Meet My Friend - Prasad Bhatt
It all happens suddenly and then you realize
you have learnt something... It takes a lot of charisma to become objects
of praise and worship. Till that day in August 98, I would never believe
in this ideology. But, today I thank Dame Luck for proving me wrong. I met
Prasad Bhatt who always sports that trademark smile on his face during the
Bangalore-Delhi flight, en route to Kanpur. We were bound to IIT, Kanpur
for a campus recruitment.
This small event created a big impression and I think I shall carry it
all my life. This is an incident that demonstrated the extent of determination
and sacrifice one can make to achieve an objective. The sequence of events
were awe inspiring.
The flight to Delhi took off. It was cold and our bellies were ringing
hard. After we were air borne, the snacks that we were looking forward to
came on its rounds. We were served hot cutlets and some beverages. Everyone,
except Prasad Bhatt were savoring the delicacies. Things followed, a couple
of refusals followed too! This became a kind of ritual through the whole day.
This puzzled me but I did not have it in me to question his locus standi.
I was like the curious bystander who was half amused and half perplexed.
I started becoming inquisitive and I asked him the reason behind all this
self-torture (it looked like one for me). Pat came the reply. "Today is
my day of fast. I do not take anything on this day." This relevation was
supplemented by Paddy who interjected that it all started 7-8 years ago.
Imagine Prasad practising it for 8 years without losing the interest. Requires
a lot of guts. This fueled a resolve in me and I followed suit. I started
fasting and today I realize the difficulties of putting the same into practise.
This is not something that can be laughed off, as you would realize the
amount of determination required. I have had situations where there were
parties at Orchids & Roses or get-togethers or my sister's wedding. These
eventually fall on the days I am observing my fast. It is sometimes extremely
difficult, and sometimes impossible, to resist joining them at dinner. But,
the right will-power strengthens your personality aiding your activities
be it personal or official.
It has been a great learning from Prasad. He has opened a gold mine where
I can start mining absolutely unbothered about emptying the reserve. Eventually,
you get to learn a lot from people all around you and the best part is that
they become unassuming parts of your life.
Author - Ramesh Panuganty
Ramesh Panuganty has a Masters in Comp Science from BITS, Pilani. He will
be completing three years with Wipro Technology Solutions very soon.
He got interested in Internet technologies. Hence, he has started studying
Internet and its implications on e-commerce technologies. He has been religiously
pursuing his interest since about an year and half. However, this has not
dissuaded him from getting into other technology areas. His many projects
have been focused into entirely different areas.
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Article dated: Jan' 1999
