So long Farewell...

I hate to say goodbye...', that is how the original song goes. I especially
used to love this part in the song from the classic, Sound of Music. Well I
think that is where I developed an aversion to saying goodbye. So before I
begin, this is not a goodbye, it's more like till we meet again.

After spending close to four years and five months living and breathing The
DQ Week, time has come for me to take off my hat and bow out of the limelight.
But before I do that, there are certain memories, and loads and loads of people
that I would like to thank, only because all of them together made this journey
memorable.

When I joined the Channel family, as oft I like to recount, the only channels
that I knew were the ones on TV. And because I came from mass media, the target
audience was the unnamed sea of faces, who would read you every day but would
never recognize you if you passed them by.

In that context the most precious take away from my stint with this
publication is the connect that I was lucky to have with people who were reading
what I wrote and supported the publication that I grew to cherish. From the
reluctant recruit in the channel space, I turned into an avid participant
tracking the working of the community primarily because all of you welcomed
anyone new who came into The DQ Week with open arms. Not only did all of you
share your knowledge with me, you also guided me when I needed help.

So thank you all for the love and unconditional support-which kept me going
when I was bone tired by all the running around that this job involves. It was
small things like these and probably a million others which turned the
admiration for the work into respect. Hats off to all of you for not only being
brilliant entrepreneurs but also for being the wonderful bunch of people that
you are. The knowledge wealth that I have gathered in this phase is immense and
I do hope that I will utilize it somewhere down the line and get to work with
all of you once again.

I would always thank The DQ Week because it gave me an opportunity to get to
know India better. I am a quintessential metro girl, born and raised in Delhi
with all family right next door. Yeah, I have traveled in India, mostly North,
and also mostly to holiday destinations. The stint gave me a window into the
real India, the one that lives in the smaller cities, where they still welcome
rank outsiders as if they are a personal guest. From the beautiful Shillong, to
the religious Varanasi, bustling Bhopal, Nagpur, Nagarhole-I really went places
with DQW.

And last but not the least, no farewell will be complete without thanking the
brilliant team that I got to work with here. A nice bunch of people, who laughed
on my weird humor, who swapped tales about everything from movies to politics to
Gucci and Prada with me.

The biggest thanks however goes to the gang of four-Asim Raina, Vinita
Bhatia, Kingshuk Sircar and Sameer Vinerkar who introduced me not only to people
in channel but also to terminology. Without these four I would never have made
it past the first six months here. They were my buddies in crime and helpful
saviors in times of need.

The space is running short for all the innumerable things that I want to say
but can't. So this is when the lights dim, and in the background plays Musafir
Hoon Yaaron, another favorite by Kishore, and I take the final bow.

So friends, till we meet again....have a good life and stay in touch!

Shivangi Yadav

shivangiy@cybermedia.co.in