Autobiography: Entry 0

My grandpa was compounder to the village doctor. My dad retired as an Assistant Engineer. I was a Manager at 25. The growth is exponential and as it is with every exponential pattern, the secret lies not at t = T but at t = o.

Around 15 Km from Patna is the village Khagaul. My dad was the eldest of eleven children from a poor family in this village. The situation obviously meant that he had to work right from a young age. Something remarkable must have happened. Dad was clear that education is important to the future of our family. I am not sure from where he got this vision of his because there was nobody around educated enough to guide him. It took some effort to convince my grandpa who himself was burdened with a dependent family of thirteen. To cut a long story short, my father worked and studied at the same time and finished a diploma in engineering. How he did it would make an inspiring biography. It was a big deal at that time. He received an immediate offer from Bihar Government for the post of Junior Engineer at PWD.

There was no looking back after that. Each of his siblings got progressively educated. It is not a surprise that the average qualification in my generation is a graduate. The more I think about it the more I tend to believe that the destiny of our family was written in one single moment. That moment was coincidently on the first day of a cold November, 70 years ago, when the first child was born to a poor family.

Happy B'day Dad :)

Autobiography: Entry 5

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KSA Technopak brought sophistication to my life. There were a lot of perfects about the company - a lot of travel, collegues of same age group, college mates residing in gurgaon, interesting job, the goa outbound etc. That one year passed in a whirlwind says a lot about my life at KSAT.

Tuhin and Shwetank were two gem of friends I made at office. Then there was the Auptyma Group. Suddenly I discovered new friends in my wingmates only - Vihag and Jeevs. While office work kept me on move throughout the country, there were some memorable trips with friends, the best being to Mukteshwar. Vihag got married to Ruchi in the beginning of December - our first wingmate to do so. Later that month I went on the Dalhausie trekking expedition with bhaiya and that was one hell of a trip to close the year.

It was a period of travel and came to an abrupt end when I moved from KSAT just after bhaiya got married. I miss being on the toes for another traveling assignment but that is the way life is.

Autobiography: Entry 4

My soul reason of joining Arvind Mills was to tread a different path from my collegues who were lured by major IT companies. An independent life in a new city and a new set of friends came along with the package. The fact that it was the first decision about myself that I took solely, was enough to propel me to live a happy life in Ahmedabad.

First few months were easy with minimum responsibilities at work and a group of friends to get closer to. Things changed in a week of November. First I was thrown into the challenging production floor on a single day's notice. Then an accident of a collegue forced me to look after shifts single-handedly. I still remember my first double shift on the day of my collegue's accident. It was supposed to drain me out. I was actually eclectic. I did a fair job and was proud of it.

Next few months were hectic. It started with a learning curve and smoothly crossed the 'borders of interest' to become a boring and redundant daily job. By June I was ripe with frustration and I went for a 22 day of unaccounted leave. When I came back, I was surprised by the welcome I got. I was supposed to be thrashed. I guessed I was needed.

Sreekumar Nair remained my boss throughout my stay at Arvind. Our relationship reached a low when I took that unaccounted leave. From then onwards, it reached to such confidence levels in November that when he was going for a long leave, he asked me in front of all my senior collegues to take care of his department. That was one full year after I started some serious job of my career. The next two months gave me much insights into textile processing. I was a man now. In February 2006 I decided to leave Arvind Mills and Ahmedabad. Surprisingly, the better opportunity came with the help of my existing boss, Mr Nair, and I still feel indebted to him.

Autobiography: Entry 3

IIT Delhi campus was a world in its own. There was a peaceful redundancy about the student life there. We resided at the locus of five most popular youth joints in Delhi: Vasant Kunj, Saket, Chanakyapuri, South Ex and Green Park. Priya was at our backyard. Then there were places within a mile - The Tankoos, Giasarai, Sasi, Nescafe, Ber Sarai, HFC, Surd Shop, Juice Shop, SDA, Munirka, Katwaria Sarai - not to forget our official restaurant outside campus - Mezbaan.

Campus life was simple. Attend 75% of classes. Study 4-5 hours before exams. Eat as much outside as much you can afford. Booze hard in parties. Play underarm cricket with wingmates. Chat with friends on any X, Y or Z topic. Watch latest movies through LAN. Enjoy AOE. Have fun.

The outside world was very different. Without friends and a familiar surrounding, I often found myself at a loss. It took some effort to get along with strangers. Then there were few people always ready with an exclamatory remark "You are from IIT Delhi !!!", followed by the puncture "Which stream - Computer Science?". I would have an urge to say "No Sir. Computers are out. Fabrics are in. So I chose Textile Technology instead."

It was so easy to go back to the comfortable hostel room and sit with familiar faces and laugh on total crap of a topic. Those four years were life. There was a degree of innocence in the first year that is equivalent to childhood. Then came adolescence in the second year with all the raw energy. The third year was more towards a strategic and planning side. The fourth year was dedicated to friends and fun before the death encapsulate us all.

I almost cried when I had to leave the campus with all my belongings on a sunny day of May, 2004.

When I came back to college two months later for convocation, the sense of belonging was over. I felt like a soul without body strolling on the grounds of a familiar campus that was no longer mine.

Autobiography: Entry 2

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I moved to APJ, Noida in 1998 to complete my high school. I was already missing my childhood friends. There were two people who made my life easy at APJ. One of them was Piyush. I remember him as a witty boy with a childish smile and a big heart. The other one was a plain faced, quiet, fair girl with specs.

I never tried to appear well at school. I looked shabby and ungainly. Some classmates used to comment that I don't look like a student. I had a ferocious competitiveness and the soul aim of my life those days was to get into IIT. Everything else was a minor affair.

I was in biology section because the principal refused to give me admission in the engineering section. I guess I proved him wrong by being the only person from my batch to actually get into a prestigious engineering college. He had a funny accent. His idea of a long morning assembly never suited me and even prompted me to leave the school bus so that I reach school when the class started. Tiwari Sir, our Class Head and Biology teacher, always had a biased opinion towards me and used to show his generosity now and then.

All my good friends from APJ, except Piyush, became friends after I left school. The reason was simple-I never talked. I used to do well in my class although I can never forget that my English teacher failed me seven times and I still hold a grudge against her.

My classmates at APJ remember me as a strange yet good person - something that suits me well.

Autobiography: Entry 1

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Papa started searching for an auto. We were already late. It was an evening of February, 1989 and dark. We were standing at Digha More. Finally we got an auto and reached the gates of St. Michael's High School. I clearly remember how nervous Papa and Ma were. Papa kept telling us that it does not matter what the results would be. Somehow I knew that it did matter a lot to him.

We walked the distance to the head office in a hurry. There was not a single soul around. Papa went inside the building to see if my name was in the list. St. Michael's had a reputation in Patna and admissions in Grade 1 was very tough. It was equivalent to any enterance exam nowadays since only 150 fortunate children got through each year.

Papa came out smiling. I was there in the list. He told Ma I am there in the list. Ma was happy. I was also happy because both of them decided to go to Hanuman Mandir. I loved those Besan ke Laddu that we used to buy as prasad.

I realized very late in life that it is a luxury to study in the same school for such a long duration. I was in St. Michael's till Tenth and I still boast of those remarkable school days. I hardly remember the time spent at home but I have distinct memories of school days right from class one. My initial years were very lonely. Kunal Verma was my only friend apart from Tushar who was a family friend. Slowly I became a part of different groups. I found two great friends in Kishore and Ankur. Adi joined us later. When I left St. Michael's in 1998, I had a treasure-full of friends and memories of happy days spent in peace.