I want to be .....

Just some weeks before the 10th exams, far away in one Indian small town, a teacher was asking her students about what they aspire to be in the future…. The students started mentioning the names of the various professions that they had heard about either through parents or teachers or some other source… Now it was the turn of one young chap, whose cousin happened to be a Chartered Accountant… Though he didn’t know anything about the profession (understandable since nothing related to that field is taught in school) .. But he had various discussions with the CA-cousin and had made up his mind that this was indeed a good profession to be pursued !!!.... And more importantly, today, he thought he had an opportunity to be different from the numerous ‘would-be’ engineers and doctors that were in the classroom…. So, he eagerly awaited his turn and as soon as it came, he got up and expressed his ambition… But he was in for a rude shock as the teacher started laughing and told, “You should be out of your mind… CA is done by those who don’t study and who don’t have any ambition”…. The classroom starts laughing and the kid hangs his head in shame….

The single remark triggers a whole sequence of events, the ramification of which may yet not be completely assessable :
(1) The boy goes home ashamed about the rebuke and filled with guilt that he chose a profession for the ‘lesser-mortals’… He now changes his plans to be either an Engineer or a Doctor…

(2) His father had planned for the Finances involved keeping Commerce line in view, which is undoubtly more cheaper alternative to Science..

…. but now the priorities have changed….

(3) His 10th grades are not among the best suited for a good Science college.. so his dad has to put in extra efforts to set the finances for doling out donations for the ‘management quota’ in colleges….

(4) While entry into the college could be ‘bought’, the study part needs the capability of people

This incident occurred some two years ago and now, with his 12th exams over, the guy is awaiting his exam results and preparing for Engineering Entrance …. I hope he fares well and becomes a great Engineer….

This may not have featured in my blog had I not overheard a conversation where he mentioned about that ‘eventful’ day when his course of life changed!!! And I wondered, how a small seemingly casual remark can create such an ever-lasting impression… Maybe I am thinking too much into this, but the very fact that he remembers that teacher’s remark means that somewhere deep down within him, he feels his life should/ could have been different !!

I am not feeling bad just because I happen to be from the CA fraternity.. I have tremendous respect for engineers and doctors who have been rendering valuable services in India and abroad...

But this story had to be told as it reiterates the common mentality seen across parents, teachers and elders who feel that there are these three-four professions where the kids should go to .. I won't say that the kid is at fault for the simple reason that he just took the road as directed by his seniors...

Ye Dilli hain mere yaar... !!!

Scene 1 :
New Delhi…or Nayi Dilli … the Administrative Capital of India… A place where various important decisions are taken which decides the course of our country.. a place with lots of administrative offices - the Parliament, the Supreme Court, the Defence Headquarters etc etc …. Clean and wide roads… lots of Greenery…

Scene 2 :
Low-rise buildings which appear to be unfinished … narrow lanes that may allow only one car/ vehicle at a time ... cows roaming on the streets.. cars stopping in the middle of the road to offer the previous-day leftover food to the ‘sacred’ cows….

Scene 3 :
Modern Hi-tech Intra-city Metro-rail network …. plush shopping malls and multiplexs… High-end vehicles on roads be it Merc, Porche etc .. presumably, the country's largest market for computers (Thats what Delhi-ites tell me !!)


Delhi is a city where I have seen the three different worlds co-exist as well as complement each others perfectly… The administration, the industries and the common man … Here, we can see modern-day infrastructure facilities functioning alongwith the grandeur of ancient heritage sites such as the Qutub Minar, India Gate, Red Fort, Humayun Tomb etc etc … During our stay in Delhi, we commuted by way of hi-speed Metro-trains as well as by Man-driven cycle-rickshaws..

With what little I have seen of Delhi, I just continue to be awe-struck by the development that this city has made in the past few years…it would any day put Mumbai administrative think-tank to shame…. You can actually see development with Metro work going on in full swing at all major places…

Security concerns loom large over Delhi and hence one has to pass through multiple layers of security at various strategic points such as the Park in the centre of Connaught Place, Akshardham Temple etc. Still, the city is prone to security threats as has been seen in the recent past with bomb-hits in the said park, the crowded markets etc

After a trip to the city, one genuinely hopes that in Mumbai, the “tomorrow” mentioned in the MSRDC slogan “Please bear with us for a better tomorrow” comes very soon…

Bon Voyage !!

I had some wonderful time last week at uncle-aunt’s place in Delhi…not in Delhi-6.. but in Janakpuri - once referred to as the largest planned residential colony in Asia. Roshni and me decided to take the Train-route for Delhi rather than flying there… (Now I am sure that this would raise a few questions about the recession-impact etc etc, but I would not want to deviate from the topic!!)…. We had been thinking of taking the Rajdhani Train as had been hearing about their services… The train service didn’t disappoint much though food could have been much much better..

The train dropped us at Nizamuddin Station the following morning, from where my cousin took charge of taking us home safe… After exchanging the customary pleasantaries, the lunch and some rest, we took off for the main agenda for the day . SHOPPING !!! My better half took charge as the day ended with my hands heavier (with bags) and pockets lighter…

Sunday, we went for a local sight-seeing and were found at various tourist destinations posing for the perfect-poses !!! My cousin got some self photo-shoots done for orkut!!

Then, the working week started (Basically, I missed on the main part – I was in town for some official work rather than holidaying) .. I was busy at work throughout the day for the next four days and came home sitting in Delhi-ricks amidst traffic for almost more than an hour daily (This traffic thing never leaves me, be it Mumbai or Delhi!!)

Then came the weekend…. We decided to venture out of Delhi.. on to some hill-stations to cool-off… after considering and debating various alternatives, we zeroed in on Shimla… more so, because of its proximity to Delhi... We stayed in Shimla for Friday and Saturday and came back to Delhi by Saturday late night..

Finally, after enjoying the vibrant Delhi and slow-n-cool Shimla, we came back to our own aamchi Mumbai .. Home-coming always seems special.. even though you are out only for just about a week!!

The post already gone too long and I would hate to read long-boring travelogues.. So I stop here just summarising the entire trip…. Would post more details separately….

Management Insight from Ramayana

An interesting piece of forward received :

Management Insight from Ramayana -

Hanuman plays an important role in the Ramayan, yet in the epic itself he does not hold any great position. He is just one of the many monkeys Ram encounters in the forest. He is not Sugriva, leader of the monkey troop. He is not Angad, who is told to lead the band of monkeys searching for Sita. He is not Jambavan, the bear or Nila, the monkey, who are given the responsibility of building the bridge.

He is projected as an obedient follower who, through his intelligence, strength and courage, wins the admiration of Ram and emerges as one of the most revered characters of the tale and a god in his own right. At no point does Hanuman make any attempt to steal anyone's glory; while in his own temple he stands powerful with mountain in hand and feet on a demon, in Ram's temple he is most content sitting at the feet of his master, hands in supplication.

Who would not want a Hanuman in his team? One who is very good at his work, one who will do whatever he is told to do, one who will never seek either reward or recognition and one who finds validation in obeying his master.

If we go to Raju's auto repair shop, we will find that all the work is done by his Hanuman: Amol, a young boy, who has been working with Raju for three years. Amol is a natural, able to fix the most complex of problems. Raju knows he can totally rely on Amol. No job is too big or too small for Amol. He is as happy changing a tyre, as he is fixing the brakes. He does not boss over the juniors and does not feel slighted if the seniors ask him to fetch tea. If there is a problem that eludes a standard solution, everyone knows that leave it to Amol - he will, like Hanuman crossing the sea, find a way.


Yes, it matters greatly to have a Hanuman in our team. One who will not question you. One who will do exactly what you tell him to do. One who delivers no matter what the odds. One who is loyal and devoted. But is that really good?

The following is a folk story of Hanuman:-

Hanuman once narrated the entire Ramayan to his mother, Anjani. After the narration , an impressed Anjani sought a clarification. "You are so strong that with a flick of a tale you could have destroyed the whole of Lanka , killed Ravan and rescued Sita. Why did you not do so? So much effort and time would have been saved - you would not have had to build a bridge to Lanka, you could have avoided the war. Why did you not do that?"

Hanuman replied, "Because Ram never asked me to."

And suddenly we wonder if this was opportunity lost. Hanuman was asked to discover Sita's location; he did that. Hanuman was asked to fetch the mountain of herbs that would save Lakshmana's life; he did that. No one asked him to destroy the Rakshasas and rescue Sita. So he did not do that. What if they had? One common explanation given for why Ram never asked Hanuman to kill Ravan and rescue Sita is that it was Ram's duty to rescue Sita, not Hanuman's. Ramayan is about Ram, not Hanuman. This is not so in the corporate world; Ramayan of the corporate world is about the entire organisation, not just about the leaders.

In the entire epic, Hanuman proves his capability time and time again.

On his way to find Sita, he displays his extraordinary power (crosses the ocean), brain (outwits the snake-demon Surasa), brawn (kills Simhika) and integrity (not resting on Mandara mountain). And yet, while everyone admires this, no one seems eager to take full advantage of it.

Was this refusal to take advantage of Hanuman's abilities a divine decision or merely a oversight ? Is the same being done in the corporate world?

Yes, Raju loves Amol's work. Yes, Raju admires Amol's work. But is Raju harnessing the full potential of Amol? Is his contentment with Amol's obedience preventing him from seeing all that Amol can do, proactively, creatively, independently, if he is given the freedom to do so? Ask Raju and he will say, "But I don't stop Amol from doing anything." He does not stop Amol from doing anything, but he does not encourage Amol from doing something either.

The greatest danger of having Hanumans in our team is that his actions are limited by our directions.

Maybe we fear that if Hanuman thinks for himself, there will be chaos - he is a monkey after all. Maybe we fear that he will overshadow us.

Hence, ultimately, only we decide the goals, we define the vision, we declare the mission and state the objective. Our Hanuman will help you realize all this. But, maybe, the goals could have been greater and grander, if we had let Hanuman do more than merely obey.

Amol once had given Raju a suggestion. "Sir, if we park our cars perpendicular to the wall rather than parallel we can keep more cars in the garage?" Raju ignored this suggestion. "Do you work," he snapped at Amol without giving his words much thought. But the message he implicitly gave Amol was that - 'I only want your obedience, not your intelligence.' Amol immediately complied. And that marked the end of Amol's creativity that would have perhaps made Raju's auto repair shop a much greater success.

This is the danger of over compliance and extreme obedience. We prevent followers from thinking and contributing. It makes business sense therefore to take a closer look at the Hanumans in our team; we just might find in their hearts a Ram waiting to be coaxed out.