Life in the year that was 2016

From changing jobs to changing cities, from transforming a house to a home, from being demonetized to demoralised, the year sure had a lot going on for me, but that's so far, don’t know what’s in store next!

They say, lightning never strikes a place twice. Mother nature has a way of being considerate, however life doesn’t offer mercies like that, at least not to some of us. Life has its own way of handing over one blow after another to certain people and I happen to be one of them. The year 2016 is almost nearing end, and when I look back at the year that was, the term ‘eventful’ seems to be an understatement. This year definitely has taken me on a roller-coaster ride, unfortunately (or fortunately?) the lows outnumbered the highs in the journey.

Firstly, it took me to the stars, by handing me a job opportunity that was like a dream to me – one with a Fortune 500 company, that too one of the best public sector companies in the country. The professional, the patriot, the nerd and the philanthropist in me were all on cloud nine. Should have known Murphy’s law better – whatever goes up has to come down. I had not finished basking in the glory of my achievement, when “life” happened, and as is it is the way with life, it sometimes manages to flip 180 degrees in no time. The company that I had given all my time, energy and life into for three long years, which was all praise for me, suddenly seemed to dislike me, and all it took was a resignation letter and a strong resolve to move out. So what if I had wanted more from my job than making an already rich person a little more rich, so what if I had cracked a national level test for post graduates and outperformed similar others in a rigorous selection process to make it into one of the best public sector companies in the country, none of this mattered in the tough corporate world of private sector, I couldn’t go unless I had paid my dues for having worked (often ignoring the fact that I even had a life beyond work) so hard for the company, read “notice period”. But serving the notice period would mean kissing good-bye to the job opportunity forever, as my age would never give me an opportunity to even apply again for that job. So, what would ideally have been the happiest day of my life, the date of joining the company that I had struggled so hard to get into, turned into nothing short of a nightmare. I didn’t have a relieving letter, I didn’t have any proof that I even sent a resignation letter to my manager (heights of blind-trust in my manager, which I regret to this day) who turned his back on me at a time when I was desperate for help, by assuring me that I would be relieved on the date that I requested and then changed his word at the very last moment when I was all set to leave; I would not have expected a similar treatment even from the worst of my enemies, not that I have any. However it struck me really late that I did have a copy of the mail acknowledging my resignation and the date that I wanted to be relieved, which was my saving grace (reinforcing my belief that God does exist and he delays, not denies). One hurdle crossed, joining formalities done, trainings and work began, and everything was returning to normalcy post the nightmarish phase, when “life” happened again. This time it was not a nightmare, it was an ordeal.

So I had a new job now in a new city, next step was to get a new car and a new house. That thing they say about arriving in life, sounds so good and looks so good on paper and celluloid, but in real life it is an arduous, painstaking, laborious task, which was nothing short of an ordeal, I would say. Having been brought up in a typical middle class Indian family, I had a very decent upbringing, my parents made sure that I got all that I wanted, the best education (a strict ‘no-compromise’ factor especially for Keralites) and all the comforts that any daughter would want. It was smooth-sailing for me all along, being the youngest in my family, I was always under the protection of my parents and elder brother. That also meant that I had little knowledge on matters related to managing finances and managing home, I never had to do either of it, as they were always taken care of by my parents or my brother. So it goes without saying that I ended up a complete mess when I had to run the show myself.    

I had always been cynical about my friends who could go on for hours on end about the benefits of investing, saving money, reducing taxes and matters like that which always tend to go above my head (got to admit this, I don’t have any clue how I managed to clear all those finance papers in B-School and even manage to get a rank). When my colleagues at work used to spend hours on their laptops, making declarations to save tax, I used to say with a lot of pride, “I don’t believe in all this savings and investments stuff that you talk about” and continue my work, as they busily typed their way into tax-saving heaven. It all came back to me, all those memories, when I found myself staring in disbelief at the swipe machine as the message “Card declined” showed up on the screen on swiping my card. I was at an electronics shop to buy a washing machine for my newly rented apartment. I figured out in an instant what had gone wrong and I knew that the gentleman at the shop too did, but inorder to save me from embarrassment, he said something like “Madam, it seems there is a maximum limit set by your bank for purchases through this card”, a blatant lie that one. I walked out of the shop, shocked, disappointed, ashamed, and embarrassed all at the same time, to be honest I am unable to describe that feeling in words. I had never came across a situation like that in my life, running out of money.


I realized that day that arriving in life, literally meant arriving, with absolutely nothing in hand, starting from zero and working your way up. Whatever little savings (if one could call salary that went unused as one, remember I had never really believed in savings) I had, I exhausted it all on buying a car and renting a brand new apartment, not to forget the long (really long, never-ending) list of items that are needed to transform a house to home. This was clear unchartered territory for me, setting up a house, and I had to tread that path all by myself, absolutely alone, with no support from my parents (their decision to stay away perplexed me at that time, but like all parents they had a really good reason for doing that, took me a while to figure it out though). I learnt many a lesson in life during that period – the importance of savings, the importance of planning, and the most important one – the value of money. Want to teach someone the value of money, look no further than setting up a house on one’s own. I transformed from a person who used to apply zero thought into shopping, to someone who prepares a well thought-out list much in advance before heading out for shopping. What twenty nine years of my life couldn’t teach me, the first couple of months in my new house taught me. I realized why my parents wanted me to do this on my own, they wanted me to stand on my own feet, they wanted me to not just live but thrive without any support from anyone and I believe that I have been able to do justice to them to an extent. From being dependant on my parents for anything and everything, to being on my own in a city that is totally new to me, I think I have definitely come a long way.  All said and done, I have to say that there was something lacking in my house even after I had everything readied in it. It was just a house to me until my parents came to stay with me for a while, and that is when I felt that my house had actually transformed to a home.

It took a few months for things to stabilize in life, expenses were now in check, savings had started growing and yes I was back to my smooth sailing phase, and then “Demonetization” happened. I was not aware that a term like that even existed, and so did many other Indians until that midnight when the Modi government made a landmark decision that was to change the lives of many Indians overnight. From having no money in my account to having money but not been able to withdraw, I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry at the games life was playing with me. Like Ross in “Friends”, I kept asking myself, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”. I seriously doubted if I actually was a good person and if infact I was, then why was all this happening to me. I recover from one setback and then I have to brace myself for the next one, why? Is it just me or is everyone going through similar struggles, I kept wondering.

Demonetization was supposed to be a bolt from the blue for black money hoarders, but unfortunately it was the same, maybe even worse for innocent people too. As an educated Indian, I am expected to sing praises to the government for such a bold move, else I would either be branded as a black money hoarder/supporter, which I definitely am not, or not elite enough, which is quite true. One of my comments in social media on how this move had affected me very badly and  how it proved so costly for innocent people, drew such flak from my friends group, I was left wondering, “Wow, Are there so many elitists in my friends group?”. Well, I do realize that the executives who commute to office in their own car, or take Ubers, Olas or Merus to their offices which have dedicated ATMs in the premises for their employees and to whom transacting using online wallets, net banking and cards comes as naturally as breathing (I know the feeling because I was one of them six months back) this decision must not have created much of an impact on their daily lives. However, as someone who has seen for real the hardships faced by a section of people, especially in rural areas who were already struggling to make ends meet when they received a death blow in the form of “Demonetization”, I am not able to laud this decision of the government. However hard I try to see reason in the arguments made by the supporters of this move, I am not able to understand how one can justify the loss of a human life as something which is for a “greater good”. Well, would they dare try saying that to someone who has lost their loved one. Then there are all these comparisons that are totally meaningless, so many people die in mobs at other places. Well, did they do that out of compulsion? Were they forced into doing that? The comparison with soldiers at the border, which was by far the most lame one of all, how can one ever compare what a soldier is doing for his motherland to something like standing in a queue all day long? I have always believed in the power of honesty, but something inside me hurts when I think of the plight of honest people in the current situation. Yeah I am not an elitist and I am glad that I am not, because if being an elitist means being blind to the suffering of people around oneself, then it is better not being one. I am trying hard not to get demoralized, because like anyone who has suffered because of this decision, I too hope that the suffering was not in vain, but if things are going on the way they are right now, that day is not far away when even that glimmer of hope also goes off.

As if all of this demonetization woes were not enough, there was more bad news around the corner, especially for the people of Tamilnadu, the death of the former CM of Tamilnadu – J Jayalalitha. Though I am not a Tamil, I was deeply saddened by the news of her demise, partly because I have this connection with Tamilnadu that goes way back to 2008, my first job after completing my engineering degree was in Tamilnadu. From my I.T days in Chennai to my B-School days in Coimbatore to the present stint in Tanjore, I share a special bond with Tamilnadu, some of the best things in my life happened in Tamilnadu. As much as I love my home Kerala, I have to say that I feel more secure when I am in Tamilnadu than when I am in Kerala, and a part of the credit goes to the “Iron Lady” as Jayalalitha was fondly called, for putting in place such a robust law and order system in the state. The way she lead the state, the way she brought so many companies to the state – from I.T to automobile to energy, the way in which she carried herself despite several setbacks in life and her pro-poor schemes, she just commands respect and she is nothing short of an inspiration for all of us, especially women.

The year is about to come to an end. It has been quite an eventful one for me, went through a lot of tough times, but everything only served to make me more strong and wise. It was also a year that gave me a lot of satisfaction and pride in the job that I am doing, directly and indirectly benefitting a lot of people around me. It is also a year that taught me that one should never put work before family, a lesson learnt a very hard way, because all the good work you’ve done may be forgotten in one day by your company or your superiors, but the moments you spend with your family, they last a lifetime. I had read this somewhere, no one remembers powerpoint presentations at your funeral. One must work to live, not the other way around. I also learnt two very essential life skills this year – driving and cooking. I learnt a new language. I learnt how to set up a house all by myself. I learnt that I can finally be on my own, not having to depend on someone to take care of me from time to time. The year that was 2016 was like this for me. I vaguely remember the lyrics of an English song that goes “life is a roller coaster”, well the lyricist is right, life definitely is one. What is a roller coaster ride without the lows, isn’t it what makes the ride worth taking, wouldn’t it be boring ride if the roller coaster went only in one direction. So, all we have to do is just sit back and enjoy the ride and always remember to keep our eyes open for what’s coming next.