Well the headline by no means states that I am turning 16. That happened a
long time ago, and despite the hype surrounding the age, it was quite insipid.
It was spent studying to be something, and anyways that is a story for another
time and place.
So why am I 16 and counting? Well this year after the annual award nights
ended on September 14, I reached the magical figure of having conducted 16 such
events. If you do simple maths, which I always adore since anything complicated
really goes whoosh over my head, means that I have been involved with the
process for four years now. Every year the JAS quarter is this mad unending
phase of activity for us, irrespective of whatever happens in the world around
us. The process which starts late May finally ends in mid-September, and by then
we would have not only done four award nights, but four panel meets to get to
list of awardees and also brought out four annual editions. So numbers are what
I talk about in this phase. We cover 150 cities in India, list top 50 partners
in metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata. To
add more numbers to the process let me also tell you that this year we gave away
158 awards across India and that almost 1,250 partners from across the country
participated in our events. Whew!
But these are things that I do not do alone and there is a bevy of very
dedicated people who spend these three months in a whirlwind of activity to
ensure that everything goes smoothly and effortlessly. By the end of it all, we
are all exhausted to our bones, but happily so.
So here is a my small but public acknowledgment of people who made the 11th
annual awards possible this year. First off the block are the people who come
for the jury meetings, who deliberate for hours, make innumerable phone calls on
our behalf, to come to our winners list. Next up, the sponsors who partner with
us and help us in honoring the partners, sometimes coming up with newer
perspective for awards. Then there are the IT associations who support us by
turning up in huge numbers to cheer our winners. Also all those people who come
simply because we called, mailed or SMSed, taking time out from their very busy
schedules.
Last but not the least on my list of thanks is the edit team which makes all
of it come together. The fiery band of reporters, Ruth, Amrita, Avishek,
Vasudevan, Sethu, Puja and Minakshi, who not only help in getting the humongous
data together for out annual issues but also chase up on the loose ends which
invariable remain in such exercises. The desk team comprising Deepshikha, Rachna,
Madhura and Nandana, who worked round the clock double checking everything and
then doing it once more. And the motley design and support team of Digamber,
Amit, Manish and Joydev who spent enough sleepless nights working alone-all to
ensure that things came out. A special thanks to Vinita, Ekta and Ravikant also,
who were as always a great help for everything. So guys and gals a big round of
applause for you all because it's you who made this round of awards really
special.
Shivangi Yadav
shivangiy@cybermedia.co.in