Who am I?
[Play the audio clipping of “Sollunga…Sollunga…” dialogue from Baasha, while walking to the stage]
Wait … Wait… Wait… I am not a underworld Don, like Rajini in the movie Baasha
Life has given me several identities over a period of time and today, I’m going to share a few of them with you.
Good morning fellow Toastmasters and guests,
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Early Life
I got my identity as a son, 40 years ago. Thanks to my dad and mom. During those days, my dad was working in a grocery store and my mom was a home maker. We were living in a tiled house almost half the size of this room. The house had just 2 small rooms - 1 room served as the living room, study room, dining room and bed room and the other room served as kitchen and bathroom.
Education
I got my identity as a student very early, when I was just 2.5 years old - because of being too mischievous at home. I finished my schooling in Chennai and went to Coimbatore to do my Bachelors in Engineering at Government College of Technology.
Life, away from home, in College was great fun. I had a dual identity in College, like the contrasting Indran and Chandran in the movie Thillu Mullu. On one side, I used to spend a lot of time in the computer lab … and that helped me to stay in the good books of faculties. On the other side, I bunked classes, jumped off the hostel wall to go to late night movies and studied just before the exams.
Corporate Life
Right after the college in 1998, HCL Technologies gave me a new identity as corporate professional. I worked in HCL for 4 years and moved to US in the year 2002. When many Indians in US were returning back to India after the dot com burst, I was walking into US with a lot of dreams. It was like the firefighter who walks into a burning house, when everyone in the house are running out.
Toastmasters
My English proficiency during those days was very poor. If someone asks me “How good is your English”… I’ll say “I talk English, I walk English I speak English” like Rajini in Velaikkaran movie. That’s when a friend of mine referred me to Toastmasters. I’ve been a Toastmaster since 2006. Thanks to Toastmasters, I can express myself effectively in English today, like Rajini in Mannan movie.
Family Life
I got married in the year 2005, and received a new identity called husband. My wife is very understanding, supportive and caring. I owe half of my successes to her. The wheel of life started spinning fast. Soon, my daughter gave me the identity of a father.
In the movie Annamalai, Rajini accumulates a lot of wealth through hard work, in a very short time. Similarly, thanks to the IT industry and the US life - I achieved my financial goals very fast. I returned back to India, in 2009.
Conclusion
Like the US return Rajini in Sivaji movie… I feel bad that India hasn’t improved much even after so many years. We still see garbage on the roads… We still see a lot of poverty around… we still see a lot of corruption in the system. The urge to do something good to the society continues to haunt me, every single day.
On one side, my corporate career is at an all time high and the momentum continues to accelerate. On the other side, my passion towards serving people is pulling me hard. But, today, I hardly have any time to think beyond work, family and Toastmasters.
I don’t know what is in store for me in the future… So, who am I going to be … What is going to be my new identity? I’m puzzled like the Rajini in the climax scene of the movie Baba.
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