My lessons from those around

LIFE IS FULL OF ROLE MODELS When i sit and relax on the corridors of my spacious house enjoying a steam of coffee with a copy of TOI and a novel of BALA KUMARAN to keep me company and the bewitching smiles of my grand son adding to the beauty of the here and now momnents my thoghts travel down the memory lane . In particular it revolves around some of the people in public and private life with whom i had been dealing with in the last one year who made every moment spent with them worthy of rememberance and invaluable.And that made every minute of the life in the past one year July 11-June 12 filled with meaning and a sence of purpose. I list them below and it is not any reflection of my priorities as all of them are to be prioritised on equal footing. It starts with my friend Mr PRASAD in Hongkong who took time to complete a thirteen posts blog entiled as ' NINAIVALIAGALIL KAMABAN" beutifully focussing on his first attempt . on some of the ever green unforgettable poetic beauty of kamban and making the reading a loveable experience by enriching each episode by correlating his experiences of similar situations in his own life. It is not to be mis construed that his life is equated to that of Rama. On the other haNd it is to make us understand that RAMA, THE SUPREME, lived the life of a human BEING, setting in the process beautiful learning points in times of challenges.I am awaiting the beginning of next series by him. It moves down to my friend and collegue Ms Sarada , who moved to Singapore , under very challenging and unenviable circumstances (even making her to think abt resigning her job due to pressures of one kind or the other )and who had successfully accomplished a term of three years service under very tryig and challenging domestic and office environment and returning back to India with grace and confidence to add to the strengths of my erst while department.She left with a new born baby of 3 months old and she will be returning with a lovely kid of 3 years old with accompanying experinces to share . As a person who had tried to create a second line of qulity personnel at the dept level my personal joy is manifold on her return. I look forward to her come back. And there is always the figure with fatherly attitudes and affection.Sri Younus Bhoy , whose book about his escapades in Burma penned by MU Ramanathan is only an appetiser of sorts. Every time when he talks to me ( which is like a flowing river, very balanced and composed and lasting easily half an hout to 45 minutes ...mind it is a distance call from him from Hongkong) it is like experiencing an encylopeadia.His experinces with film industry, in tester years, his awareness about the roots of India and the problems that it faced after independence, his down to earth understanding of the basics of the Tmailanguage and his talk in chaste tamil are all some things to be experience to be believed. I am sure that HK tamils like Mr Ramanathan, Ms Chitra sivakumar and last but not the least Sri Guru ( an apt name based on his wonderful knowledge on tamil literature)would make use of this great man;s experiences to the full. Then it is also time to reflect on my daughter and son.Daughter for her becoming a matured woman in the past 12 months knowing to balance between her parents in laws and the new gift of god (her son of 39 days old) and also for having successfully proved her credentials to her employers which resulted in her second promotion in her second year of service , a feat which possibly makes her options difficult at the moment , but which she is sure of handling in time to come. Softness where required and firmness where it is needed are her assets which she is nursing to the best of her abilities to stay put in the competitive world and seeing her in action is a real treat to treasure. Equally fitting, if not more , is the contributions from son. Probsbly one of the very few to pitch for his second Phd within an young age of 26 -27, he was always around when needed and with out being asked for.To be by the side to share, witness, enjoy, and to excell (some times by participation and at other times by silence )in apt measures , again the moments are to be experienced and can not be explained.I am awaiting for his tenure to complete by this time next year and looking forward to his return with glory and in style. Last but not the least, my better half.A working engine round the clock, always looking for perfection (ofcourse in what all she does) and full of energy unmindful of the physical ailments and the limitations of sorts often cropping up.there is a biologicalclock in every one of us to control us and our activities. But she carries biological clocks for the welfare of all around. One to wake up, the other to take care of grand son's needs, the third to attend to daughter;s wants, the fourth to address the loneliness of son and the fifth to attend to an ailing mother. There used to be times of complaint that we were not devoting time to each other. Now that has been replaced by prayers that we should have time to sit and relax atleast for a couple of hours each day.And am sure that is the way i can reward her for all that she has done and been doing for the family. And each of them had shown me the way to live the life in totality.TO live the life with an understanding and love and in peace. A BIG THANKS (IS THAT THE RIGHT WORD!!) to all

HAPPY Father;s day to one and all

8 MOTHS TO THIS DAY (`11/6/2012) had gone past since my retirement on 11/10/2011. Like for many of those who retired, to me also it started with lot of questions and more importantly as to what next and when. I had a few ideas and desires and I was not sure as to how to go about them.then it struck me that if I had lived these 60 years to my satisfaction I could live thru the remaining phase too with satisfaction. It also dawned upon me that the force which showed me the way al along ( Call it as God or destiny or the inner guiding force)is there to guide me and I have to keep listening to it and I precisely did the same. And the responses were astounding. The responses came from many directions and each of them came as if it is a continuation of an earlier communication.They also came at the right intervals to make me to halt and take my decision in the proper perspective. And when I look back I feel I should feel contended with the journey in the last 8 months. I have lived my dream (though short and sweet ) of sharing my experiences and expertise as a seasoned banker with my faculty chore helping in the right dosage;First as consultant with Manipal Global university Bangalore and later with Centralised Training Solutions Mumbai as Domain expert. Remuneration was secondary. PRIMARY THING WAS the confidence reinforced in me that I can be a successful sought after faculty even after retirement and the satisfaction derived out of training young aspirants which made one forget the age difference and start feeling youngish.In the process I had used the interaction I had with participants to make use of the same successfully when I was called upon to interview candidates for Probationary officers in my erstwhile bank during the first week of June at Delhi.It enabled me to read thru the insights of candidates, their aspirations, their wants and needs and to take the appropraiate decision as to the suitability or other wise. And during the interugnum I was also making use of my professional qualification to assist those in need in finalysing the credit/compromise proposals and in completion of statutory branch/central audits of banks in time.Here again I was concentrating on the satisfaction component arising out of my contribution in work rather than the fees that it fetched and in fact many of the assignments are on a friendly basis and no regrets as each day was unique in giving me fresh experiences which can not be valued in terms of money. And when I am penning this mail few openings both in professional body as also in y erstwhile bank are available as a faculty besides number of joint prospects with like minded friends. I hav €e decided to flow along the tide instead of forcing any decion or any path to choose. And I must thank a whole lot of friends and well wishers in this journey.All my collegues and well wishers from my erst while bank and department who time and again made me strong and going, all my professional peers who joined with me in my bank some 33 years back ( some of them no more and some of them not in contacts but those few who are regularly in contact to share the precious moments of frendhip), my friends from Hongkong stint ( Especially Mr Prasad whose writings on Kamban made me to make my browsing experience richer,Mr Gurunathan whose approach to literature and the deep knowledge that he exhibits in analyzing an Issue is a treat to watch, Mr YOUNUS Bhoy who makes it a point to call and share his rich heritage and experiences every now and then, Mr Ram , Mr Sekar(SBI)Ms Chitra sivakumar, Ms Geetha Barathi,Mr Ramanathan and a host of other tamil friends who make the experience with Ilakkiya blog an invigorating one, Mr Sridhar who has made a unique contribution with his research work on Chinese poetry all of them keep this journey afloat and last but not the least all my family members WHO SHOWED WHAT a boon it is if a person has the good and understanding wife son and daughter. . Some things are required to be shared then and there as other wise it may loose its significance or it may not reach the deserving person at the right time.And hence this blog post to thank one and all for the journey all along and for journey still to be made. MAY THE JOURNEY GO ON MAY THE FRAGRANCE OF JOURNEY LAST LONG MAY CHEERS AND HAPPINESS BE IN EVERY DWELLING AND MAY PEACE AND UNDERSTANDING REIGN ALL THROUGH. SAMPATH KUMAR

world is worth living

Little darling called as Angel Suddenly life has become full of beauty , love and charm. Every worry disappears like salt in ocean, Every argument becomes a win win for every one around The schedule of sleep goes for a sixer outside the window panes The minority rule prevails over the majority. It started all 36 days back on the mid night of march 9th Little angel. Called as my grand son arrived He became the chief guest and he also became the chief host. He became the fulcrum of the entire family. His smiles brought laughter around And his tears brought the world to stop a beat His cries became a dictionary of sorts and Salutations to him created a new vocabulary He brought the best out of every one and Any thing that is bad disappeared into oblivion in his presence His habits became the law of the home And his little cries lead to debates on his wants Finally to conclude that all that he wants is a hug from a dear one. He brought his uncle from abroad over night He made the rare friends and guests to come for a glimse He made every one retired or in service equally busy And rewarded them with his million dollar smile every now and then. He made this father;s day special when I got the call from son abroad AS HE SHOWED THE VALUE OF FATHER SON RELATIONAHIP ONCE AGAIN!!!