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Crimson
flames tied through my ears - Bob Dylan (1964) |
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I was born on July 22nd, 1974
in a small village called Minampalli, about 25 Kms from Salem - a
district of Tamil Nadu in Southern India. My parents, Jayachandran and
Anbalagi brought me to Bangalore a few months later. I grew up along with my
three sisters, Sunanda, Banu and Poornima. The first school I attended was
Sudarshan Vidya Mandir in Jayanagar IV block. I studied there for 2 years in
Kindergarten between 1978 to 1980. In the summer of 1980, we shifted our
house to HAL quarters, Marthahalli. I attended the Vimanapura East Extension
Primary School for the next 2 years. In the summer of 1982, we
shifted our house again. This time, we moved closer to the airport. I
was transferred to the Eastwood Public School in Cambridge Layout. This was a
big step for me because I had to take the bus to get to school. Life at Eastwood
was a mixed bag as it no doubt is for any kid growing up. I had some of the
best times and some of the worst times at this place. Eastwood is the place
where I started playing cricket. I was even my class cricket captain. Even
near home, we started playing cricket regularly. The best thing about growing
up in a colony is that there are always enough people to get a cricket team
together. By the spring of 1986, we moved
our house again. This time we moved up the social ladder to the HAL officers'
quarters. The funny thing is that everytime we move houses, I change schools.
This time was no different. I shifted to New Horizon Public School where I
finally did my "high schooling". I passed the 10th standard board
exam affiliated to ICSE from here. I came 3rd in class after Sudha and
Ranjith. New Horizon is the place where I came into my own as a person. I
excelled at almost everything from academics to sports to other
extra-curricular activities such as creative writing and debating. In the summer of 1990, I had to
decision to make after passing my Xth standard. I could either continue
school and do my XIth and XIIth or I could join junior college. I opted
for the latter. I attended St. Joseph's Arts and Science Pre-university college
for Boys between 1990 to 1992. This period really saw me mature as an adult.
From being a small town boy who had led a largely sheltered life, I was
thrown into the world of a teenager growing up in Bangalore! In the summer of 1992, I joined
BMS College of Engineering to pursue my Bachelor's degree in Industrial
Engineering & Management. At BMSCE, I met my wife, Priya Shankar, who was
also pursuing her bachelor's degree in Telecom Engineering. In the summer of 1999, I joined
the Indian Institute of
Management Bangalore to pursue my Master's degree in
Business Management. I specialized in Marketing and Systems. I joined HCL Technologies as a
Senior Management Trainee (SMT) through the campus recruitment program at
IIMB.I started off in Marketing but moved into Program Management. After
successfully setting up and managing an Offshore Development Centre (ODC), I
have now shifted to London for an assignment with one of our clients. |
