Hello Dear Reader,
I am already loving you for taking time out and visiting my blog 🙂 Thank you so much!
While you go through it, I thought it would also be prudent to share with you a bit about myself. My life can be summed up in 2 broad parts – work/ career and student life. So here is a brief insight into both:-
Work life (2000 -2017)
I had a 12 year stint in Banking across 3 different Gulf countries – Oman, Bahrain and the U.A.E. Prior to that I worked in the Telecom sector in India for 5 years starting out as a trainee fresh out of MBA college.
During my stint in the Gulf I had the good fortune of fulfilling some of my passions (primarily due to affordability and convenience), the most important of which was travel. I could visit 21 countries during this time and experienced many diverse cultures, cuisines and communities.
It helped that all 3 of my bosses during this period were immensely supportive of me and shared similar interests. In this regard I would like to mention Tanmay Saha – 1 of my Regional Heads. He always encouraged me to travel, to discover and very quickly approved all my leave applications without much fuss, unlike what normal bosses do!
Student life (1975- 2000)
Ah! As you can already see I am born in the year when Emergency was declared in the country and the film ‘Sholay’ was released. I have, like many of you been bought up in times when Doordarshan was cool, when the melodious 90’s music was played on cassette tapes and hanging out with friends did not involve the presence of phones.
In between I completed my entire student career from 3 institutions – St.Joseph’s High School, BJB College and FORE School of Management. My results were mostly unremarkable, passing exams with above average marks and I did not earn any medals in sports either. Such has been my work career too.
Consistency has definitely been one of my hallmark personality traits 🙂
By age 44 I have worked and quit, I have married and divorced, I have loved and lusted. From experiencing the joys of parenthood to suffering the horrendous effects of chemotherapy I have gone through a gamut of emotions and done well to close the 1st innings of my life.
But since life itself is like a cricket Test match, God has been kind enough in giving me a chance to pad up again to come out and play my 2nd innings. It is an opportunity to pursue 2 activities close to my heart – writing and social work. This blog is an outlet, a medium to pursue my 1st interest.
Except for my work career (and FORE), I have always been based in Odisha. It is a land close to my heart and I will always be rooted to the State – to its’ soil rich in history, to its salubrious climes, to its’ people – genuine and simple in their ways and to my hometown Bhubaneshwar!
We Odisha people love pakhal rice, our Pahala rasagolla and that mandatory afternoon siesta post lunch. The red alta (traditionally made from betel leaves) adorns the women’s feet and the same colour is spit out by our menfolk ironically produced from those very betel leaves!
Being a Nature lover I thrive on the fact that Odisha has all the bounties Nature has to offer – sea beaches by virtue of its generous coastline, ample greenery in form of its forest cover, majestic mountains, the Mahanadi with its tributaries, various lakes and waterfalls.
I still wake up every morning to the bird chirping on trees -invisible to the eye but sweet to the ears. This, despite staying in the heart of the Capital.
So yes, I am an Indian. I am a Muslim. But most importantly I am That Odia Boy.
I hope you, my dear reader will continue to be a part of this journey for without you, my words and thoughts would be condemned to a life of obscurity amongst the fathomless depths of the online world.
Regards,
Wasim
P.S. My Insta id is that_odiaboy
That Odia Boy 