Phew! What a Year

2008 has been a defining year for me in many ways, a year that has changed my life in many ways. Numerically speaking (2+0+0+8 =10), my friend Shaz says that the year was of ups & downs showing shades of both, a very turbulent Year. Appears that he was right on spot on this !

The year began on an exciting note, as usual I spent the New year eve with my father & we went to a nearby hills (Panhala Ghats) to mark the vacation. I learnt to my pleasant surprise that dad had also made special arrangements to celebrate this New Year by booking a private farmhouse of his Business friend on the outskirts of the city. And so we heralded the New Year by raising a toast on the Scotch that I had carried for the purpose from Bangalore. Just a week into the year & my world came crashing down, my beloved Dad passed away in near perfect health. His passing away created a chasm in my heart & mind that I found very difficult to cope, especially at a time when I needed his reassuring company the most. Because this was the year when I had taken my fledgling steps to entrepreneurship after years of dilly dallying & Dad who stood by me all these years like a friend and a guide was no more.

Later in the year the Global Melt down & stock market crash that followed later in the year had a sedative effect on my Investment habits ,and in the process burnt a big hole in my Investment portfolio. However that has not fazed me, I have been investing even in these troubled times, maybe be with some forlorn conviction that averaging might kick in. Or so I hope.

The year also brought Terrorism to our doorsteps, first in Bangalore and other cities and finally in Mumbai has been heart wrenching. The sheer statistics of terror attacks over the past year ( 8 strikes & 444 dead ) is frightening, one doesn’t feel safe anymore , the nagging feel creeps up in me whenever I step into a public place and that probably made me to double-up my Insurance amount this year by buying additional policy from Aegon Religare. I could have suggested Thomas Friedman to add another word “Dangerous” to a book that he published this year “Hot Flat & Crowded ” to describe the world we live in current times.

The year also had its sunnier side for me, my 3.5 Year old son took school for the very first time, rather a pre school and it has been wonderful just watching all those lively tiny tots coming out to their parents after the school hours. Also my Niece, Risha stepped into a formal school, the 1st standard, a first again and it was happy news to see her get into a good school. Schooling children in a good place has become a big challenge and a major worry for parents especially in major crowded cities like Bangalore and any happy development on a personal front is always welcome.

The other positive that I have been able to draw from the year has been my exposure to several projects that kept me challenged & engaged. I have found it good to set new benchmarks for myself and attempt things that I only imagined earlier. I express my gratitude & thanks to all those people who made this change possible and supporting me in this endeavour - Lalit Popli, Rajeev Karwal, S Athavale, R Krishna, A Ramana Rao et al.,