The story so far...

I promised to tell my story and here it is...

It was a glorious morning - the dawn of a new day - one that promised to significantly, in some mysterious, yet-unknown way, to impact the lives of billions of people all over the world... no - I am not talking of September 11, 2001, but of another day, roughly 18 years and 331 days further into the past... that memorable day when there plopped into the world and looked askance at the chaos that was the world around her, a teeny weeny baby who was later christened Anupama. Her joyous parents could, perhaps, get a waft of the significance of this baby, for they, after much thought, bestowed on her the aforementioned name - 'The Unique or Incomparable One' (though its another story how the kid kept pestering her dad for a period of roughly two long troublesome years to change her name coz she dint like it, according to reports from credible sources).

Like most children do, she also grew up, much petted and oohed-and-aahed at, as kids usually are, in the warm confines of her home and a 5-km radius, which happened to, partly by accident, and partly by design, encompass her small world of kindergarten, primary school, high school, friends' homes, dance and music classes and even college ! (though I must admit that a few of those places fell out of the strict 5-km boundary though they did not, for certain, cross the 20-km limits).

Thus grew the child happily (you must have guessed who I am talking about, by now atleast...) in the heart of the city of Chennai, one of the few places in India gifted with a multitude of things that includes vast stretches of decently good beaches (one cant expect something as exotic as Goa right outside their doorstep, u see...), good restaurants, the usual array of fast food joints that are ideal for young vibrant teenagers to haunt, as well as a host of theatres and auditoriums that play host to great Indian cultural shows - in fact - in my humble opinion, it is a city that perfectly blends the fast-paced metro-atmosphere and the quaint refreshing essence of Indian culture, with its classical cultural tinge...

I then grew a bit more - for thats who the child was, in case it had not, by some unfortunate twist in the tale, still dawned on you - and went on through the drab routine that has become the most widely socially accepted chain of events that any kid goes through... school and then college (under-grad). A wonderful school - well-known for the relaxed curriculum for the younger kids, the excellent quality of faculty, and the freedom and encouragement for extra-currics they generously bestowed upon their wards - Vidya Mandir, which of course fell within the radius I had mentioned quite briefly, in passing, earlier. Undergrad was again smooth sailing for me - Computer Science and Engineering in SRM Easwari Engineering College - a great college and an overall satisfying experience, studying the subject that I truly loved and adored, which I had taken despite frantic calls and advice from well-wishers to take ECE which had the capability of giving me a wider focus. Along with my ample share of fun and enjoyment all through school and college, I managed to continue and keep up my enthusiasm for a wide array of extracurricular activities while simultaneously putting up a good front in academics...

I find it very funny when I take a walk down memory lane : I glance at myself in the mirror and marvel at my thoughts each stage of my life - my mind was always highly volatile (though I must mention that the necessary stuff related to education and other important data were safely engraved in the ROM part of my brain) - the range of my interests were really extraordinary and my mind resembled a pit of quicksand which eagerly absorbed everything that was put it but was constantly shifting and churning around - I used to want to become a librarian one day, a doctor the next hour and an astronomer the very next second! Some of these may appear to the normal reader as childish fancies that are common in every energetic kid, but no - many of these so-called fancies were, and are still, taken quite seriously by me. My parents and my immediate family, namely, my aunt and grandmom (who lived with us) were extremely supportive of whatever I wanted to do and encouraged any genuine practical interests I had (read - they ignored my whims when I insisted I wanted to become a vegetable seller for our street, but took me seriously when I said I wanted to learn dance). Thats how I ended up being a good dancer and singer who could also draw and paint well, play the veena and violin a little, play the synth/harmonium, knew verses in sanskrit from scriptures and had won prizes in loads of competitions and given many classical dance and music performances.

Then came my next jump, after graduation, when I was faced with 'app-ing' for MS, heading for an MBA or taking up the software job offer in Inautix I had got through college placements. Postponing the first option for the present, I decided to sit for the MBA entrance exams but was all set to take up the job offer. Though I went through a correspondence course of IMS half-heartedly, I decided to give my best for CAT just as the date for the exam neared and also went through all the hullaballoo that was caused by the leaking of our paper and the re-test in Feb 2004. Just before joining Inautix, I got the final acceptance call from IIMA - Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad - the Mecca of Management - the very best in Asia. That evening when I saw the result online will, forever, remain imprinted in my memory...

Then started the roller-coaster ride for me, with all the fachha parties and informal meets and the flooding of my inbox with all the queries of eager brilliant minds ready to take up IIMA head-on, ready to start flying towards great achievements in life and the patient amused know-it-all replies by helpful patient tuchhas at the insti. My first contact with the insti was one of my tuchhas who had touched base with me within two days of my acceptance at IIMA, offered to help me and answered all my queries. Awed by the level of networking among the alumni and the power of its name, I entered IIMA's grand hallowed portals as if in a dream, leaving behind Chennai, my parents, my immediate family and friends and my pet cats - all things that were familiar and near-and-dear to me.

The first year of PGP1 taught me many lessons in life, earned me loads and loads of good friends, taught me what life and management is all about (over and above the theories of Kotler, Black-Scholles and Henry Fayol). The hectic schedule, system of education and life at IIMA was a novelty - very different from anything I had ever experienced before. I soon became an "IIMA-ite" in blood :-) - the dear ole' brick walls grew on me and so did the IIMA brand which was emblazoned upon me forever.
Life went on and our tuchhas graduated - the wheels turned and now we are soon-to-be-seniors welcoming the new batch and already giving the know-it-all gyan on the yahoo group for our juniors - I just cannot digest how fast time has passed - the sands of time have shifted, leaving me standing bewildered and amazed at how I could grow so much older in such a short time !

Now trying out my stint at working in an organization as part of my summer internship (which, it so happens, gobbles up our entire 2 month "holiday" - the only respite we get from studies and the hectic life at IIMA) I am waiting eagerly for 5th June when I get a chance to be reunited with family and friends and spend lazy evenings with my folks at the stately populous capitals of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for a meagre total of 6 days before I am packed off back to the outstretched welcoming arms of IIMA for the supposedly easy-going relaxed life as a tuchhi.

Hmm... gud luck to myself as I enter tuchhadom triumphantly - it gnaws on me in a very odd way that half my time here is already up and in less than one year down the line, I'll be spewing out messages on the senti-NB on Dbabble and saying 'Sayonara' to all my gud friends here, the faculty and profs, my dorm, my classrooms (the well-designed amphitheatre models with astounding accoustics that strive to disclose the sleeping antics of every unsuspecting student to the prof), the new campus with its very own ossum underpass - and every small nook and cranny and every bit of earth that is enclosed within the famous much-televised brick walls of our dear ole campus.

But, as they say - time and tide wait for none...
Change is the only unchanging law of nature...
The wheels of time keep turning and we have to compulsarily pass onto the next act in the drama of life and enact our pre-scripted parts with precision.

Well then... Thats it for now... Pens down !
Do please take some time to digest the brief sketch of my life so far...
Adieu for now...