Saturday, June 20, 2020

Achhey Din ! Where are they ??



June 2nd was my happy birthday.
And I turned 65.

And there was precious little to rejoice for me. And the lockdown made that day even gloomier.

The last couple of my bank FDs matured a day later.
I had invested in my FDs at 9.0% and more , when I had just turned into a Senior Citizen.
And over the last 2 years I have been renewing my FDs subsequently at lower and lower interest rates.
And I was lucky to get 6.25% interest per anum this time !  Now it is 6%!!

So my income is steadily reduced by 30% !!
And that is like getting a negative raise of 10% for 3 years in a row.
And if I were working in a company I would have quit.
But this is life.
How can I quit ??

And my stocks and mutual funds have also taken a big hit.

So, I am not happy. And was in no great mood to celebrate.

The wise had once said

If life hands you a lemon,
Make yourself a lemonade!!

Manta hoon, mere bhai.
Par shikhanji bananey ke liye thodi toh cheeni milni chahiye na??
(Agree bro. But to make a lemonade you need a bit of sugar at least ??)

Cruising past 65, with no new income to depend on – except the FD interests and some SWPs (systematic withdrawal plans) and a few rentals, I do get jittery and anxious about the future many times.

And the steady rise in expenses, the ever-growing medical bills and insurances and the inflation rate do not help me manage my anxiety any better. And I cannot deny a decent raise in salary to my driver, maid, cook and other helpers. Nor their yearly Diwali bonus.

Rising from a middle-class family (like many of us),
I was brought up in two small towns of Vellore in south and Dehra Dun, up north – not the ideal pin codes that can offer one with boundless opportunities and great career breaks.

And sadly, I have not been born with any special talents nor a fraction of any genius hereditary genes.
And with no overpowering ambition (meaning fire in the belly) to strike it big & become a ‘Slumdog millionaire’

My life has tracked a slow and steady organic growth. A continuous struggle, a survival game and a constant challenge trudging up the slow ramp of life.

And I am sometime so surprised that I have made it this far and have reached here!

Slow and steady has definitely kept me in the race and in the reckoning (not sure if I could call it a winning)

And I made it with a lot of sweat and some timely luck as well.
Chasing targets, meeting budgets, managing irate customers,
On the roads and in the air, overnights in airport lounges, taking red-eye flights
Firefighting most times, midnight concalls and skipping breakfast / lunch.

Hanging on desperately surviving quarter after quarter. Fighting tooth and nail to protect each team member from getting the axe when the VPs and HRs come out with their WFR (work force reduction) initiatives
Pleading with channel partners and retailers to stock up a little more
Dog fights with competition in the open market
And more and more.

And i have done everything that has been written in the book Marketing Warfare by Al Ries & Jack Trout who quote from the book ‘On War’ by the Prussian General von Clausewitz.
Yes, marketing and warfare are so much similar.

And then I retired to hang up my boots, pull out my easy chair and sit down to enjoy the sunset.

The time I have spent in Sobha Palladian have been wonderful so far. I have no complaints – except for the occasional dog poop on green grass.

And when I start to experience and relish the Achhey Din, the Corona times lands me a whopper!
 
I am concerned at the uncertainties. My well laid out retirement plan is rocked.

But I can survive.

And I am thankful that I was born a decade earlier..
And I am glad I no longer must worry about my keeping my  job.
All my loans and mortgages are paid up
My children are on their own – I do not need to worry about their higher education.
And no tension either to get my daughter married
And some more …

And one can always complain “where are those Acheey Din”??
And you will never appreciate the fact that these are the Achhey Dins !!
And the only way you will ever realize it will be ten years from now.

When you will fondly recall those good old times (Achhey Dins)  ten years back !!

Krish..

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