Moments of Oblivion!

It's the 24rth of August 2005. Six months and two days have passed by since I joined Gecis. A lot has changed and very fast. The day started off much like many others except today, I knew atleast one thing that was supposed to happen. Having completed six months in the organization I now stood to be a confirmed employee of this 20000+ strong venture which was making huge strides globally.

Sadly, amidst all these monumental moments of happiness, the sad demise of Pree's father was a tragic turn of incidents. I first met the man months after he assumed position of the Deputy Collector of Ooty. Having spent a great deal of time in Ooty and its suburbs and keeping in mind Aunty's health which continued to be disturbed by the sometimes irritable claimatic condition of Ooty, he subsequently left for Coimbatore to lead the State Government's mission in the district before his retirement in the year 2004 after which he decided to call Kerala home.
I fondly recall the morning of January 21st, 2005 when Uncle rang, asking me to visit Trichur, Kerala for a few days. While I was overwhelming busy and stuck with my impending 'tour-of-duty' in Delhi, I curtly declined and offered to make a visit sometime in the recent future. To which Uncle replied that he might never get a chance to see me again. Alarmed and deeply disturbed at the sudden remark, I made a split second decision to visit Trichur. I must say that this visit was one I would remember forever as one of my most enoyable moments in life ever. I thank Uncle for making this happen and would forever remain indebted to him and the immediate family for having considered me as their own son, many a times much more dearer than many in the family!
All that came to a gripping end on the morning of August 16, 2005. That rainy morning, while I slept fitfully, Pree's call mentioning the 'end' rendered me motionless and in tears.
We lost him to an acute renal failure which was as a result of Cirrhosis of the Liver. Coming to terms with this happening to someone who had not once contemplated on tasting even a drop of alcohol was in itself a huge effort. Life is known to be most unfair to people who have valued it the most and have concetrated all their efforts and means in living in the line of values and integrity.
It's hard not to break apart at the loss of a man many regarded as one the finest they had ever met. Uncle devoted his life for others. In his position of Deputy Collector Ooty & Coimbatore he initiated many a welfare scheme that guranteed the uplifitment of many thousands of people that this nation sheltered, those people who had nothing to call their own, those people who formed a large part of the masses that despite huge in numbers, were yet to be blessed with a decent livelihood. A man who stood tall in achievements and stature and toiled selflessly to make the lives of others more meaningful and pronounced in comfort and dared a Chief Minister in doing so, he was loved by people he knew and did not all alike. His loss will forever be mourned and the void his absence has created will never ever be filled. I thank God for having bestowed on me the rarest of rare privileges of having known him and been a significant part of his life.
May his legacy continue for eons to come.

In office, Randy called to tell me that my confirmation letter was being readied and would be handed to me anytime now.
I cannot describe in words the Presidential feeling which swept me when Randy handed me my confirmation letter. Small as it may seem, this was another milestone, one of many that now stood behind me. I had shifted to Gurgaon and now stayed a few drivable minutes away from my place of work with a colleague - Bodhiswatto 'Bodhi' Roy.
Almost immediately after becoming operational I along with my immediate colleagues travelled to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, popularly known as the pink city. It was a very memorable trip and I jumped at the sight of the architectural beauty of the place which rendered it world-famous. Overjoyed at the sight of such awe-inspiring magnificence, I lost no time in capturing images that would last a lifetime.
Kapil 'Kappu Gameboy' Bhardwaj and Anuj Jetley were two bosom buddies of my flatmate I came to know and respect. While Kappu works for Gecis as an Asst. Manager, Anuj had completed a stint of 2 years with Gecis and was long gone even before I became part of the organization. I would later put to practise many an idea which I learnt from Kappu and Anuj and not surprisingly, these most-certainly yielded what I most wanted - instant results. While I respect Anuj for his remarkable sense of maturity and extensively broad outlook, Kappu has a very rare aptitude of being ultra-focussed on the way in which he directs his thoughts to result in positive actions. Someone who thinks very meticulously and acts accordingly. I sometimes wonder with awe the time and the effort that was put into one simple strategy game, to master it and then start the process all over again. These people had clearly crossed a realm and now lived in an altogether different paradigm.
Theres talk of a name change in Gecis, unconfirmed reports suggested that the new name would be Genpact. My immediate reaction was to glare at my microchip enabled yellow swipe Identification card with the logo of General Electric on it. Would we be able to retain the logo with the new name on the new cards that would imminently issued to us? Possibly not. And that was a disappointing prospect especially considering the fact that the name and the emblem mattered a whole lot to a good number of people at Gecis. Anuj decided to quit Gecis only four days after a similar name change that rendered GE into becoming Gecis or GE Capital International Services. He simply did not want to be part of a diluted organization and decided to explore better and promising prospects.
Vishal 'Capt. Val Ross' Bhargav was another Gecis veteran I met. He had moved to a different organization only months before I began my stint in Gecis. Someone with an acutely mature taste for music and perfection, Val hails from the pristine hills of Solan, a perfect blend of nature's exquisite work of fine art combined with one of the most inviting and hospitable weather man could enjoy.
Contrarily, the onslaught of a very spiteful weather continued all day long in Delhi and its suburbs and the prospect of a monsoon remained a long journey away. I squirmed and cursed and remembered Ooty every passing minute while the hot winds swirled places with loads of dust flying around everywhere.
Vineet 'Designer Dude' Sharma moved to stay with us sometime in September. Originally from Chandigarh, this superlost soul had decided to venture into Gecis to draft a career. His levels of creativity and dexterity with hands and mind alike in designing smart automobiles is perhaps very unseen and in many cases unparalleled. He looked at life with a different view altogether and I must confess, I felt his 'perspectives' a little nerve-racking myself. You have to meet him to believe me. And should you ever decide to visit his website ( www.geocities.vineetdesigns.com ), don't miss a seemingly well construed warning that reads "Don't copy my stuff, else you will be beaten to death". What contradicts this wildly savage statement is the dude's personality itself. It's hard to imagine that this 'kid' in his early 20s who appeared calmer than many other people, could have a very different line of thought, let alone a line of sight.
Remember, how I told you a few posts earlier, how looks could be very deceptive? This is just another instance, one of the many I must say.
Shortly afterwards, Anuj decided to move to London to pursue further studies and all of us who knew him, me being the one who knew him the least perhaps, immediately felt a void!
Before he left for the United Kingdom, he gave me a book I had long wanted to make my own. One that I had heard about since eternity. Atlas Shrugged written by the renowned yesteryear's philosopher and author Ayn Rand was without doubt one of the best birthday gift's I have received as yet.
9125 days of having walked this planet, I now entered into a new year, a year with unending prospects and anticipation like never before.
I turned 26 without much realization!