Govinda Re!

Last afternoon I ran into Govinda. Nothing much had changed. The same 100 watt smile, the same jovial self. Running into him took me back in time to those days of carefree indulgence. It's been five years since we passed out of journalism school. I can't even recollect the names of many of my batch mates. At that time Govinda was in charge of facility upkeep at XIC.

But what a transformation. He is today an associate at Sampark PR. A perfect example of where sheer dedication and determination can take a man. I wish I had his spirit -- fighting seemingly insurmountable odds to rise above his situation and attain his dreams.

Our course coordinator Ms Jane Swamy rechristened him Govinda after the bollywood film star for their similar colorful dressing sense. That's one thing that seems to have changed. Govinda has now adopted more corporate colors--still bright but not as flashy. And he now speaks fluent English. There are hardly any traces of the vernac. He has been in the communications industry for just a few months now. And knowing him, I am quite sure in no time even that minute trace will disappear.

Govinda started off as a rookie in the facilities management team at XIC and went on to complete his bachelors in arts. Soon he rose to lead this team. In the meanwhile, he continued pursuing further studies. And by the time I was out of college he had finished his masters in political science and was preparing for his UPSC exams. An unexpected vacancy in the XIC office saw him take up the position of office coordinator for the PR course. This soon became permanent. Despite what I think about the course at XIC I admire the staff there for creating opportunities for a promising lad.

Well, while there, he took advantage of the concession allowed him to complete certain modules of Journalism and in the following year a full fledged course in Public Relations. He has quit journalism now.

And I feel XIC has lost another soul who could remember her students no matter which batch or course. After Maxwell I think Govinda was the only guy who had a memory for even minute details.

And meeting him last afternoon proved that he hadn't lost his touch. He could remember the folks I generally hung around with and updated his mental database about each of them. I felt really embarrassed when I couldn't remember the names and surnames of several of my friends with whom I had spent one of the best, most memorable time of my life. But he did.

Knowing how important contacts are in this industry I am sure he will go a long way. I am sure even those who didn't probably care for him much while in college are not likely to put him off. Ya there were quite a few of that too. People who had a problem with his 24x7 100watt smile and his jovial nature. Couldn't handle somebody who could always be happy or at least keep a happy face I guess.