July 5th, 2000
“ Woke up to a bright sunny morning – which is quite unusual in this season. Quite disoriented - the fact that I have quit my "job" yesterday and started-off on my own to do something in testing, is yet to sink in. "Unemployed" is the word that keeps buzzing in my head - even though I know that I am stepping into a new life where I am creating my "own employment". This sounds both exciting & scary at the same time…
I get ready and lock myself up in my bedroom - a makeshift office with my old battered computer. I call up Murli & Mohan (my would-be co-founders) trying to figure out what I should be doing - now that I am full-time into this. The things on the agenda are - to pick a name for this venture, put a full fledged business plan in place, run after some prospects trying to generate some business and also try to raise some money to get the venture going. Seems like quite a lot of things to do …
Lunch at home (Ah! the small pleasures of being on your own…) and the bed looks pretty inviting for an afternoon siesta. I fight off this urge and get to work on the business plan. I call up some contacts at Wipro & IBM and bingo! - I have got my first meeting with the Head-Recruitment of IBM!
Not a bad first day - managed to get some semblance of a start-up…I hit the sack with a prayer on my lips…God: help us !”
And as I stand here, I can feel the presence of “God” – actually many gods who have helped chalk MeritTrac’s and my path over the last 10 years..the memories of the last 10 years, the triumphs and the tribulations, the ups & downs and the roller coaster ride – of which this moment really ranks amongst the pinnacle.. the last 10 years where we have crossed over 12 million assessments, created innovative products, established newer models of assessments/learning, succeeded in a few initiatives, failed in many others..found many believers, made wonderful friends and got inspired by lovely people!
So first of all, I would like to thank the EDGE forum and the jury for having bestowed this singular honor on me and MeritTrac – I accept this award on behalf of all the 300 MeritTrac’ers and thousands of other supporters who have cheered for us all thru the last 10 years..
As I stand here reflecting on the last 10 years, my gratitude and thanks goes out..
..this great country - that I was born here which is so full of energy, passion, opportunities and possibilities..
..to my parents, my wife Roopa and my entire family who have stood by me like a rock right thru the journey, without whose sacrifices, I wouldn’t have experienced this moment
..to my partners – Murlidhar and Mohan Kannegal without whom I would not have been here today – to my mind, this is a Young EDGEs award and not the Young EDGE award – and this is really for the three of us
…to each and every MeritTrac’er – we have 1077 full-time MeritTrac’ers who have worked with us over the last 10 years – it is truly their passion that has powered us
…to my Board of Directors right from the beginning – be it Mr. Ranganath – the agriculturist who funded us initially, to HSBC Private Equity to Manipal Education who have always egged us on to reach out to greater heights
…to our customers, advisory panel members and every well-wisher/supporter who have been one of core reasons for our existence..and the list can go on & on..these are the many “Gods” that in my mind!
This award is not just a recognition of the journey that we had over the last 10 years, but a reminder that we have to continuously breach our own limitations over the next many decades…this definitely places an onerous responsibility on me – which I am really looking forward to grab and prove myself to be worthy of this award going forward as well.
There’s a wonderful song that has really touched me – and continues to inspire me – “Imagine” by John Lennon: with due apologies, I will re-phrase this as:
Imagine no word like employability
Everyone gets the career they desire
No pressures from parents or from peers
And the industry is happy…
Imagine no exams
No more rote lessons
Kids having fun learning
And continuously improving..
Imagine no illiterates
We have a way to identify everybody’s potential
And build on it, harnessing it for the nation
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one !
Today, I am pledging my endeavors over the next many decades into converting this imagination to a reality..
In a different way, Guru Rabindranath Tagore summed up this imagination in this wonderful poem which is the cornerstone of my beliefs..
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action..
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Jai Hind!
“ Woke up to a bright sunny morning – which is quite unusual in this season. Quite disoriented - the fact that I have quit my "job" yesterday and started-off on my own to do something in testing, is yet to sink in. "Unemployed" is the word that keeps buzzing in my head - even though I know that I am stepping into a new life where I am creating my "own employment". This sounds both exciting & scary at the same time…
I get ready and lock myself up in my bedroom - a makeshift office with my old battered computer. I call up Murli & Mohan (my would-be co-founders) trying to figure out what I should be doing - now that I am full-time into this. The things on the agenda are - to pick a name for this venture, put a full fledged business plan in place, run after some prospects trying to generate some business and also try to raise some money to get the venture going. Seems like quite a lot of things to do …
Lunch at home (Ah! the small pleasures of being on your own…) and the bed looks pretty inviting for an afternoon siesta. I fight off this urge and get to work on the business plan. I call up some contacts at Wipro & IBM and bingo! - I have got my first meeting with the Head-Recruitment of IBM!
Not a bad first day - managed to get some semblance of a start-up…I hit the sack with a prayer on my lips…God: help us !”
And as I stand here, I can feel the presence of “God” – actually many gods who have helped chalk MeritTrac’s and my path over the last 10 years..the memories of the last 10 years, the triumphs and the tribulations, the ups & downs and the roller coaster ride – of which this moment really ranks amongst the pinnacle.. the last 10 years where we have crossed over 12 million assessments, created innovative products, established newer models of assessments/learning, succeeded in a few initiatives, failed in many others..found many believers, made wonderful friends and got inspired by lovely people!
So first of all, I would like to thank the EDGE forum and the jury for having bestowed this singular honor on me and MeritTrac – I accept this award on behalf of all the 300 MeritTrac’ers and thousands of other supporters who have cheered for us all thru the last 10 years..
As I stand here reflecting on the last 10 years, my gratitude and thanks goes out..
..this great country - that I was born here which is so full of energy, passion, opportunities and possibilities..
..to my parents, my wife Roopa and my entire family who have stood by me like a rock right thru the journey, without whose sacrifices, I wouldn’t have experienced this moment
..to my partners – Murlidhar and Mohan Kannegal without whom I would not have been here today – to my mind, this is a Young EDGEs award and not the Young EDGE award – and this is really for the three of us
…to each and every MeritTrac’er – we have 1077 full-time MeritTrac’ers who have worked with us over the last 10 years – it is truly their passion that has powered us
…to my Board of Directors right from the beginning – be it Mr. Ranganath – the agriculturist who funded us initially, to HSBC Private Equity to Manipal Education who have always egged us on to reach out to greater heights
…to our customers, advisory panel members and every well-wisher/supporter who have been one of core reasons for our existence..and the list can go on & on..these are the many “Gods” that in my mind!
This award is not just a recognition of the journey that we had over the last 10 years, but a reminder that we have to continuously breach our own limitations over the next many decades…this definitely places an onerous responsibility on me – which I am really looking forward to grab and prove myself to be worthy of this award going forward as well.
There’s a wonderful song that has really touched me – and continues to inspire me – “Imagine” by John Lennon: with due apologies, I will re-phrase this as:
Imagine no word like employability
Everyone gets the career they desire
No pressures from parents or from peers
And the industry is happy…
Imagine no exams
No more rote lessons
Kids having fun learning
And continuously improving..
Imagine no illiterates
We have a way to identify everybody’s potential
And build on it, harnessing it for the nation
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one !
Today, I am pledging my endeavors over the next many decades into converting this imagination to a reality..
In a different way, Guru Rabindranath Tagore summed up this imagination in this wonderful poem which is the cornerstone of my beliefs..
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action..
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Jai Hind!
