I was the princess till my father passed away. I was in the 9th grade, when he had a fatal heart attack.
Life changed. Loving relatives quickly turned their backs.
My mother was in a government job. She is meek and emotional by nature. We turned to each other for support. An Alsatian joined the family, bringing joy and security with him.
I grew up fast after that. The day I turned 16, I queued up for a two-wheeler licence, so we would have mobility during difficult days.
The lessons were hard. Yet, I learnt them - Attachments to position, affection, bonds and money are transitory.
Life continued. Studies. Search for a job.
I got married young. My husband has been a bedrock of support these last 25 years.
My first job, as ground staff at Air India, Cochin Airport, exposed me to the aviation industry.
GE was interviewing for BPO roles in Kochi and my mother nudged me to appear.
I got selected to pilot the airline vertical later and we moved to Hyderabad.
10 years in GE built up my professional DNA across several roles.
I gravitated towards facilitation and training, eventually becoming a Super trainer in Communication Skills.
I loved it so much. This is all I wanted to do, from here on.
It meant foregoing juicier opportunities in operations as I made a choice to focus here.
This was my second lesson in caring without attachments. When you do what you want to do, you have to pay some price.
More lessons on this were yet to come.
I moved to Sutherland - a BPO based in Kochi - as the Site Training Manager.
An acquisition later, I found myself taking care of training and HR in Dubai, for them.
My husband took a 3 year sabbatical to be with me and our son was born here, 15 years after our marriage.
Thanks to hubby, I was able to immerse myself deep in work, spending long hours and travelling frequently.
I gave myself to work. I took only 24 days off during my maternity to bounce back despite UAE's short maternity break of 45 days.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank was a client, and they wanted to amp up their Emiratisation drive to add local women from smaller towns to their workforce. We would find and upskills them. They would then work from home.
I travelled the breadth of UAE, running focus groups and identifying talent.
Eventually we trained the women and piloted the new way of remote work in the kingdom - well before the pandemic.
Project Tamooha was a hit in the HR world in the Middle East and won the ruler's award.
I came back to India in 2017 and to lead HR for the Kochi site. Life continued.
Then, when the pandemic struck, overnight my job got taken away.
After years of devoted service, it hurt that I was simply cut-off with no explanation.
One day, I was privy to inner workings & had built immense Intellectual Property. Next day, an unwelcome outsider.
Such experiences harden you and make you a cynic. The question I put to myself was, would I still care?
I did not answer it right away. Instead, I built my beautiful country home in the enforced break, while I built myself up from the inside.
Then I was ready.
My asks while looking for a role was to find a culture fit, autonomy to do what I love and always learn.
I joined Zellis.
Today, I serve by hiring fresh talent, training and mentoring. I also manage Talent Acquisition. I do it with joy.
Only merit, skills, and emotional intelligence will see us through. Not being loyal to a brand, client or a favorite boss. Change is the only constant.
As the Gita has taught too - I have learnt to care, yet be detached.
My jobs and experiences through the last two decades brought this gift to me, for which I am ever grateful.