The Hindu Business Line : Joy@work

None of them are ascetic enough yet to become a monk or rich enough to disown a Ferrari. Four contrasting entities came alive at the New Year bash. Looking for clues to a life of lasting happiness, each sized up the others quietly through the evening. Life, in retrospect, seemed to hang in a delicate balance between task and purpose.

Raghuraman, the most affable of all, appeared carefree devoting himself to entertaining people at work and shoring up their sagging spirits at parties. Suspecting at times that he could be a mere TIMEPASS, he was contemplating a search for ‘new’ meaning to end the misery of five job changes and two broken marriages.

Known as Mr CORRECT, Abhishek seemingly got everything right in life. A public school education, IIT and IIM to transition through a few MNC jobs netting a five-bedroom designer home in downtown Mumbai and a farmhouse on the outskirts of Pune. Married to a Page 3 socialite, does a life alternating between golf and global excursions signify fulfilment? Keep guessing!

Working by the day and obtaining a double doctorate in propulsion mechanics by night, Hari is the quintessential ROAD-LESS traveller.

He operates his own independent design studio offering fuel-efficient power plants out of three locations in the US; bulk of the work is now outsourced. Resolutely resilient, he cannot be accused ever of taking the easy way out in life. Is he for real?

Life for Akash appeared tailored to near perfection. Never for once appearing inadequate, he infused every assignment dealt out to him with a rare sense of dynamism. He seemed to gain in strength and skills with passage of time only to keep raising himself to challenges of a higher order. Could he be dismissed as a mere freak or held out as the one so truly BLESSED to pulsate with life at every moment?

Is the model of ‘a fulfilled persona’ cultivated through conscious effort or resident within? They parted in the wee hours of 2008 with enough and more on their minds to chew over!

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