Manipur to Chillibreeze, My Journey

My hometown has excellent schools, and I began my education in Don Bosco High School, a Catholic school where my father and grandfather used to teach. Here is a picture of my school taken in the year 2013. Image: Rooftop at our house.

I moved to St. Joseph's High school in my 9th Grade and finished high school at Rayburn Higher Secondary, school.

Married Early

Soon after I passed my 12^th grade, I married the person of my dreams. My wife Jennifer is from Imphal, but I met her in Shillong. It may look like the end of the story, but my story begins here! After we got married, we moved to Shillong.

My first Job

As I was big built and athletic, my friends told me that I had a good chance to join the Indian army. In fact, I could have been recruited in the sports quota, as I was good at basketball, but Army as a career did not interest me. I was not sure what job I would do, but I needed to support my family.

I moved to Shillong to help my uncle who was a pastor and who had lived in Shillong for over 20 years. I helped him in his library as part of an Audio Bible project, also called 'Talking Bible.' I worked for him for a year before I found out about Chillibreeze

Chillibreeze Enters My Life

Jennifer used to work in a call center, which was in the same building as Chillibreeze. That was the first time I came to know about this company! Jennifer encouraged me to join the call center too, and so I moved there, leaving the job I was doing for my uncle. While working at the call center next door to Chillibreeze, I saw the activities in Chillibreeze, and it started to interest me.

Applied and Was Selected

Suresh and Norton, who worked for Chillibreeze encouraged me to apply online and to give it a try as Chillibreeze was continually looking for talented people.

Meanwhile, I requested my cousin, who is a good software programmer, to teach me HTML and I learned quite a bit through practice. This skill was a bonus when I applied to Chillibreeze. I was thrilled to get a call from the Head of HR in Chillibreeze, Teddy, and then I had two rounds of interviews. And, I landed a job in Chillibreeze, working with the web team! This was too good to be true. At the same time, I was scared as I did not know how I would adapt.

The Initial Struggles

Being in Chillibreeze meant a lot of changes I needed to bring on myself! It was not easy. It was like an adventure for me. From an active basketball player, to sit in front of the computer was difficult to adjust. Everything was new. I was bewildered.

I was not used to the digital world and the computer world. But I used my father's advice "to enjoy the work you do and do the best." I tried to enjoy and make the best of it.

Yes, it has been a struggle. It was challenging to adjust. I love art, but I did not have to use any of it directly—it was mostly formatting work. Of course, later I got to use my creativity and art skills in designing our new website!

But, I knew I had to adapt, or I would not survive. So, every day, When I reached home, I would practice more on the things I was weak at, and at the same time honing my skills.

Now Things Have Changed! I Have Adapted, and I Enjoy What I Do.

Thanks to the coaching I got, especially from Raj, my manager, I became more organized in many ways. Thanks to Chillibreeze I am now more organized and more disciplined, both at work and at home!

Chillibreeze effects on my family and me

One of the things I notice is that all my friends and relatives seem to respect me after I got this job.

Some of my friends have government jobs. They work in other States. Working at Chillibreeze makes me feel at par with them!

If I had stayed in Manipur, I could have become a good basketball player, but I wouldn't have had the quality of life I now have.

I now have the confidence to stand in front of people and speak.

My language skills have improved!

My family too see the changes in me and want me to give my best. For example, when my father had some serious health issues and had to be treated several times, I wanted to go home and be with him. But my father wanted me to stay in Shillong and work, as he knew I had responsibilities in Chillibreeze. He assured me that my mother and siblings are there to help him. He advised me to stay on and work and keep my leave and use it at the end of the year!

A very satisfying experience for me has been designing the new Chillibreeze logo. I was thrilled when Ralph and Joanna, our founder Directors, gave me the responsibility of creating a new logo. As I also understand the true quality and values that Chillibreeze represents I came up with the color scheme and their meanings.

My job at Chillibreeze gives me and my family financial support. And, Chillibreeze is very open to people like me, who are eager to learn more. Learning not only the work culture and skills but great principles of life, discipline, and manners, which is a great help to my family in our everyday life.

What Does the Future Hold?

Fanai is philosophical as he ponders over the future.
According to him, even a second of our time in our life is a mystery.

My dad planted a quality in our family “Learn to live in the worst condition, accept the situation, improvise, that’s how you will survive.”

Adding up all the qualities that Chillibreeze stands for and with God’s grace, even if the road ahead gets rough and bumpy, I am confident that I will be fine, as I am part of Chillibreeze.

Art and drawing continue to be my passion; I use free time at home to draw. I would like to share with you a portrait I made of my wife, Jennifer.