President's Award to my NMIMS batchmate - Congrats Ashish Goyal

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Double MBA and world’s first visually-impaired trader to receive President’s award

Bombay boy Ashish Goyal who turned blind in his teens is in India to receive the National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities 2010 from the President tomorrow.

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I am proud to say that Ashish Goyal who was my batchmate at NMIMS, is to receive the President's Award. Ashish is visually impaired.

I got to know Ashish a little better when we had all gone to Lonavla for an HR session. It was called "Open Spaces" where all of us could discuss our thoughts and 'problems'. But after listening to Ashish's story, none of us felt we had anything to say anymore.

It was great to be around Ashish in college. He would greet everyone very cheerfully but more importantly, everyone loved greeting him. Thats because we all wanted his positive vibe to rub off on us. His independance and interest in learning was truely contagious.

  

Ashish has proved to the world that all limitations are only in the mind.. We are so proud of you!!!!

Teenage to Terrific 30's - The journey just gets better....

During a conversation about choices, my uncle once asked me ..."would you overeat now if you knew how uneasy you'd feel later?" And i said "Yes, ofcourse i would" .......Ofcourse, I was a teenager then...

Today the answer would have been "definitely not".. I wonder why? What makes the difference? Perhaps age? Has the body's ability to manage the same level of uneasiness gone down. Or maybe i just know better..Maybe that's what we call Wisdom!

Then there's the physical changes where energy levels deplete with every passing year once u cross 25. So what do i do? Take on some workout sessions, dance classes, yoga, marathon training, which not only make me look better, they make me feel great too..

Can't not mention the Independence factor. Sometimes it tilts a bit towards I Know It All...But at most times brings in clarity on many issues and helps me develop opinions. Monetary independence is just a small factor. Its the freedom of thought that matters most.

After all, age is just a number and i'm only as old as i think i am.. Having crossed 30 now, having shed a lot of my inhibitions, with very little impression management to be done, my objective is to enjoy each day and pack it with lots and lots of laughter fun and activities. And to make a difference to as many as i can in my own small way.

So all in all, the journey's just getting better..

A Walk in the Woods - Hanging Garden @ Malabar Hills



Bengal Almond



The butterfly zone



The Mumbai Skyline

 A nature walk at 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning. It was something I always wanted to do but never got down to doing it. So when Lahar and Satviki, (two young environmental enthusiasts) took the initiative, i grabbed the opportunity. They've started this thing called 'Walk the Mumbai Trees', where they bring together a group of interested people and take them through the various trees in a particular area. They talk about how to identify them, their uses, their history..Wow! never looked at trees that way. Never knew Mumbai was lined with Gulmohar, Sonmohar, Bengal Almond and Asopalav..

They started by asking us to list the names of trees we can recognise, and my list stopped at Coconut and Mango :) But by the end of the 90 minute walk i had learned to recognise atleast 3 - 4 more.. so not too bad huh!

Honestly, I didn't find myself really interested in going into the details of each tree, but what it did for me was that it made me realise a few things. One, it made me aware and conscious of my environment. Just realised after that day, that the largest Gulmohar tree was in the garden behind my appartment. Two, made me realise that i really like photography.But most of all, what it did was to bring in a sort of serenity just by being there and observing. Each tree emanated so much peace and selflessness, it had a sort of purpose in life. The Wonders of Nature....!