And then we are in our mid-60s and a time of reckoning with one's life - if one believes in Erikson.
Rediff.com, one of India's pioneering internet companies, on Tuesday announced the appointment of Mr Vishal Mehta as its new Chairman and Managing Director. This key leadership change follows Infibeam Avenues Ltd's acquisition of a majority stake in Rediff.com.
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
Characters that populate his novels, preoccupations they have, ambitions they nurse and obstacles they encounter are all endearingly those of today's real-life India, says Ajit Balakrishnan
US Congressman Ro Khanna's message is that instead of depending on the 'hidden hand' of capitalism -- that is to say, the power of markets -- it is time for policymakers to play a more active role in making sure that a wide range of towns become locations for digital economy enterprises and jobs, points out Ajit Balakrishnan.
Mr Jobs's place in management history is assured for being the model CEO who spent his waking hours obsessing about making their products 'insanely great', says Ajit Balakrishnan.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
As the industrial era wanes, the network era looms, notes Ajit Balakrishnan.
Or is all of media being re-invented, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
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If we can come up with ways of sharing property rights on the internet, why not do something similar in urban spaces, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
Enabling the online booking and payment for Indian Railway tickets is one such case. Amitabh Pandey's book is about how he went about enthusing teams inside the Indian Railways and facilitating online reservations, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
Do India's laws governing the Internet need revolutionary change, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
Is it time to take a relook at our economic theories? asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
'Here are 25 stories special to me for one reason too many,' says Sukanya Verma who scored 25 years writing about the movies last week.
Perhaps one aspect of the way modern media particularly print and news television works need some soul-searching: Their tendency to "frame" news stories as a conflict between two personalities, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
Do you have the courage to look through failures and unexpected pitfalls?
'Rapists do have families. I wanted to see how a father or mother would deal with it.' 'They go through shame as well and get discriminated from the rest of the village.' 'Why don't we show it that way?'
Students' flagging interest in the written word is because of a generational digital divide, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
A breakthrough will come from what we teach and how, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
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In India, the need to find a solution for the jobs problem is perhaps even more urgent considering the oft-quoted number of a million young people arriving every month looking for jobs.
Is it likely that one of these days, a demand may rise that only truthful endorsement should be made in media and that if it is discovered that she or he in real life does not use that brand, punishment may follow, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
The middle class's long push to force the state to retreat from the economy may be reversing, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
It is only gradually dawning on us that some of the information we have trustingly shared with commercial service providers can be used against us when we apply for a job or when we apply to admission to a college, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
How did Greece, the country of Archimedes and Socrates and Plato and Pythagoras, come to such dire straits, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Steve Case's book is filled with insightful scenes that describe how the modern online industry was put together, notes Ajit Balakrishnan.
