Kiran's Story:

For a successful life you have to have a balance the following:

1. Your professional life.

2. Your personal life ----which means your passion for things in life; for example, photography was one of your passions in the days gone by. If I remember airplanes models, I recall we used to sit on a cot made from an old airplane in the veranda of Vijaya's strand road house and talk about MODELS, ahem! only airplane models.

3. Your social life---this includes family, friends and the society as large.

4. Your physical life----this means your diet, exercises and fitness.

Lastly please remember you are not in isolation when you are feeling depressed. So CHEER UP.

I have lived through a problematic life as stated below:

1. Lost one eye at the age of 21. My whole life seemed bleak because, as an engineer, I needed binocular vision for my work, specially when supervising machines.

2. I learnt to live life with one eye---driving ( a dangerous thing) and doing precision jobs. Even today I work with one eye.

3. At the peak of my professional career I had to quit my job in Mumbai in 1981 to be with my ailing mother; she had just come out of a cancer operation. Had I continued, I would have become a chairman of at least 200/500 cr company in India. My colleagues have landed in such jobs.

4. I was unsuccessful in running the company which I set up at Hajipur. In fact a total failure professionally and commercially; I lost what I had saved. Believe me there were days I had NO MONEY in my pocket to buy cigarette ( unfortunately I smoked then). Yes, I could always approach my parents for money but I did not take that choice..

5. Now comes the brighter part. I caught life by the horn, packed my bag, came to Mumbai and, after a four months of knocking this door or the other, landed into a job much below than where I would have been. You see, I realized that my ex-colleagues could not take me in their company because I would be in a much junior position and I could be a threat to them.

6. This was the year 1993. Believe me, since then I have never looked back.

7. Was a success profesionally at Dubai and England ( an all British company).

8. Today I work per choice and live a happy life as I have been able.to balance the four key parameters of life stated above.

9. To hide my pain, I started laughing and joking during my bad days; today I laugh and joke out of sheer joy.

10. There are many amongst us who have been through worse than what I have been through.

Finally a law of nature------ bad times are NOT forever. They go and leave behind something good.

A brief update from me (24JUL06):

1. After working in Dubai and UK, I  and my wife Juhi are now back in Mumbai and stationed here.
2. I am doing some recruitment and BPO work on freelance basis.
3. I have twin sons: Aditya and Pranav, both married. Aditya is working with Pepsi as GM and posted at Hyderabad. Pranav is a shippy 2nd. engineer. Currently sitting for his Chief's exam in UK. Pranav has a son, Surya. Hence we are grandparents.
4. My contact details: telephone---00 91 22 28570601.
5. My father is retired and in Patna. I lost my mother last year.
6. I did my BSc. Engg in Mech. and MBA. Today more of a generalist than an engineer.