Words of a Writer!

Our fate lives within us. One has to brave enough to identify it… From the Disney movie “Brave”.

While preparing for my speech on 10th March evening i.e. the occasion of my first book "Shades of Grey & Green" launch by Bhanubai Nanwati College of Architecture i.e. BNCA, this sentence from the movie Brave, I was reminding to myself. As over the years I am quite used to audience & addressing to the same but launch of my first book  is something making the butterflies in my stomach go flying! I was wondering at this feel as what’s big deal, it’s just a book launch & one more speech, that’s it. But what happens usually when you speak on a particular subject you have a frame & that makes things much easier. Here I didn’t know what I am supposed to speak. At such times what you have watched in the forms of movies especially the cartoon movies which carry great messages comes to your rescue & so was the Brave, which I watched on TV just a night earlier before the book launch.

Most of the people write down their speeches & then speak on those lines, I haven’t done that ever! Long back in school days I have wrote down my speech, it was about Mahatma Gandhi & in mid way I forgot what I wrote down & was blank; so winded up the speech saying “Gandhiji mahan purush hote, Jay Hind” & ran away from the stage. From that day I never written down any of my speeches, not that I am great speaker or anything like that but whatever little I have spoke from the dais, it’s always instinct. 

Vadana Chavan madam spoke about the book & it was real challenge to speak after an eminent speaker like her. Today after launch of the book I thought of sharing my feelings which I have spoken on the occasion. It’s just a personal gratitude I felt like expressing as no success is individual’s though the fruit may be enjoyed by an individual but the real creditors are hidden in background & so are they  in my case too in the form of all my friends, cousins, well wishers, my colleagues as well elders in family & my teachers at various stages in life. And what better way than to share your feelings with them via these writings!

Sharing my words which I spoke & some which were unspoken yet wanted to spoke…

To all dignitaries on the dais & my friends, at such times I realize that how easier writing is than delivering a speech as in writing you always have an option of review & editing the words you have thought. You can rearrange them at your will but while speaking once it’s gone its gone! Till I came here & stood in-front of you I wasn’t knowing what I am going to speak as this is a total new experience for me. Now I know how my flat holders must be feeling when they must have been taking possession of their first home on stage, its much similar emotion for me. As Vandana didi has already spoke about the contents of the book I will share why I wrote & how the things come on paper. It started long back nearly ten years when I have been called in a seminar on Environment at Delhi by TERI i.e. The Energy Research Institute. When I went at registration counter the lady there asked me “You are a builder?” I replied “yes.” She again asked, “And you have come to speak on environment?” I replied again “yes madam”. On that she made a face like seeing Mr. Vijay Mallya in a Darubandi Andolan! The face was clearly surprised saying what a builder is doing in environment seminar, when they are the cause of the destruction. Well ten years down the line still scene isn’t changed much as when people started to receive the invites from our side as well BNCA College about the book launch, there were calls like you have written a book, wow! What’s it about< is it about real estate? Well I said yes & no! As it’s not “How to become a builder”, as one don’t need any such book for becoming a builder, here in our country there no any criteria required for being one. All one is needed is some money & understand the system, rest is taken care by the demand for homes by millions of Indians whose first dream is owning a home.

Well joke apart in my journey of nearly 24 years in real estate I came across many things which we all see around in our daily city life. And mostly problems & promises made to us about solving them. May it be traffic issue or water or public health or garbage or reducing greenery around; & none of these promises gets fulfilled. At some stage we feel like cheated & we come to a stage of frustration about all the system yet deep within the hope never dies. And it’s this hope which enable us fight with all odds & try to make this world a better place but what we do? Most of us try to find out a name whom we can blame for the situation around. We have been shown dreams of making our cities like Shanghai or Singapore & there are so many big names in architecture or urban planning present here, but what I feel is making of IT parks or Metros or Flyovers don’t make any city Singapore which is considered as an ideal city; it’s the attitude of every citizen towards the city decides the fate of the city whether it will end up as a good city or a bad city!

It’s this though which made me to think that what as an individual I can do, should do & I penned down my feelings. Today why we all are here is outcome of that penning down. An architectural college run by educational institute like Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Sanstha is publishing the book, a politician lady who is MP of Pune is reading out the content of the book & which has been written by a writer who is a builder & in presence of so many learned faces here & eminent personalities from the social life of the city! What better start it can be towards becoming a good city! As it’s the knowledge as well environment only which can get all the segments of the society on one platform & unless that happens we can’t become the ideal society or city is a fact. This is what made me to write down what I have written.

Few years back I have got opportunity to listen speech by or Ex President Dr APJ Kalam at college of engineering & he has asked the engg students that this degree will give you a decent job, wealth recognition, honor & many things but what you will be giving back to the engineering? On same lines this city has given me recognition, the real estate has given me money as I do acknowledge that I haven’t been in the business for charity, the environment has given me chance to lecture the lecturers today, a boy who finished his college life from the back bench has been made to sit in front row with so authorities, I got all this because of profession & the city, so this book I take it as my little giving back to the both. As today real estate is looked down by most of the society as a grey shade business but like Vandana didi said there are few good politicians, there are many good builders also who does a far better job than what I do. This book I take as a tribute to my entire fellow collogues who try to give a better face to real estate industry by their work.

Lastly I thanks to the entire team BNCA especially the most happening principal as I call him Anurag kashyap sir, ritu madam, chakradeo who gave face to my words with so many illustration, my friends Nitin,Punam & Vijay & my badminton group, morning stars which is present here also to cheer me, most importantly CREDAI i.e. our association because of which I could get vast exposure to various issues of this industries, Sakal & Loksatta teams who gave me courage to write more as had they not published my write-ups I would have never been known my own capacities. My parents, who will be more proud today as they too are reaches by profession & I am sure they would feel more happy as how many buildings I built or how many cars I own isn’t important for them but their son has wrote a book which will be referred by students is more valuable for them, my sister as well cousins for keeping my spirits high all the time,  entire team at Sanjeevani who kept their boss free so he can use that time to think & write & many more are the real writers of this book. Lastly my wife as no married man should forget his better half, as when I was taking care of this front the family front was being handled by her & she equally is creditor of this book.

Before ending what I will say to BNCA students is keep reading & keep writing as some day you will also standing here at the dais & making proud not only to your loved ones but your own self too!

Thanks a lot….

--

Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

MSEDCL (Power) Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2013/01/identifying-good-builder.html


Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

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