Toastmasters Icebreaker Speech

I am Abhi. My story is a tale of three cities – Mumbai, London, Sydney.

My first chapter starts in Mumbai.

I had a lower middle class, fairly problem free childhood. Till the age of 5, I lived in a house this big. Living in such small spaces was very common place back then. Everyone lived frugally. You don’t crave for what you don’t know. I was good at academics, but not exceptional like Einstein, with whom I share my birth date with. I was good at sports, but again for that generation of middle-class Indians, the focus was to study, and become a doctor or engineer. So I became an engineer. A Chemical Engineer. Then I did what all chemical engineers in India do – went into IT.

Living in Mumbai is not the easiest thing though. Have you seen the traffic that scrambles brains, the deadly rains, and the packed trains. I have traveled in those trains. When people here complain about crowds, I just laugh. Have you been in a train where you are unable to see where the rest of your body is for the rest of the journey? Sweat can’t escape you!!!, Things are that tightly packed.

Mumbai is tightly packed with incredible people, but it was not the place for me.

Work in IT took me to UK. After living through 3 cities in the UK, I decided to settle in London. This is where my second chapter starts

By then, there were three of us – wife, a tiny 1 year old daughter and me. From better career opportunities, wanting to stay in a cosmopolitan place like Mumbai, and being able to find typical Indian grocery items like brown chickpeas, black lentils, and bottle gourd, we decided to settle in London.

London was amazing. May it was that specific time in my life, or the place – but I discovered who I truly am. I took jobs that played to my strengths. At different times, I started a running club, kids’ quiz club and a cycling club. I realised the power of perseverance. To start or create anything new, don’t expect quick returns. Plan, persevere, adapt. Expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised when things GO your way.

We lived in London for 10 years. Just as we bought a house, spent all the time, and money doing it up, I got a job offer here in Australia.

Well the thing is, my sister lives here. And so DID my two cousins. So, I was open to opportunities down-under. When I landed the job, wife and I looked at each other – Leave behind all our friends, good school, well-settled jobs??… our new home, ??... to venture to completely new place.

But we wanted to be closer to our family. So, Sydney it was.

Here starts my third chapter – Sydney. In Sept 2017, I came to Sydney alone. Family would follow later. Living like a bachelor, finding a new place to rent, sorting out the furniture, it was like turning the clock back a decade. Work at first also threw some weird curveballs. I came as an IT Architect, but was working as a coder. If you don’t know what both the roles are, well then….IT Architect is like an actual Architect, and coder is like a brick layer. Both needs skills, but I did not come all the way down here to lay bricks. Fortunately, this was only a short-term issue and I am glad I got hands dirty.

However, there was a much bigger upheaval coming. Remember, I told you I had two cousins in Australia. Yes, siblings of my youngest aunt. One of them was studying in Queensland. Hemant graduated on 13^th Dec that year. I and daughter spent 5 beautiful days with him during graudation time. It was an extremely proud moment for us watching him get his degree.

A few weeks later, Hemant went to visit his sister in Melbourne for the first time in Aus. They were out at Philip Island. It was Christmas Day. Hemant got into the water. We now know it was very rough out there. He got sucked in by a rip current. It was Christmas day, so no life-guards or that many people around. Hemant was lost forever to sea.

As you can imagine, it was a truly devastating time for the family, especially his parents, who travelled to Australia for the first time for this.

However, we decided that something needed to be done. From all the funds that were donated after his death, we started a non-profit in his name. So far, we have raised awareness through radio, TV interviews, talked at universities, worked with local surf life saving clubs, sponsored CPR session for new arrivals. This is what keeps his memory burning bright in our minds.

So. So far…Australia has taken some, but it has given some… Us relatives are much closer and its great for kids. The weather is awesome. The land, life-style, the people, they are all great.

We are not at home yet. But one day, we will be. And then, it will be the best of times.