Happy Deepavali - 2015

Lost, between 2014 and 2016, one golden year, set with 365 diamond days

No reward is offered, for it is gone forever --- Horace Mann.

Namaste!!

This year will never come back again.  The memories we made during it, however, will live on.

2015 was an unusual year for us, as we explored much previously uncharted territory. It was an especially difficult year for Ruchi because she went through a process of self-actualization.  At the beginning of the year, Ashish and his student caught the startup bug and launched Teapot, which provides APIs for trust and identity. It is currently at a pivotal point – waiting to see where it will land.

Ashish once wrote a poem for Agastya. It went like this:

मुंडे मुस्टण्डे, गली के गुंडे

सुधर जाओ फौरन, वार्ना खाओगे डंडे

It is now coming true. Agastya and his friends run around the neighborhood all day, creating a ruckus. But while he grew more wild in one way, he also became more studious in another. Agastya went from a non-reader to an avid one, finishing the Harry Potter series before his eighth birthday.

Agastya and Swati had a super fun summer. Ruchi took a break from work to hang out with them, and her parents visited from India.  This meant no camps for the kids, a concept which they protested at first but ended up enjoying.

Our family also took two unique trips this year. During the winter holidays, we went to Peru and hiked the Inca trail, which is a 55km trek that goes up to 4200 m altitude. We could not be more proud of our family, especially Agastya, for making it.

In June, we went on safari in Tanzania. The experience we had of seeing millions of animals roaming free is indescribable.

Swati is now taller than Ruchi by a couple of inches, yet in many ways she is still the same as the five-year-old self we remember. She won second place in the science fair this year, and is serving as her school’s co-president.

We as a family also came to this realization – it only takes a little to be happy. We do need to simplify our lives - finding time with each other to just hang around, biking in the neighborhood, do walking in the field etc.

We look forward to next year with an aim to simplify our lives and focus more on ourselves, family, and friends. We all wish you a great festive season and a fun 2016.

                                                                           Ruchi, Ashish, Swati, Agastya

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, And next year’s words await another voice – T.S. Elliot