October 2024
JOURNEY
My Swan Song
In 2015, when former editor, Suma Varughese, asked me what I would like to name my column, I said, “Journey.” Little did I know that a day would come when I would recall my journey with Life Positive in this very space nine years later.
As its editor-in-chief, this is the last issue under my editorship. I had stumbled upon Life Positive in 2009. A time when the ship of my career needed an anchor. Providence was kind enough to not only give me the opportunity to work for it, but also make me its editor.
When I took over as the editor in 2017, I was full of dreams, ambitions, and a determination to surpass myself in upholding all the values Life Positive stood for.
Team Life Positive pulled out all the stops to ensure that the flag of LP kept fluttering high, and the quality of the content stayed true to the changing ethos as well as conventional spirituality. We huddled, brainstormed, read, and researched extensively to bring diversity as well as high quality content to Life Positive. We wanted to heal, help, and evolve humanity. It was like a sacred mission bestowed upon me by the Divine, and I was obligated to deliver.
Over these seven years, there were many bumps in the road, especially after COVID hit us in 2020. People cancelled subscriptions, and the countrywide sales took a major hit. Salaries became hard to come by, and the staff left for better prospects elsewhere. During these challenging times, it was sheer faith in the higher purpose of Life Positive that kept me going. I saw the low phase as an opportunity to reinvent and reimagine the magazine. Events, website, digital media presence, YouTube shows, business collaborations—Team Life Positive did it all to keep the magazine alive, relevant, and relatable. I contracted long COVID twice during this phase but did not allow it to come in the way of bringing out Life Positive diligently every month. Yet, undeniably, the high stress levels were taking their toll on me. Moreover, the staff didn’t want to report to the office every day after the Work From Home (WFH) culture became the norm, thus compounding my difficulties at the work front. As the Gita says, “Man has right only to his duties, not to the results thereof.”
Our tireless endeavours did not yield the results that we hoped for and it became increasingly difficult to keep the magazine afloat against insurmountable odds. The only way to end the unceasing challenges was to close Life Positive.
Over the years, colleagues came and went but there are a few who left an indelible imprint on my mind. Mehernosh Unwalla, the copy editor of Life Positive, stood by me like a rock through the highs and lows of my stint. Given his efficiency, knowledge, and punctuality, it’s hard to imagine what my life as an editor would have been without him. Yoshita Monga, the designer, pleased my heart with her obedience, the ability to honour her word, and the desire to constantly learn and upgrade her art. Himanshu Kumar, the video editor, came as an inexperienced, amateur, young boy, who blossomed both as a video editor and as a person under my wings, going on to become a published writer, much to my amazement. And I can never forget Punya Srivastava, the former associate editor, who was the most dedicated, hardworking, and reliable colleague an editor could ask for. If I could clone her, I would take her everywhere I go.
Thank you, Life Positive, for giving me the opportunity to express myself and serve people.
Editor-in-Chief of Life Positive, Shivi Verma is a devotee who found all her answers in loving God passionately.
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