One Day of My Life: Worth Many Years

Aah, where to start? After all it has been one good day of my life that will be remembered as long as I will be in my consciousness. C K Prahalad, Nandan Nilekani, Kanwal Rekhi, Carl Shramm, Apurv Bagri, Desh Deshpande.......to top it all Shereen Bhan......confused! What would you call someone if he had the chance to face these legends in one single day, I would call it 'saat janmonka phal?' Well read below.

It was 16th Dec 2008, a beautiful day in Bangalore, venue Grand Ashok (recently name changed to Lalit Ashok), occasion was the annual gathering of global members of a world renowned private institution acclaimed for its spirit of mentoring upcoming entrepreneurs. Menu of the venue were all this biggies, not just for the designations they hold like Chairmans, MDs, CEOs, Presidents but for their outstanding contribution to the noble cause of entrepreneurship they have upheld from years. Some of them even founded among the most successful companies of anytime in the world, and then there were those who have written books which are considered the outstanding publications of all time, and then there were those who have funded from one to six successful upcoming start ups across India and Silicon Valley thus providing the much required capital and mentoring.

Right from the time the first guest surfaced at the registration desk at 1130 am till about 730 pm, the day was completely action packed and to me, for someone who have religiously seen and worshipped these achievers on television and in newspapers it was nothing less than the joy of India winning world cup finals...And I mean it. There were though many other occasions in my life when I have come across similar people like Narayan Murthy, Rama Bijapurkar and many others invaluable people, this was different than all. One of the reasons was the sheer joy of finding all these men and women discussing, debating and unanimously committing to the knowledge sharing to not so well established and budding entrepreneurs and most importantly inducing right ingredients like innovation to wannabe entrepreneurs was just breathtaking.

One thing most important to take away from this entire occasion was my old belief that the World and India in particular is the place to be in now for all right reasons. One common thread that brought all these phenomenas under one roof was their untiring passion and hunger to see the growth in all its forms, across all sectors and their ability to feel part of the world economy.....who says it doesn't pay to think big. Now the question is what separates all these men and women from the rest of us, I think as they all echoed, their ever growing passion to do something more, the willingness to take risks, the courage to walk down the untrodden path, the foresight to see beyond failures, though continuously learning from them, and most importantly the conviction to trust their instincts.

History across the ages has repeatedly shown that all great leaders had these qualities which distinguished them and have been the key reasons why we remember them and cherish their successes. Then why we, the rest do not just follow these and carve a mark for us as well.... easier said than done perhaps.

Ok ok guys I know who you have been kind enough to read and you want me to finish this blog. Hmm but wait guys here comes the best part of the day. Those who have read my earlier blogs know that I have been kind of inspired by this domain of business from about 5 years now. But what nobody knows is that among all of TV I watched, newspapers and magazines I read, biographies and books I gazed through, had three or four personalities who have left an indelible mark on my heart and brain. One who tops of this list is 'Shireen Bhan', the enigmatic and most popular face of business reporting on Indian television.

I would not regret forgetting wearing my clothes on one morning after bath as much as I would regret forgetting even her name....that is the extent of my admiration for her. As if her eloquent, charismatic, intelligent, and above all her lively character was not enough the fact that she is also among the most beautiful faces of all time adds to make her my most loved women of all times...:)
To know more of ‘Shireen Bhan’ just Google her name and there you will have from the mouth of others just to testify my right claims.

When the proceedings of the day were over and I packed my bags along with my colleagues and started walking to the poolside bar and orchestra to call it a perfect day, there I see this 'Shireen Bhan' in pink salwar looking as ravishing and putting beautiful steps and stopping my breath for few seconds. And here I went like a rabbit to stop her and tell her what all she means without wasting a single moment extending a small piece of paper I was holding and she scribbles 'good luck, Indraneel'.........

Now guys what do I call it, a day manna from heaven or 'saat janmonka phal'. Whatever may we call it the fact that this day indeed is the one that I will probably cherish as along as I live.

Though not sounding formal I thank those individuals without naming them for having given this opportunity to make this day of life worth many years of living....love you guys.