The Strong & Shocking "Sakthi" - The Amazing People in My Life Series

I met Sakthi in one of my Quickrides. He is one of the quick friendships I made during Quickride rides. Read my earlier post here. 

I had taken a ride on Quickride one day when I heard a conversation of co-riders. The person was saying that after he reaches home he will go cycling up until the Airport and be back by midnight! I was shocked to hear this and what shocked me more was he does it all weekdays! I could not believe this and told him it is better to go to a bigger Apartment where there is ample place to cycle than to go on roads like this at night. The answer to this shocked me further -  He said he has got used to it and he goes cycling to nearby places like Nandhi Hills, Ramnagar, Savandurga, etc on weekends! I could not believe what I heard as he got down from the car as we reached near his place.

After a couple of days, when I and MM offered a ride, Sakthi joined us. This gave me some more time and freedom to talk to him. He worked for an Engineering MNC and he loved his work as a Mechanical Engineer. We also got to know that he was from Mumbai. In about one and a half hours long ride on the first day, we got to know that after he went for a long assignment to the UK, on the day he returned to Bangalore he met with a major accident and he was bedridden for more than 2 months with no hope of getting back on his feet again. But he made up his mind and started walking slowly, then cycling, and later swimming so that he triggers his muscles and gets back to normalcy quickly and he had done it in less than 6 months. His Doctor had told him that it is not less than a miracle. This shocked me yet again also could not stop thinking about his Grit! His Courage and determination impressed me naturally. I had heard or read such stories of people but never met one in person before!

Sakthi became regular to join us on our rides and in each ride, he would say one or the other thing which will leave us shocked, surprised or dumbstruck or all at a time!

One of the days the discussion was about our alma mater colleges and he said he is from IIT Powai in a lowly voice. He is an IITan! A B.Tech from IIT Bombay. The modesty he shows when he says about his alma mater is unbelievable! 

With time, I got to know about his family - that his Father is Marathi and his Mother is a Tamilian so he has relatives in both Maharastra as well as in Tamil Nadu. His siblings have done well too with One a Master's in Management and another pursuing Medicine. As I had gotten used to his Shocking revelations- I probed him further, and again I was not disappointed! His brother is from IIM Ahmedabad! 

Sakthi, had taken help of a Physiotherapist, won over himself and get back to his feet. Then he was planning to go on Tour de France 2020. He was preparing for it with zeal! He would cycle long distances while his physiotherapist will follow him in his car! Highly intense and disciplined in his practice! However, the world was hit by virus and so he could not make it..

Sakthi is also a Chess Champion who has won many contests.

On one of these rides, we had a Techie joining us who was let's say was a "Cool Dude". He was talking about his college days and his Biking hobby(he had Royal Enfield) with an accent and attitude. Sakhi chimed in and told him that he also was a biker one time and had Triumph! As the conversation picked up, Cool Dude was shocked one by one as he got to know about Sakthi's accolades one by one! While getting down from the car he said "This ride has just changed my Life" and I agree every ride with Sakthi is life-changing. 

Sakthi as his name says is a "Power" packed personality. His never-give-up attitude is an inspiration. I always told him that his parents have named him very aptly as what is called 'Anvartha Nama' in Sanskrit. 

Sakthi shocks me with the projects he is involved during last two years of lockdown every time we talk! He is also penning down his life as a book which will come out shortly. I wish him powerful energies to achieve his goals.

Spirited Susheela Madam - The Amazing People in My Life Series

I am fortunate to know an incredible and spirited person, Susheela Madam. In a single sentence if  I have to describe her - she churns cream out of every situation.

Susheela Rajaram is a retired Bank employee who wears various hats. She is a singer, a music teacher, an artist, grows beautiful plants, knits wonderful sweaters, a painter above all a wonderful and dedicated Mother. She is eyes to her son Vivek who is a great singer. 

Susheela madam also wholeheartedly took care of her parents-in-law and stood by them during their last days. All this in her packed day and still she finds the energy to do more! Last year when she found some time she fulfilled her long-time dream by learning to stitch. 

The grit she put in for making her son pass MA and Music Vidwan is an incredible story. Madam is a Tamilian who hails from Hyderabad. She learned to read Kannada for the sake of her son. She has read to him each and every page of the MA and Music exam syllabus.

The resources and the motivation that she provides for her son with a single-minded dedication are beyond words.

I got to know this incredible person when my daughter Little MM of 5 years joined their music classes. Mam assists Vivek Sir with his music classes. The way she introduces kids to music, the encouragement she gives them, and the love she showers on them is again incredible. This connects the kids to Carnatic music very naturally. Kids look forward to going to their classes. This certainly is a big feat!

When the lockdown started as with everything, the music classes also stopped abruptly. This created much void in them and to compensate for this Madam came up with a new project. She started creating YouTube videos for the Youtube channel called Raaga Swara Thaala. 

Her elder son Karthik Rajaram and daughter in law Shweta Karthik help with editing, uploads and managing the YouTube channel.

Now she is always busy recording, re-recording music from Vivek. Initially, when she bought the smartphone, I showed her some basic operations and how to use WhatsApp. She explored and expanded it so much that now she can create great videos with YouTube!

Her child-like enthusiasm amazes me every time I meet her. I am a huge admirer of her and in many ways, she is a Mentor to me. I wish her energy boost every day and spread joy to her and all of us!

In Memory of my Undaunted Ajji - Sharadamma

Kowshika Sharadamma is my paternal grandmother. We called her Kowshika Ajji. 

She was very different ever since the time I recall. She was not like any other grannies who will do pooja and rituals for long hours. She was not someone who will chant for hours or sing songs. She was not even like normal women of her age who were interested in cooking and making nice dishes and sweets for the family. She never fancied or went to any weddings or any functions.

She was a person connected with the soil. She was always worried about the farm and yard (ಹೊಲ ಮತ್ತು ಗದ್ದೆ). This always puzzled me as a child where I saw all other grannies deep into doing some of the other religious stuff. She was never like a bit of it.

I can say that I knew very little about her all these years. As I am growing older, I am getting to understand her more and more..

My grandmother was married at the age of 9 to my grandfather of 25+ years who had a daughter of the same age. His first wife had died years ago. When she came with him to his village, she was still playful naturally and she was always playing with her stepdaughter.

She gave birth to two sons by the time she was fifteen and was carrying the third child when suddenly my grandfather died of a supposed heart attack. My father is her second son. My grandfather was modestly rich and had made a good amount of land. After his demise, his family claimed all the lands and they had put a case in the high court. 

My Ajji, who was an illiterate and young innocent came to Bangalore from the village to defend the case and won it as well! I wonder what power she would have got at that time to travel with three small kids and come to a city, stand in front of the court, and claim what she deserved. How it would have been for her to bring up the kids as well as do the farming. Seriously, I can't imagine her days of struggle and how she came out of the difficult times.

Only one thing I can say is that she never claimed or cribbed for all the hardships she had been through.

She had a very low profile life in the village in the middle of her beloved coconut trees and farms. I am sure she would have been a very beautiful small girl as from the time I saw her she had a fair complexion and very good-looking!

Nine years ago on this day, my Ajji passed away. The next day my chikkappa, her third son also collapsed due to a sudden heart attack and passed away.

A strange thing and a very rare coincidence indeed. They both had a strong connection while they were alive which they carried further for their next journey too...You are both missed but will be always remembered in our thoughts.

Firm Sangeetha Sir - Thammaiah - The Amazing People in My Life Series

When I was in High School at Hassan we had 2 periods in a week for Music. One class for Carnatic and one more for light music. It was not a period to learn simply music. It was a time of a lot of discussions of national interests, values, and behaviors.

All the students called him Sangeetha Sir, rarely we referred him by his name which was Tammaiah. He had a great ability to remember each and every student's name. where they sit normally and how they sing, talk, etc. He could easily point at a student who is not in sync among 50 girls singing in the class. He had some amazing abilities.

I had more interaction than this with him as I was the person who read all his letters and other posts which were in English. He was visually challenged from birth.

He would come looking for me during the breaks or after school with the letter and ask me to read. Sometimes whenever there was a break,  I went to the staff room to check if he had any letters for me to read. During this time he would also tell me many other interesting things also ask me about things he did not know and could not feel. In a way, I got interested in social issues, and politics through these interactions. He also had figured out my strengths and had advised me on my professional choices as well.

His knowledge and enthusiasm to learn things amazed me. I always believed that he would have been a great teacher in other subjects as well if he was allowed to be. He had impeccable Kannada and was a good orator too. In school, if heard of indifferent treatment by a teacher he would flare up. He had a deep sense of responsibility as a teacher and he always put students' interests first. In a sense, he was a fighter!

After school, I lost touch with him until I reconnected after a couple of years. This time he was not a Teacher, after promotions he had become Director in the Education Dept. Now he was busy visiting many schools for audits and inspections. Though he was busy those days he attended my wedding. 

Sangeetha Sir came home for a flash visit on my daughter's birthdays just based on his memory.

The Unique thing about him is he never stayed more than 30 mins anywhere. As a principle, he never has food at anyone's place. Whenever  I whine about this, he would say that it will be an inconvenience for the people as well as for him as he has to take help from others to reach the washbasin, etc. He hates being dependent.

After he is retired, he went on a pilgrimage not once or twice but 5 times. He has visited Dhwadasha linga, Chardham, Vaishno Devi, Tirupathi, and many more temples. He became a heavy traveler, I was shocked to know that he would cover Adi ranga - Madhya ranga- Antya ranga in a day!

During one of my trips to the US, he had asked me to get a phone with keys suitable for the visually challenged. He was having difficulty using smartphones as it has soft keys. I could not get him one which bothers me even today! 

After this, he came for a flash visit to my home and I was astonished to see the way he has started using the smartphone with the audio option settings. I got very emotional seeing this. I felt very proud of his perseverance and drive.

During the lockdown, he had to go through a lot of difficulties as he lives alone. His food came from neighboring Hotels and messes which got closed. He suffered both physically and psychologically as he lost interaction with people due to restrictions on travel. That's when he started to use WhatsApp to connect with people. He is broadcasting his life stories, his struggles, his achievements every day by recording as an audio story and the message will be there every day in the morning at 4:30 am! 

Every time I meet him I realize the pure potentiality of a man and he is one of the very few people I have met who live and die by their principles.

Laudable Learning Entusiast Lakshmi - The Amazing People in My Life Series

Lakshmi is my dear friend for 12+ years, she is a person who surprises me always.

She surprised me as recently as yesterday when she told me that she had gone out of Bangalore last year to attend Tony Robbins DWD!

It is an unbelievable thing for me as I could not think someone would go out to attend a workshop in covid times in the middle of the covid hit economy.

My daughter LittleMM is a friend of Lakshmi's daughter. She is her first and long-time friend. I met Lakshmi through her a long time ago and we quickly connected.

Lakshmi living in a very conventional joint family - navigates through the situation remarkably. She looks for new opportunities to engage herself meaningfully - be it for her ventures or for self-development.

If she is convinced of self-development through a person or the institute, she will not hesitate to spend time or money or both.

She introduced us to Mani Sir of Grace Academy who has been a great life coach and influence on me and my family. 

Every time we meet, she will have a new thing to share, a new venture she would have started or a new coach she is working with.

All in all, she is a person who sees hope in tomorrow.