I could not write anything last week as I was babysitting during the weekend. My son’s maid had taken a break and summu found a suitable alternative in me. I must admit I had a fabulous time playing with my little one, answering every inquisitive question of his and watching his favorite cartoon CD’s with him. I also found out that my son has a lot in common with me. He loves books, listens to Hindi songs only, is besotted by kareena kapoor (in Jab we met) and likes dressing up in good clothes. Smita anyways can derive solace from the fact that he will certainly grow up to be extrovert and outspoken, much like her. These are important qualities to be a successful salesman and will stand him in good stead, if he decides to tread the same line as his mom…
Talking of commonalities, there are/were few friends with whom I shared a lot in common. One guy who comes to my mind instantly is “Vishal” who was my colleague for 11 years in Silicon & Locuz. We liked good food, Hindi music, our jobs, clothes and BigB. I still remember those frequent visits with him to “Sangeet Sagar” for picking up every foot tapping Hindi album. We used to go to this place after office to buy our stuff religiously for making it a part of our music library. Eventually, this became a part of our weekly chore for 5 long years.
He was a wonderful colleague and a great friend. We joined silicon in the same year and he immediately created an impact by achieving his qtr’s target in his first month of joining. This feat made him very popular in the orgn and became a benchmark for all new hires. I was intimidated by his performance initially and tried every possible trick to emulate his winning ways
Uttam and I had a lot of fun at his expense but that never affected our relationship with Vishal. He was a real sport and took everything in his stride. The real Vishal is known to people who have been close and knew him for a lot of years. He was a person with a tough exterior and ultra soft interior. An extremely selfless guy always willing to offer a helping hand to people around him. He always stood up for the cause of others without bothering about his own reputation. For Uttam and me he was just a phone call away.
He was extravagant in his approach and lived life king size. His penchant for branded clothes, ray ban sunglasses, dining at 5 stars restaurants and insatiable hunger for prawns stands testimony to that. He had this intrinsic trait of getting into an argument with every possible restaurant waiter and that over a period of time got extended to OEM’s as well. He used the choicest hyderabadi expletives boldly in front of waiters and behind the backs of u know who....
His passion for Locuz was inspiring. He helped in developing a culture of high performance in hyd and was instrumental in winning a lot of significant deals for Locuz. During the initial years of Locuz when other branches were not contributing as expected, hyd plugged those gaps with the help of VG’s spirited performance. Infact, once of the largest deal in Bangalore edu was also the handiwork of Vishal.
2 years back on 16th May, 2006 a cruel accident snatched him away from all of us. It is difficult to believe that he is not amidst us. Locuz lost one of its most passionate team members and me a dear friend. His memories still loom in the company and he has left behind a legacy that will be remembered and followed by all of us.
I WILL ALWAYS MISS YOU GAYHEE (still have all your mails in my inbox and your number in my phone book….)
