All the Life that I have lived

All the Life that I have lived

 Six months ago or more I was asked by a Professor friend in Iowa, to do a story board for a film on a boy who came out of the slums of Chennai to become a magnate in the Paper Industry in the USA. The boy was his classmate in the IIT in Madras and wanted to tell his story. I just ignored it as I was too busy traveling to see my sons and their families and I was unsure of who the guy was, that I was to write about. I needed time to decide.

Alaina 10 years ago when I went to look after her for 6 months!

For me my family was much more important and we were all meeting up in Andy's and Annika's home to have 2 weeks together. Then as things often pan out in my life I opened the email from the Professor in London one morning and reading the mans story I was hooked.

Picking apples in David's home!

I immediately wrote to Professor Prabhu accepting the request to wrote the book. Lucky I discussed the project with David and he said -- "You always charge way below your worth Mum.Just think and charge as this is going to be a lot of work for you spread over months."

"So what do you think I should charge David I said? 50 thousand rupees?"

"More like XXXX $ Mum," he said.

My mind boggled and I wrote back saying I wanted XX $ upfront put into my grand daughter Alaina's College fund. The other half once I was done into Natalie's college fund.  And I began -- what a roller coaster ride it has been for me. 
The reason I did this was because when my son Andrew needed a 2 lakh bond to be furnished by St. John's Medical College incase he did not do his village service and my Dad who did not have the money at the time, did a quick calculation and invested an FD in his name which would finally mature into 2 lakhs. Andy has been forever grateful to his grandparents for that. We never had that kind of money as parents ever. The boys always earned their education seats on merit.

One of Davids apple trees loaded with fruit.

So inbetween gardening in his beautiful garden I started writing in the room Rashme set up for me with a desk that looked out onto the woods beyond the house. I cannot go anywhere without my DELL laptop which Andy bought me. Light and easy to carry and probably is the 4th laptop I have had. A Toshiba was my first -- solid and dependable.

So, I work by writing down the contents and chapters first and then flesh out each chapter and maybe shift them around. The shifting and changing names of chapters is a continuous process as I work.

 

Andy and family all set for a Triathlon in S Carolina.

I was relaxed after spending time with all the kids and was glad to get my teeth into a project which I would enjoy working. The very first chapter leapt out and grabbed me with the fact that the boy had gone to Loyola College, Madras in the '60's for the job of a peon and the principal just by chance saw his marks card and said two words -- "Admit Him!" Loyola had been Dads pre-university college too.

I have always believed education plays a huge role in anyone's life and here was a story that I was going to write about a poor boy who hardly had proper food to eat, educates himself out of the slum into the highest echelons of the IIT Madras and onwards and upwards into the US. My Dad always said, God helps those who help themselves and here was an inspirational story which I immersed myself into -- writing it into 28 chapters in flat TWO months!

The Asian Paradise Flycatcher that visits every winter!
 

Like the Flycatcher that visits every winter, I put on my writing cap and wrote and wrote, pounding away at the chapters and was done with all 28 chapters including the synopsis and the Afterword. The flycatcher has come and gone back to the Himalayas and I feel vindicated that whoever talks about getting a writers block is someone who cannot write. Thats it!

Baking Coconut Bhaat inbetween writing!

I am a professional editor but I still believe I need a peer review done on my work. So my  sweet and generous friend Sheila Kumar will definitely professionally review my work before it goes to the publishers.  Sheila and Keerti Ramachandra will have a glance too and then armed with my two girl friends views the publishers shall publish.

Lets travel the length and breadth of the US to launch my book. Really?? I start receding into my computer, as I am more attached to my desk today. Travel for me today is just visiting my boys and ofcourse to Goa to check on the old homestead. Thats it. I have traveled all over the world for conferences and have exhausted my travelling trainers forever.

 My bird clock with its bird calls kept me company while I wrote!

Now I will be glad if this mans story goes out across the world telling people that it is ONLY with education you can change your life. What a guy, I really admire his grit and determination even with being so ill now.
 He echoes what my parents drilled into us and we drilled into the boys and now they are drilling into their kids. While I feel happy that I could contribute to their University fund.