Spoiler alert: This post is entirely about bragging. There
are very few phases when I feel that my life is perfect. This is an effort to
capture such a phase.
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That Place…
For the first time in years I feel that I am exactly at a
place where I always wanted to be.
My writing is being received well from the readers. Pieces on
Riverfront Development, Bhadbhut Barrage on Narmada, Pranhita-Chewella were
received well… many were cross posted on some other sites. In fact I got email
from my CEPT prof Saswat Bandopadhay that he read the article on Riverfront
Development and he liked it. Anyone who knows Saswat sir will know the value of
his email! A few days back a joint article on Smart Cities by me and Parineeta
was cross posed on Conterview.org from Ahmedabad. I read the posted piece and
was elated. It was excerpts from our article. And cutting many frills which
Parineeta had added they had retained the core analysis of JNNURM which I had
done. I was especially happy because I had written that particular piece on
smart cities way back. About 3-4 months back. But it couldn’t be posted at that
time because the hype about smart cities was over and it was out of news. But now
with launch of AMRUT it is back in news and it was indeed right time to pitch
it in. When I read the article I couldn’t help but appreciate myself that the
analysis was indeed apt. And just yesterday I learned that Anil Awchat liked the
article that I wrote in Simollanghan for nirman public and he asked Dr. Abhay
Bang for a standalone copy of it.
When you know that the stuff you write is of some
significance and is worth reading it just gives you a high. Well to stick to my
reality- it gives me a high.
It took me years to believe in myself. I do not fit in
conventional systems in so many ways. I could never tolerate school. To go
through it for years was a torture. Same was a case with college. And all this
while I believed that I was a defaulter. It was only after I joined Nirman that
I learned that this present education system is indeed faulty.
I chose to do Planning in CEPT very consciously. But during
the course and also while working in EMC I just felt that no one wanted to listen
to what I was saying. I remember when we were doing the EIA for GIFT city near
Gandhinagar, everyone was busy calculating impacts on construction activities
like pollution due to vehicular traffic for construction materials, solid waste
generated due to construction labour etc. I was the only one saying that the
real impact would be that the project will trigger immense development in a
region which is mostly a pasture. The signs were already there. Gentrification was
as high as it could be. You could already see boards of several builders about
proposed commercial complexes, residential complexes. No one really took it
seriously, not the other students and not the profs. But I stuck to my stand
and did the socio-economic analysis around this. And it was appreciated in
the final jury by Prof C.K. Koshi who was a retired IAS. Years later when I was
in Pyaras I learned that if project is going to trigger such development the
likely cumulative impacts are mandatory to be assessed. So what I had been saying was in fact more than right!
It is only after joining nirman I learned that what I want
to say is of a great significance. It has to be said.
Doing a 9-5 job was again a struggle. I just cannot do it.
It suffocates me so much that it just dries up my creativity. Well so I changed
my profile with SANDRP a few days back. And now I again work freelance, on
assignment basis. And it cannot be better. I can work the way I want. I can
work whenever I want. I can craft my day the way I want. I can concentrate on
my yoga and dance. It is just perfect.
Thanks to my daily exercises my legs have now strengthened
enough that I can appear for my first Bharatnatyam exam! This also it took me
years to believe that I could do it. And for the first time I feel that it is
doable.
I was just reading my previous blog posts. Many of them
reflect my struggle. Struggle to reach that place. For years I have been
craving to get there.
But now I think I am there.
A place where I know my worth. A place where have a little
more confidence. A place where I don’t give a shit to what people say.
A place where I am happy.
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P.S. आपल्या ब्लॉग पोस्टस अनेक
महिन्यांनी वर्षांनी आपणच वाचायला खूप भारी वाटतं. आपणच लिहिलेलं असल्यामुळे कस्लं
बेष्टं लिहिलंय असंच वाटतं!!
