What is it like to receive about 500 wishes on the day you were born?

Friday 16th December 2016, my birthday.

I can answer that question from first hand information. About 150 wishes came through email, SMS and social media. About 350 came from one common source, my colleagues at SAGE. They came with flowers and with messages scribbled on a card or sometimes on a small piece of paper (I don’t accept gifts). These were the ones who came to see me in person. There were the lot in the Dehradun office who insisted I get in front of a video conference unit to receive their wishes. There were videos made with images that folks could find and videos made where even parents of SAGE employees wished me. It is difficult to describe what it feels like to be wished with so much heart but I can safely say that there isn’t another feeling that comes close. This page is dedicated to my friends, my colleagues, my partners and everyone at SAGE in success. Without them, I am less than an ordinary human being.

Thank you all for making my birthday so special. Here are some memories that are very precious to me.

Marketing, the first department I headed @SAGE. It still occupies a soft corner of my heart.

The card made by the marketing department. Each one of them wrote a special message for me. I even got a poem (see the balloon).

The video created by the Dehradun team

The Dehradun team: they stood in the parking lot to get this shot for me

The books commissioning team. In 2017 they will change the face of SAGE’s book publishing program. I love the flowers!

The birthday card from the books commissioning team. It says it all.

The journals team. In 2017 they lead our publishing into STM and Open Access. Blue flowers that make me anything but blue…

The managers from the journals and books production team. Innovation, dedication and passion is their hallmark. Pink flowers that ensure I keep smiling.

The cake my sales team brought me. I promise you it tastes even better than it looks.

The books, journal and digital products sales team (Delhi). The flowers and the cake made it just right.

The customer services team. The one holding the flowers is SAGE India’s first employee. What an honour to receive wishes in person from him.

The admin team. The container of sweets is significant. They surprised me by remembering that I love the rosogollas of a particular shop. They bought them as a gift for me. More than the taste I cherish their thoughtfulness.

From my assistant. Made my day with such a comment.

This is what a dream team looks like (less one person who couldn’t make it). The image of kali is one of the cutest I have ever seen.

My team and their sense of humour. I am nothing without them… Thank you guys.

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