Nostalgic Memories of Stepping Stones in Professional Career!

This date from 18 years afar on 10th Sep 2007 evokes really significant memories as I embarked on my professional career with Price Waterhouse as an article assistant with M/s Lovelock & Lewes in accordance under the Chartered Accountants Regulations Act of 1949. It is pretty special as it was the first ever experience of working anywhere and also earning your first ever buck. I recall my first stipend received of Rs 4900/- (7000*21/30) credited to HSBC Bank, R K Salai branch with no TDS deducted as yearly salary back then was under the minimum threshold slab of Rs 1,00,000😀. I also know for a fact that I had pizza for lunch at the Pizza Corner Nungambakkam outlet with couple of fellow article-ship mates on that memorable Monday from donkeys years ago😋.

It was my only stint with Audit in life but nascent memories always stay close to your heart. PwC has moved so many offices within Chennai since then but there'll always be a soft corner for that particular space located on:
#32, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600 006, Phone 044 42285000

It's pretty insane to think that 18 years has just flown like a dream. As I ended my foray with this illustrious organisation back then in 2010, I penned a limerick on my last day expressing my sincere thanks to the folks that I worked with in an "AABBA" style as follows:

As I step into the twilight,
Experiences to remember till the end of my light,
Its you the people who've made it really possible,
By making this journey of mine truly memorable,
Thanks a ton for making my light shine bright !:)

Gosh, time flies but the memories linger forever!

Reminiscing memories of the historic First T20 WC final 2007

When the announcement for the inaugural T20 World cup was made by the ICC for the event to be held in South Africa in Sep 2007, most of the senior rung of players decided to give it a skip allowing the youngsters to take center stage.

India was fielded with a young team led by the ebullient MS Dhoni and not many really gave them a chance considering the lack of big guns and inexperience in handling the big stage. But India turned the corner and really started upping the ante after a loss to the Kiwis in the super eight stages. They got through the semis where they had to overcome a mighty Aussie side filled with abundant talent. After up staging the all conquering Australians, India set up a mouth watering clash with Pakistan in the final.

The grand finale had a lot of topsy-turvy moments and when India put up a score of 157 on the board, it looked just about par for the course. India grabbed the initiative during the Pakistani innings with regular breakthroughs and looked like taking the game home only to witness a late flurry of attacking batting by the lower order to get Pakistan back on track.

It came down to the last over and the skipper was faced with a quandary of whom to hand over the ball and he gave it to an uncanny choice in the form of Joginder Sharma. He mixed up his pace but was carted for a massive six by Misbah to allow Pakistan to within just a shot away of the target with 4 deliveries still left. But then the moment of reckoning arrived as off the next ball, he tried to be a bit too cheeky going for a needless reverse sweep that went too aerial than expected handing an easy catch to Sreesanth causing an eruption of celebrations in the Indian camp.

Dhoni's uncharacteristic decision paid off and India had won the first ever T20 cricket World cup. It also paved the way for many more laurels and accolades achieved under the baton of MSD. This day 10 years ago, Sep 24th 2007 was truly one of the golden days in India's rich cricketing folklore.