Thanks To....

18:20pm. Old home.

Fresh showers for this season. It has finally rained in Chennai. To smell the wet sand and feel the cool wind - in a city, where the evening temperature is nothing less than 37 degrees celsius, is something to be thankful for! Sometimes, counting your blessings as they say is a good exercise; it leaves one with a sense of all that has been seen and done, and therefore, a sense of accomplishment arrives! Still, there is that need to work towards a better life, hence we will also look at things we dont have and aspire for that list as well. Our very own 'Bucket List'!

Caught in a rather 'in between' time in my personal and professional life, I count my blessings which even on a single scan of thought, brings a smile! Apart from the regular list of blessings, I've also had the good fortune of facing adversities that have taught me lessons for life; left me well chiseled to sculpt my personality to manage myself in this wide world. My Thank-You List would read something like this:

- The disappointment of not going on stage, even though I was chosen and had practiced long & hard to sing a solo for our Inter-House culturals in school. A friend of mine was singing the same song, while I walked back home, clutching my school bag across my heavy heart.

- The feeling of 'falling in love' without knowing the end of that road, sometimes not having a road at all!

- The moment I was told my services were no longer required in my first job, despite having delivered a good track record, when I was all of 19. "Jealousies of a senior colleague", I was told later.

- Meeting 'Sivaji' Ganesan, Rajinkanth and Kamal Haasan for my maiden magazine competition (and winning it too); Meeting all my favorite and revered film makers/actors of this country thereafter, getting to know them on a personal level (someone quickly do the 'dhrishti' for me!) - thanks to Mirchi and to my own flair for movies!

- Anbe Sivam

- My 1st on air moment in Radio...and with it, Tapas, Shirty & Romen.

- Several moments in Mirchi's formative years that gave me my best friends. Specially the day when the email from Arvind did the rounds, and within minutes, the entire programming team rallied around me and sorted the issue before it could be escalated further. Have not yet thanked Devasena, Senthil, Jimmy, Mani, Pramod, Romen Sood and of course Arvind, who was the hero of the piece. Unforgettable cameos from Suchitra, Remy & Balaji made the scenes truly spicy...in keeping with our tagline, that day was Semma Hot Machi! That day also taught me the importance of having a 'team' that told me I'm not alone; how important everyday interaction in office is and how, when you're really lost and vulnerable, help will always come. Just keep the faith.

- The thrill of seeing my name on the silver screen in a succession of movies.

- The sheer day to day experience of managing men & women in cinema.

- My friends for life from this volatile medium of movies...most of them directors, some of them actors, who have the understanding & patience for this creature called Me!

- My Gurus in not just Journalism, but life - Rao sir & Madhan sir, who have taught me the importance of having a discerning mind; the relevance of keeping a high standard of excellence in work or be it in a simple matter of giving my opinion on anything.

- The esctasy of having friendships from school that traveled across 22years and the agony of having it all broken thanks to marriage and misunderstandings. Still...every excursion, every evening spent in Alsa Mall, Fountain Plaza, Sathyam Complex, Devi theatre, the Dabhas & Tic Tacs of Chennai are as fresh as this first rainfall! Not to forget the night-outs in the name of group studies; election and exam result times; Inter School Culturals; our gang's private trip to Kodaikanal; the day long time-spent in each other's homes with nothing to do save for repeated discussions of our own lives and the opinions each one had on it!

- My unique friendships with talented souls - be it a Psychiatrist in Chicago (This is your 5 secs of fame Dr. Ranganathan!), artists & painters of Chennai, my Art Director friend Prabhakaran, who opened his circle of friends to me, businessmen who always had me in mind for every new opportunity; media friends who have known me for several years and even now stand shoulder to shoulder for any professional deal I take to them; strange people who have met me only once and have kept in touch with the same warmth and comfort.

- Holding my dad when his mom died (I was 13yrs old); being the 1st person to hold Anand (my nephew) when he was born in 1995 - that kind of completes the circle of life I guess!

Hmmm...guess my Vote of Thanks is an endless one. This is by no means a comprehensive list; its what I can think of in one glance. Im sure future posts in this blog will talk of each moment/person in my life...in detail and with all honesty. As I said earlier, one scan of thought - one smile and I'm glad money or other materialistic stuff didnt make it to this list!