Primarily, I would like to express my Gratitude to my Mom, who is no longer with me. She may have been quite insignificant to the world, but, to me, she is God. Though a homemaker, she lived life to the fullest and set an example for us to follow.

          The one thing that my Father personifies is the adage of ‘Work is Worship’. He may have missed visiting a holy place, but never his work place. Even post – retirement, he continued to work till the age of 72 and we know, it is not easy to work at that age, at any age for that matter, without the conviction. And, to top it all off, he’s a perfectionist. Today, looking back, I realize that it is the satisfaction or the happiness that drives us to work more than anything else.

          I am one of those lucky ones to be blessed with a paternal grandfather who epitomized living values till his last breath. He was pure, so pure that probably Gods descended to listen to their own stories, narrated by him to the devotees in the nearby temple. Lucky to have grown listening to those stories.

          One more person in my life, who proved to me that if we enjoy what we do, nothing else would affect us, was my maternal grandfather. Be it the blistering heat of a 44° C day, a thunderstorm or an extremely cold winter morning, nothing but nothing ever stopped him from getting on his cycle and riding the 7 kms to the shed which housed the two buffaloes he owned, thrice a day. He was a milk vendor and looking back, I realize I’d never seen him fall sick, ever!

          Everyone who passes the threshold of our life has something to teach us. My better half, my wife, has always been my best and most appreciated critique, the pattern card for an ideal daughter, sister and mother. My teachers are the ones who I’ll be indebted to forever, for they have shaped a majority of my personality and outlook on life.

          Remember the adage “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are”? This is very true in my case and I am one of those extremely fortunate people who have their brothers for friends. My brothers, friends and colleagues have been the best guiding forces in life and I know I don’t appreciate them frequently enough.

          Without students, there is no Teacher. It is students who make a good teacher, a great one. Believing as I do, that learning is a continuous, life long process, I also know that every small instance in life, no matter how seemingly insignificant, comes with some form of learning.

Every household has role models. It is important, who we choose as our Role Model.

          Looking back, I realize that so much of investment had gone into me, into my making. What is the return on investment? The return is not simply expressing gratitude but live a life of contributing back to the society. So, why not help students get placed or help them get jobs and at the same time, try and impart some values. My mission, objective, purpose, goal is to do everything possible so that the students get placed or help them get jobs. With the blessings of the Almighty, 90% of the time, it happens. Two decades ago, unlike now, when there were only a few government jobs and some lakhs of students chasing them all over India, I too went through the process of selection, got selected and worked for 5 corporates spanning over two decades. Had I held the course, I would have taken two more promotions and lived a life of me and mine. However, I want to give back. So, as long as I am fit, hale and healthy I shall endeavor to do so.