transition

Sometimes life hits a pocket where so much happens in a jiffy. I was granted a Swiss federal scholarship to pursue a masters program in switzerland and I was more irritated than elated. I declined after much deliberation and bouncing off ideas from others who had time to listen. It was like throwing away your best suit because you have overgrown it. I think i must work now, it has been a long time i worked and I am getting restless. Workaholic....nay ! :) I dont know if I would regret the decision later. If I do, it would be a first in a long time. It is a really great program and I love europe. Whatever I have planned and set out to do has never worked out the way I supposed it would, this is just another example of it. It irks, that whatever path I have followed was never the outcome of my own thoughtfulness but rather of someone 'playing dice' :) I wish I was a bit stubborn when it came to pursuing things. Thinking never did any good to me.

I secured a meeting with the economic advisor to the prime minister. I flirted with idea of work in the area of public policy and wanted to bounce it off someone. Since IMF and Planning commission both didnt work out, with my insufficient background in economics, I needed to understand if I was running a fool's errand. The first thing that struck me was that in a corporate career no matter what I do I would never have the level of power that place holds. No, wait....not even remotely close. The place oozes power and significance, a sense of purpose. The power to make changes, those which I want to. That office is so lutyens, if you have seen it. I know you havent, but it is. It was a humbling experience to see her humility when she talked about what she had done in her career and what she coudnt. But as it turned out there wasnt any worthwhile way of getting involved in public policy without a civil services route. I tried all i could think off but there wasnt anything. So after much brainstorming, I said so that's how it is for me. She chuckled and said nothing. Here ends my flirtations, so much for a minor in public policy :P But on a happier note I have been to PMO now. Seen it from inside, they were amused to see a kid in the corridors and were asking......are you related to ma'am. :)

I also wanted to find out how good I would be if I were to teach. I dont think i can do it for very long with the same thing. So I am fairly cool with picking up new things but to go by established norms over and over is not something I prefer. But on a brighter note I corrected a lot of things, identified the problems in many more and this place would be a much better place in the time to come. People here are right and it is just a matter of time. For some reasons it was important for me to find out if this held some interest for me in the long term. I am exceptionally well positioned to make a career in field of education and it only helps if you can teach as well. End of the road.

So, things changed a lot. :)