मेरी डायरी के पन्नो से - दवे साहब की निवृत्ति

Mr. Dave and Dr. Sood are one of the oldest employees of our company. Mr. Dave happens to be the first employee of the company. Incidentally he retired on the same day when I took voluntary retirement. Surprising as it was that his length of service in the company was almost equal to my age on the day of our retirement. I mentioned so in my farewell speech and said that I felt ashamed that I was retiring at such an early age. I also said that it had much to do with the shuddh dudh and aslee ghee up bringing of Mr. Dave for the raaz ( secret ) behind his good health even at around 80 compared to my toned milk and dalda / ground oil upbringing and above all the Pitza and Burger life style, which forced me to think of my retirement as I felt tired and exhausted. I was also amazed to note that it was Mr. Dave's First and the Last service. I thought of my father who had about 35 years of service at one place and here Mr. dave had served the company for almost 55 years at a stretch. The commitment , the Loyalty of Mr. dave is really exemplary. It would sound strange and stupid to many of the generation next guys. They would simply ridicule this very idea of serving and staying put at one place. They are all on fast track roads to quick money, quick glory and success. They are exceptionally brilliant, no doubt about it, but committed to the core ?? big NO, in my opinion. Even i can not escape this blame because once upon a time even I used to think that one must change every 2 years initially and then 3 / 5 years after 40, if you want to reach the top. I used to brag about the newer heights i scaled in every change. I claimed that time that here was i , who proved the old age saying " ROLLING STONE GATHERS NO MASS " wrong. How stupid I felt about my self when I saw this man sitting besides me, a totally satisfied and content person. I realized that day that money is not all in life. Today the Corporates in our country need many more Daves. Hats of to you Mr. Dave. Nerdy Nandu

From Pages of My Diary - Nandana's Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Nandana’s first birthday at her new abode, post her marriage. It all appeared very weird to begin with, when we were the invitees there. But then gradually the reality sank in. We thoroughly enjoyed the celebrations in the evening. The Memorable Past: All the memories flew past down the memory lanes. I remembered the good old Nagpur days, where she was born ( though she took birth at Kalyan, being Meena’s House, as per our customs ). I also remembered my trip to Pilani with her, when she was barely 5, and alone with me. People in Pilani were surprised and asked how come?? I told them jokingly that she was my Priyadarshini, like Indira Gandhi was to Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, when she was young. She grew up being Priyadarshini to me in reality too. She used to take care of both of us during her pre marriage days. She used to be the stabilizing factor in all our ups and downs in life. She being the elder of the two daughters, always got preferential treatments from both of us and also from all other relatives too. In fact Sughosh and she were always treated like that , though unintentionally, almost everywhere. They both and Nandana in particular was a blue eyed kid of Shridada. Come 10th and she was off to Kirloskarwadi to pursue her higher secondary education. We took this decision most unwillingly, and out of compulsions. She made a place in the hearts of Joglekars also ( Bharati & Sudheer ). In fact that was not going to be a difficult task for her otherwise also, as they both are so very lovable couples. She grew there in stature. She passed out from there and then came to Pune to complete her engineering studies. She had a bumpy ride in her engineering college days, but it is to her credit that she could come out of it finally and with out any hiccups. Then she was back with us at Hyderabad, where she did a course in .Net and got a job in Hyderabad only, in a software company. The Glowing Present: It is here that she fell in love with Naveen and got married to him on June 6, 2008. She has managed to create a place for herself there too. She has won the hearts of her Amma and Appa besides winning her beau’s heart. We all are really proud of her upbringing. She maintains her calm and does not loose her cool, even when the going gets tough. We all just pray to god, on her first birthday post marriage, to bestow all the happiness and love in her new life too. Could We, as parents, Have Asked For Any Thing More on this very special day ?? Who Says !! God is Not There ??

New Year Wishes

The year 2008 gone by was a mix bag of joys and sorrows. We saw new records made in the sporting arena by the likes of Phelps and Bolts. Our own Abhinav Bindra wrote a new chapter in the history of Indian Olympic Quest. There were others like Vijender Singh , who missed out by a whisker. Viswanthan Anand showcased his mastery on the 64 square chequerred board by becoming the world champion in all formats of the game. Saina Nehwal raced in to the top 20 and then 10 in badminton. The IPL and ICL opened up new avenues of making fast bucks , both for the cricketers and the organisors. The fancied Team India proved for once and all that they are no more CHOKERS in the game. Sachin wrote another golden chapter and our MSD lead team rode the Ashwa Medh Ghoda in all formats of the game. ISRO’s Chandrayan kissed the surface of the moon. The Amte family known for their social works in the field of Leprosy got due recognition for carrying on with the burning torch lit by his great father. The US President elect Mr. OBAMA gave a new mantra to the citizens in US, who all chanted with him “ Yes !! We Can ”. Who could say then there were no defining moments?? Who could disagree that India was not SHINING??. And then we had 26 / 11 which left a scar on our peace loving minds. Each branch where golden birds perched “ Wo Bharat Desh Tha Mera , Jahan Daal Daal Par Sone Ki Chidiya Karti Thi Basera ” were soaked in blood. We also had a global economic melt down. No one could ever have imagined that industries in US and many other countries would require bail out packages. No one could have thought that the biggest of the big banks would tumble like pack of cards, that Oil Prices would see new lows, that the real estate prices, the air travels etc would take a beating. But then that is what exactly happened. That is what life is all about, a mixed bag of joys and sorrows. We will continue to have some shining moments some not so shining and some very dull and some filled with miseries and sadness, in the year 2009 too. So let us all cheer up and keep on collecting and treasuring each such small moment which brought cheer to us. These only will help us in getting over our moments of rough weather. Life must move on and the Show must go on. So, Let us all say “ Hip Hip Hurray 2008 ” and join me in wishing each other “ A Very Very Happy and Prosperous New Year ”