He Taught me the Values of Honesty and Perfectionism #madeofgreat

“I am not a very good boss to work with”, he asserted, “I may refuse even the facilities otherwise legitimately due to you. So think twice before you decide to come to this department”. No he was not trying to threaten or puzzle me. He was speaking the truth, the naked truth. I did not take even a second to respond, “Sir, I am not interested in anything but my self-respect. I cannot do things my conscience does not permit me to do. If you just allow me to be guided by the voice of my conscience then I don’t care what other things you give me or not. I don’t need to think. I have already decided to come here. I will be highly obliged if you accept me as your sub-ordinate.”

This was my first encounter with the man way back in 1994 who ultimately became a role model for me and with whom I share a “guru-sishya” relationship even today. I can describe him as a dead honest straight forward man who has the guts to call a spade a spade and a perfectionist who believes in giving his 100 percent to the job in his hand. To put it in his own words, “If you take up a task complete it with such precision that the onlooker is mesmerized by the quality of the job done. If you are unsure about quality of delivery it is better never to take up the task”.   

In an organization where manipulating financial and other resources used to be a common affair with almost everybody occupying a seat of authority my down to earth boss was the only person who strictly avoided using official resources for any kind of personal gain. And this was the reason why most people in the organization looked upon him with awe. The financial papers which he signed were never scrutinized by anybody, whatsoever. His proposals were never rejected by the company. This was something I enjoyed the most. Gradually my colleagues and seniors in other departments began to regard me with the same respect as they used to do to my boss. Some even wondered how I was able to adjust with such a strict awe-inspiring personality. I do not know even to his day whether I could come up to his expectations or not. But for me he was certainly the most adoring person to work with. He never compelled me to do any unethical thing as most of my previous bosses had done. He never gave me an unlawful order. He was always ready to advise and guide me whenever I faced any problem either professional or personal.

He was a voracious reader and read anything and everything. What is more fascinating is that he remembered a lot of what he read and reproduced it whenever the need arose. He had the ability to talk on any subject almost extempore. He was the perfect man to head the training and development department. He was known for his vast knowledge in every field and even the CEO of the company often took his advice in certain critical issues. My department was considered as the knowledge centre of the organization only because of his wide spread knowledge. He was a great mentor as well. Seeing my academic interest in training activities he started mentoring me to become a good trainer and probably to head the training function in due course. If I have developed myself as a management faculty today the entire credit of this goes to my boss. He created opportunities for me to attend training conducted by renowned management consultants and subsequently encouraged me to facilitate training sessions for our employees. 

In a nutshell he was my work place guru who taught me the following life lessons by exhibiting them in his own day to day activities. I learnt the following great lessons from him.

1. Truth is something which can never be hidden. If you are truthful you need not fear anybody.
2. Honesty is the best policy. If you are honest in the true sense nobody can exert unnecessary pressure on you. 
3.  Punctuality is something which gives you the ability to hold your head high. If you are in time no one can point a finger towards you.
4. Be a perfectionist in whatever you do. Perfection demands your 100 percent. If you give your 100 percent you need not have to worry about anything. Success will run after you.
 

I learnt these life lessos when I was 32 and today after 21 years I can assertively announce that had I not worked with him at that time I would have either become corrupt like many others in the organization or I would have commited suicide under the pressure of unethical practices.

The person to whom I have dedicated this post is no celebrity but an ordinary human being who was branded by many as a very difficult person to deal with. But I found in him the most ideal human being devoid of common vices and frailties and practicing ethical values in life. I do not know if he reads this post today what will be his reaction. But for me he was and is an ideal personality committed to ethical human values. He is my teacher, my mentor, my trainer, my tormentor all rolled into one. I take this opportunity to salute you Dikshit Sir (Mr. Hari Sharan Dikshit) for teaching me great life lessons and making me rough and tough from within.

P.S. 1. This post is specifically written for Tata Motors and their made of great campaign. For more details follow the link : http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/

P.S. 2. If you are here please answer the question below in the comment section of this post and the best answer will win a Amazon Gift voucher of Rs.750/-.

What do you think of Tata Motors’ association with Lionel Messi?

THE QUEST

The dusty evening sky stimulates in me

The incandescent desire of the pleasant past

And the ecstasy of the bygone days

Remind me of the drastic detriment.

A cool enchanting breeze slithers over

The sprawling paddy fields, with

A rhythmic melody of serene calm

Soothing my heart of bereaved agony.

As tears of darkness flood the earth

I hobble beyond the far-stretching meadows

My sub-conscious mind revolts against

The stultifying laws of nature

And a foible in my inmost being

Awakes, and hurts my conscience with

A strong remorse and excruciating grief.

My quest has not been fructuous so far

And it never ends, even

After sleep creeps into my eyes.

I dream of your rapturous features

And think of your speculating views

While lying morbidly, waiting for the dawn

To begin yet another vigorous search for you.

###

Enjoying Real Family Time in the Lap of Nature #RealTogetherness

When I was a kid I was in my village. My day used to start with the chirping of birds flying out for the day’s collection of food. The warmth of the delicate morning sunrays used to soothe my body. I used to visit our paddy fields with my grandfather and enjoyed the swaying of green paddy bushes in the gentle cool morning breeze. Small artificial streams running between the two adjacent fields (dug especially for irrigation purposes) making a sweet humming sound was music to my ears. I was simply dumbfounded when my grandpa picked up crabs scurrying beneath the green carpet of grass for a mouth watering crab curry lunch.

Coming back from the early morning stroll in the fields and having my breakfast I used to take bath in the river along with my chums and then go around the village climbing trees, plucking black berries, catching fish with fishing rod, playing kabbadi, gilli danda (the india version of cricket where a small piece of cylindrical wood wedged at both ends was used as a ball to be struck by a bigger stick) and several other games typical to a odishan village. After the delicious crab curry lunch I used to work with my grandpa in the vegetable garden in our backyard. I watched him tending and watering the plants and I used to ask him several questions on the plants to satisfy my inquisitiveness. Bumpkins, cucumbers, arbi, potato, tomato, brinjal, papaya, lemon, maize, cabbage, coriander leaves and several other plants were grown in that garden. Fruits like mangoes, pineapples, palm and coconuts were also there in my village. I was very much conversant with several kinds of plants and insects owing to my upbringing in the lap of nature.

Several years later I was really surprised when my growing up little son while travelling in a train and looking out of the window asked me, ”Papa, what are those green small plants looking like a carpet on the ground?” He was in fact referring to the long stretching paddy fields. When I told him that the rice we eat was grown on those plants he simply could not believe it. On that day I realised the banes of urban up-bringing. My children, born and brought up in town and having never got a chance to visit any village were far aloof from nature and her wonders. On that day I decided to take my children to my native village and let them have a taste of rural life style. Urbanisation and modernisation had definitely taken their toll from our natural life style and made us more artificial and insensitive.

We decided to spend a week every year in my village during winter vacations when the village atmosphere was the most soothing and enjoyable. Both my son and daughter enjoyed this short stay in the village enjoying every moment doing something new as I used to do in my childhood. They enjoy plucking berries, tending to plants and watering them and seeing the process of rice production. They relish the taste of fresh vegetables and fish. Playing outdoors with their village chums is something they always look forward every year. And I can assert we enjoy the most beautiful family time together during that one week’s stay in the lap of nature away from the din and bustles of the mechanical city life.

Kissan’s invitation to get down to the roots and connect in person is a great step towards real togetherness. I am sure this initiative will go a long way in changing the life style of this smart phone crazy generation of Indians. To know more about this initiative please follow the link below.

http://www.kissanpur.com/