Life's versions ...

Someone wise had said, I am told,

If at first you don't succeed, call it version 1.0 !

How wonderful ! If we can have this attitude that whatever we are today, or whatever we are faced with today, is a version different from the past. As long as the new version is an improved avatar of the previous ones, then it is fine.


I wonder how many version changes have happened in my life till now. (Not all of the higher versions were improved ones ! Like all 'upgradations' of Microsoft after releasing their XP in 2000 or so were not improvements, most people feel. Inspite of the high profile launch, Vista of 2007 is not preferred over the eight year old XP - even by pyrates !) I think, till I went to IRMA in 1987, I could be just called manoharan 1.0 only, I think. Moving from school to school within Thanjavur and Pudukottai districts weren't much of a change in life. My hindi classes probably resulted in 1.0.3 or something like that. Even the four years spent in the Coimbatore Engineering college can, at best, be classified as 1.2. Nothing major.

But, in IRMA, there was a steep learning curve there - thanks to my nice friends, especially Nalini. She introduced the whole new world called 'voluntary sector' to Bharani, Rajan and myself. It took sometime to understand that there is something called 'development sector' and things called 'voluntarism' etc. do exist. There Manoharan 2.0 was born, I guess.

Working in NDDB for two years wasn't a version upgradation, I feel. Probably, it gave some confidence that I can contribute meaningfully in a national level organisation and multi-crore business operation.

But, the three years in Andhra with adivasis was another major version change. There, I think, I changed to Manoharan 3.0. Slogging it out in that remote village called Boithili, very basic food, without electricity, fight between naxals and police ... i became a vastly improved version.

And, then came Gudalur. Between 1995 and 2000, it wasn't a significant phase, I think. I tried and did some nice things, but as a person, probably this was a disastrous product. The one year spent in Sittilingi, arrival of Vennila and lot of thinking etc. helped bring out another version, which is much better (I hope !) than the previous ones.


There are things in store (or in development stage) for the next versions. Preparing to be a better father and importantly, an old man. Let me hope that all these major and minor version changes will result in some bearable product called Manoharan !