MY FIRST 'LAST' LETTER

I personally think it's shameful -in this capitalist economy- to feel a sense of belonging to an employing organization. But first timer fools and romantics (if you can differentiate between the two) invariably fall into the "belongingness" trap.

I wrote this letter (below) on April 30th 2002, the last day of my work at LearningByte International, my first "real" employer. I re-discovered it today when I was rummaging through some of my backed-up files on a CD.

LETTER BEGINS:

Exactly a year before it became etched indelibly into history, September 11th became a momentous date for me at a personal level. It was on September 11th, 2000, that I joined legacy LBI. At a professional level, I was making the transition from being a boy to a man.

And what a transition it has been from then --sweat, blood, tears, toil, ecstasy, despair, joy, sorrow, successes, and failures-- no elearning course could have given me this kind of a learning experience. And I am thankful to each and every one of you for having played your part (consciously or unconsciously) to make that possible. Thanks so much!

I have had the pleasure of building strong relationships with many wonderful and talented people in LBI and DT over the last one and half years – in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, San Francisco, San Diego and Minneapolis. At a professional level, I regret that these bonds might not remain anymore but at a personal level they will continue to be as strong as ever.

Of course I will miss the Hyderabad office – the backyard, the Friday Fundas, the boisterous company gatherings, your joie de vivre the nimboo pani, the steps from the graphics mezzanine that was my lunch place, and your tolerance to my self-righteous spam mails. In short, I will miss you all.

It has been a rather long harangue from my side. It is now time to end. And end I shall, with these immortal lines from Ulysses by Lord Alfred Tennyson. Lines that have inspired me when I have been down and out, lines that have defined and redefined my raison d’etre…many a time…

…The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks;
The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends.
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
the sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be that we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are ---
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

al vida,
Rajeev

PS: Nothing warms my heart like a call or a chat or a mail from an old buddy. Please do keep in touch. Even if I don’t write often, I can assure that I reply to every mail that I receive.
LETTER ENDS.