Utkarsh Rai

Day of the Tsunami

26th Dec 2004 at Corbyn’s Cove resort, near Port Blair overlooking the Andaman Sea, I awoke to the tremor of the ground. My family with two kids and parents, was filled with trepidation due to the earthquake. Towering waves were furiously attacking the hotel’s infrastructure.

Fishing nets were strewn over treesand dead fish littered in the lawn.I immediately rushed to the reception and managed to place three calls to my brother, my office and our travel agent.
The agent made arrangements for us to leave the next day. The next thing I knew; the lines were dead. Many of the hotel staff left while some guests climbed a nearby hillock in desperation. The news that the runway was damaged and no flights could take off added to our misery. Night fell and my daughter’s murmuring kept me awake. My prayers were answered the next day when a van rumbled down the hillock despite the lack of roads. Apparently only small flights were able to navigate what remained of the runway.

A team of journalists who flew in from Delhi streamed us back home. I finally exhaled in relief when I was airborne. This experience taught me to make the right decision with a calm mind during crises.

First Year Hardships

It was my first job in Delhi which really opened my eyes to difficulties of the real world. My pay was low and this made housing a problem for me. When I heard that my friend’s friends were looking for a fourth occupant, I applied. However, when I returned from a business trip to Mumbai I found the house vacant. I thus collected my belongings from the landlady and searched for a new residence. I ended up living with my friend, a senior. Unfortunately I was made to feel unwelcome by his friends. I was staunchly against living with relatives as I was desperate to make it on my own. After hours of futile searching I found a hostel in South Delhi and moved in. But my troubles were not over as I soon discovered that it was for students of some professional course and the warden had been subletting it. The day we were asked not to return to the hostel for an evening due to a senior official’s visit was the day I felt uneasy about the place and decided to move out again. Luckily I found a batch mate of mine in a similar situation and together we shifted to East Delhi. There we rented a room having a shared bathroom with the landlord’s family. When our landlord refused to give us a rent receipt we knew it was time to vacate once again. It was only after a year of nomadic living that we mannaged to land a decent accomodation. This experience still boosts my confidence in difficult situation.

Dance Your Way to your Employees’ Hearts

It was a contemplative day for me when I received a feedback from a person during my skip level stating that the communication gap between me and my new employees was widening. I was wondering what I could do to counter this when an idea struck me. Every year our organization has a family night for all our employees. This event was always an eclectic medley of various entertainment forms. It had everything from band performances to skits to traditional dances and to Bollywood dances from our employees.

I took the initiative to reach out to the Bollywood team in the hope of shaking a leg with them. They taught me the steps and though I could tell they felt awkward in the beginning, as the days passed they realized that I was diligent and dedicated and our practice sessions were more light hearted. My team also made efforts to synchronize themselves with me. My dance was to be a surprise and so all my practice sessions were conducted in top secret. When my big day arrived, the cheers were deafening. The buzz surrounding my performance lasted for weeks and it brought me closer to the younger folks.

When Honesty is the Saviour

At the close of my friend’s New Year’s Eve party, I approached my car, which I had parked in a nearby alley. Just then two men materialized before us. They began to raise their voices and their hands. I immediately realized I had accidently blocked their gate. The volatile men rose to a fight assuming the worst in us. However I apologized and sympathized with them for I had made them wait for long hours to take their vehicle inside. Disbelieving as they were, they sarcastically suggested that I had parked a few minutes back. Instead of responding to their provocation I remained humble thus preventing a brawl from breaking out. It was my even temper which mellowed them down and allowed us to leave in peace.

Why a Mid-Life Correction is better than a Mid-Life Crisis

When a routine checkup showed an unfavourable increase in the different parameters of my medical report, I decided that it was time to hit the gym. I couldn’t turn a blind eye to my obvious lack of physical fitness. I registered at a nearby gym and requested a personal trainer. The beginning was strenuous and in the first week itself, when my trainer was bending my leg over my chest, I was afflicted with serious muscle pain. He apologized profusely and switched to easier exercises. I tried to skip gym the next day but my trainer would not hear of it. The first few days left most of my muscles sore and aching but as the days passed my stamina increased and I was beginning to see results. After 90 days, my trainer declared that he had no experience as to what to do next simply because most customers left within this period. My trainer helped me persist at the gym and now after two years I am regular and fit. My daily workout has brought marvelous changes in my lifestyle and my wardrobe and an imminent mid-life crisis is, thankfully, nowhere to be seen.

First Published in The Economic Times