We only part to meet again.
Today, on my last day at work, I have so many wonderful
memories to take back and so many people to thank on this journey of
self-discovery. From Agumbe which lead me to Rom who lead me to the Croc Bank.
I have had the best colleagues to work with and the best place for
introspection and confidence building. As a rookie, I still don’t know how I
was given the opportunity to work with several leaders in the field of
conservation, but I am so very grateful, for it has changed me forever as a person. Sometimes it's so hard to go down an unexplored path unless you have people who support and believe in you. Thank you to the Trustees, Zai and Rom who believed in me and trusted in my
capabilities. Being the AD of India's largest reptile zoo has been the best job I have ever had and will be something I will tell my grandchildren with pride one day. It has been one hell of a year. I suck at farewells, and choked up at my lovely farewell lunch today, I am better at writing to express myself so here's a tribute to the best year of my life.
To my wonderful boss, Zai, who has been not only an
inspiration with the way she leads a team, but has also been a mentor and a
friend who listened to me and offered invaluable advice whenever I needed it.
Always been a listening ear, never turned me away and is my pillar of strength
at a personal and professional level. Together we have had so much fun laughing
in the office at our wild ideas, going on our field trips, to outings to our
now favourite restaurant, to our evening snack sessions, to learning proper
Tamil pronunciations, it has been an absolute pleasure working with her and I
am now priviledged to say she will always be a good friend who I can go to anytime. She is one of the kindest souls I have come across. =)
To Rom, despite all his achievements is still such a down to
earth, grounded man who lives a simple life and wants to do so much more for
snakes. If at his age, I have half the energy to pursue projects, I would
consider life made. His humour has kept me laughing at all our meetings and his
Tamil and Hindi talks often leave me in splits. At the same time every time I
have been in official meetings with him, his passion for the work he does is
beyond something I can put into words. The most humble person I have come across for all that he's achieved. I leave these meetings with so much hope
for change for snakes and the many people who are in conflict with snakes
around India. The Indian Snakebite Mitigation project is such a life-changing, wonderful movement, which I
wish all the best for the upcoming years. It has been an honour to be the
Coordinator for a project which will one day save many lives, snakes and humans
alike. 
To Nik, who has been like an elder brother, teaching me the
ropes when I was a volunteer, supporting me in learning things and not looking
down on me for not knowing but encouraging me to learn more and sometimes
throwing me in the deep end so I could learn to swim on my own. One of the
best lessons one can ever give someone.
To Ajay, his dark and witty sense of humour has been the
best part of knowing him. Always has a straight face while the rest of us are
on the floor laughing. Such an easy-going person to work with, always happy to
listen and is a wonderful bouncing board for the numerous ideas I’ve had. He’s always
got a rational and practical view on all work matters which I had in mind. It's been so much fun.
To Arul, my lovely little brother who I have seen grow over
the last 2 years of him working at the Croc Bank. This place is a solace for
lost souls like us who need a guiding force and I am so glad he has taken it
and run with it. Shouldering additional responsibilities and tasks, I hope he
grows from strength to strength with each passing year and the Croc Bank is
that platform which helps launch him into something bigger. I am so grateful
for this year I got to spend with him, getting to know him better and being there for each other very subtly but yet knowing that we’ve
always got each others’ backs. 
To Anjana, who joined at a time we needed someone to pick up the ball and run and for doing it wonderfully well. It’s not easy, two Scorpios working together but I am glad we didn’t let that affect a friendship off work hours and we managed to draw that very sensitive line of professional-personal life balance quite well. Here's to bringing our Education program to a whole new level.
To all the staff who have given me so much love and respect,
it feels more like I worked for a family more than an organisation. The lovely ladies have
plenty of love to give and are the most caring, simple and kind hearted souls I
have ever met. Thank you so much for being home away from home. 
To Toffee, for teaching me life’s most important lesson: People will come and go, the best way to deal with it, is to be as detached as
you can, get all the love, give all the love, but move on when you need to. For
showing me that running on the beach is probably the most satisfying therapy ever and for being my
roomie and best friend over the last year. I cannot love this dog any more and thank him for making me a better person.
Dogs are truly nature’s best gift to mankind. Going to miss my bunkmate big
time.
The Croc Bank has given me so much, words will not do
justice to this deep sense of gratitude I feel towards this place. At a time
when I was in so much self-doubt and agony, it showed me a path, was a ray of
sunshine and helped me forge my own path. I have learnt
to respect and appreciate myself for who I am growing to be and realised that we all keep evolving, experiences shape us and who we become is determined
by these experiences.
I got to be myself here, no need to worry too much about what clothes to wear to work, whether I look good or not, I have spent the last year in comfortable PJ's and geeky glasses. No one could care less. Just living by myself, enjoying the solitude of my own company has been an eye-opening experience. Over the year I have worked on so many exciting projects including revamping the signage, planning the new interpretation center, designing posters, name tags, cards, certificates, learning a little about social media marketing, dealing with government bodies and meeting many many inspiring people who make me want to strive harder to be a better person and achieve more in life. I have also developed a deep sense of respect for a group of very misunderstood animals, these amazing, fascinating reptiles. My respect for them has grown immensely through all that I have learnt during my time here.
My beautiful, simple room, my early morning bird call
wake up alarms, my day filled with so much fun and activities, my nights on the
beach, the fantastic food, the down-to-earth, my kind of people, the simple life, it has been an
overwhelmingly great year and I will ensure that my association with Croc Bank
never ends but continues in another role for a long time to come, but for now, the holiday comes to an end.
I got to be myself here, no need to worry too much about what clothes to wear to work, whether I look good or not, I have spent the last year in comfortable PJ's and geeky glasses. No one could care less. Just living by myself, enjoying the solitude of my own company has been an eye-opening experience. Over the year I have worked on so many exciting projects including revamping the signage, planning the new interpretation center, designing posters, name tags, cards, certificates, learning a little about social media marketing, dealing with government bodies and meeting many many inspiring people who make me want to strive harder to be a better person and achieve more in life. I have also developed a deep sense of respect for a group of very misunderstood animals, these amazing, fascinating reptiles. My respect for them has grown immensely through all that I have learnt during my time here.
" In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take"
I am glad I took this one.
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