A ratna

Long ago, had someone would've asked me - what I'd like to be in my life; like many others after marveling at the trail of an airplane in a cloudless blue sky I'd have said a pilot, or after watching couple of shows on Discovery channel, may be an astronaut without knowing what I'd have to study, where I'd have to travel to acquire certain expertise. Over the passing by of next couple of years and the meteoric rise and rise of the God of cricket, I'd have said I want to be a cricketer, and bat like Sir SRT. As time and people change, so do the goals. Mine changed, too. Later on, I aimed to be a a computer geek thanks to Hollywood flicks. It is really hard to not to stray.
But, something else was in store for me - I got my bachelors and later on a masters in an interdisciplinary field which spans through Biology, Maths, and Computer skills. There I was, equipped with something less heard of, never thought of, yet I landed onto an unknown territory.  Eventually, I've been working in public health research.

During this entire adaptive journey, pursuit, and experimentation I got a lot of time, most of which undeniably wasted away in nothing. Some part of it was utilized in burying myself in novels, and a lot of these is occupied by online reading, of late. Moreover, I've invested a lot of time in reading about successful people, their lifestyle, working ethics, educational background. Of these, one person that has held me unwavering in his awe is Sir Ratan Tata. Yes, the septuagenarian and chairman emeritus of Tata Sons.
He has been - needless to say a philanthropist, a resilient industrialist, a paragon of humility, and last if I can add, have been an ideal ethical person. From salt to IT has been his reach. He has fulfilled dreams of countless people who yearned for car with - Tata Nano.
The more I read of him, the more I want to know of him. I re-read his articles many times, watch his interviews (not many are there though) as and when time permits. I'm always eager to read and hear anything from him either on economy, politics, education, etc.


There are not many articles that could be found on him, or by him. Here and there personal anecdotes on Quora, his eternal love for cars, his 2 dogs, SCUBA diving and that is it.!
Nevertheless, there are tens of stories of him - Jaguar land rover acquisition, charity, his kindness post the gory attacks in Mumbai to name a few.  He has weathered good and rough times with the nation, for the nation, and of the nation. I thank him for all the service to nation, and take a bow to his unceasing efforts yet after retirement.
Today, if anyone would ask me what I'd like to be, or what my goals would be, I'd definitely say I want to be like "Ratan Tata" without a shadow of second thought.

Seldom are the gems like him India is blessed with. A person true to his name and charisma - a Ratna. 
Wish him all the good health, and a long life.

PS: Sorry for the long hiatus.