“No matter how old you get, to your parents, you are always a kid”

Dave and Ann

Dave is someone who is ambitious at work and struggles to balance work and life. Ann is Dave’s wife, who loves him a lot and stands with him through his failures and triumphs. The story Alumni of the Year revolves around how Dave finds faith and how through that faith changes his life for the good.

“ ‘Letting Go’ – is easier said than done. I guess that’s where faith is required. That’s why they have the phrase ‘a leap of faith’ ”

Nitin and Divya

Their love story is a key aspect of the book. How they fall in love, their silly fights, and their marriage is captured through the many chapters. They are best friends of Dave. However, a silly incident in the past breaks their friendship. How they then reunite is narrated through the story.

Dave's Thoughts:-

Dave’s Memories of his Hometown

“Over the years as my age increased, my visits to my hometown, Kochi, have decreased. Juggling with the meaningless but time-consuming activities of adult life has left me with nothing but a few childhood memories to relish during my fifteen-minute powernaps at work. I still remember the smell of the rains, the paper boats we made, cricket matches in the open plains, and of course the food my Mom made.”

Dave on Powerpoint Presentations

“I was never a big fan of PowerPoint presentations. Somehow the corporate world is addicted to PowerPoint presentations. Whether it’s communicating a new idea, reporting progress, or even having a simple team meeting, we are all guilty of spending hours preparing slides or asking our colleagues to prepare them for us.”

Dave on Food

“The breakfast that our maid served had two slices of bread stuffed with some scrambled egg and fresh avocado. This was accompanied by some detox juice—healthy but not tuned to my taste buds. My taste buds graduated from Jose ettan’s tea stall. It was located near my school back in Kochi. Jose ettan served the best string hoppers and chicken stew in the world. When the deadly hot combo is complemented by a sulaimani tea, it woke you up for the rest of the day. No energy drink could beat that.”

Poem by Dave

The Wait for the Perfect Time is What Killed Them.

In the graveyard of broken dreams, there is a common theme.
The couple who wanted to save enough before they travelled the world.
The writer who wanted to pay the bills before she wrote the bestseller.
The entrepreneur who wanted to work for one more year before he built the empire.
The social worker who wanted to earn a name before she fought for the cause.
The actor who wanted to get a stable job before he tried an audition.
Dreamers waited, so did their dreams. In the end, the wait for the perfect time is what killed them.