The Milestone and the Mirror
Birthdays are like gentle pauses in the symphony of life — moments to look back at the music we have played, the silences we have endured and the notes we are yet to strike. Today on 13th August, I turned 67. Also, it is my fifth birthday as a writer, a journey that began unexpectedly but has since become the most defining chapter of my life. I find myself less preoccupied with the mathematics of age and more absorbed in the geometry of life — the curves of unexpected turns, the straight lines of discipline and the spirals of learning that circle back to teach deeper truths.
When I look in the mirror today, I see two portraits overlaid — one of a man shaped in the heat and discipline of the steel industry and another of a writer shaped in the gentler, but no less demanding, fires of words. I find myself thinking less about the number of years and more about the stories they hold. Some are of triumphs, others of setbacks and many of resilience.
From Steel to Sentences
One of the most defining chapters of my life began in the very place where my career took root — the Bhilai Steel Plant. For nearly four decades, my professional world was made of molten steel, industrial rhythms and the discipline of deadlines. The blast furnace taught me that every creation — whether a steel ingot or a written piece — requires intense heat, pressure and precision.
When I retired, I thought my creative arc had ended. But the blank page beckoned and I discovered a new forge. This time, the raw material was not ore but thoughts; the tools were not hammers but words. The same patience, persistence and perfection that once defined my work with steel now shaped my sentences.
That reshaping began in the most unexpected of times — during the COVID-19 lockdown. People everywhere were confined to their homes, learning to work remotely for the first time and quietly battling an invisible pandemic: Stress. In that strange stillness, I felt the urge to write. The result was an article titled “Feeling exhausted? – A side effect of Bermuda Triangle” — a light-hearted yet thoughtful take on fatigue in those unsettling days. To my delight, daily “The Hitavada” gave it a home. That single step turned into a second innings: writing columns, travelogues, essays and reflections — a career born not in the foundry, but in the furnace of lived experience.
Writing — A Second Inning
Writing did not just fill my post-retirement hours — it filled me. It became a second life, a second career and in many ways, a second chance. My early columns were tentative steps, but over time, I learned that the power of the written word lies not in telling my story, but in holding up a mirror where readers see their own.
From local anecdotes to national debates, from personal reflections to global issues — each article has been a conversation, not a monologue. And in this, I have found the deepest joy: that my words can travel where I cannot, touch those I will never meet and sometimes, even make someone pause and think.
The past five years as a writer have been an unfolding of many kinds: ideas that first seemed like whispers have found their way into print; topics that began as personal curiosities have blossomed into published columns read by strangers in cities I have never visited. In these pages, I have wrestled with the present, revisited the past and speculated about the future — and in doing so; I have been both student and teacher to myself.
The Gift of the Reader’s Trust
If steel was forged in fire, I as a writer have been shaped by readers. Your feedback, encouragement, criticism and even silence have refined my craft more than any style guide could. You have been my editors, my audience and my inspiration.
In today’s hyper-connected, over-stimulated world, time is the rarest gift — and every time you choose to spend it reading my words, I know its value. For that, I remain deeply grateful.
A Birthday Wish — For All of Us
This year, my birthday wish is not for myself. It’s for all of us — that we find something that excites us as much as steel once did for me and writing does now. That we embrace change not as an end, but as a beginning. That we keep learning, creating and connecting — at any age.
And if your own birthday is near, or even far, I hope you find time to celebrate not just the years lived, but the life shaped.
Turning the Page — Again
As I step into my 68th year, I am reminded that life rarely offers blank pages; it gives us half-written drafts. The challenge is to edit with kindness, write with courage and turn the page with hope.
This year, my birthday falls close to Janmashtami, the festival that celebrates the birth of Yogiraj Shri Krishna — a symbol of joy, wisdom and eternal playfulness. Perhaps that’s the truest lesson birthdays can teach us: “No matter our age, we can still dance to our own tune.”
So here’s to turning the next page — together.
About The Author
Mr. Hridaya Mohan (hridayamohan@yahoo.co.in) is a regular Columnist with a renowned Indian daily “The Hitavada”, “Bharat Neeti Media” and some other newspapers / magazines internationally. He lived and worked in Beijing for 6 long years as Chief Representative (China & Mongolia), SAIL. Recipient of “Sir M Visvesvaraya Gold Medal”for one of his papers, “Benchmarking of Maintenance Practices in Steel Industry” from The Institution of Engineers (India), he was awarded with “Scroll of Honour” for the excellent contributions to Engineering fraternity from IE(I), Bhilai, “Jawahar Award” for leadership excellence in SAIL and “Supply Chain Leader – 2017” award from IIMM. The writer lived and worked in Beijing for 6 long years as Chief Representative (China & Mongolia), SAIL.
