeting and stayed at her place the night before. Next day morning, I sat up chatting with her on the breakfast table till she reminded me of the time. I panicked – I had to attend an important quarterly review meeting. I wanted to quickly iron my clothes and asked her for the iron. She told me to go and take the shower and she promised me to iron my clothes. Without hesitation, I followed the instructions and finally made it on time …

As I ended my day I wondered about the morning incident. I knew the importance of my meeting extremely well. I also knew that I couldn't afford to be late – Did I sit there chatting with her half-knowingly that she will help me to get ready? The answer is YES. Was it fair on my part to do so – the answer is YES again! There are very few people in life who preserve your childhood in their mind. These are anchors of your life who give you immense stability in your ups and down. For them, you always remain a child. If you keep aside logic and modern days norms of correct behavior,  you will understand what exactly I mean!!

A walk to my birthplace Day – 49 (136 km covered so far)

I am pathologically nomadic! I can never sit at home. Even on a weekend, I keep figuring out multiple options to roam around. My friends always keep asking me about the reason for my high energy when it comes to an outing.  I never have been able to understand it …. Well at least till today.

My mother underwent a serious cervical spinal cord surgery over four years back. She fought hard to get on to her feet but that surgery did leave serious restrictions on her movements. She has to walk with some help and that too slowly. After the surgery her going out for long trips became difficult and I also could not take her out anywhere for a vacation due to multiple reasons.

Finally things worked out. Pallavi, kids and I decided to go to Mahabaleshwar (about 120 Km from Pune) along with my parents. We had planned this vacation just to relax but my mother made it clear that she is not going to sit at the resort. She suggested that we should go to some place around Mahabaleshwar which we have not gone earlier. I did some search and narrowed down on Tapola – beautiful place with confluence of three rivers. We decided to go there and take ride in a boat for couple of hours.

We reached there and booked a boat exclusively for ourselves. As we went down to the water, I realized the problem! This place was not well developed with a proper jetty etc and one had to climb a little iron ladder to get into the boat! Impossible for my mother for sure! I abandoned the plan as I did not want to take any risk. My mother stopped me. “I will try”. I told her not to worry about the money that we might waste – it was ok for me. She insisted. “It’s a beautiful place = lets try”. Looking at her spirit the boatman was touched and he offered an innovative solution. He pulled the boat next to a small platform from where my mother could sit on the edge of the boat and we could get her in on the bench inside! She actually did it! Thank god nobody with a faint heart was around to watch it!!

The boat ride was great. It was serene surrounding and we sailed through at a comfortable speed. I looked at my mother. There she was - sitting quietly enjoying the breeze in that lovely surrounding. It was such a lovely picture that I forgot to look around and kept staring at her. That instant I suddenly got answer to the question my friends keep asking me. The answer was so obvious and in front of me! I know the source of my madness and answers could be found in genetics!!

A walk to my birthplace Day – 48 (133 km covered so far)

I read a Danish story in newspaper’s children’s section and that kept ringing in my head all the day. Just felt compelled to repeat the story  here. Of course I don’t remember the exact names of the character but that hardly matters!

John went to his grandmother’s place just before Christmas. Grandmother gave him 50 krones and told him to buy anything for Christmas. When they went to the big mall, grandmother said, “John, go and buy whatever you want. I will sit here and read my book”. John was little disoriented as he had never gone alone in such a shop. The shop was full of Christmas gifts and little John felt like Alice in the wonderland. He moved from one counter to another and stopped in his tracks when he saw a beautiful red and white woolen sweater. He remembered his classmate and best friend Rob. Rob never came to play out with other kids on the ground. Whenever anyone invited Rob to play, he politely turned it down saying he was not well. Only John knew that Rob avoided playing out in the open as he did not have proper warm clothes. John instinctively picked up the sweater for Rob. John went to the counter and gave it to the sales girl along with his 50 Krones. The girl smiled at little John and asked him whom was he buying it for. John told him about Rob and the salesgirl smiled and gift-packed it for John in exchange of 50 Krones. When grandmother heard the story, she looked the price-tag, went over to the counter and paid the balance of amount after thanking the sweet salesgirl.

Grandmother then took little John to Rob’s place. She asked him to keep the gift in the door, ring bell and come back. John followed the instruction and both of them stood behind a tree. Little Rob opened the door, came out, picked up the gift and was overjoyed. “Thank you Santa!” he yelled looking up. Grandmother told John, “Santa is very busy these days and that’s why he asks us to help him in distributing gifts. Santa will definitely thank you.”

It is such a simple story but it touched my heart. I wondered, who was Santa? Was it Little John who thought of spending all his money for a dear friend or was it the salesgirl who kept aside commercial considerations so that a noble mind does not get disappointed or was it the grandmother who guided little John like an angel. Perhaps they all were! Rob would never know his Santa. It must be happening to all of us.  There is always a Santa out there for everyone. All we can do to repay Santa is to be a silent Santa for someone else. After all that old man with white beard wearing red dress wouldn't mind a little helping hand here and there!

A walk to my birthplace Day 47 (130 Km covered so far)

Today was a busy day as I again drove to Mumbai early in the morning and returned back late. Though I did not walk the physical distance, I feel like writing as I walked on the self exploration path.

Today was get-to-gather of our school class. We all passed out from school in 1985. Two of our friends were visiting from US and that was good enough a reason for about 30 of us to be there. It was an informal gathering and we just sat around the room chatting. A few of our friends are great singers and they obliged to our requests. One of the friends had us in splits with his stand-up talk show and I pitched in with a few poems. Overall mood was pretty relaxed.

Some of the friends were quiet so we decided to draw them in with interviews. I happily offered to be interviewer and the whole idea was to create some humor. By unanimous vote, we called one of our classmates, who was well-known and I must say well-respected for his pranks in the school. Though he was quiet today, we anticipated a lot of fireworks and fun once he got going. I asked him, “So tell us something that you always wanted to do but could not”. We all hoped that we will get to hear something peppy about a prank he could not pull off! Instead, he thought for a moment and said, “I wanted to serve in Defense Services but I failed to clear my exam and that will always remain with me”. Everyone was quiet; I made some stupid conciliatory noises and moved on. I conducted couple of other lame dialogues and thankfully it was lunch time so we broke off.

It set me thinking. As we chatted along in small groups, one of my friends summed up my emotions beautifully. “When we meet someone after a long time, we talk to the image we have in our mind rather than the person in front of us!” We do not realize a lot of water could have flown under the bridge and things are never the same again.  Meeting someone after a long time may be the reason for today’s faux pas. I sincerely hoped that otherwise I generally talk to the person in front of me and not the image in mind!!

A walk to my Birthplace - Day 46 (130 Km covered so far)

Last  ten days were hectic coupled with extreme cold wave in Pune. To make the matters worse, I travelled for about 4 days – hmmm in short – I had multiple excuses and somehow missed my walk.

When I started this walk, I wanted to finish 240 Km before 31st December 2013. I was doing pretty ok till about couple of weeks back and then suddenly due to multiple reasons I lost almost four days. The target of walking 240 Km by 31^st December looked pretty much out of reach. With that depressing thought, I almost gave up and lost 2/3 more days.

I was little sad giving up midway and it troubled me. It was my own target and nobody had thrust it upon me. Why should I be so bothered? The reason was obvious -  my blog about “A walk to my birthplace” was getting a fantastic response and I loved the attention and feedback. I guess I was missing that adulation.

I sat down and thought about it. Basic purpose of starting this project “A walk to my Birthplace” was to ensure that I keep fit. Just to keep my physical and writing fitness - intact, I branded my morning walk as “A walk to my birthplace” – and yes that worked like magic. I realized that walking 240 Km by 31^st December was a secondary goal to which I had attached all my attention. The purpose of this was always my own fitness.

I just re-assessed my targets – decided to walk 240 Km before my Birthday ie 18^th January and suddenly felt good. Only problem was I was scheduled to travel again – but this time I packed my walking shoes and walked in Mumbai as well as Bangalore.

While walking today in Bangalore, I realized my basic purpose is physical fitness and I need to keep walking even after 240 Km – may be I will have to start a new project “Walking past my birthplace” and then keep walking and of course keep writing J

A walk to my birthplace - Day 34 (116 Km covered so far)

Finally back on track - Missed the walk a few times in last few days and missed writing when walked!

Just while picking up my stuff from the locker, I saw piece of coral that is a permanent fixture there – this piece always has a great re-assuring effect on me …. Of course there is a story behind it.

Long time back, in 1991, Pallavi and I became good friends. There was something more to the relationship that was obvious to others but not to us … I was 21 and she was 18 and we just loved spending time with each other. I was her father’s favorite student and little wary of even guessing anything about my relationship with Pallavi.

Pallavi’s father was invited as part of Indian delegation to Mauritius for a few days in 1991. Pallavi asked me if I could pick him at airport when he returned back. “I will also come with you” she said casually (or so I thought) … my heart fluttered …. “OK” I tried to sound as normal as I could. We were there at the airport in the middle of night and thankfully her uncle who accompanied us was busy finding out flight arrival information. Both of us quietly sat on a luggage trolley without exchanging a word!!

Once Pallavi’s father arrived, we drove to their residence in Worli. He was back from his first overseas trip and all of us chatted late into night sipping some tea. When I finished my tea Pallavi’s father affectionately told her, “Go, get some more tea for dada (elder brother!!)” She stomped furiously to the kitchen and did not return for some time. Though little awkward, I felt happy for some strange reason …. Perhaps it was the first clue that I was looking out for!

It was quite late in the night and I got up to leave. Pallavi returned back and quietly handed me a small piece of coral that her father had got from Mauritius.

I drove back with my little gift, feeling quite upbeat! I came home and kept it with all my important belongings. It is the habit that I have retained for last 22 years. That piece of coral is always kept in my  locker. Every time I see it, I am reminded of the reason to live for. That little piece has magic to bring a sense of well-being every time I look at it!

A walk to my birthplace - Day 29 (107 Km covered so far)

I was back to walking track after couple of days of break due to rains and travel.

Yesterday when I came back from office, my son was eagerly waiting for me. As soon as I stepped in, my 6-years old son came running with ‘breaking news’. “Teacher made me class monitor” then he proudly showed me the badge given by school. We performed a little jig. My teenage daughter watched with half-amusement and half embarrassment. “How long are you going to be the monitor?” she asked. My son simply ignored the question – just like me, he does not believe in petty details when it comes to celebrations.

 “We need to celebrate”, I told my son. “Yes, lets go to Goa”. I know going to Goa, almost 500 km away, to celebrate for this occasion was going little overboard. But my son has inherited my genes of disproportionate celebration for any happy occasion. We generally wafted in the cloud of happiness for some time.

Once sanity prevailed, my wife took over. She decided to drive home her point. “Chinmay, now that you are a class monitor you have to be in your best behavior and your class-work should be neat and tidy”. I could see the little on was now lost in his thoughts and suddenly he was not sure if being monitor is such a good thing after all! My wife and I did our best not to laugh.

With Assembly elections in the air, I couldn’t think of comparing our little scene with what happens at a much higher level with higher stakes. It is quite common to see the politicians in full force while they are in opposition – they speak with gay abandon with little concern for anything. If and when the tables turn, this bunch comes into power. Once the celebrations and initial euphoria is over, reality dawns – They are now accountable for something, they no longer have the liberty to point fingers at power for anything that goes wrong! With power come responsibility!

Sometimes I just wonder whether they secretly yearn to get back to opposition benches! You can never underestimate the joy of lack of accountability!!

A walk to my birthplace - Day 26 (103 Km covered so far)

Today was a hectic day. I had to attend a function along with the family in Mumbai. It was a wedding reception of a close family friend’s daughter so we were looking forward to it. Only problem - it was in Mumbai on Sunday evening which meant, I had to drive a two-way distance of 300 Km to be back home the same day.

 Sneha, whose wedding reception we were to attend is daughter of very close family friend. Pallavi and I have known Sneha since she was two years old and for us her marriage was an indication of how time flies. It was an occasion we were keen to attend.

Before attending the function, we went to Vile Parle – a suburb of Mumbai where I grew up and my parents still live there. While growing up it was a cozy little suburb which was home. Whenever I entered Vile Parle, I used to feel at home. It has been over 12 years since I left the place and of late I sometimes find it difficult to connect. Obviously the suburb has undergone a change – A lot of new people and a lot of new constructions that were not part of my childhood.

My parents were very happy with this surprise visit and did their best to pamper all of us. One could also see their eagerness to get best out of the short time and this is what hurts! When I get to spend so little time with them, I always feel an acute pain. I almost feel like a guest in the house where I grew up. Though I meet them often and talk to them almost every day, these short visits leave me somewhat more depressed than happy. Something does not seem right.

While driving back to Pune, I wondered what bothers me. Seeing your parents getting old is very painful. When you don’t live with them, it hits you even more.  When I go to Vile Parle, I look for the signs of childhood. When I go home, I perhaps look for my parents exactly as they were in my childhood.

While on one hand I was quite happy to attend the wedding of a kid whom I had seen grown up, I was not quite ready to accept my parents ageing. I guess it’s a strong desire to see one’s parent eternally young – howsoever illogical it may sound – it is in them that I look to preserve my childhood! Today was a day with rainbow of emotions – a little more than I could handle! May be you do not cherish some distances that you travel!!

A walk to my birthplace - Day 25 (100 Km covered so far)

I hit the road after a couple of days and finally hit my 100 Km-mark. While walking today my mind went back to something that happened over dinner a few days back.

I was with some people over dinner and when the time came to order my drink, I ordered my usual orange juice. Person sitting next to me asked “So are you off the alcohol these days?” “No, actually I never had alcohol in my life.” “Really, great abstinence!” – I just smiled because to me this was not an issue to discuss at all.

But that comment set me thinking … Actually abstinence assumes a temptation that is avoided … in my case there was never any temptation. I come from a simple middle class family where drinking neither was a part of culture nor socially accepted.  Generally many friends tried a drink or two at 17 and had to do a lot of efforts to hide it from their parents. In my case, my parents had always trusted me right from the childhood.  I don’t remember them ever asking me an account of my time or money spent – ever! Hanging out with friends, I used to return home past midnight like any normal teen-ager but do not remember ever being asked about my whereabouts. Same was true for money .... there were times when I spent money and asked for replenishment pretty fast – no questions were asked. Also, in this relationship there was no room for a lie or a secret! If I had taken a drink, there was no option of keeping it secret and my mother would have been extremely hurt if I had touched alcohol! I guessed that must have settled the issue for me quite early in life!

Do I have any views on alcohol? NO – not at all - I think it’s a matter of personal choice and a lot depends on the rules of engagement in the family. I have seen many cases of parents bonding with their kids over a drink or two. I have seen in these relationships based on openness and trust.

As long as you have congruence with your value system and that of your dear ones,   a drink or two does not matter!

A walk to my birthplace - Day 23 (94 Km covered so far)

Today I came back home in the evening and felt little unwell. I was feeling little feverish and decided to take rest. This meant that I could not go for my walk today. Since “A walk to my birthplace” has started, I really look forward to my walks. Funny, how you get going behind something with a single-minded focus once you make a mission out of it.  I was little disappointed not to add any distance to my walk today but did not want to take risk as tomorrow is a working day!

So, very unlike myself, I settled into a beanbag in the leaving room and dozed off for some time. I got up when I felt someone touching my forehead. I saw Janhavi – my 16 year old daughter checking out anxiously if I had fever. “Are you ok?” she asked. “Of course, I am, just trying to take a bit of rest. Nothing serious”.  Obviously she did not believe me and kept hovering around. She got me some water and asked, “Should I make some tea for you?” “No, thank you. But I will have some food after some time”. “Ok” she said and sat next to me. When I was ready for my supper, Janhavi quickly got up and got me some rice. “You eat here”. Once I finished my food she quickly picked up the plate and went away. “Do you need anything?” “No, I am fine”.

By now I was feeling little funny about the whole situation. I was not that unwell. The way my daughter fussed around me was peculiar! How quickly kids grow up! I was not able to decide whether I prefer my tantrum-throwing, demanding little daughter or this caring young lady.  

I suddenly started feeling much better even without covering any more distance in Kilometers – In little moments like these you realize the distance your kid has traveled!

A walk to my birthplace Day 22 (94 Km covered so far)

What is the most common phenomenon at any tourist spot?  You always see tourists clicking photographs for capturing permanent memories of the place / occasion. One of the most cynical comments I ever heard was – ‘People click the pictures in frenzy and then do site-seeing when they browse their albums at home!’

Nothing wrong with that – the concept of photograph was perhaps invented to capture the memories. My mind drifted to one momentous occasion which is marked by lack of one photograph which should have been taken. In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed the world’s tallest peak – Mount Everest. When they reached the top, they spent only 15 minutes at the top. They had limited time as they had to head back safely. They quickly assessed the situation, looked for any evidence whether the earlier expedition by George Mallory had reached the top. Tenzing left a chocolate at the top and Hillary left a cross he carried. And of course Edmund Hillary clicked the photos! He clicked the photos from the top to prove authenticity of their claim and also took photo of Tenzing Norgay unfurling the flags of Nepal, UK, UN and India! But there is no photograph of Edmund Hillary at the top! It is said that Tenzing was not familiar with a camera and hence there is no picture. Tenzing in one of the interviews years later said that he had offered to take a picture of Hillary but he refused – he did not want it.

I wonder what must have been the reason for Hillary to not have a photo? Perhaps he had decided to leave a memory different than a photograph. Sir Edmund Hillary spent significant part of his life to improve the lives of local ‘Sherpa’ community by opening multiple schools, hospitals and providing clean drinking water.  Apart from his legacy of philanthropy, he also left a legacy of adventure – exactly 50 years after his successful Mount Everest expedition, his son climbed Mount Everest along with Tenzing’s son!

Here was a man who had an indomitable spirit of adventure – he was the first (and perhaps only) man to have been on both poles of earth and Mount Everest; to drive a farm tractor to South Pole. In 1977, he also traveled in a jet boat starting from ocean towards the point nearest to the origin of Ganges.

Take a bow Sir Edmund Hillary – you will always remind us that there are better ways of preserving memories than a photograph! 

A walk to my birthplace Day 21 (89 Km covered so far)

Flipping through the channels, I just lingered on National Geographic HD channel. It was a program on wild animals. A female leopard fought with a big female baboon and finally killed it. As the leopard started pulling the carcass up the tree, I decided to change the channel to avoid any further gory details. Just when I was about to change the channel, my fingers froze! A tiny one-day old infant fell off from the belly of the baboon. I was in double mind – I wanted to change the channel but curiosity prevented it. As the tiny baboon infant fell off from the branch the leopard approached it. I held my breath. The leopard gently cuddled the infant baboon. Scared as it was the infant baboon started crawling across. The leopard suddenly saw a hyena lurking around. Instead of protecting its kill, the leopard first gently picked up the infant and put it on the tree. Then it came back to chase away the hyena. The infant baboon, scared and confused, kept crawling across and leopard did its best to keep it on the branch safely. Finally the infant baboon settled with the leopard and cuddled together, they both rested!

I literally had Goosebumps! As I switched off the TV I was extremely disturbed.  We call human beings an evolved species. Regularly one reads in the newspapers the hideous act of what is shamelessly called “Honor killings”. Just because the kids decide to be partners with someone who is not from the caste/creed the council of wise men (!!!!) decide to punish them with brutal murder.

If a predator like leopard makes its best efforts to save the infant of its prey, what gives us right to call ourselves a higher species? As long as hideous events like honor killing continue to happen around us we definitely don’t deserve the description!!!!!!!!

A walk to my birthplace - Day 20 (85 Km covered so far)

I heard this story just yesterday and loved it …. This is story of two monks – one old and another younger one. One day both the monks were walking through a forest. While walking through forest, they came across a flowing river. The river was not very deep but the current was quite strong. While they were searching for an appropriate spot to cross the river, they saw a very beautiful young girl standing on the river bank. She looked worried. As the monks approached her, she bowed to the older monk and said, “O wise one, I need to cross the river but I am scared of the current. I cannot walk through the river”. The old monk quietly held out his hand but she said, “I am so scared, I really cannot walk even holding your hand”. The old monk looked at her and without a word picked he up in his arms and walked across the river. Once they crossed the river, the old monk put her down and she walked away after thanking him.

Both monks crossed the forest. The young monk was deep in his thoughts. Monks had taken oath of celibacy and were not supposed to touch a woman. What old monk just did seem so inappropriate! He kept quiet for a long time but finally could not bear the burden of his thoughts.

He asked the old monk, “Why did you carry that girl across the river?” The old monk turned around and said in a calm voice, “Young man, I left her on the banks of the river long back, why are you still carrying her in your mind?”

It happens to us many a times. We are so bound by rules of the society that we forget the purpose behind those rules. Rules soon become rituals to be blindly followed! There are times when temporarily moving away from rules is necessary as long as it does not hurt anyone! Carrying guilt at those times is purely irrelevant and unnecessary!!!!

A walk to my Birthplace - Day 19 (78 Km covered so far)

In Maharabharata there is a story of Bheema – the mighty pandava and lord Hanuman –  revered as god of strength. Bheema was extremely proud of his strength and that pride had made him arrogant. One day when Bheema was going down the path, he saw an old monkey sitting on the road with its tail spread across. Bheema ordered the monkey to move the tail and the frail monkey said. “I am too old to move. Why don’t you move it?” Bheema, with all his strength could not move the tail even by an inch. Finally he bowed to the monkey and asked for forgiveness. That’s when lord Hanuman who was in the guise of an old monkey came into his own being.

I had heard this story quite a few times but it had not sunk in well…. It did - a few years back-  in a very peculiar way ……

In India long distance driving holidays are not as common as some of the other countries. I was 35 then and had planned a driving holiday all the way up to Nainitaal and Kausani (approximately 2000 Km from Pune where I stay). It was a long drive and we traveled as a big team comprising me, my wife, daughter, parents, in-laws and my brother-in law. Kausani was the farthest point in our trip and after thoroughly enjoying our stopovers at Corbett, Nainitaal, we finally arrived at Kausani. We stayed a small hotel facing the valley. After watching the sunset from the terrace, I strolled down to bonfire lit in hotel’s backyard. I came across an elderly gentleman who must be in his early sixties. We said hi to each other and he asked “where have you come from”. Feeling proud about my long distance driving I told him,” I have come from Pune and I have driven all the way with my family in Innova (MUV manufactured by Totoya)” Excellent” said the old man. Little disappointed that he showed no further curiosity I asked him about himself. “Well, I am 63 and retired. I have come from Bangalore.” “So, how did you come?” The old man quietly said, “I have a santro (small car  by Hundai) and I drove down from Bangalore”. I was speechless! Here was a man almost three decades older than me and had driven down almost 1000 km more than me in a small car and was pretty cool about it!

I blushed and felt extremely foolish about my own pride! I guess god has his own design to quietly put things in perspective. Thank you lord for everything!

A walk to my Birthplace - Day 18 (75 Km covered so far)

I think I have bragged enough about my driving skills multiple times. But, here is a story that is little different than my normal brag stories.

I was driving up the Zoji-La (La=pass) on the way to Leh. Zoji-La is a narrow strip of dirt road that winds up the mountain without any protection on the side of a deep valley. It is  high altitude drive where you drive at around 12000 ft above the sea level (The highest point on the road is Fotu-La which is approximately 14000 Ft).

This was the first time I was driving in such high altitude. I had my family with me and I drove my SUV extremely carefully. At one point I stopped by, to give side to the other vehicles. As I started again up the slope, my vehicle started sliding down. I pushed the paddle to no effect. It was pretty scary to slide back on that slope but finally the vehicle was stopped.

A young Kashmiri driver riding his rickety utility vehicle watched this whole episode. He came to me and said “Sir, drive it with gentle care – don’t press the paddle. Your vehicle will easily climb! If it does not-I will drive it myself. Don’t worry”. I prayed to the god and started again following his instruction – this time driving at ease and pushing the paddle gently – it worked!

At high altitude, there is less oxygen. If you push the paddle, you just flood the engine with not much oxygen available for combustion – you have to push the paddle carefully – just enough for vehicle to climb easily.

There is always less oxygen at the top! This applies to the corporate careers as well. As we climb up, the terrain changes. It is no longer only about pushing the paddle – but to also ensure that you have enough oxygen to go ahead!

As one goes up the corporate ladder, one has to ensure that you maintain your oxygen. This oxygen is your support system in terms of relationships – in and out of workplace, your friends and your hobbies. If you just keep pushing the paddle, you do not give time for the oxygen to act effectively and mind eventually gets flooded with stress. It is the same stress which has kept you on toes and got you to compete and reach certain height. But if it floods your mind – slide may start! Be careful – as the terrain changes – what got you here may not take you further!

A walk to my Birthplace - Day 17 (71 Km covered so far)

I am undergoing a training program to be a coach. It is pretty interesting to attend 10-hours classroom session after ages. Today something interesting happened in the class. We were all asked to describe ourselves using a metaphor. Today’s walk is all about what popped up in my mind instantly.

I spontaneously responded – “Elephant”. Why elephant??

First of all it is an animal with strong affiliation to its family.

 Elephants are known as big animals but elephant’s trunk is the most sensitive muscle combination that can pick up even the pin. Elephant is an odd combination of roughness and sensitivity.

Elephants generally are good when left on their own and actually indulge in themselves in their own way.

Elephants are known to have a great memory – they do not forget and forgive easily.

Generally easy going animals, elephants can be supremely agile once they are behind something.

It is interesting how elephant is tamed. When a wild elephant is captured, it is tied by the chain and firmly tied to the peg so that it cannot move. Later on, whenever elephant has just chain attached to its leg, it remains stationary even though not tied down by anyone! May be due to its memory elephant can also carry a lot of unnecessary baggage and actually can feel bogged down where there is no need!

Most importantly elephant is an extremely private animal when it comes to grief. Elephant does not share grief easily. It is said that when elephant comes to end of life, it goes away on its own and meets the end quietly!

May be this is me or my own perception about me. What is your metaphor?

A walk to my Birthplace - Day 16 (67 Km covered so far)

I dumped my luggage after checking in and set out to walk. After years I walked around the Brigade road and MG Road in Bangalore. I roamed around the busy streets and mind went back a few years.

First visit to Bangalore was during my childhood when my maternal uncle was posted here. First impression of the city was more about the distance to Bangalore. Perhaps that was the longest train journey till then. My uncle really pampered us during that visit and Bangalore to me meant a fairyland - a lovely place but far off.

I visited Bangalore many years after my first visit. In less than a year after our marriage, Pallavi and me came to the city in 1995. Generally fell in love with the Brigade road – it just felt nice. Mind you – we lived in Mumbai and used to spend a lot of time in the upmarket areas there but even then Bangalore had some different charm – A beautiful green city with a touch of modernity. KFC and malls had still not come to Mumbai and Bangalore felt a younger place!

Then somewhere around 2001, we shifted to Bangalore due to my job. Both Pallavi and I had never lived out of our comfort zone in Mumbai. We had to establish a home away from home for the first time. It was a mixed feeling of curiosity about new city to settle and apprehension whether we would be able to adjust to the city. Bangalore floored us! With our week-end drives, authentic south Indian food and of course the whether it was a city to fall in love. But most importantly we made friends here who were to become part of our life – Such friendly, warm, genuine people whom we never thought we will ever meet in an unknown city. We were overwhelmed with emotions leaving this city to which we came as perfect strangers. Bangalore felt such a friendly city!

Fairyland …. Modern city…. Friendly place –as I walked along, the city formed beautiful collage in my mind and I just felt lovely – just like walking around with an old friend!

A walk to my Birthplace - Day 15 (62 Km covered so far)

Today was an interesting day. Left home early morning at 6 AM for Ahmedabad and was tied up with hiring on the campus at one of the reputed management institutes.

Once campus hiring process starts, you hardly get any time to breathe. But suddenly at around 4 PM, I realized I had almost an hour’s gap in my schedule. I got up and decided to go for my daily walk as the morning or evening walk was ruled out today.

While walking, I thought about the meetings I had during the day. It is always a refreshing experience meeting young people with big ambitions. I met quite a few who had given up their stable, well-paying jobs to start education again. Almost all of them were married with kids and had left their families away to study for a year. Apart from ambition, it takes a lot of courage to do such stuff. Also involves sacrifices that they have to make giving up precious moments with the family. I really admired their motivation.

Finally day came to end and it was time to board the flight back home. Once I settled in the flight to Pune, routine started. The cabin crew took up their positions for demonstration of flight safety instructions. As the ritual started, nobody paid attention to this mandatory stuff. I kept looking at the cabin crew member. He was a young boy going about the routine drill with utmost sincerity. He must going through this every day. What a pain it must be to do something which  is mandatory but nobody either appreciates or cares!

There must such tasks in every working organization – I just hoped that none of the young people I met during the day ever get into such stuff!

A walk to my birthplace Day 14 (58 Km covered so far)

Today the walk did not happen due to a bad schedule, but the other part of “A walk to my Birthplace” continues – the journey of thoughts and reflections.

While the nation celebrates illustrious career of a sporting icon who started at 16, my mind went back to another one who started his illustrious career at the age of 16.

When I visited the officers’ Mess at Ladakh Scouts HQ in Leh, I came across a portrait of a local person in Army Uniform. “Who is he?” I asked the commanding officer. “He is Chewang Rinchen – India’s youngest recipient of Maha Vir Chakra (gallantry award give for supreme valor) at the age of 17”. I consider myself fairly well-read but I had no clue about this man. So this is the story of Chewang Rinchen whom we all should not only know but revere!

Chewang, a local ladakhi boy enrolled for Army at the age of 16. He was trained barely for 10 days when Pakistan Army invaded state of Jammu & Kashmir. When the Indian Army sought volunteers to defend Ladakh against Pakistani raiders, Rinchen, then a Class IX student, opted. With the help of band of small volunteers and just 28 rifles, Richen kept enemy at bay for weeks together. Mohammad Yusuf Ahidi, commander of the Pakistani raiders, noted in his book Baltistan Par Ek Nazar: "If Commander Chewang Rinchen had not foiled these attacks, we would have been masters of...Ladakh."

Again at the age of 40 when Rinchen was holding a rank of colonel, he took up his another battle with the enemy. This time  to free the land that was forcefully occupied by Pakistan. Rinchen took a select band of soldiers and traveled with minimum supplies so that they could move fast. He went on capturing Pakistani outposts by using just a few grenades and bayonets. He and his brave hearts used the enemy’s grocery and ammunition rather than carrying heavy loads in those high altitude tough terrains – this was not only valor but also supreme confidence in the strategy. He reclaimed 800 sq Km of land without any casualties from his team! He was decorated with second Maha Vir Chakra. Chewang Rinchen showed an amazing consistency in his valor with a debut on the battle ground  at 16 and scintillating performance at 40!

The tragedy is, Rinchen is not very well known in India for some reasons. He should be part of Indian folklore and his stories should told to every child in India. It is important to celebrate our real life heroes  along with those on sports fiend and celluloid. A nation’s character should be built on pride for men like Chewang Rinchen.

Chewang Rinchen – THANK YOU. You were Independent India’s first prodigy and we are proud of you. May be we need to celebrate you more than we have ever done!

A walk to my birthplace Day 13 (58 Km covered so far)

Sachin Tendulkar – the greatest cricketer of our generation received ‘Bharat Ratna’ – the highest civilian award.

Majority of the population was ecstatic but there were some who struck a discordant note! Perhaps they do not understand that Sachin Tendulkar is not just a person but a metaphor! He is a metaphor of abundant goodness for a nation of billions that had only seen paucity of everything not too long ago.

Many sportsmen are adored by their fans but this one was almost worshiped by his fans. Why? The answer lies in what everyone witnessed on the last day of the illustrious career. At the end of it all a simple gesture of touching the 22-yard cricket pitch with reverence said it all.

In our country every artist who performs on the stage does not walk onto  the stage without touching it with reverence – pretty much same way Tendulkar did in the end. To them, stage provides them a platform to live their dreams and hence it has to be respected. They also know the uncertainty in their trade and hence no great performer ever dares to take the stage for granted! Those who do it,  pay for it sooner or later.

So is it superstition? Is it fear of uncertainty – no – I don’t think so. It is based on the philosophy of gratitude - the same philosophy which makes us revere five elements of nature! This sense of gratitude is essence of Indian culture.

Tendulkar throughout his life never threw away what essentially defines Indian culture and still achieved a great success in International sports. In a nation mired in self-doubt, a nation that tried its best to emulate some other materialistically successful nations, stood a man thoroughly Indian. In a nation where not only corrupt win over clean but even TV soaps show victory of evil over good for dramatic effect, stood a man who proved otherwise. Whenever he succeeded on the cricket ground, common man thought – Oh – this also happens and so there is hope! It is the hope that Tendulkar always stood for amidst the ruins of sleaze, corruption and greed. His ‘Bharat Ratna’ will just keep reminding people the victory of Good – always! Well played Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar – we are proud of you!!

A walk to my birthplace Day 12 (55 Km covered so far)

In India cricket is religion and for most people it is rather a sport to talk about than play. As I mentioned earlier I was never a sportsman. For me, I preferred talking about cricket than playing.

We started a cricket tournament in our company and I was part of one of the cricket teams. The boys were gracious enough to accept me as part of team as I am 43 and have never shown any signs of being a sportsman. I brought up the average age of my team which otherwise would have been well below 30!

Today we had our match. My wife and son were to join the audience to watch me play. I had told them to be on time otherwise I was sure that I would be back in the pavilion even if they came 5 minutes after starting the match. After all I had not played the full over-arm cricket on a proper cricket ground for last 20 years!

We were to bat first and my wife and son were nowhere to be seen. I was asked to open the batting. I pleaded to my captain to send me after a wicket or two so that at least my family can see me on the pitch with a bat in hand. My captain told me “I need to shield our better batsmen from their best bowlers who would bowl first” How helpful! I realized that my role was more like a sacrificial goat!

As I walked to the pitch, my wife and son were not in sight. Then something happened. I was determined to play in front of them and decided come what may, I am not going to throw my wicket easily! I focused all my concentration and middled the first ball to take a single! Felt such a joy! It was just a six-over-a-side match. I came to open the batting and remained unbeaten as we scored 67 in six overs! I personally did not score much but did not waste any deliveries and rotated the strike by running like a mad dog between the wickets!

My son and wife could see me play and remain unbeaten. As I walked back, I was really happy and proud. God knows for some reason it meant a lot to me!

I definitely don’t have any sports skill but played on sheer will! I realized that I can go to any extent to impress my family. Family means so much to us and it is good to have them around so that one can stretch beyond normal limits. That’s the role of the family in our lives – family brings our best intent and best behavior!

As I massaged my tired limbs, another thing struck me! My son is just 6 years old but even my wife had never seen me play in our college days as I was never a sportsman!  Well – age no bar for impressing your girlfriend!!

A walk to my birthplace Day 11 (50 Km covered so far)

I hit half century of distance on my path to cover 240 Km – glad that did not miss my walk even during the business travel.

Today the story of SJ came to my mind. Initials are of real person and the reason for not revealing the name will be obvious as you read rest of this piece.

During the initial period of my career in early 90’s I worked with a small software company as a head of HR. Though small, I had an opportunity to work with some great people who were passionate about their work. We had started an Enterprise Applications Group and those were the early days of ERP in India. This division was headed by Mr Mani – one of the finest gentlemen I have ever worked with.

One day Mr Mani called me to his cabin. He looked worried. “Yogesh, do me a favor. I heard SJ is not well. He has come to Mumbai from a remote place and may not know anybody. Can you do something – not as your official duty but could you please look after him?” “Don’t worry Mr Mani. I will take care”. I took a cab and went to Lower Parel (part of old Mumbai) where SJ stayed. When I went there I realized how right Mani was! SJ had rented a room in a dingy two room house and was lying in the inside room. His younger brother who worked as office boy in New Mumbai (far off from Parel) was with him. Doctor had asked SJ not to eat out for some days. Looking at the overall scene, I went out to buy some grocery and gave it to his brother so that he could cook for SJ. “But I can be here only till Sunday: his brother said. “Don’t worry – we will figure out something”.

Monday onwards, my wife made two lunchboxes one for me and other for SJ – she used to cook separate food for SJ so that it can suite him. I cajoled our CFO to send his driver to send the lunchbox to SJ. This went on for a few days and soon SJ was well. While I waited for him to come back one day I got the news that SJ has left the company to join somewhere so that he could go abroad. Gone was he with my lunchbox and I must admit that the incident left me with some bitter feelings. I had not done anything for SJ as an HR person but only as a fellow human being. I felt let down personally. He could have at least informed me and of course might have been courteous enough to return my lunch box!

This happened years back and somehow I could never forget this story. I felt stupid to repose trust in someone who was not trustworthy. But of late, I have started to see other side of the story. SJ had come from a remote place. He had come to the IT industry by hard work and may be make money by going abroad … He was not communicative. When the opportunity presented to go abroad he could have felt guilty to come to me and leave the company! So must have chosen the easy way of just going away!!

I don’t know which version is true. But realized that it is good t revisit your stories as time passes and you may learn something new. One thing for sure – I don’t feel bitter towards SJ – hope he is doing great wherever he is!!

A walk to my Birthplace - Day 10 (47 Km covered so far)

Today I was on campus of one of the reputed institutes. It’s a big campus and as soon as I finished my work, I wandered around the campus like a nomad. Of course I had my tracking APP on my mobile and walked 7 Km today! As I walked along lovely, shaded walking trails around the campus, randomly remembered some crazy things in the past.

For a short time I worked with a boutique HR consulting firm where I discovered my selling skills. I used to be pretty aggressive and generally a pain in the !@# for my boss who was a thorough gentleman.

We were on one sales call, discussing Organization Structure and senior hiring for a proposed DotCom. The venture had backing of one of the well-known aggressive entrepreneurs who acted as senior partner. He regularly participated in the meetings. I had a strong belief that you terminate a sales call if at least one of the three criteria was not met. Three criteria for me were very simple – the prospect has to either have a brand that helped us, or had money where our brand of work helped him or sometimes you get to interact with some professionals from whom you would learn something. I used to be very selective about the third criteria and this particular case definitely was not the third category!

By the second meeting, I was pretty bored and though I liked their concept I did not know where this was heading! I was sitting silent when the senior partner asked me – “How do you view our challenges?” I was bored and blank! I blurted out “Your challenges are similar to Shivaji – the great maratha warrior who built his empire”. I could see my boss wanting to strangle me to silence but the senior partner looked curious. So I continued my explanation about establishing an enterprise from scratch, choosing the strategy against traditional competition and some basic structure and profiles that would fuel the strategy. It was an inspired piece and honestly I myself don’t remember the exact content!

The senior partner now was smiling and my boss started breathing easy. The senior partner said magnanimously, “Young man (I was about 30 then), your thought process is great. Let’s meet for some more brainstorming.” I was just put off and again blurted out, “Thank you sir, but brainstorming is using consultant’s time for free!” My boss froze again – later he told me that he thought we would be kicked out. But the senior partner said quietly, “I don’t want to hear this excuse, bill your brainstorming!” Who the hell knew how to bill brainstorming. I gathered myself in a moment and said, “I will attend 5 meetings of brainstorming. Today the second is over. If at the end of it I am not convinced about your idea, I will not take up the assignment and we will charge you Rs 5 Lac (Approximately USD 2500 per hour at the prevailing rate) for these five meetings.” “OK, send me the invoice and fix the third one!”

When we came down, my boss kept laughing for 15 minutes till he went red in his face muttering “You are mad!” For me, I had learnt the best lesson of life - Instinct is your best bet when you have to think on the feet. You just have to back yourself!

A walk to my Birthplace - Day 9 (40Km covered so far)

I was supposed to be in Delhi today and end my day in Ahmedabad. I was traveling for an important customer meeting in Delhi and was keenly looking forward to that.

There were only two things I was worried about:

The greatest Indian cricketers of all times – Sachin Tendulkar was to play last match of his illustrious career. I am a die-hard cricket fan and even follow the cricket matches at domestic level. Sachin also stood for everything noble on a sporting ground. I just wanted to witness his walk on the ground – LIVE.

Second was my ‘walk to birthplace’

 

Anyway, there is nothing much I could do. While leaving home, I asked my wife to record the whole day of the test match so that at least I could see it later. I landed in Delhi along with my colleague and we had a great meeting. Once the meeting was over we went over for lunch. As we finished the lunch, I was thinking about the match at the back of my mind. I called up my father to check the score and realized that today could be the day when the great man may walk on the ground for perhaps his last innings. My other meeting was still over two hours away. I desperately connected to the internet using my data card and thankfully could catch the live streaming of the match. Within 15 – 20 minutes couple of wickets went down – I was never so happy for Indian wickets!! And the hero entered! The role model of sportsmanship was given a sporting welcome not only by the audience but also the opponent team! I could finally watch significant part of his innings before going to my next meeting.

 

Happy like a lark, I wondered about my other worry – whether a wish to walk would also be fulfilled! That’s human mind for you- you get one wish granted – you ask for more!

I finished my meeting and reached Terminal 3 of Delhi Airport well ahead of time and a thought suddenly struck me -  I could easily finish at least 2-3 Km walk inside the huge terminal. I set up my APP on the phone and yes!! Did walk my 3 Km today.

I believe that if you yearn for something, it happens. When I had started my day, there was no question of compromising work for any of the two reasons. So, I did what I always do – just sincerely hoped that somehow as the day progresses I will be lucky. I carried on with I had to do and luck was waiting round the corner – at the risk of sounding melodramatic I dare say wish something from the bottom of your heart and go on living normal life- things happen!!

A walk to my birthplace Day 8 (37 Km covered so far)

Just a few days back I had an opportunity to participate in a face to face meeting with a British author. It was a small group of people and a lovely set up for close interactions. He wanted to know more about India and generally seeking an opinion on what’s happening on youth front.

One of the participants went off like a rocket. He was responsible for hiring talent from campus for one of the big companies. “Things have changed and all the young people just look for money – there is not much you can do about it”. Such rhetoric generally puts me off. My mind drifted a few months back while I drove to Leh from Pune along with my family …..

The road from Srinagar to Kargil was a memorable one and also the most difficult terrain to drive once you go past Sonmarg. We stopped over at Captain Batra point. Captain Batra was a brave young Indian army officer who fought fearlessly till the end. He inspired many by his martyrdom during the Kargil war. He was in his twenties …..

…. We also visited Dras war memorial on the way. It was an experience I will never ever forget in my life …. The enemy had captured the area around Tiger Hills by deceit …. When you look at the terrain your jaw drops …. Enemy sat on the top of those barren hills and attacked relentlessly. Scores of Indian Army soldiers led by their young officers marched up in face of heavy shelling to capture the area back for the motherland …. Against the backdrop of Tololing hills, stands the memorial - names of scores of martyrs are inscribed on the wall …. It’s a long list and they were mostly in their twenties ……. Memorial has photos of these war heroes where I  came across a quote “When you go back tell them, that we gave up our today for your tomorrow” I wept uncontrollably ……

In the Leh memorial, we came across a letter written by young captain Vijayant Thapar to his family. The first line read – “By the time you get this letter, I will be in the heaven served by Apsaras” He was 22 and he knew his fate ……

We had the honor of having dinner with the brave-heart officers and their wives. These were young smiling lads …. Came across a couple who were married just few months back … there were also a few young boys who were in early twenties … all of them were getting ready to spend one year at glaciers (in -60 C temp) away from their families ……

These are example of young men in modern times. To paint a picture that today’s youth is only bothered with money is callous. There are many young boys and girls who are ready to rise to a purpose higher than materialistic gains – the question is - do the so called seniors have an ability to create an environment where the youth can see a higher purpose! 

A walk to my birthplace Day 7 (33 Km covered so far)

Sometimes when I look back at some incidents in my life, I wonder whether those are real! Today as I walked 4 more kilometers, something from my childhood popped up in mind. So far, my school friends were the only ones who knew this and after a little hesitation, I decided to share it here.

I studied in one of the reputed schools in Mumbai. This school was known for churning out about more than a dozen students in merit list in the state-board exam every year. Couple of divisions used to be looked upon as possible pool for this merit list and we were supposed to study more. Also, there was a certain behavior expected from us. There were also some kids who used to be sports heroes of the school. These two categories mostly used to be mutually exclusive. Some of the sports heroes used to be dressed in a relative rowdy manner by the school standards – actually nothing much – they used to wear a T-shirt inside the shirt (mostly colored!) and handkerchief around the neck on the playground! I was hugely attracted to this dress-code. In that system, I was supposed to be the studious type and even my personality suited that profile. I was short with a lovely paunch during my school days!

After years of resisting the temptation of that dress-code, one day I made up my mind and dressed up for school. I was in 9^th standard that time. I wore a yellow sleeveless thick T-shirt inside the white shirt. That yellow T-shirt also had red borders - even better. My mother looked at me skeptically and said, “Don’t do this; you sweat like an ice-cube (mothers can be so mean!) – you will feel stuffy”. I simply ignored and confidently marched out. I got some weird looks from my classmates which I accepted as compliments – this is a blessing I am born with – whenever there is any ambiguity about anyone’s reaction, I safely take it as a compliment!  

As the time passed by, my mother’s prediction seem to be perfect. I felt stuffy and miserable and could not take it anymore. When the teacher had given us time to study on our own, I slid under the bench, took off my shirt and then the T-shirt. Just as I was getting ready to put on my shirt I realized how priceless friends are in life. Patiently waiting for me to be perfectly topless, someone shouted, ”Teacher, Yogesh is sitting without shirt under the bench.” I put on my shirt with lightening speed and got up to see teacher shell-shocked! I confidently replied, ”No, he is lying!” The bell rang and thankfully the teacher went away muttering something!!

Why did I do it? I don’t know. But I am aware of this streak in me to try out something new. What does it do to me – well, actually this has been quite beneficial sometimes – I am always ready to try out something new, taking myself completely out of my comfort zone. I quite enjoy it and know when to get out of any trouble just in time!  Some mad traits always help and if nothing else it has given me a joy of sitting topless under the bench in midst of discipline!!!!

A walk to my birthplace Day 6 (29 Km covered so far)

As I started walking today, a call that I received the day before kept coming to my mind. This was someone who talked to me after a gap of 15 years. His name is Sunil.  He reached me through a common friend and was glad to know that I not only remembered his name but also parts of our conversation 15 years back.

Sunil went abroad to US and I played a part in his movement. During the late nineties when I was an entrepreneur, I had signed contracts with some boutique firms in US to provide them technical manpower from India. Sunil was one of the early ones to go abroad through me. He remembered me because it was his first travel abroad and for me, his departure was one of the early successful transactions.

Sunil’s call gave me a joy because it took me back in time when I started my own entrepreneurial stint in late nineties. After getting an early break to head HR for a software company, I was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. I was 27 years old with hardly any network of my own. I just got across to a few people through personal network, who indicated that they may do business with me.

My first client was a gem of a person. He had come to India on personal holiday and had earmarked 3 days for me to get some people interviewed in Mumbai and Pune. This was my first assignment and I decided to give it a best shot. I had released an advertisement but the response was minimal as there was a strike by Postal department - yes! Emails were not that common and I started with a character based internet account about which less said the better! I went berserk contacting people on my own through whatever means and carried out the first assignment successfully. Sunil was part of the first few people who were to go abroad through me.

While I was in the euphoria of my first success, my client asked me to send him an invoice.  The amount involved was more than half my annual salary in my earlier job! That was a time when I realized that I do not know how to prepare an invoice! I sheepishly went to my father who was a banker and asked him for help! I still remember format of that invoice and of course the amount of my first invoice!!

Early days in my entrepreneurship taught me certain principles that have become an integral part of my belief system:

·         It is great to start with a heart, from wherever you are and with whatever you have.

·         Logic is great but it generally ends up telling you about limitations.

·         If you have a burning desire to succeed - paths emerge, working models evolve and you definitely pick up technicalities as you go along

If you deal with people in a manner that you would like to be dealt with – you become a part of their cherished memories!!!!!