Hello, everyone! Welcome to the first Monday Truclusions of 2017 and wishing you all a very happy and prosperous New Year! Today, on the first Monday of the New Year, I would like to give you a brief summary of my 2016.
Meeting The Greats
2016 began with a bang, and I received the most unexpected call from the man we know as ‘The Voice Of The Nation’ – Mr Arnab Goswami. He invited Bharath and me to be the keynote speakers at the iconic ‘Amazing Indians’ event organised by the Times Now group in New Delhi. The event was presided over by our honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
It was an extremely motivating experience to see the best brains of the country, from all walks of life, listen and appreciate our struggle and journey thus far. We were humbled by some of the ‘greats’ telling us that they were inspired by our attitude and efforts to lead dignified lives.
Making A Difference At IIS
As soon as I returned from Delhi, I was given the opportunity to play an active role in the organising committee of IIS 2016. Not only did I learn a lot in that period of 7-8 months, preparing for IIS 2016, but I also met many unforgettable people.
For example, Damini Sen. A question she asked, and I quote, “Are people without hands not destined for greatness?” still echoes in my ears. Her positive attitude and fighting spirit is a beacon of light for many.
The personal highlight for me at IIS 2016 was the opportunity I had to pen the theme song for the event. The song was sung by the great Vijay Prakash, and it was featured in a beautiful video with Asia’s fastest speed painter, Vilas Naik and some special kids from the Spastic Society of Karnataka. To have written this song, and see the music video made for it was a dream come true.
Penning My Thoughts
In the meanwhile, our very own Jaideep Rao offered me the opportunity to start ‘Monday Truclusions’ in the first week of August. I was sceptical about the survival of this weekly column and my writing abilities. It was only because of the KYS team’s confidence in me that I accepted this responsibility, despite many people telling me that an article a week was an aggressive target.
Thanks to all of you fantastic readers my column not survived but is thriving! It has now been 18 weeks since I started sharing my Monday Truclusions.
Sharing My Story With The World
2016 was also the year that I submitted the manuscript of my autobiography to an editor. After a lot of work, the manuscript is almost ready to be handed over to a publishing house. If everything falls in place, I will be a published author sometime in 2017.
Gaining confidence from the completion of the manuscript, I wanted to write another book, but this time I tried my hand at fiction. My friend Mr Madhav is co-authoring the project with me.
Professionally, I had a lot of opportunities to learn many things and explore new avenues for growth. Like life, 2016 brought a lot of joy and a few disappointments. However, failures and disappointments are important as they not only make you realise your shortcomings and rectify them, they also help you stay grounded and not grow too proud of yourself.
This is what I expect when I go through a low point:
The ray of hope is never gone,
Every dark night is followed by a new dawn.
From the womb of pain, new hopes are born.
Each time you fumble,
Never let your soul tremble.
Life is only teaching you to be humble.
Night falls to show that stars do shine,
Diamonds are found only in a coal mine.
Challenges are to test the courage in your spine.
If destiny has not yet given you a date
It doesn’t mean it is your fate.
She wants you to know it’s worth the wait.
If today has brought you only sorrow
There awaits for you a better tomorrow.
Have enough hope in you for the world to borrow.
Liked reading this? Then you might also like to read Monday Truclusions – Making Kindness The Way Of Life.
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