28/12/1983

The title of the article is not wrong as the date indeed goes back to 1983 and today is the 37th anniversary of this landmark event of my life. It was on this day 37 years ago that my student life of the past 16 years came to an abrupt halt and leaving my MSc that I was pursuing at that time halfway, I took up a banking job in a nationalised bank.

The change was total and metamorphic so to say. From the holy and serene precincts of University of Delhi to a branch of Nationalised Bank , it was a big shift from me. There was change in profile of my colleagues – from same age group and studious type to middle aged and boisterous, profile of my activities – from studying and brainstorming to dealing with dissatisfied customers under a dead routine, profile of my dressing – from simple jeans and T-shirt’s to formal pants and shirts and profile of my thought process – from an aspiring academician to be a career banker !

Thus it was a life changing moment and my life has never been same again. From a physics student aspiring to do further study in quantum mechanics to a banker aiming for state bank probationary officer and IAS exams, it was a true metamorphosis.

The reason for this blog is a news item that I came across yesterday. A person, who retired from State Bank after a career spanning over 35 years, wrote medical entrance exam and has got admission to MBBS course at the ripe old age of 64. By the time he gets licence to practice, he’d be touching 70, but this example proves that there is no point regretting about the shifts in life against the choice, as it’s never too late to chase your dream! I am rather buoyed by this example and suddenly not feeling any regret at the direction taken by my life and it’s journey so far!