Exhausted. Excited. Survived.

Exhausted. 

It was a whirlwind tour, exhausted and bone-tired. But had a fruitful visit. On-boarded clients, met with multiple investors and associates. Travelled across the city in cabs, kali pili, rickshaw and even the local. It's a mad City, completely claustrophobic, especially for Delhiites, who are used to space, space and space, except for personal space in public spaces! 

Excited.

The best part however was the visit to Surat. It always fills my heart with immense pride whenever I visit any Indian manufacturing / assembly unit, overwhelming to witness the engineering innovations, and their contribution towards generating scores of blue-colored jobs. This venture is one such too. Driven by the next-gen millennial entrepreneurs, it was great to meet up with the dynamic team that is planning to take their brands to the global market. Also being in the sustainable development sector, I definitely had a soft corner, but since taking the tour of their shop floor and R&D sections, my brain is buzzing with ideas after ideas. 

Manufacturing is hard, and I never miss an opportunity to appreciate such entrepreneurs and thank them for driving the economy. However, it is what he said that summed it up the best, "Ma'am sirf software bana ne se toh nahi hoga na, sustainability ke liye manufacturing chahiye."

I couldn't agree more. 

Maybe, writing a story about capitalism and need for industrial development, combining with social difference and political motivation could be a good plot. Something on the lines of Fountainhead. Let me sketch it out.

Survived.

Now back to the biting Delhi cold. Mumbai was warm, sunny and nice. But then Delhi is home. 

While the first day was a bit tough, given the equation. There were starting of emotional turmoil too, but somehow I wasn't impacted. I asked myself, why? The response to it was, because it doesn't matter. And I certainly have no energy left in me to get into the cycle back again. I am happy with myself and what I am doing, I frankly don't need any more shit in my life, especially self-created ones. 

I had shared my Monologue on detoxification story with Man Friday, as I thought it may help in dealing with his situation too. I was nervous and didn't know what would be the reaction. He absolutely loved it and said that he could relate to everything that I had written. That validation gave me new found hope that maybe I am doing something right by telling these stories. 

Man Friday also sent me an e-book, "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse". It was a wonderful read. I will buy the hardcopy for sure. There is a quote in the book that hit hard - 'Being kind to yourself is one of the greatest kindnesses,' said the mole. Yes, it certainly is...