#2011 – 365 days less to life, or an year more to memories & experiences ?! ?

@LKstates:- Between all that I accomplished & all that I could hv- is a big space filled with ‘lazily pleasing & spoilingly comforting’ postures #imemyself

Somewhere between these expression , I lived the year gone by #2011 _ it was one hell of a period which exposed me to unknown fears , known convictions, predictable challenges, capricious “people, places and situations” – to be honest , I did not think it will be over so soon , for innumerable recitations of the old phrase “this too shall pass” begin appearing dull and lustreless ? #2011 entered my life and in many of my fellow colleagues and telecom industry mates like a warning which presented itself more covered in wisdom line “nothing in this world is permanent” – the danger sounded too small for its impact but it indeed changed many lives in Indian for sure – the risk is yet not mitigated, the one I’m referring to, is referred to as “2G scam”!

For many the 1^st of January 2011, wasn’t a happy day , it was full of trepidation , I was no exception to it. Until 10th of Feb 2011 – when I finally got my transfer letter to Mohali, I was unsure and terrified, till this day, many of us were waiting to be called and handed a pink slip, newspapers carried lay off articles, channels were airing slow down in the telecom sector and we who were at the centre of the crisis had nothing but our sinking careers to discuss.

Hope did deliver fruits , the light at the end of the tunnel did introduce me to a period which was less gray, where it seemed within my means to paint using bright colours of my choice, Feb the 14^th , I left Delhi NCR to relocate, (thanks to my employer who did save many of us from the turmoil of job-loss) to #Mohali , a district of Punjab, it’s claims to fame are based entirely on two prime reasons – its proximity to Chandigarh and the cricket ground that it has , nothing else is really worth a happy mention, nevertheless , I wasn’t on a vacation here , this change was more of a rescue oriented action, on that account, it isn’t that bad – after all.

What welcomed me in #Mohali was a sub-vertical within the department I was transferred to, yes ladies and gentlemen – it was the worst performing unit , and I quietly told God – why are u after my life? He said – wait and watch you will thank me later, and so followed. The only saving grace was the fact that the sub-vertical , I was supposed to run was of my area of interest , I don’t call it expertise for I have a lot to learn before that I can make that claim.

It was like fighting an army of irregularities , with lame goldsmiths dressed in solider’s attire – so be it, I gave it all I had and like lord had promised, you will thank me- I did thank him, when the worst performing unite become the best in the nation and it continues to be such till this month (Dec 2011) – the menace on the career was responded to – I’m better placed now – don’t ask, if I’m as safe as I would want to be, as a matter of fact, no one is, in the whole Indian telecom industry, today, so it doesn’t matter much now – It is okay.

In the highs and lows of time, if something truly survived unaffected, it was my allure with gadgets most specifically Smartphones _ From BB8520 , I migrated to Motorola milestone , to BB9300 to Nokia E5 to BB 9780, Samsung chat to Nokia 5233 , in the entire strings of phones used, I hated “the android” completely and have finally settled for BB9780 and Nokia 5233.

During the year, I did treat myself with tour of many magnificent places with real special people – of all the placed I visited “#Ooty, #kunoor, #Mysore & #Bangalore” – were most imposingly special not just for these places are wonderful and have a lot ,to offered to, tourists, but also for who I shared these moments with. I did visit a lot of other place too , which were #Jammu & Kashmir , #Jaipur, #Jim Corbett, #Shimla, #Kasouli , #kurukshetra, along with a few where I stopover every year – #Delhi, #Patna, #Siwan, #Lukhnow and others…

Life seemed settled and trending good till 3:00 PM of 5^th of November 2011, when I heard my mom had suffered “cardiac stroke” – This blow was even harder & harsher than the previous one with which I had opened the year – everything came shattering down in blink of an eye! A call before, everything looked perfect for a Saturday and post “the call” nothing even remotely associating itself with even average, existed! In 3 minutes from a perfect Saturday it turned into a dreadful day, My Laptop was out of charge, Phone’s battery was dying and I had to travel 1500 kilometres as quickly as I could, took to a bus to Delhi –awful an evening that it was, a distance ( Chandigarh to Delhi) that normally takes 5 hours on that melancholy twilight took more than 9 hours – nonstop prayer, fear, doubts & regrets cluttered my mind, I finally made it to New Delhi airport at 5:00 AM in the morning , did counter booking for a flight which would have reached me to Patna at 9:00 AM – misfortune was far from over , owing to rough weather at Patna the carriers had to delay the takeoff _ I was stuck at the airport with an air ticket in hand , tears in eyes, prayers on lips , hope in heart and fear in mind, for the first time in my life I felt miserably helpless, that was when lord finally responded to my requests in voice of an electronic announcement saying “GO Air” is ready to fly _ I did reach Patna by 10:30 AM.

Nothing can be compared with the sight of your own mother lying expression less on the bed of ICU suffering heart ailment – Thanks to Late Dr. A.K Thakur , his competent treatment and able supervision got Maa to recover in 7 days – she was back home , then was a newer struggle, to leave her in the condition that she was in , but chained to the need to pursue a career forced me to travel back, I did die a thousand deaths – but that’s how life is – “you live to die and die to be re-born”

On my return, I resumed routine and work – life slowly drifted to normalcy with mom gaining health – admits all this, this year ended to being us the #2012.

I don’t wish to make any resolution for the new year, but simply wish to keep the light of ‘hope’ ablaze inside, wish to continue believing in almighty and keep working towards reaching solutions to challenges that life has to present – because after all it is bumps in the road that decide talent of the driver!

#2011 was truly a rainbow year for me , it had all colours, gloomy and glad , shinning and dark – I had my moments of pride, love, distress but above all what kept me going was – hope, pure hope –

Hope #2012 – Proves better , almighty enables me to do things , the way needed to make it a better sum of 365 day , but I can certainly say #2011 was not 365 days less to life but an year more to memories & experiences!

@LKstates :- ‘Wouldn’t let 2011 be as pale’, was d precise thought in my mind in d December of 2010 (nothing happened though)- I’m still d same (happily lazy)

Wish you a very happy new year!