Chasing Liberty

There is a basic difference between an employee mindset and a business owner mindset. The employee mindset works on the minimum mentality while the business owner mindset works on the “whatever it takes” mindset.

A lot of people tell me in the business that they are feeling lost because nobody is fixing plans for them or demos for them and so on. The business owner doesn’t wait for work...that’s employee mentality. Instead they create work....

When you have the ownership mentality, you go hunting for things to do. In our business we have to ‘create’ work most of the time - we will meet people and try to understand where they are stuck, we will initiate a cover dish, a cashflow game, a training, a movie - anything that will lead us to the next level of relationship which will lead to the next level of activity with our people.

We will have to “chase” work to book our calendars. We cannot wait for our business to chase us with work to do. Whether it means being out for contacting or making a list of people we want to meet so we can figure out what we can do with them or making a to-do list every night or drawing the group every night so it tell us where we can work - somehow be able to keep our calendar booked choc-a-bloc....

If we want...liberty.....we will have to chase liberty by chasing work....it will not tiptoe into our homes while we are sleeping....

Newton's law or God's law

The only way the universe keeps a balance and stays stable is through the law of action and reaction. To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. What you shall sow, so shall you reap….

If something is an action, it is thought. It is the most pertinent action in this creation, the most persistent, the most far reaching, undying, traveling forever in time. 

And every thought we create is an action which will attract a reaction from the universe and it's constituents. 

Everything happening "to us" is a reaction of a past action. Every feeling we are feeling, thus is a reaction of the past actions. We can't control what is happening to us because we can't stop the reaction once the action is done. What we can control though, is the action to react to that reaction that we are facing. What will that be?

When we forget the law, we also forget that we are in a cycle which nothing in this creation can break. It is a law. It has to be. The only thing we can do is to live by it and use it to our benefit.

And thus, we have to be careful….very careful. For we are creating at every moment a deposit which will have to be withdrawn, and often with interest; sometimes for and sometimes against our deposit.

If I understand that my feeling of dislike for somebody is a reaction to a past action, I would immediately like to do an action of love and peace so that the future reaction would change. If I do not understand this, I can as easily create a new action of dislike which will keep creating for the infinite future the same and more of it.

Once this enters your heart, any people skills book will simply pale away…

It's Showtime

We just came back from the FED circuit in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai and a lot of people tell us how much they liked seeing us on the stage and how they would like to be there as well.

A lot of people think that the speakers just come on the stage, get inspired and do a talk that makes an impact on not just the thousands of people sitting in the stadium but the millions who hear the talk on a CD for years after that. 

Success in anything in life is a planned event. It doesn't happen by chance. When any Emerald or Diamond delivers a world class talk it has come from deep inside that speaker’s heart through searching and introspection. For a 45 minute talk, a speaker usually prepares for at least 20-30 hours. And that is when a talk of 45 minutes becomes something to cherish and remember and stirs the soul. 

A talk is not just a talk. It is a transfer of faith and belief and energy from one person to 10,000 people sitting there. And it usually drains the speaker. 

When you go to show the plan to somebody it's no different than being a mini FED. For the desired result to happen, the same passion and focus and energy transfer needs to happen. It is your 45 minutes of show time. Because that's the business we are in!!!

Unfortunately, God did not put a meter on our heads which measures and displays the excitement within. Instead he gave us eyes and voice and hands and a face to be able to express and convey our emotions and the passion and the fire within. A lot of us need to learn to use them for the purpose they were meant to. 

And only then can we "sponsor" the people that we want to and get them excited about their own life and their own dreams!!

So, go out and perform folks!! It's your showtime!!! And its these successful events that will propel you to be able to stand on the FED stage one day and tell your success story. 

Attitude of Gratitude

I was at Manipal hospital just the other day to see a friend - they had a baby boy. Everybody was very happy.

But everytime I go to Manipal or St John’s hospital - which is quite frequent, by the way - I make it a point to walk past the Emergency room and go and stand outside the Emergency entrance for a few minutes. And almost every single time I’ve been there, I’ve seen somebody being wheeled in. Somebody in not so great a condition. And somebody with them really worried about what will happen. Somebody whose only wish at that time is that their loved one just be fine - and they don’t want anything else from life anymore. 

And each such time, the experience humbles me to my core. It reminds me of my impermanence, the fleeting nature of life and the futility of things we worry about most of the time. I just come out with infinite gratitude.

Interacting with the thousands of people that we work with, as we reach this level in this business; and not just working with them like other professions, but being a part of their most intimate thoughts and their intricate lives; everytime I meet somebody depressed and frustrated over some silly issue, everytime I meet a couple fighting with each other like cats and dogs over why he or she said something in front of somebody or for somebody....and countless other trivial matters....all I feel like is to take them and place them in front of that Emergency room for just 10 minutes. And I am sure, they will feel like they are majoring on the minors. That they have everything they could have wished for and more already. 

Isn’t just the mere fact that we can walk on our feet and eat with our mouths and see with our eyes and understand what somebody is saying and laugh with our babies and rest our shoulders against our loved ones not enough to be thankful for? Imagine going Crown Ambassador and not having any one of the above.....

Breaking Away...

The most difficult time for any parent I realized is 2 instances in life. One is when the kid mentally and physically moves out of the dependence of the parents. Mentally when he enters adolescence and physically when he leaves home to study/work/explore the world. We fulfill our need to be needed (perhaps the greatest need of a human being) through our children. And thus they give us more than we give them (though we always pretend that it’s the other way round).

And the second is when they get married - now the third dependence - the emotional dependence is also gone. And this is one of the most difficult to endure. 

A wise parent is somebody who knows how to deal with this gracefully. But the funny thing is - so is with an upline for a downline as well. 

Initially they are physically/mentally dependent on you - they just keep hanging around you for everything all the time. You “take” them with you to functions, to contacting, to plans. But soon they grow out of it. You like it to some extent too - because it gives you the freedom - they think on their own how to do PV and sponsoring and do 10000PV each month. Just like a parent who gets his freedom back to visit friends and do what they want to do. 

But as a downline goes further into higher qualifications, his emotional dependence will reduce too. And that should not hurt. you have to trust that the deposits you made in the earlier years and the foundation you gave them will sustain them and your relationship. And that they will behave as responsible adults who you’ll be proud of for the years to come. 

I also learned as I’m growing myself that I need to show my appreciation/respect to my parents on a continual basis - that's the only thing they really need from us.

Gyroscope

The day I decided that it's my dream to lead a life of financial freedom, residual income and all that comes with being at a Diamond level, the most important thing that became clear is that Manipal Reddy and Deepak Choudhary had to be 2 gyroscopes for my business life. A gyroscope is what keeps your course in the journey, no matter how you toss and turn and wobble. Your brain will become confused about your orientation, your direction, but the gyroscope will keep pointing in the direction that you set it for at the beginning of the journey. The ultimate gyroscope for this journey is Bill Britt and the thing I know for sure is Deepak is connected to Manipal, Manipal to Kanti and Kanti to Bill. The day that connection breaks, I might not be sure of where I'm going either.

I have needed innumerable course corrections over the course of my business. The only thing needed was for me to tell Deepak and Manipal what I was seeing around me - they needed to know what I was seeing around me to locate where I was in the vast space. The less I tell them what I see around me, the less accurately they can estimate my position and direction to destination CAM in this business.

I also had to give them the space to tell me that I was on the wrong path. You might have the gyroscopic upline but never really know whether you're on the right path or not, unless you give them the space to tell you. There have been so many times when I have not copied Deepak and Manipal on the emails I was writing to my group, never discussed things I was teaching to my organization, just because I was afraid they will tell me I was wrong. It's only God's infinite blessing on me that I've always come back without going so far that it's difficult to return back. Sadly, I know many people who have gone too far and said too much to return back or to take back their words. I also thank the Almighty that my gyroscopes of life and gyroscopes of business are both pointing in the same direction. It is only my good fortune and nothing else.....

Role of women in prospecting

This article was published in the December 2010 issue of The Lamplighter

The secret of a huge business is to stay in the creative zone all the time. I consider myself as the Vice President of my business and am constantly thinking about what I can do today to take my business forward.

One of the decisions I made long back was to purposely step out of the house every day to meet 3-5 new ladies. Sometimes it happens in my everyday routine of grocery shopping, dropping and picking up Adi from school or finishing work at the bank. And at other times, I create opportunities to meet them during a walk, at the doctors’ clinic, in a park and so on. The key is to speak to somebody every day who I’ve never met before. 

We ladies have been blessed with some unique gifts. We have a great observation, we can open up very quickly and have a heart to heart conversation with another lady, we are vocal about our wants and don’t wants and we are good at connecting with people and building relationships. We can very well use these strengths to grow our businesses. 

When I meet ladies, my goal is to first identify whether she can be a client or a business partner. If I feel that she can use something in skincare/health/home I would introduce myself as a beauty or health and wellness advisor and make her a client. Else, if she is somebody who is independent, ambitious and looking to do something from home, I would propose the business directly to her. 

If I want to attract quality people in my business or make high PV customers, I need to look like somebody they would love to meet. I make an extra effort to look very presentable during prospecting because we get only a few seconds to project the image of a successful businesswoman. I make sure I am well dressed and am wearing my own Artistry and Attitude makeup and colors, my own deo or perfume and surely an attractive smile. I like to keep my own business cards and give them away during prospecting. 

Remember, it’s not just about what you do but also about what you want duplicated in your organization long term as well. So, have fun prospecting!!!

Taru..

To Do or To Be...

There are two parts of living - the “to do” part and the “to be” part. We all assume that the “to be” part is what is decided by our destiny - I am a certain way - I have a certain personality - a certain belief system - and that it’s handed over either by my parents or by the environment or by God - I get angry - anger is in me, I get frustrated - it’s a part of me. 

And it’s the “to do” part where we have control, what to do, what to buy, where we work and so on. 

It might just be the opposite way. It’s the “to do” part which is destined for the most part - my going to IIT, my going to Europe, my joining Synopsys or this business etc. But it’s the “to be” part that I control through my conscious awareness. So the entire plan of life has to be a let go attitude for the “to do” aspects of life and a “take charge” attitude for the “to be” part of life.  And that’s why we are called Human Beings and not Human Doings...

Footprints in the sand

My favorite poem which I think about every time I feel proud of having accomplished something in life. It applies to my upline in my business, my parents and to our super upline in life...the force we call God 

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,

other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed

that during the low periods of my life,

when I was suffering from

anguish, sorrow or defeat,

I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,

"You promised me Lord,

that if I followed you,

you would walk with me always.

But I have noticed that during

the most trying periods of my life

there have only been one

set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed you most,

you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,

"The times when you have

seen only one set of footprints,

is when I carried you."

Mary Stevenson

Self made man...

Every time I hear somebody being praised with “...so and so is a self made man....” I feel like laughing at the ignorance of the person who thinks like that. And if one thinks that about himself, I must call him plain ignorant...or if he’s really proud of it then i will want to call him an ignoramus which is another word for stupid.

How on earth is it possible that you can be “self made” unless you are so blinded by your ego that you can just not observe the millions of people around you who are a reason for where you are today. The people who became stepping stones and signposts and mediums to help you reach where you are today. 

The school teachers who encouraged and built me up and taught me things which we think we were born with. The schoolmate who challenged me that I can’t beat him to the no 1 position. Mr Nagda who kept the inspiration alive in me to get into IIT and not give up on the dream and worked the physics problems with me despite being a successful industrialist. The friends who got my grade from a flunk to a D in Microelectronics fighting with the prof though I was already in Europe. Preeti who convinced me to join Synopsys instead of TI when I came to Bangalore on the industrial visit in 7th semester. My aunt who laughed at me and my business. Take one of these people out from life and today could not have been what it is. Who knows what it would have been...

People skulls from people skills

How we read people skill books most of us - thinking that we’ll get the magic technique that will bring the charisma in us and attract people to us. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ve learned tremendously from “How to win friends and influence people” and “How to have power and confidence in dealing with people”. But that said, I must say that the secret to building huge organizations is not in learning people skills alone.

In fact I met somebody a few days back and was telling them that if you focus too much on people skills, you’ll only end up with more “people skulls” instead. This person was asking me how to attract the group to him and how to keep the team together?

I think people skills is a transactional skill. What we need to be looking for in our life are transformational interactions instead of transactional interactions. We can be infinitely good at making people feel good with false praise or not showing what we really think about them but we underestimate the power of human instinct. Once we understand that “thoughts are things” and everything in the universe is just energy and nothing else, our approach will change. 

Unless we can really find the good in somebody and start focussing on that instead of what we don’t like or appreciate in somebody; unless we can really accept them for who they are and stop thinking about how we can make them into what we want them to be, there is no transformation that will begin. We need to understand that people have the same instinct that we have in us - they get the energy we transmit towards them through our feelings much more than they trust the words we say to them.

CPU vs Internet

When I sit on my Mac and connect the internet, I can see a small icon showing when data is being sent to the internet and being received from the internet. It’s a small arrow showing up and down switching very rapidly. And every once in a while, it just stops showing up at all. And I hear this whirring sound of the hard disk - that’s the time when the CPU is busy interacting with the hard disk or processing the data.

Our brains are no different. The CPU/hard disk combo is like our conscious mind and the internet is like the subconscious mind. What is in the CPU/HD is tons of memory Terrabytes of Terrabytes, huge processing power - the ability to do trillions of calculations per second, almost stunning and unbelievable. But most of it is stale, old information. It can only keep reprocessing the old information over and over again. 

The subconscious mind is like the internet. It is connected to seemingly infinite data available from every thought emitted from every mind in the universe, has the capability to not just download the needed information at will, but also has the ability to create what never existed before. It’s beautiful and it’s creative. 

The only catch is that both cannot work at the same time. At one time, only one of them can work - only when you can stall the CPU/HD activity can the internet start working at full speed. And the only way it is possible is through meditation. The only way I’ve been able to work the business and work my life till now is by stalling the CPU/HD for at least a few moments. 

The day I can switch them for as long as I want, life will be bliss.....

Once upon a time...

There was a time even I can remember when people used to live in homes with lawns and trees in them. When they could hear the birds chirp in the morning. When they used to water plants in the morning and evening and remove dead leaves from the plants. When they used to work 8 hours a day and then spend time with their wife and kids and go for a walk and talk to their children. When they had the time to pursue their hobbies of music, of learning something new, of reading and growing by learning. When they were not thinking of making money all the time. When there was lesser stress and no commute times to work and back and no getting stuck for hours every day in traffic jams. When the day used to begin with “Vande Mataram” on All India Radio. When they could lie down on the terrace and see the infinite sky with twinkling stars in them...

We are able to live that life today........and are thankful to God for every bit of it. And we know that there will be many more people who will be able to do the same thing in the near future....

No Today

We were in Australia for the Diamond Club and I wanted to replace my walking Florsheim shoes. After some searching, we landed up at this store in Pacific Fair Mall called “Athlete’s Foot” run by a husband and wife well into their 50s. The wife - her name was Pam - was an excellent salesperson as well as very knowledgeable on shoes. But more so, she was a wonderful person. The moment she saw Adi and got to know that he’s 5 years old, the first thing that came out of her mouth was “....make sure you enjoy this time...for it will never come again...My son is 20 now and he’s so busy with his girlfriends, with his job, with travelling, with his life that he has no time for us anymore. And it feels like yesterday, seeing your son, that my son was the same age too...”

Most realisations about the futility of the things that we do, happen only when it’s too late to do anything about them. Even though we read in countless books, watch in countless movies and hear personally from countless well meaning elders...we see them as being on the other side of the table...not realising that we can really learn something from it all and do something about it. Instead of living in a “No Today”, we can live in a “Know Today” life.

And that is one thing Taru and I are trying to do on a daily basis for quite some time now. Yes, Diamond Plus and EDC and Double and Triple and Crown will happen. But only if the journey is enjoyed every moment will the destination be really worth it. Otherwise, we’ll be either looking forwards or backwards...forever.

The Tipping Point

As I talk with friends in the top IT companies of our country, I hear horror stories about how these companies which were beacons of hope and stalwarts of the industry at one time are now actually rotting from the inside. The entrepreneurs who set them up had a vision, a work ethic, a hunger for excellence and a huge dream to make it big. They drove the people, inspired them, had solution oriented, go getter attitudes and that is the whole reason they rose to the top. Which also meant that they became richer and richer and richer till they reached a point where they no longer had the motivation to be the drivers - they instead became the “mentors”. The building became too tall to stand by itself, the body too heavy to carry its own load, the ship too big to ever be able to take a turn.

When I started the business and we were 30 people in the PASE meeting at Platinum we were a young, growing organization. When we became a 120 people group running our own open at Emerald, we were a force to reckon with. But today at 2500 people to functions, we stand the same risk that these companies face. Too tall to stand, too heavy to run, too big to turn. But our situation, despite being similar in some ways, is totally different in a lot of ways. The biggest difference is that we are not an organisation of employees; we are instead an organisation of “owners”. Owners who use organisational principles of coordination, mentorship, submission, unity, pull and so on to work harmoniously and as one cohesive unit.

At a Platinum level we launch a new startup every time. A startup which can work the way it wants to, think the way it wants to and grow at the speed at which it wants to. Till it does not hamper the rights of other startups that is. Which is marvellous!! Which is a unique model in the world of business - the Semco way. It seems like it is a perfect model. And it is. The only hitch being that the CEO of this startup has to be a leader, a visionary, a hard working dreamer, a believer. Unless he decides to develop his own independent thinking, his own style, his own vision - obviously within the framework of the bigger organisation that he’s a part of - he can never take his startup to great heights. He has to think like an owner which is a challenge most of the time since we are all so used to being told what to do. He has to start taking full ownership of the results in his organisation - the good, the bad and the ugly. He has to develop the attitude of “the buck stops here” - not blocking the lines of communication, but developing the character and the skills to be able to solve all the issues at his level. 

And only those organisations which are led by “leaders” will move to the next level. The rest will automatically start going backwards until somebody in the middle or at the bottom decides to take ownership and take charge of their company. You need to decide whether your company is going to become the beacon of hope or will it vanish into the oblivion - just a faint memory of what could have been.

With Success comes responsibility

This article was published in the February 2010 issue of The Lamplighter

When I was in my 3rd year at IIT, I got a chance to do 1 year of engineering in Europe. That one year was a defining year ofmy life because one is very impressionable at that age. The exposure I got shaped who I wanted to become later in life and what I wanted to do. 

Before we reached France, me and my classmate spent 2 weeks in UK to visit his aunt and my cousin and her husband. My cousin and her husband were settled in UK for the past 20 years and used to come to India for 2 weeks every 2 years. We talked about a lot of things when we spent time there but the memory that stands out the most is their pessimism towards India. People don’t work hard, phones don’t work, railways doesn’t run on time, people have no civic sense, traffic is messed up, political leaders stink. And I remember that I was really enraged as a 20 year old who believed that we are the ones who create the world we live in. And we fought with him tooth and nail – even though we were guests in their home – what are YOU doing about it – only sitting here and cribbing about it? Why don’t you be the one to cause that change? Somewhere deep down, I wanted to create that change or at least become an instrument to cause it.

Another memory I have isof a weekend trip our class of Electrical Engineering took to a weekend resort up in the hills. We were a bus full of people and they had booked a Youth Hostel which was basically a huge hostel with furnished rooms – you didn’t have to pay for the place. There was nobody to manage it either except one caretaker. The only expectation was that you should leave it like you found it, so others can benefit from it too. After enjoying the 2 days of fun before leaving the place, I saw a glaring example of the French sense of responsibility. All the students, scrubbed every inch of the floor, cleaned the toilets, threw the garbage from every possible place and we left that place BETTER than we found it. I could’ve never imagined something like that happening – and that too with nobody to force them to do it. I was thoroughly impressed. On our way back, once we reached our university, another strange thing happened. We had hired a bus for the whole trip and obviously had paid for it too. Before we reached, everybody sang a song of thanks for the driver of the bus and a box was passed around in which everybody contributed more than they should have, for “Mr Driver” – just as a gesture of goodwill for the wonderful trip. I just could not believe it. I was not used to see such human acts of magnanimity in my life till then. I secretly wished in my heart from then on, that I will be able to live in a society of people who would feel their responsibility towards their society, their environment and to the fellow man. That would be a life well lived.

And when I saw this business,  I could instantly identify a vehicle through which these dreams could come true. I found a voluntary army of people who wanted to create a society which embodies those principles and those values of life which make life worth living. I heard Kanti Gala talking from every stage “Giving is Living”. I heard the leadership of BWW talking about leading by example. I heard Charlie Durso’s talk “You Be The One”. 

And if that endeavour also makes you wealthy beyond measure…..wow!!!! What more can you wish for? 

Yes, our goal is to make 10,000 a month and then 50,000 and then a lakh and then a crore. But if we do not fulfill the responsibilities that come along with that success, this success will be very empty at the end of the journey. We cannot change the world – we can only change ourselves and inspire others to do the same – first frontlines, then our group, then crosslines and then their families and the society around us. And that change has to be in every small thing that we do. Every thought we let enter into our minds.

It will mean following the 3 cardinal rules when nobody is looking. It will mean not pouncing upon somebody’s guest who has invited them from another city and another LOS. It will mean not gossiping about what’s wrong with upline and BWW and crossline but instead giving constructive feedback to the right people to help make it right. It will mean not just standing in a queue in the open meeting but also at the food stall at the major functions where upline is not watching. It will mean not buying books and CDs from the vendors outside major functions. It will mean not sitting in the silvers and up section if you are not qualified. It will mean not wearing the Eagle Badge if you are not qualified. It will mean all this and it will mean more. 

With success will come responsibility. And to the responsible will come more success. It will mean being ready to serve your group. It will mean being loyal to your upline and to the system. It will mean saying “No, we will not sell to somebody else’s customer or offer discounts just to get that order”. It will mean thinking big and thinking for the good of the bigger Britt team instead of just I, me and mine. 

These might be but small steps that seem insignificant. But they all add up. They add up to creating a winning atmosphere where people get inspired to become better themselves just because they see others doing the same. Yes, we will make a lot of money and buy a lot of cars and homes and travel around the world. But we will create a better world of responsible citizens starting with ourselves. That’s the responsibility that this success comes with and that we all are expected to live up to. Changing the world, one at a time, starting with ourselves.

Being the Medium

What an experience it was to be recognised in FED 2009!! We had imagined it in our minds for years, but when it happened it beat every imagination that one can have hands down. It’s an experience that cannot be missed in this lifetime.

Being able to stay in the Diamond Hotel with all the other Diamonds. Being able to travel in a car with your sticker on it “Ankur and Taru Gupta”. Having a host pick you up and take care of you. Being able to take pictures with other Diamonds as if they were your friends. To be able to enter the Diamond Lounge backstage and be welcomed by everybody there. To be able to eat at Diamond Dining Hall. 

Just the feeling of belonging to Diamond Club!!

Our only prayer to God was to speak through us. And speak He did. Somebody spoke through us on that stage - somebody who knew who to impact and how. We were used as a medium to impact thousands and millions of lives yesterday. And we are tremendously grateful for it.

A Different Life

Life is a sum total of varied experiences. And one of them is being in front of the camera....ROLLING.....CUT....it’s a nice feeling to be on the other side of the screen....

The last 2 days were exhilarating. From the time we started our Diamond qualification, we had in mind the intro video that is shown before any Diamond is brought up on the stage to speak. And we knew they will do one for us as well. I have a section in my planner where I kept writing down things that I’d like them to put in our intro video.

As soon as we finished our qualification, we got a call from Amit Tipnis from BWW to finalize the dates for the shooting of the intro video and it was decided as 29th and 30th October. Taru and I have been choosing the right clothes, thinking of the right activities and dreading the shooting all at the same time. 

I have a creative team of people who run my “idea” department and this team is headed by none other than Arpan. I sat with him and made a template of how we wanted this video to look like.

To really get a feel of the last 2 days you must check out the slideshow on the dreams page titled “The making of the intro video”. We had done a profile video at Emerald as well for the corporation, but we didn’t enjoy it that much at the time. There was a constant music in the back of our minds - “we are still not there yet...the goal is still far away...”.

But this time around we believe we deserved it and we enjoyed every single bit of it. Feeling like celebrities...in Lalbagh, on outer ring road, in the lawns, on the NICE highway for the car shots, in the lounge for the Diamond Nuggets interview....it was a new and a welcome experience.

PS - more pictures in the Album “The Making of the Intro video”

Dreams Come True - 1

I decided that I will play the flute ever since I heard somebody playing one in the Student Activity Centre at IIT Delhi. The sound was so melodious and so mesmerizing, I still can’t forget it. I used to play the violin at that time and instantly switched to the flute. I bought scores of flutes of all kinds from all places around the world to fulfill my hobby and blew in it till the neighbours’ ears grew sore with the cacophony of somebody learning a new musical instrument. 

Though I could always play light songs on the flute, I was always puzzled by classical music. I used to go to the SPIC Macay concerts at IIT where the masters used to come to perform. But it always intrigued me. It became another dream to learn classical music one day. 

And then somebody in a junior batch in my hostel joined in and used to sit on the stairs and play something heavenly on his guitar. I was pulled towards it one day and he told me that he was playing ragas on the guitar. That strengthened my resolve even further.

The thought was always on my mind but I kept doing delayed gratification till last year when I found a teacher and went to meet him. Right the next month, we started our Diamond qualification and the idea again went out for a toss. 

Finally after finishing Diamond, I had decided that I will surely fulfill this dream. After a lot of searching I found the right teacher and started learning a month back. Tuesdays and Fridays, 7:30-9:00am are magical two hours of the week. I’m loving it and I know I will take it all the way. It’s such a joy to learn what I’ve been dreaming about for all these years.