10 years

as 2007 draws to a close, i found myself meandering mentally during our drive home from somewhere this evening. what can happen in ten years? well, i told myself, history repeats itself, so whats happened in the last 10 years....?

1997:
i was 10 years younger (!!!???) and had just become a legal adult (strangely, i earned the right to vote 3 years before that). i also left the shores of my homeland for the first time, flying all the way across the world to the fascinating new world that i'd heard of (and had an overdose of on tv) to see sis and kid (only one around then) in uber-grand US of A. in those days, i was still under the "quit india movement" influence of the 90s and dreamt of studying (an MBA, perhaps?) at kellog or wharton before getting a $$$-job. actually, its more like i assumed thats what i'd end up doing 'coz it was the rule of the day! while not fooling around the countryside in the US, i was sweating it out working with Dad trying to get the new factory financed. every day was a grind, running from pillar to post at several banks and govt offices with a beggar's bowl worth of application forms and suchlike. i had a 110-cc suzuki shogun, the most powerful bike i'd ever ridden and which was 1 of my 2 prized possessions competing with my Sony FH B1000 music system; Dad had bought me both of these things when i was in college. besides money for petrol, i earned a measly 1K a month, which dad mostly forgot about until i sheepishly asked him every month. i had just appeared for my CA inter exams for the first time (which i eventually and inevitably failed). i was notoriously introverted and anti-social, mingling with a select few who, if i may add, were probably the few who understood me. back in those days, everyone in the room would stop speaking and look at me if i spoke like it was a rare, historic event! my "curfew" was a pathetic 10 PM and that was only if i was at a identifiable and trust-worthy friend's place! i could list all the people i knew on a piece of paper (including passing acquaintances). unknowingly, innocently and uncontrollably, i was hurtling into what i still believe was the worst period of my life...
yup, my life back then was fascinating! everyone who was 30-plus kept insisting that those were the best years of my life and i would know why when i reached their age - did i miss the plot, anyone?

2007:
i'm older, wiser (?), infinitely more "successful". i think my salary has multiplied some 200 times (give or take) over the last 10 years. i have a fancy designation and a job that i enjoy thoroughly and i have a good feeling about whats to come. after my first trip to the US of A, i've gone back a couple of times on work besides having visited the UK (worked there for several months), France, Italy, Thailand, Singapore and several more exotic places back home - i think i'm reasonably "well-traveled", what say? i was cured of the $$$-infection by a medicine that works on anyone, at anytime and for any disease - maturity. not to say i don't want to go or work abroad, its just not the only (or the best) option any longer. as i always say, the best balance is an india-based job requiring frequent foreign travel - the best of both worlds. i have several prized possessions now - our new home in pune, my ford ikon, my stephen king collection, my cd collection, my nikon coolpix 8700; all of which, i'm proud to say, i bought myself (not counting J's invaluable contribution which is counted as my own). i got through the deep, dark tunnel of my ca days (see older post). nowadays i'm only a closet introvert (??!!) 'coz my work alter-ego is a garrulous and chatty no-nonsense fellow who can converse with almost anyone he bumps into at the coffee machine. i have no curfew except the dirty looks that J attacks me with if i get home past midnight from one of my office engagements (especially if i've told her that i'd be back before 11!). i cherish the greys in my hair and my beard (though J is quite perturbed by the increasing numbers). today, i can't name all my friends - on orkut/ facebook, the ones that are on my cell phone or my old, tattered address books, the ones somewhere lost in the corners of my mind (i'm sure they all wish me well, god bless you all).
i feel good about myself and believe that my life will get progressively better as i grow older. why do all those 30-plus people dwell on the past? very few people i know tell me that the best time in their lives is now - i've heard school days, college days, teenage years, 20s and all sorts of other combinations and things in-between...i love my life today!